Jonathan meets Chibok girls, 100 days after

...towards a better life for the people

**

VOL. 25: NO. 62193

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014

FOOTPRINTS OF A STATESMAN: Honourable member of Warri East Constituency Pages 36&37

N150

See 8page pullout inside

Enugu demolition squad sacks 400

Jonathan meets Chibok girls, 100 days after •51 free girls, parents storm Aso Rock

By Emmanuel Aziken, Clifford Ndujihe & Ben Agande BUJA—ONE hun Boko Haram terrorists, dred days after the President Goodluck abduction of more than Jonathan, yesterday, met 200 schoolgirls in with parents of the girls.

Chibok, Borno State, by At the closed-door meeting were 53 of the girls, who had earlier escaped from their abductors as well as representatives of Chibok community and other stakeholders.

The meeting which Continues on page 12

•Why I have not visited Chibok — President A •Chibok, others to benefit first from FG's fund

COLUMNISTS:

Kongi's Harvest

•P.19

Let us end the pretence... •P.19

Mr & Mrs CHIBOK GIRLS—President Goodluck Jonathan and the Senate President, David Mark in a group photograph with the girls that escaped from their abductors during the special meeting between the parents of the abducted Chibok girls and the President at the Banquet Hall, State House, Abuja, yesterday. Inset: President Jonathan with some of the parents at the meeting. Photos. Abayomi Adeshida.

Enugu Deputy Gov, Jurists, lawyers, >>54 activists eulogise Aturu Onyebuchi gets impeachment notice >>50 at colloquium C M Y K

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Farmer arrested for killing wife in Ogun

By Daud Olatunji

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BEOKUTA— THE Ogun State Police Command yesterday, said it had arrested a 47-year-old farmer, Gbenga Ogunfolabo, for stabbing his wife, Bosede Ogunfolabo, 45, to death with broken bottle during a fisticuff.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Muyiwa Adejobi, disclosed this in a statement.

Adejobi said the police detectives attached to Ishara division of the command arrested the suspect on Monday, July 21 at Ishara in Remo North Local Government Area the state few days after he committed the crime.

According to the PPRO, the

Gbenga Ogunfolabo, the suspect. incident occurred July 16 but no one reported the case to the police as the families concerned wanted to sweep the murder under the carpet as a result of the pressure on the deceased’s

family by the family of the suspect but one of the relations of the deceased (names withheld) decided to report the matter to the police for thorough investigation.

“It was gathered that the couple had eight children but lost two to sickness and that the husband has been maltreating the deceased, a petty trader, before he eventually stabbed her to death.

“The Commissioner of Police, Ogun State, CP Ikemefuna Okoye, has directed that the matter be transferred to the Department of Criminal Investigation, Eleweran, Abeokuta for investigation.

He advised the public to always report crimes to the police to generate correct statistics and to allow justice have its way.

“The Commissioner of Police has also assured the general public of the command's commitment in ensuring that every case reported to the police is adequately investigated with a view to restoring lost confidence and trust in the minds of the public,” the PPRO said.

Navy, vigilante nab 80 drug peddlers in Anambra, Abia

By Anayo Okoli & Nwabueze Okonkwo

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NITSHA — THE Nigerian Navy at the Onitsha Naval Out-post in Anambra State, yesterday, arrested 20 suspected drug peddlers at Nsugbe, near Onitsha, following an intelligence report against the activities of hard drug users in the community.

This came as the Abia State Vigilante Service has paraded over 60 persons suspected to be hard drug users and peddlers arrested in Aba, the commercial city of Abia State.

Briefing newsmen after the operation, the Commanding Officer of Naval Out-post, Onitsha, Navy Capt. Mike Oamen, said it was only by fighting hard drugs that the war against criminals and their syndicates could be won.

Oamen noted that those arrested were selling and smuggling bags of hard drugs such as cannabis sativa and other stimulants in the community.

He said the navy had assured the governor that Onitsha and its environs would never again be a haven and breeding ground for criminals and people with evil intentions.

His words: “So, what we have done is to make sure that we begin to deal with the root cause.

“After exhaustive discussion, especially at the security council meeting, we decided to look at how to reduce to the barest minimum, the availability of illegal drugs in Onitsha and Obosi so that it would also have an impact on the level of crime within the state.

NDLEA catches graduate with 2.185kg of hard drug

By Daniel Eteghe

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AGOS — OPERATIVES of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, yesterday, arrested a university graduate with 2.185 kilogrammes of methamphetamine at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Lagos.

The Business Administration graduate, Mr. Ifeanacho Somadina Victor, was apprehended at the departure hall of the airport while on his way to board an Ethiopian Airline flight to Malaysia with the drug in his bag.

Speaking on the arrest, NDLEA Commander at the airport, Mr. Hamza Umar, noted that the suspect was caught with the drug while attempting to smuggle it out of the country.

Meanwhile, Chairman of NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade described the action of the suspect as disappointing, saying:“It is very disappointing for a university graduate who knows the implication of his action to get involved in drug trafficking.

"Besides, he was taking the drug to Malaysia where he would have been executed if caught with it."

6-yr joblessness caused it —Suspect The suspects and the seized drugs “We are working. We try to get intelligence reports so that we swoop on them and that method is beginning to yield dividends because the crime rate has reduced and we will continue to sustain the effort.

“So the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, will now do its work by sorting those arrested out to know those that would be prosecuted.

We’ve intensified patrol on waterways too, because it is part of the route through which they bring in the drugs in the name of vegetables.

"Traditional rulers had given their unflinching support to the restoration of security in Onitsha and its environs by volunteering

information that led to arrest of criminal elements in their communities."

The commander added that the collaboration of the naval out-post and the NDLEA would be a continuous exercise, adding that the navy would not give them (criminals) a breathing space in Onitsha and its environs.

He said: “Very soon, those shops, kiosk, shanties and even parlours and hotels where hard drugs are sold would be closed down while their operators will have to look for better things to do.”

Abia vigilante parades 60 According to the commander of the vigilante

group, Mr. Idika Martins, the suspects were arrested in their hideout at Nkwa Road

by Iheoji in the city, which he said was notorious for drug peddling and other crimes.

Among the suspects was a dismissed soldier from Eda in Ebonyi State who gave his name as Private Amakalu.

The hideout, a well fortified but unkempt big compound, according to him, belongs to a man described as a drug baron whose nick name was simply given as Paraboy. He is said to be on the run.

Idika said hard drug users and other criminal elements gather at the place to smoke and attack innocent people.

Victor, on his part, said he wanted to smuggle the drugs out of frustration arising from unemployment.

“I am a graduate of Business Administration but have been jobless since I graduated in 2008. After several years of joblessness, I became a commercial bus driver in Lagos. I am single and live in Badagry.

“A man I met at a hotel promised to assist me in getting a job in Malaysia. I was happy to travel out of the country, even with drugs, out of frustration but I was arrested in the process.

“They promised to pay me $3,500 but I regret everything now because I feel empty inside,” the suspect who hails from Enugu state said.

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Medical doctor, NSCDC officer, others nabbed for child trafficking

By Austin Ogwuda

A

SABA — A MEDICAL doctor, a Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, personnel and two others have been arrested in connection with child trafficking as well as attempt to murder the mother of the child to cover their track.

This revelation was made by the Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Celestina Kalu, yesterday.

According to the PPRO, “on July 1 at about 7. 20 pm, one Ifowe Justus of Dada Estate, Asaba reported at GRA Police Station, Asaba that her sister, one Favour Ifowe and her three-year-old son by name Ezra Obiri were abducted by the sister's boyfriend, one Prince Josiah, a native of Osusu Aba, Obioma Ngwa Local Government Area of Abia State residing at Shedrack Estate, Asaba who invited the victims from OtorWhre community in Isoko North Local Government Area of Delta State and took them to unknown place.

“Sequel to the report, the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, Superintendent Uzochukwu Ugwuanyi accompanied by detectives swung into action and arrested the said Prince Josiah.

“The suspect confessed to the crime and led detectives to Isiala-Ngwa in Abia State where his cohorts, one Ogbonna Eleazer, an NSCDC personnel attached to Abia Command; Dr. Nwabueze Ishmael and Veronica Kalaoru of Bayelsa State were arrested, while the stolen child was rescued.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that the said Prince Josiah and one Obinna (surname unknown) tricked Favour Ifowe and her son to Aba, Abia State, collected and sold the son and attempted to kill the mother by strangulation."

2 die in Ilorin as Customs men, smugglers clash •8 Customs men escape death in Ogun

By Demola Akinyemi & Daud Olatunji

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LORIN — THERE was pandemonium in Sawmill area of Ilorin, yesterday, as a result of a bloody clash between men of the Nigeria Customs Service and vehicle smugglers which allegedly led to the death of two persons.

The Kwara State Police Command, however, said only one person died in the incident.

Sawmill area is populated by vehicle dealers.

Vanguard reliably gathered that the crisis was caused by some vehicle dealers who were on their way from Cotonou, Benin Republic who allegedly disobeyed Customs officers who stopped them on their way to Ilorin and were, therefore, chased to the area.

When the Customs officers realised that the suspects were almost escaping into the crowd, they reportedly fired gunshots at the vehicles and left.

Another account also told Vanguard that the smugglers were also dealers in various kinds of cosmetics which they also packed into the vehicles.

The vist of Customs officers to the area and the gunshots allegedly annoyed youths in the area and some car dealers who mobilised themselves and barricaded some roads leading to Nigeria Customs Service headquarters behind Ilorin praying ground.

The aggrieved youths and car dealers were said to have been armed with dangerous weapons while on protest to the Customs headquarters.

But they met strong resistance from the officers and anti-riot Policemen who were shooting sporadically to scare the mob.

While the Customs officers were shooting to scare the angry mob, two persons were allegedly killed by stray bullets.

All roads leading to the Customs Service headquarters were blocked by

8 Customs officers escape death in Ogun Meantime, at least eight officers of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Ogun State Command, yesterday, escaped death when they were

allegedly attacked by suspected smugglers along the Lagos-Sagamu expressway.

The incident occurred while the Customs officers attempted to intercept a truck loaded with 700 cartoons of frozen poultry products.

An eye witness told Vanguard that the Customs operatives flagged down the Onitsha-bound bus with number plate, EDO: USL 655 XA, conveying the contraband at Mowe-Ibafo axis of the expressway but the driver refused to stop and attempted to run over the officers.

Confirming the incident, Coordinator of the Customs Patrol Roving Team B, Chief Superintendent of Customs Cletus Okon said the contraband was intercepted after a fierce struggle with the driver of the bus.

The poultry products, whose Duty Payable Value (DPV) was put at N3.36 million was however, buried in the presence of government agents yesterday in Abeokuta.

Police nab 3 for car-snatching in Lagos

Two of the suspects.

By Ifeanyi Okolie

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AGOS — THREE members of a notorious robbery gang that specialised in snatching cars from residents of Victoria Island, Lekki and Ajah axis of Lagos State, have been arrested by antirobbery policemen attached to Bar Beach Police Station.

Vanguard gathered that the robbers, who have been terrorizing the area for a long time met their Waterloo separately on Saturday and Monday nights when they C M Y K

armed Police officers and Customs officer, forcing the secondary school behind Customs Service headquarters to hurriedly close for the safety of the pupils.

While confirming the incident, the Kwara State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Ajayi Okasanmi, said there was a clash between Customs Officers and car dealers and confirmed that the clash claimed one person.

He said the corpse had been taken to the mortuary of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital.

He said: "I can tell you that normalcy has returned to the area. We have commenced investigation, though no arrest has been made yet.”

snatched two taxi cabs from their owners at gunpoint.

Sources disclosed that the bandits had attempted to use the snatched cabs to steal exotic cars.

A source, who spoke with Vanguard on condition of anonymity, said one of the suspects, Rasheed Yusuf, 20, was arrested when the antirobbery policemen on patrol,

led by the Divisional Police Officer, CSP Adegoke Fayoade, accosted the gang after they snatched a taxi from it owner on Idejo Street, Victoria Island and recovered the taxi, but two other gang members managed to escape.

The source also added that on Monday night, the two fleeing bandits, identified as Ade Yemi, 22, and Toyin Ajayola, 22, returned to Victoria Island with a taxi they snatched at Orile Igamu area.

The anti-robbery policemen intercepted them at Oyin Jolayemi Street, Victoria Island, while they were driving against traffic.

It was gathered that as the policemen tried to stop them, they escaped towards Cowrie Bridge outward Victoria Island, but were blocked by another team of policemen who were on stop and search at a pin down point by the bridge.

The robbers were said to have jumped out the vehicle, shooting indiscriminately in their bid to escape but the policemen shot them on the legs and arrested them.

However, sources further disclosed that the robbers confessed to several robberies within the mentioned area and one locally made pistol cut to size, assorted charms, face masks and five cartridges were recovered from them.

8—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014

2015 ELECTIONS: CBN monitoring govt, politicians’ spending— Emefiele

By Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief

A

BUJA—THE Governor of Central bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, said, yesterday, that the apex bank was closely monitoring government spending and those of individuals as the nation moves nearer the 2015 elections with a view to taking proactive measures towards checking their negative effects on the economy.

He was reacting to questions at his briefing on the outcome of the 96th Monetary Policy Committee, MPC, meeting which held between Monday and yesterday, in Abuja, where he also announced the retention of the Monetary Policy Rate, MPR, at 12% , with a corridor of +/-200 basis points.

He said: “We are monitoring the situation and the prevailing situation in the market; monitoring the spending of government and individuals as we go into election season.”

The governor renewed his earlier commitment to drive down interest rates in the country, using monetary policies and said that the economy was already moving towards that direction.

According to him, “ we can see that the micro-economy is beginning to move into the direction that we expect and we are going to see the reversal of interest rate in the near future.

“We are optimistic of the mandate of bringing down the interest rate. We will do everything doable to ensure that this is achieved. We will do that within the ambit of the parameters involved and ensure that we do not create another problem for the people.

“We are working on the issue of interest rate. In my inaugural speech on June 5, I said that we are going to pursue a gradual reduction of interest rate. It is a five-year agenda that we made.”

Increasing inflation

Mr. Emefiele’s assurances notwithstanding, the inflationary pressures were evident, a situation he admitted but attributed to low agricultural harvest in the North-East and North Central regions, currently facing debilitating security challenges there.

He said: “Developments in the aggregate price level suggest an underlying inflationary pressure since January 2014.

“The year-on-year headline inflation steadily inched up marginally from 7.9 percent in

April to 8.0 percent in May 2014 and further to 8.2 percent in June.

“The up tick in June was, however, largely attributed to the rise in food inflation which rose from 9.7 percent in May 2014 to 9.8 percent in June, while core inflation, on the other hand, rose from 7.7 percent in May 2014 to 8.1 percent in June.

“The Committee further expressed concern about the liquidity level and the trending uptick in inflation which may not be unconnected with the poor harvest in some agricultural areas, particularly in the north-eastern and central

states of the country.”

Foreign reserves

The CBN boss revealed that foreign reserves had risen to $40.2 billion and urged that reserves accretion needed to improve much faster to provide a strong and more resilient buffer to fiscal operations.

He said: “Gross official reserves rose to US$40.20 billion by July 18 from US$37.31 billion at end June 2014. The increase in reserves was mainly due to increased accretion and moderation in the rate of depletion.”

Emefiele noted that inadequate gas supply to

electricity generating plants remained an impediment to the realisation of the full benefits of the recent privatisation of the power sector.

He, therefore, urged collaborative efforts by both the government and private sector players in the industry and good spirited Nigerians towards ensuring that Nigerians reaped the benefit of the exercise.

The apex bank retained the Liquidity Ratio at 30 percent.

It also retained the public and private sectors’ cash reserve requirement at 75.0 percent 15.0 percent, respectively.

ECOWAS: From left— Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State; President, ECOWAS Commission, Mr. Kadre Ouedraogo; Malian Ambassador to Nigeria and Dean ECOWAS Ambassadors, Mr. Mahamane Maiga; and Vice President of the Commission, Dr. Toga McIntosh at the opening session of the 8th edition of the Joint Retreat of ECOWAS Institutions, Permanent Representatives and National Units in Calabar.

Nigeria gets 1st mobile health insurance

By Chioma Obinna & Gabriel Olawale

N

IGERIA yesterday made history as the dreams of millions of the populace living below poverty line became a reality with the formal flag off of the first ever mobile health insurance scheme in the world.

The dream, which was made possible by MTN Nigeria, National Health Insurance Scheme, NHIS, and Salt & Einstein MTS, will provide access to basic health services for almost all Nigerians irrespective of their status.

According to the initiators of the programme, a customer on MTN network will pay as low as N250.00 weekly or N1000.00 monthly to get access to basic healthcare services and minor surgeries in any provider of his or her choice.

The programme will cover Nigerians within the ages of 18 and 55.

The pilot project launched in Lagos was tagged MTN Y’ello Health Insurance.

SUBSIDY: FG, oil marketers clash over interest charge

By Clara Nwachukwu

T

HE Federal Ministry of Finance and petroleum products marketers are now engaged in war of words over accrued interest on bank loans on account of delayed payments of subsidy by the ministry.

Although both parties have taken newspaper advertorials to state their cases, the market may soon be plunged into another round of fuel shortages if the impasse is not resolved soon.

Reacting to the Ministry’s advertorial to the effect that government will no longer pay interest charges as part of subsidy claims in some national dailies last week, oil marketers insist that crisis loomed if the terms were not renegotiated.

The Ministry paid N44.1 billion to marketers, which it made public in the

advertorial, while dissociating itself from future payments of banks’ interest charges as being part of the claims.

Already, the fuel marketers by their own calculations are being owed about N190.56 billion as unpaid subsidy from November 2013 till date.

Speaking further with journalists on the issue in Lagos yesterday, the Executive Secretary, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN, Mr. Obafemi Olawore, noted that government is obligated to pay both the principal and the interest if it defaults on the 45 days reimbursement agreement reached with oil marketers.

Of the about N190.56 billion owed marketers, he noted that MOMAN, whose members include Conoil, Forte Oil, Mobil, MRS, Oando, and Total oil marketing companies, are being owed about N94.16 billion.

According to him, the N44.1 billion paid by the Finance Ministry is only a part payment for November 2013, adding that payment was only made after “CBN wrote a memo to all banks to confirm marketers’ claims by issuing debit notes for the value being claimed.”

Defending government’s obligation to pay both principal and interest, Olawore said: “In any financial arrangement, there is a penalty. If you default, you pay the price.

“The 45 days reimbursement tenure for claims is not an imposition by marketers. It was an agreement reached by all stakeholders including the Ministry of Finance, their auditors, MOMAN, IPMAN (Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria), DAPPMA (Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association),

banks, PPPRA (Petroleum Products Price Regulatory Agency), NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation) and others.”

As a result, Olawore maintained that any change in status quo must be renegotiated and agreed by all stakeholders and not by unilateral decision.

To underscore the huge debt overhang being incurred by marketers, he disclosed that Sterling Bank issued one of its members a debit note of N300 million as interest accruable from the facility extended to it after the 45 days tenure.

He said: “So it is a very rigorous process and no marketer is benefiting from the interest charges; only the banks are smiling home while marketers are being almost stifled out of business, because the interest charges also affects our liquidity status.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014—9

‘Avoid par tisanship’

D O N AT I O N :

From left— Lt-Gen. Kenneth Minimah, Chief of Army Staff; Dr Alex Otti, Group MD, Diamond Bank and Lt.Col Haruna Dasuki, Commandant, 65 Battallion, Bonny Cantonment, Nigerian Ar my, during the donation of a block of building to the Nigerian Army at the Army Contonment, Bonny Camp, Lagos.

JONATHAN vs BUHARI: Afenifere stakeholders call for caution

By Dapo Akinrefon, Charles Kumolu, Emman Ovuakporie & Gbenga Oke

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IXED reactions, yesterday, greeted the face-off between President Goodluck Jonathan and former head of state, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.) over the perceived drift in the affairs of the nation.

Buhari had in a statement issued on Monday called President Jonathan to rise above partisanship to address the drift in the nation, which he claimed was politically staged to uplift the fortunes of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. The President had in his reaction quipped that Buhari was not qualified to criticise anybody on issues of impunity given what he claimed as the former head of state’s past as a military ruler.

Responding to the development yesterday, the Yoruba sociopolitical group, Afenifere and the spokesman of the Northern Delegates to the National Conference, Mr. Anthony Sani called on the country’s leaders to be cautious in their utterances and avoid partisanship.

First civilian governor of the old Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa and Second Republic lawmaker, Dr. Junaid Mohammed in separate reactions, however, praised Buhari for being forthcoming on what they claimed was the reality on ground.

Members of All Progressives Congress, APC, in the House of Representatives on their part threw their weight behind Buhari, saying the nation was sitting on a keg of gunpowder.

Buhari is right — MOHAMMED

Mohammed said: “It is worrisome that the presidency has started harassing the opposition governors through C M Y K

bribing their various state Houses of Assembly and thereby making them to succumb to the presidency against their own will.

“What Buhari said is true and I make bold to say that the Presidency and its handlers cannot deny that they do not have anything to do with all impeachments. Nigerians cannot be fooled that it all gimmick for PDP to have upper hand in the 2015 elections.

“All their actions point to the fact that PDP is panicking as we move towards 2015 and they are conniving with INEC to perpetrate evil against the opposition while they want Nigerians to believe that its internal wrangling within the opposition ranks.”

Buhari's statement justifiable— MUSA

Musa said: “I think Buhari’s statement is justifiable, given the recent tendencies in the country where some states say they will give people from a particular part of the country pass before they can move about.

“This is uncalled for and those who know the implication of this, should come out and say it because the constitution of Nigeria provides the right of every Nigerian to live and work anywhere in Nigeria.

“If you say you will prevent the free movement of Nigerians, there will definitely be anarchy and it is the Federal Government that should call the states who are doing that to order.”

Be cautious— AFENIFERE

In its reaction, Pan Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere appealed to the

present crop of leaders to be cautious in their remarks in order not to heat up the polity.

Speaking with Vanguard, Afenifere’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, said: “There is tension in the country and leaders should make statements that should reduce tension and not to

heighten it.

“The political leaders should be careful of what they say not to overheat the polity and so there is need for caution of what they say to Nigerians.

“Criticisms are legit but such things should not be towards overheating the polity.”

Similarly, spokesperson of Northern Delegates Forum, Mr. Anthony Sani, said: “As far as Nigerians are concerned, they expect the two leaders to provide order and direction to Nigerians and Nigeria, especially where the status in the country is concerned.

“This is because they are statesmen who cannot afford to be partisan all the time and in all issues. So they should use the platform, where they meet, to consider matters of national importance and resolve issues in the larger interest of the country.”

Professor A. B. C. Nwosu, former Minister of Health, said: “I was shocked that this statement will come from Buhari who usually has few words on a matter that is simply a constitutional.

“I think that given the situation we have in the country right now,he should have been more temperate in his language and he should have been more measured in his approach.

“Lest we forget, Mr. Peter Obi, former Anambra State governor was impeached and we didn’t know where the lawmakers were sitting at the time of the impeachment.

“At that time, the national leader of APGA, the party in power in Anambra, Chief Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu was alive. He did not inflame passions.”

... as Graca Machel, Tutu, Malala write Jonathan, world leaders on 2015

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OBEL Peace prize winner, Archbishop Desmond Tutu; wife of late Nelson Mandela, Graca Machel; Pakistani girl education rights activist, Malala Yousafzai and two other civil rights campaigners, have written a letter to world leaders, including President Goodluck Jonathan, warning of dangers that lie ahead in 2015 as a result of growing insecurity.

In the letter by the trio, Mo Ibrahim and Muhammed Yunus Bono, they said the leaders had failed to build on progress and allowed poverty, hunger and pandemics to spread.

They, therefore, drew the attention of the world leaders to a movement that is on the way, which will hold accountable those leaders who fail to help secure a better, safer world and as well celebrate leaders who rise to the occasion.

Their letter read: “Dear world leaders, we write to sound a warning. A warning that 2015 will be a year of huge opportunity, but also of huge risk.

“What is at stake here could not be greater. For it is not less than the future of our human family and the world upon which we all depend.

“Two global processes, the

replacement of the current UN development framework and the conclusion of a new climate treaty, culminate within months of each other at the end of 2015.

“They require us to decide which future we want for people and planet. For there are two dramatically different futures we could live in by 2030.

“Down one hopeful path we have built on progress, and learned how to eradicate extreme poverty, hunger, as well as put an end to preventable maternal, newborn and child deaths.

“In so doing, we will give everyone everywhere opportunity and the right to lead their lives with dignity without jeopardising our planet’s ability to provide for its people now and into the future.

“This is an entirely possible outcome if we do the right thing. Down another path we have failed to build on progress, but have allowed the injustice of poverty, hunger and pandemics to spread.

“A growing insecurity caused by unequal access to increasingly scarce natural resources leads to tragic conflicts from which nobody, no elite, no matter how rich can hide.

“This is an entirely plausible outcome of a complacent business-as-usual approach to 2015.

“Which world do you want to live in by 2030? Which world it will be depends upon the decision you make in 2015, and the preparations we make for it now.

“The good news is a global movement is coming together for 2015 and the future, inspired by the words of Nelson Mandela—Like slavery, like apartheid, poverty is not natural.

It is man made and it can be overcome by the actions of human beings.

“Climate can change too and must be remedied by the actions of human beings.

“This movement for people and planet will lead to accolades for those leaders who rise to this historic occasion.

“It will hold accountable those who fail to help secure a better safer world for all. It will speak up for the marginalised and disenfranchised, and demand justice for all.

“Let’s leave no one behind as we look with confidence towards a future which we can make great, for you have been given an opportunity that will be the envy of history.”

10—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014

Fashola to Armed Forces: Refrain from anti-democratic activities

BY Evelyn Usman, Olasunkanmi Akoni & Monsur Olowoopejo

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AGOS—GOVERNOR Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, yesterday, called on Nigeria Armed Forces to refrain from all forms of operations capable of undermining the country ’s democracy.

This came as Chief of Army Staff, COAS, Lt-Gen Kenneth Minimah, warned soldiers and officers of the Nigerian Army in Lagos against flouting laws of the state, urging them to desist from plying the Bus Rapid Transit, BRT, lanes assigned to government-owned public transport only.

The governor spoke at the State House, Marina when he received General Minimah, who led a team of senior military officers on a courtesy visit.

Fashola, at the public meeting with the COAS before a closed-door meeting later, lamented the proliferation of bad eggs in the military as well as other public institutions in the country.

While acknowledging the strategic roles of the military in the building of developed democracies in the Europe and America, Fashola urged the military to make positive input in building the country’s democracy.

According to him, “it is important to reinforce the role the military across the world has played in democracy. Students of military history will know many democracies across the world even in Europe have military institutions.”

