Obasanjo: Why I tore my PDP membership card

...towards a better life for the people VOL. 25: NO. 62343

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015

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Obasanjo: Why I tore my PDP membership card

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Your conduct embarrasses military, DHQ replies OBJ — Page 8

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POCKET CARTOON

OBASANJO—From left: Obasanjo, Alhaji Usman Oladunjoye and others during Obasanjo's meeting with his Ward 11 members, yesterday.

Obasanjo: Why I tore my PDP membership card

By Soni Daniel, Henry Umoru, Ben Agande, Dapo Akinrefon, Charles Kumolu, Simon Ebegbulem & Daud Olatunji,

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AGOS — A MIXTURE of relief and raging indignation swept through the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday, after former President Olusegun Obasanjo publicly tore his membership card of the ruling party.

Obasanjo’s theatrical renunciation of the party on whose platform he was twice elected president, was laced with another drama hours later when the state chapter of the party announced his expulsion from the party.

In three tweets, last night, Obasanjo gave as his reasons, his uneasiness in abiding in the same party with a president who he said

was determined to use corruption to destroy the country. He also said he would not abide in a party that is led by a 'drug baron', saying his action had freed him to comment on national issues as he felt.

The subdued relief in the Presidency which has been the butt of Obasanjo’s stinging criticism in recent times was manifest, yesterday, when senior Presidency officials calmly referred responses to the development to party officials. Chief Tony Anenih, Chairman of the Board of Trustees and once Obasanjo’s trusted aide, led the reactions with his dismissal of the action, saying the party would not miss him.

A number of other party officials including members of the board of trustees, state officials in Ogun State, Governor Ayo Fayose, Chief Buruji Kashamu among others reacted to the development yesterday.

TAKE HEART

BY ELLA RANDLE

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In addition to being more willing to share their creative ideas, emotionally intelligent people build better relationships both with colleagues/clients, and with friend and love ones.

Why I tore my PDP membership card — Obasanjo

In three tweets, yesterday night, explaining his decision, Obasanjo said: “I’d rather sacrifice my political party for the interest of Nigeria than sacrifice my country for a political party led by a drug baron.

“I’d rather tear the PDP membership card than sit down and let Jonathan use PDP and corruption to tear my beloved country apart.

“I have national and international standard to maintain. For this reason I’d rather stand alone than be in the same political party with Kashamu.”

Obasanjo said that the party card he tore was one of the considerations to him in the bid to project Nigeria, pointing out that there was nothing he could not sacrifice for the interest of the nation.

He boasted that despite the destruction of his party card, he would not be cowed by anyone, as he was still ready to comment on any matter that required his comment or view.

He said: “If there is anything that requires my comment, position or views, I will say it. It is only when you kill me that I will stop doing so."

The former leader, who is known to have spearheaded the emergence of the Jonathan Presidency, explained that being patriotic demanded the will to sacrifice anything, including his

life for the interest of Nigeria but not his life for a political party.

“My first preoccupation is what is best for Nigeria: Nigeria first, party second and anything third,” Obasanjo said.

On the Military

He also accused the Presidency under Jonathan of politicising every public institution in Nigeria, including the Nigerian military.

“It’s no longer news that the Presidency has politicised every institution in Nigeria.

Even the military has chosen to be another arm of PDP,” he alleged.

Vanguard learnt that Obasanjo might have taken his decision to tear his membership card and voluntarily quit the party before the leadership, apparently upset by his tantrums against Jonathan moves against him.

The move to suspend OBJ

It was reliably gathered that the party had mooted the idea of formally suspending him from its fold but was restrained by the leadership which had hoped he would softpedal over time, only for Obasanjo to unleash more caustic assaults last week, alleging a determination of the president to win the forthcoming presidential election by hook or crook.

Obasanjo early yesterday, announced his exit from the party while hosting members of the PDP from his Ward 11, Abeokuta North Local Government Area of

Ogun State, who called on him to enquire on his continued membership of the party following what they claimed as the no love lost relationship with the president.

The members were led by the ward chairman, Alhaji Usman Oladunjoye who asked him to explain where he belongs.

In his response, Obasanjo said he had his ears close to the ground and said that he, too, had heard of the plan by the PDP leadership to sanction him.

He said: "You asked me two questions and I will answer them comprehensively. This Nigeria belongs to all of us and it must not be destroyed. This is my PDP’s membership card, where I am standing is that Nigeria belongs to everybody including babies. We must not allow anybody to destroy it wherever they come from, whatever they have and if they destroy it, it becomes our burden to our children and incoming generation.

“The question asked is that which party am I? I belong to the group that believes that Nigeria must not be destroyed.

Those of you that are marketers you observed that there’s inflation in the market. The bureaux de change operators exchanged dollars with N150 then and is (now) going to be N250 to a dollar.

“What it means is that, what you’ve been buying for N150 will be bought for N250, this is not the kind of country we dream of. There’s no job, employment. Some people have started destroying Nigeria and I will never be in a party that will destroy Nigeria.

Perhaps, you don’t understand that it is because there’s Nigeria that is why PDP exists.

Without Nigeria, there will be no PDP anymore.

“What some of us

should be concerned about now is how to make Nigeria stronger and our economy would witness economic growth.

I won't join another party

“They said they want to expel me from PDP, although I have not been told but I have my ears on ground. We’ve been trying to run away from a man but he pleads we wait for him at the other side of the river. I have told you before that I became president on the

Continues on page 52

Terrain dictates how Mkpot villagers walk nside See I

COLUMNIST: Suicide among brave hearts •P.36

Mr & Mrs

6—Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015

DELSU Urhobo students shut DESOPADEC office over bursaries

By Akpokona Omafuaire

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ARRI—THE National Union of Urhobo Students in Delta State University, NUUS, Oleh campus, yesterday, shut the head office of Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC, over unpaid bursaries.

The placard-wielding protesters, who stormed the office in buses, chanted solidarity songs, causing a stir among staff who hurriedly shut their offices out of fear.

NUUS President, Mr. Ogodo Jerry, said they had earlier had a peaceful protest to the Head Office of DESOPADEC in Warri yesterday, but got no response.

Head of Social Services in DESOPADEC, Pastor Ebibor Ferdinand, assured the students that everyone with genuine cases would be accommodated.

He said the establishment had records and would act if they were confirmed DELSU students.

Two suspected cultists killed in Ilorin

By Demola Akinyemi

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LORIN—GANGS of suspected cultists went on rampage in Ilorin, Kwara State, Sunday night, and killed two members within the metropolis.

Vanguard gathered that the five assailants pursued their target, one Abu, on a motorbike to popular Taiwo Road in Ilorin around 8pm and attacked him.

Eyewitness told Vanguard that the assailants shot into the air to scare people away.

The assailants were also said to have pursued their next target to Gambari area of Ilorin, and killed him.

Contacted, Police Public Relations Officer, Kwara State Command, Mr. Okesanmi Ajayi, confirmed the killings, adding that the command had commenced investigation.

Family, daughter of woman crushed by police van protest in Ibadan

By Ola Ajayi

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BADAN— FAMILY members of a 68-year-old woman, who was allegedly crushed to death by a police van, yesterday, protested at Mapo Hall Police Station.

The deceased, identified as Nusirat Durosaro, in company of her daughter, Mrs. Saudat Salawu, was on her way to Olodo Hajj camp, when she was reportedly hit at Oritamerin.

Salawu, who was also injured, said she was going with her mother to finalize preparations for a pilgrimage to Mecca this year.

She said: “This morning (yesterday), we were standing at a bus stop at Oritamerin waiting for a bus to Olodo when I heard a loud bang. I fell down on top of my mother. It was then I saw that it was a white police van that knocked us down.

“My mother was bleeding from her nose, eyes and ears.

She was unconscious. I was shouting and telling the policemen that they have killed my mum. I told them God will request her blood from them.

“The police officers then picked us up and took us to Adeoyo State Hospital, Yemetu.

A doctor attended to her.

“She was then transferred to the University of Ibadan Teaching Hospital, where she was rejected probably because of her condition. But to my surprise, the policemen started

threatening me.

“Theyasked what gave me the effrontery to accuse the police of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of killing my mum?”

She said the policemen then asked her to give them her house address and phone number, saying the policemen threatened to deal with her later if she accused them again.

Appeal for help

The woman, who came in company of other people to the secretariat of Oyo State NUJ Correspondents’ Chapel, Mokola, Ibadan, pleaded with the journalists to fight her cause.

She said: “Can you believe these policemen claiming that it was a motorcycle that hit my mummy? They were saying how possible it was for somebody (me), who was knocked down, to know what hit us.

“They dropped my mother and I before we got to the UCH and ran away. Even though I was bleeding from the knee, I rushed my mother to Ibadan Central Hospital where the doctor confirmed that my mother was dead.

“Nigerians help deliver me from these power-drunk policemen who, having killed my mother, are also threatening me. This is very unfair.”

Reacting to the allegation, the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Adekunle Ajisebutu, said he was yet to be briefed about the incident.

Mrs. Saudat Salawu, narrating her ordeal.

Lagos tenant sues landlord over quit notice

By Bartholomew Madukwe

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tenant, Victor Ocheja, has sued his landlord before an Apapa Magistrate’s Court in Lagos, for issuing him quit notice.

Ocheja, alongside Ugochukwu Nnorom (applicants), are tenants to Jaiyeola Emmanuel, at 14, Jimoh Street, Igbo-Elerin, Okoko area of Lagos.

In his counter affidavit, Jaiyeola informed the court that when the first applicant was issued a notice to quit on November 30, 2013, he teamed up with the second applicant to assault him, which he (landlord) reported at Okoko Police Station.

The landlord stated that as trouble persisted in his compound, he went to the Citizen’s Mediation Centre at Iba, Lagos, where the second applicant was invited three times, but refused to respect the summons till date.

Jaiyeola maintained that he

never resorted to self help, adding that rather, the applicants were threatening him because they felt he did not have people or money as same had been occurring before the death of his mother.

According to the landlord, he started having problem with the second applicant following non-payment of rent, PHCN bills, security levy, nonparticipation in environmental sanitation and non-payment of

waste management bill.

Jaiyeola said: “The first and second applicants had stopped paying for the electricity bills since 2012 and this had accumulated to the extent that PHCN came to disconnect the light on May 30, 2014. The waste management bills have also accumulated.”

He further informed the court that the applicants later took the matter to Area E Command, despite having a similar matter

at Okoko Police Station, before they finally brought the matter to court with allegedly falsified tenancy receipts.

Jaiyeola urged the court to dismiss the suit with substantial cost of N500,000 and noted that the applicants brought the matter to court to deny him the enjoyment of his rent.

The matter, which is before Magistrate A. A. Adesanya, was first adjourned on June 11, 2014 and is yet to be heard.

APC House of Reps candidate alleges threat to life in Oyo

By Ola Ajayi

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BADAN—CANDIDATE of All Progressives Congress, APC, in Oyo State, Mr. Temitope Olatoye, alias Sugar, has alleged that a Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate was planning to kill him.

Olatoye, who is contesting Akinyele/Lagelu federal constituency in the House of

Representatives, has already petitioned the InspectorGeneral of Police that his life was in danger.

Olatoye, who is currently the lawmaker representing Lagelu State constituency in Oyo State House Assembly, said in the petition dated February 13, by his counsel, Ikeh Sunday, that in the last few days, some unknown men had been trailing him with an

unnumbered pick-up van.

Sunday said Oyo PDP had been using different tactics to provoke his client and his supporters to react, which might lead to a breach of public peace, and pave way for his arrest and detention to keep him out of circulation.

When Vanguard called PDP's Public Relations Officer, Mr. Kehinde Salawu, his phone was switched off.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015—7

Cleric nabbed over N609m narcotics

By Evelyn Usman

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HE resident minister of Eternal Sacred Order of Cherubim and Seraphim, Agodo-Egbe, Ikotun branch, Lagos, has been arrested by officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, for allegedly attempting to export narcotics with a street value of N609 million to South Africa.

The suspect, identified as Prophet Michael Raji, 60, was

arrested, following the interception of the drugs at the cargo section of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, MMIA, during preshipment examination.

He told NDLEA officers that he received the drugs from a friend and had kept them in his church since October 2014.

The seized drugs, which weighed 174 kilogrammes, were reportedly concealed inside large bags of foodstuff.

A breakdown of the

recovered drugs, according to the NDLEA Commander at Lagos Airport, Mr. Hamza Umar, was 91kg of Methamphetamine and 83kg of Ephedrine.

Preliminary investigation indicated that Prophet Raji was a suspected top member of a drug syndicate operating in Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa, because three international passports bearing the suspect’s photographs were recovered.

Umar said: “One of the passports bears the name Michael Raji, while the other two bear the name Kadigun Fatah Ola. “It was equally discovered that the church premises also serves as a warehouse for narcotics. A Mercedes Benz SUV was also impounded during the operation.

“The drugs were brought to the airport for export to South Africa.

Investigation eventually traced the movement of the drugs to his church premises where he was arrested.”

I made my lover abort her pregnancy so I won't father a thief — ROBBERY SUSPECT

By Esther Onyegbula

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member of a three-man armed robbery gang busted by the Police at Ketu area of Lagos has said he forced his lover to abort a three-month pregnancy because he did not want her to give birth to an armed robber like him.

Musliyu Ahmed, 23, who was arrested in Ketu, said: “I had to force her to go for an abortion because I do not want her to give birth to a child, who will have the blood of an armed robber. And because she understands the nature of my job, she had to obey.

“I want to get married and start having kids after I quit armed robbery.”

The other two members of the gang, Mutiu Rasheed, 22, and Sadiq Dada, 21 were arrested in Ijebu-Ode and Lagos, respectively.

Vanguard gathered that Lagos State Police Command received a tip-off that one Ahmed Musliyu, a notorious armed robber, had four locally-made guns, which he kept in his house around railway line at Bolade, Oshodi.

Searching for Mutiu After Ahmed was arrested, the detectives discovered that the four guns were no longer with him as he had allegedly handed the guns over to Mutiu Rasheed who lives at Ketu.

Before police got to Ketu, Mutiu got wind of Ahmed’s arrest and that detectives were on his trail. So he fled to Kara, along Berger Isheri area where he carried out robbery operations with one Sadiq Dada.

It was learned that when the detectives got to Kara, they laid ambush in the neighbourhood for three days. Unfortunately, Mutiu escaped but Dada a

member of the gang, was apprehended.

During preliminary interrogation, Dada revealed that Mutiu had fled to IjebuOde with other gang members.

The police moved from Lagos

to Ijebu-Ode, where they laid ambush and arrested Mutiu on the second day of the manhunt.

Mutiu reportedly led the officers to Ijebu-Igbo, where they recovered two locally-made guns and six cartridges.

Vanguard learned that the gang had successfully carried out different robbery operations in Lagos and Ijebu-ode.

Some of the vehicles they stole include a Toyota Highlander, Camry and Sienna.

6 dead, as hoodlums invade Buhari's rally in Borno

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AIDUGURI—NO fewer than six people were feared dead, with 12 injured in Maiduguri, Borno State, yesterday, as hoodlums disrupted the presidential campaign rally of General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) of All Progressives Congress, APC. At least, 12 persons were also injured in the attack that led to vandalizing of Channels TV equipment, Ramat Square rails and gates, and the campaign office of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. The killings and vandalization of TV facilities

and party campaign office took place at Bulunkutu ward and Kashim Ibrahim Way, in Maiduguri, between 11am and 1pm.

The scheduled commissioning of some projects by Buhari were suspended because of the rowdiness of the mammoth crowd of youths and women, including hoodlums, who participated in the fracas.

Trouble, it was learned, started when the three gates to Ramat Square, venue of the rally, were closed by security operatives as at 10am to control the massive crowd of people entering the square before Buhari's arrival from the

By Perez Brisibe

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GHELLI—A combined team of Ughelli Vigilante outfit, nicknamed Bakassi, men of the Nigeria Army from the 222 Battalion, AgbarhaOtor and the Police, yesterday, rescued a 60year-old retired staff of a multinational oil company from suspected kidnappers in Ughelli, Delta State.

The incident, which occurred at about 9pm on Valentine’s Day, had the security agents trailing the suspects who abducted the victim in his car along Aro Road, Ughelli.

The man, who gave his name as Prosper, was later identified as a retired staff of an oil company whose wife was abducted in March last year and is yet to be released.

According to the source who was part of the combined team, items recovered from the car include a cut-to-size gun and live cartridges.

When contacted, the state PPRO, DSP Celestina Kalu, said she was yet to be briefed on the matter.

JTF destroys 7 illegal refinery camps in Bayelsa

Water scarcity in Gombe, yesterday. NAN PHOTO.

By Ndahi Marama

60-yr-old retiree rescued from kidnappers in Ughelli

Shehu’s palace in Maiduguri.

Some party supporters had to climb the fence to gain entry to the square, despite the firing of gunshots by military men into the air to scare the surging crowd, who stormed the venue to welcome the APC presidential candidate.

Shocked by the mammoth crowd’s unruly behaviour, Buhari could not address the crowd and sensing trouble, APC members and supporters, and security personnel immediately whisked Buhari away from the podium and took him straight to Maiduguri International Airport, without him making any political statement to the people.

By Samuel Oyadongha

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E N A G O A — OPERATIVES of the Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta, code named Operation Pulo Shield, have destroyed seven illegal refinery camps in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

Spokesman of the Task Force, Lt. Col Isa Ado, in a statement issued in Yenagoa yesterday, also disclosed that its operatives arrested a suspect believed to be among the gunmen that attacked JTF troops and carted away rifles at Shells location, Patrick water side, Bodo City in Gokona coincil of the state.

8—Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015

By Kingsley Omonobi & Ndahi Marama

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BUJA — THE Defence Headquarters has faulted former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s assertion that President Goodluck Jonathan wanted to use the military to subvert the people’s will during the elections on March 28 and April 11.

Reacting to Obasanjo’s statements, yesterday, on its blog, www.defenceinfo.mil.ng, the military however assured Nigerians that it remains and will continue on its path of professionalism in the discharge of its duties at all times.

In a statement posted on its blog, yesterday, the Defence Headquarters, said “the military as an institution, is neither as inept in the discharge of its duties nor is it being misused for political ends in the manner the retired General Obasanjo, who was also a President, has possibly been made to believe.”

Your behaviour embarrasses military, DHQ replies OBJ zSays unguarded utterances fall short of expected standard zTroops clear Boko Haram militants from Monguno, others

By Soni Daniel, Regional Editor, North

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The statement:

“The Defence Headquarters has noted the remarks of a former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, as reported in the media stating his views on perceived state of the armed forces and the roles being allegedly played by the military in the nation’s political process in recent times.

"The leadership and cross section of the military believe that the former President and retired General has every right to be interested in the actions and fate of the military. Hence, his views like many others will continue to be accorded the well-deserved attention.

"It is, however, noteworthy that most of his utterances lately indicate an attitude of playing to the gallery or indulging in politicization of serious national security or military affairs.

“For instance, the comments credited to Chief Obasanjo alleging that the postponement of the general elections was to enable President Jonathan to use the service chiefs to plot a tenure extension is to say the least, very surprising.

“It is surprising indeed, considering the fact that the retired General chose to ignore the clarification and emphatic assurances of non-partisanship of the military as declared in a DHQ statement on the position of the armed forces in the ongoing political activities.

Embarrassment to military “His motive, as usual, remains unknown but it is certainly less than noble or well intentioned.

We dare say again that Chief Obasanjo’s assertions are false.

“Much as the military desires to respect the old General and his views, it has become necessary to point out that his conduct and unguarded

PDP Reps shun call to reject INEC card readers, PVCs

VISIT: President Goodluck Jonathan (right) with President, ECOWAS Commission, Amb. Kadre Desire Ouedraogo during an audience at Aso Villa, Abuja, yesterday. Photo: Abayomi Adeshida. utterances of late has fallen short of the standard of discipline expected of an individual who has had the privilege of service in the military and risen to the status of a General.

"The behaviour of retired General (Chief) Obasanjo has been so unbecoming and continues to constitute a serious embarrassment to the military before all who have reasonably and rightly adjudged the essence of military background in terms of the high value and standard it tends to contribute to statesmanship.

“We feel constrained to remind the old General that the world has moved beyond that parochial and self-adulating reasoning and mindset which he seems stuck to.

Indeed, he needs to be told that by virtue of their better training, exposure, education, assessment and environment, the military personnel of today are already far beyond his level in their appreciation of democracy and it’s indispensability for the stable and prosperous society which Nigerians cherish.

Military is now better placed “In this instance, the military wishes to inform the retired General, that the institution which he bequeathed to the nation has certainly developed beyond how he left it. The Nigerian military is now better placed to strive for the maintenance of the legacies and ethos of service, valour, subordination to constituted authorities, and non-partisan

commitment to duty and fatherland.

“It has to be restated that the military as an institution, is neither as inept in the discharge of its duties, nor is it being misused for political ends in the manner the retired General Obasanjo who was also a former President has possibly been made to believe.

“Indeed, the system now strongly believes in democracy as well as its structures and institutions to the extent that it will do nothing whatsoever to undermine or truncate the steady growth and development of the nation’s democracy.

“The military will remain professional as it keeps doing its best along with others to ensure adequate security and defence of the nation’s territorial integrity in this auspicious period in the country.

“The Defence Headquarters will like to encourage Chief Obasanjo to be genuinely interested in the growth and sustenance of Nigeria’s democratic credentials.

"He is also enjoined to endeavour to improve in his understanding of intricate issues and try to encourage the military rather than continue with this tendency to indulge in imputation of ulterior motives to every effort, all for the purpose of discrediting well thought out policies or decisions related to the military’s roles in the polity.

“The support of all wellmeaning elderly Nigerians remains vital in the onerous duty of working for the stability,

defence, and peace of our country under duly constituted authorities in a democratic environment.”

Troops clear terrorists from Monguno Meanwhile, Special Forces of the Nigerian military prosecuting the war against terrorism in North-East, yesterday morning achieved another victory, when a highly coordinated air and land assault completed their mission of clearing terrorists from Monguno and environs in Borno State.

According to defence spokesman, Major General Chris Olukolade, scores of terrorists were killed, while truckloads of rice, beans and other logistics meant for resupply for the terrorists operating around Baga were captured in the course of the operation.

Olukolade disclosed that the terrorists suffered serious casualties, while arms and others dangerous equipment were recovered from the terrorists, noting that Monguno, Marte and other communities are now fully secured.

He added that the military had embarked on cordon and search to fish out terrorists on the run and recover more bodies.

Also, he noted that the air and land operation was continuing with aggressive advance towards other designated communities and locations meant to be cleared in the ongoing offensive against the terrorists.

BUJA — ATTEMPT by the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, to get its members in the House of Representatives to endorse the rejection of the use of the Card Readers and Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs, by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for the deferred polls failed to get the support of the members last night.

No fewer than 100 members of the ruling party in the lower chamber of the National Assembly, who were summoned to a nocturnal meeting in Abuja by the House Leader, Mulikat Akande and her deputy, Leo Ogor, stood their grounds that they would not lend their support to any move that could truncate the nation’s democracy.

A member of the ruling party from one of the SouthSouth states who was at the meeting held in Apo, said members were aggrieved that the Presidency and the leadership of the PDP were trying to exploit them for selfish political gains after dumping them during its just-concluded primaries.

The members were said to have shouted down on the conveners of the meeting for trying to exploit them after denying most of them tickets to return to NASS. They aggrieved PDP members are reported to have asked the House Leader to convey their displeasure to the Presidency and the PDP leadership over their refusal to assist them either politically or financially to pursue their ambitions.

They said it was wrong for the party to seek their support for any cause after abandoning them to the whims and caprices of governors when they needed its support most during the primaries of the party last December.

They reasoned that although President Goodluck Jonathan initially agreed to give some of them a chance to return to the House, the party sided with their governors and rejected the presidential intervention,leaving most of them out of the contest.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015 —9

PRESIDENCY TO EZEKWESILI: Fighting terrorism, insurgency not football match zSays Jonathan never gave 6-week time-frame for return of Chibok Girls

By Henry Umoru

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BUJA — THE Presidency, yesterday, described as insincere and mischievous, the launch by BringBack Our Girls group of a countdown for the Chibok girls to regain freedom, saying fighting terrorism and insurgency is not a football match where commentaries were run for the delight of spectators.

In a statement by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, it said President Goodluck Jonathan in his media chat never promised that the girls would be freed within six weeks, noting that the count-down by the former minister and her group was unnecessary.

Okupe said: “Our attention has been drawn to a statement credited to former Minister of Education and a leader of the Bring Back our Girls Group, Dr Oby Ezekwesili, to the effect that President Goodluck Jonathan has made an affirmative statement that the girls abducted by Boko Haram terrorists in Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State would be freed within six weeks, hence the beginning of a count-down by the organisation.

“We wish to state that the statement by the President during his last media chat was that the combined efforts of new offensive by the Nigerian military and its allies as well as improved capacity in the operations have made the chances for the rescue of the Chibok girls brighter than ever before.

“This statement cannot be construed as putting a sixweek time-frame for the delicate task of freeing the girls alive which the President remains very committed to and would definitely wish that would even happen in a day.

It's insincere, mischievous

“It is, therefore, insincere and mischievous on the part of Dr Ezekwesili and her organization to launch a countdown which from all intent and purpose is meant to score cheap political points rather than encourage the military and help the cause of the girls and their depressed parents.

“President Jonathan’s commitment to the rescue and safe return of the Chibok girls is unwavering. The Nigerian military and its allies have as part of their mandate, the

rescue of the girls and all others who are in custody of the Boko Haram terrorists as well as securing the safety of Nigerians living in areas ravaged by insurgency.

“No responsible organization would seek to make a gain of this unfortunate incident and

constantly twist facts and pronouncements in order to appear as if government is incapable of meeting its timelines.

“Fighting terrorism and insurgency is not a football match where commentaries are run for the delight of

spectators. It is a much more serious exercise and we expect Dr Ezekwesili to understand this in view of her global exposure and stop being a pawn in the chess board of some desperate political actors.”

CAMPAIGN: All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential candidate, Maj-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), during his campaign in Maiduguri, Borno State, yesterday.

Why Jega must go, by Bode George, Daniel, Ogunlewe, Babatope, others

By Dapo Akinrefon

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AGOS — THE South-West Presidential Contact Committee Group of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday called for the removal of Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for gross dereliction of duty and deliberate partisan complicity.

In a communique issued at the end of its meeting in Lagos, the committee also described the intervention of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in the current national challenges as distorted, unstatesmanly, too personalised and provocative.

The communique was signed

by Chief Olabode George, Senator Seye Ogunlewe, Maj.Gen. A. T. Olanrewaju, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, Chief Ebenezer Babatope and others.

The committee said it met and deliberated exhaustively on the state of the nation and especially on the recent pronouncements of former President Obasanjo and therefore resolved as follows: "President Goodluck Jonathan deserves the support of all wellmeaning Nigerians in the arduous challenges of nation

building.

"It is cruel and unforgiving to intimate that the rescheduling of the election date was done to favour the Peoples Democratic Party.

"From all verifiable indices, the Independent National Electoral Commission was grossly unprepared to carry out a free and fair election as the published collection of the Permanent Voter’s Cards was deliberately skewed in favour of the North.

"The intervention of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in the current national challenges is distorted, unstatesmanly, too personalised and provocative. Former President Obasanjo cannot and must not assume the role of the Nigerian overlord with infallible wisdom.

"Former President Obasanjo has descended into the bitter fray of a common partisan actor without the distinction and dignity of a rallying unifying leader.

"Former President Obasanjo has been very inciting, precipitous and violent in his utterances and, therefore likely

to provoke untoward events in this nation.

"We condemn vigorously with all sense of patriotic candour any attempt by former President Obasanjo or anybody else, to provoke the collapse or vitiation of our democracy.

"For emphasis, we restate that the rescheduling of the election date is a patriotic and legitimate decision which will prevent the disenfranchisation of about 34 per cent of Nigerian citizens.

"In the light of the deliberate, overt and tendentious policies of Professor Attahiru Jega pertaining to his partisan gestures, nuances, conflicting protestations and most especially his overwhelming partiality in the distribution of the Permanent Voter Cards to the detriment and marginalisation of about 16 million eligible voters of SouthWest, we, the South-West Presidential Contact Committee Group, hereby appropriately resolves that Professor Attahiru Jega, having failed decisively in his appointed role of a neutral, non-partisan electoral umpire, should hereby be removed forthwith for gross dereliction of duty and deliberate partisan complicity.

APC campaign cautions NASS members on anti-democratic antics

By Levinus Nwabughiogu

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BUJA — AS the National Assembly resumes today, the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Organisation, APCPCO, has cautioned the members against taking any action that might affect the foundation of democracy in the country.

A statement signed by the Director of Media and Publicity of APCPCO, Malam Garba Shehu, yesterday in Abuja said members were returning to plenary at a time when the country was passing through a phase of some surreptitious attempt to tamper with the sanctity of the election date and the hand-over date.

The statement, while welcoming the lawmakers, also stated some commentaries coming from leading members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, about a sinister plot to compromise on the sanctity of the May 29 hand-over date portends a great danger to the integrity of Nigeria’s democracy.

It said: “We wish to welcome back to plenary, distinguished members of the National Assembly. We also wish to call their attention to the fact that their resumption is coming at a time when some senior members of the ruling party are mouthing overtures over a surreptitious attempt to compromise on the sanctity of the election day and the hand-over date.

“To the extent that the parliament is the heart of any democracy, our National Assembly members have a duty to ensure that they protect our democracy from the archeries of its enemies.

“It is on this note that we in the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation call on every member of the National Assembly to add their voices to that of millions of other Nigerians and stand resolute that the general elections hold between March 28 and April 8 as scheduled and also that the May 29 handover date remains sacrosanct."

10— Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015

Naval officer, brother in Police net over alleged killing of airport worker Lawani Mukairu & Daniel Eteghe

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AGOS—A Naval officer, Ifeanyi Chukwu, of the Nigerian Navy Command, Apapa, Lagos, is currently undergoing investigation over an assault that led to the death of a staff of Dowutas Trolley Service at the General Aviation Terminal 1, GAT, of the domestic wing of Murtala Muhammed Airport last Sunday.

Eye witnesses said the naval officer and his brother drove into the drop zone of the departure hall of the GAT at about 6a.m and parked his silver coloured SUV at the portion designated for dropping off passengers while they both escorted their mother, who was travelling out of Lagos into the terminal.

On return, they met the SUV tyres locked by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, concessionaire responsible for towing vehicles perceived to have been parked illegally or indiscriminately within the airport environment.

An eye witness said Chukwu and his brother were furious at the action, claiming the late trolley service provider; Mr. Yusuf Mohammed, had asked them to park the car in the drop zone.

It was learned that Yusuf advised both men not to leave the vehicle for more than a few minutes, otherwise it would be removed.

In the ensuing argument, Ifeanyi Chukwu’s brother was said to have punched Yusuf directly in the face and it was in the process of Yusuf falling that the naval officer himself (Ifeanyi Chukwu) cleared his feet off the floor and Yusuf fell with the back of his skull on paved floor and started bleeding profusely.

The enraged Chukwu, according to the witness, quickly rushed to raise the deceased’s head from the floor while blood gushed out of his head and shouted for help.

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By Olasunkanmi Akoni

AGOS—LAGOS State government has faulted the claims by the Minister of State for Works, Adedayo Adeyeye, that the only existing roads in Lagos were those owned by the federal government, describing it as a clear distortion and misrepresentation of facts.

Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, made the clarification in response to the minister’s claim on roads in the state.

Hamzat, who statedthat it was a inaccurate er to claim that 11 per cent of Lagos 5,500 km of road was the essence of the state’s road portfolio, observed that there was 89 per cent of roads that are the concern of the state and local government.

While maintaining that a number of Federal roads had been ceded to the state government, Hamzat noted that the absence and neglect of the roads by the Federal Government was the real reason the state had to intervene in the interest of the people.

He said: “There are over 9,000 roads in Lagos State and managing this number of roads in a place like

transfered to the Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Yaba, while the car is currently parked at the police station at the local airport.

When reporters called Chukwu Ifeanyi yesterday, he acknowledged the incident took place and referred them to a female officer who is the Public Relation Officer of the command, who said the command was investigating the matter.

She also said the naval authorities was reaching out to the deceased family.

SIGNING: From left: Mr. Ade Ipaye, Arttorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, and Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, deputy governor, during the signing of Mortgage and Property (Amendment) Bill into Law, at Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja, yesterday. Photo: Bunmi Azeez.

LAGOS GOVT TO MINISTER:

Lagos roads

The deceased was taken to FAAN clinic, beside the terminal, to receive first aid treatment and referred to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, where he was pronounced dead at about 12 noon.

Another witness who pleaded anonymity said when the tensed officer noticed the turn of events, he informed his naval base in Apapa.

Chukwu’s brother was said to have been picked up by airport police command and the case

You're distorting facts over

Lagos is not easy. The state government had been forced to work on Federal roads given the importance of the roads to the citizens.

“The Lagos State Government like many other states in Nigeria is being owed money to the tune

of N51billion based on the calculations and verification by federal government agents.

“Yet, Lagos State government has continued to undertake projects on so called Federal roads. Such roads include; The Lagos Badagry Expressway, Eko

Bridge (34 expansion joints) Mile 12/Ikorodu road which is no more a Federal road.

“No State has done the number of roads Lagos State has done.

One can dispute various things but cannot deny the obvious. Road development is everywhere.”

We've not endorsed any candidate —Ndieze Igbo Lagos

ELECTIONS:

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By Chris Onuoha

AGOS—THE Council of Igbo traditional rulers in Lagos State, under the umbrella of Ndieze Udo N’uzo Ije, has said it has not endorsed any candidate ahead of the forthcoming general elections.

This came as an association, Nigerian Women for Truth, appealed to the chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, Prof.

Attahiru Jega, to release their permanent voters’ cards, PVCs, and tackle the issues concerning its distributions in the nation before the elections billed for March 28 and April 11.

According to Eze Godian Dim Ojiaku, chairman of the association, who made this

declaration while addressing the council of all Igbo rulers in the 57 local government council areas in Lagos State, said the council has not endorsed any candidate for the presidential

and governorship elections because it was not impressed with their campaigns, in terms of issues-based topics, quality of communication, peace and safety of the citizenry.

Court compels bank to pay lawyer over PDP judgment debt

By Abdulwahab Abdulah & Bartholomew Madukwe

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AGOS—AN Ikeja High Court yesterday ordered the Zenith bank to pay a sum of N10.5 million as a judgment debt from the account of the Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP to lawyer, Mr Debo Adeleke.

Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye who issued a garnishee order, compelling Zenith Bank plc to pay the judgment sum of N10.5 directed the bank to immediately credit the account of Adeleke who rendered a legal service to the party.

The court’s order was sequel to the failure of PDP to pay Mr Adeleke the sum after the court had initially delivered a judgment against the party.

Ruling on the garnishee proceeding filed by Adeleke, Justice Ipaye upheld the argument of the claimant, while ordering the bank to pay the judgment creditor within three days of the judgment.

Ohazulike, others endorse Agbaje

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By Dapo Akinrefon

AGOS—THE traditional heads of Ndigbo in Lagos State, led by Eze H.N Ohazulike, yesterday endorsed the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Mr Jimi Agbaje, for the governorship race in the state.

The endorsement was made known after a meeting of the traditional leaders at the Palace of Ohazulike.

Addressing newsmen on their deliberations, Ohazulike said the group took the decision after studying the manifestoes of the political parties vying for the election in the state.

He said: “After exhaustively studying the manifesto and matters c o n c e r n i n g o u r interests, we resolved that the interests of Ndi Igbo in Lagos will be better protected under a future Agbaje-led administration."

NIMR builds Cancer Research Centre in Lagos

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Chioma Obinna

AGOS—WORRIED by the increasing spread of cancer in the country, the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, NIMR, has completed the construction of a state-of-the-art Cancer Research Centre, CRC, for comprehensive cancer research and care.

Statistics from the World

Health Organisation, WHO, have shown that over 100,000 Nigerians are diagnosed with cancer annually, while 80,000 die every year.

Disclosing this in Lagos at a symposium organised by NIMR weekend, the Director General of NIMR, Prof Innocent Ujah, who lamented the cost of treatment, explained that the Research Centre equipped with high tech diagnostic facilities when

commissioned, would investigate the causes of common cancers among Nigerians.

Ujah, who described cancer as a public health problem, said 12.4 percent of all deaths were attributable to cancer and estimated that by 2020, 16 million new cases would be diagnosed per annum, of which 70 percent would be in developing countries such as Nigeria.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015 —11

Appeal Court upholds Fayose's election A

By Gbenga Ariyibi

DO EKITI—THE Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, has upheld the election of Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as the duly elected governor the state.

The court dismissed the appeal by the All Progressives Congress, APC and its candidate, Dr Kayode Fayemi in the Ekiti election, challenging the election of Fayose.In a two hour judgment, Presiding Justice, Justice Abdul Aboki, held that the appellants did not prove beyond reasonable doubt that the certificate of Fayose issued by the Polytechnic Ibadan was forged.

The court noted that the issuing institution which was the Polytechnic Ibadan had forwarded a letter stating that the certificate in contention was issued by it.

The court also noted that the appellants failed to provide evidence before the court to show that the certificate was forged.

On the striking out the names of Chief of Army Staff and Nigerian Army from the petition by the lower tribunal, the court held that the tribunal was right as such office and establishment were not recognised under law to be involved in electoral process.

Meanwhile, Governor Fayose has lauded the judiciary for

upholding his victory in June 21, 2014 governorship election.

Fayose described the decision of the appellate court as a triumph for the will of the people over political bitterness aided by selfish interests.

Reacting to the unanimous judgment of the appellate court that he was duly elected as the governor of the state last June, Fayose, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Idowu Adelusi, in Ado-Ekiti, urged the APC and its candidate, Dr Kayode

Fayemi, to face the reality of their electoral loss.

“What the Court of Appeal in Abuja did today (yesterday) further attests to the fact that the will of the people, clearly expressed, cannot be thwarted by a clique being propelled by political bitterness and selfish interests they want to promote.

“In the history of elections in Nigeria, I stand to be corrected, the election that brought me to office ranked alongside the June 12, 1993 presidential poll in terms

of fairness, credibility and so on.

“Those who thought they could circumvent the process and the will of the people have been put to shame. I thank the judiciary for proving again that it is the hope of the common man. I hope that after suffering defeat in the 16 local governments, losing three nil at the tribunal and also losing woefully again at the Court of Appeal, the APC and Fayemi will give peace a chance,” he said

VISIT: Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu (2nd left), fielding questions from journalists shortly after a courtesy call on the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, at the State House, Marina Lagos. With him are: Commanding Officer 81 Division, Major General Tamuomiebi Dibi (left), Air Officer Commanding, Logistics, Lagos, Air Vice Marshal Mike Iloenyosi (2nd right), and Air Commodore Anthony Akiode.

Mimiko faults Obasanjo on election postponement

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By Dayo Johnson

KURE—GOVERNOR Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State, yesterday, faulted former President Olusegun Obasanjo postulation on the reason adduced by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for the postponement of the general elections.

Speaking in Akure, Dr Mimiko said available evidence on ground was at variance with the former president’s postulations on why the polls were shifted by the electoral umpire.

On the chances of President Jonathan winning the South West, Dr Mimiko said that Jonathan won in the South West states in 2011 despite the fact that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, had no governor in the South West region then.

