BUHARI TO JONATHAN: Nigeria sitting on keg of gun powder

...towards a better life for the people VOL. 25: NO. 62192

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TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014

FOOTPRINTS OF A STATESMAN: Kindling The Fire 38&39

Edo monarchs at war

See 8-page pull-out inside

BUHARI TO JONATHAN:

Nigeria sitting on keg of gun powder

BEN AGANDE & LUKA BINNIYAT

•Says desperation to impeach govs'll breed anarchy K •Don't blame me for your party's woes, Jonathan fires back

A D U N A — FORMER Head of State and chieftain of the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, General Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, x-rayed current political developments in the country and concluded that Nigeria is headed for the brink.

He, therefore, appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan to “pull Nigeria back from the brink”.

Highlighting some of Continues on page 5

COLUMNIST: Nigeria politicans are thieves, but they are not corrupt •P.17 SECURITY COUNCIL MEETING—Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh (second left), Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Kenneth Minimah (left) and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosun (right) listen as Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Usman Jubril makes a point after the National Security Council meeting chaired by President Goodluck Jonathan at the State House, Abuja, yesterday. Photo: Abayomi Adeshida.

Enugu Gov, Chime, asks deputy to resign; 20 sign impeachment notice •Ebonyi Assembly impeaches speaker

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Ex-Oil Minister, Rilwanu Lukman dies @ 81

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Mr & Mrs

2 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014

C M Y K

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C M Y K

Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014—5

POCKET CARTOON

VISIT—Adamawa State Acting Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri briefing pressmen at Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, after a visit to President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday. Photo: Abayomi Adeshida.

Nigeria sitting on keg of gun powder — Buhari Continues from page 1 the developments which informed his conclusion in a statement issued, yesterday, in Kaduna, General Buhari said that in his capacity as an elder statesman, he had spoken to President Jonathan in private over the issues but it has not yielded positive results. He added that history will not be kind to him (Buhari) if he sat back while things turned bad in the country.

He urged the President to pull the brakes on his administration’s runaway train of impunity in the interest of Nigeria and sustenance of the nation’s democracy.

In his statement, Buhari said the recent induced impeachment or threats of impeachment of governors of opposition states, just to decapitate the opposition, does not augur well for the survival of a fragile nation like Nigeria or the survival of its tenderfoot democracy.

In swift response, The Presidency, yesterday, denied allegations levelled against President Jonathan by Buhari in a statement by Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati.

The statement said rather than blame President Jonathan for the problems in the All Progressives Congress, APC, Gen. Buhari should blame his party for its inability to manage its internal contradictions.

According to Buhari, the developments in the polity have become an unwelcome distraction for the nation’s ongoing survival battle against the terror group Boko Haram, which has put Nigeria on the tenterhooks, with innocent citizens being daily mowed down at the times and places of the group’s choice and over 200 school girls spending their fourth month in precarious captivity.

Jonathan can't feign ignorance His words: "Whether or not President Goodluck Jonathan is behind the gale of impeachment or the utilization of desperate tactics to suffocate the opposition and turn Nigeria into a one-party state, what cannot be denied is that they are happening under his watch, and he cannot pretend not to know, since that will be akin to hiding behind one finger.

"In my capacity as an elder statesman, rather than a politician, I have spoken to President Jonathan in private over these issues, but indications are that the strategy has not yielded positive fruits. I cannot, just because I am an opposition politician, fail to do what is expected of me as an elder statesman to help rescue our nation in times of great trouble and palpable uncertainty.

"History will not be kind

to me if I sit back while things turn bad, just so that no one will accuse me of partisanship. Yes, I am a politician. Yes, I am in the opposition. Yes, there is the tendency for my statement to be misconstrued as that of a politician rather than a statesman. But I owe it as a matter of duty and honour, and in the interest of our nation, to speak out on the dangerous trajectory that our nation is heading.

"I can say, in all sincerity, that I have seen it all, as an ordinary citizen, a military officer, a head of state, a man who has occupied many other sensitive posts and a politician.

I have been a close participant and witness to Nigeria’s political history since independence in 1960.

"Our country has gone through several rough patches, but never before have I seen a Nigerian President declare war on his own country as we are seeing now. Never before have I seen a Nigerian President deploy federal institutions in the service of partisanship as we are witnessing now. Never before have I seen a Nigerian President utilize the commonwealth to subvert the system and punish the opposition, all in the name of politics. Our nation has suffered serious consequences in the past for egregious acts that are not even close to what we are seeing now. It is time to pull the brakes," Gen. Buhari warned.

He advised President Jonathan to tarry a while, take a deep breath and ponder the impact of recent events in the polity, under his watch, on the survival of the nation and the sustenance of its democracy.

Subverting constitution

The former Head of State further argued that “sub-

verting the Constitution of the Federal Republic in the desperation to impeach a state governor or deploying the institutions of state, some of which are symbols of the country’s unity, just to kick an out-of-favour state governor in the groin can only breed anarchy and lead the nation down the slippery slope to perdition.

"The dangerous clouds are beginning to gather and the vultures are circling, and these have manifested in Nasarawa where the ordinary people have defied guns and tanks to protest the plan to impeach Governor Umaru Tanko AlMakura in a repeat of the bitter medicine forced down the throat of Governor Murtala Nyako.

"The people’s protest in Nasarawa is a sign of what will come if the federal authorities continue to target opposition state governors for impeachment. In the long run, the impeachment weapon will be blunted. Positions will become more hardened on both sides and Nigeria and Nigerians will become the victims of arrested governance and possible anarchy."

Gen. Buhari said President Jonathan should also remember that no democracy can thrive or survive without a virile opposition, hence it will amount to a man cutting his nose to spite his face for anyone to embark on a journey to decapitate the opposition, as the current central government is doing.

He said a man of power must realize that he cannot always do things just because he could do them.

"I, along with many other patriotic Nigerians, fought for the unity and survival of this country. Hundreds of patriotic souls perished in the battle to keep Nigeria one. The blood of many of our compatriots helped to water the birth of the democracy we are all enjoying today.

"Let no one, whether the leader or the led, the high or the low, a member of the ruling or the opposition do anything to torpedo the system. Let no one, whether on the altar of personal ambition or pretension to higher patriotic tendencies, do anything that can detonate the keg of gunpowder on which the nation is sitting.

It is time for all concerned to spare a thought for the ordinary citizens who have yet to see their hopes, dreams and aspirations come to reality, within the general context of nationhood,’’ he said.

Don't blame me for your party's woes, Jonathan fires back

Meanwhile, the Presidency, yesterday, denied allegations levelled against President Jonathan by Buhari that the President was waging war on his countrymen.

In a statement yesterday, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati said rather than blame President

Jonathan for the problems in the All Progressives Congress, APC, Gen. Buhari should blame his party for its inability to manage its internal contradictions.

Abati insisted that the President is ‘blameless’.

The statement read: “We have noted with much surprise and regret, the statement issued by General Muhammadu Buhari today (yesterday) in which he made some wild and totally unsustainable allegations against President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

“Although he tries very hard to deny it in the statement titled “Pull Nigeria Back From the Brink”, there can be no doubt that General Buhari has sadly moved away from the patriotic and statesman-like position he recently adopted on national security, which President Jonathan publicly commended, and has now reverted to unbridled political partisanship.

“There can be no other explanation or justification for the completely unwarranted and very uncharitable assault on the conduct and integrity of President Jonathan which the statement he issued today (yesterday) represents.

“General Buhari’s main grouse which clearly motivated his ill-considered statement appears to be what he called “the gale of impeachments or the utilisation of desperate tactics to suffocate the opposition and turn Nigeria into a one-party state.

“It is most unfortunate that instead of working to put their house in order and resolve the leadership crises and internal contradictions that have plunged their party into a downward spiral, General Buhari and his opposition allies have resorted to blaming a blameless President for their woes.

“The processes for impeaching an elected Governor are clearly stipulated in the National Constitution which Nigeria has operated since 1999. The President of Nigeria is not assigned any role in that process and President Jonathan has certainly not played any role in the recent impeachment of Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa or in the impeachment drama currently being played out in Nasarawa State.

“For the record, the President remains fully committed to upholding the letters, principles and spirit of the Nigerian Constitution as he has sworn, and defending the rule of law and integrity of the democratic process with

all his might.

“General Buhari talks about anarchy. He needs to be reminded that President Jonathan from his humble beginnings as a Deputy Governor in Bayelsa State to date, has never in his acts, or utterances, recommended or promoted violence as a tool of political negotiation.

“Contrary to whatever General Buhari and his new friends may imagine, President Jonathan fully respects the rights, powers, authority and independence of elected representatives of the people, including the members of the state assemblies who have concluded or initiated impeachment proceedings against their state governors on grounds which they consider justifiable.

“The constitution does not give the President any power to intervene in such proceedings and President Jonathan has never arrogated such powers to himself or sought to exert any nefarious and unconstitutional influence on state assemblies in Adamawa, Nasarawa or anywhere else in order to secure undue political advantage for his party as General Buhari unjustifiably alleges.

“President Jonathan remains true to his declaration that no political ambition of his is worth the life of a single Nigerian. The President has definitely not declared war on his own country or deployed federal institutions in the service of partisan interests as General Buhari falsely claims. Neither has he been using the common wealth to subvert the system and punish the opposition, as the former Head of State inexcusably asserts.

“Also, President Jonathan has never at any time ordered that any Nigerian should be kidnapped or that anyone should be crated and forcefully transported in violation of decent norms of governance.

“We therefore urge General Buhari to tarry a while, ponder over his own antecedents and do a reality check as to whether he has the moral right to be so carelessly sanctimonious.

“It may well be time to pull the brakes, as General Buhari says in his statement, but it is he and others who have resorted to idle scapegoating and blaming President Jonathan for their self-inflected political troubles who need to stop their inexcusable partisanship and show greater regard for the truth, democracy, constitutionalism, the rule of law, peace, security and the wellbeing of the nation” he said.

6—Vanguard , TUESDAY TUESDAY,, JULY 22, 2014

Man hacks brother’s wife to death in Rivers

BY JIMITOTA ONOYUME

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ORT HARCOURT — IT was sad day in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State, Sunday, when a man allegedly hacked his brother ’s wife to death.

Details at press time were sketchy but a source in the local government area gave the deceased's name as Precilia, adding that she was about 55 years old.

The community source said Precilia was attending to some domestic chores when suddenly the brotherin-law hacked her to death.

Nobody could confirm if the deceased had any quarrel with her in-law before the sad incident.

At press time, the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ahmad Muhamaad has not responded to a text message sent to him for comment on the incident.

2 die, 10 injured in Lagos slaughter slab accident

BY MONSURU OLOWOOPEJO

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AGOS — TRAGEDY struck in Idimu slaughter slab in Egbe-Idimu Local Council Development Area, LCDA, Lagos State yesterday, after a truck owned by a sachet water factory lost control, killing two people and injuring many others.

The truck with number plate, APP 996 XD, ran into the slaughter slab and destroyed several stalls in the early hours of the day.

Eyewitnesses at the scene of the accident gave conflicting reports of the number of casualties.

While some said two people were crushed and four others injured, others said three persons were killed while 10 were injured.

When Vanguard visited the scene, it was gathered that two of the dead were women, who were standing at the entrance of the slaughter slab.

One of the women, who was crushed few minutes after she arrived at the slab, was identified as Mrs. Saidat Oloyede.

Vanguard gathered that the remains of Saidat was handed

Scene of the accident. Photo: Bunmi Azeez. over to her family for burial according to Islamic rites.

Sources said the truck carrying bags of sachet water, was heading towards Isheri area when it experienced a brake failure.

The incident was said to have caused traffic congestion on the LASU-Isheri Road, as bystanders and motorists rushed to the scene to assist the victims.

Speaking to Vanguard in an interview, Mr. Adewale, one of the traders at the slab, said the number of persons who sustained injury could not be ascertained because the accident occurred at the peak of trading activities around the slab.

Vice chairman of Egbe-Idimu LCDA, Mr. Kunle Olowooopejo, blamed the accident on lack of proper maintenance of the truck

by the owners.

According to the speaker of the Egbe-Idimu LCDA House of Assembly, Mr. Doyin Salami, “when the truck lost control, in a bid to avoid crushing the commuters at the Odo bus stop, it ran into the slaughter slab, crushing two women and injuring others. It also destroyed several property."

He said the illegal petroleum products were contained in about 80 jerry cans of 50kg, 49 jerry cans of 25 kg and 11 drums.

Other items recovered from the suspects were four mobile phones and tools allegedly used to siphon the fuel.

He said:“The breakthrough was through the help of God and the surveillance of the anti-vandals unit. It’s an exercise we’ve been monitoring for the past three weeks.

“The intelligence officers and the anti-vandals unit have been doing their work and we

were able to get adequate information that led to this arrest.”

Aboluwoye stated that the suspects would be charged to court on completion of preliminary investigation by the command.

One dies in Lagos auto 5 arrested in Ogun for illegal dealing in fuel crash •8,756 litres of petroleum products seized

BY BOSE ADELAJA

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AGOS — ONE person was feared dead, yesterday, in Gbagada area of Lagos during an auto crash involving a Sports Utility Vehicle, SUV, with number plate, EKY 956 CP and an articulated vehicle, with number plate, DAL 173 XA, belonging to a private company.

The incident was said to have occurred around 6am when the black SUV, which was on a high speed allegedly lost control and rammed into the faulty stationary truck.

According to eye witnesses, the driver of the truck was said to have escaped to avoid being attacked by street urchins as soon as the lone occupant of the SUV whose identity was yet to be ascertained was said to have died on the spot.

His body was, thereafter, recovered by officials of Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA. The incident was said to have resulted in traffic snarl that lasted for hours as law enforcement agents battled to clear the affected vehicles from the scene.

BY DAUD OLATUNJI

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BEOKUTA — THE Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Ogun State, yesterday, said it had arrested five suspects in connection with illegal dealing in petroleum products at Kara area, Sagamu Local Government Area of the state.

The command also said it had recovered 8,756 litres of petroleum products allegedly siphoned from the pipelines of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

The state NSCDC Commandant, Akinwande Aboluwoye, stated this during the parade of the suspects and the items recovered from them.

The suspects are Muritala Ogunlesi, 35; Mutiu Ademola, 34; Yesiru Balogun, 50; Fadeyi Idowu, 22 and Musiliu Oyefeso, 37.

The suspects, however, denied the allegations, insisting they were innocent.

Aboluwoye explained that the feat was recorded as a result of the surveillance mounted by the anti-vandals unit of the NSCDC for three weeks in the area.

The suspects and the petroleum products.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014 — 7

Policeman, 5 others nabbed for vandalising telecom equipment

BY GBENGA ARIYIBI

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DO-EKITI — A Police Corporal and five others have been apprehended by soldiers for alleged v a n d a l i s i n g telecommunication equipment.

The suspects were consequently handed over to the state Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC. According to the statement from the Corps Public Relations Officer, Mr Afolabi Tolulope, in Ado Ekiti, yesterday, the suspects were arrested

following a rigorous search for the vandals and they were eventually found inside a tunnel earlier dug with the motive of excavating optic fibre cable belonging to a telecommunication company.

Names of the suspects, according to the statement, are, Corporal Taiwo Nurudeen 32, with service number 44528 serving at Oyo State Police Command, Anichukwe Joe, 30; Chibuire Korie, 36; Friday Olunna, 27; Idongesit Etim, 26 and Nwakwo Stephen, 31.

Items recovered from them

included a Nissan Micra car, earth-moving equipment, digger, jack, screw driver, saw, saw blades and a ladder.

The suspects, according to the statement, will soon be charged to court after preliminary investigation might have been concluded by the command, adding that efforts are on to find other possible accomplices within and outside the state.

Meanwhile, the state commandant of NSCDC, Mr Shem Obafaye, has appealed to the general

public to give useful information on how to curb and arrest vandals before they do havoc to critical national asset in their domain to the NSCDC. He appealed to electrical and communications contractors and sellers in the state to desist from buying cables from vandals.

The NSCDC boss lauded the synergy existing between the Army and the corps, which he said had been producing positive results.

NAFDAC parades 2 for forgery, extortion •Frustration led me into this mess— Suspect

BY ESTHER ONYEGBULA

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AGOS — OFFICIALS of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, Lagos, yesterday, arrested two persons for impersonation, illegal advertisement of unregistered herbal products, false claims, forgery of document and extortion.

Director General of the agency, Dr. Paul Orhii, who paraded the suspects, said the first suspect, Oresanya Ademola, was arrested in Sagamu, Ogun State, by a team of NAFDAC officials after defrauding one Ruben of Ruben Medicine Store, Sabo, Sagamu in Ogun State and issuing him with forged letter of recognition of his medicine store and certificate of recognition purported to be issued by NAFDAC. He said: “During interrogation, he confessed to have been arrested for forgery and extortion in January and was granted administrative bail by the police and now rearrested at Sabo, Sagamu, Ogun State for the same offence.

“The arrest was made possible by a good Samaritan who reported his nefarious activities to NAFDAC office in Abeokuta, Ogun State. This prompted the agency to mount surveillance on him, leading to his arrest.”

Meanwhile, the second suspect, Olawale Nurudeen Shittu, was arrested for illegal advertisement of un-registered herbal products, false claims and forgery.

The suspect is being investigated for illegal advertisement of Trinity capsules, Logo cleanser bitters, Yoppy cleanser herbal capsules, Supa clinsa capsule

The suspects: Oresanya Ademola (left) and Olawale Nurudeen

herbal remedy and Superman capsule.

Orhii added that the suspect, Olawale uses 19 Railway by-pass, Makurdi, Benue State as clinic for diagnosis of ailments and entices unsuspecting public to patronise his products.

He also uses Abiola Nature Therapy Limited, said to be located at 84, Karimu Adeyemi Street off Akinyode Road, Alagbado, Lagos which name and address was verified to be non-existent by the agency.

Frustration led me into this mess—Ademola "I am 41 years old, I studied in Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin and later moved to Federal Polytechnic, Offa,

also in Kwara State where I studied Mass Communication.

"Afterwards, I got a job in a microfinance bank last year.

When they changed the management, we were retrenched and because I have a family to take care of, I rented a shop and started engaging in this kind of business.

“Unfortunately I was caught. I have been doing it for about a month, and I have made just N20,000.

“Frustration led me into this mess and I feel bad because of my name.”

We've registered all our products — Nurudeen I am 34 years old. We have

good products. It is only one of the products, Yoppy cleanser herbal capsules, that is not approved.

“We have an agent called Ayo that helped us to register our products. The agent has a factory. We have registered all these products they are talking about and we keep renewing the registration since 2011. This is the second time we are renewing the product registration and nobody has told us that this particular one is fake.

“I was not allowed to contact anyone. I was told in Makudi to come and clarify some issues which I complied with, and when I got here I was arrested on Friday. I travelled to Lagos with all the documents.

ALLEGED KIDNAP IN LAGOS:

Police release Pastor on bail

BY EVELYN USMAN

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AGOS — THE Lagos State Police Command yesterday, saïd it had released the General Overseer of Holy Happy Family Ministry, Prophet Ernest Chukwuemeka, alleged to have sent a mother of four to kidnap a 10-year-old boy in Ikorodu area of Lagos last month.

His release, according to spokesperson for the Command,Ngozi Braide, was due to lack of substantive evidence against him.

It would be recalled that a woman was apprehended by a mob while at the verge of taking a boy which she kept inside a box to an unknown destination.

During interrogation, the mother of four alleged that she was sent to bring the boy for ritual purpose by her Pastor, Chukwuemeka.

However, in his statement to operatives at the State Criminal Investigation D e p a r t m e n t , Ya b a , Chukwuemeka denied knowing the woman. He also denied report that part of the building destroyed by mob was a ritual den, explaining rather that it was used to keep lunatics, who were undergoing prayer of delieverance.

Police sources hinted that the woman later stated that the instruction to bring the boy was given to her in a dream.

Operatives, as gathered, also doubted the sanity of the woman.

Reacting to the incident, Braide said: “The prophet is on bail. We can’t just detain someone because of allegation that cannot be substantiated.

From preliminary investigation, we have not found any evidence to detain the prophet.

"We have also sent the woman who made the allegation to the psychiatric hospital to ascertain her level of sanity.

"We are waiting for the result.

The children found with the woman on the day of incident are nowhere to be found.

"As at now, we have nothing against the prophet, but as investigation continues and we find him culpable, we will arrest him for prosecution."

8—Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014

Nigerians divided over confab's outcome

BY HENRY UMORU, LEVINUS NWABUGHIOGU & JOSEPH ERUNKE

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DIALOGUE: From left: Divisional Head, Retail Banking of First City Monument Bank, FCMB, Limited, Mr. Olu Akanmu; Retail Channels Director of Misys, Mr. Alex Bray, and Chairman, The Asian Banker, Mr. Emmanuel Daniel, at the FCMB-sponsored West Africa International Retail Banking Dialogue in Lagos.

Ezekwesili arrested by security agents, released z It's routine, says DSS

BY LAIDE AKINBOADE

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BUJA— FORMER Minister of Education and the Coordinator of BringBackOurGirls campaign group, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, was yesterday arrested and detained by security operatives at Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport as she was about to board an early morning flight to London.

Her travelling documents were also confiscated.

She was, however, released later after government came under intense pressure as news of her arrest flooded the social media when she posted tweets of her predicament.

In her tweets following her arrest, she said: “On my way to London this morning for my BBC Hardtalk appearance billed for tomorrow, Department of State Services, DSS, has detained me by withholding my passport.

“Is this a democracy? I am being detained by the DSS at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport. DSS has refused to give my passport to me. My passport was seized at the departure desk. I asked for explanation and was told ‘ we act acting under instruction’.

“I advise the DG of DSS, whom I knew as a gentleman officer when I was in government, to honestly scrutinise his team of three that withheld my passport.

DSS should check its records and present it to public.

“It will show that way before Chibok girls, I had been a frequent traveler and never before detained.

They cannot break me in Jesus name. For as long as our Chibokgirls are not rescued, I shall stay standing for their cause with all people of goodwill.”

Released

After she was released and allowed to travel, she posted another tweet, saying “DSS has released it.

I just barely made the BA flight. Last to board at 7.55 for an 8a.m. flight that is now taxiing. Is this a democracy?

“Thanks to all who spoke up against the repressive act of DSS against me this morning. You will always find help in your time of need in Jesus name.

“Safe touchdown at Heathrow Airport. Praise God! Thanks also to British Airways for waiting for me and then upgrading me on this flight. No one can seize my democratic rights. I refused to let the DSS get away with trampling on my constitutional rights.”

However, when contacted, the spokeswoman for the DSS, Marilyn Oga said: “If we are doing a routine job, does that mean that we detained her?

“Oby Ezekwesili is a free citizen of this country and

has been coming and going as she pleased.”

The former minister, who is one of the coordinators of the BringBackOurGirls campaign group, has been consistently putting pressure on the Nigerian government to act more decisively in rescuing the over 250 schoolgirls abducted from their dormitory by the extremist Boko Haram sect over three months ago.

Meanwhile, a group, Movement for Democratic Sustainability, MDS, has said for the war against terrorism to succeed, Nigerians irrespective of their political or religious inclinations

should unite behind President Goodluck Jonathan, since only a united and strong people can battle and win terror.

The group spoke in a statement by its Head Media and Publicity, Afam Iheanacho, to mark the 100 days of the abduction of about 276 girls from the Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State.

It said: “We share the agony of the parents of those girls. Every day we join them in prayers.

“We remain strong in our belief that very soon those girls will be re united with their families.”

Dr. Ezekwesili... no one can seize my democratic rights.

BUJA—AHEAD of the August 4 reconvening of the National Conference following its abrupt adjournment last Monday, some stakeholders are divided over the outcome of the talk shop.

The plenary of the Justice Idris Kutigi-led National Conference ended in deadlock over resource control and proposed intervention fund for states facing security challenges.

The conference adopted the report of the Committee on Devolution of Power, but without conclusive decision on the vital issue of derivation principle.

Following the logjam, the conference referred the problems to President Goodluck Jonathan and urged him to set up a Technical Committee that would advise the Federal Government on revenue sharing formula, the percentage of derivation to oil producing states, mineral resources development fund and special fund for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of areas affected by problems of insurgency and internal conflict.

Council of Retired Federal Permanent Secretaries, yesterday, hailed the Chairman of the conference, Justice Kutigi, the leadership and delegates over what they described as the success of the conference which final report is expected in less than two weeks.

However, Minority Leader, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, said: “We said it that it was tailored to fail and we were called nay sayers; seven billion Naira has gone down the drain.”

Adamawa State governorship aspirant and PDP stakeholder, Dr. Umar Ardo said: “The fact that the confab failed to resolve the most contentious national issue, which is the issue of derivation/ resource control, is indicative that it has not fully succeeded.”

Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014—9

Air Force helicopter crashes in Borno

BY KINGSLEY OMONOBI & NDAHI MARAMA

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AIDUGURI—A Nigerian Air Force Mi35 helicopter on a training mission, yesterday, crashed at a location South of Bama in Bama

Local Government Area of Borno State, due to alleged technical fault.

A pilot and a technician died in the crash, while the third crew member, a pilot, was rescued alive.

Bama is about 70 kilometres

drive from Maiduguri and along the border of Sambisa Forest, which had witnessed series of attacks by suspected members of the Boko Haram Islamist sect.

This was contained in a statement by Director, Defence

East-West Road'll be finished on schedule, says FG

Information, Major General Chris Olukokade.

Olukokade said investigation had commenced to unravel the circumstances that led to the accident, adding “it is established that the crash is not as a result of any enemy action.”

BY CHRIS OCHAYI

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BUJA— THE F e d e r a l Government has reiterated its commitment to complete the 338-kilometre dual carriage East-West Road project by the first quarter of 2016.

The new Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Dr. Stephen Oru, who gave the assurance during a reception organised in his honour by the Pace Setters Social Club of Nigeria in Sapele, Delta State, said the road project is a top priority of President Goodluck J o n a t h a n ’ s administration.

Oru said within one week of his assumption of office, he had a meeting with the project's contractors, who promised to speed up work.

He said: “Its completion is a priority for the President. Work on it will be speeded up.

It is a matter of urgency and priority.”

It will be recalled that the East West road project, which started in 2010, has 42 bridges, 786 culverts and stretches from Effurun in Delta State, through four states in the Niger Delta area to terminate at Oron in Akwa Ibom State.

HONOUR: From left— Kudo Eresia-Eke, GM External Relations at NLNG, Dr. Jerry Agada, Professor Femi Osofisan, Professor Ayo Banjo, Professor J. P. Clark and Babs Omotowa, MD/CEO NLNG, at An Evening with Ayo Banjo, hosted by NLNG in honour of Professor Banjo during his 80th birthday in Lagos, yesterday.

Boko Haram invades Borno village, kills 60

BY NDAHI MARAMA

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AIDUGURI— NO fewer than 60 people from Gaidamgari village, in Bama Local Government Area of Borno State were killed weekend, while many others sustained gunshot wounds when some gunmen suspected to be members of the Boko Haram Islamist sect attacked the community.

Apart from those who were either killed or maimed in the attack on Gaidamgari, sources said that many houses, shops and vehicles were also set ablaze just as most of the villagers were now taking refuge in Bama town.

Security sources, which confirmed the story, said the attack took place at about 10p.m. on Saturday, pointing out that “only 29 people were killed with few residents sustaining injuries.”

This was even as the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, yesterday said that over 15, 000 Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, were taking refuge in Biu and Goniri areas of the state.

Boko Haram recruiting

However, members of the sect, who attacked Damboa on Friday for the second time in two weeks, were reportedly looking for youths to recruit.

It was gathered that a large number of troops were yesterday deployed to the surrounding villages and towns to confront the terrorists.

At Gaidamgari, a source said: “On refusal of the community to allow their children, particularly young boys of between the

ages of 15 to 20 to be recruited into the Boko Haram group, the terrorists mobilised and launched attacks on the village, killing over 60 people.”

According to the sources, the attackers invaded the village in Toyota Hilux vehicles with Improvised Explosive Devices and wrecked havoc on defencless civilians.

In another development, about five motorists,

including passengers, were at the weekend ambushed along Bama Maiduguri road by some terrorists.

A source at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital told Vanguard that “five dead bodies were brought into the hospital weekend, and preliminary investigations revealed that they were victims of Boko Haram road ambush along Maiduguri Bama road.”

Nasarawa lawmakers at crossroads over Al-Makura's impeachment saga

BY SONI DANIEL, Northern Region Editor

A

BUJA—THE plot by Nasarawa State House of Assembly members to unseat Governor Tanko Al Makura appears to be heading towards the rocks, according to reliable sources in Lafia and Abuja.

Although the 20 pro impeachment lawmakers have since relocated to Abuja in a bid to perfect their plan, a highly placed source in Lafia told Vanguard last night that the Chief Judge, Justice Suleiman Dikko, was insisting on strict compliance with laid down rules before he could support the process.

According to the source, Justice Dikko, who is

described by many as a “no nonsense CJ,” has made it clear that he will raise the panel to probe the governor only after the lawmakers might have substantially complied with the law relating to the impeachment of the governor.

He was said to have warned that he would not be stampeded by anyone to rush into raising a probe panel if the governor has not been formally served with the notice of impeachment as stipulated

by Section 88 of the 1999 Constitution.

It was learnt that while the lawmakers are yet to personally serve the governor the notice of impeachment, the anti Al-Makura lawmakers were busy shopping for his enemies that will be appointed to serve as chairman and

members of the seven man panel to investigate the embattled governor.

The pro-impeachment team, said to be spearheaded by AlMakura’s former close ally, has already contacted a former deputy governor of the state and some former permanent secretaries, who were retired by the governor, to serve on the panel.

The aim of recruiting antiAl-Makura forces to work on the panel is to ensure that he does not get a clean bill of health even if he appears with relevant documents and witnesses to prove his case, a knowledgeable source explained.

Vanguard also learnt that following the intervention of some first class traditional rulers in the impeachment

saga, some lawmakers were mulling the idea of withdrawing their initial support for the removal of Al Makura, whom some of them describe as a man of peace.

However, despite the plea by the state’s top ranking royal fathers, the pro impeachment lawmakers met in a hotel in Abuja yesterday and threatened to go ahead with their action, insisting that the notice of impeachment published in the newspaper was sufficient.

The lawmakers insisted that they would make their positions to remove Al Makura known at the expiration of the time allowed by the law for them to remove him from office, whether he appears before them to clear himself or not.

10—Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014

TCN cuts electricity supply to Lagos

BY MICHAEL EBOH

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AGOS—THE Tr a n s m i s s i o n Company of Nigeria, TCN, yesterday, said it would disrupt electricity supply to some areas in Lagos tomorrow.

The TCN, in a statement by Mrs. Celestina Oshin, Senior Manager, Public Affairs, Lagos Region, named the areas to be affected as Surulere, Iganmu, Aguda, Ijesha, Ebute-Meta, Orile and their environs, noting that the disruption would be between the hours of 10am and 12noon.

Oshin said the planned outage was to enable the team of TCN engineers connect new bus section isolator that would link two 60MVA power transformers at the Akangba 132KV Transmission Sub-Station.

According to her, 40MW of electricity would be cut off, as load on all the outgoing 33KV feeders from the station would be disrupted during the duration of outage.

School sensitises Nigerians on security

W

HITE Hall Col lege, Fagba, Lagos, will tomorrow hold a symposium to sensitise Nigerians on security challenges facing the nation.

Briefing journalists yesterday, proprietor of the school, Mr Ogedengbe Alex, said the programme, with the theme ‘’Security in schools, religious and public places: Chibok in retrospect’’, would kick-start activities marking the 10th anniversary of the school.

He said sports jamboree/inauguration of the alumni hold tomorrow with a dinner party on Thursday and grand finale on Saturday.

Alex said security challenges in Nigeria, require individual effort so that the nation can dwell in peace.

Army launches new counter-terrorism measures

BY EVELYN USMAN

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AGOS—THE NIGERIAN Army yesterday in Lagos said it was undertaking a number of counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency measures with a view to combating the security challenges confronting the country, saying it

had adopted a new approach known as “Manoeuverist’ approach to warfare.”

Commander, Corps of Engineers, Major-General Funsho Owonibi, who spoke at the opening ceremony of the ‘Operations Planning Cadre’, organised by the 81 Division, at 65 Battalion,

Victoria Island, said some of the measures included the establishment of bomb disposal squadrons in all divisional headquarters, establishment of canine units as well as the establishment of the Lessons Learnt at Army headquarters and civil-military relations up to divisional levels.

According to him, the response to the scourge of insecurity had been robust and

BIRTHDAY LECTURE FOR JAKANDE: From left; First Military Governor of Lagos State, Brigadier General Mobolaji Johnson (rtd.); First Executive Governor of Lagos State, Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande (CON); his wife, Alhaja Abimbola; and Sir Kensington Adebutu, during the 85th birthday celebration lecture of Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande at Ilupeju, Lagos yesterday.

holistic to match the fight against terrorism and other forms of security challenges in the country, noting “such measures have yielded apparent effectiveness as the operations of the various task forces all over the country are being complemented by the careful siting of Forward Operations Bases (FOB) and highly mobile Quick Reaction Groups (QRG) to deny terrorists freedom of action.

“We must not allow ourselves to be lured into a false sense of security until the last vestige of terrorism is routed from our country ” and charged commanders whose formations and units were engaged in the ongoing internal security operations to continuously train their troops in all aspects of military operations.

He added that ''the action of your troops should be guided by the NA code of conduct for internal security operations.

You should also be mindful of being an impartial arbiter amongst the host communities you are operating while also maintaining a good civil military relations with them.”

Earlier, General officer Commanding 81 Division, Major General Tamunomiebi Dibi, explained that the adoption of the manoeuverist approach to warfare necessitated a paradigm shift in the army ’s operations process in terms of thinking, planning and execution.

Fashola constitutes panel to probe BRT/soldiers’ rampage

BY OLASUNKANMI AKONI & MONSUR OLOOOPEJO

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AGOS—GOVERNOR Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, yesterday, constituted a three-man panel of enquiry on the July 4 Bus Rapid Transit, BRT, accident on Ikorodu Road that led to the death of a soldier and the attendant mayhem.

On July 4th, 2014, a BRT bus at Palm-Grove, along Ikorodu Road, killed a soldier leading to destruction of some BRT buses among other property.

No fewer than eight BRT buses were set ablaze in the process by yet-to-be identified persons and groups.

Some irate solders were alleged to have spearheaded the mayhem.

However, authorities of the Nigerian Army dismissed the allegation, blaming hoodlums.

The panel, mandated to submit its report within 60 days, is headed by Justice Ebenezer Adebajo, a retired high court judge.

The other members are Mr. Nurudeen Ogbara, a lawyer and Mr. Jude Igbanoi, the Deputy Law Editor of Thisday Newspapers while the secretary is Miss

Oludamilola Kessington.

The panel is to investigate the cause(s) of the accident and how the victim died, ascertain the actual perpetrators of the mayhem with a view to avoiding future occurrence and submit its findings to the government within 60 days.

Speaking at the inauguration, Fashola described the incident as regrettable, especially as it resulted in the loss of life and destruction of property, saying “unfortunately on the July 4th, 2014, the tragic death of a young soldier was compounded by destruction of buses.

''There are many questions that have arisen. Will soldiers do this? If not, who did? I think it is important to note that if it was not the soldiers, Nigerians should know and help maintain and sustain its reputation and help reinforce the trust the Nigerian people have in the Nigerian Army.''

Lagos PDP chieftains kick as Jimi Agbaje moves to grab party's guber ticket yet known whether other parties

BY CHARLES KUMOLU

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AGOS—INDICATIONS emerged yesterday that Mr. Jimi Agbaje, the governorship candidate of the Democratic People’s Alliance, DPA, in the 2007 general elections might soon declare his ambition to run for the 2015 governorship election in Lagos State on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party,PDP, as he paid a formal visit to the party’s secretariat, where he was received amid fanfare by the chairman, Chief Tunji Shelle.

His visit, however, did not go down well with some party

members, who accused the former deputy national chairman, South West, Chief Olabode George, of trying to impose a stranger on them.

Vanguard gathered that Agbaje, in his comments, during a closed-door meeting, described the PDP as the most viable platform to wrest power from the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, by the citizens of the state yearning for change.

Part of the agenda at the meeting was to reduce the number of political parties that would contest the election to only the ruling APC and the rival PDP. According to a source, “It is not

may be persuaded to adopt the governorship candidate of the PDP for the 2015 election.”

Agbaje was said to have deliberately decided to delay declaration, pending the time concrete arrangements would have been made. Shelle was said to have advised Agbaje on the need to mellow down, as he congratulated him for joining the party.

