No sight of Chibok girls in liberated areas-COAS

...towards a better life for the people

**

VOL. 25: NO. 62364

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

N150

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

NNPC didn't get N1.329trn subsidy money from CBN, says Alison-Madueke >>49

Elections must hold as scheduled — NPAN >>9

No sight of Chibok girls in liberated areas —COAS •Says Yobe, Adamawa fully liberated •Only three of 27 LGs in Borno remaining •INEC set for polls in 36 states, says Jega's aide

By Ben Agande

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BUJA—HOPE d i m m e d , yesterday, on the rescue of abducted Chibok girls from Boko Haram terrorists as the Chief of

Continues on page 5

I'll respect press freedom, uphold cons titution — BUHARI >>54

LIBERATED TERRITORIES: TOP LEFT: Michika Local Government Area Secretariat in Adamawa burnt by Boko Haram insurgents before retreating from the area. TOP RIGHT: Victorious Nigerian troops jubilating at Baga. LEFT: An antiaircraft gun seized by Boko Haram and refabricated but later recovered by troops of 7 Division, Maiduguri and a house converted to armoury by the terrorists at Monguno in Borno and later recovered by the Nigerian Army, during a media tour of recaptured territories in the North East. Photos: NAN.

FG hopeful PIB'll be passed by May COLUMNISTS: Police blame alleged invasion of Ayogu Eze’s house on politics See Inside C M Y K

•P.17

Ethnicity, Nigeria’s drug addiction (2)

>>9

Lessons Dame Jonathan can learn from Simone Gbagbo •P.19

She had her eyes on my man •P.40

Mr & Mrs

2 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

C M Y K

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015 — 3

C M Y K

4 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

Inflation rate rising at faster pace – NBS

FG cuts electricity tariff by over 50% ...Stop DISCOs from transferring collection losses to consumers

By Chris Ochayi

By Emeka Anaeto, Economy Editor

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ONSUMER Price Index (CPI) for the month of February 2015 has shown that inflationary pressure was mounting, pushing the Headline Index to move up by 8.4 per cent year-on-year, as against 8.2 per cent in January. CPI measures inflation rates and the increase reflects rising cost of goods in the economy.

In the CPI Report released yesterday the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said all the components that contributed to the index increased at a faster pace during the period, noting that the only exception was Recreational & Culture which also increased but at slower pace.

According to the report, Food prices as observed by the Food Sub-index increased at a faster pace in February partly due to increases in prices of imported food items. The Imported Food Sub-index increased by 8.8 per cent (year-on-year), the highest increase recorded since February 2013. The Food Sub-index rose by 9.4 per cent (year-on-year).

In the Group report, NBS said while most groups that contributed to the Food Subindex increased at a faster pace during the month of February 2015, the pace of increase was weighed down by a slower increase in the Bread & Cereals sub-group.

The pace of advances recorded by the “All Items Less Farm Produce” or Core Sub-index increased for the second consecutive month in February, 2015. The Core Sub-index increased by 7.0 per cent (year-on-year), 0.2 percentage points from 6.8 per cent recorded in January 2015.

After increasing at same pace year-on-year fr the previous two months, food prices as measured by the Food Sub-index increased at faster pace in February, 2015, increasing by 9.4 per cent.

On a month-on-month basis, food prices increased at a slower rate in February relative to January, 2015.

Food prices increased by 0.7 per cent down from 0.9 per cent. Price increases slowed across most groups that contribute to the Food Sub-index with the exception of Fish Group.

A

BUJA—FOLLOWING recent complaints of high electricity tariff by consumers and its grave impact on the nation’s economy, the Federal Government has announced reduction of electricity tariff by over 50 percent in some places.

The Chairman of Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission, Dr. Sam Amadi who announced the reduction in a statement issued yesterday in Abuja, said however that the reduction does not affect the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, facility and its payment.

Dr. Amadi explained that the reduction was arrived at after the Commission had reviewed the technical and financial assumption of MYTO 2.1.

He said “The review shows that the major underlying cause of the skyrocketing increase in the tariff is the huge Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collection (ATC&C) losses, which are passed through to consumers. In some DISCOs ATC&C losses raised tariff by as much as 80-103%.

“The Commission has been listening to consumers and taking full account of the impact of high tariff on consumers and the Nigerian economy, has therefore reviewed the basis of the MYTO 2.1 assumptions and has determined that it is inappropriate to transfer to consumers collection losses that are controllable by DISCOs. “It is the responsibility of the DISCOs to collect their revenue from their customers. Failure to do so should not be a penalty to customers who pay their bills. It is clear that removing the collection losses will lead to lower tariffs for consumers.

“The removal of collection losses from customer tariff has reduced

BRIEFING: Chairman Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega refused to respond to probing from State House Correspondents after briefing the National Security Council chaired by President Goodluck Jonathan at the State House, Abuja. Photo by Abayomi Adeshida. tariff by more than 50 percent in some places. Please note that the reduction does not affect the CBN facility and its repayment,” he said.

The Chairman said further, “Therefore, On Monday, March 9, 2015 the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) issued a new order to the effect that henceforth collection loss, which is defined as the ‘amount billed but not collected’, will not be automatically passed on to consumers of electricity.

“Consequently, the collection loss for all DISCOs is set at zero.

It is now the responsibility of DISCOs to convince the regulator of any exceptional circumstances for such loss to be passed to the consumers.

“This new direction comes as part of the commencement of the Transitional Electricity Market (TEM). TEM is built on bilateral trading between parties and is geared towards ensuring

an efficient market where cost reflectivity will lead to more affordable electric services for consumers.

“As part of preparing for TEM the Commission has issued a tariff review regulation that requires the utilities to consult with relevant consumer classes before presenting a tariff review application to the commission to approve.

“It is now the responsibility of the DISCOs to prepare and present to the Commission a tariff that will ensure that they recover their costs and ensure efficient operations.

“This new order now amends the MYTO 2.1 and has reduced the tariff to be paid by all class of consumers. In the review MYTO 2.1 the Commission followed due process and the regulatory principles. The EPSR commits the Commission to ensuring full recovery of prudent costs for efficient operators.

“The Commission is obligated

to make sure that only prudent and efficient costs are passed to consumers. The principle is to ensure that the distribution company operates efficiently and provide quality and affordable services to consumers.

“NERC remains committed to the principle of cost- reflective pricing and to the development of an efficient and financially viable electricity market. These are important to support the investment that is needed to ensure the electricity supply industry meets the needs of the Nigerian economy.

“The decision to review tariff is completely compatible with the terms of the privatization and has been reviewed with the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE). NERC and BPE are working together to advocate for series of fiscal policies that will foster easier access to investible capital to further increase capacity and enhance reliability in the sector.”

JUDICIAL MALPRACTICE: NJC has no power to sanction retired judges — COURT

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

A

BUJA—THE Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, yesterday, held that the National Judicial Council, NJC, lacks the constitutional powers to investigate or discipline retired judges accused of complicity in perversion of justice.

The court, in a judgment it delivered on a suit that was entered before it by the former Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory, Justice Lawal Hassan Gummi, who was in 2013, found guilty of judicial corruption by the NJC, stressed that the disciplinary powers of the Council is limited to only serving judicial officers.

Justice Abdul Kafarati who gave the judgment yesterday, maintained that the erstwhile Chief Judge of the FCT, Gummi, ceased to be a judicial officer after he voluntarily resigned from office on May 13, 2013.

Gummi, whose tenure as CJ would have ended this year, resigned his position barely three weeks after the NJC commenced investigation into a petition that sought his sack over alleged judicial impropriety.

His resignation came a day after he was crowned as the new Emir of Gummi Community in Zamfara state.

Despite his voluntary decision to willingly bow out

of the Bench, the NJC still went ahead and constituted a panel that probed the allegation of judicial malpractice that was levelled against him.

In a statement it issued through its Acting Director of Information, Mr Soji Oye, the NJC, on July 18, 2013, said it had at the end of its 63rd meeting, deliberated on the Report and recommendation of its Committee that investigated the petition forwarded to it by Nestello Gateway Group in Suit No. FCT/HC/CV/486/10 against Hon. Justice Lawal Hassan Gummi, and found him culpable.

The Council said that the CJ unduly interfered and perverted the course of justice

in the case between Nestello Gateway Group and Governor Abdul’aziz Yari of Zamfara state.

NJC said that findings by its committee revealed that the exCJ interfered in the execution of a judgement delivered by Justice Jude Okeke of the FCT High Court, Abuja.

“Council also found the interference of Gummi in the execution of the judgment as most unethical and highly reprehensible.''

The former chief judge would have been summarily removed from office as he was guilty of gross misconduct. His action was contrary to Rule 1 (i) of the Code of Conduct for judicial officers in Nigeria.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015—5

POCKET CARTOON

INEC, Gana differ on use of card readers MEDIA PARLEY: From left: All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential candidate, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd); former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar; APC chieftains, Prince Tony Momoh and Dr Ogbonnaya Onu during a meeting with newspaper publishers, in Abuja, yesterday.

Photo: Gbemiga Olamikan.

No sight of Chibok girls in liberated areas —COAS Continues from Page 1 in contact (with) have not made any comment suggesting that Chibok Army Staff, General girls were there and taken Kenneth Minimah, away. declared that despite the “But we are optimistic liberation of some towns that as the war gets closer, and villages in Borno, the territory is becoming Adamawa and Yobe elusive to them (terrorists) States, the troops have not and we will get further been able to establish the details on that.” whereabouts of the Only last month, schoolgirls.

President Goodluck They were abducted Jonathan declared from Chibok about a year emphatically that the ago. abducted girls were still Addressing State House alive and would soon be correspondents after the rescued.

National Security Council In the heat of meeting in Abuja, controversy last year over Minimah, however, alleged negotiations with expressed the hope that as the sect to release the girls, more of the territories are which turned out to be a recovered the girls may hoax, the sect leader, still be found.

Abubakar Shekau, said He said: “No news for the girls had been married now. In all the liberated off to Boko Haram areas, we have also made fighters. inquiries but the truth is Shekau issued a new when the terrorists are video in which he denied running away they also claims of a deal to free the run with their families. 200 girls kidnapped in And those we have come

TAKE HEART

BY ELLA RANDLE

Whether you think you can or you think you can’t.

You are right —Henry Ford

I

T’S easy to embark on the pursuit of a worthwhile goal, the ability to maintain the momentum to ensure its accomplishment is another issue altogether.

When your motivation is low, your commitment, determination and passion are tested. You become aware that your worthwhile goal will remain just that unless you get motivated and stay motivated to achieve it.

Despite having lost the motivation to work on your most important goal, chances are you remain actively engaged in accomplishing other unrelated goals. However, despite these accomplishments, you continue to feel unfulfilled, because your most worthy goal remains unattainable.

Start by writing a list of things you do that makes you happy and start doing them. When your focus is on feeling good about yourself, it becomes much easier to love the things you do well , and are most likely to sparkle your enthusiasm for another fresh start.

April, saying the girls would never be released because they had been “married off” to fighters.

“The issue of the girls is long forgotten because I have long ago married them off,” he said, laughing. “In this war, there is no going back.”

Speaking in Hausa, the local dialect, Shekau denied claims by Nigeria’s military and Presidency that they had reached a deal to end five years of deadly violence in the country’s northeast as well as agreement to release the Chibok girls.

Elections in liberated areas Meanwhile, General Minimah was also asked whether elections would be held in the areas recently liberated from Boko Haram terrorists. He said the final decision on whether elections would be held in the liberated towns and villages in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States would be determined by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, after it has carried out its own assessment of the situation on ground.

He said: “Council reviewed the North-East operations particularly in the last three weeks and council renewed its confidence in the Nigerian Armed Forces and commended them too.

“You know Yobe and Adamawa States have been liberated completely and we look forward to the reinstatement of structures of government and governance.

“I am also sure you know that in Borno State of the 27 local governments we have three local governments remaining, Abadam, Kalabaldi and Gwoza and we are optimistic that with time we will liberate those local governments.

“I am not competent to speak on the elections.

INEC is still there. INEC has to re-assess the situation and evaluate because the areas have been liberated.

“But I can also tell you that not all structures of governance have been reinstated and they will need to be reinstated so that citizens can go back to their areas and it is then I think they can execute their rights as voters. How soon? I don’t know.”

‘INEC preparing for polls in 36 states’

However, Mr. Kayode Idowu, Chief Press Secretary to Prof. Attahiru Jega, told Vanguard last night that the commission was preparing for elections in all 36 states of the country.

He said the commission’s plans had all along been directed towards holding elections in the whole country.

Asked if the military operations could be concluded before March 28, the army chief said: “It is our wish and we pray God gives that to us, but war is war. War sometimes is not fought on some platforms of permutations.”

The chairman of INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega, who briefed the council simply told State House correspondents that the briefing "went well."

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

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BUJA — A O R M E R Minister of Information, Professor Jerry Gana and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, sharply disagreed, yesterday, on the desirability of using the Smart Card Reader machines for the purpose of authenticating voters eligible to participate in the forthcoming general elections.

Gana, who is the Chairman Contact and Mobilisation of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the commission clashed at the formal presentation of a book, “Guide to Understanding Electoral Offences,” which was written by a staff of INEC, Mr. Matthew Ugwuocha.

Whereas Gana, who chaired the occasion, in his opening remarks, insisted that using the card reader machines for the election might frustrate the electorate and occasion chaos and crisis across the federation, INEC through its Director, Voter Education, Mr. Osaze Uzi, countered him, saying no amount of pressure would make it to jettison either the use of the Permanent Voters Cards, PVCs, or the card reader machines for March 28 and April 11 elections.

It was Gana’s argument that the commission ought to have used less important elections to test the efficacy of the technology before insisting on applying it for the general elections.

He said it would be cumbersome and time sapping for agents of INEC to effectively verify/ authenticate all the PVCs before the actual commencement of voting on the election days.

He said: “If we are not F

careful, there may be a lot of chaos and confusion on the election day especially with regards to this issue of card readers. Unfortunately, there was no time for INEC to test the card readers, it is being used for the first time with most of the electorate and staff of the commission yet to even see or know how it works. I have not been fortunate to see one myself.

“In a big nation like Nigeria with more than 68 million voters, you don’t just wake up and introduce a new innovation in such manner. INEC should have tested the process in smaller elections and when it is proved that it is good enough, introduce it for a national election. I urge INEC to take a second look at the issue, if you are not very sure that it will work in the country, leave it, let it not be a crisis-generator.”

Meanwhile, before Gana could take his seat, INEC whose chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, earlier spoke through its Director Legal Services, Mr. I. K. Bawa, said it must respond to the issues that were raised by Gana.

Uzi who defended the electoral body said it would be wishful thinking for anyone to think that INEC would dump the use of the card reader machines which he said were successfully used in Ghana and other African countries.

He said: “The introduction of technology into our election process is inevitable. Twelve years ago, there was nothing like GSM in this country and as at that time none of us here knew how to operate a GSM phone, but today, are we not all effectively using GSM phones?

“We at INEC have resolved to consider and project anything that will improve the integrity and credibility of our electoral process.”

6—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

Political thug kills one, injures another in Jigawa

A hawker at work in Oshodi Market, L a g o s .

PHOTO: Joe Akintola, P h o t o Editor.

By Aliyu Dangida

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UTSE—A Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, thug (names withheld) has killed a Senior Secondary School 3 student of Government Day Secondary School, Birnin-Kudu, Jigawa State, leaving another injured.

Father of the deceased said the incident occurred within 15 minutes after Maghreb prayer last Sunday.

He said trouble started when his son and other children were dancing to the music supplied by the campaign vehicles of All Progressives Congress, APC, close to where he had gone to have a haircut in the neighbourhood.

He explained that because there were too many people in the salon, the deceased went to another salon opposite the house.

He said: “He was standing outside waiting for his turn when the thug rushed out with cutlass and started hitting the APC vehicle blaring campaign songs.”

He said the killer dealt a machete cut on the head of the deceased, which made him fall into a drain.

“The cut was so deep that his skull was broken and he died before reaching the hospital,” the bereaved father said.

Chairman of BirninKudu Local Government Area, Khalid Ibrahim, who condemned the killing, pointed out that he had been preaching against violence during his campaign.

Jigawa State Police Command spokesman, Abdu Jinjiri, said three people had been arrested in connection with the killing.

Suspected child thief lynched in Imo

By Chidi Nkwopara

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WERRI—A suspected child thief was, yesterday, nabbed, stripped naked and clubbed to death in Owerri, Imo State.

The middled aged woman, who was identified simply as Chioma, was allegedly caught while trying to steal a baby boy at Ogugba Park in Owerri municipality.

Vanguard gathered that before the mob snuffed life out of the alleged child thief, she was made to confess her sins.

She allegedly confirmed that she was the only daughter of her parents and hailed from Obudi Agwa in Oguta Local Government Area, but resided at Ogbaku in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of the state.

A woman, who claimed to be an eyewitness and identified herself as Nnenna, told Vanguard that “the lady took the little boy from where his mother laid him.”

Nnenna said the now dead child thief wanted to hurriedly leave the scene after picking the boy, but luck ran out on her as she was nabbed by people around the area.

“The mob was not prepared to listen to those that wanted her to be handed over to the police for proper investigation.

“Barely minutes after stripping her naked, the mob

descended on her and the rest is history.”

Speaking to Vanguard also, the stunned mother of the child thanked God for saving her family from the agony that would have befallen them.

She thanked those who

spotted the child thief early enough and stopped her from taking her child away.

Efforts made to speak with the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Mr. Andrew Enwerem, failed as his mobile line could not be reached at press time.

Father of 2 in Police net over lover’s death

By Esther Onyegbula

A

father of two, identified as Christopher Ezekiel, is currently being investigated by the Lagos State Police over the alleged death of his Facebook lover, named Adekemi Faboro.

It was learned that Christopher Ezekiel, an engineer who resides in Ibadan and Adekemi Faboro met online via social media.

Vanguard learned that the father of two travelled from Ibadan, Oyo State, to Lagos to spend the weekend with Adekemi last weekend when the unfortunate incident happened.

Trouble, as gathered, started when Adekemi, a nursery school teacher started, coughing severely at midnight in her home, at 5, Folorunsho Street, off Ajayi Road, Ogba.

When the situation was

getting out of hand, tenants who suspected foul play, rushed her to Ifako General Hospital, where she eventually passed on.

Ezekiel was immediately apprehended by the police at Pen Cinema Police Division, while the corpse of Adekemi was deposited at the morgue.

Vanguard also gathered that the suspect’s wife works with Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, in Ibadan.

Confirming the incident, the Lagos Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, said the suspect, Ezekiel Christopher, was currently in police custody as the case had been transferred to Lagos State investigation department, SCID, Panti, for further investigation to determine the cause of the victim’s death.

Driver docked for beating beer seller comatose

By Onozure Dania

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AGOS—A 38-year-old driver, Alaba Johnson, was yesterday arraigned before an Ebute Metta Magistrate’s Court, sitting at Oyingbo, for allegedly beating one Patience Sunday, a beer seller, comatose.

The defendant, who is facing a two-count charge bordering on conspiracy and assault preferred against him, was docked before Magistrate E. Ogunkanmi.

The prosecutor, Inspector Asu Feddy, told the court that the defendant and one other, now at large, beat the victim to coma after they had patronized hers beer parlour.

He said the defendant committed the offence on March 10, along Railway line at Iponri in Lagos, adding that he refused to pay his bill after drinking some bottles of beer with his friend, who is still at large.

According to him, this prompted the victim to insist that she must be paid.

Feddy also alleged that the defendant, who was drunk while he was being asked to pay for the beer he took, started fighting with another customer.

However, the prosecutor added, during the brawl the defendant, who was intoxicated, fought the woman, thinking he was fighting the other customer.

However, the defendant denied the allegation levelled against him.

The prosecutor said the offence was punishable under Sections 409 and 171 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2011.

The magistrate admitted the defendant to N20,00 bail and two sureties in like sum, and adjourned to April 15.

Pregnant woman arrested over human parts business in Ibadan

By Ola Ajayi

I

BADAN—A 25-year-old pregnant woman, Mrs Saki Adediran, who allegedly specializes in selling human parts, was among scores of suspected dare-devil robbers, vandals and rapists paraded by Oyo State Police Command,

yesterday.

Among the suspects was also a teenager, Ayobami Erinfolami, who confessed that he had been involved in a few armed robbery operations.

When the suspects were paraded by the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Mohammed Katsina, one of

them, who identified himself as Taiwo Akinola, confessed that he was among the suspects that went to a cemetery on the outskirts of Apete in Ibadan to exhume dead bodies.

The suspect said he and his partners went to the cemetery in search of human gall.

He said: “A man told me to

look for it. Another man agreed to take us to the place and promised to pay us good money.

“We went there around 9pm looking for any of the bodies that still had the gall intact. But we got none from the ones we exhumed.”

He, however, refused to disclose how many bodies he

exhumed and what he intended to do with the human parts he got from the cemetery.

However, his explanation contradicted that of Adediran, who said the suspect had been buying charms from her and that he asked her to buy ‘biscuit’ (human head) from him, for which she usually paid N4,000.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015—7

9 dead, 765 cattle missing as rustlers strike in Plateau

By Marie-Therese Nanlong

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OS—NO fewer than nine people were feared dead in a village in Foron district of Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State, yesterday, as suspected cattle

rustlers struck.

It was learned that 765 cattle were rustled during the attack.

However, state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abuh Emmanuel, who confirmed the incident, said the number of cattle rustled were 513 and not 765.

He said 84 of the cows had been recovered, while efforts were on to trace and recover others still missing.

Chairman, Plateau State chapter of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association in Nigeria, MACBAN, Alhaji Haruna Hussaini, told

Tanker fire kills 2 in Lagos

journalists that the incident occurred on Sunday night. He said: “The Police have recovered 84 of the cattle and arrested two of the rustlers.

The DPO in Barkin Ladi has assured us that they will do their best to recover the remaining cattle.”

200 houses razed as indigenes, settlers clash in Benue

Some of the razed buildings at Akumba village, Guma council of Benue State.

By Peter Duru

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AKURDI—BARELY a week after a four-yearold boy was burnt to death in a communal crisis between settlers and indigenous people of Akumba village in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, the crisis escalated early Sunday morning with the burning of over 200 houses and huts in the community.

The renewed crisis in the community, which borders the home village of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate, Mr. Terhemen Tarzoor, is also less than 10 kilometres from Makurdi, the state capital.

When Vanguard visited the community yesterday, the helpless victims, including

women and children, who had deserted their homes, were seen loitering around neighbouring villages without shelter or food.

Invasion

Narrating the ordeal of the people, one of the victims, (names withheld) said the settlers, most of who were from Vandeikya Local Government Area, stormed the village with mercenaries at 6am, shooting and burning houses and property.

He said: “This crisis has been on for some time now. We were assured by our traditional ruler that the matter has been resolved, but were taken aback when early Sunday morning they (the settlers) mobilized fighters who came shooting and

burring down everything in our village.

“Go further into the villages and you will discover that over 200 houses, including motorbikes and cars have been razed.

“We suspect the crisis may have taken a political dimension because this is the home community of PDP governorship candidate, and we gathered that the attackers mobilized support from Tarka Local Government, which is a stronghold of the opposition.

“After the attack, they moved back there to take cover.

“From all indications they want to ensure that we do not mobilize votes for our son, who is the governorship candidate of the PDP. “This is a grand plan because the same scenario is playing out in Agatu, where

Police arrest man over lover's death

By Evelyn Usman

Tarzoor begs for peace

Reacting to the development, Mr. Tarzoor, who undertook an on-the-spot assessment of the community, pleaded with the feuding parties to sheathe their sword and live in peace.

He said: “Nothing whatsoever should divide us; people who have lived together in peace over the years should not, for any reason, take up arms against each other. In the interest of our children and the future generation, I plead that they live in peace.”

Reacting, the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Assistant Superintendent, ASP, Austin Ezeani, said the Police had beefed up security in the community to check an escalation of the crisis.

N

O fewer than two persons were killed yesterday, as a tanker laden with petrol lost control and burst into flames at Ebute area of Ikorodu in Lagos.

About 100 traders were also displaced by the resulting inferno, which razed property worth millions of Naira.

According to eyewitnesses, two persons were roasted, while two cars, two cows and buildings were razed in the incident, which occurred around 6.45am.

The casualties were the motor boy of the tanker and a yet-to-be identified motorcyclist.

It was learned that the tanker was ascending Odoeran bus-stop slope when it lost control and tumbled to the other side of the road, falling on a Mazda 606.

Both vehicles were caught up in flames, as the content spilled and spread to a nearby abattoir, which hosts some of the affected uncompleted buildings, a cold room, make shift structures and two cows meant to be slaughtered for the day.

A butcher, Isah Waheef Akanji, 32, alias Olu-omo, told Vanguard he escaped death by the whiskers, although his Toyota Camry and N220,000 got burnt.

Isah said the explosion occurred about five minutes after he packed his car and went to the abattoir to inspect the cow he had made arrangment for, the previous day.

Police arrest suspected kidnapper, free victim in Ogun

T

HERE were indications, yesterday, that late Aishat Noble Mustapha, the Silverbird staff, was allegedly murdered by her boyfriend.

At 7pm yesterday, the alleged assailant was being interrogated by police operatives. But he reportedly kept mum, requesting to speak with his lawyer.

Investigation so far carried out on the late Aisha showed that she was stabbed 11 times.

The stabs were on her neck, stomach, shoulder and arm regions.

The late Aisha, who worked at the box office of the Silverbird Galleria, reportedly left her office at about 7.30pm for her abode in Ogudu, Lagos.

the deputy governorship candidate of PDP, Mr. John Ngbede, hails from.”

By Evelyn Usman, Bose Adelaja & Yinka Latona

By Daud Olatunji

A

Late Aisha.

However, as she was about to drive into her building, her boyfriend reportedly emerged from nowhere and engaged her in a verbal confrontation.

Report had it that the love birds had been having issues relating to infidelity, with the boyfriend accusing Aisha of

dating another man.

The argument reportedly degenerated into fisticuffs, during which Aisha was dragged out of her car before being stabbed several times.

She was reportedly abandoned by her boyfriend in the pool of her blood.

BEOKUTA—OGUN State Police Command has arrested a member of kidnap gang that abducted one Mrs Abosede Adenuga from Lagos State, Monday.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, who disclosed this in Abeokuta yesterday, explained that SARS operatives made the arrest and rescued the victim.

He said the command got a tip-off that the gang was heading to Ijebu axis to hide the captive, adding that this prompted the command to deploy men on Ibefun/Ikorodu road where some suspected

kidnappers operated and hid their victims.

Adejobi said the kidnappers were ambushed by the police at Imodi Ijasi, along Ijebu Ode/ Ikorodu road, rescued the captive and arrested one Tunde Akilo.

He said: “The kidnappers, who noticed police presence, jumped on a motorcycle to escape but, they were caught by the police operatives who used another motorcycle to pursue them and rescued the victim.

“One loaded locally-made cut-to-size double-barrelled gun, four live cartridges, a Volkswagen car and assorted charms were recovered from the kidnappers.”

8 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

C M Y K

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015 — 9

NPAN insists election must hold on March 28, April 11 …Flays politicians for do-or-die attitude

By Soni Daniel, Regional Editor, North

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BUJA—THE Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria, NPAN, yesterday, insisted that elections must hold in the country on March 28 and April 11 this year, as scheduled by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

The position of the association was contained in a communiqué issued after its extra-ordinary Meeting held in Abuja.

The association maintained that the polls should be conducted in a transparent way to produce an outcome acceptable to Nigerians.

NPAN also said that the polls should free, fair and held in such a way that would deepen the nation’s democracy and make Nigeria the overall winner at the end of the process.

The group noted with concern the adoption of what it call ‘door-die’ attitude by political leaders in the country and asked them to eschew all forms of violence, which it described as unnecessary, unhelpful and unhealthy for Nigeria’s democracy.

The communiqué, which was signed by NPAN President, Nduka Obaigbena, said: “The general election must hold on March 28th and April 11th as scheduled by the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC). The election must produce an outcome and Nigerians must rally around whoever emerges the winner.

“This election is for and by the Nigerian people and it must be

free, fair and held in such a way that it will deepen the nation’s democracy such that at the end of the electoral process, Nigeria must be the winner.

“We call on the people of Nigeria, especially political leaders across the nation, to eschew every form of violence.

The prevalent do-or-die attitude is unnecessary, unhelpful and unhealthy for our system of democracy. We must all say no to violence before, during and after the election”.

The group must have raised its voice following renewed apprehension that the

rescheduled polls could further be shifted based on security concerns.

Indeed, the Chairman of the INEC, Prof Attahiru Jega, met for hours with security chiefs at the Presidential Villa on Tuesday apparently to get confirmation for the polls.

Jega was forced to postpone the election earlier scheduled for February 14 because of the claim by the security chiefs that they would not be able to guarantee security for the elections.

They therefore asked INEC to shift the elections by six weeks to enable them pound insurgents in the North East

NA’ABA DEFECTS TO APC: All Progressives Congress, APC, National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun presenting membership card, manifesto and other documents to former Speaker, House of Representatives, Ghali Na’aba, who defected to APC yesterday. Photo by Gbemiga Olamikan.

FG optimistic of PIB passage by May

By Clara Nwachukwu, Michael Eboh & Grace Udofia

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BUJA—THE Federal Government yesterday, expressed optimism that the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, will be passed before the end of the current political dispensation which terminates by May 29.

Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, who expressed the optimism while speaking at the Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) Conference and Exhibition in Abuja, also disclosed that the government target of four million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil production may not be achieved after all, due to the current volatility in the price of crude oil in the international market.

Alison-Madueke, who was represented by Mr. Joseph Dawha, Group Managing Director, Nigerian National

and prepare the ground for peaceful elections across the country.

But shortly after the six weeks’ window opened, motley groups of pro-government groups and individuals began to level spurious allegations against Jega and asked that he should be removed in accordance with civil service rule when he does not fall under that category of workers in Nigeria.

Many other groups have gone to court to challenge Jega on his decision to use card readers to authenticate voter cards, saying that he did not have such right, which is capable of disenfranchising Nigerians.

Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, maintained that the Nigerian Spirit will come to play in ensuring the passage of the Bill in the few days remaining.

She said, “Everybody is excited about the passage of the PIB, unfortunately, it got stuck somewhere, but I believe it will be passed in the next few days.

The Nigerian spirit will work in ensuring the Bill is passed despite the fact that we have only few days remaining. The Nigerian spirit is there any time and the spirit is very strong. At the end of the day, it will come to play. Everybody I talked to is optimistic about the passage of the Bill. Nobody is opposed to it, it is just the timing, I believe.”

She further stated that the Federal Government is committed to the passage of the Bill, adding that it wants to entrench a clear and transparent fiscal rule of general application with appropriate incentive to the

investor and commensurate economic rent to the state.

“Furthermore, Nigeria’s commitment to fiscal stability in its oil and gas sector remains unflinching especially as our historical antecedents clearly demonstrates this,” she noted.

Alison-Madueke further

warned that flexibility in capital expenditure and funding in general will be constrained in 2015 due to the decline in the prices of crude oil.

According to her persistent depressed oil prices may limit industry scope to manoeuvre in growing long term production and reaching the target of. 4.0 million barrels of oil per day.

She noted that all the achievements in the oil and gas

Dangote group hopeful $9bn refinery kicks off by 2017

By Omoh Gabriel, with Agency report A new $9 billion oil refinery producing 500,000 barrels per day being developed by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, is expected to come on stream in Nigeria by 2017, a senior Dangote Group official said yesterday.

The refinery, to be located in Lagos, will cut Nigeria reliance on international markets for refined petroleum products, which constitute imports of more than 80 percent of the nation’s fuel needs. The lack of sufficient refining capacity is a major handicap in Nigeria.

“By the third quarter of 2017, we expect to be looking at commissioning,” Mansur Ahmed, Dangote Industries Ltd’s executive director of stakeholder management and corporate communications, told Reuters at an African refiners conference in Cape Town.

The refinery is being designed to process Nigerian crude mix and produce products conforming to Euro V fuel specifications, as fuel demands across the continent are forecast to rise rapidly with many countries enjoying strong economic growth.

Poor infrastructure, competitive global markets and financial constraints have traditionally held back Africa’s refining capacity, while fuel subsidies in Nigeria are also an issue, said Ahmed, who spoke on behalf of Aliko Dangote.

Ahmed said the refinery, which is being funded by debt and equity, including a $3 billion commitment from Dangote himself, could list in future should additional capital be needed.

‘Jonathan needn't apologise over purported phone conversation with Moroccan king'

By Ben Agande

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BUJA—THE Minister of Foreign Affairs, Senator Aminu Wali yesterday said President Goodluck Jonathan does not need to apologise over controversy surrounding his purported telephone conversation with the King of Morocco.

Addressing State House correspondents yesterday, Wali

said he has ordered a full investigation into the affair in compliance with the presidential directive adding that the out come of the investigation will determine whether apology would be offered.

“I have already taken action on the President’s directive and of course some people are trying to make this whole thing political.

And of course, at this level of our diplomacy, a lot of things can

happen. So we are trying to find out, and I will like to say that the President has nothing to do with it. This is something that has happened and there is a bit of mix up somewhere a long the line. We are going to unravel it.

So the president has nothing to do with it.''

“If at all there is anybody who is going to apologise, I being the Minister of Foreign Affairs, will be the one to apologise and not Mr. President.''

10— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

Fashola meets lawmakers over expected poor revenue Says national economy is in troubled waters

By Ebun Sessou AGOS—LAGOS State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola has raised an alarm over the dwindling resources of the state, which he said would affect the implementation of its 2015 Appropriation Bill.

He explained that, the global fall in the price of crude oil, effect of the postponement of the general elections in the country, increase in exchange rate and others are serious impediments to the targeted income of the state government.

Fashola revealed that the actions of the managers of the nation’s economy have been inconsistent as the nation’s external reserves have dwindled considerably, which he said has seriously affected the revenue of the state.

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not reduction of the budget, but to propose that no section gets up to 100 per cent of its budgetary allocation,” he said.

Governor Fashola maintained that the Nigerian economy is cut in troubled waters, adding that without electricity supply, prospects of alternative economic generation such as agriculture, small scale enterprises, tourism and others would become impossible.

Condemns poor votes for

capital expenditure

He condemned a situation, where the Nigerian government votes less than 30 per cent for capital expenditure and over 70 per cent for recurrent expenditure.

According to him, the dwindling fortunes of the Nigerian government would affect Lagos State mostly being the most populous state and the one that contributes most to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP.

He revealed that the minister of Finance, Mrs. Okonjo Iweala has instructed Nigerian banks not to give loans to any state government without her approval, which he said was because of the forthcoming elections.

Fashola stated that it is regrettable that more than 5,000 workers from four construction companies lost their jobs in recent times, while 2,400 people lost their banking jobs in March, 2015 due to the poor state of the nation’s economy.

Emergency meeting

He stated during an emergency meeting with the members of the Lagos State House of Assembly that the purchasing power of the people has reduced considerably and that the monthly shares of the Lagos State Government from the federation account has reduced from N11 billion to N10 billion.

According to him, “the gross revenue performance of the state was 86 per cent in 2014, while budget performance could not be measured until the expected money comes in.

“The budget performance terminates with the revenue, which is about 80 per cent. We are the only government that has performed up to 80 per cent in the last three years.

“We want to propose an amendment of the budget of all the agencies of government to the actual income of the revenue. It is

Chief Albert Oburoh for burial

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HIEF ALBERT Ebioritseda Oburoh, JP, the Aghogho of Okpe Kingdom is dead, aged 78 years.

Late Chief Oburoh was the pioneer president of Iwere community in Asaba.

There will be a Service of Songs on Thursday, March 19, at his residence, 38 Maria-Goretti Road, Benin City. He will be buried on March 21, after a funeral serviceatHusseyCollegefield,Warri,Delta State.

He is survived by children and many relations, including Pa Isaac Oburoh and OmajuwaOburoh.

Late Albert Oburoh.

APC asks to be joined in UPN suit

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By Innocent Anaba

AGOS—THE All Progressives Congress, APC, has asked a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, to join it in the suit by Unity Party of Nigeria, UPN, against the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in which it, UPN, is seeking to have the electoral commission list its presidential candidate and other candidates for the March 28 and April 11 general elections.

At yesterday’s hearing in the matter during which the motion on notice by the UPN against INEC, was slated for hearing, APC’s team of lawyers, including Kola Awodein, SAN; Emeka Ngige, SAN and Funke Aboyade, SAN, appeared in court with the motion for joinder.

They argued that as a major political party in Nigeria, any decision in the matter may affect the interest of the party, hence the need for the motion for joinder.

INEC through its lawyer, said the commission had nothing against APC’s motion to join the suit, adding that it was within the liberty of the party to do so.

EFCC VS FANIKAYODE: Surety EMPOWERMENT: From left; Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, Dr. Olayiwola Onasanya, Director of Agriculture Services, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Mrs. Serifat Ajiteru, 2014 beneficiary, Miss Adedayo Adedoyin, one of the 2015 beneficiaries and Mr. Abayomi Pitan, Director of Technical Services in the ministry, during the 2015 Agric Value Chains Empowerment by the state government, at Oko-Oba, Agege, Lagos, yesterday. Photo: Bunmi Azeez.

....Blames Lekki robbery on Jonathan's On OPC protest visit

By Olasunkanmi Akoni

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AGOS—GOVERNOR Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, yesterday, maintained that the visit of President Goodluck Jonathan to the state last Thursday was partly responsible for the smooth robbery operation at a commercial bank in Lekki axis of the state during which four people were killed, including three policemen, saying “the president was protected by 2,123 security personnel same day.”