Fashola, using United States of America as an example, said: “former US President George Washington and another US President Franklin Roosevelt among others served the military before they became presidents.

While society moved on, as we have done, the military owes an obligation to do everything possible to sustain democracy and refrain from anything that undermines it, whether in the mind of the people or as a matter of fact.

“In essence, the military must become like Caesar’s wife, avoid suspicion in conduct and in deeds. I know as I said on Monday while inaugurating the tribunal of inquiry into the circumstances that played out when the life of that young soldier was snuffed out on our road. But this institution has done very well for Nigeria, as a body. Like every institution, there are bad eggs within the institution. They are in the minority, and we must continue to do everything possible to show them up for who they are.”

Fashola, expressed support for the COAS and hoped his tenure “will deliver improved national C M Y K

security for the country. It will raise the level of professionalism above what you met.”

Speaking at the meeting six months after he assumed office, Minimah explained that exigencies of operations delayed his visit, saying “I decided to commence my familiarisation tour from the 81 Mechanised Division, which covers Lagos and Ogun states.”

General Minimah maintained that the June 4 destruction of BRT buses along Ikorodu road, after a soldier was crushed, was not the handiwork of soldiers but that of hoodlums who hijacked the situation.

Meanwhile, Miminah warned soldiers and officers of the Nigerian Army in Lagos against plying the Bus Rapid Transit, BRT, lane.

Minimah, who gave the warning while addressing soldiers of the 81 division , during his maiden familiarization tour of Army formations in Lagos, also, described as normal cases of desertion by soldiers during war, pointing out that it was not peculiar to the Nigerian Army.

Though he condemned the action, describing it as proof that the deserters were only forced to join the Nigerian Army because of unemployment, he reiterated that the Army was winning the war against terrorism.

According to him, “Cases of deserters in the North-East is no big news. Yes, desertion is normal and it is part of war. It is only when you are put in the battle front that you know who the real soldiers are. The one that is not a soldier will just drop his riffle and run and the next place he finds himself is in the village.

"Desertion is part of war and as long as there is war, there will continue to be deserters but those who have volunteered to serve their nation will fall and still fight and that is why we celebrate our fallen heroes. We organise decent burials for all the fallen heroes killed in action, as we see it as their rights and it is our responsibility to do so for those who died in the service of the nation.”

Urging the personnel to respect the rule of law, Minimah said: “Respect the laws of Lagos. Lagos State has laws that are made by legislators, you must respect those laws. I am also talking about the BRT lanes. Try and ensure that you don’t use the BRT lanes.

The essence of BRT lanes is to encourage the use of public transportation by car owners so as to reduce traffic on our roads. Also try not to allow hoodlums to hijack anything that happens to soldiers, like the last time it happened when a soldier was mistakenly killed by a BRT bus.

Hoodlums came and took over, burnt government buses and they tried to suggest it was soldiers. It is not soldiers. Try as much as pos-

sible to ensure you are not linked with such things.

“In Lagos, you have good people, bad people and the criminals. I will advise that you stay close to the good people, stay away from the bad people and chase away the criminals. As a disciplined institution, we have an image to protect. I will admonish you to be of good conduct whether in uniform or not. Conduct yourselves very well and do not be involved in any questionable movement.”

Part of the visit, he explained, was to familiarize with the operational readiness of the 81 division under the command of MajorGeneral Tamunomieibi Dibi.

VISIT: Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State welcoming Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Kenneth Minimah to the Lagos House, Marina, yesterday.

APAPA GRIDLOCK: Contractor moves to site, commences work

BY Godwin Oritse

L

AGOS — AS residents, motorists, business owners and workers continue to grapple with the traffic gridlock on the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, investigations revealed that the contractor engaged by the Federal Government to repair failed portions at the Apapa end of the expressway has mobilized to site.

At a stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos, the contractor was given two weeks to conclude repair works on the road.

The contractor, Borini Prono, whose equipment and workers were sighted by Vanguard at the Tin Can Island Port gate, Creek Road and Trinity Bus stop, has begun filling the failed portions with concrete.

One of the workers, who spoke to Vanguard on the condition of anonymity, said equipment were moved to site on Sunday following a directive from the Presidency to the management of the company.

Speaking to Vanguard on the need to have the road fixed, Senior Special Assistant to the President on maritime matters, Mr Oyeleke Oyewole, said the president had expressed concern over the bad state of the road leading to the port.

Lagos splashes N87m lifeline on rainstorm victims, others

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AGOS—LAGOS State Government yesterday said over N87 million on infrastructure and victims of April 13, 2014 rain storm in Surulere area of the state, whose roofs were either damaged or completely blown off by the thunderstorm as well as owners of defective buildings.

This came as Governor Babatunde Fashola said 70 percent of the infrastructure provided by the state government was funded through the Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, noting however, that the state recorded 106 percent performance in the second quarter implementation of its 2014 budget of N489.6 billion.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014 —11

Fayose accuses Fayemi of employing 4,000 new workers ...It's untrue — GOV

By Gbenga Ariyibi

A

DO EKITI—EKITI State Governor-elect, Mr. Ayo Fayose, yesterday, claimed the outgoing administration of Governor Kayode Fayemi had since the June 21‘ gubernatorial election in the state, employed no fewer than 4,000 workers into the state civil service and the state university.

The governor-elect, who featured on a local radio station in Ado-Ekiti, described such employments as illegal, warning civil servants against being used for illegalities that would attract severe sanction.

But in a swift reaction, governor Kayode Fayemi-led Administration, dismissed the claims, saying there was no iota of truth that the outgoing government recruited about 4,000 workers.

Chairman of the Ekiti State Civil Service Commission, Alhaji Suleimon Afolabi Ogunlayi, while reacting to the allegation, said “I want to say that the Civil Service Commission under my leadership is not aware of, is not a party to and is not making any plans and has not requested for or obtained any approval for the appointment of 3,000 or 6,000 applicants as being peddled. ''However, why we are not unmindful of the fact that the present administration is in transit, the commission still has the powers to carry out the mandates in the areas of appointment, promotion, discipline

*Suggests multioption approach to check Boko Haram

By Clifford Ndujihe

F

THANKSGIVING SERVICE: From right: Arch. Olajide Adebanjo, the Otunba Ladegbua of Ijebu-Ife, Ogun State, celebrant; Oba Adesesan Oguntayo, the Ajalorun of IjebuIfe and Chief Duro Oguntuga, Balogun of Ijebu-Ife during the 80th birthday thanksgiving service of Otunba Adebanjo at Shepherdshill Baptist Church, the Sanctuary of Grace & Glory, Obanikoro, Lagos yesterday. Photo by Bunmi Azeez. and transfer of service.”

According to him, the 334 persons that were employed into the service was before the June 21 election and they passed through the rigour of examinations and oral interviews, contrary to insinuations that the exercise was politicized, contending that the state would have loved to do more, but for dwindling federal allocation to the state.

But, Fayose claimed over 3,000 persons had been illegally employed into the state civil service and another 1,000 at Ekiti State University after the election, warning civil servants against being used for illegal acts, declaring that anybody found culpable would be dealt with severely.

While speaking on the planned creation of new Local Government Development Areas, LGDAs, he said “I see

such an action in the twilight of his administration as setting landmines for the incoming government. ''This is apart from the fact that the matter is in court and the order given by the court has not been vacated. If the people of the state want him to continue with his policies, they would have voted him.

The funds coming to the state come in the name of specific local governments.”

PDP lawmakers want adequate security for Osun poll

By Daud Olatunji

A

BEOKUTA—A forum of the South West Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, lawmakers has called on the Inspector General of Police and management of other security agencies in the country to

…Adopt Jonathan for second term provide adequate security during the August 9 governorship election in Osun State to avoid violence.

The PDP lawmakers in South West states houses of assembly, who spoke at a meeting in

Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital also appealed to President Jonathan Goodluck to rescue the abducted Chibok school girls.

In a communiqué after the meeting, signed by 15 members of the states houses of assembly

Daniel, Kashamu bicker over Jonathan

By Dapo Akinrefon

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AGOS—FORMER Gov ernor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel and Chairman, Organisation and Mobilisation Committee, PDP, South West, Prince Buruji Kashamu yesterday traded words over who was working for President Goodluck Jonathan’s perceived second term election in 2015.

While Daniel said the Labour Party, LP, had resolved to back the President’s perceived ambition, Kashamu argued that it was a plan to mislead the people of Ogun State.

At a briefing in Lagos, Daniel expressed optimism that Presi-

Chibok girls: Our campaign is not political –Ezekwesili

dent Jonathan would receive the backing of LP in the 2015 poll.

The former governor said his resolve to rally his party to back Jonathan was based on his conviction that the president remained a better option in the current circumstances, notwithstanding the security challenges facing the country.

He said “I am working for him because I am looking at the terrain. Right now, within the challenges facing him as president, he is better supported. If anybody has a better option, he should come out with it. The president has been a high performer. It is a matter of perception. There was a time some

people said that look OGD, if you tar roads with gold, we are not going to vote for you. It all depends on people’s perception.”

In his reaction, Kashamu, while faulting Daniel’s remarks alleged that the “statement is part of the grand plot by Daniel to hoodwink and mislead the people of Ogun State. Daniel has had his time when he ruled the state for eight years and simple discretion would require that he quit the stage, or at best, play the role of an elder statesman. He should be told in unmistakeable terms that so long as he continues to play his divisive politics of promoting LP, he should leave PDP out of his political flirting.''

from Ogun and Oyo states, they called on the National Working Committee of the PDP to fast track a genuine reconciliation.

According to the communiqué, “owing to the calls by various groups, individuals and associations for the President to declare his second term bid to sustain and guarantee the on-going transformation agenda, our forum pledges our readiness to support his Excellency towards realising this goal. ''While commending the President for his determination and zeal to ensure that insecurity become a thing of the past, we also appeal to your Excellency not to rest on your oars in attempt to rescue the abducted Chibok girls, using the best option that will not put the lives of the girls in danger.

“The forum wants to call on the National Working Committee of our party to put measures in place to fast track a genuine reconciliation process across the South West states and all other states of the federation to boost our chances in the forthcoming general elections.”

ORMER Education Minister, Vice President of the World Bank and Co- Founder of the Bring Back Our Girls campaign, Oby Ezekwesili, picked holes in comments that her campaign to rescue the over 200 Chibok school girls, who were abducted 100 days ago by Boko Haram insurgents is political Speaking on BBC interview programme, Hardtalk, she said she was driven by inertia on the part of government to take decisive action to rescue the girls.

Noting that her campaign has called local and global attention to the plight of the girls, Ezekwesili said there was need for Nigerians to react decisively as a people to rescue the girls.

Asked if her campaign was not political and amounted to psychological terrorism, the former minister said she was surprised that the presidency spoke that kind of language because “ we have never been political” and people in the campaign are mothers and people who are genuinely aggrieved that the girls were abducted.

Told that she caused the government to characterise her as being political when she accused them of being evil, and that she was hobnobbing with leaders of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), Ezekwesili said she does her things with analytical evidence. Besides, she said those in the campaign are not connected by political affiliation but a bond of shared humanity.

Insisting that the campaign has not been politically manipulated, she said there is need for the country to shun the habit of not doing anything concrete in the face of tragedy and moving on as if nothing happened.

“I don’t understand the politics aspect. I have never been a politician. I was a minister in a presidential system of government, not a parliamentary system where I have to stand for an election to be a minister."

12—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014

POCKET CARTOON

HAJJ—From left: Nigerian business man, Alhaji Ibrahim Nasidi; Vice President Namadi Sambo; Saudi official, Jameel Surori at the Al-masjid – Al-haram Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, while performing the Lesser Hajj (Umra) pilgrimage on Monday. State House photo.

Jonathan meets Chibok girls, 100 days after Continues from page 1 started at about 11 o'clock ended at about 2:15 pm. Also at the meeting were Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State; Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State and the Senate President, David Mark.

An earlier attempt to hold the meeting did not materialize as representatives of the community declined to meet the President after meeting Pakistani girl-child education activist, Malala Yousafzai.

Speaking on the outcome of the Abuja meet-

ing, Dr. Reuben Abati (Special Adviser to the President on Media & Publicity), said President Jonathan reassured the Chibok community that his Administration was doing everything humanly possible to rescue the girls and return them safely to their parents and appealed for their patience, understanding and cooperation.

Quoting the President, Abati said: “Anyone who gives you the impression that we are aloof and that we are not doing what we are supposed to do to get the girls out is not being truthful.

LIFEWORDS

BY PASTOR ITUAH

Sometimes the word ‘no’ simply means ‘not now, but ask again’. So don’t let rejection stop you. Only when you see failure as final, are you finally a failure.

TAKE HEART

BY ELLA RANDLE

We create meanings about our worth based on incidents in which we’ve been rejected. These meanings then help shape our self-image, which dictates the decisions we make in our lives — Fabienne Fredrickson

I

T’S very easy to believe that when someone re jects you, whether it’s in love, friendship, family, work, or otherwise, it’s because something is wrong with you. Anyone and everyone can be rejected, no matter who they are. If someone rejects you, it doesn’t diminish your innate value because it doesn’t affect your soul. It affects your ego, which loves to blame and thrives on making you feel like a victim. But your soul stays perfectly intact. The essence of who you are, the core of you, doesn’t change, and neither does your worth. Rejection hurts when we internalize it. We then create a belief that the person who has rejected us is better. Conversely, we start to believe we are somehow unworthy. Yes, those who’ve rejected you may have had their reasons or rationales for doing so. Those reasons don’t have to be about you specifically, and they don’t mean anything about you as a person.

“Our commitment is not just to get the girls out, it is also to rout Boko Haram completely from Nigeria. But we are very, very mindful of the safety of the girls. We want to return them all alive to their parents. If they are killed in any rescue effort, then we have achieved nothing.”

The President said that although he was yet to visit Chibok in the aftermath of the abductions, his heart was constantly with the traumatized parents and people, and his desire was to visit them when their daughters have been freed and they can receive him with smiling faces of joy, rather than with tears of anguish.

“Our duty now is to take all relevant steps to recover our girls alive and our primary interest is getting them out as safely as possible. I will not want to say much, but we are doing everything humanly possible to get the girls out.

“This is not the time for talking much. This is the time for action. We will get to the time that we will tell stories. We will get to the time that we will celebrate and I assure you that, by God’s grace, that time will come soon,” President Jonathan told them.

Responding to appeals from the community leaders for more help in overcoming some of the challenges imposed on Chibok and neighbouring communities by the Boko Haram insurgency, the President said that the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and Federal Medical Agencies will intensify their efforts to provide them with additional

relief and assistance.

He also assured them that Chibok and other communities in the three North-Eastern States most affected by the Boko Haram insurgency will be the first beneficiaries of the Victims’ Support Fund, the Presidential Initiative for the North-East, the Safe Schools Initiative and other developmental programmes which the Federal Government is evolving to address the damage, losses, setbacks, economic and social dislocations occasioned by the Boko Haram insurgency.

“We solicit your maximum cooperation. Let us work together. Evil can never overcome good. We will surely overcome Boko Haram,” he told them.

In his remarks at the meeting, Governor Shettima called for more sobriety, reflection and unity of purpose in the fight against terrorism in the country.

He pledged that his state will give President Jonathan the fullest possible support for his efforts to address the problems caused by terrorism and the Boko Haram insurgency.

A member of the parents' delegation, Dr. Pogu Bitrus presented the Chibok community’s address to the President.

Other speakers at the meeting included a district head, Mr. Zannamadu Usman; a member of the Borno State House of Assembly, Aminu Foni Chibok; parents of the abducted girls and three of the girls who escaped from their captors, Godia Simon, Dorcas Musa and Joy Bishara.

National security chiefs, ministers and other senior government officials were also present at the meeting.

Global events to mark 100 days of abduction Meanwhile, there will be rallies and demonstrations to mark the 100th day anniversary of the abduction of the girls across major cities of the world including Nigeria today.

While a sit-in would be held at the Abuja Fountain, a remembrance service would hold at the Wall of Missing Girls at Falomo Roundabout, Lagos at 4pm.

A statement issued by the #Bring Back Our Girls campaign, yesterday, said a candlelight vigil would be held at the Nigerian Consulate in New York this evening with events also holding in India, Pakistan, the United Kingdom and other major towns of the world.

The statement was issued on behalf of the group by Hadiza Usman, Oby Ezekwesili, Ms. Yemisi Ransome Kuti, Aisha Oyebode who is the first daughter of former Nigerian military ruler, Gen. Murtala Muhammed, among other organizers.

“Through our various meetings, our singular message has been to demand that the Federal Government performs its fundamental duty of ensuring the security and the welfare of its citizens.

As we denounce the wave of terror and insecurity across the country, we continue to demand that the Federal Government deploy its resources to ensure that the missing girls are brought home, and the errors leading from three-weeks of delayed action are remedied,” the group said yesterday.

“Citizens who have insisted on standing with our girls and ensuring they are not forgotten are heartbroken that our daughters and sisters are about to spend 100 days with their evil captors.”

Noting the federal administration’s continuing insensitivity to the activities of their group, they said: “The continued pattern of intolerance to the activities of the #Bring Back Our Girls Campaign is at variance with our effort to promote healthy civic engagement by citizens to strengthen the resolve of government to rescue the girls.

“As days become weeks and months and our girls are separated from their parents and their community, our singular focus remains on their safe return in the shortest possible time.”

When will remaining Chibok school girls be rescued?

Apart from about 50 girls that reportedly escaped on their own, the rest have remained in captivity. And this is in spite of efforts of the governments at all levels, the security agencies and

the international community.

The development provoked a number of questions, namely: Will the Chibok school girls ever be rescued? When will they be rescued? Will they be brought back alive? What can we do to fast track their rescue?

Although, there was a delay in the commencement of rescue efforts on account of claims and counter-claims about the circumstances, the actual number of students abducted as well as politicisation of the tragedy, nobody expected the girls to remain in captivity till now.

Reports that some of the girls, who were writing their 2014 West African Senior School Certificate examinations when they were kidnapped had been married off; impregnated; scattered in neighbouring countries of Chad, Cameroun and Niger Republic; and forced to change their religion raised a groundswell of anxiety in the polity.

Efforts to rescue the girls Following the unceasing outcry, President Goodluck Jonathan on May 6, about three weeks after the abduction, inaugurated the Presidential Fact-finding Committee on the Abduction of the Chibok Schoolgirls.

The committee submitted its report on June 20.

According to its findings, 119 female students escaped from the school during the attack; 276 female students were abducted; 57 female students escaped from the insurgents after the abduction while 219 female students remain unaccounted for.

Repeatedly, the Presidency and security agencies have assured that the girls would be rescued, saying they would use all the tools of national power – military, intelligence, police, economic and political – in the crusade but so far the desired result has remained elusive.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014 — 13

Uvwie communities have right to independent existence —Monarch

Rivers APC condemns alleged harassment of Ezekwesili

P

BY JIMITOTA ONOYUME

ORT HARCOURT— RIVERS State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Dr. Davies Ikanya, has described the alleged harassment of former Minister of Education, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, by the Department of State Security, DSS, as shameful.

The Director General, DSS, Mr Ita Ekpeyong, it will be recalled, had denied before newsmen in Abuja, that his men arrested the former minister at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport.

But the Rivers State Chairman of APC, Dr Ikanya alleged that the DSS attempted to confiscate Dr Ezekwesili’s travelling documents at the airport, an alleged act, he described as wicked and barbaric.

Delta LG polls: We’re not against rotation, Warri Ijaws tell Itsekiris

BY EGUFE YAFUGBORHI

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ARRI—THE Warri Ijaw Justice Forum, WIJF, Delta State, has said that the Ijaws were not against rotation of political offices among ethnic groups in the three Warri local government areas of the state.

The forum, comprising Ijaws of Warri North, Warri South and Warri SouthWest Local Government Areas, in response to the Itsekiri Consolidated Movement’s, ICM, assertion that it was the turn of the Itsekiris to produce the next Chairman of Warri South-West council in the coming October council elections in the state, said that what Ijaws in the area demanded was justice and equity in power sharing in the council.

The group's Chairman, Mr. Friday Deinghan, said: “If Itsekiris insist it is their turn to produce the Chairman of Warri South-West council, because an Ijaw man is Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Chairman in the area in the same vein, it should be the turn of the Ijaws in Warri North council and Ijaws/Urhobos in Warri South council to produce the Chairmen of these councils."

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VISIT: From left: Mr. Kennedy Erhunmwunsee, member, Edo Professionals Forum, EPF; Mr. Dan Oshondin, National Secretary, EPF ; Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State; Mr. Osamede Umweni, EPF National Coordinator, and Mr. Bright Obakpolor, during a solidarity visit to Edo State governor in Benin City.

Oshiomhole to politicians: Stop playing politics with security issues

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

B

ENIN—GOVERNOR Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has urged politicians to resist the temptation of playing politics with security matters in the interest of the country.

Speaking at a security management workshop organised by the Department of State Services, DSS, in Benin City, yesterday, Oshiomhole said playing politics with sensitive security matters will only encourage the perpetrators to do more.

He said: “Nothing else matters when we are not safe. I also want to advise those of us holding political offices, who have cause sometimes to make public statements, that we must resist the temptation of politicising security issues. All politicians, whether of the ruling or opposition party, must not join in the madness of politicising security issues.

“If we fail to do this, we will be encouraging kidnappers and other evil-minded people. We must resist the temptation and trust that the security agencies know what to do. Even where we have information, it is better we share it in

private with the security agencies so that all of us can be on the same page.

“Those of us who are senior officials of government, people look up to us and we should be able to educate those we come across on basic security issues.

These people who are into violent crimes and terrorism do not live in the moon, they live with us.

Sometimes we interact with them without knowing what their intentions are.”

H e thanked the DSS for the

initiative and expressed the hope that at the end of the exercise, the participants would have comprehended basic tips on security.

HE Ovie of Uvwie Kingdom, Delta State, HRM Emmanuel Sideso, Abe I, has said that every Uvwie community has the right to independent existence, urging all to live together in peace and harmony.

The Ovie, during the peace meeting between the university town of Ugbomro and the neighbouring community of Iteregbi, at his palace in Effurun, assured that no community will be annexed in the area.

He commended the people of the communities for the civilised manner they handled the inter-communal crisis, promising that those behind the May 1 mayhem will not go free.

14—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014

Delta 2015: Urhobo may settle for consensus candidate

BY FESTUS AHON

U

GHELLI—AS the 2015 governorship election draw nearer, the leadership of Urhobo Progress Union, UPU, is not leaving any stone unturned in its bid to produce the next governor of Delta State.

The leadership of UPU, at a closed door meeting with all Urhobo gubernatorial aspirants, some Urhobo elected and political appointees of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, may have settled for a consensus candidate.

A UPU source, who spoke to Vanguard, said: “The meeting was very fruitful.

We met with all relevant stakeholders as regards the 2015 gubernatorial election and we had earlier met with those of the All Progressives Congress, APC. “In view of our declaration that the Urhobos will contest the 2015 gubernatorial election, we are earnestly working towards achieving a consensus candidate for the Urhobo nation and in doing this, we are mindful of not moving into opposition again."

“So, far four of our sons, John Akwara, Chief Paulinus Akpeki, Obaisi Ovie Omo-Agege and Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi have consulted with the Urhobo nation. They are the ones that have told us of their intention to contest the 2015 governorship election."

C-River North leaders laud Imoke on zoning

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EADERS from the Northern senatorial district of Cross River State have commended Governor Liyel Imoke of the state for what they described as the magnanimity of his leadership and that of the state Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to concede the 2015 governorship to the district.

Hundreds of leaders from the zone, at an interactive session at Obudu Mountain Resort, said they remained grateful to Governor Imoke and the state PDP for their wisdom in ensuring that every part of the state was given a sense of belonging, especially in governing the state.

C M Y K

East-West Road to be completed Dec 2015 —FG

BY GODWIN OGHRE

S

APELE—THE Federal Government has said that it will complete the East-West Road by December, 2015, to speed up infrastructural development, accessibility and uninterrupted human and vehicular movements across the Niger Delta region.

The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Dr. Steve Oru, disclosed this in Sapele, Delta State, at a reception in his honour by PaceSetters Social Club of Nigeria.

He said that completing the East-West Road was a priority project of the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, adding that funds had been appropriated in the 2014 budget of the Federal Government to complete the road before the end of next year.

According to the minister, the completion of the road will attract more foreign investments, ease the sufferings of the people as well encourage business activities in the region. He urged the people of the region to support the policies of the Federal Government at all times.

Those sworn-in as club’s executive include Mr. Okpe Inoaghan (President); Matthew Okotie (Vice President), Innocent Onumadu (Secretary); Okpe Mafur u (Treasurer); Goodluck Oyibo (Auditor); Anthony Owumi (Provost Mar-

shal); Charles Obule (Legal Adviser); Joseph Emekeme (Assistant Secretary); Tho-

mas Inoni (Financial Secretary), and Mr. Paul Dundu (Social Secretary).

Anti-party allegation against Dickson laughable —Grassroots Connect

BY SAMUEL OYADONGHA

Y

ENAGOA—A GROUP, Grassroots Connect for Restoration, has described as laughable, allegations of secret meetings by Bayelsa State governor, Mr Seriake Dickson, with opposition party leaders and a N26 million bribe to Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, officials over the conduct of 2016 governorship election in the state.

The group said that the allegation was not only wicked and lacking in credibility, but also a desperate attempt by the anti-development forces in the state to destroy the existing relationship between President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Dickson and take the state back to the dark days of underdevelopment.

An online report had, last week, alleged that Dickson had become desperate to

secure a second term ticket and planned to dump the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, due to alleged frosty relationship with President Jonathan.

The report alleged that an unholy meeting was held between the governor and Mr. Timipre Sylva, the former governor of the state.

It also alleged that the governor purchased a luxury Sport Utility Vehicle, SUV and paid N26 million to an official of INEC in the state to pass on to the national officials of the commission to consider the re-scheduling of the Bayelsa State gubernatorial election from 2016 to 2015.

But the pro-Dickson group, GrassCore, said that though the race for 2016 had not begun, the decision by Dickson to seek reelection was based on performance and loyalty to the PDP and above all, the Almighty God.

Landlords eject Bayelsa gov’s aides

BY EMEM IDIO

Y

ENAGOA—SOME aides to the Bayelsa State governor and his deputy, who have been operating from rented office apartments, have been ejected by their landlords, following the failure of the state government to renew the tenancies for the apartments.

Some of the political appointees who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that they were facing constant harassment from the property owners, who were trying to forcefully eject them following the expiration of their rents, a situation they said had reduced their effectiveness as they were now operating from their homes.

The state deputy governor, Rear Admiral Jonah Gboribiogha (rtd.) described the development as unfortunate.