According to the governor, the elections were postponed not only on security ground but because

many eligible voters would have been disenfranchised if the election was held as scheduled last week Saturday.

Mimiko explained that a greater percentage of voters from the South West region would have been disenfranchised in the elections.

According to him, only 52 percent of voters from the region have collected their Permanent Voters' Cards while a greater number have obtained same in the northern region.

He said: “What is the evidence on ground, it is when you place the evidence on ground side by side with the postulations, you will see that the postulation cannot hold. Talking about the South West, let’s put the security reason aside, let’s look essentially at the possibility of disenfranchising some voters in the South West region because as at February 5, the record that Prof Attahiru Jega

gave at the council of chiefs, in all the geo-political zones, South West scored the least in terms of people who have collected the PVC. “Whereas the average in the North East is 77.8 per cent while South West was 52 per cent. As a

matter of facts, in all the zones, it was only South West that scored below 60 per cent. So, we are interested party in the sense that if the election had continued or taken place, we would have been disenfranchised."

Osun APC, PDP bicker over alleged attacks on members

By Gbenga Olarinoye

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SOGBO—THE ruling All Progressive Congress, APC in Osun State and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday, traded accusations following series of attacks on their members in Ijesaland.

There were reported attacks on supporters of both parties in Iperindo, Ilesa and other parts of Ijesaland shortly after the tribunal re-confirmed Governor Rauf Aregbesola the winner of August 9, gubernatorial poll.

Speaking with newsmen in Osogbo, yesterday, the spokesperson of the Fadahunshi Campaign Organisation, Sola Olawoye, dismissed claims that PDP candidate for Osun East senatorial, Prince Francis Fadahunshi, was behind the spate of attacks on the APC members.

Olowoye said apart from Fadahunshi having no such antecedents, the allegations were borne out malice or ignorance of the character of the PDP candidate, stressing that the reality on ground shows thatthePDPcandidatewaswinning the senatorial election.

He added that those accusing Fadahunshi were keeping hoodlums to use them against perceived opposition members and were merely making baseless allegations, alleging that all APC elective office holders in Ijesaland have resolved to perpetrate large scale violence and pin it on PDP members.

African Bar seeks free, fair polls

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AGOS—THE African Bar Association, AFBA, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to do its best to ensure that the general elections were free and fair.

Briefing newsmen in Lagos, interim executive committee of AFBA, led by Mr Hannibal Uwaifo, said it would pay close attention to the general elections even though it was not accredited as an observer by INEC because it applied late due to the reorganisation of its executive.

Uwaifo added that AFBA would do its bit towards ensuring violence-free exercise.

“We’re going to monitor the elections from our own vantage point. I also know that our colleagues in the African Bar Association will also monitor the polls such as the Director of Information and Protocol. We’ll be issuing statements of a broad nature in due course.

“We’ll encourage a fair electoral process, an independent umpire, political tolerance and

we’ll be discouraging violence.

We’ll urge those who win to be magnanimous in victory and those who lose to take it with all sense of equanimity,” Uwaifo said.

Uwaifo said AFBA is a nongovernmental organisation formed in 1972 in Lusaka, Zambia, to foster unity and encourage cross border practice; corporation amongst lawyers in advancing the legal profession and promoting rule of law and good governance in Africa.

12—Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015

Oshiomhole alleges FG's siphoning of N800m project fund

By Simon Ebegbulem

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ENIN—GOVERNOR Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has accused the Peoples Democratic Party, PDPled Federal Government of siphoning N800 million for a water project that was never executed in Okpella, Etsako East Local Government Area of the state.

Speaking, yesterday, at the flag-off of the 24-km OgirigaAfokpella-Okugbe-ImiekuriOhu road project with a spur to Awuyemi in Okpella, Oshiomhole said records at the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Abuja, showed that the project had been completed, yet no single water pipe was laid in the locality.

He said: “I am happy to be here to fulfill one of the promises I made to the people of this community. We have done schools, light, and water and now roads. I believe that the primary purpose of government is to bring development to the people.

“I am happy to hear from your highness that the people of the state recognise that our projects are not political projects. We don’t do projects to deceive the

Ex-militants vow to bar Obasanjo from N-Delta

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OLLOWING Chief O l u s e n g u n Obasanjo’s vituperations against President Jonathan Goodluck, hundreds of ex-militants thronged the Ohoror Junction axis of the EastWest Road, promising to bar the former president from stepping foot on the Niger Delta region.

They said they had resolved to attack Obasanjo’s business interest in Port Harcourt, Warri, Asaba, Calabar, Uyo and other cities in the Niger Delta, adding that since he had decided to label President Jonathan as an enemy, he is also an enemy to the region.

Mr. Preye Ekpebide, Delta State Chairman Phase Three Amnesty Programme, who addressed newsmen during the peaceful protest, said Obasanjo’s aspersion on Jonathan was as a result of his failure to use the president as a puppet and surrogate.

people and that is why whatever we choose to do is properly done.

“For me we have only one purpose in government to

deliver the greatest good to the greatest number of people in the shortest possible time. My joy today and I encourage you to reflect, all of the things that

have been listed are the things that we have accomplished in six years. But always remember that Nigerian democracy is 16 years now.”

TECHNICAL DAY: From left: Mr Frank Campbell, President, Electrical Sector, Europe, Middle East and Africa Region, Eaton Global Power Management Company; Mr Charles Iyo, Regional Sales Manager, West Africa, Eaton Electrical Sector; Mrs Sola Oworu, Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry and Mr Kurt McMaken, President, Europe, Middle East and Africa Region, Eaton Company, during the opening ceremony of Eaton Technical Day at Victoria Island, Lagos. Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi.

Peterside assures traders, non-indigenes of safety in Rivers

By Gbenga Oke

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OVERNORSHIP candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers State, Mr. Dakuku Peterside, has promised to defend the interests of traders and non-indigenes in every part of the state.

Peterside, when his campaign organisation visited the popular Mile 3 Market, Port Harcourt, accompanied by his running mate, Honourable Asita, and members of the Greater Together Campaign Organization and party supporters, urged the traders and non-indigenes to discountenance the rumours about their impending deportation by a certain candidate, who has threatened to victimise non-indigenes.

He said: “Some people said when they come to power, they will pursue non-indigenes. My father was a merchant for many years in Aba, Abia State, and we enjoyed our stay in Aba because we were never molested or reminded of our non-indigene status. So, I want to assure you of your safety because I am one of you and I will continue to support you.

“I will assist non-indigenes in every way possible because we are brothers and sisters. We promise that Rivers people and non-indigenes will have access to free education, free health services and support for small businesses.”

Peterside said the primary duty of government all over the world was service and protection of its citizens, not

punishment, intimidation or harassment.

“The traders are patriots because they are supporting the economy by their legitimate contribution to the state and by that fact, they are working and helping to address the issue of unemployment and insecurity.”

Responding, Gilbert Godspower who spoke on behalf of the traders described Peterside as a man they can trust because of his antecedents.

PRESIDENTIAL POLL: Edebiri can't speak for Binis, says Eholor

By Gabriel Enogholase

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ENIN—THE Esogban of Benin kingdom, Chief David Edebiri, has been warned to desist from using his chieftaincy position as the Odionwere of Benin to speak on behalf of the Binis on who to vote for in next month’s presidential election since he is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC. President of One Love Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, Chief Patrick Eholor, also the Enobore of Ute Kingdom, who gave the warning while addressing journalists in Benin, yesterday, said Chief Edebiri has

no moral right to speak for the Binis since the Binis, as enlightened people, can decide on who they wish to vote for during the elections.

He was reacting to a media interview by Chief Edebiri that the Binis would not vote for President Jonathan because he removed the former Minister of State (Works), Engr. Chris Ogiemwonyi, and gave full ministerial appointment to his estranged wife, Princess Stella Odua, from Anambra State.

It will be recalled that last week, a group, Edo United for Transformation, debunked Edebiri's claim, insisting that the Binis will troop out enmass to vote for the President’s re-election.

No plan to pelt Dickson in Bayelsa —TAN

By Samuel Oyadongha

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E N A G O A — TRANSFORMATION Ambassadors of Nigeria, TAN, has denied claims of alleged plan to sponsor youths to pelt Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State, saying that its focus is on the reelection of President Goodluck Jonathan in the presidential election.

According to TAN, though the group in Bayelsa State has come under series of sponsored media attacks, the claims that the leadership of TAN was factionalised and involved in plots to attack the state governor was baseless and a figment of the deluded imagination of the sponsors of the report.

Bayelsa State TAN, in a statement by its Secretary, Gesiye Isowo, said the group has no reason to plot against Governor Dickson as they were both working to achieve the same goal of the re-election of President Jonathan through different platforms.

Urhobo elders, leaders sue for peace

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RHOBO Elders and Leaders Council, ULEC, has frowned at the recent development in the Urhobo Progress Union, UPU, and its executive and appealled to the warring factions to sheathe their swords and come together to take the audious task of uniting the Urhobos for progress.

ULEC, in a statement by its President General, Chief Cyprian Onephrojire, said it was disappointing that the UPU executive, which was supposed to unite the Urhobos, was now involved in acts of disunity.

He appealed to all well meaning Urhobos, especially the Urhobo traditional rulers, Ivies, to intervene, saying: “What is happening now is not in the interest of the Urhobo nation.”

ULEC appealed to the Urhobos to be patient and watch the situation to see how events will unfold.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015—13

BAYELSA AUTO TRAGEDY: First Lady visits bereaved families zMark, PDP, IYC, others pay condolences

By Samuel Oyadongha, Jimitota Onoyume & Joseph Erunke

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ENAGOA—FIRST Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, was yesterday in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, to commiserate with the families of Bayelsans who lost their lives in Saturday's tragic road accident along the Ahaoda axis of the East-West Road in Rivers State.

Dame Jonathan prayed with the families for God to be with them in their grief and asked God to give everyone, including herself the fortitude to bear the loss.

She described the women as her friends and sisters.

Dame Jonathan, who made a surprise appearance in Yenagoa, visited each of the families and commiserated with them over the loss of their loved ones.

Those who lost their lives in the accident and whose homes were visited, include a former member of Bayelsa State House of Assembly and former Special Adviser to Governor Seriake Dickson on Women Mobilisation, Mrs. Ruby Benjamin, a former Permanent Secretary, Mrs Acha Perekalama, former Commissioner for Women Affairs and Development, Gimbra Pamowei, wife of the Secretary to Bayelsa State Government, Mrs Alison Edmund Oguru; wife of Bayelsa Broadcasting Corporation Glory FM Accountant, Mrs Ayakpo Otolo, Mrs Consider Amadi, Mrs Clara Abila, among others.

The visibly sad First Lady was accompanied on the visit by the wife of the first civilian governor of the state, Mrs. Margaret Alamieyeseigha, former Transport Commissioner, Mrs Marie Ebikake, former Special Adviser to Governor Seriake Dickson on Special Projects, Mrs Remi Kuku and others.

Dame Jonathan, clad in black, arrived the Otolos’ residence on Azikoro Road in the Ekeki suburb of Yenagoa at 1.20p.m., to meet an army of sympathisers where she spent about 40 minutes with the family before proceeding to other bereaved families.

Meanwhile, Senate President, David Mark, yesterday, joined other sympathisers to commiserate with President Goodluck Jonathan and the government and people of

C M Y K

Bayelsa State over the death of prominent women in the state.

Senator Mark, in a condolence message, regretted that the women died in their prime and at a time when their productive hands were needed to solve the socio-economic and political problems facing the nation.

He said the women died in active service to the nation and should be accorded such honour.

Similarly, the Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, yesterday described the tragic accident as a dark day

in the history of Ijaw nation.

Its spokesman, Eric Omare in a statement, prayed God to grant the families the fortitude to bear the irreparable losses.

Chairman, Media and Publicity of the PDP Campaign Organisation in the state, Mr Okah, added, “We pray God to grant eternal rest to the souls of the deceased and give the bereaved families the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss.”

The only female member of Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Mrs Agatha Goma, representing

Ekeremor constituency I, condoled with the families of the prominent women from the state, who died in the car crash.

Goma said the pain of an untimely death is immeasurable, adding that she received the news of the death of her sister and former Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Gimbra Pamowei, a former colleague in the State House of Assembly, Mrs Ruby Benjamin and the wife of the Secretary to State Government, Mrs Elizabeth Allison-Oguru.

SEMINAR: From left: Vice President Namadi Sambo; Governor Ramalan Yero of Kaduna State; Minister of Education, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau and the Emir of Birni Gwari, Alhaji Zubairu Jibril Maigwari II, at the one-day sensitization and mobilization on violence-free elections in Nigeria, at the Shehu Musa Yar'Adua Centre,Kaduna. Photo: Olu Ajayi.

Arrest politicians buying PVCs, says Oshiomhole

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By Gabriel Enogholase

E N I N — GOVERNOR Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, has called on the Police and other security agencies in the state to investigate and apprehend some desperate politicians, who he said go about purchasing Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs, from eligible voters with a view to disenfranchising them in the forthcoming general elections.

The governor, yesterday, when he received the new Commissioner of Police for the state, Mr. Samuel Damilola Adegbuyi, who visited him in his office, said: “Everyday, I hear reports about some desperate politicians buying PVCs from people, particularly villagers and even non-villagers, sometimes for as much as N5,000.

“I am trying to understand what anybody can do with this, it is not clear. Somebody called me this morning to say that two persons came to him to complain that they gave them N5,000 in lieu of their PVCs."

My administration'll improve markets, parks —WIKE

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IVERS State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate, Chief Nyesom Wike, has said that his administration, if elected, will improve basic amenities in motor parks and markets, while ensuring that market women and men would benefit from the special business grants that he will institute.

He spoke, yesterday, during campaign visits to Abali Motor Park, Creek Road Market, Femie and Rumuokuta markets in Port Harcourt and markets in Abuluoma, a suburb of the Rivers State capital. He also visited markets in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area.

Wike in company of Senator

George Sekibo, Mrs Blessing Nsiegbe, member, the House of Representatives, commissioners from Rivers State, PDP women and youth groups, said that the condition of markets in the state capital was deplorable and needed urgent attention.

He said that when he assumes office on May 29, he will take immediate steps to improve on the sanitary condition of the markets and parks, and build sick bays, improve on security and ensure that traders take their place in the scheme of things in the state.

Wike said that Rivers State traders will benefit more from

the PDP as they have been factored into the party ’s development process as critical members, who contribute their quota to state and national development.

“I am here to interact with traders in this market because I have a comprehensive package to ensure that they get business grants in order for them to grow their businesses. I am here to assure you that my administration will enhance your standard of living,” he said during an interaction with market women at the Creek Road Market in Port Harcourt.

He urged the traders to vote

PDP all the way as the All Progressives Congress, APC, has proved to be a party that has no agenda for the people of Rivers State and Nigeria.

He said after eight years, Governor Rotimi Amaechi has enmeshed himself in corruption, using funds meant for the development of Rivers State to fund APC and his principal, General Muhammadu Buhari.

He said: “Your markets are in this deplorable condition because of Amaechi. He has made it a point of duty to divert your monies for APC campaigns and to sponsor Buhari for a campaign that is bound to fail."

14— Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015

BUDGET: Spend with restrain, Reps caution

Jonathan zAs Electoral Act Amendment, PIB top agenda today

By Emman Ovuakporie

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BUJA—THE House of Representatives has advised President Goodluck Jonathan not to spend recklessly before the passage of 2015 Appropriation Bill.

Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, Albert Sam-Tsokwa, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Taraba, who gave the advice in a chat with House correspondents yesterday, said any reckless expenditure would lead to a deficit that the country had never witnessed before.

He, however, explained that though the constitution had empowered the President to spend before budgets were approved, the country would be plunged into financial crisis, if the President failed to exercise restraint.

Section 82 of 1999 constitution, as amended states: “If the Appropriation Bill in respect of any financial year has not been passed into law by the beginning of the financial year, the President may authorise the withdrawal of monies in the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation for the purpose of meeting expenditure necessary to carry on the services of the government of the Federation for a period not exceeding .six months or until the coming into operation of the Appropriation Act, whichever is the earlier: “Provided that the withdrawal in respect of any such period shall not exceed the amount authorised to be withdrawn from the

Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation under the provisions of the Appropriation Act passed by the National Assembly for the corresponding period in the immediately preceding financial year, being an amount proportionate to the total amount so authorised for immediately preceding financial year.”

The lawmaker said: “I am aware that the constitution allows Mr. President to spend

an amount of money equivalent to the one that was spent in the preceding year, pending the approval of the budget.

“But the snag we have is that last year’s budget was based on crude oil price of over $100 per barrel but as we speak, the price is barely 50 dollars.

“So, if Mr. President is to spend the equivalent of what was spent in a particular period last year this year, we will run into trouble.

“So, I will advise that Mr. President thread cautiously and I call on legislators to expedite action on the budget and put it behind us before going for presidential and governorship elections” Sam-Tsokwa also accused the Executive of violating the Fiscal Responsibility Act by failing to submit the Medium Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, four months before submitting the budget proposal.

MEETING: From left: Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Deputy National Chairman, Chief Uche Secondus, Deputy Director General, Alhaji Tanimu Turaki, and Chief of Staff to the President, Chief Jones Arogbofa, after a meeting at the State House, Abuja, yesterday.

Photo: Abayomi Adeshida.

ECOWAS warns Nigerian politicians against hate speech

A

By Ben Agande

BUJA—THE Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, has implored Nigerian politicians to avoid hate speeches and campaigns ahead of the forthcoming general elections.

Addressing state House correspondents after submitting the recommendations of ECOWAS fact-finding mission and long-term observation missions which the Commission set up to monitor the Nigerian elections, president of the Commission, Kadre Desire Ouedraogo, said the recommendations of the committee, headed by former Ghanaian President, John Kuffour, was what he brought to President Jonathan.

Ouedraogo, who was accompanied by ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Salamatu Suleiman, also appealed to the Nigerian media to help curb the hate speeches during campaigns, noting that

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it was unnecessarily heating up the polity.

Mr Ouedraogo said ECOWAS felt obliged to share these observations, including those on the distribution of the Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs, with the major stakeholders, including the President, the

main opposition party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. He said: “ECOWAS, by virtue of its mandate, is to monitor and observe all the electoral processes in our community. To that effect we

have sent a fact finding mission in Nigeria led by John Kufour former President of Ghana. we have set up a long term observation team that came into the country, they were deployed in the five geopolitical zones of the country and they made their report."

Lagos doctors embark on 3-day warning strike

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By Chioma Obinna

AGOS—THE political uncertainty in Lagos may worsen as the Medical doctors in the employ of Lagos State, have embarked on a three-day warning strike to pressure the government to pay their withheld salaries.

Rising from its congress Sunday in Lagos, the medical doctors under the auspices of

Medical Guild, said they decided to down tool after several ultimatum and notices sent to the state government yielded no positive results.

In a statement, the Chairman of the Medical Guild, Dr. Biyi Kufo, said the warning strike would commence from 8:00 AM on Wednesday to 8:00 AM on Saturday.

Customs dismisses alleged withdrawal of officials from Kebbi, Sokoto borders

By Kigsley Omonobi

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B U J A — AUTHORITIES of the Nigerian Customs Service, NCS, yesterday, dismissedwaved aside allegations by the All Progressives Congress, APC, that operatives deployed to Kebbi and Sokoto States border with neighbouring countries had been ordered to be withdrawn saying no such directive written or verbal was ever given.

A statement signed by Wale Adeniyi on behalf of the Comptroller-General said: “The attention of the Nigeria Customs Service has been drawn to reports in the media alleging that Customs Operatives deployed at Border Stations in Kebbi and Sokoto States have been withdrawn.

“According to the reports, the directive withdrawing the officers was said to have been given verbally by an un-named official of the Federal Government, raising fears about security of our borders.

“In view of the security implication of this development and its sensitivity, it becomes necessary for the Service to clarify the situation as follows: “There was no directive whatsoever, verbal or written to officers of Nigeria Customs Service posted to Kebbi/Sokoto and Kaduna/Katsina commands to withdraw from the borders or their patrol bases.

“In the same vein, there was no directive withdrawing Customs operatives from duty posts in border stations across the country.

“In view of the security situation in the country, the Comptroller-General only last week directed a reinforcement of Patrol Teams across the country."

Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015 — 15

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16 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015

Vote for Jonathan, Obi tells Nigerians in Diaspora

P R AY E R : Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State (left) with the Methodist Bishop of Item, Rt. Rev. U d o Mmeregini after a morning devotion at the Unity Chapel, Government H o u s e Umuahia, yesterday.

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ORMER Governor of Anambra State and the Deputy Director General of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP National Campaign Council, Mr. Peter Obi has advised Nigerians in the diaspora to take a critical look at Nigeria and those seeking to be elected in the forth-coming election in the country.

Obi said this while speaking separately to Nigerian communities in Holland and UK. Insisting that President Goodluck Jonathan remained the best option, Obi said going by his Transformation Agenda and focused leadership, that he deserved another four years to consolidate myriad of reforms he had started in the country.

“When you look at all sectors critically, you will see overwhelming evidence of a President who is focused on bringing back the lost glory of the country. Under him, rail transport that stopped over 30 years ago is back.

Besides rehabilitating old, narrow gauges, many standard gauges are under construction in accordance with the 25 years Strategic Railway Plan. Today, the Aviation sector has changed a great deal, with 22 remodeled airports as well as five new International Terminals being c o n s t r u c t e d simultaneously in Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt ,

ALLEGED TAX SCAM: Court hears suit against Abia PDP gov candidate Feb 25

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

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BUJA—THE Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has fixed February 25 for hearing in a suit seeking to disqualify the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Abia State Dr.Okezie Ikpeazu, over an allegation that he tendered forged tax clearance certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. In a suit marked FHC/ABJ/ CS/35/2015, it was alleged that the Tax Clearance Certificate in Form IT 70, reference No. SPA/ HQ/2437 with serial number 095827 and dated 04/07/2014, which was submitted by Ikpeazu to both INEC, and the PDP, showing payment of his Income Tax for the years 2011, 2012 and

Opposition politics not good for Abia, Igboland, says Orji's ex-aide

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MUAHIA—A former Special Adviser to Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State, Mr. Ben Onyechere has said the state and Igboland in general are not suited for opposition because doing so will result to exclusion from sharing of the national cake.

He said: “It is no longer news that the relationship between Ggovernor Theodore Orji and the presidency has yielded enormous benefits to the state because certainly there are special profits which accrue to the parties that belong to main stream politics.

“The evidence of the dividends which came to Abia cannot be politicized because they are very substantial ranging from power stations relief from some of the debts owed by previous governments and the rehabilitation of federal C M Y K

infrastructure that are located in Abia State as well as federal appointments.

“Those politicians who are canvassing for votes under other parties in Abia are doing so on a second thought not because they are serious but because they want to be seen as candidates running for election, having failed to secure tickets on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Therefore, Abia State cannot afford to make such a costly mistake as to vote opposition parties not with the contacts and goodwill Governor Orji has established across the nation.

“There is a yawning gap for infrastructural development in every state not only in Abia which is the reason majority of states are subscribing to the party in power at the centre and Abia cannot be an exception.”

2013, were forged.

The plaintiff, Sir Friday Nwanozie Nwosu , who is also a governorship aspirant of the PDP in the state, tendered copies of the alleged forged tax receipts of the 3rd defendant (Ikpeazu) with serial No .0012849 of 31/12/2011 for the sun of N166, 345.20, No. 0012846 of 31/12/2012 for the sum of N166,345.20 and No. 0012847 of 31/12/2013 for the sum of N38, 775.

Cited as 1st to 4th defendants in the suit were the PDP, INEC, Chief Ikpeazu and Dr. Uchechukwu Sampson Ogah(Representing himself and other Abia State PDP gubernatorial aspirants who rejected or challenged the validity or refused to sign the result of the 1st defendant primary election held in Abia State on December 8, 2014).

The plaintiff through his lawyer Mr. Tawo E. Tawo, SAN, is seeking among other reliefs; “A declaration that the 3rd defendant’s Tax Clearance Certificate in Form IT 70, reference No. SPA/HQ/2437 with serial number 095827 of Abia State Board of Internal Revenue dated 04/07/2014, showing the 3rd defendant’s payment of his Income Tax for the years 2011, 2012 and 2013 is a forged certificate within the meaning of s ection 182(1) (j) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended.

“A declaration that the 3rd defendant Income Tax P.A.Y.E. Receipt with serial no. ITR 0012849 of 31-12-2011 issued by Abia State Board of Internal Revenue for the period covering January to December 2011 as contained in the 3rd defendant affidavit of document in the nomination form submitted by him to the 1st and 2nd

defendants is false, within the meaning of the provisions of section 31(6) of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended, taking into account that his letter of appointment dated July 19, 2011 into the relevant Abia State Government Agency with effect from July 18 2011 and the fact that his said income tax for 2011 was said to be paid on the 31/ 12/2011 but later than or after 2012 and 2014 taxes had been paid as shown on the face of the said Tax Clearance Certificate and Tax Receipt for 2011, 2012 and 2013.

FEC approves Nigeria Postal Commission Bill

By Emeka Aginam

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FFORTS at reforming the Nigerian postal sector, especially Nigerian Postal Service, NIPOST, have received a major boost as the Federal Executive Council, FEC, has approved the Nigeria Postal Commission Bill 2014.

Accordingly, the Bill will be forwarded to the Legislature for passage into law.

The passage of the Bill into law is expected to promote the provision of modern universal, efficient and easily accessible postal services.

Speaking on the approval of the Bill , Minister of Communication Technology, Dr Omobola Johnson, described it as: “a timely impetus to push harder and further with the reform of the Nigerian postal sector, and we look to the Legislature to quickly pass this into law.”

According to the Minister, “the passage of the Bill into law will allow for the establishment of an effective, impartial and independent regulatory authority for the postal sector; and this will help to ensure fair competition in the postal industry.” ''Such a move will introduce greater transparency and predictability in the sector and will encourage private investment and development of the broader economy practically every sector of the economy depends on service providers in the postal industry.''

BOTCHED NLC ELECTION: NUPENG blasts Wabba

By Kelechi Azubuike

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IGERIA Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, yesterday, blamed alleged desperation of the President of Medical and Health Workers of Nigeria, MHWUN, Mr. Ayuba Wabba, to assume the presidency of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, at all cost for the botched NLC election last Thursday.

While dismissing claims by Wabba that the Credentials Committee, especially representatives of NUPENG, and the National Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE, were behind the manipulation of the ballot papers that resulted in the duplication of papers for some contestants in the ballot papers booklet, NUPENG insisted that Wabba, was only being economical with the truth as contained in his claims as reported in the print and electronic media, particularly the Channel and NTA Stations on Friday, February 13, 2015.

According to the union, “The only person who could be accused of desperation in the run up to the election is Comrade Ayuba Wabba. He is the one whose tenure of office expired for the past two and half years. He is the one who has manipulated his Union’s Constitution to elongate his stay in office to enable him contest for the Presidency of Congress before conveying his union delegates’ conference. ''He is the one who reneged on the agreement of the Unity Forum on the slating of NLC NAC positions between Public Sector and Private Sector Union after attending and funding the process, whereas, his Union General Secretary was an Exco member of the Unity Forum.”

Briefing reporters in Lagos, NUPENG’s General Secretary, Mr. Isaac Aberare, contended the allegation by Wabba was false and baseless, most uncharitable and the figment of Ayuba imagination, and also a “wicked blackmail.''

Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015 — 17

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18 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015 THERE are only 19 days to the last chance for voters to collect the permanent voter ’s card, PVC. How many Nigerians know if they are eligible voters for the elections? It is doubtful if any Nigerian with certainty can say his name is on the list.

The 2010 Electoral Act, the law that governs elections in Nigeria is specific about the roles of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in the registration of voters and the maintenance of voters’ register. The law invests INEC with the responsibility of updating the voters’ list.

According to Section 17 (1), “The Commission should design, print and control the issuance of voters’ cards and names to appear in the register ”. It also has the additional responsibility of displaying the list, so that excluded names, wrongly included names and misspelt names could be corrected before the elections.

INEC has improved on the registration with the PVC, which would eliminate rigging, if the promises it holds are

By Chuks Iloegbunam Continued from yesterday pg 18

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N this tenuous ground, Soyinka is recommending a “leap of faith” to his fellow countrymen and women! People have a right to be scandalised on this score because, on no account, should an election for the next president of Nigeria be tied to a leap of faith and all the calamitous consequences it could engender.

Soyinka’s introduction of Kérékou is even misapplied because the former Benin Republic leader took a positive step in his time that Buhari has found impossible to appropriate. During the nationally televised 1990 National Conference in Benin Republic, Kérékou spoke to Catholic Archbishop Isidor de Souza of Cotonou, confessing guilt and begging forgiveness for the flaws of his military regime.

Likewise Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings who, in 1992, and when campaigning for the Ghanaian presidency, attended a church service in Accra where he apologised for all the killings that attended his first military dispensation. It was because Kérékou and Rawlings repented that their peoples relented, according them the chance to try their hands at democratic governance. But the gestures of apology, contrition, regret and repentance have never been seen, heard or noticed in Soyinka’s “chastened” Buhari.

To quote Soyinka’s demolition of Candidate Buhari in 2011: “The grounds on which General Buhari is being C M Y K

Are You A Voter? realised. Things have gone awry so often that INEC has kept changing the dates for collectionof the cards, in order to accommodate millions of voters who would have been disenfranchised. How many Nigerians are sure that they would vote next month? How many would have collected the cards at the end of the day?

Little has been done to get the cards to their owners. Those asking people to travel to local government headquarters to collect their PVCs create the impression that local government offices are on the next street.

In some places, a 100km-journey is required to get to local government offices.

Soyinka's

Who would pay for the journeys? How would people know which days INEC officials would be available? In the remaining days, INEC should distribute PVCs at the wards where voters registered.

The importance of voters being on the list by collecting their PVCs is underscored by the fact that it is the only way they can vote in these elections. A registered voter, today, means anyone who has valid PVC. Why is validity important? INEC has admitted that more than one million PVCs have been stolen. Those PVCs should not be valid. INEC has not told voters how to identify valid PVCs. Other important areas of voters’ education that INEC has ignored is storage of the PVC, not just to save them from theft, but to ensure that the almighty card reader would recognise them.

Since they have electronic pieces do they not demand special care to protect the magnetic field? INEC should provide PVCs at the wards, ensure its staff distribute them, educate voters on PVCs, or, INEC’s ineptitude would ruin the elections by disenfranchising millions of Nigerians.

OPINION seismic shift(2)

promoted as the alternative choice are not only shaky, but pitifully naive. History matters. Records are not kept simply to assist the weakness of memory, but to operate as guides to the future. Of course, we know that human beings change. What the claims of personality change or transformation impose on us is a rigorous inspection of the evidence, not wishful speculation or behind-the-scenes assurances. Public offence, crimes against a polity, must be answered in the public space, not in caucuses of bargaining. In Buhari, we have been offered no evidence of the sheerest prospect of change. On the contrary, all evidence suggests that this is one individual who remains convinced that this is one ex-ruler that the nation cannot call to order.”

Yet, Soyinka discarded his recommendation of “rigorous inspection of the evidence” to settle for armchair

There is no justice in a six-year administration judged solely on the basis of an emotive issue on which vested interests have studiously muddied the waters of public opinion

analysis. Soyinka, the writer and teacher, is proposing a leap of faith into Buhari for Nigerians. This development is so startling that any of Soyinka’s “students” will, in a flush of angst, borrow from the title of one of Fela’s compositions and rail thus: Teacher Don’t Teach Me Nonsense! The question of numeracy also comes into it all. Soyinka said he had 60 reasons not to vote for President Jonathan. But he mentioned only one – the kidnap of the Chibok schoolgirls! Did he not realize that he owed his listeners the listing of the remaining 59 reasons? Even on that unfortunate incident, a lot of distortion has obscured facts. For instance, it did not take 10 days to respond to the kidnap. The pursuit of the kidnappers followed almost immediately. What actually took 10 days was the public relations dimension for which blame should, in the main, go to those with the primary responsibility. If the Chibok girls have not been rescued, it is because the proposition is not easy. Not because government is fiddling. After all, the United States and other developed countries descended on Nigeria with all their scientific and technological gear aimed at locating and rescuing the girls without registering any success. Again, it took America all of 10 years to find Osama bin Laden.

There is no justice in a six-year administration judged solely on the basis of an emotive issue on which vested interests have studiously muddied the waters of public opinion. Odia Ofeimun, the poet and former private secretary to

Chief Awolowo, who acknowledges Soyinka as his mentor, supports this assertion. In 2015 and After, an article he widely published in both orthodox and social media on January 25, 2015, Mr. Ofeimun said: “One remarkable paradox about the 2015 General Election is that it ought to be a referendum on whether President Goodluck Jonathan has done well in Agriculture, Aviation, Road construction, Education, Health and especially Ebola, Railways, Electricity, and whether he achieved the purpose of putting constitutional reforms on the agenda of the Nigerian state as most Nigerians have been asking for since the beginning of the Fourth Republic. It is simply true, and provable, that in these areas, Jonathan has done exceedingly better than his illustrious predecessor, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, a very remarkable under-achiever, who has been needling him on all grounds and cooking the mythology that Goodluck Jonathan has no clue.”

It is a sad commentary on the state of Nigerian political discourse that Soyinka and all the radicals with a lower case “r” have turned a blind eye to President Jonathan’s achievements and have rather decided to worship at the expedient altar of opportunism. What remains is this lamentation for Soyinka: The cynosure of all eyes should not dab their face in charcoal…

Concluded •Mr. Iloegbunam, an author, wrote from Lagos.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015— —19

By Sunny Ikhioya

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HAT politics is the branch of social science that deals with the allocation of power to a few individuals, to use as they deem fit, on behalf of the majority of the people is no longer news.

What is baffling is how these few have perfected the art of circulating power amongst themselves. Vilfredo Pareto, the French born Italian philosopher termed it 'the circulation of the elites'. They are found everywhere; in the military and para-military, business, civil service and yes, governance.

Once in a while, people of the lower cadre smuggle or work themselves in there and when they get there, they help to perpetuate the status quo. That is why, in a country like Nigeria, almost everyone who has found himself in position of leadership is from modest background.

These are individuals whose town unions or government have helped to pay their way through schools. Most of them also took over leadership positions from the white men. One begins to wonder why, in spite of their personal experiences and backgrounds, the ordinary folks have been unable to enjoy the benefits of their leadership? The answer is in Pareto's circulation of the elites theory. Simply stated: it implies that the outcome of a group activity is majorly determined by a small few in the group, usually in the ratio of twenty to eighty(20:80) percent. It can be interpreted into various field of

Politicians and their ways human endeavour and studies and, if I am to relate it to the Nigerian political situation, the few controlling the flow of governance are not even up to one percent. And, usually, their interest supersedes all other interests, including that of the nation. That is why, an Olusegun Obasanjo for example, will pick Umaru Yar"Adua and Goodluck Jonathan to become president and vice of the country, despite their initial reluctance to contest for the presidency.

In real life, power is in the hands of these elites. According to Vilfredo Pareto: "Men follow their sentiments and their self interests, but it pleases them to imagine that they follow reason.

And so they look for, and always find some theory which, a posteriori, makes their actions appear to be logical. If that theory could be demolished scientifically, the only result would be that another theory would be substituted for the first one, and for the same purpose".

As a result, in every action of man, there is a logical explanation to it, especially for those in the disciplines of explaining human behaviour.

There is no generally accepted path on how human beings should govern themselves and this has given the politicians excuses to take the people for granted.

They are the same all over the world. Ambrose Bierce says:

By Alex Atawa

I

N the past few weeks, there has been a lot of peace accords along with the attendant media hype. The first of these was the Abuja accord where the leading political parties and their presidential candidates signed an agreement essentially against election violence.

They apparently agreed for themselves and on behalf of their supporters that there will be peace before, during and after the elections whether they win or lose. Of course, there has been criticism about the enforceability of these “peace” agreements.

The current Abuja Accord should be distinguished from the 1995 Abuja Agreement meant to secure peace in Liberia. The current Abuja Accord was signed on January 14, 2015 between various Presidential candidates led by President Goodluck Jonathan of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Gen. Muhammadu Buhari of opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) and is basically an agreement that neither they nor their agents will be involved in postelection violence. The agreement was witnessed by the former Secretary General of Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku and the former Secretary General of the United Nations; Mr. Kofi Annan, and some members of the diplomatic community.

In law, a contract (agreement/Accord) embodies the “meeting of the minds.”

There is also what is called bargained for exchange along with a requisite offer and acceptance. As one who has taught jurisprudence (law) internationally, I am using these principles for purposes of exposition of the fallacy of these purported peace agreements. Let me explain in lay man’s terms; for you and I to enter into contract, our minds must meet. Someone must make an offer and the other person accept. There are many times in a contract when we have what is known as third-party beneficiaries. In the case of these agreements, the Nigerian people will be considered third-party beneficiaries.

This begs the questions what can the C M Y K

"Politics: A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conductor of public affairs for private advantage". Still in this line, Wiston Churchill says: "Politics is not a game, it is an earnest business". I am referring to all of these quotes, to bring the reader's attention to the behavioural patterns of politicians, as one who should not be trusted. For example Dung Larson says:"instead of giving a

It is not in the nature of politics that the best man should be elected.

The best men do not want to govern their fellow man".

You can now see why in this election campaigns, none of them is telling us how they intend to carry out the change we so much desire

politician the keys to the city, it might be better to change the locks". Even the Ronald Reagan said this of politics: "It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first".

Another quote credited to Aesop, has this to say: "We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office".

If we understand the ways of politicians, we would not be fighting ourselves unnecessarily. According to Cal Thomas: "one of the reasons people hate politics is that truth is rarely a politician's objective, election and power are".

When one examine closely the spate of accusations and counter accusations from the PDP and APC, one demands an explanation for all the trouble?

But there' is none forthcoming.

This is what Ross Perot, former United States independent presidential candidate has to say: "War has rules, mud wrestling has rules- Politics has no rules", and Bernard Barunch goes further: " Vote for the man who promises least; he will be least disappointing".

Now this from George Mcdonald: " it is not in the nature of politics that the best man should be elected. The best men do not want to govern their fellow man".

You can now see why in this election campaigns, none of them is telling us how they intend to

carry out the change we so much desire. In this moment of drop in the federation's revenue, insecurity, impositions and oppression of all types, they are not telling us how they will execute these changes.

That is why none of them is addressing the restructuring of the federation to reflect its true position, because they are afraid, they will hurt some people's feelings. That is why they are not addressing the imposition of democratic structures that will make the people live true to standards. Institutionalised structures, not person focussed structures but enduring structures that will outlive all of us and our great grand children after us.

That is the way of the politicians, they fear to take the right actions because it will affect their electoral fortunes. That is why Gore Vidal says: "By the time a man gets to be president material, he's been bought ten times over". That is why extreme conservatives and progressives are now one. To quote Mark Twain "Principles have no real force except when one is well fed".

But are grateful to God, there are very few exceptions. Charles de Gaulle said: "In politics, it is necessary either to betray one's country or the electorate. I prefer to betray the electorate".

When shall we have our own De Gaulle? *Mr. Ikhioya, a commentator on national issues, wrote from Lagos.

Politricks: Aburi, Abuja, Accords et al Nigerian masses do if the agreement is broken. Can we go to court to enforce our benefits (rights) arising from the peace contracts?