He added that the greatest asset the PDP had now to oust the ruling APC in 2015 was the disenchantment of the people of Lagos with the perceived anti-masses policies of the government, saying: “Our primary concern is to win the 2015 governorship election in Lagos.”

Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014 —11

Ekiti LGDAs: EKSIEC releases result of referendum

BY GBENGAARIYIBI

A

DO EKITI—EKITI State Independent Electoral Commission, EKSIEC, yesterday, released the outcome of the Saturday referendum conducted as part of the "requirements for the planned creation of new Local Government Development Areas, LGDAs by the Governor Kayode Fayemi’s administration, with majority of voters approving the creation of the LGDAs. This came as EKSIEC submitted the result to the State House of Assembly, for further action despite opposition by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Releasing the result at a briefing, chairman of EKSIEC, Mrs. Bosede Adelusi, said the commission had done what was required of it and it's now left for the Assembly to do its part.

Breakdown of the results showed that in Ado Local Government, the total “Yes” votes were 3,521 while total “No” vote was nil.

Others were, Ekiti East where total “Yes” votes were 2,310 and “No” votes 256; Ekiti West, total “Yes” votes were 8,729 while “No” votes, was one.

Ekiti South West had 17,725 “Yes” votes while there was no contrary vote.

Gbonyin had 5,163 “Yes” votes while “No” had 26 votes.

Ido-Osi had 2,845 “Yes” votes and 49 “No” votes, while Ijero had 6,059 “Yes” votes as against 1,076 “No” votes.

Ikere had 3,427 “Yes” votes and no contrary vote, while Ikole recorded 2,518 “Yes” votes and 1,183 “No” votes.

Irepodun/Ifelodun had a total of 4,926 “Yes” votes and 223 “No” votes. Moba had 10,088 “Yes” votes and no contrary vote and in Oye, 4,398 “Yes” votes were recorded without contrary vote.

While submitting the results to

...As PDP lashes Fayemi for double-speak on defeat the House, Mrs. Adelusi, insisted that EKSIEC had not done anything illegal, contrary to claims by the state PDP, declaring that having submitted the results to the state Assembly, it was now left for the House to take the next step.

Receiving the results, the Speaker, Dr Adewale Omirin, pledged on behalf of his colleagues that the Assembly would accord it accelerated attention.

Omirin lauded EKSIEC for doing a good job, noting that Governor Kayode Fayemi meant well for the state in his resolve to draw governance nearer to the people at the grass-root.

The Speaker, however handed over the document to the Chairman of House Ad-hoc Committee on Local Government Creation, Chief Taiwo Orisalade,

who also doubles as Deputy Speaker.

Orisalade promised to examine the results of the referendum and refer same back to the whole House for debate, before taking a final decision.

PDP lashes Fayemi for denying conceding defeat to Fayose Meanwhile, PDP has berated Governor Fayemi for allegedly denying conceding defeat to the governor-elect, Mr Ayo Fayose, a month after the election.

Speaking through its Publicity Secretary, Pastor Kola Oluwawole, in Ado-Ekiti yesterday, the state PDP said “We never took him serious neither did we rejoice in his fake concession because he was too battered and

dazed in the election, a situation that would have plagued him with political hallucinations ”The double talk of the outgoing governor is a symptom of frustration hence it took him a month to wake up from his slumber to insult the intelligence of Ekiti people by saying that he had not conceded. He conceded defeat, while blaming people for lack of proper understanding of English Language. ”The pride that made them fall from their Olympian heights in the poll is what Fayemi has just displayed. He said people did not understand English Language, else they would have understood his speech to mean that he did not accept defeat.

Is he saying he is the only person who went to school or who studied the language?''

CAMPAIGN: Backing the camera, From left; Speaker, Osun State House of Assembly, Alhaji Nojeem Salam, Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State and his Osun counterpart, Governor Rauf Aregbesola at Aregbesola's reelection campaign rally at Unity School, Ejigbo yesterday.

Crisis rages over choice of PDP guber candidate in Oyo

BY OLAAJAYI

I

BADAN—AS the crisis over who emerges the

Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate in Oyo State rages, majority of the party members including some

NSCIA blames govt, parents over Boko Haram insurgency

BY DAUD OLATUNJI

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BEOKUTA—THE Ni geria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, NSCIA, has blamed governments and parents for the spate of killings and incessant violence by Boko Haram insurgents and other militants in the country.

The apex Islamic body submitted that government does not have a clear-cut economic planning for teeming population of youths being churned out yearly by the

nation’s tertiary institutions.

Chairman, Media Committee, NSCIA, Femi Abbas, stated this while speaking in Abeokuta yesterday, at Ogun State Television 2014 Ramadan Lecture.

Abbas, a seasoned journalist and Islamic scholar, who spoke on the theme “Religious Extremism: Role of Parents” said Nigerian parents of today had abandoned the sacred responsibility of grooming their children and putting them on the right path.

chieftains of Ibadan extraction have distanced themselves from other governorship aspirants insisting that an Ibadan man should be picked as candidate.

There are insinuations that those clamouring for an Ibadan man are against the former Governor, Adebayo Alao-Akala and other non-Ibadan indigenes in the race.

Most of those who felt the move would be antithetical to the reconciliatory move of the party came from 15 local governments, including 11 from Ibadanland.

Some of them are Alhaji Nureni Akanbi, Chief Dejo Raimi, former Chairman of the party, Dr. Kola Balogun, former commissioner, Kunle Ishola, son of former Governor Kolapo Ishola, Olusegun Olayiwola, Taofeek Olayiwola and many others.

The governorship aspirants ex-

cept Kehinde Olaosebikan had insisted on Sunday that they would only support an Ibadan man as the party’s candidate in the 2015 elections.

The aspirants opposed to nonIbadan man included Senator Teslim Folarin, Prof. Soji Adejumo, Prof. Taoheed Adedoja, Dr. Azeez Adeduntan, Alhaji Azeem Gbolarumi and Seyi Makinde.

However, the Ibadan PDP chieftains met yesterday under the aegis of PDP Ibadanland Forum and dissociated themsfrom the stance of the other chieftains, saying; “we have passed through this stage as similar gang-ups and conspiracy cost us the mandate of the people of Oyo State in 2011.

It is only a mad person that would continuously tread the same route to a goal and expect to get to different destinations.''

Judiciary strike stalls probe of Omisore, Adesiyan BYGBENGAOLARINOYE

O

SOGBO—THE on going nationwide strike by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, JUSUN, yesterday stalled the ongoing proceedings at the Panel of Enquiry on Disturbance of Public Peace set up by Governor Rauf Aregbesola as the panel failed to sit.

The panel had at its last sitting invited the Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Jelili Adesiyan and the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Senator Iyappear beforethepanel following a petition written by the former governor Isiaka Adeleke over his alleged assault by the duo during the run-up to PDP primaries.

Both Adesiyan and Omisore were alleged to have assaulted Adeleke during a stakeholders meeting of the PDP at Ideal Nest Hotel in April, this year.

Adeleke who recently defected to the All Progressives Congress alleged that Omisore and Adesiyan threatened to kill him during the meeting and urged the commission to investigate the allegation.

However, the commission could not sit yesterday as the gate of the state High Court, Osogbo, venue of the sitting was closed.

Adeyemi College of Education re-opens

BY DAYO JOHNSON

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KURE—STU DENTS of Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo have returned to the institution after seven months of industrial action declared by the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union, COEASU, the Senior Staff Union of Colleges of Education in Nigeria, SSUCOEN, and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions, NASU, in the school.

The students were seen trooping into their hostels as both academic and other activities in the institution picked up.

12—Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014

Edo PDP lawmakers direct EFCC to probe state/LG joint account

BY GABRIEL ENOGHOLASE

B

ENIN—PEOPLES Democratic Party, PDP, lawmakers in the Edo State House of Assembly have passed a resolution directing the Economic and Finance Crimes Commission, EFCC, to investigate the state/local government joint account effective from May 12, 2014.

The state legislature, which was presided over by the factional Speaker, Chief Festus Ebea, also directed the Accountant General of the Federation, and the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission, RAMFAC, to withhold the revenue allocation accruing to the 18 local government areas of the state.

They also asked the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs to bring before the House, evidence of revenue receipts from the Federation Account as it earlier directed.

It will be recalled that the Edo State House of Assembly has been factionalised following the suspension of four PDP lawmakers, who had defected from the All Progressives Congress, APC, on June 9, with Speaker Uyi Igbe also leading 15 other APC legislators.

The resolution of the PDP lawmakers was sequel to a motion of urgent public importance moved by the member representing Etsako West constituency I, Mr. Abdulrazaq

Momoh, who drew the attention of the House to the refusal of the state Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr. Lucky James, and council chairmen to furnish the House with receipts and expenditures of revenue allocations.

Momoh said that Section 129 of the 1999 constitution empowers the legislators to procure all evidence or summon any person living in Nigeria to come and give evidence.

He said: “Local governments

are being constantly shortchanged as less than half of the Federal Allocation only gets to them,” and therefore, urged the House to take necessary steps as part of its oversight functions to stop what it described as rip off of Edo councils.

Seconding the motion, the Minority Whip of the Assembly, Mr. Kingsley Ehigiamusoe, said the legislators have a duty to procure evidence and summon any official, add-

ing: “We must summon them by whatever means. The Revenue and Fiscal Mobilisation Commission should look into the statutory receipt so that the fraud of the ministry could be checked.”

Factional Speaker of the legislature, Ebea, thereafter directed that clean copies of the resolution could be sent to Governor Adams Oshiomhole, the anti-graft agencies, the Ministry of Finance and other relevant state and Federal Government agencies for their actions.

VISIT: Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State flanked by Obong O. D. Etukafia (right) and Mr. Akpan Micah, member of the House of Representatives, representing Ikot Abasi/Mkpat Enin/Eastern Obolo federal constituency of Akwa Ibom State, during a courtesy call by elders and stakeholders of the constituency.

Ijaws beg Delta govt to rescind 7-day ultimatum to Ogbe-Ijoh Market occupants

BY FREDRICK OKOPIE

I

JAWS of Warri have appealed to Delta State Government to rescind its seven days ultimatum to the occupants of Ogbe-Ijoh Market, Warri, to vacate same.

Speaking in Warri, the Amanana-Owie of Meinbutut, King Jerry Prebor, appealed to the state government to extend the seven days deadline to three months to enable them relocate and also allow government a free hand to embark on the completion and allocation of Ogbe-Ijoh market stores to traders.

He said: “We support government’s plan to develop Ogbe-Ijoh Market and the entire Delta State.

It will be our joy to see Ogbe-Ijoh Market commissioned and put to use like other markets. The abandoned Ogbe-Ijoh Market if completed will create employment for thousands of women and youths in Warri and environs.”

Edo deputy gov bags NTA award

Pastor, six others in Police net over alleged theft

BY AUSTIN OGWUDA

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SABA—A PASTOR and six other persons have been arrested in Asaba, Delta State, over their alleged involvement in the theft of aluminum sheets valued at over N50 million.

State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Celestina Kalu, said that the stolen aluminum sheets belonged to an Onitsha-based company.

In a statement yesterday, the PPRO said that the Police at ‘B’ Division Asaba received a report from G.U.O Group of Companies, Onitsha, that the company’s aluminium sheets at former Asaba Textile Mill valued over N50 million were stolen by unknown persons.

“Based on the report, detectives swung into action and arrested one Charles Ikebisi ‘m’, aged 37, of Omirigboma camp, Asaba, at the scene while his unknown accomplice escaped.

“On 16/7/2014 at 1240hrs,

detectives received information that the stolen aluminum sheets were discovered at Okwe, awaiting evacuation by buyers from Onitsha. Consequently, the detectives rushed to the scene and arrested one Egwu Sunday ‘m,’ aged 24, Pastor

Zephaniah Esiobu ‘m’ aged 54, Osita Uche ‘m’ aged 31, Hyginus Dibor ‘m,’ aged 24, David Chukwunyere ‘m,’ aged 32, and Obiorah Okeke ‘m,’ aged 38.

“The suspects have confessed to the crime and men-

tioned their gang leader, now at large. Items recovered from them include 600 sheets of aluminum. Investigation is in progress while efforts are on to track down the fleeing suspect,” the statement added.

Appeal Court acquits man of murder charge

BY GABRIEL ENOGHOLASE

B

ENIN—THE Court of Appeal sitting in Benin, Edo State, has set aside the judgment of an Edo State High Court, Benin, which sentenced one Mr. Clifford Owubu to death by hanging over the murder of one Kate Okoduwa in Uromi, Esan NorthEast Local Government Area of the state in 2007.

In a unanimous decision, the appellate court, in the lead judgment read by Justice Hamma Barka, also discharged and acquitted the convict.

It will be recalled that Mr. Owobu was arrested and tried for the

murder of Kate Okoduwa, who was found dead on Omotuemen Street Uromi, after attending a burial ceremony with the deceased on the day she met her death. He was convicted on the ground that he was the last person seen with her.

Dissatisfied with the judgment of the lower court, the appellant went to the appellate court through his counsel, Mr. Olayiwola Afolabi, who formulated two issues for determination.

The issues were: “Having regard to the evidence on record that the deceased stayed behind when the appellant left the burial ceremony with his

cousin and his own girl friend and in the absence of any evidence that the appellant was seen again with the deceased before her death, whether the conviction of the appellant can be sustained on the principle that the deceased was last seen with the appellant.

“Whether the trial court was right when it ignored the defence of the appellant and held that the appellant’s story is a web of lies.”

The appellate court in its judgment held that it did not find cogent evidence that the appellant and no one else committed the murder, leading undisputedly to his guilt.

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

B

E N I N — B A R E LY two months after the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Benin branch, Edo State, honoured the deputy governor of the state, Dr. Pius Odubu with the Benin NBA Merit Award, Odubu, yesterday, bagged another award in recognition of his promotion and sustenance of the Benin cultural heritage.

The award was conferred on him in Benin City by the NTA Benin Zonal Office at its 8th Uyiedo Cultural Carnival, interschool competition and beauty contest 2014.

The zonal Director of NTA Benin, Pauline Igbanor, noted that the deputy governor was carefully selected for the award due to what she described as his deep knowledge of the customs and traditions of Benin Kingdom and urged other well meaning Nigerians to emulate him.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014 — 13

C M Y K

14 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014

C M Y K

Vanguard , TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014 — 15

Robbers raid Aba, kill vigilante member

BY ERIC UGBOR

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BA—IT was a harrowing night for residents of Peter Agu and Palm Streets of the Ndiegoro axis, Aba, Abia State as robbers in their numbers invaded the area in the wee hours of yesterday, shot dead a local vigilante, wounded another and made away with cash and other valuables worth several millions of naira after raiding several houses.

It was gathered that at about 3.30am, the gunmen numbering over 13 had stormed the area and a local vigilante whose name was given as Sunday Okorie Awa from Ugwueke in Bende Local Government who had hidden himself in an uncompleted building, attempted to raise an alarm to alert residents to the imminent danger.

But unknown to him, one of the hoodlums had already taken cover within the uncompleted building and he was immediately shot dead by the armed robber.

Another local vigilante was also shot in the leg and seriously wounded by the bandits.

After silencing the security men on Peter Agu Street, the

gunmen who were said to be operating with sophisticated weapons, reportedly went on a robbing spree, dispossessing residents of cash and other valuables in an operation that lasted hours.

The robbers, who appeared to be having an early morning jolly ride, were said to have moved over to the adjoining Palm Street where

they scaled the fence of a storey building and robbed all the occupants of cash and other valuables, after which they fled unchallenged.

A source disclosed that the police were alerted but could not get to the scene of the incident at that time as a result of nonaccessibility of the area due to bad roads.

The corpse of the slain local vigilante was said to have been deposited at a mortuary in the area.

When contacted, Abia State command Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Geoffrey Ogbonna, confirmed the incident and said efforts were being made to track down the robbers.

2015: Jonathan cannot win in any northern state — Kwankwaso

BY SONI DANIEL BUJA—APPAR ENTLY preparing the ground for formal declaration of his presidential ambition, Kano State Governor, Rabio Musa Kwankwaso, yesterday, launched series of verbal attacks on President Goodluck Jonathan, accusing him of failing to provide security for lives and property in Nigeria.

Kwankwaso, therefore, concluded that it would be difficult for Jonathan to win elec-

A

tion in any of the 19 northern states if a free and fair election was conducted in 2015.

In five posts he dropped on his Twitter page, Kwankwaso chided Jonathan and his administration for making Nigerians flee the country and take refuge in nearby countries.

In the first post, the governor said: “I have not taken the time to go to the South to study what is happening, but I had time to study the North. In the 19 states, I don’t see any state

where under free and fair election; people will go and vote for the status quo. The status quo is not good for anybody because they have failed to provide the basic services to justify why the people voted for this government.

He also accused the administration of allowing insurgents to thrive to a point that they are trying to create their own territory within Nigeria without any response from the government.

2015: Abia zones guber seat to South senatorial district

BY ANAYO OKOLI

U

MUAHIA— RULING Peoples Democratic party, PDP, has officially said that its governorship candidate would come from Abia South senatorial district in 2015 elections.

The controversial decision is bound to continue to occupy the political space of the state for sometime to come as the governor of the state had always said the slot would go to Ukwa/ Nkwa people of Abia South.

However,somepoliticiansfrom Abia North have expressed their desires to run.

The party said in spite of its position, interested politicians fromoutsidethesenatorialdistrict were free to contest for the ticket.

Rising from a caucus meeting ofthepartychairedbyChiefAllen Nwachukwu, the party also said no governorship selection committee had been constituted

by Governor Theodore Orji as speculated.

Peace Mass Transit trains 4,000 drivers

BY CYRIL OZOR

N

SUKKA—A leading transport company in Nigeria, Peace Mass Transit, yesterday, commenced the third quarterly training of over 4,000 drivers in the company’s fleet.

The one week exercise, organised by the management of PMT, in conjunction with the Federal Road

Safety Corps, FRSC, with the theme: “Safety consciousness as a habit” kicked off at the company’s headquarters at No 2, Destiny Layout, Emene, Enugu.

Declaring the event open, the Sector Commander, FRSC, Enugu, Corps Commander, Abayomi Olawoyin, represented by the Assistant Corps Commander, Rose

Anosike, noted that road safety is a shared responsibility better achieved when all the key groups shared a culture of road safety.

According to her, “road users must take responsibility for complying with traffic laws and engaging in safe road behavior/ culture. Unfortunately, this level of commitment is yet to be achieved."

16— Vanguard , TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014

Our source also alluded to many misconducts by the Deputy governor and his blunt refusal to carry out directives given by the governor, the most recent being what happened during the last South East Governors Forum meeting in Enugu.

BY TONY EDIKE & PETER

OKUTU

E

NUGU—THERE were indications, yesterday, that the deputy governor of Enugu State, Chief Sunday Onyebuchi, may be impeached any time from now as Governor Sullivan Chime has reportedly asked him to resign with immediate effect.

This came on a day members of Ebonyi State House of Assembly impeached the Speaker, Chukwuma Nwazunku.

The deputy governor ’s sin, Vanguard exclusively gathered, is his decision to contest Enugu East senatorial election come 2015 against the governor ’s preferred candidate and Chief of Staff, Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo.

Already, a top functionary of the House was said to have been mandated to collect signatures of his colleagues for the impeachment yesterday.

20 lawmakers sign impeachment notice

Already, 20 of the 24 members of the State House of Assembly have signed the impeachment notice against the deputy governor.

Sources said that the Speaker of the Assembly, Mr. Eugene Odoh and his 23 colleagues were summoned to a meeting convened by Governor Chime at the Governor’s Lodge, Enugu, where they were made to sign the impeachment notice.

“The lawmakers just rose from their meeting held at the Governor’s Lodge and I can tell you that the two-third majority needed to remove the Deputy Governor has been obtained and the impeachment notice has been signed,” a staff of the Assembly informed Vanguard last night.

Chairman, Information Committee of the State Assembly, Mr. John-Kelvin Ukuta, could not be reached for comments last night as he did not pick his call.

The Leader of the House, Mr. SKC Udeokoye, could also not be reached on his phone.

It was, however, gathered that the lawmakers would deliberate on the impeachment notice on the floor of the House today.

A dependable source told Vanguard yesterday that the plot to impeach the deputy governor through the State House of Assembly, had been intensified as the lawmakers were reportedly mobilised at the weekend to commence the process this week.

Disagreement

The silent disagreement between the governor and his deputy, which dates back to February last year when the governor returned from his over four months medical leave, was said to have been blown open last Wednesday when Onyebuchi was reportedly summoned by the governor and given a

Ebonyi Speaker impeached

LAUNCHING: Mr. Ernest Ndukwe, Chairman, Salt Einstin, Dr. Femi Thomas, Executive Secretary, National Health Insurance Scheme, Mrs Adenike Olaniba, President, Health Providers Association of Nigeria, and Mr. Mike Ikpoki, CEO, MTN Nigeria, during the NHIS launch of MTN Y'llow Health Cover Insurance Products in Lagos. Photo: Diran Oshe.

Chime plots deputy's impeachment, mobilises lawmakers zAs Ebonyi lawmakers impeach Speaker marching order to resign.

The source said: “There was an encounter between the governor and the deputy last Wednesday where they reportedly disagreed over the contest for the Enugu East senatorial election and other contentious issues between two of them.

“This incident was said to have been witnessed by the governor’s Special Adviser on Inter-governmental Affair, Rita Mba. ”As we gathered the deputy governor reportedly told the governor that he was determined to exercise his right to contest election into the senate in the coming elections but the governor was said to have voiced out his opposition to the move and went ahead to list what is regarded as Onyebuchi sins.

“He accused him of refusing to represent him at the last meeting of South East Governors’ Forum held at the Government House, Enugu, when he (Chime) embarked on his annual leave last month, in spite of the invitation sent to him by the Chief of Protocol.”

To this, the deputy governor was said to have told him that he declined to show up at the meeting because the governor did not give him any directive to act in his absence and couldn’t have taken instruction from a junior officer to represent the governor.

“The governor also frowned against the deputy governor’s suggestion to remove from office the Chief of Staff, Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo, during his absence last year, a

development that forced him to return to the country, even when the doctors did not give him clearance to return to Nigeria at the time.

“He also frowned against the deputy’s refusal to heed his earlier advice not to venture into the Enugu East senatorial race, accusing him of associating with the opponents of his government,” said a source.

The source said the deputy governor was taken aback by the governor’s vituperations against him, though he was not totally surprised because “since he informed the governor about his senatorial ambition in April this year, their relationship appeared to have been strained.”

Deputy denied allegation

The deputy governor, the source further revealed, was said to have denied the allegations and told the governor pointblank that it was because of his senatorial ambition that he was being vilified for no just cause, in spite of his loyalty to the governor since the past seven years.

Apparently angered by the deputy governor’s response, it was gathered that Governor Chime asked him (Onyebuchi) to leave his office immediately or he would ask his security men to take him out to the Government House gate.

Sensing that the governor was enraged over his senatorial ambition, Onyebuchi reportedly left the office but the source said that a number of things happened between

Wednesday and yesterday to make the deputy governor suspect that the governor had actually hatched a plot to remove him.

Vanguard further gathered that the state chairman of PDP, Chief Vita Abba, had last Thursday morning visited the deputy governor at his private residence to reinforce the governor ’s directive to him to resign.

“The PDP Chairman told the deputy governor that the governor informed him of his directive to him (Onyebuchi) to resign and that he was very serious about it. He encouraged the deputy governor to resign as that will be better than being impeached but he rejected the advice,” said the source.

Vanguard learnt that the four policemen sent from Zone 9 Police Command, Umuahia, that had been on the deputy governor ’s entourage since the past two years, were suddenly withdrawn that Thursday afternoon without the knowledge of the deputy governor and no one has given him any information regarding their withdrawal.

Contacts made to the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Chukwudi Achife, to comment on the alleged face-off between the governor and his deputy also proved abortive as he refused to reply the text and pick several phone calls made by our correspondent.

He later sent a short text message yesterday, saying “I have no such information.”

Sources close to government, however, argued that the Nigerian constitution is unambiguous on impeachment process and the appropriate arm of government charged with it.

Also, in the nearby Ebonyi State, members of the State House of Assembly yesterday impeached the Speaker, Chukwuma Nwazunku.

18 of the 24 members of the House allegedly carried out the impeachment which was executed at 6am.

The members lifted the suspension of three members of the House before carrying out the impeachment.

The three members are Frank Onwe, Eni Uduma Chime and deputy speaker, Blaise Orji.

Frank Onwe moved the motion for the Speaker's impeachment, which was seconded by the Minority Leader, Enyi C. Enyi.

Thereafter, Eni Uduma Chima, representing Afikpo South West, moved the motion for election of Helen Nwaobasi, who represents Abakaliki South state constituency, as the new speaker.

The motion was seconded by Jerry Obasi.

However, there was an uproar in Ebonyi State government over the impeachment by 11am yesterday as the members who carried out the exercise made attempts to stop the impeached speaker from seeing the governor and also attending a function at the Exco chambers at Government House.

But for the timely intervention of security operatives, what could have led to a bloody confrontation was averted.

The erstwhile speaker was seen at a corner shielded away from any form of mayhem that would have erupted.

The 18 members who sat in the hallowed chambers of the Assembly by 6:30am and impeached the former speaker, also led a delegation to meet with Governor Martin Elechi of Ebonyi State but this was not actualised.

Addressing the press, Enyi, who represents Ezza North West, stated that the new speaker, Helen Obasi, who represents Abakaliki South, remained the authentic speaker and choice of the people.

The House, led by Obasi, was alleged to have been congratulated by the wife of Ebonyi State governor, Chief Josephine Elechi, over the recent development.

New members suspended

The new House leadership also suspended Mabel Aleke, reprenting Ohaukwu South; Ogbonnaya Nwifuru, representing Izzi West; Chukwuma Nwazuku, representing Ebonyi East; and Obasi Odefa, who represents Onicha East state constituency.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014 — 17

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F you have been wondering why the government of Goodluck Jonathan has achieved precious little in the monumental fight against corruption in Nigeria, the answer is very simple. There is actually no corruption in Nigeria. Nigerian politicians are thieves, but they are not corrupt.

This is the erudite position of our dear president, who happens to be the first president in the history of Nigeria to have the distinction of a Ph.D. President Jonathan says: ''What many Nigerians refer to as corruption is actually stealing. Stealing is not the same thing as corruption.''

This is a profound statement that has since become the subject of many doctoral dissertations on Nigeria. It has also provided a very Nigerian contribution to the English language.

Nigerian “doublethink” Our president is not alone in this assessment. The Chairman of the ICPC (Independent Corrupt Practices Commission), Ekpo Nta, agrees with Mr. President. He also insists it is wrong to confuse stealing with corruption. The distinguished chairman says: “Stealing is erroneously reported as corruption. We must go back to what we were taught at school to show that there are educated people in Nigeria.” He then likened the Nigerian penchant to regard

Nigeria politicans are thieves, but they are not corrupt truth. Here are some examples of this peculiarly Nigerian “doublethink.”

“PDP governors are thieves but APC governors are corrupt.”

Murtala Nyako was not impeached as governor of Adamawa State during the many years he was in the PDP. He was only impeached after he decamped to the APC. This shows a critical difference between the PDP and the APC. While PDP governors are thieves, they are not corrupt.

However, APC governors are not thieves, but they are steeped in corruption. Stealing is accepted as our national

,

We need to tell the world that we have “re-based” the corruption index in Nigeria and found it to be totally non-existent

theft as corruption to be as erroneous as calling a roadside mechanic an engineer.

This perspective has brought great relief to Nigerians. We always thought there was too much corruption in the country, so it is fantastic to learn that there is no corruption at all.

We are just thieves. It is necessary to bring this new insight to the attention of Transparency International, which persists in listing Nigeria as one of the most corrupt countries. We need to tell the world that we have “re-based” the corruption index in Nigeria and found it to be totally non-existent.

The only problem here for Ekpo Nta is that we might have to scrap his organisation. If there is no corruption in Nigeria, there is no point having an Independent Corrupt Practices Commission.

Since Mr. President educated us that corruption is different from stealing, other eminent Nigerians have also found it necessary to make similar Orwellian clarifications towards the obfuscation of the

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pastime in Nigeria, but corruption will not be tolerated by the Jonathan Administration.

PDP governors pocket government money, but they are not corrupt because they make sure it is shared with their colleagues in the legislature.

However, when PDP governors decamp to the APC, they become corrupt.

They become selfish and do not allow stolen money to go round.

This breeds corruption. This explains why the government does not have any problem with them while they are still in the PDP. In the PDP, it is understood that politicians steal for the good of the public. But in the APC, politicians steal for the good of their families and their party. This is unacceptable.

Therefore, any PDP governor that decamps to the APC must be impeached.

Rabiu Kwankwaso was a very good and upright publicservant as PDP Governor of Kano. But after he switched to the APC, he became negatively transformed.

Accordingly, President Jonathan was quick to inform

Nigerians that the governor corruptly enriched himself with public funds. This is what happens when politicians move from the PDP to the APC. They become corrupt and are then handed over to the EFCC. But if they are smart and quickly return to the PDP, their EFCC file is promptly closed.

“Stealing public funds is a sign of progressive politics.”

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PC is a progressive party.

Therefore, when APC governors steal public funds; this must be seen in the context of progressive politics. APC governors steal money for the sake of building physical infrastructures; while PDP governors steal money for the sake of “stomach infrastructures.” It is wellunderstood in Nigeria that building physical infrastructures is definitely more progressive than PDP’s “amala politics.”

Many of the roads, schools and other dividends of democracy evident in APC states were done with stolen money.

The progressive element in this process is that money stolen from one state is sometimes transferred to another state in the interest of the redistribution of resources. Moreover, a lot of the stolen money is used to build party structures and to fight elections.

This is progressive because if it is not done, Nigeria might end up as a one-party state, and no rightthinking person who is concerned about the enthronement of democracy in Nigeria would like that to happen.

Bearing this in mind, it then becomes clear that, although Murtala Nyako was impeached as Governor of Adamawa State on the grounds that he corruptly enriched himself with government funds, this does not in any way diminish his APC credentials. Nyako belongs to the new breed of APC progressives who engage in the in the redistribution of the resources in their states.

This offended the PDP who don’t have the interests of the people at heart.

“Democracy does not entail voting in elections.”

Nigerians should be made to understand that the fact that we have a democratic system does not mean the people should be allowed to vote.

Because the generality of Nigerians are considered by our intelligent politicians to be stupid and foolish, they cannot be expected to vote for the right candidates. That means we need to rely on enlightened godfathers to “select democratically” our public officials for us. We also need to ensure that while people may be allowed to cast their votes in elections, their votes must not be allowed to count.

For there to be true and effective democracy, elections must be judiciously rigged. Otherwise, we might end up with the kind of thing that happened recently in Ekiti where, with soldiers and policemen protecting the right of the people to vote, they voted out the erudite governor, Kayode Fayemi, and voted in Ayo Fayose. This kind of aberration needs to be discouraged in true democracies.

A PDP Senator confessed that on Election Day, the electoral officials in his constituency were surprised to see his mother at the polls. “Mama, what are you doing here?” they berated her. “Don’t you know that you have already voted?”

Two local chiefs then complained to the Senator afterwards that they were not allowed to vote for him. When he made enquiries as to why this was so, the electoral official involved was irritated.

“Honourable Senator,” he declared, “you won the election by a landslide in this constituency, so what are they complaining about?”

“That is not the issue,” protested the Senator, “they want to be able to vote for me themselves.” But the electoral officer refused to be persuaded. “Then Senator, they must be traitors,” he declared. “If they are still complaining, even though you won the election, it means they were not planning to vote for you. We cannot allow that to happen.”

“Belonging to the APC does not mean you are not a member of the PDP.”

There are many PDP men in APC clothing and many APC men in PDP agbada. One such example is His Royal Highness, the Turaki of Adamawa. The Turaki was in the PDP, and then he was not. Then he was in the PDP again and now he is not.

The Turaki is something of an invisible man: now you see him in the APC, then you see him in the PDP. Although he is currently masquerading as an APC member, there is no doubt that HRH reserves the right to resurrect any time in the future as a member of the PDP again.

In the same way that some people have dual nationality, so also the Turaki has more than dual party memberships.

His right to this is guaranteed under the Freedom of Association clause in the Nigerian Constitution.

This insurance policy is necessary given his nationalist presidential ambitions. If he is not chosen as APC presidential candidate later this year, and if APC loses the 2015 presidential election, the Turaki can be expected to throw away his APC membership card and become a staunch PDP man once again.

Nigerian political parties don’t bear grudges. They accept prodigal sons back home, even those as compulsively prodigal as the Turaki.

Is Aminu Tambuwal, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, a PDP man or an APC man? Nobody seems to know. It is even possible that the Speaker himself might not be able to answer the question with any degree of certainty.

Currently, Tambuwal sits on the PDP side of the aisle. He occupies a position reserved for the majority PDP party. However, to all intents and purposes, he is also an APC man.

“Having a doctorate does not mean you are educated.”

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here are now so many doctors in Nigeria. Many of these are doctors of ignorance. Time was when having a doctorate signified you have attained the height of academic excellence. Not any more in Nigeria.

Doctorates are now bought and sold in flea-markets. Just give a few million stolen naira to any of the “jekuredi” universities and they will readily award you a Doctor of Philosophy in a field of your choosing.

If you don’t have stolen money to throw around; don’t let that deter you. Just award the degree to yourself.

How do you think the late Sikiru Ayinde Barrister obtained his doctorate?

Ekiti state is said to have the largest concentration of doctorates in the country. But you can tell that this does not mean they are educated because they voted for Fayose instead of Fayemi.

That should tell you how uneducated they really are.

(Kindly post other examples of Nigerian “doublespeak” on my blog).

18— Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014 WHY would anyone celebrate the impeachment of Murtala Hamman-Yero Nyako as governor of Adamawa State? How would his departure improve governance or benefit the State? Would the resources that would be wasted in conducting another election to fill a position that would be vacant only four months after, not have made the Adamawa State House of Assembly more circumspect?

In no way are we suggesting that Nyako, 70, should have been left in office after the allegations of serious infractions. Exactly when did the infractions take place? When did the State Assembly know? Why did an impeachment become the only method of dealing with the matter?

Adamawa could do with a new Governor, it has an acting one. The same applies to many States where governors are lords, beyond the law, above everyone and everything. They run on executive fuels available to them alone.

The State is theirs. They dispense patronage. They infringe on rights. In addition, some pillage the treasury, which is

Nyako – Why Do They Celebrate? mostly accepted as theirs.

A former Chief of Naval Staff, a former Deputy Chief of Defence Staff, who left service as Vice Admiral, and Governor of Adamawa State since 2007, Nyako has been one of Nigeria’s top political actors for more than three decades.

His unforgiveable sin was being in the “wrong” party at the time his offences became issues that could affect governance in Adamawa State.

They are not alone. Governors run their States to their pleasure. Considerations for the welfare of the people are minimal, if any.

No governor is ever impeached for not caring for the people, though the Constitution in Section 14 (2b) rates the welfare and security of the people as the primary purpose of government.

Are the celebrations in Adamawa over the enthronement of welfare and security of the people as the primary purpose of government? No, the celebrations are about a new government, new appointments, and new opportunities for other people power to enter the power ring. So many new things would happen in the new Adamawa government, without a change that would benefit the people.

Adamawa is not alone in a democracy that excludes the people. The people serve as the best excuse for anything politicians want to do. In the people’s name, they can move mountains, but not for the people’s benefit.

Nyako is gone, just as it is guaranteed that the politics of the new government is about appropriating the State for new power mongers. There should be better reasons for the expensive exercise of impeaching a governor.

OPINION Nyako’s fall: The morning after

BY HAMISU

S

ABUBAKAR

PECULATIONS over the fate and future of Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State finally came to a halt Tuesday, July 15, 2014, with his impeachment by the State House of Assembly. It was in all respects a fall long foretold. It also brought to an abrupt end, weeks of intense politicking and wheelerdealings as Baba Mangoro -as Nyako is fondly called- sought, fruitlessly, to extricate himself from the political noose into which he roped himself.

Considering the manner in which Nyako conducted himself in office, nobody appears to be shedding tears on his downfall. In fact, it is expected that the large number of political heavyweights he sidelined or trampled upon since becoming Adamawa governor in 2007, may be clinking good wine glasses now.

Now that Nyako is gone (never mind his promised face-saving recourse to the law courts), it is safe to reduce his eventual downfall to three major reasons: bad governance, plain stealing of public funds and wrong-headed politics as exemplified by his ill-fated decision to join the All Progressives Congress, APC and embark on a solo journey to political uncertainty.

For the past month, Adamawa has been on the boil which got to a head in the past week after the Chief Justice, consequent upon the resolution of the House set up a seven-man committee to investigate the 20-count allegations against Nyako. The C M Y K

governor and his deputy, Bala Ngilari, were last month served notices of impeachment by the House which alleged that they indulged in gross misconduct, corrupt enrichment, official malfeasance and nepotism.