Vanguard , WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014 — 15

4 killed, 7 injured in renewed clash over oil on Anambra/Kogi border

BY VINCENT UJUMADU

A

WKA—FOUR persons from Aguleri, Anambra East local government area were killed on Monday, while seven others were seriously injured in a renewed clash between the people of Aguleri and Echeno/Odeke in Ibaji local government area of Kogi State.

The two border communities have been laying claims to the oil deposits on the Omambala River basin.

The clashes became more pronounced shortly after the commissioning of Orient Petroleum Refinery at Aguleri Otu in Anambra State by President Goodluck Jonathan last year.

Casualty figures on the Kogi side could not be ascertained at press time, although it was gathered that the people of Aguleri were taken unawares by the Kogi fighters.

Vanguard gathered that the latest clash, which occurred at about 3.00pm on Monday,

involved the use of sophisticated weapons, even in the presence of security operatives guarding the buffer zone created by the National Boundary Commission in the area to forestall clashes between the warring communities.

It was also gathered that one of the mobile policemen guarding the buffer zone had allegedly informed Kogi people that Aguleri people were at the disputed area, adding that shortly after, Kogi

people came in large numbers, armed with dangerous weapons, including automatic rifles usually handled by security operatives.

Monday’s attack came on the heels of a peace committee meeting held between the communities last week at Idah in Kogi State, where the people of Aguleri expressed surprise yesterday that some people at Odeke were not prepared to see peace return to the area.

Anambra Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Mr. Emeka Chukwuemeka, confirmed the incident, but declined to give the casualty figures.

According to him, the matter is being investigated at the highest level of security and will be premature for him to make statement on the clash.

Following the frequent clashes in the area, the National Boundary Commission had met with the deputy governors of the two states on many occasions for the purpose of finding a lasting solution to the border problem.

At the last meeting chaired by the Director General of the National Boundary Commission, Dr. M.B. Ahmad, with the deputy governors of the two states and a representative of the surveyor general of the federation in attendance, it was noted that the Anambra/ Kogi interstate boundary was the boundary of the former Northern and Eastern regions described in the legal notice No 126 of 1954.

However, the people of Kogi were said to be insisting that despite the demarcated boundary between the old Kabba and old Onitsha provinces, the oil deposits in Omambala River belong to them.

Mama Titi Emakpose for burial

M

A TITI O n o t a k a r o m a Emakpose, 93, of Okwighelle, Okpe Local Government Area, Delta State, is dead.

There will be a wake keep on Thursday, July 24 at her residence at Okwighelle, while she will be buried the follwing day at the family compound at Okwighele.

She is survived by her daughter, Mrs. Mararoyeren Ajudubro and many relations, including Mr. Johnbull Ivwurie.

Late Ma Titi Emakpose

16— Vanguard , WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014

PRESIDENT GOODLUCK JONATHAN'S MEETING WITH PARENTS OF THE ABDUCTED CHIBOK SCHOOL GIRLS IN ABUJA, YESTERDAY PIX: ABAYOMI ADESHIDA

President Goodluck Jonathan in a group photograph with students From left: Minister of Education, Ibrahim Shekarau, President Goodluck Jonathan, of the Government Secondary School, Chibok, who escaped from Senate President, David Mark, Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and National their abductors.

Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), during the meeting in Abuja.

Some parents of the Chibok school girls arriving the venue of the meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan.

President Goodluck Jonathan with some of the parents during the meeting.

Some of the escaped school girls at the meeting

Principal of the Government Secondary School, Chibok, Mrs. Asabe Kwambura (left), and some of the students who escaped from their captors.

A parent of one of the abducted school girls shedding tears.

C M Y K

Some of the parents of the abducted school girls.

Another parent in painful mood on the occasion.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014— —17

18— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014 ANY things are instructive about the way our country runs. The most recent concerns about the Federal Government’s intention to borrow $1 billion for its war against insurgents, is the pedestal for calls to probe the expenditure on security. Some want the probes to range as far as 1999.

We make too much pretence about accountability. It was not until the $1 billion request that many non-governmental organisations woke up to the wastes budgets have become. Neither the Fiscal Responsibility Act, nor the oversight functions of the legislature have reined in over expenditure, mainly on unbudgeted projects.

No efforts should be spared in holding governments accountable at all levels, and for every expenditure. The current approach is fraught with futility. Why should we probe security votes alone? Is this line of reasoning an admission that other budgets are well spent?

Indications are to the contrary as a 2010 civil society groups session on the budgeting process in Jigawa State showed.

Summaries of the observations: ·There was no citizens’ participation in the budget preparation process No substantial input from the civil society

Budget Bothers organisations during budget processes and implementation The State largely depended on statutory allocations form the Federal Government for financing the budget, resulting in poor budget performance and slow pace of development The budget did not adequately address gender and people with special needs Little industrialisation in the State to complement government’s skill acquisition programmes, hence youth unemployment and poverty The budget lacked specific goals, benchmarks and indicators with which to evaluate and assess its performance The State House of Assembly members

made very little contact with their constituencies and their interests did not reflect in budgetary projections · There was inadequate fiscal discipline in the implementation of the budget The list contains everything budgets should not be. The tragedy of this is that the practice is nationwide. Jigawa State only represented how our governments implement flawed budgets. Little has changed since then for the better.

Where budgets do not reflect aspirations of the people, who do they serve? Whether at the federal or state level, budgets have become the weapon for the authorities to serve their own purposes.

Local government council monthly allocations are free money for state governments.

In 15 years of civil rule, governments have budgeted trillions of Naira. The budgets were wasted on projects that failed to improve the conditions of the people.

Governments have become more selfserving and budgets brazenly reflect this.

The time is ripe for governments to tell Nigerians how they spent budgets and why they spent them in the way they did. Without people piling pressure on their governments, they will get no answers about how they are served.

OPINION

BY MATTHEW ADEJOH

W

HEN the mouth of the former Central Bank Governor, and now Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, was running riot, and the ever busy bees of the opposition trumpeted his lies about missing oil funds, many Nigerians, so used to the corruption of top government officials in times past and present, were aghast and lent their voice to the debate for and against the bogus claim.

But, today, courtesy of the Senate of the Federal Republic, we now know that the man who headed our bank of banks was a liar of the first order.

Thank God, he has been removed from his central position in Abuja to become a local champion in Kano. The pity will be for the Kanawas who have to contend with a mischievous monarch who will do anything, including lying publicly, to save his skin. It is clearly what a traditional ruler should be that the good (and of course, bad) people of Kano have to live with for the number of years Allah will grant him on the throne.

A fearful Sanusi, whose neck was on the line for the way he managed the resources of the CBN, had cleverly put the President’s back to the wall when he wrote to Goodluck Jonathan on the non-remittance to the Federation Account by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, of $49.8billion, representing 76 per cent of the value of crude oil lifting from January 2012 to July 2013.

The letter, which political strategists expected to undo the ruling government, had been leaked to the press. But after a presidentially ordered reconciliation, the

“Missing” oil revenue: Between Emir Sanusi and Senate?

Emir, looking like a cock thoroughly beaten by heavy downpour, retraced his steps and agreed that the figure was over $12 billion, which revised again downward to $10.8 billion and later (finally) to $20 billion.

In putting a lie to the irresponsible letter of the Emir of Kano, the Senate Committee on Finance, headed by former Kaduna Governor, Ahmed Makarfi, declared that “there was never any unremitted $49.8 billion….The committee could not see how the figure of $49.8 billion was arrived at by the CBN governor in the first instance.”

One Senator, Ayogu Eze, commended the committee for the professional work it did, applauding it for hiring professional auditors who made it possible to have the job of investigation to be well done. He said it was amazing that the governor of the CBN then, who was supposed to know the facts, was preoccupied with misleading the country by giving conflicting reports.

But the committee stated that all the agencies, which made presentations to it, agreed, after reconciliation, that $47 billion out of the $67 billion had been credited to the Federation Account, leaving only $20 billion yet to be accounted for. Part of the outstanding $20 billion was the $5.254 billion spent on subsidy for Premium Motor Spirit by the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency, which was covered by the Appropriation Acts of 2012 and 2013, the Senate Committee said. It added that the $3.512 billion spent for kerosene subsidy as certified by PPPRA for the period

January 2012 to July 2013 was still part of the $20 billion.

But the subtle indictment of relevant National Assembly committees was not lost on its Chairman, Senate President David Mark, who looked for the whip he should have used a long time ago, and lashed his colleagues. He also did not spare the Emir, even though he was political enough not to want to hurt the sensibilities of the Kanawa nation, by not making any direct reference to his office or person, but it was obvious he was referring to him when he hinted at rumour mongers.

His words: “At the inception of the seventh Senate, I did say emphatically that there is no issue in this country that we cannot discuss as respected and distinguished senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

If we have the courage to set up a committee, nothing will stop us from taking the report of that committee and nothing will be swept under the carpet in this red chamber.

“I think what is glaring from this report is that we are all guilty. If the committees expected to carry out oversight functions on the NNPC were doing their job very well, we wouldn’t have needed the governor of Central Bank to ring an alarm bell before reacting. Whether the alarm is genuine or not, is another matter. The executive may have good reasons but the legislature obviously does not have reasons not to find out. Let me appeal to the various committees to endeavour to do their work.

“Facts are different from rumours and what

we have before us are the facts based on the interview conducted by the committee on public hearing and on all the documents that they could put together. One thing is very obvious, due process has not been followed and they have stated so very clearly.

“On the issue of subsidy, I want to appeal that we should not pit ourselves against the public opinion. If subsidy has to be removed, there must be public enlightenment and education so that facts would be made available to the people and then public opinion at the end of the day will count.

“If we sit here now and say remove subsidy, I think those who are benefitting from subsidy are very powerful and tomorrow they would influence media reports and twist it to create an impression that the Senate is anti-people.

“If the subsidy has to go, I don’t have problems with that but let us sensitise the people over a very long period of time so that everybody will be carried along and everybody will be on board and we then can take a final decision on the issue of subsidy because the recommendations are far- reaching.”

Mark spoke well. He hit the bull in the eye, but it should be added that when federal lawmakers, who are part of the Federal Government fail to do their jobs, and rather run around the corridors of Ministries, Department, and Agencies, MDAs, to curry favours, they leave everyone in government, especially themselves, culpable when men with diarrhoea of the mouth, like Sanusi, speak. *Mr. Adejoh, a public affairs analyst, wrote from Abuja.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014— —19

, Kongi's Harvest

M

ANY months before it finally came on Sunday July 13 many celebratory events had been lined up to mark the 80th birthday ceremony of the one famously called Kongi, after one of the more memorable characters of his highly fecund imagination, Wole Soyinka. To call 2014 Kongi's Harvest, his 80th on this side of existence, would be saying the obvious. It's no doubt been a bountiful harvest, for his has been a rich and fulfilling life in many respects. A life that has been through many triumphs, grave dangers, close shaves, perilous misses and escapes. It's been a life lived in full along life's thoroughfare. Many years hence when all adieux would have been said to a grateful and appreciative world, long would many remark on this wayfarer that his was a life fully and well LIVED. Not too many people enjoy the privilege of such life. Nor are they many who have lived for so long and in very good health whose lives are made up of such dramatic and fateful configuration of events. Wole Soyinka has been so long in the public eye that it's indeed remarkable, even confounding, how his very long career as a public figure and intellectual has

remained both evergreen and fascinating. This especially in Nigeria where public opinion turns with the frequency of the wind and where heroes are no sooner made than they are either destroyed or become victims of their own fame.

Nigeria as an amalgamated nation is only two decades older than Wole Soyinka. It is therefore not too strange that for a highly active and motivated individual like him who came into limelight quite early in life, many events in the life of Nigeria parallel events in his own life. To call him a historical figure therefore would be very much like saying Lord Lugard once exercised sovereign power over Nigeria.

Right from during colonial domination when Egba women rose as one against an Alake, the paramount traditional ruler of Abeokuta, the young Soyinka who as a ten-year old served as a courier and teacher of these women, began his career in political activism.

He would be involved in the founding of the first fraternity in a Nigerian university when with six others he founded the Pirates Confraternity.

As an undergraduate in England, he entertained the idea of joining

Nearly three decades after the Nobel, Wole Soyinka is untiring; nor does he look ready to retire; he seems, still is, at the very height of his creative powers

,

the liberation war in South Africa and observed Nigeria's nationalist leaders from close quarters as they visited the Uk for one constitutional conference after another. It was then he came to the conclusion that the first enemies of the emerging nation was within, in the persons of the venal politicians that would take over from the colonialists. Their lifestyles gave him the confidence to write off this pioneer generation of indigenous politicians and certainly led to the dark vision of his prescient independence play, "A Dance of the Forest".

O

n returning to Nigeria a few months before Nigeria's independence in 1960, the event for which he wrote "A Dance of the Forest", he instantly plunged into the debates and politics of that era as both an intellectual and fast rising cultural figure. He went on to write Nigeria's first television script. It was not long after that the Western Nigeria crisis in which he played an active role as an opposition element following the incarceration of the first premier would claim him. More events

followed fast: the radio house holdup, his arrest and acquittal; the pogrom in the North, his involvement in the creation of a neutral peace force, visits to the north and east, and his eventual arrest and incarceration for nearly three years in solitary confinement in Kaduna. Then followed the years of exile in Ghana and later England. The late 1970s would see him establishing the first road safety organisation in the country. That has since been transformed into the Federal Road Safety Corps of which he was made the pioneer chair in 1988. Before this his literary genius would be recognised with the award of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986.

After a few spats with the Shagari and the Buhari/idiagbon regimes, his next major battle would be with the Babangida and, especially, the Sani Abacha regimes. This would see him embarking on his second major exile only to return in triumph following the sudden death of Abacha and the return to civil rule in 1999. He has since then continued in his usual role as public figure, intellectual and moral force.

At the lecture organised in his honour at the NIIA on July 13 by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism, the various speakers following the lead of the keynote speaker, Prof.

Abiola Irele, captured the major highlight of Soyinka's career.

Many, including his own children, friends, family, former students and associates went down memory lane speaking on his art, politics and humanity. I was a little disappointed that the celebrant was not present. But a reminder from his first son Dr. Olaokun Soyinka, that 80 years is 'big', implying Soyinka is by any definition a senior citizen whose

body feels the strains of the public demands placed on him, brought home this fact many easily forget.

My disappointment was for no other reason than my hope to take a personal photograph of him and with him on this very special occasion, something I have not done on previous public meetings.

Like many I have my own personal experiences of Soyinka not the least was the letter he wrote in response to the one I had written to him on some matter of literary concern way back in February 1991. He had pleaded his inadequacy and lack of keenness to engage such issue through a letter. But his response to my letter more than answered the question my undergraduate mind wanted settled. In fact, his response came even as I couldn't be sure he would respond. But then I had read that he responded to his mails diligently. More than any other writer he has most shaped my literary and artistic bent. I treasure his letter like I do those from other iconoclast from a bygone era: Tai Solarin. Most of our encounters have been through his many books but a few have been at public forums. The last was just about three months ago when during a symposium organised by the Osun State government on religious tolerance he, as the chair of the event, walked in as I was rounding up my presentation. It was gratifying to have him listen for the few minutes he did.

Nearly three decades after the Nobel, Wole Soyinka is untiring.

Nor does he look ready to retire.

Hardly a year passes without a new offering. He seems, still is, at the very height of his creative powers.

Let us end the pretence and declare Nigeria a unitary state!

T

C M Y K

“Committee of Pro-Federal Delegates” whose own advertorial appears five pages before Clark’s are evil since their position must have contributed to the confusion. They want, for instance, a principle of no less that 18%, and “not less than 50% of the total derivation fund accruable to a mineral bearing State.” Clark does not state a clear position that accords with the principle of (fiscal) federalism. On the contrary, he informs us that he was “pleased” when his “most revered traditional ruler the Lamido of Adamawa . . . embarrassed and congratulated” him for “condemning and disassociating” himself from a 57-page document whose authors’ stance was “100% derivation or self-determination.” It was, he says,“the first time” he “exchanged pleasantries with the eminent traditional ruler.”

And that from the de facto leader of the South-South geo-political group that walked out of the 1995 constitutional conference because its concessionary position of 25% to be increased to 50% in due course was rejected!

A

lso among the “unpatriotic, unchari table, unnationalistic, unjust and mischievous” Nigerians would be members of the Niger Delta Self Determination Movement and the Niger Delta Occupy Niger Delta Resources (NDSDM/ONDR). In their opinion, “mediocrity seems to have been allowed to prevail over reason” at the conference. Clark’s unqualified historic success is to this group “a far cry” from their “original positions.” They have choice words of their own for “a section of the Niger Delta Delegates” who betrayed this position by conniving in “a deliberate conspiratorial

war against us,” c a l l i n g them“blacklegs” (sic)whose “dream is to reenact our enslavement with their deceptive recommendations ostensibly on our behalf.”

Clark’s pre-emptive declaration of success may be best attributed to his uber-nationalistic wish that Nigeria be the “WIN-

,

HE Vanguard of Monday, July 14, 2014 carried three full page advertorials on one issue: the impasse at the National Conference over a proper derivation formula.

The Committee on Devolution of Powers, whose report was the last to be debated at plenary, had recommended retaining the 13% in General Abacha’s 1999 Constitution against the Northern delegates’ insistence on reducing it to 5%. Unable to agree on the concession of a paltry 18%, the conference halted proceedings. While matters may not have got to the “I told you so” moment yet for those who doubted that any good could come out of the conference, the obvious haste with which Chief E. K. Clark, an “elder statesman at the conference,” rushed to publish his verdict of the conference as “historic,” urging the delegates to “congratulate themselves that the conference has succeeded” betrays his fear of what the people’s judgement might be.

Clark could hardly find enough adjectives to denounce those who might disagree with him. To Clark, the question of a proper revenue sharing formula is a “minor controversy . . . being blown out of proportion by some delegates, to give the impression that the Conference has failed.” The assumption is that no citizen could have a legitimate reason to think so. Any such person would be “evil.” It would, he says, be “most unpatriotic, uncharitable, unnationalistic, unjust and mischievous for anyone to attempt confusion at the end of the Conference with a view to tarnishing, undermining the wonderful and successful job done by the 492 patriotic Nigerians.”Hard to tell if the delegates blowing a minor controversy out of proportion are among these 492.

No doubt, however, that members of the

We must erase the words federal, federation and federalism out of the 1999 or any new constitution and joyfully declare Nigeria a unitary state

,

NER” (original capitals) at Jonathan’s conference. Lurking behind that motive is the fear that if the conference is adjudged a monumental waste of time and resources, then his protégé, Jonathan, will have failed.

Either that or Clark does not care for federalism. For, ultimately, it is those he runs out of awful epithets to describe that understand the real agenda of the conference: to restore Nigeria to her Independence and Republican constitutions status of true federalism. In the “What then Is the Alterna-

tive to Chaos?” section of their advertorial, NDSDM/ONDR pays homage to federalism and spurns any sentimental drive about national unity: “We must take a referendum of our people as to whether they still wish to be part of Nigeria . . . if the answer is a yes, then we must agree on the terms of the co-existence voluntarily which should now form the basis of the new Constitution. UNITY IS NOT BY FORCE!” Let no one be deceived, the burning question is,federalism or unitarism for Nigeria?

If federalism, then it follows, as day does night, that the federating units cannot be dependent on the Centre; rather, the Centre must be dependent on the states. And this will not be if the federating units cannot control their resources or retain a mere half of their total revenues, not limited to minerals only. A just and equitable revenue formula that accords with the principles of federalism is the true test of the success of the conference. All the wonderful resolutions on the peripheral issues that Clark trumpets would remain inert words that can find no life if the constituent units of the “federation” must latch forever to the mammoth teats of a fat and sickly Mother in Abuja. In which case, we must erase the words federal, federation and federalism out of the 1999 or any new constitution and joyfully declare Nigeria a unitary state. Better to end the pretence once and for all!

20 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014

Apapa traffic: Relocate tank farms

BY EBELE ORAKPO

From African First Ladies, a lifeline for thousands of internally displaced persons

BY PETER DURU, MAKURDI

R

*Ms Akinjide(r) presenting the relief materials to Mrs Yemisi Suswam while Gov . Suswam watches why we have come to extend our heart felt sympathy to the victims of the crisis and also donate this token to the victims to enable them pick up their lives again.

initiative of the Mission.She acknowledge the pivotal role African First Ladies have played in parts of the continent to ensure that peace returned to all troubled

,

ELIEF came the way of the thousands of Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, in Benue State who had long been suffering from acute privation and grief in settlement camps across the state after being sacked from their ancestral homes in the protracted conflict between Benue farmers and Fulani insurgents.

The displaced persons got succour few days ago from the African First Ladies’ Peace Mission, led by the First Lady of Nigeria and Chairperson of the Mission, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, who donated assorted relief materials to them in Makurdi, the state capital.

Mrs. Jonathan presented the truck loads of essential items on behalf of the Mission to the wife of the Benue State Governor, Mrs. Yemisi Suswam at the premises of the Benue State Government House.

Mrs. Jonathan who decried the level of killings and destruction of property that trailed the Benue crisis, urged the parties to forgive each other and embrace peace so as to foster unity in their various communities. She implored all Nigerians to shun those instigating crisis and bloodbath in their various communities in order to safeguard the unity of the country.

Represented by Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Ms Olajumoke Akinjide, the First Lady said: “When we heard of the attacks in Benue, our heart went out to the women and children who were at the receiving end. We cannot continue to subject our people, especially our children and women, to the harrowing pain and experience of living in camps instead of their homes as a result of conflicts and crisis. ”As a people, we must learn to live in peace with one another and by so doing learn to be our brothers keepers, irrespective of our tribal or religious differences because we do not have any other country but Nigerian. That is

We cannot continue to subject our children and women to the harrowing pain and experience of living in camps instead of their homes as a result of conflicts and crises

”I must also point out that until now we have been extending support to victims of crisis in sister African countries; this is, in fact, the first time the Mission is extending this type of gesture to any state in Nigeria. This indeed goes to show the extent of the concern the Mission has for the families and communities affected by the conflict,” Mrs Jonathan stated.

Receiving the materials on behalf of the State Government, Mrs Suswam who is the chair person of the Northern Governors Wives’ Forum, lauded the

,

spots in the continent. ”The mother of our country who is a known peace ambassador has indeed led fellow wives of African leaders to champion the call for peace in all parts of the continent of Africa and this should be recognised with gratitude. This laudable initiative should be supported by each and everyone of us in our respective communities and states where we should all strive to ensure that peace reigned in our individual families.”

According to Mrs. Suswam: “No community or family can make progress

or develop in the absence of peace; that is the more reason why we must as a matter of priority continue to preach peace, right from our various homes, especially in the face of the security challenge the entire world is facing and we all know that Nigeria is not an exception in that regard.”

The Governor’s wife who assured that the relief materials would get to all those for whom it was meant also called on public-spirited individuals and the well to do in the society to emulate the Mission by extending help to the needy and helpless in the society.

In a brief remark, Governor Gabriel Suswam, who also witnessed the exercise, extolled the role Nigerian women were playing to ensure that peace reigned in the country.

He assured that governments at all levels in the country were doing everything possible to enthrone an egalitarian society in Nigeria where everyone would live in peace and harmony with one another.

RAFFIC on Lagos roads is becoming un “Tbearable!

A nightmare! When are we go-

ing to be delivered from it?” asked Joe, a commuter in the CMS-bound bus as the driver tried to manoeuvre through the early morning traffic snarl.

“This is heaven compared to Apapa-Oshodi Expressway traffic. That one na die!” said Iyke.

“Ah, don’t even go there. That one no get part two. Absolutely none like it!” exclaimed Ken. Asked Iyke:”You mean it is worse than this one moving at snail’s speed?

“You said moving at snail’s speed ba? At least it is moving. The Apapa traffic is mostly at a standstill for hours on end. Many workers in that area sleep in their offices and most of them have abandoned their vehicles for commercial vehicles which usually take them half way and then they do the rest on Footwagon or Legedez benz,” said Mercy.

Said Iyke: “It’s good for the health.”

“Yes, but not this forced exercise,” replied Ken. “I understand that the gridlock is caused by fuel tankers and containers. Why can’t government do something about it?” asked Iyke.

Replied Mercy: “They have tried several times in their usual haphazard manner. They make laws without plans of enforcing them. The people obey for a few days and go back to their old ways. The governor ordered them out last week and everyone heaved a sigh of relief but within two days, they were back on the road.” ”If government means business, these guys will leave the road and if they refuse, their trucks will be towed and they pay heavily to get them back,” said Nike.

“How many will you tow? I think the best thing to do is to give them a time frame within which to move say between 1.00am and 5.00am so anyone caught before or after, will be dealt with.

Alternatively, tell them the number of trucks that can load at a given time. Just pick one or two trucks from each dealer,” said Joe. “That’s a good one but will it work? From what some of the drivers are saying, LASTMA, Police, Navy, Road Safety, etc., collect money from them on daily basis and that is why they are so emboldened,” said Iyke.

“In that case, government should call its officials to order. Anyone found wanting should be summarily dismissed. If they dismiss some, others will know they mean business,” said Nike.

“But why can’t they go to the place provided by government in Orile?”asked Pat. “The water-logged area? They asked government to sand-fill the place before they can move,” replied Ken. “Government should to do it for them? What about the tank farm owners? Why can’t they sand-fill the place? Government should call them for a meeting and tell them what to do and if they refuse; the farms should be shut down,” said Iyke.

“That’s a call for fuel scarcity and grounding of businesses. Again, these tank farm owners are untouchables. If you search very well, you will discover that some of them are politicians.

The best solution will be to relocate the tank farms and allow us to contend with containers alone,” said Mercy.

“But how can tank farms and ports be located in the same axis in an economy that is importdependent? That’s a recipe for disaster!” said Joe. “I shudder to imagine what will happen if a tanker catches fire on that road with thousands of tankers stretched for kilometres and commercial and private vehicles sandwiched between them,” stated Mercy.

“God forbid! I can’t begin to imagine it. Sometimes two or three containers fall on the road and woe betide you if you are caught in the middle of it all,” said Nike.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014 — 21

Rising freight rate contributing to ports congestion — MAN

BY RICHARD UDOFIA

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anufacturers in the country have accused the Nigeria CustomS Service, NCS, of contributing to the continued congestion at the Ports through arbitrary increase of import duties.

Making the remark at the 7th Business Luncheon of the Manufacturing Association of Nigeria, MAN, Ogun State chapter, president of MAN, Dr. Kola Jamodu, said that the arbitrary increase in duties, as well as imposition of unnecessary taxation by government agencies has led to the accumulation of demurrage in the Ports.

He also kicked against the current single window environment and preassessment technique used by the Customs, arguing that they bring about delay in data generation and verification at the Ports.