In Nigeria, we like to come up with new documents, which is part of our love for activities. Our laws are replete with penalties for violence, election or otherwise. Further toothless agreements are unnecessary showmanship that are essentially tantamount to playing to the gallery.

It behooves our security forces and courts to enforce these laws, no matter who are the perpetrators. However, the reality on ground is that those who engage in election violence always go unpunished. The culprits responsible for the Suleja 2011 bombing that killed Youth Corpers who were just checking their names on the billboards have yet to be apprehended or prosecuted. The sponsors of post-election violence, especially in the North are still walking around free and some are even contesting again.

Those who have made provocative statements that incited the masses to violence in 2011 have not even been arrested. Whether guilty or innocent, the system has not even kicked in to allow it to work. Inflammatory statements about

What recourse do we have if politicians violate the Abuja accord and the other peace agreements entered in various states such as Delta and Ekiti?

Do we just take the words of politicians?

making the country ungovernable or bloods of dogs and baboons are actionable statements. Can you imagine what message we will be sending if we arrest those persons and prosecute them in a court of law? People will clearly understand that no one is above the law.

However, the hypocrisy in the system will show itself when people start claiming that the prosecution is a political witch hunt.

The Abuja accord is another example of paper tigers or toothless bulldogs. A facade meant to obfuscate the reality on ground, which is that many politicians see elections as a do-or-die affair because they don’t have any other comparable source of income and are not vying for office to serve the masses but rather for their own personal enrichment.

The Abuja accord reminds me of another accord between another northerner and a South-easterner some years back. Aburi Accord, named after the venue in Accra Ghana, was meant to salvage an impending war in Nigeria. It was held from January 4-5, 1967 with over fifteen delegates including Chairman of the Ghana National Liberation Council -Lt.General J.A. Ankrah-Chairman; Lt.-Col. Yakubu Gowon- Head of State of Nigeria; late Lt.-Col. Odumegwu Ojukwu Governor Eastern Region; Major Mobolaji Johnson - Governor Lagos State; Lt.-Col. Hassan Katsina - Governor Northern Region; Lt.-Col. David Ejoor - Governor Mid-Western Region; Commodore Joseph Edet Akinwale Wey - Vice President of Nigeria; and Colonel Robert Adebayo Governor Western Region.

The Aburi accord was opened with a declaration to renounce the use of force as a means of settling the Nigerian crisis which saw the population of over 56 million (then) at the brink of war.

The Aburi accord had at least three portions: (1) the legislative and executive authority of the Federal Military Government should remain in the Supreme Military Council, to which any

decision affecting the whole country shall be referred for determination provided that where it is possible for a meeting to be held the matter requiring determination must be referred to military governors for their comment and concurrence; (2) appointments to senior ranks in the police, diplomatic, and consular services as well as appointment to super scale posts in the federal civil service and the equivalent posts in the statutory corporation must be approved by the Supreme Military Council; and (3) all the decrees passed since January 15, 1966, and which detracted from previous powers and positions of regional governments, should be repealed if mutual confidence is to be restored.

General Gowon enacted Decree No. 8 which essentially codified the Aburi accord. There were disagreements about its interpretation. Ostensibly, the Aburi conference between the Federal Republic of Nigeria delegates led by Gen. Gowon and Eastern Nigerian delegates led by the late Chief Ojukwu, ended up being meaningless as the Federal government allegedly violated the agreement. In legal parlance, Nigeria breached it and the Biafrans had no choice but to go to war.

We all know what happened in the bloody civil and the resultant physical, emotional and psychological damages. In fact, arguably some of the leadership problems and federalism issues today could have been solved if the Aburi accord was adhered to by Gowon and his cotravellers What recourse do we have if politicians violate the Abuja accord and the other peace agreements entered in various states such as Delta and Ekiti? Do we just take the words of politicians? Are we spoiling for war and is there any legal teeth to agreement that will allow us to sue them in civil court or prosecute them in criminal court?

•Rev. Atawa, a public affairs analyst, wrote from Asaba, Delta State.

20 — Vanguard, TUESDAY TUESDAY,, FEBRUARY 17, 2015

Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015 —21

VISIT: Chief Operating Officer of Global Mandate Consulting, Daisy Ekineh (left) and Acting Director General of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Nigeria, Mr. Mounir Gwarzo during a visit in Abuja.

KPMG seeks review of FRC’s unified corporate governance code

By Ediri Ejoh

K

PMG professional Services has called on stakeholders and audit committee members of public companies to form a coalition against the Financial Reporting Council’s, FRC, proposed unification of corporate governance code, and make sure it does not come into effect pending the amendment of some guidelines that violate efficiency in the capital market.

The FRC is proposing a unified mandatory corporate governance code for quoted companies and others in the capital market. Speaking at the KPMG/Ni-

$163.00

-1.55

$2,921.00

-34.00

$14.87

-0.17

$61.41

2.13

$52.65

1.57

CURRENCY

BUYING

DOLLAR POUNDS EURO FRANC YEN CFA WAUA RENMINBI RIYAL KRONA SDR

167 256.2629 190.6305 179. 6472 1.4047 0.2698 235.2813 26. 7589 44.5072 25.6033 236.3885

CENTRAL 167.5 257.7323 191. 2013 180. 185 1.4089 0.2798 235.9868 26. 8395 44.6405 25.7699 237. 6963

168 258.5016 191.772 180.7229 1.4131 0.2898 236.6902 26.9201 44.7737 25.7566 237.804

CBN Exchange Rate as at 15/2/15

C M Y K

geria Shareholders’ Solidarity Association, NSSA, annual seminar for audit committee members in Lagos, Partner, Audit Services, KPMG, Mr. Goodluck Obi, stated that despite the intention of the FRC to issue a unified mandatory code of corporate governance, it possesses some toxic clause in the uniformity it proposed. According to him, the mandatory five year rotation of auditors

with a five years cooling off period, may increase the ability of companies to conceal fraud or misstatements from auditors who will continue to be in perpetuity.

He said: “This could lead to sustained diminution in audit quality and the consequent negative implications for investor protection.The three years rotation of audit engagement partners, from five

years as practiced by developed countries will put undue pressure on audit firms and erode experience and sector specialisation. ”Also, the idea of no direct reciprocal change of the same firms of auditors taking the form of two audit firms succeeding each other as opposites in audits from which they have just mandatorily retired, would restrict the freedom of audit committees, boards and shareholders to determine which audit firm best meets their requirements from an open, competitive field.”

He argued that joint auditing is not new but making it mandatory is new and should be discouraged, adding that companies and shareholders should be free to decide on the number of auditors that they deem fit as it may not improve quality of a company’s portfolio. ”The ideal of capacity building/ training of smaller firms should not be at the expense of the client/shareholders, as there is no guarantee of improving auditor reporting and audit quality with joint audits. ”Joint audits are unlikely to lead to new employment opportunities for chartered accountants,” he maintained.

Moreso, he stated that the implications of a mandatory joint audit is the usurpation of the right CAMA gives to companies to appoint their own auditor or auditors, reduce audit efficiency, leading to increased audit cost.

He called for transparency whereby a standard setting body should publicise its contact information and encourage stakeholders to communicate at every stage of the process, involving consultation, and ensure accountability, stating that a closed group discussion cannot be used as a consultation platform for a code that has far reaching effects on the economy.

Punit Renjen named Deloitte Global’s new CEO DELOITTE U.S. member firm Chairman of the Board, has been selected as Deloitte Global’s new chief executive officer. Renjen will assume the new role on 1 June 2015, the start of Deloitte Global’s new fiscal year.

The Deloitte network is composed of 47 member firms, operating in 150 countries, and employing more than 210,000 people worldwide.

“I am honoured to have been elected as Deloitte Global’s next CEO. It is a privilege to be part of an organisation that delivers high quality services and innovative solutions to the best clients, develops the most talented professionals into leaders and does its part to improve the societies in which we operate,” said Renjen.

“We are an organisation led by a purpose – to make a positive, meaningful impact that matters to everyone Deloitte touches. I will do my best to serve the network by helping enable our leaders and people to fulfill their passion to make a difference.”

Renjen succeeds Barry Salzberg, who will retire from Deloitte Global at

the end of its fiscal year (31 May 2015) and become a member of the full time faculty of Columbia Business School as a professor of professional practice.

Salzberg also plans to serve on public company boards. Renjen’s leadership appointment is part of a rigorous and comprehensive nomination and member firm partner ratification process that occurs every four years and includes all member firms of the Deloitte worldwide network.

“I can think of no one better to lead Deloitte Global. Punit’s experience as chairman of our U.S. firm—the largest

I am excited to work with Punit as we continue to make significant investments to transform member firm services

and most complex in our network— combined with his 28-year career with Deloitte and strong core values— make Punit the perfect choice to lead Deloitte Global,” said Barry Salzberg, Deloitte Global CEO. Renjen will remain with the Deloitte U.S. firm until he transitions to the role of Deloitte Global CEO. “Beyond serving as a leader in the U.S. member firm, Punit brings unique perspectives on the global business environment, having a true multicultural career journey,” said Steve Almond, Chairman.

“I am excited to work with Punit as we continue to make significant investments to transform member firm services, including audit, to deliver high quality, meaningful results for clients and raise the bar for the entire profession.”

Prior to his role, a U.S. Chairman, Renjen served as Chairman and CEO of Deloitte Consulting LLP in the U.S. During his tenure as U.S. Consulting CEO, the consulting practice experienced tremendous growth despite an ongoing recession, helping Deloitte Consulting LLP become one of the largest consulting providers according to leading analysts’

22 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015

You need to understand that there is nothing like ‘Get Rich Quick’. When you study the lives of people celebrated today as the richest people in the world, you would realize that none of them achieved it overnight or even in a year.

,

TOP 10 PERFORMING STOCKS

BY NKIRUKA NNOROM

O

n the top 10 performing stocks were the shares of Airline Services and Logistics, ASL Plc, Seplat Petroleum Development Company plc, Cadbury Nig. Plc, Okomu Oil Palm Co. Plc, Cement Company of Northern Nigeria, CCNN Plc and Vitafoam Nig. Plc. Others were Eterna Plc, Julius Berger Nig. Plc, Red Star Express plc and R.T Briscoe Plc. The biggest iinflightcatering services provider in Nigeria, ASL took the lead among other top performing stocks, notching up by 19.30 percent or N0.33 to close at N2.04 from N1.71 it started the week at. The company recently kicked off operation in Rwanda in line with its earlier plan as a result of increasing competition from foreign entrants into the Nigerian inflight catering business. It also planned to expand to other East African countries.

The company also has plans to expand its business into oil and gas catering. In line with this, ASL stated that it has entered into a joint venture agreement with third parties to set up ASL Rwanda and ASL Oil & Gas Logistics Limited as a special purpose vehicle for the Rwandan operations. The full year financial results of the company for December 2013 showed that year-onyear its revenues fell by 8.63 per cent from N3.83 billion to N3.50 billion. This along with an increase in selling, general and administrative costs contributed to a reduction in net income from N492.41 million in 2012 to N144.84 million in 2013, a 70.59 percent decrease. Year on year, both dividends per share and earnings per share excluding extraordinary items growth dropped 52.00 percent and 70.55 percent, respectively. ASL works for major airlines such as Emirates, Qatar, Lufthansa, South African or British Airways.

T h e company serves 1 . 5 millions meals annually and provides services such as Lounge and Restaurants operations, but

also manages Duty Free outlets.

A newly listed oil exploration and producing company, Seplat ranked second with 15.30 percent or N51.10 price increase to close at N385.00 from N333.90 per share.

Since its listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, on April 2014, the stock has been beaten by dwindling market fortune, though it was held in certain quarters as at the time of its listing that the listing price was unusually high. At the last count, its share price has slumped by 33.16 percent falling from the listing price of N576.00 per share to the current market price. However, the company has a number of positives to its credit. In less than one year of its entry to the Exchange, it was included in the NSE 30 Index after the review of the Index on January, an indication of the liquidity of the share. The NSE 30 Index comprises top 30 companies on the NSE and are picked based on their market capitalization from the most liquid sectors. An attempt by the company to combine its business with a London S t o c k Exchange l i s t e d independent oil exploration and production company, Afren Plc, hit the rock last week as Afren has said that they have ended talks on the matter after Seplat requested for an extension of timetable to make an offer. Afren, which has most of its oilfields in Nigeria, said it had not received any proposal from Seplat that it believed could be implemented on satisfactory terms. In a notice to the NSE, Seplat confirmed that it did not intend to make an offer.

Cadbury Nig Plc followed with 10.21 percent or N3.98 appreciation, closing at n42.98 from N39.00 per share.

Cadbury is among 10 other companies commended by the Exchange for filing its 2013 year end result two weeks ahead of the stipulated timeline.

Following disappointing revenue reported by Cadbury Nigeria Plc for its half year to June 2014, analysts at Renaissance Capital lowered their Cadbury Nigeria Plc FY14 headline earnings per share (HEPS) forecast from N3.21 to N1.75, a 45 percent decline.

,

INVESTORS

Don’t invest in ‘get rich quick’ schemes

By Babajide Komolafe

T

here are people that know they need to invest but they are afraid of losing money. The fear is fuelled by stories of friends, relatives or colleagues who had lost money in one investment or the other. But there are also stories of people who invested and did not lose money. To achieve this, all you

need to do is observe the five basic laws of money.

Three of the laws reveal what to do or not do to avoid losing money in investment. The last two editions focused on two of these three laws i.e. Money stays with those who entrust it to wise people; Money is lost when invested in things you are not familiar with.

According to the third law, Money is lost at a fast rate when invested in ‘Get Rich

Quick’ Schemes. Why? You need to understand that there is nothing like ‘Get Rich Quick’. When you study the lives of people celebrated today as the richest people in the world, you would realize that none of them achieved it overnight or even in a year.

For example, it took our own Alhaji Aliko Dangote, 30 years of hard work in the challenging world of business before he became the richest man in Africa. The reality is

MARKET NEWS

SEC okays new rules on complaints management

By Peter Egwuatu & Nkiruka Nnorom

A

s part of the new complaints management framework in the Nigerian capital market, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved new rules on complaints management.

The new rules recognize registered industry trade groups and self regulatory organizations (SROs) as important parts of the new framework.

Consequently, the commission has directed market operators to register as members of their respective industry trade groups, stating “henceforth investor complaints shall be handled at the trade group level. Only complaints that remain unresolved at the trade group or Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO) level shall reach the Commission for resolution.”

Meanwhile, the commission had earlier proposed rules on

unclaimed dividends to paying companies. The proposed rule 108(b)(1-11) is hereby proposed to read as follows:-Title : “Return of Dividends Unclaimed”.

According to the SEC “ All unclaimed dividends in the custody of the Registrars shall be returned to the paying company 12 months

after the date of approval of dividends at a general meeting (for final dividends) or a board meeting (for interim dividends) and evidence of remittance forwarded to the commission ) within 24 hours”.

The new rules contained as follow: (2) “Where dividends are returned to the company unclaimed, the company may invest the unclaimed dividend for its own benefit in a guaranteed income

VISIT: From left: Managing Director, Bank of Industry Ltd; Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa; Business Development Officer, Global Business Development Division -Africa, Export-Import Bank of United States, Mr. Benjamin Todd and Group Head ,Treasury Division, Bank of Industry, Taye Emagha during a courtesy visit to Bank of Industry head office, in Lagos by Bank of United States.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015 — 23

that besides those who inherited their wealth, none of the top richest people in the world achieved it in a jiffy or through jackpot. Until you acknowledge this fact, you are not ready to be rich.

Secondly, what is referred to as ‘Get Rich Quick’ schemes are actually ‘Lose Money Quick’ schemes. They are designed by dubious and fraudulent people to rob people of their hard earned money. To achieve this, the schemes are designed to exploit the natural desire inherent in man for quick and huge returns. So they offer mouth watering returns or profit within a very short period. For example, banks

To avoid a similar fate, you must beware of any scheme, business or investment that offers huge returns within a short period

investment outside the company and no interest shall accrue on the dividends against the company”. (3) Unclaimed dividend shall not be used by the company for its own business except in accordance with provisions of Companies and Allied Matters Act, CAMA. (4) “The company may retain a minimum of 5 per cent of the unclaimed dividends in cash or nearcash for the purpose of remittance to the Registrars upon request for payment”. (5)”All accrued interests from the failure of Registrars to remit the unclaimed dividends within the time limit prescribed in these Rules and Regulations shall be remitted

The commission has directed market operators to register as members of their respective industry trade groups, stating “henceforth investor complaints shall be handled at the trade group level

offer interest rate to attract deposits from customers and the interest is usually paid at the end of the term of the deposit. However, in the late 1990s when there was proliferation of banks and finance companies, some of them started offering mouth watering interest rates like 30 percent, and they offer to pay the interest upfront. Many people where attracted, not knowing that the financial institutions offering such interest were not well managed and had became distressed. The result was that the money deposited in such institutions was trapped when the authorities withdrew their license.

To avoid a similar fate, you must beware of any scheme, business or investment that offers huge returns within a short period. It does not matter how many people are patronizing such scheme or their testimony. If it offers what is far above what other similar businesses or investment is offering and it offers to deliver it within a short period of time, run away from it. The huge, quick return is actually a bait to make you lose your money faster than you can ever imagine.

along with the unclaimed dividend to the paying company”. (6) The accrued interest shall be calculated at a rate not below CBN treasury bills (TB) + five percent.

(7) “Failure to remit unclaimed dividends to the paying company by the Registrar as stated above shall attract a penalty of N5 million and an additional sum of N100, 000 for every day such contravention persists”. (8) “The responsibility of paying dividends to a shareholder after the dividends have been returned to the company shall lie with the Registrar ”. (9) “Paying companies shall remit the portion of unclaimed dividends claimed by a shareholder(s) to the Registrar within 48 hours of receiving a request/claim for payment”. (10) “Failure by the paying companies to comply with the above provision shall attract a penalty of N1 million in the first instance and N100, 000 for every day such contravention persists”. (11) “Failure by the Registrars to comply with the above provision will attract a penalty of N2 million in the first instance and N500, 000 for every day such contravention persists.”

,

S FORUM

Secondly, what is referred to as ‘Get Rich Quick’ schemes are actually ‘Lose Money Quick’ schemes. They are designed by dubious and fraudulent people to rob people of their hard earned money

,

INVESTORS SPEAK

Shareholders condemn SEC over dividend rulings (1) SEC has come up with a new rule that dividend would be returned to the company to start up a new business outside its original business after one year of release without claim from shareholders. In this interview, shareholders disapprove of such rule. They argue that companies do not release the dividend warrant until after four months and that the dividend warrant would also go through other processes, therefore the directive cannot work unless the Companies and Allied Matters Act is ammended. reconciliation between the registrar of the company and the company secretary.

Quarterly, they can agree or look at how much is left that is not yet received by the shareholders. So you cannot use shareholders' money that has not fallen into status bar and that is still within their own collection. It may be because of one logistics problem or the other that it was not given to them or posted. It may also be that the address has been changed or some have smaller units and do not have current account.

We have advocated for a longtime that they should allow savings account to contain dividend warrant, which SEC should also

BY PROVIDENC OBUH liaise with CBN to effect that and stop the foot dragging. All along what they have been Mr Boniface Okezie: President at contemplating is to establish a Trust Fund, Progressive Shareholders which we fought them headlong and since Association of Nigeria, that time they have soft-pedalled. They want hat directive cannot work unless the every means to establish that and we CAMA is amended. This is because if you wouldn’t allow it because that is another way are going by status bar which is already of stealing people’s money. in existence, that says after If that money returns to 12 years the money the company and the returns back to the shareholders come forth They should look company unclaimed. So because it is not declared at the problem of anything that is still bar, they will start unclaimed dividend status remaining within a year asking people to write letter cannot be termed and the causes to the registrar and the unclaimed because they registrar will say "we don’t before talking are running concurrently have money, we will write about one year and it belongs to the the company to forward the shareholders would shareholders, so you money back to us." If they cannot return that money not be entitled to return the money back to the until it falls in line with company what happens? their money the status bar. As long as Has it been declared status there is no status bar there bar that the company will is no way they can return take over the money or the that money to the company. shareholder would not have access to that What the company should do is that, that money again? Is that what they are telling money should reside with the registrar of us? We must devise a means to ensure that that company and there must be a of shareholders get their money on time.

T

Mrs. Bisi Bakare: Pragmatic Shareholders Association of Nigeria:

S

EC should go back to the drawing the board and know the essence of their establishment. This is because they have already diverted from their original business, I don’t know why their problem is now the shareholders in the sense that when they are saying one year. How could that be possible when some shareholders would not receive their dividend after the dividend might have expired within six months of release?

Some companies may not even post the dividend until after four months and thereafter the post office too will delay on their part. In fact, I have some dividend that I just received from my post office and I have to take it back to the registrar to backdate because it has already expired.

So what are we talking about? They should look at the problem of unclaimed

dividend and the causes before talking about one year, shareholders would not be entitled to their money. Are they the ones that invested the money or is it the company?

But no, it is the individual's investment. So why are they discouraging people more and more with this idea they want to bring? SEC is very wrong and I tag them “busy body” because they don’t know their left from right.

24 — Vanguard, TUESDAY,

FEBRUARY 17, 2015

FALLING CRUDE PRICE:

Nigeria’s growth rate projected at 5%

By Michael Eboh

E

CONOMIC experts have projected an average growth of five per cent for Nigeria in 2015, warning that the country will begin to feel the full impact of the decline in oil prices within the next couple of months.

Analysts at Dunn Loren Merrifield, in their Economic Review and Outlook, titled, ‘Growth encircled by vulnerabilities,’ said, “We highlight that dwindling oil prices coupled with lower oil production volumes and its attendant impact on macroeconomic indicators remain significant risk to growth in the near term.”

They further projected an average inflation rate of about 10.5 per cent to 11 per cent for 2015, driven by pressures arising from the increase in electricity tariff expected to take off from June 2015 and the devaluation of the naira, among others.

They, however, expressed confidence that the reforms in the power sector will impact positively on inflation in the country, as a relatively stable power supply will help bring down the cost of doing business.

They said, “Though inflation rate remained within the single digit band in 2014, we expect renewed inflationary pressures particularly from January 2015, in reaction to the devaluation of the naira to

N168 from N155 considering the fact that Nigeria largely remains an import dependent economy.

“Pressures arising from the increase in electricity tariff expected to kick in from June 2015 and the import duty on imported cars is also expected to push inflation higher in the current year.

“In view of the aforementioned, we project an average inflation rate of about 10.5 per cent to 11.0 per cent for 2015.

“In the medium to long term, we are optimistic that the multiplier effects of the on-going power reforms will also contribute in easing inflationary

E

LECTRICITY consumers’ lamentation over estimated billing may not end soon if the reasons adduced by generating GENCOs, and distribution, DISCOs, companies for shunning meters are followed to the letter.

In an interaction with journalists, the Chairman of Egbin Power Plc, Mr. Kola Adesina, said that no operator can install meter that cannot evaluate the use of electricity by consumers.

He said, “As regards metering, the model that most people are suggesting has failed. You don’t just install meter that cannot speak to the

$65-$70 in 2015, we also do not discount the possibility that global oil prices could continue to decline beyond these levels.

“We are of the view that oil prices would likely hover around current levels till the latter part of the second quarter of 2015. Consequently, we believe Nigeria, as a matter of urgency needs to successfully develop its non-oil sector and generate revenues from alternative sources. We are optimistic that non-oil revenue has immense potentials to increase in the near term,” they explained.

WORKSHOP: From left: Mr Frank Campbell, President, Electrical Sector, Europe Middle East and Africa Region, Eaton Global Power Management Company; Mr Charles Iyo, Regional Sales Manager, West Africa, Eaton Electrical Sector; Mrs Sola Oworu, Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry; Mr Kurt McMaken, President, Europe, Middle East and Africa Region, Eaton Company, and Mr Shane Kilfoil, Managing Director, for Africa, Eaton Electrical Sector Company, during the opening of Eaton Techn Day, at Eko Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos PHOTO: Kehinde Gbadamosi “The moment it starts to use something higher, it means you are no longer a residential user, you are various infrastructure relevant to precisely determine in our nowanindustrialorcommercialuser for monitoring and evaluating own office, sitting down in our and you must be able to pay the how electricity is taken and how control room that house appropriate tariff for the quantum of it is being used by the number A is meant to use X electricity you are using,” he said.

He also said that the aim is to get consumers. As it is, we have a quantum of electricity, it is the exact voltage that gets to every lot of free riders in the system, using X quantum. customer. free riders that will naturally “Theessenceofwhatwearedoing connect to the pole, use is to have an integrated approach, electricity and not pay for them.”

Our view is whereby we can capture the Adesina explained that the underpinned by electricity that comes from the concern of the GENCOs and transmissioncompanyandelectricity DISCOs at the moment is to know the fact that thatgoesouttoeachofthecustomers. the quantum of electricity that inflation in All these will be embedded in the comes from the transformers and metering programme we are the number of homes connected Nigeria is installing,” he added. with electricity. largely driven by TheNigerianElectricityRegulatory “What we are doing currently is Commission, NERC, had a couple at each point of the transformers cost-push factors of days ago, given DISCOs two before the homes; we want to rather than weeks within which to provide measure precisely the quantum electricity consumers whose meters of electricity that comes out of the demand pull are yet to be delivered months after transformer and the number of factors paying for the products. homes it is going into. At the end of the day we would to be able

Why DISCOs shun metering

By Sebastine Obasi

threats and reducing the cost of doing business. Our view is underpinned by the fact that inflation in Nigeria is largely driven by cost-push factors rather than demand pull factors.”

The analysts stated that oil revenue available for the federal government’s budget in 2015 is estimated at N1.92 trillion, compared with N2.11 trillion in 2014, whilst the nonoil revenue is expected to account for N1.68 trillion compared with N1.61 trillion in 2014.

According to them, although prices are expected to average

NNPC targets 90% refining capacity by Q2 20 16 201

By Michael Eboh & Grace Udofia

T

HE Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, has declared that the refining capacity of all the refineries in the country will grow to about 90 per cent by April 2016. But it did not say what capacities they are working on currently.

Speaking in an interview in Abuja, Group Executive Director, Refining and Petrochemicals, NNPC, Mr. Ian Udoh, explained that the corporation had since last October, engaged the services of local engineers to undertake comprehensive repairs and maintenance of the Kaduna, Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.

He added that the contract was expected to last for 18 months, terminating in April.

2016.

He said, “The project started since last October, so we are looking at another 14 to 15 months or early next year. After then, the refineries should be in a good shape.

“However, it is not going to be a sudden jump in production, it would be gradual. We have ordered a lot of materials, as the materials come we install them using our local resources.

“It is an ongoing process that will allow the reliability of the refineries to continue improving across the period, because most of our problems have to do with reliability of the plant. We can start all of them now, but from time to time, one equipment will fail or some other faults will occur, and we have to shut down to repair.

“The frequency of shutting down to repair is rather high, but we expect that to gradually diminish until we have 90 per cent capacity by early next year, given the 18 months schedule that we have set.”

Udoh further explained that the decision of the NNPC to engage local engineers for the repairs and maintenance of the refineries was due to the reluctance of the original builders of the refineries to come down to Nigeria, coupled by the huge amount of about $1.6 billion the original builders and their partners are asking for.

He said the NNPC had to resort to the use of local contractors due to the high cost. .............................................................................................................

Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015 — 25

Word Bank lauches solar scheme for powering Africa

T

HE World Bank Group said it has launched a “Scaling Solar” scheme at the recent Powering Africa Summit in Washington DC, to help create a viable market for solar power projects in Africa and increase supply of energy for millions across the continent.

The summit saw a gathering of African ministries, utility companies and the international power community to discuss progress and initiatives to increase access to energy across Africa.

The Group said in a statement that Scaling Solar aims at creating a viable market for private solar power projects in Africa that will help governments increase the supply of energy for millions of residential and commercial consumers across the continent.

It added that the project will reduce the development time and uncertainty for bidders and investors, while lowering tariffs for utilities, which ultimately benefits consumers.

“The World Bank Group is committed to promoting sustainable universal access to modern energy in Africa, and Scaling Solar is a key step towards attaining this goal” IFC Vice President for Global Client Services, Mr. Jean Philippe Prosper, said.

“By quickly delivering affordable electricity to previously unreached populations, significant progress can be made on other development goals.”

Africa has some of the world’s most abundant solar resources, yet more than a third of the population lives without electricity.

Petrol marketers induce fuel scarcity

By Sebastine Obasi & Ediri Ejoh

T

HERE are indications that petrol marketers are out to inflict hardship on Nigerians by hoarding the product six weeks to the general elections.

This may not be unconnected with the apparent cold war between marketers and the management of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA. Some of the marketers had accused the PPPRA of corruption and lack of transparency by removing the pricing template on its website against international best practices established

by Platts and other organisations that publish oil prices.

When Vanguard visited Forte Oil Filling Station at Abule Ado area of Lagos, long queues of buyers were seen waiting for the product, while the

attendants were reluctant to attend to them.

Similar scenario played out at the Oando Station at Festac Town where the product was not sold. Also, at the Forte Oil Station opposite Berger Yard, sales were made from only one point, with the attendants creating the impression that the product is scarce.

When contacted, one of the male attendants who chose to be anonymous told Vanguard that they are not sure of the next supply which they have been waiting for in the last two days.

While the Forte Oil Station at Second Rainbow Bus Stop, close to Mile 2 remained close, the Fatgbems Station had long queues, while dispensing petrol from two out of the six pumps. A male attendant, who refused to identify himself, said they had orders to sell only from two pumps.

Recall that some of the marketers had accused PPPRA of dragging the country back to the “dark days of unbridled

corruption in the payment of subsidy to marketers.”

“The prices of products are not supposed to be official secret if PPPRA has nothing to hide. The International Air Transport Association, IATA, publishes Jet Fuel Monitor, showing the price of jet fuel worldwide. The Jet Fuel Price provides the latest price data from Platts, showing the global average price.

“Platts also publishes oil prices, which are available on subscription. But our own PPPRA, which is saddled with the responsibility of managing PSF established with public fund, is hiding the prices of petroleum products from Nigerians. Subsidy is paid with taxpayer’s money, so why are they hiding the price of products and how the money is administered? They want to create an avenue for corruption to thrive,” said one of the marketers, who p l e a d e d anonymity.

Calls put to Mr. Lanre Oladele, Head, Public Affairs of PPPRA for his reaction was not returned, and neither did he reply the text message sent also to him.

Honeywell launches synlube 5w40

I

N line with emerging trends in the global lubricant industry, a downstream oil player in Nigeria Hon eywell Oil & Gas Limited, has unveiled its full synthetic engine oil, Honeywell Synlube 5W-40.

The unveiling which was in Lagos last week NNPC Forensic Audit Report: From right, Group Managing Director NNPC Dr. Joseph Dawha addressing newsmen on was well attended by regulatory and government agencies, auto-service centres/garages, auto- the PWC Forensic Audit Report, says “No Money is missing“ while Deputy Group Managing Director and Group Executive mechanics association, vehicle manufacturing Director Finance and Account NNPC Bernard Otti looks on. Photo by Gbemiga Olamikan. firms and sectoral groupings.

The product, according to the company, has been developed for all modern turbocharged, high output gasoline and diesel engines of passenger cars, SUVs, light vans and trucks.

“Our vision is to establish Eaton as Also speaking, the Managing Director,

By Sebastine Obasi Honeywell Synlube 5W-40 is designed to one of the premier power Africa Electrical Sector, Mr. Shane Kilfoil, deliver extended drain interval whilst adequately management companies in the said that Eaton will leverage its expertise ATON, a United States power protecting the vehicle engine . It minimises region providing customized, and capabilities in Africa through its management company said it is deposits in the engine and turbo charger thereby innovative solutions that enable our manufacturing facilities in South Africa, out to drive energy growth in ensuring that the engine produces its rated power Nigerian and West African customers Morocco and Tunisia. It will also depend Nigeria’s emerging economy. and torque. to use electrical, fluid and mechanical on its extensive distributor network to The company’s West Africa Sales In his address, the Chairman Honeywell power more reliably, efficiently, safely support the US Government’s Power Manager, Electrical Sector Mr. Group, Dr Oba Otudeko, represented by Dr and sustainably. ” Africa initiative in Nigeria, Ghana, Charles Iyo, stated this at its Teddy Ngu, Honeywell Group’s Head Corporate Liberia, Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia.

Development & Investment said Honeywell Oil inaugural West Africa Technology “The West Africa Technology Day & Gas started out in the late 1990s as Esso’s Day, held in Lagos to showcase the The prices of products represents another key milestone in company’s solutions.

These solutions licensee producing, marketing and distributing Eaton’s 78 year history in Africa. are not supposed to be cover five industry segments Oil and lubricants using Esso’s licence.

Technology Days are one of the most “However after the acquisition of Esso by Mobil Gas, Data Centre and IT, Mining, official secret if important platforms Eaton uses to raise (now ExxonMobil), it became imperative that Electrical Utilities, Solar and Wind.

PPPRA has nothing to market awareness of the company’s He said that the economic growth the relationship with our esteemed industrial and extensive power management of Nigeria depended on developing hide.

The retail clientele hitherto established with the Esso capabilities and we are delighted to host technologies that will solve the brand moved a step further”, he explained .

International Air it here in Lagos where we can showcase Ngu said Honeywell then set up its state-of- country’s power challenges.

Transport Association, our innovative solutions to our customers According to him, “The emergence the-art lubricant blending plant in Lagos and from Nigeria and Western Africa. of Nigeria as an economic powerIATA, publishes Jet has from then been blending with recipes that “We are tremendously excited about the conform to international standards and best house is dependent on developing Fuel Monitor, showing opportunities that lie ahead in this practice-turningoutthousandsoftonsofpremium innovative technologies to solve our dynamic and fast growing market,” he toughest power the price of jet fuel grade lubricants into the Nigerian and West country ’s said. management challenges.

African markets. worldwide

Eaton vows to drive energy growth in Nigeria E

26 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015

Nigerian content: Egina attracts $1bn investment — Nwapa T

HE Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, said that over $1bn has been invested in the Nigerian oil and gas industry to create capacity and execute Nigerian Content scopes provided on the Egina deep water project.

The Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Mr. Ernest Nwapa, was quoted as saying in a statement last week that the TOTAL Exploration and Production Egina’s $15billionn deep water project is the first major oil and gas project to be started under the Nigerian Content Act. The project is said to include an FPSO unit, an oil offloading terminal and subsea production systems such as risers, 52kilometre, km, of oil and water injection flowlines, 12 flexible jumpers, 20km of gas export pipelines, 80km of umbilicals and subsea manifolds.

Nwapa was quoted as saying this in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, when he commissioned the Saipem’s new double/ quadruple joint plant, adding that about $60million investment was made towards delivering Saipem’s Nigerian Content scope on the Egina project.

He added that the plant is worthy of celebration as it confirmed that the Board’s strategy to include Capacity Development Initiatives, CDIs, in major projects is working.

He said the CDIs will promote opportunities for training, knowledge and technology acquisition, adding that shop floors were expanding and capacity to

execute work in Nigeria had increased substantially.

Speaking further, Nwapa reiterated that over $5billion worth of investments have been made in Nigerian yards since the signing of the Nigerian Content Bill into law by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in 2010, while about 40,000 technical jobs were being created per annum.

He commended Mr. President’s administration for providing the political support and conducive environment to implement Nigerian Content Act. “Their support strengthened the Board to overcome local and international resistance from very powerful forces,” he added. The Executive

Secretary also commended TOTAL for its continued investment in Nigeria, despite the challenging economic environment, particularly the fall in crude oil prices. He added that NCDMB is focusing more on its developmental roles owing to the need to build collaboration to achieve targets set by the Act. Also commenting, the Managing Director, Saipem Contracting Nigeria Limited, SCNL, Mr. Giussepe Surace, was quoted as saying that the company was in Nigeria for the long term and will continue to invest oa demonstrate its commitment to the nation.

He added that the company viewed Nigerian Content as an

opportunity for development rather than a requirement for compliance.

The event was attended by representatives of international oil and gas companies, service providers, especially local partners of Saipem on the Egina project.

In their comments, representatives of Saipem’s local partners expressed appreciation for the opportunity to build their businesses and acquire new capabilities. Already, the partnership has achieved several firsts in the industry, one of which is PCNL’s qualification to produce the 5LPP coating on pipes and joints.

Another company, Mudiame also secured accreditation to carry out high tech qualification tests on the project.

Disbursement: From Left: Chairman Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDC), Alhaji Yusuf Abubakar, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDC), Dr. Jamil Gwamna, Chairman, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Dr. Sam Aamdi and Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Godwin Emefiele, during the disbursement of #39.5 billion intervention fund to the DISCOs and GENCOs, in Abuja. Photo by Gbemiga Olamikan

Oil prices to experience partial rebound — IEA report

By Sebastine Obasi

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LOBAL oil prices will recover only partially from spectacular lows, which are unlikely to spur economic growth or kill off United States, U.S. shale gas production, the International Energy Agency, IEA, has said.

The IEA said in its five-year forecast that crude prices will recover from around their current range of $50-60 per barrel, but will remain well below the level of more than $100 per barrel seen before the slump began last June.

“While there have been drops and price corrections roughly every 10 years since the 1970s, there has never been a situation like we are facing today,” IEA’s Executive Director, Ms. Maria van der Hoeven, said in London

following the release of the report.

“The global oil market looks set to begin a new chapter of its history, with markedly changing demand dynamics,

Over $5 billion worth of investments have been made in Nigerian yards since the signing of the Nigerian Content Bill into law by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in 2010, while about 40,000 technical jobs were being created per annum

sweeping shifts in crude trade and product supply, and dramatically different roles for Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, and non-OPEC producers in regulating upstream supply,” the report said.

Ample supply and subdued demand caused prices to fall as much as 60 percent, but the IEA said market rebalancing could occur “relatively swiftly” with increases in inventories halting mid-year and the market tightening. However the IEA foresees “prices stabilising at levels higher than recent lows but substantially below the highs of the last three years.”

The sharp fall in oil prices has cheered oil-consuming nations as lower fuel prices usually translate into stronger economic growth. The IEA

cautioned that the net impact “ will be more modest than might be expected” because of a lingering hangover from the global economic crisis in 2008 and weak investment.

“Oil price declines against a backdrop of slowing demand growth will not be as potent an economic stimulus as they would be in a context of strong underlying income gains,” said the agency.

It also noted that despite the oil price decline the IMF last month revised downward its forecast for global growth this year to 3.5 percent from the 3.8 percent it predicted in October.

The drop in oil prices was accelerated by OPEC’s decision in November not to cut production, saying it did not want to cede market share.

Shell restates commitment to Bonga South West/Aparo project

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HE Shell Nigeria Exploration and P r o d u c t i o n Company Limited, SNEPCo, has restated its commitment to the implementation of the SNEPCo-operated Bonga South West/Aparo, BSWA project. It therefore denied recent reports that it has stopped the development due to the slump in oil price.

The Managing Director, SNEPCo, Mr. Tony Attah, was quoted as saying, “We can confirm that we are currently progressing the tender for the Engineering, Procurement and Construction, EPC contracts to support the project.”

“Although, the process has encountered some delays, we are optimistic for a final investment decision in the 2015/16 timeframe under the right conditions,” he added.