Nineteen out of the 25 members of the Assembly signed the notice following a motion moved by the deputy speaker, Mr. Kwamoti Laori who represents Numan Constituency. Some of the allegations against Nyako included diversion of N2.3 billion workers’ salary for September and October 2011, and illegal deductions and diversion of N142 million emoluments of workers in May 2014. He was also alleged to have squandered N4.8 billion and N7.1 billion in 2012 and 2013, respectively, through the office of the Secretary to the State Government against budgetary approvals.

When you add the alleged diversion of huge amounts of the state’s Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, local government funds and the N500 million Federal Government intervention fund for the 2011 flood victims for personal use, the picture of the financial rape of the state becomes even clearer. Yet, analysts say they are just a tip of a big iceberg. The report of the seven-man investigative panel had, as expected, indicted Nyako who did not make any attempt to defend himself.

Facing imminent impeachment, Ngilari had resigned shortly before the House made its verdict public, thereby evading the stigma of impeachment. With Nyako’s impeachment, the House Speaker, Alhaji Umaru Fintiri, is now the acting governor,

a position he will occupy until a substantive governor is elected within 90 days.

Stories are told of humongous amounts being siphoned from public coffers to finance the many political battlefronts he opened as well as a lifestyle that was increasingly lavish. For a man who cared less about the poverty ravaging his state, his ouster is welcomed as good riddance to bad rubbish.

His politics may be as distractive as it was divisive. Not bothered by the debilitating insurgency ravaging his state, Nyako would rather gallivant across the country along with other colleagues in the name of ‘progressivism’, depleting his state’s lean resources in funding the bottomless pit called APC. Beyond those, however, what raised concerns within Adamawa State and across Nigeria are the reports consistently linking Nyako to the rising security challenges in the North East, and which he has never really bothered to explain. Rather with each passing day, the spate of incendiary statements had increased, going from bad to worse since he joined the APC, a party that has been linked in some quarters with the Boko Haram insurgency.

Though certain Northern leaders have in the past vowed to make Nigeria ungovernable for President Jonathan, the dimension of Nyako’s opposition to the Federal administration goes beyond the ordinary.

It remains an unproven allegation but Nyako’s links with the ongoing jihad by so-called Fulani herdsmen raise concerns within security circles, especially after hundreds of imported Fulani ‘herdsmen’ were linked to him. They were imported, according to reports, ostensibly

to work in his vast multi-purpose Sebore Farms.

The breakdown of governance in Adamawa has been no less amazing than the controversies surrounding the governor himself. For a man who boasted 20-strong Peoples Democratic Party members in the House, he was unable to convince even one of them to accompany him in his ill-fated journey into the All Progressive Congress.

To make matters worse the five APC members that received him into the party, abandoned him soon after for the PDP. So did the party’s erstwhile leaders like Buba Marwa.

Nothing better illustrates Nyako’s naivety than his pillar-to-post efforts to stop his impeachment. A man who has for the better part of his tumultuous tenure sidelined top politicians in the state, he had suddenly started courting the likes of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar and Malam Nuhu Ribadu. He had rushed to Atiku whom he had abandoned even during their days in the PDP, along with former PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, to draft him into the peace effort.

They tried, no doubt, but their efforts were too little too late as the House members were committed to make the old man pay for his sins.

His departure is indeed a good omen for Adamawa to start anew, away from unnecessary distractions. It is a time for the traumatized people to turn attention away from a man who, for the better part of his tenure, engaged in all sorts of shenanigans at the expense of governance and the people’s welfare. *Mr. Abubakar, a public affairs analyst, wrote from Kaduna.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014—19

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AS it ever occurred to us, how beautiful and peaceful the world will be, if everyone will learn to apologise, when he/she is on the wrong or at fault?

Because, people want to take what is not theirs, the world is assailed with different forms of crises. The self centredness of man will not allow him to accept defeat, we love to eat our cake and have it. At the root of all the crises is; injustice. Two parties in a dispute cannot be right.

Secondly, the whole world will be a better place to live in, if we realize that; life is a game, a game of choice, the choice we make determines the outcome and the path our lives will take, in the course of our sojourn on earth. If we see life as a game, we must therefore, learn to see victory and defeat as sportsmen, accept decisions in good faith. All games are not always fair, in football matches and other games, referees make mistakes, like the disallowed goal Nigeria scored in the game against France and the refusal of the referee to issue the red card to the player who ended the world cup campaign of our own Ogenyi Onazi, by deliberate injury. After all, referees are human.

In sports, the games are continuous, that is why, when

you lose in one tournament or competition, you go back and do your homework, analyse the possible cause(s) of your inability to win, correct identified mistakes, come back next time and win, haven put those flaws in check.

If you see life as a game, you can lose and still be a winner and earn your respect; witness the tumultuous reception for the Colombians when they arrived home, look at the record of Chief Obafemi Awolowo during his life time; which politician, whether dead or alive is more revered today than him? And, this is inspite of his inability to win at the centre.

Back to the present day, which is actually the focus of this piece, let us look at the out pouring of emotions and appreciation of governor Fayemi's gallantry in the face of defeat, during the recent Ekiti governorship election. It was indeed a noble action and only real men - I mean, men who have transcended the mundane - will understand and appreciate this gesture. He has respected the wishes of his people and in the process avoided the needless shedding of blood and avoidable loss of lives. History will definitely, record this in his favour when the history of Ekiti state politics, nay Nigeria is put

The trend of analysis is beginning to shift towards the denigration of the Ekiti people and, terminologies such as "Stomach infrastructure" have been invented

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in proper perspectives.

Let it be made clear to everyone; it is only the governor that the people do not want, that can be successfully rigged out.

We all witnessed the strenuous efforts Obasanjo and his PDP party applied in the recent past, to unseat governors Tinubu of Lagos and Kalu in Abia. The people stood by their men and the result from INEC declared it as such. Those stoking the fires of dispute and war in Ekiti state, have failed to understand or follow the dynamics of Nigerian politics.

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he election has taken place, all agents of the various parties that contested the election have endorsed the election as credible, independent observers, both from within and

Modibbo Kawu and the limits of insolence have you forgotten that

BY ABDULKADIR ALABI

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MONG the literary creatures of Ilorin emirate, my brother, Ishaq Modibbo Kawu stands tall in the contemporary generation and he has never hidden that fact and the privileges it attracts. I think one of such privileges was the opportunity he had to speak to some members of the PDP as he recalled in his latest literary production in the Vanguard newspaper. Of course, as one of the leaders in the media industry, he has a veritable platform to process his thoughts for consumption sometimes, and very unfortunate, without giving due consideration to the quality of such products.

That is why reading through that piece, like many others in the recent past, on rebranding Kwara according to his dream and that of some leaders of the PDP, one is left with no other conclusion other than that he had allowed what is now very clear as personal hatred or what a colleague referred to as pathological vendetta, for an individual to blot the edge of his pen.

But upon all the literary assault unleashed upon the person of Senator Bukola Saraki and the incumbent government of Kwara State which the PDP enlisted his support to unseat, it is clear that Modibbo has failed the test of a true critic. A sincere critic will look at issues dispassionately, not allowing personal biases becloud his sense of judgement because he knows that many would use his conclusions as basis for further judgement and might be unwittingly misled if the critic had thrown away the garb of the impassionate observer and don the cap of I-am-one-of-them participant.

I was bewildered when I read from someone with the literary pedigree of a Modibbo Kawu that allowing private investors to undertake businesses in the state where public ownership had proved unfruitful is misgovernance or illegal. Kawu, in basic economics, I was taught that government has no business in business, or C M Y K

elementary principle of economics? Or was that not the basis for setting up the Bureau of Public Enterprise by the Federal Government, to transfer moribund and unprofitable public enterprises to private investors who can then manage them and bring profit to government? This is why I believe the government rightly transferred the management of the diagnostic centre for proper social and professional management, while retaining ownership. It is easy for Moddibo to dismiss the relevance of the Harmony Advanced Medical Diagnostic Centre since he can afford the luxury of travelling abroad for medical examination, but not the likes of Abdullah Abdulganiyu whose detection of stones saved him from early death. Abdullah had suffered all weekend from what he assumed to be food poisoning. A timely scan at the Diagnostic Centre revealed he had kidney stones which were flushed out during a procedure at the centre. When a visiting foreign radiologist saw the films produced at the centre, his astonished response said it all: "These are beautiful pictures. They must have used the most current CTs".

It is of course easy for a critic of Kawu’s acknowledged political bias to see nothing good in the establishment of the International Aviation College. But I am sure in his heart when he was stabbing his keyboard to write that piece he must have struggled hard to convince himself it was a necessary job; particularly at this time when the most convenient political decision anyone can make is to side with Aso Rock.

But Kawu, the impact of having the aviation college, solely owned by the state government (to correct your deliberate distortion that it belongs to private investor) in Ilorin cannot be overestimated. Apart from providing jobs for some indigenes of the state, it has added to the social and economic influence of the state. Khadijat Adigun who got her life time ambition fulfilled as the first female pilot from the state will definitely not agree with your skewed position on the college. Other trained pilots

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BY SUNNY IKHIOYA

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Still on Ekiti: The nobility in defeat

abroad have given INEC pass mark, the people of Ekiti are happy with the result, the principal participant has accepted defeat, why are others beating the war drum?

Methinks, it is a measure of our underdevelopment and we must begin to shed it off if we must move forward.

In fact, the trend of analysis is beginning to shift towards the denigration of the Ekiti people and, terminologies such as "Stomach Infrastructure" have been invented. The highly respected Professor Niyi Osundare wrote a sarcastic poem, mocking his own people.

Osundare is not residing in Nigeria. One wonders if he has taken the pain to do a study of his own Ekiti folks at the grassroots level, that will give him a better grasp of the situation at home before writing his poem, reducing the total being of the proud Ekiti man to Maslow's physiological needs level.

Ask any Ekiti man, even those residing in Lagos, they will tell you that the voting, as expressed by the governorship election, was their choice, why provoke them with denigrating analysis?

Amongst the Yorubas, nay Nigeria, the Ekiti people have always been number one in educational exploits. Everything the Ekiti man engages in, he does so, self consciously and knowingly; before you confront an Ekiti man, he will tell you " I am an Ekiti man, you cannot cheat or fool me". That is how the average Ekiti man thinks, so any

Was it wrong of him to have insisted in 2011 that fielding another candidate from his family to succeed him was unreasonable

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from the state now in the fleets of both local and international airlines will spit at your jaundiced and hatred-laced opinion. Just like the Shonga Farms, jointly owned by the state government, the farmers and the consortium of banks, which you equally disparaged and threw away with the wave of the hand in that speech.

I

am sure there were applause for those statements. Yes, you deserve the applause for you were in the midst of men and women whose only goal now is to bring Bukola Saraki down. And his offences are very well known: he has refused to side with those who believe they should be the only ones he would, to borrow from your words, Kawu, “cycle, recycle, rehabilitated", etc. But Saraki has made local government chairmen, members of state and national assemblies, senators and governors from children of those who hitherto were followers and watchers of those of you who had the privilege of coming from "renowned" and "well-to-do" families. To you and your new comrades, we should continue to be second class citizens. God forbid.

Sir, I think that if you have any grievances with the way Saraki ran the state in eight years there are legal avenues to tackle him which, I am sure you are aware, people opposed to him have tried severally. And if they have not succeeded in almost 12 years, that should tell us there is something wrong with them or their approach.

As an observer, I don’t think the problem is with their approach; rather I think the problem has to do with their persons; their

attempt to rationalize the election, in any picture other than what has been declared by INEC is an insult on the Ekiti people.

The truth is that, somewhere along the line, there was a disconnect between Fayemi and his people, and, the people have expressed their opposition to his style through the way they have voted. People should learn from it instead of postulating voodoo theories to cover up for manifest failure. The fall out of this can be seen, by the speed with which governor Oshiomhole of Edo state, retraced his foot steps on the sacked workers and the teachers examination. That is how to do it. There is always another election, learn from your failure and make sure it is corrected the next time.

The noble action of Fayemi is now being smeared by "bad belle" losers, even the wife has joined the fray to discredit the election result.

It is noble to accept the choice of the people, Pope Francis, recently apologized to the whole world for the atrocities committed by some Catholic priests, the Olu of Warri recanted on decisions he took, to allow peace to reign in his Kingdom.

The Ekiti people have made their choice. Let us all learn to imbibe and operate on the principle of nobility in defeat.

*Mr. Ikhioya, a commentator on national issues, wrote from Lagos.

inner beings and what is actually pushing them to seek a Bukola downfall. I think they actually want to be like Bukola; they want to be called leader, even if they have not done anything to justify that appellation. It is an inner dream being covered with the cloak of criticism against the man Bukola. And seeing that they could not achieve that aim after the demise of his father, the next most convenient thing is to descend on the son and seek to destroy him.

If not sir, why would anyone claim Bukola has done nothing, first for Ilorin and then for Kwara State? Kwara State University is nothing? Ilesha-Kosubosu Road which the then Federal Government promised to do when Bukola was a toddler but refused to do until the then toddler came to the throne and did is nothing? Putting Professor Shuaib Oba in the Federal Character Commission is nothing? Was it wrong of him to have insisted in 2011 that fielding another candidate from his family to succeed him was unreasonable; that it would expose the state and the family name to ridicule? Kawu, do you sincerely believe yourself when you wrote on that aspect too? Do you believe it is right? As a social critic would you have applauded that choice? So it was wrong when in 1999 Nigerian political leaders agreed to allow the south-west produce the then president to assuage the feeling of alienation the region had suffered over the years?

I think the majority of those who gave you that assignment, Sir, are not comfortable with Bukola calling the shots because they believe they also have what it takes to call the shots. But I dare to say they are far from being qualified. If Bukola is Leader today, was it his making? His father had many notable contemporaries in the field of politics but Kawu, sincerely in your heart, who among them could do what he did and did for Kwara until his death? Is this the first time to have a political hegemony? Has vendetta beclouded your sense of history?

You are well read Kawu, please always review your speeches before going viral with them. Otherwise a piece like the one in reference has done great damage to your reputation among some of us who used to look up to you.

*Mr. Alabi, a public affairs analyst, wrote from Ilorin, Kwara State.

20 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014

operation of all stakeholders in the region. In spite of the JTF taking the fight against crude oil theft and illegal bunkering to the camp of these economic saboteurs, he said nothingcanbeachievedmaximallywithout the cooperation all stakeholders, especially the community folks.

Troubled by the widespread injury on the environment, Governor Seriake Dickson recently called on allstakeholdersintheregiontocheck the problems of pipeline vandalism, oil theft and the rising incidence of illegal refineries.

He said: “Quashing the illegal bunkering syndicate will be mutually beneficial to both government and the oil companies. While the oil companies will have a safe and secure operating environment, the state government’s revenue accruing from oil will increase just as it willreducethepollutionanddestruction of the ecology.”

Intelligence gathering

*An illegal oil refining camp destroyed by the JTF. INSET: Impouded wooden boats used by oil refiners

Why pipeline vandalism, crude oil theft, illegal refinery thrive in Niger Delta C

RUDE oil related crimes have continued to rise in the Niger Delta despite efforts by the nation’s securityagencies,includingtheJoint Task Force,. codenamed Operation Pulo Shield, to curb the menace.

This sad turn of event is gradually turning the lush vegetation of the troubledmangroveswampofBayelsa into a brown field.

Sometime last year, no fewer than 53 break points caused by suspected oil thieves were discovered on the97-kilometreNembeCreekTrunk line causing SPDC to shut in production to enable its personnel effect repairs on the damaged points.

Agip was forced to suspend crude oil production activity in Bayelsa State, due to the activities of vandals and oil thieves.

TheNigeriangovernmentestimated crude oil theft and associated deferred production of over 300,000 barrels of oil per day. According to a ShellPetroleumDevelopmentCompany SPDC bulletin, due to intentional third party interference with pipelines and other infrastructure, around 75 per cent of all oil spill incidents and 92 per cent of all oil volumes spilled from Shell facilities between 2009 and 2013.

Nigeria is said to be losing about $5mannuallytooilbunkeringinthe region where oil theft syndicates have continued to increase and inflicting irretrievable damage on the environment.

While pipelines belonging to the C M Y K

oil majors suffered habitual breaches by vandals and oil thieves, the illegal business of local cooking of crudeoilhasinexorablyattractedthe localpopulation, includingtheaged.

Most youths of school age are dropping out of school and relocating to the deep mangrove to indulge in the illicit but lucrative trade. Many of them now see education as a waste of time, especially when a successful dealcouldfetchthembigmoneyand command the respect of their community folks.

A trip to the hinterland of the state through the maze of creeks revealed a booming business of illegal oil refining from stolen crude oil.

Illegal oil bunkering The Igbomotoru corridor in the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area and the Akassa flank on the Atlantic fringe of Brass have been identified as the hub of the illegal refining and illegal oil bunkering trade. Though armed security agencies, including the JTF and its component units, have been working assiduously to stem crude oil-relatedcrimesinthemangrovecreek, the oilthievesarestillsmilingtothebank.

Asecuritysourcewhospokeanonymously said: “The JTF alone cannot monitor the 6,000km network of flow-line and pipeline in the delta.

Some of these pipelines are buried in the thick set of the mangrove whereevenAirforcereconnaissance flightcannoteasilypickoutthebarges used in siphoning crude oil by the

oil thieves.” There is also the allegation of connivance on the part of the security operatives in the creek who after catching the oil thieves, collect gratification from them, and allow them passage with their illicit consignment.

Sometimes those handed over to the police for further investigation were let off the hook simply because sacred cows were involved, only for such persons to be arrested again by operatives of the JTF. Pained by the environmental despoliation in the delta caused by the heinous activities of the oil thieves, renowned environmentalist, Comrade Alagoa Morris, lamented that though the law provides for life imprisonment for anyone stealing crude oil or petroleum products or vandalising the pipelines,hardlyhasanyonecaught been prosecuted successfully.

His words: “Actually, I have heard of several such arrests and detention. Sadly, we are not hearing any successful prosecution and punishment in line with the law. ”Again, I was at the Federal High Court, Yenagoa when some youths facing trial for the offence were set free because of what the Presiding Judge referred to as lack of seriousness on the part of the prosecuting Police Officer. According to the Judge, the court was to do justice to all. And, since the Prosecuting Police Officer has intentionally avoided appearing in court to continue the case for three straight times, it would be doing injustice to the youths if the court sent them back to prison as persons awaiting judg-

ment.”

The oil thieves, it is obvious, have powerful allies in corridors of power justas it isclearthatthesecurityagencies are involved in the illicit business. According to him: “Government needs to step up to the fight andsummontherequiredwilltocombatthisdangerousphenomenonthat is not only bleeding the nation’s economy but also destroying our environment.” Theenvironmentalist warned that for crude oil theft to stop in the country, the Federal Government must apply stiffer penalty on suspected oil thieves such as life jail

,

BY SAMUEL OYADONGHA, YENAGOA

Accordingly,thestategovernment has re-launched the Bayelsa Volunteers, a community based intelligence-gathering unit as part of its youthempowermentprogrammeas well as help curb criminality in the communities.

About one thousand youths were recruitedasinitialintaketokick-start the programme. According to the Governor: “Thevolunteersandtheir coordinatorsareexpectedtoengage in community based intelligence gathering to aid the other state security agencies in stemming criminal acts such as crude oil theft, pipelinevandalismandpiracyonthewaterways.”

The volunteers were selected through a rigorous process, which was community based. An orientation course, it was learnt, will be organised for them since they will be based in their communities. If they perform well and have good conduct and work with all leaders respectfully, then we will be encouragedtoincreasethenumber.So,you can see that this government is com-

Most youths of school age are dropping out of school and relocating to the deep mangrove to par take in the illicit but lucrative trade; many of them now see education as a waste of time

term.

He added that the oil barons are taking advantage of the current economic hardship to recruit unemployed youths as field workers to break pipes and siphon crude oil for them. He, however, called on the governmentandtheoilmajorstocarry the communities along in the scheme of things to enable them see the facilities as their own and protect same from external forces.

A former Commander of the Joint Task Force, Major General Ilyasu Abbah, had during his brief stint in the Delta declared that the current effort to stamp out crude oil theft and illegal refineries in the region can only be achieved with the active co-

,

mitted to welfare, but it must follow due process,” he said. The use of the Bayelsa Volunteers, made up of the community youths, to complementtheeffortsofthesecurity,stakeholders argued, will go a long in stemming crude oil theft and illegal bunkering given their vast knowledge of the terrain and also being abletoidentifystrangersintheircommunities.

Also, the chairman of Southern Ijaw council area, Chief Remember Ogbe, recently instituted a committee to rid the council area of illegal refinery camps and the committee in conjunction with the security agencies has destroyed several illegal refining camps in the Southern Ijaw council area.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014 — 21

Aggreko, 5 DISCOs mull ‘embedded power’ to boost generation

BY JONAH NWOKPOKU

A

GGREKO, a Scottish firm that specialises in providing temporal power solution and temperature control across the world is currently in talks with five electricity Distribution Companies, DISCOs in Nigeria, to provide embedded power to them.

Embedded power generation is a situation where a generator is directly connected to the distribution network. It consists of smaller or modular generators that use a variety of generation technologies such as solar, wind, biomass, diesel, fuel, crude oil and hydro. It is also a useful means of dedicating power to state and local governments, eligible customers and others.

Aggreko’s Regional Managing Director, David Taylor-Smith told newsmen in Lagos that the company is desirous to discuss with the 11 DISCOs in the country about embedded power solution opportunities.

He explained that Aggreko has its manufacturing company in Scotland but already operates in 28 African countries including Nigeria providing about 1.3 Gigawatts of electricity across the continent.

“There are three markets in Africa where we set up permanent businesses to keep equipment in the country and our team of engineers. They include Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya. We chose these

164.95

3.25

3,086.00

22.00

16.98

-0.57

107.53

From left: Mr Rasheed Olaoluwa, Managing Director, Bank of Industry, BoI; Deputy President, South, National Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASMEs), Prince Segun Agboade and Deputy President, Finance Dr Okereke Lizzy when officials of NASME visited BoI in Lagos. countries because their economy are bigger and also we think that there is demand for power and a demand on the kind of way we provide power.

“We think that the most exciting opportunities in the whole of Africa is Nigeria because there is a big demand for power and also because we provide power in the oil and

By EMMA UJAH, Abuja Bureau Chief with agency report

N

igeria-Japan annual trade volume has hit a $5 billion mark in favour of Nigeria, the Japanese Ambassador to Nigeria,

-0.36

CURRENCY BUYING CENTRAL SELLING 154.73 264.6347 209.2878 172.2476 1.5244 0.3002 237.7613 24.9383 41.2569 28.0623 238.5008

155.23 265.4899 209.9641 172.8042 1.5294 0.3102 238.5296 25.0193 41.3903 28.153 239.2715

equipment mobile anywhere in the world. So if there is a need for more power and there is an emergency, we put the power on quickly,” Smith said.

Besides embedded power solution; he noted that there are lots of opportunities in Nigeria to also provide captive power.

“We think there are lots of

Nigeria-Japan trade hits $5bn

102.92 0.06

DOLLAR STERLING EURO FRANC YEN CFA WAUA RENMINBI RIYAL KRONA SDR

gas industry. We have been working here for a number of years but we have been doing it on a project by project basis.

The important thing now is that all of our team got equipment in-country.

“We have Nigerian engineers and any time they need more equipment it is quite easy because they keep those

opportunities to provide captive power and this happens when a company comes to us and tells us they have been using power from the national grid but they want reliable power, then we put on power on site which could be 10 or 20 megawatts,” he said.

He added that there are no quick fixes to power problems in Nigeria but reforming the sector is the way forward.

Smith also explained that the successful power reform must be backed up with the right regulatory frame work so that people will know the prices they are charged.

He noted that Africa with special focus in Nigeria is a potential market but the regulated tariffs are less than the cost of production.

“No business is going to go there if the tariff is less than the cost of production, so there has to be the right regulatory environment,” he said.

Also speaking, Aggreko’s Managing Director, Nigeria, Mr. Alaba Owoyemi disclosed that the company has executed some projects in Nigeria with success stories and challenges.

155.73 266.345 210.6404 173.3608 1.5343 0.3202 239.2979 25.1003 41.5236 28.2437 240.0422

CBN Exchange rate as at 21/07/14

Ryuichi Shoji, has said.

He told Vanguard in a chart in Abuja that there has been a steady rise in the trade between the two nations, especially since 2011 and 2013 when nuclear plants were shut after Fukushima disaster.

According to him, 1/3 of Japan’s energy source was lost which led to it turning to the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas. On Japanese businesses in Nigeria, Amb. Shoji disclosed that 16 companies from Japan had invested in the Nigerian economy and that six new investors have taken decisions to start various businesses in Nigeria.

The envoy who

described the relationship between the two nations as highly mutually beneficial said that Nigeria could learn a lot from the simple lifestyles and patriotism of Japanese leaders whose selfless model of leadership remained legendary.

His words, “leadership should be respected for their national contributions.

Japanese leaders are very much appreciated by the Japanese people. They are role models who work hard not for their personal benefits but for the society. Is there any role model for Nigeria? I don’t know.

“Leadership is very important. If the people don’t have top direction children will say I want to become minister to become rich.

Leadership should give example”.

Speaking on how to tackle corruption, Amb. Shoji said there must be two ways to deal with what has become the bane of the Nigerian society: institutional approach and strong laws that would be fully

enforced.

He was particular about the need for the State Governors to be accountable to the people since they control a substantial percentage of the federation revenue. Under the States-Local Governments Joint Account system, governors control over 47 per cent of federation revenue which accrues to the two lower tiers of government.

The ambassador also urged immediate steps to diversify the Nigerian economy to make it less dependent on oil which currently provides about 80 per cent of the nation’s foreign exchange eraning.

Japanese Nuclear Reactors cleared to restart Meanwhile two of Japan’s nuclear reactor may soon come on stream, as they have been given preliminary clearance to by that Japan’s nuclear regulator, The Nuclear Regulation Authority, NRA, to resume operations.

The NRA said the reactors at the Sendai plant had met new standards introduced after the Fukushima disaster.

All Japan’s 48 reactors are currently stopped, but PM Shinzo Abe has been pushing for restarts where possible.

The Japanese public turned against nuclear power after the meltdowns at the Fukushima plant in 2011.

Before the accident, which was caused by a massive earthquake and tsunami, nuclear plants supplied about 30% of Japan’s power.

But since then the plants have been closed, either for scheduled maintenance or because of safety fears, and have not been restarted.

Japan’s last reactor, at Ohi in western Japan, went offline in September 2013.

The NRA said the Sendai plant, in southern Kyushu, had met new safety standards intended to guard against damage from natural disasters.

A month-long public consultation will now take place before the NRA issues a final decision.

22— Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014

,

Last year alone, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, received 1,071 petitions against banks from customers for sundry malpractices

, INVESTORS

Top 10 performing stocks

INDEX MOVEMENT

BY NKIRUKA NNOROM

O

N the top 10 performing stocks last week were Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc, Wema Bank Plc, NPF Microfinance Bank Plc, Lafarge WAPCO Plc, Mansard Insurance Plc and Fidson Healthcare Plc. Others were Total Nigeria Plc, Paints and Coatings Manufacturers Plc, PZ Cusson and Wapic Insurance Plc. Mobil Oil, which led on the chart, rose by 20.16 percent or N27.22 to close at N162.22 from N135.00 it started off with. Though it has been enjoying patronage from investors like some its peers in the petroleum and petroleum products distributors sector of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, it sure has one of the most competitive prices in the sector, ranking as the third most priced stocks in the sector. The company’s stock may be one of the preferable buys by investors looking to maximise value from their investment as the PE ratio currently stands at 0.15x earnings.

The company’s directors have already recommended payment of N0.75 kobo dividends to shareholders whose names appear on the register of members as at July 14, 2014. The dividend if approved by shareholders at the next Annual General Meeting, AGM, on August 7 and will be paid distributed the next day.

Available financial statement of the company for the first half ended March 31 2014, showed17 percent increase in revenue to N22.410 billion as against N19.142 billion in the corresponding Q1 period in 2013. The company’s cost of sales rose by 14 percent to N19.378 billion as against N17.052 billion in 2013. It also reported profit before tax (PBT) growth of 414 percent to N4.747 billion, as against N924.097 million recorded in the corresponding period of Q1 in 2013. The post tax profit rose by 519 percent to N3.864 billion compared to N624.194 million in the previous year, while the basic earnings per share rose by 519 percent to 1,072 kobo from 173 kobo.

W e m a Bank Plc followed with 13.27 percent or N 0 . 1 3 price appreciation, rising to N1.11 from N0.91 per share. The bank had few weeks back said it has secured $70 million from foreign banks to finance trade and lending to small-scale businesses. $50 million of the facility, according to the bank, will be directed towards financing trade, while the remainder would help support lending to small businesses. This is even as the bank secured shareholders’ approval at the last AGM to raise a yet C M Y K

to be disclosed sum to support its growth plan. Meanwhile, Wema Bank has up till 30th of this month to free more of its shares to the investing public to meet up with the 20 percent regulatory requirement of public/free float. The bank last week released its half year financial statement to June, 2014 with the pretax profit rising to N1.7 billion ($10.5 million), an increase of 266 percent from the N464.7 million recorded H2 2013. The Gross earnings rose to N12.5 billion as against N10 billion a year earlier, while the profit before tax soared by 266 percent to N1.7 billion during the period.

NPF Microfinance Bank placed third with 12.24 percent or N0.12 price increase to close at N1.10 from N0.98. The bank’s stock has been enjoying more and more investors’ patronage in the last few weeks following some changes in the Board. Shareholders of the bank had recently authorised the Board to increase its share capital to N3 billion from N2 billion with the creation of additional two billion ordinary shares.

Lafarge WAPC O was t h e next with 6.23 percent or N6.98 price increase. It closed the market at N119.01 from N112.03 it started off with. The company last week received shareholders approval to go ahead with its proposed business combination with the South Africa arm to create Lafarge Africa Plc. It has been the toast of investors since the announcement of the merger plan. It announced 34 percent increase in post tax profit to N8.1 billion from N6.074 billion in its first half year ended March 30, 2014 and revenue increased of16 percent to N27.0billion compared to N23.2billion in the same period.

Mansard’s shares rose by 5.95 percent or N0.15 to close at N2.67 from N2.62; Fidson Healthcare appreciated by 5.33 percent or N0.16 to close at N3.16 from N3.00; Total advanced by 5.23 percent or N8.95 to close at N180.00 from N171.05; Paints and Coatings Manufacturers went up by five percent or N0.07 to close at N1.47 from N1.40; PZ Cusson followed 4.76 percent or N1.75 appreciation to close at N38.50 from N36.75, while Wapic Insurance closed the list, advancing by 4.65 percent or N0.04 to close at N0.90 from N0.86 per share.

Can bank customers trust t

By BABAJIDE KOMOLAFE

T

HE typical bank customer in Nigeria is helpless against the various malpractices in the banking industry.

Top on the list of these malpractices is excess charges, next are unauthorised deductions and arbitrary charges.

After these, are the frauds which come in different shades.

These malpractices are not limited to one or two banks, they occur in most of the banks.

Last year alone, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, received 1,071 petitions against banks from customers for sundry malpractices.

In the end, the banks were made to refund N2.995 billion.

Of course, the 1,071 petitions are like a drop in the ocean, when compared to the fact that millions of banks’ customers are regular victims of such malpractices.

Some choose to suffer in silence, while others don’t just know how to get reprieve against the malpractice.

While it is easy to blame these malpractices on bankers’ greed, the major culprit is the

ignorance of bank customers. Most of th don’t know. They don’t know their rig duties; neither do they know that of the As a result, they do not even know wh bank is overcharging them for Commis Turnover (CoT), or when there are aut deductions from their account.

Most bank customers don’t request f account statement, except when nee official purpose, neither do they read ter conditions before signing for produ services offered by their banks.

In fact, only few, very few know regulations guiding what and how muc can charge. And the banks know they don and they are glad that they don’t know.

In fact, banks don’t want their customers these things, as this provides the oppo for excess charges and other malpractic A group has, however, taken it upon address this culture and trend.

It is called Bank Customers Associa Nigeria, BCAN. Interestingly, the group led by somebody who in addition to b banker of many years, is also the Registra Executive of the Chartered Institute of B of Nigeria. That is in the person of D

WS MARKET NE

Transcorp records 122% profit gro

By NKIRUKA NNOROM

T

RANSNATIONAL Corporation of Nigeria Plc (Transcorp) has announced 122 percent growth in its profit before tax for the first half of the year ended June 30, 2014.

Specifically, the company pretax profit rose to N8.02 billion in comparison to N3.61 billion achieved in corresponding period in 2013. Highlights of the results, which is a continuation of the strong growth trajectory for full year 2014, released on the floors of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, showed that the gross revenue for the Group stood at N21.21billion, 177 percent growth from half year 2013 results of N7.67 billion.

Group operating profit for the period stood at N9.75 billion, an increase of 145 percent from corresponding period in 2013.

The total assets for the Group grew by six percent from N149.64 billion for 2013 financial year end to N158.18 billion for six months to June 2014.

Commenting on the results, the President and Chief Executive Officer, Transcorp, Mr. Obinna Ufudo, said “Our half year results for 2014 consolidates the significant growth achieved in first quarter of 2014 and firmly sets us on course for the attainment of FY 2014 financial targets. We are very pleased with the continued growth in capacity and output at our Ughelli Power plant. The plant’s available capacity and output

Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014 — 23

T

for their ded for rms and cts and

w about h banks n’t know,

to know ortunity ces. itself to

ation of is being being a ar/Chief Bankers Dr. Uju

,

Value investing: Finding undervalued stocks T

this association?

hem just ghts and banks. en their ssion on thorised

,

S FORUM

Investors who own at least 10 percent of a company’s stock wouldn’t have bought so much if they didn’t see profit potential

Ogubunka.

“BCAN is a consumer-protection focused organisation that recognises the interdependence of providers and consumers of banking products and services. It seeks, among other things, to promote good banking culture and habits, the protection of the rights and interests of its members”, he said at the first annual conference of the association.

Bank customers indeed need a group, and an umbrella body to protect their rights and push their interest. It was for this purpose that the CBN created the Consumer Protection Department. Also, there is the Consumer Rights Protection Council. But they are government agencies, and government has in the past introduced policies not friendly to the cause of bank customers.

In addition to these, nobody or group can protect the interests of bank customers like bank customers.

Thus an association of bank customers, seeking to protect their interest is indeed necessary. But can bank customers trust an association initiated and led by a professional banker, and an insider like Dr. Ogubunka to protect and pursue their interest? (To be continued next week)

owth in 6 months peaked at 453 MW during the period, up from the 160MW when we took over on November 1, 2013. We are on course to reach our target available capacity of 715MW by end of the year.

“In addition, our flagship hotel, Transcorp Hilton Abuja, achieved strong revenue growth through increased traffic from its successful hosting of the World Economic Forum for Africa event in May 2014”.

He added, “Overall, we remain focused on achieving our medium term objectives to develop new hotels, expand our available power generation capacity, diversify and increase scale of our agribusiness and exploit opportunities within the oil and gas industry. We expect steeper growth rate for the rest of the year as our turnaround strategies take firmer root”.

HERE are two basic steps to finding undervalued stocks: developing a rough list of stocks you want to investigate further because they meet your basic screening criteria, then doing a more in-depth analysis of these stocks by examining the financial data of the selected companies.

The internet has made it easy, fast and free to find the information you need to value a company’s stock. You can search for a company’s financials through online databases or find quarterly reports and press releases on the company’s official website. Major financial website allow investors to get information such as stock price, shares outstanding, earnings per share and current news regarding the company/industry. You can also see who the stock’s largest owners are, which insiders have placed trades recently and how many shares they traded. Some websites will also filter stocks according to criteria you set, such as stocks with a certain P/E ratio. These filters can help you come up with a broad list of stocks that you want to research further.

Recall Benjamin Graham’s rule that an undervalued stock is priced at least a third below its intrinsic value. So, how do you determine a company’s intrinsic value, especially if you didn’t go to business school and have no idea how to value a company? Open your spreadsheet software and we’ll perform some simple calculations with stock data you can find online.

•Basic value investing ratios P/E Ratio ou have probably heard financial analysts comment that a stock is selling for some number “times earnings,” such as 30-times earnings or 12.5times earnings. This means that P, the price the stock is currently trading at, is 30 times higher than E, the company’s annual earnings per share, or EPS. However, for now, all you need to know is that value investors like the P/E ratio to be as low as possible, preferably even in the single digits. The number that results from calculating P/E is called the earnings multiple. So, a stock that sells for $50 (P) and generates $2 EPS (E) would have an earnings multiple of 50/ 2, or 25. A value investor would normally pass on this stock.

