Impeachment Bid: Nasarawa erupts in protests

...towards a better life for the people VOL. 25: NO. 62190

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FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

Malaysian plane with 295 56 on board shot down in Ukraine FG moves to break P.9 IMPEACHMENT BID: business monopolies

Nasarawa erupts in protests

BY UMAR YUSUF, ABDULWAHAB ADULAH & ABEL DANIEL

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•APC, PDP supporters clash over Al-Makura •Houses set ablaze, many injured; Police wade in •Reactions trail Ngilari's alleged forced resignation

AFIA— HELL was literally let loose, yesterday, in Lafia, Nasarawa State capital as supporters of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, engaged in a free-for-all, using dangerous weapons over attempts to impeach the state governor, Alhaji Umaru Tanko AlMakura by the state

Continues on page 5

MALALA: Presidency embarrassed Nigerians over Chibok girls — APC 9 Mr & Mrs

IMPEACHMENT— Nasarawa State residents took to the streets, yesterday, protesting moves to impeach Governor Tanko Al-Makura. Photos: Gbemiga Olamikan.

Truck owners, drivers to move vehicles 8 out of Apapa in 24 hrs

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POCKET CARTOON

PARTING GIFT—President Goodluck Jonathan presenting a gift to the out-going Ambassador of Serbia to Nigeria, Mr. Rifat Rondic during a farewell visit by the ambassador to the President at the State House, Abuja, yesterday. Photo: Abayomi Adeshida.

Nasarawa erupts in protests Continues from page 1 House of Assembly.

Reacting to the impeachment move last Wednesday, some youths demonstrated at the Orange Market at Mararaba, Keffi, Akwanga and other parts of the state capital, prompting the deployment of hundreds of anti-riot policemen and

other security operatives who quelled the protests.

Fresh crisis, however, erupted yesterday, when it became known that the state lawmakers had advertised the impeachment notice in two newspapers, following inability of the Clerk of the House to personally serve the governor.

Supporters of the rul-

LIFEWORDS

BY PASTOR ITUAH When you encounter rejection, shake it off and move on. Sooner or later you will succeed if you don’t quit. Don’t personalise it; because someone rejects what you have to offer doesn’t mean you are being rejected.

TAKE HEART

BY ELLA RANDLE

Happiness and the state of joy is ever lasting when it comes from within— Take Heart Quotes

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NHAPPINESS lies in that gap between what we have now and what we think we need. But the truth is, we don’t need to acquire anything more to be content with what we already have. We don’t need anyone else’s permission to be happy. Your life is magnificent not because someone says it is, or because you have acquired something new, but because you choose to see it as such. Don’t let your happiness be held hostage. It is always yours to choose, to live and experience.

And from the experts of wisdom notes, Mack and Angel Hack comes this beautiful saying. “As soon as you stop making everyone and everything else responsible for your happiness, the happier you’ll be. If you’re unhappy now, it’s not someone else’s fault. Take full responsibility for your own unhappiness, and you will instantly gain the ability to be happier. Stop seeking in vain to arrange conditions that will make you happy.” Simply choose to appreciate the greatness that is yours in this moment, and the right conditions will start to line up around the contentment you seek.

ing APC immediately took to the streets in Tundun Kwandara area of Lafia and burnt down a billboard advertising the PDP which elicited violent response from PDP supporters. In the process, many of the protesters were injured while houses were set ablaze.

One of the victims, a youth who sustained a matchet cut injury, reportedly went into coma having lost much blood.

He was rushed to the intensive care unit of Dalhatu Arafat specialist hospital, Lafia.

Residents were apprehensive that the clash may degenerate into a religious fight as the injured youth is a Christian of Eggon extraction.

The clash was also said to have taken place in an Eggon area.

The police PPRO, ASP Numan Ismaila, who confirmed the incident in Lafia said that the force had made some arrests , while investigation has commenced. He also said the officers and men of the police force have been deployed to the area to restore peace and order.

Reactions trail Ngilari's "forced" resignation

Meanwhile, mixed reactions have trailed the purported resignation of the Deputy Governor of

Adamawa State, Mr James Bala Ngilari, who claimed that he signed the letter of resignation under duress.

Following the impeachment of Governor Murtala Nyako, his deputy, Ngilari was said to have also resigned and submitted his letter

to the Speaker of the state House of Assembly.

Ngilari said that a truck load of armed policemen stormed his house and forced him to sign a resignation letter addressed to the Speaker of the House. He insisted that he remained the Deputy Governor.

Reacting to his claim, Mallam Yusuf Ali, SAN, said: “I find it curious and spurious for an adult to say that kind of thing.

It was amazing for him to say that. Was it that a gun was put to his head?

“Why saying all that now? He is not a primary school boy, he was a Deputy Governor of a state. I think such person and issue should not be given any prominence”.

In his reaction, Mr Emeka Ngige, SAN, said: “His case can be examined in line with section 306 (5) of the

1999 constitution, which states that: “The notice of resignation of the governor and of the Deputy Governor of a state shall respectively be addressed to the Speaker of the House of Assembly and the governor of the state”.

What this means is that the governor shall submit his resignation letter to the Speaker of the House, while the Deputy Governor shall submit his resignation letter to the Governor.

“The Deputy Governor may have sent the letter to the House of Assembly out of ignorance or by intimidation. He may have been instructed by the lawmakers believing that they were in charge.

“Technically, he remains the acting Governor of Adamawa State, if he goes to court, the court may set the resignation aside”.

Ramadan: FCT Minister grants amnesty to 29 prisoners

BY HENRY UMORU

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BUJA —MINIS TER of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, Senator Bala Mohammed, yesterday, granted amnesty to 29 prisoners, who were convicted by various courts within the Federal Capital Territory judicial district for different offences that have option of fine.

The prisoners had been serving in Kuje Medium Security Prison and the Suleja Prison.

Represented at the ceremony which took place at Kuje Prison by the General Counsel of the FCT Administration, Mr Ima Okpongete, the FCT Minister noted that the gesture was in tandem with the disposition of his administration to impact positively on the welfare of the people, particu-

larly the less privileged.

He added that he decided to grant the convicts amnesty by offsetting their various fines because he believed that many of them could still be reformed and contribute positively to societal development.

He enjoined the beneficiaries of the gesture to permanently keep away from crime, so as not to find themselves in prison again.

According to him, their freedom represents their last chance to chart a new path of orderliness, civility and good conduct as responsible members of the society.

The prisoners were convicted with varying amounts of fines, ranging from N55,000 to N3,000.

Due to their lowly economic backgrounds, they were unable to pay the

fines and had to be committed to prison.

The Minister took the decision to grant amnesty to the prisoners following his recent inspection of the prisons to ascertain the condition of inmates as well as facilities on ground.

In approving the unconditional release of the convicts, the Minister offset a total of N543, 500 being the combined fines of the 29 affected prisoners. He also presented the sum of N10,000 to each of them to enable them transport themselves home.

A breakdown of the amount shows that 10 prisoners whose combined fines totaled N149,500 were released from Medium Security Prison, Kuje, while 19 others whose total fines amounted to N316,000 were released from Suleja Prison.

6—Vanguard , FRIDAY FRIDAY,, JULY 18, 2014

How 75-yr-old man defrauded job seekers

BY TINA AKANNAM

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UTSE— THE Jigawa State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, has arrested a 75-year-old man who duped applicants of N45,000 each, promising to get them jobs as task force officers.

The suspect, one Mallam Aliyu Yahaya, who is said to have defrauded hundreds of unsuspecting youths seeking to work as task force officers was arrested in Ringim town of Jigawa State on Wednesday by officers of the corps.

Speaking while parading the culprit before the newsmen in his office in Dutse, Commandant of the corps, Dr. Muhammad Gidado, said this man had fleeced his victims who are desperate to be recruited as task force employees under the Federal Ministry of Interior of millions of naira.

According to him, the suspect confessed that the money he collected was remitted to one retired police officer in Kaduna State after taking his commission of N5,000 per person.

The commandant further disclosed that they found some copies of fake appointment letters with the suspect.

Ogun Police arrest two fleeing kidnappers in Ebonyi •Say suspects abducted siblings in Ijebu-Ode

BY DAUD OLATUNJI & PETER OKUTU

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BEOKUTA — THE Ogun State Police Command yesterday, said it had arrested two fleeing kidnappers in Ebonyi State after they allegedly kidnapped their victims at Molipa, Ijebu Ode on July 8.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, who disclosed this in a statement said one Kingson Sunday and August Johnson were nabbed by detectives attached to the Criminal Investigations Department of the command.

According to Adejobi, the prime suspect, Mr. Kingson Sunday, had kidnapped Tolulope Kosoko and Omodolapo Kosoko, who are children of same parents.

“The parents of the victims had relied on a person called Sunday, who is a friend to a family friend, to help them drop and pick up the children after school.

Tolulope and Omodolapo, who are nine and seven years respectively, are pupils of Imperial International School, Molipa, Ijebu Ode. “On the fateful day, Sunday decided to kidnap the two children and fled with them to Ebonyi State.

“Sunday, a teacher, later contacted the parents of the victims and demanded a ransom of N500,000.

“Later, he sent the account details of the second suspect, Mr. August Johnson, a teacher residing at Ohaozara in Ebonyi.

A sum of N150,000 was deposited in the said account by the Police.

“The suspects were arrested

while trying to withdraw the money from the account with the help of the police informants on surveillance in Ebonyi State.

“Sunday had changed the names of the victims. He changed the name of Tolulope Kosoko to Bishop, while that of Omodolapo was changed to Turey.

“The suspects were arrested in Ohaukwu Ebonyi on July 15 by the detectives from Ogun State

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OKOJA — THE Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, has suspended four officers who invaded the premises of the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board, JAMB, on Wednesday, assaulting the agency’s staff and journalists in the process.

Disclosing this yesterday in Lokoja, state commandant of the NSCDC, Mr. Dayo Adesuyi, said their suspension followed the directive of the Commandant General, who instructed that the erring officials be punished.

He said: “Following the ugly incident of Wednesday, the Commandant-General of NSCDC, Dr. Ade Abolurin, has ordered me to sanction those involved in the ugly incident. So far, four officials have been suspended in respect of the incident.”

Adesuyi, however, said the agency invaded the JAMB office because of intelligence reports that the Boko Haram sect would strike in Kogi State through some private security guards.

“My officer in charge of the private guards companies, PGCs, went round on Wednesday to verify whether the security company at JAMB office

“We have concluded our own investigation on the kidnap of the two children by their teacher and on Thursday morning, a team of police officers from our command had to escort the suspects to Ogun State for them to continue the investigation and prosecution of the suspect. The victims have been re-united with their parents and have also gone back to Ogun State were the reside.

The suspects

Police raid Delta community, shoot 3 villagers

BY EMMAAMAIZE

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BREDE—POLICEMEN from Delta State Police Headquarters in Asaba allegedly shot and wounded

4 NSCDC officials suspended for invading Kogi JAMB office

BY BOLUWAJI OBAHOPO

after a rigorous investigation.

On his part, the Ebonyi Police Command spokesman, ASP Chris Anyanwu, said: "The suspects have been transferred to the Ogun State Police command for further investigation and prosecution.

According to Anyanwu, the two victims have been re-united with their family and have also gone back to Ogun State where they reside.

was genuinely registered.

While in JAMB office, an argument ensued which later led to fracas; even one of my officials was wounded in the process and is still receiving treatment.”

Adesuyi apologised to the JAMB officials who were assaulted, promising that the agency will take responsibility for the damaged door and hospital bills of the wounded JAMB staff.

He also solicited the cooperation of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, in its bid to rid the country of criminality.

three persons at Ibrede community, Ndokwa East Local Government Area, Delta State, in the early hours of yesterday Those shot were Favour Ogbere, Ezekiel Ibere and Iwarioka Edhere.

The Divisional Police Officer, DPO, at Ashaka, one Mr Adeleke, was reportedly not briefed about the raid carried out by the policemen from Asaba.

Leaders of Ibrede community, who spoke to Vanguard on phone, yesterday, said the policemen swooped on the town at about 4.30 am, shooting three persons.

It was gathered that since a communal clash in the community in April, the police have frequently been paying visits to Ibrede and arresting persons.

Chair, Ibrede community, Benin branch, Mr. Jackson Imegu, said there was anger in the community over yesterday’s invasion by the policemen, who came in four

Hilux vehicles.

His words: ‘’The Police are gleefully doing the bidding of one of the factional leaders and his cohorts, who are against the peace efforts of very respected Ibrede sons and daughters in Diaspora and at home. ‘’Kwale prison is brimming with suspects, including the president-general of the community, Mr Finbarrs Onomerike and others, locked up at the instance of a faction since April 30 and without bail.

"Only last week, the high court sitting in Kwale granted nine of the suspects bail and that brought palpable calm and relief to the community with machinery already in motion by the Odionlogbo of the area, Chief Douglas Iliroma and other leaders of thought, on how some of the burnt houses could be reconstructed and the internally displaced persons rehabilitated, when suddenly some persons took laws into their hands and wrought the latest havoc using policemen.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014 — 7

Police shut 2 fuel stations, nab 5 over stolen petrol

Gunmen kill 3 youths in P-Harcourt

BY JIMITOTA ONOYUME

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ORT HARCOURT— THE Rivers State Police Command, yesterday, confirmed the killing of three youths, Wednesday night, in Amadi Ama area of Port Harcourt.

The gunmen allegedly killed the youths in a compound called Heaven Gate at about 10pm.

Neighbourhood sources said two of the three shot died on the spot while the third gave up the ghost at a hospital where he was rushed to.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ahmad Mohammad, who confirmed the development said one of the youths was to contest for the President of the youth organisation in the area.

BY EVELYN USMAN

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AGOS — OPERATIVES of the Inspector-General of Police Special Task Force on AntiPipeline Vandalism Unit have arrested five persons, who are managers and supervisors of two petrol stations in Ikorodu area of Lagos, alleged to be receivers of stolen petroleum products from vandalised pipelines belonging to Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC. Consequently, the petrol stations namely, Conoil and Ododo, have been shut down by the operatives with their owners said to be on the run.

The arrest, according to the Assistant Commissioner of Police in-charge of the unit, Friday Ibadin, was made last weekend following a tip-off from members of an undisclosed community around Epe, that trucks loaded with petroleum products suspected to have been siphoned were sighted close to NNPC pipeline.

Ibadin said operatives led by the Lagos State Sector Commander, Samson Olawoyin, a Superintendent of Police, trailed the trucks to Ododo and Conoil petrol stations in Ikorodu where the product was being discharged.

He said: “We are still on the trail of Badewa Bola, owner of the Conoil petrol station, who disappeared when he got information that policemen visited his office. Both petrol stations have been shut down.

“Meanwhile, I wish to use this opportunity to warn all petrol station operators that it is no longer business as usual. We will clamp down on anyone found to be patronising vandals. The fact remains that if there is no market, pipeline vandalisation will stop.

We sincerely appreciate efforts of the community for assisting us with prompt information.”

Station manager denies knowledge of siphoned product

The Conoil petrol station manager, Olaniyi Tope, during interrogation denied having any knowledge that the product was siphoned, stating rather that the transaction was done by his boss, one Badewa Bola, who is on the run.

He said: “On July 13, 2013, my boss, Mr Bala, called me on the phone and informed that a truck loaded with PMS (petrol) was heading towards our station. He instructed me to ensure that payment was made as soon as the product was discharged. But while they were discharging the product, policemen stormed the station and arrested me and the supervisor.

“I am only an errand boy. I honestly do not know anything about this. Before the arrival of the Po-

The suspects lice, I asked the supervisor to check if the document the supplier brought was proper and he said yes. My boss is guilty, not me.”

I was tempted by the offer —Suspect

On his part, manager of Ododo petrol station, Alabi Olagunla, also claimed that he never knew the product was siphoned from a vandalized pipeline. He explained rather, that he was tempted by the price the supplier offered to sell the product.

His words: “The supplier,

Adeleke, came to my office and said he had a truck load of petrol to sell at N90 per litre.

Since we are out to make gain, I quickly accepted the offer and bought the product.

"To my shock, some policemen stormed my office later, accompanied by Adeleke, who was handcuffed. When I demanded to know what the problem was, the Police said the product we bought was siphoned from the NNPC pipeline in Epe. My desperation to make profit made me forget to ask for the waybill and it has landed me in trouble.”

The alleged supplier, Adeleke

Adetoro, admitted that the product was siphoned but pleaded to be given a second chance.

He said: “I am quite aware of the source of the product but the man who linked me up with the vandals told me that they had the necessary document that will not give us away. He gave me a waybill which was supposed to serve as proof of ownership. But I did not study the documents very well, if not, I would have noticed that the date on it showed that it was issued last year. I am very sorry. Please give me a second chance.”

2 arrested with corpse of 2-yr-old girl in Aba

Man nabbed for defiling 2-yr-old girl

BY PETER OKUTU

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BAKALIKI—THE Ebonyi State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of a 30-year-old man, Ama Inya Okoro, for allegedly defiling a two-year-old girl in Unwana in Afikpo North Local Government Area of the state.

Briefing newsmen at the command’s headquarters in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, ASP Chris Anyanwu, who frowned at the rampant rape cases in the state revealed that the suspect committed the dastardly act when the victim was asleep.

BY ANAYO OKOLI

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MUAHIA — THE Abia State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Wednesday, arrested two men with the corpse of a two-yearold girl.

The suspects were apprehended when they were trying to bury the corpse in an abandoned pit in Osisioma, near Aba. The middle-aged suspects are Jonathan Nwogu from Mgboko Umuola in Obingwa Local Government Area of the state and Chibuike Anubuife from Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State.

They were caught at Enyimba filling station near Ariaria International, Aba while trying to take the girl's corpse in a sack for burial.

Parading the suspects in Umuahia, the state commandant of the NSCDC, Andy Dateer, said: “It was a very sad day for the command.”

The suspects According to him, his men on a routine patrol caught two men in possession of a corpse of a girl of about two years old in a sack. He said his men were attracted to the scene following a quarrel between them and a man who would have conveyed them to the scene in his car.

“As people started gathering, the owner of the car zoomed off and my men

arrested the two suspects,” he said.

Dateer said they will be handed over to the Police for proper investigation.

“If they had not been saved by his men the public would have lynched them and the society would not be able to know the mystery behind their act,” he said.

In an interview, Chibuike Anubuife said he saw the

other man for the first time and he asked him to help him bury the dead girl.

Anubuife said that he was still discussing the logistics for the burial of the girl before the men of the NSCDC arrested them.

In his response, the other suspect, Jonathan Nwogu said a man approached him to help him bury the girl.

8—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

Parents, guardians task FG on quality education

BY CALEB AYANSINA

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BUJA—PARENTS and guardians have called on government at all levels to improve the quality of education in spite of insecurity and other factors affecting the sector.

They were of the view that insurgency, frequent strike actions of academic unions, mismanagement of resources, among others, should not be used as excuses to deny Nigerian students of quality education.

They stated this at the Annual Graduation and Award Ceremony of 2013/14 Session of the Nobel Heights College, Karu, Abuja.

The parents, at a separate interview with Vanguard, maintained that nobody, be it government, private body or individuals, should be deterred by the challenges of improving the standard of education in the country.

The Chairman of the occasion, Dr. Abubakar Mohammed, said it is a must for every parent or guardian to give his or her wards quality education.

He said: “For me as a parent, education is like a war. It is something we must win if the future of this nation must be guaranteed.”

Truck owners, drivers to move vehicles out of Apapa within 24 hrs

BY GODWIN ORITSE

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HE Federal G o v e r n m e n t , Petroleum Tanker Divers, PTD, truck owners and other stakeholders reached an agreement yesterday to move all the tankers, trucks and other articulated vehicles out of the Apapa area within 24 hours to pave way for the repairs of the bad spots on the road.

Disclosing this at the end of a meeting with the maritime stakeholders in Lagos, Senior Special Assistant to the President, Monitoring and Implementation, Professor Sylvester Monye said President Goodluck Jonathan had been inundated with calls over the traffic situation in Apapa.

Monye said the situation got so bad that businesses, including port operations, were affected as manpower and revenue were being lost as a result of the traffic gridlock.

Monye also said a new call-up system for tankers and articulated vehicles will be re-introduced with a view to monitoring the movement of such vehicles into the Apapa area.

Besides the agreement by maritime stakeholders to move their vehicles out of Apapa, the government is also considering going into partnership with land owners within Ogun State to build truck parks.

Duration of repairs

It was further agreed that

TRAFFIC: Oshodi-Apapa Expressway still at the mercy of petroleum tankers and containers. PHOTO: Diran Oshe. after all the vehicles would have been moved out of Apapa, the contractor will move to site and the road would be repaired within two weeks.

Monye reiterated that the road was not a park but was made for everybody to use.

He said: “The road is not their park.

Federal Government would not provide truck park for them.

“Does anybody provide truck park for Ekene Dilichukwu and the Young Shall grow? Everybody provides their parks, so why are we being held to ransom?

“We want to cooperate with them by assisting them. It does not necessarily mean that it is the responsibility of

the Federal Government.

They are there to make money; they should take care of themselves.

“What we need to do is to get rid of the trucks to enable the contractor get to work.”

PTD assures on compliance

Speaking in a similar vein, the National Chairman of PTD, Mr. Salimouu Akanni, said his members will comply with the agreement reached at the meeting.

Oladiti explained that his group agreed to move their trucks out of the road so that Nigerians will not blame tanker drivers for any problem that may arise.

Activists take to Twitter over FG's image contract

BY EMMANUEL AZIKEN, Political Editor

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IGERIAN activists, yesterday, took to twitter to condemn a public relations contract entered into by the Federal Government to repair its image over the perceived mishandling of the abduction of more than 200 girls by the Islamist terrorist group, Boko Haram.

The activists, led by former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, chided the international public relations firm, Levick Strategic Communications, for valuing money more than the lives of the abducted girls.

The contract, which is said to cost the Federal Government a minimum of $125,000 monthly,

besides running costs, is to run for 12 months starting from June 16.

The activists, however, differed over the strategic importance of the public relations contract as they alleged that it put the image of the government above efforts to rescue the girls who were kidnapped by the terrorists more than three months ago.

The activists are putting pressure on the firm through tweets to some international personalities, including two United States senators, John McCain and Ted Cruz.

“Our Presidency deployed our public resources to hire US firm @LEVICK to label innocent

citizens ‘terrorists’,” Ezekwesili tweeted yesterday.

Ezekwesili was followed by the Bring-Back-Our-Girls group, which on its own tweet said: “How can you call #bbog campaigners terrorists? What sort of nonsense is this from @levick?”

Another Nigerian, with the twitter handle, #TheBlessedoftheLord @erahomo, in a tweet yesterday said: “But really, why would FG engage @levick For PR or to set citizens against one another?

That’s PR gone wrong.”

An hour after her initial tweet, Ezekwesili followed up with an advice to the administration, saying “my free image laundering advice to our Presidency is to take

actions that would rebuild citizens trust. Act concretely to #BringBackOurGirls.”

A lawyer, with the twitter handle akpata Esq. þ@mcspella , said: “All well meaning Nigerians should ask @LEVICK to please #bringbackourmoney. They are taking advantage of our President’s insecurity.”

Victor Ovedhe, in his own tweet yesterday, said the money paid to the firm should have been directed to the former governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

He said: “Federal Government should have channelled the money paid to @LEVICK to hire Arnold Schwarzenegger to help #BRINGBACKOURGIRLS.”

He told Vanguard that while meeting was going on, messages were being passed to their members to begin to move their trucks.

Also reacting to the traffic situation, the Publisher of Businessday, Mr. Frank Aigbogun, threatened to mobilise residents in and around Apapa to block every entrance into Apapa.

He argued that the traffic gridlock had led to depreciation of property in Apapa area, adding that people are also moving their businesses out of the place.

Lagos govt reacts

According to Lagos State Commissioner for Transport, Mr. Kayode Opeifa, any truck that goes against the new arrangement will be towed, noting that the number of trucks that come into Lagos every day was more than what the state can cope with.

He, however, called on the management of Nigerian National Petroleum Corpora-tion, NNPC, to consider re-arranging the distribution of petroleum product across depots in the country.

Roll call

Also at the meeting were Senior Special Assistant to President on Maritime Matters, Mr. Leke Oyewole; representatives of Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA; Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Association of Maritime Transport Owners, AMATO; Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners, NARTO, and NNPC.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014—9

MALALA: Presidency embarrassed Nigerians over Chibok parents— APC T

HAT it took 17-year-old girl child education campaigner, Pakistani Malala Yousafzai’s visit for President Goodluck Jonathan to agree to a meeting with representatives of the parents of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls, has been described as an embarrassment by All Progressives Congress, APC. ‘’President Jonathan, who has already embarrassed himself and Nigerians by his failure to visit Chibok since the girls were abducted over 90 days ago, has compounded the embarrassment and insulted

Nigerians by waiting for Malala to goad him to meet with the girls’ parents, not in Chibok but in Abuja,” the party said in a statement, yesterday in Lagos, by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

It said after the meeting failed because the parents were not properly informed and invited, the Presidency turned around to blame the opposition and patriotic Nigerians who have been campaigning daily, under the #Bring-Back-Our-Girls campaign group.

The statement said: “Fortunately, and to the eternal discomfiture of the presidency, the Chibok community has said the decision not to meet with President Jonathan in Abuja was theirs and theirs alone, and that they took that decision because their sole reason for coming to Abuja was to meet with Malala, and not the President who did not invite them anyway.

“With this explanation, one would have expected a Presidency that has regard for the truth to immediately retract its earlier panic state-

ment, which it issued to save face after what was nothing but a public relations gimmick blew up in their face, and apologise to the opposition and the #Bring-BackOur-Girls group that were unjustly pilloried by them.”

The party reiterated its earlier call on the President to shake off his lethargy and bring the abducted schoolgirls home safely, instead of playing politics with the lives of over 200 humans.

VISIT: From left— Mr. Lekan Asuni, Managing Director, GSK Pharmaceuticals Ltd; Mr. Edmund Onuzo, Chairman, GSK Consumer Nigeria Plc; Mr. Oscar Onyema, Director General, Nigerian Stock Exchange; and Mr. T. S. Dayanand, Managing Director, GSK Consumer Nigeria Plc., during a courtesy visit by Onyema to GSK in Lagos, yesterday. PHOTO: Kehinde Gbadamosi.

FG moves to break business monopolies z New Competition, Consumer Protection Policy out soon

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HE Federal Government has commenced moves to tackle unfair business practices, in its determination to provide a fair and competitive environment for industry, trade and investment. In view of this, the implementation of a new Competition and Consumer Protection Policy that will address the various trade concerns and provide a levelplaying ground for businessmen in the interest of consumers, in particular, and the economy at large, will begin soon.

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, who disclosed this in Abuja yesterday, noted that the new policy would forestall the emergence of private monopolies and cartels, engender fair

trade and ensure that Nigerian consumers get value for their money.

Aganga spoke during the formal presentation of the Draft Competition and Consumer Protection Policy to Ministries, Extra Ministerial Agencies, Organised Business Communities and State Governments in the Northern part of Nigeria.

Represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Ambassador Abdulkadir Musa, Aganga said: “In line with the Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan, and with the ongoing reforms in critical sectors of the Nigerian economy, the Federal

Government saw the urgent need, as is consistent with global trends, for a robust legal and regulatory framework to govern consumer protection and competition that would underpin the reforms.

“This will in turn, forestall and/or minimise the emergence of private monopolies who would replace the public monopolies that the government was moving away from.

“The government of President Goodluck Jonathan, in realisation of this vital missing link, has in the past two years, worked assiduously to provide a new legal and regulatory framework for competition and consumer protection.

“The needs and benefits of

a national policy for competition and consumer protection are many. These include encouraging enterprise, innovation, efficiency and widening of choice.

“This will in turn address cartel like entities, anti competition tendencies, protect the investing public and consumers; enable consumers to buy the goods and services they want at the best possible price; thus contributing to the country’s national competitiveness.”

According to the minister, there is currently a draft Federal Executive Competition and Consumer Protection Bill being considered by the Federal Executive Council for onward transmission to National Assembly for passage into law.

Request for $1bn loan not for Boko Haram alone — FG

BY CALEB AYANSINA

A

BUJA—THE C o o r d i n a t o r, National Information Centre, NIC, Mr. Mike Omeri, yesterday, provided more explanations on the proposed $1 billion foreign loan by the Federal Government, saying it was not only meant to fight Boko Haram insurgents.

Omeri, who made the clarification during a routine security briefing in Abuja, added that the money would also be used to strengthen the Armed Forces’ capacity.

He said: “The loan is not to fight Boko Haram alone. It was based on the Armed Forces’ request to update their equipment.”

Omeri said the Armed Forces needed to “restock” and upgrade the existing equipment to withstand future territorial and internal challenges.

He said: “We understand they need to restock and the whole request is not for government to go and collect cash from anybody.

“It is a long term arrangement for which most countries of the world are known. It happened in the United States.

“The long term means the Federal Government will use it for the purpose it is meant for and not just Boko Haram.

“It is a long term facility that could involve government-to-government arrangement.”

President Jonathan had written the Senate, seeking an approval to take a loan of $1 billion for the fight against terrorism, especially the Boko Haram insurgency.

President Jonathan in the letter addressed to the Senate President, Senator David Mark explained that the loan would be used to upgrade equipment, training and logistics of the armed forces and other security agencies.

10—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

Fayemi, NLC condole with Aturu's family

BY BARTHOLOMEW MADUKWE

L

AGOS—GOVERNOR Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State and national leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, yesterday, paid a condolence visit to the family of late labour lawyer and rights activist, Mr. Bamidele Aturu, lamenting the increasing dearth of committed activists through death.

They were received and introduced to other members of the family on arrival at the Aturu’s private compound in Lagos by the widow, Mrs. Bimpe Aturu, Fayemi expressed the condolence of the government and people of Ekiti State on the demise of Aturu.

Speaking on behalf of other NLC leaders, a Deputy President, Mr. Joseph Ajaero, said the only thing that could be done to immortalise Aturu was to engage corruption, cage impunity and lawlessness in the country.

Adefaye speaks at Rotary President's installation

G

ENERAL Manager, Publications/Editor-inChief, Vanguard Newspapers, Mr. Gbenga Adefaye, will be the guest speaker when Rotary Club of Ikoyi, District 9110 Nigeria, installs Rotarian Charles Okonkwo as the 30th President tomorrow.

The club will also inaugurate the Board of Directors for the year 2014/ 2015 and unveil its proposed school renovation project plan.

Rotarian Charles, who is the Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Andoch Global Services, will be taking over from Rotarian Loye Akinbami.

Rotarian Isichei Osamgbi, who is also the Deputy Director and Head of Public Relations of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, noted that Mr. Egwuoyibo Okoye will be the chairman of the occasion, while Mrs. Martha Najamo will be special guest of honour.

FORUM: From left— First Lady of Bayelsa State, Rachael; Governor Seriake Dickson; Vice President Namadi Sambo, and Dr. Olusegun Aganga, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investments, during the opening ceremony of the maiden Bayelsa State Investment and Economic Forum in Yenagoa.

Lagos approves 10-day paternity leave for civil servants

BY OLASUNKANMI AKONI

L

AGOS— GOVERNOR Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State has approved 10 days paternity leave for any male civil servant in the state whose wife delivers a new baby.

The measure is to afford them the opportunity of attending to developmental needs of the child.

Fashola also jerked up the maternity leave from three months to six, to allow the nursing mother give their child exclusive breastfeeding for the period.

Head of Service, HOS, Mrs. Oluseyi William, who disclosed this yesterday, at a joint briefing with the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Lateef Ibirogba and Special Adviser to the Governor on Public Health, Dr. Yewande Adeshina, in Ikeja, said the new approved policy took immediate effect.

According to Williams, “male officers to whom a new baby (or babies in case of multiple birth) is born would be entitled to 10 working days paternity leave in relation to and at the time of his spouse’s first two deliveries.

“Female officers shall be entitled to 24 weeks maternity leave with full pay in case of her first two deliveries and this commences, at least, two weeks before the expected delivery date.

“Any third and subsequent deliveries by any employee shall only attract 12 weeks

z6 months for nursing mothers maternity leave for the female officer, while the male officer shall not be entitled to paternity leave in that circumstance.

“In other words, leave entitlement in respect of the

third and subsequent children of an employee shall be in line with the extant (now old) maternity leave regulations.

“It would be recalled that in the old dispensation, female officers were entitled to only

12 weeks maternity leave at every point of delivery, while male officers do not enjoy paternity leave. The 12 weeks was to be taken six weeks before and six weeks after delivery.”

SON arraigns 34-yr-old man over fake motorcycle parts

BY INNOCENT ANABA

A

34-year-old man, Ekepereka Ani, has been arraigned by the Standard Organisation of Nigeria, SON, before a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos over alleged production and sales of counterfeit motorcycle parts.

Ani, his company, Ekepereka International Nigeria Limited and others at large, were alleged to have manufactured, sold and distributed fake and substandard motorcycle spare parts.

He pleaded not guilty to both counts.

According to the prosecutor, Ani and his co-accused operated from their business bases located at the Main Market, Anambra State and in Lagos where they committed the offences between January 1 and June 12.

Among the brands allegedly counterfeited by the accused persons without authorisation were Kotec Motorcycle Chain, Ogbuawa Motorcycle Chain and E. Sunny Vespa Limited Spark Plugs.

The counterfeited spare parts included 198 cartons of

substandard Ogbuawa Motorcycle Chain, 158 cartons of substandard Kotec Motorcycle chain and 166 cartons of E. Sunny Vespa Limited Spark Plugs.

SON alleged that the offences violated Section 517 of the Criminal Code, Cap C38 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and Section 15(1) (a) (b) and Section 20 of the Standard Organisation of

Nigeria, Cap S9 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

Following a bail application by this counsel, Ani, who had been remanded at Ikoyi Prisons, was granted bail in the sum of five million naira with one responsible surety in like sum.

The trial judge, Justice Ibrahim Buba, adjourned till September 27 for continuation of trial.

Lagos NUT asks govt for TSS

BY OLASUNKANMI AKONI & MONSUR OLOWOOPEJO

N

IGERIAN Union of Teachers, NUT, Lagos State Chapter, has appealed to Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State to pay the outstanding of the 27.5 percent Teacher Salary Scale, TSS, without further delay.

State NUT Chairman, Mr. Segun Raheem, said in Ikeja, yesterday, that the payment would boost teachers’ morale, explaining that the government had paid 18 percent of the 27.5 percent

raise since its introduction, few years ago.

He said: “The remaining 11.5 percent is yet to be paid. We want the government to pay on time and that was why we wrote to the state government about a month ago on the outstanding payment.

“The matter was presented before the negotiating council and pay policy was called upon and we were invited to present our own case.

“A sub-committee was subsequently inaugurated to look into the financial implication.”

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014 —11

Aregbesola replies Sambo, says Osun rejected PDP long ago

BY GBENGA OLARINOYE

O

SOGBO — GOVERNOR Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State, yesterday, described as mere wishful thinking, remarks

by Vice President Namadi Sambo that his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, would take over Osun.

Aregbesola equally claimed Vice President Sambo had impugned the integrity of the judiciary by referring to the judgment of the Election Petition Appeal Tribunal that restored the mandate of Aregbesola after the 2007 governorship poll as verdict through “the back door.”

Aregbesola in a response through his Director, Bureau of Communication and Strategy, Semiu Okanlawon, said Sambo could not have been referring to the Osun where the people had demonstrated their total rejection of anything with traits of PDP. Sambo’s statement, Okanlawon said, aptly captured the depth of self-delusion and deceit to which PDP leadership indulged in, a development he blamed for the total failure of the PDP-led Federal Government in all facets of the Nigerian life.