The statement said the BSWA project includes the construction of a new floating production, storage and offloading, FPSO facility with an expected peak production of 225 thousand barrels of oil per d a y. T h e B S WA f i e l d straddles Oil Mining Leases, OMLs 118, 132 and 140.

SNEPCo is the Unit O p e r a t o r o f t h e B S WA unitisation project pursuant to a Pre-Unit Agreement with the Nigerian National Pe t r o l e u m C o r p o r a t i o n , NNPC; Esso Exploration & Production Nigeria (Deepwater) Ltd.; Total E&P Nigeria Ltd.; Nigerian Agip Exploration Ltd.; Texaco Nigeria Outer Shelf Ltd.; Star Ultra Deep Petroleum Ltd.; Sasol Exploration and Production Nigeria Ltd.; and Oil and Gas Nigeria Ltd. The Bonga project itself, which began producing oil and gas in 2005, is Nigeria’s first deep-water development in water depths of over 1,000 metres.

In 2014, SNEPCo also started oil production at the Bonga North West deepwater development, with the oil transported by a new undersea pipeline to the existing Bonga FPSO and export facility. In November 2014, SNEPCo announced plans to drill eight more wells in the Bonga field in the third phase of the Bonga Main development.

Bonga has produced over 500 million barrels of oil to date.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015 — 27

Labour decries antiAjaok uta anti-Ajaok Ajaokuta steel company campaigns

By Victor Ahuma-young

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TEEL and Engineering Workers of Nigeria, SEWUN and its Iron and Steel Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, ISSSAN, have called on the National Assembly to champion the drive to complete the Ajaokuta Steel Plant because of its immeasurable benefits to the nation especially in this period of falling crude prices.

The unions alleged of calculated attempts by individuals and groups with foreign interests of trying to run down the plant, and ensure that Nigeria did not join the league of steel manufacturing giants to the detriment of the economy.

Speaking on behalf of SEWUN and ISSSAN, President of ISSSAN, Mr. Otori Saliu Maliki, recalled unfounded allegations by the Chairman of the Board of the Assets Management Company of Nigeria, AMCON, Alhaji Kola Belgore, on September 1, 2014, claiming that the federal government was wasting N3.4 billion monthly to pay workers of Ajaokuta Steel Complex, ASC, in Kogi State, for doing nothing.

According to the unions, this contrasts with the 2014 Appropriation Act for ASC, put at over N3.82 billion for personnel cost, asking, “where did Belgore get his figure from?”

The unions lamented that less than five months after, “the events from the floor of the House of Representatives and a civil society group on the same matter, we became convinced that our Breton wood detractors are still in action and we are determined to expose them.”

Otori contended that all these were coming when there were realistic and concrete efforts by the workers at keeping the plant facilities intact and serviceable as well as the ongoing rehabilitation works on the light section mill and the thermal power plant preparatory for operation.

According to him, “the fact of the matter is that the salaries of workers of ASC is paid by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation through the Integrated Payroll Payment System, IPPIS, and no single kobo comes to the coffers of ASC account for personnel emoluments. We all know that national budget has procedures and the company followed this due process and was appropriately captured in the national budget through the National Assembly. To set the records straight, the 2014 personnel cost for ASC as reflected in the Budget documents was N3,821,718,510.00.”

The ISSSAN President insisted that those deliberately falsifying information about ASC to permanently kill the company were not only causing harms to the institution, but are also agents of the Bretton Woods Institutions determined to undermine the growth and development of Nigeria.

Oil price fall: MOMAN cautions against panic M

AJOR Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN, has called on Nigerians not to panic, as the crude oil price will still rise again.

The caution came even as it bemoaned the difficulties being faced by members in planning for sustainable fuel importation as a result of the free fall of Naira at the foreign exchange market.

Speaking at a quarterly roundtable on the economy organised recently by Nigerian NewsDirect, the Executive Secretary, MOMAN, Mr Femi Olawore, said that crude price fluctuations has always been cyclical, adding that despite growing fears by Nigerians, price would soon rise.

He, however added, “How soon, I cannot say. But when it rises, we should save into Sovereign Wealth Fund.”

Olawore appealed to policymakers to address the challenges of foreign

exchange fluctuations to enable investors to plan ahead. He said the government should look inward by halting what the country does not really need like importation of toothpicks and sundry items.

He also called for the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, in order to boost investment in the upstream sector. “If we can fix the power sector, patronage of diesel will drop and price of diesel will also drop. Unless the downstream sector is fully deregulated, domestic price may not reflect current price at the international market,” he said.

The Chairman of the Roundtable, Dr Diran Fawibe, explained that the fall in crude oil price was affecting the country because the government focuses only on the oil and gas sector as the main source of foreign exchange earnings.

He, however, suggested that if the government could focus more on the non-oil and gas sector and other mineral resources like palm oil, cocoa and a host of others, the fall or increase in the prices of oil would not have any impact on Nigeria’s economy.

Moreover, the representative of the Lagos Chamber Commerce and Industry, LCCI, Mr Vincent Nwani, argued that if oil price continued to fall, there would be a huge fiscal problem in the economy.

He said, “If the crude price continues to drop, some state governments may find it difficult to pay salaries. But Nigeria may not be ready to diversify until say crude oil price falls to $10 per barrel. “But I hope the country can take advantage of the drop in crude price to do things correctly by diversifying to other sectors.”

Oil refinery

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Oil refinery

Oando rig achieves 5 years without lost time

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ando Energy Services Limited, OESL, an Oando Plc subsidiary and operator of swamp drilling rigs services, said it has successfully achieved five years of continuous operations without Lost Time Injury, LTI, on its flagship rig, OES Teamwork.

LTI is a measure of injury sustained on the job, capable of preventing a worker from performing or continuing a task or resulting in operational downtime.

It is an oil and gas industry benchmark that evaluates adherence to safety and environmental requirements in the course of operations. As a result, LTI is a critical Key Performance Indicator, KPI, for Oando’s conformity with best practices within the oil and gas industry.

Oando said in a statement that the OES Teamwork swamp rig is said to have successfully drilled, completed, and worked on 19 wells since it commenced operation in 2010.

The rig is the first 3,000 HP modern

swamp drilling barge to operate in the Niger Delta, and is equipped with 15,000 psi blowout preventers, BOP, which are designed to drill High Pressure/High Temperature, HPHT wells to depths of 30,000 ft.

Commenting on the accomplishment,

If we can fix the power sector, patronage of diesel will drop and price of diesel will also drop. Unless the downstream sector is fully deregulated, domestic price may not reflect current price at the international market

OESL CEO, Mr. Bandele Badejo, was quoted as commending the team for the achievement. “This noteworthy achievement is a validation of the safe work culture and compliance to EHSSQ processes on our rigs notwithstanding a rig’s operational status.

He also commended the team’s unrelenting commitment in maintaining an incident free rig in spite of challenges instigated by the current downtown in the industry.

Also commenting, Oando’s Chief Environmental Health Safety Security and Quality Officer, Mr. Chjioke Akwukwuma, said, “We envisage a positive outlook for the industry in the second quarter of this year and urge our rig teams to continuously maintain the implementation of world class safety standard activities will pick-up thereby easing our cash-flow challenges.”

He added that “This is a significant and laudable feat in the history of OESL and within the Oando Group.

28 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015

Rainbow World, Port Harcourt

Rainbow World hosts subscribers, promises quality service delivery By Kingsley Adegboye

He further highlighted that it was crucial to demonstrate to existing subscribers that

M

ESSRS Rainbow Town Development Limited, a Port Harcourt-based leading real estate development company and developers of the famous Rainbow World Estate located in Trans-Amadi business corridor of Port Harcourt, recently hosted investors to a one day subscribers’ forum in Port Harcourt with a promise to deliver quality service to the subscribers.

Rainbow World is Nigeria’s flagship urban renewal scheme that re-images and transforms a blighted neighbourhood in metropolitan Port Harcourt, Rivers State, into a regenerated brand of premium mixed-use community of residential, commercial, healthcare, educational and recreational facilities set in a contemporary urban environment.

The forum was organised with the goal to show to the subscribers the current state of the project which has recorded nearly eighty percent completion and the extent of development of the residential estate now in its second phase.

Existing subscribers According to the Managing Director, Rainbow Town Development limited, Chima Ucheya, an architect, “The main reason for the forum was to bring together our existing subscribers under one roof so that we can show to them the extent to which we have completed the first phase of this amazing housing development project which is the biggest housing estate in the sub Saharan Africa region. Our mandate is to deliver a world class housing project and we are glad to showcase the progress we have so far recorded” C M Y K

This is in line with the vision of the company to become the preferred real estate development solutions provider, adopting world class practices and quality service delivery

the project has reached a very substantial level with phase one completed and work seriously ongoing on the phase 2. “This forum, provided an opportunity for current subscribers and interested investors to undertake a facility tour within the estate and ask important questions to which satisfactory answers were provided”, Ucheya noted.

The managing director who disclosed that Rainbow World was conceived in 2008 and is the choice destination for investors seeking attractive and enduring returns on their investment as well as residents in need of a home they can call their own, said the sprawling estate offers the best in premium residential and business infrastructure with unique blend of nature.

He described the estate as an integrated world class community that provides an

unparalleled advantage for families to conveniently live, work and play within the same environment.

According to him, “This is in line with the vision of the company to become the preferred real estate development solutions provider, adopting world class practices and quality service delivery.

Rainbow World offerings include elegant duplexes, terrace houses, exquisite apartments and penthouses among a myriad of recreational, medical, social and business-support facilities.

“The range of housing options are the point block tower, the city block tower, terrace house and detached house which are all built to world class standard and luxuriously finished”, Ucheya said.

FMBN to lift embargo on development loans

By Nkiruka Nnorom

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HE Managing Director/Chief Executive, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Mr. Gimba Ya’u Kumo, has said that the bank is looking at the possibility and process of lifting embargo on Estate Development Loan (EDL).

However, he said that consideration for lifting of the embargo should be dependent on commitment to timeliness by developers.

Kumo, who spoke when the new executive management team of Real Estate Development Association of Nigeria (REDAN) paid a courtesy visit to the bank in Abuja said this was part of the efforts of the bank to deliver quality

houses that Nigerians would be proud of as the bank continues in its efforts to reduce the housing deficit.

While congratulating the association for conducting a transparent election which saw the emergence of the new management team devoid of rancour and acrimony, Kumo also acknowledged that most members of the association are committed and serious toward meeting the yearnings of Nigerians.

Speaking earlier, the new President, Mr. Ugo Chime, thanked the bank for listening to the association's complaints and grievances on issues affecting their members in the areas of operations, saying the visit was part of efforts to build harmonious working relationship with the bank.

He seized that opportunity to commend the management of the bank for organizing sensitization workshop for its members on Estate Development Loan (EDL) and other dynamics involved in housing industry.

Also, immediate past President of REDAN, Chief Olabode Afolayan, expressed appreciation to the bank for the support it has been giving the association and solicited for the extension of same to the in-coming team.

He enjoined the new management team of the association to work with the bank in order to deliver on its mandate. Only recently, the bank embarked on an aggressive drive to recover loans from its clients in order to meet its obligations to its shareholders.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015—29

Nigerite launches decorative ceiling

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From left: Managing Director, Home Base Mortgage Bank Limited, Dr. Femi Johnson; Managing Director, TrustBond Mortgage Bank Plc, Mr. Adeniyi Akinluyi; Managing Director, Imperial Homes Plc, Mr. Ben Akaneme and Chief Executive Officer of Gran Imperio Group, Mr. Adeyeye Ogunwusi during a public announcement of Homebase joining the first-ever mortgage banks/developers’ consortium to deliver over 5,000 homes known as Grand Lake Estate in Lagos.

Climate Change: World Bank reinstates commitment to help Nigeria tackle challenges

By Funmi Olasupo

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N view of the continued emergence of topical environmental issues that require urgent attention, World Bank has reinstated its commitment to help Nigerian government in its effort to tackle the challenge of Climate Change in the area of adaptation.

The Bank, which has already committed about $30m to combat gully erosion in South-Eastern Nigeria under the Erosion and Watershed Management Programme, added that it would be more strategic in all its programmes in Nigeria to avoid duplication.

World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly who made the disclosure in Abuja at a meeting with a delegation from the Federal Ministry of Environment, led by the Minister, Mrs. Laurentia Mallam, also stated that one key area the Bank is looking at to come in is in the process of adaptation.

Process of adaptation Marie-Nelly assured the delegation that even though the Bank had been engaging in a number of programmes in the country, it would be more willing to help Nigeria in building climate resilience to boost agriculture She said, “We are actually doing a lot already. For instance, we have a large programme to address gully erosion in the south. We are also engaging in rehabilitating important irrigation dams in order to enhance the capacity for agricultural production.

“What we are doing here today is in response to the request of the Federal Government. We will see how our interventions are in line with the new priority, particularly in the areas of

We are actually doing a lot already. For instance, we have a large programme to address gully erosion in the south

mitigation and adaptation.”

According to her, one key area the bank was looking at was Climate Smart Agriculture, stressing that its studies had shown that unless Nigeria changed its agricultural practices, there would be a quantum slide in agricultural yields.

Marie-Nelly noted that the Bank was also working with the Federal Government to transform some of the gas that was being flared daily into useful energy.

“But what we decided to do here is to discuss with the government more strategies on moving forward, identifying a more specific way what we are each doing and see how our interventions are in line with your priorities particularly in the area of mitigation and adaptation.

IGERITE Limited, a complete building solutions company has launched a new product called Unique Ceil, an embossed ceiling which comes with a tastefully finished pattern, into the competitive Nigerian building industry. The new product unveiled at the company’s premises in Lagos last week comes in a standard dimension of 1.22m x 1.22m (4feet x 4feet) and 3mm thickness. The new product which is grey in colour can also be painted to any colour of choice by prospective consumers.

Unveiling the new product at a well attended event by distributors, senior carpenters and consumers from both Lagos and Ogun States, the Managing Director of the company, Mr. Frank LeBris said the new innovation was in line with the promise made to its stakeholders early last year as they have been hitherto used to the plain Nigerite 4x4 ceiling.

Partnered options His words: “Nigerite consumers have known the plain 4 x 4 sized model over the years but research has shown that a sizeable number of customers want more patterned options”.

Continuing, he said the company decided to innovate this new idea consequent upon a promise made early last year to our teeming consumers. “We promised them at the beginning of year 2014 that before the end of the year, they will have more variety in the market. We have since fulfilled that promise as we have introduced Prestige Ceil,

Expert emphasises role of infrastructure devt for economic growth

By Kingsley Adegboye

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he role of of infrastructure development to the economic growth of Nigeria with particular reference to the country’s building and construction sector; has once again been emphasised.

Speaking at the just concluded international exhibition on building, machinery and construction in Lagos, the Managing Director of Atlantic Exhibition, organisers of the event, Mr. Paul Ayodeji Olugbade stated that the benefit of strong infrastructure base to the Nigerian development cannot be over-emphasised, pointing out that infrastructure development is the bedrock of all developments in a country.

According to Olugbade, infrastructure may not be a factor of production, but it is a condition for higher rates of economic growth, adding that infrastructure is the backbone of any economy as no economy can develop in the absence of reasonable stock of critical infrastructure in such areas as transportation such as roads, railways, ports and airports, energy, water, sanitation and communication.

“The rural poor cannot make the best use of their resources, including human capital, if either the quality of some key parts of the country ’s physical infrastructure like irrigation, transport, and communications and support services such as

research and extension are inadequate.

“According to the World Bank, 1 percent increase in a country’s infrastructure stock leads to 1 percent in the level of GDP. Indeed, the multiplier effect of infrastructure stock will be higher in countries that are starting from a low base. A study of 42 low and middle income countries has shown the connectivity of public infrastructure to differences in growth rates across the continent.

The transformation of the telecommunication sector is telling case.

“The world Economic forum (WEF) is said to rank Nigeria 130th out of 144 countries on infrastructure in its 2013 global competitiveness index report."

Legend Ceil and now, Unique Ceil”.

He disclosed that the new product will be launched to the market in every other states in Nigeria just as it was launched to the professionals and other relevant stakeholders in Lagos and Ogun states respectively to allow for proper market penetration.

He also assured distributors that plans are underway to support their efforts with radio commercials and programmes to enlighten market about the several benefits and value addition the new products offer.

Value addition During the product presentation, Gboyega Adegbile, an engineer and Head of Roofing and Ceiling Business Unit, told newsmen that the new product idea is to provide customers with choice from varieties on offer.

“These new products are not out to substitute the plain 4X4, rather they are introduced so that our customers will have options to pick from and also an appeal to the taste of modern people.

We are achieving our marketing strategies which have been designed in such a way that the conservative people who may still ask for the plain ones get them while others who opt for decorative ceilings will also get them” Adegbile said.

Comrade Anthony Aluko, President of Professional Carpenters and Furniture Makers Association of Lagos State, described the new product as a beauty to behold, saying, “It looks more like Plaster of Paris (POP) ceiling.

These latest products are suitable for a sizeable modern day customers who believe in doing things differently.

“This latest offering from Nigerite, just like its name is unique and visually attractive.

It is capable of transforming a house into a home” On quality assurance, Aluko said Nigerite is a trusted brand because it always delivers when it comes to excellence. “We trust Nigerite to always come up with good products because they have never compromised on quality,” he said.

Alhaji Toyin Lawal, Deputy President, Carpenters Association in Ogun State could not agree less with Aluko when he said that Nigerite has been at the forefront when it comes to maintaining standards.

“They have been able to consistently come up with top quality products and they have never conceded on quality and safety”.

30—Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015

Conflicting UK house price data points to two-tier market A

RE UK house prices rising or falling? Two national indices published last week had painted sharply contrasting portraits of the UK property market, adding to erratic data over the past month that has left economists increasingly puzzled.

According to The Guardian of London, Rightmove said average prices jumped by more than £5,000, while Haart said house prices fell in January Rightmove, the biggest property portal in the UK, said average prices listed on its site over the past month jumped by more than £5,000, pushing up the typical asking price of a home by 2.1% to £279,004. It said it enjoyed its busiest month ever, with British home hunters clicking through 1.5bn pages of the site in January alone, while estate agents are finding themselves desperately short of stock.

But Haart – part of Spicerhaart, Britain’s largest independent estate agency group – said house prices fell in January, with the biggest declines in London. It added that prices in the capital have now fallen back to where they were a year ago, and that prices in the western suburbs are down by a 10th over the year.

Cooling market Halifax reported that house prices jumped by a robust 2% nationally in January, but the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said last week that the data “continue to signal a cooling market” with confidence among surveyors in short supply.

What appears to be emerging is a two-tier market, with London, for once, trailing the rest of the country and distorting the national picture. Rightmove, which has issued the most upbeat assessment of the property market, concedes that the time it takes to sell a property in the capital has risen dramatically.

Last summer, when the London market was at its fizziest, Rightmove said it took 40 days to sell a property, but this has risen to 69.

Two of London’s wealthiest boroughs, which were at the forefront of prices increases early last year are now reporting year-onyear declines.

Houses in Camden were fetching an average of £1,054,000 in February last year but this has fallen to £1,019,500, said Rightmove. In Kensington and Chelsea, prices have been pegged back from an average of more than £2,433,000 to £2,317,000.

But north-east England, which for so long has lagged the rest of the country, has experienced the biggest price increases over the past month, said Rightmove. Average prices jumped 6.4% beC M Y K

UK property tween 15 January and 15 February alone, rising from £135,000 to more than £143,500.

Advertisement Rightmove director Miles Shipside said: “We’re now over a month into 2015, and despite predictions that the upcoming May election could slow home-mover

interest, Rightmove has recorded its busiest ever month for traffic and leads to agents. This demand has contributed to new seller asking prices being up across all regions this month, by a national average of over £5,000 (+£5,729/+2.1%).

“Decades of inadequate provi-

sion of homes to satisfy growth in demand are having an increasing effect, with a tight-stock market resulting in a shortage of quality property for sale to trade up to.”

Estate agents are counting on cheap mortgage rates and stock

shortages to drive up prices this year. Paul Smith, the chief executive of Haart, said: “Borrowers have never had it so good, as highly competitive mortgages are in abundance with lenders falling over themselves to gain market share.

BCPG tasks politicians on building collapse

By Kingsley Adegboye

S

HELTER is one of the three basic needs of human beings, as it shares prominence and priority with food and clothing. Every normal human being aspires to own a house, hence, shelter is a human right.

But stakeholders in the built environment, especially professionals and artisans in the building industry are worried that issues affecting the industry are not salient in the manifestos of the contestants as the nation embarks on a political transition process through electioneering campaigns.

Speaking at the weekend in Lagos on “Overcoming the Challenges of Building Collapse in the next Political Dispensation”, the national president of the Building Collapse Prevention Guild (BCPG), Mr. Kunle Awobodu said in Nigeria, the construction sector is in crisis due to mundane factors, which the politicians have failed to pay serious attention to.

Awobodu, a builder and former chairman of the Lagos state chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), noted that buildings are the determinants of development gradation, helping to differentiate villages from

towns and cities.

According to him, at this critical time of the nation’s political transition, should major stakeholders in the construction industry fold their arms and watch as events unfold with little or no consideration for their inputs in manifestos that could become the bedrock of government policies?

However, he implored the in-

Nigerian construction industry requires the cooperation of government, the professionals, craftsmen, artisans, manufacturers and suppliers in the industry

coming public office holders to address issues such as bureaucratic bottlenecks in the building plan approval process, encumbrances and difficulties associated with certificate of occupancy process, the need for Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development to outsource relevant professionals to help vet building plans and monitor construction in order to cope with the rapid and vast development of our urban centres and effective monitoring of government land acquisition to prevent squatters building on such land without building plan approval which may result in building collapse.

However, land under government acquisition should be released on time to people for proper development if government plan for the land is no longer feasible, as this will prevent slum growth, which otherwise usually results due to human desire for shelter.

Others are the prevalence of sub-standard building materials in the market, eradication of quackery, incessant construction disturbance by ‘Omoniles’, influx of foreigners in the construction industry, national building code and its passage into law as well as the implementation of its regulations, establishment of construction industry board, Nigerian

cement remains one of the most expensive in the world while the raw materials are mostly sourced locally and affordable standard houses.

He argued that substandard construction work can be gradually phased out of our history if the government handles the menace with an unalloyed commitment.

Describing BCPG as an independent body, made up of professionals in the built environment and other stakeholders united by a common goal, Awoboddu said these are men and women who have a passion for a safe environment, patriotic Nigerians who have resolved to find lasting solutions to the collapse of buildings. He added that their concern is a social responsibility actuated by humanitarian feeling and the philosophy of giving back to the society and nurturing it to a place better than they met it.

He opined that construction has always been an assemblage of diverse knowledge and experience, adding that to put right the accumulated errors in the Nigerian construction industry requires the cooperation of government, the professionals, craftsmen, artisans, manufacturers and suppliers in the industry.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015 — 31

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32—Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015

By Theodore Opara

Nigeria spent N600bn on vehicle importation in 2014 — NAC T

HE National Automo tive Council, NAC, has disclosed that Nigerian expended the sum of six hundred billion naira (N600 billion) in foreign exchange for the purchase of vehicles, spare parts and tyre in 2014.

According to the Director General of the National Automotive Council, Engr Aminu Jalal, about four hundred thousand vehicles (400,000) were imported into the country during the period out ofwhich,one hundred thousandunits(100,000)were new vehicles.

The Director General who spoketoVanguardduringthe closingceremonyofSURE-P, NAC and SMEDAN automobile workshop training at theLadyMechanicSchoolof Automotive Engineering in Victoria Island, recently, explained that the automobile industry is currently the secondlargestuserofforeignexchange in Nigeria, adding that the aim of the federal government’s automotive industry development plan is to arrest the development.

According to him, the Nigerian Automotive Industry Development Plan NAIDP wasintroducedinNovember 2013 by the federal government to spur the developmentoftheautomobileindustry, create employment and stem the flight of foreign exchange, among other things.

He further noted that ‘it is part of the Nigerian industrial revolution plan that aims toincreasethecontributionof industrytoourGDPfromseven per cent in 2014 to 10 percent in 2015 and 13 per cent

in 2017.

To this end, he said that a lot of benefits are expected to acrue from the federal government’sautomotiveindustry development plan, such as infrastructural development, skill development, reduction in foreign exchange expenditure, and development of local component manufacturing industry.

Other benefits, he stated include,employmentgeneration,foreignexchangeearning from exports and development of standards.

Sofar,hesaidthatsincethe introduction of the new auto policy, automotive plants across the country that were on the verge of collapse have been given a new lease of life and are churning in new models.

They include: VON (former Volkswagen of Ni-

The automobile industry is currently the second largest user of foreign exchange in Nigeria

Newly opened Infinity Express in Ikorodu C M Y K

IVM G5 product of New National Author policy

geria), which restarted the assembly of cars after a break of 20 years. It is now assembling Nissan, and Hyundai cars and has plans to assemble volkswagen cars this year.

Also, Innoson Vehicles Manufacturing, Nnewi (IVM) has introduced cars to complement its commercial vehicles, while Leyland —

Busan, Ibadan has introduced new mass transit bus.

PAN Nigeria, the Kaduna based automobile manufacturer has restarted assembly of Peugeot cars, while PROFORCE,thearmoured vehicle manufacturer has expanded its production and exported vehicles to South Sudan and Central Africa Republic, for the UN Peace

Keeping operations and to Rwanda.

Otherremarkableprogress made in the auto sector according to Jalal is that 24 other companies are setting up assembly operations, including Honda, Kia, Renaualt, Coscharis,andGlobeMotors.

Also the council is at advance stages of setting up auto industrial parks to in-

cubate the development of local content in the industry, while a vehicle purchase scheme at very low interest rates is being worked out in partnership with some banks.

The scheme is expected to takeoffbynextmonth.‘’When the scheme is fully operational, Nigeria will be able to purchase new cars made in Nigeria.’’ Engr. Jalal assured.

Infinity Tyres on franchisee route with Infinity Express

T

HE Managing Director of Infinity Express, Ikorodu, a recently opened franchisee of Infinity Tyres, Mr. John Asaolu,

has expressed optimism that the opening of the new computerised tyre solution centre in Ikorodu, Lagos state, will help in promoting road safety.

According to Asaolu, the tyre service centre which is equipped with computerised wheel balancing machines, computerised wheel alignment machine, tyre sales point etc, will assist motorists in Ikorodu to enjoy world-class service as far as their tyre maintenance and care is concerned. He explained that since these latest hitech machines are supplied by Infinity Tyres, the quality and performance are guaranteed at their outlets.

Asaolu, a mechanical

engineer, told journalists that to achieve smooth vehicle handling, wheel alignment, wheel balancing ,the suspension system becomes very important in ensuring comfortable driving and safe motoring According to him, Ikorodu is a growing and emerging market, and there is need to provide the customers with up to date technology in the area of tyre care and management for motorists around the area, and motorists appreciate our services, our investment is well placed.

He noted that his company's synergy with Infinity Tyres has further created an opportunity for Ikorodu residents to enjoy the benefits of buying

quality tyres like Pirelli, Good Year, Infinity and high performance automotive batteries, as well as free nitrogen for tyres.

Situated along the Ijede road in Ikorodu, the Tyre centre has employed some staff who have been trained by tyre experts from Infinity Tyres Limited in latest tyre fitting and services technology.

Asaolu also revealed that his company plans to take the tyre safety campaign further by organising a seminar for motorists in the area on proper tyre handling procedures even as he added that his facility can handle all kinds of vehicles as far as tyres and batteries issues are concerned.

CELEBRITY

King Okpoitari Diongoli: From bus conductor to palace

ECOLOGICAL FUND SCAM: Oshiomhole fingers FG, PDP

PAGE 4

VOL. 1: NO. 37

PAGE 8

TUESD AY, FEBR U ARY 117, 7, 20 15 TUESDA FEBRU 201

Transpoting the sick to the city across River Akaram.

ABOVE: Mkpot children. Mkpot village (right).

Terrain dictates how Mkpot villagers walk

By Emmanuel Una

M

KPOT—WHAT strikes a first-time visitor about residents of Mkpot, the rock-strewn hamlet at Akamkpa Local Government Area, Cross River State, is the weird gait of the people, which bears semblance to the stride of monkeys and the changes in their physical structure.

Niger Delta Voice reporter, who joined the Archbishop of Calabar, Bishop Joseph Ekuwem, on a ‘pilgrimage’ to the locality accessed only by foot in the present day, discovered that when the villagers walk, it was only the front of their legs that touches the earth, while the back part slides along just like a running monkey.

*Nature adapted their bodies to suit environment— MEDICAL DOCTOR A medical practitioner explained that due to the rocky topography and having to stride while walking over the years, the legs of the people have been distorted to look like that of a baboon and consequently, they pace like apes.

“The shape of their legs makes it easier for them to walk faster by manoeuvring through the milieu of physical obstacles on the road,” he added.

Sliding like monkeys

A medical officer on the entourage, Dr Augustina Ogbedeto, who corroborated our findings, said though monkeys walk

*Why the aged stay put—ELDER ODUM on four legs, while Mkpot people walk on two, their feet have been twisted to face one another to give the feet a firm grip of the problematic terrain.

Her words: “Look at the shape of the feet of these people which help them to move swiftly along the difficult path.

“When they step, it is only the front of their feet that touches the earth, while the hind part of the leg only glides through just like the monkey when it is running.”

She traced the changes to several

generations that have had to walk on that pathway, adding, “it is not a sudden thing, but many generations of Mkpot people have had to walk this path so many times.

“So nature has a way of adapting their bodies to help them negotiate the bends and climb the hills and go down the steep valleys with some measure of rapidity.”

A villager, who spoke told Niger Delta Voice on the monkey stride, said:

Continues on Page 7

2—Niger Delta Voice, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015

PDP/APC: Politics tear kinsmen apart in Bayelsa community

Tension in Otor-Udu over unresolved 2011 pollution

BA YELS A ...

BAYELS YELSA THE GLORY OF ALL LANDS

By Emem Idio

E

MEYAL—ANXIETY has mounted between members of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and All Progressives Congress, APC, at Emeyal community, Ogbia Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, following the destruction of the ward secretariat of the latter in the community by political thugs allegedly working for the former.

Mr. Alpheus Edienkopu, an APC chieftain in Ogbia, the home local government of President Goodluck Jonathan, claimed that agents of the PDP were frightening the opposition in the area ahead the March 28 and April 11 elections.

APC fingers top govt official Edienkopu, who fingered a top government official in the state, said: “When we started the APC, we were in a rented apartment belonging to the uncle of the official. One day, the official sent his cousins to eject me from the apartment even though my rent was not due.

“When I pleaded with them to give me time, they refused threatening that the order is that I should move out immediately or they will destroy the place and throw me out if I did not pack out.

“I had to reach out to my party executives and chieftains, who gave me money to roof part of my personal building to serve as our ward secretariat.

“However, we started noticing that posters of our party candidates pasted in the party secretariat were defaced and torn by unknown persons at night.

“As if that was not enough, I woke up Sunday morning to find the structure in ruins.”

Threats to life He said: “There are threats to my life. They have been sending people to my ward chairman that we should be careful and that they will make the community uncomfortable for us and that they will continue to demolish our building.

“I have received threat messages that I will be kidnapped or incriminating substance planted within the secretariat to frame me up. I have already lodged a

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DELTA...

FINGER OF GOD

By Egufe Yafugborhi

O

TOP: Vandalized Emeyal community Ward 7, APC secretariat.

LEFT: Mr. Alpheaus Edienkopu, APC stalwart and owner of the property.

complaint with the police on the matter.”

Affirming his loyalty to the party in the face of threats and intimidation, the stalwart asserted, “ nobody can intimidate me to leave my party. Why would I leave APC for PDP? I strongly stand by APC.” Shock Corroborating Edienkopu’s assertion, APC ward chairman, Mr. Igodo Oscar, who described the incident as unprecedented in the area, expressed shock that party politics is threatening blood and kinship ties that bind the people together.

He said: “I am surprised that politicians in Emeyal, who are PDP members, can carry out such acts. It is a pity because we look up to them as our elders.

“We do not have money and we cannot fight them in terms

of money, but what we have is our population to fight with them.

“Instead of them to come and beg us, they have decided to intimidate us with death and kidnapping threats.”

APC House of Assembly candidate in the constituency, Abi Morris, described the development as unfortunate, saying “it is quite unfortunate that PDP has resorted to violence. Politics is about how you can sell the manifestoes of your party to the people.

“It is unfortunate that in this 21 century some people in government could condescend low to taking the laws into their hands. I think it is becoming too petty.

“We have not yet gone into the elections, so why fidgeting?

One thing they must be told is that nobody has monopoly of violence and there is a limit to which you can oppress someone.”

This’s blackmail— PDP Reacting to the allegation, the chairman of PDP in the ward, Mr. Jolly Ibe, denied the allegations that PDP supporters were behind the destruction of the APC ward secretariat, describing it as blackmail.

He said: “It is regrettable that APC is dissipating energy on irrelevant matters and blackmail instead of giving attention to more important issues.”

Ibe said it was an attempt to drag the name of a serving commissioner and other chieftains of the party in the mud, adding that the commissioner was a lawabiding citizen, who abhors violence.

He urged members of PDP in the area to be committed and remain calm in the face of provocation, stressing that PDP will emerge victorious in the upcoming elections.

TOR-UDU—ANXIETY has mounted at OtorUdu community in Udu Local Government Area, Delta State, more than three years after the December 18, 2011 pollution from the Utorogun Gas Plant, UGP, Ughelli, which affected the community and other host communities in the state, remained unsettled.

The gas plant was operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, at the time of pollution, but shortly after in 2012, SPDC divested most of its operations in the state and one of the liabilities transferred to the Nigeria Petroleum Development Company, NPDC, the new operator of Oil Mining Lease, OML 34, was the unsolved pollution matter.

It was gathered that the gas plant pollution came to the notice of Otor-Udu, which is co-host with two communities, Iwhrekan and Otughievwen in Ughelli South Local Government Area, December 18, 2011.

Former chairman, OtorUdu community, Mr. Terryson Ghegheren, who heads the community ’s

Continues on Page 3

THE TEAM Emma Amaize, Editor Jimitota Onoyume Samuel Oyadongha Simon Ebegbulem Gabriel Enogholase Festus Ahon Egufe Yafugborhi Emmanuel Una Akpokona Omafuaire Godwin Oghre Tom Moses Chioma Onuegbu Ike Uche Davies Iheamnachor Emem Idio Brisibe Perez Barnabas Uzosike Nath Onajoke Chijioke Nwankpa

Niger Delta Voice, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015—3

Omo-Agege, Mariere trade blame over shooting of 3 in Delta community DELTA...

FINGER OF GOD

By Perez Brisibe

U

GONO-OROGUN—THE alleged shooting of three indigenes of Orogun community at Ugono-Orogun community, both in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State, on February 5, has triggered tension among residents and politicians in Ughelli area of the state.

A resident, Mr. Julius Oderohwo, alleged in a petition to the Commanding Officer, Ughelli Police Command, that a Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, House of Assembly candidate ordered his thugs to open fire on residents, who converged for a Labour Party, LP, campaign, injuring three persons, Elvis Olomu, Oke Inana and Isaac Salomi.

Omo-Agege. party of any involvement in the incident, Omo-Agege said: “The name Samuel Mariere is synonymous with crisis, as he

One of the victims, Oke Inana, in an undisclosed hospital. feeds on it.

“You and I know who ordered the shooting of the four unarmed and innocent

Mariere is synonymous with crisis—OMO-AGEGE

Absolving himself and his

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boys at Ugono-Orogun and it happens to be that one of the youths is my cousin.

“How would a lawmaker

come to a community to solicit for votes with thugs? At the appropriate time, Mariere would face the music.”

Tension in Otor-Udu over unresolved 2011 pollution NPDC succeeded as operator.

In the letter, signed by Donald Ovweredjo, then Government and Community Relations Manager, SPDC-West, the company advised stakeholders to direct further dealings on the matter to the new operator.

Omo-Agege’s boys attacked my team —MARIERE

The PDP candidate, Ughelli Constituency 1, Mr. Samuel Mariere, named thugs loyal to an LP’s Delta South senatorial candidate, Chief Ovie OmoAgege, as the mastermind of the attack.

Debunking the allegation in a petition to the Commissioner of Police, Delta State, he said it was his campaign train that was attacked, contrary to claims that he ordered the shooting of the three victims.

He said: “When we got to Ugono/Salubi Junction, a group of boys from Oromuru community, numbering over 20, armed with guns, battle axes and other dangerous weapons, blocked the road with motor bikes and woods.

“They said they are OmoAgege’s boys and that we should leave Orogun, hence we are not allowed to campaign in the community, adding that if we fail to do so, they would kill us and set our vehicles ablaze.

“While trying to leave the scene, they attempted to deflate our tyres. At this point, my police escort fired into the air and we narrowly escaped, with them shooting after us.

“I have petitioned the state Commissioner of Police and I am sure investigations into the matter are ongoing,” he asserted.

Mariere.

Continues from Page 2 adhoc committee on the incident, said: “We noticed heavy oil and chemical-based noxious and deleterious pollutants discharged from the gas plant into Ivwewha River and the adjoining area christened Area 4 by SPDC, fouling the river, ponds, streams, farmlands, burial grounds, sacred lands, aqueduct and killing fishes, other aquatic lives and vegetation.”

No response from Shell It was learned that for six months, Shell ignored the community’s complaint on the alleged environmental danger and nuisance the spill constituted.

Also, within the period, the company purportedly overlooked an abatement notice served on it by the Udu Local Government.

By May of 2012, tension mounted in the community

against Shell. That was when then commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Richard Mofe Damijo, called for a truce meeting.

Damijo hails from Udu and was guarding against any breach of peace in the area.

At the meeting, held May 16, 2012, then Community Relations Manager, West, SPDC, Edesiri Akpomudjere, led the company’s delegation.

Shell acknowledged that a spill did occur and blamed its delayed response on “internal labour crisis.”

Shell withdraws, enters NPDC Following a belated JIV at the close of 2012, the next step would have been damage assessment to ascertain the level of impact and compensation, but on February 12, 2013, Shell informed the community, through Udu council, that it had ceased being operator of the UGP since September 12, 2012 when

NOSDRA intervention In September, 2013, industry regulator, the Nigerian Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, NOSDRA, directed NPDC to discuss with the community with a view to resolving the said pollution.

At its meeting with the community at its Edjeba Field office, NPDC asked for about a month to sort some internal administrative issues on the matter, since it was just taking over.

At that meeting, November 4, 2013, the community noted that the new operator did not need to take so long to be abreast of the issues as some of the officials, who represented Shell when the spill started, were still retained by NPDC and remained prominent in the latest interactions, including Chris Otobrise, who moderated the Edjeba meeting.

On the contrary, the company representatives insisted that under a new operator, they have new responsibilities and cannot be acting in same capacity as when in SPDC employ.

But, Ghegheren lamented: “From October 4, 2013 till date, NPDC has not been forthcoming to resolve the matter as months turn to years in waiting.”

Call NPDC to order Counsel to Otor-Udu, Osteen Igbapike explained: “We (OtorUdu) consequently wrote to NOSDRA again, asking the

regulator to call NPDC to order; that your directives are not being followed.

“Secondly, I said give me all the documents on your response management in respect of that spill with regard to the FoI Act.” The letter, dated March 18, 2014, was first directed to the Warri Zonal Director who oversees NOSDRA operations spanning the affected community.