Y

•Earnings yield arnings yield is simply the inverse of the earn-

E

ings multiple. So, a stock with an earnings multiple of five has an earnings yield of 1/5, or 0.2, more commonly stated as 20 percent.

Since value investors like stocks with a low earnings multiple and earnings yield is the inverse of that number, we want to see a high earnings yield. Ordinarily, a high earnings yield tells investors that the stock is able to generate a large amount of earnings relative to the share price.

Some of the information that will help you find undervalued stocks does not require you do to any math, but it does require you to do research beyond the stock quote.

•Insider purchasing activity or our purposes, insiders are the company’s senior managers and directors and any shareholders who own at least 10 percent of the company’s stock. A company’s managers and directors have unique knowledge about the companies they run, so if they are purchasing its stock, it’s reasonable to assume that the company’s prospects look favourable.

Likewise, investors who own at least 10 percent of a company’s stock wouldn’t have bought so much if they didn’t see profit potential. If they’re buying even more, they must be seeing greater profit potential.

On the other hand, a sale of stock by an insider doesn’t necessarily point to bad news about the company’s anticipated performance - the insider might simply need cash for any number of personal reasons. Nonetheless, if mass sell-offs are occurring by insiders, such a situation may warrant further in depth analysis of the reason behind the sale.

How do you know what insiders are doing with their stock hold-

F

ings? Insiders are required to report their stock purchases to the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, within two business days. This information is freely available through the SEC website and is reported on SEC Form 4. It is also often available through various financial websites which aggregate this information.

The art of value investing he key to buying an under valued stock that is actually worth more than it is currently trading for is to thoroughly research the company and not just buy a stock because a few of its ratios looks good or because its price has recently dropped.

It’s not quite that simple to tell if a stock is a good buy. Applying your common sense and critical thinking skills to stock selection is essential.

Value investor Christopher H. Browne of the legendary valueinvesting firm, Tweedy, Browne recommends asking a series of questions about a company in his book “The Little Book of Value Investing.” Think about the company’s future prospects can the company increase its revenue by raising prices?

Increasing sales? Lowering expenses? Selling or closing unprofitable divisions? Growing the company? Who are the company’s competitors and how strong are they?

What you think the answers to these questions are is where value investing becomes a bit of an art form. It is also why you can’t just plug some numbers into a software programme to determine the best stocks to invest in.

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*Culled from Investopedia.com

C M Y K

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Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014

Nigeria earns N475bn from India, Netherlands, Brazil in one month

BY MICHAEL EBOH

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HREE countries - India, the Netherlands, and Brazil, spent $2.97 billion, about N475.08 billion in the purchase of crude oil from Nigeria in the month of February 2014, data released from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, has revealed.

Specifically, the three countries accounted for more than a third of Nigeria’s crude export in February, purchasing 26.75 million barrels of oil.

Specifically, India purchased 10.44 million barrels of crude oil from Nigeria in the month under review, followed by the Netherlands, with 9.385 million barrels, and Brazil 6.922 million barrels.

Using an average crude price

FG to drive rural electrification through solar — Nebo

BY CHRIS OCHAYI

A

BUJA: The Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, has said solar technology will replace the use of diesel generators as primary source of energy for the rural electrification projects across the country.

Nebo stated this last week when a group of officers from the Defence Command and Staff College of Bostwana, led

by Brigadier Shadrack Moloi, visited him in Abuja.

He noted that with improvement in the storage capabilities of solar, it is now possible for rural folks to enjoy basic electricity throughout the night, as it will provide them basic lighting.

Nebo, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Amb. Godknows Igali, said the Ministry will soon put in place a well-structured governance, that will ensure that electricity users are made to pay some amount into a pool that will be channelled towards minor replacements and maintenance.

He also identified the need for training of locals in the maintenance of solar panels and other ancillary facilities.

He added that solar power is not only sustainable, but also renewable hence far better than generators with diesel, describing this as unsuitable in view of modern development in the solar technology.

NNPC GMD, Engr Yakubu addressing participants at a capacity building workshop for journalists, in Akwa Ibom State. of $111 per barrel, this translates to $2.97 billion for the month under review.

This is a slight difference from export figures in January, which revealed that India, Netherlands and Spain, were the highest buyers of Nigeria’s crude oil, accounting for 45.01 per cent of Nigeria’s total crude export in January.

Data on activities in the oil and gas sector for the month of

February 2014, recently released by the NNPC revealed that Nigeria exported a total of 65.7 million barrels of crude in the month under review.

Of these, Europe accounted for 44.97 per cent of Nigeria’s total crude export in February, followed by Asia and the Far East with 22.98 per cent of crude export, while crude export to other African countries accounted for 13.93 per cent of

total export.

In particular, Nigeria exported 29.55 million barrels of crude oil to Europe; about 15.098 million barrels to Asia and the Far East, and 9.15 million barrels to other African countries.

In addition, South America purchased 7.918 million barrels of crude from Nigeria; North America 3.048 million barrels; while 940,627 barrels was ex-

ported to Oceania and Pacific countries.

About 6.18 million barrels were exported to France; 4.0 million barrels were exported to South Africa, while Spain accounted for 3.971 million barrels of Nigeria’s crude.

Others are: the United Kingdom 3.351 million barrels of crude; the United States 3.048 million barrels; Indonesia 2.85 million barrels and Italy 2.75 million barrels.

The NNPC data put total crude oil and condensates lifting for both domestic and export purposes at about 69.57 million barrels.

According to the report, oil companies lifted about 38.78 million barrels, representing 51.79 per cent of the total, while the NNPC lifted 30.79 million barrels, representing 48.21 per cent.

The NNPC said lifting by fiscal regime shows 33.73, 26.20, and 9.6 million barrels for Joint Venture Companies, JVC, Production Sharing Contract, PSC, and others respectively.

“Out of NNPC’s lifting, 24.15 million barrels were for Federation Account (This includes, FIRS, DPR, PPMC Offshore, PPMC Crude Exchange & MCA) while 5.70 million barrels were for domestic use,” the NNPC noted.

The NNPC further stated that Alternative Funding lifting was about 0.44 million barrels and was lifted by NNPC. “No volume was lifted by JVC companies. The NNPC Lifting adds to the Federation account lifting,” the NNPC said.

Nigeria’s offshore rig count reduces by 7

BY SEBASTINE OBASI

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PPARENTLY influenced by the diminishing global rig count and the cash crunch being experienced by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, in the execution of its joint venture projects, Nigeria’s rig count reduced by seven in June 2014, the International Association of Drilling Contractors, IADC said.

According to the Chairman of the country’s chapter of IADC, Mr. Sola Falodun, “Reasons are due mostly to budget cuts by (the state hydrocarbon company) NNPC in the second quarter of 2014, due to cash crunch.

“As soon as the cuts were made, companies who operate in Joint Venture, JV, with the NNPC, including Mobil Producing Nigeria, a local subsidiary of ExxonMobil, ENIowned Nigerian Agip Oil Company, NAOC, as well as SPDC (the largest of the Shell Companies in Nigeria), reacted by dropping rigs.”

Alodun further said, “The implications of the budget cuts include loss of jobs, negative impact on capacity development, drop in crude and gas production and less than rapid increase in reserves replacement.”

He further said that the IADC is concerned that these factors “will render the goals of Nigerian content initiative ineffective with regard to utilisation of drilling rigs. The situation looks bleak.”

The IADC listed 34 rigs as drilling, cementing, completing, moving from one location to another (rig move), undergoing maintenance, carrying out wireline logging, doing well control, reaming, casing, and even suspended operations. Of these, 11 rigs were cited as drilling, eight were completing, three cementing and casing, and one was logging. The remaining were either on the move, undergoing maintenance or described as suspended operations, but were all included in the 34.

Baker Hughes Incorporated team of analysts had announced that the global rig count for June 2014 was 1,336, down 14 from the 1,350 counted in May 2014, and up three from the 1,333 counted in June 2013.

It also noted that the average United States rig count for June 2014 was 1,861, up two from the 1,859 counted in May 2014, and up 100 from the 1,761 counted in June 2013, while the average Canadian rig count for June 2014 was 240, up 78 from the 162 counted in May 2014, and up 57 from the 183 counted in June 2013.

To compound the grim picture painted by Alodun, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, UNCTAD, had stated that the low foreign direct investments, FDIs, being experienced in the country could be attributed to divestments by the International Oil Companies, IOCs. According to UNCTAD, FDIs into Nigeria reduced from $7.1 billion in 2012 to $5.6 billion in

2013, as a result of divestments by the IOCs. In its recent World Investment Report 2014, UNCTAD said that Nigeria led West African region’s 14 percent decline within the period, which amounted to $14.2-billion. However, in Southern Africa, flows almost doubled to $13 billion, mainly due to record-high flows to South Africa and Mozambique, where investments in the gas sector played a role.

According to the report, “In Nigeria, uncertainties over the long-awaited Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB and security issues triggered a series of asset disposals from foreign Trans National Companies, TNCs. National champions and other developing-country TNCs are taking over the assets of the retreating TNCs. Examples are two pending mega deals that will see Total (France), and ConocoPhillips (United States), sell their Nigerian assets to Sinopec Group (China), and local Oando Plc for $2.5 billion and $1.8 billion, respectively.”

Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014 — 25

Northern Nigeria gets N3.4bn EU grant for solar, wind farms

BY CHRIS OCHAYI

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BUJA: The Federal Government has explained that a chunk of N3.4 billion grant by the European Union, EU, will be used to boost renewable energy specifically solar and wind farms in the northern part of the country.

The Minister of Power, Prof.

Chinedu Nebo, who said this last week during the launch of the 15.5 million Euros (N3.4 billion) under the Nigerian Energy Support Programme, NESP, in Abuja, assured of the proper use of the money.

The minister, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Amb. Godknows Igali, noted that, “on our part, we will continue to create right environment for the use of this money, 15.5 million Euros, which is coming to join the 9 million euros already donated by the German side. Whether you focus only in the Northern part of Nigeria, it is Nigeria, and we are happy that the money is coming to Nigeria.”

According to him, “the European Union has continued to play a major role, not only in power sector but almost every sector in our national life. I am not holding brief for the EU, but the difference why we from Nigeria value so much our relationship with the European Union is because your interventions are most of the time grants.

“They are not the kind of fa-

cilities that come with a lot of overhang of debts but your interventions, like in this case is a grant. It is money that the European people bring to us.

It is not that we are not happy with those who give us credit lines, soft, long time credit, but we want to put on record that EU’s relationship with Nigeria has been defined by extension of grants.

“In order words, this is free money which is coming to participate with us, to say to us, Nigerians, you are the friends of Europe. We identify with you in healthcare, education, wa-

ter supply and sanitation, women empowerment, power and in other sector. Coming to power sector, we will continue to work closely with EU particularly, the GIZ. “Already, with GIZ, there is a grant of 9 million Euros which has already been on. We are using it already. Let me clarify that this money is not given to the ministry. EU and the ministry have a steering committee, with its own office and the money is used as intervention directly in the states and institutions to which this money is devoted. So the money does not

come to us but the money is made available to use in Nigeria.”

He further assured that the ministry will work with the state governments, the communities, youths and other stakeholders where this money will be devoted to ensure the success of the projects.

While appreciating the invaluable support in critical areas where interventions are required, he said it is in the overall interest of the country that capacity building is embedded in the selected intervention area.

From left: Professor Ayo Bamgbose; ProfessorHunponu-Wusu; Mr Babs Omotowa, MD/CEO, Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas Ltd; Professor Emeritus Ayo Banjo, former Vice Chancellor of University of Ibadan and Professor Emeritus JP Clark during a dinner in honour of Banjo by NLNG, in Lagos. Photo: Lamidi Bamidele.

Partnership key to increased crude production — NAPE

BY MICHAEL EBOH

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HE Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists, NAPE, has disclosed that Nigeria can only achieve its goal of increased crude oil production through effective partnership between the Federal Government and oil companies.

Speaking on the sidelines of NAPE’s monthly technical meeting in Lagos, Mr. Chikwendu Edoziem, PresidentElect, NAPE, also stated that creating an enabling environment for companies operating in the oil and gas sector will help ensure that the increased production is achieved.

Edoziem, who was responding to plans by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, to increase its crude production by about 250,000 barrels per day by 2020, said, “There is nothing wrong in aspiring to produce more crude.

“It also presents opportunities for oil and gas companies to see how they can achieve that. Achieving it also means they make money.

“But again, there has to be a bit of partnership to achieve those targets. Aspiration is one thing and providing enabling environment in order to get there is another thing and it requires partnership between parties, the oil and gas industries and the federal government.”

Continuing, he disclosed that the seismic industry in Nigeria has come a long way, noting, however, that what is needed at the moment is how to ensure that maximum value is derived from seismic data.

He said, “In Nigeria really, seismic industry has come a long way. Initially, we had 2D, which is two dimension measures, then we go into the 3D and 4D. That is how the technology has come this far.

“Also, in the area of variation in velocity in all the directions, that has also come of age. When they talk about these things, they are talking about a compatible technological advancement that you can find in any other country.

“This is because those delivering the products are multinational companies; they are huge companies that do the seismic acquisition processing.

“They deliver this using the same technology and using the same processes for all the oil companies and most of the oil companies that we find in here are multi-nationals as well and they are very oblivious of the risk involved in exploring and developing in oil and gas.

“It means that the technology that will be applied must be state of the art for any oil and gas company to be seen to have done good job.”

Also speaking, Mr. Tunde Okunuga, Senior Quantitative Interpretation (Qi) Geophysi-

cist, Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, said, “Seismic interpretation involves looking at a sub-surface image and determining areas where one can get oil and working through that to get the oil, while also proposing that well to the engineers “In Qi Geophysics, we integrate all the data; getting data from the geophysical, geological and petro-physical point of view; looking at the data together to be able to predict the reservoir properties, because oil is gotten from these reservoirs.

Properties to be determined include the porosity and malleability, which are key factors in oil production ”Determining the porosity and malleability of these reservoirs will help determine and define if it will be of commercial value or not. If it is not going to be of commercial value, there will be no need going to drill the well.

All these parameters will help determine if drilling a particular well will be of economic value.”

Suspected vandals jailed for assaulting IKEDC staff

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HE law recently caught up with two men, Suleiman Amusa and his son, Owolabi Amusa, who have been jailed for attacking a staff of the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Plc, IKEDC, with a machete whilst on official duty at AgbowaItokin Road, in the outskirt of Ikorodu, Lagos.

The conviction is coming on the heels of increased surveillance by security agencies who have pledged to prosecute offenders as well as safeguard the lives and property of power companies following rising cases of assault from restive youths and groups.

In a judgment delivered by the Magistrate, Mr. P.L. Hopeto, at the Badagry Magistrate Court 2, on July 2, 2014, under the charge number IKD/C/24C/ 2010, both defendants were convicted and sentenced to six months imprisonment with hard labour.

In another development, three men were almost electrocuted in Ilasamaja on July 7, 2014 while attempting to steal an erected electricity pole along Limca Road, Isolo, and Lagos. The leader of the suspects has been remanded in prison custody at the Kirikiri Prisons awaiting a trial process that is set to commence in Lagos.while the two others who were affected by electrocution are being treated in an undisclosed hospital.

Meanwhile, IKEDC has been receiving support of the law enforcement agencies in Lagos State in its bid to ensure protection of staff from assaults as well as malicious damage to its equipment and installations across its network.

Consequently, a model for increased surveillance and Rapid Response Support is being adopted to ensure protection of the investments and safety of workers in IKEDC and other power companies across the nation.

In one of its stakeholder engagement meetings with security agencies, IKEDC officials were assured of the support of the Lagos State Police Command. The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, Mr. Umar A. Manko, pledged to assist IKEDC by working out strategies to combat vandalism in the State.

He urged all Nigerians to adopt an ownership approach to critical infrastructure by reporting cases of vandalism to relevant security agencies.

During a recent visit to the IKEDC Corporate Headquarters, the Director of State Security Service, Lagos State Command, Mr. Ben Achu, pledged to assist IKEDC in combating vandalism within the network of the company.

26 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014

NNPC increases refining capacity to 60%

BY CHRIS OCHAYI

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HE Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, said it has retooled the nation’s refineries and increased their capacities to 60 per cent of their template.

The Corporation said it achieved this feet through the deployment of in-house expertise ahead of the planned turn-around maintenance, TAM, of the refineries billed to be carried out by their original builders.

The Group Managing Director, GMD, NNPC, Mr. Andrew Yakubu, disclosed this at the just-concluded capacity building workshop organised by the Group Public Affairs Division of the Corporation for media practitioners in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

Yakubu explained that despite the setbacks being experienced in getting the original builders of the refineries to undertake the TAM on account of security concerns, the Corporation, using in-house expertise has fixed critical units in the refineries, which increased their capacity utilisation to 60 per cent.

The NNPC boss also used the opportunity to present his management’s scorecard to mark his second year in office.

He argued that, “the recent improved performance of our refineries, including the restreaming of the secondary units, especially the Fluid Catalytic Cracking Units, FCCU, is contributing to a substantial reduction of petroleum products into the country.”

He lamented that the refineries still faced capacity constraints due to crude oil supply challenges as a result of pipeline vandalism.

Speaking further on the TAM, the GMD explained that the NNPC was working with the companies recommended by the original builders to outline the scope of work, even as negotiations were ongoing to ensure that the nation got value for the money expended on the project.

Yakubu also disclosed that following the recent lifting of the ban on bunkering on Nigerian waters by the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, the Corporation has con-

cluded plans to go into bunkering to boost its profitability in line with the NNPC Transformation objective.

Throwing more light on the plan, the Group Executive Director, Commercial & Investment, Prof Atahiru Yusuf, explained that NNPC may kick off bunkering by October, as it was currently in the process of securing registration with the relevant agencies having developed a business model for it.

The GED further explained that contrary to the general impression that bunkering is an illegal activity, it is actually a legal business, which involves fuelling of ships and other marine vessels in the

high sea.

He noted that the business came to acquire the semblance of illegality as a result of the long ban of the business on the Nigerian waters, which precipitated the illegal version which had dominated the terrain.

On the alleged scarcity of aviation fuel, the GMD explained that he was not aware of such a development, as NNPC does not deal in the product which has long been deregulated.

He, however, promised to intervene by getting across to stakeholders who deal in the product to find out the true state of affairs with the supply of the product.

From left: Mr. J. I. Iyogho, Commandant, Critical Infrastructure Protection, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, H/Q Abuja; Mr. Aigbe Olotu, Chief Finance Officer, Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company; Mr. Donatus Ikemefuna, Commandant, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Lagos State Command and Mr. Dare Oyedotun, Area Controller, Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company during a courtesy visit to IKEDC by NSCDC.

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BUJA: The manage ment of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme, SURE-P, has concluded arrangements to collaborate with the Industrial Training Fund, ITF, to train two million youths annually under its Technical and Vocational Education Training, TVET, component.

The Chairman of SURE-P, General Martin Luther Agwai, rtd, disclosed this at the commissioning of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity Skills Acquisition Centre, Bauchi, and the Industrial Training Fund Centre of Excellence in Jos, Plateau State.

Agwai noted that the ability of the government to continue to provide adequate and appropriate training for the nation’s teeming youths relied critically on the establishment of some form of sustainability.

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HE Department of Petro leum Resources, DPR, has called on oil and gas operators in in Nigeria, to contribute meaningfully in deepening local content in the country, and also in growing the sector.

To this end, the Director of the DPR, Mr. George Osahon, in a statement, urged all operators in the oil and gas sector to fully participate in the forthcoming 4th Upstream & Downstream (U&D) oil and gas exhibition, so as to sustain the growth of the industry.

Osahon, in the statement signed on his behalf by Mrs. Patience Maseli, Assistant Director, DPR, commended the fact that for the past four years the event has been successfully organised by a wholly indigenous company, West Africa Exhibitions and Conferences (WAECON).

According to him, the conference scheduled to hold at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, from 26-28 August, 2014 is a laudable initiative and effort by the indigenous firm and is worthy of commendation, which informed the endorsement of the event in line with the Nigerian Local Content Act of 2010.

Also speaking, Director of Events, WAECON, Dr Kune Igoni, said the company was highly elated by the endorsement coming from the DPR.

NNPC holds national quiz competition

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SURE-P, ITF to train 2 million youths annually

BY CHRIS OCHAYI

DPR tasks oil companies on sector growth

Represented by the Project Technical Adviser on TVET, Mr. Olukayode Soremekun, the chairman further disclosed that “additional skills training effort is planned to impact more than 5000 beneficiaries who have indicated interest on SURE-P portal.”

He added that SURE-P would soon graduate over 5,000 Nigerians who are currently undergoing clientbased training in different entities under the SURE-P TVET. He revealed that in line with the mandate of the TVET, which is to reduce unemployment and poverty in Nigeria through skills acquisition and technical/vocational training infrastructure, eight skills acquisition centres have been rehabilitated across the country.

Commissioning the Training Centres, the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, urged the youths to take advantage of

the centres. While calling on those particularly in the North East to embrace the training programmes.

“This is better than taking to insurgency and other activities which are inimical to the growth of the region. This is a programme of the President that is aimed at repositioning the youths to be responsible tomorrow,” the minister explained.

Speaking further, Wogu stated that over 5,000 youths are currently benefiting from the TVET sponsored training programmes in various vocations such as; ICT, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering for the Power Sector, Building and Construction and Automotive trades among others.

He assured the Bauchi community that additional vocational skills in the areas of Plaster of Paris, POP, Tricycle, and GSM repairs, would be added to the existing trades run by the Ministry and the

Bauchi Centre.

He further explained that “by the end of August a total of 1,000 youths who would have completed ICT-based enterprise training will be empowered with a laptop each. Those who were skilled in auto technician will be empowered with diagnostic machines, multi-meter equipment with cost of training paid for including stipends to each beneficiary.

“This forms part of the over 5000 trainees currently benefiting from the TVET training programme,” Wogu said.

Responding on behalf of the community, the Emir of Bauchi, represented by the Madakin Bauchi, Alhaji Baba Gidado, commended the Federal Government for its thoughtfulness in ensuring the rehabilitation of the centres nationwide. This, he said, will create opportunities for skills development for the teeming unemployed youths.

HE Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, said the 12th edition of its Annual National Quiz Competition, is scheduled to hold between Monday 21st July 2014 to Tuesday 22nd July, 2014 at the Corporation’s headquarters in Abuja.

The national quiz competition which started 13 years ago is aimed at encouraging secondary school students in science based subjects and is usually competed for from the grassroot level, state, zonal, national and the grand finale which takes place at the corporate headquarters.

This year’s finalists are drawn from Akwa Ibom, Federal Capital Territory, Imo, Kaduna, Ogun, and Taraba States. They are expected to compete in English Language, Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Biology and General Knowledge.

The Corporation will continue to do all within its powers to make Nigerians benefit from the abundant hydrocarbon resources and this explains why the various Strategic Business Units of the NNPC also donate laboratory equipment and books to various schools around their areas of operations.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014 — 27

IKEDC deploys N1bn for system upgrade

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By SEBASTINE OBASI

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HE Chief Executive Of ficer, CEO of Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company, IKEDC, Mr Abiodun Ajifowobaje, said that over N1 billion had been deployed to drive various projects within the company.

He stated this during the post privatisation exercise embarked upon by the Bureau for Public Enterprises, BPE. According to him, “We have installed and completed all rehabilitated transformers and pending projects within the company, and we are also planning to engage other sources of power supply through embedded generation to ensure we serve our customers better.”

He added that IKEDC was about to introduce metering and billing plans that will enhance transparency in billing and check energy theft.

Speaking at the event, the Director General of BPE, Mr Benjamin Dikki, commended the company over ongoing post-privatisation transformation process in the areas of infrastructure upgrade, enhanced customer service platforms and human capital development in the company.

He noted that eight months

Solar farm after the official handover of the power sector to private operators, IKEDC has shown improvement in customer service delivery, capacity building and network upgrade.

According to him, “I am indeed impressed with the transformation witnessed at the IKEDC after eight months of handing over to private sector. It is also a symbol of change that indicates the operational excellence that is a characteristic feature of private sector driven enterpris-

es.

“We are delighted that all abandoned projects have been brought into operational use because those facilities will go a long way in boosting power supply. Today, we are happy to see the difference between government and private operations in the power sector,” he added.

Dikki said that the post privatisation monitoring exercise was designed to identify areas where the government can be of assistance to the DISCOs

and reaffirmed government support on sundry post-privatisation activities that will impact the sector positively.

“IKEDC has shown good initiatives towards sustaining effective customer service delivery and prompt response to complaints. This is a welcome departure from the past. The establishment of Customer Care and Call centre is a clear indication of the level of service that IKEDC has for its customers.”

FG tasks firm on embedded generation in South-East Stories By CHRIS OCHAYI

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HE Federal Government has challenged the Genesis Electricity Company, to take advantage of the enormous gap in energy need of industries especially in the area of embedded power generation to light up the SouthEast zone.

The Minister of Power, Prof.

Chinedu Nebo, who said this when he was presented with the Company’s award, as the Africa Utility Performance for 2013/2014, in Abuja, promised the firm of government’s total support.

He said that Nnewi, the hub of industrialisation in that region, has in recent time had 40 of the 46 industries closed down due to huge cost of running generators.

He said he heard on good authority that a company operating in that axis spends as much as 38 percent of its production cost on diesel.

He added that Genesis Electricity is therefore empowered to purse embedded power to cover the South-East and South-South regions, by car-

PTDF selects 170 candidates for overseas scholarship

rying out a survey of the industrial clusters, assessing their power need, to enable them determine their energy requirements.

He urged Genesis Electricity to also extend its services to the rural and urban areas, where the national grid has not connected the regions.

He assured the company of Government’s readiness to partner with them, describing Genesis Electricity as a specialist in embedded power; adding that due to the inability to generate enough energy, the company is critical to the sector in filling the existing gaps.

The Minister said the award bestowed on Genesis is a testimony that the company is a pride to Nigeria, and indeed the continent, adding that it is a thing of honour to see a Nigerian company emerge as the “Africa Power Utility of the Year 2013/14”, at an event that took place in Cape Town, South Africa in May 2014.

He said that as Nigeria marches on with the task of industrialisation, Government will need the support of Gen-

esis Electricity. He enjoined its management not to rest on its oars, but to double its efforts in the renewed task of ensuring that industries, urban and rural areas are all energised.

He added, “No community, no household will be left in darkness, we are prepared to partner with you in the realisation of this government’s directive in the whole gamut of providing electricity to our people.”

The Chief Executive of Genesis Electricity, Mr. Akinwole Omoboriowo II, in his remarks, noted that the remarkable feat attained by the company was made possible by the favourable climate created by government’s policy and regulatory framework.

“Government policy made this to happen, as it has given the sector a robust, proactive and strong power sector that has engendered competitiveness and confidence by players both domestic and international.

He enjoined government to remain focused, as the sector moves toward providing Ni-

gerians with more access to electricity, and assured the Minister that with government’s support, its corporate vision of, Lighting Up Africa, will be achieved.

HE Petroleum Technology Development Fund, PTDF, has selected 170 candidates for the award of overseas scholarship.

The Scholarship award, which is for MSc studies in oil and gas related courses in top ranked universities abroad, followed the outcome of an aptitude test conducted by the Fund in December last year, as part of the process for the selection of candidates for the award.

The successful candidates are made up of four best performing candidates in the aptitude exams from each of the 36 states, and two from the Federal Capital Territory.

Others selected for the award include two additional candidates from each of the nine oil endowed states of Abia, AkwaIbom, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo, Rivers, and Bayelsa states. Also, six female candidates with the highest scores in each of the six geo-political zones also received scholarship awards on gender consideration.

The Head, Press and External Relations, PTDF, Mr. Kalu Otisi, explained in a statement issued in Abuja, that “though the aptitude exams were written by candidates who applied for the 2013/14 and 2014/15 OSS programme, there was no discrimination on the basis of year of application in considering those selected for the award.

“Furthermore, the candidates assessed performances were based on their states to reflect the Federal Character principle. The induction of successful candidates for the scholarship award is scheduled for the 11th to 15th of August 2014.”

NIPCO donates gas cylinders to boost LPG usage

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O boost liquefied petroleum gas, LPG/cooking gas utilisation in the country, NIPCO Plc has begun a campaign to empower a large number of women in Auchi, Edo State, through the distribution of free gas accessories.

The donation of gas cylinders took place in the compound of the traditional ruler, the Otaru of Auchi, HRM Haliru Momoh, which was organised in conjunction with an NGO, Gas to Health Initiative, GTHI, to strengthen the paradigm shift of the energy market towards LP Gas. Prince Haruna Momoh, the Managing Director, Pipelines & Products Marketing Company, PPMC, in his good will message to the beneficiaries assured the community that government will continue to support initiative. This, he said, is aimed at promoting the safe and healthy use of LP Gas which the nation is richly endow with for the overall interest of Nigerians .

Momoh who was represented by the Manager, LPG, PPMC, Ms. Betty Ugona, said the rural dwellers and the semi-urban communities are the main priorities of government in view of the large cooking they do with a view to encouraging them to use gas for their cookings.

Momoh, who is also the chairman of the board of trustees of the GTI commended NIPCO for supporting the initiative, stressing that the cylinders will help boost efforts of the NGO, and ultimately deepen gas usage among beneficiaries.

28—Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014

the government is executing in the area. He identified other factors hindering the speedy delivery of road projects. They include time wasted in removing oil pipelines, litigation by those to be displaced and compensation to those whose houses are affected.

“Litigation and payment of compensations are other issues to be considered when constructing roads. Affected landlords during road construction must be paid while court cases on roads under construction must be concluded before construction can commence.

•Road under construction

Undertaking of repairs

BAD ROADS: Lagos replies critics

•Engr. Obafemi Hamzat

•We have done more roads than any state in Nigeria

BY KINGSLEY ADCGBOYE

R

EACTING to the view held by most Lagos residents that roads in the metropolis are in deplorable conditions due to neglect, the Lagos State government last week, insisted that it has delivered on its promise to provide good roads infrastructure.

In fact, the Statc claimed that it has done more than all the other 35 states in the construction of roads and bridges.

Lagos State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Obafemi Kadri Hamzat, an engineer, who made the claims at the weekend, debunked allegations that the hinterlands have suffered serious neglect in the area of roads construction and rehabilitation. He maintained that it is untrue that government is paying attention to only roads in the urban parts of Lagos, adding that the construction of roads is spread across all the local government councils in the state.

The commissioner 3 noted that the choice of roads to be constructed is not selectively done, explained that roads construction involves a process that must be followed sequentially.

He contended that even if the funds are available, it is not C M Y K

possible to do all the roads ‘at th:e same time.

Describing the availability of funds as a major determinant of roads to be constructed, the commissioner noted that these funds are not readily available.

“In Nigeria, we need 97 million US dollars to fix road infrastructure. In Lagos State, we rely on Federal allocation and taAes to fix our roads. However, taxes alone cannot fix our roads because everybody does not pay tax at the same time. The truth is that we are not where we should be, given the resources that are available to

us,” he said.

Continuing he said; “Today in Lagos, there are various road projects going on. But when people say that a road in Alimoso or Agege or Ipaja is neglected, what I tell them is that I have to look at the state as a whole. I ealmot look at Agege alone. In other words, if something is going on in Ali~psho for instance, it must be going on elsewhere. It must be going on in Badagry, it must go on in E.pe, it must go on here and elsewhere and not restricted to one particular area”.

Describing the abuse of roads by road users especially ‘Okada’ riders, as the biggest challenge the government is facing, the commissioner who showed slides of some ongoing road project$ abused by ‘Okada’ riders. posited that abuse of roads increases the cost of road construction. “In as rr\uch as we want people to do their legitimate business in the state, road users must be careful with the way they make use of stale roads, particularly the ‘Okada riders. The abuse that we suffer on our roads is too illJIch for us in the ministry to bear. We are spending a lot of manpower because of this abuse of roads, Hamzat said.

The Commissioner claimed that menace of tanker drivers on Oshodi/ Apapa Expressway is hindering the seven road projects

However, compensations must be paid within the limited funds available for road projects. These are processes that go with road projects during construction”, he said.

Hamzat said the government recently spent N580 million on the bearings on Ekd bridge to make the bridge motorable to Lagos residents. The state government had to undertake the repairs when the Federal government was not forthcoming.

The commissioner said the Federal government is also owing Lagos state 5 J. billion spent on the Lagos/Badagry Expressway expansion work. “We believe that our prosperity depends on the expressway as a state that is why we are building it. We spent N59 billion on the project, but after the auditing carried out between Lagos Statc and the Federal government, both parties agreed on N51 billion which Federal government is yet to pay after two years”, Hamzat noted.

ARCHITECTURE: Don seeks collaboration between town and gown

By JUDE NJOKU

A

FORMER Director, Nigeria Army Post - Service Housing Scheme, Brigadier-General Tunde Reis, the ViceChancellor of the University of Lagos, UNILAG, Prof Rahamon Bello, the pioneer President of the Association of Consulting Architects of Nigeria, ACAN, Mr. Olusegun Ladega and the first female Chairman of the Lagos State chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Architects, NIA, Ms Bimbo Ajayi, were among individuals and corporate organisations honoured last week by the

Department of Architecture, University of Lagos, Akoka.

Also honoured with distinguished excellence awards by the department which celebrated its 40th anniversary, were Prof Joseph Igwe who teaches in the department, a past ACAN president, Mr. Roti Delano, Messrs Abiodun Awosika, Babatunde Akinkugbe and Okunola Odusote, both architects. Nigerite Limited was the only corporate organisation honoured at the event.

Speaking before decorating the awardees, the Dean, Faculty of Envi-

ronmental Sciences in the University, Prof Kole Odusanmi called for a collaboration between the “town and gown”. He enjoined the staff and students of the department to think of how they can assist in solving the myriad of challenges facing the nation’s built environment.

Currently the only school of architecture in Nigeria that has full accreditation from the Commonwealth Association of Architects. He disclosed that after 40 years, the department has produced its first Ph.D graduates.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014—29

*Scene of a collapsed building in Lagos...BCPG seeks new approach to check such occurrences

BY IKENNA ASOMBA

W

ORRIED by the rising wave of building collapse across the country, a pressure group - Building Collapse Prevention Guild, BCPG, has adopted a grass root measure to check the increasing occurrence of buildings collapse in the country.

Last week in Lagos, the Yaba Cell of the pressure group in collaboration with the Yaba Local Council Development Area LCDA, toured the SaboYaba environ for over five hours, in a first-of-its-kind sensitisation walk, to enlighten residents of safety measures while constructing their houses.

Tagged Building Collapse Prevention Awareness Walk 2014, the sensitisation campaign which took-off from the council secretariat, saw the Yaba LCDA Chairman, Mr. Jide Jimoh leading the team to tour streets such as Adebiyi, Hughes, Queens, McEwen, Industrial Avenue, Commercial Avenue, Herbert Macaulay Way, Faneye and Old Yaba Road.

Aside the council’s cabinet members, other group that participated in the awareness walk were the Police, Neighbourhood Watch, Yaba LCDA Ambulance Service and Fire Service units. Others include Environmental Defenders, traditional lead-

BCPG adopts grassroots approach to stem rise in building collapse mination to ensure we create the needed consciousness and awareness for our people against illegal, unsolid, unpermitted constructions and quackery in order to save

,

Government has limitation in staff strength for their presence to cover the entire state in enforcing the prevention of building collapse, that is the major reason we are out to augment this limitation

ers, members and leaders Community Development Associations,CDAs and members and leaders of the BCPG at both the national and zonal levels.

Speaking to Vanguard Homes & Property, the LCDA chairman gave reasons for the sensitisation walk. “Our deter-

,

lives, made us to partner with the Building Collapse Prevention Guild. We are grateful to God that sensitisation programmes through seminars, workshops and now this firstof-its-kind walk in the entire country, is actually creating the needed consciousness among our people.

“ During our walk, we were able to discover about three houses that are under construction but with no project specification as stipulated by the Lagos State government.

The specification states that for any building to be constructed, there must be approval and the details of the structural designer, quantity surveyor, engineer, address and phone numbers among others.

That means they are building illegally. So, for those who we have found wanting, we will report appropriately to the relevant government agencies, because the lives of our people are paramount to us as a government,” Jimoh said.

On his part, the National President, BCPG, Mr.Kunle Awobodu, a builder, explained that the awareness walk was

basically to sensitise the community and the general public on the importance of patronising professionals and trained artisans, in this age where quackery is prevalent.