Represented by DG, MAN, Mr. Remi Ogunmefun, Jamodu advised government agencies to desist from turning themselves into milking institutions at the detriment of importers who choose to patronise the local Ports.

“Government should ensure that cargo fares are relatively stable over time, while multiple taxation on imports should be looked into as a matter of urgency to avoid further congestion at the Ports,” he said.

“Problem of efficient cargo identification, fast clearing process, arbitrary increase in cargo duties and continuous deduction keep reoccurring even at the ports, and I believe the Nigeria Customs Service

From left: Omokehinde Ojomuyide, Vice President & Area Business Head, MasterCard West Africa; Mrs. Yvvone Isichei, Executive Director, Operations and Technology, Keystone Bank; Daniel Monehin, Division President, Sub Sahara Africa at MasterCard Worldwide and Femi Aderibigbe, Chief Information Officer, Keystone Bank, during a business visit by Master Card to Keystone Bank. will overturn this deficit in the nearest future”, he added.

He lamented the erratic power supply witnessed in the country, saying that it also contributes to congestion at the Ports as most appliances are electronically powered and require electricity to function.

Jamodu, however, commended the Customs for introduction of Pre-Arrival

164.95

3.25

3,118.00

+36.00

17.26

+0.29

107.62

+0.38

104.70

+1.57

CURRENCY BUYING CENTRAL SELLING DOLLAR STERLING EURO FRANC YEN CFA WAUA RENMINBI RIYAL KRONA SDR

154.73 ` 155.23 264.4336 265.2881 209.3652 210.0417 172.2668 172.8234 1.5262 1.5312 0.3001 0.3101 237.7336 238.5018 24.9214 25.0024 41.2569 41.3903 28.0654 28.1561 238.4544 239.225

155.73 266.1426 210.7183 173.3801 1.5361 0.3201 239.27 25.0834 41.5236 28.2468 239.9955

CBN Exchange rate as at 21/07/2014

Assessment Report (PAAR) and Combined Expatriate Residence Permit and Aliens Card (CERPAC) policies, saying that they are alternatives to decongesting the Ports.

He said that since the introduction of PAAR, between March and June, 2014, tremendous achievement has been

recorded as dissemination of information to relevant quarters has been made easily accessible.

He noted that with PAAR, removal of bottle necks at the Ports are guaranteed in keeping with the practice in other developed countries.

He stated that in July this year alone, about 86 per cent of cargoes have been cleared

Nigeria’s Q1 crude oil output reaches 2.26m bpd

By EDIRI EJOH & KAYODE AMOLEGBE, with Agency report

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he Nigerian Bureau of Statistics said that crude oil production has averaged 2.26 million barrels per day in the first quarter of this year, bolstering the country’s economic growth rate to 6.21 percent. According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, oil output was 30,000 bpd lower than average production of 2.29 million bpd in the corresponding period of last year, but it was higher than the 1.87 million bpd at the end of 2013.

“As a result, the growth rate of real GDP was recorded at 6.21 percent in the first quarter in 2014, higher than 4.45 percent recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2013”. This shows that there is a slight improvement in oil output by 1.76 percent (140,346 thousand bpd) in the first quarter of the year.

The Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Andrew Yakubu, said the country’s oil production was presently at over 2.3 million bpd, and expected to rise further as the government clamps down on oil theft and sabotage attacks on production facilities.

The statistics office said it expects the economy to grow by 6.19 percent in 2014,

up from 5.5 percent last year, making a difference of 0.69 percent, on the back of rising oil output.

Oil is the backbone of Nigeria’s economy.

But large scale theft and security challenges currently faced by the country have prevented Nigeria from producing up to its optimum estimated capacity of 3.2 million bpd, as well as depriving the country of an estimated amount of N966 billion ($6 bln) annual revenue.

However, Oando Energy Resources Inc., a company focused on oil and gas exploration and production in Nigeria, has announced completion of the acquisition of Medal Oil Company Limited for N800 million ($5 mln). According to the company, “The purchase price of $5,000,000 was satisfied by the issuance of 3,491,082 units, each unit consisting of one ordinary share of the company and one-half of one warrant to purchase an additional ordinary share at a price of C$ 2.00 per common share for a period of 24 months from the date on which the company closes the acquisition of the Nigerian upstream oil and gas business of ConocoPhillips.

“Medal Oil holds a 5 per cent interest in Oil Mining License (OML 131). Upon completion of the CoP acquisition, Oando will own a 100 percent interest in OML 131”.

due to improved ICT programmes incorporated into the clearing system.

In his remarks, the Deputy Comptroller, Nigeria Customs Service, Mr. Bashar Yusuf, said that Nigerian importers are frustrating the success of PAAR with wrong documentations.

“Nigerian importers give valid and correct invoice, cargo number, bill of lading among others to customs of foreign countries, but when it comes to giving the same document to Nigeria Customs, fake documents are tendered.

“All these and many more are some of the reasons why we have backlog of good at the ports because we need to verify the authenticity of these documents before they come into the country,” he stressed.

French Embassy partners MSDF on poverty alleviation

BY EBELE ORAKPO

I

N a bid to actualise its commitment to empower Niger-Delta women economically, Morgan Smart Development Foundation (MSDF), a non- profit organisation, has partnered with the French Embassy in Nigeria through the Social Development Funds (SDF) in the construction of 20 improved chorkor fish smoking ovens for 300 rural women in coastal fish communities in Edo and Ondo states. In a release made available to Vanguard, the organisation said 10 communities each in Edo and Ondo states will benefit from the project. They are: Siluko, Iguorhiaki, Gbeoba, Ikoro, Gelegele, Iboro, Aihuaobabekun, Aigbomonba, Aimieghorwan, Evbogun in Ovia South-West Local Government Area of Edo State, and Awoye, Muluthein, Odofado, Arenewo, Akinsolu-Gbagiri, Ikorigho, Ojumole, Osamirigho, Mese, Bowoto all located in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State.

According to the release, the project is to improve income generation and provide economic empowerment for the rural women through the use of alternative, effective and efficient fish processing tools. The women in these communities presently use traditional smoking kilns that are low in production capacities and work-related health risk from smoke inhalation and burns.

The introduction of Chorkor fish smoking oven is a better alternative as it is developed from appropriate technology, built from local materials and is inexpensive to maintain. Its production capacity can get up to 300 smoked fishes at a time.

22 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014

, INSURAN

NCRIB cautions NAICOM on mandate requesting monthly submission of accounts STORIES BY ROSEMARY ONUOHA

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he Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, NCRIB, has appealed to the National Insurance Commission, NAICOM, to soften the mandate requesting that brokers should declare their accounts on monthly basis.

President of the Council, Mr. Ayodapo Shoderu, made the appeal through the new leadership of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, CIIN, when they paid a courtesy visit to the Institute.

According to Shoderu, the mandate could lead to the reduction in the number of brokers in the industry which will only affect the industry negatively and the economy in general.

Shoderu said that the industry remained fragile, adding “We need a lot of concessions for the operators to grow the profession in the country.”

He added that as the professional arm of the industry, the Institute owe it a duty to continually motivate intra industry collaboration especially between insurance brokers and underwriters, adding that it is a thing of regret that attempts to broker a meeting between the NCRIB and NIA did not materialise for quite a while.

The NCRIB President further said

that it will be collaborating with the Institute to hold an appreciation evening for Lagos State Governor, Raji Fashola.

This the NCRIB Council boss said is aimed at appreciating him as undisputedly standing out as the most insurance -friendly Governor in the country.

According to him the initiative will position the industry more positively in the eyes of the Government and be a source of inspiration for other states to engage the services of insurance brokers.

Responding to the demand of NCRIB, President of CIIN, Mr. Bola Temowo, applauded the Council for its initiative, adding that the industry need to work together in order to reposition the insurance business.

According to him the institute is ready to embrace new ideas irrespective of where ever the ideas may be coming as long as it has to do with development of the insurance industry.

He noted that the institute being a member of NAICOM governing board will see how it can assist the council in realising the request, adding that the institute wants the best for all members irrespective whether they are brokers or underwriters.

Winner emerges in risk manager’s award

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debola Surakat has emerged Risk Manager of the Year in the inaugural 2013 Nigerian Risk Awards, winning an all-expense paid trip to attend one of the international risk management conferences, hosted by the Risk Management Society (RIMS) in the United State of America.

Mrs. Surakat, who became the winner of the maiden edition, Nigerian Risk Awards 2013, recently returned from the RIMS conference in Denver, United State of America.

Sharing her experience, she said, “The event was very educative, inspiring and resourceful and the networking capabilities during the event cannot be overemphasised.

There were many highlights for me during the event and I cannot begin to list them all. I had a great opportunity to learn important lessons from professionals across different walks of life, which I believe will have a positive influence on my work.”

The Nigerian Risk Awards is a

yearly event aimed at recognising individuals and organisations that are pioneering international best practices in the field of enterprise risk management, across a variety of industry sectors.

According to the Chief Executive Officer, Conrad Clark Nigeria Limited, Mr. Joachim Adenusi, “The 2014 Nigerian Risk Awards will take place on 5th of November this year.

Entries will open in the last week of July 2014.”

Mr Adenusi, who announced the introduction of a new category for the upcoming edition called ‘the Young Risk Manager of the Year, also shares his thoughts on the 2013 edition and its winner.

This was contained in a release issued to the media by the company who are the organisers of the annual Nigerian Risk Awards.

C

How insurers can prot and property from WM D

emonstrating the need to increase financial protection against weather, climate and water related disasters, a new report from the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) shows that between 1970 and 2012 the global economy suffered a huge $2.4 trillion of losses as a result of these events.

The economic loss toll from these events is huge according to the report, perhaps bigger than has previously been thought. The new research undertaken by the WMO and the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) of the Catholic University of Louvain (UCL) in Belgium, aims to provide decision-makers with actionable information for protecting life and property.

From 1970 to 2012 the report counts 8,835 disasters, resulting in 1.94 million deaths and $2.4 trillion of economic losses as a result of weather or climate related disasters such as droughts, extreme temperatures, floods, tropical cyclones and related health epidemics.

The resulting report, titled the Atlas of Mortality and Economic Losses from Weather, Climate and Water Extremes 1970-2012, explains the distribution and impacts of weather, climate, and water-related disasters and also highlights measures to increase resilience to their impacts.

The report highlights the urgent need for improved reporting, standardisation and analysis of data on weather, climate and water-related hazards to better our understanding of disasters and to help reinforce the creation of policy and platforms for prevention and resilience.

It’s a timely report and helps to rein-

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Storms and floods accounted for 79 per cent of the total number of disasters due to weather, climate and water extremes and caused 55 per cent of lives lost and 86 per cent of economic losses between 1970 and 2012

From 1970 to 2012 the report counts 8,835 disasters, resulting in 1.94 million deaths and US$ 2.4 trillion of economic losses as a result of weather or climate related disasters

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force the work undertaken by the United Nations and World Bank on resilience to natural catastrophes, weather extremes and climate impacts, as well as the UN’s work on establishing a code of corporate conduct for disclosure of natural catastrophe and weather risk exposures. In fact the report is seeking to inform the current debate on disaster risk reduction and sustainable devel-

From left: GMD[Chief Executive Officer, Skye Bank Plc, Mr. Timothy Oguntayo; outgoing Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Skye Bank Plc, Mr Kehinde DurosimiEtti and Deputy Managing Director, Skye Bank Plc, Mrs. Amaka Onwughalu at the handing over ceremony by the outgoing Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Skye Bank Plc, to the incoming at the bank's Head Office, Lagos. PHOTO: Kehinde Gbadamosi.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014 —

tect life MO report

opment, which is a large part of recent work by the UN and World Bank.

As such the data is important to the insurance and reinsurance sector, providing perhaps the best view of the gaping hole between economic and insured losses that we have seen to date.

The report states: storms and floods accounted for 79 per cent of the total number of disasters due to weather, climate and water extremes and caused 55 per cent of lives lost and 86 per cent of economic losses between 1970 and 2012, according to the Atlas. Droughts caused 35 per cent of lives lost, mainly due to the severe African droughts of 1975 and 1983– 1984.

According to the report, the 1983 drought in Ethiopia ranked top of the list of human casualties, claiming 300 000 lives, as did Cyclone Bhola in Bangladesh in 1970. Drought in Sudan in 1984 killed 150,000 people, whilst the Cyclone locally known as Gorky killed 138,866 people in Bangladesh in 1991. Hurricane Katrina in the United States of America in 2005 caused the worst economic losses, at $146.89 billion, followed by Sandy in 2012 with a cost of $ 50 billion. The worst ten reported disasters in terms of lives lost occurred primarily in least developed and developing countries, whereas the economic losses were mainly in more developed countries.

“Disasters caused by weather, climate, and water-related hazards are on the rise worldwide. Both industrialised and non-industrialised countries are bearing the burden of repeated floods, droughts, temperature extremes and storms,” commented WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud.

“Improved early warning systems and disaster management are helping to prevent loss of life. But the socioeconomic impact of disasters is escalating because of their increasing frequency and severity and the growing vulnerability of human societies.”

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CE & YOU

Improved early warning systems and disaster management are helping to prevent loss of life

23

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INSURANCE CLAIMS: Over N128m settled through NAICOM’s intervention in six months T

he National Insurance C o m m i s s i o n , NAICOM, said it successfully facilitated claims payment of over N128 million between January and June 30, 2014.

The Commission disclosed this on its website that it received a total of 83 complaints from January to June this year while the number of complaints treated

was 215 including complaints from previous year.

The Commission added that outstanding complaints stood at 189, while status of outstanding complaints reveal that some are at analysis/investigative stage whilst others are near conclusion.

The regulatory body further said that between Januarys

and June 30, 2014, it settled 26 disputes involving eight insurance companies, two brokers and their customers.

This move according to NAICOM is in line with its continuing efforts at ensuring adequate protection of policyholders and insurance consumers over settlement of genuine insurance claims.

Some of the settled cases included Standard Alliance

From Left: Chief Executive Officer, Swiftthink Limited, Ayoola Jolayemi; Emmy Award Winning CNN Correspondent, Gina London, Founder, Richmond Johnson Academy, Richie Dayo Johnson and Head Trainer Amplio Consulting, Ayo Owodunni, during the FIND YOUR EDGE Student Communication Summit, in Lagos.

Continental Re Ltd to spring up in Botswana C

o n t i n e n t a l Reinsurance Plc is set to open a subsidiary in Gaborone, Botswana having been granted license to do likewise.

Accordingly, the company recently notified the Nigerian Stock Exchange that it has been granted a license to open the new company which will operate and be known as Continental Reinsurance Company Limited, Gaborone, Botswana.

Continental Reinsurance Plc owns 60 per cent of the shares of the new company.

With the new company, Continental Reinsurance Plc will be able to serve all the countries existing in the South of Africa and the African Indian Ocean Islands including Angola, Mozambique, Botswana,

Namibia, Lesotho, South Africa, Madagascar, Swaziland, Malawi, Zambia, Mauritius and Zimbabwe in line with its strategic direction.

This is expected to significantly boost premium income and profit of Continental Reinsurance Plc. Also private equity firm Emerging Capital Partners plans to sell its 50.6 percent stake in Continental Reinsurance.

Emerging Capital Partners is the majority shareholder in Continental Reinsurance, which has operations in Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Nigeria and Tunisia.

The private equity firm first invested $25.8 million in the insurer in 2007 for a 30 percent stake, to help increase its underwriting

capacity to $80 million from $15 million, Emerging Capital Partners said on its website.

Shares in the insurer, which gained 62 percent last year, fell 4.27 percent on Wednesday to 1.12 naira, valuing the company at N12.14 billion ($75.1 mn).

Insurance companies in Africa’s largest economy are betting on growing premiums as Nigeria develops its infrastructure and a consumer class that would demand protection from risk.

C o n t i n e n t a l Reinsurance, Nigeria’s second-largest insurance firm, covers life and nonlife business.

life Mr. Andrew Mark Ilanse Life Benefit N32,777; Staco Insurance /Arizona ins.brokers general motor insurance N1,525,500.00; Standard Alliance Life/ ogbene virginia life benefits N543,000.00; Aiico/ finbank ins brokers Aviation N17,038,872.00; IGI/ Benjamin solicitors life benefits N3,488,032.00; Aiico Paul Adie life benefits N120,000.00; NSIA/Eternalie risk insurance brokers general Marine N547,295.08 and Standard Alliance life Insurance/ oyeleke oyewale teslim life benefits N136,303.17.

Others are: NEM/first & foremost investment on general motor N8,876,632.90; Guinea insurance/Sam Omokaro fire N 2,311,278.16; Standard Alliance life/ J. Abida Ademokoya life benefits N2,320,896.32; Standard alliance insurance/Udoka Bestman general motor N42,120,000.00; Emerald insurance brokers, equity insurance general non remittance of premium N6,589,475.48; Guinea & Oasis standwell international co ltd general marine N803,56.67; Aiico Adwunmi Adepoju Life benefits N690,000.0 and Guinea & Sterling/chrome insurance brokers, consolidated hallmark general fire N 10,047,873.00;Aiico/ Nichodemus U. Ali life benefits N24,835.00; Standard alliance life university of Ibadan life benefit N2,320,896.32; Standard alliance life A-Asken & company life benefits N1,124,389.78; Kapex insurance brokers chief abraham Yepwi life benefits N3,585,675.64; IGI federal Ministry of Education & agencies group life N1,500,000.00; Nicon Hanatu Micheal Jankaro general motor N153,800.00; Sterling assurance Vilisco General motor N5,607,000.00; Cornerstone IGI general motor N15,458,105.57; Standard alliance life insurance Nigerian air force life benefits N234,032.00 and IGI/ low bond solicitors life benefits N445,807.00/373,995.00.

The Commission, through its CBU successfully adjudicated and treated a total of 215 complaints in the past six months from January to June 30, 2014.

24 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014

Portland Cement, pricing and building collapse (2)

Lotus Halal completes plans to float 100m units ETF offer

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OLLOWING the receipt of the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, clearance of the offer documents in respect of the proposed initial offer for subscription of 100million units of the Lotus Halal Equity Exchange Traded Fund, ETF has announced the successful hosting of the signing ceremony in respect of the proposed Initial Offer.

The Board of Directors of the company and relevant professional parties, including Vetiva Capital Management Limited (Issuing House to the Offer), were

present to execute the offer documents during the signing ceremony.

Lotus Capital, upon receipt of final approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission, plans to launch the Lotus Halal Equity Exchange Traded Fund, an Exchange Traded Fund (“ETF”) based on the NSE Lotus Islamic Index.

The Index is an adjusted market capitalisation weighted index currently comprising 15 Shari’ah compliant equities listed on the floors of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Lotus Capital is an Investment Management company specializing in Asset Management according to the Islamic system of Financial Management. Lotus Capital was founded in June 2004 with the objective of providing cost – effective ethical financial solutions to individuals, businesses and organisations across West Africa. The company is duly registered with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) as a Fund Manager.

NIDF trustees approve payment of N44.2m coupon ByNKIRUKANNOROM

A

FRINVEST Asset Manage ment Limited, managers of The Nigeria International Debt Fund, NIDF, has announced the payment of N44.2 million coupon to the note holders.The closure date, according to the company, has been slated for 29th July 2014, while the approved sum will be paid to Note Holders within two weeks of the closure date.

The coupon, which represents 50 percent of the Net Income of the Fund, is the first of the bi-annual coupon policy of the NIDF for the first half of the 2014 financial year. Afrinvest stated in a notice to the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, that the coupon is the 33rd payment in the series.

While coupon rate would be determined by the number of note holders in the register of the Fund by 29th July 2014, it is estimated that the minimum coupon rate payable per note will be N36.00.

Meanwhile, Continental Reinsurance Plc said it has been granted a licence to open a subsidiary in Gaborone, Botswana.

The new Company will operate and be known as Continental Reinsurance Company Limited, Gaborone, Botswana.

Continental Re Plc owns 60 percent of the shares of the new comC M Y K

pany. The new company, “Continental Re will be able to serve all the countries existing in the South of Africa and the African Indian Ocean Islands including Angola, Mozambique, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, South Africa, Madagascar, Swaziland,

Malawi, Zambia, Mauritius and Zimbabwe in line with its strategic direction,” the company said. ”This is expected to significantly boost premium income and profit of Continental Re Plc,” the company added.

Ogiemwonyi, Ayere, others emerge new AIHN executives

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he Association of Issuing Houses of Nigeria (AIHN) has elected new executive committee members to run its affairs for the next two years. Mr. Victor Ogiemwonyi, managing director, Partnership Investment Company Plc assumed office as the chairman.

Other members are Sonnie Ayere, managing director of Dunn Lorren Merrifield as first vice chairman and Mr. Chuka Eseka, managing director of Vetiva Capital Management Limited as second vice chairman.

Mr. Chris Okenwa of Fidelity Securities Limited retained his position as the director of finance, Mrs, Tairat Tijanni of FBN Capital Limited as director of Administration, Mr. Dafe Oraka of BGL Plc as director of Publicity and Ken Ero of Greenwich Trust Limited

as assistant director of administration.

Also on the executive committee of the professional trade group is former chairman, Mr. Kayode Falowo, managing director of Greenwich Trust Limited, Mr. Albert Okumagba, managing director of BGL Plc, including the immediate past chairman, Mr. Bolaji Balogun, of Chapel Hill Advisory Partners Limited.

In his acceptance speech, Mr. Ogiemwonyi promised to build on the solid foundation laid by the previous executive in order to position the body as a formidable stakeholder in the development of the Nigerian capital market.

ment in a cubic metre of concrete.

This should be the minimum specification for building construction.

The major elements in a building structure are the foundations, the columns, the beams and suspended floor slabs all built with reinforced concrete. I have often observed that when concrete is being mixed and placed for a suspended floor slab, the workmen feeding the concrete mixer do not put the cement, sharp sand and granite in the correct proportions.

There is always a tendency to put too much sharp sand. On one occasion, I asked one of the workmen why one had to be correcting them repeatedly as to the quantities of the materials fed into the concrete mixer. The response was that the concrete would be too heavy to carry if the specified proportions were fed into the mixer. I then suggested that the quantities of concrete put into each head pan

The cement manufacturers should join hands with the Building Collapsed Prevention Guild and others in getting the workmen to understand and to adopt the correct practices and standards

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From left: Femi Obanubi, Auditor, Akinsanmi Babafemi & Co; Adedeji Taiwo, 32 inch LED TV winner and Adebowale Adegun, Retail Executive, Lagos Business Unit, Nigerian Breweries Plc.; at the Star Football Fan Park raffle draws, held in Ejigbo, Lagos.

T HE previous week, we identified that according to European Commission nomenclature, CEM I and CEM II are the types of cement produced in Nigeria. CEM I is ordinary portland cement whilst the local production of CEM II is portland limestone cement. We identified the three strength classes, 32.5, 42.5 and 52.5. The strength of any cement is determined from tests on concrete made with the cement.

Concrete is made by mixing cement, fine aggregate, coarse aggregate and water in specified proportions. The fine aggregate used locally is usually sharp sand whilst the coarse aggregate is crushed granite. For reinforced concrete, it is usual to have a nominal maximum aggregate size of 20mm. There is a chemical reaction between the cement and water to form a calcium-silica-hy-

drate, the cement paste subsequently hardens binding the fine and coarse aggregates together.

In order to obtain the best results, the wet concrete must be fully compacted to make it dense, the strength of the concrete develops with the hardening and the hardened concrete must be cured.

Methods of curing are designed to maintain the concrete in a continuously moist condition for several days, either by preventing evaporation or keeping the surface of the concrete continuously wet. Curing allows the initial reaction between the cement and water to take place over an appropriate period.

Thus, if cement is not applied properly, the strength that would be observed in the concrete would not correspond with the strength class of the cement. Essentially, the coarse aggregate in concrete should be twice as much as the fine aggregate and by increasing the quantities of cement applied to a specified quantity of fine and coarse aggregates, one would obtain increasing concrete strengths. In building construction, we often specify concrete made with 1 to 2 to 4 mixture of cement to fine aggregate to coarse aggregate. This would correspond to having 350kg of ce-

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could be reduced and the response was that it would take longer to complete the work for that day.

The cement manufacturers should join hands with the Building Col-

lapsed Prevention Guild and others in getting the workmen to understand and to adopt the correct practices and standards. When a blockmaker learns that there is a cement that gives him a higher strength the tendency would be to increase the quantities of sand in the cement/sand mixture such that more blocks are produced from one 50kg cement bag than previously.

Sand/cement blocks from the block makers are not tested for strength and blockmakers should be encouraged to make blocks having a higher density through the adoption of equipment that incorporates a hydraulic press in addition to the vibrating plate which supports the block.

The portland limestone cement that is available from local manufacturers is marked either CEM II A-L or CEM II B-L on the cement bag. A corresponds to 80% to 94% ordinary portland cement clinker and 6% to 20% limestone. With CEM II B-L marking, B corresponds to 65% to 79% ordinary portland cement clinker and 21% to 35% limestone. The manufacture of clinker requires large amounts of energy and the reduction in the proportion of clinker in a cement type should lead to a reduction in the price of that cement type.

CONCLUDED.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014 — 25

BY PRINCE OSUAGWU

DIARY z World

congress on computational intelligence

International Convention Center Beijing,China

06 Jul - 11 Jul 2014

z Cisco Connect Sun City, South Africa Nov. 2 - 4, 2014

Preview

New inventions shaping life and living

Ultra-green headphone with 60 percent repurposed material

•Always busy computer Village....... might be shut down again

Computer Village debacle:

SON gives dealers 7 days ultimatum to mop-up fake phones A

Swedish headphones maker, is trying something new. Instead of tossing large stocks of unsold headphones, the company disassembles them and uses the ear cups, headbands, and hinges to create the Re:Plattan headphones.

Each pair has brand-new guts, contains about 60 percent repurposed material, and, because the components vary in color, has its own unique look.

After the initial, limited run of 3,000 Re:Plattans, designers will have to wait for a new supply of parts or find an untapped source.

I N S I D E C M Y K

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ollowing recent seizure of substandard telephones worth millions of naira in the largest African ICT market, Computer Village Ikeja, Lagos, the Standard Organisation of Nigeria, SON has issued a 7 day ultimatum to mobile phone dealers and importers at the Computer Village to get rid of sustandard products or face the full wrath of the law.

Head, Inspectorate and Compliance Department of SON, Mr. Bede Obayi, who read the riot act, while giving the media an update on the raid carried out at the market recently, noted that the ultimatum would take effect from Wednesday last week.