The NOSDRA Zonal Director, Felicity Nwakwushue, in a response she signed on behalf of the agency ’s Director General, asked the community and its counsel to direct the latest concern to Abuja, the Head Office, stating that they have limitations at the zonal level.

Fury Ghegher warned: “We are not sleeping on the impunity with which the polluter wants to kill this matter. There is renewed anger brewing, but we still believe NPDC and NOSDRA will do the needful.

“We have sustained cordial relationship with SPDC, and NPDC since taking over operations in our domain, but it must be emphasized that there is a limit to the elasticity of our patience and tolerance.

“It is building to that height and when it snaps, the company and the regulator should be held responsible for any consequence that may arise.”

Contacted, an External Relations official of NPDC, said: “These things require some measure of patience.

“There were lots of issues when we took over. Gradually we are dealing with them and resolving with communities.”

4—Niger Delta Voice, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015

ECOLOGICAL FUND SCAM: Oshiomhole fingers FG, PDP EDO...

HEARTBEAT OF THE NATION

By Simon Ebegbulem

B

ENIN—EDO State Governor, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, has accused Peoples Democratic Party, PDPled Federal Government of contract duplication.

Flagging off the Queen Ede gully erosion site in Benin, the governor, who secured a grant of N5.7 billion, early this year, from the World Bank to tackle the Auchi and Benin erosion problems, said: “You have a real scandal when the Edo State Government under PDP awarded this project and paid for it and the PDP-led Federal Government awarded the same contract and also paid for it.

“They both claimed they were doing the job, but as you can see, they simply caused more complications.

“They constructed a small drain to take the water out of the road without taking it to the ultimate destination. That was how the crack started. If they had fixed it properly, it could have cost us less than N5 million today.

“When my attention was drawn by the Edo State Ministry of Works to the fact that this erosion was caused by a design error when the Asaba Road was being constructed by the Federal Ministry of Works, I wrote to Abuja to complain about the erosion challenges in this place.”

‘Job is ongoing’ “I listed quite a number of erosion sites in the state, including the Queen Ede Erosion problem. When I asked for the project report, the ministry officials told me that ‘job is ongoing’ and subsequently, I invited the officials to accompany me to show me what they meant by ‘job is ongoing.’

“What I saw here was abandoned equipment; there was no single worker on site.

That is what they meant by ‘job is ongoing.’ But that was not the only thing I found very strange.

“We tried to trace the contract

document and it was clear that the job was never meant to be done. It was just a cover up to siphon the fund by the previous government under the political party we want to chase out of Abuja now.

“So when we speak sometimes with anger and insist on change, it is because we cannot continue this kind of tradition where in the name of the problem of the people, money is misappropriated and this money goes into private pockets.

“I have to emphasize this so that you do not think it was at the beginning of this government. It was a previous PDP government.”

N2b each to only PDP states “I renewed our appeal to the Federal Government to provide resources for us to fix this problem; again, we did not get any answer.

“All the President did was to give N2 billion each to PDP states that never had erosion problem and abandoned Edo State, despite the fact that Edo people voted for him while some of those PDP states he gave money never voted for him.”

Speaking later at Auchi, Oshiomhole, who took President Goodluck Jonathan to the cleaners for allegedly refusing to release ecological funds to the state after voting for him 95 per cent in 2011, said: “We have borrowed N5.7 billion to protect this great kingdom of Auchi, to restore hope and to remove the fear and the pain that people suffer when it rains because that is the primary purpose of government.

“The loan that the bank gave to us is at an interest rate of less than one per cent and it was spread so thinly that we pay painlessly.

“So it takes a sensible, competent and transparent government, for people to access this World Bank facility.”

Inferior tractors trapped Governor Oshiomhole stated, “I am really excited at this rare privilege that we are here to formally flag off the restoration and the construction of the Auchi erosion project.

“Different governments in the past have attempted to address

In the name of Auchi erosion, they appropriated money. They took the money and Auchi people were worse off

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Auchi kingdom at the mercy of gully erosion. this problem. I am told that one contractor that was given the job in the past by some federal interests even have some of his second hand tractors trapped in the valley of this kingdom.

“Whereas the people of Auchi wanted government to solve the problem, some persons in government were more interested in the name of the kingdom and in the name of this project to pocket tax payers’ money.

“So rather than give the contract on the basis of wellthought-out designs that can be scientifically checked and verified as suitable and proper, they choose one of themselves who knows next to nothing about civil engineering or erosion control, so that the money can be taken.”

Why I denounce PDP Governor Oshiomhole asserted: “So when you hear I criticize PDP, it is because this has been their habit. In the name of the unemployed, they will advertise, collect money and in the end people will die.

“In the name of Auchi erosion, they appropriated money. They took the money and Auchi people were worse off.

“But like I have always said, my task was never to lament the failure of the past, but to put hope and to make the point that we still can make tomorrow better if we learn the right lessons from the failures of the past.

“When I assured His Royal Highness that this will be done, I did so because I know not that we have all the money to do all that we desire to do, but because we have the will to do everything that we are sure we need to get done.

“Today, we are here in spite of all the conspiracies from some quarters to deny us access to the ecological funds from which we could have raised even this sum to get this job done.

“Even when they gave out N2 billion each to some states, they did not give to Edo State, but I am not lamenting that now.

“Those they gave the money

have pocketed it; they have not launched any programme that we can see. But we, who did not get it, I am comforted that though we may be afflicted with poverty of the pocket, we are relieved by the resourcefulness of the brains.

“The only poverty that I dread is the poverty of ideas, poverty of commitment and the poverty of will and passion to do what is right.”

Kudos to World Bank He asserted: “So if we are here today, we are here because we have gathered these other attributes to identify what we needed to do; to identify who we need to approach and how we need to approach them so that today, it can become a reality.

“We want to appreciate the World Bank for the trust and for the confidence but even for not just throwing money at us, but for having the passion and commitment to visit and see for themselves the nature of the erosion challenges and what we are trying to do.”

Niger Delta Voice, TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2015—5

Isi-Emevor Road still hell, 13 years after contract award DELTA...

FINGER OF GOD

By Ochuko Akuopha

E

MEVOR—THIRTEEN years after the contractor awarded the construction of Isi-Emevor Road at Emevor, an oil-bearing community in Isoko North Local Government Area, Delta State, fled the project site after mobilizing to location with second-rate equipment, the road remains abandoned.

Niger Delta Voice learned that the contract was awarded in 2002 by the state government under the administration of the former governor, Chief James Ibori, and the contractor’s whereabouts since then is unknown, while the contract has not been re-awarded.

We can’t locate contractor—IBIRI Former president-general of Emevor Progress Union, EPU and ex-vice chairman, Isoko North Local Government Area, Chief Peter Ibiri, confirmed that the road was awarded to a local contractor in 2002 during the Ibori administration.

He said: “He (the contractor) came with sub-standard equipment, so after some time, the man disappeared. When I was the president general of the clan, I made efforts to get the contractor to return to the site, but all my efforts were in vain.

“We did not know exactly the name of the contractor and where he came from. Up till now, the road is abandoned and we cannot lay our hands on the contractor, especially now that that administration is no more in existence.”

Our people’re suffering—AKPOTABOR Incumbent EPU presidentgeneral, Elder Moses Akpotabor, who also spoke to Niger Delta Voice, said the various villages in the community, including Oyaro, Egbahe, Ivrogbo, Ujevwe, Oghrere, amongst others, collectively known as Isi, are all located along the stretch of the road.

His words: “Isi is where Emevor people have their farmlands; they go to Isi on foot, with bicycles, motorcycles and vehicles but because of the situation of the road, they now find it difficult to come to Emevor town with their farm products.

“Emevor community is an oil producing area. We are not seeing any impact from the government concerning

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Emevor people, so we have been begging that government assist us by putting that road in good shape.

“The road has been in this condition from time immemorial. It was only the Shell Petroleum Development Company; SPDC that tarred the road for the first time and that should be in the early 1970s.

Since that time till today, there is no government impact on the road.”

fering untold hardship as a result of the bad state of the road.

He said: “All our farm projects are in Isi and in the rainy season, nobody can access the road. So many women have broken their waists and legs in the course of finding their way

to the farm.”

A villager said: “Some of our leaders are fighting very hard, particularly the member representing Isoko federal constituency at the House of Representatives, Mr. Leo Ogor and Senator James

Manager, to make sure the road is tarred.

“Hopefully, the road will be tarred very soon if it is approved.”

We‘ve cried to Uduaghan, NDDC “We have made a lot of efforts to draw government’s attention to the state of the road; we have been crying, crying to government and when the state governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan came on a visit, we drew his attention to the road and he made some promises, but up till now, nothing has been done.

“We have also on several occasions, cried to NDDC and they keep on saying that the project is in their budget but nothing is being done about it.

So, that has been the promises all these while,” he said.

Hell on earth Akpotabor asserted, “During the rainy season, the situation is terrible; it is hell on earth passing that road. To access the road is difficult, and it is not safe.

“It is usually slippery with water everywhere, so you cannot pass. Those trekking will begin to fall; if you go with bicycle, it is the same story, if you go with motorcycle you cannot pass; vehicle is completely out of question. In the dry season you can manage it by jumping the pot holes.”

On whether the road had ever been awarded to a contractor, the community leader said: “There have been rumours that the road had been awarded, but they will just come with bulldozers and caterpillars and after some time you will not see them again.

“The rumour was that the road was awarded; we saw some caterpillars that came for the grading and after some time they left. So, who they awarded it to, I don’t know because at that time I was not in office, so I cannot quote exactly the company that it was awarded to.”

Indescribable hardship Also speaking with Niger Delta Voice, chairman of the home branch of the Emevor Progress Union, Mr. Manager Edeki, lamented that the people of the community were suf-

Toiling on the road.

Lawyers rage as DSS, soldiers manacle colleague

DELTA...

FINGER OF GOD

By Egufe Yafugborhi

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ARRI—A legal practitioner, Joseph Ogedegbe, residing at Agbarho, Ughelli South Local Government Area, Delta State,

has narrated how a team of 12 Department of State Services, DSS, officials and military men, invaded his residence, cuffed his legs and chained him to a burglary proof in a room like a mad man for one night.

The Mid-West Bar Forum, comprising lawyers from Edo and Delta states at a meeting in Warri, presided over by the chairman, Ferdinand Orbih (SAN), condemned the treatment meted to Ogedegbe, vowing to drag the Department of State Services, DSS, to court for alleged unlawful arrest and harassment of its member.

Ogedegbe told Niger Delta Voice that he was first whisked to a military commander at a hotel in Ughelli by his captors, saying, “in Warri, they removed the handcuff, chained my legs, chained me to the burglary proof of the win-

dow in a room.

“They locked and left me till the following morning like a mad man undergoing traditional treatment after earlier scaring my family and turning my house and car upside down in search of what I do not know.

“They ransacked the two phones seized from me.

Thereafter, they handed over the phones, unchained and asked me to go home.

“No statement was obtained from me and the report for which I was arrested not disclosed to me.”

DSS officials in the Warri locality contacted over the matter declined knowledge of the incident, while the Police Public Relations Officer, Delta State Police Command, DSP Celestina Kalu, said the matter was not under police purview.

6—Niger Delta Voice, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015

PODIUM… Jubilation, as Uduaghan inaugurates 7.5km Umeh Road

By Perez Brisibe

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MEH—DELTA State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, weekend, accomplished one of the reasons he strongly believes God endorsed him as governor of the oil-rich state.

It was the inauguration of the concluded 7.5 km Umeh Road, a project he was very passionate about because from foundation, the people of agriculturally-rich Umeh community in Isoko South Local Government Area, have no road to evacuate their farm produce.

The ecstasy, Saturday, in the community was indescribable as some villagers shed tears of joy. You not only sense the bliss in the carnival sky, it was palpable in the looks of the people, both young and old.

Most inspected road project Speaking on the importance of the road to his administration, he said, “I think this is the road I inspected most in the state. At a point, I was accused of giving too much attention to the road.

“On one of such days, I drove to the school and what I saw was not acceptable. We then decided to change the design of the school and that too is also ready for commissioning today.

“There are three things about Umeh that gladdens my heart; first, the traditional ruler, Odio of Umeh who is very appreciative, secondly, there was no report of youths trying to disrupt the project as they guided it and were very excited about it, finally, it’s about Duncan who I want to regard as an emerging leader and I am saying this from the bottom of my heart.

“He has been able to steer the ship of that page through making even the young ones to become more respectful by concentrating on issues rather than personalities.

“I think the page has trained a lot of leaders especially for Isoko land, it is not only about this road but about building leadership, I am aware that other communities have opened such pages which is good as we can now have platforms for engaging ourselves.

Emerging leader What played out in the community, February 14, dated back to August 16, 2011 when a legal practitioner and indigene of the town, Mr. Duncan Afahokor, opened a Facebook page, Umeh Needs Road, UNR, to draw attention of the state government to the problem of an agriculturallyendowed community that was trapped because it had no road to evacuate its produce. He is the administrator of the page.

Commending the efforts of Mr. Afahokor, an elated Governor Uduaghan, who twirled in celebration with women of the community, described him as an emerging leader in the Isoko nation, saying he was able to use Facebook advocacy to bring respite to the people of Umeh.

How I joined UNR—UDUAGHAN Going down memory lane, the governor recounted how his attention was drawn to the state of Umeh road in 2011 as well as the huge food deposit of the area in contributing to his vision of the Delta Beyond Oil initiative.

He said: “Sometime in 2011, I got a friendly request from Duncan on a personal Facebook page I operate.

“Though I was initially disappointed thinking it was another Duncan, I saw a post on his wall followed by the UNR group page he opened, stating that, he is from a community called Umeh, which could be a food basket of Nigeria and that the only constraint is the road leading to the community.

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“His words: ”It had occurred to me that the member representing the area in the State Assembly, Hon Johnson Erijo, had talked about the bad state of the road but somehow, we failed to capture it.

“But I want to state here that there was no lobbying for the awarding of the Umeh road contract.

“Everything as regards the road was discussed on the UNR page including the cost of the contract as every member of the group was part of the management of the project,” he said.

“I joined the group and we debated on issues concerning the road. Many persons doubted if I was the one actually operating the account with one of them suggesting that if I was the one, I should visit the road.

“This was about 4am; I immediately put a call through to the SSG that I would be visiting Umeh.

was very terrible. To see things for ourselves, we were trying to drive into the bad road and 1km into the 7km road, we got stuck.

“We came down and started walking till we got to a farmhouse where we met a young pregnant lady, on sighting us owing to the armed security officials with guns, she fled into the bush.

My first visit to Umeh ” We got to Umeh the next day at about 8.00 am and what I saw on the state of the road

Spiritual connection “Though she later returned, I and her in company of others, who later came, had a

conversation for 30 minutes, but that was the day I had a spiritual connection with the road with my mind telling me that the road must be completed.”

How we earlier failed to capture the road Before Duncan’s Facebook advocacy that accentuated the plight of Umeh, the governor said the member of the House of Assembly representing the area raised the Umeh road problem, but somehow, it was drowned in a cacophony.

Only God and I understand my joy “In all of these, it’s only God and myself that understand the depth of my excitement today, not because this is the most expensive road project in the state nor because it is the longest we constructed in the state, but because today, we are standing on a well-paved road and a few years ago, the canopy would not stand.

Solicit for votes for PDP Uduaghan while soliciting for votes for the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, ahead of the forthcoming general elections, urged the people of the area to vote for President Goodluck Jonathan and all PDP candidates in the area.

Niger Delta Voice, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015—7

Terrain dictates how Mkpot villagers walk Cement, N5,000 per bag

Mkpot stream Continues from Page 1 “I do not know how we walk, but some people have described what you said about it in the past.

“But given the suffering we go through here, anything can happen to our physique. So it is not strange.”

Another resident laughed and walked away when accosted by this reporter on why the people pace like monkey.

Cut-off from the world

The Ejagham-speaking people live in complete isolation from the rest of the world with no market, GSM connection, hospital, secondary school and other basic amenities of life.

Their huts are closely packed and the village covered with sharp rocky pebbles, steep valleys, rocky streams, sharp shrubs and thorns.

What could pass as market in the settlement are two small kiosks in the living rooms of the owners, which serve as the source of supply for everyone who needs simple items like battery for torch light, matches, soap, salt and other essentials.

Most of these items cost three times their normal price in the towns and cities, but the people have no choice than to buy.

Odum, an elder of the village, told Niger Delta Voice , “money is very scarce here since we do not sell anything.

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“The government has stopped from the animals we used to kill and vegetables we used to get from the forest. So we only make do with what we get here.”

He said the items in the kiosks were expensive because of the difficulty those who went to town to get them passed through to bring them to the village.

“A bag of cement here costs N5, 000 because to get it from Ambechot to this place, you have to pay those who will carry it N3,000 and a number of people have to carry it in turns,” Odum added.

The community leader asserted that there was really no need for a market in the village, as people from outside, were not expected to walk the long and tortuous distance to buy goods from the place.

Hear him: “Everybody produces what he eats like yams, cassava and vegetables and for the salt, we buy from Arem (kiosk owner). So we do not need a market.”

He narrated that once a villager becomes old, he no longer goes out of the village for fear that he might die on the way or in the town so he has to stay within the community until he passes on and is buried.

According to him, “ when anybody from Mkpot dies in the town, he is buried there and if he dies here, he is buried here because the task of carrying such a person is usually too much.”

The community has a dilapidated building which functions as a primary school without teachers, since no one

is willing to trek to, live and serve in such a far-flung place.

As it is for the school, so also the health centre, whose only staff had since left and refused to return.

Catholic Church as alternative govt

The Catholic Church, which is the only denomination with a place of worship in the area, is the only organization providing succour for the people by stocking the health centre with free drugs.

The medical doctor and nurse on the entourage of the Archbishop carried out medical examination and diagnosis on the sick during the visit.

None of the elders appears to have precise details of how Mkpot community, a far flung settlement in the deep recesses of the Oban forest came to be in existence.

Some said it was founded by their ancestor, whose hunting expedition took him far away from his original home in Ambechot to the deep forest.

After several months of absence, Mkpot, for that was the man’s name, thought to have been eaten by wild animals returned home, not to stay, but to move his wife and children to his new found land.

He went back into the forest where they found a home and today, the place has grown to become a community. Although a ‘forgotten' one.

Oil communities angry with Akpabio over abandoned roads, bridge AKWA IBOM...

LAND OF PROMISE

By Chioma Onuegbu

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BENO—OIL-BEARING communities in Akwa Ibom State, comprising Ibeno, Mbo and Eket Local Government Areas, are disenchanted that Governor Godswill Akpabio did not construct the Eket-Ibeno, Etebi Enwang Road and EtebiEnwang Bridge connecting them to the rest of the state.

Community leaders and indigenes, who spoke to Niger Delta Voice, lamented that as the governor prepares to handover in May, the oil communities had nothing to show for the revenue accruing to the state from their soil, as both link projects were at teething stages.

Speaking on the state of the 19.5 kilometres Eket-Ibeno

Road being handled by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, CCECC, Village Head of Owong Okpong in Ibeno Local Government, Obong Okon Akpan, said even a stranger traversing the area would attest to the fact that the road, which is the major motorway connecting the core oil producing communities in the state, had been abandoned.

Akpan said: “Even our dear governor, the uncommon transformer, had promised that the road will be completed before he leaves office and we gave him applause when he made that promise.

“Today, we are not even sure that much talked about EketIbeno road project will be completed this year because this government only has few months to go. It is a very sad issue.”

We’re still on site— CCECC Contacted, the Human Resources Manager of

CCECC, Mr. Solomon Matthew, who spoke on behalf of the Project Manager, Engineer Wang, said: “We are doing the precast and that is why you cannot see our equipment on the roads.

“We relocated all our equipment from sites for security reasons, but we are still working.

“Although to lay off workers is a common practice in the construction sector, I assure you that CCECC is one construction company that retains its staff.

“The few that left resigned on their own because during the rainy seasons when construction work slow down, some may decide to go look for something else.”

He, however, declined to comment on when the project would be completed and the amount budgeted for it, saying that he was not in a position to speak on that aspect of the projects.

‘Mrs Jonathan sabotaging APC rally in Okrika’ RIVERS… THE TREASURE BASE OF THE NATION

By Davies Iheamnachor

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ORT HARCOURT— THE All Progressives Congress, APC, in Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State has asked President Goodluck Jonathan to call his wife, Dame Patience Jonathan, to order, accusing her of frustrating the party ’s rally in her hometown, Okrika.

Campaign Manager of APC in Okrika, Tamuno Williams; Chairman of the party in the area, Chief Amangi Sunday and other APC leaders made the call while reacting to the postponement of the party ’s rally in Okrika by the police for the third time on grounds that security could not be guaranteed.

His words: “We heard that Mrs. Jonathan has vowed that APC will not hold any political rally in her country home, Okrika.

“We are calling on her husband and our in-law to please call his wife to order on the crisis that is in Okrika today.”

Williams, who spoke on behalf of the campaign organization and the APC leaders in Okrika, fingered the First Lady for stalling their activities, stressing that she was clearly not advocating for a violentfree election in the area.

He accused her of inciting crisis in the area by ordering the police not to approve the party ’s rally, adding that the recent indefinite suspension of APC’s rally in Okrika was the third time the Rivers Police Command had said the security of their rally would not be guaranteed.

The APC chieftain wondered why the police have continued to frustrate their efforts to hold rally in Okrika, even when they provided security for PDP in other volatile terrains in the state.

8—Niger Delta Voice, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015

CELEBRITY King Okpoitari Diongoli: From bus conductor to palace who he incidentally served as Press Secretary, 1999 to 2002 when the former was deputy governor of Bayelsa State, the young Okpoitari Diongoli had no shoe and sometimes did not know where, when, how and where his next meal was going to come from.

Now and then in tattered uniform, books and bags, he pressed ahead with the innocence of a child, who looks ahead into a great future.

A product of a broken home, he grew up under challenging and very depressing conditions, but as a man of destiny, he fought the vagaries of life, redefined the boundaries and pushed the frontiers of poverty to the bottomless abyss.

‘I fought poverty with all my power’ “I am from a humble background, I therefore fought poverty with all my strength, so that my children will not experience what I went through growing up,” he told Niger Delta Voice.

A vibrant and professional journalist, in June 1999, he was appointed Press Secretary to the Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State by the administration of Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha. In the year 2010, the administration of Chief Timipre Sylva appointed him General Manager of Bayelsa State Broadcasting Corporation where he excelled beyond imagination.

O

By Samuel Oyadongha

POKUMA—HIS Majesty, King Okpoitari Diongoli, Opu-Okun the IV, Ibedaowei of Opokuma clan in Kolokuma-Opokuma Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, was not born with a silver spoon, but his resilience over the vicissitudes of life is symptomatic of the reality that where there is life, there is hope.

Born inside the Cherubim and Seraphim Church at Akanranbiri, one of the most backward communities in Opokuma clan, the story of the OpuOkun IV is that of hope that with education and sheer determination, the teeming youths of the oil-rich, but retrograde Niger-Delta can overcome poverty and deprivation.

Greatness foretold Those gifted in interpreting the omens foretold that a great seed had sprouted out of the community at his birth, but not many took seriously the prophecy of the coming of the great son.

The chronicle of later events of his life from infancy to adulthood only confirms the saying of the sages that Okpoitari Diongoli is a man of destiny.

As a child who though has never been orphaned, yet lived like an orphan, he told Niger Delta Voice: “I sold iced fish here in Opokuma during the holidays; I sold plantain at Mile I Market, Diobu and bread at Sangana Street Junction, also in Port Harcourt, for some of my step mothers and aunties.”

Undaunted by his poor background,

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after his secondary school days between 1984 and 1987, he said: “I worked as a helper to a bricklayer at Crown Flour Mills, Tin Can Island in Lagos and later became a ‘glorified’ bus conductor with Izu Chukwu Transport Company.”

No shoe like his boss, Jonathan Like President Goodluck Jonathan,

‘Digital GM’ His exploits during his short spell as General Manager earned him the nick name ‘Digital GM’ and till date his footprints loom very large at the Radio station.

His words: “In 1999, I was appointed Press Secretary to the first Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, who by the grace of God is today the President of Nigeria.

“In July 2010, I was appointed General Manager of Bayelsa State Broadcasting Corporation, now Glory FM where God used me to render selfless service to transform the station and earned the title of Digital GM. Lastly is the big one, which was my election and crowning

as the Ibedaowei of Opokuma clan amidst fanfare.

He was focused, visionary, transparent, disciplined, unassuming, kind hearted and above all demonstrated uncommon skills in the management of both human and material resources while he was at the helm of affairs at the Radio station.

Modesty mixed with royalty It is, therefore, not surprising that Opokuma clan could best be described as the most peaceful clan today in the state, given the way and manner he has handled the affairs of the clan since his coronation, last year, making him the youngest king in the state's Council of Traditional Rulers.

Known for his humility, the royal father, who intermingles freely with the old and young in his clan, told Niger Delta Voice, “Destiny has entrusted on me the responsibility to lead Opokuma people clan to the preferred destination.

“I am not the most qualified, neither am I the richest, the most knowledgeable or the strongest in the clan, divine providence smiled at me to prove that when God chooses a leader, He does so not by using human parameters; the Almighty God looks into the innermost recesses of the heart of such a leader.

“I believe it is for this reason that providence has lifted me from humble background to the exalted stool of the Opu-Okun the IV, Ibedaowei of Opokuma clan.” According to him, his coronation marked the third time destiny would smile at him,” he said.

What I want from God “One thing I will desire of the Lord now that I have been crowned as King of Opokuma clan is for the Lord to grant me wisdom because the Holy Bible says wisdom is the principal thing.

“As a servant leader I am here to serve my people and not to be served by them.

That is where those who belong to the school of thought that says I am too young missed the mark.

“It is not about age but about community service which I have been doing since my days as a young school leaver. The citizens of Opokuma clan yearned for change and that change has come.”

‘How gunmen ambushed, killed Delta businessman’

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GHELLI—FRESH revelations have emerged on how gunmen waylaid and shot dead a 60-year-old Ughelli-based businessman, Mr. Michael Onajiyovwi, alias Onamike, in a series of killings that rocked the Delta community and environs, recently.

Mrs. Judith Onajiyovwi-Jury, daughter of the deceased, who debunked claims that her father was shot dead in a cult-related murder, said he was assassinated by unidentified gunmen, who followed him to his Okiemu Street residence and shot him in the presence of his wife.

Narrating the nightmare in a sober voice, Mrs. Onajiyovwi-Jury said: “When they (my father and mother) closed from the shop, located at the Ughelli axis of the East-West Road, around 9.15 pm, he (Onajiyovwi) drove home in company of my mum and stopped at the front of our house to open the entrance gate.

“It was at this point that they (gunmen) approached him and shot him on the chest, with the bullet exiting from

his back, after which they fled with his Toyota Highlander car with number plate Delta PTN 526 AA. “We lodged a report at the AgbarhaOtor Police Station and the police came here to interview my cousin, took pictures and asked some questions, but since then, we are yet to hear from them on any update.”

Denying any form of cult-related circumstances surrounding the killing of her father, she said: “It is very funny the way people peddle lies owing to the fact that the dead do not talk.

“My dad was a very loving, amiable and family man; he was not a cultist and was not killed in connection with his business. We believe he was assassinated for reasons we are yet to know.

“If he had issues with anyone, he would have light-heartedly told us, his children.

“Since his demise, we have been hearing various rumours surrounding his death, but we are appealing to the police and the state government to fish out those that masterminded his killing.”

Late Mr. Micheal Onajiyovwi She said: “My mum said there was no car trailing them before my dad was shot; hence we suspect that the gunmen were lurking around our house, patiently waiting for the arrival of my dad before the unfortunate incident.”

When Niger Delta Voice visited the Okiemu residence of the Onajiyivwis, the widow, Mrs. Onajiyovwi, surrounded by sympathizers, was seen bemoaning the demise of her husband.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015—33

By Theodore Opara

Jaguar Land Rover cars to feature in new James Bond movie J

AGUAR Land Rover has announced its line-up of vehicles set to feature in SPECTRE, the 24th James Bond adventure, from Albert R. Broccoli’s EON Productions, Metro-GoldwynMayer Studios, and Sony Pictures Entertainment. These will include; Jaguar C-X75s, Range Rover Sport SVRs and Defender Big Foots which have been provided by Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations.

The Jaguar C-X75 will feature in a spectacular car chase sequence through Rome alongside the Aston Martin DB10. The C-X75 vehicles have been built in collaboration with Williams Advanced Engineering facility in Oxfordshire, England.

Scenes including the heavily modified Land Rover Defenders and Range Rover Sport SVR have already been filmed in Austria. The Range Rover Sport SVR is the fastest and the most powerful Land Rover ever. The highly capable Big Foots were constructed by the Special Operations division, and are shod with huge 37-inch diameter offroad tyres to tackle extreme terrain. They also feature bespoke suspension and enhanced body protection.

Jaguar C-X75

Kia Soul named best Eco-friendly vehicle K IA’s hip urban crossover and first allelectric zero emissions vehicle, the Soul EV, has been named the Best EcoFriendly Vehicle in MotorWeek’s 34th annual Drivers’ Choice Awards.

MotorWeek, which airs on 92 percent of PBS stations nationwide, analyzes trends, new products and new technology to produce a list of winners that can be used as a car-buying guide by the show’s viewers.

Admired for its practicality

and fun design, editors at MotorWeek appreciated the roomy interior and cargo space of the Soul EV, which offers more rear seat leg room than other key EV competitors.

“As the centerpiece of Kia’s Clean Mobility program, the Soul EV has the best range in its segment, EPA estimated at 93 miles, and it’s been recognized by Underwriters Laboratories for its use of bio-based materials,” said Orth

Hedrick, vice president of product planning, Kia

As the centerpiece of Kia’s Clean Mobility program, the Soul EV has the best range in its segment

Motors America (KMA).

“MotorWeek’s Best EcoFriendly Vehicle award is a great honor from a respected source and a powerful endorsement of the Soul EV’s unique blend of range, utility, style and value.”

“The Kia Soul EV is the perfect EV. It is totally practical with plenty of room for adults and everyday cargo,” noted John Davis, host and executive producer, MotorWeek. “It has more

PSA Peugeot Citroën leads in reducing CO2 emissions

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SA Peugeot Citroën recaptured its first place standing in reducing emissions at end 2014 in Europe, with an average of 110.3 grams of CO2 per kilometre* (source: AAA DATA), compared with an average of 123.7 grams for the European market. Since 2008, the Group has gradually lowered its vehicle emissions by about 30 grams.

The new record illustrates PSA Peugeot Citroën’s commitment to finding practical solutions to environmental problems. More than 50% of its R&D budget is devoted to developing technologies aimed at improving the fuel and environmental performance of its vehicles.

PSA Peugeot Citroën’s top ranking is primarily

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the result of its engine downsizing strategy and the introduction of new PureTech 3-cylinder petrol engines, as well as the introduction of newgeneration, fuel-efficient BlueHDi diesel engines.

In 2014, nearly 30% of vehicles sold by the Group emitted less than 100 grams of CO2.

Paired with these highly efficient petrol and diesel engines, many Group models are lowcarbon leaders in their category. Due to the fact that they represent a significant proportion of European sales, they contribute to an overall reduction in emissions.

The following models are examples of low-carbon leader vehicles: Citroën C4 Cactus, 1.6-litre BlueHDi, 100 hp, 82 grams of CO2 per

kilometre Citroën DS 3, 1.6-litre BlueHDi, 100 hp, 79 grams of CO2 per kilometre

Peugeot 308, PureTech 1.2-litre, 130 hp, 107 grams of CO2 per kilometre. This petrol version also set a new fuel

Kia Soul electric vehicle

economy record of 2.85 litres per 100 kilometres, covering 1,810 kilometres on a 51-litre tank of fuel.

power and range compared to other affordable all-electric vehicles. Plus, its funky style makes driving the Kia Soul EV really cool.”

The Soul EV retains the iconic design of its gasoline-powered sibling and is offered in four color choices from which designconscious customers can choose. The Soul EV has a premium interior and standard amenities including: Navigation with eight-inch touchscreen, a 6.6kW onboard charger, CHAdeMO DC fast charge port, Rear Camera Display, power windows and driver’s seat, cruise control and an HVAC system that extends the EV’s range by minimizing energy draw.

34—Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015

From Left; Mr Oje Ojeaga, Head Creatives, X3Mideas, Mr Steve Babaeko, Chief Executive Office, X3Mideas, Mr Ayeni Adekunle, guest speaker, Chief Executive Officer, BlackHouse Media Group, and Mr Taiwo Agboola, Head of Brand Management, during the X3MIdeas Business Master Class, in Lagos.

Princess Stella Oduah, Anambra North PDP Senatorial candidate, (right), being heralded on a tricycle by members of the Onitsha Okada Riders Association to Onitsha, Anambra State following her victory at the courts in Onitsha.

Lending rates hit 98% percent in interbank market •As naira gains 22 kobo

By Babajide Komolafe

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ENDING rates in the interbank money market rose to 98 percent, yesterday, as scarcity of funds intensified.

According to data from Financial Marker Dealers Quote (FMDQ), lending rate rose for overnight borrowing to 92.58 percent from 80.17 percent Friday last week, indicating 15.47 percent increase. Similarly lending rate for secured borrowing rose to 88.33 percent from 76.67 percent indicating 13.2 percent increase.

The sharp increase in lending rates was triggered by huge outflows of cash from the interbank market last week Friday causing severe scarcity of funds in the market. Commenting on this development, the Ecobank Daily Market Update said, “The interbank rate rose by 6190 basis points on 13 February, reflecting inter-bank liquidity squeeze. Increased liquidity outflows driven by funding requirements for government securities, foreign exchange and statutory withdrawal for Cash Reserve ratio (CRR) weighed on the market.”

On the foreign exchange scene, the naira appreciated by 22 kobo against the dollar at the interbank foreign exchange market as the interbank exchange rate dropped to N198.88 per dollar yesterday from N199.10 last week Friday.

The appreciation, according to Mr. Kunle Ezun, currency analysts was prompted by the measures announced by the CBN on Friday to curb speculation in the interbank market and satisfy genuine foreign exchange demand. To curb speculation, the CBN had request that banks should first approach it for dollars to meet demands by customers before going to the interbank market to source for dollars to meet such demands.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015 —35

36—Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015

Suicide among brave hearts

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OUR idea of a war veteran might well be that of a fairly old man, an old soldier, retired, with friends and family around him, gleefully telling and re-telling gripping tales about escapades at the battlefield. You might be right. But, that picture of a war veteran might not match a typical, modern war veteran in the United States.

Many a time, such veterans are men and women approaching their prime, not necessarily people at the dusk of their life; people in their twenties or thirties who have seen enough warfare in the terrible terrains of Afghanistan and Iraq. A large population of these former soldiers come home with brutal, physical scars of the wars they were compelled to fight out of a sense of patriotism. But many more bear invisible scars that are no less tormenting. And, quite a good number of them who say no mas to the agony in their souls often opt out of this world by committing suicide.

It may appear quite unbelievable, but the statistics show that about 22 United States war veterans, old and young, take their lives on a daily basis simply because the pact they signed with life had gone sour.

Oftentimes, they snap and quit the wretchedness that was their living on earth. And most of them die so young. A young man named Clay Hunt from Texas was one of such young men snapped up by suicide at a young age. He was only 28 years old when he committed suicide in 2011. Like so many of his colleagues who had passed on, his problem was that of suffering from the dreaded post-traumatic stress disorder. It is the silent killer of veterans who, ironically survived the trenches in Vietnam, Korea, Afghanistan and Iraq only to come home and die uncelebrated.

You wonder why this suicide rate is so high and why these veterans who put their lives on the line for their country do not adequately get the help they need when they come home. Some months ago, I wrote in this column that these soldiers are “Heroes abroad, destitute at home.” They suffer a high rate of unemployment as some employers are wary of hiring ex-soldiers for a number of unstated reasons. Cases of the post-traumatic stress disorder rose to an allHow can time high of about 21,000 in 2012. In a we have 22 report released by the veterans U.S. Department of Housing and Urban committing Development, a huge suicide number of 57,849 homeless veterans was every day recorded on one brutally in this cold winter night in country, January, 2013.

The irony is that on and that’s their campaign trail, practically every U.S. not a politician will pledge to national do something to take issue? care of the veterans and

“wounded warriors” as the injured among them are proudly called. But, that pledge ends there. Even getting medical help is a huge problem for most of these wounded warriors. Last year, the CNN reported the ungarnished fate of these veterans at a veteran’s hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. The nation was shocked to learn that up to 40 veterans die while on the waiting list to see their doctors. That scandal led to the resignation of General Eric Shinseki as the U.S. Secretary for veteran affairs. But, the clamour for him to go and his eventual decision to step down has not radically changed anything.

Nevertheless, something is now being done to redress the fate of U.S. veterans, at least to tackle the rampant suicide incidents. Last week, President Obama signed the “Clay Hunt” law whose sole aim is to provide help to veterans in order to curb their tendency to commit suicide when hopelessness overwhelms them.

Challenging process The law was significant in two ways: It was passed by the highly partisan U.S. Congress, an indication of how serious the issue had become since Congress cannot agree on anything else; the law acknowledges the fate of Clay Hunt whose parents campaigned over the years for government to come to the aid of veterans, using their son’s case as an example of the negligence the former soldiers go through upon their return home.

Upon signing the law last week, a concerned President Obama remarked that “This law will not bring Clay back, as much as we wish it would. But the reforms that it puts in place would have helped, and they’ll help others who are going through the same challenging process that he went through.” If the opportunity provided by the new law had existed, then the likes of Clay might not have opted to take their own lives. Mr. Richard Selke, stepfather to the dead warrior told reporters after the law-signing ceremony that “what this bill does is take away some barriers, some needless barriers, that shouldn’t be there and make it easier for these veterans to get the health care they’re so entitled to.”

That may be what the veterans are entitled to, and much more. But the bureaucracy along the way has been insurmountable. Here is how Jake Wood, who had served in Afghanistan with Clay, marshaled his argument after the signing ceremony: “How can we have 22 veterans committing suicide every day in this country, and that’s not a national issue?

This is an issue that needs to be seared into the forefront of every citizen of this country.” His contention should be viewed against the reality that 15 members of his Marine unit in Afghanistan have so far committed suicide after their tour of duty.

One thing is to have signed the law aimed at halting the suicide rate among America’s brave hearts, yet implementing the law will fall into the hands of the same administrators and workers at the Veteran Affairs unit. Having fought and survived a war, only to come home and take your life in frustration, is not a good testimony of how any nation should treat its men and women of valour.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015—37

Delta 2015: Why it'll be battle royale

Before any vote is captured

A

By Nzeribe Ihekwaba

S a confessional, this very intervention was previously made when the State of Anambra was in the throes of being captured. That was just before the election that begat the governorship tenure that expired in 2014. It appears that that effort is worth being revisited since the agonizing peril of capturing persons and their constitutional votes as well as entire swat of States is at stake again.

It is apt to make the inquiry: Quo Vadis? - since it is understood that we are no longer under the grip of Emperor Nero, except that our INEC and its political patrons ought to be proffering a remedial response plan now with the dread and uncertainty of an incomplete distribution of permanent voter cards (PVCs).

Obviously, it seems that, like in other things about life, the more things change for the worse, the more the last ugly experience appears more palatable and nostalgic in its politesse.