He said: “Our zeal is anchored on the fact that over the years, we have realised that our approach in curtailing the incidents of building collapse has been elitist. It has been elitist based on the fact that we have only been talking through seminars, workshops and conferences. But now, we have moved down to the grassroot through this first-ofits-kind awareness walk against building collapse. So, it is a sign of many good things to come”.

Stating that the approach will continue unabated until the desired change is effected

Lagos NIESV chairman becomes RICS Fellow

T

he Chairman of the Lagos State branch of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, NIESV, Pastor Stephen Jagun, has been elevated to the prestigious cadre of Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, RICS of the United Kingdom.

The RICS is an international professional body with over 100,000 members and represents everything professional and ethical in land management, property and construction. The body is reputed to have the highest educational and professional standards.

The RICS Fellowship is a mark of distinction, which is highly sought after by professionals and recognised worldwide.

Jagun, who is also a Fellow of C M Y K

NIESV and Chairman of the Property and Facility Management Faculty of the Institution, was able to pass through the rigorous process to distinguish himself among his peers.

A past President of the Nigerian Chapter of the International Facility Management Association, Jagun is also a Certified Facility Manager of the United States-based IFMA.

Onolememen to speak on future of architectural education at UNEC

T

he Minister of Works, Mr. Mike Onolememen and the Enugu State Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development, Mr. Victor Okolo, both architects, are billed to address the maiden edition of ASAFEST 1.0 organised by the Architecture students of the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus. Onolememen is to deliver a keynote address on the Future of Architectural Education and Practice in

Nigeria, at the four-day event which kicks off at the campus tomorrow.

The event is expected to bring together practising architects, built environment professionals and manufacturers and distributors of building materials. It will also feature lectures/discussions, exhibition, product presentations and a quiz competition.

in the building sector, Awobodu blamed factors such as quackery, use of substandard materials, lack of sub-soil investigation, poor workmanship, lack of enabling environment, ignorance of home owners or prospective home owners among others, as the major causes of building collapse in the country.

Acoording to him; “Government has limitation in staff strength for their presence to cover the entire state in enforcing the prevention of building collapse, that is the major reason we are out to augment this limitation.

Government agencies We are thus collaborating with relevant government agencies such as the Lagos State Building Control Agency and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria SON, to promote standard construction and to see how we can best check the rising cases of building collapse in the state.”

The BCPG coordinator in Yaba cell, Mr. Friday Chukwu posited that Yaba residents have been fully sensitised about measures to prevent building collapse. “Since 2012 when the guild was established in the area, we have been able to get in our membership practitioners from the seven builtprofessions such as engineering, architecture, quantity surveying, estate surveying, building engineering, land surveying and artisans such as plumbers, bricklayers, iron benders, carpenters, tillers, block moulders, concrete artisans and community development association,”he said.

30—Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014

UPDC redefines Calabar landscape with 200-unit Golf Estate

By KINGSLEY ADEGBOYE

T

HE UACN Property Development Company, UPDC has flagged off the construction of a 200 housing estate in Calabar, the Cross River State capital. Christened Calabar Golf Estate, the project is being executed in partnership with Cross River State Government.

Located on 32.5 hectares of land, Calabar Golf Estate is conceived as a fully serviced estate comprising various types. They include fivebedroom detached houses, five-bedroom bungalows, four-bedroom detached houses, four-bedroom bungalows, three-bedroom bungalows? and threebedroom flats.

UPDC’s Managing Director, Mr. Hakeem Ogunniran who spoke at the ground breaking ceremony said “the project is part of a larger project, the Summit Hills, a unique and world class mixed use development covering a total area of 367 hectares”.

“This estate was conceived as a necessary complement of the Summit Hills in tandem with the fundamental elements of a proper mixed

•Calabar Golf Estate Unit 'B' Exterior use development. It must be stressed, that the Summit Hills when fully completed, will rank among the top 20 mixed developments in the world,”Ogunniran said.

Continuing, he said; “with the Calabar Golf Estate, we are delighted to partner with the visionary government of Cross River state on a PPP basis. We have jointly incorporated a special purpose vehicle, SPV known as Calabar Golf Estate Limited

and the title to this estate is vested in the SPV. We have thus created the appropriate governance framework for the operation, management and control of this project”.

“Our promise concerning this estate is that it will be a haven for its residents, where good quality of life is assured and the estate will certainly do all its stakeholders proud. Our promise at UPDC is that we would continue to complement government’s ef-

100 exhibitors expected at BUILDMACEX Nigeria 2014

BY IKENNA ASOMBA

P

OISED to tackle the rising wave of building collapse as well as generate a forum to uplift the building sector in Nigeria, Atlantic Exhibition Nigeria Limited, AENL, Lagos, has unveiled plans to bring together over 100 local and international exhibitors to showcase modern building construction machinery.

The forum which is the third in the series is tagged: BUILDMACEX Nigeria 2014 and will hold between September 9 and 11 in Lagos.

Managing Director, AENL, Mr. Ayodeji Olugbade said the exhibition which will be used by the exhibitors from various parts of the world to showcase their products and services, is organised in collaboration with MERIDYEN International Fair Organisation. Already, the event has been endorsed by the Ministry of Economy, Republic of Turkey and Nigerian Association of Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, NACCIMA. Olugbade said companies from Turkey, Italy and Dubai, among others,will participate in the C M Y K

exhibition.

He called on Nigerian building and infrastructure contractors, building materials dealers/ m a n u f a c t u r e r s , architects,surveyors, house managers/estate management professionals and other built environment stakeholders to see the exhibition as an opportunity to invest in new business ventures.

The AENL boss said product groups expected at the exhibition include; roof coverings, glass and transparent elements facade coverings, curtain wall systems, door systems and accessories, railing/banisters systems and accessories, shutters, bilinds and shades as well as window systems and accessories among numerous other building materials and furnishings.

Nigeria, others lift GEF with $4.43bn

By FUNMI OLASUPO, with agency reports

G

LOBAL Environment Facility, GEF received a boost at the 46th meeting of the GEF Council following the pledge of USD 4.43 billion by 31 donor countries to the organisation.

GEF Chairperson/ CEO, Dr. Naoko Ishii who spoke in Cancun, Mexico, described the GEF replenishment of USD 4.43 billion pledged by the donor countries as a significant success.

Ishii also noted that GEF 2020 strategy stipulates how the GEF can play a significant role in

solving some of the world critical environmental issues in future.

Nigerian Minister of Environment, Mrs. Laurentia Mallam led the Nigerian delegation to the assembly.

The Nigerian delegation had bilateral meetings with the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Conservation to Combat Desertification UNCCD, Ms. Monique Barbut, former GEF CEO, Assistant Secretary General UNEP, Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw, Director General, Mr. Li Yong, United Nations Industrial Development Organization UNIDO and the Great Green Wall Project Countries.

forts to improve the infrastructural landscape ? of our nation by embarking on real estate projects that conform to international standards, are aesthetically appealing and offer delightful living experiences to customers/ residents. We will also continue to build for sustainable value by ensuring that our designs comply with the tenets of sustainability,

environmental friendliness and corporate social responsibility,” Ogunniran said.

Responding, Governor Liyel Imoke thanked UPDC for the “laudable project”. “ This is the first major Private Public sector Partnership of the nature, size and competence of a company like UACN Property Development Company. For us as a government, this is another reward for the conscious efforts that have been put into making our state an investment destination in Nigeria. These efforts over the years have gradually ensured a conducive investment climate that has attracted the strong interest of ? major organisation like UPDC”, Imoke said.

Recreational facilities expected in the estate include a community centre comprising a commercial Spa, Swimming Pool, Gymnasium, Club House and Children’s Playhouse. Other are a Sewage Treatment Plant; Borehole and Water Treatment Plant ; Fire Alarm System/ Smoke Detectors; Burglar Alarm System; Uninterrupted Power Supply and Ample Parking Space for residents and visitors.

V anguard anguard,, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014 —31

Dancing on the graves of Abacha and the Yar’Aduas (2) The first part of this discourse was published last Friday.

T

DR. G ARAH G.. G G.. D DARAH lion to a third of that figure. Consequently, the economy was heading to bankruptcy and social explosion.

This was the dire situation that confronted President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. He took sagacious and audacious measures to halt the country’s descent into the brink of collapse. With the indefatigable support of his VicePresident, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, Yar’Adua reached out C M Y K

to Ijaw patriots for intervention.

The likes of Chief D.S.P. Alamieyeseigha and Timi Alaibe did a yeoman’s job of mediation and persuasion. The prime negotiator was Map of Nigeria Jonathan who braved the mined marine routes and creeks to connect guerrilla commands. These heralds of peace dialogued with the youth in Ijaw language and they appreciated the depth and candour of Yar’Adua’s patriotic intentions.

Like the angelic dove that he was, the President signed an armistice with the militia groups and proclaimed the Presidential Amnesty Programme in October, 2009.

Weapons were publicly surrendered and oaths of allegiance taken by the militia commands.

The guns went silent in the hitherto rumbling creeks; notable leaders of the Ijaw freedom movement like Government Ekpemupolo (Tompolo) and Kingsley Kuku were incorporated in the Federal peace-building agenda.

Over 26,000 former freedom fighters dropped their bayonets for the ploughs of education and professional training.

Professional training The oil wars were over, at least for now. The Yar’Adua peace plan worked and by 2010, oil production had peaked again at over two million barrels per day.

The bumper production has continued unabated ever since and Nigeria is swooning, one again, in the deluge of petrodollars.

Committed to peace like South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, President Yar’Adua took a pro-active step early in 2007 by creating the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.

As further proof of his statesmanship, the President appointed Chief Ekaete, an Akwa Ibom technocrat and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation as the pioneer minister. He immediately toured the area to hold talks with various stakeholders. The President knew that this was a token gesture with little material substance, yet it sent a pacific signal to the Niger Delta and the international oil market.

I have written elsewhere that the Nigerian Amnesty Programme is the most successful of such initiatives in all post-war settlements in recent history. Just as South Africa’s former President W. F. de

Klerk and Nelson Mandela jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize in the 1990s, President Musa Yar ’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan have earned their place of honour in the pantheon of Africa’s greatest statesmen of peace and nation-building. It is regrettable and unpardonable that the top echelons of the Northern elite who ought to be polishing Yar’Adua’s credentials for a postmortem award of a global peace diadem are the same ones desecrating his memory and vilifying his compatriot, Goodluck Jonathan. History will not forgive these short-sighted ingrates.

Short-sighted ingrates Here are the sinister schemes that shall witness against the anti-Niger Delta plotters. From the first week of the work of the Devolution Committee, it was clear that delegates from the resource-famished states were determined to divert more oil wealth from the Niger Delta to irrigate their ailing economies. In clear disrespect to the memory of Generals Musa Yar’Adua and Sani Abacha, and President Umaru Yar’Adua the jingoists called for the scrapping of the NDDC, the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, and the Amnesty Programme.

They demanded more pounds of flesh, namely, that the 13 per cent derivation quota be reduced to five per cent and that the onshore-offshore dichotomy resolved in 2004 be reinstated. At this point, we knew that an adversary who hauls stones at your hat is actually aiming at your skull.

Thus we the federalists countered their specious arguments with more scientific statistics. On the onshore-offshore dichotomy, we drowned their cacophony about the 1982 United Nations Convention of the Sea by citing the actual wording of the legal definition of what constitutes land and its water-logged extension or the sea. Article 76 of the Convention states that “the continental shelf of a coastal State comprises the seabed and subsoil of

Abacha

Yar' Ádua

the submarine areas that extend beyond its territorial area throughout the natural prolongation of its land territory to the outer edge of the continental margin, or to a distance of 200 nautical miles (360 km) from its baselines from which the breadth of the territorial seas is measured where the outer edge of the continental margin does not extend to that distance”.

Professor Itse Sagay’s studies on the matter became handy to the federalist delegates. According to this international scholar of jurisprudence, “…the law of the continental shelf simply follows the physical fact of coastal state adjacency to the sea and continuity of its land mass and resources under water. If land territory is submerged by rain water it does not stop being part of the territory of the relevant state for the duration of the submersion. As the Atlantic Ocean gradually advances into Lagos State coastal areas, particularly in the

rest the politically corrupted judgement of the Supreme Court of April 2002 that disinherited the coastal states of their inalienable right to the continental shelf and all its riches.

,

BY G. G. DARAH HE phrase “resource con trol” derived from this manifesto. When the government resorted to crude force to suppress the agitations, the Ijaw groups re-invented the Adaka Boro formula of armed struggle. By the time the elected governments assumed office in 1999, the stakes had been raised to include kidnapping of expatriate oil personnel for ransom and damage of oil facilities.

President Olusegun Obasanjo inherited this insurgency and he compounded the crisis by his illomened invasion and destruction of Odi community in Bayelsa State in November 1999.

Obasanjo reluctantly set up the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, in 2000 but deliberately underfunded it to a point of impotence.

He had provoked all the oilproducing states from Ondo to Cross River by deliberately reneging on implementing the 13 per cent derivation clause in the constitution he swore to defend.

At this point, even the elected governors and legislators of the Niger Delta joined the fray and applied the “Resource Control” mass campaign to compel him to do so in April, 2000.

The NDDC gesture was too little and too late. The short-lived truce evaporated by 2005 when armed guerrilla groups sprang up in the creeks, among them were those by Alhaji DokuboAsari, Ateke Tom, Generals Boyloaf and John Togo, and later the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND. The groups combined the chemistry of advanced ideological orientation and sophisticated weaponry to paralyse the oil industry.

Nigeria’s daily oil production nose-dived from about two mil-

Onshore-offshore dichotomy President Obasanjo who claims to be an internationalist, knew his grave error in the legal rigging of that judgement. That was why he quickly atoned for his political sins by the signing the National Assembly law of 2004 that restored the rights of resource democracy to the eight coastal states.

Otherwise distinguished antiNiger Delta delegates in our Committee ignored these glaring facts and asked for the return to the regime of illegality of the onshore-offshore dichotomy.

Their gambit failed. But we know that were not done yet as they are desperate to appropriate wa-

,

The conservative Northern establishment wants to possess the oil wealth of the coastal states. But they have no right to it Victoria Island area, those areas being submerged by the sea do not lose their character and status as part of Lagos State to become part of the Federal Government territory simply because they have become covered by water”.

Here is Sagay’s clincher as the Convention applies to the coastal states and the rest of Nigeria: “within the context of Nigeria, made up of a Federal State (Government) and 36 States, each of these 37 entities has its territorial space over which it has sovereignty and jurisdiction. Some of these territories have coasts and others do not. The States that have coasts are Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Ondo, Ogun, and Lagos.

Again, within the context of Nigeria, these are the only States with continental shelves and margins. Specifically, and especially, the Federal Government and the remaining 28 states are landlocked. Again, within the domestic maps of Nigeria, the other 28 States and the Federal Government have no continental shelf”.

These legal explanations put to

terlogged wealth of the Atlantic coast. We are waiting for them.

The federalists responded with more counter measures. The conservative Northern establishment wants to possess the oil wealth of the coastal states. But they have no right to it. The inheritors of the Northern militariat want President Jonathan out of office by fair or foul means. The 19 landlocked states in the North contribute close to nothing to the Federation Account.

The figures for four years (20092012) from the Federation Account Allocation Committee show that the South-South Zone contributed an average of 68 per cent, the South-West 23 per cent, the South-East 8.5 per cent while the North-Central, North-East, and North-West zones accounted for zero per cent.

Yet not minding their im pecunious situation, the Jonathan Administration has done more for the Northern States than it has done for the Southern or even the Niger Delta of his nativity.

To be concluded

32 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014

By Theodore Opara

Kia to produce cars in Nigeria by Sept K

IA Motors has announced that it will commence production of selected models in Nigeria

by September this year.

The Korean auto makers by this move, joins the likes of Nissan and others who took advantage of the Federal Government’s auto policy to set up assembly plants in the country.

The automaker’s Africa & Middle East Manager, Mr. Homer Kim disclosed this during media chat at a ceremony to inaugurate Kia ultramodern showroom in Lagos.

KIA’s decision to establish a local plant in Nigeria followed Federal Government’s proclamation of a modified National Automotive Policy that seeks to revolutionise Nigeria automotive industry and steadily discourage importation of fully built-up vehicles.

KIA Motors Corporation had in February inked a treaty with Dana Motors Limited, local KIA representatives to restructure existing shortterm obligation to align with long-term investment in assets development – a scenario that culminated in the provision of technical knowhow and setting up machinery for the local plant.

Mr. Kim said the plant would immediately begin to assemble select KIA models including A, B &C - segment Rio, Cerato and Optima because of the huge KIA model line-up and by mid 2015 commence full scale production of the entire KIA range.

“We will immediately begin to assemble few models including KIA Rio, Cerato and Optima because of the huge model line-up of KIA and by mid 2015, all things being equal the entire KIA range will be made locally. This in essence implies that, not a

single KIA model will be imported into Nigeria from Korea.”

Also speaking at the occasion, Dana Motors Limited Managing Director, Mr. Jacky Hathiramani said the dealership is proud to be associated with the Korean automaker and seeks to replicate KIA outstand-

ing qualities in Nigeria.

Dana Motors was appointed KIA representatives in 2002 and within a relatively short time, positioned the brand as one of Nigeria’s foremost automobile brands and best selling passenger car.

Mr. Hathiramani reiterated the company’s com-

mitment to the success of the investment, adding that “we will continue to introduce convincing m a r k e t i n g communications techniques that will help raise KIA’s profile and brand identity, while also creating positive percep-

tions for KIA products through high-profile sponsorship deals.”

This strategy is aimed to change the perception of customers to view KIA not only as an automobile but a manufacturer of cars of great quality and design, Dana Motors CEO assured.

He commended KIA’s resilience and candour from a mere bicycles and motorcycles manufacturer 50 years ago to a worldclass manufacturer of cars in rapid succession that resulted in broad range of models available in the global market.

“Today, KIA Motors Corporation has become a genuine global force in the automotive world and its brand slogan – ‘The Power to Surprise’ represents the company ’s global commitment to surpassing customers’ expectations through continuous automotive innovation,” said Mr. Hathiramani.

Coscharis-Ford search for toughest driver C

OSCHARIS Motors Ltd, foremost Nigerian automobile dealer with the support of one of its foreign partners, Ford Motor Company, is set to bring fun and adventure to the Nigerian automobile arena by organizing the first ever automobile driver challenge, which is aimed at producing the toughest driver in Nige-

ria, who will represent Nigeria at the forthcoming Ford Ranger Odyssey holding in Namibia by September this year.

The tournament, captioned “Ranger Odyssey 2014 Qualifier”, with the slogan “are YOU tough enough?”, is a screening exercise that will bring together the young, authentic, adventurous, out-

going, free-spirited, as well as the hard-working and sporty individuals.

The contest would be amongst the bold and adaptable Nigerian drivers from all walks of life, in a dogged challenge to test their ability and dexterity to handle the Ford Ranger pickup in tough and adventurous terrains.

It will also include elements of competition where participants would test their 4x4 driving and mechanical skills, endurance, courage, stamina, perseverance and resilience against the worst that nature could offer.

According to Mr. Josiah Samuel, the Group Managing Director of Coscharis Motors Limited, “The main emphasis of Ranger Odyssey 2014 will tilt more towards testing human endurance and

adaptability combined with the fierce ruggedness that comes with the Ford Ranger brand.” Speaking further, Mr. Samuel said “The winner of the tournament, male or female, must be one who best exudes the characteristic Built-Ford-Tough slogan of the Ranger. This individual will join other 19 winners from other subSahara Africa markets to represent Nigeria at the forthcoming Ford Ranger Odyssey 2014 in Namibia, where he or she stands a chance to win the use of a brand new Ford Ranger for one year, plus fuel up to N75,000 per month”.

The General Manager, Marketing & Corporate Services, Coscharis Motors Limited, Mr. Abiona Babarinde, while explaining further on the programme said that quali-

fied Nigerians will be invited to enter for the competition in the month of July while the actual screening exercise will take place on August 2, 2014 at the company’s ultra-modern track facility at the Group Head Office on Lekki-Ekpe Expressway, Awoyaya, Lagos.

In order to qualify for the contest, Contestants will need to complete an entry form that will include a personal bio, photo and motivation as to why he/ she should be selected to represent Nigeria in the 2014 Odyssey. A screening team will test the contestants’ off-road and 4x4 ability in a Ranger. Contestants will also need to be evaluated and assessed against a set of criteria to ensure they have what it takes to win the Odyssey competition.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014 — 33

By Theodore Opara

F

ORD has announced that it is set to unveil 25 exciting new vehicles in Middle East and African markets by 2016 as part of its aggressive expansion plans in its newest business unit, Middle East and Africa (MEA).

Spanning Saudi Arabia to South Africa, and Nigeria to Kenya, Ford’s new MEA unit is comprised of 67 markets.

Under the new plant, Ford will unveil 17 new products in sub-Sahara Africa which Nigeria falls under.

“Ford is bringing a full family of safe, high quality, fuel efficient and fun-to-drive cars, trucks and SUVs to customers throughout the Middle East and Africa region,” said Jim Benintende president, Ford Middle East and Africa who briefed the press during the recently concluded Ford Go Further event in South Africa. “MEA is the final frontier for global growth in the auto industry and thanks to the power of our One Ford plan, we are able to offer vehicles here that our customers want and value.”

Vehicle sales in the MEA are expected to grow by 40 percent by the end of the decade to 5.5 million vehicles.

Ford is putting the right structure and people in place in order to bring a full family of vehicles that customers will want to the region.

Ford’s MEA business unit underscores Ford’s commitment to customers in a region where Ford and Lincoln sales grew up to 60 percent in the past four years.

To take advantage of growth opportunities, Ford has combined the four regions of North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa and the Middle East into a

Ford to unveil 17 new products for Africa single business unit, with all sales, share and financial reporting consolidated for the 67 Ford markets. The new

Infinity rewards customers with Ramadan gifts T

YRES marketing giant and distributor of premium automobile batteries in Nigeria, Infinity Tyres Limited is once again rewarding its customers all over Nigeria, by adding value to their lives in this year’s RAMADAN ‘Scratch and Win’ Promo. The promo themed ‘Value Drive’ was officially opened by the management of Infinity Tyres Nigeria Limited on the 10th of July 2014, in Lagos, and will be on till July 30.

This special RAMADAN Promo has been introduced

by Infinity in addition to their annual Christmas Promo which is traditionally held every year during December.

Infinity Tyres Limited is the sole marketer and franchise owner of premium products such as Pirelli, Goodyear, Infinity and CEAT tyres as well as battery brands such as Exide and Infinity in Nigeria.

Infinity ‘Value Drive’ promo is an instant gratification scheme which allows customers to win fantastic prizes through a ‘Scratch and Win’ reward system. To participate, consumers are expected to buy any tyre or battery brand from any Infinity Tyres outlet within the stipulated period. For every purchase made, customers get a scratch card which bears an instant prize. Customers are expected to scratch the silver panels of the cards to reveal their prizes. Prizes include cash prizes, tyre services like Wheel balancing, wheel alignment and Nitro-filling.

Other prizes include umbrellas, T-shirts caps and Inflator pumps. All prizes are redeemable instantly at the point of purchase.

In his remarks, the Marketing Manager, Infinity Tyres Limited, Mr Vikas Bahl, expressed excitement as he described the promo as one platform through which the company shows appreciation to its loyal customers.

He further explained that the growth of the company in Nigeria is a clear indication that Nigeria is a very progressive country. He said that the Nigerian market, though competitive is highly favorable for companies that deliver products and services of excellent quality.

Ford Middle East and Africa operation – Ford’s fifth global business unit – is headquartered in Dubai.

“The Middle East and Africa region is vast and is comprised of very diverse markets with different political, cultural

and economic environments,” Benintende said. “In order to best support the region it is imperative that we establish a robust operation with a dedicated focus and clear understanding of the unique conditions and custom-

er needs in these markets.”

To attain that dedicated focus and support the diversity of the markets, Middle East and Africa is now being managed in two sub-regions – South Africa and SubSaharan Africa, and the

Middle East and North Africa. While regional operations are headquartered in Dubai, Ford maintains regional offices in both South Africa and Dubai.

“The new business unit will give the region the focus it deserves and help spearhead Ford’s continued growth in emerging markets. Africa is one of the youngest markets in the world, and there is an opportunity to provide an affordable product for the people of the continent,” he continued.

Mitsubishi Fuso appoints CFAO Motors sole distributor

F

OREMOST Auto mobile Marketing Company in Nigeria (CFAO) Motors has been appointed sole distributor of Mitsubishi Fuso commercial vehicles in Nigeria, with effect from this month.

Disclosing this to the press in his Ijora, Lagos office, new Managing Director of CFAO Automotive Equipment and Services, Mr. Thomas Pelletier said that they were chosen as the Fuso sole distributor in Nigeria because of their commitment to the brand.

“The Japanese auto maker after several years of doing business with CFAO in Nigeria appointed the company as their sole distributor for the brand this month he said.

Expressing his excitement over the appointment, the Managing Director further said “I am proud and happy about the development. This gives us the opportunity to take the brand to new heights in Nigeria. At present the most well known product from the

Mitsubishi Fuso lined up is the Canter truck which is the market leader in its segment due to its reliability, ruggedness and low maintenance cost. We plan to introduce the complete range of Mitsubishi Fuso trucks and buses to the Nigerian Market. Our customers can expect the same quality and reliability in our new range of bigger trucks.”

According to him, CFAO has been operating in Nigeria since 1902 and is committed to providing customers with a sales and service experience of international standard. With branches nationwide CFAO Motors is fully equipped to support the FUSO brand’s long term vision. All FUSO vehicles sold by CFAO Motors come with manufacturer ’s warranty and are supported by comprehensive after sales backup with genuine spare parts in its branches and dealer outlets.

The Managing Director however hinted that the company will commence

local assembly of Fuso vehicles by next year.

CFAO is a front-ranking specialized distributor and preferred partner of major international brands, serving the high-potential equipment, healthcare and consumer goods markets in Africa and the French overseas territories.

CFAO is present in 36 countries – including 33 in Africa – and seven in the French overseas territories. The Group had a headcount of 11,600 at end-2013.

Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC) is one of Asia’s leading commercial vehicle manufactur-

ers. In 2013, the company sold a total of about 172,400 vehicles including light-medium and heavy-duty trucks and buses.

With a history dating to 1932, Mitsubishi Fuso today is a leader with a strong footprint in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East with its business covering more than 150 markets around the world. Daimler AG owns 89.29% of MFTBC shares. The remaining 10.71% of shares are held by various Mitsubishi group companies.

MFTBC is an integral part of the Daimler Trucks Division of Daimler AG.

34—Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014

C M Y K

Vanguard, TUESD AY, JULY 22, 2014 —35 TUESDA

Uduaghan tasks optometrists on eye disorders

BY CHARLES KUMOLU

D

• Life and death have become order of the day in public hospitals across the country as the strike persists.

NMA strike:

Every minute, one person dies

BY SOLA OGUNDIPE & CHIOMA OBINNA

A

T least one death is being recorded daily in public health facilities since the nationwide indefinite strike called by the Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, began three weeks ago.

Findings reveal that deaths recorded in the various hospitals are on the increase.

It was gatehred that the deaths could have been avoided if normal health care services were in place.

The strike which has paralysed activities in Federal and state teaching and specialist hospitals, as well as Federal Medical Centres, where crucial services in sensitive areas such as the Accident and Emergency departments, surgical units and Intensive Care Units, among others have been put on hold.

“If the report that every minute a Nigerian dies as a result of the strike is anything to go by, then no fewer than 30,240 lives must been have lost over the last three weeks,” a concerned observer lamented.

At one of the barely functional, teaching hospitals in Lagos, a patient, who identified himseld as Akintola, said even though he was ill and on admission, he was asked to go home at the onset of the strike.

Lamenting his ordeal, he remarked that the only thing Nigerians could be certain about the on-going strike was that more deaths are bound to be recorded with each passing day.

“Government and the doctors are not taking this matter seriously. How can they just stand by and watch as people die helplessly. Why is it that they cannot settle with one another and allow the hospitals to open for normal service? He inquired.

Another patient, Dickson, who claimed to reside at Sango, in Ogun state but visited the Lagos mainland

every other day to seek treatment for his ailing mother, said the only places in the health institutions that appear to be functioning optimally are the mortuaries.

“People are dying everyday. I have been to Ikeja, Agege and Yaba today and I saw dead bodies being taken away. Many die before they get to the hopsital, others die in the hospital. Even those that are still alive, if they are lucky, they they go to other places because new patients are not being admitted. If they are unlucky, they die and it is their dead bodies that are brought back to the mortuary.”

Meanwhile, medical doctors urged Nigerians to tarry more for better healthcare services, and the Federal government is saying it has shown commitment towards meeting all the de-

mands of the NMA. But the question remains as to how much longer will Nigerians continue to die.

A former Commissioner for Health in Lagos State, Dr. Leke Pitan noted that "For a government to justify its existence, its citizenry must continue to exist happily and satisfactorily. And for any citizen to continue, that person must be alive and well. That alone describes the peculiar nature of the health sector and why it should be taken out of the arena of ego."

Currently, it is not that Nigerians are dying that is painful, but that they are dying needlessly.

With one of the worst health indices in the world, the current strike is only making an already precarious situation worse.

ELTA State Governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan has urged Nigerian optometrists to find ways of "arresting the spread of eye diseases among the people".

Uduaghan made the call last week while declaring open, on behalf of the President Goodluck Jonathan, the 38th AGM/ Scientific Conference of the Nigerian Optometric Association in Asaba.

The Governor, who was represented by his deputy, Prof. Amos Utuama, urged members of the Association to use the opportunity of the conference to recognise, evaluate and assume greater role in the maintenance of the health and well-being of members of the public.

"As primary contact healthcare providers who specializes in the examination, diagnosis, treatment, management and prevention of the diseases and disorders of the visual system, the eye and associated structures, your role is really critical in the protection and maintenance of the eye.Like most other diseases, eye diseases are growing in leaps and bounds.

"It is therefore essential that this type of gathering should be held to examine ways of attending and arresting the spread of eye diseases among our people", he said.

Uduaghan noted that the state has put in place and sustained all healthcare programmes among the most vulnerable groups, especially women and children as well as ante-natal care, delivery, which include mandatory caesarean and essential laboratory test.

Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi

Continues on Page 37

New malaria drug shows promise

A

N international group of research ers led by Lourdes Campos from the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech has proved that the CD27 drug can be a reliable option against malaria. Researchers came to this conclusion after studying the 3D crystalline structure of the complex of DNA with the drug.

The CD27 drug is a complex synthesised by researchers led by Christophe Dardonville at the Instituto de Quimica Medica of the Spanish National Research Council's/ (IQM-CSIC) in Madrid. "CD27 is chemically related to diamidines -- molecules with two amidines -- and has previously been used with success in other Trypanosoma species that produce the 'sleeping sickness' in Africa and Chagas disease in South America," says Lourdes Campos.

Results show how the CD27 drug completely covers the minor groove of the DNA, preventing the typical development of the parasite and causing its death.

This research helps to understand this family of compounds and may significantly contribute to the development of new, more effective drugs against malaria.

Once the samples of the drug were validated by Harry P. De Koning, a researcher at the University of Glasgow, they were sent to the UPC research group in Crystallography, Structure and Function of Biological Macromolecules led by Lourdes Campos. For over a year, the group has been working to obtain the crystalline structure of DNA. Obtaining a DNA crystal is a multiparametric process -- it requires different variables -- and, before obtain-

ing a DNA crystal with the drug, several tests under different conditions are required. The crystal must present a very high molecule order in the crystalline network, as this is essential for solving the tridimensional structure of the complex. "Obtaining a good crystal is a long and hard task and requires the collaboration of groups from different disciplines. With the help of synchrotrons like the ALBA, science can make a big step forward in comparison with the methods that were available 20 years ago," says Lourdes Campos.

Results of this research have been validated and deposited at the Protein Data Bank, a 3D database of proteins and nucleic acids, and published in the journal Acta Crystallographica D. The drug is patent-free and can be produced by any pharmaceutical company interested in its development.

36—Vanguard, TUESD AY, JULY 22, 2014 TUESDA

• Nigeria is making progress against the HIV/AIDS epidemic, says Director General, NACA, Prof. John Idoko (right).

We have stabilised spread of HIV — Idoko

BY SOLA OGUNDIPE

C

ONTRARY to widespread belief and anxiety that so much more needs to be done to ensure the country meets set targets for universal access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and control by the end of 2015, Nigeria is currently making progress and may have begun to turn the tide against the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Disclosing the progress in the war against HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, Director General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS, NACA, Professor John Idoko, said the launch of the President's Comprehensive Response Plan, PCRP, in 2013, had been a sig-

nificant boost to the campaign.

In a presentation entitled: The War On HIV/AIDS:Impact on Demography and the Economy, Idoko declared: “We have stabilised the spread of the infection and concerted effort is being made to prevent new infections through numerous prevention programmes and strategic behaviour change communications,” he asserted.

Universal target

Idoko, who spoke prior to the opening of the 20th International AIDS Confer in Melbourne, Australia, said NACA, with the help of Federal government development partners and all stakeholders will continue to strive to

meet up the universal target of halting and reversing the trend of HIV/ AIDS in Nigeria.

“I recognise an increasing concern in the polity regarding the hunger for an end to the fight on HIV/AIDS. This is genuine and desirable. Globally, the world shares this view and the desire to beat HIV/AIDS. As a nation, Nigeria has shown tenacity for exhibiting collective passion and resolves to reach universal access targets set for 2015,” he argued.

On the PCRP, which seeks to reinvigorate the national HIV/AIDS response in Nigeria and increase domestic spending on the response, Idoko said on full implementation, it will re-

Rural communities lament shortage of health workers, drugs

A

BY CHIOMA OBINNA

CUTE shortages of health workers and drugs have been identified as most challenging in health facilities located in rural communities in Lagos State. This is coming on the heels of a new report by the International Labour Organisation, ILO which states that the global shortage of health workers is hampering efforts to deliver essential quality health care to all in need and achieve universal health protection.

Speaking during an advocacy visit to the Chairman, Oriade Local Government Council, Lagos, a Civil Society Organisation member representing Innovation Matters, InMatters/ Lagos State Civil Society Partnership, LACSOP, Mrs. Elizabeth Sowho, disclosed that a survey conducted by InMatters/LACSOP in 21 Local Government Councils in Lagos showed acute shortage of health workers and drugs.

"We did a survey on child and maternal health issues. The survey threw up a lot. of things, we discovered that most facilities are lacking a lot of basic facilities that can help to keep women and children alive. If you go to some of these PHCs you will discover that only a nurse will attend to over 300 people in a day.

The nurse will be the one to do the diagnosis, prescribe, dispense. So if only the government can post more medical personnel to these rural communities it will go a long way.

Calling for increased political and technical leadership in the country to support long-term human resource development efforts, she said among the

21 LCDAs where the survey was done, only Oriade LCDA welcomed the report.

Decrying the state of healthcare in Nigeria, she regretted that some medical practitioners have lost conscience of what it is to be a medical practitioner, adding that in most part of the world, it would be strange to see a medical practitioners going on strike and allowing their patients to die.

Sowho explained that the visit was part of the efforts to bridge the various gaps earlier identified by the report. "This place happen to be one of the local government that we worked on and we focus on a PHCs in Agboju, we presented the report since then, we have been following up to ensure that the chairman puts in place those lapses that we discovered."

The Ward Health Community, Chairman, Agboju Ward, Suleiman Anifowoshe, said top among the challenges waslack of a functional ambulance.

"Above all, we have not recorded any maternal death because the nurses' incharge are well trained and know when to transfer to general hospital. We do not charge for delivery we only charge N50 for out patients cards. The number of patients has increased. On daily basis we see 30 patients and deliver over 40 babies a month," he explained.

Giving a score card during a meeting with the InMatters/LACSOP, the Chairman, Oriade LCDA, Mr. Ibrahim Sanusi said already in place are structures and rehabilitation of dilapidated PHCs in the area.

"In Satellite, the structure is already on ground, in Ijegun prison structure on ground; in Ore the structure is also on ground, Iyagbe the structure is on ground. All we need now is just the palliatives, fittings here and there to complete them. We need about N40 million while each will gulp about N3 million. By August latest we would have completed some. WE were able to put all these health centres in areas where people are.

sult in 40 percent reduction of new HIV infections, translating into 210,000 new infections averted annually.

The PCRP is expected to bring about savings of up to US$ 1.72 billion in treatment costs channeled into exigent aspect of counseling and treatment strategies. It is designed to enable 1,000,000 persons, or a 100 percent increase in number of persons receiving Antiretroviral Treatment, ART. Along the line, a reduction of 115, 000 (21 percent) in number of AIDS -related deaths annually (translating into 92,000 deaths averted; and 80 percent reduction in mother-to-child transmission of HIV through placing 244,000 women on Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission, PMTCT..