“In view of the unwholesome activities carried out by some unscrupulous dealers and

Microsoft Gears-up mobile devices for users

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BY EMEKA AGINAM

These phones are carrying different labels, indicating that they are fake and sub-standard. We carried out a surprise raid at the warehouse where these products were stockpiled. The owner/ importer is one of those who specialize in bringing fake phones and accessories into Nigeria

importers of mobile phones at the Lagos Computer Village in Ikeja, bordering on the sale of some fake and substandard mobile phones, SON hereby issues a seven-day ultimatum to those involved and the authorities of the market to get rid of the products or face the full wrath of the law,” he said.

Pennultimate week, the Police

MNP: Porting figure rises to 197,000

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in conjunction with the Standard Organisation of Nigeria, SON, had clamped down on some mobile phone vendors selling counterfeit mobile devices, particularly those not approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC. Apart from duping

NIM ‘ll check fraud in financial sector – Onyemenam

unsuspecting Nigerian consumers, these unscrupulous traders are also short changing Original Equipment Manufacturers, OEMs, who have made significant investments to promote their brands.

However, Obayi alleged that Phone and Allied Products Dealers Association (PAPDA) of the market, conspired with miscreants to prevent enforcement exercise to rid the market of fake phones.

According to him, “PAPDA fought against the exercise to the extent of organizing hoodlums to attack SON officials, indicating its complicity in the illicit trade”.

He said that a major target of raid was a company named Trinity Technologies and Communications, alleged as the kingpin of illicit trade in the computer village. Obayi alleged that Trinity Technologies and Communication deals on cheap unbranded phones which he disguise with trademarks of major brands to hoodwink unsuspecting consumers.

“As you can see, what you see on the package is different from what you see when you open

Continues on pg 27

26 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014

Local coys have delivered major govt tech projects —Okere

BY EMEKA AGINAM

Microsoft Gears-up mobile devices for users

BY PRINCE OSUAGWU, EMEKA AGINAM, PRINCEWILL EKWUJURU & JONAH NWOKPOKU

I

n a committed effort to boost mobile phone users’ experience, Nokia, now Microsoft Devices Group, has introduced portable mobile communication accessories tagged Gear Up. The accessories including car chargers, wireless chargers, JBL speakers, power banks, coloured headphones, speakers, Nokia sensors treasure tags, Nokia wireless charging plates, wireless screen mirroring adapters, portable and affordable Bluetooth speakers with built-in mic, among others which will change mobile experience of Nokia devices users as well as other mobile device brands.

Other accessories unveiled also include, wireless charging stands, Nokia purity pro wireless stereo headset by monster, Nokia purity stereo wired headset,

Nokia car holder with wireless charging capability, Nokia low cost wireless charging plates, and universal U S B portable c h a r g e r, amongst •Nokia gears o t h e r s .

T h e Business Manager, Gear, Nokia West and Central Africa, Mario Okonya while highlighting the unique functions of each gear explained that with the company's "new range of unique accessories, customers can actually experience the innovation we put in our devices either it’s a mobile phone or gear. Just like our mobile devices, the gears also come in different colours and are available at our authorized distribution outlet, Ematic Mobile Solution (EMS).

“In creating our gears, we considered five pillars which

capture consumers’ interests.

These pillars include phone charging, connected devices, capturing and sharing, entertainment and personalization. Each device is created based on our understanding of consumers’ interests and what they do often.

“People love to charge their phones when in the car on while on the go, our solution is our range of power banks/car chargers; also for entertainment, we have various speakers, Monster and Stereo headsets which can be used with Nokia phones and any other device”

Telecom governance code may be mandatory in 2016

•Corporate code

BY PRINCE OSUAGWU

T

he Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC has given itself a pass mark for introducing the code of corporate governance in Nigerian telecom sector, saying above other things, the code will bring sanity and create more jobs for Nigerians.

Meanwhile, the Commission has reacted to fears expressed in many quarters that the code was not mandatory, with a declaration that depending on the industry situation, the Code may become mandatory by 2016.

NCC’s Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, Okechukwu Itanyi who dropped the hint, added that the commission was looking at every means to improve on the growth of the sector.

At the unveiling, the Minister of Communications Technology, Dr. Omobola Johnson, represented by Director, Postal and Telecoms Services in the ministry, Mr. John Ayodele, had challenged the commission on effective monitoring system to ensure that decision makers are held accountable even

with respect to their positions in the companies.

Johnson however admitted that the key considerations for a successful corporate governance regime will consist elements of voluntary commitments and good business practices by the regulated entities.

However, she insisted that “the Code should be backed up by effective monitoring and enforcement processes, and continuously assessing compliance with the basic principles of this Code in line with the best international practices”.

With the unveiling of the industry-specific code, NCC said it has moved a step further in enthroning global best practices among the boards of telecoms players, whose actions and inactions have far-reaching effects on the entire telecoms industry. Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah, at the launch of the code, in Lagos, had said that “the code became necessary to reposition the sector to contribute more to the country ’s rebased GDP,” Juwah said the corporate governance principles of accountability, responsibility, transparency, integrity and ethical conduct, independence among others are important for all types of companies operating in the telecommunications industry whether public or private, large or small.

“The telecommunications sector is of strategic and high impact significance to the economy at a macro level and has considerable

reach at the micro level," he said.

Adding that this is made up of a wide range of operators with diversity in size, scope of operations, asymmetry qualifications, legal and regulatory requirements, capital market activities as well as local and cross-border relationships,” Meanwhile, Chairman of the Code of Governance Working Group, Dr. Fabian Ajogwu said the Code became necessary to consolidate on the gains of the telecoms sector.

Ajogwu said the Code would help resolve challenges of weak internal controls in organisations; help passive shareholders; avoid conflict of interest; enable effective management information system among others. According to him: “This Code adopts the principles, standards and laws laid down in existing statutes in Nigeria, particularly by the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), the Nigerian Communications Act, among others. It incorporates the provisions of CAMA as it relates to directors and officers responsibilities in the company.

This means that implementation of the new code is directly the responsibility of the Boards of Directors of telecoms companies.

The Code, for instance, says “The Board should take responsibility for implementation of this Code and ensure the adoption of its provisions across the company.

The Board should ensure that a Code of Conduct with provisions which align with this new Code as a minimum standard of ethics is developed within the company.”

he Chief Executive Officer of Computer Warehouse Group, Austin Okere has said that T local companies have delivered major technology

projects for government. Okere who dropped this hint in Abuja recently during the commissioning of the Nigerian Research and Education Network (NgREN), built by a consortium of technology companies led by the Computer Warehouse Group (CWG Plc), said: “We have matured in delivering projects of this scale, and are grateful to the NUC and World Bank for the opportunity to prove this with the timely delivery of the NgREN. We do look forward to the opportunity of extending this success in the next phases of the project.

The first phase of the project, under the Science and Technology Education Post-Basic (STEP-B) initiative covers the 27 Premier Federal Universities in Nigeria and their over one million students and staff. Their interconnection via a fully redundant broadband network was completed in record time, way ahead of the schedule set by the World Bank, co-sponsors of the project.

The NgREN currently delivers 155mbps (STM1) capacity to each university and connects to the Multiprotocol Layered Switch (MPLS) core network, which has a 10Gbps capacity, as well as 465mbps (3STM1) internet capacity, providing high definition telepresence capabilities for real-time collaboration, voice over internet protocol (VOIP), shared access to research content and joint experimentation projects. CWG assembled a consortium of partners including Airtel, Phase 3, Medallion and Cisco to work with her to build the highest level of redundancy, through a primary and backup fibre infrastructure in an active to active mode, along with a Network Management suit that enables the NgREN to effectively monitor the entire system.

At the commissioning of the project recently, President Goodluck Jonathan, who was represented by the Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike, said: “As I join the Association of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (AVCNU) and the National Universities Commission (NUC) in the celebration of this achievement in the establishment of the Nigerian Research and Education Network (NgREN)”

PIN trains over 750 students, 20 civil servants on internet policy

BY ESTHER ONYEGBULA

P

aradigm Initiative Nigeria (PIN) has hosted the South-East editions of TENT workshop 2014, and the Internet Policy Training, as part of its continuing efforts to expand the space for opportunities in Nigeria’s internet and digital spaces. The 3-day workshop which held at the Nike Lake Resort Centre in Enugu was facilitated by experts in the industry.

The workshop featured trainings on Nigeria’s freedom of information law, Internet freedom advocacy in Nigeria, internet freedom and social media, communicating organizational objectives, ICT Policy in Nigeria and introduction to digital security.

Participants included 20 Civil Service Organisations (CSOs) based in South-East Nigeria.

After the successful ‘Internet Policy Training’ in Enugu, the PIN team moved to Abia where they hosted over 750 students from various schools to a 2-day workshop tagged TENT, Techie Entrepreneurial Nigerian Talented, workshop. The event was held in conjunction with the National Association of Computer Science Students and held at the Abia State Polytechnic.

Some of the schools represented were Abia State Polytechnic, Michael Okpara University, Enugu State University, the Institute of Management and Technology and University of Nigeria.

Day one of the TENT workshop focused on encouraging students to come up with innovative tech ideas to enable them graduate with a business plan and not just Curriculum Vitae. Tope Ogundipe, Chief Operating Officer of PIN also introduced the students to digital opportunities in Nigeria with a focus on aiki.ng, the online jobs and opportunities portal launched by Microsoft last year. “You need skills to be able to launch, lead and grow a business,” Ogundipe told the students.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014 — 27

MNP: Porting figure rises to 197,000

BY EMMANUEL ELEBEKE

T

he Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, says about 197, 000 subscribers have so far ported from one network to another since the introduction of the mobile number portability in the country.

The Commission disclosed this during the prize giving ceremony of the national essay competition organized by the NCC in Abuja.

The Mobile number Portability is a platform that enables a telecommunications subscriber to switch from one network provider to another at will, irrespective of his location.

Recall that the Commission had on April 22, 2013 launched the mobile Number Portability scheme among Telecoms networks.

Before now, NCC said a total of 126, 236 subscribers had earlier ported across the various telecoms networks.

According to the Commission, a total of 14,183 telecommunication subscribers ported across the networks in the month of April this year as against 13, 383 in March.

The introduction of the MNP was aimed at enabling the telecom subscribers exercise the power of choosing the network of their choice, without losing their phone numbers.

Also, its introduction was aimed at enhancing customer services, deepening competition, innovative services, wider coverage for all networks and above all, crowning the consumer as king in the market place.

In his remarks, the Executive Vice Chairman of the commission, Dr. Eugene Juwah said the mobile number portability was not only introduced to better the quality of service by service providers but to engender world best practices in the nation’s telecom sector.

Eugene Juwah

He said that the MNP, apart from engendering healthy competition among the operators, had also compelled the operators to increase their investment and facility upgrade since the introduction of the initiative in 2013.

On the essay competition, Juwah said, the competition was initiated to deepen awareness and knowledge of Nigerian subscribers about the working and operations of the

industry.

The highlight of the event however, was presentation of prizes to the winners. The first prize went to Disable Johnson of the University of Lagos who went home with a N500, 000 cash prize, a lap top and a printer. Second prize went to Ms. Kadri Olamide of University of Ibadan with N300, 000 cash prize, while the third prize went to Mr. Ifeanyi Okpala

of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun state with N200,000 cash prize.

Also speaking on the essay competition, the head of Public Affairs, NCC, Mr. Tony Ojobo said, the competition was targeted at enhancing research skills, encourage academic competition and excellence and building the capacity of the undergraduates.

According to him, 339 entries was received for the competition across both public and private Universities, Polytechnics, and Colleges of Education in the country.

After the assessment, only 170 scored between 10-49 per cent while 160 participants scored 50-70 per cent. In the end, three students emerged winners.

The essay was titled “The Effect of Mobile Number Portability on the Telecoms Service and Usage in Nigeria”. The commission had on November 18, 2013 placed an advertisement for the commencement of the essay competition. The Commission said the essay contest has come to stay and will now be an annual event but would be spread to other areas of telecom services.

‘Solution to Africa’s mortality rate lies Computer Village debacle in modern day technology’

BY PRINCE OSUAGWU

H

ome entertainment and equipment manufacturer, Royal Philip is planning to reclaim its position in the Nigerian market where it has operated for over 60 years. To do this, the company is going extra mile, using a familiar road to engage its future.

It has lined up programmes and activities which it says would get it back into the heart of the market and as well serve as its own way of contributing to humanity.

The programmes included introducing state of the art energy efficient lighting solutions for Nigeria, revitalizing the national theatre building in Lagos with digital LED illumination, c o n d u c t i n g workshops for consumers on healthy living with expert speakers, Organizing healthcare master class, which over 150 local healthcare professionals are getting trained over a two-day period on mother and child care.

These steps, according to Philips are clearly laying a strong foundation for reclaiming its West Africa footprint.

The company also targets to touch at least 3 billion people by 2025 as it continues its African region roadshow which takes off from Cairo Egypt to Cape Town, South Africa.

But perhaps the most strategic initiatives is its involvement in Nigeria healthcare services delivery. The initiative had seen Philips introducing a unique tablet called VISIQ. The device is ultra-mobile ultrasound system. The company unveiled the device during the Lagos leg of its annual pan-African Cairo to Cape

Town Roadshow.

The road show which is in its fifth consecutive year, enables Philips to interface with customers, governments, NGOs and media for better understanding of each country ’s unique requirements and to develop relevant technology to support their needs on maternal and infant care. The size of a tablet, the VISIQ is the first ultra-mobile system from Philips. It provides high quality images for expectant mothers wherever care is taking place. VISIQ exemplifies the company ’s commitment to more cost effective, simplified, patient-focused health care innovations with high c l i n i c a l performance. By launching this new system in Nigeria, Philips continues to demonstrate its dedicated support to the Nigerian Ministry of Health in its mission to reduce child mortality rates, improve maternal health, meet the UN Millennium Development Goals 4 & 5 and revitalize Nigeria’s healthcare infrastructure.

According to the Philips Fabric of Africa trends report, women in Africa are at significant risk of premature death, with particular high mortality rates recorded in pregnancy. Women in semi-urban and rural areas across Nigeria (in fact all of Africa) often die due to preventable complications during child birth as they have no access to ultrasound screenings to detect critical conditions. Many of these deaths can be diagnosed with basic imaging technology.

One of the benefits of VISIQ is that it is portable and easy to use so it’s available for expectant mothers in remote areas who wouldn’t otherwise have access to this type of innovative technology.

Continues from pg 25

the phone. This calls for caution and when anybody is buying a product in this country, you should take a good look at it before purchasing. We do not want Nigerians to be shortchanged with these labels.

This is economic sabotage and we cannot tolerate it. ”These phones are carrying different labels, indicating that they are fake and sub-standard.

We carried out a surprise raid at the warehouse where these products were stockpiled. The owner/importer is one of those who specialize in bringing fake phones and accessories into Nigeria” he explained.

Although importation of unapproved telecom equipment is not limited to the Nigerian market, a close monitoring of market activities in the Computer Village, Ikeja and other markets where phones are sold in Nigeria showed that phones not Type approved by the NCC dominated the showrooms.

Market checks also revealed that unwholesome activities of selling both refurbished and unapproved phones are not also limited to street traders in the market.

Apart from selling well known phones like Nokia, Huawei, TECNO, Samsung, LG, BlackBerry, among others, Vanguard checks have revealed that major phone dealers in the Nigerian ICT market also engage in the sale of unapproved phones which NCC has condemned in

complete terms because of its health implication.

Meanwhile, NCC had warned the phone dealers that all mobile phones and telecoms equipment must conform to approved standards.

But despite regulations, the phone dealers have not adhered to the local rule.

Despite all the brouhaha, a close monitoring of market activities at the market showed that business was as usual. Many brands, are yet to be type approved.

Speaking on the incidence recently, Joseph Nku, Deputy Superintendent of Police incharge of the Police post at the Computer Village, said the CP had ordered that the case be investigated.

“We are aware that SON went to the market last Saturday with their own Police for the raid. The phone dealers affected had reported to us too. A panel of inquiry has been set up. Bad phones do not just enter the country. It is left for the regulatory agencies to check the influx of phones that are not typeapproved,“ he explained.

Also reacting to the development, the President of Computer and Allied Product Dealers Association of Nigeria, CAPDAN, Mr. Tunde Balogun, had earlier told Vanguard Hi-Tech that ICT vendors must comply with local standards.

He said: “Any vendor who does not comply with regulatory requirements should be brought to book. Enough is enough. It is time to sanitize the Nigerian market. Foreign vendors must comply with local regulations,”.

28 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014

NIM ‘ll check fraud in financial sector – Onyemenam

T

he National I d e n t i t y Management Commission (NIMC) may have kick started its duty by ensuring that Nigeria has a credible and reliable data bank for the country, but the commission is faced with challenges ranging from issues of multiple head counts, giving of false information by citizens and corrupt practices leveled against its officials among others.

In this interview RICHARD With UDOFIA , the Director General, •Chris Mr. Chris Onyemenam Onyemenam, highlights what the future holds for the agency and its activities.

Excerpts:

,

There is news making the rounds that this registration may be completed by December this year. Is it achievable?

No, I have not even specified a given date.

What I meant was that December will serve as an evaluation unit or point to reassess our objectives as a commission. There is a Presidential directive, and as you know there is a policy statement too, and we are all bound by it. The Presidential directive is to the effect that all federal agencies that are involved in data capture services which also have identity authentication verification which should align with their activity and infrastructure with a view to switching over to NIMC infrastructure. The objective of this directive in my opinion follows three folds. First, to optimize the use of cash resources at this level, as it is dedicated to identity management.

Secondly, ensure that as a result of that, (optimizing use of cash) there is no duplication of efforts that we can quickly establish a National Identity data base which is a single version of truth on personal information of Nigerians.

Now the value proposition which we cannot talk about because whether in terms of security or not, we use financial services or deepening access at reducing dependence on cash which means that cashless economy in terms of providing subsidies to those who actually need it.

To be honest, do people actually need it as making safety a priority? Simply put in actual respect, this process allows for a single version of truth of every single information of individuals.

How will the issuance of

December will serve as an evaluation unit or point to reassess our objectives as a commission

,

this card help in curbing fraud in the financial sector?

There are at least three biometric features in the card. First is the hybrid nature of the card.

Second, is the incorporation of Phiser with metal recognition, while the third is the use of finger prints. It is extremely difficult for anyone to use these cards in isolation. The smart card has a public infrastructure built into it with inscription methodology combined as well. This ensures that you cannot put your card beside any of your s m a r t Phones, the data will be taken out. You cannot abuse the card issued as they cannot be hacked into either, because we have taken time to build a public infrastructure around it, and ensure that it meets global best practice. The card is 100% poly carbonated. It has 18 security features aside the 19th one which is a complex feature on the chip. The chip is an 80kbyte chip different from all the ATM cards you see. Your normal ATM card, if you misplace one today, they ask for the number and then make sure is no longer possible for you to use it, then they give you another one. Those are not the type

we are talking about, I am talking of a card that if you want to manufacture one, you have to come and take permission from the commission before you can produce it anywhere in the world. The features of this card are recognized globally in the world base on global practice, by institutions whose jobs, it is to recognize them.

One major problem of Nigeria’s identity process is that Non-Nigerians sneak into the country without valid identification, how can this identity process checkmate that trend?

There is need for us to understand that when we were in school, we read about democracy, and we all know that the main fulcrum of democracy is freedom of movement, association, leadership among others.

We are aware that our borders are porous, while fraudsters, in the course of committing crimes give out wrong data since its mandatory for anybody resident in the country to register. We have a responsibility as a commission to guarantee the identity of data, and not to add problems to the commission. In ensuring this, what we have done is to ensure that we follow what the law says and steak to it, which is exactly what we are doing. As a body, we know that some of those gaps that help non Nigerians adapt to undermine our society and perpetuate evil. So long the identity can be ascertained, what we have, as a system is to still cross check again when the need arises.

It will be easy to detect anybody claiming what he says he is, and what he is not when the task is fully

Stakeholders move for robust ICT in PAAR/CERPAC Policies

BY RICHARD UDOFIA

A

t the business luncheon of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN, recently, Stakeholders threw their full weight behind the inclusion of ICT in Pre-Arrival Assessment Report and Combined Expatriate Residence Permit and Aliens Card, PAAR/CERPAC Policies with the aim of bringing sanity to Nigerian Ports.

President of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Dr. Kola Jamodu at a program in Ogun State tagged, ‘’PAAR: implantation, problems and way forward, and CERPAC green card; Issuance, implementation, challenges and benefits,” admitted that with IT penetration, both policies are bound to record landslide achievements.

He was represented by the Director General, MAN, Mr. Remi Ogunmefun who urged customs to fully embrace IT penetration in their operations, so that challenges faced at single window environment and other pre- assessment obstacles at the Ports would be addressed as a matter of urgency. On the PAAR and CERPAC, he said that the inclusion of ICT by government agencies (Customs and Immigration) would go a long way in removing bottlenecks facing clearing of goods and

providing solutions to security challenges at the ports. Ogunmefun said that with revolution in digital, payment of cargo freights, taxes, import rates and other import duties would be made easy electronically, thereby reducing demurrage at the ports.

Deputy comptroller of Nigeria customs service, Mr. Yusuf Usman, admitted that with the new PAAR policy driven

by IT, customs would have a proper documentation of importers data for proper planning of invoices and execution procedures.

However, he admitted that with the new policy, Customs have recorded above 86% increase in clearance rate between March 2014 to July 2014 alone. Meanwhile, State comptroller, Nigeria immigration service, Mrs. Victoria Isang stated that with the CERPAC green card, its issuance, implementation, challenges and benefits would be addressed through the introduction of more IT penetration.

She advised importers and other stakeholders to desist from patronizing touts by walking up to relevant immigration offices to get valid documents and card permits as acquiring them now is faster and more reliable via Electronics.

FG says no going back on Women in ICT training

BY EMMANUEL ELEBEKE

T

he Federal Government says there is no going back on its determination to empower Nigerian women and girls through ICT gender empowerment initiatives.

The Minister of Communication Technology, Dr. Omobola Johnson stated this at an interactive session with beneficiaries of the advanced ICT training at the Huawei Technology in Abuja.

Johnson noted that the Ministry is empowering the ladies to enable them embrace ICT skills that would help them actualize their potentials and contribute to the economic development of Nigeria through various technology initiatives.

She disclosed that 1000 Girls program is part of the federal government’s GWIN programme

aimed at bridging the gender divide in Nigeria.

He said that the Ministry of Communication Technology and four other Ministries coordinated by the Finance Ministry are working together to ensure that women and girls, especially the disenfranchised class are empowered.

According to her, several programs are being created to ensure the empowerment, employment and inclusion of women in the nation’s development. “ For us in ICT, this particular program is important, because when you look at the statistics there is a big gender divide in the world of ICT. And when you look at the way ICT is relevant in all sectors and beginning to take over the way things are done in everything, that gender divide in ICT means that women will be left further behind if we don’t encourage them to embrace I C T s .

So what we have is that the Ministry of Communication Technology has three programmes under the GWIN programme and this is one of them and it is called the 1000 Girls Programme.

Here what we have done is to train 1000 girls from all over the country in ICT skills. We gave them three days of training in basic ICT skills and out of those 1000 girls, we are selecting the best 200 that showed the most promise with the expectation that they will then continue in the field of ICT, working with any of the IT companies so that they can start their careers in ICT. We hope this will contribute to bridging the gender divide.

Statistics show that there are 32 percent fewer women online than men in developing economies and what we hope to do here is that by doing this programmes, we are actually starting to close that divide because if we didn’t do this, the divide actually begins to get bigger,” she added. The Ministry is collaborating with Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider in the 1000 training program to empower girls with ICT skills and help improve the employability of the girls as well as increase their interest in pursuing careers in ICT. The training programme will also empower the 1,000 girls with ICT skills and knowledge in the knowledge economy. The program is expected to help reduce the imbalance in ICT adoption and appropriation among men and women in the country.

Nigerians in foreign jails: Why govt should act now

BY VERA SAMUEL ANYAGAFU

A

LARGE number of Diaspora Nigerians have continued to express dissatisfaction over the numerous inundating cases of Nigerians being jailed in several countries abroad.

Investigations revealed that recently in Brazil, the number of Nigerians in prison has surpassed the total number of jailed Europeans in Brazil. The situation is the same in China, Malaysia, India, etc. Vanguard Consular Advisory also

gathered that the number of Nigerians serving jail terms in Thailand, USA, Cameroun, Spain, Gabon and Niger Republic, is so alarming that one wonders what the Federal Government of Nigeria is doing to address the issue. It is a fact that the untoward attitude of some host countries towards Nigerians who are resident abroad needs urgent attention so as to avoid unwarranted national embarrassment.

VCA in this edition, highlights the views of a few well meaning Nigerians who

are resident in various countries abroad. Chris Ugochukwu Kenechukwu, is a remarkable young Nigerian merchant in Congo Brazzaville.

Although he noted with concern the unfair treatment and harassment of Nigerians in foreign countries leading to intimidation, arrests, detention, torture, deportation and occasional deaths, it is not in all cases that Nigerians are guilty of the offences they were alleged to have committed. He said that it is not out of place for Nigerians to break up

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014—29 diplomatic ties, adding that the her citizens are treated with time has come for Nigeria as a some measure of respect in their nation to take up radical various host countries abroad.”

A successful Dubai based approach against countries of the world where there are Nigerian real estate agent, who hostilities against Nigerians. spoke to VCA on grounds of “Nigerian government’s failure anonymity, also noted the to live up to its responsibilities inhuman conditions prevalent of delivering good governance in the country is the reason to the people and failure of our many Nigerians, especially the Missions abroad to protect youth, migrate to foreign Diaspora Nigerians are countries either through responsible for unnecessary genuine or dubious means. He migration and harassment of said that in that condition, many Nigerians in their host countries of the unemployed Nigerians end up stranded in their various abroad. host countries, which leads to their engaging in unlawful Measure of activities. respect His words, “Whether real or imagined, it is pathetic to hear "The undeserved that more than a handful of maltreatment towards many Nigerians abroad, aptly Nigerians are presently captures the pathetic situation languishing in various prisons of the country’s economy. It also across the world for various exposes the inefficiency the allegations, which in most cases government, therefore bringing are false. The harsh treatment to the fore that our government meted out to our country men has a lot to do in ensuring that and women have gone on for too long. It is not in all cases that Nigerians are guilty of the offences they were jailed for, and I advocated a radical approach or reciprocatory measures, otherwise, these countries law makers would not desist from lumping all Nigerians together as being criminals.”

In a blunt statement, while stressing the need for proper education of Nigerians travelling abroad on the do’s and don’ts of the host countries, our source also emphasized the need for the federal government to properly fund the missions, stressing that it is better for Diaspora Nigerians to have 2, 3 or 4 Consulates/Missions that are properly funded and equipped to meet up the basic requirements of Nigerians’ resident abroad which is its first and foremost, their responsibility.