According to Aregbesola, “Sambo’s statement did not come to us as a surprise. It is the character of the PDP and its leadership to live in a different world far away from the stark realities that daily confront our people.

"For the umpteenth time, we wish to remind Sambo and the entire PDP structure and its candidate for the Osun August 9 poll that Osun has remained different for so many reasons and this is why the macabre dance PDP and its agents of electoral fraud organised in Ekiti cannot be replayed here in Osun.

“Has Sambo forgotten so soon

that while PDP reaped from its electoral fraud in all parts of Nigeria in the 2011 election, it was only in Osun that PDP recorded its most humiliating defeat.

"In case Sambo has not thought about it, that was less than six months of the Aregbesola administration when not much had been put on ground in form of sterling performance and massive transformation of Osun.”

A

DO EKITI— EKITI State Governor-elect, Mr. Ayo Fayose, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to secure its office and the materials used during the June 21 gubernatorial election to avert alleged plans by unknown politicians to set the offices on fire.

He spoke through the Ayo Fayose Campaign Organisation, AFCO. Reacting to allegation by the All Progressives Congress, APC, that there were plans to burn the state INEC office, AFCO, in a statement by its Director General, Chief Dipo Anisulowo, said: “APC people should not be allowed to burn the INEC office in Ado-Ekiti the way they burnt

Responding to perceived Sambo’s derogatory comment on the judiciary, the statement said the verdict of the tribunal confirmed PDP robbery of the 2007 poll.

He said: “In some saner climes, PDP and its leaders ought to apologise to the entire country and the people of Osun in particular for the trauma they were subjected due to the robbery of Aregbesola’s mandate.

"But the culture of impunity

which PDP promotes won’t give room for such decency. It must, however, be noted that never will our people embrace the rule of terror and cluelessness which PDP represents.”

The statement added that the entire Nigeria and the international community had been monitoring the Shenanigans in the build up to the election, saying the PDP candidate had lost the contest before the August 9 date.

From left: Mr. Akinwale Goodluck, Corporate Services Executive MTN; Dr. Eugene Juwah, Executive Vice Chairman,Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC; Mr. Fabian Ajogwu (SAN) and Mr. Dominic Nwator, Commissioner NCC at the unveiling of Corporate Governance Code for telecom companies in Nigeria.

INSECURITY: Customs partners neighbouring countries to check arms inflow

BY DAUD OLATUNJI

A

BEOKUTA — NIGERIA Customs Service, Ogun State Command yesterday,

Fayose to INEC: Protect Ekiti office against possible arson

BY GBENGA ARIYIBI

Comment on judiciary

down the INEC office in Ido/Osi Local Government during the 2009 re-run governorship election.

"INEC must, therefore, secure its offices and the materials used during the June 21 gubernatorial election to prevent APC’s plans to rubbish the results from succeeding.

“If they are saying that plans are being hatched to have ‘strange fire’ occurrence at the INEC office in Ado Ekiti and all the materials relating to the just concluded governorship election election will get burnt, security agencies must ask questions.

"This is more so that the APC spokesperson, Mr. Segun Dipe, who issued the statement, also knew that the fire incident would be blamed on some faulty power surge. He (Segun Dipe) must be made to give further details on the alleged plot.”

said it was partnering with five neighbouring countries to check the influx of arms into the country.

State Controller, Haruna Mamudu, who disclosed this while giving the report of his command for the second quarter of 2014, said however, the command generated N1.654 billion this year as against N1.362 billion recorded within the same period in 2013.

Mamudu explained that the synergy with the countries had not only succeeded a great deal in fighting insecurity in the country, but also increased the revenue generation of the command within the period under review.

The partnership, through the ECOWAS Protocol Transit Trade on imported vehicles which was launched recently in Abuja, according to the Comptroller, had been gaining commendations from both sides of the divide.

According to him, “this was initiated by the ComptrollerGeneral of Customs and what he did was to call other four

Comptrollers-General of neighbouring countries (Benin, Chad, Cameroon and Niger) to see how vehicles can be checked by all the security agencies to, at least deter the influx of light arms into the country and at the same time improve the revenue of all the countries concerned.

“At the same time, it will reduce the number of casualties in both sides because if you go into the bush, we will not chase you into the bush. So, it has tremendously reduced the fight we used to have with smugglers in the bush, we’ve gotten thousands of vehicles from them because everyday they bring vehicles.

"The security agents, clearing and forwarding agents of both sides have been commending effort of the Comptroller-General of Customs for making the event possible.

"There has been astronomical increase in the number of vehicles handed over by Beninnoise Customs; this has also affected the revenue collection on imported vehicles.”

Mimiko wants security agencies to be proactive

BY DAYO JOHNSON

A

KURE – GOVERNOR Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State, yesterday, called on security agencies in the country to device more proactive ways of tackling crime.

He spoke at a security summit organised by the state command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, in Akure.

Speaking through the Secretary, Cabinet Services, Mr. Gbenga Elewuju, Mimiko urged the citizens to always provide security agencies with useful information to help sustain the existing peace in the state.

Mimiko, who expressed optimism that the summit would contribute to solving the insecurity challenge facing the country, assured of his administration’s commitment to giving all security agencies the needed support.

The summit, which had in attendance representatives of all security and para-military agencies in the state, suggested ways of preventing any breach of security in the state as well as solutions to security challenges in the country.

The state Police Commissioner, Mr. Isaac Eke, who was represented

by Lasisi Titilola and the 32 Artillery Army Brigade Commander, represented

by Lieutenant Colonel Ibrahim Abass, said all security personnel should work together in tackling all security issues.

Also speaking, the representative of the Nigeria Prisons Service, Babatunde Ogundare, the state Director of National Orientation Agency, NOA, Mr. Bode Famose, as well as the state commander of the Vigilante Corps, Akinwunmi Gideon, described security as everybody’s business.

Earlier, state NSCDC Commandant, Mr. Andy Ugwumba, said the summit was meant to fashion out cooperation among security agencies in the state.

12—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

We've no plan to impeach Oshiomhole —PDP

BY GABRIEL ENOGHOLASE

B

ENIN—THE Peoples Democratic Party,PDP, has said that it was not interested in the alleged move to impeach Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, noting that the governor was free to do the work for which he was elected by the people.

The party, while reacting to the allegation by the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, that N75 million was allegedly offered to each PDP lawmaker to impeach the governor, described the allegation as unfounded and a figment of “their troubled imagination.”

Edo State chairman of the PDP, Chief Dan Orbih, who spoke to newsmen, yesterday in Benin, said: “I have heard the National Chairman of APC and the governor himself talk about impeachment in Edo State. The constitution states unequivocally in its relevant sections, the processes to be followed as far as impeachment is concerned.

“That it is only the elected representatives of the people that can impeach the governor of a state. So, if they feel that the governor of Edo State has committed impeachable offences, they should look at it. But for us as a party, we are not interested in his im-

peachment, he should continue to do the work for which he was elected by the Edo people.

“For us in the PDP, we are looking forward to the elections of 2015 and 2016 in the state where we shall teach the APC a political lesson. It is obvious that the APC is afraid of a crushing defeat come 2015 and 2016 hence they are singing this worn out tune.”

On the alleged offering of N75 million to each legislator by his party for the impeachment exercise, Chief Orbih, said: “They

talk as if money no longer has value. How do you expect the PDP to give that huge amount of money to lawmakers who have only few months to stay in office?

There is no sense spending such money on the legislators. Rather, if we have such money, we will spend it to provide amenities for our people.”

He, however, warned that Edo PDP will resist any attempt by the state government to collapse the legis-

lative arm of government into the executive, describing the move as undemocratic.

On the allegation that the PDP was intimidating and harassing governors that do not belong to it through impeachments as recently witnessed in Adamawa State and Nassarawa State, he accused the APC of being an agent of destabilisation, saying that it has no road map to peace in the country.

VISIT: Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State (left), and Executive Secretary, NHIS, Dr. Femi Thomas, during a visit to Government House, Calabar, yesterday.

Delta LG polls: Concede Patani Chair to Urhobo, Ijaw leaders urged

BY FESTUS AHON

U

GHELLI—AHEAD of the October 2014 local government elections in Delta State, the Patani Unity Group, PUG, has urged Ijaw political leaders in Patani Local Government Area to allow the Urhobos in Patani take a shot at the council chairmanship position, describing Mr Elijah Ologe as the most credible chairmanship aspirant in the area.

The group, in a statement by Napoleon Bribebe, said: “We advise Ijaw leaders in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Patani council not to sign out Ijaw land/people in the name of divisive politics.”

Reacting to insinuations that Ologe, who hails from Uduophori, is Urhobo and should not be chairman of the council, the group, said: “It is a fact that Uduophori and Odorubu are in Patani council and are communities of Tarakiri Kingdom of the Ijaw nation.

“Patani council is 100 percent Ijaw. This can be confirmed from the records of the Ijaw National Congress, INC,

the umbrella body of Ijaw worldwide. It is true that Uduophori and Odorubu largely speak Urhobo, but that does not make them Urhobo communities. Can Patani be described as an Isoko town just because many families have Isoko blood and mostly speak Isoko?

“Uduophori and Odorubu

communities are just like Kiagbodo, the hometown of Chief Edwin Clark, which also speaks Urhobo. But in keeping with its history, you cannot take the Ijaw blood from Chief Clark, who is unarguably the frontline Ijaw leader.

“Mr Ologe, not only speaks Ijaw fluently, the

Ijaw spirit is in him and was elected Vice Chairman of Patani council sometime ago.

When he contested the National Presidency of the National Union of Ijaw Students, NUIS, as Uduophori indigene, he was cleared as an Ijaw student and he is a foundation member of the Ijaw Youth Council, IYC.”

Reyenieju enumerates educational support to constituency

BY DANIEL GUMM

W

ARRI—A MEMBER of the House of Representatives, Mr. Daniel Reyenieju, has enumerated some of his educational support programme to his constituency, stressing that he has sponsored and facilitated over 100 students from Warri federal constituency to acquire tertiary education abroad.

Reyenieju, while presenting tertiary education scholarships to two indigent Itsekiri students as well as 2,600 notebooks and 200 school bags to the National Association of Itsekiri Students,

NAIS, in support of the Itsekiri students body's backto-school campaign, at his constituency office in Warri, Delta State, said that he had built three classroom blocks with toilets at Ubeji Primary School, Warri, Ode-Itsekiri, Warri and a computer centre at Koko, in Warri North Local Government Area.

He added that he provided furniture at Ogidigben Grammar School, a school at Oporoza, both in Warri South-West Local Government Area, another school in Koko as well as Opuama Grammar School in Warri

North council.

The lawmaker, who was represented by his senior legislative aide and former member of Delta State House of Assembly, Mr. Orugboh Emmanuel, promised to continue with programmes that will reawaken the educational consciousness of people of Warri federal constituency.

The National President NAIS, Mr Augustine Leleji, and other officials of the body commended Reyenieju for supporting the educational development of Itsekiri nation.

Delta community hails Bozimo’s appointment

T

HE Oluba family in Okerenkoko community, Warri South-West Local Government Area, Delta State, had commended the appointment of Justice Rosaline Irorefe Bozimo (rtd), as the Administrator of the National Judicial Institute, NJI. Pa John Oluba, Engr.

Fidelis Oluba, Engr. Edward Oluba and Apostle Census Oluba, at a briefing in Warri, yesterday, said Justice Bozimo deserved the appointment.

They also commended Justice Bozimo for accepting to contribute towards the development of NJI. “We are confident that her three years would bring a change in the institute while we thanked the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Mariam Mukhtar for considering Justice Bozimo worthy for the appointment,” the family said in a statement.

Uduaghan commends pharmacists over rural health scheme

BY MICHAEL EBOH

G

OVERNOR Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State, yesterday, commended pharmacists in government-owned hospitals in the state, saying that their activities were instrumental to the success of the state’s maternal and rural health scheme over the years.

Uduaghan, when the Nigerian Association of Hospital and Administrative Pharmacists, NAHAP, Delta State branch conferred on him, an award of Extra-Ordinary Excellence in Healthcare Development, said: “The pharmacists have played a major role in the success of the free maternal and under-five, including the rural health scheme over the years in the areas of drug availability and management.”

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014—13

Confab delegates tasked on 25% derivation

Rivers communities laud Amaechi on devt

C

BY JIMITOTA ONOYUME

P

ORT HARCOURT— DELEGATES to the national conference have been told to approach the issue of derivation fund with national interest in focus.

Speaking against the backdrop of the stalemate at the confab over the issue, Chief Anabs Igbe, who spoke to the Vanguard, yesterday said it was regrettable that some Nigerians had failed to see the need to encourage policies that would promote development in the Niger Delta region.

The former security adviser to former Governor Peter Odili advised that 25 percent derivation fund should be granted to the region, adding that from it, 15 percent should go to oil bearing communities in the region who bear the burden of oil spill and environmental pollution from oil exploration.

GROUND BREAKING CEREMONY: Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State (right) and National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Dr. Adamu Mu'azu, during the ground breaking ceremony of Akwa Ibom State PDP Secretariat, in Uyo.

Jonathan charges Bayelsa to diversify economic base

BY SAMUEL OYADONGHA

Y

ENAGOA—PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, called on the Bayelsa State Government not to depend on oil alone for sustenance, but to diversify its economic base.

The President made the appeal during the first Bayelsa State Investment Forum with the theme, Unlocking Bayelsa Economic Potential: Opportunities and Challenges, in Yenagoa.

Represented by Vice-President Namadi Sambo, President Jonathan said: “Bayelsa must diversify its economic base. It should not focus on oil wealth alone. It should pay attention to agricultural, coastal landscape for tourism, maritime industry and new housing estates.

Terrorism: Police in Rivers call for vigilance

BY JIMITOTA ONOYUME

P

ORT HARCOURT— RIVERS State Police Commissioner, Mr. Tunde Ogunsakin, has called for vigilance by residents in the state to guard against acts of terrorism.

The state police boss, who spoke, yesterday, at a security meeting with stakeholders in the state, reminded the people that security was a shared responsibility between the people and security agencies.

Represented by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in-charge of Criminal Investigation Department in the state, Mr A. Abbey, the CP appealed to people of the state to quickly alert the Police about any abandoned bag at busy places, such as motor parks and markets.

“The Federal Government will encourage home owners h i p through mortgages.

The desire by the state government for development will be supported by the Federal Government.”

H e stressed the need for peace in the country, noting that without it,

Military to get more firepower— OBANIKORO

BY JIMITOTA ONOYUME

P

ORT HARCOURT— MINISTER of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, yesterday, said that the military was to procure more hardware to effectively curb insurgency in the country.

Speaking in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, while on a tour of Navy formations in the state, he said that the Federal Government had approved the release of funds for the acquisition.

“President Goodluck Jonathan is committed to enhancing our military ef-

ficiency and capacity to deliver in the fight against insurgency. In the fight against terrorism, the President has approved huge acquisitions to build up the capacity of our military as this had not been done in the last 25 years.

“These are efforts that are commendable and we should continue to encourage and support government to do more in the fight against insurgency.

The fight against terrorism is not all about the President, it is not about you or me, it is about all of us Nigerians and it is a war that we can only win if we stand together."

there could be no meaningful development."

OMMUNITIES of Ikwerre ethnic nationality in Rivers State have commended the governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, on the provision of infrastructural and human capital development by his administration since he assumed office in October 2007.

The communities include, Aluu, Omagwa, Isiokpo, Elele and Apani, among others. They made their remarks during the governor’s 'Meet the People tour' to rural communities in Ikwerre Local Government Area of the state.

Mr. Garshion Benson, who spoke on behalf of the Aluu Clan, said: “We congratulate you for your forthrightness, vision and courage that have unarguably made you the face of true democracy in Nigeria. The Aluu Clan has over 50,000 registered voters over the years to consistently deliver the highest vote to our course."

14—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

SERVICE OF SONGS: Cross Section of the children of late Chief Bernard Edema Otuedon-Okome during the service of songs in Warri, Delta State.

From left: Chief Emmanuel Heymann; Chief (Dr.)Mark Erumi and Chief Brown Mene, at the service of songs for late Chief Bernard Edema Otuedon-Okom in Warri, Delta State.

Confab logjam: Ex-militants plan return to creeks

BY EMMA AMAIZE

W

ARRI—SOME groups in the Niger Delta are preparing to return to the creeks following the standoff at the national conference over resource control.

The Niger Delta People Salvation Front, NDPSF, led by

Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo, in a statement, yesterday, said: “We are stating that going back to the creeks may be inevitably preferable, rather than allow for the wealth of our people to be used to develop or rehabilitate a parasitic, barren yet ignorantly arrogant North.

“We are ready to mobilise our

people from across the Niger Delta and even in Diaspora to stand up for definite showdown and direct action. The North must no longer be sustained at our expense. Our God-given resources belong to us and not Nigeria. The end of Lugard’s Nigeria is now,” spokesman of NDPSF, Rex

Anighoro said.

“Let us state very emphatically that irrespective of the final determination of the national conference, our minimum expectation and demand as a people remains 100 per cent control of our resources or nothing.

“The national conference can go on and propose even

2015: More aspirants join Delta guber race

BY AUSTIN OGWUDA

A

SABA—AS the primaries by the ruling People’s Democratic Party, PDP, draw closer to pick its flag-bearer for the 2015 governorship race, more aspirants are daily joining the race for Delta State Government

House .

The latest entrant is the state deputy governor, Prof. Amos Utuama, SAN. Although he has not officially declared his intention to run, as many other contestants are yet to make their intention public, awaiting the blast of the whistle, there are strong indica-

tions that Utuama has been holding secret consultations in furtherance of his governorship ambition.

A political pundit and insider who hails from Delta Central senatorial district, where the deputy governor also comes from, told Vanguard in Asaba, yesterday that the

Group endorses Warri South LG chair for re-election

T

HE Inspired Group, a socio-political pressure group in Delta State, has endorsed Mr. Mofe Edema as its chairmanship candidate for Warri South Local Government Area, Delta State in the forthcoming council elections in the

state.

It also said that the re-election of Edema as chairman of Warri South council, will guarantee victory for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in the council.

Convener of the group, Mr. Michael Tidi in a

Edo APC aspirant assures on quality representation

A

N All Progressives Congress, APC, aspirant for Oredo West Constituency in Edo State House of Assembly in the 2015 general elections, Mr. Raymond Enogieru, has assured of quality representation if elected.

Enogieru, in Benin C M Y K

City, yesterday, called on the electorate to be more decisive in voting a candidate of their choice.

He said: “I assure the people of Oredo West constituency of quality representation which will focus on advocacy for true dividends of democracy."

statement, said that their endorsement was informed by the belief that Edema would complement the efforts of the state government at creating a Delta beyond oil.

recent sensitisation tour which the state deputy governor undertook was a clear sign that he would run.

Utuama had, during the tour tagged PDP Delta Central sensitisation rally, said in Oghara, Ethiope West Local Government Area: “We have come to the political sanctuary of the PDP in Delta State, we have not come to campaign, but we have come on a pilgrimage to salute PDP in Oghara. We are here to thank God for the life of Chief James Ibori and the people of Ethiope

West Local Government Area.”

100 states, agree to rehabilitate and develop areas ravaged by insurgency and internal conflicts, agree to develop solid mineral resources and whatever, but let it be known that not a dime of the resources of the people of the Niger Delta should be factored into this odious compromise.

“It has now come to a definitive moment to demand the abolishment, henceforth, the sustenance of the barren states of Nigeria with the resources of the Niger Delta in the name of monthly allocation amongst others,” he added.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014 — 15

Igbo group slams ACF's position on civil war reparation to Ndigbo

BY NWABUEZE OKONKWO

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NITSHA—NDIGBO Unity Forum, NUF, has said that the objection being raised by Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, against the demand

by Ohanaeze Ndigbo that the federal government pay N2.6 trillion to Ndigbo as civil war reparation was sabotage against national unity.

NUF also said it was absurd that the northerners who seemed to be clamouring for national unity had always turned round to sabotage any effort geared towards achieving the much desired national unity.

In a press statement issued yesterday in Onitsha, Anambra State, the group said it was reprehensive for the northern delegates in the ongoing national conference to have taken it upon themselves to be a cog in the wheel of progress of the country by choosing to look at every issue that could foster the unity of the country through parochial prisms.

The group, in the statement signed by its President and Secretary-General, Augustine Chukwudum and Chinedu

Onyebuchi respectively, said: “Every peace-loving and patriotic Nigerian is aware that the reparation for the civil war killings is long overdue.

“Therefore, the least we

expected from the northern delegates is to keep mute instead of brazenly showing its disdain to any policy that will foster unity and progress in the country.

“We unanimously want to use

this medium to reaffirm our support for payment of reparation to Ndigbo for civil war killings, as canvassed by Ohanaeze, a socio-cultural Igbo organisation.”

MUAHIA—ABIA State governor, Chief Theodore Orji, has said that any reparation to be paid to the South East geo-political zone to make up for civil war damages, should be done through significant federal presence in the region.

Orji, who stated this in a statement by his Special Adviser on Public Communication, Mr Ben Onyechere, said: ‘’In prevailing circumstance, what the Igbo need ultimately is the development that is backed up by the federal might .This desire is predicated on the premise of an earlier request of reparation from the federal government to the region in order to make up for the losses of the war. It is important not to gloss over the issue of infrastructural deficit

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HONOUR: From left: Mr. Ernest Berkhout, Chief Joop Berkhout, Founding Managing Director of Evans Brothers, Professor Emeritus Ayo Banjo and Prof. Isaac Adewole, Vice Chancellor, University of Ibadan, during a dinner party by NLNG to honour Professor Emeritus Ayo Banjo in Lagos. Photo: Lamidi Bamidele.

confronting the Igbo for a long time now, for which reason we cannot subtract from our support for the federal government, led by President Jonathan who has shown an uncommon interest in the affairs of the South East. ‘’In other words the short cut to obtaining reparation is by

maximally offering an unalloyed alignment with the federal government, the potentiality of our voting populace .

"As such, it is pertinent to say that no amount of struggle by any individual state can saturate the yawning gap for development, except on the

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BUJA—UNITED Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS Country Director in Nigeria, Dr. Bilali Camara, has said that a new global report by UNAIDS showed that new HIV infections in Nigeria had declined by 35 per cent in the past three years.

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basis of mortgaging the future of the state economy through huge borrowing, while pretending to be developing the state. Therefore, the South East is duty bound to explain to the Igbo the reason we must go with the federal authority.’’

ENUGU SUBEB CRISIS: SERG flays attack on Chime, Nwobodo

BY TONY EDIKE

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NUGU—A pan-Igbo group, the South East Revival Group, SERG, yesterday, rose in defence of Governor Sullivan Chime and his Chief of Staff, Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo, over an attack by a group which identified itself as Save Enugu

Movement.

Save Enugu Movement had alleged in an advertorial in a national newspaper last Friday that Nwobodo was, among other things, involved in shady deals regarding contracts in the state’s Universal Basic Education Board, UBEB, and also made a veiled reference to Chime in the

Nigeria records 35% reduction in new HIV infections that the federal government was

BY VICTORIA OJEME

BY VINCENT

UJUMADU

Give S-East federal presence as reparation—Gov Orji

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S-East town unions laud Jonathan on Niger bridge, confab

The gap report released in Geneva, Switzerland, on July 16, 2014, also indicated that Nigeria was part of the countries in the world that realised a rapid increase in the number of people living with HIV accessing antiretroviral therapy.

Camara said in a statement issued yesterday that the decline in new infections was a clear sign

steering the HIV response in the right direction.

He added that much progress could be realised if more resources were committed to the cause.

He said: “In the report, new infections showed signs of decline, while about 640,000 people in Nigeria were on antiretroviral therapy in 2013."

deal.

National Coordinator of SERG, Chief Willy Ezugwu, told reporters in Enugu that there was no group known as Save Enugu Movement, describing the advertorial as the handiwork of a few Enugu politicians opposed to the governorship seat going to Nsukka senatorial zone and the decision that those who had served for three tenures in the National Assembly should make way for others.

SERG stated: “For the avoidance of doubt, and for the interest of the reading public, the matter that the so-called Save Enugu Movement tried in vain to promote to the status of a current issue has been thoroughly investigated by both the Nigeria Police Force and EFCC and the verdict of these two institutions are clearly well known to the parties involved."

WKA—TOWN union presidents in the South East geopolitical zone have commended President Goodluck Jonathan for taking the bold step to convene the national conference for which many Nigerians has agitated for many years.

According to the town unions, development from the confab has brought out issues that would ensure peaceful coexistence among Nigerians.

Rising from its zonal quarterly meeting in Enugu, chairman of Association of South East Town Union Presidents, Dr. Jude Okolo, also commended delegates from the zone for their vibrant contributions and unity of purpose at the conference, especially on the issue of creation of additional state from the South East.

According to him, creating additional state from the zone will enthrone equity in the country .

He commended delegates from other geo-political zones for supporting the carving out of another state from the South East.

Okolo, who is the chairman of Anambra State Association of Town Unions, also spoke on the security challenges facing the country and appreciated the efforts of security agencies in the war against insurgency and other forms of crime in the country.

He called on stakeholders in communities in the zone to assist security operatives to fight crime by providing them with the necessary information and sensitising the people since they were very close to those at the grassroots.

Okolo, however, called for more security awareness in the area for the people to know how to handle security matters.

16—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

Court orders Anambra govt to release N1.5bn workers' salary arrears

BY NWABUEZE OKONKWO

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NITSHA—REPRIEVE may have come the way of staff of Anambra State Water Corporation and Environmental Protection Agency, as the Industrial Court sitting in Enugu has ordered First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Awka branch, to release N1.5 billion for payment of salary arrears owed them by the government of immediate past governor of the state, Mr. Peter Obi. The order came as a result of garnishee proceeding brought against the state government by Messrs Enobong Etteh, counsel to Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, the umbrella union representing the water corporation and Anambra State Environmental Protection Agency, ANSEPA. The union had initiated the seven-year-old suit against the state government during Obi's administration for starving them of funds, disowning the agencies in its entirety and above all left in the trail death toll of 232 of the helpless workers between 2006 and 2014.

After the court order, the surviving workers expressed gratitude to Governor Willie Obiano for accepting the verdict with sympathy and urged him to begin the resuscitation of the agencies without further delay.

The workers also observed a minute silence for their departed colleagues and prayed for the success of Obiano’s regime.

Reacting to the court verdict amid wide jubilation, Chairman of the Staff Welfare Association,

Chief Osita Nwoche, noted that Obiano had simply shown a sign of magnanimity, as a man of conscience, adding that the judges, on their part, were fearless and courageous.

LAUNCHING: From left: Managing Director, Nick Imudia, Head of Marketing, Debbie Shepard, both of Nokia West and Central Africa, Business Manager, Gear, Emitac Mobile Solutions, West and Central Africa, David Akindele and Business Manager, Gear, Nokia West and Central Africa, Mario Okonya, during the launch of Nokia Gear in Nigeria at Nokia office, Victoria Island, Lagos, yesterday. Photo: Akeem Salau.

Senate embarks on 8 weeks' vacation, resumes plenary Sept 16

BY JOHNBOSCO

AGBAKWURU

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BUJA—THE Senate yesterday proceeded on eight weeks' annual vacation to resume plenary September 16.

Senate leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, had moved a motion for the adjournment for the Senate to embark on its long annual vacation but also noted that committee work would continue to enable committees tidy up their work for consideration at a special plenary slated for next Thursday, July 24.

Before the adjournment, the Senate considered and passed the conference committee report on Repeal and Re-Enactment of the Prisons Bill by the Committee on Interior.

The red chamber also received the report of its Committees on National Security and Intelligence, Defence and Army, Police Affairs and Interior on fact finding on the recent attacks and killings in Benue, Nasarawa, Plateau, Katsina, Zamfara, and Kaduna states.

The Senate also approved the Presidential nomination of three persons, including Aliyu Mohammed, Dahiru Hassan Balami and Stanley Lawson.

Aliyu Mohammed was screened and approved for appointment as a member of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission.

Dahiru Hassan Balami was screened and approved for appointment as a member of the

Central Bank of Nigeria Monetary Policy, NMP, while Stanley Lawson was screened

and approved for appointment as non-executive member of the CBN Board.

2015: CSO holds seminar for Anambra women

BY VINCENT UJUMADU

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WKA—AS preparations for the 2015 general elections draw nearer, a non governmental organisation, the Voice2 the People, V2P, has started sensitising Anambra women for elective positions.

The programme was organised in conjunction with UK Aid, the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development, the

Civil Rights Concern, CRC, and Justice, Development and Peace Commission, JDPC. Addressing the women drawn from all the communities in the state, the technical adviser of a non governmental organisation, the Development in Practice, DIP, Mrs. Tochukwu Ibe, highlighted the opportunities women had at both the formal and informal levels towards contributing to good governance.

According to her, for women to succeed in politics, they must possess the necessary qualities, which include ability to convince people, provide the required quality leadership and be a team player.

She added that a successful woman politician was not just somebody put in charge, but also one who could influence people to be part of a process.

2015: Former LG chair tasks Edo PDP on credible candidates constituency needs better BENIN CITY—FORMER Chairman of Owan West Local Government Council and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Edo State, Mr. Daniel Asekhame, has urged the leadership of the party to ensure that credible people emerge as candidates of the party ahead the 2015 National and State Assembly elections in the state, saying that it is the only way to wrestle power from the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state.

Asekhame who stated this when he met party leaders in Afuze to declare his intension to run for the House of Representatives seat for Owan Federal constituency, noted that the battle to oust the APC in the state would not be an easy one. He warned that the leadership of the party must avoid imposition of candidates so as to allow popular candidates emerge.

The two time former chairman of Owan West siad: “The people of Owan Federal

representation and that is why I am in the race. I am not a novice to development. I urge our people to look at my achievements in the council when I was council chairman.

Our party the PDP has repositioned today and we are out to up lift the lives of our people.

“I am also glad that we have leaders who are ready to make the change. The PDP believes in internal democracy and that will help us a lot in the forthcoming elections.”

Sen Nnaji's 2nd term bid gets boost

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BY TONY EDIKE

NUGU—THE Federated Nike Town Union has endorsed Senator Gilbert Nnaji as their sole candidate for EnuguEast senatorial district in 2015 general elections.

The organisation, which is the umbrellabody of Nike Clan, both home and abroad, and also the highest decision-making organ of Nike people, announced the decision at their July meeting held at the Palace of Late Igwe Edward Nnaji, the Odezuligbo II of Nike.

Speaking through their President-General, Chief Christian Mba, the people hinted that they were satisfied with Prince Nnaji’s performance thus far, pointing out that aside representing them well, he also attracted several amenities and social development facilities to Nike in particular and the senatorial zone in general.

....As group endorses Jonathan for 2nd term

BY ONOZURE DANIA

L

AGOS—A Socio P o l i t i c a l Group, J.O.N.A.T.H.A.N.G. Vanguard, in South West zone, of the country, has called on Nigerians to support President Goodluck Jonathan, for his second term aspiration.

The group, in a statement signed by its South West coordinator, Akinkunle Benjamin Caulcrick, said if the President was given a second term, it would enable him complete some of the transformation programmes currently going on in the country.

The group, who d e s c r i b e d J.O.N.A.T.H.A.N.G as; Join Our National Aspiration To Harness Nigeria’s Greatness, describes itself as a grassroots movement formed by a coalition of entrepreneurs, professionals, pressure groups, activists and wellmeaning Nigerians in Nigeria and Diaspora.

—17 Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014—

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18 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014 THE successful extradition of suspected Nyanya motor park bomb mastermind, Aminu Sadiq Ogwuche restates the importance of international cooperation in the fight against terrorism. The dispatch with which the extradition processes was concluded was remarkable.

Shortly after the last April 14 bombing of the park which Abuja-bound workers, traders and other passengers patronise, the Directorate of State Services, DSS, paraded five suspects who reportedly played leading roles in the attack that claimed more than 70 lives and injured about 250. Rufai Tsiga and Ogwuche were declared wanted.

Ogwuche, the son of a retired military officer, was later identified as a terror suspect who was earlier arrested but was released, according to DSS because of “intense pressure from human rights activists who alleged human rights violation”.

The security agencies said Ogwuche had fled to Sudan, a country with a thriving nursery for radical Islamists who have caused mayhem and made parts of Sudan ungovernable. Moves to extradite Ogwuche ran into an initial diplomatic blind end because there was no extradition protocol between the countries.

BY CHUKWUDI ENEKWECHI

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HE growth and development of any modern economy depends on the industrial sector, but particularly the automotive industry.

From America to Japan, China, Germany and host of other developed countries, the impact of the automotive industry in catalyzing development of the overall economy of a nation cannot be over-emphasized. It is in the light of the above that many Nigerians today are gratified at the pioneering effort the INNOSON vehicles manufacturing Co. Ltd. has made in the manufacture of the first made-in-Nigeria vehicles.

At its inception a few years ago, some cynics hardly gave them a chance, but over time most doubting Thomases have come to the realisation that indeed INNOSON Company has paved the way for Nigeria to once more bounce back as an automobile manufacturing economy.

Presently, major automobile manufacturing companies are in a hurry to open shop in Nigeria, thereby making the country the true economic hub of the continent.Recently, NISSAN and Peugeot opened their factories, and in the case of Peugeot which had folded its operations in Nigeria several years ago, it was cheering news both for them and the numerous workers wasting in the labour market over the years.

This is commendable in view of the fact that despite our many challenges, there still exists a huge market for the automobile industry in Nigeria.

INNOSON has proven over time that they mean well for the country by establishing their

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Extradition Of Ogwuche While the tension occasioned by the continued harbouring of Ogwuche by Sudan lasted, many Nigerians were worried that Sudan, led by General Omar Al Bashir, a fugitive, wanted by the International Court of Justice, in The Hague, for serial human rights violations in his country, would thwart the extradition efforts.

Sudan’s refusal could have posed further threats to Nigeria. Terrorists attacking the North East would have found Sudan a haven. The cooperation of Sudan resulted in the signing of the protocol within months.

Ogwuche is home to answer the charges of mass killing preferred against him in the Nyanya attack.

With internal cohesion of our security agencies and the cooperation of security agencies under the Interpol and other platforms, terrorists would soon realise that there are no hiding places for them.

This successful operation could reassure Nigerians, particularly those terrorist attacks affect directly, that the state would not relent in bringing suspects of the attacks to justice. It is a departure from the well-known trend where people who commit crimes could go scot-free.

A lot of work remains to be done. Thorough investigations are required to unearth the sources of resources terrorists use.

There is the tendency to focus on their financial sources, but identification of sources that facilitate their escape abroad is equally important. Who aided Ogwuche’s escape? Until these sources are blocked, terrorists would be encouraged to keep causing havoc.

The public has roles to play in the war against terror. The security agencies would be more successful with the public’s support. A vigilant and security-conscious public that provides credible information to security agencies could shorten the duration of the war.

OPINION Innoson's pioneering role in automotive sector multi-billion naira motor manufacturing plant in Nigeria. With this investment, thousands of Nigerians have been gainfully employed with the added boost to the local economy. One can easily say that their patriotism is phenomenal as they have continued to service the local auto industry by bridging the gap created by the absence of newly manufactured vehicles in Nigeria.

It can be recalled that prior to the emergence of INNOSON, Nigeria hugely depended on mere importation of new and used cars popularly referred to as tokunbo with the attendant capital flight and environmental pollution traceable to used vehicles.

Today, INNOSON vehicles manufacturing plant has offered Nigerians alternatives whereby every Nigerian can aspire to own and drive brand new cars at affordable cost. Before now, this was wishful thinking as many of our countrymen have come to accept tokunbo vehicles as the normal cars for us. The entry of INNOSON was a game changer and paradigm shift from the past.