"The country has been steadfast in its commitment to the HIV and AIDS response and has not lost ground in the handling of treatment and management. As part of the strides against HIV/AIDS in recent times, the number of sites providing ART has increased from 25 in18 states in 2002 to 820 by 2013 in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

According to the Global AIDS response: country progress report 2014, adults and children receiving ART in Nigeria increased from 302,973 in 2009 to 639,397 in 2013, while death averted as a result of administering ART to HIV positive patients estimated at 52,732 in 2010 dropped to 69,262 in 2013.

Addressing gaps

In response to the existing gaps in managment and control of HIV/AIDS at national level, NACA and partners of the ART programme, are scaling ART sites up to meet set targets.

"Trend analysis of HIV prevalence from sentinel surveillance in Nigeria indicates that the epidemic has halted and is showing signs of stabilising at about 4 percent from 2005 till date. A survey conducted in 2012 (NARHS plus 11 2012) showed a decline to 3.4 percent in HIV prevalence, indicating a reversal of the epidemic in the country compared to 2007 figure of 3.6 percent. ).

"In view of the fact that an estimated 220,394 new HIV infections occurred in 2013, HIV prevention efforts have also been scaled up and there is demonstrable commitment by NACA and Continues on Page 37

•Director General, NAFDAC, Dr. Paul Orhii, (2nd right), briefing the press on arrest of suspected impersonatiors posing as NAFDAC officials. From left: Mrs Stella Denloye, Director Laboratory Services; Dr Umar Musa, Director Investigation and Enforcement with Mrs Yetunde Oni , Director Human Resources and Admin. PHOTO by Biodun Ogunleye.

Vanguard, TUESD AY, JULY 22, 2014 —37 TUESDA

NACA, stabilising HIV Continues from Page 36

•HRM Oba Adeleke Bobade, Onire of Ire-Ekiti cutting the tape during the official opening of Louismed Hospital in Lagos. Photo Lamidi Bamidele.

its development partners to reverse the spread of the epidemic, particularly in terms of curbing new infections by focusing more strategically on prevention interventions for the general population and particularly for Most at Risk Population, MARPS, and their partners who contribute more than 40 percent of new infections of HIV in Nigeria.

PMTCT:Idoko said aspects of NACA's continuous strategies to win the war against HIV/AIDS includes the PMTCT, initiative. “In line with this, PMTCT sites increased from 690 in 2009 to 5,622 in 2013. Routine data from PMTCT services showed that number of pregnant women counseled, tested, and received results increased from 1,120,178 in 2011 to 1,706,524 in 2013.

“The number of HIV pregnant women who received ARV prophylaxis also increased from 31,688 in 2009 to 57,871 in 2013. New infections averted as a result of access to PMTCT therapy by HIV positive women rose from an estimated 4,381 in 2010 to 12,868 in 2013.

Based on 2014 estimates, coverage for PMTCT still remains low at 30.1 percent even different parts of the world, though it has increased from stressed the need for these pro- the previous coverage of 25.9 fessionals to bring their experi- percent in 2012.” ence and capital home to create good quality health facilities in the country.

House Committee Chairman Continues from Page 35 on Diaspora Affairs, Hon. Abike Chukwu, represented by the Dabiri-Erewa, Guest Speaker Medical Director, Federal and Chairman of the occasion, Medical Centre, Asaba, Dr. challenged Nigerians to deLeo Erumuse, said governmand the best from their leadment is posed to ensure corers, especially in the area of diality in the sector but regrethealth care delivery. She recounted her experience with ted the current strike action.

Bamigboye when she had an President, Nigerian Optometemergency gynaecological ric Association Dr. Ikechukwu problem saying, there is need Nwakuche called on political for Nigerian doctors abroad to leaders and policy makers in come back and invest in the Nigeria to create conducive country's health sector and not environment for optometrists to be discouraged by the insur- to make eye care accessible gency.

Louismed Hospital tackles poor maternal health

BY GABRIEL OLAWALE & BOSEDE OYELOHUNNU

S

UCCOUR has come the way of Nigerian women who desire the best that is available in obstetric and gynaecological care. This is made possible through exploits of a Nigerian medical expert, Professor Anthony Akinloye Bamigboye, who just returned from South Africa to set up a state-of-theart health facility in Lagos.

Bamigboye, an ardent researcher and clinician who practices gynaecology and reproductive medicine with special interest in evidence-based approach believes that Nigeria's high maternal death rate can be addressed through im-

proved healthcare services that are accessible and affordable.

Lamenting the problem of poor infrastructure, he said Louismed is the beginning of a process that will soon blossom into an international African brand.

"Loiusmed Hospital envisions to be a Centre of Excellence in Gynaecology and Reproductive medicine and where a partnership with the medical schools will ensure that medical registrars can have skills acquired without clamouring or overseas posting as well as undertake important scientific research.

"We are prepared to assist patients from other hospitals. Our surgical endoscopy unit, that is, unit for key-hole operation otherwise called minimally invasive

surgery is quite advanced," he stated, noting that doctors, nurses and other medical staff at the new hospital are carefully selected in Nigeria and South Africa.

In his keynote address entitled: "The Diaspora and the Future of the Medical Care in Nigeria" , immediate past Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Femi Olugbile, who x-rayed the current medical care in the country and the need for Nigerians in the Diaspora to get involved by establishing health facilities would restore hope to the nation's health sector .

Olugbile, who pointed out the huge number of highly skilled Nigerians in medical practice in

Uduaghan

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I

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I am 74 years old and I just married a new wife. She is 29. I have been using drugs to get an erection for the past 10 years and four months ago, my doctor told me that I am hypertensive. Since then, I have been advised not to take any sex drug that will increase my blood pressure. The issue now is how to get an erection? Itele Dear Itele, I understand your situation and there is an option we can explore to help you regain your vital sexual functions. An alternative for getting an erection is the use of a penis pump. Any adult man can use a penis pump and it doesn’t matter if you are hypertensive or diabetic. Unlike drugs, a pump works from the outside to draw blood into the penis for a hard erection. Once you pump and get the required erection, you now wear another device called a Cockring at the base of the penis to maintain the erection. This way, you can have intercourse for up to twenty minutes without losing your erection. A good penis pump that I can recommend for you is the Machismo Penis Pump. It is also a good penis enlarger – Uche

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My woman also experiences pain during sex- Waheed For you, ask for the Penis Enlargement Pump or the Men’s Club Supplement . For her, get the Mood Sensitive Lubricant. It prevents vaginal dryness and pain during intercourse – Uche And that’s it for today. The names of the people featured here have been changed for their privacy. Adults in need of these treatments/novelties can call 08171912551 or 08027901621 or any other number here to order or they can order online at www.zeevirtualmedia.com. Zee Virtual Media delivers to you wherever you are in Nigeria. For enquiries, send your emails to custserv@zeevirtualmedia.com - Uche Edochie, MD, Zee Virtual Media.

uintuplets mark a year, Nordica pledge hope for childless couples

By Gabriel Olawale As minutes turn hours and months to year, Sofunlayo quintuplets - three females and two males born to the family of Mr. and Mrs. Wale Sofunlayo on December 16, 2011 turn a year.

Overwhelm with the joy of seeing their babies’ clock a year; the couple did not even remember their years of barrenness.

Her Word: “Although these children did not came at expected time and we had almost lost hope, but God later be our hope as will did not remember our years of bareness any more.”

Olayemo, the mother of the babies noted that they already had a male child before God added another five children.

“We already had one boy which was not up to two years before we had the quintuplets. So between three years, God made

38—Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014

FOOTPRINTS OF A STATESMAN: The Life And Times Of CHIEF DANIEL OKUMAGBA A biography by Bernard Oboatarhieyeren Okumagba

The Maths And Music Lover “For him, a reasoned step-by-step approach to a mathematical problem was more important than the final answer itself; for him, no working back from the answer! — Prof. Okpako

About the Book

Y

ESTERDAY, the

first part of this serial showcased the birth of a Daniel, the teacher and Gamesmaster, Chief Daniel Okumagba.

T

ODAY

This second part of his biography, written by his son, Bernard, will take a look at his love for music and and passion for mathematics. More importantly, we will kickstart the next serial by bringing out the political fire in the late statesman- Kindling The Fire!

I

n all, he displayed a con fident personality, perhaps because he was as good in the subject of mathematics, his students recall, as he was effective as a disciplinarian.

His routine at Urhobo College Effurun was folklore among his students for several years and even those who never met him at school were regaled with the stories of the man. Professor David Okpako was one of those who studied under my father, a few years after the school was founded.

Professor Okpako recalls in an article published in the Urhobo Historical Society’s waado.org: “Okumagba was a great teacher of Arithmetic. His specialty in my memory was relative motion represented by those ‘Lacombe’ problems where train A and train B of different lengths are travelling on adjacent tracks at different speeds, either in the same or in opposite directions. The usual problem was to calculate how long it would take for the trains to pass each other or for the faster train to overtake the slower one if they were going in the same direction. I have to say this about Okumagba’s train problems. Many of us in the class of 1954 had never set eyes on a train or a rail track!

We could visualize the scenario because he was patient and fantastic with diagrams.

It was many years later, travelling frequently by train in the United Kingdom, that Okumagba’s lessons on relative motion became a reality

to me. If you concentrate on those fast trains, you can get the impression that it is the buildings that are moving, not the train. Albert Einstein might have felt like this while travelling by train to his job in the patent office in Zurich, and noticing the passing buildings when, we are told, the seed of relativity was sown: ‘What would the world look like if I travelled on a beam of light?’

My father ’s lessons were not delivered at the speed of light, though; they were methodical, building from the teaching skills of colonial education. He preferred to build blocks, taking the students through the motions of the

My father ’s passion for mathematics was indeed strong that you felt he had figures in his bones. And, after trying all he could to make the student get the message, the weak student may turn tremulous. This drive to see his students excel in mathematics led my father to develop interest in Joseph Ayomike, a Class One pupil at the time, who was very good at playing the piano.

To those who knew him in his days at Urhobo College Effurun in the 1950s, Mr Joseph Ayomike was a music prodigy of sorts, who my father expected to also be an excellent student in mathematics. To my father, math-

My father’s passion for mathematics was indeed strong that you felt he had figures in his bones. And, after trying all he could to make the student get the message, the weak student may turn tremulous logic of mathematics. It showed a grounding that was telling of the education of that era, when even Standard Six graduates exhibited tremendous knowledge of their subject, work, values and social etiquette. Okpako says my father ’s teaching focused on getting the principles right, stressing: “For him, a reasoned stepby-step approach to a mathematical problem was more important than the final answer itself; for him, no working back from the answer! He marked every line of the work. If he just marked the answer, my career in mathematics would have been a complete disaster.”

ematics was a logical subject – “follow the formula and you are never wrong!” he would tell his students – and so he found it difficult to understand how a subject so logical would be difficult for a brilliant student to excel in.

In the 1950s, the piano was still something of a mystery, not its physical look, perhaps, but the melody it produced; people knew the drums and beat them; the traditional instruments were easy to fathom but not so the piano. It had a special place at the Cathedrals where the missionaries spared nothing in projecting its power to ride the hymns, the solemnity of the delivery, the ultimate mystery of Faith

Chief Daniel Okumagba, who lived from 1922 to 2000, was widely acknowledged as a man of truth, courage and discipline. From 1960, when he won election to represent Warri East Constituency at the Western Region House of Assembly in Ibadan, Chief Daniel Okumagba played major roles in Nigeria’s national development.

He was a member of the National Council for Nigerian Citizens (NCNC), a foundation member and foundation national executive committee member of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in the Second Republic, governorship candidate of the party in Bendel State (now Edo and Delta states) in the 1979 general elections and pioneer chairman of Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited.

Chief Daniel Okumagba was a teacher, legislator, politician, businessman and frontline Niger Delta leader.

In all, he was a man of peace, who believed in peaceful coexistence among various ethnic groups, a statesman and nationalist.

In this biography of Chief Daniel Okumagba, Bernard Okumagba (former Delta State Commissioner for Finance) tells of a father whose life has not been fully chronicled and of values and circumstances that shaped the public identity of his father.

Bernard’s story of one of the key players of the First and Second Republics in Nigeria is a compelling narrative. Footprints of a Statesman: The life and times of Chief Daniel Okumagba, is a son’s appreciation of his father, and the lessons therefrom. and worship.

This centrepiece of the mystery was what young Ayomike knew how to play and it baffled many, especially when at Urhobo College he gradually took on the role of the organist, relieving the pioneer principal of the school, Ejaife, perhaps the only person who could play the piano then.

So every morning, before the student population of about 300 pupils then, and the staff, young Ayomike tapped away at the keys as they sang the devotional hymns. The population was awed and intrigued. Here was a young student commanding silence and admiration from all. So my father drew Ayomike closer to him.

Ayomike recalls: “It is the organ (piano) that brought me and the late Chief Daniel Okumagba closer. He would stand behind my back because I had the old Hymnal Companion written in music and also the old Baptist Broadman Hymnal. As I played from the book, he would come and stand behind me and saw how I played without looking at the keys and how my hands moved and was surprised that somebody could exhibit such dexterity on the organ. Given how difficult for many people it was to play the organ, it stood to reason that such a person should be excellent in mathematics, a subject generally

accepted to be difficult.”

The towering figure of the teacher behind him, always dapper in whatever dress he wore, was Ayomike’s first real encounter with the man who became his friend. What amazed the young student then was how my father developed interest in him, determined to find an additional vocation in mathematics for his intelligence. According to Ayomike, “He expected that someone who could play the organ should be very good in mathematics. We were using ‘c.v. durell’ and I found some aspects of mathematics not interesting, for instance, questions on innings and runs and figures from cricket and all that, I never heard such things in my life. I was not into games; I was an indoor person, just the organ. He was games master and handled everything from cricket to handball to football. I was not interested in mathematics but I never failed mathematics.

What Chief Okumagba found surprising was how a young man could understand staff notation and not be excellent in mathematics; he felt it was incomprehensible because reading Music looks difficult.

So he would say to me after assembly, ‘you should be very good in mathematics’, but I replied that I normally get

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Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014—39

FOOTPRINTS OF A STATESMAN: The Life And Times Of CHIEF DANIEL OKUMAGBA A biography by Bernard Oboatarhieyeren Okumagba

Kindling The Fire I have come to the conclusion that politics is too serious a matter to be left to the politicians —Charles de Gaulle, French statesman Continues from page 38 pass grades in mathematics without stress; still, he felt I should be very good and that brought us together.”

My father was very demanding and seeing such a meticulous student, as Mr Ayomike was, he expected him to be as excellent in mathematics as he was dexterous on the piano. That push to excel was a major theme in my father ’s lessons.

There was something about his style in teaching mathematics that emphasized order. Most people who teach mathematics emphasize order; it is critical that the steps are followed and, when done, the result is almost always predictable. Mathematics is an interesting subject; its abstractions can intimidate even the most logical of thinkers, and would always put off the uninterested.

The French warrior-nationalist Napoleon Bonaparte says of mathematics: “There cannot be a great nation without great mathematics.”

The online encyclopaedia Wikipedia says of teachers of the subject, “Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity.” This capacity to record, order and logically structure phenomena is at the heart of the lifework of my father, a learning, perhaps, that kept him ahead of the pack. And, perhaps, because of this immersion in order and logic, the inability to follow logic rankled him. Professor Okpako recalls that while he was a good mathematics student following the logic, he sometimes failed to get the final step and there he felt the sharp tongue of the teacher: “I frequently managed to get the final step to the answer wrong. I found this frustrating, but it was apparently even more irritating to Mr Okumagba. ‘Okpako, what is the matter with you?’, Okumagba always queried me. ‘You have done everything, now only to substitute values for a, b, c, and multiply. Can you not do simple multiplication?’

My father ”s passion for mathematics, pushing his students to surpass themselves, was only matched by a passion for sports. My father was the Games Master at Urhobo College and he lived it to the fullest. Beginning from the 1950s, sporting competitions among the schools of the day were almost like warfare; so much was at stake – pride, honour and laurels. The way

my father handled it, you would think he was an alumnus of Urhobo College Effurun. This was however impossible, since the school was established when he had already come of age. However, his dedication and attention to the pride of the school was remarkable, often bordering on self-pride. So, he taught his sports men to work extra hard, leaving little room for errors. You would be making a terrible mistake if you took his admonition with a pinch of salt, because the reward was almost certain to come – on Assembly morning!

Yet, as a good sports man, he could surprise his students when, having given a game their all, their team ended up the loser; he was keen on standards. Professor Okpako gives an indication of how demanding his task was: “It is a Monday morning at the Assembly Hall. Urhobo

you lose, you would have satisfied yourself. Don’t backslide! You did not have to be a sportsman to learn Okumagba’s games lessons.”

This regime of hard work and discipline was one that transcended every facet of his life, and his life displayed the lessons he learnt early enough.

In the colonial era, the teacher was a most valuable professional, not simply by accident of history but because teachers were in short supply.

The teacher was leader, instructor and disciplinarian in every community. The discipline of the teacher and the humble life of the early Christians produced in my father an ascetic mix. As a devoted

My father had lived through much of the colonial period and had been excited at the political opportunities that opened up as the British took their leave College had beaten Government College, Ughelli, the previous Saturday. The school is jubilant. The erudite Principal, M. G. Ejaife opens with a short prayer. As usual on days like this, it is Okumagba who addresses the assembly on the events of Saturday.

‘You did not deserve to win,’ he begins, to the amazement of those who do not yet know the Games Master. ‘Adjogri, you could have saved that goal if you did not lapse in concentration. And Ibi, Ibi! How many times have I drilled it into you, to keep your cool in the goal area? How many times? You had all the time in the world to square that ball before netting it. Instead you hurriedly shot wide off an open goal, why, why, why?’

In spite of this tongue-lashing, we older boys knew that deep down the Master too was happy that his team had won.

But he was a perfectionist; just winning was not enough, everyone must do his very best. On other occasions when UCE lost, he would surprise the assembly by praising the team for its good efforts, conceding that we lost because the other team played better on the day. Aut optimum aut nihil (the best or nothing – Urhobo College’s motto), always put in your best; then if

member of the Roman Catholic Church in Warri, he kept a strict regimen of attending Mass and various Church programmes, while going about his regular tasks.

The relationship between my father and Urhobo College Effurun, the first institution that gave him fame, is a romantic one; my father took the school as his own. Urhobo College Effurun was the product of community effort, as were most schools of that era.

The Urhobos were determined as far back as the period when Chief Mukoro Mowoe led the Urhobo Progress Union to set up a secondary school. The UPU was to midwife the project, raising funds through levies and donations from Urhobos. At the time the school was founded, there was still a lot to do. Given the difficulties in raising money, the school was always in need, turning to raise money from committed people. My father was one willing supporter.

N the 1950s, as the chal lenges of developing the unfolding Nigerian nation beckoned, my father, like other compatriots, took interest in providing political leadership for the emerging nation. Nigeria was on its way to political independence af-

I

ter about a hundred years of foreign intervention: The Portuguese, and then the British, had first established trading posts and then full colonial rule. Now, following the many constitutional conferences, the country was on its way to independence and there was a transition to self-rule, autonomy and full independence. My father had lived through much of the colonial period and had been excited at the political opportunities that opened up as the British took their leave. For one, Nigerians can now live the dreams they had collectively and individually dreamt through years of bottled-up frustration.

Through my grandfather ’s extensive interaction with the British colonial rulers, my father had seen, first-hand, the efficiency of the colonial administration. But, he had also witnessed the limitations and evil of White minority government, including its capacity for blind justice and blanket rules. For many of his generation, the pain of awareness that came with education provided insights that the British colonialists for their own convenience had ceded away the homelands and freedoms of indigenous communities.

Like most young men of his time, the anti-colonial movement held more than a fascination for my father, and men like Herbert Macaulay and Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe were more than statistics in the struggle.

Dr Azikiwe embodied the selflessness in the fight for independence. Popularly called Zik of Africa, the leader of the NCNC - the National Council for Nigeria and the Cameroons, later addressed as National Council for Nigerian Citizens, was an inspiring speaker and commanded values that connected with my father – he was selfless, visionary and determined. Zik’s story tells of a commitment to the struggle for, and defence of, human rights that my father displayed throughout his life. Growing up in the imme-

About the Author

B

E R N A R D Oboatarhieyeren Okumagba was born in Warri, Delta State on April 7, 1967 to Chief Daniel Okumagba and Mrs. Dorcas Okumagba of OkereUrhobo Kingdom, Warri South Local Government Area, Delta State. diate post-colonial period, my father observed the structures of government that were laid by the British. The new local rulers succeeding the British were also developing unwholesome tendencies bordering on tribalism and graft; he was worried. He had watched the nature of politics in the fight for independence and was determined to play a major role in the process. He was also keen on an effective government based on competence, equity and justice. My father’s decision to enter politics and seek power in the late 1950s was thus defined. He joined the NCNC at its formation in 1944 and soon rose to prominence as one of the leading members in the early 1950s. He always had an interest in national politics and so he contested and won election to represent Warri East Constituency at the Western Region House of Assembly in Ibadan in the 1959/60 General Elections.

To be continued.

40—Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014

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Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014—41

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42 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014

BY IKENNA ASOMBA

I

N less than 11 days, it will be two years that the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, signed the Lagos Traffic Bill into law, banning commercial motorcyclists, popularly called Okada riders, from plying 475 major routes within the state metropolis.

Fashola, irked by what he described as the incessant deaths caused by accidents involving okada riders, had on August 2, 2012 signed the law, with the intention of ensuring safety and orderly flow of traffic within the metropolis.

But barely two years after, barrage of criticisms and condemnations have continued to greet the increasing number of death of Okada riders and their passengers, with others sustaining varying degrees of injuries, caused by the alleged high-handedness and inhuman strategies employed by men and officers of the State Police Command and other law enforcement agencies in enforcing the law.

The recent officially recorded tragic death occurred July 6, when a commercial motorcyclist and his two passengers, met their untimely death, as they were knocked down by an on-coming Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), at Awoyaya bus-stop along Lekki-Epe Expressway, Lagos.

The sad incident occurred when the bike operator reportedly tried to escape from having his motorcycle impounded by a team of policemen chasing him, in order to enforce the traffic law.

Against this backdrop of deaths, the Police authorities have been urged to call their men and officers to order, to cut down on number of casualties.

However, before the bill was signed, Fashola had during the inauguration of the 32member Lagos State Security Committee, in the last quarter of 2011, lamented the growing rate of Okada dead victims. The governor noted that it was high time the Lagos State government addressed the unfortunate accident head long.

Barrage of condemnations

Meanwhile, in what has been described as the alleged incessant assault and extortion of their members by some policemen and other law enforcement agents, commercial motorbike operators under the umbrellas of the National Commercial Motorcycles and Tricycle Owners and Riders Association, Motorcycle Transport Union of Nigeria, All Nigerians Autobike Commercial Owners and Workers Association and Okada Riders Welfare Association had severally gone on strike to protest their plights.

Fatal assaults of Okada riders by policemen November 6, 2012 At about 10.52am on this fateful day, an Okada rider, whom eyewitnesses said was a member of the Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, was

A Policeman seizing a motorcycle from the owner, in Lagos.

LAGOS OKADA BAN

2 years after: Public outcry against Police continues allegedly shot dead by some policemen at the Ilupeju bypass area of the State for flouting the state Road Traffic Law. The okada rider, who was said to have been shot on the chest was rushed to Teju Hospital adjacent the scene of the incident by passers-by but reportedly died before he could be treated, even as the policemen immediately fled from the scene after the act.

January 9, 2013 In what came few weeks after the brutal shooting of an Okada rider by some Policemen in Lagos, this heartbreaking incident occurred in the morning of this day. Eyewitnesses account had it that an Okada rider was allegedly shot dead at the popular Ile-Zik bus-stop, off the Oshodi-Iyana Ipaja road around Ikeja Along bus stop of the State.

The victim reportedly died instantly, while his passengers suffered serious injuries.

June 4, 2013 On this day, Vanguard reported that Police at Ikotun, area of the State, in a bid to enforce the traffic law were allegedly always knocking down okada riders on sight, just to demobilise them and impound their motor-cycles.

Incidentally, when Vanguard called the Governor ’s

Office, one of the media aides, who pleaded anonymity, said the concerned police officers were on their own.

August 20, 2013 On this day, protests by okada riders and other sympathisers which continued for about two days brought human and vehicular movement to standstill at Ikorodu, following the alleged shooting of an okada rider identified as Lekan by some policemen, when he allegedly resisted seizure of his motorcycle.

Lekan, who was said to be married with five kids and the only surviving child of his parents and a student of Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State, met his untimely death in a bid to make some money by operating the commercial motorcycle, while the six months strike embarked by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, lingered last year.

The policeman reportedly shot the deceased thrice before the patrol team sped off in their vehicle, but other okada riders pursued the policemen and caught them at Agric area of Ikorodu. The policemen were allegedly attacked and the particular one that shot Lekan was badly injured.

Save for the intervention, of the Area Commander, Ijede

Police Command, ACP Amos Marcus, the situation would have turned violent, as the mob for two days protested the death of the victim who died at Ikorodu General hospital, before doctors could attend to him.

January 15, 2014 Commercial motorcyclists on the noon of this day, disrupted human and vehicular movement at Works roundabout along Ahmadu Bello way, Victoria Island, Lagos, while protesting the shooting of one of their members by men of the Nigerian Police.

Eyewitnesses reported that the shot Okada rider was rushed to a nearby hospital.

March 13, 2014 Eyewitnesses account spotted a police officer and an okada rider engaged in a fight along the Fatai Atere road, Mushin, over an alleged impounding of his motorcycle for refusing to part with a bribe.

April 21, 2014 On the morning of this day, a motorcycle rider was reportedly shot dead by a policeman in Ketu close to the under bridge bus stop.

According to sources, present at the scene of the act, the shooting was caused by a little argument between the victim and some policemen.

It was also reported that the

irate policemen who saw the Okada man lying in the pool of his blood began firing shots into the air to clear way for the escape of the policeman who allegedly fired the shot. The sprayed bullet it was said dispatched all the angry youths who were set to carry out jungle justice on the alleged shooter.

July 6, 2014 Also, on his day, a commercial motorcyclist and his two passengers, met their untimely death, as they were knocked down by an oncoming Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), at Awoyaya bus-stop along Lekki-Epe Expressway, Lagos, while the bike operator tried to escape from having his motorcycle impounded by a team of policemen chasing him, in order to enforce the State traffic law.

Worrisome concern

F

riday Okon, an okada rider, who plies the Ajegunle routes said: “Infact, the way we are being maltreated like armed robbers by policemen in the Ajeromi Divisional Police Headquarters, Layeni Police Post, Tolu Police Post and the Trinity Police Station is becoming worrisome. What is so annoying is that these policemen even chase us to

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Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014

Continues from page 42 the mechanic workshops where we repair our bikes, including our homes where we park our bikes after work.

“Okay, the governor said we should not ply expressway again, and many of us don’t do it since then. So, why are policemen still disturbing us within streets in Ajegunle.

Each time one is arrested we are meant to pay between N5, 000 and N10, 000 to bail our bikes. I can’t imagine how long I will continue to suffer like this because I am an okada rider going about his legitimate trade.”

Also, lamenting the massive clampdown on his members by policemen and LASTMA officials, Lagos State Chairman of Motorcycle Owners Association of Lagos State, MOALS, Mr. Tijani Pekis had declared that government cannot totally ban commercial motorcyclists in the state because of the prevailing unemployment situation in the country.

“If Governor Fashola is actually serious about checking the menace of Okada riders in the state, let him provide them all with jobs. This is the only way to check the excesses of the few ones spoiling our business,” Pekis said.

The MOALS chairman declared that the ongoing onslaught against his members will not achieve the desired objective, stating that it is becoming counter productive.

Also speaking to Vanguard, the Programme/Advocacy Coordinator, Network Police Reform in Nigeria, NOPRIN FOUNDATION, Okechukwu Nwanguma, noted that countless complaints about police harassment were rampant in states, where the state government has been

coming down hard on commercial bike riders.

Nwanguma said: “Since the coming into effect of the Lagos State Traffic Law, the police in Lagos State have continued to go beyond the limits of the law in the enforcement. On daily basis, some police officers lay ambush for okada riders, chase them beyond the areas where the law prohibits them from operating. Driven by their propensities for corruption and the impunity that protects them, the police daily harass okada riders, arrest them, brutalise and extort ‘settlement’ money from them.

Many okada riders have been dehumanised, injured or killed in the process.”

LAHA wades-in

H

owever, following complaints by residents, over the high-handedness of police officers in enforcing the traffic law, the Lagos State House of Assembly, LAHA, condemned the over zealousness of some police officers in the implementation of the law.

They had called on the state Commissioner of Police, Umar Manko, to stop his men from messing up the law and exposing the state government to ridicule by their actions. They also called on the police authorities to investigate all inhuman actions meted out to residents of the state by the police.

Police reaction

When taken up over the allegations against men of the state police command, the spokesperson, Ngozi Braide, after much prompting sent a text message saying; “You need to see me in the office for adequate discussion on these issues that you have raised.”

— 43

Failed portion of Ajegunle link road to Oshodi-Apapa Expressway

205 Roads: Residents disagree with LASG’s claims

BY DOTUN IBIWOYE

F

ollowing recent claims by the Lagos State Government, LASG, that it is currently executing across the state at least 205 road projects, residents who spoke to Vanguard disagree with governor Babatunde Fashola.

According to Fashola, who spoke at the commemoration of his 2,600 days in office, penultimate Friday, some of the road projects being executed are the Ago-Palace Way, Okota, Ibeshe Road, Ikorodu, Langbasa and Unity Roads in Ajah, Ikotun-Ijegun Bridge, Ayobo-Ipaja Road, Alimosho among many others.Pointing that litigation over right of way had delayed the delivery of the Ago-Palace Way. He however noted that his administration has always given attention to roads with large volume of traffic and those with more socio-economic im-

pact on the lives of the residents.

Affirming that work was at an advanced stage on the IkotunIjegun Link Bridge, and will soon be delivered, he added that estates under execution are Pa Omojola Estate in Gbagada and Oba Lateef Adams Estate in Agege, noting that they will reduce accommodation problems in the state.

However, reacting to these claims, Ibekwe Ngadi who lives and works at Alaba International Market, Ojo said: “I was born and bred in this state, so I am also a Lagosian.

The point is that the roads in Lagos are bad. The roads that government claims it has rehabilitated are already collapsing. I know the government is trying, but their efforts have not reflected so much in ameliorating the frustration residents go through everyday to and fro

their business arenas.”

However, Olanipekun Akinbo who lives in Ketu said: “I have seen a great improvement on our roads in Lagos, but I do not feel the government is doing enough in terms of road rehabilitation. Some of us have been to neighbouring African countries who have good roads and we see how useful the inner-city roads are well tarred and this reduces traffic on the major roads. But in Lagos here, residents go through hell on daily basis.”

For Ejiro Uzezi who lives in Akute: “It is not necessary to have a dual carriage on the streets or inner-city roads. What matters is for the roads to be constructed. I do not agree with government’s claim on the 205 roads being constructed, because everyday, I still spend over two hours on roads, that normally would take less than 30 minutes to ply.

How Lagos Water Corporation short-changes its workers *Agrees it deducts pension funds without remitting to RSAs

BY MONSURU OLOWOOPEJO

T

HERE is currently a brew ing acrimony between the management of the Lagos Water Corporation, LWC and staffs of the corporation, over the handling of the Retirement Savings Account, RSA under the new pension scheme, introduced in 2007.

The staff are accusing the management of diverting for at least three years pension fund expected to be deposited into their RSAs for other uses The management of the account under the new pension system tagged Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS, required that the corporation deducts 7.5 percent from each worker’s salary and 7.5 percent counterpart funding from the

corporation; and deposit both into the RSA of each staff managed by any of the six Pension Fund Managers, PFAs appointed by the state government.

The crisis which had been brewing between the management led by the General Managing Director, Mr Shayo Holloway, an engineer and the staff got to its peak after the workers reasoned that the next governor of the state, come 2015, may not retain Holloway, who was appointed by the Bola Tinubu administration. According to one of the staff of the corporation, who pleaded anonymity; “Before now, whenever we approach Holloway for remittance of the deducted fund, he always assures us of paying. But at the moment, intending retirees are panicking because they do not know what will be their fate when they retire and he (Hol-

loway) leaves office.”

The new development has halted the peaceful relationship between the management and the staffs, which Vanguard learnt could lead to the staff embarking on industrial action.

As part of their preliminary steps, the Senior Staff Association of Communication Transport and Corporation, SSACTC of the corporation dragged the management to the Lagos State Pension Commission, LASPEC, seeking the assistance of the body.

LASPEC was established in 2009 by the state Governor, Babatunde Fashola to ensure prompt payment of retirement benefits of employees in the service to whom the scheme applies.

Vanguard gathered that the efforts yielded little result, as the management who had

stopped remitting since November 2011, suddenly paid two months into the accounts of the PFAs.

We are guilty but making efforts —LWC In an interview with Vanguard, Holloway said: “We are not happy as well. We have paid gratuity up to 2009. The next payment will be the 2010.

We will be paying in batches.

But it will depend on how revenue comes in. Our monthly expenditure outstrips the revenue. We do not have excess income to fully remit. We struggle to pay salaries regularly and monthly pensions to retirees. Our major problem has been gratuity.

“When employees complain

that 7.5 percent of their salary is deducted and not remitted, it is not that physical money was deducted from their salary and used for something else.

The truth is that when one’s operational expenditure outstrips its revenue, and after preparing the salary schedule, what the corporation has left is just enough to pay the salary.

“We, however, as part of the accounting system note the liabilities. They are noted as deduction. It is not physical cash that is deducted and misused.

It is noted only on paper. No physical money has been deducted. The truth is that the corporation revenue could only pay the current salaries.

Though one recognises that the fund is noted as deducted. And it is referred to as liabilities,” he added.

44—Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014

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Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014—45

CHIBOK: TAN tasks Danjuma c'ttee on results

BY JOHNBOSCO AGBAKWURU

A

VISIT: From left— Archbishop of Lagos Methodist Church Nigeria, Dr. Sunday Ajayi; a minister at the Wesley Cathedral, Olowogbowo, Lagos, Rev. Kayode Ilori; Prelate, Dr. Samuel Kanu Uche, and the Prelate Chaplain, Very Revd.

Michael Atolaye during Dr. Kanu Uche's episcopal visit to the Wesley Cathedral.

Why we shut markets, hotel in FCT— ARMY T

HE Nigerian Army has said some hotels and markets in the Federal Capital

‘We're tackling security at all levels’

BY EMMAN OVUAKPORIE

A

BUJA—NATIONAL Security Adviser, NSA, Col Sambo Dasuki (rtd.), yesterday, told hotel operators that the Federal Government was taking security matters to all levels to combat terrorism in Nigeria.

Towards this end, high tech security devices would be installed in strategic locations in all 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT. Speaking through one of his directors, Maj. Gen Serikiyaki Bello (rtd.), at a two-day seminar entitled Workshop on Security Consciousness and Awareness, organised by the office of the NSA and Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the NSA said security was now a major challenge to all as the spread of bomb attacks that started in the north had spread to other parts.

He said to checkmate the security challenges, a national information coordination unit, equipped with state-of-the-art gadgets, was set up.

Territory, FCT, were shut down because they failed to put in place counterImprovised, Explosive Devices, IEDs, measures.

It would be recalled that in the aftermath of the Banex Plaza bombing, which claimed scores of lives and damaged property, security agencies in the FCT directed business concerns, plazas, markets and shopping

centres to put in place measures to counter such attacks.

Reacting to the development, Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier-General Olajide Laleye, said: “The Nigerian Army conducted a vulnerability survey of the Federal Capital Territory and asked certain high risk spots to emplace a series of counter-IED measures.

“They refused and, as such, they have been shut until they comply. You will notice that Banex and Emab Plazas have complied and are opened.

“Hotels, markets, recreation centres and worship places are included.”

Vanguard recalls that some of the shopping plazas and places of business have been shut since last Friday.

PENSION FUND: FG retirees want Maina's task force back

BY CHRIS OCHAYI

A

B U J A — T H E Association of Federal Public Service Retirees, AFPSR, has cried to the Federal Government to reinstate Dr. Abdulrasheed Maina’s Pension Reform Task Force Team, PRTT, alleging fresh looting of funds earmarked for them.

The group noted that PRTT was the only credible body to salvage the sector from what it described as alarming increase in the looting of funds originally earmarked for their payment.

In a letter written to President Goodluck Jonathan, with reference number AFPSR-ADM2/72 and dated July 17, by its National President, Chief Emmanuel Omoyeni, the group said from its records and from observations, it was only Dr. Maina’s task force that could again clean up the fresh mess.