Fashola said this at the 2015 Agric Value Chains Empowerment programme held in Agege Local Government, adding that the President’s visit to the state depleted the security apparatus to a large extent to deal with the armed robbery incident.

The governor noted that larger per cent of the vehicles bought by the state government through the State Security Trust Fund, LSSTF, for policing the state were on alert for the president.

According to him, “When the

president came to Lagos last Thursday, while citizens were being robbed, the president was protected by 2,123 security personnel.

“Let me be very clear, the president is entitled to every protection, he’s our president.

And the reason the president gets all that protection is so that he can protect all of us. But the question to ask is that; when you were being traumatized yesterday (Monday), where were these 2,123 men, because you are also entitled to be protected.

On the Oodua People’s Congress, OPC and the proJonathan Group rally on Monday, the governor said; “Yesterday, (Monday) I received telephone calls and text messages and electronic mails from residents who explained to me the pains they went through. I am sorry for the pain and trauma they put you through because residents continuously complained yesterday (Monday) that they were traumatised by those people who supposedly were carrying out a rally in support of the president and their governorship candidate.

applies to withdraw

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By Innocent Anaba

AGOS—ONE of the sureties who stood for the bail granted to former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode in the money laundering case against him before a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, has applied to withdraw his suretyship.

Fani-Kayode, former Minister of Aviation is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, over alleged money laundering offences.

The surety, Wale Ajisebutu, according to court papers, had made an application to Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia, trial judge in the matter, to withdraw from being a surety to Fani-Kayode.

Polls: UN receives assurance of March 28 •as Buhari expresses hope on use of card reader

By Levinus Nwabughiogu, Abuja

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N emissary of Mr. Ban Ki Moon, the United Nations Secretary General yesterday affirmed that he had received assurances from the Federal Government that the

rescheduled elections would hold on the appointed days.

Speaking during a courtesy visit to the All Progressives Congress, APC presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja yesterday, the UN under secretary-general, Mr. Jeffery Fehan who represented the

UN secretary-general said that the headquarters of the world body has been assured.

“The Secretary General himself has received assurances from the President and l have received the assurances myself on the need for the elections to take place as now planned on March 28."

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015 —11

J O N AT H A N :

Akinrinade, Mimiko hold parallel Yoruba leaders' meetings

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BOOK PRESENTATION: Front Row (L-R): Former Lagos State Governor, Alhaji Lateef Jakande, his wife, Abimbola, Lagos State Commissioner of Information and Strategy, Mr. Lateef Ibirogba, former Lagos State Military Governor, BrigGen. Mobolaji Johnson (Back Row – L- R); Former Ekiti State Governor, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, Publisher, Healthcare Magazine, Dr Bola Olaosebikan, Mrs Taiwo Obasanjo, former NBA President, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, representative of Lagos APC governorship candidate, Mr Seyi Alade and Hon. Dimeji Gbadamosi, at the presentation of a book entitled "Jakande Leadership Is Action" in honour of Jakande in Lagos, yesterday.

Fayose threatens to arrest Fayemi's Dep Gov, SSG, others replied. ‘’

Says they owe N109.4m for monetised vehicles

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By Gbenga Ariyibi

DO-EKITI—THE Ayo Fayose-led government in Ekiti State, yesterday, threatened ex-Governor Kayode Fayemi’s appointees, including the former deputy governor, Prof. Modupe Adelabu and former Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Ganiyu Owolabi with arrest over N109 million unpaid monetised vehicles debt.

The government, in a release signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Idowu Adelusi said the Fayemi appointees “should either pay the N109.4 million or return the vehicles without delay to avert using the police to recover the vehicles from them.”

According to the statement; ‘’Brand new vehicles were given to the political appointees that worked under Fayemi under the monetised policy, but 54 of them refused to complete payment for the vehicles, with some owing as much as N5 million. ‘’The affected political office

holders included the former Deputy Governor, Prof Modupe Adelabu (N1,393,789.00), former Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Ganiyu Owolabi (N1,623,332.00), former Commissioner for Works, Mr Sola Adebayo, Fayemi’s Chief Press Secretary, Olayinka Oyebode (N1,623,332.00), former Commissioner for Education and APC House of Representatives candidate for Ekiti Central I, Mrs Eniola Ajayi (N1,723,332.00), former Commissioner for Information, Tayo Ekundayo (N4,121,508.00), former Commissioner for Finance, Dapo Kolawole (N1,723,332.00) among others. ‘’Those owing more than N4 million are Tolu Ibitola, Simeon Adeyanju, Aderemi Ajayi, Kehinde Ojo, Chief Tunde Odetola, Mojeed Jamiu, Tolani Olufemi, Wole Olujobi, and Ebun Awoyemi while Bamidele Ololade is owing N5.5 million. ‘’ In the category of N1.7 million are Wole Adewunmi, Debo Ajayi,

Mrs Fola Richie-Adewusi, Sola Adebayo, Kayode Olaosebikan, Kayode Jegede, Mrs Bunmi Dipo-Salami, Alhaji Ayodele Jinadu, Babajide Arowosafe, Biodun Oyebanji, Prof Olusola Fasuba, Funminiyi Afuye, Paul Omotosho and Chief Folorunso Olabode while Remi Olorunleke is owing N1.8 million and Babalola Olorunfemi is owing N1.4 million. ‘’The government aid that all entreaties to the APC stalwart to pay the N109.4 million has remained abortive as letters written to them was never

Govt’s move, politically motivated – Ex- officials

Reacting to the threat the former state officials in a statement signed by the former Chief Press Secretary to Fayemi, Olayinka Oyebode, described the planned clampdown on them as a deliberate ploy by Fayose to keep them and other notable APC chieftains out of circulation ahead of the March 28 presidential election and subsequent elections.

The officials said in a statement that the planned clampdown would be the second attempt by Fayose and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to get them out of circulation.

By Dapo Akinrefon

AGOS—THERE seems to be division within the leadership of the South West geopolitical zone over the 2015 general elections.

This is because two leaders from the zone are proposing separate summits in Lagos and Oyo States respectively.

The two summit are expected to discuss among other issues, the implementation of the report of the national conference and the future of the region.

Leading the Lagos summit is Governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Mimiko.

The summit entitled “Into tomorrow and beyond,” will feature former delegates to the National Conference who will converge on Thursday, March19 at the Airport Hotel in Lagos for a post national conference summit.

Vanguard gathered, however, taht leaders of the Pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere and other presumed supporters of President Goodluck Jonathan from the zone, will be in attendance at the Lagos summit.

The Lagos summit is expected to canvass and mobilise the electorate to cast their votes for the president during the March 28 presidential elections.

Akinrinade group storms Ibadan Similarly, the Yoruba Assembly has concluded plans to hold a Pan-Yoruba Summit which aims to situate and present the common aspirations of the Yoruba nation for the future.

Sen Remi Tinubu hosts town hall meeting

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AGOS—A cross section of the people of Lagos Central Senatorial District is expected at today’s town hall meeting with Senator Oluremi Tinubu, the senator representing the senatorial district.

The town hall meeting which would be the 14th in the series of interactive town hall meetings by

the senator since her inauguration in 2011 would be the last before the legislative elections due on March 28.

Senator Tinubu is standing for re-election on that day on the platform of her party, All Progressives Congress, APC. Today’s town hall meeting themed “Threading the Path to

Prosperity,” is scheduled to hold at Shell Hall, Muson Centre, Lagos on Wednesday March 18, 2015 by 9.00 a.m.

A statement issued by her office also disclosed that a book titled “Stewardship Report: A Collection of Town Hall Speeches (2011-2014)” would be unveiled at the ceremony. The unveiling is expected to be performed

by Hon. Adeola Solomon Olamilekan, APC Candidate, Lagos West Senatorial District.

12—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

Ogiemwonyi urges boycott of polls if INEC jettisons card readers

By Simon Ebegbulem

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ENIN—FORMER Minister of State for Works and chieftain of All Progressives Congress, APC, Mr. Chris Ogiemwonyi, has urged Nigerians to boycott the March 28, 2015 presidential elections if the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, bows to the pressure to abandon the use of card readers for the elections.

He described the controversy over the card readers as shocking and unnecessary.

He said: “It means those opposed to it don’t want inventions, they don’t want us to make progress as a nation and that is funny. If they don’t like inventions, why do they always travel? They should have remained in Nigeria and continued with their old ways of life.

“The truth is that Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has nothing more to offer Nigerians so they are looking for an escape route. I don’t expect the PDP to say no to the use of card readers. How will they do that when there was a budget provision for the card readers? The Nigerian people

paid for it, they have tested the card readers and they are functional. Even in India where they have huge population of 60 million, they use card readers.

“Because it has been known to work very well, every right thinking Nigerian has subscribed to the fact that this is the only proof for

accountability and sincerity.

For me the card reader is imperative for this election.

Without card readers I will advise Nigerians, whether PDP or APC, to stay away from the elections. First, we should query the wasting of that much money buying an item they don’t intend to use.

“Failure to use it, the

Nigerian people should stay away from the elections. We must adhere to international norms that are now recommending card readers for elections unless some Nigerians have made up their minds to truncate this electoral process. I don’t pray they truncate it because the people have made up their minds to have a credible election this time around."

VISIT: Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State (middle), flanked by his Deputy, Rear Admiral John Jonah (rtd) (right), and the visiting PDP National Vice Chairman, SouthSouth, Chief Cairo Ojougboh, shortly after a courtesy call, at the Government House, Yenagoa.

Controversy shadows Sambo’s meeting with Islamic clerics today

By Emmanuel Aziken

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ONTROVERSY is brewing among the Muslim Ummah in the Southwest following a division in its ranks over alleged political approaches from President Goodluck Jonathan and Vice President Namadi Sambo.

While a section of Islamic leaders have decided to boycott today ’s meeting of Southwest Islamic leaders with the vice president in Akure, Ondo State, a leading official of the League of Imams and Alfas was, however, actively mobilising others to ignore the boycott.

The threatened boycott, it was learnt, was upon a resolution of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, NSCIA, that Islamic leaders should avoid meetings with political leaders ahead of the elections.

Meanwhile, the Oyo State chapter of the Muslim community of Oyo State, MUSCOYS, yesterday, dissociated itself from today’s scheduled meeting in Akure.

The decision of the Islamic leaders to boycott the meetings with the president and his vice-president was reportedly predicated on C M Y K

controversies that followed alleged bribes to some other religious bodies recently.

Among those who have decided to boycott today ’s scheduled meeting with

Sambo in Akure is the leadership of the League of Imams and Alfas in the Southwest, Edo and Delta States.

Despite the boycott, a

prominent official of the league, it was learnt, was last night still mobilising colleagues and other senior Islamic clerics for today ’s meeting.

Delta LG clears canal ahead of rainy season

By Daniel Gumm

to fixing it and easing traffic around the market premises.

ARRI—AS the rainy According to Edema, as soon as season sets in, authorities the evacuation of the refuse in the of Warri South Local Government canal was completed, a pictorial Area of Delta State, yesterday, report will be sent to the state commenced a three-day clearing Ministry of Environment for of the canal connecting Igbudu possible concrete construction by Market to the Spare Parts Market on Lower Erejuwa Road, Warri, with a resolve to ensure that all blockages in the canal and drains around the market were evacuated.

IVERS State Peoples Addressing newsmen while Democratic Party, PDP, supervising the evacuation, governorship candidate, Mr Chairman of Warri South council, Mr Matthew Edema, described Nyesom Wike, has berated the state of the canal as an eyesore governor of the state, Mr Rotimi and assured that the evacuation Amaechi, for allegedly which is the council’s way of abandoning schools in rural rewarding traders of the market communities of the state.

Wike, who spoke in Isiokpo, for paying their stall rents, would yesterday, after an inspection be done thoroughly. visit to model secondary school He promised that his administration will make a formal in the town, said that deliberate report to the state government on Amaechi’s abandonment of education in the bad portion of the entry point rural areas has denied over one into the Igbudu Market from Warri- Sapele Road, with a view million Rivers children access

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the side of the canal.

Promising a marked difference in the sanitation of major markets in Warri for the next two and a half years, Edema enjoined people of Warri to stop indiscriminate dumping of refuse along major roads and streets.

Wike blasts Amaechi for allegedly neglecting rural schools

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to quality education.

He said the dilapidated nature of Model Secondary School in Isiokpo, Governor Amaechi's local government area, brings to the fore the governor’s deceit and extreme corruption.

Wike said: “I cried as I moved round the classes of the Model Secondary School in Isiokpo. If Amaechi can do this to his people, you can imagine the damage he has done to education in Rivers State."

Ben Bruce vows to raise $1bn for electricity

By Ishola Balogun

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HEAD of the 2015 general elections, Mr. Ben Murray-Bruce, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, senatorial candidate for Brass-East senatorial district, Bayelsa State, has said that he will raise about $1 billion to provide uninterrupted electricity in his constituency and meet other needs of the masses.

Murray-Bruce added that he will get the right results by forming a coalition across party lines.

The 59 year-old showbiz icon turned politician, said: “I have always been concerned about the poverty of the mind, about women who are not protected, children who are raped, men who are paedophiles, a society where there is no order, we must bring order to our society.”

He said that if elected, he will make Nigeria go green as part of his plans to turn around the lives of millions of Nigerians and to achieve this, he was already pushing to raise $1 billion to power Nigeria.

“The privatised power sector has caused a 100 percent increase in the cost of power, but with sunlight which is free, it can give us the same amount or more of light as we are paying for from gas or hydro sources.

“The sun is free and can give us the energy to do everything.

I will champion the exploration of the maximum use of the solar energy," he said.

CORRECTION

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E: Only Jonathan has courage to change Nigeria —Isekhure In the above interview published on page 27, Friday, March 13, 2015, the picture of His Royal Highness, Prince Edun Akenzua, the Enogie of Obazuwa, was wrongly presented as that of Chief Nosakhare Isekhure.

The embarrassment to the Prince and Chief Isekhure is highly regretted.

-Editor

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015—13

Politicians scaring investors from Nigeria —UDUAGHAN

By Emma Amaize & Egufe Yafugborhi

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ARRI—GOVERNOR Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State, yesterday, expressed worry about the trend of the campaigns for the March 28 presidential election, saying that politicians were frightening investors away from the country with their inciting statements.

Uduaghan, who spoke at a town hall meeting with professional groups and civil society organisations in Delta South and Central senatorial districts of the state, said: “Campaigns should be redirected to issues, not personalities and we should not make life enemies with our campaigns.”

Pointing out that President Goodluck Jonathan has done well to deserve a second term, he said that losers should accept defeat magnanimously, as a wrong impression had been created that there will be crisis in the country whichever way the result goes.

He said: “There is this erroneous impression that we are giving to international investors that there will be violence after the elections and it has affected the inflow of money from businessmen. We must work very hard to ensure that our elections are violencefree. Whoever loses should wait for another election. Whichever way the election goes, we must maintain the peace and ensure

that the naira appreciates.”

Former Special Adviser to President Jonathan on Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, Prof. Sylvester Monye, who delivered a lecture on Governing Under Siege: An Assessment of the President Goodluck Jonathan Administration 2011-2015 at the summit, gave evidence-based assessment from the economic,

education, health, transport, agriculture and other sectors to show that Jonathan has done better than previous presidents within his first four years in office.

Beyond propaganda, he said, President Jonathan has fought corruption more than any other government and the result is evidenced by the country’s improvement in the

Transparency International rating.

He expressed confidence that based on the facts presented which show a progressive country, the professionals and members of the civil society groups “are not voting for President Jonathan based on where he is from, but because they are convinced with his performance.”

VALEDICTORY COURT SESSION: Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State (left), commiserating with NAMA Company Secretary, Mr. Paul Oki, during the valedictory court session in honour of his father, former Bendel State Chief Judge, late Justice J.A.P. Oki, at the High Court of Justice, Benin City.

Owie faults Jega on deployment of soldiers for polls

By Simon Ebegbulem

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ENIN—FORMER Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Rowland Owie, yesterday, disagreed with the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof.

Attahiru Jega, over his comment that the Army was not empowered to monitor the forthcoming general elections.

He expressed fears that members of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, who will serve as ad-hoc staff of INEC during the elections and even voters may suffer if the Army was not on hand to provide adequate security, adding that the comments made by the INEC boss indicated that he does not care about the lives of his staff.

Owie said: “It is now clear that Jega really does not mean well for this country. Whose children does he want his brothers in the North who have been killing in the name of Boko Haram to kill as they did in 2011? I hope Jega knows C M Y K

that a youth corps member is not a street begger. His life is dear to his parents and to the country.

“These children must be protected and as such soldiers must monitor the polls. Was Jega in a trance when soldiers provided security for elections in Edo, Ekiti and other states

during those elections? Is it a case of 'if I don’t have my way, I destroy it'? I had a soft spot for Jega until now that he has shown that he does not love this country at all. How does Jega want to conduct elections without the maximum security in a country where President Goodluck Jonathan’s convoy

and that of Buhari and the wife’s convoy were pelted?

“I think Jega is dreaming to say no soldier for elections.

Jega should know that he is not the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces and only the President has the powers to deploy soldiers where he deems fit and not Jega.”

Uduaghan cautions against disenfranchising voters victory for the party in all the

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By Festus Ahon

SABA—GOVERNOR Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to ensure that no Nigerian is disenfranchised in the forthcoming elections.

Uduaghan, when the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, National Vice Chairman, South-South zone, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh and the zonal executive members visited him in Asaba, yesterday, said there were lots of Nigerians with valid temporary voters’ cards, TVCs, who have not been

able to collect their permanent voters’ cards, PVCs. He said: “There are many citizens of the state who have not been able to collect their PVCs. They have gone to INEC offices, filled forms, sent SMS but INEC has not brought the cards from Abuja. Nobody should be disenfranchised from taking part in the elections due to no fault of his. INEC should do something about it so that we do not have issues that will affect the elections.”

Uduaghan called for unity and cohesion among the party members especially at the unit level to ensure resounding

elections.

Assuring the zonal executive members of victory for the party in all elections in the state, the governor disclosed that the state government and state party executive have embarked on massive grassroots mobilisation and sensitisation campaigns at the ward and local government levels.

“We are meeting various groups to sensitise them to vote for the PDP. A lot of grassroots campaigns is going on at the wards and local government levels and we are working assiduously to deliver the party," he said.

POLLS: Edo CP warns against violence

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By Simon Ebegbulem

ENIN—EDO State Commissioner of Police, Mr Samuel Adegbuyi, yesterday, met with stakeholders in the state ahead of the March 28 presidential election, warning that the Police will not tolerate any form of violence before and after the elections.

This came as the Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Mr Mike Igini, who reiterated the preparedness of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to use the card reader in the forthcoming polls, admonished politicians to work harder in convincing the electorate to support their candidates, adding that the era of “short cuts” was over with the introduction of the card reader.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the Army, Air Force, Civil Defence, leaders of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and members of the civil society.

Ogoni monarchs vow to protest against PDP

By Davies Iheamnachor

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RADITIONAL rulers in Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State have vowed to give their votes to All Progressives Congress, APC, saying it was a protest against the Federal Government for failing to approve the implementation of United Nations Environmental Project, UNEP, report in Ogoni.

The chiefs, in Khana, made the disclosure, yesterday, at the palace of the traditional ruler of Kpean in Khana council, when the governorship candidate of APC, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, paid them a courtesy call as part of his door-to-door campaign in the forthcoming elections.

14 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

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Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015 — 15

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16 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

6 killed in Onitsha auto crash

By Nwabueze Okonkwo

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NITSHA — BARELY three days after last weekend’s auto crash that claimed seven lives and injured 20 at Upper Iweka in Onitsha, six persons were, yesterday, feared dead in fresh accident involving a petrol tanker and commercial buses on the Enugu/Onitsha expressway.

The exact spot of the crash was the Building Materials Internati- onal Market, Ogidi in Idemili North LGA of Anambra State.

The accident, according to a source, occurred when the propeller of a petrol tanker laden with petroleum products pulled off, making the tanker to ram into some commercial buses waiting for passengers on Onitsha/ Enugu expressway and consequently crushed some vehicles and hawkers.

It was gathered that the driver of the vehicle heading from Enugu, in the ensuing confusion, escaped unnoticed.

Enugu House uncovers N600m scam at ENSUBEB .I was coerced to sign concession agreement—Water Corporation MD

By Francis Igata

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NUGU—THE Chairman of Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board, ENSUBEB, Miss Nneka Onuora, yesterday, told the state House of Assembly, how the board awarded N600 million contract for the rehabilitation of 500 primary schools, and paid the full contract sum without supervising the job.

The House was also told how water supply in the state was leased out to an unknown company for 25 years by Enugu State Water Corporation.

This was even as the legislators

alleged that the contractor renovating the primary schools used thick papers to roof some of the buildings.

About N3.6 billion was accessed for the rehabilitation of the schools from the Universal Basic Education Fund after Enugu State government reportedly contributed N1.8 billion as its counterpart fund then.

However, the House, as part of its oversight functions, had summoned both the Commissioner for Education, Professor Uchechukwu Okolo and Miss Onuora to appear before it, in a letter with reference No,ENHA/5/CHA/193// VOL.V11/90 dated March 12 to

clarify issues relating to the execution of ongoing projects

by ENSUBEB as well as lapses in the management of schools.

Onuoha admitted that she broke procurement and contract award procedures by paying the sole contractor for the rehabilitation and renovation of contract, Emenite Nig Ltd, 100 per cent of the contract sum, adding that the board could not supervise the project because she sacked about 10 engineers working with the board.

She told the House that she was overwhelmed by the trappings of the office as she had no prior knowledge of managing such exalted office

Abia govt warns ex-gov Kalu over inciting statements

By Anayo Okoli.

U

MUAHIA — ABIA State government has warned the former governor of the state, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, to stop making unguarded statements capable of setting the state ablaze.

The former governor had in an interview with journalists alleged that Governor Theodore Orji

used the military to intimidate him not to vote in 2011, and warned that if such was tried in the coming elections “our people will burn down the state” and that would be the end of Governor Orji’s administration.

Reacting to the statement, the government condemned it and asked the former governor to apologise to the state government

and its people within the next 72 hours or face legal actions.

Addressing journalists yesterday, the state Commissioner for Information, Dr. Anthony Agbazuere, accused the former governor of trying to cause trouble in the state by inciting the people through spread of falsehood and warned him to retrace his steps or face the law.

before her appointment.

“I must say there were lapses. I could not mange the office. The contractors too did not help matters. The procedure for award and payment contravened the law.”

Powers that awarded the contract beyond me The Commissioner for Education Professor Okolo had also while fielding questions from the legislators conceded that the powers that awarded the contract were beyond him.

State Water Corporation leased out for 25 years On the concession of the Water Corporation, the House lashed at the Commissioner for Water Resources, Mr. Michael Nwachukwu for leasing out the Enugu Water Corporation to an unknown company, Goldtrust Limited, for 25 years.

The Managing Director,Water Corporation, Mr. Chibuzo Aka, had said: ”I was coerced to sign the document. In the agreement, there were only two signatories including my own. I did not go through the document before I signed it.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015 — 17

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DECIDED to prolong last week’s discussion on ethnicity due to the number of responses I got from it. I was pleased (and reassured) to find that Nigeria is not as divided as some politicians would have us believe. We are still able, as a people, to listen to sound arguments and debate.

For every nonsensical (sometimes sponsored) rant online, there are intelligent, openminded Nigerians who are willing to critically assess the status quo whenever it is pointed out to them that things can and should be different in the interest of all.

Someone pointed out to me that “federal character” is the Nigerian equivalent of the American “affirmative action” or the European “positive discrimination” which is the policy of favouring members of a disadvantaged group who are perceived to suffer from discrimination within a culture. So, I went back to the Constitution and found that Federal Character is not about “positive discrimination” at all.

It is in fact a policy created to promote national unity and loyalty; most of all, to ensure no particular ethnic group dominates the civil service and that positions are awarded to all groups. National unity in the post-Biafra period was the guiding light behind most policies but it would be useful, in 21st century Nigeria to reassess said policies and modernise them, to optimise their focus.

Curious system “Federal character” presents a noble sentiment on paper, but in practice, it now tends to reward ethnicity rather than competence, as stated in my last article. Indeed, Nigeria has long operated a curious system whereby certain occupations seemed natural for certain ethnic groups: in the ’60s and ’70s, Hausas seemed to be the most prevalent group in the military while one found mostly Southern tribes in academia, business and the civil service.

So, the perception over time became that federal character ended up benefiting the North and enabling Hausa-Fulanis to “play catch-up” and occupy more government and administrative positions. As well intentioned as policy-makers can be, some policies can have unintended consequences and when operating in a multi-ethnic country such as Nigeria, when these nefarious consequences are noticed, reformers must not shy away from the difficult conversations about where we are now and the dangers to our stability as a nation should things remain the same.

We are not asking the right questions about our country.

Why should any group need to play catch-up if certain fundamental mistakes were not made? How much do states spend on education? How are our local governments faring?

Are they truly able, as currently constituted, to bring developC M Y K

tprincewill@yahoo.co.uk

Ethnicity, Nigeria’s drug addiction (2) ment closer to the people?

These questions are relevant, especially in the North and in the South-South. Indeed, the North still has one of the lowest pass rates for WAEC in the country and the Niger Delta, despite the oil revenue at state governments’ disposal, remains underdeveloped. These regions have thus become a breeding ground for various sorts of insecurity.

This has nothing to do with ethnicity but rather with flawed decisions by leadership. When Chief Obafemi Awolowo championed free education in the South-West why was this not made a national policy? Today, we see the policy’s benefits as regularly in Lagos, one meets now prosperous Igbos who still thank the late Awolowo for investing in them in their childhood.

If every child, whether he is in Benue, Kaduna, Ibadan or Onitsha can get the same standard of education, then ethnic competition or federal character would become irrelevant.

Children would grow up to invest in their surroundings and have the skills to develop themselves and their communities rather than realise that vying for public office is the only saviour or “the only game in town”.

Affirmative action was intended to compensate for past discrimination of minority groups and promote new opportunities. In truth, it might be

Federal character presents a noble sentiment on paper, but in practice, it now tends to reward ethnicity rather than competence

•Chief Obafemi Awolowo controversial to say this, but no group in today’s Nigeria is truly discriminated against. Only selfish leadership is to blame if any group feels marginalised.

When people get to power in Nigeria, they are quick to forget about their constituents, so when asked why they have not delivered on their promises, they make excuses and play the ethnic card, saying it is difficult to champion their people’s cause.

Politicians in other climes are not more intelligent or endowed with more sagacity than our own leaders. Simply, the will to do the right thing is ever present, as the electorate understands the necessity of holding its leaders accountable. They see the long-term benefits of such freedom rather than the culpable way in which Nigerians subserviently bind themselves to their leaders by surviving off hand-

Femi Fani-Kayode

tries but in Nigeria poverty is often a death sentence. I hope, however, that the elites notice the shift: stray bullets can kill anyone, whether rich or poor.

Let us work harder at ensuring the right people get into office at all levels so that we can adequately provide for and protect every Nigerian.

Perhaps this is also an opportunity for us to talk about state police.

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HE Director of Media and Publicity of the Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organisation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has said the newspaper advertorials citing his outdated views of President Goodluck Jonathan, were renounced by him before his return to the PDP. It is so easy to cross over between political parties, which is one of the major reasons why most Nigerians do not take politicians seriously nor do they have much regard for a politician’s word.

Nigerian politics makes a mockery of democratic institutions and policy-making by promoting name-calling and one-upmanship over development, of which Nigerians are in dire need. I hope all politicians in these climes find peace within themselves, the agitation surrounding them seems both unnatural and unhealthy.

Lekki robbery The robbery which occurred in Lekki, Lagos, last week, had many thinking of a Hollywood script. It was reported that a 15-year-old girl, a fried fish hawker, was killed by a stray bullet. She wanted to become a lawyer. I keep wondering how many more innocents will die before Nigeria gets it right. Why does human life mean so little to us in Nigeria and Africa generally?

Certainly, criminality occurs even in more developed coun-

outs.

In France, the Constitution disallows distinctions based on race, religion or sex and it is forbidden, on any administrative form, to ask for a person’s ethnic origin. However, a version of affirmative action exists: schools in neighbourhoods labelled “Priority Education Zones”, are granted more funds than others in order to bring them up to national standard.

For Nigeria to grow into a peaceful, prosperous nation where its fledgling democracy can have real, unshakable roots, universal primary education, complete rehabilitation of secondary schools (the problem does not start with universities) will create equal opportunities and fair, honest competition for any positions on the basis of merit and not ethnicity.

In the interest of Nigeria, federal and state governments must work together to implement key reforms. Nigeria is not currently benefitting from federalism and decentralization due to some greedy, power-hungry elements in the polity.

All we have are polarised parties, policies and politics rendering intergovernmental relations and people-oriented development difficult, if not impossible. What we need now is a new standard for educational federalism: that is the only lasting solution to ethnic competition.

•Femi Fani-Kayode

Governor Jang

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OVERNOR Jonah Jang of Plateau State was recently quoted as saying that democracy is for the rich and that luxuries such as private jets are needed for protection.

I am continuously baffled by the lack of public uproar in response to certain utterances which clearly prove the disconnect between our leaders and the stark reality the masses face. What is described here is “plutocracy”, that is government by the wealthy, where the ruling class’ power is derived from its wealth, or even “oligarchy” where a small group dominates a country.

This indeed describes Nigeria but democracy is something else entirely. The confusion between these opposing systems is telling. Change is definitely needed.

Governor Jang

Tabia Princewill is a strategic communications consultant and public policy analyst. She is also the co-host and executive producer of a talk show, WALK THE TALK which airs on Channels TV.

18 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015 NEITHER the official reaction, nor the reasons adduced for the killing of more than 40 students of tertiary institutions in Mubi, Adamawa State, three years ago could excuse another in the series of loss of lives. Many other killings, with the circumstances different, the gruesomeness outstanding and the brutality on women and children have not elicited the reactions and actions that could stop the killings.

Gbajimba, headquarters of Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, the most current location, took more than 45 lives.

The massacres come with warnings. Last year, Anyii, Governor Gabriel Suswam’s village, was among places some marauders appropriated. Suswam’s entourage was attacked while inspecting attacked villages marauders had attacked, killing many.

Some accounts said more than 200 villages were attacked.

Suswam was travelling with a powerful team, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Terhile Ayua, Benue State Commissioner of Police, Adams Audu, soldiers, and other security personnel. The convoy was attacked. Armed herdsmen with thousands of cattle, who had taken over the villages, were evident.

Benue Massacres, More Massacres An exchange of gunfire lasted over an hour before the convoy passed. These were herdsmen. Does their profession place them above the law? Is being a herdsman the latest cover for criminality? Why are security agencies ignoring attacks that have been going on for years in Adamawa, Benue, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Plateau and other States?

Imo, Rivers, Delta, Enugu, Ogun, and Oyo States have similar stories. The only difference is the intensity of the attacks in Benue and the apparent attempt to occupy attacked settlements. They are consistent with attacks on Benue villages since 1989,

focused on taking over the settlements.

Elsewhere, cattle minders simply run their livestock through farmlands. All year round, they graze on them and destroy what they cannot eat, consigning farmers and host communities to starvation and poverty.

Attempts by these farmers to protest the activities of these rampaging vandals often end in bloodshed with the cattle rearers who are armed with sophisticated assault rifles such as AK 47 having the upper hand.

They have moved from bows, arrows and daggers of a few decades ago.

Environmental factors that have left cattle rearers in search of fresh grazing grounds, and cattle rustlings are only excuses for the attacks. Unless a different law operates for cattle rearers, they should be charged for bearing illegal weapons and their proclivity to destroy others’ farmlands.

The attacks generate a level of insecurity that matches the terrorism attacks in the North East. If villagers arm themselves and retaliate, Nigeria could be a huge war field.

We ask governments to tackle these attacks urgently. If they are unchecked, they could degenerate to more serious security breaches.

OPINION

By Ejiro Thompson

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O question, Great Ovedje Ogboru will easily fall within the pantheon of Delta state’s political icons. This venerated stature remains something of a mystery. For one, Ogboru has neither been a governor nor held a political position in the state. Yet, he commands a totemic followership that confounds. Indeed, in Delta state, Ogboru is simply a movement. A movement for the common good.

So, I ask this question- What could be responsible for this dizzying cluster of both ordinary and extra-ordinary people around this global business mogul, the passion of their spirit and the impunity of their faith in him.

Coming closely, what I found out is an awesome abiding faith that his followers share with him on the inestimable promise and possibilities of their state. For them, Delta state in the last sixteen years has been a crucible, a painful democratic journey with tragic prognosis. Despite this ordeal however, the people are willing to hold on to the arch of history and to pull it once again towards the hope of a better day as the 2015 elections beckon.

While the Presidential election may be the most important election in the land, it is the governorship election in Delta that will bring about the ultimate catharsis for Deltans. This governorship election from all indications will be clearly a two-horse race, between Great Ogboru of Labour Party and Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, the governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Let’s forget the cacophonous sounds coming from the APC. They look more like a tigery grandstanding and media promo without actual preparation

Ogboru's critical assignment in Delta for elections. APC may exists on billboards but it is just absent in hearts and minds in Delta.

I have chosen to focus on Ogboru in this piece because of the staggering crowd that has followed every stop of his campaign trail since the Labour Party flagged-off its campaign in Delta on Wednesday, January 21, 2015.

I will follow this piece with another that will focus on Senator Ifeanyi Okowa who is also establishing himself as a political force in Delta. Though I must add that allegations of robust political partnership with jailed former Delta state governor, James Ibori, are casting a pall over his candidature, independence of his mind and character. For a man of his political history, it is a huge minus that he could be perceived by any flicker of imagination as Ibori’s protege. He must work hard and move quickly to derobe himself of this tainted toga because the prize of this tinge could stick beyond 2015.

But my focus here is on the captain of industry, the business mogul who at an age less than thirty, went on ten years self-imposed exile when the military junta in his country, Nigeria, accused him of financing the Gideon Orkar-led revolutionary putsch of 1990. In fact, some of his opponents have tried to use this coup saga against him in the current political campaigns in Delta. Ironically, trying to use

Ogboru is on a mission to bring about Value ReOrientation

this allegation against him ends up increasing his popularity as a folks hero. While Ogboru may not admit this, the fact is that, among Deltans, the mere suggestion that he allegedly stood up to challenge a dreaded illegal, despotic military regime of that time, automatically made him their authentic hero, something of the lead stars they see and adore in American action movies, a superman that transcends mere mortals like ordinary rich men. It is perhaps this admiration of his perceived heroics apart from his uncommon but silent philanthropy and compelling leadership character that make Deltans almost ecstatic about when they hail him as the People’s General. The character of his campaign, the aura of his followership and the tenacity of their spirit are simply gallantry and enunciate how politics should be played in Nigeria- the politics of unwavering faith in a leader without thinking of momentary monetary gains.

The massive crowd at every venue of his campaign seemed to be reaffirming their steely conviction and audacious faith in the future of a Delta state under Ogboru’s saddle. And at every stop, the business magnate seems to speak to their soul and heart desire as he assures them that handicaps are meant to be overcome and barriers to be hurdled. And so, like Claude Mckay, even though democracy has fed these Deltans with bread of bitterness and sank its teeth into their flesh, they are willing to remain in this cultured hell until Ogboru arrives to usher in a new dawn. And

that is the critical assignment of this man whose parents chose to give an ambitious name- Great!

So I ask, is Ogboru capable of winning the Delta state governorship election? And if yes, can he live up to the expectations of the people that now see him as the living spirit of the ideal.

For the first part of the question, one can say easily that the man who holds a UK Masters degree in International Relations from the University of Kent, Canterbury is indeed capable of winning the 2015 governorship election. His antecedents bespeak his capacity in this regard. In the last governorship election, which held in April 2011, the incumbent was narrowly declared by INEC to be ahead of him with a questionable 10,000 votes. But the overwhelming belief is that Ogboru won the election.

But the second and more important question is whether Ogboru will meet the expectations of Deltans. To answer this crucial question, we will have to look at his manifesto. His programme is important because of its distinctive character, different from the generic programmes of most election candidates.

More than anything else, Ogboru is on a mission to bring about Value Re-Orientation.

This is what he considers as the most critical leadership challenge- to restore Deltans traditional values of honesty, integrity, equity, justice, hardwork, mutual respect, ethnic harmony and unity, and a merit-based reward system.

•Mr. Thompson, member, Delta Intellectuals Round Table, wrote from Asaba, Delta State.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015—19 —19

Lessons Dame Jonathan can learn from Simone Gbagbo

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HESE are times when every statements made of political figures are read through partisan lenses. This is surely not the first time I will be making this point since the contest for the Nigerian presidency in the elections due next week became a two horse race between Muhammadu Buhari and Goodluck Jonathan. It may however be the last time I will make such observation before the March 28 elections.

And as I have said on those previous occasions when I had made the observation on how political motives are read into what one would consider obvious statements of facts, the fear of personal attack and insults should not be a consideration in such matters. To paraphrase Achebe, I am not that muslim who would eat pork for fear of controversy. So let those who must feel free to display cowardice by hurling their trademark insults and thoughtless remarks while conveniently hidden

behind false cyber identities. If anything, they have wonderful examples to copy from their friends at the presidency in Abuja. Not the least of whom is the subject of our talking point for this week.