Therefore, to help sustain the growing interest in owning brand new cars by Nigerians, governments at all levels must entrench the patronage of locally manufactured vehicles as a policy which present and future governments cannot discard at their whims and caprices.

The reason for this is to continually engage our army of unemployed youths in the auto manufacturing factories, and as we all know, this will come with a multi-faceted impact on the overall economy.

Many analysts have come to the conclusion

that unless we patronise locally manufactured vehicles, we may be creating elusive jobs for the youths of other countries from where we import different variety of vehicles. Certainly, to toe a different path other than supporting local vehicles manufacturers like INNOSON will greatly undermine the efforts of government to transform the economy through creation of jobs by the manufacturing sector.

This brings us to the issue of quality and durability of locally manufactured vehicles.

From all available statistics, INNOSON vehicles have proven to be durable, rugged and suitable for the Nigerian terrain.

It is not surprising that the Jonathan administration has continued to create the enabling environment for the growth of this sector. It is, however, remaining for the states and local governments and the private sector to join hands with the Federal Government in ensuring the continued survival and growth of the indigenous automobile manufacturing industry.

I

t is no longer fashionable to continue to pay lip service to the high rate of graduate and non-graduate unemployment in the country, when people who matter deliberately refuse to patronise locally-made vehicles, whereas they spend scarce foreign exchange to import foreign made vehicles, thereby rendering our economy redundant and undeveloped.

INNOSON therefore deserves all encomiums for their pioneering and untiring effort to offer

Nigerians alternatives by manufacturing the first made-in-Nigeria vehicles. Obviously, this is the highest level of patriotism and love for country. Besides, they have made their vehicles affordable to ordinary folks, as against the skyrocketed prices of the newly imported vehicles.

As a pacesetter in the Nigeria’s automobile sector, one can only hope that the INNOSON group will leverage on the existing goodwill of Nigerians and the Federal Government to diversify into other areas, and continuously use their pioneering capacity to ginger the participation of foreign and local industrialists in the manufacturing sector. This approach will no doubt lift Nigeria from a white-collar job dependent economy to an industrialised economy, in which all hands will continuously be busy for the greater well being of all.

INNOSON’s role in employment creation and skills acquisition for Nigerian youths across the country is also laudable, and government ought to use this as benchmark for the whole industry.

Through skill acquisition which the INNOSON Group is offering Nigerian youths, it is only a matter of time before the results begin to manifest. Admittedly, these attainments could not have been possible without the enabling environment created by the Jonathan administration which today is opening up a world of opportunities existing in the automotive sector of the economy. *Mr.Enekwechi, a journalist, wrote from Abuja.

—19 Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014—

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HE minority leader in the House of Representatives, Alhaji Suleiman Kawu Sumaila, was the first early this month, to accuse Imo State government of a plan to issue ID Cards to Northerners in the state.The Imo State Government, IMSG, denied ever having such a plan. As if to shame the government and put IMSG on a trend of denials, the Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Abdul Ningi, raised a point of order informing the hallowed house of the same purported plan.

He relied on sections 41(1) and 42(2) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, to buttress his submission. There is no report that he exhibited any written evidence or proof to canvass his position, but the house went into discussions; Imo senators made serious comments in their contributions.

Infuriated, IMSG demanded an apology since they had no such plans, even if the idea had been mooted.The distinguished senators called his bluff. The idea that what IMSG did not do should be discussed in Abuja and Imo government treated in such way is curious to all Imo citizens. It calls for the need to take a second look at the matter.

Section 41.(1) of the 1999

Constitution as amended reads: “Every citizen of Nigeria is entitled to move freely throughout Nigeria, and to reside in any part thereof, and no citizen of Nigeria shall be expelled from Nigeria or refused entry thereto or exit therefrom.

And subsection (2) states: “Nothing in subsection 1 of this section shall invalidate any law that is reasonably justifiable in a democratic society.

Subsection 2, gives the exceptions to application of subsection1, and the standard is “ reasonable justification in a democratic society". It gives the spirit and the intention of parliament in making subsection (1).

In Nigerian democracy, when security of the people is considered, what is reasonable to the Northerner may not be reasonable to the Southerner. It is reasonable, for example, for a Fulani herdsman to carry AK47 rifles, whether licensed or not, to “protect his herd”. But it is very unreasonable to the Igbo man because he does not have the grazing land; and gun carrying herdsmen provide room for infiltration by terrorists. The average Benue State citizen thinks it is very unreasonable to allow herds men to carry guns and pass freely in the day time so that their villages will not be sacked in the

Imo people should determine what is reasonable and justifiable in their state, and the best person to decide this is the man who has their collective mandate, the Governor

,

night by the same group. Yet the Fulani man argues even on prime television, that it is reasonable.

Imo people should be allowed to determine what is reasonable and justifiable in their state, and the best person to decide this is the man who has their collective mandate, the Governor. Where the Governor becomes unreasonable Imo will respond at the polls or through the law courts.

It is not for Abuja to tell Imo what is reasonable and justifiable in the circumstance.

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hile it may be reasonable to the ACF for terrorists to be allowed to bomb every nook and corner of Nigeria, irrespective of the nature and number of casualties, in order to get GEJ to give amnesty to the terrorists, it is very unreasonable for the Southerner to allow such to spread.

Chidoka: The triumph of doggedness

BY SANI ABDULLAHI

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HEN he was appointed the Corps Marshal and Chief Executive of the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, at 36, Osita Benjamin Chidoka became the youngest Corps Marshal ever produced by the Corps. But in the face of doubts and national apprehensions about his ability to successfully manage the affairs of the Corps, he was able to quickly prove to the doubting Thomases that young Nigerians are capable of leadership change.

With intellectual endowments that span a Master’s Degree in Transport Policy and Logistics, a Certificate in Global Strategy and Political Economy and a Graduate Diploma in Maritime & Ports Management after a Bachelor degree in Management from the University of Nigeria, Chidoka convinced the anxious Nigerians that he was not a neophyte in public administration and strategic management. Starting from the Federal Capital Development Authority, FCDA, Abuja, where he started his public service experience after winning the NYSC Merit Award for FCT, he served as an aide to the Ministers of Works and Housing, Transport as well as the Presidency before joining ExxonMobil where he was serving as the Advisor on Government and Business Relations before his appointment as the Corps Marshal.

He wowed everyone when within the first three months of his assumption of office, he not only successfully launched the Road Transport Safety Standardisation Scheme, RTSSS, but within a year of his leadership, he facilitated the inauguration of the West African Road Safety Organisation, WARSO, where he emerged as the Pioneer President of the organisation.

As part of his reform process, he commissioned the FRSC Call Centre, which has today become the bedrock of the Corps’ information technology centre that has processed over 5,000 emergency calls which mobilised rescue operations that had as at 2013, saved the lives of about 72,321 road crash victims. And within the first quarter of C M Y K

2014, the centre had further saved the lives of 16,006 people. The automation of the Corps’ accounting system and introduction of e-payment six months before its formal adoption by the Federal Government has put FRSC as a modern organisation capable of efficient service delivery.

Through what some analysts have described as unprecedented advocacy to redirect the affairs of the FRSC, Corps Marshal Chidoka increased the number of patrol logistics with the ambulances rising from 17 he met in 2007, to about 64 in 2013, while plans are on to deploy a patrol car within an interval of 75 kilometres on every critical corridor of the nation’s highways to complement the 24 existing Emergency Ambulance Centres established across the country.

Under his leadership, road safety studies have been approved by the Federal Executive Council, FEC and incorporated into primary and secondary school curriculum as proposed by the National Council for Education. Meanwhile, his introduction of Driving School Standardisation Programme, DSSP, which forms part of the comprehensive reform of the National Uniform Licensing Scheme has led to the certification of about 614 driving schools with about 48,000 learner-drivers currently learning driving techniques in the various institutions.

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he World Bank, has demonstrated unprecedented support to the FRSC under his management. It not only funded the Safe Corridor project and carried out a Country Capacity Review of the Road Safety Management in Nigeria, its partnership with the Corps has led to acquisition of 38 patrol vehicles, 24 bikes, six single carrier ambulances; one double carrier ambulance and four heavy tow trucks with ongoing staff capacity building programmes at local and international levels. And after five years of painstaking commitment to global best practices in road safety management and administration, FRSC, under his leadership, was awarded the coveted Quality

,

BY CLEMENT UDEGBE

,

Okorocha needs the ID card project

The question is who decides what is reasonably justifiable to protect Nigerians in our security situation: Is it the politicians, the people or the law courts? Imo should test this with the law courts against the law makers.

The distinguished Senator also cited Section 42 (1) which deals with right to freedom from discrimination against any Nigerian within Nigeria. But is the issuance of ID card in order to protect a person discriminatory against that person? There ought have been an insight into the purpose and intentions of that decision by IMSG .I think it is better to make a person who is at a risk of being wrongly dealt with to be protected with an ID than leave him to himself, exposed to the danger, and when any thing happens, government will be blamed. The IMSG ID for all is a good project.

Section 5 (1) and (2) of the Constitution, as amended, vests all the executive powers vested in the President on the Governor of a state, hence the Governor, like the President, is the Chief Security Officer of the state. He, therefore, is in the best position to decide what are reasonable and justifiable decisions in the best interest of the security of the state.

Our problem lies with our politicians. Our politicians deliberately refuse to see and to draw a line in most things without playing politics. Imo is the place where the Senate President was attacked early this year; bombs were found near a popular Church. Do they want

He enjoys the confidence of members of both the Executive and Legislature who have in their various assessments of him, commended and acknowledged his contributions to institutional and national development

,

Management System Certificate, ISO 9001:2008 Certification by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, SON, in March, 2013.

The success of his reforms in the new number plate and biometric-based driver’s licences was acknowledged by the Italian Police, which attested to the superiority of the standard of the licence that is adjudged to be far above that of most European countries. That was why the American Ambassador to Nigeria, James F Entwistle demonstrated his confidence in the system recently when he visited the National Headquarters of the Corps to process his new driver’s licence through the biometric data capturing as done by President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011, when he commissioned the project.

A holder of the National Honours Award of Officer of the Federal Republic, OFR, Corps Marshal Chidoka led FRSC to win the Leadership Newspapers “Government Agency of the Year 2012” award, and invested as “Public Servant of the Year 2012,” by both the Hallmark and Sun newspapers, respectively. FRSC under him had earlier won Prince Michael International Road Safety Award and recognised by the World Bank as “the Best Example of Road Safety Management in Africa” in 2012. In the same vein, the Service Compact With All Nigerians, SERVICOM,

Imo to become the Borno of the South East?

IMSG should keep records of all residents.

Lagos State government has done it, and any state for that matter should be free to do so in the interest of the people.

Most DPOs do not have any data base of resident criminals and people with criminal tendencies.

The NCC does not have any functioning template that can tell them the number of sim cards a man has registered in his name with the click of a button. Fifteen years into democracy, there is no national data base of criminals and people with criminal tendencies with our police and other law enforcement agencies to check and control crime by tracing communication devices used by criminals.

It ought to occur to our law makers that with the bomb found in a church in Owerri, some people might want to start something against Northerners? If an Igbo man was found with bombs in Kano or Kaduna will it not spark off killings of Igbos within the area? Our law makers at a time like this, should think less of politics and more of what is right for the common good.

IMSG should boldly do what it considers reasonably justifiable in the circumstance to effect and sustain the security of lives and property in the state, including that of Northerners.

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

as well as the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity have consistently rated FRSC under his management very high, making it a recipient of the National Productivity Order of Merit, NPOM. A strong believer in the new Nigeria where no man is oppressed, he demonstrates his vision to a strong and united country devoid of the pre-war challenges of distrust, pain and death through his unwavering commitment to the unity of people of the country. “Nigeria is not a product with an expiring date and will therefore not expire,” he told the course participants at the Institute for Security Studies, Abuja. He demonstrates his penchant for level playing ground by enthroning merit and credible examination process in the Corps.

“Examination may not be a true test of one’s ability, but we are yet to discover a system that guarantees equal opportunity and creates level playing ground for all contestants for the limited spaces to compete, pass or fail transparently as examination does,” he stated while defending the examination policy in the Corps.

In demonstrating the depth of his religious tolerance, Chidoka told course participants at National Institute For Policy and Strategic Studies, Jos, that: “Religion, in its true meaning, needs not breed violence. It is rather a compass to navigate the complexities of human life.” A lover of culture and tradition, he holds a traditional title of Ike-Obosi (strength of Obosi) and a member of the highest decision making body of Obosi Traditional Council.

Above all, he enjoys the confidence of members of both the Executive and Legislature who have in their various assessments of him, commended and acknowledged his contributions to institutional and national development.

On this occasion of his 43th birthday and seven years of meritorious service at the FRSC, Nigerians are unanimous that he has restored the glorious days of FRSC, and his success is an inspiration to young men and women of the country. *Mr Abdullahi is the Media Assistant to the Corps Marshal and Chief Executive of FRSC.

20 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

By JIMITOTA ONOYUME, Assistant News Editor, Port Harcourt

I

T is about six weeks the Rivers State Judiciary complex has been under lock and key because of the strike embarked upon by the state chapter of Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, JUSUN. State Chairman of JUSUN, Comrade George Sokari, who announced the decision of the union to proceed on an indefinite strike on June 10 last month hinged their action on threat to lives around and within courts premises in the state.

He had cited the blast at the state High Court in Ahoada on June 9, four months after a similar incident on the same court and the one at Etche where valuables belonging to the courts were damaged as evidence for their action. Unknown assailants had hurled explosives into the court premises in the early hours of the day.

Though no life was reportedly lost but the incidents sent warning signals to Judiciary staff in the state that all was not well. “Ït is the security challenge that prompted the strike action.

We cannot tell where the next bomb attack will be as nobody can guarantee security in our working environment,” he had said while declaring the strike.

“We must be alive to protect our various interests. Ahoada court has been bombed two times.

That of Okehi in Etche LGA has also been attacked. We must curtail these excesses of hoodlums in our courts. Our working environment, which is the court premises, is boiling,” he added.

Meantime, JUSUN declared its indefinte strike barely 48 hours after the National Judicial Council, NJC, appointed Justice Daisy Okocha an Administrative Chief Judge of the state. The timing of the strike action has led many to link it with the crisis of succession rocking the state Judiciary.

The NJC had ordered the most senior Judge in the state High Court, apparently referring to Justice Okocha, to assume responsibility of assigning cases to Judges and discharging other related functions. The most senior Judge in the Customary Court was also asked by the NJC to perform similar functions in the Customary Court.

The Rivers State Judicial Service Commission reacted to the directive by the NJC in a circular signed by its Secretary, K.B. Gaage directing judicial staff in the employment of the state to ignore official instructions from the Administrative Chief Judge appointed by the NJC. Chairman of JUSUN, Mr Sokari who revealed the content of the circular to newsmen a day before he announced the decision of his union to proceed on an

TWO MONTHS IN ABEYANCE:

The story of judiciary crippled by crisis indefinte strike said they were in a dilemma because of the conflicting developments in the Judiciary.

The crisis in the Judiciary deepened again when pro-Governor Chibuike Amaechi lawmakers in the state House of Assembly had an emergency public hearing on June 12 to amend Section 40 of the Principal law of 2001 enacted by the 5th Assembly. The House passed the amendment barely two hours after the public hearing and it was signed into law same day by Governor Amaechi.

According to the state High

Court amendment law 2014, the Chief Registrar is to perform the functions of the Chief Judge of the state in the absence of a substantive Chief Judge or Acting Chief Judge in the state.

The amendment reads: “Where the office of the Chief Judge is vacant and it is impracticable to appoint an Acting Chief Judge, or a Chief Judge, the Chief Registrar shall assign cases to any judge and perform other administrative duties until an Acting Chief Judge or a Chief Judge is appointed”.

There were also street protests in support and against the appointment of Justice Okocha

•Gates of the Rivers State Judiciary complex

as Administrative Chief Judge of the state. Senator Magnus Abe and Dakoku Peterside of the Federal House of Representatives were among key loyalists of Governor Amaechi who stormed the streets in Port Harcourt on June 12 to denounce the appointment of Justice Okocha as Administrative Chief Judge.

On its part, leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party also took to the streets the following day being June 13 to reject amendment to the 2001 Rivers State High Court law which empowers the Chief Registrar to take over the functions of a Chief Judge in the absence of one.

The Rivers State chapter of the Nigerian Bar Association

seemed divided over the crisis.

Though Chairman of the Port Harcourt branch of the body, Mr Dennis Okwakpan said they would challenge the amendment of the state High Court law by the state House of Assembly in court when the strike is called off, but some members of the body said they were not bothered by the action of the pro-Amaechi lawmakers, an indication that there exists a crack in the body.

Okwakpan said the body would explore all means to ensure peace returned to the Judiciary.

Vanguard Metro, VM, gathered that litigants and inmates were the worst affected by the crisis in the Judiciary as their matters had remained pending in the various courts within the jurisdiction of the state.

A source said the already overstretched facilities of the various prisons in the state were at breaking points with the high number of inmates. The annual state pardon granted prisoners by the Chief Judge had not been done in the state for sometime now because of the crisis.

•Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar

Embattled Administrative Chief Judge, Justice Daisy Okocha

Day of joy at LASU as students get tuition relief

By BOSE ADELAJA

I

T came as a pleasant surprise to most of them. Indeed many students of the Lagos State University, LASU, still have cause to cherish the event of Thursday July 10, 2014, which took place in the school campus. It was an event that evoked much joy, prompting them to compose and sing songs of appreciation after about 200 of them went home with scholarship awards and other gift items.

One of the beneficiaries, a 300-level student of Accounting, Oluwafemi Okunleye, was full of praises for the gesture. So was Lawal Omoniyi, who inspired his fellow students to embrace the entrepreneurial path early in life. According to him: “Nobody owes us a job after graduating. It is up to us to create the future we really want and one thought-provoking seminar like this is enough to change people’s lives”.

Recently, the students were engaged in a prolonged face-off with the state government over astronomical school fees before

government eventually bowed to public opinion to reduce the fees.

Last Thursday, a non-governmental organisation, “Life Can Be Greater”, visited the students with the message: “Life can indeed be greater and better without government by proffering practical solutions to everyday problems.”

During the first few minutes of the event which took place at the Faculty hall of Social Sciences, some of the students were immediately rewarded with a N20,000 cheque after participated in a game which entailed looking under their seats and pulling out brown envelopes tightly sealed underneath.

While some on opening their envelopes burst out in ecstatic exclamation, others hissed in disappointment as they read out the words printed on the cards: ‘Better luck next time’. There were rapturous screams from various parts of the hall as others proudly waved their prizes which will certainly go a long way in helping them pay their tuition fees.

During one of the sessions, several per-

tinent issues directly affecting students were thrown up. Among these were worrisome trend of students dropping out of school in large numbers every year because of high tuition, inadequate funding of education, insecurity problems, incessant disruption of academic calendar owing to ASUU strike, and absence of accommodation for LASU students.

Some of the participants said they were challenged to think creatively and proffer solutions to everyday problems in their communities. A marketing executive and Public Relations Director of LCBG, Mr. Derin Olukayode, said the organisation proffers solutions to societal issues on a small scale and galvanises citizens to push for their implementation on a wider scale.

“There are little things we can do to make life better for ourselves and the next person and that is what we want to inculcate into the students. Life indeed is hard, schools fees are high, but life can be greater if we focus our minds on solving those little things that make the country and ourselves greater,” he said.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014 — 21

New BDC guidelines to conserve Foreign Reserves — CBN T

HE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reiterated that the Bank’s modifications to the guidelines on the regulation of Bureaux de Change (BDCs) in Nigeria are aimed at conserving the country’s foreign reserves, among other objectives. This position was made known by the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, on Wednesday, July 16, 2014, during an interactive session with the House of Representatives Committee on Banking and Currency.

Addressing members of the Committee, Mr. Emefiele explained that modifications had to be made to the guidelines following observations that the current operations of BDCs in Nigeria had deviated from the objectives for which they were lisensed in the first place.

According to the CBN Governor, the CBN observed that many operators were only interested in widening margins and profits from the foreign exchange market, regardless of prevailing official and interbank rates.

He further disclosed that a recent cross-country survey of

Lagos to boost revenue, job creation via ceramic production

BY EDIRI EJOH

From left: Adebimpe Ihekuna (Head, Consumer Banking Products Department); Abiodun Famuywia(Group Head, Products & Marketing Support); Felix Olisa, winner of gascooker; Rosemary Asiegbu (Group Head South South), and Frank Owyia(BDM PHCentral) at the FirstBank Big Splash promo grand finale draw in Port Harcourt.

BDCS carried out by the CBN revealed that 93 per cent of the BDCs were in breach of the objectives and provisions of the guidelines, noting that many of the BDCs could either not be located or relocated without

approval. He also said majority of the BDCs had no good accounting records, many had no adequate sales document and lacked audit trail. While urging the House of Representatives to support the policy of the CBN,

Mr. Emefiele said the Bank’s expectation is to have in place BDCs that are wellcapitalised, properly structured and can effectively perform the roles of BDCs in the Nigerian economy.

Apapa gridlock: Nigeria lost over N1.3bn in two weeks the two weeks traffic gridlock which grounded business acRESIDENT of the tivities in the port city cost the Shippers’ Asso industry over N1.3 billion. ciation of Lagos State, Speaking with Vanguard in Jonathen Nicol, has said that Lagos, Nicol said that all sectors of the industry were affected aversely during -2.45 157.8 the period of the traffic lock down.

3,149.00 +29.00 The Shippers’ Association boss explained 17.07 -0.14 that for the period, the Nigeria Customs Service, Terminal Operators, 105.91 -0.11 Shipping Companies, Clearing agents, Shippers, truckers, amongst 101.30 +1.34 others did next to nothing and that definitely CURRENCY BUYING CENTRAL SELLING affected their revenue.

According to him, the US DOLLAR 154.73 155.23 155.73 STERLING 264.9442 265.8003 266.6565 traffic jammed “directly EURO 209.4116 210.0883 210.765 resulted in partial conFRANC 172.2668 172.8234 173.3801 gestion and once there is YEN 1.5201 1.525 1.5299 CFA 0.3021 0.3121 0.3221 congestion the volume of WAUA 238.3011 239.0711 239.8412 income will dwindle. We RENMINBI 24.9375 25.0185 25.0995 must have lost about RIYAL 41.258 41.3914 41.5247 KRONA 28.0807 28.1714 28.2621 N1.3 billion during the SDR 238.5318 239.3026 240.0734 period which is an enormous lose.”

CBN Exchange rate as at 17/07/2014 On the cause of the

BY GODFREY BIVBERE

P

The CBN Governor, while debunking claims in certain quarters that the modifications to the guidelines were targeted at a certain section of the country and would lead to loss of jobs, cited the successes recorded during the Banks consolidation exercise of 2005 as indicators that the current move will succeed. Speaking earlier, the Chairman, House Committee on Banking and Currency, Hon. Jones Chukwudi Onyeriri, noted that the Committee respected the autonomy of the CBN but will work with the apex Bank to ensure that it delivers on its mandate in the overall interest of Nigerians.

traffic gridlock, he said the bulk of the problem is human related and that is why it took government just two days to temporarily solve it. He blamed the presence of tank farms and the city that has developed to meet the port as another reason for the traffic congestion.

Nicol called on government to relocate the tank farms from their present location to ease the traffic jam in the area. He further noted that apart from easing the traffic congestion, the danger posed by these tank farms can only best be imagined.

“The tank farms should not even stay along a place where thousands, millions of people converge for business. One would have thought by now that the tank farms would have been removed or relocated to a place far away from human habitation, maybe somewhere in Badagry or even Ondo state.”

“So trucks can now evacuate petroleum products from the tank farms but as it is now, it is

compulsory that government should move them away.

Imagine the bomb blast or maybe industrial explosion we had in Apapa recently, imagine it was Petroleum Motor Spirit, PMS, it would have been disastrous because it would have moved from one tank farm to the other. I do not think government would have had it ease to contain such inferno.”

Reminded that tank farm operators have in the past called on residents Apapa to relocate, Nicol said it is unfortunate that they are putting individual consideration in a matter that affects thousands and millions of lives.

He said if they can not relocate then they should stop the business. He stressed that their position on the issue is because government is yet to make up its mind about the relocation of these facilities, adding that when government decides to relocate them, they will have not choice but to move, he stated.

L

agos state is considering the utilization of clay and local raw materials to produce ceramics and glass as a booster to employment and revenue generation in the state.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Mrs. Regina Obasa disclosed this during a capacity building workshop on ceramic manufacturing delivered by Engr. E.P Oaikhenan, a Professor of Ceramic Engineering and Chief Executive Officer of Epina Technologies Limited at the Conference Room of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Alausa Ikeja.

Obasa noted that Ceramic Industry which has huge potential for job creation, natural resources utilization, poverty reduction and revenue generation is yet to be fully harnessed in the State despite the huge availability of raw materials for the Industry.

She said, “This platform is geared to jumpstart and awake interest in ceramic production in the state as well as provide a roadmap to the setting up of a Ceramic Production Skill Acquisition Center also.

She further noted that ceramic industry is a huge manufacturing operation that touches every facet of major industrial processes, such as in paint, pharmaceuticals, foods, computers, building construction, motor vehicles, electricity, power supply, electronic, iron and steel production, aeronautics among others needed to be harnessed by the Ministry to create jobs and wealth for the citizens of Lagos State.

22—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

Cement quality: Onyema, stockbrokers endorse 42.5 grades

By NKIRUKA NNOROM

S

TAKEHOLDERS in the Nigerian capital market have endorsed the use of 42.5 cement grades for building construction in Nigeria, saying that the adoption will restore sanity to the construction industry being plagued with building collapse and loss of lives and properties.

The stakeholders, who include the top management staff of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, led by its Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Oscar Onyema, investors and top stockbrokers made the endorsement during a visit to Ibese, Ogun State plant of the Dangote Cement Plc. The visiting team used the opportunity to assess the investment of the Dangote Group in the cement industry and described it as a revolution in the transformation of the economy to a productive one, while expressing surprise at the technologies being used in the production plant.

Onyema, who spoke on behalf of others, commended Dangote Cement’s management for near ready stage of work on the two additional lines of three mmtpa which will bring total production at the Ibese plant to 12 mmtpa and the latest technology of equipment. ”What, we have seen here is amazing; the high

technologies here. I know for sure that this saves time and cost coupled with the technical capabilities, quality control and the quality of the end product, I can speak on behalf of my colleagues that what we have seen is fantastic and that Dangote Cement is incomparable. ”The caliberation of the

sample of 42.5 demonstrated here to show the quality shows that it is the way to go to restore sanity to the construction industry being plagued with building collapse and loss of lives and properties. ”The operations here is impressive, the shareholders have cause to hope for more with more investments ongoing and not only in Nigeria, but across the continent. I can

From left: Group Managing Director of Skye Bank, Mr. Timothy Oguntayo; Olori Adetutu Gbadebo; Alake of Egba/Paramount Ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo; Mrs. Bola Oguntayo and Mrs. Kemi Abioye during a dinner organised by Fuel Communications Ltd and Adebisi Oderinde and Co (Chartered Accountants) in honour of the Group Managing Director of Skye Bank, in Lagos.

Red S tar tto o recommend N206m Star dividend tto o shareholder shareholderss

By PETER EGWUATU

T

HERE are indications that Red Star Express Plc would be proposing a dividend of N206 million to its shareholders for the financial year ended March 31, 2014.

According to information made available to Vanguard, the company has concluded arrangement to hold its 21stAnnual General Meeting (AGM) on Thursday, August 14th, 2014.

Vanguard gathered that at the AGM, the Board of Directors would recommend a total of N206 million dividends payment to the shareholders for approval.

The dividend, which is 35kobo per 50 kobo per share, if approved, will be posted on August 25 th , 2014, to all shareholders, whose names appear on the Company ’s Register by close of business on July 25th , 2014, Vanguard gathered. The company ’s revenue grew from N5.293 billion in 2013 to N6.416 billion C M Y K

assure you that the stockbrokers here will start talking to their clients about the exploits of Dangote Cement and the profit prospect”, Onyema stated.

Also, the stockbrokers assured that they were now better informed and in better position to advise their clients having seen the massive investments by the Dangote Cement.

in the year under review.

The Managing Director, Red Star Express, Mr. Sule Umar Bichi, stated that the company has been consistent in paying dividends to shareholders in the last six years when its shares were listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE.

Also, it was gathered that at the AGM, Red Star Express Non-Executive Directors, Mazi Sonny Allison and Mr. Olayemi Peters, will retire and offer themselves for re-election, while the Board’s appointment of two new Non-Executive Directors - Mr.Koguna Sulaiman Lawan and Sir Ogbechie Chris Ike on June 26,

2014, will be presented to the shareholders for approval.

Red Star Express was established to be the best service-driven logistics solutions company. The company has offices across the nation, and provides transportation, warehousing and other supply chain management services that are secure and effective through developing and retaining wellmotivated, team-oriented workforce that shares common ideals and values.

Zenith Bank, Virgin Atlantic encourage entrepreneurship

A

S part of its support to grow the economy, Zenith Bank Plc in collaboration with Virgin Atlantic Group is encouraging the youths to develop entrepreneurial skills that would result to wealth creation in Nigeria.

Meanwhile, two of Nigeria’s brightest young entrepreneurs have had a business master class from Sir Richard Branson, after winning a competition by British Council and Virgin Atlantic in partnership with Zenith Bank.

Eseoghene Ise Odiete and Nasir Abdulqadir Yammama won the Enterprise Challenge – an online competition for Nigerians entrepreneurs aged 18-35 and living in Nigeria or studying in the UK. The Apprentice-style competition took

place over three rounds, during which candidates wrote an essay on their entrepreneurial journeys, created a video pitch for their businesses or business plans, and had their ideas scrutinised by a panel of experts in Nigeria and the UK. Speaking, Sir Richard Branson, founder and chairman of Virgin Group, said Virgin Atlantic is delighted to have supported the Enterprise Challenge programme dedicated to supporting young Nigerian entrepreneurs and fostering new ideas. Innovation has been an important part of Virgin’s heritage and I was pleased to see so many young Nigerians keen to embrace new ideas through the competition. Many congratulations to Ese and Nasir who had fantastic business plans and I’m sure will have very bright futures.”

Fidelity Bank boosts education with N80m scholarship

By NKIRUKA NNOROM

F

IDELITY Bank has commenced moves to boost education in the country with the offering of N80 million in scholarships to its customers.

The promo tagged, “Save for Scholarship Saving Promo’ will run for a period of six months starting from Monday July 21 to December, 2014.

The scholarship can be converted to cash for education and be drawn over a five year period.

Speaking at a press conference heralding the takeoff, in Lagos, Mrs. Chijioke Ugochukwu, Head, Shared Services, who spoke on behalf of the Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, said the promo is informed by the desire to contribute to development of the education sector in Nigeria and the most basic of human’s aspiration, which is the desire for its generation to outdo the generation before it in terms of education and developmental potentials of the individual.

The bank, according to her, considers the promo, which is the fifth in the line of promos it has undertaken in recent times, the most important and contributive so far, due to its ability to boost the earning capacity of its loyal customers.

“Education all over the world is being made available to every level of individuals in the society, but the issue of cost is making it look like an elite privilege. Fidelity Bank today is tapping into this basic human need, to educate our children, dependents and family members, even adults.

“This Fidelity promo is a unique one because it is putting money into something that is considered to be very important to our customers. It will involve giving out scholarship packages and gift items to solve the educational aspirations of our customers,” Ugochukwu stated.

Explaining the modalities, Head, Savings Group and the Promo Manager, Mrs. Janet Nnabuko, said that every month, 33 scholarships winners will emerge aside other consolation prizes that would be given out.

There will be one winner of N2 million star prizes every month to be alternated among the geographical zones, one top prize winner of N1 million, second prize winner of N500, 000 and third of N210, 000.

To qualify, the existing customers are expected to top their Savings Account with N10, 000, while new customers are required to open Savings Account with minimum of N2 and build it up to N20, 000.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014—23

NIWA woos banks, insurers for water transport development STORIES BY GODFREY BIVBERE

T

HE National Inland Waterways Authority, NIWA is wooing the banking and financial sector to key into efforts at development of water transport infrastructure.

Disclosing this to Vanguard in Lagos, Managing Director of NIWA, Maryam Chiroma, said the Authority is desirous improving the sector to attract Nigerian to water transportation.

Chiroma explained that NIWA has concluded plans to bring operators in the financial sector to meet with their counterpart in the water transport industry in August.

The event which is expected to hold in Lagos according to the NIWA boss will also bring together other operators from relevant sectors to rob minds on the way forward for water transport.

She noted that the event which is a three day Conference and Exhibition being put together in conjunction with a private firm Flintxposure has the theme, “Moderning Inland Water Infrastructure and Vessels for Safe and Sustainable Inland Water Transportation in Nigeria.”

She said the event tagged “NIWA – I.C.E would help expose and capture the full strength of local maritime player, the level of foreign content and the financial outlay to major stakeholders including government.

Similarly, Managing Director of Flintxposure, Oti Ukpai, said stakeholders have already adjudged the event as an idea that has come at the right time in actualizing efforts to place and repackage the movement of goods and services on water to aid trade and investment across the nation’s waterways.

According to him, “We wish to possibly surpass the inherent and obvious gains of Nigeria’s very lucrative waterways, and showcase it not only to Nigerians but to foreigners alike. However, we have decided that even though stakeholders need to talk and evaluate our vest waterways content, they would also have verifiable to see and meet the real players.”

He further disclosed

that five companies, Tarzan Marine Ltd., Driller Engineering Nigeria Ltd., Japaul Oil and Marine Ltd., EAL Nigeria

Ltd. and Glassand Group have already booked their participation for the event.

Amongst those expected at the event Okpai pointed

out are, federal and states governments, river transport companies, oil prospecting companies, oil and gas supporting com-

panies, dredging companies, shore based businesses, commercial and sand mining companies, among others.

From left: MD of National Inland Waterways Authority, NIWA, Maryam Chiroma; NIWA Lagos Area Manager, Mr. Mauzu Sambo and Managing Director of Flintxposure, Oti Ukpai, NIWA partners for NIWA - ICE at a press conference to announce the forthcoming conference and exhibition taking place in Lagos soon.

Firm petitions Finance Ministry over Customs’ arbitrary increase on duty A S the outcry over indiscriminate increase of import duty by the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, continues, Managing Director Zekwes Ventures Limited, Charles Nzekwe, has petitioned the Federal Ministry of Finance, the supervising ministry of the NCS. In the petition dated st May 21 , 2014, the firm said that the Service had indiscriminately jacked up the duty on a specific consignment which they have been importing over the years.

The petition with the title “Wrong uplifting of FOB/Freight value of PreArrival Assessment Report (PAAR) contrary to previous transaction in contravention of the Customs and Excise M a n a g e m e n t (Amendment) Act, 2003,” drew the attention of the federal government to the unusual increase of the Free on Board (FOB)/ Freight value contrary to previous transaction, which has undergone test value.

According to Nzekwe, “The same consignment was wrongly assessed by Cotecna and reassessed with the proper FOB value of $20,880.00. …

The uplifting of #13,920 as additional is in contradiction of the provision of paragraph 1 & 2 of the Customs and Excise Management (Amendment) Act20 of 2003, which states that Customs value can only be determined on transaction value of identifical goods already accepted by Customs.

“The transaction value that falls under paragraph 2 that is accepted is the previous Risk Assessment Report (RAR) issued by Cotecna which is the legal transaction over the years of import that has been subjected to test value in line with the schedule.

“The uplifting of additional $13,920.00 is not in compliance with the provision as contained in the law and the treatment of valuation of goods globally, the practice stands as imposition of value, which negates legal provision and international best practice.”

A source at the ministry confirmed the receipt of the petition and noted that it has been sent to Nigerian Shippers’ Council, NSC recently

appointed as port economic regulator to look at the petition.