The dread of an impending feast of harvesting electoral votes, right on the day that the patron saint of cupid is celebrated by its liturgical and romantic adherents, raises a red flag and makes the impending 2015 elections quite worrisome. If votes are allowed to be captured, wittingly or unwittingly, in determining the governorship and elective fate of the nation, then the voter looses the constitutional right of an assured unfettered choice; and the ominous circumstance will stifle the rule of law and national security.

Dangerous dilemma As always, it is likely that the insouciant voter will presumably move on to other private issues and ignore the constitutional harm. That is the dangerous dilemma of an underdeveloped society whenever victimized with a vote grab. And anyone that can read the tea leaf well, will notice that the impending vote may follow a familiar trend, with obvious collateral losses, that match the African reality. This is made more worrisome with the demonstrated unique (un)preparedness of INEC through the yet to be completed distribution of PVCs just days before the poll. Regrettably, the horror is that all these may produce intractable scenarios to the extent that emotions and ego could possibly become the last refuge of many.

As a proactive advisory concerning the imminent partisan challenge to public safety, it is needful to consider the sagacious interrogation of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, that: “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is - What are you doing for others?”

That is exactly what the partisan stakeholders must chew on in order not to jeopardize national security.

That debate ought to be raging now to arrest the likelihood of a contested mandate as well as identifying ways and means for preempting it. Many will easily attest to a fondness for capturing votes in underdeveloping

societies, one that is not too far in mirroring the recurring fate of missed electoral opportunities in gubernatorial Nigeria. And it is not inconceivable to suggest that the socalled trending option is borne out of a partisan “do or die” approach to politics.

Additionally, there is this suggestion Map of Nigeria that many politicians maintain simultaneous proxy that the “sin” of capturing votes (and membership in opposing parties and electoral precincts) may not be the allegedly play conflicting roles of sole portent of outside influences and personal interest. The dangerous mix the electoral contenders! An obvious is abetted by religion and ethnic heavy dose of an INEC-grown cleavages, elitism and fraternal internal virus and established loyalties, as well self interest and interests that are assisted by voter primordial accouterments, etc. With apathy or collusion, will be eating the the paucity of honest stakeholders, process out. most parties have attracted men and Despite all the sordid complaints women of profound salacious against the existing political parties, antecedents, whose repurposed yet persons are willingly available interest is simply to go in and “eat”, who will still die for them! Yet the albeit at the discomfort of good electoral track record of these parties governance. This must not stand. suggest that they are simply Presently, partisan politics has become instruments of state coercion as well a plan to open up channels for as private purpose vehicles to hang personal purpose, inclusion and a leash on the public treasury. This access to the public till. explains somewhat why a corrupt It is obvious why the electorate have electoral process persists. inherited the greater share of the sins How then can the voter restrain the of a captured political arena. Some proponents of this “do or die” mantra? commentators have hinted that all that Notwithstanding all these, there may matters is the use of filthy lucre in still be a semblance of a clean vote, capturing the political space. This is wherein either of the behemoths: an outrageous reality that may PDP and APC; or the minority ones, compromise the 2015 vote just as it that is APGA, LP, SDP, PPA, Kowa, or had attended the previous ones, and the other parties, can successfully is a sad reflection of the present plant their tentacles in terra firma and behaviour that passes as politics. As a be able to win fair and square by not result of the pervading poverty, many succumbing to dirty maneuvers. voters fear that on Election Day, money This is the dilemma of the electoral is all that may be counted and not the combat that is about to unfold. What votes. Quite a nerve! Such a shameful role will the media in concert with revelation will surely rile sane minds other myriad of parochial, trade, and in other climes. Shorn of its obvious professional organizations or interest appeal to the base nature of man, it groups play in ensuring a lawful speaks to the philosophy of life that process, during and after the fact? prevails in the Republic.

The town unions, men and women Some local newspapers were awash of conscience, and a few good civic with the incredible news and wistful leaders that remain the pride of their boasts by certain partisan stalwarts of community must insist that the strategies to capture several states process is done right and the postduring the 2015 vote. Since a political election period is managed well. party is a reflection of its operating Pray, can the traditional rulers rise environment, it is not out of place to above their partisan, religious and assume, all other things considered, cultural confines to impose sanctions on non-adherents of order and good electoral behaviour?

The electorate must be ready for the country’s date with destiny. And neither incumbency nor self-help must ever be the decider of that election. The 2015 vote must be a precursor for the rise and wellbeing of a new nation. Men and women of goodwill must not allow persons with might or unacceptable priors, to scuttle the march to the future by unlawfully capturing their votes!

This 2015 vote must comply with The 2015 vote the law; and every genuine vote for must be a precursor progress and national harmony must for the rise and be properly cast, counted, announced and made to stand. wellbeing of a new •Ihekwaba, Ph.D., wrote in from nation Florida, USA

I

By Michael Tidi

T is generally believed that, you can assess the quality of a man especially a politician by observing those who rise up against him. This explains the persistent attacks on Sen. Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, the Delta PDP governorship candidate by our own brother, Barr. Jesutega Onokpasa. This piece is not an attempt to join issues with my most respected elder brother, but to enjoin him to have a rethink on the obviously wrong path he has chosen.

This has become necessary because as the clock ticks towards the April 11 poll, all reliable indications firmly point to the election of Senator Okowa to succeed the present governor.

With Senator Okowa at the saddle come May 29 this year, we can safely expect a brighter era of exciting hope with a consolidation of what our party has achieved so far and a complete departure from whatever drawbacks we may have witnessed in the present era. Okowa’s unrivalled democratic package will showcase confidence building among Deltans under an approach to governance that will entrench unprecedented innovations across all strata of Delta society.

With Okowa’s unique insight into public service, Deltans can seat back, relax and look forward to a new era of job creation and economic empowerment, youth development and social welfare, including a giant leap in infrastructural development and the advent of world class healthcare delivery. With Dr. Okowa’s humane leadership style setting the pace for service delivery in Delta, the concomitant conducive environment which will be sustainably prevalent in Delta State will serve to attract the support and cooperation of all Deltans across the political divide.

Political divide It is quite shocking to me that an erstwhile loyal supporter of PDP who formulated the most brilliant case for inclusive governance where all parts of the state will have a sense of belonging is now the most vociferous critic of Senator Okowa and basically the one leading the charge against his own party, PDP. Onokpasa’s forcefulness in attacking his own party is quite shocking.

Whoever offended him to the extent of his abandoning PDP is certainly not our distinguished Senator. As far as I know, Barr.

Onokpasa cannot make any case against Okowa and he is fully aware that the distinguished Senator and kind-hearted medical doctor is a truly detribalized Deltan.

As far as I know both Okowa and Onokpasa were on good terms before our learned party man suddenly left the party to work for the opposition.

I am also aware that he has nothing personal against any of our Itsekiri or Isoko supporters as well as the likes of High Chief Government Ekpemupolo. I also know of no personal grievance he can claim against his learned colleague and our erudite Deputy Governorship candidate, Barr.

Kingsley Otuaro and other leaders of our party.

I am privileged to be aware that Onokpasa has only met O’tega Emerhor of APC only once in his entire life which makes what he is currently doing only more baffling to many of us in PDP. If I didn’t know Onokpasa, I would have concluded that he has been charmed by the opposition.

Senator Okowa We must, however, be honest to ourselves and look closer home for reasons why such a faithful and reliable leader suddenly abandoned us overnight.

Senator Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa shall, by God's grace, become the next Governor Of Delta State, hence diehard opponents should retrace their footsteps back to PDP where they belong.

Tidi, a member, Media/Publicity Committee, Delta State PDP Campaign Organization, writes from Warri.

38—Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015

•Mohammed:

Election shift: PDP has only postponed the evil day — Lai Mohammed LAWYER, administrator and politician, Alhaji Lai Mohammed is the National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC. In this interview with newsmen in Lagos, he reviews developments in the polity following the postponement of the general elections. Excerpts:

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor

W

HY did you have a secret meeting with the INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega as alleged by President Jonathan’s campaign spokesman, Femi FaniKayode?

To answer your question, nothing like that happened.

People like Fani-Kayode, they make statements and nobody cares to see whether it is true or not. I believe we should be able to ask him: where in Dubai did the meeting take place? Which leadership of the party met in Dubai?

But he said he was not going to release any more information.

Because he doesn’t have any.

If he has that information, knowing him very well, he would have wanted it published.

So if you look at those people who are fighting hardest for PDP, they are fighting for their lives not for the country: the sons of two former chairmen of the PDP

are involved in oil subsidy scam and his campaign spokesman has a case with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). So, all these people are only protecting themselves and they would do anything to ensure that President Jonathan wins this election. That is what they prefer. There is no way these people will want a change of government, because they know what is in store for them. It was not we that took them to court, it was Jonathan administration’s EFCC that took them to court.

Given your position and in view of what the president’s assertion a few days, haven’t that changed your perception about election holding?

There is no way I would believe anything Jonathan says.

Absolutely not possible. You all watched the tape on Ekiti rigging. These are the same people that came out to say that the Ekiti election was free and fair and trying to justify that it is only when APC loses elections that they complain. After what I saw in Ekiti, in that tape, I don’t

believe Mr. President one bit.

You heard what Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, then serving as Minister of State for Defence, said in the audio. He said ‘we are not here for a tea party, I have been sent by Mr. President.’ And Fayose said in this election, I am Jonathan. So, Mr. President assures who? No way.

Obanikoro has sued; he is contesting the matter in court.

Obanikoro can sue anybody he wants to sue. Look, we are not idiots. If you wake me up in the middle of the night, I know Obanikoro’s voice.

Some people felt if Ekiti election had been rigged, there would have been violence.

Look, that election was rigged so clinically that there could not be any protest. You heard and you saw that each tactical commander was given explicit instruction to go to each local government and work for the PDP. They did three things: one mass arrest of our leaders before and during election. Do you know what it means when you

arrest leaders of the party? It means the man who has the resources to even pay agents and also mobilise is out. They were also given specific instruction to work for the PDP. Are you going to take this to the tribunal?

You see it might be late for the Tribunal thing, but from now we will still go to court to say that this election was not conducted properly and that will be bottom line, but surely the military connived. What is going to happen is that this will help us in 2015 elections that we would not allow this kind of thing to happen. Those military men that compromised in the film have done great disservice to the military.

Do you regret that this kind of audio or film is coming very, very late after the Ekiti election?

We don’t regret it. I think they have come at a good time. You see, don’t forget that the man who made this video is not a member of APC. He made the video and he confessed that when he decided to join the military, he didn’t expect to be used like this. And he asked and he said no single officer were happy about it.

How has the postponement affected you plans?

Clearly, the intention of the Jonathan administration in postponing the election is to create chaos and create an atmosphere where elections would not hold at all, but we thank God that they are disappointed. I think the reaction of our party and our presidential candidate appealing for calm above all must have shocked them immensely. We thank God that postponement has annoyed more people and they have lost more supporters than they thought they would gain.

Thirdly, I wouldn’t pretend, it

The intention of the Jonathan administration in postponing the election is to create chaos and create an atmosphere where elections would not hold at all

would affect us because one, we now have to look for more money; two, it would now give opportunity to continue with their smear campaign. It would also allow them to perfect their rigging plans, that is why you see the deployment of soldiers to some duties, but I can assure you, if anybody takes the poll between last Saturday and today, I can assure you that APC has gone higher in the rating and PDP has gone down.

Yes, the intentions were to derail us and ensure they arrest our momentum, but unfortunately, what they have done was to postpone their funeral; you can’t wake up a dead man. What we would do is to make the best of a bad situation within the six weeks to gain more ground and acceptance everywhere.

But critics have accused you of hypocrisy as you have also postponed local government election in Lagos.

Did they ever conduct LG election in Anambra? What are they talking about?

But it doesn’t make right.

No, no excuse me, what does the law say. What does the law say about council election? It is a state law.

What would you do if those after Buhari get a judge to get disqualify him.

Nobody should toy with the fate of this country because the consequences would be too dire.

Not all the people that are chanting change, change belong to APC?

Ethnic and religious lines One thing that this government has succeeded in doing is in dividing Nigeria along ethnic and religious lines and it is very sad and it will take a long time to close these lines.

This man should understand that his tenure whether it is four or eight years would come and pass, but he has a date with history and he should be careful not to be the last president of united Nigeria. He should be careful not to be the last president of peaceful Nigeria. He met us united and he has divided Nigeria completely.

There is nothing he has touched, is it the economy, is it the military, is it the judiciary, name it that he has not destroyed. Look at the military today, look at the economy today, look at the judiciary today.

On electricity, he met 3, 440 megawatts, what we have today after trillions of naira had been spent is 3,700 and you tell us he has dismantled NEPA. Have we gotten more electricity supply?

And look at corruption, are we talking about N245 billion pension scam, N2.6 trillion oil subsidy scam or $20 billion scam and they now said they have reconciled the account and it is $1.43 billion. Where did it go?

Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015—39

Sokoto Governorship: How I will defeat Tambuwal — Sen Wali SENATOR Abdallah Wali, the first Senate Leader of the Fourth Republic, set a high moral tone for the new dispensation when after the impeachment of Senator Evan Enwerem as Senate President in 1999, he voluntarily stepped down as Senate Leader though he was not in any way touched with the moral issues that forced Enwerem out of office.

Senator Wali was the only senator elected on the platform of the PDP from Sokoto State in 1999 and he was subsequently appointed minister of national planning before he was appointed ambassador to Morocco in 2007.

Now the PDP governorship candidate for Sokoto State, he is locked in battle against his onetime political protégée and Senate aide, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal who is flying the ticket of the All Progressives Congress, APC. In this interview, he gave reasons why he is contesting the number one seat in Sokoto State and why his party, PDP will win.

He also stated that being the Speaker of the House of Representatives does not make Aminu Tambuwal a popular choice in the state. Excerpts

By Gbenga Oke

Y

OUR main rival in this governorship election is Aminu Tambuwal who is considered to be a very popular politician. Given his popularity as incumbent Speaker of House of Representatives and your own rich background, how do you expect the game to turn out?

In Sokoto politics, we don’t consider Abuja popularity or national popularity. We are concerned about reaching out to the people. I have the advantage of running for the governorship in 2003 and that time, I visited nearly all the 244 wards in the state.

And if you go back to history, you will find out that in 2003, it was Governor Bafarawa and I that led the two major parties as candidates. During that time, Tambuwal and the current governor, Aliyu Wamakko, were under us in our respective parties.

Incumbent governor They are my junior in politics and we do not see them as serious challengers per se.

Another thing about election in Sokoto State is that, being a Speaker or running under the performance of the incumbent governor does not determine what happens.

If the Speaker had come into the race as an independent person and not running under the shadows of the governor, it would have been the credibility of the Speaker that will be the focus of the electorate.

But he is running under the tutelage of the current governor and you have seen how their primaries was even conducted.

So, it is clear that he had been anointed and forcefully imposed on the people. Therefore, he has

to bear the anti-sentiment of the governor which is currently very high in the state. We don’t really see him as the candidate. We see the governor and interestingly, the governor is running for the Senate. So, it makes it easier for the public to still see the governor as plotting for the continuation of his dynasty.

Also, Tambuwal’s running mate is a close ally of the governor.

Therefore to us, we are fighting the governor. Today, you don’t need much effort to unseat him in any election because of his unpopularity. If you go around the state, you will find out that the PDP is obviously the leading party because of the confidence our people have in our pattern of administration which is fairness and justice. There are four different groups which I do not want to specifically mention here. But these four groups are challenging one another for dominance.

And incidentally, the leadership of those groups have

You know that in politics, it is not a family matter but a representation of the wishes of the people

generously at separate times endorsed my candidature because each of them is convinced that I will be fair to them. They want our state to develop and they are convinced that with our leadership, the chances are very much there.

We understand •Wali:Politics is not a family matter that you and the Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal are remaining eight months. So, we brothers. How does that affect are exploring the possibility of starting a scheme that will enable the electioneering campaigns?

You know that in politics, it is some communities to do at least not a family matter but a one set of dry season farming and representation of the wishes of others to do two sets of dry season farming so that they will be the people.

What roadmap do you have occupied throughout the year.

In education sector, we have in place towards tackling the found that the primary school challenges facing the state?

We have done our research standard is so terrible, partly due and we have been keen observers to lack of encouragement on the too. In the agricultural sector for teachers, many of them do not instance, we have found out that report to work and the few that the Goroyo dam is one of the do are not committed. And we biggest in the country and it is gathered that part of their currently serving only its grievances is that they learnt that the federal government has immediate environment. approved a scheme to be paid to the primary school teachers but Destruction the state government refused to of farmlands implement that.

We have assured them that we And at the peak of the rainy will implement that and motivate season, you discover that the them well to be committed to dam gets so full that instead of leaving it to overflow and destroy duty. I know what the standard things in the town, the authorities of education was in Sokoto State usually release the water, which when I was in the primary school. still destroy farmlands that have I could read and write. How come that in our time, with so been prepared for cultivation.

So, we have conducted a study much resources and modern on how we can use the dam to technology, we cannot get our draw a sloppy drainage that can people to improve? In the reach every part of the state secondary education, our study where the flow of water can allow has shown us our total it and then use it to expand requirement for our indigenous students to be able to pay up their irrigation.

The bulk of our farming is only quota at the various available four months during the rainy tertiary institutions in the country.

How prepared are you and season. After that, our people PDP leaders to ensure a violentremain unemployed for the

free election in Sokoto State?

I am not a violent person and I abhor violence in its entirety. We accused the state government of encouraging violence. In this state today, there is a thug that is above the law. He was seen to have murdered somebody in broad day and was arrested. He was even taken to Abuja but through whatever terms, the governor got him released and brought him home and even organised a rally for him in the state capital to showcase him.

Campaign rally Is he not telling the youth that violent pays; that you can do anything and still get away from it? Only last week, as the governor was returning from a campaign rally, he passed near my campaign office and his thugs attacked two of our buildings, without any provocation. Till now, the governor did nothing about that incident.

So, our understanding is that they are going out and they think that they can use any tactic to stay in power. Unfortunately, their time is up and we have identified all their cohorts. At the right time, we will apply all available legal processes to bring them to book.

Nobody will kill somebody in our state and get away with it.

40 — Vanguard, TUESDAY TUESDAY,, FEBRUARY 17, 2015

C M Y K

Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015—41

Ethnic minorities mobilize support for Jonathan

By Sam Eyoboka

E

THNIC minority groups in Lagos have thrown their weight behind the recent postponement of the general elections by another six weeks, appealing to Nigerians to remain calm and mobilise fellow citizens who have not collected their permanent voter cards to use the period of the extension to do so.

The rally organised by Ijaw National Congress, INC, was attended by different ethnic groups in the South-South geopolitical region as well as supporters from the South West and South-East zones, who took the podium to canvass support for President Goodluck Jonathan.

They include South-South Women Forum, Ijaw Youth Council, Ijaw Women Group, Ijaw National Congress, traditional rulers, professional groups among others.

The carnival-like event was spiced up with traditional and cultural displays from groups from the Niger Delta as well as the Atilogwu cultural group from the South East.

Speaking during the rally at

POLLS SHIFT: Ex-militant leader calls for calm

the Nigerian Navy grounds, Apapa, Lagos, an activist, Ms Ankio Briggs, noted that the shift in date for the 2015 general elections would enable more eligible voters to get their permanent voter cards, PVCs, before the election date.

Briggs argued: “Before now, I have been calling for the postponement of the elections, because you can’t conduct an election under this kind of destabilised condition, where over 30 million Nigerians who were dully registered to vote have not received their voter cards.

There is something wrong with

that.

“In the South, less than 40 percent have received their voter cards while in the North about 80 percent have received their cards, and in a situation where the North claims to be more than the South without any statistical data, you already can see that there is a problem there.”

Also speaking, President, Ijaw Professionals (Lagos), Amagbe Kentebe, echoed the minds of many at the event, saying: “The purpose of the rally is to give support to President Jonathan.

We, therefore, call on everyone to support and vote massively for

him at the coming presidential poll.”

Similarly, Regent Youmor, an Ijaw Nation Peace Ambassador, said that the gathering was a sensitisation effort in support of President Jonathan, noting: “We the Ijaw elders under the Ijaw National Congress, INC, Ijaw Youth Council, IYC; Ijaw Peoples Assembly, IJA; Ijaw People in Lagos, IPL; Ijaw Peoples Monitoring Group, IPMG, felt it is necessary for us to invite our neighbours who are indigenes and non-indigenes such as the Igbos, Yorubas to come together in Lagos to sensitise them."

THANKSGIVING SERVICE: From left: Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, President, Women Arise; Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State ; Mr. Niyi Falode, half-brother to late Toba Falode; Ms. Aisha Falode, mother of late Toba Falode and others at the one year thanksgiving service for late Toba Falode, allegedly murdered in Dubai, one year ago.

By Gabriel Ewepu

A

B U J A — FOLLOWING the shift in the date for the general elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, a former militant leader, Tam Odogwu, has called on ex-militants in the Niger Delta to remain calm.

Odogwu, who spoke with Vanguard on phone, said the shift of the elections by six weeks was in the best interest of all Nigerians particularly following the security challenges in some parts of the country.

He said: “We were shocked by the shift of the dates for the general elections to March 28 and April 11. by INEC. “Since the announcement, there have been widespread reactions within and outside the country. I want to call on Nigerians, particularly youths and elders in the Niger Delta to remain calm."

PRESIDENTIAL POLL: Edo Central backs Jonathan's re-election

By Gabriel Enogholase

B

ENIN—AHEAD of the presidential election scheduled for March 28, the Esan people of Edo Central senatorial district of Edo State have thrown their weights behind the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan, describing him as a better choice of the two leading presidential candidates.

Esan people who are kinsmen of the Chairman, Board of Trustees, BOT, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Tony Anenih, spoke through the Esan Elders Forum at a press briefing in Uromi, Edo North Local Government Area of the state.

The organisation appealed to Esan people irrespective of where they are and Nigerians in general to vote for President Jonathan come March 28.

Chairman of the Esan Elders Forum, Chief Julius Akpede, who addressed journalists at the occasion, said: “In

examining the critical issues of security, welfare, Islamism, among others, EEF has adopted President Jonathan as the preferred presidential candidate of the Esan people.“ The group said that the Esan

nation, after a thorough consideration of the two leading presidential candidates, arrived at the inevitable conclusion that “all things considered, Goodluck Jonathan would be a better choice for Nigeria.”

I didn't step down for Anigala, says Agbidi

By Festus Ahon

A

SABA—A HOUSE of Representatives candidate on the platform of Accord Party, for Ndokwa/ Ukwuani federal constituency, Delta State, in the March 28 elections, Prince Azuka Agbidi, has said that he did not step down for Mr Ezenwza Anigala.

Agbidi, in a chat with Vanguard, alleged that his name was fraudulently substituted by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. Alleging that Mr Anigala,

deposed in an affidavit forging his signature that he (Agbidi) had stepped down for him, he insisted: “I am the rightful candidate of the Accord Party for the House of Representatives election in the Ndokwa/ Ukwuani federal constituency.”

Calling on INEC to disregard the said affidavit and reinstate him as the candidate of the Accord Party, he said “I am ready to prosecute the matter should INEC fail to do the needful. This is a clear case of wrongful and fraudulent substitution and it is unacceptable to us.”

Ogboru lauds endorsement

by UPU ...extends hand of fellowship to opposition

By Godwin Oghre

M

OSOGAR— L A B O U R Party ’s governorship candidate for the March 28, governorship election in Delta State, Chief Great Ogboru, who was recently endorsed by the Urhobo nation as its consensus candidate at the election, yesterday, hailed his endorsement, giving kudos to the Urhobo Progress Union, UPU, for a job well done.

He also called on oppositions, particularly his All Progressives Congress, APC, counterpart, Chief O’tega Emerhor, to join forces with him in order to ensure the success of the Uvwiamughe Declaration to achieve the goal of the Urhobo nation in the general elections.

Flanked by the party’s senatorial candidate at the forthcoming elections, Obarisi Ovie OmoAgege, Chief Ogboru told newsmen after emerging from a closed door meeting with the executive committee of UPU, that “I came here to appreciate my endorsement by the Urhobo nation. I am also solidarising with UPU. Victory is sure at the election. I must add that in democracy, opposition is allowed but it should not be taken too far as we are seeing today in Urhoboland.

“Something must be done very urgently to halt the current unwarranted onslaught against UPU by a negligible number of disgruntled people who were once among the exco of the UPU as assistants to major office holders.

“While they do not pose any threat to the victory of the Urhobo nation at the elections, we must take some drastic measures which shall serve as deterrence because nobody can just wake up one morning and say he has the capacity to unconstitutionally set Urhobo nation back. We will not allow that to happen. They must desist from causing further trouble to our 84 years old UPU or face the wrath of the law."

42—Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015

• Born too soon, but not born to die. Dr. Efunbo Dosekun, a paediatrician attends to a premature baby placed in an incubator.

Preterm birth, largest killer of newborns on the rampage

By Sola Ogundipe

“I

WAS just 23 weeks into my pregnancy when I began feeling severe abdominal pains that seemed very much like labour contractions,” said Funke, a 28-year-old housewife.

Initially, Funke, who was pregnant for the first time, tried to bear the discomfort, but the pains got worse and gradually unbearable.

“That same day, in the middle of the night, I began to bleed. I was really afraid. My husband was out of town and I had to alert a neigbour who rushed me to the hospital where doctors confirmed that my womb was contracting and I was experiencing labour.

“It was a bombshell. I was genuinely shocked because I knew it was too early for the baby to come. I became sad too because I knew something had gone terribly wrong. I really wanted to have this baby after trying for so long.”

But the inevitable had happened and worse was to come. The doctors didn't beat about the bush. They gave her the cold hard facts. Babies born earlier than 28 weeks are considered unviable and are often not resuscitated, they

explained.

They told the stricken woman that if the labour could be stopped or delayed, there would be no need for a Caesarean Section except it was medically necessary. And even if the baby was born normally, it probably would not receive or benefit from any medical assistance. It was a harsh, emotionless and almost cruel explanation, but it was reality.

Anna, 32, had a similar experience. She began to bleed after exactly 25 weeks and six days of pregnancy. Anna recalled the experience with regret.

"There was nothing I had done to provoke the incident. In fact, I had taken a couple of days off work to rest on doctor's advice and was at home, sleeping as I usually did in the daytime." Anna and her husband were extremely upset by this development as they had lost their previous baby at barely 22 weeks gestation.

"We rushed to the nearby local government hospital somewhere on the Lagos mainland, and I was immediately put on a drip in an attempt to try and arrest the labour. I was given an injection, referred and transported by ambulance to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, later that day when my condition did not improve.

"In the ambulance, my water broke and the cord prolapsed and I was rushed into theatre as soon as I got to LUTH for an emergency caesarean and the baby weighing 650 grams was born. Unfortunately, a heartbeat could not be detected and the baby was declared unviable.”

Born too soon

Everyday, the stories similar to the ones told by Funke and Anna are told by millions of women

Medical experts say there are an estimated 15 million moderate to late preterm births annually. No less than one million babies born preterm die each year, yet 75 percent could be saved without expensive, high technology care

all over the world. Good Health Weekly gathered that, indeed for hundreds of thousands of newborns in Nigeria, the day of their birth is also the day of their death. Most are born too soon when the guarantee of life comes either too late or never at all.

In this environment, premature or “preterm” birth, which is infamously the world's largest killer of newborn babies, is on the rampage.

A premature or preterm birth is a birth that takes place more than three weeks before the baby is due. Put another way, a premature birth is one that occurs before the start of the 37th week of pregnancy. Normally, a pregnancy usually lasts about 40 weeks. Premature birth gives the baby less time to develop in the womb.

According to the World Health Organisation, WHO, premature babies are defined as babies born alive before 37 weeks of pregnancy are completed.

The WHO adds that this equates to more than one in 10 babies – and the global burden of preterm birth is rising.

Although 60 percent of preterm births occur in Africa and South Asia, preterm birth is a global problem. In most of Africa and Asia, babies born premature have reduced chances of survival

and even when they survive, they are forced to contend with lifelong ailments and conditions.

"People think that preterm babies need intensive, high-tech care, but we have simple methods that really work and would save hundreds of thousands of lives," says Dr. Joy Lawn, a neonatal physician with Save the Children.

In the lower-income countries, on average, 12 percent of babies are born too early compared with 9 percent in higher-income countries. Within countries, poorer families are at higher risk.

“These babies are born too soon, but they are not born to die. Their deaths are utterly preventable,” Lawn noted.

Huge problem: Medical experts say there are an estimated 15 million moderate to late preterm births annually, out of which babies born between 32 and less than 37 completed weeks of pregnancy, constitute 85 percent or 12.6 million babies.

The experts argue that no less than one million babies born preterm die each year, yet 75 percent could be saved without expensive, high technology care.

In 2012, the WHO published with partners Born Too Soon: the global action report on preterm birth, which included the

Continues on Page 43

Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRAUARY 17, 2015—43

• A preterm baby in incubator.

Preterm birth, largest killer of newborns on the rampage Continues from Page 42 estimates of preterm birth by country. The health organisation is also implementing Every Newborn: An Action Plan to End Preventable Deaths, which was endorsed by the 67th World Health Assembly in May 2014. It is helping to highlight preterm birth as a global priority, and pushing for its inclusion within the post-2015 sustainable development agenda.

All these and more are the primary messages and motivating themes of World Prematurity Day, marked November 17, over the last three years, as a global effort to raise awareness of the deaths and disabilities due to prematurity and the simple, proven, cost-effective measures that could prevent them.

On that day, Nigeria and every country in nearly every part of the world, takes action to raise awareness of what can be done to reduce the challenge of preterm births and ensure better care for babies born too soon.

Lack of feasible cost-effective care With 800,000 babies born prematurely every year, Nigeria has the 3rd highest burden of premature babies in the world after India and China.

Globally, prematurity is the leading cause of death in children under the age of 5, and in almost all countries with reliable data, preterm birth rates are increasing.

According to data, in low-income settings, half of the babies born at 32 weeks (two months early) die due to a lack of feasible, cost-effective care, such as warmth, breastfeeding support, and basic care for infections and breathing difficulties. But in high-income countries, almost all of these babies survive.

Why preterm birth happens: Most preterm births happen spontaneously, but some are due to early induction of labour or caesarean birth, whether for medical or non-medical reasons.

Common causes include multiple pregnancies, infections and chronic

conditions, such as diabetes and high blood pressure; however, often no cause is identified. There is also a genetic influence.

Speaking on the high incidence of death among premature babies in the country, a Consultant Paediatrician, and Managing Director, Outreach Children’s Hospital Festac Town, Lagos, Dr. Efunbo Dosekun, advocates that all hands should be on deck to effectively combat the challenge of prenatal death and foster better survival of babies born prematurely.

Dosekun, who says many premature babies die as a result of delay and other unhealthy processes they go through before adequate care reaches them, regrets that although the world is moving ahead in premature care, the reverse is the case in Nigeria.

“Preterm babies have so many problems, and we need to remember this vulnerable group. Nigeria has the greatest burden, with 800,000 preterm babies per year. But these are even the figures that are reported.

You can imagine those flushed down the toilet in the villages or dying at home or thrown in the bush or dumped in the pit. It is actually a big issue that we must face if we are having such a high number.

Further, she stated that the mortality rate of premature babies the smaller their birth weight. “If we look at the extreme case, in sub-Sahara Africa, a baby that is less than 1,000 grammes may not be viable, and up to 90 percent of them die, yet the figure of those who die in the developed world is about 10 percent.”

In Nigeria, there is a high death rate in babies less than 28 weeks. According to the Nigeria Society of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians, the period of viability of a baby that is below 28 weeks isn’t guaranteed even though in developed countries which more advanced and sophisticated facilities and approaches, babies born at 24-25 weeks are regarded as viable. “However, this involves a lot of money, actually a huge sum to look after these tiny babies,” Dosekun noted. “When we have these tiny babies, we should be asking how do we prevent people having

premature babies, how do we ensure these babies are kept alive and well?

“Premature babies have a lot of developmental problems. They have learning problems, movement problems, visual problems, feeding difficulties, cerebral palsy, deafness, ulcers, scars on their limbs, etc.

Those who live up to early childhood have learning problems. Most premature children have learning problems at school age. They have attention problems, and other specific problems and they need quite a lot of support.

Dosekun pointed out that mothers of premature babies often go into depression because the babies are not feeding or growing well. “Such mothers have a sense of failure. It is difficult looking after the babies. There is a lot of anxiety till they attain the age of 10. Then one can a bit more comfortable.

If the hospital can give the best of care, and the parents are well supported in infancy and early childhood, and with the right vaccines, and the right stimulation, the child is able to improve developmentally.

According to the WHO, more than three-quarters of premature babies can be saved with feasible, cost-effective care, such as essential care during child birth and in the postnatal period for every mother and baby, antenatal steroid injections , kangaroo mother care and antibiotics

What to do before pregnancy: Dosekun recognises benefits of the Nigerian “Calabar culture’. We have understood for years what the role of a woman is. I am not saying that we should fatten up our girls but what I’m saying is that the extra care being given to women should take on a new role. There is the preconception care. We are encouraging young girls to live healthy lives, not to smoke smoke, take folic acid one you are preparing to be a mother. There is less tendency to have spina bifida, cleft lip and hydrocephalus, take multivitamins, eat well, do not be malnourished and prepare well.

Further, she stated: “When you get pregnant, eat nutritious food, go for antenatal care so that if there are abnormal maternal conditions, they can be quickly detected. These include hypertension in pregnancy, diabetes in pregnancy, malaria in pregnancy, among others.

Essentially, a pregnant woman must attend a minimum of five antenatal care services. They must have their teanus toxoid injections, be given iron medicine and folic acid and Intermittent Preventive Medicine, IPT, as malaria prophylaxis.

Women who are pregnant should not work for too long hours or stand up for long hours, do not get involved in violent that can trigger trauma and terminatre preg.

Premature labour Some women have a short cervix. The cervix is the lower end of uterus. Women with short cervix tend to go into labour quickly. Women with history of premature labour need a cervical ceclage to tighten the cervix. Once women are pregnant must take no alcolhol at all. The solution Infection that advances into the uterus can trigger preterm labour.

Multiple pregnancies have increased risk for preterm births. Other risks include maternal illnesses like cancer, mothers with reduced interval between babies, abnormal uterus, large fibroids, these are examples of spontenous premature labour, but there are times the doctor may need to induce the woman, for instance, if the mother has pre-eclampsia which can be dangerous to the mother’s life, or if the placenta suddenly detaches, or if the protective The solution: According to the WHO, more than three-quarters of premature babies can be saved with feasible, costeffective care, e.g. essential care during child birth and in the postnatal period for every mother and baby, antenatal steroid injections (given to pregnant women at risk of preterm labour and meeting set criteria to strengthen the babies’ lungs), kangaroo mother care (the baby is carried by the mother with skin-to-skin contact and frequent breastfeeding) and antibiotics to treat newborn infections.

To reduce preterm birth rates, women should have better access to family planning and increased empowerment, as well as improved care before, between and during pregnancies. But there are some conditions beyond women including from an abnormal foetus which is naturally expelled.

The big case of premature birth is infection in the uterus that leads to expulsion of the foetus. That is why you need to have good hygiene to protect you from bacterial infection. About 25-45 percent of Uterine Transmitted Infections, UTIs, suffered by pregnant women in Africa is due to cross infections or linked to peridental infection.membrane breaks, and starts leaking the waters, then it is better to take out the baby.

44—Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015

Rotary tasks African govts on quality surveillance against polio

By Chioma Obinna

A

member of Rotary International’s Africa Regional PolioPlus Committee, Marie-Iréne Richmond Ahoua, has called on African governments to maintain high quality diseases surveillance in order to protect the fragile gains made on polio eradication, adding that “no cases of polio have been reported in Africa since August 2014.”

Addressing African Union first ladies recently on why they should support efforts geared towards the total eradication of the polio virus in Africa expressed confidence that with the progress attained so far, polio will be kicked out of Africa.

She further recommended that governments must also strengthened routine immunisation coverage as well as ensure the vaccination of every child and support the rapid introduction of Inactivated Polio Vaccine.

“We have vastly improved our ability to detect cases and respond to outbreaks when they occur. There are more laboratories and more trained health workers than ever before. We have found new ways to reach every child with the polio vaccine. That hard work has brought us to the threshold of a polio free Africa, and has taught us lessons we are using to address other critical health priorities. For example, lessons and resources from our polio eradication activities have even been used to address the Ebola outbreak.” She stated.

She however, posited that it was too soon for Africans to celebrate as long as wild polio virus circulates anywhere, children remain at risk everywhere.

“All of us here today play a vital role in taking the collective step across the threshold to a polio free Africa. As first ladies you are in a unique position to set a public example. Women look up to you. Your public statement of support for polio and other immunization activities helps build trust and confidence. I have experienced this first hand in my own country. “I invite you to do what you can to support a polio free Africa. In doing so, you will leave your fingerprint on the history of your own country and of the world. You will provide a gift to the children of today and forevermore,” she charged them.

Conflicts: UNICEF raises concerns over impact on children

By Chioma Obinna

A

S conflicts around the world become more brutal and intense, United Nations Children Fund, UNICEF, has raised concerns over the impact of the conflicts on children, saying these children are increasingly vulnerable to recruitment and use by armed groups.

In a special message to mark the International Day against the Use of Child Soldiers, UNICEF and the UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict are of the view that

• From left: State Coordinator, South-West Cancer Programnme, Prof.

Rosaline Anorlu; Clinical Physcian, Dr. Jerry Iwuora, and Head, NIMR Cancer Research, Prof. Nonyelu Odunukwe during a symposium to mark this year’s World Cancer Day in Lagos

“While Governments of the world have made progress to recognise children have no place in their armies, the recruitment of child soldiers is still a huge problem, especially with armed groups. ” In the views of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Leila Zerrougui out of 59 parties to conflict identified by the Secretary-General for grave violations against children, 57 are named because they are recruiting and using child soldiers The UN organisations however, called for urgent action to end grave violations against children including their recruitment and use by armed groups.

Parties to conflicts must meet their obligations under International Law. According to UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, Yoka Brandt, the release of all children from armed groups must take place without delay.

Brandt said: “We cannot wait for peace to help children caught in the midst of war.” Investing in ways to keep children away from the frontlines, including through education and economic support, is absolutely critical to their future and the future of their societies.”

Data available have shown that tens of thousands of boys and girls are associated with armed forces and armed groups in conflicts in over 20 countries around the world. Many have been victims of, witness to and forced participants in acts of unspeakable brutality.

In Nigeria throughout 2014, the armed conflict in the north-eastern of the country was one of the world’s deadliest for children.

COMMON SEXUAL PROBLEMS AND THEIR NOVELTY BASED SOLUTIONS (ADVERTORIAL)

D

EAR MD, when my wife and I are making love, she always turns off the lights and I don’t like it.

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In any case, this is not really a big problem. If she feels more comfortable with the lights off, just let it be. I am sure when you make love during the day; you will be able to see her better. So try making love at different times of the day. Take care – Uche Hello sir. Is there anything a woman can do after child birth to make her womb tighter during love making? Thanks - Mrs Anyiam Yes Mrs Anyaim, ideally, doing the pelvic exercises with a device called an orgasm ball, is the best way to regain tight vaginal muscles. Good orgasm balls like the Lacey’s Graduated Orgasm Balls can help you with this.