It can no longer be news that Patience Jonathan, wife of the Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan has again been at her familiar game of making statements that portray her as being utterly unaware of her exalted position as the wife of the president of the most populous black nation on our planet.

She has been hurling direct insults at opponents of her husband in the 2015 elections as if there was something personal linking them all.

Indeed, running for the presidency may be very personal for those who feel entitled to what is at stake but things need not degenerate to the level of launching frontal attacks and insults at the person of political opponents. Many times, I have viewed some of the highly

irresponsible statements attributed to many office holders as outcome of ordinary human failings that should be treated with sympathy. We are all prone to such, and there is no point beyond a need to massage the ego to hold long censorious sermons on the apparent failings of others in this regard.

But where such persons repeatedly or even, wilfully, insist on walking down the road of misdemeanour as Mrs. Jonathan continues to do, then we must ask ourselves if Nigerians must continue to tolerate such behaviour. Of course, there may be seemingly little they can do in practical terms to make Mrs. Jonathan accountable for her obviously thoughtless ways, but they should do even that little within their power in spite of what looks like a conscious attempt to thwart their will by refusing to give her their support in the election she has been employing as an excuse to overreach herself.

Beyond all of this however, Mrs. Jonathan must acknowledge the

She has to behave in a way that should make Nigerians feel that she cares more about the survival of this country than she does about retaining her room in Aso Villa

Jonathan and the angry Nigerian youths

By Magnus Onyibe

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EVER has the power to determine who becomes Nigeria's next president been at the behest of Nigerian youths more than now. Let me explain why:Nigerian demographic records indicate that over half of Nigerian population, perhaps 60% is comprised of youths (18-35) so the bulk of voters are the youths. In this new age of social/new media,the youths matter because they are the most adept and savvy at using it to mobilize support for or against a candidate and available records indicate that over 40% of Nigerian youths are unemployed and hungry. As the saying goes 'A hungry man is an angry man' With so much political power at the beck and call of youths, any presidential candidate who rubs them off on the wrong side is in political hot water, so to speak.

To understand who the youths are angry with, all we need to do is cast our minds back to the unfortunate incident that led to the stampede and subsequent loss of the precious lives of some youths when the Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS,under President Goodluck Jonathan's watch invited them to a botched job recruitment exercise in stadiums nationwide.

Add that to the January 2012 increase in petroleum pump price, which the youths goaded by opposition political parties, resisted thereby compelling a roll back of the price by some percentage, then you need not search further for the reason the youths are really 'mad'at President Jonathan .

In what appears like adding 'salt to injury', instead of courting the aggrieved youths with a bid to retaining them as Jonathan foot soldiers , presidential spokesman, Ruben Abati,in a vicious article in defense of Mr. President in 2012,titled "The Jonathan They Don't Know" castigated the youths who were already seething with anger because Mr. President whom they believe they helped against all odds to transform from vice president into president in 2010 betrayed them.

In that article where Abati claimed to know Jonathan better than everybody else, even though he was not with Jonathan when the youths fought the system on his C M Y K

behalf,he unflatteringly labelled them as 'idle and idling, twittering,collective children of anger ,the distracted crowd of Facebook addicts , the BBM-pinging soap gossips of Nigeria who seem to be in competition among themselves to pull down President Goodluck Jonathan'.

As things stand today ,that article was a big mistake by the presidential spokesman and l said that much in an article entitled 'Abati, The President They Don't Know and Prophesy' which was published in the Vanguard newspaper of 9/9/2012. My thesis in that piece goes thus' ..engaging in emotional outbursts against the very nimble social media matadors who are the main butt of Abati's ire is begging the issue and the fact that president Jonathan, like Obama, is an avid user of Facebook, Twitter and Blackberry, makes the option of courting the social media supremos more compelling than carpeting them' As they say, to be forewarned is to be forearmed but apparently,the presidency failed to be forearmed hence the erstwhile friendly social media has now become President Jonathan's albatross.

Having been literarily shut out,derided and treated as outsiders, the youths had to find another group that they can connect to and Buhari and APC seem to have provided a veritable alternative platform which is why they seem to be 'in bed' with APC and Buhari.

This perhaps explains why you hear the youths chanting the 'change' mantra, but if you ask them change to what?They simply sneer

PDP needs to embark on charm offensive not a war of attrition

right of Nigerians, especially women, to feel a sense of shame on her behalf for the manner she has been conducting herself of late. For not only has she been misrepresenting them, she has been going beyond the bounds of decency in the manner that should and is, indeed, making us all wonder what we did in this country to deserve women of high visibility like her. Their major contribution to their husbands’ public profile is the number of enemies they are able to cultivate. President Jonathan’s wife, Patience, urgently needs to be restrained by her husband before she drives us all down the slope of international ignominy. Nobody among those close to her can do this but her husband. Which makes it all the more difficult because she obviously has a stronger personality than him or he would have acted in more appropriate ways before now.

In this matter, it is better to be late than never. Or the situation would be worse than we have presently.

There are a few things Mrs. Jonathan needs to imbibe as she goes around campaigning for her husband. First, she has to behave in a way that should make Nigerians feel that she cares more about the survival of this country than she does about retaining her room in Aso Villa. Second, she needs to know that whatever her ambitions are(and they seem to dwarf those of her husband), they can only be relevant for as long as Nigeria survives and she is able to live in peace thereafter, in or out or power.

In this wise, she may need to take a few lessons from Simone Gbagbo, wife of Laurent Gbagbo, former Ivorian president now facing

"change from Jonathan to anything or any body other than Jonathan".The youth anger is so ferocious in the social media that one was wondering how it could have panned out on February 14th if the presidential election had held on that day. Thankfully,the election was postponed but after a reality check,it dawned on me that most of the social media gladiators are not likely to be based in Nigeria so they may predominantly be resident abroad hence their anger may not materialise as votes against Jonathan especially since there is no provision for diaspora voting.l may be wrong.

A very painful and disappointing aspect of the critical role of youths in elections in Nigeria which in my view they are not taking seriously,is that they seem to be treating the election of the president and other political office seekers in Nigeria like one of those TV reality shows such as BIG BROTHER,NIGERIAN IDOLS,WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE, etc where they vote out,house mates who are vying for $100,000 prize money based on their whims and caprices.

Critical thinking Clearly absent is the critical thinking and vigorous consideration which such civic responsibility of voting for new leaders deserves. As we all very well know, decisions made in anger are never rational, so the youths may end up regretting choices of leaders made in anger if they don't put their emotions in check.

The new awareness of the massive influence of youths in Nigerian political firmament is driving the provision of necessary palliatives to serve as soothing balms to bruised youth egos.

To further highlight the enormity of youth power in politics, consider the effect of the protest march (occupy Hong Kong) by the youths in Hong Kong when they were trying to put pressure on Chinese government to democratize and reduce their influence in that country.It was such an unprecedented affront against the iron curtain country, China considering the tragedy that befell protesters in Tianemen square in Beijing not long ago.Unlike the Tianemen square crack down that witnessed the brutalization of protesters which was ingloriously crowned by

criminal charges at the International Criminal Court. A lot of what brought Gbagbo to his sad end happened under the direct watch of his wife who was accused of complicity in post election violence in Ivory Coast in 2011.

Thousands of their country people died in the violence that engulfed that country after Laurent Gbagbo refused to handover after he was defeated by Alassane Quattara in the 2010 elections. Simone Gbagbo, recently handed 20 years in jail, was accused of operating the killer squads that went after many of her husband’s opponents in that year’s election.

Laurent and Simone Gbagbo’s story share a number of parallels with the ongoing situation unfolding in Nigeria. Like the Gbabos the Jonathans have been loath to face the coming elections until such time as they feel ready. They and their supporters have been making all kinds of excuses as to why the elections must be postponed or cancelled. Mrs. Jonathan, taking the cue from her husband when he launched his campaign in Lagos, has been launching personal insults at her husband’s opponents. She has called the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress all kinds of names including calling him ‘brain dead’. Perhaps the worst is her open call for violence when she called on her supporters to stone persons shouting the opposition party slogan calling for change. Can Mrs. Patience Jonathan face the consequences of this call? Or would she learn what she can now from the life of Simone Gbagbo?

the Chinese army tanks rolling over a protester who refused to back-off, Chinese authorities are now compelled to listen to the voice of the youths by negotiating with them.

Another demonstration of the awesome power of youths and the critical role of the new media is manifested in the unprecedented election of Barrack Hussein Obama as the 44th and first black president of United States of America in 2008.It is settled,documented publicly and acknowledged universally that it is the strategic enlistment of youths and the savvy deployment of the social media that propelled the relatively unknown and youthful black man from Chicago , Illinois to the office of the president of the United States of America.

The general narrative is that American youths (Caucasian and colored) who are devoid of the burden of their parents who harbour memories of black men as slaves and their dehumanizing experiences in the hands of the infamous, Ku Klux Klan,KKK,voted for Obama whom they adjudged to be the best candidate for the job based on his positive antecedents and vision as opposed to primordial sentiments of slavery harboured by their parents.

Coincidentally,most of the youths in Nigeria currently supporting Buhari were not around (By virtue of age) when he ruled as a military dictator some thirty (30) years ago.No wonder references by PDP to Buhari's brutish policies are not resonating with some of them.The scenarios captured above perhaps underscores President Jonathan's parley with some youths in Lagos last weekend and also justifies his recent appointment as Special Assistant, New Media, Obi Asika who posses the DNA required to bring Jonathan's campaign back into the loop leveraging on his experience as a foremost social media entrepreneur and having been the first to bring Big Brother TV reality show amongst others to Nigeria.

While applauding President Jonathan's new initiative to woo the youths by turning a new leaf in attitude towards them,the campaign should focus on issues of development, past, present and in the future and quit assaulting the sensibilities of Nigerian voters with tales of how APC paid $5m to Chatham house for the recent presentation by candidate Buhari, etc.

•Mr. Onyibe, a development strategist, wrote from Abuja.

20 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

Benue: Tears, outrage trail Agatu killings

By Peter Duru, Makurdi

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HE recurrent crisis and killings in Agatu local government area of BenueState, between Fulani herdsmen and the natives which have in recent time led to the sacking of more than 28 riverine villages in the area, got to a head last Sunday with the sacking of Egba community and killing of over 100 persons in one fell swoop.

The casualty figure in the latest crisis, which is the heaviest in the history of the unending skirmishes, has elicited shock and angry reactions across the country.

The reason for this may not be far-fetched considering that most of the casualties were women and children who were either shot or hacked by the marauding herdsmen.

Vanguard Metro, VM, gathered from a local in the community that the number of those killed may well exceed the official figure annoinced sincemanymore bodies were still being recovered from the village, while many were still missingandunaccountedfor.

According to him: “The search for victims and survivors is still ongoing, but there is no doubt that the figure may rise because the entire village is like a killing field with blood stench everywhere and many still missing.”

Destruction of economic trees It was learnt that the insurgents who stormed the village at about 4am on Sunday killed their victims, most of whom were fast asleep, in their homes after which they razed the community, destroying economic trees, food barns and farmland. “They came in from Loko in neighbouring Nasarawa State and started shooting and breaking into people’s houses, and whoever they met, including women and children, they hacked or shot.

“At the moment, we have been able to recover over 90 corpses and many injured; the search is continuing but we are facing a major challenge. Many survivors with injuries are being C M Y K

*Some of those displaced following the attack

evacuated to hospitals, but the problem is that we do not have any hospitalinthisarea that is big enough to cater for the situation at the moment,” the source said.

Speaking on the latest crisis, the Benue State Secretary of the Maiyatti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, MACBAN, Garus Gololo, decried the killing and urged the parties to maintain the peace.

Gololo said he gathered that the attack may have been a reprisal for the alleged killing of some herdsmen at Loko by suspected Agatu young men.

He said: “I heard that few days back, some armed youths believed to be from Agatu stormed Loko and killed some herdsmen after

The number of those killed may well exceed the official figure announced since many more bodies were still being recovered from the village

which they retreated. Many suspect that this latest attack could be a reprisal for that, but my question is, for how longwillthiscontinuewithout serious steps to check and stop it?”

Gololo who further picked holes with the supposed peace talks initiated by the Benue State to ensure peaceful co-existence between Idoma farmers and the herdsmen, said the Gen. Lawrence Onoja (rtd)- led peace committee may have failed to do the needful. “I rememberthattheGen.Atom Kpera (rtd.)-led Peace Committee that took charge of ensuring peace between Tiv farmers and Fulani herdsmen ensured that the leadership of the Fulani were paid a visit to the state to sign a peace treaty.

“However, in the case of the Idoma area, that was not done. I believe that this people should be called to a round table by the Idoma peace group so that they could all commit themselves to a peace agreement,” he stressed.

In his reaction, the Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro who condemned the killings, described it as an evil that should not be allowed to continue.

Morosaidgovernmentwas already taking steps to check the re-occurrence of the bloodbath.

“It is highly condemnable; I can assure you that government has already put measures in place to ensure that such an act did not

reoccur in the area again.

StatePoliceCommissioner, Hyacinth Dagala, told VM, shortly after he paid an onthe-spot assessment visit to the area, that the death toll in the record of the Police was 82 while 25 injured persons were receiving treatment in hospitals. “I went there today to see things for myself and I can tell you that 82 people were killed, while 25 others are in the hospital,” he said.

Dagala, however, said that calm had returned to the community with security operatives on the watch out to avoid further break down of law and order.

In his reaction, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, deputy governorship candidate, Mr. John Ngbede, a native of the affected area, who also accompanied the Police Commissioner, lamented the killings and destruction done to the community. He described the attack , level of destruction and killings as barbaricandheartrendering.

Ngbede, who appealed to the Federal Government to lend a helping hand to the community and victims, also renewed his call for the establishment of a military barracks in the area in order to effectively check further outbreak of crisis in the area.

He prayed for the repose of the souls of those killed and also prayed that God will revive the 25 persons currently on danger list in hospitals where they are receiving medical attention.

Terror acts of Area boys

By Ebele Orakpo

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HAT kind of wickedness is this? What did the conductor do to them?” asked Chris, a commuter in the Apapa-bound commuter bus this Monday morning as two Area boys descended on the bus conductor, hitting him with rods and sticks.

“He did not do anything to them,” replied Joe. “So they just decided to beat him up? He must have refused to pay them,” said Akin.

“Didn’t you see when he gave one of them N100 note and he ran away with it without giving the conductor the balance?” asked TJ. At this point, the conductor was struggling with them, asking to be given his N50 balance while more area boys had come to join in the fight. The driver and some passengers had to step in to save the situation.

“But what is wrong with this conductor? He wants to die because of N50.00 change? They will just kill him as they have killed many others,” said Akin.

Said Chris: “These guys are criminals! Do we really have a government in Lagos State? Why do they allow this sort of thing to go on unchecked?”

Replied TJ: It seems you are new here. This is a normal thing here. The boys are Lagos State Government boys. As you see them, they make returns to some people in authority.”

“This is a jungle. But where are the law enforcement agents?” asked Chris.

“These ones are a law unto themselves.

Besides, they collect money for the Police too; so they are fully empowered,” said Akin.

“My problem with What is wrong our people is with this conducmisplaced priorities.

Is this daylight tor? He wants to robbery and terrorism die because of not enough for them to down tools and take to N50? They will the streets to protest?” just kill him as asked Chris.

“Down tools you they have killed say? It’s not possible many others because many depend on these daily earnings; so any day they don’t work, they starve,” said Stella.

Replied Chris: “That is because we lack discipline.

Sometimes, you have to go through pains to get what you want. Otherwise, you keep going round and round in a circle.”

“Exactly! That is why our politicians manipulate us and pull the wool over our eyes as often as they wish and we clap for them,” said Joe. As the discussion was going on, commuters witnessed another episode with another conductor and another group of area boys.

The boys had placed a big log across the road.

The conductor gave them N200 and waited for the balance which was not forth coming as the area boys turned to leave. As the conductor opened his mouth to demand for N100 balance, an area boy threatened to burst his head with the rod he was holding. This conductor was not having any of that so he held the area boy by his trousers.

Before one could say Jack Robinson, other area boys had gathered round the conductor, ready to beat him up. The driver and other commuters had to intervene.

“Something should be done urgently to stop this barbarism. This is a case of monkey dey work, baboon dey chop. It’s unfair! They give some of the money to their ogas at the top and use the rest to do drugs, drink and womanise. They are so vicious that some conductors and drivers have been murdered in the process of extorting money from them,” said Akin.

“God save us ooo,” prayed Stella.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015 —

21

GTBank gets N34bn IFC loan for onward lending to critical sectors

By Franklin Alli

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From left: Group Corporate Service Director, Vitafoam Nigeria Plc, Mr. Tunji Anjorin; Product Group Manager, Mrs. Ogolo Rachel; Group Managing Director/CEO, Joel Ajiga and Group Head Sales, Mr. Sola Owoade during 2015 World’s Sleep Day, in Lagos.

Nigeria to undergo GIABA mutual evaluation in 2016

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By Jonah Nwokpoku

igeria, Ghana and Senegal will in January, 2016 be subjected to the Intergovernmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa, GIABA’s mutual evaluation to ensure that they have a robust antimoney laundering mechanism in accordance with Financial Action Task Force, FATF recommendations.

Director General, GIABA, Adama Coulibaly disclosed this in an opening remarks at the national sensitisation seminar on anti-money laundering and combating financing of terrorism for journalists in Lagos.

Represented by Director, Projects and

$132.65 -2.25 $2739.00 -52.00

$12.73 -0.17

$52.91 -1.03 $43.10 -1.078 CURRENCY BUYING DOLLAR 196 POUNDS 289.982 EURO 207. 3876 FRANC 194. 5023 YEN 1.6138 CFA 0.2979 WAUA 269.0838 RENMINBI 31. 2865 RIYAL 52. 2582 KRONA 27. 8065 SDR 268.6964

CENTRAL 196.5 290.7218 207.9167 194.9985 1.6179 0.3079 269.7703 31.3668 52.3916 27.8775 269.3819

197 291.4615 208.4457 195. 4947 1.6221 0.33179 270.4671 31. 447 52.5249 27. 9484 270.0673

CBN Exchange Rate as at 17/3/15

C M Y K

Programmes, GIABA, Dr. Buno Nduka, he said the mutual evaluation will provide opportunities for Nigeria and the other nations to show how they have strengthened their legal frameworks to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism in the sub region.

He noted that in the mutual evaluation carried out in May, 2014, Nigeria,

In the mutual evaluation carried out in May, 2014, Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal performed poorly as they did not meet most of the recommendations of FATF on anti-money laundering and financing of terrorism in the continent

Ghana and Senegal performed poorly as they did not meet most of the recommendations of FATF on anti-money laundering and financing of terrorism in the continent and that this upcoming rating will show whether they have made any significant efforts at improving their existing mechanisms.

Speaking further, he said, “Money laundering and financing of terrorism are not new phenomena in West Africa. Typologies have already identified a vast number of money laundering cases in the region; cases of financing of terrorism are also beginning to be identified in several countries. These cases are obviously intimately linked to corruption. This is why states in West Africa have a duty to act together in order to combat these threats.

“This has to be done not only as part of protecting the world economies, including Africa’s, against criminal infiltration, but also to enhance the rule of law and, deepen regional integration and maintain regional peace and security. The ECOWAS states are under serious threat of social dislocation or worse unless action is taken now.

uaranty Trust Bank Plc has se cured a $175 million (about N34 billion) loan from the IFC to expand its lending to sectors that drive economic growth and job creation in Nigeria. This is even as the bank’s Training Academy for pre-entry level staff has been accredited by the Governing Council of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN).In a statement, Eme Essien Lore, IFC Country Manager for Nigeria said, “The financing comprises $100 million for IFC’s own account and $75 million through the IFC Managed Co -Lending Portfolio Programme, a new syndications platform that offers institutional investors the ability to passively participate in IFC’s future senior loan portfolio.“IFC’s strategy for Nigeria encourages financial intermediaries to support the growth of sectors that increase real output. By expanding IFC’s partnership, GT Bank can make medium and long-term funding available to key sectors of the Nigerian economy, and contribute to higher overall growth.”Segun Agbaje, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, GT Bank, noted that the facility will help the bank to strengthening its position as a market leader, by deepening access to growth capital and boosting lending to critical sectors that are generators of growth.

“IFC, our long-standing partner, is demonstrating its support through direct investments and through syndications to enable us achieve our goals and grow the Nigerian economy,” he added.He explained that the bank is a leading full service commercial bank in Nigeria with a network of 233 branches (including Cash Centers), 18 e-branches, 23 GTExpress locations and 1,097 ATMs across Nigeria and offering a wide range of banking and financial services. He also stated that the bank has nine subsidiaries and presence in eight African countries and in the United Kingdom.

Burson-Marsteller announces key strategic partnership in Nigeria

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urson-Marsteller, a leading global public relations and communications firm, has announced the launch of CMC Connect BursonMarsteller in Lagos and Abuja.

The announcement marks the further strengthening of the long-standing relationship between the two companies, and brings the total number of Burson-Marsteller branded operations across the continent to 29.

This follows the simultaneous announcement in February 2014 of 27 branded operations and the subsequent

launch of Brainchild Burson-Marsteller in Uganda in November 2014.

The full Burson-Marsteller Africa network covers 53 of the 55 countries on the continent.

In addition, after building a very strong partnership on a non-exclusive basis over a number of years, BursonMarsteller today announced the signature of an exclusive affiliate agreement with Blast Communications covering the Indian Ocean Islands including Mauritius, where the company has its hub office, Madagascar,

the Seychelles, the Comoros Islands and Reunion. The announcement of Back Communications in Angola joining the Burson-Marsteller Africa network on an exclusive affiliate basis, rounded off the announcement.

“For 26 years our commitment to growing partnerships has underpinned BursonMarsteller’s activities across Africa. Today this sees us very strongly positioned with a pan-African, Burson-Marsteller branded network of communications consultancies, individually respected in their own countries.

22 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

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Different stages of your life will require different insurance needs, so it is important to review your policies at least once a year to make sure you have the best policy to fit your lifestyle

PenCom focuses on bringing informal sector into CPS

By Providence Obuh

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HE National Pension Commission, PenCom, said that it is focusing on the informal sector to bring it into the Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS. According to PenCom, the economy of Nigeria is being driven by the informal sector.

Director General of PenCom, Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, who disclosed this during the Institute of Directors (IoD) of Nigeria, Quarterly Business Luncheon in Lagos also said that total pension assets hadgrown to over N4.61 trillion as at December 2014 with an average monthly contributions of about N30 billion.

Anohu-Amazu said, “It is not only oil that is moving this economy but the informal sector and that is why so many things will happen in this country and you still see the economy moving on.”

Anohu-Amazu who was represented by the Secretary, Pension Commission, Mr. Mohammad Sanni said that the number of Retirement Saving Accounts (RSAs) registered in the year stood at 6.4 million, where public sector represents 48.37 percent and private sector 51.63 percent respectively.

According to her, about 117,994 retirees are currently receiving pensions as and when due under theCPS. Anohu-Amazu said, “We agree that 6.4 million is nothing compared to the 170 million population, but is a starting point especially in our environment.

We recognize that this is a very vast market and the potential is there and we believe that the pension industry has the capacity to really bring forward and be a catalyst for development in Nigeria.

Catalyst for development “By the time you deepen the penetration and coverage and part of the accumulated long term funds are invested in real sector infrastructure, definitely Nigeria will move forward. This is what is being done in other countries. Pension fund has always been the vanguard of funds that propel development in other countries therefore in Nigeria we are moving forward.

“In the next five years we expect to cover a minimum of 20 million RSAs, but we need to do a lot of investment in IT. We have gone to Kenya to study the mobile money and how they are using that to enhance the national savings in that country,” he said.

In her address, President of IoD, Mrs. Eniola Fadayomi, said that the monthly business luncheon offers a policy platform to review key business and socio-economic issues that collectively affect personal lives as well as business organisations On Pension Reform Act, she said that there is a need to show interest given the key changes in the Act which may have far-reaching implications for employers of labour.

Fadayomi said, “In the past when you put in your money in the national pension fund, when it was being run by the government, after 20 or 50 years, you go back and find that it is all gone. Now the regulators have allowed the private sector into the CPS because they are accountable and many people are involved. There is the employer, the fund managers, the regulators, everybody has their role to play and every person is involved,” she said.

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INSURAN Transfer the cost of a potential loss to insurance Stories by Rosemary Onuoha

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nsurance is a way of managing risks. When you buy insurance, you transfer the cost of a potential loss to the insurance company in exchange for a fee, known as the premium.

People need insurance for a variety of reasons. In some cases insurance is required by law; however, there are policies that, though not mandatory to have, do give you necessary protections should you suffer a financial loss. And when you do have an insurance policy, there are certain rights and protections you have under law. Different stages of your life will require different insurance needs, so it is important to review your policies at least once a year to make sure you have the best policy to fit your lifestyle.

To figure out if you need life insurance, you need to think through the worst-case scenario. If you die tomorrow, how would your loved ones fare financially? Would they have the money to pay for your final expenses (e.g., funeral costs, medical bills, taxes, debts, lawyers’ fees, etc.)? Would they be able to meet ongoing living expenses like the rent or

mortgage, food, clothing, transportation costs, healthcare, etc? What about long-range financial goals?

Without your contribution to the household, would your surviving spouse be able to save enough money to put the kids through college or retire comfortably?

The truth is, it’s always a struggle when you lose someone you love. But your emotional struggles don’t need to be compounded by financial difficulties. Life insurance helps make sure that the people you care about will be provided for financially, even if you’re not there to care for them yourself.

Life insurance becomes increasingly important when you get married or have

Life insurance helps make sure that the people you care about will be provided for financially, even if you’re not there to care for them yourself

children. Typically, a death is not only emotionally difficult, but the loss of a significant source of income can leave your loved ones facing an additional financial burden.

Life insurance is often just an afterthought after more rewarding financial obligations are taken care of, but it is one of the most important. If you don’t have enough life insurance, you could put your family in a difficult situation upon your death.

When you need life insurance If you don’t have a spouse or any dependants, you may not need much, if any life insurance at all. In this situation, when you pass, you probably aren’t leaving anyone behind that relies on your income. Even so, you may still want some very basic coverage to ease the family’s pain by covering final funeral expenses.

Life insurance should be purchased if you are considering starting a family.

Your rates will be cheaper now than when you get older and your future children will be depending on your income. If you have a family that depends on you, you need life insurance now.

Young single adults: The reason a single adult would typically need life insurance

From left: Mr Femi Awoyemi, Branch Manager, Standard Chartered Bank, Ibadan Branch; Miss Olayinka Ahmed, a student of Odo Ona Girls Grammar School, Odo Ona, Ibadan; Mrs Oluyemisi Oloyede, Principal of the school; and Mrs Joke Adu, Manager, Corporate Affairs, Standard Chartered Bank, during financial literacy training programme, an initiative of CBN, in Ibadan, Oyo State.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015,

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To figure out if you need life insurance, you need to think through the worst-case scenario, if you die tomorrow, how would your loved ones fare financially?

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M&A to continue in global reinsurance sector — Fitch

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From left: Odinakachi Umekwe, Head of Retail; Aniche Nkemdilim; Iyogwoya Roseline Pius; Judith Ufuoma Uriri; Adenrele Kehinde, Chairman; Edokpolor James Ikponmwosa; Mordi Chinedu Valentine; Enehizena Iyobosa Felix and Valentine Ojumah, MD/CEO, all of FBN Insurance during the company’s staff award for excellence held at its head office, in Lagos.

would be to pay for their own funeral costs or to help support an elderly parent or other persons they may care for financially. Otherwise, if one has other sources of money for funeral and has no other persons that depend on their income then life insurance would not be a necessity.

Things to consider What immediate financial expenses will your family face upon your death? How much of your salary is required to meet your current expenses?

If you were to die tomorrow, how long would your dependants need as financial

support? How much, if any, would you want to leave behind to fund your child’s education, giving to charities, or leave an inheritance?

Consider your needs There is no right or wrong answer to how much insurance you need as your values and goals will ultimately determine what is right for you. For some people this could mean enough coverage so that their spouse would never have to work again, while for others it may mean just enough to pay off outstanding debts.

Whatever you decide, your loved ones will appreciate it in

the unfortunate event that it is needed. If you die during your earning years, your family could suffer a severe economic loss as a result of losing your current and future income.

Unfortunately, your family would still have to pay its regular bills, the mortgage, and outstanding debts, and perhaps even continue saving for college and retirement.

Unless you’re independently wealthy, achieving these goals may be virtually impossible for your family with the loss of your steady income. Life insurance offers a way for your family to continue living comfortably and without worry.

itch Ratings says in a new report that merger and acquisition (M&A) activity within the global reinsurance sector is set to continue, as January 2015 renewal indicators point to a protracted soft market.

According to the report, small may no longer mean perfectly formed for the shape of the future reinsurance market, with recently announced tieups featuring smaller/less diversified players seeking to merge with, or acquire competitors, to achieve greater scale and diversity within the broader merger rationale.

Should the soft cycle be protracted, we believe that smaller, less diversified reinsurers will have a diminishing ability to decline unprofitable business, as they would risk eroding their position on a panel or market share, Fitch stated.

The report said, “Global brokers, centralised purchasing by larger primary insurers and higher operating costs driven by regulatory requirements, are three factors supporting greater

reinsurer scale.

Intermediaries increasingly favour reinsurers capable of writing multi-peril programmes, while primary insurers increasingly purchase reinsurance centrally.

“Reinsurers have seen a rise in fixed costs as they develop modelling and risk management expertise to manage oversight and reporting requirements for incoming risk-based solvency regimes, including Solvency II. We support the view that scale and diversification are attributes that are likely to improve reinsurers’ longerterm fortunes in the future sector landscape. However, M&A solely to achieve increased scale and diversity could be viewed negatively if it was not apparent that the new larger entity would have a stronger market position in its chosen areas, and without compromising profitability.

“We maintain the view that the drivers of the current pricing cycle extend beyond a low major-loss claims burden. The growth of alternative capital as well as changes in the purchasing and distribution of reinsurance products are other significant factors in reducing prices.

FBN Insurance institutes award to boost staff morale FBN Insurance Ltd, an FBN Holdings Company in association with the Sanlam Group, South Africa has instituted an award to boost staff moral and increase productivity, this aligns with its strategic intent to attract, retain and build a competent workforce.

FBN Insurance held the award event in appreciation

of staff who had distinguished themselves in the discharge of their duties in 2014. The maiden edition of the initiative held at the Company’s Head Office in Marina to reward outstanding performance in staff especially those who have shown excellence in productivity and work attitude.

A statement from the Head,

Retail Distribution, FBN Insurance, Odinaka Umekwe, said the resourcefulness and dedication of its workforce is one of the major drivers of ensuring expansion and profitable growth across all income segments in Nigeria and as a mark of recognition.

A total of 27 staff drawn from the financial advisors, sales managers and senior sales

Insurance commissioner honoured with leadership award

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ommissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Mr. Fola Daniel has been honored with a National Leadership Award for his remarkable achievements in sanitizing the insurance industry in Nigeria.

According to the organiser, the award is in recognition of Daniel’s role in ensuring adequate protection of insurance policy holders , upholding good ethics and values, successfully keying in to the transformation agenda of the Federal Government through various developmental initiatives of the Commission since 2011 and, the effective and

efficient manner NAICOM has been discharging its mandate of regulating and supervising the insurance sector of the economy.

While presenting the award, Special Adviser to the President on Ethics and Values, Mrs. Sarah Jibril who stood in for Mr. President, described Mr. Daniel as an unassuming, quiet but accomplished achiever.

Daniel was honored alongside the Governors of Cross Rivers and Anambra States, the Director General of the Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation and the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health.

managers categories were rewarded with plaques, certificates, all expenses paid trip to exotic locations and cash prizes in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the business successes of the company in 2014.

Managing Director/CEO, of the company, Mr. Val Ojumah who commended the staff for their contribution reiterated that “The management of FBN Insurance understands that employee success and business success are intricately linked and a high performing workforce is essential for Gainers for Equities Company Name

Continental Reinsurance International Energy Insurance Mansard Insurance AIICO Insurance NEM Insurance Losers for Equities

growth and survival of our organisation. Therefore one of our keys to staff engagement is defining and articulating employee goals and ensuring they are tied to organisational goals.

He pledged the commitment of the board and management to reward excellence and stated that “This award is part of our build up strategies to equip our human resources for more competitiveness in the evolving nation’s insurance industry.

GAINERS FOR EQUITIES 06/03/2015 Close price

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2.97 0.85 0.61

3.00 0.87 0.63

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LOSERS FOR EQUITIES

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Wapic Insurance

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24 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

Coping in times of uncertainty (2)

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From left: Dr. Emmanuel Alhassan, Director, Partnerships Coordination, National Agency for the Control of AIDS, NACA; Dr. Idris Omede, Commissioner for Health, Kogi State; Prof. Hassan Isah, Vice Chancellor, Kogi State University, Anyigba; Tony Okpanachi, Deputy Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria and Idogbe Evaristus, Chairman, Interim Student Representatives Assembly, Kogi State University, performing ground-breaking of EcobankNACA Youth Friendly Centre in Kogi State University.

SEC records N549.53bn new issues in Q4, 2014

By Nkiruka Nnorom

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he Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, has said that a total of 22 new issues worth N549.53 billion were recorded in the capital market in the last quarter, Q4 of 2014.

This, according to the commission’s fourth quarter report and review of activities in the nation’s capital market from October to December, 2014, comprised equity and debt instruments.

This represents an increase of 5.79 percent and 59.03 percent in volume and value terms respectively when compared to a total of 19 new equity and debt issues valued at N345.56 billion recorded in third quarter of the same year.

The report further indicated that out of a total number of nine new equity issues approved by the commission during the quarter under review, six were rights issues, one special placement, one offer for subscription, and one debt to equity conversion.

In total, the value of new

equity issues approved by the commission in the fourth quarter of the year stood at N192.42 billion, while seven new equity issues comprising two rights issues, three private placements, one debt to equity conversion, and one Initial Public Offering, IPO were approved by the commission in the third quarter of 2014 and were jointly worth N77.86 billion.

When both periods of the year were compared, the number and value of new equity issues approved by the commission in the fourth

In total, the value of new equity issues approved by the commission in the fourth quarter of the year stood at N192.42 billion

quarter of 2014 increased by 28.57 percent and 147.15 percent respectively.

Also, the debt market witnessed the allotment of nine FGN bonds jointly worth N182.11 billion. Also, two corporate bonds jointly worth N145 billion and two sub-national bonds jointly worth N30 billion were approved by the Commission, totaling 13 debt instruments valued at N357.11 billion in Q4, 2014.

On the other hand, a total of 12 debt instruments consisting of nine Federal Government of Nigeria, FGN bonds and three corporate bonds jointly valued at N267.70 billion were issued in the previous quarter, representing an increase of 8.33 percent and 33.40 percent in the number and value of debt instruments issued respectively. The fourth quarter of 2014 witnessed the issuance of a total of nine bonds, which indicates a continuation of the positive trend recorded since the first quarter of the year.

NSE places Union Homes’ shares on full suspension

by Nkiruka Nnorom

T

he Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, has placed the shares of Union Homes and Savings Plc on full suspension.

By full suspension, stockbrokers are not permitted to execute any transaction on the shares of the company within the stipulated period. This, according to a regulatory filing obtained by Vanguard, is pursuant to a March 10 2015 directive of the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC and will enable Union Homes and the holders of its fully paid ordinary shares conclude the Scheme of Reorganization of Capital between them.

The suspension, according to the C M Y K

exchange took effect on Monday16 March and will be terminated on Friday, 20 March 2015, while normal trading resumes on the shares on Monday, 23 March 2015.

Union Homes, a subsidiary company of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc is Nigeria’s leading mortgage finance institution. Since its inception in 1994, it has continued to excel in its operations in Nigeria’s housing sector.

It provides mortgage finance services, builds estates, funds estate developers and estate development, supports investors in housing schemes even at state government levels, and purchases houses and estates for resale to corporate and private customers within and outside Nigeria.

he Nigerian economy is in recession. Looking back, there was a recession starting in 1981 which was also influenced by a significant drop in crude oil prices in 1986.

The Federal Government, FGN, introduced economic policies described as a Structural Adjustment Programme, SAP, and a Second-Tier Foreign Exchange Market, SFEM. From that time, the value of the naira against the United States dollar has moved from N3 to N200 to the dollar. Whoever emerges as President from the forthcoming national elections would have to take measures that would improve our economy.

The starting point should be the banks and the leverage they have been given with respect to public funds. There was a time when the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, held the accounts of government ministries, departments and agencies.

If someone did some work for government, his/her payment would be made with a cheque drawn on an account at the CBN. With the increase in the number of banks, government accounts were moved out of the CBN to the banks. The result is that when monthly allocations to the 3 tiers of government are made from the Federation Account, payments of allocations are made from the CBN into the accounts of the various governments in the banks.

Subsequently, the CBN borrows some of t h e s e amounts from the banks The financial with substantial interest performance of payments.

It is obvious that if the the privatised v a r i o u s governments power sector keep their allocations in companies has accounts at the CBN, the i n t e r e s t payments fallen short of being made by the CBN to the projections the banks would c e a s e .

Whenever the matter is made when the raised that government companies were accounts should be domiciled with the CBN, the answer is being privatised that some banks would fail if this is carried out.