A clearing agent who spoke with Vanguard on the issue said that it is a waste of time because the Council does not have the powers of enforcement, especially when it has to do with a

sister government agency.

The agent called on the Shippers’ Council to work hard in ensuring that the abnormalities facing the sector are addressed if there must be meaningful development.

BRIEFS Only 50% of Nigerian importers are connected to internet –Customs

BY GODWIN ORITSE

T

HE Nigeria Cus toms Service (NCS) has said that only about half of Nigerian importers are currently connected to its information technology system.

Disclosing this in Lagos, the service Public Relations officer Mr. Adewale Adeniyi, a Deputy Comptroller of Customs said that the level of technology attained by the service has made it possible for it to keep track of credible importers.

Adeniyi opined that if all importers were connected to the Customs system and do honest declaration, the process of cargo clearance will be eased.

He explained that when importers are linked to their system, it will further ease the profiling mechanism of these traders who take concluded clearance of their cargoes before they arrive.

Explaining further, Adeniyi said that positively profiled importers can take delivery of their cargoes from the ports while examination can take place in their premises.

The service spokesman said that the Customs has been improving in its effort to build strong network with all its stakeholders.

Customs deepens use of ICT in Zone A Apapa customs, will not operators involved in

BY GODWIN ORITSE

P

URSUANT to the six point agenda of the Controller General of Customs, Dr. Abdullahi Dikko Inde through the Apapa Area 1 Command of Nigeria Customs Service have put in place an ultra modern Information Communication Technology (ICT) Centre and communication tower(mast) of 160 metres height to serve Zone A of the service.

The zone comprises all customs areas and formations in the South West geo political zone of the country The new installations according to Charles Edike, Customs Area Controller (CAC) of

only boost customs revenue collection, as it will also facilitate legitimate trade without compromising national security and improve on the existing customs community relations.

The installed facilities will also enhance the operational interface between the customs on one hand with other government organization and organized private sector stakeholders on the other hand.

Government agencies like the office of the Nigeria Shippers Council are connected to the system. It also connects private sector stakeholders involved in customs clearance procedure like the commercial banks and Direct Trader Input (DTI) café

customs duty collection and documentation processing respectively. ‘’Our ICT centre is going to complement the functions of the Customs Ruling Centre based in our Abuja Headquarters, and will serve as a base for training and retraining of officers and stakeholders. It will also replicate at the area command level some of the modern techniques in customs operations officers have learnt at the Customs Command and Staff College, Gwagalada. Our Controller General is keen and sincere about stamping out ignorance in the cycle of customs officers and stakeholders in the national interest.’’ Edike said.

24 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014—25

I N S I D E

Jang Succession: Strange political letters on the Plateau

Crisis in Edo House

Page 26

Page 27

Oddities in our political and economic behaviours Page 28

Truly, it’s difficult being an opposition politician —Ogbonnaya Onu •APC and PDP are like day and night D

r. Ogbonnaya Onu, erstwhile national chairman of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC. In this interview, Onu bares his mind on how he was shortchanged at the 1999 national convention of the defunct ANPP in Kaduna, his role in the emergence of APC, he assesses the Jonathan administration, the security challenges in the country, among other issues. A chemical engineer, an administrator, Onu was the first executive governor of Abia State.

By HENRY UMORU, ASSISTANT POLITICAL EDITOR

Y

•Onu during that convention my name was now presented for ratification and the whole convention ratified me, so I became the legal flag bearer of the party.

But at the same time, the party wanted to enter into an alliance with the AD. So all of us felt that at the particular time, the APP had or controlled nine states and the AD controlled six states. Now the APP controlled states in three geo-political zones, whereas the AD controlled in one zone, and then in terms of vote that APP got, there was a local government election that had taken place and even governorship elections. And the number of votes almost doubled that of AD. So most people now felt, if the two parties entered into an

alliance which was to enable the alliance defeat the PDP, the two parties had a total of 15 states, whereas the PDP had 21, so coming together will make it easier to

,

OU left the Government House a long time ago. How has it been?

We have done many things since I left Government House Umuahia. We have played national politics and we are interested in making our country a better place. It’s been quite a challenging period and also very rewarding.

What happened in 1999 in Kaduna when Chief Olu Falae was declared the Presidential Candidate of the then APP? What happened was that I aspired to be president of our great country and there were so many other people which is a normal thing. The party at that time, if you remember the parties had just been formed; there were only three parties: APP, AD and PDP. So APP decided to form a screening committee to look at all those aspiring to be president.

The screening committee did its work and brought out three names and my name was one of the three. So the three names were now sent to the national executive committee of the party and there during the NEC meeting there was voting. I emerged the winner because I had the largest number of votes. So the party in line with its constitution still decided to summon a national convention, which was held in Kaduna. Then

was not consulted and that a decision has been taken on Chief Olu Falae, my good friend because he had emerged as the AD flag bearer, that he was now going

That is not the reason, our aim is not just to go and challenge and defeat PDP, that is not that.

Our reason is to provide Nigerians the alternative

challenge and defeat the PDP in the presidential election.

So the thinking that most people thought the APP would now be given the presidential slot because of its strength, but when we got into Abuja nobody told us that a committee was meeting and I

,

to be the joint APP-AD Presidential candidate. It angered so many people.

Many people even decided to leave the party, that is the APP, because they thought it was not right, but I felt that I should stay because I didn’t want to be an instrument to

abort that match to democracy in the country. So the then national chairman, Sen. Mamoud Waziri publicly apologised to me, letting Nigerians know what happened, that I was never consulted and there was nothing like I stepped down as some people reported and withdrawing like some others did. On the basis of that, I had to accept it for the best interest of the nation.

Subsequently all other personalities, those who held positions in the party including even the national secretary also kept saying yes, that the way I was treated was not fair. But I just felt look, in life once you have faith in God things like that happen, by my own religion, you thank God and then keep hoping for the best.

What role did you play in the merger of ACN, CPC, ANPP to form the APC? In 2004, Au g u s t 3 r d I believe, the caucus of the ANPP, APP had then become ANPP, which comprised about 23 Senators, about 96 members in the House of Representatives, invited me the first person ever to be so honoured to speak to them. I used the opportunity to emphasize the need for all the opposition political parties to come together in order to challenge and defeat the ruling party.

I also used the opportunity at that time because the ruling party kept saying that they will be in office for up to 60years and nobody challenged them to show that that cannot or shouldn’t happen in our country. The same year by December 2004, the Lagos State House of Assembly invited me to speak to them and it was the same thing; I said that opposition political parties should come together so that we can form two dominant parties that can

Continues on page 26

26—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

Jang Succession: Strange letters on the Plateau THE political crisis in the Plateau State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP took a twist this week as strange political missives appeared to colour an already challenging march towards 2015

BY MARIE-THERESE NANLONG. JOS - Plateau State, also known as the Home of Peace and Tourism has had nothing close to tranquility in more than a decade now.

It is not only the problems of ethno-religious conflicts, civil unrest and bomb-blasts that plague the State, politically too, the State has also known little peace.

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP which has ruled the state since 1999 has indeed not been immune to crisis leading to factions such as PDP 1 and PDP 2 or periodic exodus of party members to fringe parties.

As the 2015 general elections approach the schisms that had in the past

rocked the PDP is again manifesting. Meanwhile, the main opposition party in the state, the All Progressives Congress, APC is silently watching as the drama unfold in the PDP anxiously waiting if it could benefit from the crisis in the PDP. The current crisis in the PDP started sometime in May, 2014 when the incumbent party Chairman, Dr. Haruna Dabin openly declared his intention to run for the 2015 gubernatorial seat.

This decision did not go down well with the State governor, Jonah Jang and his supporters who want the governor’s successor to come from the northern zone of the state where incidentally, the governor also comes from.

To curb Dabin’s excesses, the party’s State Executive Committee, SEC convened an extra-ordinary meeting where sundry allegations were leveled against Dabin and a suspension was slammed on him in his absence.

Dr. Dabin’s deputy, Chief Raymond Dabo was appointed as Acting Chairman of the Party and Dabin asked to within two weeks appear before a disciplinary committee which

•Jang was set up but he failed to do according to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting held at the Presidential Lodge, Rayfield.

It was also resolved that the committee report be forwarded to the National Secretariat for necessary action.

Two days after the meeting, the National Working Committee, NWC allegedly wrote a letter stating it will not

accept the suspension order issued on Dr. Dabin by the State Executive Council, SEC of the Party.?

In the letter addressed to Dabin and signed by the National Secretary of the Party, Prof. Wale Oladipo, the NWC urged those who issued the suspension order to act within the provisions of the party’s constitution.? ?The letter which faulted the suspension of Dr. Dabin as

APC and PDP are like day and night Continues from page 25 now give you effective competition in the political arena.

Now when I became national chairman, end of September 2010, I now requested from the ACN, I said to the ACN that I would like to come and talk to you.

They didn’t invite me, I requested. Now they invited me and the meeting held at the Lagos Governor’s Lodge in Asokoro, Abuja and then I talked about our coming together. It was on the basis of coming together and working together, it was on that basis that they set up their committee under Chief Tom Ikimi and we set up our own committee under then Deputy Governor of Bauchi state, Alhaji Gauba Gadi who later moved to CPC. If you remember at that time, it was very close to election period that was why we didn’t make much progress because shortly after that, the parties had their conventions and it became difficult who would step down for the other.

But shortly after that, all parties went into the general election. Then Gen. Buhari went to court, the candidate

•Onu of ANPP, ACN and SDMP didn’t go to court. So I waited.

As soon as the Supreme Court gave its final ruling in February of 2012, by March 3rd I believe, I wrote a letter to all the national chairmen of opposition political parties that control at least one state; APGA was involved, Labour then ACN, ANPP, CPC. We kept meeting and the essence was just to develop trust because you know if you trust one another, you can easily do business together.

Then we now moved into

formation of a large committee whereby former governor Ibrahim Shekarau of Kano was chairman for ANPP, Chief Tom Ikimi was chairman for ACN and then Garba Gadi who was chairman initially for ANPP became chairman for CPC and it was a large committee and that was how they started meeting. And from there, the name, the logo, all the details came up and we are about the first to indicate and said, look, we will surrender our position in order for this to

work. So that was how we gave up our positions to make sure that the merger worked.

And are you are still not given that recognition as one who initiated the merger?

I didn’t do it so that I would be given recognition. I did it because it is important for our country and I am so happy that we have two dominant political parties.

Your reason for having the APC is to challenge and defeat PDP, how realistic is this?

That is not the reason, our aim is not just to go and challenge and defeat PDP, that is not that. Our reason is to provide Nigerians the alternative.

The APC was formed not just to defeat PDP, but to provide Nigerians the opportunity to now have a government that will always realise that if they don’t do well, they will be removed and for that reason they will start doing well so that we can build a new and a modern Nigeria.

Is there any difference between the PDP and the APC in terms of ideology and members?

Of course there are lot of differences. I must tell you, I

chairman reads in parts: “The National Working Committee NWC of our great Party has received news of some controversy on the legality or otherwise of certain actions by some members of the Plateau State Executive Council of our Party. ”For the avoidance of doubt, the NWC wishes to refer all concerned to the provision of our constitution especially Article 57(7).? The National Working Committee hereby directs your good self as the State Chairman to ensure that the Plateau State PDP remains respectful of the provisions of our constitution in this regard.”? ?The one page, five paragraph letter further stated, “Finally, the NWC wishes to emphasize that it is an offence under Article 58 (i) for any member to engage in unauthorized publicity of disputes within the Party.”

While the authenticity of the letter was still being discussed in many quarters, another letter purportedly written and signed by Dr. Dabin as his resignation letter surfaced in Jos.

Continues on page 28

have always believed that we should not have a one party system in the country and that is why I never changed and it is very difficult to be in the opposition particularly if you have risen to a certain level.

It is extremely difficult, particularly if you are in the opposition in your state and at the federal level.

But the APC is very different from the PDP. One, we are committed to internal democracy and our constitution is very strict as far as I am concerned up to the point that the constitution has said even where you have a consensus candidate, there will still be voting, that is one and you know that if you have internal democracy, then you can now project.

Also we are committed to reduction of corruption. You can see the level of corruption that is in the country and it is very worrisome, it can be reduced. There are some many differences. As a matter of fact, the difference between PDP and APC is clear, it is almost as that between day and night.

Is it tru that APC is going to run a Muslim-Muslim ticket?

No. I must tell you that that matter has not been discussed and there is no way that something as important as that will not be discussed.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014—27

Crisis in Edo House Our hell in Edo APC -Osayimwen

M

r. Patrick Osayimwen is a member of the Edo State House of Assembly and is one of those suspended by the majority members of the House.

Osayimwen who recently defected from the APC, represents Oredo East Constituency in the State House of Assembly. In this interview he advanced reasons why he left the APC, his rapport with the comrade governor, the crisis in the state legislature among other issues. Excerpts

Osazuwa and the Attorney-General of the state, Barrister Henry Idahagbon and a few other persons. I want to praise the courage of Alhaji Shagadi and Frank Osazuwa, the committee said what was going wrong and that the young men should not be crucified because

ourselves, the factional crisis within the party in Edo State has been there for the past two or three years. There is the Edo Solidarity Movement that is perceived as the governor ’s faction. It was well established that there was a Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu’s faction. No matter the

Less than a week after that, the party constituted a committee to try us for gross misconduct and antiparty activities. They forgot that the only place a legislator has immunity is on the floor of the House

they spoke the minds of their people; that they have the rights to voice the minds of their people. The report, however, never came out because the people (committee) told them that what they did was wrong. After that, they started to discriminate against us. As a way of punishment, they striped us of our status as ranking legislators who were on second term in the assembly, we were stripped of our privilege to be chairmen of top House Committees; We were even treated like minority members, though we were founding members of the party in the assembly.

That was about 20 months ago. And it did not even end there as we were now even treated like minority members.

Factions within APC Let’s not deceive

,

member ’s pretence, everyone was tagged with one faction or the other. You cannot lie about those things. I can remember that because of our relationship with the governor, the governor called us for a meeting that was held at about 7:00pm on Monday, May 12, 2014.

He said some of us were trying to leave the party.

I went to that meeting with Hon Jude IseIdehen. We explained to him that we respect him as a friend but we had seen that we were no longer wanted in the party and that we wanted to move on. We assured him that we will continue to support his government to develop the state. We told him that the rumour of impeaching or trying to impeach him was not in our agenda. He tried to

Continues on page 28

How did this crisis get to this level?

I think the PDP decided to turn it to a political issue because normally, the House of Assembly has its rules and one of them is that you can be suspended after which if such persons that are suspended show remorse through appealing, they are recalled so it is normal exercise which is not supposed to have degenerated to the crisis it became in Edo State. It is just because some PDP leaders feel that they needed to create an economic empowerment for themselves because what I have seen in it is that because of the idleness of the PDP chairman in Edo State and his leaders. They now have a voice because of this crisis because if you check seriously, they had been idle.

What they did was to push these four lawmakers to break the law and also push the lawmakers in conjunction with the police to create what seemed to crisis and from there they get hand outs from Abuja and other PDP states with the excuse that they are fighting Oshiomhole but they cannot fight Oshiomhole he is too much for them. These handout is what they needed, it is an arrangement to economically empower themselves.

But the suspended members believe that it was because they defected from the APC to the PDP that they are being persecuted and not as you have said.

Decampment or no decampment, if we are to use that as a punishment,

•Shaibu we are supposed to declare their seats vacant not suspension because they know that Section 109 is clear about defection, all the indices that allows to decamp are there and they know that their decamping does not have the blessing of Section 109 and that is why they rushed to court to prevent us from declaring their seats va-

,

•Osayimwen

,

I

Edo PDP leaders feeding fat from crisis —Shaibu

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

BY GABRIEL ENOGHALASE Why did you leave the APC for the PDP? left ACN, not APC. My spirit left the ACN about two years ago. I represent Oredo East Constituency, which is the heart of Benin. You can all recollect that we had the Land Use Bill sometime in November 2012 and some of us spoke our minds on how we felt about it.

I represent Oredo East where we have the Edo State capital and my people in Oredo stood to be hit most by the tax burden. Some of us had reservations about this thing but I think that it was misunderstood that we were trying to play sharp politics, it was not sharp politics. But our grievances were not looked at.

But unfortunately, hardly had we left the assembly than the tape of the debate was sent to the Government House to say this was what this said, this was what that said. That was very unfortunate for a parliament, because I believe a parliament should independent.

Less than a week after that, the party constituted a committee to try us for gross misconduct and antiparty activities. They forgot that the only place a legislator has immunity is on the floor of the House as anything you said there cannot be used against you. They set up a committee that was headed by Alhaji Usman Shagadi. The committee also had Mr. Frank

Mr. Philip Shaibu is the majority leader of the Edo State House of Assembly and one of the foot soldiers of Governor Adams Oshiomhole in the legislature. In this interview he declared that the crisis rocking the House is being stage managed by outside interests in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Excerpts:

They committed one offence and now they have committed another one which is breaking and entry and illegal sitting

,

cant.

If it is about decampment, Abdul Rasaq Momoh decamped, he was not suspended, Festus Ebea, former deputy speaker is a member of APC as we speak and he is suspended so it is not about decampment, it is about misconduct which the house cannot condone and not as a result of their decampment.

Other two members have also been suspended as a result of their illegal sitting. We rely on the constitution, we speak from facts, we

don’t just speak. Issues like this, we rely on the constitution, the law of the land, we don’t politicise things like because this has to do with the law and if we are not seen to be speaking law and to be abiding by law, the people we represent will obviously do same so that is why when we speak, we speak about the law.

If you read Section 99 of the Constitution, it is clear that without the blessing of the Speaker, you cannot have what is called sitting and when you do that, you have contravened the law and the punishment is in line with the rules of Edo State House of Assembly. They committed one offence and now they have committed another one which is breaking and entry and illegal sitting. There are attempts by traditional rulers to intervene, is there still hope for a political solution?

These issues are in court, you heard what the Court of Appeal said exactly what some of us as laymen are saying.

The traditional rulers have intervened from the angle of peace and they have told us to maintain peace and as a result of that, we have refused to fight. If you observe in the heat of provocation, the APC lawmakers refused to be provoked.

The Nigerian Police are actually one of the front liners in this crisis.

28—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

T

O many Nigerians and foreigners, Nigeria is a complex country, baffling in its complexity, difficult to manage and seemingly impossible to govern. Nigeria‘s newspapers‘ brilliant columnists are often caught and placed in confusing circumstances.

This week which carried the news of the visit of the Pakistani‘s “wonder” girl (shot in the head for her pursuit of Western Education but resuscitated by Western medical science), also announced the usual carnage in Borno and Plateau States. The political atmosphere was not so much disturbed by the PDP‘s penchant for impeaching its own governors. The exception is the vengeance on governors of the opposition party – Nyako (former PDP) of Adamawa and Governor of Nassarrawa States. The Adamawa State is one of the three States of the NorthEast under Emergency Rule where peace and stability would be required.

Nassarrawa State had just witnessed a ‘cult‘ uprising which consumed many innocent lives, including those of the National Security Officials. Nassarrawa State happens to be the home of the Minister of Information – the apostle of Peace and Security. The State is ruled by a governor elected in 2011 under the banner of CPC (now APC) but with the House of Assembly dominated by PDP members.

The Malala‘s visit was salutary – she advised President Jonathan to visit the parents of the abducted girls and reminded the nation of over 10 million girls out of school (not receiving any form of education).

The Nyako case is carefully understood – changing political alliance is a political offence that could not be tolerated under the new PDP offensive. At the time when patriotic Nigerians are calling for national unity in the face of insurgency and disunity, others are battle ready for 2015 contests at any cost, including political destabilization.

The passing event have so confused some columnists, especially after the last Ekiti elections that suggestions have been made for opposition parties to look for a new winning strategy in the future

Oddities in our political and economic behaviours elections. It may be difficult to propose a winning formula in a situation where the government and the opposition parties wear the same clothes of political and economic ideologies. The countervailing factors are the attitudes of electoral officers, freedom of party riggers and perhaps, the intimidating appearance of security officials. The concept of “infrastructure of the stomach” has now become a focal point in electoral success.

However, if a winning strategy is required, as a layman, I reproduce below what I wrote some years ago on winning a free and fair election. It reads thus, “It may not be too late to start to sort out our priorities from the confusion of the past.

First, action should be taken to strengthen the import substitution industry, so as to ensure its survival against foreign competition and also, to be able to produce enough for home demand and for export.

The fiscal measures required are prevention of smuggling, substantial reduction or complete eradication of import duties on plants, machinery, spare-parts and raw materials which cannot be produced at home.

A complimentary policy is that which will stimulate demand for the locally produced goods. Since the lower income groups are more likely to prefer these goods, it would be better to put more money in their pockets by a moderate increase in salaries and wages or substantial reductions in

personal income tax and purchase tax (vat). The other group with higher propensity to consume home goods is the old-age pensioners who need substantial increase and regularity of payment of their pensions. The third group embraces those unemployed graduates (after the National Youth Service) who need a form of income to sustain their current level of demand. They should be supported by stipends until they are employed.

The next development strategy is the orientation of the domestic industry towards foreign markets. The local beer and malt drinks, textiles, plastic goods and oil and lubricants are common in the West African region either through smuggling or under unorganized trade structures.

To survive as a nation, we must produce enough at home and sell more abroad to earn foreign exchange.

Some countries have successfully reorganised their industry into, Home and Export, and have created export free zones under this structure, different incentives are given as the conditions demand to ensure a flourishing home market and a promising foreign market.

The giant super stores of old were a sad reminder of lost opportunities through unco-ordinated fiscal policy and foreign exchange management. The old giant stores disappeared because of difficulties in procurement and the cost of foreign exchange,

Our hell in Edo APC —Osayimwen Continues from page 27 appeal to us not to leave with promises to redress our grievances. We told him that it was not about money or anything but it was about principle. Unfortunately for the governor he was surprised to see that there were still some principled men in the political system.

For him, he could only imagine that we had an offer that was better than his own offer. As I speak to you today, PDP has not offered me a dime and I have not asked for kobo. If I wanted to collect money, it would have been from Comrade. But I am a man of conscience and I cannot collect money from a man when I know that I have made up my mind to do something else.

Why we approach the court and genesis of the crisis in the state house of assembly When it became clear that there were plans to declare our seats vacant, the only option we had was to seek redress from court. We approached the court and the court ordered that our seats should not be declared vacant and that we should not be suspended.

However, the Monday after we got this judgment that was granted by a Benin Federal High, thugs barricaded the Ring Road with banners and posters that we have collected money. They also demanded that we must resign. What a cheap blackmail! After seeing that the court had ordered them not to declare our seats vacant, they now went through the back door to suspend us indefinitely. If you suspend a lawmaker indefinitely, have you not

declared his seat vacant? That is what we have been going through. However, I want to tell the people of my constituency and the entire people of Edo State that I was never offered money by the PDP neither have I received kobo from the PDP. That is the position of things as it stands today.

So have you moved out of your official residence as well?

I have never lived in that house. Thanks to God, I had already had my home and I have lived in the Legislative a Quarters. It has always been a case of spending one or two nights there occasionally, but I have never really lived there. However, I have some of my colleagues who have had to move their families out of the place because of the problem. I feel sorry for them but I don’t have such problem because I have always lived in my home for about seven years now.

It is unfortunate that some of us who have lived peacefully together for seven or three years, we have allowed politics to divide us.

Now, some of them are now trying to drive out the wives and children of their colleagues.

It is indeed shameful because politics will come and go while friendship will remain.

In ten months from now, this assembly will come to its end, but there is life after that.

When people do things, they should always look at tomorrow because power is transient.

It is an unfortunate situation but I believe there will be light at the end of the tunnel.

The practice of economic diversification is not new to Nigeria except that it has remained a mere executive theory or parliamentary jargon during the annual budget sessions. A concrete policy is needed to be faithfully executed. In the area of economic diversification, some are suggesting the intensification of the electronics sub-sector. In view of its requirements of high technology and capital, direct foreign investment would be appropriate, necessary and rewarding. The advantage of direct foreign investment is that it releases domestic savings for other productive uses.

However, care should be taken that profits remitted home in respect of foreign investment do not quickly outstrip the annual rate of fresh capital investment as to adversely affect the balance of payments position.

As initially pointed out, the problems with Nigeria and its economy had nothing to do with suitable plans but principally, the inability to priotise, and when the country is lucky to select some good plans, the unwillingness to pursue or operate them to successful ends becomes a major problem.

If the Nigerian economy is to improve, it would be necessary to have full or near full capacity utilization in the industrial sector, to enable increase in techniques and equipment (plant and machinery) to raise productivity; to have technical education, training on the job and communication in simple way and provision of simple implements to raise agricultural outputs in the rural areas.

This should be complemented by substantial investments in good roads, reliable railways, power stations and irrigation systems in the arid areas of the North.

However, rapid expansion of the economy is possible under a visionary leader who makes sure that the country‘s macro-economic policy produces overall stability. Such a leader needs a clear perception of what it takes to have full employment, stable foreign exchange and non-volatile price movements in the economy.

Strange political letters on the Plateau Continues on page 26 The latest letter with subject, “Letter of resignation from my position as Plateau State Chairman” dated July, 10, 2014 and addressed to the national chairman of the party quoted Dabin as stating that he resigned to enable him contest the 2015 governorship election.

It read in part, “I am deeply indebted to God Almighty for the opportunity to be a member of our great party and to currently serve as the Plateau State Chairman. ”Given the need for greater harmony in the party in the state and my desire to contest for the position of governor of Plateau State in the forthcoming elections, I hereby give notice of my resignation in line with Section 47(5) of the party’s constitution with effect from Monday, 14th July, 2014.”

Reacting to the letter, Dr. Dabin said “Can you imagine that? If I am to resign, will I address the letter to the National Chairman of the Party in Abuja? Whoever is behind this is just bent on throwing the party into chaos.”

As the letters emerged, the state party secretariat was sealed for the second time within a month last Monday even though the Police through its Public Relations Officer, PPRO, DSP Abuh Emmanuel denied knowledge.

Many party stalwarts declined answering any question on the letters.

Several calls put to the phone number of the state party secretary, Prince Pam Saleh were not picked and the call was not returned at the time of this report.

With the unfolding drama, one prays the ruling Party will put its act together and work towards being successful in 2015 elections before the opposition has the last laugh.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014—29

I was named after an animal

was going to do well and better in acting rather than as a soldier, which I earlier wanted to be. Again , all thanks to my principal, late now, and Ben Tomoloju, still living.

Whenever I get an award, I dedicate it to him.

Who are your contemporaries in the film industry?

Sola Fosudo, Richard Mofe Damijo, Nobert Young, Yinka Quadri, Taiwo Hassan and others. Though most of them are older in age, but these are my people.

Why did you dump English movies for the Yoruba ones?

I didn’t dump English movies, I just did something for Afriwood . It is only that you go where you are invited.

— Antar Laniyan

BY ADERONKE ADEYERI

F

irst class veteran actor and seasoned movie director, Antar Laniyan has been around long enough to know what works and doesn’t in the Nigerian movie industry. He has seen both the worlds of English-speaking and Yorubaspeaking sectors to qualify as a good judge and analyst on the state of our movie industry.

In this chat with Weekend Groove, Antar talks about himself, the industry and reveals some secrets never spoken about before. Excerpts: How did you come about the name Antar Laniyan ?

I know the name Laniyan is not a special one but Antar is peculiar.

Some years back, a pregnant woman had a rival who wanted to marry her husband at all cost. This rival went diabolical to make sure the pregnant woman, my mother, did not give birth to me. And after staying 18months in my mother ’s womb, they made some findings and it was revealed that my mother had to beg this rival for me to come to life. Getting to my mother ’s rival, she said they had to look for a goanna. Goanna is an animal called Aworinwo in Yoruba language but typical Yorubas call Goanna ‘Antar’.

So, they used the Antar or goanna to make concoction for my mother. After some hours, I came to life and my mother decided to name me ‘Antar’ after the animal.

What was your father’s reaction to you being named after an animal ?

Would you say acting has made you a fulfilled person?

Yes, but not in terms of money. I enjoy and derive pleasure in what I am doing and God has been good to me in my choice of career. Money wise, I am not close to the target. Many people see me on screen and believe this man is making it big but when I consider what I have in my pocket , I know Antar is poor (laughs).

I started acting at age 15, right from my secondary days, but I started professionally June 18, 1980 when I met Ben Tomoloju who was then a journalist

How then do you intend to make money?

Well, if I get good investors who are willing to pump money into my projects and I am given money equal to the strength I pour into directing and acting films, then the money will come.

the act to be part of the soap. This went a long way to kill tribalism or marginalisation in the industry.

How long have you been acting?

I started acting at age 15, right from my secondary school days, but I started professionally in June 18, 1980 when I met Ben Tomoloju who was then a journalist. He predicted I

Stephine Linus gets Hollywood movie role C M Y K

Would you say not being invited like before could be traced to tribalism ?

Partially yes, at first, I saw it as marginalisation but when I started directing Super Story, Wale Adenuga and myself allowed anybody, be it Yoruba, Igbo or Hausa in as much as you are good in

My father loved the name. After all, my mother didn’t know he was loved by another woman and the woman could come out to say she was the cause of my mother’s trouble.

Who wins MBGN crown tonight?

How home audio system with auto DJ redefines sound technology

What is your take on the dominance of the English speaking sector in Nollywood?

I don’t agree to that but maybe because they are well paid which gives the chance to do more publicity.

The more noise you make, the bigger your fame. Also, we have more Igbos in the English sector and they are known for helping one another. That is a tradition the Yorubas lack.

Do you think the English actors are making more money than the Yorubas ?

In the past, yes, but not anymore. But if truly they are making more money than the Yorubas, I wish to be invited to confirm that . The market is very

Continues on page 30

30 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014 I didn’t plan to become an actor but people like my principal, Ben Tomoloju saw my acting skills during my secondary education. I won many awards for my school and so, they encouraged me. In one of the competitions, Ben Tomoloju was one

Continues from Page 29 competitive at the moment.

I wanted to be a soldier as a lad, I used to bring my peers together, marching and I play the commandant role

Which is more rewarding; being a producer, director, or an actor?

It depends on what the individual wants. If you want money, producer.

If what you want is fame, go for acting and if you want to be fulfilled artistically, then choose directing.

How do you handle female fans?

I have a cordial relationship with my fans. I make sure a fan feels appreciated. I could go as far as parking my car to greet a fan or even a hug if needed.

there was no phone to even know how she was faring. I got to the hospital around 2am and thank God, mother and child were okay. Also, even as the first child, I was not there to bury my father when he died because I was on set and the show must continue. These are times I feel sad about the shortcomings attached to my choice of career.

Has your wife ever been intimidated by your popularity and advances from female friends?

No, my wife is a very strong woman and I appreciate her a lot. But there was a day I was in the car with her and a woman blew me a kiss from a

I was named after an animal commercial bus. While doing that she nearly fell off the bus. My wife laughed and alarmed at the same time that the woman would fall off. My wife is understanding, she would even tell me if I didn’t make a romance scene look real. So these days, I do them well without holding back, knowing I have an understanding wife.

T

Was there any point you ever regretted choosing acting as a career?

Yes, there was a time my wife was to undergo an operation to have our child and I couldn’t be there with her because of my job.I just signed the papers and left because my director, Andy Amenechi, was waiting on set, the film was “Strange woman” and

he final hour to decide who wins the ultimate crown of the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria is upon us. It has been weeks of rigour; boot camps and photo sessionS to prepare the girls for the big task ahead. The task that must be done or undone tonight!

The contestants, 33 in number to represent each state of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory have been spending the last three days in photo-shoot sessions at various locations in Lagos with MBGN photographer, Kehinde Ojedokun.

C M Y K

There is always trouble in Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners ANTP, why?

Everything is calm now but recently somebody I mean Ashaolu was declared a winner of an election that didn’t take place. That was the reason for the last crisis. People felt cheated as this was the reason Theatre Arts and Motion Pictures Practitioners of Nigeria TAMPAN was created. Funny enough,most people that are members of TAMPAN are also members of ANTP. What measures are to be taken to prevent things like this?

People should learn to do things in the right manner. I mean constitutionally.

Why did you choose acting as a career?

While in camp, the girls have also been learning cat-walk, choreography and all the other works involved to face the big task tonight.

The girls arrived Yenogoa, Bayelsa State capital yesterday, to face a destiny that may chart a new course in their lives. The stage for the grandfinale is the Gabriel Okara Cultural Centre and as usual, the Bayelsa State government is all primed and ready to welcome the girls and give them the platform that may launch them to the epicentre of world’s attention.

of the judges and after the competition, he invited me to his group and that was how the whole thing started. I wanted to be a soldier as a lad, I used to bring my peers together , marching and I play the commandant role. Along the line,my mother began to sell goods in the Maamy market in Ilaro, Ogun state within the army barracks, 202 Battalion to be precise and this also increased my desire to be a soldier.

Would you agree that Nollywood is promoting pornography and indecent dressing among our youths?

I will only agree when you say a part of Nollywood. For indigenous actors, we emphasize on movies that promote our culture, religion , tradition and our type of society. I will not do a movie I know parents will not want their kids to see. But I know some of our girls are going wild. We must all fight against pornography and indecent dressing in our society.

Any future plan to groom the upcoming actors?

Yes I am planning to have my academy where they will be taught the rudiments of acting.

Though the ultimate crown is that of the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria (MBGN World) but the two runner-up too, MBGN Universe and MBGN Tourism are just as good.

While the winner will represent Nigeria at the Miss World pageant later in the year, the first runnerup, Miss MBGN Universe gets her shot at Miss Universe pageant, just as the second runner-up Miss MBGN Tourism goes for the Miss Tourism world pageant.

The 2013 edition saw Anna Banner Ebiere, Miss Bayelsa State emerging the winner while Miss Imo, Stephanie Okwu was first runner-up, Miss Adamawa State, Powede Lawrence, second runner-up, Miss Kaduna State, Enoma Agbonifo, third runner-up and Miss Abuja, Melisa Devidal, fourth runner-up.

Other winners at the pageant were Miss Akwa Ibom as Miss Amity, Miss Bayelsa State as Best Traditional Costume, Miss Ogun as Miss Charismatic and Miss Kano as Miss Photogenic.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18 , 2014 — 31 ifychimexs@yahoo.com

Vol 02

No. 22 JULY, 2014

www.vanguardngr.com

Dikko highlights potentials of PAAR to global community STORIES BY IFEYINWA OBI

L-R: Comptroller General of Customs, Dikko Abdullahi; Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga and Chairman House Committee on Diaspora Abike DabiriErewa at the seminar on Business in Nigeria organised

by Financial Times and Nigeria Customs Service in London recently.

C

OMPTROLLER General of the Nigerian Customs Service, Dikko Inde Abdullahi has told the international community at the just concluded seminar on Business in Nigeria held in United Kingdom that the Pre Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) introduced by his management team has facilitated trade in Nigeria.

Dikko who spoke at the capacity building event explained that PAAR allows for pre-arrival documentations and clearance of goods into Nigerian ports.

He said, “The growth of trade is critical to boosting economic development and poverty alleviation in developing economies. Its potential for job creation makes it a strategic component of President Goodluck Jonathan’s Transformation Agenda in Nigeria.”

He noted that as a major regulatory agency of Government, Nigeria Customs Service plays a very active role in stimulating the growth of trade in Nigeria by creating the conducive atmosphere necessary for investment in flow.

“This situation calls for

economic growth, he helped to lay a strong foundation for the reforms that re-positioned Customs in Nigeria.”

Dikko indicated that the Service was indeed at a cross road in 2009, especially with a work force that was highly demoralized, poorly remunerated and ill-equipped.