Also speaking to VCA, Ukraine based Nigerian Educationist, Engineer Ben said he would rather advise Nigerian Foreign Minister and or the country’s leadership on better approach to safeguarding the interest of Diaspora Nigerians.

He said, “The fate of the Nigerians who are unjustly incarcerated in their various countries of abode abroad, is a demonstration of how insensitive the leadership of our country is to the plight of its citizens, especially those in the diasporas.

It is imperative for the Federal Government and or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to create the right environment for the citizens to thrive while abroad and I am optimistic that in providing this, the nation will save itself and its citizens a whole lot of foreign mistreatment and harassment.”

30 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014 —31

doctor@lagospainclinic.com

People and policies not personalities and positions THAT

W

•Awaiting specialist’s care at a public hospital in the wake of the nationwide doctors’ strike .

Specialist surgeons from the UAE visit Lagos •tTo offer free consultations

BY SOLA OGUNDIPE

L

AGOSIANS with health problems bordering on neurosurgery, cardiology, orthopaedic surgery and urology can heave a sigh of relief from the paralysing nationwide doctors’ strike as they can benefit from series of free comprehensive medical consultation and second opinion interventions on complicated medical cases at designated centres in Lagos.

The activity, is being put together in conjunction with medical experts from Gold Cross Hospital, Ikoyi and Sparkview Hospital, Ojodu, as part of a life-changing opportunity and experience tagged: “Life CME and 2nd Opinion For Medical Cases”.

Already, a team of senior consultants and Heads of Department from the world famous RAK Hospital, Ras Al Khaimah, in the United Arab Emirates, is in Lagos to conduct the 3-day free exercise at outpatient health services in Ikoyi and Ojodu areas of Lagos. Recently, doctors at the hospital successfully carried out a complicated high-risk mesh hernioplasty (repair of abdominal hernia) on a middle-aged Nigerian woman.

Members of the visiting medical team include Consultant Cardiac Surgeon and Head of Department Cardiac Surgery, Dr. Arun Kumar Goyal, a specialist in complicated heart interventions including the “beating heart coronary artery bypass surgery”.

Also on the team is Consultant and Head of Department Neurosurgery and Spine Centre, Dr. Hillol Kanti Pal, an experienced neurosurgeon credited with performing in India, the first bypass surgery with skull base tumours and the first two-level artificial disc replacement surgery for degenerative disc disease of lumbar spine.

Others are Head of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Dr. John Ranjan Bera, an expert joint replacement surgeon, and Dr. Dinanath Ramachandra Thaka, a urologist.

The consultations will kick off Thursday July 24, 2014 at the RAK Hospital, Awolowo Way, Trinity Mall, Ikoyi and move on to Gold Cross Hospital, Bourdillon Road, Ikoyi the next day.

On Saturday, July 26, the team will attend to patients at RAK Hospital, Ikoyi and Sparkview Hospital, Wilmer Road, Isheri-Oke, Ojodu Berger.

ITH impeachments, defections and deflections everywhere the gongs of political battle have started beating. Personalities and positions are, again, replacing people and policies.

As 2015 draws nearer, it is WE the people that has to re-direct the political campaign to the issues that matter to our lives. Health remains an area that WE the people tend to ignore before elections and then complain about endlessly after the votes are cast.

It is a fundamental state of well being that not only determines our happiness and quality of life, but also influences individual, family and societal socio economic growth.

We should consider all factors before putting people in charge of OUR health policies.

Responsible political parties in the oldest democracies propose a Health Policy and place the documents in the public domain for discussion.

So has our two major parties in Nigeria. The PDP and the APC, responsibly, have also made their health policies available for public comment and analysis.

PDP Health Policy

The current PDP was formed from an amalgamation of the All Nigeria Congress, Peoples Consultative Forum, Social Progressive Party, Peoples Democratic Party and the Peoples National Front.

Their Health Policy, in the manifesto dated August 19th 1998 states: The party shall present a comprehensive health-care policy for the country, the essential aim of which shall be: a. Health-care for all citizens; b. Free medical services in all institutions of learning; and c. Free medical services to the aged and the handicapped. Strategy PDP in government shall: a. Ensure that all Nigerians, particularly the young and the aged, shall have access to free medical services; b.

Provide free immunisation to all children; Progressively establish primary health centre, equipped with pharmacies, within the reach of every Nigeria, particularly the rural dwellers. d. Progressively provide General Hospitals in all Local Government headquarters; specialist hospitals in all State Capitals. e.

Encourage research into traditional medical, practices and integrate these practices into the orthodox medical system. f. Equip and expand the teaching Hospitals in the country; g. Embark on mass training of paramedical personnel to meet the needs of our rural popu-

lace; h. Encourage more students to train as medical doctors; i. Provide special incentives for medical practitioners and other medical Personnel with particular emphasis in those located in remote areas; j. Stimulate the local production of medical drugs and other supplies; k.

Encourage family planning by providing family planning services and materials free of charge;Regulate private hospitals, medical clinics, and pharmacies to protect Nigerians against exploitations; and m. Make and enforce stringent laws against the manufacturing and sale of fake and adulterated drugs; and promote a healthy physical environment by intensifying the present periodic environmental sanitation exercises.

APC Health Policy

Formed in February 2013, the APC is the result of an alliance by Nigeria's four biggest opposition parties - the Action Congress of Nigeria, the Congress for Progressive Change, the All Nigeria Peoples Party, and the All Progressives Grand Alliance.

APC's "Roadmap for Health Care"states: •Provide free quality comprehensive health care based on a national health insurance scheme.

•Stop all travel abroad at government expense for the purpose of medical treatment. •Encourage medical professionals to establish practices and work in rural and medically underserved areas, by providing incentives including tuition and other training reimbursement for such professionals.

•Provide incentives for Nigerian doctors and health practitioners working abroad to return home, to strengthen the health care industry in Nigeria and provide quality care to those who need it. and increase the quality of federal teaching hospitals to world-class standards. •Double the number of practicing physicians and health care professionals in Nigeria There are other political parties in Nigeria vying for our votes. I have simply highlighted the two major ones in this article. The data was obtained from their respective websites verbatim on July 19th 2014.

Seek out this information yourself, if you have not already. How far has our elected officials gone in implementation of these policies in jurisdictions they control? Let's make our politicians focus on principles, programs and policies.

Let's talk Health infrastructure.

And leave "stomach infrastructure" to cooks, rice sellers and surgeons.

32 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014

Real sign Golden Boot Rodriguez for $108m

Ronaldo ready to rumble after World Cup failure

P

ORTUGAL superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, putting a miserable World Cup behind him, yesterday declared himself fit and ready to go as he chases trophies at Real Madrid.

“I’ll try my best all the season like I do it every year. I’ll try to be the best, try to help my team, try to score goals and try to win titles,” the 29-yearold striker told a sponsor ’s event in Tokyo, adding he would like to play “six, seven more years” at the top level of club competition. Portugal failed to make the World Cup knockout round in Brazil last month with one win, one loss and one draw in their group as an injury-hit Ronaldo squandered plenty of chances and notched up just one goal.

R

EAL Madrid yesterday signed Colombian striker James Rodriguez, the top scorer at the World Cup, from Monaco on a six season contract.

Neither team gave the transfer fee, but Spanish media reported a figure of between EUR75 million and EUR80 million ($101m-$108m), making him one of the most expensive players in history.

Rodriguez, 23, scored six goals for Colombia at the World Cup to win the

•Ronaldo

Chelsea make £20m bid for Atletico defender

J

OSE Mourinho had claimed Chelsea’s summer transfer business was over following the arrival of Felipe Luis, but the club are now reported to have made a £20 million bid for Atletico Madrid defender Miranda.

The deal could be completed soon.

Miranda was superb for Atletico last season, and his committed defending played a key role in the club’s first league title since 1996.

As well as Felipe Luis, another of Miranda’s former Atletico teammates has signed for Chelsea this season in the shape of Diego Costa, and the defender is keen to reunite with them at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues have also added former Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas to their squad ahead of the upcoming campaign.

•Miranda

Echiejile sets sight on Russia 2016

out Arsenal boss rules er move for new strik

N

•Echiejile

igeria international de-fender, Elderson Echiejile has revealed that missing out on the 2014 FIFA World Cup “was a very sad time for me” but insists he will bounce back to play at the 2018 World Cup if the Super Eagles make it to Russia. The left-back suffered a muscle injury during Nigeria’s 0-0 draw against Greece in a pre-World Cup warm-up game in Pennsylvania on June 3 and was subsequently ruled out of the World Cup. Echiejile has since returned to training with French club, AS Monaco, but reveals that overcoming the setback of missing the 2014 World Cup has not been quite straightforward.

“It was a very sad time for me, but I have to move on with my career. I believe there are many World Cups still in me,” Echiejile siad.

Valencia cancel Costa contract T

HE 33-year-old has thanked fans for their support after his fouryear stay at the Mestalla was brought to a premature end. Valencia have cancelled the contract of captain Ricardo Costa a full 11 months before his contract was due to expire.

The centre-back had a deal at the Mestalla until June 2015, but the Portugal international - who made 20 La Liga appearances last season - has left the club for pastures new.

“I’m leaving Valencia in good conscience and with the affection of the

Golden Boot award.

He will be unveiled at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu stadium at 8:00 p.m. (1800 GMT), the club said in a statement.

Shortly before the announcement, Rodriguez posed for pictures and gave the thumbs up sign as he left a Madrid clinic where he passed a medical test.

“I am very happy. We will talk later,” he told reporters. The Colombian striker is Real’s second major signing in five days as they prepare for a new season of confrontation against eternal rivals Barcelona.

German midfielder Toni Kroos moved from Bayern Munich on Thursday, just days after the 24-year-old helped Germany win the World Cup. Real have also been linked with a move for Keylor Navas, the goalkeeper whose heroics helped Costa Rica reach the World Cup quarter finals. Navas plays with Levante in the Spanish first division.

fans,” Costa told the club’s official website. “[These] have been years of great happiness where I felt the support of the fans in good times and bad times. “I want to send greetings to all Valencianistas, the workers, my colleagues, the media and everyone with whom I have shared moments.

“It is time to start a new stage in my career, but I always take Valencia in my heart. I was proud to be captain of this team.”

A

RSENAL manager Arsene Wenger has ruled out a move for any striker, reports the Daily Star.

The Frenchman believes that he has enough strike power, and unless injury strikes, isn’t planning a move for a new forward: “It depends whether our midfielders get through now until the start of the season without injuries.” said Wenger.

“Up front we don’t need any more, maybe I will still bring in one centre-back. I will bring in a goalkeeper for sure and we are still out there to strengthen our squad. You do the deals when it’s possible, this time we could do it early and I am very happy with what I have done until now. It’s easier to prepare, but we are not the only club who have done business.

“Some other clubs have also done business – Chelsea, Manchester United and Liver;pool have bought great players and the competition should be interesting again next season.”

NS

U

Comm to giv Kay disclo contin of Nig “Afte Niger Game a goo Idow Boxin laurel but al put in crew unpre at the

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014 — 33

Top 10 names to look out for in Glasgow Usain Bolt (Jamaica):

Athletics The towering Jamaican is the arguably the biggest name in world sport and his presence in Glasgow, albeit solely in the 4x100m relay, is a huge boost for the Commonwealth Games. The 27-year-old six-time Olympic gold medallist and double sprint world record holder ensures that the world media’s attention will be focused on Scotland.

Fans will only be hoping that he might still be able to compete in individual events and really light up the Games.

David Rudisha (Kenya): Athletics

and 10,000m at the London Olympics, becoming one of the “local” faces that helped set the Games out as one of the most successful ever. He went on to win the double at the 2013 Moscow worlds but was unsure whether he would actually compete in Glasgow after dabbling with the marathon. After an eighth place in London, he stepped back in distance and Glasgow breathed a sigh of relief.

Sally Pearson (Australia): Athletics

The Australian is rumoured to be going for a double in Glasgow, in her usual 100m hurdles and also the 100m flat.

Coming back from injury, the 27-year-old Queenslander has

Nicola Adams (England): Boxing

Adams won the first ever Olympic women’s boxing gold medal at the London Games in

at times struggled this season, but will be wanting, perhaps, to better her outing over 100m in New Delhi four years ago, where she was stripped of the title for a dubious false-start on appeal.

DJ Forbes (New Zealand):

Rugby Sevens The 31-year-old has been with the all-conquering New Zealand rugby sevens team since 2006, the shaven-headed flanker a stalwart of Gordon Tietjen’s squad that has so far won all four Commonwealth Games titles and dominated the IRB world circuit throughout. Forbes’ abrasive defence ties in perfectly with a great linking and supportive game that makes the

2012 when she defeated China’s world champion Ren Cancan. Adams started boxing at the age of twelve and had her first bout a year later. In 2007, she was the first ever English female to earn a medal in a major tournament when she won silver in the European Championships.

The 26-year-old Coutts has won 21 medals for Australia in major championships over the past four years. That haul included five medals at the 2012 Olympics including one gold.

At the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, Coutts was the most decorated swimmer winning gold in the 100m freestyle, 100m butterfly, 200 individual medley, 4x100m freestyle relay and 4x100m medley relay.

Squash The 30-year-old seven-time world champion and global number one David completed her collection of major international titles with Commonwealth Games gold in Delhi. In Glasgow, Nicol will also be out to win Malaysia’s first medal in the women’s doubles with teammate Low Wee Wern. David is an eight-time Asian champion and once also enjoyed a 13-month, 51-match winning streak, from March 2006 until April 2007.

Anna Meares (Australia):

Cycling Meares will be defending her 500m time trial and individual sprint titles in Glasgow and equal fellow cyclist Kathy

Mo Farah (England):

Athletics Somali-born Farah stormed to British acclaim when he won both the 5,000

Alicia Coutts (Australia): Swimming

Nicol David (Malaysia):

The 800m world record holder has made an impressive long-awaited return from injury, clocking the world’s fastest two laps this season at no lesser place than Glasgow. That appearance was Rudisha’s first since he stormed to his worldrecord setting Olympic gold medal showing in London in 2012, covering 800m in just over 101 seconds. But he will face stiff competition in Glasgow, notably from his own teammates and Ugandan rivals.

Team Nigeria (Wrestling) departing Bucharest yesterday for Glasgow, venue of the 2014 commonwealth Games. Team kitted by Bayelsa State Government.

SA charges Nigerian athletes

U

All Blacks tick, more often to victory.

nmissable Incentives Limited, organisers of the Nigerian Sports Award (NSA) has charged Nigerian Athletes to the 2014 monwealth Games billed to commence today in Glasgow, Scotland ve their all and bring home as many gold medals as possible. yode Idowu, General Manager, Unmissable Incentives Limited osed that Nigerians have great expectations from the Nigerian ngent after the not too impressive performance of the Super Eagles geria at the just concluded World Cup. er the lackluster performance of our Football team at the World Cup, rians have now turned their attention to the 2014 Commonwealth es and have high hopes that our athletes will do us proud by giving d account of themselves,” he said. wu stressed further that Nigeria had a good record in Athletics, ng, Table Tennis, Weightlifting and Powerlifting having won several ls at not only the African Games and the Commonwealth Games lso at the Olympics. He declared that with the level of preparedness n place by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), the coaching and the Athletes for the 2014 Commonwealth Games is ecedented and a clear indication that the country is poised for success e Games.

Dai Greene eyes title defence D

ai Greene insists he would love nothing more than to defend his Commonwealth Games title this summer having finally shaken off his injury curse.

The 28-year-old, who finished fourth in the 400m hurdles at London 2012, has had a torrid time over the last year or so having undergone three hernia operations in nine months.

Unsurprisingly the Welshman has hardly raced this season and insists the task to defend his title from Delhi 2010 hasn’t been made any easier by his lack of race practice.

“I have dreamed of winning the gold medal again and would love to repeat that,” said Greene. “It is tougher now but I will give it my best shot.

Watt’s Australian record of competing at four Commonwealth Games. Meares is also a fourtime world champion in the time trial. The 30-year-old from Queensland is also a two-time Olympic gold medallist having won the 500m time trial in 2004 and sprint at London eight years later.

Bradley Wiggins (England):

Cycling The 34-year-old Wiggins made history in 2012 when he became the first British rider to win the Tour de France before going on to take the gold medal in the Olympics time trial.

He had already won three track gold in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. Knighted for his services to the sport, his record didn’t guarantee him a place at the 2014 Tour de France when he was dropped by his Sky team.

34—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014

C M Y K

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014 —

I want to be Africa’s Louis Vuitton Chinwe Ezenwa, CEO, Le Look

BY JOSEPHINE IGBINOVIA

35

Under this act, any product made with African textile and brought to the US is tax-free. This came on board during Bill Clinton's administration and I took advantage of it and had a major breakthrough in my business.

Further more, being a registered member of the AGOA instituted within the Bank of Industry, BoI, here in Nigeria, makes everything easier. So, when you go out there and your prices are fair, you will sell.

Let us talk about quality; are your products competing favourably with labels of world famous designers?

Yes, we are because those who truly k n o w themselves

Her love for exquisite bags landed her in the world of manufacturing.

Chief(Mrs)Chinwe Ezenwa, CEO, Le Look Nigeria Limited, has in the last 30 years projected Africa to the world with her handmade arts and crafts made from exclusively African fabrics. The graduate of Management and Information Science from the Concordia University, Canada, and MBA holder tells us more in this interview.

I

t's interesting to meet a Nigerian woman who is so proud of her identity and is showcasing it to the world...

Thanks for the compliment. Le Look has been in existence for about 30 years now, making handmade bags, accessories, bed covers, foot wears, table covers and other arts and crafts that help promote African lifestyle. I'm a lover of bags, in all shapes and sizes.

So, when I relocated back to Nigeria from Canada where I was living with my husband and children, my passion for bags grew increasingly that I could no longer deny the urge to go into bag production. Moreover, I've always loved entrepreneurship. Like I always tell people, business is in my DNA. My grandmother was a business woman in Aba and I used to live with her.

Apart from your love for bags, what actually brought the inspiration for Le Look?

I wanted to be the Louis Vuitton of Africa. Nigerian women in particular are so obsessed with Louis Vuitton bags and I believe that with consistency, we are going to outsmart and outsell Louis Vuitton because Africa has come to stay in fashion. Why must we feel so glorified carrying fashion bag with foreign names?

How did you get the ball rolling after the inspiration for Le Look came?

There are people who have been of great help to me. I actually started my business with N10,000 30 years ago. I had to rely on self-discipline and personal focus to grow the business.

So, I kept saving money, and with the little about three people contributed, I was able to take off. Then we went to the bank eventually to seek for loan.

First Bank was my first breeder. They actually gave me a loan of N20,000. Till date, it's the only bank I use because I will never forget their help. They

C M Y K

believed in me as far back as when women needed to bring everybody in this world to prove that they can do business. Funny enough, I had no serious collateral apart from the business I was doing.

When did you make your first million and how did you feel about it?

You want me to tell you that? That was about 25 years ago and it was awesome.

That actually doubled my courage.

Nigerians aren't good at patronising made-in-Nigeria fashion items, especially when they have to appear classy; how receptive have they been?

do not need to carry any foreign label to prove that they are anybody. You know, even some people who cannot afford a square meal want to be defined by the designers they wear. What you carry doesn't define you. In fact, there are various imitations of such bags.

Meanwhile, you can't imitate my products because they are pure artworks and handmade.

You've been in this business for decades; would you say you're realising your dream of becoming Africa's Louis Vuitton?

I believe I've made my mark and paid my dues, and I'm still making my mark because I have a daughter who is also into the business

The patronage is high now as a result of African consciousness. This is visible in the ways we interact with the world.

Everything now is all about Africa and I believe this is our chance. The African Growth Opportunity Act, AGOA, established by the US government to enable African countries showcase their products, especially in the textile industry, has also been very wonderful.

I've achieved it already. When I walked into a store in Paris a couple of months ago, a lady came asking where I bought the particular bag I was carrying and I told her I made it. She asked for a copy of it and I said there was none but let her know I could make her a different pattern. At 63, I believe I've made my mark and paid my dues, and I'm still making my mark because I

have a daughter who is also into the business. She's in the US and is making waves with the business. In America, we are known as Aphropolitan but in Nigeria, it is Le look. Recently, we were one of the five companies invited by the Nigerian Export Promotion to showcase our work at the Villa when the Kenyan president came. We are at the Smithsonian Institute of Black American Arts and Culture. We're also at the National Geographic in America. So, those products are going places. I'm not in any way threatened by those who want to be defined by what they carry or wear. Louis Vuitton started the way we started, so, I believe we'll get there.

What was childhood like for you?

I've always been a struggler. Anybody who knows me will attest to that. I've never gotten anything on a platter of gold.

Were you struggling to fend for yourself probably because your parents had no money?

We were seven in the family and I had to struggle my way to the top. Of course my parents were there to do the necessary but I also had to help myself.

Were you working?

No. But during the Civil War, I was trading. It was a harrowing experience but I needed to help sustain the family.

All that helped to make me who I am today and I have no regrets whatsoever.

36—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014

FOOTPRINTS OF A STATESMAN: The Life And Times Of CHIEF DANIEL OKUMAGBA A biography by Bernard Oboatarhieyeren Okumagba

Honourable Member for Warri East Constituency The best safeguard against fascism is to establish social justice to the maximum extent possible – Arnold Toynbee, British Economic historian

Y

ESTERDAY

The second part of Chief Okumagba's biography, written by his son, Bernard, took a look at his love for music and passion for mathematics. It also kickstarted today's serial which x-rays the late statesman's foray into politics. You read about Kindling The Fire!

T

oday

ment that was coming into place.

Interestingly, at about the time he arrived the Western Region House of Assembly, the demands by the Western minorities for their own region was on the upswing and it was already creating a dichotomy in the Western House. This dichotomy of interests was also tangential to the fact that the opposition NCNC largely controlled the minority areas.

My father’s arrival added pep to the vociferous voices of the minorities of the Western Region, demanding fair representation and more autonomy.

He was in the House with equally articulate men in the opposition (NCNC) like Chief A.T. Rerri, representing Urhobo West I; P.K Tabiowo,

Akintola.

Aside the issues of minority marginalization over which the government and the opposition debated, there was concern over graft in the Western Region government.

As expected, issues that bordered on the rights and privileges of the residents of the Warri Division bothered my father, arguing, as he did, that the Western Region government of the time was out of touch with the people of the area and was not fully appreciative of both the diversity and the peculiar needs of the people. Key issues that he addressed included, government ineptitude, town planning and taxes. He was also a strong voice for the creation of the Midwest Region, rising

We meet the Honourable Member of the Warri East Constituency.

I

N 1960, when my father arrived the Western Region House of Assembly Ibadan just months before Nigeria’s independence, Nigeria already had a semblance of self-rule from the colonial government. He was 38 years old. The country had three regions - the Northern Region, Western Region and Eastern Region - all with their own governments. A central government was based in Lagos. The three dominant parties then were the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC), National Council for Nigerian Citizens (NCNC) and the Action Group (AG). While the NPC held sway in the North, the NCNC was the dominant party in the East and the AG was the dominant party in the West. At the level of the federal government, the NPC was in a coalition with the NCNC, while the AG was in opposition. However, in the Western Region, the AG was the party in government, while the NCNC, which my father belonged to, was the opposition party.

At the time my father became a member of the Western Region parliament, he was 38 years old and had won the Warri East Constituency seat on the NCNC ticket. His victory was a hard-fought one because he defeated the incumbent, Reece Edukugho of the Action Group. It was the first time the NCNC was winning that seat. The party now occupied two of the three legislative seats in Warri Division. The 1959/60 General Elections preceded Nigeria’s independence. It was, thus, the independence govern-

About the Book 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. reflected in the supplementary Appropriation Bill. I am happy to make my comments in the presence of the Hon. The Premier and Members of his Cabinet. I was surprised this morning to see the reaction of the members of Government Benches (Opposi-

representing Central Urhobo West; G.I. Oviasu, representing Benin Central West; Mr F.H. Utomi, representing Asaba South East and Chief Remi Fani-Kayode, representing Ife-Ila South Constituency, now in Osun State.

Fani-Kayode had been a member of the Federal House of Representatives on the Action Group ticket. However, he defected to the NCNC and won election in the general elections to represent Ife-Ila South constituency. He was elected Leader of opposition in the Western House of Assembly in November 1960, after incumbent opposition leader Chief Denis Osadebey, also of the NCNC, moved from the Regional House of Assembly to the federal legislature. There was also Honourable J.E Otobo, representing Urhobo East I, as well as the Majority Leader, Chief Jonathan Odebiyi, who were members of the Action Group, on the government side. The premier was Chief Ladoke

always to its defence in the Western Region House of Assembly. They were issues that concerned my father and other leaders of the opposition at that time. Both parties, however, found grounds to agree on a number of issues.

There was civility in the parliamentary debates and grace in the politics and governance.

On the capital budget for the minority areas during the debates of the 1960-61 Supplementary Appropriation Bill, my father expressed his reservations on the provisions, castigating the ministers from the area for not doing enough to protect the interests of the Midwest. In response to the comments of Majority Leader, Chief Jonathan A.O. Odebiyi, on the floor of the House, October 11, 1960, my father said, as reported in The Hansard of the Western Region House of Assembly: “I rise, Mr Speaker, Sir, to comment on the financial policy of this government as

Hitler has taken over from a Mussolini. The Members of the Cabinet from the Midwest should be ashamed of themselves. I even wonder whether they do attend Cabinet meetings because, if they do, I cannot imagine any man from the Midwest conniving

At the time my father became a member of the Western Region parliament, he was 38 years old and had won the Warri East Constituency seat on the NCNC ticket tion members: they are shameless). Now, one would expect that the Premier and his Ministers are aware that the country is noticing the financial policy of the Action Group.

The financial policy of the Action Group government constitutes a danger and is arresting the attention of all right-thinking people in the federation. For the past eight years the Action Group has been ruling this region. There is one policy which they have been pursuing since Chief Akintola took over. The people of this region, when they were voting them into power, thought that there would be a change, but they have now realized that the Nigerian

at these evils.”

Assured by the Premier, Chief S.L. Akintola, that the ministers from the Midwest area attend the Western Region Government’s Cabinet meetings, my father expressed his disappointment that at a time the government ought to be prudent, it was creating new ministries for the benefit of the AG party members and defectors; several of them without portfolio, to be catered for at public expense, while capital needs were not being addressed, especially in the Midwest. He argued further: “Why is it necessary to increase the number of minisContinues on page37

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014—37

FOOTPRINTS OF A STATESMAN: The Life And Times Of CHIEF DANIEL OKUMAGBA A biography by Bernard Oboatarhieyeren Okumagba

Honourable Member for Warri East Constituency His concerns with the growing inefficiencies and waste in the Western Region government were often expressed on the floor of the House.