The important business of banks is to grant loans that would be paid back with profits to the banks. However, the banks continue to grant substantial loans which appear problematic from the start. For example, the banks granted loans to various companies for their acquisition of controlling interests in the privatized electricity distribution and generating companies. The general public has been aware that from 2001/2002 onwards actual power delivered on the national grid has not been significantly above 4000MW. However, the banks in granting loans were willing to accept projections that there would be at least 6000MW on the national grid whilst the grid continues to hover around the 4000MW mark.

The financial performance of the privatized power sector companies has fallen short of the projections made when the companies were being privatized. The CBN has had to intervene by granting loans to the privatized power sector companies for their working capital requirements. The other downside is that customers of the electricity distribution companies who do not have meters are being made to pay arbitrarily high charges for power supply. The CBN in one of its publications has stated that banks should as creators of money help to reflate the economy in a period of recession.

Can the banks do anything for the economy if the banks continue to grant the substantial part of their loans to lossmaking ventures?

The 2015 national budget has been under consideration by the National Assembly. The indications are that the amounts provided for capital projects would be substantially reduced.

For example, the Federal Ministry of Works expects to be allocated a sum of about N11billion for road construction projects compared with the sum of about N54billion received in 2014. The FGN must raise all revenue legitimately due and the Nigerian populace must be rescued from the significant economic disadvantage inherent in how public funds are currently kept in the banks.

TO BE CONTINUED

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015 — 25

DIARY  Bluetooth World Silicon Valley, USA April 14-15, 2015  Digital Regulation Forum London, UK April 28-19, 2015

Preview GRIT Freedon wheelchair

Mobile video conferencing

•Hatem Hariri, Avaya MD

Virtual tech, transforming to reality in Africa •as conferencing on-the-go becomes more real

By Prince Osuagwu

A

THE GRIT freedom chair is capable of venturing into more demanding terrains.

With similarities to a mountain bike, this freedom chair really does allow you to break the boundaries and stray into many more areas.

This wheelchair is not motorized, all energy is kinetic, adding to the mountain bike feel.

The seed for the design was planted more than five years ago by a group of MIT students for a project called the Leveraged Freedom Chair.

The idea was born from the realisation that in developing countries wheelchair support was poor and often the conditions were too difficult to manoeuvre.

The primary objective was clear; to create a chair capable of handling tricky terrain, but also compact enough to be used indoors.

C M Y K

FRICA'S technology market has clearly emerged the beautiful bride toasted by well established global business organisations.

Reasons for the romance are not far- fetched. With American and European markets attaining saturation, coupled with economic and recession issues, it makes the most business sense to approach a great continent with young, aggressive, educated people, who want to make a difference and are hungry for technology.

Today most of the companies that usually service the continent from the outside are establishing multiple- presence, signifying that it is the continent of next destination in technology busi-

I N S I D E

ness.

One of such companies, Avaya technologies which over the years, has been servicing the continent from afar, four years ago, established a footprint in the continent. Today, it counts about four offices in the continent with Nigeria as servicing hub for the entire West African market.

The company’s Managing Director, Hatem Hariri, at a technology event, Technologies to engage, recently, engaged with Hi-Tech to provide insights on the big decision to pitch tent in Africa. Excerpts: Social media driving engagement You know before, when you have a problem, you go and talk to your wife and few friends, and

Ericsson raises the bar on 5G ahead 2020 launch

that’s only probably about 7, 10 people, but today, if you have a problem, the following day, you will go on Twitter, put it on

You don’t need to travel or go through traffic to have your meetings; so, what we are doing is bringing virtuality to reality

Connect Nigeria links 1.4m students from 27 Fed Varsities - FMCT

Facebook, and other social media and hundreds of thousands of people will know about the problem.

This is why Avaya is coming with solutions that are the latest of technologies to do customer service, customer experience, where you can do proactive management of the social media, of your customer experience so as to make things easier for your customers and differentiate yourself from competition and also react to any problem and customer complaints very quickly and in the right way before it’s driven to the whole market.

Quite a number of competitors came into this market before Avaya.

But what we discovered was that the market was looking for alternatives with good quality.

We are number one in telephony across the world, we are number Continues on page 28

‘Technology, fundamental to SMEs’

26 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

SOCIETY & SOCIAL MEDIA

By Agbolade Omowole @iamagbolade

Cracking new science of search engine optimization

P

EOPLE like to know a little about you before meeting you in per son. If for instance, you are prospecting someone online or via social media, the first thing he/she will probably do is to search your full names and company name on Google.

The basis of every relationship, including business and emotional relationship is trust. If your record on Google is convincing enough, the client will be convinced. Trust is built when someone knows that you are active online. Search Engine optimization can help build your credibility which make people believe in you and want to do business with you.

Perception is reality, What you don’t know can hurt you. So let’s explore the rudiments of search engine optimization.

Search engine optimization refers to techniques that help your website rank higher in search results, thus making your website more visible to people who are looking for your product or service via search engines.

The search engines consider two main areas when determining what your website is about and how to prioritize it.

• Content on your website: The web crawler will look for clues about what topics your website covers •Who’s linking to you: The more links a website has, the more influence or authority it has. A link from a highly authoritative website like The New York Times (nytimes.com) will give a website a bigger boost than a link from a small blog site. Search engines actually attempt to scan the entire online universe and index all the information so they can show it to you when you enter a search query.

If your website is not indexed and optimized to show for keywords and phrases that are relevant to what you have to offer, all of that potential traffic is going to your competitors.

Blogging on a regular basis (once per week is ideal) can have a dramatic impact on SEO because every blog post is a new webpage. That said, simple search engine optimization techniques include: Give the search engines an extra hand by including alt tags on all pictures on your website. Title tags max out at 75 characters, so choose your words wisely.

Use Meta tags wisely. Meta descriptions are usually the first place a search engine will look to find text to put under your blue link when they list your website, As a best practice, it is recommended to put 5-7 keywords in the meta keywords, headline tags will also give the search engines definitive clues as to what is important on the page. If you are not a website developer, I suggest you hire a search engine optimization expert to work with you or your company.

Ericsson raises the bar on 5G ahead 2020 launch

By Emeka Aginam, who was in Barcelona, Spain

A

T the just concluded 10th edi tion of the Mobile World Con gress, MWC, held in Barcelona, Spain, next generation technology called 5G dominated discussion among industry experts across the world.

Surpassing all projections, GSMA Mobile World Congress, the world’s biggest and most influential mobile event, had a record-breaking 93,000 attendees from 200 countries.

As expected, over 2,100 companies had showcased their solutions and services with high level networking.

Promise of 5G While the industry watchers expect that 5G will do a lot better than 4G in terms of video, faster download times and denser network coverage, majority of vendors had predicted a 100 to 1,000 fold increase in network capacity.

But the technology, according to experts will also have to grapple with a new challenge, given the fact that much of the world’s spectrum in lower frequency bands is used up. What remains is higher frequency spectrum that can only carry traffic over shorter distances.

Although spectrum will fuel the upgrade to 5G, in accordance with time line to complete 5G standardization by 2020, Ericsson and increasing number of mobile network operators, equipment vendors, research organizations and even government are already actively engaged in discussions on 5G and its key enabling technologies.

Althoughmanyserviceprovidersatthe2015 MWC showcased brilliant solutions, especially in preparation for 5G in 2020, it was the one presented by the Swedish multinational provider of communications technology and services, Ericsson that held much promise.

The company at the MWC 2015 demonstrated a wide array of the world-leading technologies and solutions that enable the Networked Society where everything that

can benefit from being connected will be connected.

Leading the industry evolution to 5G Ericsson, according to its Chief Technical Officer, Ulf Ewaldsson has blazed the trail in all generations of mobile networks.

Today, we are mapping out a new trail while leading the industry evolution towards 5G, he explained.

What makes 5G important He further explained that 5G is an evolution rather than a revolution. “It will enable higher data rates everywhere. It will bring support for very low latency and very high reliability, and the possibility of low cost devices with ultra-high reliability. It will enable the Networked Society to be realized to its full potential”, he said.

According to him, 5G will also help realize the vision of essentially unlimited access to information and sharing of data anywhere and anytime, for anyone and anything. “The aim is for 5G networks to be highly efficient, faster, support more users, more devices, more services, and new use cases without a corresponding impact on cost or carbon footprint. These are the requirements of this new generation of mobile communication”, he explained.

...5G will do a lot better than 4G in terms of video, faster download times and denser network coverage...

Ericsson Chief Executive Officer, Hans Vestberg earlier during media and analyst briefing hosted by Ericsson had told the gathering that Ericsson will deliver to the promise of 5G. According to him, Ericsson has the state of the art technologies to deploy 5G to the increasing number of operators already approaching change maker in the networked society.

GSMA estimate on 5G Meanwhile, the GSMA had estimated that operatorswillspend$1.7trilliononequipment upgrades between now and 2020. Most of that is simply to add 4G network capacity and improve coverage in densely trafficked areas.

“It is unclear what the opportunity or weakness that 5G should address is,” researchers at GSMA, the global trade group of mobile network operators, said in a report issued in December that punctured some of the more visionary claims for 5G.

Delivers 5 Gbps speeds 5G implementation in commercial mobile network is expected in 2020, but Ericsson has already achieved speeds of 5 Gbps in live, over-the-air demonstrations of the company’s pre-standard 5G network technology. This proven performance, according to experts will be critical to addressing growth in mobile data demand and enabling the next-generation machine-tomachine applications 5G hurdles One of the hurdles that next generation 5G mobile communications will need to overcome, according to Ericsson experts is the predicted levels of traffic which may be 1,000 times that of today. Another part of the puzzle is the billions of devices that will be connected to networks, some of which may be mission critical.

These devices, experts from Ericsson said may not generate a significant amount of traffic individually, but together their traffic is significant and their design is lightweight with an emphasis on low-energy consumption Technologies to support future demand of 5G Ultra-lean design, spectrum flexibility, allocations; and low latency, according to experts are the technologies that will support future demand of 5G. It would be recalled that Ericsson at the MWC showed world-leading technology, service capabilities, and innovations.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015 —27

Connect Nigeria links 1.4m students from 27 Fed Varsities —FMCT

Micro Station opens new retail outlet in Ikeja

By Laju Iren

By Emmanuel Elebeke

M

T

HE Minister of Com munication Technolo gy, Dr. Omobola Johnson, has said that1.4 million students in 27 federal universities are now connected to internet as a result of the ministry’s efforts.

This feat, according to the Minister is a collaborative effort of the ministry with the Ministry of education and the World Bank’s STEP-B project in the deployment of fibre-optic cables to universities and affiliated medical colleges, Nigerian Research and Education Network, NG-REN. The Federal Ministry of Communication Technology had declared Nigerian students a priority demographic and through the Universal Service Provision Fund, USPF, rolled out targeted initiatives to improve internet connection among students. With this connection, Johnson said, the beneficiaries will shortly be able to join the West and Central African Research and Education Network, WAC-REN, as well as the Global REN communities. In the same way, the Minister said 3.4 million Polytechnic Students due to be connected by end of 2015 in the second phase of the project.

Shared access to ICT services Also, she explained that 1,552 secondary schools are equipped with ICT also and 1,458,880 students estimated to have been introduced to ICTs through this programme. In the similar fashion, Dr. Johnson added that a platform through which the USPF extends ICT services to runservices areas and provides shared access to ICT services, including computer training.

Additionally, the Ministry revealed that the National IT Development Agency, NITDA had also initiated other programmes in support of the demographic. Among them include: the Tertiary Institutions Access Project, TIAP, which had provided desktop computers, printers, wireless network facilities to selected tertiary institutions across the country.

Also, the Minister informed that IT Centres had equally been made available in tertiary institutions as knowledge access venues, adding that about 271 centres had so far been established in six federal universities.

Also under the Connect Nigeria initiative, the FMCT said it had further made available public access venues, PAVs aimed at providing shared access to ICT facilities in underserved and unserved locations to various other

Dr. Bukola Onashoga, Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), Ogun State Chapter (middle), Prof.

I.A. Adeyemi, Chief Host & Vice Chancellor, Bells University, Mrs. Funke Olakanmi-Noble of Accenture Nigeria (back row - in pink), coaches and participants during the 2014 IT Development Competition held at Bells University of Technology, Ota

demographics.

Other related scheme by NITDA she said include ICT training for youths with disabilities in Nigeria and each equipped with tablet PCs. The Minister informed that the

Universal Service Provision Fund, USPF had collaborated with the ministry of women Affairs and Social Development and currently deploying ICT facilities at fourteen institutes for the physically

challenged.

According to her, 222 community resource centres had been established by USPF across the country at subsidized rate to boost internet access by the rural people.

AIT 2015 to focus on emerging trends in computing for global impact

By Laju Iren

C

HANGE, they say, is the only constant thing in life. Changes in technology from the stone-age until today’s technology saturated world, can attest to this fact. Technologies have no doubt evolved greatly; right from nothing into a world full of machines, equipment and inventions which are continuously changing our lives.

Most of these innovations were products of deep critical thinking from workshops, seminars, roundtable discussions, symposia and conferences on Information Technology. This is why the Ogun State Chapter of Nigeria Computer Society in conjunction with Department of Computer Science, Federal University of Agriculture,

Abeokuta, Ogun State conceptualized an International Conference on Applied Information Technology (AIT 2015) which will hold at Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria between October 79, 2015.

The competition, which is the 6th in the series, was organised by the Nigeria Computer Society, Ogun State Chapter, themed: “IT Diversity Perspectives for Global Impact,” was held at the Bells University of Technology, Ogun State. According to Olukanmi-Noble: “As the world has become a global village, users are continually demanding for more new

L-R: Dr. Bukola Onashoga, Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), Ogun State Chapter, Chief Host & Vice Chancellor, Bells University of Technology, Ota, Prof. I.A. Adeyemi (2nd right) with Winner, Accenture Software Development Challenge, Bells University of Technology, Ota

products and software which would seamlessly provide access. This provides many opportunities and threats and thus, accentuates the need for innovative individuals with diverse IT skills and ideas to impact the ever increasing population with its growing demands for easier, faster and more accessible platforms to perform both individual and corporate activities.This diversity maximizes the effectiveness of the shared resources and thrives on virtualization to provide tools, technologies and Infrastructure to carry out processes with much more affordable prices compared to traditional computing techniques.”

The competition, which first began in 2009 is an annual gathering of students from higher institutions in Ogun State that also attracts lecturers - who are coaches, professionals and participating companies from the ICT field.

The two-day event, for the first time, featured an IT Innovation Presentation where participating institutions made presentations on using IT tools to solve problems in the society. It was a beauty to behold as Speakers from the various tertiary institutions made fantastic, brilliant and feasible presentations about using Information and Communication Technology to solve problems in different sectors.

ICRO Station Limited, a mobile phones and telecommunication trading company in Nigeria recently opened a new state-of-the-art retail outlet to its growing customers.

The new outlet, strategically located on 18, Kodesho Road at the popular Ikeja Computer Village market, is the eighth outlet to be opened by the company.

Over the years, Micro Station’s outlets in Victoria Island; Otigba Street in Computer Village; Awolowo Way in Ikeja; Oshogbo; Ikorodu and Mushin and Sango-Otta, have been serving its growing customers with quality products that meet their various needs.

Speaking on the new sales outlet in a statement, the Managing Director of Micro Station, Mrs. Tinuola Coutroupis, said the latest addition to the company’s list of sales outlets, was borne out of its expansion roadmap to increase its footprint across Nigeria in order to serve its customers better.

“The new retail outlet provides easier access to our customers to get all the devices that they need in a condusive environment for those customers who do not want to storm into the hurly-burly inside the Computer Village market before making their purchase,” she said.

itel 1501 phone attract market attention with Li-ion batteries advantage

By Emeka Aginam

J

UST like many mobile phone vendors making it big in Africa, itel has nailed it on price and attractive unique feature.

Although demand for mobile phone devices are dropping by the day in the market as price hike caused by the exchange rate, itel 1501 smart phone series has continued to attract patronage from the customers as a result of its unique features, especially its Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries advantage.

Lithiumion (Li-ion) batteries are very stable and reliable sources of power for two-way radios, laptops and many other devices.

LithiumItel phone ion batteries are widely used because they have a high energy density, resulting in a much lighter weight than other rechargeable batteries. Li-ion have other advantages too. They hold their charge well, losing about 5% of their charge per month as compared to 20% for nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries.

28 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

‘Technology, fundamental to SMEs’ NOT many Small and Medium Scale enterprises bother about technology. But in the long run, when it comes down to efficiency and results, there is a wide gap between those who do and those who do not. This is the submission of Omatsola Barrow, the Acting Chief Enterprise Solutions Officer, MTN Nigeria. In this interview, Barrow, who is responsible for deploying core ICT solutions to enterprises that drive a substantial part of the Nigerian economy, is quick to point out that technology is always a fundamental enabler and never a distraction to business.

By Laju Iren

Y

OUR division manages some of the more strategic services in the telecoms sector. Can you give us an insight into some of the things you do?

MTN Business is the Enterprise Business Unit of MTN Nigeria and we are focused on delivering technology solutions that enable businesses and the public sector to efficiently optimize their operations and connection to their customers. Our focus markets include SMEs, Large Corporates and the Public Sector.

Our purpose as a business is to enable and inspire growth and we do this by providing innovative and customized solutions that help businesses reach more customers, serve these customers faster and better, and reduce cost, while at the same time maximizing profitability.

So whether its connecting a bank’s head office to all its branches and ATMs nationwide via our expansive fibre- optic network, or hosting an oil firm’s critical seismic data in our Tier 3

data centre or providing a platform for SMEs to access affordable software from the MTN Cloud, to mention just a few, our solutions are designed to enable businesses serve their customers better and by so doing grow.

What level of investments have you made in the network to make it ready to provide solutions for modern businesses?

MTN has made considerable investment in its network over time and continues to invest in the technology; infrastructure and human resources necessary to deliver innovative technology solutions for the enterprise.

Innovative technology Our Data Centre is an example. We have a Tier 3 certified data centre from where we deliver a broad range of platform services as well as collocation, hosting, disaster recovery and cloud services to customers across the different verticals.

In line with our vision to be the choice ICT partner for geograph-

innovate and provide a broad range of SME-focused solutions that SMEs have found very useful.

One of these solutions is the MTN Y’ello Directory. This is a business directory listing of over 300,000 SMEs in Nigeria. The service offers free listing to SMEs allowing them to be found by prospective buyers. Understanding the plight of SMEs not knowing how to go about getting and maintaining their own websites, we recently upgraded the MTN Y’ello Directory to allow SMEs also host mini sites within the directory as well as build a community for interaction and networking.

Interaction and networking

•Omatsola Barrow ic and market expansion, we made huge investments in being part of the WACS consortium. This has afforded MTN the opportunity to provide ultrahigh speed connectivity and broadband services to locations beyond the shores of Nigeria. In addition, we are able to deliver high speed broadband through our Fibre to the home/Office solution to gated and multi dwelling communities notably VGC Estate and 1004 Estate. These are just a few investments that have helped position us to serve our business customers better.

SMEs are regarded as the bedrock of any strong economy, providing the quickest areas of growth. However, in Nigeria, it is one challenge after the other besetting SMEs. What

initiatives have you introduced to help them function better?

Technology is not a distraction but a fundamental business enabler. The right technology partner can make all the difference between success and failure. Seek out technology partners that are able to offer partnership rather than a transaction-based relationship, that’s always our advise to SMEs. At MTN Business, we will partner with you to exceed your business goals and define new goals.

SMEs are very dear to us in MTN and our goal has been singular: to provide the SMEs with technology solutions that are relevant, accessible, affordable and easy to use. Thinking in this manner has allowed us

This means SMEs can get their businesses on the web for free and have their prospective buyers reach them anytime from anywhere and at no cost at all.

Is cloud computing for SMEs in Nigeria considering the fact that we are still battling with brick and mortar issues?

The Cloud is a very interesting phenomenon. Simply put, cloud services relate to services that can be accessed over the Internet at anytime, from anywhere most of which are device agnostic. We understand that the more people understand the benefits the Cloud offers, the more adoption there will be.

This was the reason behind the SME Forum we held in Q4, last year. The forum focused entirely on the Cloud services and how they benefit SMEs in practical use cases. It featured speakers from Government, an OEM and an SME.

Virtual technologies transforming to reality in Africa Continues from page 25 one in contact center solutions across the world, and we are number one in IT telephony and unified communication. Also, on the networking side, data networking, lately we came up with a very beautiful technology. You know there is a technology called SDN (software-defined networking) which our competition were putting on the data center on the high level type of networking, we brought it to the mid-market, we brought it to the edge, we brought it to the SMB and now we are the only vendor who provides networking at the edge level using SDN technology, which is the latest and greatest of technologies in the market.

Video for fun For video conferencing, we acquired a company about three years ago called Radvision, which was producing all the video conferencing equipment for different vendors. We have end to end solutions on video conferencing that we integrate into out IP telephony and unified

communication to provide useful solution. If, for example, I want to have a meeting with my team across Africa, I just send a link from my outlook. All they need to do is to click on this link on their different mobile devices or PC, and we come on the video conferencing altogether from different areas in the world having a meeting and presenting. Imagine how important and easy this kind of solution will be for a territory like Nigeria that is so vast, you don’t need to travel or go through traffic to have your meetings; so, what we are doing is bringing virtuality to reality.

So whatever you need, contact center, video conferencing you can do on a small box and it starts from 2 users to 2,500 users.

Also, on our video conferencing, you need low bandwidth to have a very good video conferencing conversation.

Nigeria, not for one jacket fits all Now, in technology, the one jacket fits all approach will not really work. This is not what we are. We carefully looked at the Nigerian market and decided to

open an office here and that is why our route to the market is through the people who know the market. Unlike other vendors who come here and try to take the technologies themselves, take the customers themselves, they do not transfer the knowledge to local people. For us what we are trying to do is to transfer knowledge to Nigerians who know the dynamics of the environment. For instance, we have a training coming up for our partners on latest technologies, so they know our technology, even when we are not here

...whatever you need, contact center, video conferencing you can do on a small box and it starts from 2 users to 2,500 users

they can do it, they can integrated it, they can service it, they can spot it.

Many companies failed because they were doing products that don’t fit the market, or too early for the market.

Teleconferencing on the mobile phone Our teleconferencing which is the Avaya Scopia works on any device, you just download for free from application stores and you connect either over WiFi or 3G network. It will work with any operator. There is a configuration we do that with one number, I can have my conversations on any of my devices I want.

Now, here is what separates us from competitions, some other vendors lock you to their protocol. When you take a video conferencing solution from them, it removes every sense of mobility which we believe video conferencing should be about.

The good about our technology is that it is open protocol that you can operate with any service provider. It needs the internet and low bandwidth.

Challenges One big challenge is the geopolitical situations in the regions.

Another is terrorism. Security for us is very important, especially for our teams and employees. To bring people who will transfer the knowledge is very challenging sometimes. And the problem really is when they talk about terrorism in Northern Nigeria, some people actually think all of Nigeria is burning which is not the case.

Another challenge lately is the oil and gas price that is dropping very quickly. This is impacting the investment of the government in many of the businesses and you know when government stops investing because of certain limitations like this, all the country will stop investing because they feel something is wrong and then the economy will move very slowly.

This doesn’t mean we will stop investing, because when things pick again you need to be there, otherwise you will miss opportunities.

The third challenge that is facing us is the currency devaluation which is big challenge for us and our partners. This can be very challenging; however, they are reacting very fine.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015 — 29

C M Y K

30 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

AYC 2015: Tetteh boost for Ghana

G

hana striker Benjamin Tetteh has been passed fit to return to action for Ghana’s tantalizing semi-final clash against Nigeria at the 2015 African Youth Championship.

The lanky striker watched from the bench as his colleagues suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Mali in the final group game.

Coach Sellas Tetteh however has his striker back for the highly anticipated clash with Nigeria on Monday.

“He trained fully with the team on Monday and we are looking to having everybody ready for the Nigeria game,” an insider told GHANASoccernet.com “As at now it’s the coach who decides who play but on health ground Ben trained fully.”

The 18 year old scored in Ghana’s 2-0 win over South Africa but got injured in the second game against Zambia.

CAF orders Dolphins to remain in Tunis

T

he Confederation of African Football has ordered Nigeria representative s, Dolphins FC to remain in Tunis until a decision is taken on their contentious CAF Confederation Cup first round, first leg affair with Tunisian giants Club Africain.

In a mail received from the Deputy Director (CAF Competitions), Khaled Nassar on Monday evening, CAF instructed that the Garden City boys stay put in the Tunisian capital until a decision by the Confederation is communicated to the NFF. “Reference to the above mentioned match which was initially scheduled on 14th March 2015; we would like to request your team Dolphin to stay in Tunis until a decision is reached and communicated to you,” wrote Nassar.

Dolphins FC were to play Club Africain in Tunis on Saturday by 3pm, and the team arrived in the city at 1pm aboard an Emirates Airline flight from Dubai, only for immigration authorities to take two hours to issue the team entry visa into the country.

Afterwards, there was no bus to convey the team to the stadium, and when one eventually came, it drove the delegation in a circle round Tunis and they got to the stadium at 4pm, to be told by the Ethiopian match officials that they had been walked over.

Pillars off to Morocco

By Solomon Nwoke

N

igeria’s flag bearers at this year’s Confederation of African Football (CAF), Kano Pillars flew out of the country last night to Morocco to honour their postponed continental Champions League first round, first leg match with Moghreb Athletic Tetouan of Morocco.

A 36-man delegation which was led by former NFF President Ibrahim Galadima travelled aboard an Egypt Air flight from Kano to Cairo, where they will connect another flight to Casablanca, before a midnight flight from Casablanca to Tetouan today.

The match is scheduled for Saturday, March 21.

The Confederation of African Football, acting on a plea from the Nigeria Football Federation, granted a one-week postponement of the first leg affair following •Galadima an armed robbery attack on the Nigerian champions that left five players injured.

•Kick off : 6 pm

Ghana must go — F/Eagles L

eading goal scorer at the ongoing African Youth Championship in Senegal, Taiwo Awoniyi has vowed that the Flying Eagles will triumph over the Black Satellites of Ghana in the semi final game between the two West African giants today.

The Manu Garba-led side progressed to the last four of the tournament with seven points after winning two games and drawing 2-2 with Ivory Coast in their final group game, last Saturday.

On records, Nigeria have only beaten the Black Satellites once in their last five meetings at the AYC, but the nation’s U-20 team understand the task ahead of them and have promised to deliver nothing but victory to all Nigerians at the end of the game.

It was at the 2011 tournament in South Africa when a goal by Uche Nwofor and the individual brilliance of Ahmed Musa combined to dump the defending world champions.

However, the Flying Eagles have lost to their West African rivals on the other four occasions they have clashed – in 1985 (21), 1993 (1-0), 1999 (1-0) and 2001 (4-1).

“We know the entire country expects only one thing from us – victory. And we will deliver and in the final on Sunday,” vowed striker Taiwo Awoniyi, who has shone at this tournament with

Heineken set to reward consumers with exotic UCL finale

A

s the UEFA Champions League battles intensify on the football pitch, Heineken is also raising the bar in terms of their offerings to Nigerians.

For nine consecutive years, Heineken has sponsored the world’s biggest club football tournament, while delivering amazing benefits to the fans.

Every year, Heineken has rewarded Nigerian fans with C M Y K

once-in-a-lifetime trips to watch the UEFA Champions League finals, live in Europe.

This season, in addition to fantastic prizes being given away every minute of every UEFA Champions League match, Nigerian fans also have a unique opportunity to enjoy the UCL final match in Ibiza, an exotic island off the coast of Spain. Nigerians will

join fans from 35 other countries for Heineken’s world-famous Ibiza Final, where Heineken creates the ultimate match night in a way only Heineken can.

This week, raffle draws are being held across the country to select 13 lucky Heineken fans for the Ibiza trip. They are being held on the last lap of the second round knock out stage of the Champions League matches yesterday and tonight.

three goals thus far.

“There will really be no point qualifying for the World Cup, if we cannot go there as champions of Africa,” added coach Manu Garba ahead of this epic semifinal.

“Our tournament starts with

this game and we have to be prepared to win it so as to stay on track for our main target, which is to be champions of Africa.

“This is the final before the final; it will even be tougher than the final.”

Enyeama set to win 100th cap •As Ideye Returns

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oalkeeper and skipper Vincent Enyeama will most likely win his 100th senior cap for Nigeria after being selected among 28 players for the friendly matches against Bolivia and South Africa later this month.

The three –time FIFA World Cup star, presently on 99 caps, heads a list that also includes Godfrey Oboabona, Kenneth Omeruo, Ogenyi Onazi and Ahmed Musa.

In-form England-based duo Odion Ighalo and Brown Ideye, Germany-based Anthony Ujah and Leon Balogun as well as

China-based Aaron Samuel, who scored two goals in the futile campaign for a place at the 30th Africa Cup of Nations, are listed.

There are 18 overseas-based and 10 home-based professionals on the list, with former junior international Akeem Latifu and Enyimba duo Kingsley Sokari and Mfon Udoh also called.

Amokachi has obliged a special request by injured Victor Moses, one of the stars of Nigeria’s triumph at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, to be listed as the Stoke City star believes he will recover before the two bouts.

Basse or pr obe of Basseyy calls ffor probe the Dolphins shame

T

HE Nigeria Football

a country that has an Embassy in Nigeria, needs to be investigated, Federation has been called if not it will happen again” to probe what has “become a great The CAF Instructor on Club embarrassment to the game in Licensing recounted the ordeal of Nigeria, one that has been the Nigerian contingent now in reoccurring and must be Cairo for the Seminar”… who arrested…..” have had to hear the “Dolphins FIFA Match Commissioner and case” mentioned again and CAF General Coordinator Paul again” Bassey in a release issued in Cairo “When the CAF yesterday said “…it is a Secretary General shame that in 2015, a delivered his professional football club in Opening Address to Nigeria, one that is not alien the seminar, he drew to continental qualification, the attention of can fail to honour her match participants to the in situations that are very Dolphins case and amateurish and murky, to say since then the issue the least has come up again “Dolphins knew more than and again as people two weeks ago that they wonder the were going to play in Tunisia, circumstances of they were communicated the their been walked venue and time of the match. over and eventual How they were still found in Paul Bassey elimination from the Nigeria on the eve of the competition” match, even without visas in

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015 — 31

M

ARTIN Demichelis believes Manchester City are capable of pulling off a surprise victory over Barcelona on tonight.

The teams meet in a Last 16 second-leg Champions League clash at the Camp Nou, the Blues trailing 2-1 from the first game at the Etihad Stadium, yet the Argentine feels it is not an insurmountable task that Manuel Pellegrini’s men face.

“Schalke managed a shock result at the Bernabeu last week and Paris Saint-Germain got through against Chelsea with a man less. We know it will be very difficult and Barca have the advantage, but we are still angry at the way we played in the first half in Manchester, so we hope to create plenty of chances.

“We’ll be going to Barcelona with the intention of turning this tie around. At this stage last year we weren’t top of the table but still managed to win the title. “This season City are a stronger team despite us dropping points recently, but we have to keep going as in

Barca 'll make City suffer

Barca vs Man City:

— Iniesta

DEMICHELIS:

We can still qualify football you never know what could be around the corner.”

Demichelis is also aware his international teammate Lionel Messi will pose the greatest threat to City’s ambitions.

“I’m one of his biggest admirers and even more so with the excellent form he has been showing of late. When he’s at his best he is unstoppable as he’s so unpredictable.

“Messi is the best in the world. All the same, they were all talking about him before the first leg but it was Luis Suarez who scored twice,” he warned.

Mighty Messi returns for City

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•Demichelis

NDRÉS Iniesta gave his take on Barça’s Champions League game against Manchester City tonight.

“They are very dangerous rivals with talented players up front that can make a great difference. That says it all. At all levels, we have to be 200% concentrated”, he warned.

“We can’t make the mistake of thinking that the result we have gives us some type of guarantee, nor can we sit back and wait to see what happens. We have to take control of the game and have them on the run”.

Regarding the team’s present form, Iniesta said: “The general feeling that the team give is a good one. When we’re not looking so good, the feelings in the team are also not so good. We’re going down the right path, but now the best bit, and the hardest, is to come. We have to have all our senses fully alert. We have the cup final and also the Champions League, which is tough. Every little detail counts and we have to play a very complete game to beat City. It’s very difficult to predict what will happen, but we’re going into the game on form to reach our objectives”.

•Messi

L

EO Messi is back. The sublime Messi, the Messi that rises to all great occasions.

Back to show the world who is king.

The times when his commitment to the club was questioned, when many even suspected his magic might have gone forever, are now long gone. The king’s crown has been snatched from the Bernabéu and once again rests on the pint-sized wonder ’s head.

In this, the most decisive week of the season, Messi arrives firing on all cylinders.

The Argentine has scored five times in the last two league games (against Rayo Vallecano and Eibar), allowing him to cruise past a run-down Ronaldo in the fight for the league’s ‘Pichichi’. ‘La Pulga’ has now racked up 32 strikes – a figure he has reached and bettered in three previous seasons and that is four goals higher than what he achieved in the last one.

Messi also has the highest number of assists in the league,

having set up his teammates to score no less than 13 times.

Just a goal away from equalling Luiz Adriano as the maximum goalscorer in this season’s Champions League, he is out to bury the memory of the penalty that he fluffed against City at the Etihad stadium.

His run-ins with Luis Enrique seem a distant memory, while his problems with the taxman and the recurrent r u m o u r s regarding his health are no longer what most come to mind when his name is ORUSSIA Dortmund will have to overturn a 2-1 first leg mentioned. The deficit to reach the quarter finals of the UEFA Champions Messi with League for a third year running when they welcome Juventus magic in his FC to the Signal Iduna Park tonight. boots, the It’s a case of win or bust for Dortmund. While they do have the mighty Messi comfort of an away goal to their name, BVB have to score that seems to be something they’ve failed to do in their last two league outings. able to do as he Juventus, meanwhile, are out to book their place in the last pleases with the eight for only the second time since 2006. Their last appearance ball, is back. ended in a 4-0 aggregate defeat to FC Bayern München.

Kevin Großkreutz (hamstring) and Lukasz Piszczek (ankle) will definitely miss out, while Nuri Sahin faces a late fitness test to determine whether he’s fully recovered from a groin complaint. Sven Bender (r.) made a non-appearance off the bench in the 0-0 draw with 1. FC Köln, but could be drafted into the first-team for Wednesday’s all-important RESIDENT Andrea Ag second leg. Serie A league leaders Juventus are currently clash with Borussia Do nelli insists today ’s rtmund will not defin Juventus’ season. “Y coping with a plethora of injury problems, while the loss e ou can’t define a se ason by one game,” Agnelli of influential playmaker Andrea Pirlo (calf) could prove told reporters at a Pr launch Italy v Englan ess to pivotal. The veteran Italian became the latest big name d at “If in Spring you’re co Juventus Stadium. to be added to a lengthy list, which already includes mpetitive on all front you’re doing well.” s then Uruguayan international Martin Caceras (knee), Kwadwo Asamoah (ankle) and Paolo De Ceglie (knee).

•Iniesta

Dortmund ready to die against Juve B

AGNELLI: Dortmund w decide Juve’s season on’t

P

•Reus C M Y K

32 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

Stakeholders seek review of prisons standards in Enugu VOL. 1 NO 25

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

•Some of the suspects apprehended by the youths and handed over to the Police.

•ID card of the policeman on illegal duty apprehended by youths.

Police blames alleged invasion of Ayogu Eze’s house on politics ... suspects charged, granted bail as mastermind escapes

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NUGU—BARELY a week after the Enugu State police comsxmand charged three suspects to court for invading the country home of Senator Ayogu Eze with intent to commit felony, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Ebere Amaraizu, has said that the house was not invaded, blaming the whole thing on politics.

Amaraizu spoke against the backdrop of the alarm raised by the people of Umuida in Enugu Ezike, Igboeze North Local Government Area of Enugu State over what they described as attempt by the police to subvert justice over the attack on their son, Senator Eze, by some some hoodlums who tried to burn down his house on Tuesday, March 3.

Senator Eze is said to be under severe pressure to drop his claims in the court that he was the authentic People’s Democratic Party, PDP, candidate, having C M Y K

emerged from a parallel governorship primary instead of Hon Ifanyi Ugwanyi who is enjoying the support of the party.

Our fear is that the attack was politically motivated. We have had this type of experience when Ambassador Ayogu contested elections against the government’s favoured candidate

PAGE 6

No invasion or attack on the house —Police “There was no invasion or attack at the house. The people were just celebrating. The report is enmeshed in politics,’’ Amaraizu told South East Voice in Enugu Friday In a four-count charge brought against the suspects by the prosecuting police officer, ASP Peter Eze, the police had stated that the accused persons conspired among themselves to

commit felony to wit: threatening violence and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 495 (a) of the Criminal Code Cap 30 Vol. II, Revised Laws of Enugu State of Nigeria, 2004.

The charge further read “that you Ejike Ani, (instead of Ali), Ikenna Omeh and Ogbonna Raphael and others now at large exploded firearms with intent to intimidate and annoy Senator Ayogu Eze and Eya Paulinus in their dwelling houses and

thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 120 (a) of the Criminal Code Cap 30 Vol. II Revised Laws of Enugu State of Nigeria 2004.”

They were equally accused of “conducting themselves in a manner likely to cause the breach of peace by exploding loaded firearms and shouting that Senator Ayogu Eze is dead with intent to intimidate and annoy him.”

Those charged to court Those charged before an Enugu Magistrate’s Court presided over by Mr. A. C. Mbah following their alleged involvement in the attack included Ejike Ali, Ikenna Omeh and Raphael Ogbonna.