He said,“The launch of PAAR has helped to build stronger relationship with the business sector. By its configuration, importers and operators who have demonstrated high level of integrity in their declarations are

,

We embarked on a six-point agenda of action to prepare the Customs for a full takeover of international trade management from inspection companies in line with provisions of the Bali Agreement on Trade Facilitation

synergy between the Customs and the Ministry in charge of Industry,Trade and Investment.

I am happy that this synergy is demonstrated by the presence of the Minister, Dr Olusegun Aganga and his participation in this Forum.

“It is very instructive to note that the great strides recorded in Customs Modernization dates back to 2009. It all started during the days of Dr Aganga as Minister of Finance and chairman of the Customs Board.

With his clear understanding that a modern Customs Administration is necessary for C M Y K

,

flagged. To encourage them, 175 of them have been admitted into a new Fast Track system. These companies now enjoy special concessions like blue lane selection, inspection at owners premises and exclusive membership of the Customs Compliance Ambassadors Group.”

According to Dikko who has been wooing stakeholders to key into the Nigerian trade hub, the NCS has attained a high level of modernization enough to “assure existing and potential investors in Nigeria, that we are indeed ready for business.”

Stating that the Nigeria Customs Service has successfully implemented a critical reform programme and repositioned itself for trade facilitation, he said, “As we all know, the growth of trade is critical to boosting economic development and poverty alleviation in developing economies.

Its potential for job creation makes it a strategic component of President Goodluck Jonathan’s Transformation Agenda in Nigeria.

“As a major regulatory agency

of Government, Nigeria Customs Service, therefore, plays a very active role in stimulating the growth of trade in Nigeria and creating the conducive atmosphere necessary for investment in flow.”

He said the foundation for the giant strides being recorded in NCS was laid in 2009 when the journey towards its modernization started.

“It all started during the days of Dr. Aganga as Minister of Finance and chairman of the Customs Board. With his clear

understanding that a modern Customs Administration is necessary for economic growth, he helped to lay a strong foundation for the reforms that repositioned Customs in Nigeria.

“We were actually at a cross road in 2009 with a workforce that was highly demoralized, poorly remunerated and illequipped. We embarked on a six-point agenda of action to prepare the Customs for a full takeover of international trade management from inspection Continues on page 33

Interactions with WCO members has exposed NCS to global best practices —CGC

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AKING stock after four years at the helm of affairs of the World Customs Organization (WCO), the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service, NCS, Dikko Inde Abdullahi, has said that his interactions with members of the organization both at the regional and global level have exposed the country to global best practice in Customs administration.

Dikko who addressed a world press conference in Brussels, Belgium during the WCO council meeting assured that he would bring the experience to bear on the management of Customs in Nigeria.

While commending President Goodluck Jonathan for his support to Nigeria’s leadership of the region, he has said that that at resumption of office as WCO leader, his priority was to provide leadership that was all-inclusive, promote wider participation of members in the sub-region and draw attention to capacity gaps existing in our administrations.

He said, “I am happy to say that my tenure as

vice-chair has been characterized by remarkable successes and fulfillments. There are twenty-three Customs administrations in the West and Central African region. As at 2010, less than half of them could participate in regional meetings and programmes.

Stating that the last four years have been a great learning experience for the NCS, he said, “as at this moment, we have achieved full participation of all, based on the support and assistance offered the weaker administrations.

“So far, we have committed various forms of assistance to ëight Customs administrations in need.

The forms and beneficiaries of the assistance programme are detailed in a document. I must also say that Nigeria’s tenure as vice-chair has brought tremendous benefits to Nigeria, though the benefits may not be quantifiable in monetary terms.”

He, however, listed some of the key benefits to include technical expertise into the establishment of Nigeria Customs Command and Staff College, Continues on page 34

32 —Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18 , 2014

Vehicle transit programme:

Seme command generates over 1bn in 2 months

FOR easy shipment of cargo from country to country, the Nigeria Customs Service recently commenced a new vehicle transit regime for automobiles being imported into the country from neighbouring countries like Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Niger Republic. The scheme began with Benin Republic and Seme Border as area of pilot implementation.

In this interview with Customs Watch, the Area Controller Seme Command, Comptroller Willy Egbudin, who spoke on a number of industry related issues said the programe has drastically reduced smuggling of vehicles to the barest minimum.

According to him, Seme Area Command is in compliance with the Customs management decision to institute international best practices in all facets of Customs activities, such as the introduction of PreArrival Assessment Report (PAAR) use of mobile and fixed Scanners, the Nigeria Trade Hub and the Vehicle import transit process.

Excerpts:

•Vehicles coming into the border from Benin republic

V

EHICLE transit programme The Vehicle Import transit programme, an innovative effort of the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (CGC), Abdullahi Dikko Inde CFR has been fairing well.

Borne out of his concern for the security of the nation, suppression of smuggling, improvement in revenue collection and facilitation of legitimate trade, the CGC led the Director Generals of Customs of Area Controller Seme command, Comptroller Willy Egbudin proximate countries of Benin, Cameroun, Chad and Niger to a historic meeting on March 16, 2014 at Abuja.

You know that trade facilitation; communities about policy changes and True to his vision, the programme has suppression of smuggling and revenue also receive feedback from the not only drastically reduced the collection represents the core objectives communities. smuggling of Vehicles, but also of the Nigeria Customs Service. Seme Accommodation for the officers and increased our men of the Command r e v e n u e The total revenue so far collected since Provision of accommodation for collection thereof. officers is one of the cardinal agenda of The total revenue the programme commenced on April 23, the CGC and his Management team. so far collected amounted to N1,084,664,883.00. Worthy of The Customs Management has since the provided us with barracks p r o g r a m m e note also is that the number of vehicles accommodation in Seme and Badagry. commenced on cleared from the inception of the scheme in We are grateful to the CGC for the A p r i l completion and handing over of a new 23,amounted to April 2014 till date stood at 6,653 barrack accommodation that can N1,084,664,883.00. accommodate about 100 officers of this Area Command is in compliance with Worthy of note also is that the number the Customs management decision to of Vehicles cleared from the inception of the scheme in April 2014 till date institute international best practices in stood at 6,653. The energy hitherto all facets of our activities, such as the expended in pursuit of vehicle introduction of Pre-Arrival Assessment smugglers had been channeled to other Report (PAAR) use of mobile and fixed Scanners, the Nigeria Trade Hub and areas of need.

OMMITTED to generating Meanwhile, as you may have heard the Vehicle import transit process. These revenue for the Nigerian or noticed since the programme have made smuggling unattractive as government, the Kirikiri Lighter commenced, we have reduced the more people are now embracing Command has generated N8.1 billion, number of checkpoints operated by the legitimate trade which translates to more between January and May 2014.

Command and these have latently revenue.

The Area Comptroller in charge of KLT, Relationship with the border Comptroller Frances Enwereuzor, who reduced youth restiveness in this area.

The programme which represents the communities. disclosed this to Vanguard Custom Our relationship with border Watch on Monday said that the amount Customs management’s decision of institutionalising international best communities has been cordial and we generated was as result of the practices in operation is embedded with meet monthly with the community committed efforts of the men and officers representatives during the Customs/ of the Command. accountability and transparency also.

Trade facilitation, revenue and anti- community relations meeting. The According to her, the officers of the meeting is a platform to enlighten the command have put in selfless effort that smuggling

,

command. Worthy of appreciation also is the award of contract for the second phase of the new barracks and we are glad that it is nearing completion. Our CGC is a motivator.”

Challenges Pursuant to the Government transformation agenda the CGC with his management team has done much, to institute international best practices in our activities but, our greatest challenge is the problem of deviants and dishonesty among some members of the society. Our clarion call therefore is, for people to make honest declarations to boost revenue collection, facilitate legitimate trade and revenue collection.

Border policing against small and light arms Our officers have been trained and retrained on border policing and management. So, they have been strategically deployed within the Command to effectively police the border and prevent illegal exportation and importation of unwholesome goods.

Equally important is the use of our scanner (both fixed and mobile) for the examination of goods at the border.

Additionally, our checkpoints and patrol teams have been provided with metal detectors to forestall the importation of small and light arms.

The result of these measures is the 376 seizure with a duty paid value, DPV, of N171,007,824.00 made between January and May, 2014. The arrested suspects have been arraigned accordingly.

,

KL T records N8.

1b re KLT N8.1b revvenue Jan-Ma Jan-Mayy

C

C M Y K

result in the generation of the revenue for the economy.

“We are committed to service. And because the Comptroller General has made it convenient for us to work effectively, I want to assure that the command will do more in making sure that no revenue is lost. I therefore urge all officers to to get to work for a better result” she explained.

It would be recalled that the Comptroller Enwereuzor recently took over from her predecessor, Raph Ballu.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014 — 33

WCO plans new trade facilitation scheme T

HE World Customs Organization (WCO) has said that a new trade facilitation scheme for all member countries was underway.

The WCO is the governing body of all customs administrations in the world with about 180 member countries and headquarters in Brussels.

Already, the WCO and International Trade Centre (ITC) have concluded a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the implementation of the WTO agreement on the trade facilitation.

Being a member of the WCO, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) which is currently undergoing a massive modernization exercise will to a large extent benefit from this measure.

The WCO secretary-general, Kunio Mikuriya, and the executive director of the ITC, Arancha González, signed the MoU at the ITC headquarters recently as part of efforts to support full implementation of the WTO ATF. The secretary-general of the WCO , Mikuriya, who disclosed this while addressing delegates at an information session on supporting the implementation of the world trade organization (WTO) agreement on trade facilitation, at the WTO Headquarters recently in Geneva Switzerland said the new trade facilitation programme is expected to be closely coordinated with the WTO and would be open to all WCO members, offering coherency, continuity, transparency and compatibility.

The need to improve trade facilitation whilst continuously strategizing on ways to ensure import, export and transit trade, according to him, is conducted amongst countries in a risk free manner has been one of the priorities of the WCO.

Committee on trade facilitation The WCO boss thanked the WTO for hosting the event, emphasizing the history of the WCO/WTO cooperation and the WCO’s readiness to support the WTO Committee on Trade Facilitation in the same manner as it supports the Agreement on Customs Valuation and the Agreement on Rules of Origin.

Addressing the meeting, the WTO director-general, Mr Roberto Azevêdo, congratulated the WCO for establishing its working group on the ATF and stressed that the WTO secretariat will do all it can to support its work. Azevêdo added that the WTO was counting on the WCO to play a key role in assisting customs in this endeavour.

According to a statement on the WCO official website, the implementation of the ATF will contribute to promote customs modernization, reduce time and cost for border crossings, and enhance export competitiveness of the private sector, including small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

This is further expected to support economic growth and alleviation of poverty in view of the fact that the ITC works to increase the competitiveness of SMEs and improves the business environment for trade.

Speaking on the development, González assured that the ITC will help countries to remove international trade supply chain barriers in order to facilitate cross border transactions and improve the competitiveness of the private sector.

C M Y K

• Containers inside the port

Mikuriya specifically underlined one of the WCO’s visions, leading modernization and connectivity, stating that it will help to bridge the gap between the customs and business communities.

He added that the WCO has developed the economic competitiveness package to assist customs administrations to contribute

to enhancing national competitiveness.

According to him, WCO and ITC have agreed to develop greater synergy on trade facilitation by jointly providing technical assistance and capacity building to customs administrations as well as the private sector, in particular SMEs, taking into cognizance the importance of strategic

planning.

The information session, which was moderated by the chairperson of the WCO working group on the ATF, Ms Gugu Dlamini Zwane, from the Swaziland Revenue Authority, provided an overview of the work carried out so far and the plans ahead as well as the technical assistance and capacity building methodology and deliverables. The organization is committed to ensuring optimum benefit for governments of member countries.

The event was organized with the objective of familiarizing the WTO and other international organization delegates based in Geneva with the work of the WCO in relation to implementation of the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation (ATF).

Over 80 delegates from the WCO member and observer countries as well as international organisations were attracted to the meeting where critical issues were discussed.

FOU Zone C arrests six suspects ffor or alleged illegal impor tation ...seizes N88, 932, 485 goods importation T

HE Federal Operations Unit Zone ‘C’ Owerri of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has arrested six suspects for alleged importation of some contraband goods into the country.

This is even as 13 cases arising from illegal importation of some items are now pending in various high courts located in Calabar, Owerri, Benin and Enugu respectively.

The Customs Area Controller of the FOU Zone ‘C’, DC Victor David Dimka disclosed this while briefing newsmen on current seizures made in May. He said that goods total led thirty-four with Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N88.9 million.

Verification and clearance Out of the total number of seizures made, Dimka said that seventeen were vehicles with a DPV of N24.3 million which were confiscated mainly on the Benin axis, in Edo State, Agbor and Asaba bridgehead in Delta State.

He advised any interested buyer of vehicle to endeavor to contact the authorities of the closest Customs formation for verification and clearance of the vehicles in question before making their payment, to avoid possible embarrassment and prosecution if proved otherwise that Customs duty was not paid on such vehicle.

According to him, the other items impounded on the Benin, Calabar, Owerri, Port-Harcourt/Eleme axis as well as Agbor expressway in Delta State include; a container load of 294 bales of textile materials with DPV of N18.8 million, three trailers loaded with

imported rice comprising 1,357 bags with a DPV of N32. 4 and 48 pieces of imported furniture valued at N5.1 million.

Dimka decried the ceaseless spate of smuggling in the country despite spirited and frantic efforts by the Nigeria Customs Service to reduce to the barest minimum the nefarious business, warning that those still engaged in the act should desist forthwith or be prepared to face the full consequences of their unpatriotic activities if arrested.

He assured that officers and men of the service with the continued support and motivation of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Alhaji Abdullahi Inde Dikko

CFR were fully equipped, better informed and trained to meet challenges thrown up by the excesses of the smugglers.

He added that the NCS would continue to fashion out result oriented strategies and systems that would make smuggling a thing of the past in the country.

DC Dimka who bemoaned the harm being inflicted on the nation’s economy by smugglers and their sponsors pleaded with members of the public to always assist the NCS with useful, reliable and dependable information bordering on all forms of smuggling so as to ease the operations of the unit.

Dikko highlights potentials of PAAR tto o global community Continues from page 31 companies in line with provisions of the Bali Agreement on Trade Facilitation.

“The plan addressed the issue of capacity building for officers and men, improving the welfare of the workforce, automation of processes and system upgrade, building integrity and transparency into our system, partnerships with other Customs administrations and the Private sector, and a communication and outreach programme for active stakeholder engagement.”, Dikko said.

With the Nigerian Trade Portal, he explained that NCS provides timely, authoritative and accurate information about Nigerian trade with the rest of the

world. The interactive portal, he said, offers online advisory related to Customs tariff classification and valuation, tax base, Nigerian regulatory agencies, customs brokers, currency conversion tools and lots more. The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, who also spoke at the event commended Dikko for the reforms he instituted in the Nigeria Customs Service.

He advised that the NCS should continue to lay more emphasis on trade facilitation and promote trade in the country. Meanwhile, majority of speakers at the event hailed the NCS management for the achievements recorded in the service since inception, especially the introduction of the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR).

34 —Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18 , 2014

Tincan Island command rakes in N53b in May, June 2014 or repair of por portt roads ••calls calls ffor

T

HE Area Controller, Tincan Island Command, Comptroller Jibrin Zakari has disclosed that the command generated about N53 billion between May and June 2014.

Jibril who disclosed this in an interview with Customs Watch said that the amount collected in May stood at N26, 523, 975, 170billion.

Stating that the figure was highest revenue record by the command since 30 years, he attributed the revenue increment by the commands to the dividend of Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR).

According to him, “the introduction of PAAR actually contributed. The PAAR is an indigenous scheme. It is prepared from our headquarters.

It is we who know what it is supposed to be and it is Customs that produced it. Therefore, we

know the value, classification etc and this contributed. Secondly, there is cargo. We have a lot of cargoes, a lot of ships and dedication to duty of our officers.

PAAR has come to stay and it is working. And this is why you see this huge revenue in the months of April,May and June respectively.

He pointed out that the slight reduction in the revenue collected in June which stood at N26.5 billon is as the result of the bad roads leading to the ports.

On the sorry state of roads to the Nigerian Ports, he stressed the need for total reconstruction of the roads, saying that the Port is the second highest revenue generation in the Nigerian economy.

Frowning on the laxity of the government regarding roads leading to the ports, he said, “There is urgent need for total

•Bad road to ports

Area Controller, Tincan Island Command,Comptroller Jibrin Zakari

construction of the roads. The country is losing money daily from the Port as a result of poor state of the roads. It is affecting fast clearance of cargoes from the port. It is delaying movement of trucks. Life and property are at risk” he explained.

Stressing on the effect of the bad roads to the port, the Customs chief said that the road posses danger to lives and the property of the port port users and the national economy as a whole. ‘’The bad roads have in recent times gradually slowed down activities in the ports, especially in the area of movement of containers from the ports after clearing.

The trucks have oin many occasions fallen into the ditches, posing danger to lives and property. Something has to be done now to save the economy as time is running out already” he added.

Smuggling: FOU Ikeja records N483. 3m seizures E

FFORTS to fight smuggling activities to the barest minimum has continued to yield result as the Federal Operations Unit of the Nigerian Customs Service, Zone ‘A’ IkejaLagos has recorded massive seizures of prohibited goods valued at about N483. 3 million with a payable duty of N263 million between January and May 2014. This is even as the Unit apprehended 88 suspects in connection with the Seizures.

Bags of illegally imported parboiled rice, cartons of foreign frozen poultry products, used

Seized Goods

We are committed to social responsibility in communities — NCS

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EYOND generating revenue for the government, the Nigeria Customs Service, at the just concluded inauguration of a new medical clinic at the Customs Training College, Ikeja, Lagos restated its commitment to corporate social responsibility in its communities.

The Coordinator of Zone “A” of the NCS, Mr Victor Gbemudu, who stated this at the ceremony said the clinic was part of the SixPoint Agenda of the Comptroller General of Customs, Alhaji Dikko Abdullahi.

Gbemudu, an Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs said, “The clinic is available to both Customs officers as well as the neighbouring community because we all know that health is wealth. We are appealing to the media to inform the host community that they can benefit from the customs social responsibilities”. According to him, the level of patronage would C M Y K

determine the expansion of the facility, adding that the clinic was equipped with medical equipment. He said the service was striving to bring health care facility to the door steps of its neighbourhood by bridging the gap on behalf of government in reducing health challenges in the community. “This is not the first project done under Customs’ social responsibility; we have Customs Hospital at Karu in Abuja, we have a mini-clinic at Apapa in Lagos,” Gbemudu said.

The zonal coordinator said it took the service one year to put the clinic together.

The clinic it was reported comprises nurse station, medical stores, private wards, procedure room, toilets, theatre, pharmacy, laboratory as well as male and female ward. Their facilities include centrifuge use for blood test, microscope, machine used in measuring weight, height, blood pressure and total part index, among others.

tyres and other general goods were seized.

Making the disclosure in his office, the Controller, Federal Operations Unit, Zone ‘A’, Comptroller Nuhu Isa Mahmoud,said that the impressive performance was as a result of the Unit’s resolve to strengthen its operational apparatus through a well tailored strategic approach, which includes the use of ICT and intelligence/information gathering.

Analogue to digital According to him, there is a paradigm shift in the operational tactics of the Unit – a change from analogue approach to digital, in line with the global best practices and World Customs Organization, WCO, standards.

The controller also attributed the successes recorded by the Unit to the ever supportive gesture of the ComptrollerGeneral of Customs, Alhaji (Dr.) Abdullahi Dikko Inde CFR and his management team.

He pointed out that the NCS management under the leadership of the CGC has provided the Unit with the wherewithal in terms of

motivation/remuneration, capacity building and provision of operational tools like vehicles, arms/ammunition to support its effort. In the same vein, the Controller applauded the synergy and collaboration between the officers/men of the Unit, which he noted has led to monumental achievements.

He stated that the Unit will continue to live up to its rating as a flagship Unit and hub in anti-smuggling activities.

Speaking further on the Seizure, the Controller assured that the Unit will always remain several steps ahead of the antics of smugglers to ensure that their nefarious activities were decimated.

While advising smugglers operating in the South-Western axis to have a re-think and channel their resources towards a more meaningful investment rather than smuggling, he promised that the Unit would stop at nothing in its effort to rid the areas under his watch of smuggling activities.

Appreciating the media for their objectivity in reporting activities of the Unit, he aappealed to them to continually sensitize the public on the dangers and consequences of smuggling.

Interactions with WCO members has exposed NCS to global best practices—CGC Continues from page 31 Gwagwalada, adding that its designation as a WCO Regional Training Centre has helped the College play host to numerous local and international courses on Customs and security matters. He said that regional cooperation in transit and security matters have helped to secure the buy-in of the country’s neighbours in handing over

transit vehicles to Nigeria Customs Service. “So far, more than 5000 vehicles have been handed over with duty of over N1billion. This has helped to save resources often deployed to pursue smugglers, which often lead to loss of lives of our operatives. “Increased visibility of Nigeria in the activities of WCO, leading to many countries seeking collaboration

with Nigeria. During the period, we signed co-operation agreements with Customs administrations of USA, Argentina, South Africa, UAE and Turkey. Recognition and support for capacity building programme of the Service, with particular emphasis on Border Patrol Operations supported by United States and Valuation matters supported by India” he explained.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014 — 35

I am not in music to cop copyy an anyyone

Stephanie Linus gets Hollywood movie role

By ANOZIE EGOLE

N

ollywood screen goddess, Stephanie Okereke-Linus is certainly getting her groove on and even spreading her tentacles beyond the shores of Nolywood as she is set to ply her trade in Holywood.

Stephanie, who is clearly ecstatic about her new conquest is starring in an American Western epic movie,

– Jennifer Eliogu

A

ctress and singer, Jennifer Eliogu is headlining the African Women in Leadership Conference where she is billed to perform in Atlanta, USA. The actress, who has been in the industry for about 17years, is currently working to build her music career and has three singles to her name.

Her singles which are fusion of different genres of music are titled You and I, Ifunanya and Fantasy.

‘Ifunanya’ was nominated as the Best R n B song at the Nigerian Music Video awards 2013, while ‘You and I’ is the coverage of the late legend, Celestine Ukwu’s song. ‘Fantasy’ is a lover ’s rock reggae song.

Speaking on her foray into music, she said “music is something that has always been a part of me. I have come into the music industry to stay; I’m in it for good. I am not in competition w i t h anybody, it is just another way of making use of the talents that I have. I am not in it because other people are going into music but because I have the passion for it and I have always wanted to make good music.

Music is serious business, and I am in for the long run. I have a 10man band called Silk Band and we just want to make people feel good through music.” she said

“Boonville Redemption”.

The sexy actress made the big announcement on her Instagram page. Hear her, “Stephanielinus. Hey fab people, yours will be featuring in an American western epic movie, “Boonville Redemption” will keep you posted” she said. Lets hope she gets wonderful ratings like the 12 Years A Slave superstar, Lupita.

Even my kids ask me to marry, Ibinabo confirms marriage rumours T

he hot rumour in town right now is about the President of Actors Guild of Nigeria, Ibinabo Fiberesima getting married after five children. The rumour has it that the actress, who is holidaying in the United States of America, with her undisclosed hubby, would be walking down the aisle in Portharcourt by December of this year.

WG, however had a chat with the actress who confirmed the story to be true, saying, she has always had marriage on her mind.

“Remember, I once said I never ruled out marriage. “When I see a man who wants to marry me, I will marry him. I want to marry please.

All my children are grown-ups now. I need my own company. Even my kids ask me when I am getting married and I keep telling them I will marry when I find the man. I have not ruled out marriage at all.” she said.

On marriage, she said “When I see a man who wants to marry me, I will marry him. I want to marry please. All my children are grown-up now. I need my own company. Even my kids ask me when I am getting married and I keep telling them I will marry when I find the man. I have not ruled out marriage at all.”

Uti Nwachukwu to host ‘Star The Winner is’ S

tar lager beer in partnership with creators of global singing show, The Voice, Talpa International B.V. have announced Uti Nwachukwu as host for its new and exciting TV game show ‘Star The Winner Is’. The unusual show which saw thousands of hopefuls audition in 5 cities in Nigeria for a chance to step on the big stage is now set to deliver a nail-biting and exciting 3months as it will infuse the performance of a singing competition show and the strategy of a game show into a thrilling series.

To be hosted by Big Brother Africa All Stars Winner, Actor and Model and TV show host Uti Nwachukwu, each episode will feature six acts that will go head-to-head each week and sing with everything they have for a shot at the Ten Million Naira and brand new car grand prize.

Star The Winner s a singing showdown where an unusual 101 jury consisting of music enthusiasts and specialists votes for the best performer. Losing a duel means a contestant is out of the game. The show is set to premiere on July 19, with N10 million naira and a brand new car as grand prize C M Y K

36—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

I love Genevieve, Orezi declares

Don Jazzy features in new gospel song

BY IYABO AINA

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By ANOZIE EGOLE

usic producer, Don Jazzy might probably be going gospel as the Mavin records CEO, was featured in a gospel music titled ‘Serve God’ by Gospel Artist, TV Presenter and Songwriter , Ayodele Vincent for the very first time Unlike many celebrities he has managed to keep his personal life private. Don Jazzy like many other artists also started out his music career in the church.

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t doesn’t appear there would be an end to the number of guys who have crush for Nollywood screen goddess, Genevieve Nnaji. Joining the list of those who have the hots for the actress like Majid Michel, OC Ukeje, Wizkid, D’Banj is fast-rising singer, Orezi, who disclosed his affection publicly in an interview.

When asked whether he could date Genevieve, Orezi gushed and mumbled that he loves the actress but understands she is far beyond his reach, as the actress is bigger in fame and in age. ,“Genevieve no be for us (Genevieve is not for us), but in the real sense, I love Genevieve, I admire her a lot,” he said.

Halima Abubakar shows off breast tattoo T

•Orezi

his very curvy actress knows she’s naturally endowed and loves to flaunt her curves at every opportunity.

Halima Abubakar who was reported to have shed some weight after an illness which landed her in the hospital, has since maintained her slimmer self and has vowed never to grow too big again.

So, she’s been flaunting her new self, including the tattoo she recently got on her left breast.

Etisalat to announce prize for Literature judges

By ANOZIE EGOLE Etisalat Nigeria, will on Friday 19th July 2014 announce the judging panel for the second edition of its prestigious literary prize, the Etisalat Prize for Literature. Chaired by renowned Nigerian writer Sarah Ladipo Manyika, the distinguished panel consists of award winning British/Sudanese writer Jamal Mahjoub, prolific Francophone writer Alain Mabanckou and writer/ filmmaker Tsitsi Dangarembga.

Chief Executive Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Matthew Willsher said the judges for this year’s prize are some of the most respected individuals in the literary world and they will bring in diverse experiences and expertise to the judging panel. “What is most exciting is that we have a very diverse panel that will bring in their individual perspectives to the judging process. They are an accomplished panel with vast amount of experience in the creative writing world”.

•Don Jazzy

Susan Peters, WBO set for Miss Intercontinental Pageant

BY JULIET EBIRIM

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he World Beauty Organisation (WBO), organisers of the Miss Intercontinental,Top Model of the World and Mister Intercontinental pageants is set to launch the first edition of the Miss Intercontinental Nigeria Pageant, scheduled to hold in Lagos on the 6th of September, 2014.

Speaking at a press conference held recently in Lagos, Nollywood actress, Susan Peters who is the project Manager for the Miss Intercontinental Nigeria C M Y K

Pageant said the pageant seeks to portray Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage. “It seeks to portray the rich cultural heritage of Nigeria and focuses on bringing people of different cultures together.

Elegance, beauty and brain will be fully represented and rewarded”.

The winner of the Miss Intercontinental Nigeria pageant will have the opportunity to compete with over 70 hopefuls for the International Miss Intercontinental Crown taking place later in the year.

The winner of the Miss

Intercontinental Nigeria Pageant will be going home with a brand new car, 2.5 million naira cash amongst other gifts. The first runner up stands the chance to win 1.5 million naira while the second runner up will get 1 million naira in cash.

Regional auditions will hold in Owerri on the 24th and 25th of July, 2014, Abuja on the 1st and 2nd of August and Lagos on the 8th and 9th of August. The main pageant will take place on the 6th of September at the Intercontinental Hotel and Resorts, Victoria Island.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014—37

Chatting redefined on Palmchat

How home audio system with auto DJ redefines sound technology O

n a global scale, listening to music is a favourite pastime for many; such moments are looked up to by this group of persons. In Nigeria, the situation is not different as individuals in their quest to relax at the end of a busy workday turn to their Hi-Fi systems to belt-out soothing tunes.

Owing to the fact that consumers are increasingly on the look-out for quality HiFi products with great sound output, LG Electronics, a global leader in Consumer Electronics and Convergence Audio and Video products has introduced the LG XBOOM OM5540 also known as the LG Cube X Boom Pro into the Nigerian market.

LG Electronics OM5540 is innovatively fitted with Auto DJ features which create seamless party playlists with by blending each song into the next. It is specifically designed to create the ultimate party atmosphere for music lovers and party people to enjoy uninterrupted music in their homes.

Speaking on the new product, Mr. Jae Sang Lee, General Manager, Convergence Audio Video Division, LG Electronics West Africa operations said: “chic and up-to-the-minute, the LG X-BOOM OM5540 is amazingly portable and comes with an ergonomic body. With this innovative product, users can play their favourite

music from their smartphones or tablets by wirelessly streaming via Bluetooth and NFC; also the LED lighting changes with the beat, creating the ultimate party atmosphere”.

“Sound meets style with Hi-Fi systems which makes them sound even better than they look.”

LG X-BOOM OM5540 Home Audio System has unique and blazing features which enable users enjoy music with ideal celebration mood. It also comes with an NFC (Near Field Communication) Bluetooth remote App which has provided convenience in ensuring audio is being played instantly by placing NFC audio devices in the product’s NFC window.

Bold and Swanky, the LG X-BOOM OM5540 comes with a lot of audacity and peculiarity- redefining what users can expect from their music devices. Unlike the conventional home entertainment products which do not have Auto DJ features, the LG OM5540 mini music machine makes it easy for users to enjoy real shindig mood in their living rooms with the inimitable LG Auto DJ feature.

The Type writer: Germany’s tool against espionage W

ITH the world cup under its belt, Germany seems to be leading the world in sports.

But its anti-high-tech spy technology isn’t what many other countries would copy in a hurry. To combat an ongoing espionage problem the country is reportedly having with the United States, the German Government might simply return to using the trusty old typewriter.

In an interview with an international television service, Patrick Sensburg, a politician in charge of a parliamentary inquiry into US spying in Germany said that the government was seriously considering a lowtech solution to the ongoing espionage problem, according to the British media. When Sensburg was asked whether the German Government was considering typewriters, he replied: “As a matter of fact, we have - and not electronic models either.”

“Really?” the surprised

interviewer checked.

“Yes, no joke,” Sensburg responded.

Last week, Germany asked the station chief of the Central Intelligence Agency, to leave the country after German investigators uncovered alleged spying operations, at a time when many Germans are still angry over the exposure last year of widespread US surveillance programs whose targets included Chancellor Angela Merkel. After former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden

released the first of his revelations about the US government’s surveillance activities, Russia said that it would also revert to the typewriter.

Will Germany truly dump computers for the typewriter?

That is difficult to say. But whether this will end international spying is a whole different kettle of fish.

As one U.S intelligence expert put it: ‘Before computers, spying was done the oldfashioned way - and there’s no reason why it can’t be done that way again.’

W

ITH over 80,000 new users signing up daily from different mobile devices, Palmchat is fast becoming the choice social mobile social platform for users around the world. The user friendly interface and custom features usher in a new face of social interaction and bonding.

Palmchat allows users to make new friends and chat with over 30 million friends and get dating started. With Emoticons for every mood and emotion let you express yourself you can enjoy messaging with family and friends while enjoying Text/Voice/Photo/location sharing.

They say a better experience is an experience made for everyone and that is what the Palmchat mobile social platform offers. The app is downloadable from all available app stores so you can connect and experience mobile chatting and online dating with whatever device you have.

The Palmchat app is a ‘very cool social platform’ in that there are so much you can do on it or with all the cool stuff you can think of right before your eyes. Get inspired and connect with any android phone of your choice with you in charge.

And if you’re tired of the regular chat apps that limit the number of people you can connect with, then palm chat is the right app to go for as it offers endless opportunities to connect with over 80,000 other palmchatters around the world.

This social app brings you together in the moment with friends and family through instant chats, voice calls, picture sharing, voice notes and more and encourages dating.

With the entire popular mobile social apps from Wechat, BBM to Whatsapp and now Palmchat) struggling to make a difference I the social world it can only be wise to choose wisely for that one app that gives you that cool feeling.

Social platforms are functional for instant messaging, expressivesafe, sharing files, photos and voice recordings and quite frankly friendly but with the palmchat Shake-Shake custom feature chatting has gone beyond functionality to limitless emotional expression; As the Shake-Shake features, allow you to see how many people across the globe shaking their phones at the same moment and giving you a chance to chat with them.

As if that isn’t an incentive enough to get you all Palm-chatty, this amazing mobile social platform has a Look-Around feature that allows you to see a fellow user that is within your vicinity and chat them up if you feel like.

If you are not afraid to admit your tendency for online mobile talkativeness you will surely love the Palmchat social platform-feel free to download the app. Experience they say ‘makes all the difference’; you too can join the excitement. Come on in, get chatting.

C M Y K

38— Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

Women, children and the displaced of Northern Nigeria W

hen nations are at war, it is women and children that bear the brunt.

While the Boko Haram, insurgency is by no means a full scale war with other nations, the effects of it on women and children are just as far reaching. There is nothing to show that the results on both the short and long terms are any worse than those of the transatlantic slave trade, with whole villages and farms, as well as lives and life investments, are abandoned for wandering, misery and uncertainty.

The Chibok kidnapping eventone whose details have remained sketchy at best, despite a deluge of international attention- has become the icon of the Boko Haram insurgency; and the more helpless we are at the face of tackling this issue, the more helpless we will be at effectively tackling the big picture.

But while it is necessary for the massive military investments of both money and manpower that we have seen since the beginning of this insurgence, it is easy to wish more of that money were invested into the rehabilitation of displaced persons, both internally and externally and particularly of women and children. This, as well as ensuring food security in order to avoid contemporary and imminent food shortages and crisis; and to prevent what, in the words of former US ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell: a “humanitarian disaster in a region that even in the best of times is extremely poor”.

Statistics:-

12

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that there are perhaps a dozen international nongovernmental organizations still operating in northeast Nigeria, but only the Norwegian Red Cross, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the UN Population Fund are working with the displaced.

In addition, two agencies of the Nigerian government are also involved, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA).

470,000

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates the number of refugees at 470,000. There hugely conflicting figures.

60%

NEMA estimates that more than 60 percent of the farmers in the food basket near Lake Chad have fled. Accordingly, there are concerns about food security. There are reports of villagers now eating their seed corn, having shared what they had stored with the displaced.

25

It is easy to wish more of that money were invested into the rehabilitation of displaced persons, both internally and externally and particularly of women and children

25 of the 36 states of the federation have passed States’ Child Rights Bills into law.

Despite concerted advocacy, high level opposition against its passage persists predominantly in the Northern states of the country on religious and/or traditional grounds. UNHCR is concerned that refugee children are not able to benefit from the national child protection scheme

ORANGE LACE

116

In 2012, the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) evacuated the first batch of displaced Igbo women and children from Kano. The returnees, numbering 116, were the first batch to be evacuated from the North by the leadership of MASSOB.

EMBEL

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014 — 39

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t has been said that no woman who does not want a child conceived in her womb can be persuaded to keep it. Likewise, no one that wants a conceived child can be persuaded to ‘get rid’ of it.