Omoyeni said they realised that there was no

tangible reason for the disbandment of the PRTT which, he said, had provided permanent solution to pensioners’ ordeal and succeeded in tracking down and recovering stolen pension funds/property which ran into billions of Naira.

Calling for immediate reinstatement of Dr. Maina, the group expressed worry that the looting era had suddenly resurfaced, regretting that while the Maina-led PRTT was successfully ongoing, the

Senate Pension Committee abruptly came in and disbanded the resultoriented team, a development faulted by the Federal High Court in a case Maina versus Senate, ruled in favour of the Task Team Chairman.

While expressing fears that Maina’s unlawful removal was a script written by indicted pension thieves, the group urged the President to immediately bring back Maina in the interest of dying and voiceless pensioners.

BUJA—THE Tr a n s f o r m a t i o n Ambassadors of Nigeria, TAN, has advised the General Theophilus Danjuma Committee to work expeditiously to achieve result.

President Goodluck Jonathan had recently set up the committee to workout modalities on how to rescue and rehabilitate the Chibok girls and their families.

In a release on the state of the nation made available to Vanguard in Abuja yesterday, the Director of Communications and Strategy of TAN, Dr. Udenta Udenta, commended President Jonathan for setting up the committee and advised the committee not to disappoint Nigerians yearning for the release of the girls.

Dr. Udenta noted that the committee was saddled with the responsibility of mapping out strategies and drawing up programmes for the physical, mental, psychological, social and economic rehabilitation and empowerment of all those affected by the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls by Boko Haram terrorist group.

He said: “The setting up of the Danjuma committee is yet another indication of President Jonathan’s deep commitment to the welfare and well-being of Nigerians and his concern over the fate of the abducted girls, their families and communities.”

2015: We'll support credible polls, says US envoy

BY VICTORIA OJEME & RAPHAEL IZOKPU

A

BUJA— AHEAD of 2015 elections, the United States government, yesterday, said it would only support an election process that guaranteed the citizens’ rights to elect candidates of their choice, irrespective of party ’s affiliation.

US Ambassador to Nigeria,

James Entwistle, made the remark at a four-day workshop entitled The Role of INEC Press Officers: Enhancing Good Governance Through Media and Grassroots Outreach, organised by the embassy to train Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC’s public affairs officers in Abuja.

According to Entwistle, such

a process encompasses all stages in the run-up to elections, including preparation of voters’ rolls, running campaigns, conducting the actual election and handling any problems immediately after.

He said: “We support an election process that protects the rights of Nigerians to use the ballot box to reflect the views and concerns of their communities.”

46—Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014

NBA chief tasks newly-elected EXCO on electoral reforms

BY INNOCENT ANABA

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HE Assistant Na tional Publicity Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Mr John Unachukwu has called on the in-coming new leadership of the NBA led by Mr. Augustine Alegeh, SAN, to embark on a holistic reform of the association’s electoral processes to make it seamless, less rigorous, transparent and credible.

Mr Unachukwu, a candidate in the last NBA election was disqualified from contesting the election on the eve of the poll because the Electoral Committee said he would be 10 years at the Bar in October this year as provided in the NBA constitution, whereas his branch, Lagos had insisted that he was 10 years at the Bar last year and had started paying Bar Practising Fees to the association and the branch accordingly since 2013.

Katsina Pilgrims Board announces 2014 hajj fares

Northern group endorses Jonathan A

BUJA—A group, the Northern Alternative Forum, NAF, has endorsed President Goodluck Jonathan for the 2015 presidential election.

A statement issued in Abuja on Sunday by the Chairman of the group, Alhaji Gidado Ibrahim, said the endorsement of Jonathan was based on his achievements in office since 2011.

Ibrahim said his group aligns with the president’s transformation agenda and the sucesses recorded so far.

He said: “The Northern Alternative Forum wishes to use this medium to congratulate President Goodluck Jonathan on the giant strides recorded by his administration in the past three years and to encourage him not to be distracted.

I wish to state clearly that NAF, a pressure group, completely aligns with the transformation agenda of the present administration which is transforming different sectors of the economy such as health, aviation, road infrastructure, railway, agriculture, power and many others.

“It is against this backdrop that we wish to declare our support for President Jonathan in the 2015 election if he so wishes to contest.

“Infact we endorse Mr President for 2015; we want him to continue with the good works beyond 2015 and we are prepared to work for him to actualise this goal.

“Our support for Mr President is not based on any primordial

AT S I N A — T H E Katsina State Pilgrims Welfare Board has announced the final 2014 hajj fares for intending pilgrims.

The board’s Executive Director, Alhaji Ahmad Hassan, made this known when he briefed newsmen in Katsina Sunday.

Hassan said the board also paid N1.1 billion to the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, as part payment for the 4,439 hajj seats allocated to the state.

He said the state Government approved N689,061 as minimum fare with 750 dollars as Basic Travelling Allowance (BTA), N726,561 as medium fare with 1,000 dollars BTA. The maximum fare is N804,561 and it attracts 1,500 dollars BTA. Hassan urged the intending pilgrims to hasten settlement of their remaining balance in good time to enable the board pay the NAHCON the remaining 50 per

sentiments but on concrete evidences of achievements recorded in different sectors of the economy which has been made manifest in the recent rebasing of the economy and Nigeria’s new status as Africa’s biggest economy.”

He also called on Nigerians to

support the president and his administration’s development agenda.

On the impeachment of former Gov. Murtala Nyako, Ibrahim said the action would serve as a deterrent to those linked with corruption.

“We commend the Adamawa

State House of Assembly for resisting all overtures to stand by the truth and speak in unison against corruption and inpunity which culminated in the impeachment of Murtala Nyako.

“The development is one incident that has shown that democracy in Nigeria is fully in action.

Group petitions Pope over killing of Christians, burning of churches in North

BY INNOCENT ANABA

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BRIEFING: Commissioner for Beijing Municipal Bureau of Press Publication, Mr Li Chunliang (right) addressing pressmen on Beijing TV Dramas Broadcasting Exhibition in Africa between July to December on STV Chinese 2 of Startimes Decoder, while Nigeria Startimes Chief Executive Officer, Mr Joshua Wang looks on at the briefing in Abuja. Photo by Gbemiga Olamikan.

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civil society organisa tion, International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law, has petitioned Pope Francis over the killing of Christians and burning of churches in northern Nigeria by Boko Haram and Fulani Jihadists.

Chairman of the organisation, Mr. Emeka Umeagbalasi in the petition, obtained by Vanguard in Onitsha, Anambra State, called for proactive lawful counter measures to curb the alarming trend.

The petition said “In the area of ethno-religious killings, which informed this executive summary, at least 6,000 people, mostly rural indigenous Christians and Igbo-Christians have been killed in the Jos ethno-religious violence since 2001, with those of 2001, 2004, 2008 and 2011 being the bloodiest. As at March 2010, a total of over 13, 500 innocent people including women and children, dominated by Igbo Christians were killed in ethnoreligious violence in Nigeria since Kaduna and Kano religious riots broke out in 2000 and 2001.

“Other areas affected were Plateau, Borno, Gombe and Bauchi States, among others. Between

April 2010 and June 2014, at least 8,500 citizens, mostly Christians have been killed in ethnoreligious violence.

“While violent Islamic Boko Haram sect accounts for at least 6,000 deaths, the remaining 2,500 is credited to violent Islamic Fulani sect and other individual ethno-religious violent citizens. Of particular note is the fact that Boko Haram is responsible for at least 9,000 deaths mostly targeted at Christians since 2002 when it launched its violent militancy.

“Between 2002 and December 2011, at least 3, 000 people were killed in the Boko Haram terror violence. This includes the July 2009 Boko Haram uprising and counter offensive attacks by the Nigerian security forces, leading to at least 1000 deaths. Between January 2012 and December 2013, at least 2,500 deaths were recorded in the hands of the two deadly Islamic sects. In the first three months of 2013, alone, at least 600 deaths were recorded in the hands of Boko Haram.

“In all, at least 22,000 innocent citizens mostly of rural and urban Christian residential and host populations have been butchered in Nigeria since Ka-

duna and Kano ethno-religious riots of 2000 and 2001. This figure could be much higher owing to our adoption of conservative calculations.

“The year 2014, which is in its seventh month, is the bloodiest

so far in the two violent sects’ Islamic uprising against Nigeria and Nigerians, with killings in six months of at least 4, 118 innocent citizens, who are mostly Christians of Igbo and northern Nigerian minority extractions.

Isoko women say no to god-fatherism

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group, known as Isoko South Women Group, ISWG, in collaboration with youths in Isoko South Local Government of Delta State, has said that the culture of god-fatherism and imposition of candidates is unacceptable, and must end immediately.

According to the group’s leader, Mrs. Elo Okoro, a situation whereby many aspirants have indicated their interests and have already obtained forms under the platform of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to contest for local government election in the state, only for a person, or group of persons to impose their brother or accolyte on the people, against their wishes innocent citizens, is uncalled for and must stop.

She, however, called on aspirants and candidates to campaign

within the bounds of law and avoid actions that can lead to violence and breakdown of law.

Mrs Okoro also called on the people to hearken to Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan’s warning that politicians and the people generally should desist from any act of over-heating the polity through their volatile utterances, as the 2015 general elections draw nearer.

While urging Delta people to continue to queue behind Uduaghan, who had promised a free and fair election in the state, she said politics is not a do-or-die affair.

Mrs. Okoro emphasised that “primary elections will determine the right candidates and the citizens should be left alone to select their leaders and imposition of candidates should be rejected in its totality.”

Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014—47

Zamfara council probes defection of APC members to PDP

BY SALISU MARADUN

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USAU — WORRIED by the spate of defections from the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Zamfara State, the Bakura Local Government Council, yesterday, set up a committee to get the root of the matter and recommend ways of moving the APC forward.

Speaking in an interview with Vanguard in Bakura, Chairman of the local government, Alhaji Bello Dankande Gamji, said it had become imperative for them to intervene in the current unhealthy political situation before it got out of hand.

According to him, the council and an aide to Governor Abubakar Yari, Babangida Turnuku, got to know that those leaving the party in the state were decieved into decamping from the party due to their own selfish reasons.

He explained that the committee had succeeded in bringing back a number of those who defected, including some directors-general who recently left APC for PDP. He said: ”All we are after is nothing but victory, nothing more, nothing less. Of course, we must be worried with what is happening in the state now politically.

These people had been with us since the advent of democracy in this country in 1999, but some bad elements among us are trying to cause them to leave us. ”The people of this country have for long been in a bad economic condition, and by God’s grace, the APC will correct all the wrong doings of the present leadership of the ruling PDP. In their own reactions, three former DirectorsGeneral who suddenly made a U-turn from the PDP to their former party, APC, confirmed that they switched from APC to PDP, and moved back again to APC. .

Nigeria's unity not negotiable —Maitama Sule

BY ABDULSALAM MUHAMMAD

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ANO— Former Nigerian P e r m a n e n t Representative to the United Nations, Alhaji Maitama Sule, yesterday warned northern youths against being used to compromise the unity of the country, asking them to embrace dialogue.

Sule, who spoke in Kano when the leadership of Arewa Youth Development Forum paid him a courtsey visit, said dialogue was the best way to resolve issues of interest rather than violence.

Members of the group had earlier held a rally to drum up support for the dissolution of the country.

Sule said: “I agree with you that the North is confronted with serious political

challenges, but you don’t expect me to see it the way you would see it because I am a student of Awo, Zik and Sardauna school of thought that believed and worked tirelessly for one indissoluble Nigeria during their lifetime.

“It is on record that the North has always played a positive role to sustain the unity of this country and would continue to do so in the interest of one indissoluble Nigeria.

“The North has always fought for one Nigeria and I will continue to stand by that principle till the rest of my life.

“If I recall how we survived the crisis of independence, the 1959 election, the 1963 census, the controversial election of 1964, and the civil war, I am optimistic that the

current challenges would certainly come to pass and we shall overcome it like the previous ones.

“Let us live and die for the sustenance of Awo, Zik and Sardauna legacy that supports one Nigeria. I also warned that failure to take concrete steps to halt the situation would visit disastrous consequence on the polity.”

“We are doing our best, and we are much determined to ensure Nigerian realised its potential in Africa, and I want Nigerians to know that our togetherness was not by accident and that it is the more reason why we should accommodate one another.

“We need to remain one and we are prepared to make the ultimate sacrifices to realise the dream.“

Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State (left) assisted by his Aide-de-Camp, DSP Isah Hamisu decorating the governor's orderly, Yusuf Zakari as Inspector at Governor's Office, Ilorin.

Plateau youths urged to seek elective positions

BY MARIE-THERESE NANLONG

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OS— As 2015 general elections approach, youths in Plateau State, under the aegis of Young Aspirants Leadership Fellowship, have called on their contemporaries to either seek elective positions or support honest candidates who would not exploit them but fight for their welfare.

The youths believe such would give them the opportunity to contribute their quota to nation building instead of waiting forever as "leaders of tomorrow" that would never come.

At a forum in Jos, yesterday, the youths discussed their

participation in politics and proposed a registration of a youth-based political party where their voices would be heard and issues concerning them tackled.

Speaking on the occasion, Comrade Gad Peter challenged the youths to take their destiny in their hands as no old politician would hand over leadership on the platter of gold to them.

He said: “As youths, we need to speak to ourselves, unite and push our issues in unison. Youths’ presence in politics is not impressive and no much impact is felt in governance. No aspirant in the state is within the age bracket of between 42 and 45 years.

”People like Yakubu Gowon, Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Muhammed Buhari, Ibrahim Babangida among others had been leaders since their youthful days but today, youths at 35 years are still at home struggling to feed from their parents’ pots.”

Earlier, the leader of the youths, Jacob Pwakim explained that the forum was designed to identify, train and mentor youths for elective positions in the country.

Participants at the forum included former students union leaders and councillorship aspirants in the state and was supported by the United Nation Development Programme, UNDP.

NCS to honour Obi at 2014 national conference

BY EMEKAAGINAM

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HE Nigerian C o m p u t e r Society,NCS, has said that it would honour a former governor of Anambra State, Mr Peter Obi at its 2014 National Conference, for making Anambra an information technology viable state.

Briefing newsmen in Lagos, NCS President, Prof David Adewumi, said the recognition was in line with the association’s practice of celebrating heroes in the sector.

His words: "NCS is committed to facilitating the development of digital and Internet based technologies to not only drive improvement, but to change and redirect our energy on how Nigeria is defined, organised and delivered.

"NCS builds thought leadership through emphasis on relevance and significance in using IT to enable inclusive and sustainable development."

"Broadband access for all, strategies and tactics, business process outsourcing, egovernment solutions, improving transparency and public sector service delivery through technology, security issues in the knowledge based economy, among others will take centre stage during the conference.

"This recognition is in line with the association’s strategy of celebrating heroes in the sector to stimulate o u t s t a n d i n g performances that will drive real, inclusive development and transformation in Nigeria through IT. "Broadband access for all, strategies and tactics, business process outsourcing, egovernment solutions, improving transparency and public sector service delivery through technology, security issues in the knowledge based economy, among others will take center stage during the conference."

48— Vanguard , TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014

GRADUATION: From left: Chairman, House Committee on Diaspora, Federal House of Representatives, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Director/ Principal, Queens College, Yaba, Mrs. Ekwutozia Osime, Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, and Deputy Director, Federal Ministry of Education, Mrs. Onyenma Kalu, during the Valedictory Service/Graduation ceremony for the class of 2014/ send off of retired staff of Queens College, Yaba, Lagos.

From left: Miss Saba Omotola, Overall best JSS 2 Student, receiving a prize from Rev. Michael Femi-Adebanjo, special guest, Mrs Tokunbo Johnson, Proprietress/Principal, Liham Schools, Mr Oladipo Johnson, Director and Mrs. Alero King, English Teacher, during the prize giving day ceremony of Liham Schools in Lagos. Photo Lamidi Bamidele.

VISIT: One of the founding fathers and Elder, National Institute of Marketing of Nigerian, NIMN, Chief Felix Ohiwere (left) and President, NIMN, Mr. Ganiyu Koledoye, during the President's courtesy visit to Chief Ohiwere's residence in Lagos.

From left: Mr. Olatunde Olonipekun, Finance Director, Fidson Healthcare Plc, Mr. Alabi Kareem, Desk Officer for Curricular Activities, SUBEB, representing Lagos State Ministry of Education, Mr. Olugbenga Olaleye, Sales and Marketing Director, Fidson Healthcare Plc, during the Astymin Brilliance Reward, sponsored by Fidson Healthcare Plc, in Ikeja, Lagos. Photo: Joe Akintola, Photo Editor.

From left: Acting Chief Marketing Officer, MTN, Usoro Anthony Usoro, Chief Executive Officer, MTN, Michael Ikpoki, and Senior Manager, Segments, MTN, Saidat Lawal-Muhammed, at the opening gala of season 7 MTN Project Fame West Africa in Lagos.

Chairman, Community Development Association, CDA, Ifesowapo, Mr Esuruoso Olusegun, Chairman, CDA, Fadayomisi, Mr. Bola Afolabi, Executive Secretary, Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission, LSWRC, Mrs. Tanwa Koya, Chairman, LSWRC, Taiwo Shebioba, and Chairman, Committee of CDA Chairmen, Mr R.O. Ajayi, at the town hall meeting on water supply and sanitation organised by the commission, at Owode Onirin/Irawo, Lagos.

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Otunba Basirat Nahibi, Natinal Coordinator, Jonathan Actualization Movement (left) and Hon. Edesiri Azigbo, South-South Coordinator, during the inaugural meeting of the South-South zone, in Abuja.

BIRTHDAY: All Progressives Congress, APC, National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed (left) and Chief Executive Officer, NAHCO Plc, Mr. Ganiyu Adebayo, at the latter's 70th birthday reception in Lagos.

From left: Mr Mathew Onmonya, Kano Pillars Captain, receiving the 1st place trophy from Public Relations Manager, MultiChoice Nigeria, Mrs. Caroline Oghuma, Mr Mark Igoche and Nigeria Basketball Federation President, Mr Tijjani Umar, during the final of 2014 DStv Basketball League Championship, held at the Indoor Sport Hall of National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos. Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014 — 49

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50 — V anguard Vanguard anguard,, TUESDAY, JULY 22 , 2014

Ukraine forces take control of Donetsk airport took down the Boeing KRAINIAN forces train station area has 777. have taken full con- been damaged. A market Russia has blamed trol of Donetsk airport as outside the train station Kiev ’s resumption of they continue to fight caught on fire as the re- military operations pro-Russian rebels in the sult of artillery fire. Still, against the rebels at the eastern Ukraine city, a the train station is work- end of June for the tragUkrainian military ing,” it said. edy, while the U.S. has Donetsk is west of the spokesman says. accused Russia of sup“The active stage of the area where Malaysia porting the rebels that counter-terrorist opera- Airlines Flight 17 Washington believes tion continues. The gov- crashed Thursday, with fired the missile. ernment is now at full the loss of 298 lives. The Since the crash, control of the airport United States says a Rus- Ukraine’s government sian-made surface-to-air and the road and rebels have traded missile fired from proleading to it,” bitter accusations over Russian rebel territory V l a d i s l a v who was responsible.

Seleznev told CNN. Meantime, two people were killed in fighting in the city, the Donetsk City Council said in an online statement.

The council warned residents not to leave their homes.

“The bus station is closed.

Car movement is limited. A ninestory residential Dutch examiners examining bodies of MH17 victims yesbuilding at the terday in Ukraine

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MH17 bodies to be taken to the Netherlands “There has been little

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HE bodies retrieved from the rebel-held eastern Ukraine site where a Malaysian Airlines passenger jet was shot down are on their way to the Ukrainian government-controlled city of Kharkiv before they are to be transported to the Netherlands.

“All the bodies have been loaded onto a special train in refrigerated wagons, and we expect after 19.00pm (1700 GMT) the train will set off for Kharkiv,” Volodymyr Groysman, the deputy prime minister, said on Monday.

“All the bodies will be taken to the Netherlands.”

Al Jazeera’s Scott Heidler, reporting from Kharkiv, said officials had said there were 282 bodies and 87 body parts on the train.

“We know there is a Hercules cargo plane from the Netherlands already on the tarmac waiting here. By the time the train gets here in five or six hours, the bodies will be loaded C M Y K

onto that Hercules cargo aircraft and flown to the Netherlands,” he said.

progress and a lot of back and forth, but this is the first piece of good news for the families.”

BRIEFS Deaths mount in Gaza as U.S. pushes cease-fire

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HE death toll on both sides of the Gaza battle jumped Monday, as Palestinian officials reported scores more killed and Israel announced seven more soldiers died — including several on Israeli soil.

About 550 Palestinians have been killed, Gaza Health Ministry officials said. It’s unknown how many were militants, but the United Nations has estimated that 70% are civilians. Israel has reported dozens of terrorists killed. In total, 25 Israeli soldiers have died, including three believed killed by friendly fire. Seven of the soldiers were killed Monday. Four were on Israeli soil, killed as a result of infiltration by Hamas operatives, the Israel Defense Forces said.

S/Sudan rebels launch attack despite truce

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OUTH Sudanese rebels have launched an of fensive to retake a key town near the border with Ethiopia in what the United Nations said was a clear violation of a truce agreement.

“This attack represents the most serious resumption of hostilities,” since President Salva Kiir and his former deputy, rebel leader Riek Machar, met in May and recommitted to a January ceasefire, the UN mission said in a statement on Sunday.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014 — 51

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52 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014

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Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014—53

Ijaw group kicks against IG’s tenure extension

Jim Adun condems campaign of calumny

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HE Ijaw Monitoring Group, IMG, has urged President Goodluck Jonathan not to elongate the tenure of incumbent InspectorGeneral of Police, IG Muhammed Abubakar, who is statutorily due for retirement soon.

In a statement by Comrade Joseph Evah, the group stated that those lobbying to extend Abubakar ’s tenure are enemies of progress, adding that the president should not allow blackmailers to rubbish his spirit of patriotism.

He said: “Let him go home as stipulated by law. Let him join Babangida, Gowon, Buhari, Abubakar, Gwarzo, Atiku, Shagari and use their powerful influence to stop the heartless killings in the North.

“Mr President, we have seen the result of the assumption that unless northerners head sensitive positions, we can’t do it right. Gen Azazi was sacked to please the blackmailers, but today we know better.”

DESOPADEC commissioner assures on devt

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HE Commissioner representing Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC, Sir Ken Okolugbo, has assured that his representation of Ndokwa people in the commission will continue to pursue development programmes in the various communities he represents.

The commissioner, during a visit for the kickoff of Umuebu/Obiaruku Road construction phase 1 by DESOPADEC, also promised to leave legacies that children yet unborn will meet and benefit from.

He said: “This visit is not a campaign. I am here to ascertain if actually the contractor awarded the contract has, as a matter of fact, resumed work at the site. I observed that it has and I said to God be the glory, work has kicked off.”

TRINITY HOUSE ANNIVERSARY: From left: Chief Mrs. Opral Benson; Pastor Ituah Ighodalo, his wife Ibidunni and Princess Olayemi Fasawe, Regent of Olu Oke of Okeigbo, during the 4th Anniversary celebration of Trinity House in Victoria Island, Lagos. Photo: Biodun Ogunleye.

Jonathan lauds Oshiomhole for attracting investments to Edo

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

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ENIN—PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has commended Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State for attracting investments to the state, describing the governor as an investor’s delight.

The president, who gave the commendation yesterday, during the commissioning of Presco BioGas Power Plant Project at Obayantor, Benin City, said: “For any form of investment, policies are critical, but the enabling environment is far more important. I wish to commend the government of Edo State, in particular, the governor of the state. We heard his comments when they said they needed another 20,000 hectares of land. He said it is available, come and get it. Those are the sort of governors that investors want to work with. a governor that is dynamic, that understands the economics, that understands the needs of the people, that

understands the importance of investments in their states.”

Represented by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, the President added: “I wish also to commend the people of Edo State for providing the cordial atmosphere for Presco to operate all these years and to continue to invest in this state and in this country. It is my hope that the cooperation that has sustained Presco will be extended to other industrial establishments in Edo State.”

Dr. Agangan assured that the Federal Government will continue to partner states like Edo in its policy to bring about results which Nigerians expect from governance.

“I also want to say thank you to Governor Adams Oshiomhole for your kind support for Presco Company in boosting the agro-allied industry. It is a

great honour for me to be here today for the formal commissioning of this Bio-Gas Plant.

“It is important to note that 10,000 Nigerians are among the shareholders of this company. So, every penny they make and the dividends they pay have a huge success in maintaining these 10,000 Nigerians since 1991 when the company was established."

In his remarks, Governor Oshiomhole, while appreciating the management of Presco and the Federal Government in its industrial policy, said: “Part of the problem of our democracy is that we spend too much time talking politics and very little time discussing the economy, investment, wealth creation among others and yet we know that the capacity of the political class to bring prosperity to the people requires that we generate wealth.”

FG promises financial aid to Edo flood victims

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

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ENIN—THE Federal Government has promised to provide financial assistance to victims of the recent flood disaster in Igarra community, Akoko-Edo Local Government Area of Edo State, in which six persons died.

Assistant Zonal Coordinator, National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Mr. Godwin Tepikor, made the disclosure during an on-the-spot assessment of the area by the senator representing Edo North senatorial district, Senator Do-

mingo Obende and Mr Peter Akpatason, a member of the House of Representatives.

Tepikor, who expressed shock after going round the affected site, assured the people of government's assistance, saying: “It is a natural disaster and when you say natural disaster, it is not within the control of human beings. It has happened and that is why we are here as an intervention agency to see for ourselves and do an on-the-spot assessment and report back to the govern-

ment. As soon as we are through with the paper work, government will assist to assuage the sufferings of the people.”

On his part, Senator Obende assured the people of support from government, saying: “We have been able to collate records from those who lost houses and at the end of the day, we are going to ensure that they are compensated.”

The senator visited the victims at the hospital where he paid their bills and also pledged to off set the burial expenses of those that died.

HE Jim Adun Campaign Organiaation has condemned the campaign of calumny orchestrated against him by some self-seeking youth organisations, which it said were sponsored by faceless political characters with the sole aim of accruing undue and cheap political leverage from such blackmail.

The campaign organisation said: "Recently, some persons in the name of 'Edo Youth for Good Governance' sent series of text messages to our principal, Mr. Jim Adun, requesting to meet with him, so he could give account of his stewardship in the House of Representatives to their youth body.

“In view of the fact that they were an unknown group and we knew that their mission was sinister, so we advised our legislator, Mr Jim Adun to disregard their request especially when he has at different fora consisting representatives of his constituency (Egor/Ikpoba-Okha), sufficiently briefed and showcased his activities to his people, who elected him as their representative for the second time."

2015: Delta group flays imposition of candidates

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SOKO South Women Group, ISWG, in collaboration with youths in Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State, have said that they were opposed to godfatherism and imposition of candidates in the state.

Leader of the group, Mrs. Elo Okoro, said many aspirants obtained forms under the platform of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to contest the local government elections in the state, noting that a situation where somebody will singlehandedly impose his brother or servant on the people was uncalled for and unacceptable.

She said: “We should use our position positively and productively. Going from house to house or making calls will not help matters. It rather leads to social violence and insecurity."

54—Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014

N4GG backs Jonathan, Uduaghan for 2015

Edo rural farmers assured on USAID project

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ETWORK for Good Governance, N4GG, has thrown its weight behind the clamour for President Goodluck Jonathan to seek a second term in office, even as it has declared support for Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan's senatorial ambition.

Appealing to both leaders to contest the 2015 general elections, in a communiqué after its caucus meeting in Calabar, Cross Rivers State, Country Director of the group, Chief Sunny Onuesoke, noted that Jonathan’s administration had diligently implemented agenda for national transformation in priority areas, which include power, rehabilitation and expansion of national infrastructure and agriculture, among others.

The group said that despite 1.6 million new jobs created in the country in 2013 as a result of Joanathan’s government policies and actions, the President had promised the creation of more jobs to support the country’s growing population.

Smart state initiative: FG signs MoU with Bayelsa

BY EMEKA AGINAM

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INISTER of Communication Technology, Dr. Omobola Johnson, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Bayelsa State Government on smarter state initiative.

The MoU was signed at the Bayelsa State Investment and Economic Forum held in Bayelsa.

The development is to make Bayelsa a Smart State in line with the Smart State initiative of government.

The ministry and the Broadband Council are promoting a “Smart State” initiative geared toward engaging governors and relevant authorities at the state and federal levels to address the issue of multiple taxation impeding the acceleration of critical infrastructure across Nigeria.

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COMMISSIONING OF PRESCO PLC'S BIOGAS PLANT: From left: Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State; Mr. Olusegun Aganga, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment; Prof. Amos Utuama, SAN, Deputy Governor, Delta State and Mr. Uday Pilani, Managing Director, Presco Plc, at the commissioning of Presco Plc's Biogas plant, in Benin City, yesterday.

Alleged killing of transport manager in Edo: PDP raises N2m for widow

BY GABRIEL ENOGHOLASE

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ENIN—SUCCOUR has come the way of Mrs. Juliet Imobhio in Benin, Edo State, a widow whose husband was allegedly killed by officials of the Edo State Traffic Management Agency, EDSTMA, as the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has raised about N2 million for her.

It will be recalled that the Edo State Police Commissioner, Mr. Foluso Adebanjo, had in May, confirmed the arrest of two EDSTMA officials, including one Mr. Nosa Aideyan, for allegedly causing the death of Mrs. Imobhio’s husband, Godfrey, who at that time was a transport manager with a Benin-based distribution company.

Also, the duo of the Esama of Benin, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion,

and the state chairman of the PDP, Chief Dan Orbih, awarded scholarships to the three children left behind by the late Godfrey.

Orbih, while receiving defectors from the All Progressives Congress, APC, to PDP from Ikpoba/Okha Local Government Area of the state at the party’s secretariat on Sapele Road, Benin, lamented that EDSTMA officials have been unleashing terror on motorists in Benin, pointing out that the late Godfrey's killing was worse than the attack on the “'Go and die' woman because they have created a widow and have neglected her.”

He lamented that neither the state government nor officials of EDSTMA had neither commiserated nor paid compensation to the family of

the deceased after the dastardly killing, saying: “Edo people do not need the services of EDSTMA as it has become a terror gang.”

He said that the PDP will engage the services of a legal team to handle a case it hopes to file against the agency for the murder of Imobhio.

“They (EDSTMA) have been unleashing terror on the people. As a party, we have the responsibility to return sanity to the state. We commiserate with the family and we promise never to leave them. We will also open an account in the name of the family so that the children can have a future,” he said.

Orbih, who personally donated N200, 000 at the event, also welcomed hundreds of APC members from Ikpoba Okha council.

Mixed feelings over activities of DSTMA officials

BY AUSTIN OGWUDA

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SABA—Mixed reactions are trailing the operations of the Delta State Traffic Management Authority, DSTMA, following arrests and imposition of fines on motorists accused of allegedly violating traffic laws by the operatives.

Although some residents have hailed the discipline brought to bear on the roads, some others, including private and commercial drivers, criticized the traffic officers’ modus operandi, saying that they are overbearing in the discharge of their duties.

Vanguard’s investigation showed that since the state traf-

fic officers began operation, there had been a deluge of complaints. Sometime ago, fight broke out between the son of a retired high court judge and the officials, when they eventually caught up with the judge’s son, whom they accused of driving against traffic. Incidentally, he is a lawyer by profession.

A motorist who simply gave his name as Amaechi, told our reporter that “We are not against their operation because it brings sanity but for me, they should not be high-handed. Sometimes, they lay ambush to arrest motorists.”

Reacting, the state Commissioner for Transport, Mr. Ben Ibakpa, said: “It is unfortunate that respect for laws, rules, regulations and standards is not in us. Same explains why someone will not wait for the red light to stop when the amber has informed you to stop? Why will a sane mind and head drive against traffic? Why should a driver on the steering give 90 percent of his attention to GSM and so many unimaginable unsafe attitudes?

“For the traffic team, they are the ones being harassed and intimidated every day.

We will continue to do our work without fear or favour."

URAL farmers under the Edo State Co-operative Farmers Agency have been assured that the ongoing United State Agency for International Development Maximizing Agricultural Revenue in Key Enterprise Targeted Sites, USAID/Market II Project, will not be compromised. Mr. Nosa Amayo, state president of Edo State Co-operative Farmers Agency said that the project will be made to reach the targeted farmers, adding that there was no room for politicians to hijack the project in the state.

He spoke alongside Mallam Hassan Yunus and Sunday Okungbowa, both president of the co-operative in the two pilot local government areas of the state,at the flag-off and mobilisation of farmers toward the USAID cassava value chain programme in Etsako West and Orhionmwon councils.

Amayo said “We are not unaware of moves by some persons who are fond of claiming farming as a profession, whereas they are politicians, to tactically hijack the project."

Ogomudia, 22 others bag chieftaincy titles in Delta kingdom

BY FESTUS AHON

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GHELLI—ABOUT 23 prominent sons and daughters of Isoko, including former Chief of Defence Staff, General Alexender Ogomudia (rtd), have been conferred with chieftaincy titles by the Ovie of Igbide Kingdom, Isoko South Local Government Area, Delta State, HRM Obukeni I, in recognition of their contributions to the development of the kingdom.

Conferring the chieftaincy titles on the recipients, which was part of activities to mark his 40th coronation anniversary in his palace, the monarch, said “I was crowned the royal father of Igbide Kingdom in 1974 and presented with staff of office in 1977 by the then Bendel State."

Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014—55

Innoson to roll out N1.5m cars

Cleric urges knights to protect family institution

BY TONY EDIKE

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NUGU—LOW and middle class Nigerians desiring to own brand new cars will soon realise their dreams as indigenous automobile manufacturing firm, Innoson Group of Companies, is set to launch its new products.

The firm, which

BY NWABUEZE OKONKWO

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NITSHA—THE Metropolitan Archbishop of Catholic Archdiocese, His Grace, Most Rev. Dr. Valerian Maduka Okeke, has charged Knights and Ladies of the Order of St. Mulumba, KSM, Onitsha Metropolitan Council, to defend the family institution currently under threat due to challenges facing the country.

He said: ”You should focus your satellite on the family and ensure that love of your neighbour prevails always, no matter the race and religion of your neighbour.”

In his homily at the Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity, Onitsha, while presiding over an investiture for the elevation to the 3rd and 4th degrees of about 520 Knights and Ladies of the Order of St Mulumba, Archbishop Okeke attributed the prevailing insurgency and insecurity across Nigeria and, indeed, the entire globe to lack of love for one another.

He commended the Knights for the N400 million chapel project at the Veritas University of Nigeria, Abuja, VUNA, adding that as a strong and scandal-free order, people in the society looked up to them for salvation.

manufactures cars, buses, tankers and other products, would from August 8 introduce brand new cars into the Nigerian automobile market at the cost of N1.5 million.

Chairman and Chief Executive of the company, Mr. Innocent Chukwuma, who announced this in Enugu yesterday, said the cars which

would be fully air conditioned and come with other gadgets were made for Nigerians to have access to brand new cars.

The costliest of the coming cars, according to him, would be bought at N3.5 million.

Chukwuma, who spoke at the road show organised by Empower Nigeria at the Enugu campus of the University of Nigeria,

Youths insist on guber slot for Okigwe

BY CHIDI NKWOPARA

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W E R R I — A S preparations for the 2015 general elections gather momentum, a youth organisation in Imo State, Okigwe Youth Assembly, OYA, has challenged Okigwe zone to legitimately seek to complete its truncated tenure at Government House, Owerri.

OYA explained that its demand was in line with the spirit and dictate of established Imo Charter of Equity, after which Owerri zone will take over.

The OYA President, Dr. Onumuo Wilson, who made the position of the youths known to newsmen, however, reasoned that although the group was aware that what it was advocating lacked constitutional basis, it had become politically expedient for the people of the zone who were opposed to sacrificing competence and merit on the altar of mediocrity.

The youth leader blamed prominent indigenes of the zone who had held positions, and were still holding positions of authority at the various levels of government, for

the poor development of the zone.

He said: “We, as a distinct group of people, should really have no need to cry for marginalisation going by the fact that we have actually been opportuned to hold key positions of leadership at the state and national levels.”

He argued that while the zone might not heap the blame of its woes, especially between 2007 and 2011, on individuals, the people of the zone should see the forthcoming 2015 election as an opportunity to review crucial issues affecting the zone.

Anambra to close 486 centres of exam magic

BY VINCENT UJUMADU

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WKA—NO fewer than 486 centres of examination magic in Anambra State are to be shut down as part of measures to curb examination malpractices in the education sector, the Commissioner for Education, Professor Kate Omenugha, has said.