Continues from page 36 ters? There is no reason whatsoever... the only reason you have to spend about three hundred thousand pounds (for new ministries) is to find jobs for the good boys who have been ruined in the election and want some financial support and the only way to get money is to appoint them ministers. I am not saying that the government should not spend money, but if the only purpose is to give relief to members of the government party, who have been ruined financially, then it becomes a very serious evil . . . members of the government on the opposite side who are from the Midwest should be ashamed to find that when government intends to spend this large share of money, the share of the Midwest is only 19,000 pounds. And you sit comfortably on your seats! (Laughter from both sides of the house) We find in this Appropriation Bill that there is a tendency on the part of the government to concentrate all government projects in the West because they know the Midwest Region will be created and there is no need to spend more funds in this area. That is most unfair.”

At this time, the Western Region government had sought to borrow to fund some capital projects in the Midwest area. My father ’s position was that the proportion of loans being taken to fund projects in the Midwest was too much, compared to those

is a method of Hitler and Mussolini. Don’t tell us that you are investing money in the Midwest because you are here with one and a half million pounds for loans to the Midwest. We are not im-

About the Author

B

pressed. We are aware of your shallow diplomacy and we are ashamed of the base financial policy of the Government.”

He was not a blind critic; he was as hard on the central government as he was on the Western Region government, whenever he saw injustice of other areas of the region: “I take the section dealing with loans. There is a footnote, which states: ‘These loans are required for the development of rubber projects in the Midwest’. We know that you are going to be very busy in the Midwest. We know that you are going to strengthen your campaigns because when Government creates the Midwest State you require some supporters and these supporters must be financed . . . it is a very shameful way indeed. You give money to your supporters and those people who have been oppressed have to submit and cross over to your side. That

of the loan are Action Groupers and the recipients are in turn Action Groupers.

You are compelled to become a member of the Action Group in order to benefit from any of the schemes . . . To qualify for

accidents, he was gracious to do so. In his contribution to the debates on March 28, 1961 for a “legislation to reduce road accidents”, he commended the wisdom behind the law to address the menace but noted that the regional administration should have consulted with the other regions and the centre, which then had no such policies, for a coordinated legislation on the subject since the “law to be passed . . . will have effect in the Western Region only”.

He argued: “If a driver has had his licence seized in the

The Western Region government had faced similar accusations of financial indiscretion and politicking with economic issues. In 1956, during the House sitting on December 21, while Chief Obafemi Awolowo was Premier, an opposition member, Mr Agbaje had raised the issues of parochialism in the execution of government business thus: “All the members of the Finance Corporation are members of the Action Group and the same with the Local Loans Boards which may be described as the Local Agents of the Corporation. The scandal of it all is that the money is public money, the distributors

the loans you must donate large sums of money to the Party funds. It is therefore not surprising to hear that many persons who got the loans are unable to repay.”

But, the cases of nepotism were clearly not limited to the Action Group and the Western Region; they had become evident in the new regimes that took over from the colonialists.

My father made this point vividly when he took up the inefficiencies of the Western Region government, arguing that the economic problems that were already surfacing were not necessarily peculiar to the region.

He was not a blind critic; he was as hard on the central government as he was on the Western Region government, whenever he saw injustice. In his comments on the 1961/62 Appropriation Bill on April 7, 1961, while observing that the wages of top government officials were unduly high, he conceded that: “I agree completely that this headache is in all the governments of the federation.” Similarly when there was cause to commend the ruling regional government, as in when it introduced a legislation to address road

Western Region, what prevents him from going to the Eastern Region, to the Northern Region and to Lagos to kill more and more Nigerians on the road?”

His concerns with the growing inefficiencies and waste in the Western Region government were often expressed on the floor of the House. When the 1961/62 Appropriation Bill was presented, the opposition members were alarmed at the provision made for recurrent expenditure, raising questions as to the sustainability of the government finances, given the prevailing high wages and the bloating bureaucracy.

My father said at the debates on April 7, 1961: “I was listening to the press conference held by the Minister of Finance immediately after delivering his budget speech and when asked a question by pressmen as to what he proposed to do with regard to this admittedly bad aspect of the financial policy, I watched the Hon. Minister of Finance moving around in his chair in embarrassment and I shared his embarrassment."

To be continued.

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 Okere-Urhobo Kingdom, Warri South Local Government Area, Delta State.

He attended Government College, Ughelli from 1977 to 1982 and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka from 1983 and 1987 where he bagged a B.sc degree in Accountancy (2nd Class Honours, Upper Division). Subsequently, he undertook the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) professional examinations and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1991. Bernard started his working career at the international financial services firm Arthur Andersen & Co (now KPMG), in 1988. He later worked in several banks from 1991 to 2007. Bernard held various positions at these banks, including Senior Manager, Corporate Banking Division; Head of Internal Control/Audit Division, Bank Chief Inspector and Principal Manager, Consumer and Commercial Banking Division, amongst others. He left United Bank for Africa Plc in August 2007 following his appointment as Delta State Commissioner for Economic Planning.

He served as Delta State Commissioner for Economic Planning from August 2007 to November 2010 and was subsequently appointed Commissioner for Finance and served from November 2010 to May 2011. Bernard was reappointed Delta State Commissioner for Finance in July 2011 and held this position until July 2013. He is presently Chairman of Regents Consults Limited and Noly Insurance Brokers Limited. He is also currently a Director of Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc. Bernard holds the traditional chieftaincy title of Eruvwu R’Ovie of Agbarha Kingdom, Warri, Delta State.

38 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014 — 39

40— VANGU ARD, ANGUARD,

WEDNESD AY, JUL Y 23, 2014 WEDNESDA JULY

Too old for a player?

DearBunmi, I have been making passionate love with my boyfriend’s father and now I’m pregnant.

Unfortunately, I don’t know who the father is. My boyfriend’s father lives alone and we paid him a visit in his home town some few weeks ago when he had his birthday.

It was the first time I’d met him and he looked really matured and sophisticated. We got on really well and when my boyfriend wanted to go and fix a fault in his car, he pounced on me as soon as his back was turned.

The love making was amazing. He certainly knew how to please a woman. He told me he’d wanted me as soon as he set eyes on me. I was flattered. He was more than twice my age, yet I got on with him much better than I did with his son. We made love as often as we could throughout our stay. We even made love in his room one night whilst my boyfriend slept his head off.

Back home, I seemed to have lost interest in my boyfriend. His love making didn’t do much for me. As soon as I got home, I sent my boyfriend’s dad a text but he didn’t reply. I’ve sent other texts with no luck. I’ve tried phoning him but his answering machine is always on.

What shall I do about this baby, though the pregnancy hasn’t been confirmed?

Christie, by e-mail.

Dear Christie, Start by buying a pregnancy testing kit at the chemist and find out for sure if you are pregnant. If it’s positive, you need to think hard about whether this is the right time for you to be having a baby, giving that your relationship with your boyfriend is so precarious that you could jump into bed with someone else at the drop of a hat. You might think your man’s dad is hot, but he's just shown himself up

as a love rat, a selfish opportunist who makes love where and when he can, not minding with whom.

Now that he’s shown you that it is the love making he wanted, not you, you need to forget about him. A man so unprincipled that he betrays his own son is bad news. It doesn’t bear thinking how his son would take all this if he gets to know. I would be very cautious about who I get into bed with next time, if I were you.

Should I attend his funeral?

Dear Bunmi, For eight years, I had an affair with a married colleague and we were very much in love.

Though he said I was. his soulmate, he refused to leave his wife because of his kids - they meant the world to him. Last week, he died suddenly of a heart attack. The office had a copy of the funeral arrangements but should I go? Every one in the office knew we were an item and I’d find it really hard being there, but I’m desperate to say goodbye.

Naomi, by e-mail.

Dear Naomi, It’s every mistress’s nightmare, learning her lover is dead and not being involved in the ceremony to mourn his death. If your lover told you clearly he’d like you to attend

his funeral if he died, you should honour his wish. If it’s expected of you, not going might make people suspicious.

Also, if you think you need memories of the funeral to help you deal with your loss, then go, otherwise you’ll always wonder what it was like. Saying a proper goodbye could also help you get over him.

However, if seeing his family and friends celebrate your lover’s life would make you feel excluded, this could make your loss harder to bear. What’s more, your presence could alert people to what your relationship was and this could make you feel upset and angry. Why don’t you mourn him privately by going to a place that meant a lot to both of you, or visiting the grave alone after the funeral?

My ex was the best

Dear Tope, Love making isn’t all about technique. One of the reasons it’s so powerful is that it hooks into emotions. My guess is that love making isn’t good to you right now because you’re not over your ex, and you’ve not got involved emotionally with these other partners.

Why don’t you wait until you’ve recovered from your break-up? Then find a man who cares for you and who

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Dear Bunmi, For over two years, I had a relationship with a man who was a terrible boyfriend in most ways. I know he loved me in his own way. To crown it all, he was amazing in bed and I’ve never had a better orgasm than with him. Since we broke up, the men I’ve slept with seem boring, though they ’re a lot nicer.

Will I ever find another man as good as my ex?

Tope, by e-mail.

you care for. Discover what works for you both in bed. It’ll take time, but you will rediscover true passion.

Why don’t you wait until you’ve recovered from your break-up?

Then find a man who cares for you and who you care for; discover what works for you both in bed

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Has his dad got me pregnant?

DearBunmi, I am in my early '60s and very youthful, fit and forward looking. I’ve lived in my own house for over ten years. My wife died and the two children of the marriage are now happily married.

About three years after my wife died, I met this divorcee who was an assistant principal in a secondary school in my home-town. She was a lovely looking woman and encouraged my friendship.

We met as often as we could and telephoned regularly.

Even though I made her believe I wasn’t loaded, I spent a lot of money on her and her two sons. It was then decided that she should ask for a transfer to Ibadan where I was based. To my utter surprise, she stopped any contact with me and when I went to her school, I was told she had resigned.

You can then imagine how amazed I was when I heard from her recently. She carried on as if nothing had happened, telling me she had to relocate because her exhusband was harassing her.

She told me none of her feelings had changed and would

Dear Walter, This woman of yours recognizes your vulnerability. A lot of lonely men would have responded to the fact that an attractive and apparently well-educated woman is interested in them. Who knows how many other men this schemer had strung along?

An unscrupulous person could adopt many personalities to easily persuade an admirer to part with their hardearned money. I bet for her, the temptation to take you for as much money as she did was hard to resist.

You obviously would have loved to share a stable relationship again and you should look closer at your surrounding as there are women all around who long for the friendship of a decent man like you. Instead of a fraudulent distant lover, reach out for a more decent, down-to earth one.

This woman of yours recognizes your vulnerability; who knows how many other men this schemer had strung along

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My randy seven-year old!

Dear Bunmi, Recently, I keep catching my daughter masturbating. The problem is she’s only seven years old! So far, I’ve just made a joke of it, telling her she should do so only in her bedroom as it is a private thing to do. Have I handled the issue well and is my daughter ’s libido going to be uncontrollable in the future’?

Jare, by e-mail.

Dear Jare, You should remember that

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want to be with me for the rest of her life. She was definitely nice to have around when we had a relationship, but at my age, I don’t know if I want to go through the heartache she caused me the first time.

Walter, by e-mail.

your daughter doesn’t see what she is doing as a sexual thing. To her it is just a part of her body, which gives her pleasure just like some kids suck their thumb.

What you want to do is distract her with games, stories or treats. Don’t give her the impression that you think what she does, is dirty and wicked as this could affect her later on in life.

I’m sure when she finds other interests she’ll forget all about her ‘fiddling’!

Share your problems and release your burden. Write now to Dear Bunmi, Vanguard Newspapers, P.M.B 1007, Apapa, Lagos. or bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk

V anguard anguard,, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014—41

For Nation Building, ‘Geo-Economic’ Zones Are Better

This is the concluding part of this discourse. The second instalment was published yesterday.

BY G. G. DARAH ERE are examples of Jonathan’s pro-North programmes: •several multi-lane highways and boulevards completed in three years in all Northern States; the East-West federal highway in the Niger Delta started eight years ago is yet to be completed, •the first-ever Nigerian standard gauge railway from Abuja to Kaduna, •10 Federal Universities opened in 2012 in the Northern States, including areas where secondary school attendance is dwindling due to violent conflicts and insurgency, • over a dozen water dams and irrigation projects being constructed in the North only; there is no comparative one in all of the South as if people there do not need potable water and irrigation for agriculture, • not less than N195 billion spent by the Petroleum Equalisation Fund in four years (2009-2012) to ensure that fuel sold at the same official price on the coastal areas as on the fringes of the Sahara Desert, • billions of Naira committed to

H

Abacha

Yar' Ádua

tion for the 1999 military destruction of Odi community in Bayelsa State as directed by a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt.

No less incomprehensible is the scandalous fact that the Federal Government owes arrears of about N600 billion of its statutory subvention to NDDC. The Federal Government contributes only 15 per cent of the NDDC funds; the rest are subscribed by the nine NDDC states (50 per cent of their Ecological Fund) and three per cent of the annual budget of the oil companies operating there. The much-trumpeted funds devoted to the training and

ate a five per cent stimulus fund for mineral exploration. This is aimed to open up the vast vaults of mineral deposits in all parts of the country, particularly the Middle Belt States of Plateau, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Niger, and Benue. In spite of this historic concession to the cash-strapped states of the country, some diehard opponents of the oil-producing states are obstinately resisting the proposal to raise derivation from 13 per cent to about 20 per cent, calculating from the 20 years since the 13 per cent was introduced in 1995. Despite these fraternal handshakes across the Niger and Benue Rivers, their delegates are deaf to the request

by Lagos State for 50 per cent of its consumer tax revenue seized by the omnipotent federal government to spoon-feed states that do not even know how to tax consumption. The revenue-contributing states of the South have made more than enough sacrifice to accommodate the less financially viable states. We now demand that the beneficiaries of these pro-federal gestures should cultivate our understanding and show appreciation; on the contrary, some of them are exhibiting imperial arrogance, ignorant of the fact that what the conference fails to achieve amicably will be settled in other theatres of self-determination and freedom struggles. But we nurse the faint hope that the spirit of nationalism and consensus will overwhelm that of parochial hatred and colonial impunity.

If the Confab plenary is able to resolve the derivation debacle fairly and equitably this week, then the entire enterprise would have merited the energy and time invested in it. When this happens, the souls of the late General Sani Abacha, General Musa Yar’Adua and President Umaru Yar’Adua might regain the right to rest in more perfect peace. Thenceforth, those dancing on their graves now, in and out of the conference, may soon find themselves alone on a deserted arena! We are rest assured that history will absolve us.

Darah, Professor of Oral Literature and Folklore, Delta State University, Abraka, is a Delegate to the National Conference

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The revenue-contributing states of the South have made more than enough sacrifice to accommodate the less financially viable states the over 1,000 km-long Green Wall tree-planting project to check desert encroachment.

This money-guzzling afforestation effort has yielded minimal results and the beneficiary State governments cannot account for the funds they have received. No Northern pressure group or mass media has demanded accountability from their less than prudent governors handling these huge funds. But the persecutors of Niger Delta people torment us with charges that monies meant for the region’s development are misapplied by our governors. • an average of N100 billion budget per year for the Office of the National Security Adviser whose engagement is nearly entirely in the Northern sections of the country, • periodic “dash” of cash to

DR. G ARAH G.. G G.. D DARAH so-called victims of Boko Haram and other violent conflicts. Contrast this generous carrot with the failure of the same Federal Government to pay the compensa-

rehabilitation of the 26,000 exmilitants are no more than four weeks of oil revenue. If the Northern hegemons truly want a similar post-conflict scheme for their Boko Haram insurgents, they have to first fulfil two conditions: (a) identify the insurgents and make them surrender their weapons in public (b) source the money from the revenue from the insurgency-infested states to fund the programme. Niger Delta oil money and taxes from Lagos shall not be diverted for the purpose.

The antagonists of the Niger Delta people want all the federal intervention agencies in the region scrapped so that more oil money will be available for their states to share. None of them thinks of fairness and equity by similarly advocating the termination of all the numerous federal intervention agencies and programmes located in the economically dependent North. Some of the elite involved in this tendentious propaganda are products of the best universities and administrative institutions in the world, including Ibadan, Ahmadu Bello, Harvard, Stanford, Cambridge, Oxford, and London. As the saying goes, in politics, there are only interests, never justice and equity.

Owing to the selfish pressure of the non-revenue-contributing States in the Confab, the delegates are being persuaded to cre-

N

KRUMAH’s advocacy to seek first the kingdom of politics invited Africa’s new countries to consolidate their hard-won political freedom into a platform of resistance to neo-colonialism in any form or ploy. His call inspired, for instance, Nigeria’s university students who rose stoutly against and eventually stopped the British-Nigeria Defence Pact proposed under the Tafawa Balewa government in the early 1960s. Nkrumah’s call was not intended for African politicians to play politics for the sake of politics, but was rather a time-bound, fit-for-purpose rallying cry for Africa to focus on and prioritize the construction of modern, industrialized economies as a solid foundation for viable and socio-economically inclusive nation building. It seems subsequent African political leaders have mindlessly mis-used that statement as an excuse for politics for its own greedy sake, leading to the pervasive developmental failure now bedevilling the continent.

The failure of Africa’s leaders to achieve industrial-economic transformation six decades after that statement was made has left de-humanizing footprints of ultra-poverty in crowded, unsightly agglomerations of misery in cities across the continent, with accompanying social and psychologi-

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Dancing on the graves of Abacha and the Yar’Aduas (3)

The first part of this discourse was published last Thursday

BY BOLAJI OGUNSEYE

widespread affluence, R&D and technological capacity, and tend to experience minimal intra and inter-group tension.

Where, as clearly in Nigeria’s case, crucial aspects of policy for economic development and nation-building are treated as secondary by incompetent and corrupt leadership, and subjugated under the logic of desperate politicking, greed and unwholesome (do-or-die) rivalry for power, real, imagined and other ‘toxic’ triggers of disharmony germinate. Such socio-politically toxic triggers get embedded as immanent trends of disunity in society’s structures, norms and systems, sooner or later producing a critical mass of murderous and socially-disruptive elements. That is the reality represented by Niger Delta militancy and Boko Haram.

Across Africa, sadly, and arguably in Nigeria more than elsewhere, politics has so blatantly trumped policy for economic development that the key questions are the silly, polity-heating ones like ‘Whose turn is it to rule?’, ‘whose political zone should produce the next party chairman?’, ‘which State should produce this Minister, that Ambassador, ‘ which tribe should produce the next Governor, or Chairman of the Football Association?’, which religion should produce the next railway corporation chairman?’ Such silly agitations have now become so deeply embedded in the psyche of the

It seems subsequent African political leaders have mindlessly mis-used that statement as an excuse for politics for its own greedy sake

cal malaise. To cite just one of many painful examples of how we have over-played politics and failed on policy for economic/industrial development in Africa. A highly-placed Nigerian diplomat serving in the African Union (AU) shared with me his utter embarrassment in discovering, as Head of an AU Mission, that even AU diplomats’ salaries are overwhelmingly accounted for by aid grants by the EU and some bilateral organisations!!

If, for any reasons, the EU were to cut off aid to the African Union, you don’t want to imagine just what might happen.

Due to too much politics at the expense of sound economic policy, we continue to deepen economic (and therefore) political dependence on the very societies against which we worked so hard to gain political (some say ‘new-flag’) independence.

When societies embark on industrial economic production which is inclusive, generates mass-employment, develops high-quality human capital and continuously expands the middle-class, they unleash

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minority of selfish, anti-development and power-mongering characters that populate, rule and ruin Nigeria’s socioeconomic and political-power space. We all (the poor, most especially) pay the price.

In my mind, these ultimately silly and irrelevant questions, which, unfortunately also get transmitted to the popular consciousness, constitute the most cynical background challenge to Nigeria’s nation building and economic modernization. There’s simply TOO MUCH politics in the air!! The overwhelming majority of Nigerian politicians are 90 per cent ‘politics-focused’ 90 per cent of the time, whereas what the country so desperately needs is a large number of ‘economy-focussed’ politicians.

Regarding this problem, nothing notionally underscores our economic development malaise more clearly than the fact that we (unfortunately) refer to the six broad ethno-geographic areas of the country as ‘geo-political’ zones.

To be concluded

42—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014

Ebonyi: Intrigues that enthroned Madam Speaker THE impeachment of Rt. Hon. Chukwuma Nwazunku as Speaker of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly, at dawn last Monday was reflective of the popular saying that “what goes around comes around”.

BY PETER OKUTU

I

T was the same shround of controversy and intrigues that preceeded his emergence that shadowed the exit of Chukwuma Nwazunku as speaker of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly.

Mr. Ikechukwu Nwankwo, Nwanzunku’s predecessor as speaker was reportedly cooling down in Enugu two years ago when he was removed from office. Just like that, Nwazunku was himself in the embrace of his family when news of his own impeachment reached him in the wee hours of last Monday.

Another similarity in the removal of the two men from the office of Speaker of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly was the fact that it was carried out amidst top secrecy.

In the format of a commando operation, 18 out of the 24 members of the House sneaked into the chambers on Monday morning and removed Nwazunku on

cludes: Section 104 of the said constitution provides that the House of Assembly of every state must sit for a minimum period of one hundred and eighty-one (181) days in a year. Under the leadership of Mr. Nwazunku Chukwuma, as at today, 21st day of July, 2014 a period of more than half of the year, the house has only sat for seventeen (17) times inclusive of today’s emergency sitting. ”Another reason for the impeachment is the former speaker’s violationof his oath of office.

He swore to be faithful and bear true allegiance to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and to place the interest of the state above his personal interests. Instead of upholding the oath, the former Speaker demanded that the members of the House whom he perceived as threats should write an undertaking to be faithful and loyal to his leadership.

He claimed that three mem-

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Another reason for the impeachment is the former speaker’s violationof his oath of office

the grounds of corruption, undemocratic practices, betrayal among other charges.

Frank Onwe had moved the motion for the impeachment and he was seconded by the minority leader, Enyi C. Enyi; thereafter, Eni Uduma Chima representing Afikpo South West moved the motion for election of Rt. Hon. Helen Nwaobasi representing Abakaliki South state constituency as the new Speaker of the State House of Assembly. The motion was seconded Jerry Obasi.

It was remarkable that the deed was done in the absence of Comrade Chinedu Ogah, the PDP State youth leader who is generally believed to be the power behind the deposed speaker.

Ogah was in America when the parliamentarians got the nerve to remove his man.

Following the deed, which was done in secret, the member representing AfikpoSouth West, Eni Uduma Chima issued a statement conveying the development to the populace. The statement read in part: “The impeachment of the quondam speaker, the reason was expressly stated and in-

bers of the House were compelled to make the pledge which he said the erstwhile speaker insisted must be deposed at the High Court.

The House immediately set the path for reconciliation with the recall of the three members earlier suspended by the Nwazunku leadership. The trio of Eni Uduma representing Afikpo South West, Blaise Orji, representing Afikpo South East and Frank Onwe were recalled just as the members suspended Ms Mabel Aleke representing Ohaukwu South, Mr. Ogbonnaya Nwifuru representing Izzi West, Chukwuma Nwazuku representing Ebonyi East and Mr. Odefa Obasi Odefa representing Onicha East State Constituency.

As at the time of this report, Governor Martin Elechi was yet to give any comment on the development.

Later on Monday, there was confusion at the Government House when members present at a function almost physically sought to prevent the deposed speaker from meeting with Governor Elechi.

•Madam Speaker flanked by her men But for the timely intervention of security operatives at the Government House, the scenario would have led to a bloody confrontation as the group in support of the new Speaker was seen chatting solidarity songs as the deposed speaker perched in a corner shielded by the security men.The legitimacy of the new speaker was further confirmed at

a press briefing where a member of the House, Enyi C Enyi representing Ezza North West stated that the new Speaker, Rt. Hon Helen Obasi has the approval of the House members.

Madam Speaker, Vanguard learnt, may also have received support from a strategic quarter within the Government House.

The wife of the governor, Mrs.

Josephine Elechi it was learnt has thrown support for her.The deposed speaker is, however, unrelenting as he told newsmen later on Monday that the purported impeachment does not hold water and cannot be accepted. He urged people of the state to remain law abiding as the matter will soon be resolved.

Imoke's different path to s

By EMMANUEL UNA

T

HE tradition had been for Governor Liyel Imoke to put humanitarian activities around his birthday anniversary.

There was not much departure from this tradition on the 10th of July, 2014 when the Cross River State governor clocked 53.

The addition this time was the decision of some associates of the governor under the aegis of the Destiny Group to organise a lecture to mark the occasion. The lecture with the theme, “Democracy and Governance: Cross River State Perspective,” had erstwhile minister, Professor Jerry Gana as lecturer.

Ahead of the lecture, there was a foundation laying ceremony of the Golf Estate at the From right; Prof Jerry Gana,Mrs Obioma Liyel Imoke, Se Summit Hills by the National Chairman of Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu at the 53rd birthday anniv PDP, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu. Before the inauguration of the project, there was a lively In response to the call, all the dignitaries including and memorable moment when the PDP Chairman Obioma Imoke, the governor’s wife, Olisa Metuh led an impromptu choir to render the traditional birthday song, “Happy Birthday to You”, for Senator the PDP Publicity Secretary, Efiok Cobham, Imoke’s deputy, Hakeem Oguniran, MD UPDC, Professor Jerry Imoke To herald the song Mu’azu told the crowd, “My Gana, Ntufam John Okon, PDP State Chairman for voice is neither bass, treble or any of those that can Cross River State chapter, Cross River Executive render sweet melody but I have a family here Council members and several other dignitaries joined especially the women who can help me do this job in the toast.

Seated and smiling, Imoke watched the proceedings well and please can everyone join me let’s sing a as Mu‘azu led the proceedings. Delivering his lecture, birthday song for the performing governor of Cross Gana conferred on Imoke the “Professor” of Good River State”.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014—43

2015:Suswam’s bid to loan Senate seat •Goes for Gemade’s jugular in Benue Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State has finally opened up on his bid to take the Senate seat presently occupied by Senator Barnabas Gemade.

The outgoing governor’s bid for Gemade’s political jugular is bound to excite the political firmament in the region.

G

OVERNOR Gabriel Suswam was modest in staking his bid for the Benue North East senatorial seat last Thursday at the palace of the Ter Kwande, Chief Hilary Ikima in Adikpo, Kwande local council of the state.

The governor led his retinue of supporters from across the state including the three paramount rulers of the Sankera political bloc where he comes from to lobby the two paramount rulers of Ushongo and Kwande local councils where the PDP supposedly zoned the position to, asking that the seat be ceded to him.

Addressing the gathering on the purpose of their visit, the Ter Katsina-Ala, Chief Fezanga Wombo, who spoke on behalf of the governor’s delegation, said they were in the palace of the Ter Kwande to intimate them of Suswam’s intention to contest the 2015 senatorial election.