If personal choice so clearly have a huge role to play in the decision to terminate a pregnancy, why then is it a subject of so much political and economic importance?

The question of ‘abortion rights’ were to come up again during this year ’s World Population day, as Marie Stopes International, the global leading body in the pro-choice campaign, last week petitioned the UN Secretary General and CoChairs of The Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals to “Ensure the next development agenda delivers on achieving women’s rights and empowerment, universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights, and reducing unsafe abortion”.

The petition, which has reached its limits for cosignatories, submits amongst other things: When a mother dies, the risk of death for her children under the age of five goes up by 50%.

Millions of lives could be saved if women had access to basic healthcare and contraception. It is time for the international community to Make Women Matter In 2000 the United Nations and all the countries of the world agreed on a set of eight ‘Millennium Development Goals’ to reduce poverty and inequality by 2015. The fifth goal is to reduce maternal deaths by 75% and achieve universal access to reproductive health. Of the eight goals, this is the most off track and the majority of countries will not meet this target.

Providing access to reproductive healthcare is one of the simplest and cheapest ways to save women’s lives. If everyone who wanted to use contraception was able to, 79,000

women’s lives and 1.1 million infants' lives could be saved in the developing world alone. And being able to make an informed choice and take control of your own reproductive health is a basic human right.

Signatories, amongst whom are Nigerians, also add their submissions. According to Felix Ikenna Onunkwor, a Nigerian, working in the rural communities in the North and South of Nigeria has revealed that many women do not have the capacity to make important reproductive health decision bordering on their lives. For the adolescent girl child, there is no place for their reproductive health need in the society. David Tucker, an Englishman says, “Increased access to contraception would be a very good start to empowering women in the developing world, solving the overpopulation of the planet and the resulting poverty. For the crazed pro-lifers out there, this is the way to reduce abortion - get your churches to rid themselves of their sexual hang-ups and promote contraception for all sexuallyactive adults”.

But in a religious country like Nigeria, chances are slim that much progress will be made in this direction as all religions in the country do not only stand against abortion, so do most of the cultures. The anti-homosexuality bill quickly signed into law last year shows this moral stance in the country is not about to be relaxed anytime soon.

In Imo State where the abortion bill the former just signed into law in 2012, a third world war almost erupted, with government and the religious of the state virtually at the throat of one another. Sponsored by the Majority Leader and member representing Ahiazu Mbaise state constituency, Mrs. Adekunle Ihuoma, the law is to be cited as “Imo State of Nigeria, Violence Against P e r s o n s (Prohibition) Law Number 12 of

The abortion debate continues 2012”.

According to the new law, every woman shall have the right to enjoy reproductive rights, including rights to medical abortion in cases of sexual assault, rape, incest and where the continued pregnancy endangers the life or the physical, mental, psychological or emotional health of the mother.

The law also stipulates that “every woman shall have the right to take decisions about her health needs and requirements.” The law was very specific that a woman “shall have the right to determine the processes concerning reproduction in her body.”

Okorocha also approved that every woman should have a right to health, which should be understood to mean enjoyment of the highest level of physical, mental and social well-being and healthcare services.

These provisions include everything relating to family

planning.

The pro-lifers prevailed in the end. Bowing to unprecedented pressure and public outcry from Imo indigenes, the Imo State House of Assembly on Thursday, Sept. 26, repealed the controversial Imo State of Nigeria Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law No 12 of 2012 (aka Abortion Law).

The Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, had brought an amendment bill to the controversial Law to the House of Assembly, asking them to either amend or repeal the entire Law. The Committee set by the House had recommended that the entire Law which has generated much furor in the State be repealed. The Leader gathered reliably that the House felt they were better-of getting rid of the entire law. They hope to redraft a completely new law to take care of the other less offensive aspects o this law at an appropriate time.

But the drama was far from over. As the house of Assembly was deciding on how to get the abortion law kicked out, the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), encouraged by the speedy and clandestine passage of the Abortion Law, had called on the National Assembly to copy the example of the Imo State House of Assembly and pass the bill into Law. The body’s National President of FIDA, Hauwa Evelyn Shekarau, commended the courage of the Imo House of Assembly and Governor Rochas Okorocha for being the first and the only State so far in the Federation to enact the Law. In the meantime, perhaps women in both rural and urban circumstances are better served when they are taught about their responsibilities as regards their health viz-a-vis their sexuality, as well as their rights.

Dresses that turn heads O

METALLIC

LLISHED RITA DOMINIC

ne that fits and flatters and doesn't require too much thought. Something you can throw on with a couple pieces of jewelry and a pair of shoes and go. Something that will make you the centerpiece of any room - while still keeping your personal style.

There is ‘good dressing’, and then there is dressing with the intention to turn heads. While the former is done merely to fulfill all righteousness, the latter is to make a statement; and not just any statement, but one that says you are feminine, you are strong, you are sexy and you are sassy.

Colours There is a reason why colours are always definitive of every fashion season Know your colour and works for you

and stick to it, whether in order to complement your natural skin tone or to contrast it. Since florals are still in, make statements this summer with a splash of flowers all around you.

Consider also the new saying: orange is the new black!

Mini Mini While you don’t necessarily have to show skin to turn heads, there is nothing overly wrong with showing more than a bit of flesh now and then.

Show more than a bit of leg with one of those sheath mini dresses that are so hot right now. Bare backs are also back with soo much variety.

Lace Overlay Just a few years ago, turning out in a lace dress might have looked tacky or immature. Today, no wardrobe is complete without a sheer lace dress through which you can see many

wonders- or just a plain underlay. Both are sexy and would definitely turn heads.

Embellished shoulders The devil is in the details- so it is said- but so is the angel, and you can look like one with the right embellishment on the right dress. Of course the key to wearing an embellished dress right is to keep all the attention on one spot, and hopefully it’s around your best assets.

Metallics Gone are the days when metallics were only for clubbing and night outs. These days, they have gone day- even office, when combined with black or brown. Wearing an all metallic might be all you need to be the cynosure of all eyes.

40 — VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JULY 18,, 2014

Etiquette of du’a in Ramadan

BY HARUN RAZAQ

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Reward for giving iftar M

UHAMMAD Salim Al-Rahili is never the richest man on earth neither is he the most powerful in the Muslim world, but the seventyyear-old man is regarded in the Arabia world particularly in Madinah where he is based as one of the oldest providers of iftar meals to Muslims in the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah. For about over sixty years, Al-Rahili we gathered started as an helper in the mosque particularly in the Rawdah and AlMukabariya area.

Presently, it is learnt that more than one thousand visitors to the Prophet’s Mosque eat iftar together every day around the mosque including the squares adjacent to the mosque.

When press men approached him to give an idea of the cost of the provisions for people during Ramadan, the humble man declined saying: “charity work are done for the sake of God and my doing good is not to seek fame or stardom.” Can you imagine the level of consciousness for giving iftar during Ramadan and doing good?

precious?” He said to them in response, “The case is the same even if he gives it by a river” We should deem it a blessing to offer food to people. We also learnt from the hadiths that The most virtuous of deeds is to cover the fault of a Believer, to feed him, and to make him

handful of other people who are not Muslims to join. Again, if a person does not fast because of any of the possible and approved reasons for leaving out fast, such as traveling, illness, and menstruation, such person can also be invited to join in your iftar.

Executive Director, Daar Communication, Chief Peter Ogbodu assisted by the Director Communication, Al-Habibiyyah Muslim Society, Alhaji Abdul Fatai (left) during the braking of fast with Guzape Community at Al-Habibiyyah Mosque in Abuja.

Photos:Gbemiga Olamikan

Hajj rule violations to cost airlines dearly

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iving iftar (fastbreaking) meal is very rewarding. If a person, while walking on the road, gives even an orange to a fasting person to break his fast, it is the reward as giving

HE importance of du’a cannot be over emphasized in Islam because Allah says: “And your Lord said: “Invoke Me I will respond to your (invocation)” (40:60). Also, the Prophet (SAW) said: “Du’a is worship” (Tirmidhi 3372; Abu Dawud 1479; Ibn Majah 3828; authenticated by al-Albaani in Sahiih Tirmidhi 2590). Therefore, it is essential for a person making du’a during the month of Ramadan (and other time of the year) to observe the following etiquettes: (1) Must believe and fill his/her heart with Tauhiid (Islamic Monotheism) with regard to the divinity, Lordship, Names and Attributes of Allah. (2) Must respond to Allah by obeying Him and not disobeying Him (2:186). (3) Must direct all his/her acts of worship to Allah alone (98:5). (4) Should ask of Allah by His most beautiful names (7:180). (5) Should praise Allah (by saying: Subhanallah, Alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar etc.) before calling upon Him (Allah). (6) Should send correct Solat (blessings) to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) e.g. (Allahumah Soli ala Muhammad wa salim or Salatu Ibrahimiyyah) upon the Prophet (SAW) before and after the du’a. (7) Should say du’a with humility and not loud because Allah says: “Invoke your Lord with humility and in secret” (7:55). (8) Should raise the hands (the palm of the hand should be raised towards heaven, in the manner of a humble beggar who hopes to be given something). (Abu Dawood 1486). According to Shaikh Ibn ‘Uthaimiin (may Allah have mercy on him) in al-Sharh alMumti’ (4/25) “the hands should be held together”. (9) Should have certainty faith that Allah will respond, and focusing with proper presence of mind. (Tirmidhi 3479; classed as Hasan

by Shaykh al-Albaani in Saheeh Tirmidhi, 2766) (10) Should face the Qiblah (Muslim 1763), if it is easy to do so. (11) Should ask frequently with patient and not seek a hasty response, because the Prophet (SAW) said: “The slave will receive a response so long as his du’a does not involve sin or severing of family ties, and so long as he is not hasty.” It was said, “What does being hasty mean?” He said: “When he says, ‘I made du’a and I made du’a, and I have not seen any response,’ and he gets frustrated and stops making du’a.” (Bukahari 6340; Muslim 2735) (12) Should be firm in his du’a and not to say, ‘O Allah, forgive me if You wish, O Allah, have mercy on me if You wish’. (Bukhari, 6339; Muslim, 2679). (13) Should beseech Him with humility, hope and fear (7:55). (14) Should say the du’a three times. (Bukhari 240; Muslim 1794). (15) Should ensure that his/her food and clothing are halaal (conforms Islam) (2:172; Muslim 1015) etc

Muslims braking fast at Al-Habibiyyah Mosque in Abuja, recently.

iftar meal for a fasting Muslim.

The Prophet (s.a.w) said, “If a person gives iftar to a fasting person in this month, his sins will be forgiven. And he will be given as many rewards as has that fasting person.” Some of the Companions of the Prophet upon hearing that asked again, what if they were not so rich as to give iftar meal to a fasting person; then the Prophet said: “The rewards will be given even to a person who gives a date as the iftar or who provides water to break the fast or who offers a little milk.”

Also, another hadith says: “He who gives water as iftar to a fasting person in Ramadan becomes as sinless as the day his mother bore him,” the Companions asked him, “Is it so when water is scarce and

happy by meeting a need of his.

So, it is very rewarding to feed people. Feeding a fasting person in particular is much more rewarding. Such a person receives as many rewards as the fasting person receives, without any reduction in the reward of the fasting person.

Invite fasting Muslims, friends, the poor, the needy, even nonMuslims. Make them feel the blessings of the glorious month while you cart away your reward. One of our readers recently asked whether it is permissible to invite a nonfasting person to iftar meal? My response was that it is permissible, but your consciousness and preference should first be the fasting Muslims, you can invite a

Again, you can also invite the rich because, the reward for feeding the poor and the reward for offering food for iftar is different. Perhaps, that was why the Prophet said: “He who gives water as iftar to a fasting person in Ramadan will become as sinless as the day his mother bore him,” the Companions asked him, “Is it so when water is scarce and precious?” He said to them in response, “No, he attains the same reward even if he is by a river, takes a glass of water from it, and offers it.”

Also note that one of the five rights of a Muslim over another is to accept and attend his/her invitation; but one must not partake in an invitation if sins are committed where the meal is offered.

HE Government of Saudi Arabia has issued a warning to airlines that do not adhere to regulations at Jeddah and Madinah airports during the Haj season as they will be fined up to SR100,000, according to Arab news.

Prince Fahd bin Abdullah, President of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), adopted the new regulations based on the directives.

Report says that flights that do not leave or arrive within a certain time limit will be fined SR10,000 per landing and SR15,000 per departure.

In addition, airliners will be obliged to pay SR1,000 per passenger and SR100,000 if there are less than 100 pilgrims on board.

Flights departing without licensing will be fined anywhere between SR20,000 and SR100,000, while officials found guilty of helping a pilgrim-chartered flight depart without authorization will be fined anywhere between SR10,000 and SR50,000.

GACA officials also reserve the right to ground planes that are found not in possession of valid seasonal permits.

The new regulations also stipulate that pilgrim-chartered airliners and their agents present a flight log.

Failure to do so will result in a SR20,000 to SR50,000 fine per unscheduled flight. A SR50,000 fine will be incurred for purposely ignoring regulations.

Airlines will require permits prior to flying Haj-chartered flights between Aug. 27 up until the fourth day of the Haj season, according to GACA officials.

Return flights, meanwhile, will operate from Oct. 8 until the middle of the subsequent month.

More than 30,000 pilgrims will be given a 30-day leave of stay, while between 20,000 and 30,000 will be given 25 days and 10,000 to 20,000 will be given 18 days.

Other pilgrims will have anywhere between 12 and 18 days depending on the space available at airports.

About two million pilgrims are expected to arrive into the Kingdom for the 1435AH hajj rites.

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014 — 41

Ramadan Lecture in Ogun

Preparing for I'tikaf in Ramadan O

NE of the greatest aims of I’tikaf in Ramadan is to seek Laylat alQadr in the last ten nights of Ramadan. So, this means I’tikaf could begin on the 20th day of Ramadan and end when Ramadan ends.

Different scholars have advised that whoever wants to observe I’tikaf during the last ten nights of Ramadan should enter the mosque before the sun sets on the night of the twenty-first, so that he will not miss any of it, and he should come out after

the sun sets on the night of Eid, whether the month is twenty-nine or thirty days. It is better for him to stay in the mosque on the night of Eid so that he can offer the Eid prayer there, or go out to the Eid prayer ground.

I’tikaf can be performed anytime during the year. But the best one is that which is performed during the last ten days of Ramadan.

Certain conditions for the person in I’tikaf ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: “The

Muslims urged to see politics as part of Islam

BY OLAYINKA AJAYI

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OVERNOR Babatunde Raji Fashola of Lagos has urged residents of Lagos to be more security conscious and register with the Lagos State Residents Registration Agency LASRRA just as the Chief Imam of Nigerian Law school, Victorial Island, Lagos, Barrister Muhammad Iskil Lawal, urged muslims to see Politics as part of Islam.

The Special Adviser on Education, Otuba Fatai Olukoga who represented governor Fashola at a Ramadan lecture organised by the old students association of the Ansar-ud-deen College, Isolo, said residents should be

more security conscious, adding; “You should be able to know the person seating next to you in a place of worship. adding that LASRRA will enable government to know those living in Lagos and all places of worship.

Delivering the lecture of the day, themed: ‘Islam,Politics and Ethics in Nigeria,’ the Chief Imam of Nigerian Law school, Victoria Island,Barrister Muhammad Iskil Lawal, urged muslims to see Politics as part of Islam, adding that Allah gives authority and kingdom to whoever he wishes. “Islam has moral ethics that must be duly observed, not minding the fact that Nigerian politics is full of skirmishes.

Sunnah for the mu’takif is not to visit any sick person, or attend any funeral, or touch or be intimate with any woman, or go out for any reason except those which cannot be avoided.” Narrated

by Abu Dawood, 2473.

What is meant by this is the need to urinate and defecate as well as food and drink. If he does not have anyone who can bring him food and drink, then he may go out to get them if he needs to. For everything that he cannot do without and cannot do in the mosque, he may go out for that purpose, and that does not invalidate his I’tikaf, so long as he does not take a long time doing it.

I’tikaf is sunnah according to consensus, and it is not obligatory unless one vowed to do it – also according to consensus. It is mustahabb to do it a great deal and it is mustahabb especially in the last ten days of Ramadan.

Again, the best I’tikaf is that which is accompanied by fasting, and the best of that is in Ramadan, and the best of that is the last ten days.

It is not valid for men or women to observe I’tikaf anywhere but in the mosque; it is not valid in the mosque of a woman’s house or the mosque of a man’s house, which is a space that is set aside for prayer. (Al-Nawawi said in al-Majmoo’ (6/505).

Prayer Warriors unveil Al-Muwafiq

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HE Muslim Prayer Warrior group has unveiled a new Islamic Prayer

society tagged Al-Muwafiq.

The unveiling which was done during a Ramadan

Khalifat Muhyideen Najimdeen, Chief Missioner of Asalaatur-Rahman Islamic Association, London, Host Imam Tirimizhi Olawale; Muslim Prayer Warrior group and a guest during unveiling of a new name-AlMuwafiq Islamic Prayer Society at Mushin, recently.

lecture held at Solomon hall, Mushin, recently by Khalifat Muhyideen Najimdeen, a London based Islamic Cleric was attended by dignitaries in the area.

Khalifat Najimdeen who is the Chief Missioner of Asalaatur-Rahman Islamic Association, London, during a lecture themed; Eradicating Poverty through Zakat and Zadaqah in the society urged Muslims to imbibe the act of giving even after Ramadan as a way alleviating the economic condition of the less priviledged.

Among the dignitaries at the event were Senator Ganiyu Solomon, Hon Abdur Razaq Ajala, Vice chairman, Odi-Olowo Ojuwoye LCDA, Alhaji Mamuda Bamidele Kareem (Aare Adini) Alhaja Mulikat Adelotan, Alhaja Mufliaat Adebunmi (iya loja Ojuwoye) among others.

From left: Professor Auwalu Yadudu, Lecturer; Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State; Imam Ismail Abdul-Lateef Lecturer 2 and Speaker, Suraj Adekunbi during a Special Iftar and lecture tagged: 'Islam, The Ummah and National Challenge', held at the memorial Arcade, Oke-mosan Abeokuta.

A cross section of the Imams at the event in Okemosan, Abeokuta.

Barr Barryy - Wonder Ramadan lecture

From left: Rasheed Olaniyan, Chairman, Ramadan Committee, Barry-Wonder Fans Club; Kamilu Ladiju, President BWFC; Oba Ayetoro Adbul-Azeez Adelakun; Alhaja Risikat Adelakun and Alhaji Kareem Mayabikan, at the 2nd Annual Alhaji Sikiru Ayinde Barrister memorial Ramadan Lecture organised by Barry-Wonder Fans Club, in Isolo, Lagos.

From left: Sheikh Taofeek Lambo; Sheikh Hadi Muh’d Awwal,Guest Lecturer; Rasheed Olaniyan, Chairman Ramadan Committee; Mr. Kamilu Ladiju, President BWFC and Olatokunbo Muhili,Grand Patron, BWFC, at the event.

42 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014 — 43 YOUR LUCK TODAY

LEISURE

By Joshua Adeyemo Phone 08056180139 AQUARIUS; Make sure your plans for both immediate and far future are legal friendly. This is day of success you will need to savour with your partners/spouse.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

By Richard Eromosele

E

Is your life an asset?

TAURUS; You will be in good position to take good advantage within your working arena.. Don’t wait till tomorrow before you make important future plans.

VERY life should be an asset. Unfortunately, not every life is an asset.

Yes, life could be a liability if we fail to utilize it.

In order for our life to be an asset, we must

GEMINI; Tomorrow may bring more challenges than anticipated that is why you will need to prosecute your plans now. Lovers are fairly favoured.

TERROR MUDA in “Never say goodbye”

PISCES; Even if you think your health is ok you better make sure you confirm your fitness from your doctor before giving in to strenuous activities. Success at work indicated for those of you who are truly healthy. Be practical please.

ARIES; It will not be a bad idea trying to consolidate on progress made recently. And the more co-operative you are today the better it will be for you..

do the needful — what are those things we need to do? We must add value to humanity. It is no use coming into this world and

Therefore it is not compulsory that we must live. If our goal is to add to the problem of the world then of what use is our coming?

also existing the world the same way we met it. It is the impart we make on people that makes our life an asset.

Life is a privilege. Think about it!

By Lanre Kehinde

CANCER; Those of you who are moderate and practical with their financial plans are in for a good day. Live up to expectation within your family circle.

LEO; Success is within your reach but you must do away with mental arrogance and take good and practical advice from the professionals. Work harder.

VIRGO; Your being enterprising will go a long way to further enhance your prospects and if financial advancement is your priority you will fare better. Be more loving.

LIBRA; Prepare to take the lead and exhibit your special talent. Advice from younger people may look good but not practical enough thus if you must take advice today take it from matured personality who may appear authoritative.

SCORPIO; Element of luck will work in your favour, however that is not to say you can not back your reasonable plans with practical action. Keep your secrets.

SAGITTARIUS; You will have your ways; much will depend on how ambitious you are, the bigger your aspiration the better. Take your tried and trusted friends seriously.

KAPTAIN AFRIKA

in

“Pretty Lunatic’

By Andy Akman

CAPRICORN; Here is an ambitious day for many of you and with moderation things will go according to your plans.

Financial success is actually close to you than you think.

ASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLING Send yyour our dat th ttoo the As tr ological datee and place of bir birth Astr trological Counselling, PP.M.B .M.B 1100 00 7, Apapa, Lagos 007,

My full horoscope please!!!

Dear Joshua I want you to analyse my horoscope fully. I was born on July 8, 1969. I am a male graduate of Geology gainfully employed.

Sam. P/H. Dear Sam, To analyse any horoscope fully I will need three to four pages of this highly respected Newspaper; I believe you understand what I mean. But not worry what you will get here-under will prove helpful.

YOUR HOROSCOPE DATA/PL ANETARY PLACEMENT DATE OF BIRTH = TUESDAY JULY 8, 1969 SUN SIGN = CANCER ;SUN IN 16TH DEGREE OF CANCER MOON SIGN = TAURUS ;MOON IN 8TH DEGREE OF TAURUS MERCURY IN ZERO DEGREE OF CANCER VENUS IN 1ST DEGREE OF GEMINI MARS IN 1ST DEGREE OF SAGITTARIUS JUPITER IN 29TH DEGREE OF VIRGO SATURN IN 7TH DEGREE OF TAURUS URANUS IN ZERO DEGREE OF LIBRA NEPTUNE IN 26TH DEGREE OF SCORPIO PLUTO IN 22ND DEGREE OF VIRGO NORTH NODE IN 23RD DEGREE OF PISCES SOUTH NODE IN 23RD DEGREE OF VIRGO NUMBERS OF PLANET HOSTED BY GROUP OF STAR SIGNS (ACCORDING TO QUALITY & ELEMENT) ARE; CARDINAL = 3, FIXED = 3, MUTABLE = 4, FIRE = 1, EARTH = 4, AIR = 2 WATER = 3.

PUSH-FULL INFLUENCE = 30% NON-PUSHFUL INFLUENCE = 70% FINAL DISPOSITOR (PLANET AT HOME) = NONE ANALYSIS OF THE HOROSCOPE DATA/ PLANETARY PLACEMENT As there was no Planet at home when you were born, too many ideas will constantly struggle for supremacy in your mind, especially whenever you are to take important decision of finality nature thus, confusion can creep in. But thank goodness for the quality of your mind that do not allow day-dreaming as indicated by preponderance of Planets in mutable (qualitative) and earth (elemental) Star Signs; this simply means you can be adaptable but must not give away the practical approach in you.

VIRGINIA

HOME & ABROAD

dadadekola@yahoo.com

By Lawrence Akapa

44—V anguard 44—Vanguard anguard,, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

Dancing on the graves of Abacha and the Yar’Aduas

BY G. G. DARAH

P

OLITICAL and ideological divisions were expressed from the take-off of the National Conference on March 17. There were several manifestations of these alliances. There were broad coalitions of regional and ethno-national groups. Religious antagonisms often masqueraded as “national interests”. There were also class, gender, and generation ridges and valleys to be surmounted.

To be sure, there were some cabals that sought to abuse the conference privileges to mount campaigns of calumny against President Goodluck Jonathan’s government. The violent conflicts and wanton killings that swept through some Northern States in April offered wings for some to fly their sinister plots. Of course, the bomb blasts and boko haram massacres and kidnappings presaged premature terminus for the confab deliberations. But four months after we have been able to rise above the temptations and diversions.

All this was due largely to careful and dedicated skills displayed by the Confab Secretariat under the leadership of the Chairman, Justice Idris Kutugi and his astute companions. Like President Jonathan whose bravery and foresight made the con-

Abacha

Map of Nigeria ground in Scotland. The spirit of adventure and auspicious luck elevated him to become the imperial ruler of Nigeria, Africa’s most endowed British colony.

Just as we now refer to his amalgamation of 1914 and dual mandate regime (1914-1922) as the Lugardological era, so shall we, in future, memorialise this experience as the Kutigian National Conference.

The early storms of the confab were recycled in the 20 committees appointed to examine details of themes and major issues.

,

,

Resource ownership and control as well as an equitable derivation formula are sine qua non of federalism

fab possible, Justice Kutigi surely has his eyes on history and the judgement of posterity. When the conference ends, the distinguished delegates, with names of many festooned with honours and titles, will eventually return t their various constituencies, caucuses, states, and places of nativity.

But the final outcome of the conference will bear the insignia

DR. G ARAH G.. G G.. D DARAH and imprimatur of Justice Idris Kutigi, a minority man from Niger State who rose from relative obscurity to become Nigeria’s Chief Justice and now the Chairman of undoubtedly the most significant national conference in Nigeria since that of 1957-58 which prepared Nigeria for independence in 1960. Lest we forget, Frederick Lugard, the conqueror and designer of Nigeria, was also from obscure back-

The report of each committee was presented at plenary sessions for further debate and deliberation.

With the magical wand of consensus, many of the recommendations and proposed amendments were approved. Aware of their controversial nature, the reports of the committees on Political Restructuring and Forms of Government as well as that of Devolution of Power were scheduled for the final weeks.

With dexterous handling, divisive matters of political restructuring sailed through in favour of pro-federal delegates. But last week, as the confab approached the final bend of the river of derivation and resource distribution, ideological and regional conflicts exploded with volcanic combustion.

For ease of reference, let me designate the division into profederal versus status quo groups.

The pro-federal side insists that having agreed by consensus that Nigeria should operate a federal system, with a central government and states as the only federating units, it follows inevitably that federalist principles of equity, fairness, and justice must prevail. Resource ownership and control as well as an equitable derivation formula are sine qua non of federalism. Three decades

of military dictatorship had liquidated these essential features of Nigeria’s federation. The profederal delegates further demand that, with 15 years into democratic rule, the conference has a duty to demilitarize the system by restoring the principles of equitable and fair contribution and allocation of public revenue.

The contentious clause is in Section 162 (2) of the 1999 Constitution. It states that in the distribution of revenue in the Federation Account, a portion not less that thirteen per cent must be set aside for areas of the country from where the revenue is derived. In 1960 and 1963 Constitutions, the derivation proportion to Regions was 50%.

These points were valiantly canvassed at the Devolution of Power Committee by mostly delegates from the Niger Delta, the South-west, and the South-east.

But they did not constitute a significant number to match the stone-wall opposition from the pro-feudalist delegates from the North and the Middle Belt.

Stone wall opposition Our experience there showed that the most vociferous and intransigent antagonists of federalism and resource democracy are the pampered elite from the least productive states of the North.

They are not the only financially famished states in the Nigeria. In the south of the country, Osun, Ekiti, Edo, Cross River, Anambra, Enugu, and Ebonyi states have lean budgets. But these states do not exploit their economic handicap to haunt and provoke the ten revenue-yielding states, nine oil producing and tax-rich Lagos.

In the Devolution of Power Committee, the anti-Niger Delta delegates threw education and logic to the winds. They fabricated tables of bumper budgets of oil-endowed states to intimidate us that any increase in deriva-

tion percentage would annihilate their insolvent states.

They did this with such animus that it was clear they regarded the revenue-strong states as economic vassals of the political hegemons of Northern Nigeria.

Unfortunately for these conquistadors the figures they paraded did not reveal that the states with comparatively heavy budgets are also the ones that contribute the bulk of the revenue that is shared by the Federal, State, and local governments on monthly basis.

For the records, the ten states that contribute all the public revenue are Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River (not much now), Delta, Edo, Imo, Lagos, Ondo, and Rivers.

Even with the 13% derivation formula, each of these states loses about 87% of its oil revenue that is husbanded in the Federation Account. There is no justification for any of these states to suffer the loss of 87% of money earned from its natural resources. Those who insist that the status quo in Sections 44(3) and 162(2) of the 1999 Constitution must remain are brazenly boasting to the victim states that they are economic colonies of the privileged states. It is true that the North-dominated military regimes from 1966-1999 enacted wicked laws to disinherit the Niger Delta of its oil and gas resources.

Oil and gas resources But as our delegates demonstrated in the conferences of 1994-95, 2005, and the current one, the Niger Delta and Lagos are the colonies of any part of Nigeria. We shall win our freedom.

What is that the other states contribute to the Federation Account that emboldens them to treat their benefactors with impunity? An aggregate of percentage contribution by geo-political zones for four years (2009-2012) reveals that the South-South recorded an average of 68% per year, the South-West 23%, the South-East 8.5%, while the North-Central, North-East, and North-West scored zero each. In plain language, the 19 states in the three zones survived for the

four years under reference through the generosity of the three southern zones. In which other federation in the world do half the number of constituent units exist on the generosity of others. The time to end that injustice is now.

This iniquitous situation did not operate during British colonial rule. From 1946-1960, the derivation quotient was no less than 50% for each region. Only 20% was allocated to the government at the centre. The remaining 30% was put in a distributive pool from which the region that earned 50% also shared.

It was the Gowon-Awolowo diarchy that abolished the derivation principle and funnelled all the revenue to the ravenous central government under the guise of depriving the breakaway Biafra Republic of 1967-1970 of funds to prosecute the civil war.

This is the infamous Petroleum Decree 51 of 1969. Rather abrogate the apartheid decree after the war, the North-dominated military juntas retained it and is now entrenched it in Section 44(3) of the 1999 Constitution. It is a slave mandate and it shall not stand in a free, democratic Nigeria.

The obnoxious law stands today because the inheritors of the military usurpers of power are still glued to the honeycomb of oil wealth and would not concede through civic negotiation. The predators forget that the glutton bee that stays too long inside the palm wine jar eventually drowns in it. Nigeria had been close to this suicidal threshold several times.

Resistance against exploitation The first phase was the Major Adaka Jasper Boro “12-Day Revolution” of 1966 that dovetailed in the 1967-1970 Civil War in which over one million innocent souls perished. The Ogoni agony, the death of their leaders and the hanging of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight of his compatriots in 1995 marked the second stanza of the resistance against exploitation by the government and the oil companies. Remarkably, Generals Musa Yar’Adua and Sani Abacha (who hanged the Ogoni Nine) worked together to douse the flames of popular uprising.

The two rivals to power were instrumental to the adoption of the “not less than thirteen per cent” clause in the 1999 Constitution.

The third phase of self-determination agitation was ignited with the proclamation of the Kaiama Declaration in December, 1998, by the Ijaw Youth Council.

The Declaration clearly stated that all the kingdoms of Ijawland rejected the Petroleum Decree 51 and the Land Use Decree of 1978 that disinherited their people of the right of ownership and control of their territory and natural resources.

To be continued

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014—45

Colleges of education unions call off strike for 3 months

BY LAIDE AKINBOADE

A

BUJA— COLLEGE of Education Academic Staff Union, COEASU; NonAcademic Staff Union of Colleges of Education and

Senior Staff Union of Colleges of Education, yesterday, suspended its eight months old strike for three months.

National President of COEASU, Dr. Emmanuel

Asagha, briefed the media after meeting with Minister of Education, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau.

He said the minister had already assured them that he would meet agencies

involved in resolving the contending issues concerning the strike.

The minister assured that none of the union members, who participated in the strike, would be victimised.

How Nigeria frustrates intellectuals —GOV FAYEMI

BY EMMAN OVUAKPORIE

A

BY JOHNBOSCO AGBAKWURU

A

B U J A — GOVERNOR Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State has expressed frustration about the condition Nigerian polity subjects intellectual citizens to, noting that intellectualism had been sacrificed at the altar of grassroots politics.

Fayemi, who stated this at the maiden edition of award of excellence organised by the Senate Press Corps for outstanding senators, also called on senators and members of the House of Representatives to rise and rescue the nation’s democracy, which he said was under threat.

The governor said he was at the ceremony in solidarity with the senator representing Ekiti North, Olubunmi Adetunbi, who he described as a worthy son of Ekiti State, having distinguished himself among his colleagues.

He said: “I am here to pay homage to service, intellect and activism.

Although I came for my friend, but the array of people being honoured this evening are people I respect a lot. Beyond partisanship, they have demonstrated what it is to be committed to humanity.

“Intellect is not supposed to be popular in our country right now.

If you are an intellectual, you are an elite and an elite is what should be thrown into the dustbin, not to be associated with.”

Those honoured were the Senate Leader, Senator Victor NdomaEgba, Senator Ita Enang, Senator Aisha Hassan, Senator Olubunmi Adetunbi, Senator Domingo Obende and the Clark of the Senate, Salisu Mikasua.

Tambuwal threatens to summon Health Minister over doctors' strike

AGM: From left— Dr. Fidelis Ayebae, Managing Director/CEO; Mr. Felix Ohiwerei, Chairman, and Mr. Abayomi Adebanjo, Company Secretary, all of Fidson Healthcare Plc, at the company's 15th annual general meeting in Lagos. PHOTO: Joe Akintola, Photo Editor.

Okonjo-Iweala raises concern over ECOWAS monetary union

BY EMMA UJAH, Abuja Bureau Chief

A

BUJA— THE Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi OkonjoIweala, has cautioned the Economic Community of West African State, ECOWAS, against hasty launch of the proposed monetary union.

Under the arrangement, member states will use a single currency, ECO, as it obtains among members of the European Union, EU, where the Euro is now in use.

Addressing the Convergence Meeting of West African Monetary Zone, WAMZ’s Ministers of Finance and Central Bank Governors in Abuja yesterday, she argued that the sub-region must be fully ready, through a sustained macro-economic stability among member states, before launching the monetary union.

She said: “We must take cognizance of the recent happenings in the Euro Zone and ensure that the lessons learnt are fully integrated in the recommendations that you will be making so as to avoid the pitfalls that bedeviled that monetary zone.

not a hasty launch of our monetary union, but an enduring and sustainable one that can stand the test of time when it is put in place.

“In a nutshell, we should only feel compelled to launch when we are comfortable that the economic fundamentals for a successful monetary union are in place.”

Okonjo-Iweala insisted that all member states must be ready before the launch in order to avoid a situation where some would pull out midway.

She said: “I think the issues of a monetary union is a serious affair. The EU has been at it for some time. In spite of that, look at the challenges they are facing, where some members were not ready. They went into the union and it was not a very solid platform.

“Consequently, when the financial crisis came, they were not able to withstand it. There is nobody chasing us. We have a target date but let us have a quality launch that will be sustained.

“Members will begin to exit when they cannot cope up with the criteria and that does not help. I want all the countries to focus on those criteria, especially the macro-economic ones.”

Nigeria in danger if...

Lists criteria

“While I urge all of us to work hard towards meeting the set target date, we must not forget that the most sacrosanct objective in this endeavour is

She added that Nigeria, being the largest economy in the subregion, would be the worst-hit should the union go awry.

The Minister said: “Nigeria is the largest economy. We are

likely to bear the brunt. So, we do not want any union or launch of a monetary union that is not built on a solid ground.