Mbah granted the accused

Continues on page 3

ALSO IN THIS EDITION Azikiwe varsity suspends 5 lecturers over alleged exam fraud PAGE 3

19 rural road contractors die in Imo PAGE 8

2 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

Enugu community embarks on self-help road project N

SUKKA—IRKED by the lack of government attention, the people of AguUmabor and Breme communities in Nsukka Local Government Area have embarked on a road project to open up the area.

The communities, which lack all government amenities except for dilapidated schools, have taxed their members to facilitate the construction of a road from the area to Umabor on the Enugu-Oturkpo road.

Motivated by the priest of the Breme Catholic Parish in Nsukka Diocese, Rev. Fr. Malachy Ugwuoke, the rural communities now cough out as much as N120,000 per day for the services of a bulldozer which is being used to grade the road.

They also plan to engage a grader on the road after the work of the bulldozer.

The track road leading to the

communities was cut off in many areas by gully erosion and covered in other areas by sand dunes, making it almost impossible for vehicles to access the area.

Some members of the communities who spoke with our correspondent lamented

The track road leading to the communities was cut off in many areas by gully erosion and covered in other areas by sand dunes, making it almost impossible for vehicles to access the area

•Bulldozer working on the road that no tier of government had ever remembered them.

They claimed that even the government schools in the areas were built by the people while the government only took them over.

They said that large quantities of farm produce perished at the Eke-Olisa Market in the area because there

were no vehicles to evacuate them.

Throwing more light on the project, Rev. Fr. Ugwuoke said he had pity for the people of the area who appeared to have resigned themselves to their fate.

He said his heart bled each time he remembered how a woman in labour died in his

•Bad portion of the road before reconstruction

car when it was stuck in the sand on the road after he offered to take her to hospital in Nsukka.

He said there was not a single health facility in the two communities and that the only health centre built by the women of Agu-Umabor was abandoned long ago.

South East Voice gathered that the town unions in the two communities are already mobilizing their citizens in different locations in and outside the country to contribute to the project.

The Agu-Umabor Elite group, a pressure group in the area, had threatened to mobilize the people of the area to boycott the coming elections as a protest against persistent government neglect.

The group also expressed concern that the Enugu State Government had sent two delegations to the area under its Visit Every Community programme but nothing had come out of the visits.

•Gully erosion on the road

101-year-old masquerade on display as Anambra community marks 2015 Uzoiyi festival

By OBIALUNAMMA NWADIOGBU

E

K W U L O B I A — THOUSANDS of people from all walks of life returned en mass to witness the cultural fiesta of Umuoji people in Idemmili North Local Government Area of Anambra State known as ‘Uzoiyi festival.”

The festivity is an ancient annual event that heralds the rainy/farming season and the community has reverence for the festival as it usually witnesses mass return of Umuoji people in Diaspora just like during the Christmas.

The festival also show cases the culture of Umuoji Igwulube Okodu people, even as it also commemorates the Ideakpulu River, believed to be inhabited by the gods that regulate the amount of rainfall in the town during farming season.

The event as usual, featured masquerades display (which mostly represent different kinds of animals) and cultural dances drawn from the 23 villages in the community.

Among the masquerades were Ezenmou (the oldest masquerade in Africa) which is 101 years old; Anyinya (horse); Aja-Agba-agu mgba (lion); Akum (hippopotamus); Atu (a tropical animal); Agaba (the strongest); Nnyakwulu (camel); Akwugo (king of masquerades); Obammili (a monster); Nkenekwu (Reindeer, a hermaphrodite

C M Y K

One of the masquerades at the Umuoji 2015 Uzoiyi festival Ezenmou, the 101-year-old masquerade at the festival animal); Aguiyi (crocodile); Onoko (donkey); Afuekwe (seing is believing); Eze-odezuluigbo (the world renowned Monarch); Ugo (Eagle); Enyi-Nnunnu (ostrich); Okpoko (a huge bird which makes lots of noise on its way) and Ochammili (Giraffe) among others.

The Ezenmou Umuoji masquerade marked its 101 years of existence on earth on the occasion. Ezenmou, was founded in 1913 but made its first appearance at Enugu, during the official celebration of the January 1914, amalgamation of the Southern and Northern Nigerian Protectorates.

The date of festival which hold on week days used to be as announced by the Chief Priest of

HRH Igwe Cyril Enweze, traditional ruler of Umuoji speaking during the festival

the Idemili Oracle but as the days for the subsequent celebrations became inconsistent and as more observers identified with the festival, a permanent date was fixed for the first Sunday in the month of March corresponding with Afor market day, ( Uka Afor ) irrespective of the world calendar.

The All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, senatorial candidate for Anambra Central Senatorial District in the forthcoming election, Chief Victor Umeh; the state Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Chief Tony Onyima who is also from the town were among the personalities that graced the occasion.

Onyima said that the

masquerades featured in animal form showed that Umuoji people were predominantly hunters and farmers in the early days and extolled his people for keeping Igbo culture and tradition alive.

On his part, the sponsor of the 2015 Uzoiyi festival, Chief Celestine Olisa Aniuno of the Oliswarren Group, described the celebration as an age-long event that would never go into extinction.

While declaring the ceremony open, the Traditional Ruler of Umuoji, His Royal Highness, Igwe Cyril Enweze (Ebube Igwulube Okodu) praised God for the bountiful harvest by farmers in the community during the last planting season, even as he prayed for long life and prosperity of his subjects.

A

WKA—THE authorities of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, have suspended five lecturers over alleged examination fraud.

This was made known by the

Obiano’s wife’s empowerment programme for widows, less privileged

By VINCENT UJUMADU

A

WKA—SIXTY–THREE persons, comprising mostly women, including indigent widows and some youths, have been trained in Anambra State under the auspices of the Caring Family Enhancement Initiative, CAFÉ, a non-governmental organization, NGO, formed by the wife of the Anambra State governor, Mrs. Ebelechukwu Obiano, with a vision to be the beacon of sustainable empowerment for women, indigent widows and the less privileged.

Mrs. Obiano, at the graduating ceremony of the beneficiaries, said she was

impressed with the reports from the teachers about their exemplary conduct and promised to empower them with tools to enable them start their own businesses.

She said: “Be assured that I will not just train you, but I will also empower you with tools like hair dryers, gas cookers/ ovens and other important equipment you need to start well.

“I can see, judging from the impressive demonstration of what you were taught during the one-month training programme, that you learnt well and I am proud of you all. The next step is to get ready to start and contribute your quota at home and the family by earning some income and we

•Some of the trainees during their graduation

are ready to support you in this regard.”

According to her, women should be able to support their husbands,” adding that if they were able to help at their various homes, they would earn more respect in the society.

Wife of the Anglican Bishop of Awka, Mrs. Martha Ibezim commended Mrs. Obiano for bringing goodwill and hope to many people through CAFÉ programmes. She also said that Anambra women were impressed with the work Governor Willie Obiano is doing in the state and called on her to come to the aid of the institution to ensure the completion of their hostel and classroom projects.

In her speech, Lady Ngozi Ezomike, the director of Mary Sumner Vocational Institute, where the women were trained, appreciated efforts of the Anambra State first lady in sponsoring the training programmes and urged her to continue with the Christian attitude to prepare youths and women for posterity.

She observed that through her CAFÉ, the governor’s wife had reached out to the poor and the less privileged in the society, having made them self-reliant and thereby putting food on their tables daily.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015 — 3

Azikiwe varsity suspends 5 lecturers over alleged exam fraud Director of Publications of the university, Emma Ojukwu.

He said that those affected were from the Department of Pure and Industrial Chemistry and the Department of Electronics and Computer Engineering.

Ojukwu said in Awka that the lecturers were suspended for three months each with effect from March 2, adding that they would be placed on half salaries pending the outcome of the Senior Staff Disciplinary Committee Report on the issue.

According to Ojukwu, the lecturers were found guilty of assisting students in answering questions during the first semester of 2013/2014 academic session as well as awarding frivolous marks to undeserving students.

Other offences included alleged failure to submit examination attendance lists, collection of money from students to upgrade their results, sharp practices and irregularities in result sheets.

Ojukwu further said that administrative verifications

•Minister of Education, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau would soon be conducted in other departments to fish out other culprits, adding that, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Professor Joseph Ahaneku, had warned some heads of departments not to collect money from students for registrations.

He also stressed that a review process had been instituted for administrative action on the matter.

Nnamdi Azikwe University main gate

Police blames alleged invasion of Ayogu Eze’s house on politics Continues from page 1 persons bail after they pleaded not guilty to the charges and adjourned the matter till March 25, for hearing.

South East Voice gathered that youths from the community had arrested four suspected gang members which included a police officer (names withheld) attached to coordinator for one of the governorship candidates in the state.

It was gathered that the youths who arrested the hoodlums also recovered a police riffle, some locally made mortars, pistols, two buses, a bank teller which indicated that N48,000 was paid to one of their leaders bank account to carry out the dastardly act, bullet proof vests, live ammunition as well as two other cars used by the suspects among other items and handed them over to the police.

Following the development, a team of policemen led by an Assistant Superintendent of Police from Enugu visited Senator Eze’s house two days later on Thursday, March 5, 2015, in the afternoon to conduct an investigation on the premises.

Reacting to the incident then, C M Y K

Amaraizu, said that they were still awaiting the “report on the matter.” before the command suddenly charged three out of the four persons arrested over the alleged offence to court which granted them bail after two days in detention.

But, some community leaders who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation and intimidation said that they were worried that the state police command charged only three suspects to court, leaving out the police corporal among them, for offences other than the ones they were arrested with a view to eventually freeing them.

Fears: They said that their fear was informed by what happened on April 12, 2003, when supporters of the former governorship candidate of the defunct All Nigeria People’s Party, ANPP, Ambassador Fidel Ayogu, were attacked by thugs sponsored by the government, killing several innocent persons and burning over nine vehicles in the area without being investigated.

The community leaders said: ‘’Our fear is that the attack was politically motivated. We suspect that those who came to the

house believed that our son was in the village. We have had this type of experience when Ambassador Ayogu, also from our town contested elections against the government’s favoured candidate. Over nine people lost their lives in the sponsored attack at Prince Okafor Omeh’s residence and till date, nobody was punished or detained for the crime. We believe that a similar thing is being repeated 12 years after.’’

Lesser offence

The people further wondered why three out of the four persons including a policeman that were arrested in night of the incident in the senators house were being prosecuted on lesser offence instead of all of them.

The Federal High Court, Abuja had on Friday, February 27, ruled that Senator Eze was not the authentic candidate of the party, a development that has received knocks from various quarters which had urged the senator to appeal the ruling.

Eze, had penultimate Friday raised an alarm over what he described as attempt by some people to cover up attempts by

some individuals to commit murder and burn down his country home.

A statement he personally signed stated, ‘’My attention has been drawn to a shoddy attempt by some desperate forces in Enugu to cover up a clear attempt by some mischievous individuals to commit murder and burn down my country home. Three days ago, l received a call from the village that the youths in the village had overpowered some miscreants who came to my country home in Umuida, Enugu Ezike to burn down my house.

Policeman on illegal duty ‘’The youth arrested about four of them including a police man on illegal duty along with two vehicles they brought for the operation. Some of the hoodlums including their mastermind escaped. ‘’Also recovered from them were the policeman’s gun, some locally made mortar bombs and some other incendiary substances which were all handed over to the police by the villagers. ‘’Reports from my gate man and those around indicated that they had clearly come to vandalize my house and burn it

down and also to murder the occupants of the house. ‘’While the masterminds were still at large and were being hunted by the police the matter was hurriedly rushed to a magistrate court in Enugu today March 06, 2015 where the suspects were hurriedly set free on bail.

In the charge sheet I was listed as the complainant whereas the investigation officer never got in touch with me. ‘’I wonder why they would leave out the village youths who brought the complaint to list my name as the complainant, I found out that the people handling the matter abandoned the complainants and listed my name so as to sidestep a major plank of their complaint which talks of arson. ’The charge of attempted arson and murder was cleverly and conveniently omitted from the charges preferred against the criminals."

I’m therefore urging the commissioner of police who has been doing an excellent job since he took over the command in Enugu to ensure that this matter is properly investigated and all the culprits adequately punished.’’

4 —Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

FINANCIAL LITERACY DAY:

UBA donates books to 138 students in Anambra

By VINCENT UJUMADU

A

WKA—THE improved standard of education at the secondary school level in Anambra State has started manifesting as some students from selected secondary schools in the state stunned officials of United Band for Africa, UBA, in Awka last week with their excellent knowledge in financial matters and full grasp of financial terminologies.

The event was a programme to mark this year ’s Financial Literacy Day put together by the bank at Girls Secondary School, Awka.

Managing Director of the bank, Mr. Philip Oduoza had explained that he usually selects one secondary school in the country for the annual programme, explaining that out of curiosity, he decided to select Girls Secondary School in Awka.

Recall that Anambra State had emerged first position in both the

West African School Certificate Examinations, WASCE, and National Examinations Council, NECO, for two consecutive years, a feat Oduoza said must have been made possible due to proper planning by the state government and officials of its ministry of education and the schools management board.

Entertaining questions from the students, Oduoza commended the students and their teachers, adding “it shows there is hope for the future of Nigeria. In fact, what this has shown is that we shall zero in on Anambra State when we want to hire people.”

Literary competition At the ceremony, 138 students from eight secondary schools in the state received free books from the management of UBA and were encouraged to read them and join the literary competition coming up in November this

year. In addition to opening bank accounts for them, each student also received novels by renowned Nigerian and Ghanaian authors which the bank said, was part of its efforts to promote reading culture among Nigerian students.

The beneficiaries were drawn from Girls Secondary School, Awka, Community Secondary School, Okpuno, Community Secondary School, Umuokpu, Community Secondary School, Awka, St. John of God Secondary School, Awka, Igwebuike Grammar School, Awka, Community Secondary School, Umuike and Girls Community Secondary School, Awka.

The students were also informed that they could borrow money from the bank without collateral under certain conditions, a statement that excited the students.

According to Oduoza, who led other directors of the bank to the ceremony, UBA decided to celebrate the Financial Literacy

•Some of the students during the Financial Literacy Day celebration in Awka Day in Anambra State to teach the youths everything about money and how to save and invest when they grow up.

He added: “It is a way of creating financial awareness among youths. We think that it is important for people to have the knowledge of money early in their lives so that by the time they become adults, they would have become conversant with all

aspects of financial management.

“If one does not have financial wisdom, it would be very difficult for the person to cope with life.

That is why we have set up the freedom saving account which does not require initial cash deposit. We have targeted this at children as we believe that once the child has the account, it gives him an incentive to save.”

Our agrarian revolution has finally taken off — Gov Obiano •as Anyamelum LG hosts another large farm

By VINCENT UJUMADU

O

MASI—BARELY 10 months after the Coscharis Group set up the multi-million Naira Coched Farms Limited in Anaku, Ayamelum Local Government Area of Anambra State, another industrialist in the state, Chief Emeka Okwuosa has established another farm, the Eckel Farms Ltd at Omasi also in Ayamelum Local Government Area. Ayamelum is reputed to have one of the largest farmlands in the country and though the people of the area are predominantly farmers, there are still untouched areas to exploit.

The Omasi farm being established by Okwuosa is expected to gulp a whooping N16 billion and will essentially focus on the cultivation and processing of tomato and cassava.

While flagging off the farm at Omasi, Governor Willie Obiano said his administration’s agrarian revolution has finally taken off.

South East Voice recalls that while flagging of the Coched Farms Limited in Anaku in May last year, Obiano spoke of his C M Y K

administration’s willingness to welcome agro-investors into the state and it is therefore not surprising that investors have started heeding to the call.

It was gathered that the Omasi Farms will produce over 150,000 tons of tomato purée, 51000 tons of tomato paste, 21000 tons of cassava per annum and will attract 13,500 direct jobs and over 100,000 indirect jobs. Apart from the unemployment generation, there are other mouth watering benefits of the agro business to the host communities.

Cordial relataionship For instance, the governor explained that the company would allocate 5 per cent of its annual profit to the host community, 10 per cent to the state government and another 5 per cent to the provision of amenities. He however called for a cordial relationship between the investors and the host community, adding that it was the only way the full benefits of the investment would be enjoyed.

He said: “I want you to imitate

the Anaku people who have been a wonderful host to Coched Farms. Since Coched farms began operations there in May last year, there has not been a single incident between it and the host community. That is the way I want you to relate with Ekcel Farms in this community.

“I advise Omasi people to adopt a very friendly attitude to the farm and treat it as though it belongs to the community. I want you to take ownership of this company. Treat it as your own.

Lend them a timely hand. They have come to develop and build Omasi and you must help them to do it.”

Chairman of Ekcel Farms Ltd, Emeka Okwuosa explained that his organization became interested in Anambra State when it realized that the governor’s economic blueprint was not a political gimmick, but a true blueprint for the development of state.

Okwuosa said: “It became very obvious from the way the governor went about tackling the challenge of insecurity in the state. If Anambra were not secure, Ekcel Farms would not

•Governor Willie Obiano during the opening of Eckel Farms Ltd at Omasi, Ayamelum Local Government Area, Anambra State. be here today. Most investors like me will not invest in any place where we do not feel secure.

“We are not just here to farm but to set up an industrial and mechanized agriculture. The whole aim is to cultivate, process and market cassava and tomato products. It is obvious that agriculture needs to be developed to become the bedrock of the economy.

“From the experience my company had gathered from operating in other parts of the country, we had developed a community engagement model that would help to strengthen its ties with the host community. We shall help the community to form cooperatives and encourage local farmers to cultivate cassava, which we shall take from them

for processing. This will help the community generate instant revenue.

“We expect that in the next six months we shall be fully on ground here. We also expect that our plant will be fully operational between 12 to 18 months. The plant will be built overseas and shipped to Omasi for installation. But we will commence cultivation prior to that. We are not in this business for the short term. This is a business that will last for decades.”

Earlier in his opening remarks, the Chairman of Anambra State Investment Promotion and Protection Agency, ANSIPPA, Igwe Cyril Enweze had expressed optimism that the arrival of Ekcel Farms would attract more investors to Anambra State.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015 — 5

Nkpologwu community worries over ‘decaying’ primary school

BY FRANCIS IGATA

E

NUGU—NATIVES of Nkpologwu especially Ekibute zone, in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State have asked the Enugu State government to rebuild the dilapidated Community Primary School in the area.

South East Voice visit to the school showed that the school had only two classroom blocks even as some parts of the roof had caved in.

There were no toilet facilities in the school, as the pupils go into the bush to ease themselves.

Furthermore, it was noticed that the school was bereft of other facilities like chalk boards, or sources of water supply. The school had to paint part of the walls black, to serve as improvised black boards in the demarcated school hall, thus making learning near impossible given interferences from other classes.

Lamentation: A native of the area, Mr. Sunday Nwabueze, lamented thus, “The school is begging for attention. The children defecate in the bush. You can imagine what the children are passing through without modern toilet facilities. They will be prone to all manner of diseases.

“Even when Ebola Virus Disease,EVD, struck, the attention then, was for schools to improve the sanitation and

hygiene of children in schools but this meant nothing to managers of schools in this area.

“Go round the school, learning cannot take place there. The classrooms are demarcated from each other and connected through a passage. If two classes are in session,you cannot hear what the teacher is saying because they will be hearing from two teachers or more simultaneously. We have top government functionaries from this community but they cannot draw government’s attention to our plight. Its because their children are schooling overseas.

Education should not be the exclusive preserve of the rich.”

Government: Commissioner for Education, Prof. Uchechukwu Okolo told South-East Voice during the flag off of Education Quality Assurance Scheme in the

Even when Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, struck, the attention then, was for schools to improve the sanitation and hygiene of children in schools but this meant nothing to managers of schools in this area

Nkpologwu Community Primary School in a dilapidated state. state that the issue of decay in infrastructure in most primary and secondary schools in the rural areas were being addressed.

His said, “Even though we have not got there, efforts are being made to tackle the issue and finish with it. The government is making interventions in building and improving infrastructures in schools with modern facilities and buildings.

“We are not in all the schools now, but we are making efforts to reach all the communities in the state with respect to physical infrastructures.”

Physical infrastructure The state government had flagged off a three-day Education Quality Assurance Scheme, EQAS, workshop for primary and secondary school administrators to boost quality of learning in the state.

The aim of the workshop, supported by the Education Schools Support Programme in Nigeria, ESSPIN, was to promote, improved teaching and learning, needed guidance and support to challenged schools across the state.

Coordinator, EQAS, in the state, Mrs. Chinyere Agbo said that the scheme equip the children with the necessary learning skills that would enable them compete with their contemporaries globally. She said,”the inspectorate scheme

The horrible state of Nkpologwu Community Primary School

The horrible state of Nkpologwu Community Primary School that we practised from the colonial era did not help our eduction system. EQAS will evaluate the challenges every

school is fraught with and make immediate recommendations to improve the children’s learning.”

Gov Orji commissions Model Primary, Secondary Schools N

DIOLUMBE—ABIA State Governor, Chief Theodore Orji, expressed his administration's determination to make pursuit of education attractive to youths in the state by replacing old school structures with model schools across the state.

He spoke at Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area while commissioning the Ndiolumbe Community Primary School built by local government SURE-P. He said that apart from the 17 modern primary schools with modern facilities like libraries, toilets, borehole and electric generating sets among others to make qualitative teaching and learning easy in all the local government areas in the state, the government was also building new structures in both secondary C M Y K

28 blocks of classroom building in Ovim Technical School, Isuikwuato

Ndume Otuka Theodore Orji

and technical schools with the latest modern facilities.

He further said the essence of building such modern school blocks was to ensure that the pupils were not intimidated in future even as he commended students and their teachers in the state for doing the state proud, pointing out that they

en-mass for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the forthcoming elections.

Earlier in his speech, the Chairman, Local Government SURE-P, Chief Joseph Ogwo, said the classroom blocks were part of the projects being executed with SURE-P funds and commended the governor

were excelling in academics both within and outside the state.

The governor stated that the modern classroom blocks would help the students do better in their academics and urged the people of Ndiolumbe to reciprocate the state government’s gesture by voting

Primary

School

built

by

Gov.

for investing SURE-P funds on education.

In his remark, the Head Master of the school, Mr. John Agbaraevo, also, thanked Governor Orji for the kind gesture which, he said the people had not experienced before and assured him of their support at all times.

6 —Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

Oko Poly to boost CBTs with new 2,000 cpacity auditorium •24,000 candidates to sit for the 2015 UMTE, CBTE exams in the polytechnic

O

KO—THE rector, Federal Polytechnic Oko, Prof.

Godwin Onu said a multi million Naira contract for the construction of a 2,000 capacity auditorium had been awarded to improve computer based examination, CBT. Commenting on the smooth take off of the 2015 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, in the institution, Onu said the structure when completed will augment already existing structures built for the exercise.

According to him the building would be completed in six months and fully furnished with digital equipment.

“We have over 2,500 existing computers in our various examination halls but we decided to add this innovation to be sure we are well covered in our internal exams. When completed a 100 KVA generator would be installed to ensure there is no interruption of power. We appreciate the commendation from the Joint Admission Matriculation

Board, JAMB, over the success of CBT examinations in the school but we have perfected this stage long ago,” he said Meanwhile 24,000 candidates have been slated to sit for the 2015 UMTE, CBTE examination at at the Federal polytechnic Oko, Anambra State.

The JAMB representative, Nasiru Ibrahim Yaro who gave a breakdown of the figures said about 2,400 candidates were expected to sit for the examination daily at the polytechnic for the 10 days it would last, adding that it took off smoothly.

He said JAMB was overwhelmed with the facilities on ground at the polytechnic, adding that we had underestimated the polytechnic in terms of information communication technology.

His words: “as a matter of fact, we are seriously overwhelmed by the arrangement so far at the polytechnic because JAMB requires back up in every CBTE centre. For example, if we are

•Main gate of Federal Polytechnic, Oko assigning 120 candidates to a centre, we need about 140 computers to make sure that there is no hitch. But what we have here is by far more than what we need. And the management has assured us of conducive atmosphere. The

As a matter of fact, we are seriously overwhelmed by the arrangement so far at the polytechnic because JAMB requires back up in every CBTE centre

•Rector, Federal Polytechnic Oko, Prof. Godwin Onu school is in session and there is no interference from the students. We appreciate and acknowledge the efforts of the

No retreat, no surrender MBAISE BISHOPRIC CRISIS:

•as Vatican Secretary of State urges the people to respect the Papal appointment

BY CHIDI NKWOPARA

A

HIARA—ATTEMPTS to resolve the lingering crisis over the appointment of Bishop Peter Okpalaeke, as the new Catholic Bishop of Ahiara, Mbaise Diocese in Imo State, has again hit a brick wall, as some priests and laity have refused to obey the Papacy.

The Vatican Secretary of State, Pietro Cardinal Parolin, had in a letter addressed to the laity and clergy in Ahiara Catholic Diocese, urged the people to respect the Papal appointment.

The letter, which was delivered and read by the Papal Envoy, who doubled as the President, Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Peter Cardinal Appiah Turkson, further explained that Turkson was at Mbaise “as a personal delegate of the Pope”.

Addressing the clergy and laity, Cardinal Turkson said: “Sincerely speaking, this drama in Ahiara Diocese would have been taken care of long before now. If the Pope C M Y K

appointed a person your Bishop, the first thing to do was to first accept him and complain later.”

He was not happy that more often than not, people go for healing with already prescribed prescriptions tucked away in their hearts, stressing that this never worked.

“You can’t despise a leader and still expect him to exercise his leadership potentials over your needs You must learn to allow the Holy Father to exercise his office,” the Papal Envoy said.

While calling on the people to respond to the letter from the Secretary of State, the visiting Cardinal also stressed that “the present situation, to me, is a sad one.”

After taking some time to explain how bishops of the Catholic Church were appointed, the Papal Envoy also promised to investigate if due process was followed in the appointment of Bishop Okpalaeke.

“If the Pope calls for another appointment, what is the guarantee that the new

•Archbishop Anthony Obinna, who accompanied the Papal Envoy, Peter Cardinal K. Appiah Turkson. appointment would be accepted? Give due respect to the Pope and then complain later,” the Envoy pleaded.

The pre-arranged drama then played out when the priest, who acted as the Master of Ceremony, called out specific people to speak and shut out the pro-Bishop Okpalaeke group.

Addressing the congregation, Eze Julius Amaefule said what the people wanted was justice,

stressing that there was injustice in the appointment of Bishop Okpalaeke.

“Due process was not taken in the appointment of the Bishop. His Eminence, John Cardinal Onaiyekan came and instead of solving the problem, he scattered the priests. We have seminarians who are due for ordination but he didn’t do it. Those who were due for confirmation were abandoned.

Under no condition shall we

polytechnic towards a successful 2015 UTME”.

Yaro further noted that the computer base examination has recorded a huge success across the nation, adding that candidates by far now preferred it to the old method of pen and pencil especially because of prompt release of results.

Some of the candidates who spoke to newsmen in the school commended JAMB for introducing using the polytechnic as a centre as well as on the need for improvement in some areas.

One of them, Miss Faith Ekweluka said she went for computer training when she learnt that the examination would be CBE based.

receive Okpalaeke in Ahiara Diocese,” Amaefule said.

While Dr. Festus Nguma said the people had in the past two years, rejected Okpalaeke, the Chairman Laity Council, Sir Gerald Anyanwu, said that there were 74 parishes adding that more than 80 per cent of the parishioners were against the appointment of Okpalaeke.

“Something can happen tomorrow and people will turn round and say that Mbaise people have killed him. We do not want him,” Nguma said.

Speaking also, the President of the Catholic Women Organization, CWO, Mrs. Felicia Nwogu, urged the Church to listen to the cry of mothers. “A lot has happened here. The church should listen to the cry of the mothers. We are speaking with one voice.

To bring Bishop Okpalaeke here is to destroy lives,” Nwogu said Speaking on behalf of the clerics, Monsignor Theo Nwalor, commended the Cardinal for coming to deliver the message to Ahiara people.

“You have seen things for yourself. Please go and tell them what you have seen. In April, I will be 50 years as a priest. I have been a format-or all these years. I find it difficult to believe that none of these priests is good enough for the bishopric,” he told the Papal Envoy.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015 —7

ELECTORAL VIOLENCE:

Police, party candidates sign peace pact in Aba

By FELIX OGBONNA

A

BA—THE Police in Abia State and candidates vying for various positions in this year’s general elections have signed an agreement to ensure violence free polls in the state.

Speaking on the occasion, the state Commissioner of Police, Joshak Habila said the police were pressing for the signing of the peace accord because of the early warning signs of trouble following the utterances and body languages of some politicians.

He called on politicians not to see elections as a do or die affair, adding that there must be a winner and loser in every contest.

Habila, who stressed the need for all parties in the electoral process to play by the rules maintained that the police in the state were committed to ensuring violence free polls.

“We are signing this accord to ensure that you play the game according to the rules. We want to ensure that your supporters out there understand your body language. They may not know what you feel about campaigning for this position. Some of them have taken it to the extreme height. Some of them have made it a fight. Some of them are exhibiting a do-or-die attitude when some of you do not wish it to be so. There is an unlimited opportunity for you to meet your supporters, bring them together and tell them that this is not a war but a game. We need to remind politicians of their responsibilities and that they will be held responsible for any act that breaches the peace of the state, “he added.

Habila further reminded politicians that politics should be taken as as a game where there must be winners and losers, stressing election losers today could be winners tomorrow.

He charged politicians to foster cordial relationships among themselves as examples for their followers adding that such would make the elections violence-free.

While commending the police for the initiative, APGA candidate for Aba North/Aba South federal constituency, Mr. Ossy Prestige said the peace accord would only work if political parties and their candidates signed it with sincerity. He alleged that despite the signing of the last accord in Umuahia, some political parties and their supporters are visiting violence on their opponents and called for change of attitude.

•Candidates signing the peace accord.

Change of attitude The APGA candidate urged the police to shun partisanship and enforce the law without fear or favour, for the accord to also work.

In her remarks, the member representing Aba North State Constituency in the Abia State House of Assembly who is seeking re-election, Hon. Blessing Nwagba added that the peace accord was necessary to sustain democracy.

She urged the people to eschew violence and ensure that democracy in Nigeria was sustained promising that her followers would abide by the accord.

While welcoming Habila and politicians to the occasion, the police Area Commander for Aba, Peter Wagbara, an Assistant

•Cross section of participants at the event.

Commissioner of Police, promised that his men would be fair and firm in ensuring that the peace accord was implemented to the letter during the polls.

“On our part as policemen, we would be fair and firm and anybody who tries to foment any trouble would be dealt with. We will allow the law to take its due course without fear or favour,” he said.

The ceremony which held at the Aba Town Hall, witnessed the presence of all security agencies in the state as well as party supporters who accompanied their candidates to the event.

South East Voice gathered that the governorship candidates of all the political parties in the state had a fortnight ago signed a peace accord to ensure violence- free polls in Umuahia.

Stakeholders seek review of prisons standards in Enugu

By AUSTIN OGWUDA

E

NUGU—MARCH 5, 2015, will go down in history of Enugu State as the day stakeholders gathered to deliberate on how best to address some challenging issues bordering on justice delivery as it concerned the welfare of the prisoners and those awaiting trail in various prison formations in the state, courtesy of the Catholic Institute for Development Justice and Peace, CIDJAP. It was a one-day strategy meeting of stakeholders in the Justice and Prisoners Welfare Sector in conjunction CIDJAP. The stakeholders also asked the government to review poor prison conditions to minimum United Nations standards.

Among those in attendance included, the Director of the centre and host, Monsignor (Prof.) Obiora Ike, the Attorney General and the Commissioner for Justice, Enugu State, Anthony Ani, SAN, the Comptroller of Prisons, Enugu, Alloy Uchenwa and representatives from the National Orientation Agency, NOA, and the state Director of Public Prosecution.

It was held at the serene environment of the CIDJAP, at its Ofuobi Africa Centre, Independence Layout, in Enugu. CIDJAP hosted the meeting as part of its 2015 programme.

C M Y K

The meeting was quite shocking and revealing as the stakeholders were mouth agape as startling revelations kept pouring out from the horse’s mouth.

The Enugu State Comptroller of Prisons, Mr. Alloy Uchenwa described the gathering as apt, and harped on the need for such future collaboration.

Said he, “While the present government has demonstrated genuine sympathy and good will towards the prisons service and offenders, inter-sectoral cooperation must be improved upon. This is very necessary so that the expected benefit of imprisonment is released for the overall public safety and security.

“I therefore will want to state that it is time we developed positive attitude towards ex-

convicts because the prisons service cannot do this alone but the larger society will be saving not only a soul but a lot of souls if we heartily welcome, support and rehabilitate discharged inmates”. Apart from the myriad of problems facing smooth operations in Enugu Prisons, the Comptroller reported that education in the prisons had improved within the last four years.

Open university According to him, “In 2011, Enugu Prisons was given approval in principle to establish National Open University of Nigeria, Enugu Prisons Special Centre and recently, one of the inmates graduated from the

university with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution. It is worthy of note that our centre has a population of 51 students including the eight students that were given admission last week.”

The meeting called on all stakeholders to do more in executing their duties and making sure that all cases were speedily dispensed with.

After the deliberation with submissions from the various speakers it came up some recommendations: *Need for a stakeholder synergy with the police where NGOs shall carry out some kind of sensitization for the government to fund police investigations properly *Victims of cases like rape or others wishing to remain

The host, Monsignor Obiora (2nd left), listening to the contributions of the State Commissioner of Police, represented by the Deputy Commissioner Mr. O. A. Oyekunle.

anonymous will achieve redress and counseling for psychological stability, while lawyers’ works will be reduced. *The Office of the DPP to act within a time frame in giving legal opinion- this is already being practiced. More officers should be encouraged to facilitate the delivery of justice. *Need for more infrastructural developments as cells do not meet up to minimum United Nations standard for treatment of prisoners. *The issue of long adjournments - the judges and magistrates should have a time frame to conclude criminal cases in their jurisdiction. *The stringent bail conditions often given should be looked into. This shall encourage de-congesting of the Prisons.

•Cross section of participants during the stakeholders meeting.

8 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

BANKCRUPTCY, ILL HEALTH:

19 rural road contractors die in Imo

By CHINONSO ALOZIE

O

WERRI—RURAL contractors in Imo State have cried out over non/ payment of the huge debt allegedly owed them by state government, lamenting that 19 of their members had already died as a result of illnesses associated with bankruptcy.

They lamented that they were always encouraged to finance contracts given to them through bank loans which led to their being bankrupt as government failed to settle such debt.

A body of contactors under aegis of Unpaid Imo Contractors, U-PIC, told South East Voice that the state government under Chief Rochas Okorocha has not paid its members for the work they had executed to the tune of 180 billion, adding that this had contributed to the death of about 19 of them.

Chairman of U-PIC, Rev Udogadi Ononiwu said that most of the contractors who executed various contracts for the government in 2011 had not been paid, pointing out that this had been impacting negatively on their health.

He said: “The unfortunate attitude of the Imo State government towards some contractors that were legally

given jobs to execute is affecting us negatively. This has lasted from 2011 till date…

The contractors have their genuine and legal documents for the contracts they executed.

The attitude of government officials has become a serious minus for the current administration in the state led

by His Excellency Rochas Okorocha.

“Nineteen members of UPIC, have died as a result of their respective indebtedness in some places including financial institutions.”

Explaining further on their ordeal, Ononiwu said that the Okorocha’s government had requested that all the unpaid contractors should “submit" and “re-submit” their documents to different ministries, including the committee of the state House of Assembly headed by Hon. Stan Dara but nothing substantial has been done about it.

According to Ononiwu, the state government on February 25, this year, made a promise to pay the contractors within four working days but further said that the promise was not kept.

“The government through the Chief of Staff, Jude Ejiogu in the presence of the representative of the Imo State Commissioner of Police, ACP

4.2 km of road done by Virgin Logistics Ltd in Imo State.

•4.2 km of road done by BECOS Integrated Services Ltd

Government through the Chief of Staff, Jude Ejiogu in the presence of the representative of the Imo State Commissioner of Police, ACP Durosinmi, on February 25, promised to pay us our entitlements within four working days

Durosinmi, on February 25, promised to pay us our entitlements within four working days but the efforts has hit the rock. The tenure of this administration will soon end but, till date nothing whatsoever has been heard or done from the side of the state government,” he said.

Mr Emenike Uzor who is one of the unpaid contractors and the Public Relation Officer, PRO, of U-PIC told South East Voice that his company, the Virgin Logistics Limited, completed “Primed a 4.2 kilometre road at Awa, Ndawa in Izombe, Oguta Local

Government Area adding that the contract value was N60 million per kilometre bringing the contract value to N252 million just as Becos Integrated Services Limited said that it has done a 4.2 kilometre road, “Earth Work” completed at Ilele – Oburugo Uwonu-Umube-Umuezeala road in Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of the state without being paid.

Meanwhile the Imo State government has promised through the Chief of Staff Sir, Jude Ejiogu that all the disputes arising from the issues of unpaid contracts in the state would soon be resolved.

Enugu to complete new N13bn secretariat

By FRANCIS IGATA

E

NUGU—THE N13 billion Secretariat for civil servants in Enugu State has reached 80 per cent completion stage. The project started in 2013.

The secretariat being constructed by the ARAB Contractors will accommodate over 30,000 civil servants in the state against the 1,000 capacity of the former secretariat buildings.

The old Secretariat: The former secretariat which was built with burnt bricks during the colonial era was said to have caved in at several areas having become totally dilapidated, outdated and unfit for occupation.