But for instant results, use a vagina tightening cream.

When used, it will give you results instantly but it will only last for a few hours. Good examples of these tightening creams are the Tighten it Up V Gel and the Liquid Sex Tightening Gel – Uche Sir please I will like to know the difference between Max Width Cream, Plump Cream and Maximus Enlargement cream. I have a small penis that I want to enlarge but I am not sure of which product that I need – Charles Dear Charles, there are two different types of enlargement creams. There is the instant type that works within minutes and gives results that last for 3 to 24 hours.

Max Width and Plump Enlargement Cream fall under this category. The second type of enlargement cream takes

months to work but the results last for a much longer time. Maximus Enlargement Cream is one of such enlargers – Uche I once read about how penis enlargement exercises are more reliable than drugs and creams. I am interested in penis enlargement but I would prefer the exercises Peter Peter there all kinds of opinions out there and many of them are designed to sell specific products. Manufacturers often try to put down other options in the market so as to make their own methods more desirable. But as a neutral who does not manufacture any of these products, I can tell you that none of them is superior to the other.

There are many ways to enlarge your penis.

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So if you feel more comfortable with the enlargement exercises, then go ahead with it. Potent Pump is very good for enlargement exercises and so is the Machismo Pump – Uche My wife who has been having low sexual desire did try the Kangaroo for her you wrote about last week and she was on fire. We must have had sex like five times in one night and she started all the moves. Please do you have any supplement that can help me keep up with her stamina? Wale Wale you can go for the Hard Times supplement. It is essentially for regaining penis hardness, helping with stamina and multiple rounds of performance – Uche That’s it for today. The names featured here have been changed for privacy. Adults in need of the above novelties and treatments 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.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015—45

India and Nigeria share many similarities - Choudhary

By Vera Samuel Anyagafu & Prisca Sam-Duru

T

HE Head of Chancery, India High Commission, Lagos office, celebrated India’s 66th independence anniversary recently.

Head of the chancery, Mr. Choudhary who spoke with Vanguard Consular Advisory at the occasion described India-Nigeria relations as cordial, noting that both countries have many similarities. He said this was the reason a large number of Indians were comfortably resident in Nigeria and vice versa.

Choudhary who said he was particularly happy with the rate at which trade and other issues of national interest to both countries were growing said that Nigeria and India would remain strongly bonded to developmental structures.

“We are committed to promoting cordial relationships in our countries’ economies, for the fact that we both have many similarities which makes it imperative for promotion of peaceful coexistence because, what hurts and or affects Nigeria, hurts India too. It is worthy of note here that India–Nigeria

bi-lateral relations is productively growing on a daily basis, and we both must ensure nothing truncates our efforts towards maintaining this peaceful relationship,” Choudhary said.

He also pointed out that Indian government would remain at the frontline for transparent and credible elections in Nigeria, adding that, “Both countries are progressively enjoying the bilateral relations established since 1958. And we are interested in Nigeria’s future and hope that the elections which are around the corner are conducted without any form of violence,

•2nd left, Indian consul general, Mr. Jagdeep Kapoor, and 4th left, Head of Chancery, indian High Commission, Mr. Choudhary

while hoping to see Nigerians elect leaders of their choice.”

In a keynote statement by Indian President, Mr Pranab Mukherjee which was presented by Mr. Chaoudhary, he said, “The year 2015 is a year of hope for India and its diplomatic partners, and economic progress will always remain one of our major interests. The success of a society is measured by both survival and strengthening of its

values, institution and instruments of governments.”

Mr Mukherjee also pointed out that peace, non-violence and good neighbourly intentions should remain the fundamentals of every nation’s foreign policy, adding that, multi-nation conflict has converted boundaries into bloodlines and turned terrorism into an industry of evil. He said, “Terrorism and violence are seeping across borders and we cannot afford to be complacent about adversaries who will stop at nothing to disrupt our progress towards a prosperous and equitable India, while advocating the need for collaborated efforts in fighting the menace of terrorism in our countries.”

Menace of terrorism Similarly, Choudhary also condemned acts of insurgency in Nigeria and implored all relevant Nigerian authorities to ensure a stable democracy. His words, “Today’s occasion is a very special one. India is celebrating her national day, the 66th anniversary of her independence and we are celebrating this auspicious day with all Indian and Nigerian friends. India and Nigeria relationship is progressing from the start of our diplomatic partnership, which was established in 1958 before Nigeria gained independence in 1960.

"Our country has great potential to double up bi-lateral partnerships in key areas of our economies to greater steps, as Indian trade with Nigeria is on a level that is unimaginable, and for this reason, India will continue to support Nigeria in its sustenance of a peaceful democratic rule. And as I share my thoughts about Nigerian elections, I sincerely wish that the outcome and going on of the Nigerian elections which is around the corner, will be a very, very credible and peaceful one.

My good thoughts always go with Nigerians in this elections period, as a friend, partner and well wisher.”

In a similar development, the Indian High Commission Consul General and second Secretary, Mr. Jagdeep Kapoor also re-emphasised his commitment to ensuring that eligible Nigerian visa seekers to India are issued visa.

C M Y K

46—Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015

Tilije's big catch for PDP—DDA

Okorocha tasks politicians on peace G

OVERNOR Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, has called on politicians to avoid acts capable of plunging the country into crisis.

The governor gave the advice while speaking on the theme The Leader Nigeria wants at a post-service talk at Victory Chapel, Government House, Owerri.

Governor Okorocha said with a population of over 170 million, Nigeria which comfortably sheltered refugees from Ghana, Liberia and Niger when those countries passed through economic and political problems, might not have anywhere for her citizens to take refuge if there was crisis as a result of leadership failure in the country.

Okorocha said Nigeria would become great again if the right leader emerged, irrespective of his tribe, religion or party affiliation. He prayed God to help Nigerians to make the right choice.

D

ELTA Democratic Alliance, DDA, has described the erstwhile chieftain and governorship aspirant of All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief Fidelis Tilije, as a big catch for Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Delta State.

Director-General of the group, Sunday Onyewonsa, described Chief Tilije as a political personality whose support base cuts across ethnic divides in the state.

He stated further that with Tilije in PDP, victory was sure for the party’s governorship candidate, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa.

Onyewonsa said: “However, Tilije must be allowed to put his strength to work as a generally accepted politician, who enjoys the goodwill of the people.”

It will be recalled that Tilije was a three-time running mate to Chief Great Ogboru on the platform of Democratic Peoples Party, DPP, before he joined APC.

The Chaplain, Pastor Bumi Babs, described life as full of

challenges for the believers and urged Christians to put

on the armour of faith to overcome all the battles of life.

Intervene in NLC crisis, union urges into a ‘serious industrial union or aspirant Oshiomhole dragged mess’ that could endanger would encourage duplication of

By Oboh Agbonkhese

N

ATIONAL Union of Civil E n g i n e e r i n g Construction, Furniture and Wood Workers, NUCECFWW, has called on Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, other veterans and well meaning industrial unions, to intervene in the leadership crisis rocking the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, following the botched election of new leaders to run NLC’s affairs in the next four years.

President of NUCECFWW, Mr. Amechi Asugwuni, told newsmen in Lagos, yesterday, that except the crisis was resolved, NLC could be

the future of the movement.

He said: “We call on our dear comrade governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, all industrial unions and veterans, to support the call to conclude the conference within the lifespan of the present regime to bring the crisis to a stop.

“NLC remains the sole reliable platform and will continue to protect the ordinary citizen and working class of this country.

“We cannot afford to sink the boat of hope of this country; hence we call for quick and collective solidarity to uphold our faith, mandate and traditions.

“No focused and reputable

ballot papers, knowing that numbers of delegates are known to all and should not even be increased by one vote.

“We regret the embarrassment and promise to join hands with other unions to restore harmony and ensure undivided congress.”

It will be recalled that the NLC’s 11th national conference, scheduled for February 8 to 11 at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, ended in fiasco as delegates failed to elect new leadership.

ELECTIONS: Cleric calls for prayers

N

IGERIANS have been urged to be prayerful so God can pick a good leader for the nation.

A cleric, Dr. Emma Dan, who is the Rector, Light of the World Bible College and Theological Seminary, LOT-WBC, Lagos, made the call at the 6th matriculation and graduation ceremony of the seminary, where over 20 students graduated.

According to Dan, “we should be prayerful and follow the direction of God and He will choose a leader who will move this country forward.

“If it is the will of God that President Goodluck Jonathan should continue in office, no human being can change it. Nobody assumes power unless God approves of it.”

‘Igbo rulers council haven't endorsed anyone’

By Chris Onuoha

T

HE Council of Igbo traditional rulers, Ndieze Udo N’uzo Ije, in Lagos State, has said it has not endorsed

any candidate ahead of the forthcoming general election.

Dr. Godian Ojiaku, Chairman of the association, who made this declaration while addressing the council

Oil firm trains farmers in Imo, A-Ibom, Rivers

By Anayo Okoli

U

M UA H I A — A D D A X Petroleum Development Company has trained 32 rural farmers selected from its host communities in three states of the country, including Imo. The 32 farmers, selected for Agricultural Entrepreneurial Training, were from Izombe in Oguta Area of Imo State; Mbo and Effiat communities of Akwa Ibom State and from Rivers

State.

They were made up of 17 male farmers and 15 female farmers, who were nominated by the communities.

One of the criteria for nomination, according to Addax Petroleum Manger, Community Relations, Mr. Emeka Obi, was the ownership of a verifiable farm in their various communities, hence the decision to allow the host communities nominate

participants.

The two weeks training workshop held at National Root Crops Research Institute, NRCRI, Umudike, Abia State, was on modern system of and modern agricultural equipment.

The rural farmers were also trained on site selection, land preparation, preparation of planting materials and cassava and potato planting methods and management.

comprising all Igbo rulers in the 57 local government areas in Lagos State, said the council had not endorsed any candidate for the presidential and governorship elections.

According to him, “we are not politicians, but opinion leaders with consolidated structure rooted in all the local governments and development centres in South-West states, mostly Lagos.

“We are keen on the interest and welfare of the Igbo people we are protecting here in the South-West.”

He criticised some Igbo who he said were parading themselves as Igbo chiefs in Lagos without proper recognition from the authority.

By Bartholomew Madukwe (08102479985) nwamad@yahoo.com

PEOPLE SPEAK

What does Valentine Day mean to you?

V

ALENTINE, Romeo, Jack in Titanic, Samson in the Bible, Hercules and Archilles, all died for love, and even Jesus Christ died for love. Where are the women who died for love?

Happy Valentine.—Mr. Ebinum Christopher, Worker.

C M Y K

E

VERYDAY, we cele brate love but February 14 is specially celebrated with someone special.

Some lovers prefer to spend time alone without disturbance. It is a day for appreciation and that is why gifts are involved.— Miss Elebeke Kelechi, Self Employed.

V

ALENTINE means different things to different people. It is a season of sharing and expression of love. Let’s always love one another, for God so love the world! With love, the world will definitely be a place of peace.— Mr. Chiadikaobi Victor, Businessman.

V

ALENTINE is not all about sex, but showing love and care to people. Especially to the less-privileged. Making someone smile on that day will mean a happy Val day. That is my opinion about Valentine.— Mr. Udegbulem Emmanuel, Student.

I

T is a season of sharing and expression of love.

My friends and I will be spending time with the kids. My children, then kids in my neighbourhood. We will see how far I can go from there. Happy Val to my wife.— Mr. Tunde Spencer, Sound Engineer.

T

HERE is nothing spe cial to celebrate on that day. But I am going to spend time visiting the less privileged and share some items with them. Valentine, basically, is about how you express your love to another person.—Miss Okereke Olanma, Student.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2014 — 47

Bauchi promises to pay teachers 11 months salary arrears

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AUCHI—THE Bauchi State government has promised to pay the 11 months salary arrears owed 2,000 teachers it recruited in April 2014 in installments.

The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports that the aggrieved teachers had on Tuesday staged a demonstration at the Government House in Bauchi.

Mohammed Umar, the spokesman of the teachers, told newsmen on Sunday in Bauchi that each teacher would be paid two months salaries in installments until the entire arrears were cleared.

He, however, said that the state government had so far been only able to pay some of the teachers the two months salaries out of the outstanding arrears.

Umar said while the state government complied with its promise to pay part of the salaries in December 2014 and January 2015, teachers who were not paid during the period were those who protested at the Government House.

Gov aspirant sues APC in Bauchi

By Susan Edeh

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A U C H I — A governorship aspirant in the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Bauchi State Mohammed Abdullahi Tanko Ningi has sued the party over the last conduct of the party primary in the state.

Other defendants in the suit

are Independent National Electoral Commission and the governorship candidate of the party, Mr Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar.

Addressing newsmen in Bauchi, weekend Ningi said the result of the primary election which Abubakar as the winner was skewed in favour of the candidate.

He said the laws of the party stated that for governorship

FOR VIOLENCE-FREE ELECTION: Minister for Education, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau (left) with the Emir of Birni-Gwari, Alhaji Zubairu Jibril Maigwari II at the one-day sensitization & mobilization on violence-free 2015 general election in Nigeria at the Shehu Musa Yar'Adua Centre, Kaduna on Sunday. Photo by Olu Ajayi.

‘Why NLC election was inconclusive'

By Victor Ahiuma-Young

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A D U N A — NATIONAL Union of Textile and Garment Workers of Nigeria, yesterday blamed the disrespect to the rules guiding election as set out in the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Constitution as a major cause for the failure of NLC to elect officers to run its affairs in the next for year.

The union a statement, however said it was regrettable that the 11th Delegates Conference of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) which commenced on Monday February 9th 2015 ended in a chaos following alleged manipulation of the process.

According to the union, “the development is regrettable given the high expectations of best democratic practices from NLC. We are certainly determined to redeem our democratic honour which has been won since 1978 which has produced five presidents and five governing councils. However an analysis of the conference shows that the conference is largely successful, save the election mess.

It was only the aspect of the conference dealing with election of new national officers due to disrespect to the rules guiding C M Y K

election, members of the election committee must come from outside the state, but stressed that a native of Bauchi State, Dr Danjuma Dabo conspicuously participated in the counting of votes, contrary to the guidelines.

Ningi alleged that before the commencement of the election, the Chairman of the Election Committee, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu

election as set out in the NLC Constitution. The conference had a successful opening ceremony which was well attended by over 3000 delegates and observers, invited guests including international guests and trade union veterans.

“The second day also featured robust discussion on motions on key issues affecting the Nigerian workers namely protection on jobs,

wages, pension, health and safety among others. We had issued early warning that any attempt to manipulate the rules guiding NLC election would lead to chaos which explained why we decided to withdraw from the elections due to the flagrant violation of rules guiding the elections as contained in Article 29 of the NLC Constitution which was well articulated by the Credentials Committee.

“It is however on record that that

our union like others actively participated in all other activities of the 11th Delegates Conference of NLC namely; pre-Conference National Executive Council (NEC) held on Sunday February 8, 2015 at Labour House; opening ceremony held on Monday February 9, 2015 at International Conference Centre, Abuja and subsequent activities dealing with Discussions of Reports of the Conference Credentials Committee presented by the Chairman of the Committee. The reopening of nominations after contributed to the crisis that marred the elections.”

Andy Uba urges caution over poll shift

By Ikenna Asomba

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HE Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Senator Andy Uba has asked Nigerians to be calm over the shift in election dates in the country, saying that it was an opportunity offered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to organize a credible elections which Nigerians would be proud of.

Uba representing Anambra South in the Senate, decried the

politicization of the shift, urging Nigerians to disregard inflammatory statements by politicians who were merely motivated by divisive inclinations which were essentially not patriotic.

In a statement by his Senior Media Aide, Uchem Obi, Uba said that the ‘’opposition’s claim that the shift is a script written by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is irresponsible and reckless and concocted to mislead Nigerians and incite them against our party.’’

He, however, ‘’warned the opposition to desist from conjectures and permutations and

focus in participating in a properly organized election which would satisfy both winners and losers as free, fair and credible.’’

Uba wondered how there could be credible elections when tens of millions of Nigerians were yet to collect their Permanent Voters Cards, PVCs, and INEC was yet to achieve infrastructural readiness.

According to him, ‘’it is a lot better for INEC to shift the date of the elections and organize a credible poll than to insist on the earlier dates and end up with an election which no one would accept.''

announced that 2,854 delegates were accredited for the primary, while the result showed that 2,901 votes were counted.

He said that party ’s laws stipulated that, ‘’where you record over voting, the election should be cancelled but they went ahead and declared Abubakar winner.

“Six out of the eight aspirants that contested wrote separate petitions to the National Leadership of the Party and a reminder on 4th of December.

From the time the primary was held to date,the party remained silent and refused to take any action over their complaints .Because this reason, i decided to go to court to seek for Justice.”

Ningi appeal to the Court to stop Abubakar from parading himself as Bauchi APC Governorship candidate and stop APC from submitting his name to the electoral body for the forthcoming governorship election.

When contacted, the state Publicity Secretary of APC, Auwal Jallah gave reasons why the national leadership of the party have not attended to petitions of aggrieved aspirants, saying they did not submit their grievances to the right channel in the APC.

Lawyer alleges threat to life

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ARRI—LAWYER and public affairs commentator, Jesutega Onokpasa has alleged a threat to his life by an unknown person working for one of the governorship candidates in the Delta State.

Addressing newsmen in Warri, yesterday, Onokpasa said he was called twice by one of the supporters of the governorship candidate, who called with the phone number 08100938433, asking him (Onokpasa), if he was the one who wrote an article against the governorship candidate published in one of the national dailies.

He said: “When I told the caller that I was the one who wrote the article, he responded by saying, ‘ who do you think you are? We are coming for you. Watch your back. You are already a dead man. We will finish you. You are a goner.”

Disclosing that he is already forwarding detailed petitions to the Department of State Services, DSS, as well as the Inspector General of Police and the Delta State Commissioner of Police, Onokpasa said: “When has it become proper for the supporters of the candidate to now be issuing death threats to genuine Urhobo sons committed to rescuing Delta State from sixteen years of PDP misrule.”

48—Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015

PRESENTATION: From left: Deputy Governor, Ekiti State, Dr. Kolapo Olusola, Mr. Dele Adesina, Director, MTN Foundation, Prince Julius AdelusiAdeluyi, Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, Director, MTN Nigeria, Mr. Gbenga Oyebode and Corporate Services Executive, MTN Nigeria, Mr. Akinwale Goodluck, during the presentation of security vehicles by MTNF to Ekiti State Government in Ado Ekiti.

VISIT: From left: Mr. Philip Obioha, COO, CWG Plc, Mr. Emeka Mba, DG, NBC, Mr. Austin Okere, Founder and CEO, CWG Plc, and Mr. Gbenga Odegbami, Head, Pre-Sales, CWG Plc, when Mr. Mba visited CWG’s corporate headquarters in Lagos.

BIRTHDAY: Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State, (middle), his deputy, Mrs Titi Laoye-Tomori (right), and celebrator/former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Oluseyi Petinrin, during his 60th birthday at Ipetu-Ijesa, Osun State.

COUPLES DAY OUT: From left: Pastor Chuks Nduka, Mrs Pali Nduka, Mrs and Mr Chinedu Anaje, winner of couples day out, Pastor Yinka Boafo, guest Pastor, and Mrs Rita Amuka, speacial guest of honour, during the the couples day out organised by Breach Repairers Assembly, Ladipo Crescent , Off Bode Thomas, Surulere, Lagos. Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi.

SIGNING: From left: Mr Ryan Roberge, Portfolio Manager, North and West African Division, International Fertilizer Development Centre, Mr. Nicolaas Uervelde, MD/CEO, Nigerian Breweries Plc, and Mrs Oluyemisi AWARD: From left: Dr Efi Usen, Assistant Governor, Rotary International, Iranloye, CEO, Psaltry Farms International Company Ltd, during the signing Ovie of Oghara kingdom, in Delta State, His Royal Majesty, HRM, Nobel of partnership agreement between Psaltry International, Nigerian Breweries Oyibo Eshemitan and District Governor, Rotary International District 9140 and International Fertilizer Development Centre in Lagos.

Nigeria, and Mr. Chris Ogiemwonyi, when Ogiemwonyi was bestowed with the Paul Harris Fellow Award by Rotary Club International in Benin City.

REQUIEM MASS: From left: Spokesman of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, Mr. Chigbo Anichebe, his children, Chisom and Umunn Anichebe, during the requiem mass held for his late wife, Jacinta, at St. John's Catholic Church, Owelli, Enugu State.

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PRESENTATION: From left: Vice Chancellor, Ekiti State University, Professor Patrick Aina, Commissioner, Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Mrs. Biodun Olujimi, and Director, Policy Competition and Economic Analysis, NCC, Ms. Josephine Amuwa, during the presentation of ICT books to the university by the NCC.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2014 — 49

Onalo becomes Professor of credit management

Low activities at terminals as import volume drops

By Ifeyinwa Obi

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T

HE postponed general elections and the depreciating value of the Nigerian currency are factors that have combined to work against international trade, especially importation of consumer goods into the country.

Area Controller, Lilypond Command of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Comptroller Mustapha Atiku, made this disclose at his maiden press conference.

Speaking also, Commercial Officer, Lilypond Container Terminal, Mr. Kayode Daniels said that the low level of activities was not peculiar to Lilypond but also prevalent at other terminals, including the nation’s premiere port, Lagos Port Complex, Apapa.

He attributed the low business activities to a drop in volume of imported cargo into the country.

“Mearsk Line’s volume is 30 percent less than what they did in 2014. Market is slow; market is stagnant. We have done extensive market research with our customers and we find out that market is not moving. It is slow.

Their (importers’) complaint is that their warehouses are still stocked and there was no way they could import.

“More so, people are not spending and when people don’t spend, it will be difficult to bring in imports. So these are the challenges that are leading to the drop in volume,” he said.

He assured that the terminal has identified some customers who could help in boosting cargo volume so that the command will realize its revenue target.

The Command’s Customs Area Controller, on his part, said that the terminal had been hard hit as very few containers are now being stemmed to the facility.

He said the year started on a shaky note as the command’s revenue has taken a plunge.

PROMO: From left; Mrs Yomi Ifaturoti, Group Corporate Affairs Director, PZ Cussons; Mrs. Feyijimi Temitope, General Manager, Pastor Mrs. Osinowo, both of Dofunol Enterprises ltd., Mr. Santosh Pillai, Managing Director, PZ Wilmar during the Devon King’s Cruise Promo Prize presentation ceremony at the PZ Office, Ilupeju, Lagos.

TRAINING: Trainees learning how to make soap and pomade at the on-going Economic Empowerment Programme of the Lagos State Government, Lekki Centre I, Agungi, Lekki, Lagos. Photo by Kehinde Gbadamosi

We've not withdrawn officers from Kebbi, Sokoto borders — NCS

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IGERIA Customs Service has debunked the reports in the media that it had withdrawn operatives deployed at border stations in Kebbi and Sokoto states.

According to the reports, the directive withdrawing the officers was said to have been given verbally by an un-named

Federal Government, officials, raising fears about security of the borders.

Reacting to the development, Wale Adeniyi, the Public Relations Officer of the Nigerian Customs Service in a statement said. ''There was no directive whatsoever, verbal or written to officers of Nigeria Customs Service posted to Kebbi/

ICT professionals for ISPON 2015 President dinner

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HE annual President’s Dinner of the apex software body in Nigeria, the Institute of Software Professionals of Nigeria, ISPON, has been slated to hold on Friday, March 6, 2015 at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The event promises to deliver sustainable solutions to the nation’s knowledge industry.

President of ISPON, Mr. Pius Okigbo Jr; while unveiling activities for the Dinner, expressed his delight in the opportunity of hosting a gathering of ICT professionals and captains of industry in a bid to review the C M Y K

current situation in Nigeria as regards software development and promotion as well as to chart new courses for the industry ’s growth and development in the country.

He said “Keeping in line with ISPON’s tradition of delivering value to the vibrant local software community, this year the dinner is set to examine the diverse opportunities that exist for local software firms in the Oil & Gas industry under the Nigerian Content Act 2010.”

Okigbo assures of a rich and insightful session guaranteed

to ignite a resurgence of software solutions tailored for the Nigerian Oil & Gas industry.

ISPON, through its annual President’s Dinner, he said hopes to create an enabling society for the advancement of a knowledge society through software development throughout the federation leading to economic advancement of the nation.

Delivering the keynote on the theme “Software and Local Content in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Ecosystem” is Engr. Ernest Nwapa; Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Monitoring and Development Board (NCDMB).

Sokoto andKaduna/Katsina commands to withdraw from the borders or their patrol bases. ''Similarly, there was no directive withdrawing Customs operatives from duty posts in other border stations across the country. ''In view of the security situation in the country, the ComptrollerGeneral, only last week directed a reinforcement of patrol teams across the country.''

The Sokoto/Kebbi axis, the statement added was beefed up with the deployment of a Special Squad in view of a reported incident between Customs and smugglers.

“The Service is in consultation with Nigeria Immigration Service and other sister government agencies on this issue.

“They confirmed that they did not receive any such withdrawal directive. We are similarly in consultation with state governments in the North West axis, to reassure them that our officers are at alert on their duty posts, and should regard the withdrawal allegation as baseless and mere speculation” the statement explained.

HE London Po s t g r a d u a t e Credit Management College (LPCMC) in collaboration with affiliate universities has announced the designation of Dr. Chris Onalo as Professor of credit management.

In a statement issued by International Programmes Director of the College, Danette Gayle, LPCMC said Onalo’s designation was justified on the ground that he has had great influence and profound impact on credit management profession in Nigeria and beyond.

“He has been quite instrumental to the establishment of a number of credit m a n a g e m e n t d e v e l o p m e n t infrastructures such as his involvement in the setup of Nigerian Institute of Credit Administration (ICA), the Postgraduate School of Credit & Financial Management (PSCFM), Nigeria and African Director of London Postgraduate Credit management College UK (LPCMC). He has contributed immensely to the development of credit management faculties, which are largely used today by universities and other learning institutions around the globe.

“The commerce and industry around the world today are overwhelmed by the tenacity of Dr. Onalo’s advocacy for sustainable access to credits by the highly disadvantaged small and medium enterprises through the establishment of credit guarantee corporation by national governments.''

.Dr. Chris Onalo

50 — Vanguard, TUESDAY TUESDAY,, FEBRUARY 17, 2015

Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015 — 51

C M Y K

52—Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015

VISIT: Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (right) with European Union Election Monitoring Team Chief Observer, Mr. Santiago Fisas during the team's visit to the Senate Leader at National Assembly, Abuja, yesterday. Photo: Gbemiga Olamikan.

Obasanjo: Why I tore my PDP membership card Continues from page 5 platform of PDP. Once I leave PDP, I will not join any party.

“I will only be a Nigerian, I'm ready to work with anybody regardless of political affiliation. Why would some people say they want to send me away?

They don’t need to bother themselves, here’s your membership card, take it,” Obasanjo said as he handed over the card to the ward chairman.

“From today on, in the presence of all of us and with your support, I am not going to be in any political party in Nigeria.

I am no more a politician but a statesman both internally and externally.

Once you people are with me what other people am I looking for?

“And on the day of election, whatever it takes”, the PVC must be obtained, you don’t need to be a politician before you get your PVC. On the day of election, you can vote for your choice, but I will vote for those who will repair Nigeria and not those who will destroy it.

Tears the card

“What is important is that we should hold Ward 11 community together, what we are going to do now is that I don’t have the burden of PDP again. Help me tear into pieces my membership card”, he said as the ward chairman dutifully carried out the directive.

Obasanjo also dismissed claims by the C M Y K

Jonathan campaign organisation that he was planning the installation of an interim national government.

“How can anybody in his right senses talk of ING in a democratic setting? Some of them are working for it (but) God will not allow it. In my ward, we’ll be meeting from time to time to discuss and interact on whatever you want and what I want.

“I don’t want to be carrying membership card around but you can do that but when election comes, we’ll pray God would direct us to vote rightly. Nigeria will be okay, Ogun will be alright,” Obasanjo said.

Ward members jubilate

Immediately after Obasanjo’s card was torn, his ward members rose in jubilation and started praising him for the action.

Before now, scores of Obasanjo’s loyalists, including the sacked PDP National Auditor, Chief Bode Mustapha; the sacked National Secretar y, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola; former governor Segun Oni, Dr. Femi Majekodunmi, Chief Jide Awosedo and others had defected from the PDP to the APC, on the orders of the former president.

The former Board of Trustees chairman had also, about a year ago, written an open letter to President Jonathan, expressing his

displeasure about the state of the nation and the need for him not to continue to associate with the likes of the Chairman of the Organization and Mobilization Committee of the party in the South West, Prince Buruji Kashamu.

Expulsion drama

Shortly after the development, there was a mild drama when the chairman of the state chapter of the party, Adebayo Dayo said the chapter had expelled the former president from the party over alleged “unabated anti-party activities unbecoming of a highly celebrated party man”.

Dayo at a news conference yesterday, said his Ward 11 Abeokuta North LG had earlier sent in a letter dated February 12, 2015, expressing serious concerns at his numerous anti-party activities and uncomplimentary utterances targeted at the leader of the party, President Jonathan.

Obasanjo’s exit: We remain focused— PDP

Reacting to the development last night, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh in a statement said the party received the news with shock but would remain focused.

“While we concede to the inalienable rights of every citizen to hold opinion and to decide who to associate with, we are however deeply saddened that Chief

Obasanjo, a revered leader of our party, our first presidential flagbearer, whom the PDP offered the platform to rule our nation for eight years, could decide to abandon this party at this critical point in time.

“This is especially as Chief Obasanjo, who was also the Chairman of the highest advisory organ of the PDP, the Board of Trustees (BoT) discountenanced all pleas by elders and leaders of our great party with regard to his reservations on certain issues within our fold.

Many Nigerians are still bewildered as regards what manner of provocation that could have led a former President to lose his composure and go to the extent of tearing the membership card of the party that he once led.

"Indeed, the PDP is hugely at a loss as to how the decision and action of the former President who had enjoyed the benefits of being elected to the highest position of leadership will assist in deepening our democracy and stabilizing the polity.

"It is our considered opinion that no matter the provocation, a statesmanly disposition from a person of Chief Obasanjo’s status could have encouraged our citizens and progress stability in the system.

We believe, however, that what this country needs now is patriotic actions that engender national unity, tolerance and peaceful coexistence of our people irrespective of political, ethnic and religious persuasions. The overall interest of our nation and

well being of our citizens must remain paramount and above all personal and group interests.

"Finally, we direct all our members across the country to remain focused on our campaigns and not to be distracted on this issue.

With an array of credible candidates led by our Presidential flagbearer, President Goodluck Jonathan, we are sure that we will emerge victorious come March 28 and April 11, 2015 general elections.”

We will not miss him — Anenih

The chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PDP, Chief Tony Anenih, yesterday, dismissed Obasanjo’s decision to dump the PDP, saying that “leaders will not miss” his departure.

In a brief interview with State House correspondents after meeting with President Jonathan, Chief Anenih said it is within Obasanjo’s right to dump the party.

“He (Obasanjo) has the right to leave any party, and he has the right to join any party, he is a Nigerian” Anenih said.

When he was queried by reporters whether PDP would not miss Obasanjo, Anenih replied: “Why should we miss him?”

Asked if the former president was not a big loss to the party, the BoT chairman said “to us leaders it is not a loss.”

Senator Walid Jubril, Secretary BoT

The secretary of the party ’s Board of Trustees, BoT, Senator Walid Jubril said that as a former Chairman of BoT, who knows the procedure of resigning, the former president should have a re-think and resign properly.

“If I were him, I will not behave the way he did, there are procedures of leaving the party. He was Chairman, Board of Trustees, BoT of the party and with his position, he would have followed the procedure.

“There is nothing to celebrate there, it is not worth it, that is his palaver, not our own. As he left, millions have come to the party, many people like former Vice President Atiku Abubakar left before now.

We are facing our Transformation Agenda for the people of Nigeria.

Obasanjo should have a re-think and do the right thing by following the procedure of the party which gave him the platform to become the country’s president for

eight years."

Big yoke off PDP's back — Babatope

Another member of the BoT Chief Ebenezer Babatope said, yesterday, that with the exit, a huge yoke has been lifted off the necks of PDP. “Obasanjo leaving the PDP has come as a happy and welcome development.

With Obasanjo’s exit, a huge yoke has been lifted off the necks of PDP. I congratulate the PDP for being patient in dealing with former President Obasanjo’s offensives against the party without embarking on wild and u n p r o d u c t i v e conclusions.

“Though Obasanjo is a hard fighter, his exit will have no effect of any kind on the PDP. The PDP will by God’s grace win the March elections.”

Olabode George, others

Former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP, Chief Olabode George; former governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel; former Minister of Works, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe among others, lampooned former President Olusegun Obasanjo for dumping the PDP. This was contained in a statement issued and signed by members of the South-West Presidential contact Committee including Chief Olabode George, Senator Seye Ogunlewe, Maj. Gen. A.T. Olanrewaju, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, Elder Joju Fadairo, Otunba Adebisi Omoyeni, Amb. Toye Olofintuyi, Sen. Adefemi Kila, Chief Segun Adegoke, Prince Nekan OlateruOlagbegi, Mr. Kingsley Kuku, Olayinka Omilani, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, Sen. Olu Alabi, Dr. Saka Balogun and Alhaji Mustapha Omokunmi.

The group condemned Obasanjo’s recent remarks saying it was “too personalised and provocative.”

The South-West PDP group said “the intervention of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in the current national challenges is distorted, unstatesmanly, too personalised and provocative.

“Former President Obasanjo cannot and must not assume the role of the Nigerian overlord with infallible wisdom.”

The committee also said “for mer President Obasanjo has descended into the bitter fray of a

Continues on page 53

Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015—53

Now let us throw off their bonds! He who is enthroned in the Heavens laughs, Yahweh makes a mockery of them, then in His anger rebukes them, in His rage He strikes them with terror Psalm..2..v,.1-5.."

NPP reacts

BUHARI IN BORNO—From left: General Muhammadu Buhari (Ret) and Governor Shettima at APC Presidential campaign in Maiduguri, Borno State, yesterday.

Obasanjo: Why I tore my PDP membership card Continues from page 52 common partisan actor without the distinction and dignity of a rallying unifying leader.”

The group noted that Obasanjo has been “ very inciting, precipitous and violent in his utterances and, therefore, likely to provoke untoward events in this nation.”

It, however, condemned “vigorously with all sense of patriotic candour any attempt by former President Obasanjo or anybody else, to provoke the collapse or vitiation of our democracy.”

Calling for the removal of the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, the group said the Commission was unprepared to conduct free and fair elections.

It’s unbecoming of an elderstatesman —Obanikoro

Former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, yesterday, said the actions taken by former President Obasanjo was unbecoming of an elderstatesman.

Obanikoro said this at a youth interactive session organised by the Directorate of Youth Mobilisation of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation.

The former minister said: “What Obasanjo did is unbecoming of an elder-statesman. In the history of democracy or in any part of the world, I have never seen a

situation whereby a former President on the platform of a party did what Obasanjo is reported to have done. If he did that, it shows the level this society has degenerated into and it is evident that such people, cannot be trusted with power.”

He was frustrated out – Ihonvbere Prof. Julius Ihonvbere who worked as Special Adviser on Policy and Programmes Monitoring in the Obasanjo presidency said that the former president was frustrated as “baba never wanted to leave the PDP”.

Ihonvbere who himself left the PDP for the All Progressives Congress, APC, and is presently the Secretary to the Edo State Government (SSG), said “the manner at which he tore his PDP card and asked his ward chairman to do the same simply expresses his frustration with the PDP. A man who has been two term president under PDP, who has been chairman Board of Trustees of the PDP, for him to take that step means he has seen very many things that the average Nigerian has not seen.

“The PDP is busy insulting people, lying with statistics and documentaries while the APC is telling Nigerians what they want to do. So Baba is just expressing his dissatisfaction, and his belief and if you know him, that is him, that is his style, he does not pretend for too long.”

Obasanjo did nothing wrong —David West

"Obasanjo did not tear his membership card. He told his ward chairman to tear it. Obasanjo has a right to join a party of his choice. I have never joined any party in my life. As a statesman, if he did anything despicable, he should not be cautioned by the military. He was the chairman of the PDP board of trustees. He is a statesman that should be respected. He is a disciplined Nigerian and Nigeria should copy the discipline in the military and extend it to Obasanjo. He has done nothing wrong. He has the right to express himself politically and as a former Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, he should be treated with the respect he deserves.

He is a double dealer— Owie

Also, yesterday, former Senate Whip, Senator Rowland Owie who described former President Obasanjo as a permanent double dealer, said: “I urge well meaning Nigerians, President Jonathan, and PDP, who believe in the unity of Nigeria, freedom of religion, not to be distracted by Obasanjo's antics, for the Word of God says, “Why this uproar among the nations, this impotent muttering of the peoples? Kings of the earth take up position, princes plot together against Yahweh and his anointed, Now let us break the fetters!

Also reacting, a group under the aegis, the Nigeria Posterity Project, NPP described the exit of Obasanjo from PDP as good riddance to bad rubbish.

A statement by its National Coordinator, Louis Ebodaghe, read: “For a man who ran the PDP as his personal estate during his tenure as president, a man who brooked no opposition and was intolerant of opposing views, his unquenchable desire to control the apparatus of the PDP even after he had left office is legendary.

“Chief Obasanjo has by his self-conceited nature displayed his lack of decorum by publicly tearing his PDP membership card; an act we consider childish, dishonourable and portrays him as someone who subscribes to the principle of pull him down syndrome if he doesn’t have his way."

He is a mistake to the PDP — Ogundipe

South West Chairman of the PDP, Mr. Makanjuola Ogundipe on his part described Obasanjo as a mistake to the PDP. Speaking with Vanguard , Ogundipe said: “Obasanjo is a mistake to PDP. When you find an elderly person abusing his junior, he is looking for trouble. I want to be quoted that when Obasanjo was in office, no one did what he is doing to Jonathan.

Obasanjo will soon tell us what he has done for the Yourba race.

“Under Obasanjo, the L a g o s - I b a d a n expressway was a death trap. If you want to measure any government by achievements, Jonathan is ahead of him.

Whatever opinion Obasanjo has, as far as I am concerned, it will have no effect on the coming elections. I won’t be surprised if Obasanjo is already acting the script of a foreign government that wants an Interim government in Nigeria.

The Southwest people will not be deceived, we are solidly behind President Goodluck Jonathan and by the grace of God, he will be

returned as president of Nigeria on March 28".

Good decision – Benue CNPP

The Benue state chairman of the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties, CNPP, Mr. Baba Agan on his part lauded Obasanjo’s action saying “it is a step in the right direction.”

Agan, who spoke to reporters, yesterday, in Makurdi, the Benue state capital, said “the decision was also the mark of a true statesman.”

He said the former president “should be commended for his decision rather than being vilified by those who feel that his exit would be injurious to their political fortunes.

“Honestly, I think that what Obasanjo did was much expected, what he did was right and proper, because if you agree with me, at his level he shouldn’t be identified with any party.

Yoruba leaders, PDP chieftains react to Obasanjo’s exit

Speaking on the development, a former Minister of Works, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, said: "Obasanjo has laid that foundation before now.

He did that through his actions and comments.

We are not surprised that he did that. It is better for him to go than to remain a mole in the party."