“But I must commend the countries; they are trying very hard. So let us take our time. If the time comes and we are not quite ready, we should not be shy to say we are not ready.

Rather than rushing into it because the consequences of a failed monetary union are severe.

“So we should do it in such a way that we can always reflect.

Let them take stock now and see how far we have gone. Let us have a quality launch.”

On local production

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala also said the community needed to pay particular attention to local production of goods to avoid a situation where it would be turned into a dumping ground for manufactured goods from other regions of the world.

According to her, this can hurt member-countries’ economies.

In his remarks, the President of ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Kadre Ouedrogo, said Security Ministers of member states would meet to critically look into the security implications of an ECOWAS where citizens would move freely without resident permits.

He said the objective of the union was to create a subregion where there would be genuine integration of people, not just integration of countries.

B U J A — FOLLOWING the lingering industrial action by Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, yesterday, threatened to summon Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, to appear before the House.

Tambuwal issued the threat during plenary, following reports by the Chairman, House Committee on Health, Ndudi Elumelu (PDP, Delta,) about his committee’s inability to bring all parties to the table for dialogue.

He said the attempts at getting all parties in the matter to meet and reach a quick resolution had been frustrated by the attitude of government officials.

He said: “The task given to my Committee entails getting all relevant parties involved in the crisis and interface with them with a view to resolving it within the quickest possible time due to the sensitive nature of the heath sector.

“Last week Monday, we met with the Minister of Labour, the Minister of Health, people from the Salaries and Wages Commission.

“But since the Minister of Finance and the DG, Budget Office as well as the Head of Service who are central to the issues of Relativity (salary scale) and skipping (career progression/promotion) were not present, we adjourned the hearing to Thursday when we can all seat to resolve the matter and for medical services to be restored in our hospitals.

“Unfortunately, NMA, Salaries and Wages Commission and the Minister of Labour turned up as promised, whereas the Minister of Health and his Finance counterpart failed to appear.”

46 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

C M Y K

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014—47

EU gives N3.4bn grant to boost renewable energy in Nigeria

It's insulting to describe Northerners as leeches — Aliyu

A

M

BUJA — THE European Union, yesterday, said it had given more than N3.4 billion grant to boost renewable energy in Nigeria under the Nigeria Energy Support Programme, NESP. Mr Allan Munday, Acting Head of EU Delegation to Nigeria and the Economic Community for West African States, ECOWAS, made this known at the inauguration of the second phase of the project in Abuja.

Munday said the fund was to demonstrate EU’s commitment in ensuring that a greater number of Nigerians had access to electricity.

He described renewable energy as “solar power,” adding that the project would incorporate training of personnel on capacity building.

He said the grant would also help in strengthening the partnership between Nigeria and donor agencies under the power sector.

In his remark, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Power, Mr Godknows Igali, said that improving electricity supply and its efficiency for Nigerian households and businesses was part of Federal Government’s transformation agenda.

Igali said the major problem of solar power was lack of maintenance, and advocated the training of youths in communities where power projects under the scheme would be located in order to ensure their sustainability.

He said the measure would make the youths and communities to be stakeholders in the ownership of the projects.

JOGS 1974/79 meets

T

HE Ijebu-Ode Grammar School Old Boys Association, JOGS, 1974/79 set monthly meeting will hold on Sunday, July 20, at 2pm.

The event taking place at Triple T bar, Kudirat Adenekan Street, by Haleen Akiode Street, Ilamose Estate, Oke-Afa, Lagos will be hosted by the Managing Director Evans Therapeutics Ltd, Wale Adenuga.

In a statement, General Secretary, Adeola Adelana, urged members to be punctual as matters of interest will be discussed.

BY WOLE MOSADOMI

INNA — CHAIRMAN, Northern States Governors’ Forum, NSGF, and governor of Niger State, Dr Babangida Aliyu, has described as insulting and sad, insinuations by certain members of the National Conference that the north was leecherous.

In a statement signed by Aliyu’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Israel Ebije, the governor said he was saddened that some members of the National Conference described the north as leeches while debating the issue of resource control.

Aliyu spoke Tuesday night while breaking his fast with a group advocating religious harmony, led by Solomon Dalung, in his residence in

Minna, saying no section of the country could be separated from one another as they were all inter-dependent.

He said: "Only a few days ago, I hosted some members of the National Conference and I was saddened to hear that some members of the conference are calling the Northern states leeches on account of the ongoing debate on resource control.

"For someone to call a section of the country leech is a matter that can cause trouble and that does not need religion or level of education to make it go out of control. Oil is not something that anyone owns and it is sad if some people want to change that law now."

He also noted that religion was not really the problem of

Nigeria but politically and economically influenced negative comments, attitude and actions.

Earlier, the leader of the delegation, Mr Dalung had said they were in Minna to solicit the support of the NSGF through the chairman to key into their vision for peace to reign in the region.

He said: “We are not in the wrong place. The Chief Servant is the chairman of NSGF and we are sure that he will help us to convey our message of peace to his colleagues. We have visited the Sultan and now you. We have spoken with the spiritual leader and now we are speaking with the political leader of the north.”

He, however, shared Aliyu’s opinion on the problems confronting the country, adding that politicisation of religion had made peace elude the country.

HIV infections in Nigeria decline by 35% —UN report

A

BUJA — A NEW global report by the United Nations Programme on HIV/ AIDS (UNAIDS) has indicated that new HIV infections in Nigeria had declined by 35 per cent in the last three years.

This is contained in a statement by Dr Bilali Camara, UNAIDS Country Director in Nigeria, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, yesterday.

The statement noted that he UNAIDS Gap report released in Geneva, Switzerland, also indicated that Nigeria was part of the countries in the world that realised a rapid increase in the number of people living with HIV that were accessing antiretroviral therapy.

“The decline in new infections is a clear sign that the government of Nigeria is steering the HIV response in the right direction and much progress can be realised if more resources are committed to the cause,” the statement said.

According to the report, new infections showed signs of decline while about 640,000 people in Nigeria are on antiretroviral therapy in 2013.

WHO certification places Nigeria on global radar—Minister From left: Mr Peter Aguele; Mrs Alex Mike-Okwuseri; Acting General Manager, Protea Hotel Select Emotan, Ms Sandra Ogbahor; Mrs Anehita Erediawa, wife of chairman, Capic Hexagon Nigeria Limited and Dr. and Mrs Peter Egbor at a cocktail organised by Protea Hotel Select Emotan for its guests, in Benin City, Edo State.

Nigeria generates N5.2bn in mining royalties

A

BUJA — THE Federal Government generated N5.2 billion between 2009 and last year from royalties in mining, Dauda Awojobi, Acting Director of Mines Inspectorate, Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, has said.

Awojobi spoke in Abuja during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN. He said that N736. 92 million was generated in 2009; N889, N46 million in 2010, while N970.78 million was generated in 2011.

He also said that N1.12 billion was generated in 2012, while N1.

45 billion was generated in 2013, pointing out that this was significant “as the increment is in geometrical progression.”

Awojobi said that the 153.9 million tonnes of minerals were mined across the country within the period.

“Generally, we have a royalty template whereby royalties are calculated based on three per cent

to five per cent of the value of the minerals. It is as a result of this increase in production that we are able to make significant progress through royalties generated between 2009 and 2013,” he said.

The acting director listed the minerals mined during the period to include gold, coal, iron ore, clay, limestone, lead/zinc, kaolin, gypsum, baryte, columbite, copper, garnet, manganese, phosphate, talc and tantalite.

Wada nominates Blueprint editor, 16 others as commissioners

By BOLUWAJI OBAHOPO

L

OKOJA — THE Executive Editor of Blueprint Newspaper, Zainab Okino Suleman has been nominated as commissioner designate in Kogi State by Governor Idris Wada.

Zainab’s name was among the list of 17 commissioners’ nominees submitted to the state House of Assembly yesterday by the governor for screening and approval.

Wada dissolved his cabinet on April 15 and had reconstituted it since then.

Seven of the former members of the cabinet were however, among those who made the new list.

Presenting the list on the floor of the House during yesterday ’s plenary, the Speaker, Momohjimoh Lawal said the screening would commence today, and asked the nominees to present themselves for the exercise.

T

HE Minister of Health, Dr. Onyebuchi Chukwu, has said the certification of Swiss Pharmaceutical Nigeria Limited, Swipha, by the World Health Organisation, WHO, has placed Nigeria on the global radar of countries that can provide finished pharmaceutical products and good manufacturing practice, GMP. The minister said the company’s journey to the WHO pre-qualification started in 2006 when its board of directors approved that the company pursue the WHO pre-qualification after being the first pharmaceutical company in Nigeria to attain NIS ISO6001:2008 certification.

Swipha is now positioned to produce essential medicine for Non-Governmental Organisations and carry out contract manufacturing for m u l t i - n a t i o n a l pharmacaeutical companies.

Reacting, Chairman/CEO of the company, Mr. Colin Cummings, said with this the company becomes the first in Nigeria and indeed the whole of the West African sub-region to be declared compliant with the standards of GMP published by WHO.

48— Vanguard , FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

OPENING: From left: Otunba Gani Adams, Mrs Adesola Akinloye, HRM Oba Adeleke Bobade, Onire of Ire-Ekiti, Professor Bamigboye Akinloye, Medical Director, Louismed Hospital, Lekki, Lagos, Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa, chairman of the occasion and Dr. Leke Pitan, former Lagos State Commissioner for Health, during the official opening of Louismed Hospital in Lagos. Photo Lamidi Bamidele

PRESENTATION: From left: Chairman Press Centre Committee, Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ, Kaduna Council Mr. Hassan Ibrahim, Chairman, Kogi State House of Assembly Committee on Public Accounts, Dr. Paul Sani, Chairman, NUJ, Kaduna Council, Comrade Idris Yusuf, and Secretary Chief Dominic Uzu, at the presentation of garden equipment to the council by Dr Paul Sani in Kaduna. Photo: Olu Ajayi.

From left: Professor Ifeanyi Onyeonorie, Dr Tade Oludayo and Prof. Ayodele Jegede, Head of Department, during a briefing to mark the beginning of the 50th anniversary of Department of Sociology, University of Ibadan in Ibadan.

Photo: Dare Fasube.

BRIEFING: From left: Dr. Yewande Adesina, Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Public Health, Mrs. Oluseyi Williams, Lagos State Head of Service and Mr. Aderemi Ibirogba, Commissioner of Information and Strategy, during the briefing on New Maternity and Paternity Leaves Regime for Officers in the Lagos State Public Service, at Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, yesterday. Photo: Bunmi Azeez.

From left: MD/CEO, Masterpiece Resource Development Centre, MRDC, Mrs. Modupe Oyekunle, Chairman, Board of Directors, Mr. Abiola Popoola, and MD,/CEO, Ruff and Tumble Ltd, Mrs. Adenike Ogunlesi, during a briefing on the forthcoming 5th Edition of Annual Young Entrepreneur Network, YEN, in Lagos, yesterday.

FORUM: From left: Chief Monitoring Officer, National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, Mrs. Pauline Ehusani, Regional Sales Manager, SouthWest, MultiChoice Nigeria, Mr. Adekunle Adenuga, PR Manager, DStv, Ms Caroline Oghuma, and Branch Manager, MultiChoice Office, Ibadan, Ms Bukky Awofeso, during the DStv Customer Forum in Ibadan.

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Dr. Wiebe Boer, CEO of Tony Elumelu Foundation and CEO of Nigerian Export Promotion Council. (NEPC)NEPC, Mr. Olusegun Awolowo after signing the MOU for the Partnership.

From left: GM, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, LASEPA, Mr. Adebola Shabi, Director, Supply Chain, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr. Cephas Afebuameh and Chairman, Promasidor Nigeria Ltd, Mr. Keith Richards, during the 2014 Tree Planting Day, at Guinness Nigeria Plc, Ogba, Lagos.

ANNIVERSARY: From left: Commissioner, Edo State Oil and Gas Producing Area Commission, EDOGPAC, Mr. Wellington Okoh, Chairman, School Advisory Board, Fastrack Schools, Mr. Tom Obaseki, Olu of Ifonyintedo, Ogun State, Oba Isaac Adesiyan, and Group Director, Fastrack Schools, Mrs. Adesuwa Obaseki, during the 10th anniversary celebration of Fastrack Schools, Lagos.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014 — 49

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50 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

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V anguard anguard,, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014 —51

Curbing the menace of Abuja land speculators

I

corpses as a result of the rapacious greed of these elements. That the incidence of land speculation is still very much on in Abuja is not in doubt. And that it is being fuelled by the greed of some desperadoes is equally not in contention.

Development purposes But what is however disturbing in the entire saga is the cutting of corners or worse still, the flouting of laws to dubiously acquire lands for an amorphous land development purposes.

It would be recalled that the FCT Minister, Bala Mohammed at the 34th Leadership Forum put together by Nigerian Pilot and its sister publication, Nigerian Newsworld Magazine sometime this year, h a d expressed serious worry about the pernicious activities of land speculators, which he said had become a cog in the wheel of progress, especially in land administration in Abuja.According to the minister, when he took over the driver’s seat at FCTA in 2011, land speculators were seen as the real landlords of Abuja who were doing their illegal businesses with reckless impunity; he however stressed that worried by this development, his administration decided to

frontally tackle the menace with the setting up of Senator Saidu Dansadau Committee with a view to breaking their vicious stranglehold on land administration in the territory.

Thereafter, he digitalized the system, which led to the enthronement of accountability in land administration in the FCT.To further prove that he meant well for the FCT, Bala deliberately decided to empower all plot owners by granting them titles, a development that has gone a long way in boosting the confidence of investors in the territory’s land administration.

The minister’s commendable efforts notwithstanding, some dubious smart alecs masquerading as land agents (read speculators) have been working assiduously to frustrate such laudable efforts, a development that has led to the avoidable friction between the FCDA and some estate developers like Minannuel Estate Developers and Saraha Estate in Galadima, along Kubwa Expressway in recent times, all of which fell under the weight of government’s bulldozers, a development that generated stormy criticisms of epic proportions from a segment of the society.

That the FCT Administration is favourably disposed to having private sector acquire lands for the purpose of providing houses for the people does not mean that

when such developers breach the laws of the land with impunity, the authority should turn blind eyes to it. Because if such abuse of processes leading to land acquisition is allowed to persist, Nigerians may wake up to find out that Abuja has been turned into a jungle. May that not be the portion of our beloved capital city!

To forestall such possibility and further reduce the fraud associated with land administration in the territory, Bala Mohammed in his ministerial wisdom has injected transparency and good governance That the incidence of land into Abuja speculation is still very much Geographical I n f o r m a t i o n on in Abuja is not in doubt

,

BY ROGERS EDOR OCHELA N Nigeria today, there is no state or city where the menace of land speculation is as pronounced as the Federal Capital City.For want of a better expression, their activities have made land ownership a nightmare for potential investors in the nation’s capital city.

The situation has become so bad to the extent that incidences of double or multiple land allocations and wanton abuse of Abuja’s Master plan has become the norm rather that the exception.That the disturbing incidence has persisted till date is not due to lack of attempts by the FCT Administration to curb it.

Far from it! Successive administrations in FCT have made several attempts to halt the menace with little success.

Each time policies are rolled out to curb the activities of land speculators, the criminals involved would always evolve their own strategies to circumvent such government’s policies.If truth must be told and even orchestrated, thousands of Nigerians have fallen victims to the dangerous activities of land speculators in Abuja, with scores of them losing precious properties worth millions of naira, including lives in the process.

Some became hypertensive, while others have become living

agencies for prosecution. That is a commendable act of seriousness on his part.Experts in land administration and other unbiased developers are of the opinion that whatever the minister and his aides have been doing in the area of land administration is hinged on the spectacular pillar of abiding fidelity to Abuja’s Original Master Plan. Judging from his body language thus far, the minister has shown that as far as sticking to Abuja’s master plan is concerned; he is not willing to compromise. And that explains his persistent nay rugged determination to give land speculators a bloody nose and to throw them out of business

System (AGIS) as epitomized in the introduction of Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI).

The revolutionalization (permit the coinage) of the agency via computerization of ‘’spatially related work flows in selected departments and agencies and thebuildup of AGIS Resource Centre” is a strategic effort geared towards this direction.It would be recalled that the minister’s determination to tackle the menace of land speculation was further manifested when some of his aides were caught in land malpractices. What did he do? He promptly fired them and handed them over to the security

,

once and for all.Agreed, the administration has not totally succeeded in clinically eliminating this group of economic saboteurs from Abuja’s landscape, but it has taken the battle to their doorsteps with anall-round impressive transformation of land administration through AGIS under the directorship of Hajiya Jamila Tangaza.

Ochela, a fmr Newspaper Editor and now media consultant contributed this piece from Bwari Abuja and can be reached via edorochela@yahoo.co.nz.

52 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

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Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014—53

Muazu calls for pra prayyer erss for Jonathan

BY TOM MOSES

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ATIONAL Chair man of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Adamu Muazu has implored Nigerians to assist President Goodluck Jonathan to find enduring solutions to the many daunting problems confronting the country.

Alhaji Muazu made the appeal in Uyo, the AkwaIbom State capital yesterday, at the groundbreaking ceremony of the permanent secretariat of the PDP in Akwa-Ibom State noting that at this trying moment of insurgents and many other national issues confronting the Federal Government, prayers and wellintended actions were expected from all Nigerians.

The PDP National Chairman who defied the stormy weather and heavy rain fall to lay the foundation stone of the Akwa-Ibom State Secretariat of the PDP as well as commission 31 buses for the 2015 general election campaigns in the state said the support of Nigerians for President Jonathan’s administration would take the country to another level in terms of development.

He said the Jonathan’s administration solemnly required the understanding of Nigerians in the many problematic issues confronting the country so as to subdue the plans of the detractors of the administration.

Speaking, the State Governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio said the state was not only supporting President Jonathan’s government but was praying for it to overcome all the ordeals facing it regretting that unike the advanced nations when their leaders were faced with the issue of terrorism, the citizens rose in support of their Presidents, in Nigeria, the reverse was the case.

Akpabio who is the Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum pledged to collaborate with the national leadership of the party towards the success of the party in the 2015 elections in the state and other states of the federation.

The State Chairman of the Party, Obong Paul Ekpo said he pledged when he was elected over two years ago that he would move the party from strength to strength saying the ground breaking project was one of the achievements his administration has recorded.

FG kicks of Saf e School initiativ e scheme with $20m Safe initiative

BY EMMANUEL ELEBEKE

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BUJA— THE Committee on Safe School Initiative, yesterday, kicked off the scheme with an initial $20 million take off fund.

The objective of the scheme is to secure all schools in the country and make them better and attractive place for students to learn, especially in the North Eastern region, where many schools had come under heavy attack by the Boko Haram insurgence.

The initiative is a joint effort of the private sector, Federal Government, States, the private sector and the international community.

Speaking at the kick off cere-

mony in Abuja, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the scheme is not done in isolation but with other similar efforts ongoing to secure the country and region.

She said out of the $20 million take off fund, federal government and states contributed $10 million each, while other funding will be sourced from both the international community and the private sector.

The Minister further explained that the recently launched Victims Support Fund by the President was also geared towards complimenting the Safe School Ini-

Gunmen attack Jerr Jerryy Useni

BY MARIE-THERESE NANLONG

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OS— GUNMEN, yester day, attacked the residence of former FCT Minister, Lt General Jeremiah Timbut Useni in Langtang North Local Government Area of Plateau State leaving no fewer than 48 bullets all over the building.

No life was lost but the incident shook the entire community.

It was gathered that Useni was not at home when the gunmen stormed the compound at between 2 and 3 am, they surrounded the entire building and started shooting sporadically. When contacted, the General said “I was told that there was attack on my house. I’m heading home to go and see.”

However, a community member said youths who rushed to the scene after hearing the gunshots were turned back by the security personnel in the area.

The Plateau Police Public Relations Officer PPRO, DSP Abuh Emmanuel while confirming the incident said, “last night we received the information that unknown gun men stormed General Jeremiah Useni’s house and started shooting sporadically but no casualty was recorded.”

Emmanuel added that there was no arrest as at the time of filling this report, but promised that the Police are working round the clock to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to book.

Micr osof o cut Microsof osoftt tto 18,000 jobs M

ICROSOFT is to cut up to 18,000 jobs marking the deepest cuts in the technology firm’s 39-year history.

The bulk of the cuts, around 12,500, will be in its phone unit Nokia, which Microsoft bought in April, the firm said.

Microsoft pledged to cut $600m (£350.8m) per year in costs within 18 months of closing the acquisition. The cuts are much more severe than the 6,000 initially expected.

Meanwhile, the firm employs 127,000 globally, including 3,500 staff in the UK. Microsoft declined to say how many jobs in the UK would be cut as a result of the changes.

Chief executive officer Satya Nadella, who took the helm in February, wants the firm to shift its focus away from software to online services, apps and devices.

“Making these decisions to change are difficult, but necessary,” Mr Nadella wrote in the announcement to staff.

The firm said it also planned to have fewer layers of management “to accelerate the flow of information and decision making.”

Microsoft said staff affected by the job cuts would be notified over the next six months, and they would be “fully completed” by the the end of June next year.

In total it said the cuts, including severance pay, would cost it between $1.1bn to $1.6bn (£643m to £935m) over the next year.

tiative to assuage the pain and agony of the affected persons and regions across the country.

It will be recalled that the President on Wednesday inaugurated a Presidential Committee on Victims Support Fund.

According to the President,

the decision to set up the Victims Support Fund was to provide a framework through which all persons and institutions that wish to help mitigate pains men and women are going through for no fault of theirs. The committee is headed by General Theophilus Danjuman (Rtd).

15 in or ap invvest estor orss plan $3.8 bn land sw swap framework scheme

BY HENRY UMORU

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BUJA— MINISTER of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, Senator Bala Mohammmed reiterated yesterday that fifteen private investors will put in a total of $ 3.8 billion to finance and actualise the Abuja Land Swap Initiative which covers a total of 4,283.2 hectares.

According to him, the initiative has given birth to 15 private sector enabled projects providing infrastructure in two sector centres and eight districts in the Phase IV (South) of the Federal Capital City, adding that the area is based on contractual agreement with 15 Private Investors on the basis of the Land-

for-Infrastructure Swap Framework.

Speaking when he recieved a delegation of the Botswana Defence Command and Staff College, Course 7, the Minister who disclosed that as at December 2012, the FCT Administration evacuated an estimated 199,425 tonnes of wastes from the Federal Capital City, FCC, noted that the FCC has been sub-divided into 21 Lots, in addition to the 35 Housing Estates to ensure effective waste collection of the city.

Represented at the occasion by the FCT Permanent Secretary, Engr. John O. Chukwu, Senator Bala Mohammed further revealed that 18 companies were engaged in daily collection of these wastes.

54 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

APC not behind Boko Haram— OKOROCHA

Ukwa West PDP pass vote of confidence on Jonathan, Orji

BY CHIDI NKWOPARA

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WERRI—GOVERNOR Rochas Okorocha of Imo State has debunked the rumour that All Progressives Congress, APC, was behind the sordid activities of the Islamist fundamentalist sect, Boko Haram.

Okorocha, who spoke at

BY ANAYO OKOLI

U

MUAHIA— P E O P L E S Democratic Party, PDP, STAKEHOLDERS in Ukwa West Local Government Area of Abia State have passed a vote of confidence on the government of President Goodluck Jonathan and pledged to support him if he declared to contest for a re-election in 2015.

Rising from an enlarged meeting held at Obuzor, the PDP stakeholders also commended Governor Theodore Orji for the changes he had brought to the state through good and inclusive governance.

According to the stakeholders, their position was arrived at after an assessment of the performance of the two leaders in all spheres of governance, which was satisfactory to them.

The stakeholders are made up of PDP local government and ward officers, past and present political appointees, among others.

The motion for the vote of confidence was tabled by former Deputy Speaker of Abia State House of Assembly, Chief Chinedum Elechi, and seconded by Mr. Tony Nwaubani, representing Ukwa West in Abia State House of Assembly and it was unanimously supported by the PDP stakeholders.

a breakfast meeting he organised for political appointees and APC stakeholders at Government House, Owerri, also noted that the strength of Boko Haram was in the disunity of the country.

He said: “Boko Haram has been in existence before the formation of APC. I urge party loyalists not to allow

such rumour to distract them from the love and support they have for the party.”

He condemned the internal crisis existing in APC in some local government areas of the state and urged party faithful to settle their differences and come together to move the party forward.

“Let me also remind you

EKITI, ADAMAWA: PDP, Presidency declare war on democracy, says APC

BY OLASUNKANMI AKONI

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AGOS State chapter of All Progressives Congress, APC, has described the impeachment of Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State and the electoral victory of Peoples Democratic Party,

PDP, in Ekiti State as an indication of total war on the opposition and democracy by PDP-controlled Federal Government.

Publicity Secretary of the party and human rights activist, Mr. Joe Igbokwe, who made the remarks at a media briefing in Ikeja yesterday, alleged that all the

Imo community appeals to govt over collapsed bridge

BY CHIDI NKWOPARA

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WERRI— THE people of Imerienwe in Ngor Okpala Local Government Area of Imo State have appealed to Governor Rochas Okorocha to reconstruct the collapsed Umuoye bridge that links the area to the biggest neighbouring market, Orie Obibi, in Owerri North.

The local government Vice Chairman of All Progressives Congress, APC, Deacon Bon Nkwocha, made the appeal while hosting the Special Adviser to the Governor on Policy and Strategy, Chief Uche Onyeagucha.

He gave a graphic account

of what the people were passing through as a result of the collapsed bridge, stressing that people now found it very hard to visit their kith and kin on the other side of the river or move their farm produce to the markets with ease.

“We now have to travel 25 kilometers through other communities in Owerri North before getting to Orie Obibi market,” Nkwocha said.

Responding, Onyeagucha described the demand as very legitimate and genuine.

He said: “I must thank you all for approaching your legitimate and genuine demand in a very peaceful manner. I can assure you that the state government will not ignore your request.”

nation’s security agencies had been given instructions to crush the opposition at all cost.

According to Igbokwe, given the activities of President Jonathan and PDP in recent times, it is obvious that total war has been declared on the opposition and democracy.

He called on defenders of democracy and rule of law to rise against the trend, saying the nation’s democracy was under serious threat.

He stated: “I saw it coming.

After the registration of APC and the defection of some PDP governors to APC, I warned that there would be intimidation, subterfuge, brigandage, suppression, oppression, repression, force and harassment.

“They first went to court to stop the governors and failed. Now they have resorted to using stolen money to buy lawmakers in various state of assemblies to impeach selected APC governors.

“Using the heavy, weighty instrumentality of the Federal Government, the Presidency and PDP have decided to decimate and desecrate the opposition by crude and rough tactics.”

GKS assembly

T

HE 27th Annual National Assembly of the League of Freedomites of God’s Kingdom Society, GKS, The Church of the Living God, will hold tomorrow at Linus Suites, Festac Link Road, Lagos.

The Lagos State Chairman of the League, Mr. Emmanuel Duru, said the meeting will be declared open by the Chairman of the Executive Board of the church, Bro. Godwin Ifeacho. A gala night will also hold at same venue.

The annual meeting ends on Sunday with a special thanksgiving service at GKS, Apapa branch, Lagos.

By Bartholomew Madukwe

PEOPLE SPEAK

08102479985

all of the need for political appointees to have change of attitude and cultivate the habit of sacrifice, as well as carry the people at the grassroots along in scheme of things,” Okorocha added.

He expressed optimism that APC would win all the elective positions, as well produce the next president come 2015, stressing that APC had concluded arrangements to embark on programmes and projects that would make the party more vibrant in the state.

Okorocha maintained that the success or failure of APC was in the hands of party members and urged them to have a change of attitude to enable the party achieve its objective in 2015 general election.

Responding, state chairman of APC, Dr. Hilary Ekeh, thanked the governor for such a meeting and assured him that members of APC would not disappoint him in 2015.

(nwamad@yahoo.com)

On Adamawa Governor's impeachment

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OVERNOR Nyako’s impeachment smells of the noxious odour of poison gas fouling the air in a familiar emission of dense vapour. You can almost puncture the facade of genuine intent just by pondering it.— Mr. Darlington Ehondor, Businessman.

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OW we can visualise the beginning of the end of corrupt governance in Nigeria. This is just the beginning; they will soon start exposing themselves and Nigerians will really get to know them. We are w a i t i n g . — M r.

Onochukwu Chinedu, Worker.

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E should be very mindful when we are talking and if you believe in changes you will never be a lousy noisemaker. There are far better ways to play with people in order to gain their heart. Let us hope the best comes out of this.— Mr. Collins Amawuchie, Worker.

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O me, it is a case of eating from the seeds of disunity and dirty politics. Treason is too much. He should be charged for libel against the President, looting of state funds and attempting to divide Nigeria. He can always prove his innocence.— Mr. Oludare Fasomo, Businessman.

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ITH this, I am sure we will hear more about Nyako. That accusation— “ waging war against Nigeria”— carries weight. We will hear more about the insurgency in the North; we are waiting to see what will happen at the end.— Mr. Solomon Bombata, Pensioner.

T

HE judge who will try him should be kind enough to throw him inside Kirikiri Maximum Prison with one piece of gworo daily, after confiscating all his property. That is if eventually he is found guilty.— Mrs Ifeoma A y a m b u b a , Businesswoman.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014—55

Ijaws want confab to recommend creation of Torhu-Ibe State

Flood kills six in Edo community z As Police Sergeant dies in an auto crash

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

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HE Ijaw people of the Niger Delta, resident in Lagos State, have warned delegates to the national conference of the danger of not including Torhu-Ibe State in the list of new states it had recommended for creation.

Addressing newsmen yesterday, HRH Pere John Asoki, the EgeniPere, Olotu I of Ijaw in Lagos, said: “Creating new states without including Torhu-Ibe, will be disastrous and spell doom for the country, no matter the number of Ijaw elite and personalities lobbied at the confab and elsewhere, as the forests and rivers of Ijawland will rise up for justice and we will not fold our hands.”

He said that the Ijaw and Apoi in Ondo State; Egbemo in Edo State; Burutu, Patani and Ojobo in Delta State, which span 24 local government areas with about six million people, need the new state for fairness and justice.

Calling for regional autonomy and full resource control, he described the North’s agitation for five percent rehabilitation fund as mischievous as no such fund was set aside for Odi, Gbaramatu, Ajakukurono, Age, Okerenkoko and other Niger Delta communities that were destroyed by government’s agents.

Jonathan Actualisation Movement meets in Abuja

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HE Jonathan Actu alization Movement, JAM, South-South zone, will hold its inaugural meeting today in Abuja, with the National Coordinator, Otunba Basirat Nahibi, presiding.

A statement by the South-South coordinator, Hon. Edesiri Azigbo, said the event will hold at JAM's National Secretariat.

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DELTA BEYOND OIL: Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State (middle); Executive Secretary, Nigeria Investment Promotion Council, NIPC, Mrs. Saratu Umar (left) and Executive Director, National Export Promotion Council, NEPC, Mr. Segun Awolowo, shortly after decorating them with handmade clothing material made in Delta State, during the dialogue on Delta Beyond Oil, in Abuja. Photo by Gbemiga Olamikan.

We planned for 50% derivation, not 18 % —Uduaghan

BY EMMA AMAIZE

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SABA—GOVERNOR Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State has said that the Niger Delta did not plan for anything less than 50 percent derivation at the national conference.

Speaking in Asaba on the derivation controversy at the confab, Uduaghan expressed hope that the issue would be resolved by the mature men at the confab.

He said: “Our position on this is that we should have resource control and that is 100 per cent, but we also know that as Nigerians, it has to be give and take, and that if we have to concede, it should be 50 per cent.

“But as we monitored the

events at the confab, we saw the committee come up with a status quo, which is not less than 13 per cent and people said 'no, it cannot be that'.

They have been negotiating between 18 per cent and 25 per cent.

“In fact, a few days ago, there were some interactions between the governors and some of our representatives on that. But I think they were settling at 18 per cent when another issue was brought in, which they call five per cent for the North-East, North -Central and NorthWest alone and the other members are saying no, but it is like 18 per cent for

South-South.

“That means you have added five per cent to the derivation on one hand. However, the people we have there are all matured persons and I commend them because it has not resulted into violence. Their negotiations have been going on, and as at Wednesday, there was still a stalemate “We should just allow the negotiation process to continue. It is good for us as a country and democracy that we are on the same table to negotiate in the best interest of the nation because at the end of the day, we must also realise that we are the same country, so there must be some balancing.”

NEPC partners Elumelu Foundation to boost non-oil exports

BY DANIEL GUMM

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S part of its mandate to create a more competitive Nigerian economy, the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, NEPC and the Tony Elumelu Foundation have entered into a one-year partnership to help improve Nigeria’s share of the global non-oil export market.

Under the new agreement, the Foundation has provided NEPC with a technical advisor, Maureen Ideozu, through its Elumelu Fellowship Programme. In addition, two associates from the Elumelu Professionals Programme, Lawi Laktabai (a Congolese) and JeanYves Mutanda (from Kenya), are also working with key NEPC officers to increase Nigeria’s export of agricultural products.

On the partnership, Mr. Olusegun Awolowo, CEO of NEPC, said: “The Council is benefitting from

the public good initiative of the Tony Elumelu Foundation.

The consistent input from the embedded Elumelu Fellow and visiting 'Masters' interns are of tremendous value to the strategic repositioning of the Council. I am pleased with this partnership as we jointly work towards the socio-economic development of our country and the diversification of our economy.”

Among her numerous responsibilities, Ms. Ideozu will work directly with Mr. Awolowo, to increase Nigerian private sector participation in global trade and liaise with the Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority, the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, the Nigerian ExportImport Bank, the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council and other government agen-

cies, as well as private sector organisations to implement the NEPC’s strategic plan.

“The Elumelu Fellowship offers me an opportunity to contribute to increased competitiveness of Nigeria by unlocking opportunities for Nigerian companies in a manner that equips them to compete globally,”Ideozu said.

According to Dr. Wiebe Boer, CEO of The Tony Elumelu Foundation, “Our organisation is committed to implementing solutions that will improve the operating environment for Africa’s private sector. NEPC is a key partner in meeting our long-term objectives because it is the Nigerian government’s primary institution for export development and promotion. This support will unlock substantial export-driven growth opportunities for Nigeria’s fastgrowing SMEs.”

ENIN—SIX persons have been confirmed dead in Igarra, Akoko Edo Local Government Area of Edo State, following last Sunday's flood that ravaged the area.

The body of a middleaged woman was found yesterday around Sasaro area of Igarra while four other women and a man said to be a pastor, died on Sunday in the flood which resulted from a down pour.

Meanwhile a policeman died in that same area yesterday as a result of a crash involving a police patrol van and a moving truck.

A leader of the vigilance team in the area told newsmen that the policemen were from Afuze Division were pursuing persons suspected to be conveying cannabis near Sasaro when their vehicle rammed into a truck.

Contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Noble Uwoh confirmed that there was an accident where a life was lost, but that the patrol team was not after anybody but on their way to get fuel for the vehicle.”

Delta community gives oil firm 30 days ultimatum over MoU

BY GODWIN OGHRE

S

APELE—THE people of Okogho community, Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State, have issued a 30-day ultimatum to Conoil Nigeria Ltd, operators of Oil Mining Lease (OML57) in their area, within which to honour a Memorandum of Understanding, MOU, entered into with the community, failing which they shall shut down its operations in the community.

The community in a statement in Sapele by the community Land Trust Chairman, Mr Daniel Eyikimiaghan, said: "Efforts in the last five years to get the company to comply with the MoU had failed.”

56 — V anguard Vanguard anguard,, FRIDAY, JULY 18 , 2014

Malaysia Again!