The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State, Mr. Chukwudi Achife told South East C M Y K

Voice that, “the former secretariat was built for the old eastern region with staff strength of 1,000.

“Now, we have over 30,000 staff. You can imagine that the facilities were stretched to a breaking point. The population of civil servants in the state now cannot be compared with what the former secretariat could carry.

“So, we had to build a new secretariat that is befitting of Enugu State as the capital of the South-East geopolitical zone. This new secretariat is being built and furnished with state-of-the arts equipment. It is designed to be an ultramodern facility that will stand the test of time. “It will be equipped with Information Communication Technology, ICT, as it was designed to be a one-stop-shop facility where all ministries will be housed and inter linked through ICT network.

“When completed, it will improve

•The N13 billion new Enugu State Secretariat productivity in the state, reduce man hours spent carrying files from one point to the other. It will also make transactions faster and cost effective.

“Furthermore, staff morale will be

boosted as a result and will remain a monument for the state giving the visionary initiative with which it was built.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015 — 33

34—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

Blessing Okagbare

I

T is political season, but the most un likely of commentators are sheathing their voices, including reigning African queen of the track, Blessing Okagbare, who has denounced the use of her image and footage by a body said to be working for President Goodluck Jonathan without seeking her consent.

Okagbare confirmed her displeasure over the development via Twitter from her base in Los Angeles last week saying, I just wanted to be patient at first, but

my agent is not happy because he thinks I am a woman and very far from home too.

If an advert is being made with my footage and I am not aware of it, it shows how some of my countrymen back home can be so selfish, disrespecting and have no regard for people’s privacy.

Okagbare has been quoted as saying that the Federal Government of Nigeria was not doing enough to support her athletics career saying that the only support she got was from Delta State government.

Seyi Shay

B

REAKING the Nigerian blogosphere was also sensational singer Seyi Shay, whose dress has been accused of causing Mr. President too much discomfort. Seyi Shay’s incredibly short dress and her sitting proximity with President Goodluck Jonathan became one of the most-discussed episodes of last week’s ‘Meet The President’ event in Lagos.

The accused has finally broken the silence and explained that she had two outfits for the evening. The dress that got everybody talking was the one she wore to perform. She debunked seduction allegations.

I am a very respectable young

lady. I came on stage and greeted everyone according to their culture and I did the same for Mr. President. He was impressed and he asked where and how I knew how to greet in his native dialect and I said I learnt it. That was what brought about the giggling and smiles in the picture, she said.

A commentator says, Seyi Shay will have mouth to slander Amber Rose but will dress like a nuisance to a meeting with the President. Another differs: If we are actually the progressives we claim to be, we shouldn’t be talking about what Seyi Shay wore at all... Way too many issues.

Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula

T

HE South African Minister for Defence, Nosiviwe MapisaNqakula, has expressed her concern over South African nationals who may have been recruited as mercenaries in Nigeria to fight against Boko Haram.

The Minister told the BBC that anyone suspected of fighting in Nigeria would be investigated by South African police and added that no serving members of South Africa’s armed forces were in Nigeria as it is against the law for South Africans to fight overseas for private gain.

Nigeria has recently bought helicopter gunships and tanks from South Africa and former Soviet Union countries but the South African government says the men may be involved in fighting.

The presence of South African mercenaries was first reported by a South African newspaper in January, and speculation intensified after a photograph circulated on Twitter last week showing a white man in a khaki T-shirt and body armour, next to a heavy-calibre machine gun in Maiduguri, Nigeria.

Viola Davis

T

HE two-time Oscar nominee (The Help and Doubt) has kept many of the harrowing details of her childhood to herself. That changed last year, when she realized she could do something for the nearly 17 million kids in America who are hungry. She could tell her story, and she could fight for change at the same time.

It is on this account that she has trended around the globe in the last week.

Born 49 years ago, on a former slave plantation, Davis grew up with five siblings. She’d huddle with her sisters on a top bunk, where they’d wrap bedsheets around their necks to protect themselves from bites.

But even harder to bear than the vermin was hunger—ever present and completely preoccupying. “I was always so hungry and ashamed, I couldn’t tap into my potential. I couldn’t get at the business of being me.”

But somehow she did: After discovering her love of acting in high school, she earned scholarships to study theatre and the rest is history.

So far, Davis has helped raise over $4.5 million for Hunger.

“This is the richest country in the world. There’s no reason kids should be going to school hungry.

Food is something that everyone should have.

Tonto Dike Ekaette Godswill Akpabio

A

PHOTO has appeared on the Nigerian blogosphere of Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Works, Engr. Don Etim kneeling before the First Lady of Akwa Ibom State, Mrs. Ekaette Unoma Godswill Akpabio at an event recently.

According to commentators, some may say he’s not really kneeling, just having a close conversation but there are several empty seats beside the First Lady that commissioner Etim could have sat on to speak with her.

Apparently, the picture is making a lot of people from the state really mad, hence the sharing.

C M Y K

A

NOTHER photo that is making waves in our cyberspace is one that had been thought to be that of controversial Nollywood A-lister Tonto Dike, until the actress herself said it was that of her late mother- at the same age.

Tonto Dikeh took to twitter a few days ago in remembrance of her late mum who passed on many years ago while the actress was still a little girl. Now we know where Tonto got her looks from. Blogosphere is wowing over the uncanny resemblance.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015 — 35

Our product makes a difference — Toyin Nwaokolo

By Anino Aganbi

H

OW did you start your business?

Well, it started when I was in school. I had the flair for years. I had a small joint where I could do chicken and make moimoi too. That was during my second year in the university. Prior to that, I lived with my aunt; her daughter used to make cake so I picked that interest along the way.

I enjoyed it though it was not that comfortable as we always had quarrels and disagreements.

Before I got into the university, I was at Yabatech doing my OND. In between that, I was doing cakes and other confectionaries for people. During the period of my stay with my aunty, the flair for baking grew.

There was an incident where one of her customers whose wedding cake she had baked came back for a repeat job but this time around it was for her child’s first birthday. I took the job because my cousin had travelled. When my aunty got back, I told her what happened.

Baking the cake She insisted I refunded the money to avoid ruining the cake but I insisted that I could do it. It took a while but I succeeded in baking the cake which turned out beautifully. I wanted to stop school because of true flair I had in baking to which my aunty refused.

I had made up my mind to go fully into catering instead of going back to school. At the point I got admitted into the University, I was doing a bit of catering alongside my studies. I shuttled between Lagos and Ado -Ekiti until I realized I needed to have something stable in Lagos to enable me earn more income.

I partnered with a friend to run a barbecue business during my school days, after which I didn’t continue upon graduating from the University. During my service year, I still catered for friends.

It was something that grew in me and I kept it up.

I tried working after service but it just wasn’t in me. This prompted me to start my own business because the baking and cooking aspect was still burning in me. I still do food but the bakery which will be four years in August takes C M Y K

e might b s s o b ur own n you eing yo ook easy whe ut it ,b ol made t ide looking in ike a L s t seem. the ou y a m t s i are on asy as en, Mr e m s o a t w o s is n ines e her bus is one of thos t o f o s t lo the odd okolo t a a w e b N o set t Toyin ss. ho are w n busine re e r m e h wo o t ed whe t comes when i ation to succe as made in edh Determ ght have fail ness even i mi her bus others n i m r i nd f tates her sta economy dic th wi he when t er chat h n I . e is re. otherw , she tells mo rd Vangua

B

up more of my time.

What was starting Tantis like?

That name is an abbreviation of my son’s name. Before we could start, we had made some blunders about the equipments and others. We had to sit back for some months while the rent was running. We kicked up production soon after. It has been very rough, with a lot of sacrifices made to keep the business afloat.

At first, the landlord demanded for ten years rent upfront, but when he saw I was a young woman starting up, he suggested five years which I still could not afford.

•Toyin Nwaokolo loans running at the bank but it is still not enough. The business will keep running if there is a constant flow of cash.

How do you move your products into the market?

Right now, we basically have walk in customers. We also have distributors. In instances where we have dissatisfied customers, we try to provide solutions and

Keeping business afloat He finally agreed on three years rent age after much appeal.

I was able to pay the rent with the support of my husband. After some time the bakery picked up. It has been a struggle but we give God the glory.

What has been the most interesting part of running your business?

I have ample time. I have time for my children and my home. I also have time to do other things.

It is a little bit difficult when it comes to staffing, but God has been faithful.

What challenges have you experienced as a business woman?

Financial constraint takes the top of the list. When it comes to production line, you need money to work. Lack of electricity makes you run on diesel more often. You need to pay cash for all the ingredients needed. I have some

make them understand. There are certain stages the bread has to go through before it can be sliced and sent out to the market.

Customers also come in from different areas because they like our product. We were distributing to supermarkets and schools but had to stop due to various reasons.

What is it like competing with other bakeries in your area?

They have their own niche and I have mine. I have been having series of testimonies about my products to the extent that some people who have moved out of the area still come all the way back to purchase from my bakery.

Purchase from bakery

We kicked up production soon after. It has been very rough, with a lot of sacrifices made to keep the business afloat

I am very particular about making soft bread because I don’t like heavy bread or bread that brings out crumbs. It has to be very soft and fluffy.

Given the opportunity of making changes, what would you change business wise?

I would love to do restructuring and turn the bakery into an automated one. That way, you won’t have to use your hand to do the molding. When it’s automated, it’s from the mixer to the molder and other things.

Should the government be blamed for the rise and fall of SMEs? Not particularly, but we can probably split it fifty-fifty in the

sense that electricity can make SMEs collapse. What you spend on diesel and fuel is enough to fail the business. It discourages you from continuing your business. Government should also be able to stabilise prices. There is a union but it doesn’t work for everybody. With the increase of things in the market, you cannot increase your product price because if you increase and the others haven’t, nobody will buy your product.

Payment of tax.......

We are double taxed. I have a case of consumption tax. I was given a fine of a million on consumption tax and I keep asking what I am consuming.

They might as well ask those in the open markets to pay consumption task. I pay what I can afford every month. Every month, I am being asked to pay 5% from what I sell. This is a product that I distributes the money it earns on wrapper, manpower, production and other things, and I am still expected to pay 5% of whatever I earn asconsumption tax. I run a bakery and not a hotel or eatery where you would expect there is so much inflow of money.

Three are different taxes beening levied at the federal and state levels.All of these I endeavor to pay. After payment of salaries, I use my discretion to pay for all other taxes. If I keep paying 5% on all the taxes levied out, there will be nothing left to run my business with.

36—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

nation. The Uvwiamuge Declaration says if PDP does not give us its governorship flag at its primary, any other major party that gives us its governorship flag at its primary is the party that we will vote for at the governorship election.

It was open to all major political parties, including the Labour Party.

So when PDP failed to give us, both APC and Labour Party gave theirs to us. However we must not field two candidates against one from Delta North for fear of losing the election, so Urhobo had to adopt one out of the two and it endorsed Chief Great Ogboru of the Labour Party.

General interest

•Omene: UPU is intact, it is not divided

Delta’s next gov'll be Urhobo — Omene, UPU president CHIEF Joseph Omene, a Civil Engineer, is the President General of Urhobo Progress Union, UPU, the apex Urhobo socio cultural body. In this interview he speaks on the chances of an Urhobo man winning the 2015 governorship election in Delta State and other burning issues in the Nation’s politics. Excepts:

By Godwin Oghre

W

HAT is your reaction to the calls for your resignation arising from the division in the body?

UPU is intact, it is not divided. We only experienced some dissent views from some unscrupulous elements in the executive committee and they were made up of four assistants to major office holders and they are neither qualified nor form a quorum to take decisions for us.

When they became intransigent, we suspended them indefinitely and they are currently on their own, but UPU remains intact. They are the ones calling for my removal. In fact they went further that they have

removed me but that is not true.

They must be disregarded because, firstly, they were mere assistants to major office holders and secondly, they do not form a quorum to constitute a legally valid meeting of UPU. They are renegades while I remain the President General of UPU worldwide.

Are you in a position to give reason(s) that led to the emergence of opposition group in your executive committee?

The opposition folks were the same people who also did their best to destroy the immediate past executive committee, led by the late Gen. (rtd) Patrick Aziza. They could not succeed. Now they are trying to destroy my leadership but they have

also failed. They are spurred by greed and selfishness instead of the interest of the Urhobo nation.

I have adequate evidence to prove that they are being sponsored to destroy UPU and the 2015 agenda of the Urhobo nation but they will fail. They have a different agenda to foist the APC governorship candidate on Urhobo nation rather than Chief Great Ogboru of the Labour Party that the Urhobo nation collectively endorsed for the position. It is the same person they want to foist on us that is financing their activities.

Was the Uvwiamuge Declaration only directed to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and the All Progressives Congress, APC? Some say that it did not factor in any other party?

Don’t forget that it was the leadership of UPU that formulated the Uvwiamuge Declaration before it made it known to the Urhobo

We asked O’tega Emerhor of APC to step down for him and work with him for the general interest of the Urhobo nation, but he refused. I must point out that he is entitled to his right to contest the election irrespective of whether Urhobo like it or not. What he should not do is sponsoring the destruction of UPU by funding some reckless dissidents to fight it. This is where he regrettably steps beyond the bounds.

What were the criteria used by the Urhobo Nation to endorse Chief Great Ogboru instead of O’tega Emerhor?

Urhobo looked into the area of popularity, general acceptability and formidability across the state. Each of the segments of the Urhobo nation, I mean the youths, women, men, elders, the Ivies (Kings), and the clergy conducted voting among them and in each segment, Chief Ogboru won a resounding victory,

The chances of the Urhobos producing the next governor of the state are very bright. When we get to the bridge we shall cross it

that was why he was endorsed by them.

O’tega however defied all entreaties to work with him and the Urhobo nation, and this has never happened in Urhobo land, despite that history is replete with several such cases and, I want to emphasise that this is saddening.

Has UPU attempted to reconcile Chief Great Ogboru and Olorogun O’tega?

Yes and like I said before, history is replete in Urhobo land where the peoples’ wishes were considered as sacrosanct and highly adored and respected by several billionaires of Urhobo extraction who have at one time or the other ventured into politics. None of them had betrayed the Urhobos.

O’tega is the only Urhobo man who has done that, yet we made countless efforts to make him understand the need for him to cooperate with the Urhobo nation, to no avail. He rejected all entreaties to be in a good working relationship with Ogboru.

Good working relationship Too bad. He forgot that when Urhobo had no governorship aspirant from any other party except PDP, when we searching for governorship aspirants from other political parties, he was nowhere to be found.

Ogboru of the Labour Party came to us first. It was long after that before he came to us.

What about some of the Urhobo people that make up the political class that the Urhobo nation has sanctioned, what is the current position of things?

They remain sanctioned by the Urhobo Nation. All of them whose names we have published already remain sanctioned. Their sanctions remain valid.

What are the chances of an Urhobo winning the governorship?

Yes, the chances of the Urhobos producing the next governor of the state are very bright. When we get to the bridge we shall cross it.

The Urhobo have opted to vote for President Jonathan and not Buhari, what were the criteria for arriving at that decision?

Mr President is our brother. He is one of us. Besides, he is yet to complete some of the laudable projects he started and he should be there again to enable him finish up them. Above all he has convinced us that he would correct the marginalization against the Urhobos at the federal level.

We shall vote for him and no going back on that, just as we shall vote for Chief great Ogboru of the Labour Party at the governorship election in Delta state and there is no going back on that as well.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015—37

DELTA: Okowa is the man for Urhobo and all tribes — Prof Oyovbaire PROF. Sam Oyovbaire, a former Minister of Information is the Chairman, Delta State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship campaign organisation. In this interview, he explains why the PDP governorship candidate in the state, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa is getting robust support among the various ethnic groups in the state.

By Charles Kumolu

W

HAT is your assessment of the campaign so far?

I want to personally commend the state governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, who created a level playing ground and above all, accepted the result of the primaries with such a speed which beats the imagination against the background upon which the primaries was held.

I won’t be tired of saying this because if he had not demonstrated such high level maturity and democratic tendencies, we would have experienced in Delta State some of the bad experiences in other states.

with its Uvwiamuge Declaration. The UPU is like what we call super-structure in politics. The sub-structure, which is the electorate, in Urhobo is highly attached to

Stronger party

•Oyovbaire: Okowa is the best material for governor

Secondly, he immediately swung into action by bringing all the contestants together and as we speak today, we have a more united, stronger party than before. The worst is that we have two or so people who decided to go down a little bit to contest lower offices in other parties and not the governorship of the state.

So, against that background the campaign organisation came out very peacefully and successfully to the acclamation of all Deltans from the flag off at Oghara to Koko and the height of them all, Owa Oyibu, which is understandable because it is Senator Ifeanyi Okowa’s local government area through to Warri.

On the whole it has been a very successful campaign, so far so good. The height of it all was the presidential rally here in Asaba, which also marked the end of all the campaign across the 25 local government areas.

What are the chances of your candidate in the Delta Central Senatorial District?

I have this strong feeling that the Urhobo attachment to Okowa is higher than that of the Anioma. Of course that of Anioma is understandable.

The much that I know is that even when the UPU came out

Okowa.

And I can tell you that the Uvwiamuge Declaration has become significant because it helped to swing the whole process in Okowa’s favour when Olorogun David Edevwie emerged only 48 hours to the primaries. And why did it happen like that?

The answer is simple.

He is a good man as an individual and the fact that he

I can tell you categorically that Urhobo nationality, will vote massively for Dr. Okowa

is a grassroots person, he is trusted and he is liked by the people. He has been around for a while. The UPU represents a super-structure of Urhobo politics. And it does not hold the sub-structure. I can tell you categorically that Urhobo nationality will vote massively for Dr. Okowa.

candidates in the coming election?

I just told you that he is a good man. According to the Greek philosophers, virtue, which is goodness, is an invaluable asset and he has it in abundance.

He has gone around telling everybody that I am for Delta State as a whole and will not be an Anioma governor alone.

He has said it everywhere that he wants to govern and lead all Deltans, by the grace of God, irrespective of where you come from. That is the man, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa. And without unduly talking about myself, I can tell you that I have never related to and with people who are bad.

I get close to people in my own knowledge and definition of who they are and God has been good to me in that I have never chosen or associated with people who are bad. It is God’s doing.

What would be your advice to Deltans as they go into the polls on April 11?

The first thing I want Deltans to know is that as of today, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa is obviously the best material for the governor of the state.

There were over 20 aspirants, who were qualified in their own right, but the best material today for the state is Senator Okowa. Let us not make any mistake about it, yesterday is gone, and tomorrow is yet to come.

But for the moment, for today, the best material is Senator Okowa. So, I plead with all Deltans, get your voters card, come out and vote massively for Senator Okowa. Okowa, to me, will be the governor who will provide equity, fairness, and justice to all Deltans.

What do you think stands him out from the rest

POLLS: Plateau stakeholders search for elusive peace

By Marie-Therese Nanlong

P

LATEAU State in the past few years has witnessed series of violent crises with some of traceable to the 2015 general polls.

Residents of Jos, the state capital are still recalling the horror that was visited on the city after the November, 2008 local council election as well as the tension the 2011 general elections generated.

As the country gets set for another general elections beginning on March 28, many stakeholders including individuals, groups, government and non-governmental agencies are making efforts to ensure peace

during and after the polls.

Various seminars, workshops and rallies among other things are being held to sensitize residents on the need to maintain and improve on the fragile peace being experienced in the state.

Among those holding such activities is the Institute of Governance and Social Research, IGSR, which organized the second early warning and early response workshop for 300 youths in the six crises-prone local councils in the Plateau North Senatorial Zone.

Similarly, the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists, NAWOJ, organized a seminar for women of the

Christian and Muslim faiths urging them to appeal to their husband and children to eschew any act that could encourage breach of peace in the state.

Workers in Plateau State also said they are ready to work with critical stakeholders to contribute to peaceful and credible elections and urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, not to disenfranchise them through non-availability of the Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs).

The workers, at a workshop organized by the Centre for Labour Studies and Advocacy, CLASA in collaboration with the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and the

Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees, AUPCTRE for federal and Plateau State government workers stated that they will be peaceful.

The Pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere also held series of meetings for Yoruba residents not only in Plateau state but also the other 18 northern states to sensitize them on the need to ensure peace during and after the elections.

Security agencies like the Police, Special Task Force, STF keeping peace in the state, political parties among others are

Continues from page 38

38—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

CREDIBLE POLLS: How PDP is battling INEC

T

By Henry Umoru

HE ruling party is putting the Election Management Body on the defensivec through one of its offshoot groups. The PDP Integrity Vanguard is one of the numerous offshoots of the Peoples Democratic Party. Its own agenda, however, has been to advocate that the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC must do the right thing and conduct for Nigeria, free, fair and credible elections.

The body has the pioneer National Publicity Secretary, a delegate to the 2014 National Conference, Senator Aniete Okon as its National Coordinator, with another delegate , Chief Sergeant Awuse, and others as members.

The body has in recent weeks through the print and electronic media been drawing attention to some observed anomalies and proposed plans by the Professor Attahiru Jega led INEC.

Election management When the election management body planned to create 30,000 polling units, allegedly disproportionately allotted to the North, the group was vociferous in denouncing the move and helped to abort the plan. Having achieved that, the PDP Integrity Vanguard did not rest on its oars, it continued with the fight, this time, it was about plans by Jega to introduce the Incident Form and Special Voting points.

According to Okon and Sergeant Awuse, the “Incident

•Jega: Under PDP fire Form” by INEC will allow persons who might not be able to vote due to some technical faults from the card readers machine, just as they said that the new method portends grave danger and would cause confusion in the country and described as unacceptable the introduction of “voting points” and Incidence forms.

The group while noting that Jega was introducing these through the backdoor having jettisoned the planned creation of 30,000 polling units, said, “The introduction by INEC of socalled “voting points” as INEC’s action is obviously intended to surreptitiously circumvent National Assembly’s express position on the matter.”

We believe it is the clandestine way Prof. Jega hopes to achieve his original intention of using them to generate the tie-breaking

bank of votes and must not be allowed. Why has Jega now reintroduced these polling units through the backdoor by creating what he now calls “voting points.” Where are these special voting points located and why is Jaga keeping the matter under the table?

The group was also in the forefront in pressing Jega on the distribution of the Permanent Voters Card, PVCs and was quick to fault the chairman’s excuse that the postponement of the election from February 14 was because of security challenges in the Northeast. In the view of the group, Jega was not prepared.

Senator Okon and his group have also expressed concerns about the planned use of cards reader stressing doubts about its application and success against the backdrop that INEC had not experimented with it anywhere in the country.

POLLS: Plateau stakeholders search for elusive peace Continues from page 37 preparing their officers and men for hitch-free elections.

For the IGSR, youths are vital stakeholders in peace-building process and critical agents of peace as they can mobilize people against violence in communities.

In his remark at the event, the President of IGSR, Prof. Elias Isawa-Elaigwu, represented by Mr. Celestine Ukatu said “IGSR has trained over 5,000 youths through its series of orientation camps and these youths are now Peace Ambassadors.

“As part of output of providing platform for youth interaction and building peace agents, IGSR in collaboration with Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation Programme, NSRP and the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development, DFID is organizing this early warning seminar.

“The seminar is for 300 youths

drawn from Jos North, Jos South, Jos East, Bassa, Barkin Ladi and Riyom local government areas.

The aim of this seminar is to develop the capacity of the youths ambassadors in conflict early warning and response

The Commission was also charged to buckle up and block all loopholes which could scuttle credible, fair and peaceful elections

system.

“It is to extract development at grass-roots level and we hope this workshop will also help the youths to update knowledge and share information among them.

These youths, we believe, will work individually and collectively to prevent conflict in communities.”

However, addressing the workers drawn from the federal and Plateau state government Ministries, Department and Agencies, MDAs, the Executive Director of CLASA, Comrade John Odah, said the 2015 general elections have generated unprecedented passion hence the need for every stakeholder to exercise caution.

According to Odah, who was represented by Comrade Ona Iduh: “The general elections have generated unprecedented passion, interest and tension among political actors and citizens alike."

•Voters cards

If your PVC is damaged W

HAT can a person do if his/her voter’s card is lost or damaged?

You apply in person to the Electoral Officer of your LGA/Area Council for a replacement of the lost/damaged voter’s card. This must be done not later than thirty 30 days before the election. You will be required to pay a processing fee.

Can a person have more than one voter card?

Ans. No. You can only have one valid voter card at a time. During transfer or replacement of damaged voter’s card, the old one will be retrieved from you before a new one is issued. A voter whose card is lost or damaged will be issued a voter’s card with DUPLICATE written on it.

Under what conditions can a voter’s registration be transferred from one point to another?

Ans. Relocation to another constituency. Where the voter now resides in another constituency/unit and has applied for transfer on time i.e. more than thirty (30) days to the election.

Is it possible to transfer a voter’s registration from one state to another or one area within a state to another?

Yes, through the following steps: Apply to INEC more than 30 days before election.

Application for transfer Write an application for transfer to the Resident Electoral Commissioner through the Electoral Officer of your LGA/Area Council (your present location where you want to be transferred to). Your original voter’s card must be attached to the application if it is InterState Transfer; or Go to the online address below for a guide on transfer of registered voters: http://www.inecnigeria.org/ ?page_id=2051;or Call 07098117563, 07098110916.

How long does it take for the Commission to process application for transfer?

It will take a maximum of seven (7) days. The Electoral Officer will get in touch with the applicant when the process is completed for collection of his/her voter’s card.

After a person’s registration has been transferred, can he/she still vote in his/her former Polling Unit?

No. After the transfer, the name will be deleted from the list of the former constituency. You can only vote in your new constituency.

If an applicant who registered in Lagos wants to be involved in electing the governor in his/her home state, can he/she use his/her voter’s card for that purpose?

No. Unless he/she transfers his/her registration details to his/her state and is issued another voter’s card to that effect. Voters are only permitted by law to vote at polling units where they were registered and their names displayed.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015 —39

NAFDAC takes war against fake products to SMEs T

By Chioma Obinna

HE war against counterfeiting products took centre stage last week when the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control and Control Product Registration Outreach (NaPRO) for SMEs, in collaboration with Covenant Capital organised an enlightenment seminar and hands-on guide on the registration of regulated products. Participants at the one – day seminar organised for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, SMEs, x-rayed the dangers of counterfeiting and its negative impact on lives and the economy of the country.

In her lecture entitled: “The Essence of Regulation”, the Director, Registration and Regulatory Affairs, NAFDAC, Dr. Monica Hemben Eimunjeze, identified counterfeiting as a major challenge faced by regulatory Agencies around the world.

According to her, a data by the World Health organisation, WHO, has it that, less than 1 percent of products in Wealthy economies are said to be counterfeit, of which 50 percent of these are from internet sales; in emerging economies, it is 10 percent; while developing world has about 30 percent counterfeits.

In an economy as Nigeria’s, where SMEs are said to be the mainstay, aided by factors such as it being: a developing country, with a large population of 167 million, having a good market size, but low local production capacity, good buying power as oil producer, and vast and porous borders, the resulting effect may be adverse. And this explains why the agency is working tooth and nail to ensure that no NAFDAC Regulated

products shall be manufactured, imported, exported, distributed, advertised, sold or used except it is registered in accordance with the provisions of this decree.

Eimunjeze, said ensuring that NAFDAC regulated products were duly registered was a step to protecting public health by ensuring that only quality regulated products that are safe, efficacious, and wholesome, reach the market and ultimately the consuming public.

She explained that with this type of outreach, intending businesses owners will have a one-on-one chat with NAFDAC officials outside the office setting, aimed at allaying their fears.

Earlier in his opening remarks, the Senior Pastor, Covenant Christian Centre – Pastor Poju Oyemade, said the church was collaborating with NAFDAC for the sole purpose of bridging the knowledge gap among SMEs regarding the proper registration and regulation of food and drug related products in Nigeria. “We believe this is a major step to reducing the economic wastage that comes from counterfeit and harmful products; thereby unlocking greater wealth in the nation.”

Between 2012 and 2014, NAFDAC is reported to have destroyed over N2 billion worth of counterfeit products – foods and drugs, among others.

From left: Mr Obinna Ukachukwu, HOD Convenant Capital; Dr Monica Hemben Eimunjeze, Director, Registration and Regulatory Affairs, NAFDAC; Pastor Poju Oyemade, Senior Pastor, Convenant Christian Centre; Mrs Elizabeth Awagwu, NAFDAC and Rametu Momodu, Deputy Director , NAFDAC during an enlightment seminar for SMEs product registration in Lagos. Photo: Biodun Ogunleye

Nigerian Pathologist elected President of AMAGE

A

Nigerian Pathologist, Professor Olusegun Ojo, has been elected President of the Africa-Middle East Association of Gastroenterology, AMAGE, at the association’s 7th Congress, which took place in Cairo earlier this month. AMAGE is one of the four regional bodies that together constituents the World Gastroenterology Organisation, WGO, the global body of researchers doctors who specialise in the investigation and treatment of diseases of the digestive tract and the liver.

Professor Ojo is a lecturer at the Obafemi Awolowo University and Consultant Pathologist at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, both at Ile-Ife. AMAGE is a conglomerate of National Associations of Gastroenterologists in Africa and the Middle East. Until last year, Professor Ojo was the President of the Society of Gasroenterology and Hepatology in Nigeria, SOGHIN. It would be recalled that an international Conference of AMAGE, THE 6th AMAGE Congress, was hosted by SOGHIN in Tinapa, Calabar in November 2012.

In his new role, Professor Olusegun Ojo will oversee the activities of the regional body and work in conjunction with the WGO in elevating the standards of Gastroenterology practice as well as see to the training of more experts in the field in Africa and the Middle East.

Occupational therapy: What’s that?

I

saw a patient a few days ago with back pain radiating down her left leg.

The pain was a tingling ache with flashes of “electricity”.

Her initial treatment had produced some good results. However barely two weeks later the pain had returned and she was requesting a repeat.

I decided to dig a bit deeper into her occupation.

She was the PA to a corporate executive and her work involved a lot of sitting, standing and walking ( with high heels ) on polished marble floors.

After a few more questions, most of which she must have thought were insignificant, I leaned back and mumbled to myself “ need OT “.

“What’s OT?” She had heard me.

“Occupational therapy,” I said. “We need to make adjustments to your person, your daily tasks and your work environment.”

She looked puzzled. “But the injection helped.”

“Yes and no,” I said. “The injection gave relief indeed, but your work environment is aggravating the progress.”

What do Occupational Therapists do?

They work with people who have been injured on the job or who are trying to return to work.

They task you on what is interfering with your ability to do what you want to do and when you want to do it.

They focus on MEANINGFUL and PURPOSEFUL activities that are often limited by pain.

An OT intervention can be as simple as teaching people who have back problems to put their shoes on. This may involve adaptive equipment or assistive

technology, or a simple solution such as a long shoehorn or elastic shoe laces!

Some of the successes in occupational therapy rests in its common sense simplicity.

Some people have back pain when they brush their teeth. Opening the door under the sink and putting a foot on the ledge might relieve the pressure in the lower back.

Most chairs are uncomfortable. A chair may need adaptation; whether its an office chair to work at a computer or a lounge chair to watch television at home.

Sometimes it is that pair of trendy flat shoes or designer slippers with no solid support causing your knee and low back pain.

A lot of times people complain of pain when in bed. Often it turns out that they sleeping on their stomachs or their backs, or they are sleeping in positions unhelpful for them.

Someuseful tips Break down tasks and pace yourself.

Figure out how to move things without carrying them.

Store things at or close to where you need or use them.

In choosing or using a car, look at how to get in and out of it and how low it is to the ground. It might be a fancy sports car but you won’t look sexy if you can’t get out of it!

Overall you need to know what movements and positions cause you pain and then look at what you can do to stop them.

doctor@lagospainclinic.com In the Office You want to consider the height of your computer.

The continuous bending and flexing of your neck to see the screen may affect your neck and back.

Also do adjust your adjustable chairs.

Take breaks when working long stretches at the computer.

Let your office ergonomics serve YOU, not the other way round.

If something hurts, don’t do it. “No pain, no gain” is not for everyday things in life and office.

Quality of life depends on a person’s ability to do the things he or she wants to do, when he or she wants to do them.

I read an article in the Vanguard a couple of years ago which stated that there was (then) probably about 15 occupational therapists in Nigeria.

And the writer was concerned that some may have left for greener pastures abroad.

When I was an Associate Professor at the Medical College of Georgia (now Georgia Regents University) in the golf city of Augusta in the USA, I met a young Nigerian training to be an Occupational therapist. I did all I could to encourage him in his career path, and to return home. He has most likely finished his training now.

Oh, how much we need him here.......

40— VANGU ARD, ANGUARD,

WEDNESD AY, MARCH 18, 2015 WEDNESDA

He's a bit rough in the bedroom

My husband swears he’s not gay Dear Bunmi, know my husband was not that keen on sex when we got married seven years ago.

Even with marriage our love making has never been amazingly passionate or regular. I'd put this down to his being upright sexually, physically and emotionally due to his upbringing by a domineering father.

Nine times put of ten, I’m the one who suggests making love, and the response is always lukewarm.

Before we married, I suspected my husband was gay. I confronted him and told him not to marry me if he was, as it would be cruel and unforgivable. I said I could put up with a less than normal love life (say, once a week) as long as I knew he genuinely loved and was straight. He told me he was absolutely straight and that we would continue to make love once a week. We now have a lovely child, and we make love once every five to six weeks and there’s no real kissing or affection in the interim. I am feeling really low about it and can’t seem to get it out of my head that he’s gay, though there is no evidence he’s seeing anyone else.

I’ve asked him to get some help but he insisted there’s nothing wrong with him. I have recently asked him again if he is homosexual and he angrily denied it, telling me I was insulting him. I am so confused and unhappy. We are good friends in most other areas of our marriage. Should I insist he gets professional help? I don’t know what else to do.

Jessica, By e-mail.

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Dear Jessica, There are no conclusive reasons in your letter that your husband is gay. You’re obviously basing your conclusion on the fact that he has a lower libido than you and that he’s become less enthusiastic about love making as the marriage progresses.

Neither of these things remotely suggests to me that he’s secretly lusting after a man.

What could be happening here is that branding him ‘gay’ is a convenient way of making yourself blameless in what is happening to your marriage.

As with most marital problems, the fault is never one sided.

You said your husband had a domineering father and difficult upbringing. This means that, from a very young age, he has been taught to

suppress his sexual feelings.

The highest libido would have been dampened in these circumstances. This is a far more likely reason to explain why he wasn’t keen on regular sex before you married. Instead of encouraging him to open up sexually and helping him explore how good sex can be, you accused him of being gay!

To be honest, I’m surprised he could muster an erection once a week, let alone be enthusiastic about it. There are tons of gay men out there of course, but being told you are something you’re not is insulting. The regularity of love making inevitably decreases over time even in good, sexually active marriages, unless both people put a lot of effort into keeping lust alive.

No wonder your love making has dropped to once every five or six weeks because I suspect you’ve been making your

husband feel worse about sex for not wanting it! Instead of forcing him to seek professional help, try a complete shift in your attitude. Let go of this silly idea that he’s gay, unless there’s real evidence. Instead of attacking him, try being kind, affectionate and supportive.

You say there’s no affection or kissing, so you be the one to instigate it. Sit him down and tell him you love him and miss cuddling him. Tell him you’re sorry for accusing him of all sorts but would really like to explore sex together because you want both of you to be happy. Start by doing things together like taking a bath, sleeping snuggled up, holding hands on the sofa. We all respond better to encouragement than threats and I’m sure you’ll be pleasantly surprised where this might lead you.

Sit him down and tell him you love him and miss cuddling him. Tell him you’re sorry for accusing him of all sorts but would really like to explore sex together because you want both of you to be happy

She had her eyes on my man Dear Bunmi, I've just been kicked in the teeth by a good friend of mine.

I ran into her in a restaurant I went to with my new boyfriend. Since she was sitting alone, we joined her and I made the rieceslary introductions. A few days later, she phoned for a chat and casually asked if I was an item with the man she saw me with.

I told her he was only a casual aquaintance since I didn’t want any of my friends to know him yet.

You can then imagine how shocked I was when she phoned again and said I should speak to a mutual friend and it was this man! I asked what he was doing with my friend he simply gave the phone back to her.

Since I did not reveal the fact that I was interested in the man to her, I couldn’t accuse her of snatching him. But I felt betrayed by this man and it

hurts to think I'll now have to brace myself when I see both of them together socially.

Tundun By e-mail.

Dear Tudun, Your so-called man was obviously flattered by your friend's interest in him whilst you were still dragging your feet. This shows that flaying hard to get backfires at times.

In fairness to your friend, she did ask you what the relationship was between you two and you gave her the signal she needed when you denied any romantic interest in him. She’s obviously a clever rogue who must have told the man what you said and he definitely preferred her to you!

I would cut my losses if I were you and put on a brave front when you run into them. Don’t worry, you’ll soon get over this betrayal and find someone you could relate to again.

Dear Bunmi, I love making love with my husband but he’s not very good at picking up on what I like and don’t like in bed.

He’s great at oral love making but he only does it for about two minutes and then moves on to intercourse. I moan a lot during oral sex and try to sort of hold his head there for longer with my hands but he doesn’t seem to pick up on the hint at all.

He’s also too rough when he touches me. I've tried pushing his hands away to let him know this but he doesn’t pay any attention to that either. I’m too shy to come right out and say what I want and don’t want but I’m starting to feel resentful about him missing all the signals I'm sending him. What should I do?