Founder of the Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, Dr. Fredrick Fasheun said: "There is freedom of association and Obasanjo has just exercised that. I would not like to suggest the implications for the Yoruba people but it is not every Yoruba leader that can be followed by the people. A leader who does reasonable things will be followed. But when you do unreasonable things, you will not be followed."

A former acting National Secretary of the PDP, Dr. Remi Akitoye said the exit of the former president will not affect the chances of the PDP especially in the South West.

Akitoye said: “Obasanjo is a responsible member of this society, he is a founding member of PDP. If there is any disagreement, time and space will resolve the issue, there is internal mechanism in the structure of the PDP that allows for dispute resolution. His exit will not and it cannot affect

the chances of the PDP in the South West. What I am very particular about is that, we have a mechanism in the party to resolve this kind of disagreement. Time and space will reveal all this.”

He’s a wounded lion—Kashamu

On his part, Chairman, Organisation and Mobilisation Committee of the PDP South West, Prince Buruji Kashamu called for the immediate investigation and arrest of Obasanjo on grounds of alleged corruption.

Addressing newsmen in Lagos, Kashamu accused the former president of making unguarded utterances capable of heating up the polity.

He said: “My immediate reaction when I heard of Obasanjo’s latest outbursts were when did this pseudodemocrat become a defender of democracy?

Who has corrupted our electoral and democratic firmament more than Chief Obasanjo? How can the architect of Third Term Agenda accuse anyone of trying to scuttle democracy? Obasanjo still wants to continue in power because if the All Progressives Congress (APC) wins, he will be the one that will control everything. All that is going on now is hypocritical, how can a pastor work with a fanatic?”

Accussing Obasanjo of working to subvert the will of the people, he said: “Let us not be deceived. As wellintentioned as Chief Obasanjo’s homily may seem, it is all lies. It is any open show of his manipulative skills and his well-known egoistic craving for power and relevance. Obasanjo is a wounded lion that should be caged to preserve the nation because he yearns to be ruling Nigeria through the back door.”

Obasanjo’s decision, wise but belated—Tsav

A retired Police Commissioner, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, said: ‘’I think the action taken by Chief Obasanjo in dumping the PDP is honourable and in order.

You will recall that when Obasanjo singularly nominated Jonathan as the running mate of late Umar Yar’Adua, many of his townsmen objected to that. On his part, Jonathan described Obasanjo as his benefactor next to God. Jonathan later referred to Obasanjo as motor-park tout."

54—Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015

‘No new exco for marine suppliers yet’

T

HE Warri Zonal Coordinator of the Marine Equipment and Oil Suppliers of NUPENG, Mr. Andy Eruotor, has debunked report suggesting that the entire units of the group had been harmonized and that a new executive committee had been inaugurated.

Eruotor said the Warri Zone had not democratically elected new executives or created additional units, affirming that Hassan Deinferha, Collins Ajeboghouko, David Perebor, Ukori Peres, Destiny Okwe and Charles Izuogwu were the chairmen of Warri, Ecravos, Forcados, Koko/Gelegele, Oghara/Sapele and Kwale/ Okpai units, respectively, under the Warri Zone of NUPENG. He insisted that National Chairman of the body was Mr. Best Ose “and no one else.”

Emir accuses politicians of inciting discord among Nigerians

By Marie-Therese Nanlong

J

OS—THE Emir of Wase, Alhaji Sambo Haruna, has accused politicians of pitching the masses against one another and urged the people to understand that such acts were not in their interests.

Haruna, who spoke against the backdrop of unending crises in the area, lamented the incessant burning of villages and sacking of innocent people in his locality and appealed to

politicians, irrespective of party and religious affiliations, to join in the ongoing efforts at reconciling the people.

He spoke in his palace, yesterday, while receiving All Progressives Congress, APC, campaign organization led by its governorship candidate, Mr. Simon Lalong.

According to Alhaji Haruna, different villages in the local government had been attacked over 100 times since 1998.

He asked the people of the area to see themselves as

members of one family and stop discriminating against one another on the basis of religion or tribal affiliation.

The Emir also advised Nigerians not to sell their voter’s cards, but to use the general elections to vote for credible leaders.

He further called on politicians to put the interest of the nation first during their electioneering campaigns by desisting from acts that could be interpreted to imply desperate manipulation of

Evergreen Varsity to start with 7 faculties

By Boluwaji Obahopo

L

Ex-militant eulogizes Olejeme's late father

T

HE President, Urhobo Youth for Forum Change, UYFC, ‘General’ Israel Akpodoro, has commiserated with the Vice Chairman, Finance, President Goodluck Campaign Organization, Dr. Ngozi Olejeme, on the death of her father.

Akpodoro, who is the National Vice President, Phase 2 & 3 Presidential Amnesty of the Federal Government, said late Pa Philip Diunor led a fulfilled life worthy of emulation, noting that the octogenarian he led his life guided by high moral standards.

Transition

E

N G I N E E R Emmanuel Phillips is dead. He died Monday, January 26 in Lagos.

His burial has been scheduled for the first week of May. Married with children, Phillips was a member of Lagos Country Club, Ikeja Club and Island Club.

C M Y K

the electorate for political power as “only God gives power to whoever He please.”

He added: “Now is the time for Nigerians to go beyond the campaign issues and begin to ask why nothing seems to work in Nigeria in the past 16 years of our democracy.”

Earlier, Lalong, the APC candidate, his running mate, Professor Sunny Tyoden and their campaign leaders said they were in the palace to seek the emir ’s blessing ahead of the general elections.

The people of Ojuelegba community displaying their Permanent Voter's cards, PVCs, in readiness to cast their vote in the general elections at the Spirit of Lagos Do The Right Thing campaign in Ojuelegba, Lagos.

New Zamfara Police CP reads riot act to politicians, supporters

By Salisu Maradun

G

USAU—POLITICIANS in Zamfara State and their supporters have been advised to conduct themselves decently and in a democratic way or face the wrath of law.

This warning was handed down by the newly-posted Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Olufemi Ogunbayode in an interview with Vanguard in Gusau, the state capital, shortly after assuming office, yesterday.

He said the command would not hesitate to deal with any erring politician, who failed to comply with the warning, as the police would confront anyone who disobeyed the law.

According to him, it is the duty of the police to protect both lives and property of the citizens, irrespective of their affiliations.

David also said democracy was all about development and where there is no peace, such development would not be possible.

He said: “How can development be ensured in the absence of peace? We all know the importance of peace, and police are there to ensure it and its maintenance and, therefore, we will not fold our arms and allow it to be breached.

“I have heard much about Zamfara in terms of peace even before my posting, and I want it to remain like that. It is also obvious that the

support and cooperation of the people are needed.

“I am, therefore, appealing to all and sundry to cooperate with my men so that together we would succeed in making the state a crime-free one.”

He then urged the people of the state to always assist the police with relevant information that would lead to the arrest of criminals, saying “ we are ready for them.”

OKOJA—THE E v e r g r e e n University, Etutekpe, Olamaboro Local Government Area of Kogi State, owned by the God’s Care Mission Church, is to commence operations with seven faculties.

The Founder of the university, Evangelist Sunday Oguche, who made this known during the ground breaking ceremony of the institution, said the faculties include Arts, Social and Management Sciences, Natural and Applied Sciences, Education, Law, Environmental Sciences, Engineering and Technology, and the College of Health Sciences.

Dignitaries at the occasion included Professor Jerry Gana, Attah Igala, His Royal Majesty, Idakwo Ameh Oboni II and Governor Idris Wada, who eulogized the founder for the vision.

PDP will win presidential election, says former Kogi gov journalists shortly after end, PDP still carried the day.”

By Boluwaji Obahopo

L

OKOJA—FORMER governor of Kogi State, Ibrahim Idris, has said that Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, would win the March 28 presidential election despite propaganda to the contrary by the opposition.

Idris spoke, yesterday, at the Luggard House, Lokoja, while answering questions from

submitting the PDP Elders Advisory council report to his successor, Idris Wada.

He said: “Naturally, there should be an opposition, and we expect that the opposition should do their best.

“But PDP is still on at the top and there is no doubt about that. We have had this kind of opposition in the past which claimed that they were going to sweep every position during elections, but at the

Idris, who is the chairman of the Elders Advisory Council, said the body was organized to chart the way forward and reconcile aggrieved members of the party.

He dispelled rumour of his plan to decamp to opposition party, adding that he was still a member of PDP. He warned people of the state against any acts of violence during the elections, saying development can thrive only in a peaceful environment.

VANGUARD, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17 , 2015 — 55

Vanguard CLASSIFIED

Ukraine crisis: Debaltseve clashes undermine ceasefire

“ F

IGHTING is con tinuing in eastern Ukraine more than a day after a ceasefire was supposed to take effect.

The Ukrainian military command said the proRussian rebels had attacked 112 times since early Sunday, mostly in the bitterly contested Debaltseve area.

A Ukrainian officer said there was also fighting near Mariupol, a port city.

The rebels accused Ukrainian forces of shelling Donetsk airport.

Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko, Russian President Vladimir Meanwhile, further EU Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Holsanctions against Russia lande and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko during peace talk in Ukraine have gone into effect.

The new sanctions list targets 19 officials - most ject to visa bans and as- sanctions showed that the Ukrainian military of them in the pro-Rus- set freezes across the EU. “again the EU preferred said. sian separatist strongObservers from the Russia is accused of fo- to walk on a leash behind holds of Donetsk and Lu- menting the revolt in east- the ‘party of war’ in Kiev”. OSCE security body are hansk, but also two Rus- ern Ukraine and giving “Such decisions look to try again to reach the sian deputy defence min- the separatists reinforce- especially ridiculous besieged Ukrainian town isters and a Russian ce- ments and heavy weap- against the background of of Debaltseve. They said lebrity singer and MP, ons. Russia denies doing the Minsk [ceasefire] ac- they were denied access Iosif Kobzon. by the rebels on Sunday. so, but admits that Rus- cords.”

Armed separatist groups sian “volunteers” are The rebels say they In the past 24 hours, are also targeted, includ- fighting there. five Ukrainian soldiers have the town encircled ing a Cossack formation.

The Russian foreign died in fighting at Shi- so it should be considThose listed are now sub- ministry said the latest rokyne, near Mariupol, ered theirs.

VIEWS FROM ABROAD From the New York Times:

Nigeria’s miserable choice T

HE Nigerian gov ernment was supposed to hold presidential elections this past weekend, which presented voters with the dispiriting choice of keeping an incumbent or returning to power a former autocratic leader. Now they will have to wait at least six weeks to cast votes.

“The Nigerian election commission said earlier this month that it had pushed back the vote until at least March 28 , after the country’s security chiefs warned that they could not guarantee the safety of voters in northeastern areas of the country where Boko Haram, the extremist militant group, captured international attention last spring when it abducted hundreds of schoolgirls. On Friday, Boko Haram fighters attacked a village in neighboring Chad for

the first time, an alarming sign of the group’s expanding strength in a region that also includes areas of Cameroon and Niger.

“Any argument to delay the vote might be more credible if President Goodluck Jonathan’s government had not spent much of the past year playing down the threat posed by the militants and if there were a reasonable expectation that the country’s military has the ability to improve security in a matter of weeks.

“It appears more likely the government grew alarmed by the surging appeal of Muhammadu Buhari, a former military ruler who has vowed to crack down on Boko Haram. By dragging out the race, “That Buhari, who helped launch a coup against a democratically

elected government in 1983 and ruled until late 1985, has emerged as potential winner is more of an indictment of President Jonathan’s rule than a recognition of the former military chief ’s appeal. Nigerian voters have grown increasingly worried about the stunning rise of Boko Haram, which has committed terrorist atrocities including bombings.

“The abductions and attacks by the group have exposed the weaknesses of Nigeria’s armed forces and the dysfunction of the government. Although President Jonathan’s government has in the past been less than enthusiastic, and at times obstructive, in response to offers of American and European aid, he appears to be growing increasingly worried. In an interview with The

Wall Street Journal last week, he said he would welcome American troops to fight the insurgency.

“Beyond security matters, entrenched corruption and the government’s inability to diversify its economy as the price of oil, the country’s financial bedrock, has fallen may have also caused Nigerians to look for new leadership. Nigeria, the most populous nation in Africa, and a relatively young democracy, cannot afford an electoral crisis. That would only set back the faltering effort to reassert government control in districts where Boko Haram is sowing terror.

The security forces may not be able to safeguard many districts on Election Day. But postponement is very likely to make the security threat worse.”

A N I K P O — I , formerly known and addressed as Miss Anikpo Chioma Oluchi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Bello Amina Chioma Oluchi Abigail. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

AGBACHE—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Agbache Silver Akpourhieme, now wish to known and addressed as Mrs. Agbeyegbe Silver Akpourhieme. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

ONAIBE —I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Alero Anthonia Onaibe, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Alero Anthonia Onaibe-Ometan. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OZOH—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ijeoma Blessing Ozoh, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ijeoma Blessing Anieto. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

IPHEGHE—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ipheghe Oke Oghenekohwo, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. A d j e k u k o Oghenekohwo Oke. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public please take note.

ELOHOR VANITA — I, formerly known and addressed as Tuedor Elohor Vanita, now wish to be known and addressed as Tuedor Eguono Flourish. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

AWACHIE—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ijeoma Caroline Awachie, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ijeoma Caroline Amatari-Zuofa. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

EGBUNIKE—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ijeoma Jumai Egbunike, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ijeoma Jumai Azubike. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OWOLABI—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Owolabi Falilat Abiola, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ogunmeru Falilat Abiola. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

JOHN OKOBI —I, formerly known and addressed as Miss John Okobi Angela Uzoma, now wish to be known and addressed as Evangelist (Mrs) Angela Uzoma Okungbowa.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take VICTOR—I, formerly note.

Confirmation of name ISAJI—This is to confirm that Maria Isaji and Maria Isaji Kingsley is one and the same person but now wish to be known and addressed as Maria Isaji Kingsley.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

ORJI—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Orji Obiaruko Rosemary, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Adimonyemma Obiaruko Rosemary. All former documents remain valid. Lagos State Polytechnic and general public please take note.

known as Oni Akolade Victor, now wish to be known and addressed by my new name– Oni Akolade Adegbite. All former documents remain valid.

General Public, Nigeria Immigration Service, University of Ilorin, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, KPMG Professional Services, Mansard Insurance Plc, please note.

ADVERT HOTLINE 018737025

56 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015

Otto Pedestrian Bridge. Can other bridges be like this?

Pedestrian bridges of death

By Monsuru Olowoopejo

N

O doubt, pedestrian bridges have provided commuters safe means of crossing the ever-busy highways in Lagos, a reason the Federal and Lagos State governments are rehabilitating existing pedestrian bridges and constructing additional ones in the state.

To get people to use the bridges instead of dashing across the highways, the Lagos State governemnt had to embark on aggressive campaigns to sensitize residents on the issue and also reduce the 1,579 road fatalities recorded between June 2006 and May 2014.

At a time, a special task force was detailed to arrest and prosecute, in mobile courts, those who refuse to use the bridges.

This campaign yielded results as most residents abandoned their previous practice and started using the pedestrian bridges.

However, it is becoming more dangerous to use some of the old iron bridges than crossing the highways in some parts of Lagos. Lack of maintenance has forced residents to desert the facilities especially those constructed some years ago, which are now death traps with rusty iron sheets and quaky walkways.

Some of the worst pesdestrian bridges include the over five bridges on Herbert Macaulay Way, Yaba axis; the Iyana-Oworo Bridge at OlopoMeji end, Mile 12 pedestrian bridge, Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education, AOCOED, Ijanikin pedestrian bridge, and Ojo Army Cantonment pedestrian bridge and others.

Though these pedestrian bridges were constructed by different governments but today, residents said they pose threat to their lives; even as they described it as death traps.

The dilapidating facilities do not only pose danger to the lives of the users but also motorists that ply the roads under these bridges.

Herbert Macaulay pedestrian bridge Noticeable among these bridges were roll of pedestrian bridges on Herbert Macaulay road in Yaba axis of the state.

When Vanguard visited these bridges constructed several years ago with iron steel, they have since become the shadow of their old self. Some of the steel used for their construction were already falling apart.

Several parts of the bridges have been ripped off. This could be easily noticed on the steps and the walkways which allows users to see vehicles underneath through the big holes.

The development is a source of panic for the users and most now prefer what is referred to as ‘dash of death’ while those who choose to use any of the bridges spend more time on it trying to avoid the holes.

Aside the poor state of the bridges, Vanguard gathered that residents have converted them to dump site and toilets.

In an interview with Mr. David Oladeji, 78, who has been residing in the community for over 20 years, he lamented: “The pedestrian bridges are bad. And we have complained on several occasion but we are yet to receive any assurance from the governments. I think the road belongs to the Federal Government. It is a trunk A road.’’

“Though the bridges are bad but considering my age, I have no option than to use them. The number of accidents recorded daily on this road has reduced since the state government introduced the road traffic law.

But before the ban on Commercial motorcycle popularly called Okada in the metropolis, accidents occur between two and three hours daily. And this was because commuters were afraid of using the bridge.”

Oladeji continued: “I don’t find it easy climbing the bridge due to its state and because of this I spend more time on the bridge than expected.’’

Explaining the state of the bridges, the septuagenarian said: “The steps are bad. When you walk on it, you will see the road underneath easily. School

It is becoming more dangerous to use some of the old iron bridges than crossing the highways in some parts of Lagos

Herbert Macaulay Pedestrian Bridge: Now a death trap. pupils could fall from it. It is not advisable to walk on it at night.’’

Another resident, Mrs. Bridget Chukwu said: “Some government officials inspected the bridges last year and since then nothing has been done to rehabilitate them. And due to its state some people dump refuse on it.”

Mile 12 pedestrian bridge Apart from the iron bridges of Herbert Macaulay, the concrete Mile 12 pedestrian bridge is a death trap and may collapse at any moment.

Said to have been constructed and commissioned by former military administrator of the state, Colonel Buba Marwa, the bridge has been in existence for about 18 years.

The bridge prevents traders and customers of the popular Mile 12 market from going through the stress of crossing the ever busy Mile12-Ikorodu road.

A tour of the facility revealed that some iron rods used in constructing the bridge are now visible. Aside that, a walk on the bridge further revealed the state of the facility; as it vibrates with each step taken.

The poor state of the bridge has forced people to abandon the facility for destitutes who have converted it to their abode.

On why he chose not to use the bridge, Mr. Emmanuel Adeyemi, a trader responded, “the bridge is not safe for people. It could collapse and that was why I decided to cross the road and not climb the bridge.”

Another trader, who identified himself as Adamu said that the state of the bridge has been a major concern for the traders.

Iyana Oworo pedestrian bridge

The Pedestrian Bridge Olopomeji, Oworonshoki, Kosofe Local Government, is also begging for state government attention.

The bridge affords Ogudu and Oworonshoki residents the opportunity to connect both communities with ease.

Vanguard gathered that one year after the state government awarded the contract ,work is yet to commence.

Mrs. Atinuke Olateju, a petty trader, lamented that the bridge is vibrating and has visible holes everywhere, adding “the holes were patched with planks by members of the All Progressives Congress, APC in the community.

We’ll fix the bridges —FG Contacted, the Federal Controller of Works in Lagos, Engineer Godwin Eke, said that of the over five bridges ‘’only one was bad. And since we identified it, we have directed FERMA to rehabilitate it.’’ He assired that ‘’rehabilitation of the bridges will commence soon.”

Efforts to speak to the Lagos Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, proved abortive.

However, a reliable source said that the state government had noticed the state of the pedestrian bridges and would soon renovate them.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015 — 57

Traffic control: FG task force, LASTMA flex muscles again As LASG threatens court action Stories by Olasunkanmi Akoni

O

FFICIALS of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency, FERMA, otherwise called Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme, SURE-P, Federal Taskforce are at daggers drawn with the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, over control of traffic on federal highways in the state.

The FG Taskforce, last week, stormed the Old Toll Gate end, along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and environs, and forcefully dislodged LASTMA officials from the highway.

A similar incident occurred late last year, but the quick intervention of the Lagos State Special Taskforce on Environment and Special Offences unit restored normalcy before it could degenerate into crisis.

Consequently, the Lagos State Government, at the weekend, urged the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency, call to order all its agencies including FERMA, over their nefarious activities in the state which, according to the government, constitute both environmental nuisance and danger to road users.

The state government said it is considering instituting a legal action against the Federal Government over the development. This action, according to the government, became necessary in view of President Goodluck Jonathan non- reply to an earlier letter written to him by Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State on the illegal activities of the SURE-P taskforce in the state.

Media briefing Speaking during an interMinisterial media briefing at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre Alausa, Ikeja, at the weekend, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Ade Ipaye, listed some of the activities to include taking over of traffic control on highways, illegal and indiscriminate placement of bill boards and painting of road kerbs in green and white which is against international standard, adding that these activities constitute a breach of the nation’s constitution.

The commissioner, who was accompanied by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Aderemi Ibirogba and his Transportation counterpart, Mr. Kayode Opeifa, among others, said for the fifth time in recent times, the unknown group of men and women without any form of identity, dressed in black uniform

Taskforce had last Thursday taken over some highways in the state, aided by four armed policemen purporting to be controlling traffic, a job which he maintained, is legitimately performed by LASTMA. Recalling that the state government had made series of complaints in the past about the activities of the group, and Governor Fashola personally wrote the President, Ipaye said on one occasion when a policeman was attacked by the group, the Police made some arrests and after awhile the activities continued.

The commissioner, who noted that there was no record of any employment letter, regulations, laws or a Federal circular that pointed to the establishment of the group, said the concern of the state government stemmed from the probability that criminals and hoodlums could also wear the uniform and perpetrate criminal activities under such cover.

Ipaye, who also spoke on the issue of illegal and indiscriminate placing of advertisements on the roads and highways in the State said these were done without regard to the laws and regulations guiding such placements in the state pointing out that placement of bill boards are “subject of regulation to

ensure that the safety of the road users are not compromised”.

Corroborating Ipaye, Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa, explained that a letter was written to the Federal Ministry of Works Office Controller in Lagos drawing the attention of the controller who, according to him, denied any knowledge of such a body adding that the group was later dislodged.

“But going forward, the men reappeared and the Federal

When the men began their activities at the Tollgate last Thursday, the state government contacted the state Police Command which claimed none of their men was attached to the illegal taskforce

Ministry of Works contacted us to assist in evicting them and we said no, that they should talk to the Police who had the authority on the issue of maintenance of law and order and the Federal Ministry of Works wrote a letter to the Lagos State Police Command”, Opeifa said.

The letter dated January 24, 2014 and signed by Engineer.

O.O. Obikoya (Federal Controller of Works) read thus: “The Minister of Works has directed that the members of the group be evicted from our office premises at Old Tollgate, Ojota, Lagos end of Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

“In view of the above and the security implication posed by the presence of the group, I wish to request for your assistance to evict them from our office premises at the above stated location.”

Opeifa added that the ministry made paid disclaimer advertisements in some national newspapers to the effect.

The name of the group was subsequently, changed from FERMA to SURE-P/FERMA Taskforce.

“When the men began their activities at the Tollgate last Thursday, the state government contacted the state Police

LASG, communities trade words over acquisition of property T HE recurring claims and counter-claims over land acquisition between the Lagos State Government and some communities came up again, last week. Some property owners in communities around the Lekki-Free Trade Zone, LFTZ protested against what they called illegal acquisition of their land by Lagos State Government without any form of compensation.

The communities had seized the opportunity of the on going political campaigns to register their protest as candidates of political parties, particularly the ruling party, All Progressives Congress, APC,

and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, organise rallies across the state.

The PDP Governorship candidate, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, at one of his on-going rallies in Lagos Island, promised to return all illegally acquired land by the state government to their original owners, if elected as the next governor.

In its reaction, the state government, through the Office of Surveyor-General, denied the accusation by some “unscrupulous” individuals that the government is acquiring lands from communities in Eluju Town located around LFTZ and its environs.

Command which claimed none of their men was attached to the illegal taskforce. But we sighted four Police men at the site and two were fully armed with AK47, Opeifa affirmed.

PDP fingered: The commissioner alleged that since the postponement of the 2015 general election date, a branded mass transit bus, with the name of the Peoples Democratic Party Governorship Candidate in Lagos State boldly written on it, has been noticed in the premises of the men in black while a Sport Utility Vehicle, SUV, with Bode George Boys boldly written on it used to be driven to the premises.

The Managing Director of the Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency, LASAA, Mr. George Noah, also explained that the failure of any political party to secure bill boards could not be attributed to LASAA because the less than 900 bill boards being operated by private business concerns in Lagos State, were owned by businessmen and women who, according to him, “are free to sell their services to anyone who is interested.”

Invasion of territory On the action the agency intends to take over the invasion of its territory, Noah said the agency was planning to institute legal action too adding, “I have here with me the draft of the summons which we are going to produce. It is important for us to do this because we need to set the records straight; the issue of Federal and State roads, the facts remain that Federal roads are not owned by any political party, Federal roads are part of our common wealth.”

PDP reacts: The Lagos State chapter of the PDP, had in his reaction to the development, accused Governor Babatunde Fashola of misleading residents about the duty of the federal taskforce.

Publicity Secretary of PDP in Lagos, Mr. Taofik Gani, said Fashola was wrong to have told residents to resist officials of the taskforce. He said the governor had intensified his verbal attack against the party so as to “remain politically relevant”.

On allegations by the state’s chapter of the APC and the governor that the members of the federal taskforce are foot soldiers of the PDP ahead of the 2015 elections, the party said: “The Lagos state PDP has come out to swiftly deny the existence of the federal taskforce for the purpose of election. We maintain that the governor’s information on the innocent Nigerians is not only empty but laughable and has thus reduced the governor’s office to a comic relief.

58 — Vanguard, TUESDAY TUESDAY,, FEBRUARY 17, 2015

Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015 — 59

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Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015 — 61

Suarez ´a pure striker´ – Enrique

Ghana U-20 hold Flying Eagles T

HE national U-20 football team, the Flying Eagles relinquished their lead twice to settle for a 2-2 draw in a test match against the Ghana U-20 [Black Satellites] in Accra.

Manu Garba had embarked on a playing tour of Ghana as part of preparation for the 19th edition of the African Under 20 Championship in Senegal.

Two first half strikes and one of Ghana’s goal sandwiched in between summed up the strength of the Nigerian visitors on the day.

R

Musa Yahaya and Chidera Ezeh both scored in the 22nd and 40th minute respectively. The Black Satellites cancelled out Yahaya’s strike and kept it late into the second half to peg Nigeria back in the game.

Kwesi Nyantakyi, the Satellites Coach praised the Flying Eagles firsthalf performance but would have felt satisfied with his team’s resilience.

The sides will prepare for the second-leg of the double header.

Champions League: Enyimba say they are through

Flying Eagles players celebrate a goal.

Nnachetta denies involvement in Anambra FA election tussle

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N Y I M B A chairman Felix Anyansi-Agwu and coach Kadiri Ikhana have assured the club are through to the next round of 2015 CAF Champions League after they beat Buffles du Borgou 3-0.

The packed Enyimba International Stadium in Aba had to endure a long spell of anxious moments as the largely unknown Benin side held on for almost the duration of the match after falling behind to a Daniel Etor’s 8th minute goal.

But they later capitulated through two late strikes by Kingsley Sokari and Peter Onyekachi in the 85th and 90th minutes after Nzube Anaezemba missed from the spot on 80 minutes.

“No doubt the fact that the league has yet to start affected the rhythm of our game to avery

By Jacob Ajom

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Enyimba forward, Sokari (l) challenged by an opponent in a Champions league game. large extent. However, we showed great determination and desire to win which gave us the victory,” said Ikhana.

“I don’t see our opponents defeating us in the return leg

Eaglets Continues from BP for us to win our first game,” he said.

“We took our chances and defended very well.

“Now we have to see how we can grow from strength to strength.”

Guinea skipper Mohamed Mory Korouma promised his team will be better

ESURGENT for ward Luis Suarez earned extensive praise from Barcelona coach Luis Enrique after scoring in consecutive matches for the Catalan club.

Suarez capped off Barcelona’s 5-0 thrashing of Levante in La Liga on Sunday with a bicycle kick, after also scoring in their 5-2 triumph at Athletic Bilbao last week, and Luis Enrique labelled the Uruguayan “a pure striker” after the victory at the Camp Nou. The former Liverpool forward has scored four league goals in his past eight matches after taking until December to open his account in La Liga.

against Nigeria on Wednesday.

“We are more talented than what we showed today (against Zambia),” he said.

“In the next games, we will show our talents.”

Guinea were without three of their top stars on account of injury.

because, before now, we knew next to nothing about them but with what we have seen of them, I do not see them stopping us from qualifying for next round of the

HE Anambra State Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Tony Nnachetta has debunked claims that he was interested in contesting for the chairmanship of the state football association in an election holding later this month.

Reacting to allegations made by the outgoing Anambra State FA chairman, Chief Mike Umeh, that he (Nnachetta) was ready to stop him from contesting because of his personal interest, Nnachetta said, “Umeh had problems with members of his board. He has a board that is revolting against him. They said he has been there for 15 years and he has not been able to organise one event. Umeh should go back to his board and talk to them. The list of

Eagles Continues from BP London for the West African derby.

Games between Nigeria and Ghana are always feisty, with both countries having an extra incentive to beat the other because of the on-and-off the pitch rivalry between them.

Incidentally, the last time both countries met

was also in London, and the game ended in a 0-0 draw at Vicarage road in 2011.

But Ghana have had joy playing Nigerian in recent years, pummeling Nigeria 4-1 in a friendly, also in London in 2007, and beating the Super Eagles at the 2008 African Nations Cup tournament.

allegations against him is long; they said he has not called one meeting for the past two years.

“The board members are angry that he has not been able to bring in one sponsor or do anything to change the fortunes of football in the state. And that he has not achieved anything for 15 years.”

Nnachetta, a former first vice chairman of the Nigeria Football Association between 1990-92, said, “It is not about me. I was a member of the Nigeria Football Association decades ago. And I don’t think I would be infringing on any law if I wanted to

Nnachetta contest for the Anambra State FA election. It is not about me. You can talk to his board members. Call them.”

The commissioner said he was not interested the FA election and if Umeh had any issues, “it is with his board members

Heineken ‘Champions the Match’ in new UCL campaign

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the UEFA Champions League season enters the crucial knockout phase, Heineken is kicking off its new campaign – “Champions the Match” encouraging fans to create a truly great match night for themselves and their friends.

They should not just watch the match, they should champion it! A brand new Heineken TV commercial, entitled “The Match”, is being launched to show how far one fan will go to watch the big match.

Now in its ninth S

consecutive year of UEFA Champions League sponsorship, Heineken® has consistently provided Nigerians with premium match viewing experiences.

In addition to sponsoring live television broadcast of the matches, the world-class Heineken House Lagos also remains open on every UEFA Champions League match night. This opulent landmark which has hosted thousands of Heineken® fans as well as global celebrities, has gained popularity as the perfect way to enjoy the world’s foremost club football tournament.

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62 — Vanguard, TUESDAY TUESDAY,, FEBRUARY 17, 2015

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Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015 — 63

PSG v Chelsea: Costa is a monster machine , but I'll tame him — Luiz A

Mikel misses PSG clash

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OHN Obi Mikel did not travel with the Chelsea squad for their mouth-watering Champions League clash with PSG tonight.

According to the official website of the Stamford Bridge side, the defensive midfielder is still undergoing rehabilitation after picking up a knee injury after the game with Aston Villa nine days ago.

Jose Mourinho has selected 22 players for the trip to Paris, but there was no place in the squad list for England youth international Dominic Solanke.

Obi Mikel is expected to return to the pitch next weekend if all goes well with his treatment.

The 27-year-old has recorded 21 appearances in all competitions f o r Chelsea this term, including two in the Champions League.

He could be available for the return leg against the Parisians o n

11.

S the world’s most ex pensive defender, David Luiz knows a thing or two about confronting the best forwards in the game.

Lionel Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Sergio Aguero and Luis Suarez. Luiz has done battle with them all and performed well enough to persuade Paris St Germain last summer to pay £50million, the highest fee in history for a defender, to Chelsea for his services.

Luiz won three trophies during his time at Stamford Bridge but tomorrow, he returns as an adversary, trying to end Jose Mourinho’s

dream of winning his third Champions League title, and his first with Chelsea.

He is enjoying immensely his new life in Paris and hopes to repeat the success in France that he enjoyed in west London.

To do so, however, he will have to gain revenge on a friend.

Last season, Diego Costa and Atletico Madrid eliminated Chelsea at the semifinal stage, with Luiz involved in both legs. With Costa now at Chelsea, Luiz is relishing the chance to take on a player he describes as “a monster”.

Both left Brazil to move to Europe, although Costa decided to take Spanish citizenship, and remain on friendly terms. Yet tomorrow in Paris and at Stamford Bridge in three weeks’ time, there will be little time for pleasantries.

Luiz told Standard Sport: “The first time

I played against Diego, I was at Benfica and he was playing for Braga.

It was April 2007, and

the game ended 0-0. He came on in the second half.

“I

know Diego well and I keep in touch with him. He is a fantastic guy.I’mhappy for him because now he is in the position he needs to be.

He is a great person, a great player.

“Now he is one of the best strikers in the world.

He plays in a very physical style because he is a machine,a monster.

But I en-

Bayern dread trip to war-torn Donetsk

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AYERN Munich will play Shakhtar Donetsk in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League last 16 clash tonight.

But with the world watching on as wartorn Ukraine continues to be ripped apart by pro-Russian rebels and the Ukrainian army, Shakthar continue to play.

The game will not be played in Donetsk’s Donbass Arena, as the entire city is under the control of pro-Russian rebels.

Bayern will instead travel 750 miles away from Donetsk to play against Shakthar in Lviv, but Thomas Muller shared his shock at what’s going on in Ukraine.

“It’s hard to grasp and

Wednesday, March

Blanc warns PSG of Mourinho’s mind

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Mourinho C M Y K

joy the physical battle with forwards. It’s part of football, and you have different kinds of strikers.

“You have the clever ones, the quick ones, the technical ones, the physical ones. You need to be ready for all of them.

I’m happy for Diego, because he’s doing very well.

“You look at the Premier League and he and Aguero are the best strikers there. I hope he doesn’t have his best day against us and that he doesn’t score, so it will be better for us.”

Another elite centre-forward, Ibrahimovic, is now a team-mate. So, of the Swede and Costa, who is the more dangerous opponent? “It depends who receives more of the ball,” is Luiz’s diplomatic response. “These players can’t have too much of it.”

“This is one of the best clubs in the world, and everyone is talking about PSG, but we need to win European titles.”

“The club have a great project for the future and they are playing very well, so it is important to stay on the same track. Now we have the chance to compete in the Champions League, against a difficult team.

“If you want to, you can improve every day, and I do. I want to learn every day so of course, I have improved as a player since coming to PSG. And next year, I want to be even better.

You have to be open to learning.”

AURENT Blanc has warned his Paris Saint Germain players not to let Jose Mourinho’s mind games distract them from beating Chelsea in the Champions League.

The PSG coach appeared to use his prematch press conference

ahead of the first leg of the last 16 tie to accuse Mourinho of using under-hand tactics to put off opponents.

He said: “I know Jose Mourinho a bit and I know he’ll raise the temperature on the match.

“So my players need to be cold, calm, mustn’t

react, even when it is hot out there on the turf.

They must stay calm and cold. We can’t afford any more yellow cards.”

The French champions are set to be severely under strength for the first leg of their last 16 Champions League tie at the Parc des Princes tomorrow night.

•Guardiola (it is) a unique experience to be playing against a team that is based in a crisis area,” Muller said.

“Somehow, it’s a surreal situation. You know there is this terrible war out there, but you don’t really realize it because you don’t really know such a situation personally.”

UEFA are confident that there will no issues surrounding Tuesday’s game, but Bayern seem uneasy about the prospect of heading to a war torn country.

•Muller

Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015

Nigeria, Guinea battle for World Cup ticket

Super Eagles to play Black Stars in London

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HE Golden Eaglets will battle Guinea tomorrow in a Group A match at the African U17 Championship which could well determine World Cup qualification for either side.

The Eaglets beat hosts Niger 2-0 in the opening match of the tournament on Sunday and Guinea also beat Zambia 1-0 in the other game of the group.

A win for either side tomorrow would guarantee them six points, a place in the semi-finals of the competition as

T

HE Super Eagles will play the Black Stars Ghana in

an international friendly game fixed for March 29, 2015 in London.

The Nigeria Football Federation(NFF) secured the friendly game to engage the Super Eagles and to ensure that the FIFA free window is utilised.

Initially the plan was to play Brazil on that same day, however, the Selecao will be playing Chile at the Emirates Stadium that same day.

The Super Eagles will first play a friendly game against Bolivia at the Nest of Champions in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State on March 26th.

Then after the game against the South Americans, the Nigerian contingent will depart for Continues on Page 61

CAN U-17 well as a berth at the 2015 FIFA U17 World Cup in Chile.

Eaglets coach Emmanuel Amuneke saluted his team for getting off to a winning start, while promising improvements in subsequent matches.

“The most important thing in football today is to win. It was important Continues on Page 61

Mikel misses PSG clash — Pg.63

Tonight’s Fixtures •Nwakali

•Amuneke

PSG

v Chelsea 8:45pm Shakhtar v Bayern 8:45pm

FA Cup Fixture Liverpool v Blackburn

Ghana U20 draw 2-2 with Nigeria’s Flying Eagles — Page 61

Brandford v Reading Preston/Man U v Arsenal

QUICK CROSSWORD

TODAY'S

PUZZLE

YESTER DAY'S ANSWERS YESTERDAY'S

ACROSS 4 Calm (5) DOWN 7 Speaker (6) 1 Universe (6) 9 Through (3) 2 Portmanteau (6) 10 Spasm (3) 3 Child (3) 12 Course (5) 4 Fairy (4) 13 Post (4) 5 Wear (5) 15 Thick (5) 6 All-embracing (8) 17 Placid (6) 8 Ascend (4) 19 Cupid (4) 11 Touched (9) 20 View (5) 14 Loan (4) 22 Number (3) 16 Dregs (4) 24 Devalued (7) 18 Stagger (4) 27 Resin (3) 21 Baptise (8) 28 Sorceress (5) 23 Eft (4) 31 Prima-donna (4) 25 Foundation (4) 33 Sew (6) 26 Cube (4) 35 Avarice (5) 29 Menace (6) 37 Gaelic (4) 30 Respected (6) 38 Stock (5) 32 Tally (5) 39 Fellow (3) 34 Hero (4) 41 Consume (3) 36 Breed (4) 42 Site (6) 40 Bow (3) 43 Go in (5)

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS ACROSS: 1, Attar 5, Gauche 8, Power 10, Copper 11, Iris 14, Duties 15, Ambling 18, Eel 19, Got 21, Slur 23, Allow 24, Adds 27, Yew 29, Rap 31, Menaced 32, Gloves 34, Path 35, Escape 38, Undue 39, Repeat 40, Plant.

DOWN: 2, Two 3, Appals 4, Roe 5, Grid 6, Unites 7, Eraser 9, Wrongly 12, Rue 13, Sill 16, Mild 17, Golem 20, Towered 22, Urge 24, Angler 25, Drop 26, Savage 28, Parcel 30, Pet 33, Shut 36, Sup 37, Pen.

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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