Aircraft 'shot down' in Ukraine

•Over 295 dead •Ukraine denies involvement •World leaders express shock

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Malaysian airliner was allegedly brought down over eastern Ukraine yesterday, killing all 295 people aboard and sharply raising stakes in a conflict between Kiev and pro-Moscow rebels in which Russia and the West back opposing sides.

Ukraine accused “terrorists” - militants fighting to unite eastern Ukraine with Russia - of shooting down the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 with a heavy, Sovietera ground-to-air missile as it flew from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

Leaders of rebels in the Donetsk People’s Republic denied any involvement, although around the same time their military commander said his forces had downed a much smaller Ukrainian transport plane - their third such kill this week.Reuters journalists saw burning and charred wreckage bearing the red and blue Malaysia insignia anddozens of bodies strewn in fields near the village of Grabovo, 40 km (25 miles) from the Russian border near the rebel-held regional capital of Donetsk.

The scale of the disaster affecting scores of

The crash site in Ukraine

foreigners could prove a turning point for international pressure to resolve a crisis that has claimed hundreds of lives in Ukraine since proWestern protests toppled the Moscow-backed president in Kiev in February and Russia annexed Crimea a month later.

As word came in of what Ukraine’s Western-backed president called a “terrorist attack”, the Russian and U.S. leaders, Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama, were discussing a new round of economic sanctions that Washington and its EU partners imposed on Moscow on Wednesday to try to force Putin to do more to curb the revolt against the Westernbacked government in Kiev.

They noted the early reports during their telephone call, the White House said, adding that Obama warned of further sanctions if Moscow did not change course in Ukraine.

Wreckage , bodies

Malaysia Airlines said air traffic controllers lost contact with flight MH-17 at 1415 GMT as it flew over eastern Ukraine

Flight MH17 leaving Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, yesterday afternoon towards the Russian border, bound for Asia with 280 passengers and 15 crew aboard. Flight tracking data indicated it was at its cruising altitude of 33,000 feet when it disappeared.

“I was working in the field on my tractor when I heard the sound of a plane and then a bang,” one local man at Grabovo told Reuters. “Then I saw the plane hit the ground and break in two. There was thick black smoke.”

An emergency worker said at least 100 bodies had been found so far and that debris was spread over 15 km (9 miles). Workers were scouring the area for the black box flight recorders.

“MH-17 is not an incident or catastrophe, it is a terrorist attack,”

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko tweeted. He has stepped up his military campaign against the rebels since a ceasefire late last month failed to produce any negotiations.

Russia, which Western powers accuse of trying to destabilise Ukraine to maintain influence over its old Soviet empire, has accused Kiev’s leaders of mounting a fascist coup. It says it is holding troops in readiness to protect Russian-speakers in the east - the same rationale it used for taking over Crimea.

Ukrainian Interior Ministry official Anton Gerashchenko said on Facebook: “Just now, over Torez, terrorists using a Buk

anti-aircraft system kindly given to them by Putin have shot down a civilian airliner flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.”

Rebel accusation

A rebel leader said Ukrainian forces shot the airliner down and that rebel forces did not have weaponry capable of hitting a plane flying 10 km (six miles) up. Ukrainian officials said their military was not involved in the incident.

The military commander of the rebels, a Russian named Igor Strelkov, had written on his social media page at 1337 GMT, half an hour before the last reported contact with MH17, that his forces had brought down an Antonov An-26 in the same area. It is a turboprop transport plane of a type used by Ukraine’s forces.

There was no comment on that from the Ukrainian military.

Several Ukrainian planes and helicopters have been shot down in four months of fighting in the area. Ukraine had said an An-26 was shot down on Monday and one of its Sukhoi Su-25 fighters was downed on Wednesday by an air-to-air missile - Kiev’s strongest accusation yet of direct Russian involvement, since the rebels do not appear to have access to aircraft.

Moscow has denied its forces are involved in any way.

The loss of MH-17 is the second disaster for Malaysia Airlines this year, following the mysterious loss of flight MH-370. It disappeared in March with 239 passengers and crew on board on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

In what the United States said was an accident after crew mistook the plane for a fighter. Tehran called it a deliberate attack.

Defense Analysis

A defense expert said yesterday that shooting down a plane at 10,000m (32,000ft) would have required a long- range surface-to-air missile possibly guided by radar.

That suggests it is unlikely it could have been downed by a portable air defence missile, or Manpad, which has a much shorter range.

The only other possibility is for an aircraft at that height to be downed by a fighter carrying air-to-air missiles.

The US will have access to satellite imagery that should be able to identify ultra-violet plumes if a long-range surface-to-air missile was fired.

Russia’s emergency services have reportedly asked the Ukrainian government for permission to work at the crash site.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014—57

Osun not wooing workers with salaries Dear sir OVERNOR Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State recently paid the outstanding salaries of workers in the state. This was received with joy and much commendation by the workers who appreciated this as a product of great financial engineering, knowing that the monthly allocation to the state from the Federation Account had dropped by 40 per cent since last year.

G

Governor Rauf Aregbesola has been ‘ wooing’ the workers since December 2010 when it gave them 25 per cent of their salary as 13th month bonus, which has never happened in the state. He progressively increased the percentage every year until December 2013 when he gave them 100 per cent as bonus. He has given workers in the state housing loans and, earlier this year, car loans. He

,

A newspaper as an organisation, can take sides, but as professionals, let us stick to the facts and not pass opinion as news

However, a section of the media, especially The Punch, reported this as the governor wooing workers.

The slant of the story is disturbing and betrays a poor professional judgment, not just in being speculative and tendentious, but in portraying opinion as news.

Workers in the state were owed May salary, but this was in late June. However, as soon as the cheque from the Federation Account allocation cleared on Tuesday June 24, salaries were paid and workers started receiving alerts from their banks that very moment.

Pray, how then does that translate into wooing? Is payment of salaries not a statutory responsibility? When an employer pays its workers, does that amount to wooing them?

,

has restored foreign training trips to the senior cadre which had been suspended more than 15 years ago.

These are what wooed the workers, not paying salaries. The tendentious report of wooing workers with salaries is innocuous except that it was done with the intention of portraying the governor as using salaries as campaign instrument; that he has only paid salaries because of the impending election, or else, he would not have paid them at all.

A newspaper as an organisation, can take sides, but as professionals, let us stick to the facts and not pass opinion as news.

Sola Fasure, Osogbo, Osun State

Calling Fashola’s attention on Coker village roads Dear sir PERMIT me to use your widely read newspaper to draw the attention of Governor Babatunde Fashola to the parlous state of roads in Coker Village. Coker is one of the communities in the Coker/Aguda Local Council Development Authority, LCDA. Unfortunately, the community is ‘blessed’ with the worst roads network in Lagos State.

Commuters who tried to evade the now perennial traffic gridlock along the Orile Iganmu - Mile Two Road by veering off into Coker Village, always have sad tales to tell. I lost my front tyre recently when I plied the road from Wema Bank (Opere Street) to beat the traffic jam along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway.

The road was nothing to write home about. In fact, some of the craters caused by long years of neglect, are

deep enough to damage your vehicle. Even pedestrians do not find it easy with the roads. The road from Alafia Bus Stop to Coker village is also in a very bad shape.

Most residents of the area alleged that the State Government awarded the contracts for these roads to some faceless contractors, who collected their money and absconded, without doing the jobs. Although I cannot attest to the veracity of these allegations, it would be appropriate for the action governor of Lagos State to look into them.

Coker village should be linked with good roads, so that motorists who are going to Oshodi or Surulere can use these access roads without necessarily going to turn at Mile Two. Jude Chinonye, Lagos Island

Sheikh Bala Lau’s Budgetary allocation to the Army comments on security Between the argument that the army I disagree with Sheikh Bala Lau’s comments on current security challenges. Nigerians are just blaming Jonathan or his government just for cover-up. If we are accusing Mr President or his government for a plan to reduce the number of Moslems in the North,then who is reducing the number of Moslems in Syria, Somalia,Yemen,Afghanistan,Iraq,Pakistan etc, where Muslims are reducing\wiping-out themselves daily(including women and children ), destroying places of worship,schools,markets etc just like what is happening in the north today.

So, Sheikh Bala Lau is missing the point.

From A.M.K. 08107628136

Edo State Assembly crisis

Edo people are sick and tired of the rascality and shenanigan of just 24 children elected by Edolites at great cost, into the State House of Assembly. For God’s sake, it is high time the National Assembly took over their functions under section 11 (4) of the Constitution, due to the prevailing situation in the state. We are in strange times.

Chief Pat Okupa, 07036529443

Kidnapped Chibok school girls Why wont the rescue effort be a mess when the entire system is so porous and there are allegations and counter allegations among top security chiefs and lower cadre officers? I believe what former President Olusegun Obasanjo said recently that not all the girls would return. This is because it took the Federal Government many days to act and whatever they have done since then, has been at a snail’s speed.

Prince Monday Okorodudu 08077273741

Still on kidnapped Chibok school girls Ridiculously for our government, we seem to have moved on. Gradually, the Chibok missing girls issue is fading from the newsstand, the protesters are back in their spacious offices and government has continued. Even the opposition parties are preparing for elections, forgetting the girls. The country cannot afford to just gloss over the issue, we have a serious mess at hand. Such cannot happen in America without a solution to rescue those girls; it must remain on the front burner.

Chukwuma Dioka.

Owerri 2347054911808

is underfunded and the claim by Okonjo- Iweala that N130.7 billion has been disbursed, we need to start questioning where the whole money went. Somebody should be talking to Nigerians or on his/ her way to jail.

Anonymous writes in from Port Harcourt

Still on Army’s budgetary allocation

It is saddening that budgetary allocation to the army should be an issue at this point of our security challenge. A poorly equipped military can do next to nothing. The Federal Government needs to equip the military to combat the Boko Haram scourge. Chaos in one part of the country can grow to be chaos everywhere in the country.

Bazakey 08060768946

Opposition parties

What is wrong if opposition parties join Mr. President to move this nation forward rather than looking for every given opportunity to attack the President even though we all know he is surrounded by self-centered politicians. Iinstead of criticising everything Mr. President is doing ,why can’t they support him to move this nation forward. Together we can build a better Nigeria.

Uduebor Osaro Tunde.+2348059826021

N2 Billion payroll fraud in Nigerian Police Force: These scam involving three inspectors- general of police shows how filthy the Nigeria Police is and how corruption is truly the bane of Nigeria’s economy. How can a nation develop when everybody wants to have a share of the national cake by hook or crook? It is horrendous that despite the alleged enormity of the crime, those involved are still walking the street as free men. Is unfortunate that all of these is happening and yet no action has been taken.

Lekan 08027164583

INEC and 2015 National elections

There is no credible voter register in Nigeria. Election rigging has gone nuclear, INEC seem ill-prepared to do the needful. Delegates to the National Confab should look into it, because time is running out.

A.0.0bi Esq 2348056009586

SAYINGS OF OUR ELDERS The game of life is the game of boomerangs. Our thoughts, deed and words return back to us sooner or later. Be kind to get kindness back in return.

Simon Adewale08056180103, Send us your Sayings of Our Elders. They must be African sayings or proverbs. Biblical or English proverbs are unacceptable.

Address your sayings to: The Co-ordinator, Sayings of Our Elders,Vanguard Media Ltd., PMB 1007, Apapa,

58 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

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Confirmation of name

Confirmation of name

The name Emmanuel

The name Stephen

Inieke and Emmanuel

Harrison Atie Agiroro

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Nurudeen is one and same

person.

All

former documents

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Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014—59

Senate reiterates support to end Boko Haram

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••as group protests killings in Abuja

BY EMMANUEL ELEBEKE

A

BUJA—THE Sen ate, yesterday, reiterated its commitment and support to the ongoing fight against Boko Haram insurgency in the country.

President of the Senate, Senator David Mark made the promise in Abuja, when the FCT Chapter of the PDP Project Reloaded took its protest against the Boko Haram killings to the National Assembly.

Senator Mark, represented by the Senator Banabas Gemade who decried what he called the wanton killings of Nigerians in the North called on members of the sect to change its approach in making its intentions known by embracing peace and dialogue.

Mark who applauded the security agencies for their doggedness in the fight against the insurgence, said it will continue to support the President and the security personnel in ensuring that peace is restored in all parts of the country.

He said,“We are with you and well as with all Nigerians in the call to an end to wanton killing of innocent Nigerians. Senate is in collaboration with the Ex-

ecutive to ensure that the security agencies are mobilized to deal with the insurgency. We extended State of Emergency in the three states of Borno, Adamawa and Gombe as part of our support to end terrorism and we gave an approval to an appropriation bill on security in our resolve to equip the security personnel in the best way we should to deal with Boko Haram. We will continue to support the President and the security agents because no one can achieve anything by killing people. We will never relent in dealing with the issue decisively.”

Also speaking, Senator Bello Tiku said, “the war against Boko Haram must be won at all cost but requires everybody’s involvement to achieve the goal.’

He called on all Nigerians to rise against Boko Haram and to unite and support federal government and the security agencies to win the war.

Earlier in his speech, the FCT Coordinator, PDP Project Reloaded, Sir Jimmy Ineke, condemned the rising trend of insurgency in the country, especially in the North Eastern part of the country and the FCT.

Gunmen kidnap two businessmen in Borno border town

BY NDAHI MARAMA, MAIDUGURI

G

UNMEN suspected of Boko Haram sect members, Wednesday, kidnapped two businessmen in Gambouru border town of Ngala Local Council of the state in an unmarked two Toyota Hilux vehicles; and whisked them away to an unknown destination. Gambouru is a border town with Cameroon, and 138 kilometres northeast of Maiduguri, the state capital. An eyewitness in Gambouru told Vanguard on phone, yesterday, that the gunmen burst into the market square in Hilux vehicles, and directed the people not to panic, before bundling the businessmen into the vehicle; and speeded off without killing any person at the market square and mosque.

The eye witness said, “We were shocked with the abduction of our colleagues yesterday night, because the gunmen had been terrorizing us with sporadic gunshots in nearby villages and settlements on the Dikwa-Ngala road.

This road has become a route where the insurgents have a field day of

snatching people’s vehicles and in some cases, killing innocent travellers commuting to either Maiduguri or Gambouru/Ngala.

“The military and police, are not even helping matters, as our distress calls to security operatives in the border areas of Cameroon and DikwaMaiduguri axis, are not responded in most cases of attacks on nearby villages and communities. This was why our vigilante youths patrol most of the streets of Gambouru up to 1 and 3am daily."

He said that last April, the Boko Haram insurgents had attacked Gombouru town and destroyed 200 lives and 445 houses, the central market, trucks, vehicles and motorcycles.

Confirming the incident yesterday in Maiduguri, military sources in the Lake Chad Basin areas also said that there was an attempt by terrorists to attack on Gambouru on Wednesday night by suspected gunmen.

“We could not get any report of casualties from the locals, as the gunmen attempted to attack and cause havoc in Gambouru border town.

60—VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

Police apprehend thugs with weapons •PDP calls for swift prosecution

BY GBENGA OLARINOYE

S

EVEN political thugs allegedly working for a leading political party in the state have been apprehended by the police.

It was gathered that the thugs were arrested with five single barrel guns and axes inside a bus on their way to Ilesa on Tuesday.

A source told Vanguard, “right now they are being detained at the state’s Criminal Investigation Department in Osogbo. And the vehicle and the weapons found on them have been impounded by the Police authorities.

The source further confirmed that they have been moved to the office of the State CID, while investigation into the issue is being carried out.

The state Police Public Relations Officer PPRO, Mrs Folasade Odoro confirmed the development to Vanguard.

“Seven suspected thugs were arrested. They were arrested in Ilesa. The suspects were arrested with dangerous weapons and we are investigating to know who they really are”, she said.

Meanwhile, the PDP yesterday accused the ruling APC of

BY GBENGA OLARINOYE

A

•Omisore campaigning in Gbongan allegedly stockpiling arms ahead of August 9 election.

Alhaji Gani OlaOluwa, PDP state chairman in a statement made available to news men in Osogbo drew the attention of the Inspector General of Police to the issue. OlaOluwa tasked the Police boss, “to launch a full scale investigation into the arrest of APC state boys caught with arms and

ammunition”. His words “It is quite worrisome that the APC could be importing thugs and arms into the state, barely few weeks to the election.“The Inspector General should order an investigation and ensure that all found culpable are made to face the wrath of law”, OlaOluwa stated. The PDP Chairman said the party was following

developments on the issue “and we will not allow the matter to be swept under the carpet.”

The APC in its reaction through Mr Kunle Oyatomi, the party’s Director of Publicity, Research and Publicity said he had no comment on the issue, adding that “since the PDP was the one raising the allegation, you can go ahead and confirm from them”

We’ll ensure credible polls — INEC, candidates, others

T

HE 20 candidates contesting the August 9 election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other stakeholders, yesterday, pledged to make the polls violence free and credible.

Speaking at a sensitisation workshop organised by the Office of Special Adviser to the President on Inter-Party Affairs in Osogbo, the state capital, the candidates pledged their cooperation to ensure free and fair election and urged the INEC to create a level–playing field for all.

Chaired by Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu (rtd), who was represented by Prof Greg Obafemi, a host of speakers said Osun State cannot afford to get the governorship election wrong especially after Edo, Ondo and Ekiti had witnessed rancour-free and credible polls.

Those who spoke at the workshop included Special Adviser to the President on Inter-Party Affairs, Senator Ben Obi; Kanu; INEC Chairman; Prof Attahiru Jega, who was represented by Hajia Amina Zakari, NLC Vice President, Issa Aremu; Dr. Yinusa Tanko and Professor Kayode

Soremekun.

The candidates and party leaders expressed their interest in a credible election in an atmosphere of tranquility and pledged their cooperation to ensure a peaceful exercise.

Candidates and party leaders, who promised to support rancour-free polls and play the rules include Niyi Owolade (Accord), Adeoti Ibrahim Abiodun (UPN), Prince Victor Olusegun Adeniyi (UPP), Chief Babtubde Adetoro (MPPP), Olufemi Adelee Hammed (ACPN), Senator Sunday Olawale Fajinmi (AD), who

lamenetd that Governor Rauf Aregbesola (the APC candidate) and Iyiola Omisore (PDP candidate), whose parties he accused fomenting trouble in the state were not at the workshop.

There is a running battle between APC and PDP. They should have been here to hear the keynote speech,•h he said.

There were also Akinwunmi Olusegun (SDP), Comrade Ojo Gbega Gabriel (ADC), Akintunde Adebimpe Adetunji (APGA), Afolayan ka Olarenwaju Jimoh (NCP), Agboola Azeez Obasanjo (APA), Ganiyu Abiodun Lawal (PPA),

BY DAPO AKINREFON

S

•Jega Prince Adefare Segun Adegoke (NNPP) and Osun state APC chairman, who represented Aregbesola.

APC, PDP in war of words over religion

BY GBENGA OLARINOYE & DAPOAKINREFON

G

OV. Aregbesola and his rival, Senator Iyiola Omisore were yesterday engaged in a war of words over an alleged campaign project by the PDP to project religion as an issue in the election.

The APC in a statement claimed its sources in Abuja had passed on an instruction allegedly from the presidency to the PDP in Osun State to intensify its religious campaign against Aregbesola in an attempt to persuade Christians to vote against him.

Reacting, the PDP spokesperson,

Prince Diran Odeyemi said APC has no programme and could not convince Osun people on why they should vote for Aregbesola again, adding that PDP is busy with its campaign and would not engage itself in unfounded allegations coming from APC. The APC had in a statement signed by its state Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy Mr. Kunle Oyatomi alleged that the party was informed that the PDP took the decision at a meeting in the Presidency on Wednesday “during their review of Aregbesola’s campaign footages

civil society organisation, Justice and Equity Organisation, accredited by INEC to observe the distribution of PVCs and monitor the August 9 governorship election in Osun state has claimed that over 400,000 Permanent Voters’ Cards PVCs are yet to be claimed by registered electorate at the various offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC in the state.

The coordinator of the group, Mr. Bafunsho Tunde at a press conference in Osogbo expressed the need for the registered voters to visit their various INEC local government offices for the collection of their permanent voters’ cards saying only voters with PVCs will be able to vote during the poll.

Bafunsho who bemoaned the high figure of unclaimed PVCs during Ekiti governorship election advised electorate in Osun to collect their PVC noting that doing so would guarantee the election of right candidate to govern the state.

Osun Speaker faults troops deployment for polls

•Aregbesola, Omisore absent at stakeholders parley

BY CLIFFORD NDUJIHE & GBENGA OLANRINOYE

Osun 2014: 400,000 PVCs yet to be collected

with the mammoth crowds that explicitly demonstrate huge popular support for the governor”.

The APC stressed that, “the presidency is particularly worried that Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola appeared to be waxing stronger in popular support and the only way to check that development was to intensify the use of the religious card”. Responding, Odeyemi said: “nobody can use religion to deceive the people of Osun State as there are Muslims in every Christian family and there are Christians in every Muslim family in the state”.

PEAKER of the Osun State House of Assembly, Mr Najeem Sallam has kicked against the deployment of soldiers for the August 9 governorship elections in Osun State.

Speaking in an interview, the Speaker said militarising elections has the tendency of heating up the polity.

Sallam said “Why are we militarising the politics of this country? Look at the number of troops that were deployed to Ekiti State for the governorship elections, they still want to double the troops that will be deployed to Osun State for the August 9 elections. We do not want troops brought from other states, because after all, we have troops, who are in Ede. They can make use of the military personnel we have in this state rather than import from other states. Nobody can detect the fakes from the real troops. We have seen it in previous elections where fake security personnel were used.”

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014 — 61

FIFA rankings: Germany on top of the world G

ERMANY’S World Cup triumph has seen them rise to the top of the world rankings for the first time in 20 years, FIFA announced on yesterday.

The 1-0 victory in the final has taken them up one place to top spot, ahead of their opponents in the Brazil final, Argentina, who rose three steps to the second position.

The Netherlands move up a hefty 12 rungs on the ladder to third after their impressive World Cup third-place finish.

Spain have paid the penalty for not progressing from the group stages in Brazil by dropping from first to eighth place with Colombia, Belgium and Uruguay occupying the places above them.

Hosts Brazil, hammered 7-1 by Germany in the World Cup semi-final in the shock of the tournament, drop four places to seventh.

•Keshi

NFF to decide on Keshi — Minister CHAMPION: Mario Gotze, scorer of Germany's winning goal against Argentina displays the World Cuptrophy.

England have fallen dismal World Cup when them their worst 10 places to 20th in the defeat in their opening performance in over 50 list, their lowest position two group matches gave years. since May 1996, after a

his personal consideration.

The landmark case was withdrawn following several meetings between the aggrieved wife of the former NFF chieftain, Mrs Ebiakpo Rumson Baribote who is the plaintiff and the Sports Minister, Tammy Danagogo on the one hand and President Goodluck Jonathan and the Minister on the other.

The Minister also consulted several interest groups in order to have the case withdrawn to avert further FIFA sanctions.

After several hiccups in the determination of the motion on notice by Justice P.L. Lot, the case was finally vacated on Wednesday, July 16, 2014 beating the FIFA deadline of July 17, and the development has been communicated to FIFA by returning NFF General Secretary, Musa Amadu.

And Victor Baribote has explained why the case C M Y K

HE Minister of Sports, Tammy Danagogo has said the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) will decide on whether or not to give coach Stephen Keshi a new contract.

Keshi’s contract ended

CAF postpones Eaglets qualifier T

HE Confederation of African Football (CAF) has moved the 2015 African U-17 Championship qualifying match between Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Baribote Continues from B/P

T

had to be vacated: “I pleaded with my wife (Ebiakpo Baribote plaintiff), to vacate the case after due consideration and in the interest of the country.

“We decided on that, having seen what the country ’s football has been through since the court injunction. We also considered the U20 women team, so they can travel for the FIFA U20 Women’s world cup in Canada.

“Also having discussed with the sports minister, my wife decided it was the right thing to do, in the interest of the country.

Despite the victimization I suffered at the hands of the NFF, the interest of Nigeria should come first,” Baribote said.

The case was vacated before the close of work on Wednesday, despite the industrial strike action on state high courts in the country. It means the Aminu Maigari-led NFF board and congress have been reinstated following the vacation of the court process.

The game which was billed to be played at Lubumbashi on Sunday, July 20 has now been shifted by a week to Sunday, July 27.

CAF’s decision comes as a welcome relief to the Nigeria Football Federation, whose officials patiently await positive communication from FIFA on the suspension clamped on the country on July 9, due to a court order

barring the Aminu Maigari–led Executive Committee from functioning.

On Wednesday evening, in Jos, the case was withdrawn by the plaintiff, and on Thursday, the NFF communicated same to FIFA, praying the suspension be lifted since the principal reason for the clampdown had been met.

Jubilation in Falconets camp, as Nigeria beats FIFA deadline

T

HERE was joy in the camp of the Falconets when news broke in that a court order restraining the Aminu Maigari led executive board from running Nigeria Football by justice J.P. Lot of Jos high court has been jettisoned. The team is expected to participate in the FIFA U-20 women’s World Cup from August 5th but an impending court case meant that the country risked participating except the case was withdrawn.

But when news filtered into the camp, that the case had been withdrawn, team officials and players could not hide their joy.

Eagles Continues from B/P d’Ivoire’s Elephants failed to reach the knock –out stage at the FIFA World Cup finals, while Algeria, like Nigeria, also crashed out at the Round of 16, after losing to eventual champions Germany in extra time.

World champions Germany now occupies the number one position, followed by Brazil 2014

runner –up Argentina, with bronze medalists The Netherlands moving 12 places to perch at third.

In Africa, seven –time continental champions Egypt occupy fourth place, followed by Ghana, Tunisia, Guinea, Cameroon, Burkina Faso and Mali in that order.

Algeria occupies 24th place in the world, with the Ivorians at 25th.

•Amuneke

with the recent World Cup in Brazil, where Nigeria reached the last 16 this month.

“My own role (as regards Keshi’s contract) will be advisory. It will be the NFF and the technical committee who will decide on Keshi,” Danagogo said on a radio programme monitored in Abuja Thursday.

The Super Eagles will resume action with the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in September.

The 52-year-old Keshi has also been linked with the vacant coaching post of South Africa.

Court Continues from B/P a court order was vacated on Wednesday.

Fifa punished Nigeria for government interference after the NFF board was replaced by a sole administrator.

A 17 July deadline was given to reverse the decision, despite the government’s claim it was a matter for the courts.

On Wednesday a private legal action was withdrawn, allowing the NFF to return.

Nigeria were also temporarily banned by Fifa after the 2010 World Cup when the country’s president Goodluck Jonathan tried to withdraw the team from international competition Fifa, who extended the original deadline from 15 July because of a judiciary workers’ strike in Nigeria, has yet to announce whether it will now end the country’s suspension from all international football.

It means Nigeria’s participation in the Under-20 Women’s World Cup that starts in August in Canada remains

under threat - as well as the men’s under-17 side’s participation in an African Championship qualifier this weekend.

BBC Sport understands reinstated NFF general secretary Musa Amadu has subsequently communicated to Fifa the latest developments in the hope that the governing body will ease its stance.

“Aggrieved parties have agreed to put the country before personal interest and this is a bold step in our quest to have the ban lifted,” said a top official who preferred not to be named.

“This should have been sorted earlier but you know that a judiciary workers’ strike led to it being delayed.

“We are extremely confident now that Fifa will be happy that we got everything resolved before the new deadline.”

The Super Eagles are expected to defend their Africa Cup of Nations title when qualifying matches start in September. The tournament kicks off next January in Morocco.

62 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

C M Y K

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014 — 63

Man United’s the biggest club in the world’ — Van Gaal L

OUIS van Gaal says Manchester United have the biggest profile in world football, but acknowledges the club have a lot of catching up to do on the pitch.

The Dutchman arrived at the club’s Carrington training ground on Wednesday to begin life as the Red Devils’ new manager, and faced the press for the first time on Thursday afternoon.

Van Gaal says he has realised in the past two days the importance of the club – and its sponsors – but believes they must improve on the pitch. ”It is the biggest club because of how much it is known worldwide but in sport you are never the biggest club. Last

year we were 7th [in the Premier League] so we were not the biggest club,” the Dutchman said at his unveiling. ”When I was in China, and recently in Brazil, everybody asks about Manchester Unted, all over the world people are talking about Manchester United.

That’s the difference.

There’s a lot of expectation but also a great challenge because of that. ”I have coached Barcelona who are number one in Spain, I have coached Ajax who are number one in the Netherlands and Bayern Munich who are the biggest in Germany. Now I am at the biggest in England.”

OUIS van Gaal has revealed that he wanted to sign Ander Herrera and Luke Shaw this summer, saying he gave Manchester United his approval to seal the deals because he liked the pair.

Shaw and Herrera arrived at Old Trafford earlier this summer for a combined fee of around £58 million. Herrera was Manchester United’s first signing of the summer, while Shaw arrived from Southampton not

long after as the most expensive teenager in football history.

Van Gaal’s arrival at Manchester United was delayed because of his involvement in the World Cup with the Netherlands, but at his official unveiling today he confirmed that he oversaw the arrival of both players from afar.

He said: “Shaw and Herrera were already on the list. I gave my approval because I like them”.

•Bebe C M Y K

ANCHESTER United forward Bebe admits he is eager to finalise a move to Portuguese giants Benfica.

The 24-year-old has never been able to make an impact at Old Trafford and has been sent on loan for the last three seasons with Besiktas, Rio Ave and last term with Pacos de Ferreira.

He impressed at Pacos with 12 goals and that has been enough for Benfica to pursue a deal.

“I am waiting for them to tell me when I can travel, as far as I know the clubs are talking. It would be a good opportunity to relaunch my ca-

year when German national team general manager, Oliver Bierhoff, conducted some “market research” inside the locker room.

Bierhoff found that the players were most happy communicating with each other via digital platforms. Since communication was one of the main concerns during the tournament planning stage.

Bierhoff had commissioned SAP to develop an application that could facilitate the exchange of information about the team’s schedule, as well as data about the opponents.

Podolski eyes return home

A

•Van Gaal

RSENAL forward Lukas Podolski has dropped his biggest hint yet that he would like to return to Germany with Cologne.

Podolski has been linked with a return to his homeland on a number of occasions and speaking during the celebrations following Germany’s World Cup triumph, he again ex-

Leeds close on Berardi deal

G

AETANO Berardi is close to sealing a move to Leeds United.

The 25-year-old Swiss international full-back has been with Samp since 2012, but he has been limited to just 35 appearances.

Bebe eager for Benfica switch

M

BY EMEKA AGINAM

The power of information technology was not in doubt during the just concluded World Cup held in Brazil as German national Team that won the cup benefited from innovative technology developed by SAP. Together with SAP, the DBF developed an application called SAP Match Insights, which analyses vast amounts of data about members of the German team and their opponents, based on their on-field performance.

This journey started last

…approves Shaw, Herrera transfers

L

Brazil 2014: Germany success linked with SAP apps

reer. I’ll certainly have more chances to play and show myself,” he said.

Now Leeds are looking to land him and they seem close to finalising his capture. “We are close to an end. Berardi will go to Leeds.” Sampdoria sports director Carlo Osti told Sky Sports Italia.

Berardi is set to be Leeds’ fourth new recruit from Serie A in recent weeks, following on from the arrivals of Marco Silvestre, Tomasso Bianchi and Souleymane Doukara.

Brazil name new technical director

P

UTTING a decision on the back burner as to who will succeed Luiz Felipe Scolari as national coach, Brazil yesterday revealed a revamped technical commission.

Following their failure to win the World Cup on home soil, Scolari and his backroom staff resigned and the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) fired the team doctor and communications head.

The new technical coordinator will be Gilmar Rinaldi, replacing Carlos Alberto Parreira, the coach of the Brazil side that won the World Cup in 1994.

Outgoing CBF president Jose Maria Marin, who will give way next year to septuagenarian lawyer Marco Polo Del Nero, said the federation would reflect further on the top job.

•Berardi

pressed a desire to play for Cologne again. The forward is under contract until 2016 but it sounds like he would jump at the chance of a move away from the Gunners if the opportunity arose. “Only rejoining Cologne would be more amazing than this, but I shouldn’t say too much or else I’ll get myself into bother,” Podolski said. “I’ve just got to bring myself back down to earth.”

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

Inside today's Sports Vanguard

Maigari's board reinstated •As Court quashes lawsuit against NFF

N

•Maigari

•Danagogo

IGERIA have met Fifa’s conditions to lift its ban on the country after a regional high court quashed an order restraining the board of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) from office.

Troubled Nigeria Football Federation [NFF] president, Aminu Maigari has been reinstated in office after Continues on Page 61

Why I withdrew suit against NFF — Baribote F

ORMER second vice President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Rumson Baribote has said he persuaded his wife to withdraw the suit she

filed against the NFF at a Jos High Court because he felt the country ’s interest should come first before

Continues on Page 61

•Baribote

Africa top 10 1. Algeria 2. C’Ivoire 3. Nigeria 4. Egypt 5. Ghana

6. Tunisia 7. Guinea 8. C/meroon 9. B/ Faso 10. Mali

Eagles soar in FIFA rankings N

I G E R I A climbed 10 places to perch at 34th in the latest FIFA rankings released on Thursday.

The great leap has occurred as a result of the Super Eagles’ Round of 16 berth at the recently –concluded FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014, and also sees the African champions rising to third place in Africa, behind Algeria and Cote d’Ivoire.

Ironically, Cote Continues on Page 61

STOPPED: Retired Nigeria captain Joseph Yobo stops a Bosnian opponent at the World Cup. Nigeria won 1-0.

QUICK 43 Motionless (5) CROSSWORD

TODAY'S

PUZZLE

YESTER DAY'S YESTERDAY'S

ANSWERS

ACROSS 4 Courage (5) 7 Stank (6) 9 Owing (3) 10 Child (3) 12 Wed (5) 13 Excursion (4) 15 Harmonium (5) 17 Usual (6) 19 Inform (4) 20 View (5) 22 Father (3) 24 Scorned (7) 27 Illuminated (3) 28 Recent (5) 31 Go by (4) 33 Fixed (6) 35 Engine (5) 37 Turn (4) 38 Biscuit (5) 39 And not (3) 41 Circuit (3) 42 Erase (6)

DOWN 1 Free (6) 2 Delineate (6) 3 Damp (3) 4 Animal (4) 5 Inclined (5) 6 Remiss (8) 8 Fate (4) 11 Custom (9) 14 Pool (4) 16 Pleased (4) 18 Stagger (4) 21 Waterfall (8) 23 Adroit (4) 25 Gap (4) 26 Sketched (4) 29 Revised (6) 30 Concealed (6) 32 Aroma (5) 34 Trampled (4) 36 Spoken (4) 40 Material (3)

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS ACROSS: 1, Teach 5, Rather 8, Radio 10, Delete 11, Part 14, Ermine 15, Portion 18, Tee 19, Sad 21, Dray 23, Liked 24, Else 27, Ten 29, End 31, Doorman 32, Rancid 34, Dope 35, Eating 38, Fudge 39, Expect 40, Erred.

DOWN: 2, Eke 3, Create 4, Hat 5, Rope 6, Termed 7, Remedy 9, Deposit 12, Art 13, Tier 16, Opal 17, Naked 20, Denoted 22, Aura 24, Enrage 25, Send 26, Encoded 28, Writer 30, Dip 33, Deft 36, Age 37, Nee.

HOW TO PLAY SUDOKU

P

lace a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line can have two of the same number).

Each row (nine lines from left to right), column, (also nine lines from top to bottom) and 3 X 3 block within a bold block (nine blocks) contains number from 1 through 9. This means that no number can appear twice in any block, column or row.

No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction, division or multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination.

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