Molly, By e-mail.

Dear Molly,

There are loads of men who don’t listen when their partners tell them they hate being touched roughly in some particular places of their anatomy - an indicator why some of these relationships fail. Such men are too selfabsorbed to pay attention to anyone’s needs but their own.

But before you go screaming at him you’ve got to make sure you've been as clear as you think you can be.

You said you don’t want to voice your needs, but I don’t think you have a choice here.

It’s easy to do. The next time he’s giving you oral sex simply say, “Honey, that feels fantastic! Can you do it for longer this time?” If he’s touching you too roughly, say, “Could you be a bit gentler? I love you when you touch me really tenderly.” None of these comments are critical, they’re encouraging so he’s unlikely to take offence.

My neighbour’s turned antagonistic Dear Bunmi, A couple of years ago, a distant acquaintance moved into the street I currently live in. At first we got on fine and went in and out of eaeh other’s flats - we’re both single parents. In the last few months she has grown more and more manipulative. She analyses my other fiiends and tells me what she thinks of them. She doesn't like the way I decorate my flat and has her view on my clothes. The last straw was when she commented that it didn’t look as if my husband and I were happy together when, as a matter of fact, he’s the best thing that’s happened to me for ages.

The question is how can I live my life as I want without her sticking her nose in all the time?

Felicia, Akoka.

Dear Felicia,

You have to put your foot down here. Pluck up the courage to stand firm and fight back. Next time your nosy neighbour says anything you disagree with, just say no.

Good pointers are: “No, I’m sorry, I’m not going to do that”; “I don’t agree”; or “I would really like you to stop saying that.’

There’s no need to get angry or upset. But, to be honest, this so-called friend is so upfront with her comments, you shouldn’t hold back with yours. Just make it clear you disagree with her advice and are not going to follow it. Then don’t follow it! She can’t force you to do anything you don’t want to do. If she accepts your refusals, then fine - maybe you can stay friends. But if she can’t put up with what you’re saying, she’ll leave you alone and you’ll be free of her interference.

There’s no need to get angry or upset; but, to be honest, this so-called friend is so upfront with her comments, you shouldn’t hold back with yours

Share your problems and release your burden. Write now to Dear Bunmi, Vanguard Newspapers, P.M.B 1007, Apapa, Lagos, or bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015 — 41

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42—VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

L – R, Minister of FMLHUD, Mrs, Akon Eyakenyi, Chairman FMBN, Elder Bisi Ogunjobi, MD FMBN Gimba YauKumo, President REDAN, Rev.Ugochukwu Chime and the CEO of JEDO Investment, Alhaji Aliyu Wammakko at the commissioning of the Jedo Estate.

FG to provide unencumbered land to estate developers •Asks them to move to satellite towns

By Jude Njoku & Caleb Ayansina

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HE Federal government has laid the basic building blocks to ensure that the housing and urban development sector become the prime driver of sustainable national development from now till year 2043 and beyond. The building blocks consist of national policies, strategies and plans which have either been put in place or are being finalized for implementation at the three tiers of Government.

Minister of Lands, Housing & Urban Development, Mrs Akon Eyakenyi who made the disclosure, explained that “the transformation in the housing and urban development sector is real.

partnership of the Federal Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, FMBN and some private real estate developers. While the Ministry provided unencumbered land for the project, the FMBN handled the financing arrangements and the developers were responsible for the actual construction based both on the agreed specifications and time-lines of project completion,” she said.

Apart from commissioning the Jedo Housing scheme, the Minister also inspected projects supported by FMBN in Abuja and Suleija. At the site of Abuja

Genuine estate developers The Minister who spoke last week, at the commissioning the FMBN –JEDO Investment CO. LTD, Suleja, Ministerial Housing Project, pledged to improve land accessibility for genuine estate developers to open up cities across the country. “ The Ministerial Housing Project being commissioned today when concluded, is expected to deliver a total of 2,600 housing units across the country in the six-geo-political zones.

The project is being executed through the collaborative

Property Development Corporation project in Kubwa, Mrs Eyakenyi lauded the apex mortgage bank for funding the project which is nearing completion.

The Minister who was conducted round the estate by the CEO of APDC,Bashir Haiba, an architect, and Managing Director of FMBN, Gimba Yau Kumo, urged banks to support the efforts being made by APDC to introduce social housing in Abuja.

Specifically, the 650 units at the project site comprise one bedroom, two- bedroom and three bedroom apartments as well as three- bedroom duplexes. The houses are priced from six million Naira to 27 million Naira Speaking on land acquisition, Mrs Eyakenyi regretted that many developers are only interested in choice areas like Apo, Maitama, Asokoro.

“Having access to land depends on where they (developers) want the land. If it is in Abuja, we all know that the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA controls the land and if you (developers) do proper aplication for land, meet up with the requirements and show the capability that you can develop, like we are witnessing here (in Kaba district), definitely, land will be given to you based on availability.

Opening up rural areas The only problem we are facing is that all developers want land in Apo, Maitama, Asokoro. We want the city to expand, that is why we are here in Kubwa. When the developers are willing to help us in opening up the rural areas to be developed, definitely, they will have access to land,”she

said.

Continuing, the Minister said: “They (developers) should leave the city that is already congested. Let’s open up the entire environment. What we emphasise now is that for every estate that is coming up, all the necessary infrastructure must be provided. That will make the place conducive for living”.

The Minister revealed that over 18 state governors have pledged to provide land, as their equity contribution to the mass housing programme of the Federal government.

“We have some governors who have responded, few are still hanging and I believe they will respond too. About 18 of them have responded so far,” she said The Managing Director of FMBN, Mr Gima Ya’U Kumo said that the estate was opened for offtakers at an affordable price. The esate, he said, is fully serviced with the full complement of basic infrastructure for the comfort of occupants.”

Kumo maintained that all contributors to the National Housing Fund Scheme which is under the management of FMBN are entitled to purchase these housing units subject to the NHF mortgage loan conditions of the bank.

“Loan applicants are to note that they will enjoy the benefits of a low interest rate of six percent and a long tenor of up to 30 years for repayment on the facility.”

Quantity sur ve ains oject cos ting surve veyyor orss br brains ainsttorm on pr project costing Having access to land depends on where the developers want the land

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ALUE for money imperatives for project costing in Nigeria”, will be the focus of a two-day National Cost Reduction Summit being organised by the Quantity Surveyors Registration Board of Nigeria, QSRBN in Abuja this week.

The summit which kicks off at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja on Thursday, will discuss 14 sub-themes, all aimed at getting the best value for money spent on

construction projects in the country.

QSRBN Registrar, Mr Godson Moneke explained in a statement that President Goodluck Jonathan will be the special guest of honour at the two-day summit. He explained that participants comprising quantity surveyors and other built environment experts, will appraise procurement approaches and mechanisms for effecting project costing.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015 —43

Real estate firm unveils N500m cluster housing projects

By Kingsley Adegboye

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AGOS-based real estate and investment company, Messrs Propertygate Development and Investment Plc, has commenced the construction of three housing projects simultaneously in three clusters within a private gated estate along the Lekki Peninsula corridor in Lagos.

The projects are part of the company’s efforts to bridge the increasing housing shortfall in the country as well as expand housing market for enhanced contribution to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product.

The cluster projects with market value of over N500 million on completion, are uniquely named based on the individuality of each different design with each housing unit enjoying exclusive space area.

The housing types which are fully detached duplexes built to deliver elegance, comfort and style, are said to be about 65 per cent subscribed. The projects would be completed between June and September this year.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer,

One of the models of the cluster housing projects

The projects would be completed between June and September this year

Propertygate Development and Investment Plc, Mr. Adetokunbo Ajayi stated that despite the harsh operating environment in Nigeria, the company ’s products and services will always be guided by the principle of innovativeness and valuedriven for its diverse clients.

According to Ajayi the harsh economic situation of the country arising from oil price fall to the high

exchange rate should not discourage serious minded real estate developers from continuing in the business.

Such challenges, he said, should rather make them put on their thinking cap by coming up with ideas to make their business thrive.

“As a real estate development firm, whatever challenges we face, it is to enable us to come up with ideas to make our business

It’s time to buy property in Dubai as prices of apartments drop

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UBAI: Did you know that if you buy a one-bedroom apartment in Dubai today, you would spend nearly Dh400,000 less than you would about six or seven years ago?

Analysts said that if you’re planning to buy an apartment or villa, Dubai’s relatively low property prices, coupled with a slight decline in home loan

rates, make 2015 one of the best times in years to invest in real estate.

Prices of apartments in Dubai now cost more than 20 per cent less than in 2008, and there is a likelihood that prices will further slow down or stabilise in the next few months, as more projects are expected to be completed before the end of the

year.

“Prices are good and buyers have negotiating room as the market is slow,” said Ryan Mahoney, CEO of Better Homes Real Estate. “Sellers that were asking exorbitant prices in (the first quarter of 2014 )are now asking a far lesser price.”

Along with rents, sales prices

Deputy Governor, Osun State, Mrs Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori flanked by the former President, Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors & Valuers, Mr. Bode Adediji and the current President, Mr. James Omeru. Also in the Pix is the Chairman, Local Organising Committee of Osun State NIESV, Mr. Goke Omigbodun at the 45th Annual Conference of NIESV held recently in Osogbo, Osun State.

for apartments, villas and offices in Dubai either increased or declined marginally, depending on their locations, between 2013 and 2014, but since 2008, overall prices have actually posted a significant decline.

“On average, apartment sales prices [for the last quarter of] 2014 were 22 per cent lower than in [the same period in] 2008, but still 6 per cent higher than Q4 2013, despite having declined in the second half of 2014,” said John Stevens, managing director at Asteco.

According to Asteco’s price list, today ’s buyer in International City would spend more than Dh200,000 less on a 789-square-foot flat, now costing an average of Dh560,190, down from Dh828,450 in 2008. Property ads are even offering much lower prices, with one-bedroom flats in the same location costing between Dh455,000 and Dh460,000.

A one-bedroom apartment near Burj Khalifa, one of the most sought after locations in Dubai, has lost more sales value, from an average of Dh2,700 per square foot in 2008 to Dh2,325 per square foot in 2014. This roughly translates into more than Dh300,000 decline in price for

thrive. The design and execution of the company’s products would continue to place premium on customer satisfaction. Investment in real estate is one of the potent means by which the Federal government could diversify Nigerian economy in the wake of shocks that have characterized the global oil market’’, he said.

Explaining the unique features of the projects, the Propertygate boss explained that one of the clusters, christened Catembe Court, was designed as mini-scheme to give taste and premium living experience. “The Court comprises four-bedrooms, all ensuite detached houses, each with ensuite maid’s room, entrance porch, ante, main living room, dining area, visitor’s toilet, kitchen with pantry, family sitting and sit out terrace”, he said.

Motorized entrance Ajayi further explained that “features within the Court include demarcated land area for each home, lawn and shrubs, paved internal road and motorized entrance gate into the Court. Other clusters comprise four-bedrooms all ensuite detached duplexes of three different designs mix, namely Opal, Pelican and Manderine.

Each of them parades exciting individual characteristics, yet they all share endearing attributes of effortless beauty and perfect welcome-home persona”.

Other facilities in the estate include water works, power infrastructure, street light, security, landscaping and management services. The projects, which would cater for the needs of the upper medium income group, are already generating great enthusiasm among home seekers and savvy investors.

44 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

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Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015—45

Don’t rig us out of power with card readers, PDP warns Jega

By Festus Ahon

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SABA—LEADERSHIP of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the South-South region, yesterday, warned the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC not to use the card reader to rig the party out of power in the March 28 presidential election.

Handing down the warning during the South-South zonal executive meeting of the party, in Asaba, Delta State Chairman of PDP in the zone, Dr Cairo Ojuogbo, said the zone was against the decision of INEC to make its Chairman, Prof.

Attaihiru Jega, the sole appointee of collation officers across states in the federation for the March 28 presidential and National Assembly elections.

Ojuogbo, however, said the PDP in the region was not against the card reader, but that it should not be used to disenfranchise eligible voters, stressing that anybody with the Permanent Voters Card, PVC, should also be allowed to vote.

On whether the card reader would be used for the election or not, he said the issue was being handled by the party at the national level. On the

Group warns against campaign of calumny

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G H E L L I — DIRECTOR General of the Idisi Campaign Organization, Mr. Sylvanus Manureh, has condemned an alleged campaign of calumny against its principal and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP House of Representatives candidate for Ethiope federal constituency, Chief Lovette Idisi.

Reacting to a publication credited to a PDP youth in the area, Manureh debunked insinuations of Idisi being temperamental and a neophyte in politics, stressing that the attacks were a clear case of crass ignorance as he has contested the same position on the platform of the Democratic Peoples Party, DPP in 2011.

He said: “We are aware that these individuals who are bereft of ideas and are scared of Idisi because of his popularity.

Rather than campaign and canvass for votes, they have resorted to unsubstantiated attack on him."

appointment of collation officers, he alleged that Prof.

Jega had already directed one of his aides who is a card carrying member of the APC to nominate those to be appointed as collation officers for the elections.

According to him, INEC has a chairman and 12 commissioners with two being appointed from each of the zones in the country, adding that the commissioners from the zones should be allowed to appoint collation officers in their areas and not only the chairman solely making the

appointments.

Speaking further, Ojougbo said the South-South region would give bloc votes to President Goodluck Jonathan, insisting that the party has worked very hard to earn the votes of the people.

He commended party faithful for their commitment to the reelection of Dr Jonathan and expressed optimism that their efforts would yield positive results.

Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Dr Steve Oru, who also spoke during the meeting, assured that the people of the

South South would vote enmasse for the PDP. Chairman of the party in the Delta Central, Chief Tom Amioku who spoke in the same vein enjoined the party leadership not to be disturbed by the rumours that the Urhobo would not vote for the PDP. The PDP governorship flagbearer in Delta State, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, said he was confident of victory for PDP in all the elections, adding that the party was not scared of loosing any of the elections because it was working hard to secure the people's votes.

From left: Mr Udom Emmanuel, Akwa Ibom PDP governorship candidate; Mr. Nkereuwem Ekanem,Secretary to Akwa Ibom State Government, and Mr Jimi Agbaje, PDP governorship candidate, Lagos State, during an evening with Mr. Udom Emmanuel, in Lagos yesterday.

Photo: Akeem Salau

EPZ: N-Delta group tasks Ijaw, Itsekiri on peace

By Godwin Oghre

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APELE—NIGER Delta Peace Ambassador, NDPA, has called on the warring Ijaw and Itsekiri communities to sheathe their swords to enable the Federal Government perform the groundbreaking of the $16 billion Export Processing Zone, EPZ. In a statement by its National Coordinator, Chief Tonwei Tortor, the group called for ethnic harmony between the Ijaw of Gbaramatu/ Ogulagha and Itsekiri of Ugborodo, in Warri South-West Local Government Area, Delta State.

It urged the leaders of both ethnic nationalities to give peace a chance in order to ensure the smooth take off of the project which it said would boost President Goodluck Jonathan’s transformation agenda and the ‘Delta Beyond oil’ initiative of Delta State Government.

The group said that those saying that the president was playing ethnic politics with the project were wrong,

noting that it was the bitterness of the ethnic groups that was actually stalling the take off of the project.

First Lady tasks Jonathan support group on bloc votes in Delta

By Simon Adewale

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HEAD of the March 28 presidential election, First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, has called on the Blessing Oborevwori-led Jonathan/Sambo Campaign Organisation in Okpe Local Government Area of Delta State, to ensure that the group delivers majority votes in the state to President Goodluck Jonathan in the election.

She expressed appreciation for the great work the group has been doing in the state to ensure President Jonathan's election.

Dame Jonathan made the call during her visit to the group in Orerokpe, headquarters of Okpe council, just as Mr Oborevwori gave kudos to the President for deeming it fit to come to Delta

State himself to reconcile the various factions and aggrieved persons of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in order to make the task of ensuring the victory of the President easy for the group and the state chapter of the PDP, at the presidential election.

Convention

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HE annual conventions of Flock of Christ Mission Headquarters, Enerhen, Delta State, which commenced March 15, will end next Sunday, March 22 at the church’s auditorium. The theme for this year's event is The Kingdom The Power and The Glory ( Matt 6:13). Speakers include, Rev. Ayo Oritsejafor, Bishop Mike Okonkwo, Dr. Felix Omobude.

Edo PDP chieftain denies defecting to APC

By Gabriel Enogholase

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E N I N — CONTRARY to the assertion by the Edo State Government that Ward leaders of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Ukpato Ward in Orhionmwon Local Government Area of the state defected to the All Progressives Congress, APC, 11 of the 12- member Ward executive, yesterday, denounced the claim, saying that no other member of the executive defected along with the Ward chairman to the APC. The Ukpato PDP Ward leaders, who stormed the state secretariat of the party on Sapele Road, were led by the Secretary, Mr. Anthony Izevbigie.

Speaking for his colleagues, Mr. Izevbigie said that they had no intention of leaving PDP for APC and would remain in the party to ensure that it emerges victorious in the forthcoming elections.

His view was corroborated by others who said that the Ward chairman, Mr. Vincent Aiwekhoe, was on his own just as the Youth leader, Mr. Omorodion claimed that the Ward chairman has been using them.

SardineOgbede for burial

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R. Nehemiah Sardine-Ogbede is dead, aged 65.

A statement by the family said service of songs will hold at 35 Ekurede Itsekiri Road, Olu Palace, Warri, while interment will take place on March 20 at the same venue.

He is survived by his widow, five children and other relatives.

Late Sardine-Ogbede

46—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

APC promises one million jobs through coal-for-electricity

MCFR condemns political violence in Abia

By Francis Igata

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NUGU—ALL Progressives Congress, APC, yesterday assured Enugu residents that the huge coal deposit in the state would be revamped for electricity supply to create one million jobs for the teeming unemployed youths in the state and beyond.

This hint came during the commencement of a road show organised by the Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd), Presidential Campaign Council to woo voters in the state for their candidate.

APC spokesman, South-East geopolitical zone, Mr. Osita Okechukwu, said the party had pledged to revamp the abandoned coal deposit in Enugu to trigger economic activities in the state and region.

By Eric Ugbor

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BA—A group, Movement for Credible and Free Elections, MCFR, has condemned recent violent clashes among political parties and their supporters in Ikwuano and Obingwa Local Government areas in Abia State.

State coordinator of the group, Mr. Henry Nwankwo, who spoke to journalists in Aba yesterday, said the ugly trend portended doom for the nation’s democracy.

Nwankwo berated youths in the state for allowing themselves to be used as tools by selfseeking politicians to achieve their motives and wondered why youths, who should play positively-active roles for change in the society, would allow themselves to be used as thugs and criminals for politicians.

He condemned last Sunday’s attack on the senatorial candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, for Abia South senatorial zone, Chief Chris Nkwonta, at Obingwa council.

Chief Nkwonta was attacked by suspected political thugs at Apostolic Christian Church, Obinze, in Obingwa Local Government Area, when hoodlums allegedly supporting a particular candidate went on rampage.

His words: “Buhari is very passionate to create jobs for the youths. We feel the best way to do so is to revamp Enugu coal, which was abandoned since the civil war.

“His visit to Taichung CoalFired-Power-Plant in Taiwan,

Aka Ikenga expresses fear over presidential election

By Bartholomew Madukwe

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RESIDENT General of Aka Ikenga, Chief Goddy Uwazurike, has expressed fear that the March 28 election might not hold, except every area of the country was calm for the Independent National

Women mobilize for Jonathan

By Chris Onuoha

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AGOS—A coalition of Women Group for Goodluck Jonathan has promised to deliver massive votes from the women for President Goodluck Jonathan in the forthcoming presidential election.

The association, comprising 135 different women supports groups in Lagos State, made this known at press conference in Lagos, as part of their solidarity towards reelecting the incumbent President and to sensitize the nation on their activities.

The Coordinator and Convener of the conference, Prince Marcus Agubataofia, said the entire group had formed a united body to

the largest in the world, motivated his interest to revamp Enugu coal.”

On corruption and governance, Okechukwu revealed that the APC presidential candidate believed sincerely that no

achieve President Jonathan’s re-election, having noticed that no government had given women the sense of belonging as the current President.

He said apart from surpassing the famous 35 percent affirmative action, it was under Jonathan’s administration that sensitive positions such as the Ministers of Petroleum, Aviation, Education, Finance and others, hitherto reserved for men, were given to women.

Agubataofia noted that it was important to carry women along in this crucial time of election, because of their effort and struggle to enshrine good governance and elect a reputable candidate.

Electoral Commission, INEC, to carry out its constitutional duty.

Speaking with Vanguard in Lagos, Uwazurike said the military must be consulted whenever there was a security issue in the country, adding that every governor had a State Security Council made up of the armed forces.

He said: “If the area (North-East) is not clear and calm, believe me, there will be no election. I cannot see any person’s child going to conduct election in a troubled area like Bornu or Adamawa states.

“The military must be consulted whenever we have security issue. Let me put it this way, every governor has what is called state security council, made up of all armed forces.

“The state security council send their report to the Federal Government every time they hold a meeting, which gets to the National Security Adviser, NSA, Sambo Dasuki.

“So if there is a security problem, NSA writes a report to Mr. President informing him of security issues in the country.”

HE six weeks exten sion for the conduct of the polls at the instance of security experts, had given INEC opportunity to improve tremendously on its preparations. Jega is not really sincere on issues trailing the conduct of the elections.— Mr. Sabinus Ogbenna, Worker.

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Transition

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RS. Keziah Udeze (nee Okafor), 86, is dead. She will be buried at her home town, Umuomam Ebeh, Ukpor, Nnewi South LGA, Anambra State, April 7, after Christian wake keeping on April 6.

Burial mass is at her compound followed by interment, while condolences will be concluded at Salvation Army, Ukpor Central Corps, Anambra West Division, Nigeria Territory, April 12.

By Bartholomew Madukwe (08102479985) nwamad@yahoo.com

PEOPLE SPEAK

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matter how vast the country’s resources were, if they were not efficiently utilized, it would only benefit a privileged few, leaving the majority in abject poverty.

He said: “If Nigeria does not kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria. To achieve this, Buhari will publicly declare his assets and liabilities and encourage his political appointees to follow suit immediately he is sworn-in.

“He will work with the National Assembly to cut down the cost of governance, because he feels that the amount expended on running the presidency, the National Assembly, and the state houses cannot be reasonably justified with the poverty on the ground.

“He will also inaugurate the National Council on Procurement as stipulated in the Procurement Act.”

Election without Army, Police?

T is another time to in voke the doctrine of necessity. If there are no soldiers in sight, who will feel safe to go out and vote? Who will agree to send his son or daughter to go and work for INEC? We ought to be pro-active this time.— Mr. Desmond Osueke, Worker.

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HIS election without Army and police in strategic locations is out of place and can never be credible. Why will anyone be scared of Army personnel hanging around during elections?

Army should be at strategic locations of polling units.—Mr. Stanley Olisa, Graduate.

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OLDIERS have been visible in all recent elections, why should it be different now? Life is not like PVCs that you can go back and continue to print. Military interventions save lives during crises and there are hot spots during elections. —Miss Ilokoli Augusta, Communicator.

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HE courts have ruled that the military cannot be used to maintain law and order during elections; it is the responsibility of the police in civilized nations. But you cannot trust Nigerian government and governments of black nations.— Miss Sophia Osuji, Businesswoman.

W

HY is it that so many Nigerians allow their emotions take the better part of them, instead of seeking to be guided by the laws? This country will continue in its downward slope unless the people allow the law to guide them.— Miss Ebereke Kelechi, Student.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015 — 47

INSURGENCY: 500 Plateau youths stage

support for Jonathan, military

By Marie-Therese Nanlong.

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OS – ABOUT 500 youths in Plateau State under the aegis of United Nigerians Against Terrorism, UNAT, yesterday, staged a rally in support of both President Goodluck Jonathan and the military over the successes so far recorded in the war against insurgency in the north eastern part of the country.

The youths, who gathered at the premises of the Plateau State House of Assembly at about 9a.m., called on other residents of the state to support Jonathan and the military to enable them do more by completely routing the terrorists.

Speaking at the rally, the Plateau State Liaison Officer, Mr. Redzie Jugo commended Jonathan for motivating the military to be more committed in the fight against Boko Haram insurgency.

Also speaking, Programme Manager, Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation Programme, Gad Shamaki, said that patriotic Nigerians were happy with the successes as stability would soon return to the North East.

He urged the military to continue to support democracy to ensure that every part of Nigerian territory was recovered, and the abducted Chibok girls brought back home safely.

However, the Commander of

the Special Task Force, STF, Major General David Enetie represented by STF’s Chief of Staff, Brigadier-General

Mohammed Magaji thanked the youths for their support.

He commended President Jonathan for funding the military,

the gesture which he stated, led to the recent success recorded in the fight against terrorism.

OVERNOR MUKHTAR Yero of Kaduna State has appealed to the state chapter of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, JUSUN, to call off its ongoing strike to ensure normalcy in the Judiciary in the state.

Speaking during the swearingin ceremony of Justice Nasiru Umar Sadiq as judge of the state

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DONATION: President Goodluck Jonathan, displaying a personal donation of the cheque of N1m in support of military operations in the North East by Mr. Dotun Oyetunde, while the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, watches shortly before the meeting of the National Security Council, at the State House, Abuja. Photo: Abayomi Adeshida

85% of Nigerians use smartphones for research —Google study

By Emeka Aginam

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HILE SMARTPHONES are becoming a vital part of online shopping across the globe as a result of mobile devices, new findings from Google’s consumer Barometer tool released, Wednesday, has revealed that 85 per cent of Nigerians use the devices for

product research as against 30 per cent using computers and six per cent using tablets respectively.

The content of the barometer is based on two research studies conducted in 46 different countries, involving over 150,000 respondents.

The Consumer Barometer was launched in 2014 in the country to enhance the understanding of

how Nigerians and people across the globe deploy the Internet for commercial activities.

Now in its fourth year, Google created the Consumer Barometer to provide professionals such as marketers with the latest consumer insights to support their devices for sales strategies and planning in a fast changing digital landscape.

High Court, Yero said the demands of JUSUN can not be resolved through the ongoing strike, hence the need for immediate suspension of the action.

His words: “Let me use this opportunity to appeal to JUSUN to call of the strike, we cannot use strike to resolve this matter,

because it is an internal problem.

"We promise to do our best to give you what you are asking for, but it may not be possible to give you the entire funding at the same time because we don’t get the entire state allocation at the same time. But we will do our best and you need to call off the strike so that we can continue to dialogue

on these issues.”

Congratulating the new judge on his appointment, Yero asked him to use his wealth of experience to improve the judiciary in the state, saying, “you must never forget your oath of office, and remember, we shall all account for our deeds to God on judgement day.”

PDP campaign c’ttee inaugurates canvassers

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ARRI — THE Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Campaign Committee in Warri South Local Government Area has inaugurated its canvassers drawn from the 12 wards that made up the local government, for the March 28 and April 11 elections.

The coordinator of the committee, Ada Arenyeka, in his inaugural speech, urged the canvassers to see their nomination as a call to service and stressed the need for the assignment to be diligently carried out.

His words: “I am over-joyed that President Jonathan has admirably delivered on his mandate. He enjoins canvassers to go out to the nooks and

Retool indigenous products for global market

By Ifeyinwa Obi

Gov Yero appeals to Kaduna JUSUN to call off strike

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OSSA TO FG:

crannies of the local government area and propagate the good deeds of Mr. President, who deserves return ticket.

Continuing, he said: “Mr. President has successfully fought corruption to a standstill by strengthening the anti-graft agencies. It is to Mr. President’s credit that Nigeria’s economy is healthier today, owing to the recent re-basing, which made our economy the largest in Africa.

"Nigeria is winning the war against terrorism, the territories that were seized by Boko Haram have been captured by the Nigerian Army in collaboration with multi-national forces.”

Also speaking, the Warri South PDP chairman, who is also a member of the campaign

committee, Mr. Ama Agbajoh, noted with great irritation the illconceived campaigns of the opposition parties.

He said: “I find these campaigns to be completely ill-

conceived, shameful and entirely motivated by greed, prejudice, inordinate ambition, and a desire to further lubricate the pockets of some godfathers in All Progressives Congress, APC."

HE OYO State Shippers’ Association, OSSA, has urged Federal Government to encourage exportation of Made-In-Nigeria products.

The President of the Association, Dr. Ayobami Omotoso, made the plea during the 14th Annual General Meeting of the association in Ibadan.

Omotoso said that based on the sliding oil prices in the international market, Nigeria should make efforts to diversify its economy by exporting Nigerian products.

He said that agricultural products, solid minerals and other locally-made products should be exported to earn foreign exchange.

Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State, in a message to the occasion, commended the association for the role it played in the socio-economic and industrial growth of the state.

Pa Ebenyi is dead

P

A Fidelis Uzu Ebenyi, 82, the Ochiriozuo 1 of Ikem, is dead.

He was a senior member of the cabinet of the traditional ruler of the area, Igwe Francis Okwor, the Enyioha 1 of Ikem.

He is survived by former Nigeria Ambassador to Spain and the Vatican, and now a member of the House of Representatives, Kingsley Ebenyi, wives, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

ELECTION: I'll change Zamfara West – Maradun

By Salisu Maradun

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USAU — THE Senatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for Zamfara West Senatorial Zone, and Maradun Local Government Area, Alhaji Bello Maradun has pledged to ensure positive change through effective representation of the people if

elected.

Bello spoke in an interview with Vanguard in Maradun town, the headquarters of Maradun Local Government Area.

He said he had for long been dreaming of going to Senate in order to rid the people of the zone of poor representation which they had experienced in the last 10 years.

The candidate, who is the

current member of the House of Representatives lamented the present unbearable condition in which the people of the zone found themselves, vowing to address the issues to ensure rapid development of the zone.

Bello further said that the era of deception had gone as the people had become more educated and enlightened politically.

48—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

FLAG OFF: From left: Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, Chairman, Anambra State Investment Promotion and Protection Agency, ANSIPPA, Igwe Cyril Enweze, Chairman, Richbon Group, Chief C.J. Mounagolu and his wife, Assumpta, during the flag off of Richbon Automotive Industries Limited, at Ozubulu Industrial Estate, Onitsha, Anambra State.

CONFERENCE: From left: MD/CEO, Bank of Industry, BoI, Mr Rasheed Olaoluwa, Mr Yinka Sonaike,; First Vice President, Nigerian Institute of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, Dr. Patunola, and Deputy Governor of Osun State, Mrs. Bisi Laoye-Tomori, at the 45th annual confrence of the institute in Osogbo.

VISIT: Obaisi Ovie Omo-Agege, Labour Party, LP senatorial candidate, Delta Central, High Chief Newton Agbofodoh, Unuevworo of Ekpan, Chief Great Ogboru, LP governorship candidate, Mr. Itse Wilkie, LP senatorial candidate, Delta South, and Hon. Efeni Akpovoka, LP House of Representatives CAMPAIGN: Oyo State Labour Party, LP, governorship candidate, Otunba candidate, Ughelli-Udu Federal Constituency, when the LP leaders visited Adebayo Alao-Akala (right), with some traditional rulers, during Akala/Ali the Unuevworo of Ekpan, at Ekpan in Delta State. campaign at Orire Local Goverment Area, Oyo State.

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CAMPAIGN: Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Enugu State, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (right) and leader of the Hausa community in the New Artisan (Cattle) Market, Enugu, Alhaji Sani Mohammed, during his campaign visit to the market, yesterday.

GROUND-BREAKING: From left: Dr. Emmanuel Alhassan, Director, Partnerships Coordination, National Agency for the Control of AIDS, NACA, Dr. Idris Omede, Commissioner for Health, Kogi State, Prof. Hassan Isah, Vice Chancellor, Kogi State University, Anyigba, Mr. Tony Okpanachi, Deputy Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria and Mr. Idogbe Evaristus, Chairman, Interim Student Representatives Assembly, Kogi State University, at the ground-breaking of Ecobank-NACA Youth Friendly Centre in the university.

TRAINING: From left: Mr. Femi Awoyemi, Branch Manager, Standard Chartered Bank, Ibadan, Miss Olayinka Ahmed, a student of Odo Ona Girls Grammar School, Odo Ona, Ibadan, Mrs Oluyemisi Oloyede, Principal of the School, and Mrs Joke Adu, Manager, Corporate Affairs, Standard Chartered Bank, during a financial literacy training programme in Ibadan.

DIALOGUE: From left: Ayodele Adio, moderator; Morenike Taire, Woman Editor, Vanguard Newspapers, Prof. Remi Osinaya, presidential candidate, KOWA Party and Iyalode Alaba Lawson, 2nd Deputy National President, NACCIMA, during a dialogue on the role of women in economic prosperity in Lagos.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015—49

NNPC didn't get N1.329trn subsidy money from CBN, says Alison-Madueke

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HE Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani AlisonMadueke, has denied that Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, received N1.329 trillion as subsidy payments between 2009-2011 from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, as alleged by the ad-hoc committee of the House of Representatives on Subsidy Regime.

The committee report had alleged that “NNPC directly deducted N408.255 billion, in addition to the payment of N81.648 billion by CBN, in 2009; N407.801 billion, in addition to the payment of N402.423 billion by CBN, in 2010; and N847.942 billion, in addition to the payment of N844.944 billion by CBN, for 2011, contrary to Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.”

The minister argued that this claim is “totally baseless, false and without foundation.”

Speaking with newsmen, yesterday in Abuja, she explained that subsidy payments to NNPC are not based on cash remittance and, therefore, CBN could not have remitted any cash to NNPC for the purpose of subsidy.

... gives clarifications

According to her, “the mechanics of subsidy recovery by NNPC is non-fund based, but by way of credit to NNPC against domestic crude cost due. When approval certificates are received from Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, their values are deducted from crude oil cost due in a given month after due consideration of what is approved.”

Alison-Madueke stated that “all such approvals and deductions are regularly copied to other relevant agencies of government such as Ministry of Finance, Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Budget Office of the Federation, Federation Accounts Allocation Committee and Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Allocation Commission.

“In the advice on subsidy deductions

forwarded to the Ministry of Finance, NNPC always state that ‘in line with presidential directives, the ministry should authorize the Accountant General of the Federation to source for the approved subsidy amount and transfer same to the Federation Account for onward distribution by FAAC’.”

... flays Reps c'ttee

She condemned the committee for doing a shoddy job.

According to her, “it is grossly inaccurate and misleading for the ad-hoc committee to claim that NNPC made ‘double deduction’ by deducting subsidy at source and simultaneously receiving payment for the same purpose from CBN. “The conclusion by the committee of double payments to NNPC obviously accounts for the erroneous and outrageous sum of N2,587.087 trillion as total subsidy payment for 2011 as stated in the committee's report.”

NNPC, she noted, believes that the committee’s proceedings were very serious and important assignment for the purpose of “verifying and determining actual subsidy requirement” and put to rest the issue of subsidy once and for all.

She said: “It is unfortunate that the wild allegations, suppositions and conjectures, which form the basis of their conclusion, actually did more damage to the objectives than verify subsidy requirement.

“Furthermore, such reckless allegation is capable of inciting the public against the corporation and its personnel.”

The minister then demanded full disclosure on this allegation to set the records straight.

Alison-Madueke said: “In this context, the committee should disclose the source of their data and such source must disclose to the nation the demand note for the payment, the bank and account to which the amount was paid and the purpose for which the money was expended and by who.

“If this is not done, the story of subsidy in Nigeria would never be closed.”

Why Jonathan must be re-elected—GSG

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OODLUCK Support Group, GSG, Ogun State chapter, have called on Nigerians to vote en mass for President Goodluck Jonathan’s reelection for continuity and consolidation.

State coordinator of GSG, Alhaji Sulaiman Abiola, said President Jonathan had recorded great achievements in the economy, social infrastructure, agriculture and security that qualify him for another term to consolidate on these achievements, and move the country forward.

Alhaji Abiola cited the curtailing of the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East, recovery of lost territories and the courage to organize a national conference, where the future of Nigeria was discussed, urging Nigerians to allow the President implement the outcome of the conference, when he returns for another term.

He said President Jonathan’s re-election would ensure continuity, progress, tranquillity and peace, adding that Nigeria should not be taken back to the era of dictatorship and high-handedness.

FUTA repositions PGD programme

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HE management of Federal University of Technology, Akure, FUTA, has put in place strategies to ensure its post-graduate services are of the highest quality and comparable to top flight institutions in the world.

The Vice Chancellor, Professor Adebiyi Daramola, said this at the recent matriculation and induction of 1,635 postgraduate students of the university.

He commended the students for excelling in the merit-based and rigorous selection process, which stood them out among numerous applicants.

Professor Daramola, who was represented by the University Librarian, Dr. Femi Oguntuase, reiterated the administration’s vision of taking FUTA to the market place and sustaining meaningful and positive collaborations with reputable institutions abroad.

50—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

Prepare for defeat, Jonathan campaign tells APC

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HE Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organisation, PDPPCO, yesterday, advised the All Progressives Congress, APC, to stop what it described as its scaremongering and prepare for defeat at the March 28 presidential election.

The Director of Media and Publicity of the PDPPCO, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, said in a statement yesterday, “The recent string of lies by Lai Mohammed, the Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, attempting to link President Goodluck Jonathan with a protest by the Oodua Peoples’ Congress, OPC, in Lagos is more of the same pattern of falsehood and scaremongering that the APC and its Publicity Secretary have made their trademark. We advise the APC to stop peddling falsehood and scaremongering and to prepare for defeat at the March 28 presidential election.