Speaking at the 10th anniversary of St. Joseph’s Academic Award for 2014, the commissioner observed that the miracle centres had been aiding and abating examination malpractices, especially during West African School Certificate Examinations, WASC, and National Examination Council, NECO, examinations.

According to her, the decision to shut down the magic centres became necessary due to the

manner their operators have fashioned them to swindle unsuspecting, desperate candidates.

She said: “We have government and approved private schools that are saddled with the responsibility of training our children to become functional members of our society.”

Hospitality firm wins award

P

EACOCK Travels and Tours, a subsidiary of Peacock Group of Companies, has won the United Kingdom-based Acquisition Magazine’s 2014 edition of ‘Sustained Excellence in Corporate Travel’ award.

According to a statement by the company ’s office in

London, the award presentation was done by the Mayor of London Borough of Richmond, Jane Boulton.

The Executive Chairman of Peacock Group of Companies, Aare Segun Phillips, said he would like “ to dedicate the award to the glory of God and to the entire customers of the company worldwide.”

By Bartholomew Madukwe

PEOPLE SPEAK

08102479985

Nsukka, told the students of the university how he started venturing into diversified enterprise.

He said: “I will launch my own cars in about two weeks time. And the cars will cost between N1.5 million and N3.5 million, depending on the cadre.”

The Innoson Group Chairman told the audience that his company was not into car assembly but actual car manufacturing.

Chukwuma said: “Some people think that my factory is an assembly plant, but they are wrong. We do not assemble, we manufacture.

“Eighty percent of Nigerians do not believe that we manufacture vehicles in my company. But we do manufacture.

“The raw materials are bought from different countries and some in Nigeria.”

Chukwuma said his workforce has hit over 7,500, expressing happiness that he had contributed immensely to the nation’s economy.

The founder of Empower Nigeria and President of Anabel Group, Nicholas Okoye expressed delight that such a successful entrepreneur like Chukwuma was able to honour the invitation to speak to the youths, regarded as the leaders of tomorrow.

(nwamad@yahoo.com)

On doctors' strike

W

HAT I feel the government should do is employ external consultants that will handle critical surgical procedures, as any other care can be adequately maintained by a combination of nurses and other medical staff.— Ms Blessing Ukoma, Student.

H

OW can you say doctors should be given special cars and special plate numbers?

Very petty demands, I must say. Government should not yield to such selfish and meaningless demands. Is that what their vows are about?— Mr. Ndubuis Igwe, Engineer.

T

HIS is getting too much. These doctors have turned our hospitals into death traps by their refusal to humble themselves, recognise and appreciate the expertise of other healthcare professionals in healthcare delivery.— Ms Precious Okoye, Communicator.

D

OCTORS should put aside this arrogance of theirs and emulate their peers in civilised climes who see healthcare delivery as teamwork and not a oneman show to the detriment of the patients.— Mr. Ismaila Aremu, Computer Instructor.

W

HEN JOHESU declared strike, doctors will make money out of it in their various communities and when doctors declare strike, it is another opportunities for doctors that have private clinics to make money. Who is fooling who?— Mrs Esupofo Lawrence, Clergy.

W

H E N E V E R Nigerian doctors are caught between capitalism and their call to duty, they sacrifice the latter. I cannot blame them since it takes the IQ of 100 politicians to make a doctor, yet politicians live better than our doctors.— Ms Amamchi Okoji, Worker.

56—Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014

Why Jonathan is impeaching every body—Nda-Isaiah •My path to the presidency is clear •Jonathan has case to answer on Adamawa SAM Nda- Isaiah, who until recently resigned his position as the Publisher of Leadership Newspapers, in this interview, wants all democratic arsenals to be deployed towards ensuring that President Goodluck Jonathan does not continue till 2019. Nda-Isaiah’s grouse is hinged on his believe that the perceived incompetence of the administration, is responsible for the current disorderly state of the nation. He also says his decision to run for the presidency on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, was informed by the desire to arrest Nigeria’s descent to doom. Excerpts:

YOUR decision to run for the presidency has attracted mixed reactions. In the mind of some people, you are probably acting out a script while others don’t consider you a serious aspirant. Are you really serious about running?

I don’t think any body will say so. Maybe some people said so at the beginning but by now,I think it has become very clear to those people. Whose script are my acting? I am glad that you read my articles and I am sure that you and many of those who know me, understand my passion for this country and my desire to see it work.

I don’t need to act a script.

Before deciding to run, l had a good job which I was enjoying.

I have always said that it is a better paying job than the presidency. Running for the presidency is not something I jumped into without giving it a serious thought. It is not a job to be enjoyed. It does not make sense to say that I am acting a script. I think some people always judge by their standards.

If I did not see a path to victory, I would not waste my time by getting involved in the process.

I had a job that I was enjoying

and l believe it pays better than the presidency. The presidency appears lucrative for those who want to steal public funds.

Two prominent leaders in your party, Bola Tinubu and Gen Mohammadu Buhari, rtd, are being touted as possible presidential candidates. Don’t you think that their rumored ambition might affect your

,

BY CHARLES KUMOLU

•Isaiah: I don’t need to act a script if somebody is going to be imposed on the party. And if there is going to be consensus, it is going to be a real consensus.

Such consensus will have the

I was in CPC before it joined other parties to form the APC. I have never jumped the ship. I cannot leave my party for another one because of desperation for power

chances?

Buhari has not said that he will contest even though that it is most likely that he will. For Asiwaju, there was a rumour that he will contest but that has died down.

Every body has a strategy. I have the one that will give me victory.

I think that every body that intends to contest in the APC should have his own strategy. I don’t think that anybody will be a threat to anyone. I think that anybody that will win would be someone with superior advantages because there is going to be primaries. It is not as

,

blessing of everyone.

Would you support Buhari if he the consensus favours him?

By the constitution of the party, even if there will be a consensus, there will still be primaries.

Consensus does not overrule primaries. I am in this race to win.

So far I am the only person who has declared publicly and I don’t think I will be the only person ultimately. And I am doing all I need to ensure that we win.

Would you decamp if you lose out in the party selection?

A real consensus is a situation where everyone has agreed on

one person. And it is still open to be contested by a few aspirants who may not agree with consensus. Those candidates will still go ahead and contest in the primaries. I was in CPC before it joined other parties to form the APC. I have never jumped the ship. I cannot leave my party for another one because of desperation for power.

Everybody in the APC has agreed on the need to step careful when choosing our presidential candidate because Nigerians are watching us. APC is not the defunct CPC, ACN or ANPP where one powerful person can impose candidates on the party.

Nobody is big enough to impose candidates on the APC. So nobody has been imposed on the party. People are free to strategise on who to be their running mate. It is all part of the strategies that I told you about. I will not be telling you my own strategy.

What is your plan to revive Nigeria?

We intend to start afresh as a

nation because every thing is wrong. This is not how to run a nation. Our message is on two legs. Unity of the nation has to come first.

Nigerians have to come together and act as one strong indivisible nation if we intend to make progress. If we intend to move from where we are now to a better future, we must do that as one strong indivisible nation.

Countries that are better than us did that to get to where they are now.

Indivisible nation It is sad that we see ourselves as northerners, southerners, Christians, Muslims, Pentecostals or Catholics.

We are too divided in this country. We can’t continue like that as a nation. The division is happening because the leaders want it to happen. To unite this country is easy. You don’t need a

Continues on page 57

Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014—57

Our major failure at the confab — Dr Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi DR Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, Executive Director, Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre, WARD-C was a delegate to the 2014 National Conference, whose report is now being compiled. In this interview, she reviews the conference and articulates what she points as one of the major failures of the conference among other national issues.

Excerpts:

BY JOSEPH ERUNKE

W

ERE there areas you felt the conference did not handle properly?

I think the area which I can say was not handled as some of us had expected was the issue of devolution of power. I think our discussion shouldn’t have focused more on devolving the power but looking at the structures that can enable us ensure that the money they have been allocating are properly managed.

Many are aware that they have been allocating monies and resources have been shared in this country and they have not materialized into anything.

So, what we need to do is not looking at how to share more money but how people can adequately manage that money, so that the money translates in its real sense to the development of the communities and to Nigerians as a whole.

Anything short of that will be

maintaining the status quo, that is business as usual.

Do you have any fear that the report of the confab could be jettisoned?

There are issues that deserve policy engagement, which means that as it is, once the proposal comes up, the Presidency or the Executive should be able to take that policy decision. They don’t need to go to the National Assembly to get those things done. There are issues that desire constitution reform. We know, the National Assembly is the only arm of government that can make laws and since its concern is in law, we can’t do that as civil societies, let us go back there.

The challenge we might have is that we don’t have much time. The elections will be coming in February and as we know, the politicians will be distracted.

So it will be suicidal to leave this until after 2015 election. We must take all these into consideration. What I am

•Akiyode-Afolabi

saying in essence is that they need to fastrack the process.

The process of convening people together is coming rather late and because it is coming rather late, we need to determine what happens to it.

They need to fast track the process, engage the National

Assembly and we also need to look at the consideration of referendum because the problem with our e x i s t i n g constitution is that it is not people oriented.

So if we want a more people o r i e n t e d constitution, then it becomes important for us to take it back to the people and I am just looking at the time which is actually too short to engender the implementation of the outcome.

Do you see the outcome of the confab being applied in the 2015 general election?

That is why I said there is the need to fast track the outcome, if we don’t fast track it, if steps are not taken in the next three months on this report, the report could just become like any other one since 2005.

I think that the report should not only be on the table of the

government but also on the table of the people, I think the efforts which the civil societies can make is to see how we can abridge the final report and send it to the public space so that Nigerians can see some of the good things that are coming out from the report and can be the ones to clamour for the implementation of that report.

Implementation of report The way it’s going, I remember the report of the Justice Uwaise Electoral Reform Committee which was subjected to a White Paper review and at the end of the day, what did we see from the White Paper review?

Nothing, because what they (White Paper Committee) did was to water down every decision that had been made.

They asked them to throw away this and throw away that.

So, if this report is going to pass through that process, then, what we can say is to urge Mr President to ensure that there is no repeat of that.

You have put people together, they fought, they agreed and at the end of the day, they have come up with a compromised document, lets’ move forward as Nigerians on the basis of this document.

My path to the presidency is clear — Nda-Isaiah Continues from page 56 budget to unite this country. All you need is to be sincere and ensure justice and fairness for all.

If as president, you treat the nation the way you treat your family, we will be united. But that is not how Nigeria is being run.

You don’t become desperate for power at the expense of the future of the nation. Ultimately, it will backfire. Our second message is on security. I would not have added this to what we intend to do if not that the security situation has become so bad. The primary function of any president is to secure the lives of his people.

Whether you are a democrat or a monarch the first job of any leader is to secure his people. The leader that we have now has failed. It is not difficult to achieve.

Don’t forget that our police men and security forces used to be adjudged as one of the best in the world in those days when we used to go for peacekeeping. But corruption has changed it all.

When you send two hundred guns without bullets to four hundred soldiers, what do you expect? The state governments now get fifty percent of their

monthly allocations instead of hundred because the money that would be made has all been stolen today. So there is no money to do any thing.

There was a time that Fashola used to give a billion Naira yearly to the police, but that is no longer done. Other state governments also contributed to their state police commands even though there is no state police

but many of them cant be able to do that any more because they get only fifty percent of their allocation.

That is also an impeachable offense.

Some governors have gone to court several times but nothing came out of it. As long as you tackle corruption as the president, you will have money to carry out developmental functions. As we speak now there is no money to do anything.

•Isaiah In the past we used to send our troops for peace keeping in African countries, now Ghana has said that they would be gracious to send us troops to fight Boko Haram. That is an insult.

We are the giant of Africa and should be strong enough to protect ourselves and other African nations. Nigeria is not a small country, so we should not belittle the country because of our incompetence and corruption.

Your party has been having

serious reverses in Ekiti, Adamawa and now Nasarawa.

Is there any problem with the party?

Somebody decided to take the law into his hands by bribing the House of Assembly members with $300,000 each. The alleged offense of Nyako was committed five years ago when he was still in PDP. The president should be asked why he thinks it is possible to run a state like this.

Knowing the history I keep saying that the president has to be careful. This is Nigeria, and if you know the history very well you will know that you don’t just take the people for a ride. If you think that you can do something and say that you are not the one, you will not go free in Nigeria. Many APC governors have been penciled down for impeachment.

One thing that is clear to me is that no matter what Jonathan does, it is not possible to continue in the state that we are now. We can't continue in this state of disorder, insecurity, corruption and theft beyond 2015.

Nigerians are going to rescue

themselves, the president should not think that he will do all these and continue till 2019. Nigerians will rescue their country. It is not the APC that should be asked about the impeachment.

If you don’t emerge as the candidate, what happens?

We intend to win. Wait and see our strategies. We are not planning for failure, because we are sure of victory. The APC is not going to anoint any candidate. We will conduct our primaries.

The APC is not like the PDP where Jonathan will decide not to conduct primaries. The APC is the most democratic party in Nigeria today. We know what is happening in the PDP. All the governors that decamped from the PDP did that because they knew there was no equity and justice in the PDP. They are here because they know there will be fairness even though the President wants to impeach every body. Maybe the controversial twenty billion dollars was enmarked for the purpose of sponsoring impeachments. They are using corruption to fight alleged corruption.

58 — V anguard Vanguard anguard,, TUESDAY, JULY 22 , 2014

Atiku, Tambuwal, Madueke, OPEC, others mourn Rilwanu Lukman •Say he was Nigeria's best oil minister and exemplary statesman

BY HENRY UMORU, LUKA BINNIYAT, SEBASTINE OBASI & MICHAEL EBOH

T

HE death of Alhaji Rilwanu Lukman, former Minister of Petroleum and former SecretaryGeneral of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, in the early hours of yesterday, has elicited reactions from Nigerians who lauded his contributions to the growth of the Nigerian petroleum sector.

Lukman was said to have died after battling with an undisclosed ailment, in the early hours of Monday, in a hospital in Vienna, Austria hospital. He died a few weeks to his 76th birthday.

Atiku, Tambuwal mourn, say he’s Nigeria’s best oil minister Reacting to the death, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar lamented his demise, describing him as the best oil minister Nigeria as a country ever had.

Atiku said in a statement, “I will describe Rilwan Lukman as the best oil minister we ever had given his unmatched knowledge of the industry and the integrity with which he ran the ministry.”

He recalled that Lukman’s contribution to the management of the nation’s oil and gas sector provided the impetus for his elevation as Secretary General of Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC. He described Lukman's death as a monumental loss and prayed that Allah will grant his family and the nation the fortitude to bear the loss.

Also reacting, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, expressed shock and sadness over the death, describing him as a thorough-bred technocrat who served his country diligently at home and abroad. Tambuwal said in a statement that Lukman will forever be remembered for his sterling performance as OPEC President between 1986 and 1994 and later as the global petroleum body’s secretary-general between 1994 and the year 2000.

He said, “Lukman was a pioneer authority whose deep knowledge of the petroleum and gas sub-sector led to the formulation of various policies that have impacted positively on Nigeria. He was one Nigerian who was respected globally for his diligence, creativity, honesty and commitment to duty. We will miss a global ambassador who did his best for his fatherland when ever called upon to serve. I wish to extend my sympathy and that of the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to Lukman’s family, friends, colleagues and associates. May the almighty Allah give them the fortitude to bear the loss.”

He was an exemplary statesman —Diezani Alison-Madueke The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani AlisonMadueke, and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Engr. Andrew Yakubu, expressed shock and a deep sense of loss at the death of Rilwanu Lukman.

Alison-Madueke who described Lukman as an exemplary statesman stated that his death was a personal loss to her as he was her immediate predecessor as Minister of Petroleum Resources. She said, “It is with a heavy heart and a deep sense of loss that I and the entire management and staff of the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources received the sad news of the passing of Dr. Rilwanu Lukman, Nigeria’s former Minister of Petroleum Resources and former president and secretary-general of the OPEC.” While expressing her condolences to the family of Lukman, the Minister stated, “Our dear country and the global petroleum industry have lost an astute diplomat, a seasoned technocrat, and a trailblazer, who achieved many firsts in his lifetime”.

The GMD of NNPC, Engr.

Andrew Yakubu, expressed grief at the passing of the former Minister of Petroleum Resources which he described as “a monumental loss to the global oil and gas industry and to Nigeria as a country”. Yakubu said the NNPC would miss Lukman’s forthrightness and candour.

We disagreed, but he was a brilliant engineer — David-West In his reaction, Professor Tam David-West, former Minister of Petroleum Resources and predecessor of Lukman, noted that as part of humanity, everyman’s death is a loss. He said “It is a great loss to Nigeria. He was a brilliant engineer. I cannot deny him the respect he deserves. He took over from me as the Minister of Petroleum Resources. We had disagreement on three areas: The issue of MT Tuman, he did not study facts before he went to press; he wanted Nigeria to have foreign refineries, but I made case for building refineries in Nigeria instead, so as to build capacity in the country.

Fortunately, the government did not build refineries abroad. It will be hypocritical of me if I did not say all these things. However, he was a brilliant man and a great engineer.”

He guided us through the Asian financial crisis — OPEC

Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, commiserated with his family and the

•Late Rilwanu Lukman country for his demise, adding that he will be fondly remembered through his commitment and enthusiasm for Nigeria, OPEC and the petroleum industry, and his warm smile, amiable manner and positive outlook.

OPEC, in a statement on its website, said Lukman played a major role in the history of OPEC, especially as he helped guided the organization through the Asian financial crisis in 1997.

“He was widely recognized and highly regarded in the global petroleum industry; a loyal and dedicated man, who had the best interests of Nigeria and OPEC at heart,” OPEC noted.

OPEC listed his achievements as secretary general of the cartel to include, helping guide the organization through the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and 1998; managing OPEC’s participation with Member Countries in the very early United Nations COP meetings. OPEC also said he helped in overseeing the second OPEC Summit of Head of State and Government in Venezuela in 2000 and helping evolve the producer-consumer dialogue.

Pass PIB in honour of Lukman — Okigbo Mr. Patrick O. Okigbo, principal partner, Nextier Capital Limited, said Lukman bestrode the global petroleum sector for over three decades, stating that despite the fact that he is soft-spoken, he had a steely core that was reinforced by deeply held convictions.

“Dr. Lukman was well regarded as a bridge builder who favoured the middle-ground over conflict and strife. I suspect that if he had any regrets from his distinguished public career, it may be his inability to restructure the NNPC into a fully commercial enterprise. Wouldn’t it be great to have the National Assembly pass the Petroleum Industry Bill in his honour?

OPEC did better during his tenure — Matthew Also speaking, Mr. Philips Matthew, Senior Vice President, Americas/Africa, PEM offshore, said, “Lukman Rilwanu made his impact in life and in the Nigerian/African Oil and Gas Sector that the whole world felt his touch. His days as secretary general, Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, from 1995 to 2000 saw the best production within the OPEC

Communities. His input in Nigeria as the Minister for Petroleum Resources saw us to a greater heights measurably.

He said,“I paid a visit to Jamaica and saw a huge/massive petroleum podium ‘Jamaican Petroleum Corporation’ built up very nice. I went closer to admire it more and guess what is ascribed on it. ‘Built and Commissioned

by Lukman Rilwanu. Rilwanu’s involvement with Afren took Afren to become an internationally acclaimed oil company that it is today and he has touched more lives than we can imagine.

He’s one of my mentors and the reason PEM Offshore took to not remaining in Nigeria as just a Local Company but to operate and be known as an International Company with Global Coverage…Local Content. He made a report on our power sector long time ago which I would not want to comment on, but obviously looking at things from a detailed Engineering view. We are still kidding around like he had said.”

Lukman was a quintessential public officer— Amosun Also reacting, Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun mourned the death of Lukman, describing him as a quintessential public servant. Amosun, in a statement hailed the late mining engineer’s contribution to the oil industry globally.

He said, “The history of the growth of OPEC cannot be written without our own Dr. Rilwanu Lukman being given a conspicuous space for his outstanding contributions to the body saddled with the responsibility of ensuring price stability in the world global oil market. As OPEC veteran, who served several terms as secretary general and president, Dr. Lukman’s administrative dexterity saw him implementing policies towards efficient and reliable supply of oil, thus assisting consuming nations in charting sustainable economic development plan nationally and internationally.”

Governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero of Kaduna State said of the demise of Lukman as a great loss not only to Kaduna State and Nigeria but the entire world which will miss his wealth of experience in the energy sector. Yero said in a statement, “The passing on of

Dr. Lukman at this critical point of our nation history will definitely create a huge vacuum difficult to be filled. His death came at a time the country needed his experience in its quest to modernise the petroleum sector to attract more foreign direct investments.”

Governor Yero recalled the persistent effort by Lukman at reforming the petroleum sector especially during his second stint as Petroleum Minister during the administration of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua. He described Lukman as a nationalist who dedicated most part of his lifetime working for the advancement and economic development of Nigeria. Future generations of Nigerians will remember him as an astute administrator that contributed immensely to nation building.

Details of his burial plans are yet to be announced. Lukman attended the Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology; Zaria from 1956-1958 and later proceeded to the prestigious Imperial College London where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Mining Engineering in 1962. He was made Minister of Mines, Power and Steel between 1984-85 and later Minister of Petroleum Resources from 1986-1989. As Petroleum Minister, he served as President of the Organisation for the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Conference for several consecutive terms from 1985-1989.

From the petroleum ministry, he moved to foreign affairs ministry where he served as Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs (198990) – all during the military regime of General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida. He also served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the defunct National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) from 1993-94. Lukman was elected as Secretary General of OPEC from 1995–2000.

It was from his position as Secretary-General at the OPEC Secretariat in Vienna, Austria that, in 2000 he was formally invited by former President Olusegun Obasanjo and appointed as Presidential Adviser on Petroleum and Energy Matters to the Federal Government and Chairman of the NNPC, until in November 2003, when he voluntarily retired from public service.

He was later brought out from retirement in active public service by the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua administration to serve again as Minister of Petroleum Resources from 2008-2010. Lukman, was also the Chairman of the defunct Petroleum Industry Law Reform Committee, which later metamorphosed into the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, currently before the National Assembly.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014 — 59

Anichebe tips Ideye to shine at West Brom S UPER Eagles for ward Victor Anichebe believes Brown Ideye will be a big hit at West Bromwich Albion, but will need time to adapt to the Premier League.

The 25-year-old became the Hawthorns club’s record signing when he completed a transfer from Ukrainian outfit Dynamo Kyiv to the West Midlands club.

He already has a fan in his countryman, who expressed confidence in his ability to do well at the club, but warned against pressure because of the big-money move.

“I know Brown through playing for Nigeria and we’ve kept in touch ever since,” Anichebe told the Club’s official website. “We’ve kept tabs on how we’ve been doing in our respective leagues.

“He’s done well in Ukraine after moving there for a lot of money.

He’s also come here for a big fee and I’m sure he will do well. But I don’t think the fans should expect too much, too soon from him.

“They should forget about the price tag. The club pays what they want to pay for players. That’s not down to the player.

“I know Brown is a really good player but the fans need to give him time to adapt, just as it’s taken me time to adapt.”

•Ideye in action for former club, Dynamo Kiev

Beware of fraudsters, Amuneke warns

G

OLDEN Eaglets’ Head coach, Emmanuel Amuneke (MON), has sent out a warning against online fraudsters, while categorically denying having a Facebook account.

The former Barcelona of Spain forward insists that he should not be associat-

Mikel Continues from BP European training camp.

Also on the train were Petr Cech, Matej Delac, Mitchell Beeney, Mark Schwarzer, Branislav Ivanovic, Oriol Romeu, Kurt Zouma, Andreas Christensen, John Terry, Gary Cahill, Nathan Ake, Cesar Azpilicueta, Marco van Ginkel, Nemanja Matic, Nathaniel Chalobah, Mohamed Salah, Jeremie Boga, Lewis Baker, John Swift, Patrick Bamford, Fernando Torres, Dominic Solanke and Isaiah Brown.

Chelsea kickoff their pre-season tour with a match against RZ Pellets tomorrow.

They later face NK Ol-

impija Ljubljana in Slovenia on Sunday, before matches against Vitesse Arnhem and Werder Bremen, in the Netherlands and Germany respectively.

It is believed that Mourinho decided to drop Mikel from his squad was caused by the player ’s poor performance at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Despite facing a bleak future at Chelsea, it was thought that Mikel would use the World Cup to raise his game and stake a claim to a starting shirt in Chelsea but the former Lyon of Oslo player failed woefully as the Eagles crashed out in the second round on the tournament, with Mikel laballed the biggest flop of the Nigerian side.

ed with an impostor on the social web.

A certain person has for long been parading himself as the 1994 African Footballer of the Year on Facebook but Amuneke said it was nothing but a fictitious account since he’s not on any social media for

that matter.

“I’m not on Facebook and I’m not ashamed of saying so, Amuneke said. The only thing I do on my phone is receiving calls and at worst, use the short message service (sms) but count me out of anything outside that.

Ready for commissioning: Olympic size swimming pool at the Warri Township Stadium to be commissioned today by Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State. The 6th Chief of Naval Staff Open Swimming Championships is being held there.

Musa

Continues from BP to Musa who cut in from the left hand side of the box and curled an effort past Sergio Romero, with two Argentina defenders stranded.

The vote was conducted among the readers of Italian online soccer p u b l i c a t i o n , forzaitalianfootball.com.

David Villa’s backheeled goal against Australia was voted in 9th place, while Colombia’s James Rodriguez chipped goal against Japan was named 8th, followed by Andre Schurrle’s screamer against Brazil that made it 7-1 for the winners in

their semi final tie.

Mario Goetze’s winner in the final against Argentina is 6th, followed by the Classic Lionel Messi goal against Iran, which came on 5th. Tim Cahill’s volleyed equalizer against Holland, Robin van Persie’s ‘Salmon header ’ against Spain, and David Luiz’ exquisite quarter final free kick winner against Colombia then followed.

But the votes for the best goal again went to James Rodriguez for the strike against Uruguay. The goal was also voted best by readers on FIFA.com.

Team Nigeria Continues from BP sports federations officials and the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) of funds to prosecute a successful outing at the Games.

Sports Vanguard investigations show that the NSC, under the leadership of Dr. Tamuno Nanagogo, wants the sports federations to embark on revenue drives that could sustain them. It was against this background that the Nigerian contingent to the Commonwealth Games that start today in Glasgow, Scotland, has had a tale of woes with regard to their preparation.

Their preparation was poor because they could not raise the money to prepare their athletes.

It would not be too strange if the athletes miss out on the medals table. It is on record that most of the athletes only went on training tour about a week to the Games. It is also on record that as at last night, most heads of the federations were yet to travel for the Games, because of non-release of funds by the NSC. Except for the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, whose President Solomon Ogba invested a lot of fund to train some athletes and also poach foreign athletes like American Mark Jelks to run 100m for Nigeria in Glasgow, other

federations heads were left in limbo and are now in grave danger of watching the Games from the television screens from home.

But the situation is a totally hopeless one for the NOC, the body responsible for presenting Nigerian athletes at the Glasgow Games. Investigations made by Sports Vanguard show that the NOC was denied of funds by the NSC. It was gathered that the funds were meant for NOC to execute their statutory duties in Glasgow. But as as last night, the NSC was yet to release a kobo to the NOC. “This is a bad situation but what can we do but to keep on hoping that things will change”, said a source in the NOC, who wished Nigeria well in Glasgow.

“We wish Nigeria well but the thing that the NSC does not realise is that we complement them at the Games. They cannot do it alone. They need us to get things done in Glasgow and if they deny us of funds, then they are denying Nigeria of victory”, said the NOC source.

But in its reaction, a ministry source said the NOC should stop running cap in hand to the Ministry for funds during international competitions.

Enyeama Continues from BP er play for the Super Eagles again. I only said I will consult with my family which is a normal thing to do. I am still very much a national team player,” Enyeama said.

The Lille goalkeeper was speaking moments after he received an award for excellence presented by the Guvaps Management, organizers of the annual Ibom Football Awards in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

Enyeama said he was pleased with the accolade and promised to work harder in future.

“I am really pleased with this award. I want to thank the Guvaps management for this. I

have won many accolades in my career but to be honoured by my people in Akwa Ibom State is special.

“Charity begins at home so this means a lot to me. I will continue working harder to achieve even more,” he said.

Enyeama began his professional football education at Ibom Stars in 1999 before proceeding to two-time African club champions, Enyimba where he made 100 appearances and scored 10 goals between 2001 and 2004.

In 2005 Enyeama moved to Israeli club, Bnei Yehuda. He spent three seasons at Hapoel Tel Aviv before joining Lille in 2011.

60 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014

Transfer market. ........ Transfer market........

Drogba set for Chelsea return F

ORMER Chelsea striker Didier Drogba is set for a shock return to Stamford Bridge as a player-coach on a one-year deal, according to reports in France.

The Ivory Coast forward spent the last 18 months at Galatasaray, having left Chelsea in 2012, but with his contract at the Turkish club expiring this summer.

French newspaper L’Equipe claims the 36year-old is heading to Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea have lost striking options in Demba Ba and Samuel Eto’o so far this summer, and Drogba is always likely to offer goals.

The report also suggests that he may potentially move onto the coaching staff after a year of playing, with the transfer set to be announced early next week.

E

NGLAND captain Steven Gerrard announced his retirement from international football yesterday after making 114 appearances for his country.

Gerrard, 34, led the national team at the World Cup where England bowed out in the group stage and the Liverpool midfielder said he had “agonised” over the decision since returning from Brazil.

“This has been a very difficult decision, one of the toughest I’ve had to make in my career,” Gerrard told the Football Association’s FATV. “I have enjoyed every minute of representing my country and it is a sad day for me knowing that I won’t pull on the England shirt again.

•Drogba

“To ensure I can keep playing to a high level and giving everything to Liverpool Football Club I believe this is the right decision, and having Champions League football back at Anfield is another big factor in my decision,” he added.

•Gerrard

United’s Evra joins Juventus M

ANCHESTER United’s France international Patrice Evra has joined Juventus on a two year contract, the two clubs announced yesterday.

The move brings to a close the 33-year-old left back’s eight-and-a-half year stint at Old Trafford.

“After a great deal of thought I have decided the time is right for me to leave Manchester United,” the player told United’s website.

“It is the biggest decision of my career as this

•Evra

club is, and will always remain, in my heart.”

A Juventus statement read: “Juventus football club can today announce that Patrice Evra has

L

signed a two-year contract with the club after a fee of £1.2million, to be paid in two separate instalments, was agreed with Manchester United.

“A further payment of £300,000 will be made to Manchester United in the event of Juventus qualifying for the 2015/16 Champions League.”

Dunga favored for “new” Brazil

F

ORMER World Cupwinning captain Dunga is favored to serve for the second time as national coach and will be named as Luiz Felipe Scolari’s successor on Tuesday, Globo reported.

The Brazilian Football

Atletico eye Torres A Liga champions Atletico Madrid are in talks with Premier League club Chelsea for their former target man Fernando Torres.

Reports in Spain reveal that Atletico’s chief executive Miguel Ángel Gil Marín spent the weekend in London discussing a possible transfer for the 30-year-old.

It is believed that the

C M Y K

Gerrard retires from England duty

Blues are willing to let go of the Spanish international for £13 million (R236 million), yet Atletico are trying to reduce the price.

Jose Mourinho has also shown interest in centreback Joao Miranda, who could also be included in the switch, having already signed Diego Costa and Felipe Luis from the Spanish title-holders.

Confederation (CBF) had planed to announce the new leader last week but instead unwrapped a new technical commission headed by former reserve goalkeeper Gilmar.

After early speculation that the CBF would turn to currently clubless former Corinthians boss Tite, Brazilian media over the weekend said the body would in fact turn to Dunga, sacked after the 2010 World Cup. Globo reported Dunga would likely choose Jorginho, who like him and Gilmar was in the World Cup-winning USA 1994 squad, as his righthand man.

The Brazilian media conglomerate added that Dunga, 50, had been

•Dunga mulling a big-money offer from Venezuela as the team chases a first World Cup qualification for Russia 2018.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014 — 61

C M Y K

62 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014

C M Y K

Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014 — 63

Bolt to run at Copacabana U

SAIN Bolt will re turn to Rio de Janeiro next month to run a special 100 metres on the beach, he said on his

•Bolt — Ready to go.

C M Y K

website on Sunday, but the Jamaican world record holder is now unlikely to race against Justin Gatlin this year.

The six times Olympic gold medallist added the August 17 “Mano a Mano” 100-metre race on Copacabana Beach to three previously announced races in what he said was his finalised schedule for 2014.

Bolt streaked to victory in a 150-metre race at the famous beach in March 2013 on a track specially built for the event.

He has delayed opening his season this year because of a foot injury and will start with a 4x100 metres relay with his Jamaican teammates at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on August 1-2.

The eight-times world champion will also run 100-metre races in Warsaw, Poland, on August 23 and at the Zurich Diamond League meeting on August 28.

PRESENTATION: L-R: Mathew Onmonya, Kano Pillars’ Captain, receiving the 1st place trophy from Public Relations Manager, MultiChoice Nigeria, Caroline Oghuma; Mark Igoche and Nigeria Basketball Federation President, Tijjani Umar, during the final of 2014 DStv Basketball League Championship held at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos yesterday 19th of July, 2014.

VANGUARD, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014

Enyeama: I’ve not quit Eagles S

UPER Eagles goal keeper, Vincent Enyeama has said that he has not yet called time on his distinguished international career.

The 31-year-old made his debut for the Super Eagles in 2002 and has gone on to rack 94 caps for the national team.

He hinted after the 2014 Fifa World Cup that he would quit the Eagles but has now stated that he still has unfinished business with the reigning African champions.

“I never said I will nev

Chelsea finally drop Mikel

BY JOHN EGBOKHAN

S

UNSET appears to have set for Chelsea’s midfielder John Obi Mikel following the decision of the London giants to drop the Nigerian from their pre-season European playing tour.

The team left London yesterday for Austria with Mikel conspicuously missing in the list of players who boarded the aircraft to Vienna.

According to chelsea.fc.com, the likes of new signings Cesc Fabregas, Diego Costa and Filipe Luis were part of Jose Mourinho’s 26-man squad, who will partake in the two-week Continues on Page 59

Continues on Page 59

•Enyeama

Musa’s wonder goal among World Cup best

A

HMED Musa’s opening goal against Argentina has been named one of the best goals scored at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Although the Eagles lost the game 3-2, with both goals coming from the boot of the former Kano Pillars man, the first was a gem, and was voted in at 10th place.

A long ball was played Continues on Page 59

•TOUGH TIMES: Mikel Obi dropped by Chelsea

Team Nigeria in big C’wealth Games disgrace

BY JOHN EGBOKHAN

N

he

IGERIA’s participation at Commonwealth

•No money for team Games, opening tomorrow in Glasgow is heading for catastrophe following the decision of

the Ministry of Sports and National Sports Commission to starve Continues on Page 59

•Musa

QUICK CROSSWORD

TODAY'S

PUZZLE

YESTER DAY'S YESTERDAY'S

ANSWERS

ACROSS 3 Enquired (5) 9 Bird (6) 10 Purify (6) 11 Conceit (5) 12 Sea-eagle (4) 15 Own (4) 17 Perusing (7) 20 Fixed (3) 21 Glory (5) 23 Flat (4) 25 Acid (4) 26 Thick (5) 28 Employ (3) 30 Save (7) 33 Require (4) 35 Always (4) 36 Diminish (5) 38 Ice-spike (6) 39 Obliterate (6) 40 Apply (5)

DOWN 1 Guide (5) 2 Stadium (5) 3 Serpent (3) 4 Shrivel (6) 5 Whirlpool (5) 6 Expire (3) 7 Map-book (5) 8 Swift (5) 13 Back (7) 14 Bordered (5) 16 Trace (7) 18 Estimate (5) 19 Drunkard (3) 22 Ointment (5) 24 Novel (3) 27 Festival (6) 28 Unfastened (5) 29 Weird (5) 31 Of birds (5) 32 Strayed (5) 34 Goat (4) 36 Beer (3) 37 Newt (3)

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS ACROSS: 1, Demure 5, Spoken 9, Angle 10, Relent 11, Eluded 12, Greet 14, Step 17, Yak 18, Cast 20, Sited 22, Puppy 23, Tattler 24, Relay 26, Refit 29, Idol 30, Wry 32, Data 33, Mined 35, Detain 36, Ailing 37, Learn 38, Earned 39, Newest.

DOWN: 1, Duress 2, Mallet 3, Rang 4, Entry 5, Sleek 6, Pelt 7, Kidnap 8, Nudity 13, Eastern 15, Tired 16, Petal 18, Cured 19, Split 21, Day 22, Per 24, Riddle 25, Loiter 27, Famine 28, Target 30, Wined 31 31, Yearn 33, Mile 34, Dine.

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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