“Nigerians know very well that this is not the first time that the APC is embarking on spreading lies in the hope of inciting the people against the PDP and President Jonathan. The lies of Lai Mohammed and the APC have never achieved their nefarious objectives and once

again their falsehood shall fail.

Since the APC covers itself in a cloak of darkness and falsehood, the party must invent a new lie every single day rather than admit that it has no answer to President Jonathan’s achievements in agriculture, aviation, education, roads, railways, industrialisation, women and youth empowerment and other areas. The APC prefers to resort to peddling falsehood rather than engaging in an issues-based campaign.

issues at stake in this election.

“For the avoidance of doubt, many Nigerians are today questioning the wisdom of allowing the APC, a party that has superintended over an unimaginable level of outright theft of public funds and usurpation and conversion of Government properties for personal use in Lagos State, anywhere near control of the

Federal Government. As the elections draw closer and Lai Mohammed and his APC masters have become fully aware that there is a real possibility of their losing Lagos State at the forthcoming presidential and gubernatorial elections. As we draw nearer to the d-day of March 28 we predict that they will issue more baseless and untruthful press statements and

falsehood against the PDP and President Jonathan.

“We advise Nigerians to dismiss their childish and pathetic allegations and the sheer rubbish that is being disseminated by the APC. What we are witnessing from them are the frantic gasps of a failed political party that realises that it is about to face a crushing defeat and setback that will send it out of existence. By the time this is all over, the APC will be dumped and forgotten in the dustbin of Nigerian political history”

Issues based campaign “Now that Lagosians are at last realising the level of sleaze and insurmountable greed among the APC leaders in the state, Lai Mohammed and his handlers are panicking because they know their chances of cornering the market on the golden goose which they have fleeced for the past sixteen years are dimming.

This is the single reason why Lai Mohammed and the APC have resorted to their age-old and outdated strategy of firing off a new statement of falsehood every single day in the hope of distracting Lagosians and Nigerians at large from the key

From left, the Inspector General of Police, Alhaji Suleiman Abba; Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Keneth Minimah; Chief of the Air Staff and Air Marshal Adesola Amosun briefing journalists after the National Security Council Meeting chaired by President Goodluck Jonathan at the State House, Abuja. Photo:Abayomi Adeshida

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015—51

Reading the card reader issue

By Bola Tinubu

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Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, with the new Emir of Gusau, Alhaji Ibrahim Bello, when the Speaker visited the traditional ruler at his palace in Gusau, yesterday.

APC accuses Jonathan of unleashing thugs on Lagosians

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HE All Progressives Congress, APC, has accused President Goodluck Jonathan of carrying his reelection campaign to a new height of desperation. The party said, yesterday, that Monday’s protest by members of the Odua People’s Congress, OPC, for the removal of Prof.

Attahiru Jega as chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, was an example of such desperation.

In a statement issued in Lagos by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said just as it (APC) had alerted the nation in its press statement on Sunday, the President’s supporters, led by the OPC, took to major roads in the city during rush hour traffic to unleash mayhem on the citizens, create massive gridlock that prevented many workers from reaching their places of work and destroyed many APC campaign posters they laid their hands on. ''They said we are raising false alarm. But just as we had alerted Nigerians, the Jonathan Administration’s sponsored protest took place, with dire consequences for residents.

However, the President’s chances in the forthcoming elections suffered a collateral damage as the N9billion powered protest backfired, with even supporters of the President being forced to have a rethink due to the massive scale of the lawlessness and brigandage that took place during a supposedly peaceful protest,'' it said.

Peaceful protest APC said the next plot by the Jonathan administration is a series of anti-Tinubu demonstrations in Lagos, for which the planners have been mobilized with millions of naira.

The party said,''During the forthcoming demonstrations, the protesters have been told to carry placards asking the EFCC to probe the allegations made against Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the deceitful,

ill-intentioned and irresponsible ‘documentary’ that was sponsored by the same Jonathan Administration. Such is the level of President Jonathan’s desperation for re-election that a man who is not on the ballot in the forthcoming elections has become a target of unprecedented mudslinging by his (President’s) Administration. ''It is a cruel irony that a President who swore to an oath to make the security and welfare of Nigerians his priority has been the same one orchestrating reprehensible acts of violence in the polity, to the detriment of the well-being and safety of his compatriots, just because of re-election desperation. Because they (protesters) were pro-Jonathan, hordes of policemen who could not prevent a deadly robbery, in which three policemen lost their lives in Lagos a few days back, offered massive protection to the OPC members who brandished guns, machetes, clubs and knives openly as terrified Lagos residents scampered for safety. ''It is noteworthy that the policemen who protected the OPC members during their protest did not stop them from destroying APC posters and other campaign materials, neither did they prevent them from unleashing mayhem on the people. As far as the increasingly-partisan security agents were concerned, everything done in support of President Jonathan is fair. '' We are, therefore, alerting all Nigerians as well as the international community to note that President Jonathan himself is the one setting the stage for violence before, during and after the forthcoming polls, despite his tiring platitude that his political ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian. From this precarious situation to which the Administration and the PDP have pushed Nigeria, it is but a short cut to Laurent Gbagbo’s postelection Ivory Coast. 'We have said it before: President Jonathan is not interested in a free, fair and peaceful polls.''

ESPERATION surges within the presidency and PDP camp. Postponing the election to March 28, this group thought they had bought added time to alter the electoral equation in their favour. They were frightened that February 14 would have been their demise.

Four weeks out of the six week delay, they have not found the elixir they craved. The date change has not changed the electoral dynamic in their favour.

With the damage they have done to the nation, how could they think a mere six weeks would return to them the precious goodwill they had so meanly squandered?

They now discover there likely is no sudden alteration that can repair the mess they have made of things. The extra time has only been a temporary stay of execution of the people’s sovereign will against a desolate government that, through its callous neglect of the economy and national security, has been more hindrance than help to the people it once vowed to serve.

BOLA TINUBU

The PDP remains in virtually the same position they occupied in early February. They look behind them to find the people no longer there. They are angry because they think the people have deserted them at the eleventh hour. The greater truth is that they abandoned the people at the very dawn of this administration.

They will now reap the dividends of their indifference. Just as they did a week before the original February election date, all senior PDP figures have run into the street not to contest in the elections but to contest against elections being had at all. They remain afraid of the outcome of a clean and free exercise. They would like it to be loose and murky or not to hold at all.

This is the reason they vehemently hackle about the use of a card reader for the elections.

They have belatedly learned the card reader will prevent customary electoral malpractices.

The reader will separate them from their cherished weapons of multiple voting and ballot stuffing. The best hope for them to manufacture victory is to manufacture reasons to nix the card readers, thus necessitating a last-minute reversal to the old, discredited process.

The claim that use of the cards will disenfranchise voters is bogus. The world over, voters are

required to register to vote and to present at the polling booth on election day a voter registration card. This process is not materially different than what takes place in other nations. Neither the card nor the reader itself is used to cast votes. The card is a form of identification, an important and effective method internal control, verification and confirmation, affirming the voter is the eligible to participate in this important civic exercise.

In the old system, the voter still had to present a voter registration card that would be verified by the appropriate electoral official. The verification process was porous and inaccurate due in part to innocent human error and to wilful malpractice. By making the verification process dependent on computer-read biometrics, the elements of human error and mischief have been eliminated from this important process. Fingerprints cannot be altered nor can the machine’s reading of them be distorted. Only those entitled to cast ballots will be allowed to receive a ballot to cast. I cannot understand how anyone with even the pretence of a democratic bone in his body can bemoan this improvement.

They cry that the cardreading machines are imperfect. No one can guarantee that each and every machine will perfectly work. However, the alternative is fraught with even greater imprecision.

Each national election conducted in Nigeria since 1999 has been a feat of ample rigging and malpractice. That is the way of the old system. It incentivizes gross impropriety. This new way discourages if not prevents it.

Unless the card readers are being sabotaged by PDP agents, the possibility of a massive failure of the readers is so scant as to be statistically implausible. The rate of innocent human error inherent in the old system far exceeds that of computer error in the new one. When we add the high rate of wilful mischief and wrongdoing the old system condoned, the new digital path is vastly superior to the reversion the PDP would have us make.

At the end of the day and every

I cannot understand how anyone with even the pretence of a democratic bone in his body can bemoan this improvement

day has its end, the people need to vote and need to have confidence in the entirety of the process. The computerized card reader gives us a high probability of finally conducting a clean and fair election. A return to the old system is a sure return to crimes and wrongs that have made our elections a mockery of the democratic ideal and of the people’s will. If one system gives us but the mere possibility let alone probability of a credible undertaking while the other system is doomed by the certainty of the misconduct it produces, it simply makes more sense to opt for the chance of success instead of settling for the certainty of failure.

That the PDP cohort wants the old way means they do not want to advance democracy by insuring a decent electoral process. They want to kidnap democracy by orchestrating the electoral result. They are afraid of the verdict of the people because they know they have illserved the nation for so many years.

Last second democrats The energy this administration should have invested in governing the people for six years is now being expended in these last few weeks in the frantic attempt to scuttle or side-wind an election that is tantamount to a referendum on the Jonathan administration. They want to save their skin by choking your democracy. Their efforts come as too much, too clumsily, too late.

Do not be persuaded by their attempts to paint themselves as last-second democrats. Their governance has been haughty and arrogant, an eruption of insecurity, unemployment and deep economic recession depleting the national treasury by the day if not by the hour and minute. The times have been fertile and fecund for them but barren and bankrupt as to you!

Their long track is one of disservice to you on all accounts - employment, power, water, roads, national security, corruption, education, health, housing and social security. Now at the last minute, they want you to believe they have become paragons of democratic virtue, the guardians of your right to vote.

This is an insult to our collective wisdom. Your right to vote is seen as a wrong to them. They don’t seek democracy. They seek to strike fear in you that you may recoil from grasping the democracy that is now so closely at hand.

Let us give true democracy a chance. At the end of every contest, the cards must be placed on the table and read. Let all the cards that you as voters hold in your hands be read. Only those afraid of the will of the people fear what the cards shall read.

52 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

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Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015 — 53

54—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

I will respect press freedom, uphold constitution —Buhari

By Levinus Nwabughiogu

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BUJA—THE Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, General Muhammadu Buhari assured, yesterday, that he will respect media freedom and uphold the constitution if elected president.

He also promised that the general elections would hold without bloodshed.

Buhari made the promises during an interactive meeting with media proprietors under the umbrella of Nigeria Proprietors Association of Nigeria, NPAN, and representatives of private and public broadcast media in Nigeria in Abuja.

He said that he is now a democratic convert, saying that what transpired during his days as the military Head of State belonged to the past.

“I want to give you my full assurances that in this democratic dispensation, I will ensure that the Nigerian constitution is upheld. This includes respect for the media, respect for the right to free expression and freedom of speech. You are aware of Decree 4 of 1984, which was heavily criticised. I have said elsewhere that I cannot change the past.

“But I can change the present and the future. Dictatorship goes with military rule as do edicts such as Decree 4. However, I am a former—former, note the

emphasis on the word ‘former’— military ruler and now a converted democrat, who is ready to operate under democratic norms.

“I am not only subjecting myself to the rigours of democratic elections for the fourth time, but even after being elected, I will

continue to promote the consolidation of democracy in our great country, Nigeria, by guaranteeing that the media’s freedom is not compromised in any way.

“I give you my full assurances that the Nigerian media will be

SUMMIT: From left, Dr. Tammy Danagogo, Minister of Sports; Chief Ferdinand Alabraba, Chairman of the occasion, and Senator George Sekibo, during the Rivers Ijaw People's Summit, yesterday, in Port Harcourt. Photo: Nwankpa Chijioke

Okorocha files suit against, Araraume, Ihedioha, INEC, PDP

By Chidi Nkwopara

G

OVERNOR OF Imo State, Chief Rochas Okorocha, and All Progressives Congress, APC, have jointly filed a suit at the Federal High Court, asking it to order the Independent National

Soyinka, Okonjo-Iweala rally support for troops

By Charles Kumolu & Esther Onyegbula

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OBEL LAUREATE, Professor Wole Soyinka and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, yesterday, called on Nigerians to support the military in the fight against terrorism, noting that every citizen must be involved in the battle in respective of tribe and religion.

The duo spoke in Lagos at an event entitled: 'National Rally Against Terror,' convened by a human rights group, Nigerians Unite Against Terror .NUAT. According to Okonjo-Iweala: ‘’Terrorists cannot defeat us. We will defeat them. This kind of rally against terrorism is what we need in Nigeria.

Let's bond and not be bombed. I want to salute our men and women who have put their lives in line to ensure that terrorists

are defeated.

"I salute the spirit of the civilian joint task force. Let us stand up to support our troops because they need our support. This war should be fought with one voice because we don’t want a divided Nigeria. We have to unite in our fight against terrorism.’’

In a message read on behalf of Soyinka by the convener of NUAT, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, Soyinka stressed the importance of unity in the war against terrorism.

He said: “I regret my absence at the rally for an urgent mission. However, I urge Nigerians to shun those things that tend to divide them.

"Despite recent successes by our army, we must understand that the battle is yet to be over. Every citizen must support the fight against terror, irrespective of religion, ethnicity or political leanings.’’

Ngige reconciles warring APC members in Idemili North, South

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free under our APC government.

I also want to use this opportunity to appeal to you to use your media outlets in shaping positive public discourse and eschew hate speech mongering and slanderous political rhetorics which heat up the polity."

OUTH EAST coordinator of Muhammadu Buhari Presidential Campaign Organisation, Senator Chris Ngige, has meddled into the crisis rocking a section of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Idemili North and South federal constituency over alleged manipulation of party primaries.

Ngige, who alongside other APC

chieftains, reconciled Messrs Stanley Okeke and Chibuzor Obiakor, who had been at loggerheads over Idemili North and South federal constituency ticket, urged the aggrieved members to close ranks and work for the party’s victory.

Okeke had taken the party to court to seek redress following an alleged manipulation of the primaries.

Electoral Commission, INEC, to stop Senator Ifeanyi Araraume and Chief Emeka Ihedioha from further campaigning for the governorship election in the state until the court determined who the real candidate of the party was.

Also joined in the current suit against Araraume and Ihedioha are the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and INEC. Chief Okorocha and his party, the APC, are asking the court to restrain Senator Araraume and Chief Ihedioha from continuing with their campaign for the April 11, 2015, governorship election in the state on the platform of the PDP, until the court ruled on their matter to determine who among them was actually the candidate of their party, PDP. In the suit No. FHC/OW/CS/68/2015, the plaintiffs are contending that allowing the two people to campaign for the governorship election would place the APC and its candidate at disadvantage, since what would be on the ballot papers are the logos or symbols of the political parties and not the candidates’ names or photographs.

Obiano’s 15% salary increase, commendable but —Anambra NLC boss

By Nwabueze Okonkwo

O

NITSHA—Anambra State chapter of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has said it was still grappling with the realities on ground in terms of fall in oil prices in the world market, as it affects the minimum wage of its entire workforce.

Anambra State chairman of NLC, Patrick Obianyo, who spoke on Governor Willie Obiano’s one year in office, against the backdrop of inability of the state government to give the state workforce a 100 per cent minimum wage, however, stated that the recent 15 per cent increase in workers’ salaries was a welcome development within the NLC circle.

Obianyo noted that although many other states were paying the exact minimum wage to their workforce, the immediate past administration of Governor Peter Obi just added N10,000 only to workers' salaries, which was nothing to write home about.

He, however, said the present administration had now given them 15 per cent at a time the oil price fell in the world market.

Apart from the 15 per cent increase, the NLC also praised Governor Obiano for increasing the Consolidated Health Salary Structure, CONHESS, from 40 per cent to 60.

Burial

Ndigbo youths in Lagos dissociate from dollar rain

By Olasunkanmi Akoni

A GROUP, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youths Lagos State, yesterday, dissociated itself from the dollar rain allegedly showered on non-indigenes in the state

by President Goodluck Jonathan.

It also denied endorsing any political party or governorship candidates for the elections.

The group made the remarks at a media briefing at the secretariat of Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Lagos State Council, Ikeja.

Leader of the group, Kelvin Okere, said neither the youths nor their leaders were part of collection of money from the All Progressives Congress, APC, and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP..

Okere said they were not unaware of claims that Ohanaeze in Lagos had been bought over and paid in dollars.

He reiterated that the youth group remained independent and apolitical and, therefore, found the allegation very disturbing.

Late Uchenwoke

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R. CHINEDU Uchenwoke of Ulu in Ezeoke village, Anambra State, is dead, aged 42.

He was buried yesterday, March 17, 2015, at Uchenwoke's compound in Ezeoke Village, Anambra State.

He is survived by wife, children, mother, sisters and brothers.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015 — 55

56 — VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18 , 2015

Euphoria fades in Crimea after a year of Russian rule

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AirAsia 8501 crash: Search for bodies ends T

HE search for remain ing bodies from a plane crash in the Java Sea ended yesterday night, the head of Indonesia’s rescue agency has confirmed.

The ships involved in the search will be pulled out today , Bambang Soelistyo told the BBC. It would be recalled that the AirAsia lost contact with flight QZ 8501 on 28 December as it was flying from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore with 162 people on board.

The search effort has recovered 106 bodies, with 56 unaccounted for.

The families of those missing are disappointed but understand that the search cannot go on indefinitely, reports the BBC’s Alice Budisatrijo in Jakarta.

Frangky Chandra, the older brother of Gani Chandra, an Indonesian man who was on board the plane, and whose body has not been found, said it was

The final part of the fuselage has now been recovered difficult for his family to move on.

He said “the most important thing” was that DV1, the official search team, has said it will help with the identification process if any more bodies are found.

Tony Fernandes, the CEO of AirAsia, told reporters last week that he was satisfied with the search operation.”We have been

successful... To get more than 50% is considered a huge success,” he said.

But he added that the search could not “go on indefinitely”.

The fuselage of the crashed plane was located in the Java Sea in mid January and the final part of it that was recoverable was removed at the end of February. Divers established

that those elements of fuselage that had to be left in the sea did not contain any bodies.

The bodies that were recovered were mostly found in and around the wreckage, with a few discovered some 1,000km away, off the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Three were found as recently as 14 March.

Nuclear deal: Iran, world leaders look for technical options

I

RAN and major world powers have been making headway in identifying technical options for a historic nuclear deal March deadline nears but difficult

issues must still be addressed, U.S. and Iranian officials said yesterday.

Already, Iran and six world powers are seeking an agreement to curb

Iran’s most sensitive nuclear activities for at least 10 years in exchange for a gradual end to sanctions on Tehran.

The big powers including Britain, China,

From left: U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Ali Akbar Salehi, on Monday before resuming talks over Iran’s nuclear program in Lausanne, Switzerland,

France, Germany, Russia and the United States aim to complete the framework of a final deal by the end of March and reach a full agreement by June 30.

“We have definitely made progress in terms of identifying technical options for each of the major areas,” the U.S. official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

“There is no way around it. We still have a ways to go. But even within this space, we have some tough issues to address.”

The official said any framework agreement settled this month would need to have key details, including numbers.

“If there is an agreement, I don’t see how it could be meaningful without having some quantitative dimensions,” he said, without elaborating.

Bin laden: Pakistan lawyer shot dead

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Pakistani lawyer under death threats for defending a doctor who helped CIA agents hunt al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was shot dead yesterday police said, and two militant groups

year after Russia’s takeover of Crimea sparked a wave of euphoria across the Black Sea peninsula, residents are suffering growing hardship as prices rise and many fear for the future.

Russia’s flag is flying across Crimea on the anniversary of what President Vladimir Putin calls the region’s historic “return home” after Russian troops seized control of it from Ukraine and the people backed annexation in a referendum.

Since then Putin’s popularity has soared - his face looks down from banners and is emblazoned on Tshirts - and some Crimeans, such as pensioners, say they have benefited.

But foreign investors have fled, the banking sector is paralyzed and many other residents are struggling to make ends meet.

“Crimea will be a backwater of Russia. What’s good here? The prices are crazy and salaries are laughable,” grumbled 35-year-old taxi driver Nikolai, deftly negotiating potholes and rutted roads in the center of the capital, Simferopol.

claimed responsibility.

Samiullah Afridi represented Dr Shakil Afridi, who was jailed in 2012 for 33 years for running a fake vaccination campaign believed to have helped the U.S.

intelligence agency track down bin Laden. That sentence was overturned in 2013 and the doctor is now in jail awaiting a new trial.

Samiullah Afridi was shot dead on Tuesday as

he was returning to his home in the northwestern city of Peshawar, police said. According to media, he had recently returned there from abroad after leaving Pakistan for his safety.

Russian and Crimean flags flutter in the wind during celebrations marking the first anniversary of Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, in central Simferopol on Monday.

Israelis go to poll to elect Netanyahu's successor

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ILLIONS of Israelis turned out to vote yesterday in a tightly-fought election, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing an uphill battle to defeat a strong campaign by the center-left opposition to deny him a fourth term in office.

In many respects, the election has turned into a referendum on “Bibi” Netanyahu, 65, who has been in power for a total of nine years spread over three terms.

If Netanyahu wins, he would be on track to become Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, but would probably also prolong a prickly relationship with the country’s main ally, the United States, at least as long as Barack Obama is in the White House.

Netanyahu has focused on the threat from Iran’s nuclear program and militant Islam. But many Israelis say they are tiring of this message, and the centerleft’s campaign on social and economic issues, especially the high cost of housing and everyday living in Israel, appears to have won support.

Syria: Army kills six in gas attack

A

group monitoring the Syrian civil war said yesterday that government forces carried out a poison gas attack that killed six people in the northwest, and medics posted videos of children suffering what they said was suffocation.

A Syrian military source described the report of an attack in the village of Sarmin in Idlib province as propaganda. “We confirm that we would not use this type of weapon, and we don’t need to use it,” the source said.

President Bashar al-Assad’s government has previously denied accusations that it has used chemical weapons against rebel-held areas in the four-year-old war. Officials were not available for comment.

An army statement said dozens of militants were killed in other areas of Idlib province overnight in clashes and attacks.

VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18 , 2015 — 57

Boko Haram

Nigerian army repels Boko Haram, pushes hard in the northeast

T

HE Nigerian army said yesterday it had repelled Boko Haram from all but threelocalgovernment districts in the northeast, claiming victory for its offensive against the Islamist insurgents less than two weeks before a presidential election.

At the start of this year, Boko

Haram controlled around 20 local government areas, a territory the size of Belgium, in its bloody six-year-old campaign to carve out an Islamic state in religiously mixed Nigeria.

But a concerted push by Nigeria’s military and neighbors Chad, Cameroon and Niger has regained

EU launches team to tackle migrant smugglers

T

HE European Union police agency yesterday launched a new team to crack down on the organized crime gangs that smuggle tens of thousands of migrants across the Mediterranean from North Africa to Europe.

The new team based at Europol’s headquarters in The Hague will analyze and share intelligence gathered by theEUborderagencyFrontex, Interpol and EU member police forces to identify and track smuggling networks.

Rob Wainwright In an example of the work the team will do, Europol announced it had helped Greek authorities who arrested16suspectedhuman traffickers last week.

considerable ground. At the weekend, Nigerian government forces recaptured the city of Bama, the second biggest in northeasterly Borno state.

“We have three local governments remaining, Abadam, Kalabaldi and Gwoza, and we are optimistic that with time we will liberate those,” Lieutenant-General Tobiah Minimah, the army chief of staff, told reporters.

President Goodluck Jonathan, who is running for re-election, had been criticized for not doing enough to tackle the insurgency. His challenger, Muhammadu Buhari, has been campaigning on his reputation for being tough on security matters when he was military ruler of Nigeria in the 1980s.

It is not clear how much impact the military advances will boost Jonathan’s election chances in the tightly fought race.

85% Nigerians use smartphones for product research — GOOGLE STUDY

By Emeka Aginam

W

HILE smart phones are becoming a vital part of online shopping across the globe as a result of mobile devices, new findings from Google’s consumer Barometer tool recently released has revealed that 85 percent of Nigerians use the devices for product research as against 30 percent using computers and six percent using tablets respectively.

The content of the barometer is based on two research studies conducted in 46 different countries, involving over 150,000 respondents.

The Consumer Barometer was launched in 2014 in the country to enhance the understanding of how Nigerians and people across the globe deploy the internet for commercial ac-

tivities.

Now in its fourth year, Google created the Consumer Barometer to provide professionals such as marketers with the latest consumer insights to support their devices for sales strategies and planning in a fast changing digital landscape.

The Consumer Barometer tool explores internet usage in Nigeria and also provides most up to date digital consumer insights.

According to the study, Nigeria is switching to online shopping as 45% of people researched their last purchase online.

“Are you advertising on every screen? Sixty one percent of Nigerian respondents found out about the product they last purchased on a smartphone only; 16 percent on a computer only; 74 percent of

Nigerian respondents used the internet for early inspiration and 49 percent to compare products during their last purchase,” the study added.

Google’s Country Manager for Nigeria, Juliet Ehimuan, while giving details of the study in Lagos, said that the Consumer Barometer remained the most comprehensive free tool for anyone looking trying to understand and compare how people use the internet around the world.

“For the 2014 edition, we worked closely with Hive, a London-based digital products and services design studio and the work involved 150,000 respondents in 46 different countries and profiled vertical sectors as clothing and footwear, home appliances, flights, hotels, cosmetics and groceries."

58 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

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Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015 — 59

Bolivia opts out of Eagles friendly

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HE Bolivian Foot ball Federation (FBF) yesterday called off next week’s international friendly game against the Super Eagles of Nigeria at the Akwa Ibom international stadium for fear of Islamic terrorist group, Boko Haram.

Carlos Chavez, President of the Federation said at a press conference in the eastern city of Santa Cruz that the FBF did not bow to the wish of national team coach,Mauricio Soria who wanted the match cancelled because of the distance between Nigeria and Bolivia.

Soria had requested last week that the Bolivia-Nigeria clash should be cancelled because the trip would last five days.

“The armed conflict in Nigeria and the tense political situation forced the cancellation of the game,” said Chavez Chavez expects there will be no financial penalty for breach of contract signed by Full Play and FIFA agent who organized the meeting, Colombian Jairo Pachon.

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JUSTICE DELAYED: Super Eagles goalkeeper, Vincent Enyeama's chance of winning 100 caps for Nigeria is delayed by Bolivia.

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HE Nigeria Football Federation has dragged Bolivia to FIFA following its unilateral cancellation of next week’s international friendly game with the Super Eagles of Nigeria at the Akwa Ibom international stadium in Uyo. Amaju Pinnick, President of the federation said that the NFF has fired a

Dir ty ffight ight in Nigeria Dirty Cricket ….Sagoe blasts Onyeama over suspension

BY JOHN EGBOKHAN

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war of attrition and personal victimization is currently tearing apart the heart and soul of the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) following the suspension of the immediate past President of the body, Kwesi Sagoe by the incumbent Engr Emeka Onyeama “So if somebody suspends me for anti-Nigerian activities, that is a serious accusation to make and I am not taking it lightly because my integrity is at stake. I started playing for Nigeria in 1978 and when I joined the board of the NCF in 1998, till now and I am the oldest person on the current board. I was President from 2007 to 2013 and during those years and for the first

Ifeanyi Ubah Utd impress in defeat

time, Nigeria qualified for the World Cricket League. With all I have done and for somebody to now suspend me for anti-Nigerian activities is not something that I will allow to go just like that.

“The heart of the matter is that my tenure as the President of the Africa Cricket Association expires this Friday and we will have elections on Saturday and what is happening is not unconnected to the ACA polls, which I am contesting as the President against a Tanzanian, Taher Kitisa, whose nomination was seconded to by Onyeama, the person accusing me of anti-Nigerian activities”, added Sagoe, whose nomination was proposed and seconded

by Mozambique and Ghana respectively.

IGERIA Premier League debutants Ifeanyi Uba United Football Club began the season on a winning note against highly fancied Warri Wolves Football Club in the opening week. They were at the receiving end last weekend as they succumbed to Sunshine Stars of Akure 2-1.

The newly promoted Anambra State kings were almost achieving their dream of earning at least one point from the encounter.

Chukwudi Stephen looked to have rescued a point for the visitors, but the hosts struck late

NFF drags ‘em to FIFA

strongly worded letter to the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) alleging breach of contract and revealed

FIFA has informed the Bolivia Football Federation of the consequences of its action.

Pinnick also revealed the

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“As for Nigeria, we know they are tough, arrogant and you can never be arrogant when you are not confident.

So, we have to go and compete, not just tactically, but also mentally and physically. Let’s not forget they might come here spitting fire because we denied them a chance to go to the Afcon. So, it is going to be a very tough encounter,” Mashaba said.

NFF was already shopping for a replacement for Bolivia.

‘We are already looking for another country to re-

on to take all three points The tension soaked game saw the hosts shoot into the lead in the first half before the visitors restored parity from the penalty spot, with the home team getting the winner with few seconds to the end of the game.

On resumption of the second half, the visitors put every foot right and caused moments of panic for their hosts but had their efforts curtailed

by Kunle Odunlami and ultimately Mutiu Adegoke who occasionally made some attacking runs into the opponents defence.

place the Bolivians while FIFA sort out the breach of the contract we signed with the FBF,’said Pinnick who assured that the Super Eagles will play on March 26 in Uyo.

Nigeria’ll spit fire — Mashaba

HAKES Mashaba says their two upcoming friendlies against Swaziland and Nigeria are very important for Bafana Bafana as they are already preparing for the 2017 Afcon qualifiers Bafana take on Swaziland on March 25 in Mbabane, before facing the Super Eagles of Nigeria at the Mbombela Stadium four days later.

“These are very important matches, even the way they are structured because if you remember well when we played the 2015 Afcon qualifiers they were like this, and soon we will be going back to the qualifiers again. So, this is a good exercise for us as it prepares us well,” Mashaba said at a press conference yesterday.

“Our main task is to build a new team, a team that will bring results. I know many will say we are playing Swaziland they are weak, but we have to be careful because many countries are regrouping. As we are going to Swaziland, we should not forget that any team that play South Africa wants to win.

•Mashaba

GOtv Boxing Night:

Expect world title soon — Usman

By JACOB AJOM

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EW West African Featherweight champion, Waidi “Skoro” Usman has promised Nigerian boxing fan a world title in the nearest future.

Speaking after knocking out Ghana’s Alfred “Ahwor” Quaye in the second of their scheduled 12round contest, the reigning National Featherweight champion said the fight has brought him more hunger for greater things. The feat was achieved at the second edition of the GOtV Box-

ing Night, held at the National Stadium, Lagos, on Sunday night.

“The next step is to ensure we go for the Commonwealth and world titles,” Usman said, adding that with the support of GOtv and Flykite Productions, he was sure to have more fights and better his ranking in both the Commonwealth and world boxing bodies.

Usman, who became national champion in his class at the maiden edition of the GOtv Boxing Night, stopped his boastful oppo-

nent without much stress and made nonsense of Quaye’s pre-match boast that he was out to prove Ghana’s superiority over Nigeria in sports.

•Waidi ‘Skoro’ Usman displays his national belt

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015 — 60

Sunderland confirm Advocaat as interim head coach D ICK Advocaat has achieved his long standing ambition to manage in the Premier League after being appointed Sunderland’s head coach until the end of the season.

The much-travelled

67-year-old former Holland manager replaces the sacked Gus Poyet for a nine-game sojourn in which Sunderland trust he will keep the struggling team out of the Championship.

Although Lee

Congerton, Sunderland’s sporting director, had not met Advocaat until the Dutchman’s arrival from Holland on Monday night he was advised to hire him by Frank Arnesen, the former Chelsea director of football.

Teams set to vie for Edo FA Cup

T

WENTY men and w o m e n ’ s teams in Edo State are set to begin battle for the top prizes in both categories of the state FA Cup. An elaborate draws ceremony and presentation of trophies for the competition was held

on Monday at the media centre of the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City.

The competition begins on March 31, with Ine Stars battling Press Stars in the opening game in the men’s category while the final of both events is scheduled for the Samuel Ogbemudia

Stadium, Benin City, on April 5.

The winners’ trophy christened the Adams Oshiomhole Cup was donated by former Nigeria player and coach, Austin Eguavoen while the Pius Odubu Cup for the losing finalists was donated by Osaro Asemota.

Heineken Set to Reward Consumers with Exotic UCL Finale of their offerings to

A

S the UEFA Champions League battles

intensify on the football pitch, Heineken is also raising the bar in terms

Keshi: Decision in four days, says NFF boss

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IGERIA will decide in three days whether Stephen Keshi will continue as the country ’s coach, according to the president of the country ’s football federation.

Keshi has been without a contract since after the World Cup in Brazil last summer.

As a result, his assistant, Daniel Amokachi, will be in charge of two friendly matches against Bolivia and South Africa later this month.

“I told the senate that within 10 days and by God’s grace within the next four days(three today) this thing (Keshi’s appointment or not) would be completed. It’s either he is in or he is not in,” said NFF boss Amaju Pinnick.

Pinnick maintained he expects Keshi to accept the new contract without any objections.

“So we are not saying 100% that it is Keshi, we are not saying that I can assure you 100%. It can be other persons. It can

only be Keshi provided he accepts 100% the contract we have offered him. If he doesn’t accept it, then I can tell you right away that he is not going to be our coach,” he stated.

“Now if Keshi says for example that one clause in that contract is not good for him, it means he doesn’t want the job, so we can now open it and look for other coaches that are ready to coach Nigeria.

“Like I have said before, I will say again, if Keshi decided not to accept the contract, we are not going to change the contract for any other person we want to employ because to us what is good for the goose is good for the gander.

•Pinnick

Nigerians. For nine consecutive years, Heineken has sponsored the world’s biggest club football tournament, while delivering amazing benefits to the fans.

Every year, Heineke n has rewarded Nigerian fans with once-in-alifetime trips to watch the UEFA Champions League finals, live in Europe.

This season, in addition to fantastic prizes being given away every minute of every UEFA Champions League match, Nigerian fans also have a unique opportunity to enjoy the UCL final match in Ibiza, an exotic island off the coast of Spain.

Nigerians will join fans from 35 other countries for Heineken’s worldfamous Ibiza Final, where Heineken creates the ultimate match night in a way only Heineken can.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015 — 61

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Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

Barca will make Man City Page 31 ‘suffer’ today, says Iniesta Today's Matches Barca v Man City 8.45pm Dortmund v Juv 8.45pm

Ghana must go!

F/Eagles vow

Kick off: 6pm Page 30 •Toure

•Iniesta

CAF orders Dolphins to remain in Tunis Page 30

59

Pa ge

Bolivia opts out of Eagles friendly

Sunderland confirm Advocaat as interim head coach Page 60

...As NFF drags 'em to FIFA

Advocaat

QUICK CROSSWORD

TODAY'S

PUZZLE

FRI DAY'S FRIDAY'S

ANSWERS

ACROSS 3 Fear (5) 9 Bird (6) 10 Office (6) 11 List (5) 12 Nurse (4) 15 Burrow (4) 17 Penetrated (7) 20 Epoch (3) 21 Fiend (5) 23 Dregs (4) 25 Thin (4) 26 Rushed (5) 28 Serpent (3) 30 Stream (7) 33 Employed (4) 35 Satisfy (4) 36 Sorrow (5) 38 Harmony (6) 39 Wrong (6) 40 Irritable (5)

DOWN 1 Sharp (5) 2 Perfume (5) 3 Spot (3) 4 Wandered (6) 5 Competent (4) 6 Owing (3) 7 Wigwam (5) 8 Ration (5) 13 Continuous (7) 14 Dissuade (5) 16 Bauble (7) 18 Postpone (5) 19 Pass (3) 22 Drink (5) 24 Weaken (3) 27 Amuse (6) 28 Presage (5) 29 Danger (5) 31 Language (5) 32 Taut (5) 34 Sea-eagle (4) 36 Obtained (3) 37 Clairvoyant (3)

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS ACROSS: Debris 5, Stupid 9, Spoor 10, Rabble 11, Letter 12, Eerie 14, Sold 17, Did 18, Cede 20, Spear 22, Hired 23, Tingled 24, Piled 26, Rebut 29, Iced 30, Rep 32, Rare 33, Fatal 35, Larger 37, Egret 38, Rankle 39, Dearer.

DOWN: 1, Duress 2, Babble 3, Isle 4, Speed 5, Solid 6, Tree 7, Putter 8, Darted 13, Ringlet 15 Optic 18, Cider 19, Demur 21, Rid 22, Her 24, Pillar 25, Lessen 27, Banger 28, Terror 30, Ranger 31, Paled 33, Feel 34, Late.

How to Play Sudoku

P

lace a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line can have two of the same number).

Each row (nine lines from left to right), column, (also nine lines from top to bottom) and 3 X 3 block within a bold block (nine blocks) contains number from 1 through 9. This means that no number can appear twice in any block, column or row.

No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction, division or multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination.

Printed and Published by VANGUARD MEDIA LIMITED, Vanguard Avenue, Kirikiri Canal, P.M.B.1007, Apapa. Phone: Newsroom: 018773962. Deputy Editor: 01-4548355. Advert Dept Hotline: 014544821; Abuja: 09-2341102, 09-2342704. E-mail: editor@vanguardngr.com, news@vanguardngr.com, letters@vanguardngr.com. Advert:advertproduction@yahoo.com Website: www.vanguardngr.com (ISSN 0794-652X) Editor: MIDENO BAYAGBON. Phone: 01-7742861, All correspondence to P.M.B. 1007, Apapa Lagos.

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