He said the delegation was making the request, knowing full well that it was the turn of the people of Kwande and Ushongo to produce the next senator from the zone.

The royal father maintained that it was not lost on anyone that the senatorial seat had been with the people of Komshisha who were completing their eight-year tenure after Senator Joseph Akagerger did the initial four years while Senator Gemade who is doing his first tenure is rounding up the supposed eight years allotted to the zone. ”We know that the senatorial seat in the forthcoming 2015 election has been zoned to Kwande/Ushongo axis, but we of the Sankera bloc have come to ask that you loan us the slot to allow Governor Suswam run for the seat. ”We know that it is in the nature of the Tiv people to loan positions when the need arises in the collective interest of the people and that is why we have led our worthy son, the Governor of our state, who has indicated interest in the position to seek your cooperation and assistance in this matter. We have not come to cajole you, we are only making a plea which will also be compensated and rewarded accordingly,” the paramount ruler said.

Responding, the Ter Kwande

•Governor Suswam

SUSWAM’S COURSE

•Pre 1999 Abuja based lawyer •1999- 2007 Member House of Reps •2007 to present Governor, Benue State •Post 2015 ???????? stated that the request of the delegation was not out of place in the political history of the Tiv race. Chief Ikima noted that none of the sons or daughters of the area had indicated interest in the race, stressing that the request was timely. “Since none of our subjects has indicated interest to

service

en Liyel Imoke,Dep Governor Efiok Cobham ,PDP versary lecture in honour of the governor in Calabar Governance for excellent performance in administering the state in the past seven years. “I confer the title of professor on Senator Imoke; He is not a professor who is just a thinker like me but a doer and on this score I confer on him professor of good governance because he is a performer who is a model of humility, a foundation of truth, a man of wisdom and clearly one of the most outstanding governors in Nigeria” Professor Gana stated that though Imoke does not publicise his projects but he has purposefully

committed himself to the service of the people of the state with passion and integrity which stood him out to be awarded the Zik Award for Leadership which singles him out as an outstanding leader among his peers in the country. ‘The Zik Award for Leadership recognised him as a leader of no mean standing; a man who has achieved more than his peers and sees no reason to invite the press to celebrate his projects because he is committed to the purposeful service of his people and development of infrastructure for the state”.

Gana said Imoke is a grassroots politician whose deft calculation has endeared him to the people as seen in 1999 when he was able to sway the support of voters in favour of Mr Donald Duke who came from relative obscurity to win the 1998 PDP primaries ahead of Senator Kanu Agabi who is a well known legal and political figure in the country.

According to him, Imoke’s humility, generosity, and integrity have kept the PDP family intact in the state making Cross River one of the most secure PDP states in the country. ‘He has accommodated the structures of the former governor Donald Duke and made Duke one of the most loved and recognised former governors in the country which is a clear departure from the battle between successor and predecessor in other states”.

At the end of the event while thanking the organisers and the teeming crowd that attended the birthday event, Senator Imoke said his priority is to serve the people of the state and at the end of his tenure next year he will not seek for another elective office because he is not looking for a cover or immunity from prosecution.

contest the seat and given that Governor Suswam is the first to ask for it we will loan the seat to Sankera. ”Suswam had done well as a Governor and it is incumbent on us to support and encourage him to do more for the people by loaning the seat to him to enable him achieve his senatorial ambition.”

Also speaking, the Ter Ushongo, Chief Ambrose Iortyer, who concurred with the position added that the people would rally round the governor to enable him realise his dream. ”We are all on the same page

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BY PETER DURU

”Of course you know that the Tiv people have what they call ‘Ya na an gbia’ meaning eat and give your brother. So, we have blocs within this zone; we have the Sankera, Jachira and Kwande zones in this senatorial district, which are entitled to the position.

If you look at the distribution of this position over the years, the Sankera people have had it up to three times and the Jachira has had its own with Kwande. ”Ideally, looking at the number of times that the political zones have had it, Kwande and Ushongo have had the least.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, we ought to give it to them without any contention. ”We know that the senate seat in the district does not belong to the Sankera bloc but to the Kwande people. But the Tiv people, in their culture, when you desire something that does not belong to you, you must go and beg for it. That is why, as an entity we of the Sankera bloc have come to beg our brothers from Kwande and Ushongo for a loan, which they have unanimously given us and have also invoked the spirits of our forefathers to be witnesses to what transpired.

That is why they washed the face and feet of the governor for that purpose,” Chief Suswam stated.

With the decision of the people of Ushongo and Kwande to loan the seat to Suswam, the coming days and months will certainly witness the mother of all battles between the governor and Senator Gemade who has not hidden his interest to return to the Senate in 2015.

Recently, Senator Gemade said he was entitled to a second term in the senate haven done just a single term. ”I am going back to the Senate because I am doing my first term and entitled to a second shot at

Some pundits who are not in support of Governor Suswam’s ambition are questioning why the monarch is loaning the seat to Sankera

with the Ter Kwande and we also believe that it will serve our interest the more if we loan the seat to Governor Suswam,” he stressed.

Elder brother of the governor, Chief Terkura Suswam, in his response said what the paramount rulers and their subjects did was in consonance with the ancient practices of the Tiv people. “This is the epitome of the culture which has been exemplified in what has happened here; this is like a religion of the Tiv people. What the paramount rulers did was not new to us right from the origin of the Tiv race. What they did was nothing but a sign of the appreciation of the performance of the governor for close to eight years.

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the position. The fact is that I am not deterred by the antics of my opponents because I know that the people are with me,” he said.

It would also be noted that all these interplay has been accepted by the ruling PDP while the main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) is yet to decide on where it would zone the senatorial seat.

Some pundits who are not in support of Governor Suswam’s ambition are questioning why the monarch is loaning the seat to Sankera after Prof Daniel Saror of the defunct All Nigerian Peoples Party, ANPP, also from the same Sankera axis as Suswam held the seat for eight years from 1999 to 2007.

44—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014

Bishop charges new priests to be committed

TERRORISM: Rapu writes President Jonathan M

ORE than two millennia ago, the prophet Daniel observed that, “God changes the times and the seasons and lifts up kings and deposes them.”

These are salient words for you as you try to interpret Nigeria’s current circumstances. The scriptures further tell us that the sons of Issachar understood the times and they knew what to do.

The ‘House of Issachar’ represents two powerful resources you will need today--- prophetic awareness and strategic insight.

Like those proverbial sons of Issachar, you must understand our current political and social setting vis a vis our historical context, and also have a grasp of the strategies required to govern effectively at such a time as this.

Mr. President, as you probably know, the history of a nation can be understood in two ways. First, it can be erroneously seen as the normal chronological sequence of unrelated events. Secondly, it can be understood as a smokescreen for the operation of a higher providential agenda and the field of conflict between cosmic forces.

Your task as a perceptive leader is to go beyond the apparent and to perceive the workings of providence behind the curtain of history.

Political wrangling: The challenge for you now is quite frankly one of acuity and discernment.

Does the current political wrangling have a deeper dimension of interpretation beyond what

mind you, is a means to the ends of justice, or righting wrongs and resetting balances.

Mr. President, it is not enough for you to revel in the alleged providential selection for political leadership. The task now is to discern and implement the purpose of that power. This is why throughout the scriptures, true prophets were never far from kings. The role of the prophets was to regulate, rebuke and reorient kings,the wielders of temporal power towards the spiritual implications of their rule. It was to remind them that all institutions of earthly power must ultimately answer to a higher Authority. Kings that rebelled against the Divine imperatives and requirements of their time met unhappy ends.

Traditional power blocs: What providential ends could your Presidency be meant to serve in our history? Could your enthronement as an outsider against all odds signal the beginning of a new order beyond your rule? Could your divine assignment as President be to herald the dawn of a new era in which the traditional power blocs that have historically led this nation no longer hold sway? Your Excellency, your presidency has unfortunately been marked by perhaps the most intense national crisis we have endured since the end of the civil war. You have yourself said that the current Boko Haram crisis raging in the

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Could the ongoing National Conference be the instrument by which you establish a new order? This is a question that you should ponder prayerfully

many officials in your cabinet and administration can readily discern? What story could God be telling you through our national history? What lessons are you meant to derive from current contemporary events? What posture should you assume as our President in a season when so many forces are arrayed against you and your government?

To any discerning watcher, your meteoric rise from relative obscurity to the very pinnacle of national affairs bears the stamp of what might be called a providential event. Your ascent from humble origins, the fact that you lacked the political clout of your rivals, and the fact that your path to the presidency was paved by unforeseen circumstances, would seem to suggest an invisible hand orchestrating affairs.

In the context of Nigerian political history, your emergence was an impossibility made possible. Not many prophets or even diviners will question your ascent to the throne as a divine act. You must understand therefore, that power is an instrument of divine purpose. Power, I need not re-

,

nation exceeds in intensity that of the bitter civil war that engulfed the entire country. Perhaps you may need to consider that the increase in insurrections and insurgencies is indicative of the contention that surrounds your ascent. Do these violent conflicts also reflect a cosmic battle raging in the spiritual dimension for the soul of this country? It is clear to many that we have reached the end of ourselves as a nation.

The present political climate does not augur well to many of us. We are at a dead end.

Perhaps your divine assignment is to providentially supervise the end of a chapter of our history and to usher in a new epoch. Could the ongoing National Conference be the instrument by which you'll establish a new order? This is a question that you should ponder prayerfully.

Many have written off the conference as a gathering of geriatrics who had earlier failed the nation. Could this be their chance to eagerly restitute their errors and pave the way for a new Nigeria if properly guided? Could the Conference institute the new

order of leadership that this country so craves? Many have complained of the lack of legality of the National Conference and the possibility of its being dead on arrival. You need then to look into ways of ensuring that the Conference has legal teeth enough to effect its own recommendations. You need to also ensure that the Conference will not be hindered by an apparently self-serving National Assembly.

I need not remind you that 70% of our populace represent a demography that is below the age of 35. This is a segment of our society that is becoming increasingly restive. You must begin a conversation among the youth of this nation in the direction of change. Posterity will overlook and forgive many of your government’s failings if you successfully point the nation in the direction of a radical transformation agenda. Mr. President, we need not wait till the nation degenerates into a chaotic situation like that of Somalia or Sudan before you act. Don’t let the spindoctors and ‘yes-men’ around you convince you of an otherwise situation. We are in the final throes of the spasms of a failed state. As I pen these words, the clock is tickling and certain farreaching decisions must be made concerning this nation before it is too late.

Strike whle the iron is hot It is vital you do not see this as an argument for the nation to adopt an uncritical partisan stance towards your presidency because you have been anointed by providence. Nor is it any reason why we should support your political party, which in many respects has been weighed in a balance and found severely wanting. Many who have looted our treasury and raped our institutions will still reap the disastrous consequences of their dastardly actions. On the contrary, the season in which you currently find yourself is meant to orient you towards an accurate posture as you pray to the One who permitted you to rise to the throne. Solomon, the wisest man on earth and himself a king said, “the heart of a king is in the hands of the Lord and like a river, He turns it whichever way He wishes.” We hope and pray that the Lord will turn your heart in the direction of His sovereign will for this nation.

Finally, I wish to remind you of government’s moral purpose and obligations to the Nigerian people under God. Your Excellency, strike while the iron is hot. *Dr. Tony Rapu, a medical doctor and senior pastor at the House of Freedom, contributed this piece from Lekki, Lagos.

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NGLICAN bishop of La gos West, Rt. Revd. James Odedeji has urged newly installed Canons, deacons and priests of the diocese to be humble and diligent in their service to God, reports OLAYINKA LATONA. Odedeji who made the call at the Archbishop Vining Memorial Anglican Church, Ikeja, Lagos also urged the federal government to sympathise with parents of the over 200 Chibok schoolgirls adopted by Boko Haram since April 14, by bringing the girls back safe and sound from the kidnappers’ den.

He gave the advice at the institution and installation of six Canons, deacons and priests, noting that there are so many distractions in ministry and there is the need for them to beware of derailment.

He told the newly ordained priests to see their appointment

as the work of God, he said: “As ministers of the gospel, you must beware and be watchful, others can afford to do anything but you are expected to make the difference.”

Also admonishing the ministers, Most Revd. Edmund Akanya, in his sermon, enjoined them not to turn the pulpit into a political arena, where they beg for money but a place to declare the true word of God when it is pleasant or un-pleasant.

Continuing, he said: “Let your life be different from that of the world. Your standard should be in accord with the word of God. Always remember that you will give an account of your sterwardship in ministry. Do not wear the collar for nothing because you will be judged according to your works”.

BSN out with Conduct not Condom

By OLAYINKA LATONA

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S part of efforts to reduce the effects of Human Immune Deficiency Virus Infection/Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/ AIDS) in Nigeria, the Bible Society of Nigeria, BSN, has come out with a 5-chapter book titled HIV/AIDS Pandemic Conduct not condom.

Revealing the book to the journalists at the Bible Guest House, Palmgrove Estate, Lagos, the General Secretary of BSN, Rev. Dare Ajiboye explained that the only trusted single solution to the continuous spread of HIV/AIDS virus is right conduct, which, he said, is avoiding any behaviour that puts one at the risk of infection.

Ajiboye lamented that majority of stakeholders worldwide only promote the use of condom which, he said, is not 100 per cent safe unlike abstaining from sex as singles and couples being faithful to one another.

He stressed that HIV infection is not only contacted through sex hence condom cannot be a one stop solution.

His words: “There have been a lot of postulations as to how to curb the menace of this disease.

Some are promoting the idea of

using condom; but condom is never a fool-proof or infectionfree strategy. Attitude is the one and only assured solution profitable to all,from the infected to the affected.

“If married people are faithful to their spouses, unmarried people stay away from premarital sex, the medical practitioners prevent spread through careless use of medical equipment, beauticians sterilise their equipment very well before using them on people. If we stop discriminating against the infected and the infected have the attitude of being the last stop of their infection, then the solution to the pandemic is on sight”.

The General Secretary pointed out that publishing the book is aimed at showing the public that the organisation is concerned about the spiritual and physical health of Nigerians, noting that BSN has been involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS for the past 10 years.

According to him, the book will be distributed free to the masses, especially youths in secondary schools, higher institutions, churches and other public places.

Level of corruption worries bishop

By DAYO JOHNSON, Akure HE Bishop of Akure Dio cese (Anglican Comm u n i o n ) , Bishop Simeon Borokini has lamented the level of cor ruption in the country, saying "Nigeria is one big free for all for looting and other corrupt practices".

Borokini said this at the second session of the 11th synod of the diocese held at the St. Michael's Anglican Church, Ilara-Mokin area of Ondo State. The synod has the theme; "Let brotherly love con-

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tinue".

According to him, virtually all the steps taken to fight corruption had failed with various legislations unable to fight the scourge.

Borokini stated that many of the court cases instituted over corruption had not brought any hope as politics had become an avenue to loot and plunder the treasury of the country.

He, however, blamed the leadership for the situation, saying it was right for the masses to demand accountability from the governors.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014—45

MSS flags off competition for anti-malaria war

BY EMEKA AGINAM

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AGOS—MOBILE Software Solution, MSS, a leading African mobile games company and platform, has flagged off a national competition which revolves around using technology to fight malaria .

The Chief Software Architect/ Originator of the Malaria Destroyer Game, MDG, Chris Uwaje, while unfolding the criteria for the national competition, said the contestants had been challenged to conquer the e-

Health adventure of the regional contest.

He said: “With over 300,000 deaths every year through Malaria in Nigeria, the National Competition of Malaria Destruction becomes a mission- critical assignment for the nation.

“The solution had been endorsed and recognised by the UN, UNESCO eLearning Chair Open Media and CVL; MainOne and ActiveEdge amongst others, for its innovative origination, impact international appeal

and conformity to local content deliverable.”

Uwaje explained that the basic criteria for the 2014 national competition included mandatory online registration, per-qualification, download access, upload game score submission and release of final result of regional winners, among others.

First place team, according to Uwaje, will receive N500,000 price and a trophy; second place, N250,000 and a trophy; and third place, N150,000 and a trophy.

He said: “Only online registration, at mobilesoft.com.ng, will be accepted.

“All interested individual should form a team made up of two or three individuals. 10 Teams will be selected from region and there would be a total of 60 Teams.”

Uwaje said while the online registration would be opened from Monday, August 4 to Sunday, August 24, all prequalified teams for the regional contest would be notified by Friday, August 29.

HANDING OVER: From left— Group Managing Director, Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Timothy Oguntayo; outgoing Group Managing Director, Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Kehinde Durosimi-Etti; Deputy Managing Director, Mrs. Amaka Onwughalu; and Executive Director, Risk Management, Skye Bank, Mr. Dotun Adeniyi, all of Skye Bank Plc, at the handing over ceremony by the outgoing Chief Executive Officer to the incoming one in Lagos, yesterday. PHOTO: Kehinde Gbadamosi.

EFCC quizzes Ngilari, former Adamawa Dep Gov

BY SONI DANIEL, Northern Region Editor

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HE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, yesterday, took on the former Deputy Governor of Adamawa State, Bala Ngilari, asking him to state his part in the alleged looting of the state’s fund.

A source at the commission confirmed to Vanguard that Ngilari, who was forced to resign his post last week, was summoned as part of the agency ’s bid to unravel the circumstances relating to the alleged looting of the state’s treasury, which forced its operatives to freeze its accounts with certain banks and arrest the suspects.

The source said: “It is true Ngilari was with us today during which he interacted with our operatives and we have allowed him to go.

“Our invitation to the former deputy governor to appear before our team does not mean that he is guilty or not guilty.

But it is part of our ongoing investigation of the looting of

the resources of the state.”

Meanwhile, a top source in the commission lamented yesterday that all efforts to serve Nyako with invitation letter had proved abortive and that the commission was left with no option than to declare the former governor, wanted.

The source said: “I can tell you that all attempts to arrest him have been very difficult and we are now compelled by circumstances to declare Nyako wanted so as to force him to come out from wherever he is.

“We really need to confront him so as to send a message

to him and others that they cannot hide away from crimes they are alleged to have committed.”

It was learnt that in a bid to enable the state to pay the salaries of workers, EFCC had de-frozen the state’s salary account, while keeping watch on others.

Nigeria's oil output drops by 5.8%

BY FAVOUR NNABUGWU

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UE to security challenges in the country, the nation’s oil output dropped by 5.8 percent in 2013, according to the new World Bank’s Nigeria Economic Report, NER. NER, released in Abuja yesterday, attributed regulatory uncertainty and security problems to the decline in oil output from 2.39 million barrels a day in 2012 to 2.18 million barrels a day in 2013, a 5.8 percent decline.

The report, analysed by Mr. John Litwack, Lead Economist of the bank, also noted that Nigeria was still laden with a medium term

challenge that would continue to reduce its oil revenue.

The NER report argued that apart from security problems, vandalism and theft, the oil sector in recent years still faced slower output growth, uncertain regulatory environment and low levels of investment.

It said: “2013 was a particularly difficult year as several pipelines were temporarily shut down in light of problems related to oil theft, while the output of natural gas was also affected which had repercussions for electricity production.

“The NNPC assesses crude oil output in 2013 to have averaged 2.18 million barrels

a day. Five percent lower than the average of 2.30 million barrels a day in 2012 and nine percent lower than levels achieved in 2010.”

NER advised that Nigeria needed to tightens its budget at the federal and state levels, and that the federal expenditures for this year be planned at six percent lower in nominal terms than in the previous year.

NER anticipates that if the 2014 capital budget will be executed 100 percent, capital spending will increase by more than 40 percent in key ministries such as health, education, agriculture, transport, water, power, science and technology and works.

Capacity building ensures transparency —JEGA

BY LEVINUS NWABUGHIOGU

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HAIRMAN of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega, yesterday said that capacity building for staff of the commission was a key ingredient to achieving free and fair elections beyond 2015.

Jega said this while declaring open a four-day workshop for Public Affairs Officers holding at the Electoral Institute, tagged The Role of INEC Press Officers: Enhancing Good Governance Through Media and Grassroots Outreach.

At the workshop, facilitated by United States Diplomatic Missions to Nigeria, Jega said: “The commission has put in place measures to improve on the capacity of its staff.

“Efforts at building the capacity of staff is informed by the fact that well-trained staff are most likely to exude confidence and perform their tasks competently.”

Pro-Jonathan group slams Buhari, APC Chair

BY SONI DANIEL, Northern Region Editor

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pro-Jonathan group, Citizens Cultural Renaissance Initiative, CICURI, has slammed the All Progressives Congress Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, over his claim that the President spearheaded the removal of Governor Murtala Nyako from office.

CICURI, in a statement released in Abuja, described the outburst as the claim of a party in disarray and full of contradictions arising from its inability to keep its house in order and forge a serious political party.

The statement, signed by CICURI President, Lawrence Davies, and Secretary, Beke Konya, asked the APC chairman to desist from blaming the failures of his party on the President.

46—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014

Nigeria, ECOWAS sign pact to revamp postal services BYEMMANUELELEBEKE

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IGERIA and Eco nomic Community of West African States, ECOWAS yesterday signed an agreement on the establishment of West African Postal Conference, WAPCO headquarters in Abuja.

The agreement comprises the fifteen ECOWAS states and Nigeria.

WAPCO as a regional and inter-governmental organisation has been registered in the class of specialized institutions of the ECOWAS and the establishment of a secretariat for the body in Abuja, Nigeria with an interim Executive Secretary.

One of the main objectives of setting up WAPCO is to emplace a modern, efficient and viable West African Postal service.

Speaking at the ceremony, Minister of Communications Technology, Dr. Omobola Johnson said with the establishment of WAPCO Secretariat in Nigeria, Nigerians should look out for rapid transformation in the postal sector.

Oko Poly ASUP elects new leadership

BY VINCENT UJUMADU

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WKA—THE Fed eral Polytechnic, Oko branch of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, ASUP, yesterday elected a new leadership which has Mr. Patrick Ezeigwe as chairman.

Other officials elected yesterday were Chris Onuegbu who became vice chairman after losing to Uwakwe, Collins Obiaorah (secretary), Chioma Awuzie (treasurer), Regina Anyalebechi (financial secretary) and Frank Okonkwo (publicity secretary).

Before the election, ASUP members held a congress during which they read a directive that the National Executive Council of the union that election be organized for the chapter within one month of calling off the strike.

Addressing reporters after his emergence as the chairman, Ezeigwe commended the members for courageously participating in the election, which he described as overdue.

Return home, Senator Usman begs fleeing Fulanis K

ADUNA—SENATOR Nenadi Usman (PDP-Kaduna South) yesterday, in Kafanchan, Kaduna State urged the Fulanis who fled the area out of fear of reprisal attacks to return to their homes.

Usman made the call during a meeting she held with Fulani chiefs, also known as Ardos, in Kaura, in the Kaura Local Gov-

ernment Area of the state.

The Senator, who expressed her bitterness over the Fulanis’ departure after having lived in the communities all their lives, assured them of security of their lives and property upon their return.

She said the local council had concluded arrangements, which would guarantee the safety of the

Fulanis, by ensuring they are members of its security sub-committee.

“The gesture will give them (the Fulanis) a sense of togetherness,” Usman said.

Earlier, in a welcome address, Mr Kumai Badu, the Council Chairman, said the meeting had provided an avenue for the Ardos to air their grievances.

He said it was part of government’s reconciliatory process.

Badu, while commending the

Ardos for demonstrating a sense of belonging, assured them that government would not relax in its efforts to protect the lives and property of every Nigerian.

“The council will meet with its traditional rulers and youth leaders on modalities which will guarantee peaceful co-existence between the Fulanis and members of the community,” he said.

Malam Salisu Ibrahim, who spoke on behalf of the Fulani chiefs, assured that the Fulani community members were willing to return to their settlements and live at peace with everyone.

Ibrahim, who is the Ardo of Manchock, said there were fears about returning to the area, from speculations making the rounds that they would be attacked upon their return.

He then urged the government to caution aggrieved youths to imbibe a forgiving spirit and accommodate all a sundry.

Sambo prays for Nigeria in Hajj

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RECEPTION: From left; President, Nigeria-America Chambers of Commerce, Alhaji Sheriff Balogun; Out-going Economic attache to American embassy, Mr. Brian William and the Special Adviser on Trade & Investment to Governor Ramalan Yero of Kaduna State, Alhaji Mohammed Lere at a reception organised for Mr. William by the NigeriaAmerica Chambers of Commerce in Kaduna yetsterday. Photo by Olu Ajayi.

Jonathan meets parents of Chibok schoolgirls

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BUJA—PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan is currently meeting with some

parents of the secondary school girls abducted in Chibok, Borno, on April 14.

80 CEOs to attend Google’s executive breakfast forum

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OOGLE will be hosting 80 Chief Executive Officers and top business executives at its Executive breakfast forum to be held in Lagos tomorrow.

The Google Executive breakfast forum, which was put together by Google Nigeria in collaboration with the Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAN), Media Independent Practitioners of Nigeria (MIPAN) and Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN), is aimed at helping top business executives understand how to leverage web tools and platforms to expand their reach and increase revenues.

Speaking on the upcoming forum, Google’s Communications & Public Affairs Manager, West Africa, Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade said, “The Internet is fundamen-

tally changing the way businesses go to market. ''With over over 55 million Nigerians connecting, sharing information and purchasing online, business executives need to strategically rethink how they leverage the platform.

The aim of the forum is to help top executives understand how online tools can be used to grow their turnover and build business profiles”.

So far, over 80 CEOs have confirmed attendance, with the number increasing daily.

The Executive Breakfast forum is the one in the series of trainings being held by Google Nigeria in July, with the aim of boosting the digital competence of marketing and top business executives.

Some of the schoolgirls, who escaped from the terrorists, are also at the meeting, which is holding behind closed doors at the banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Also in attendance are Governors Kashim Shettima and Isa Yuguda of Borno and Bauchi states, respectively, service chiefs and the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar.

The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, recalls that Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girlchild education campaigner, had visited Jonathan on July 14 and urged him to meet with the girls’ parents.

The president had acceded to her request and the meeting was scheduled for 4 p.m. the next day, but it was cancelled after the parents failed to turn up.

However, Jonathan, according to his Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Mr Doyin Okupe, directed that a letter of invitation be sent to the parents for Tuesday’s meeting.

ICE President Moham med Namadi Sambo joined thousands of Nigerian Muslims who performed the lesser Hajj in Meccah, Saudi Arabia, yesterday, to offer prayers for peace, progress and urgent development of the country.

According to a statement by the Senior Special Adviser, SSA, Media and Publicity to Sambo, Alhaji Umar Sani, the prayers took place at the Al-Masjid AlHaram Mosque in Meccah.

Among those who prayed with Sambo, were Nigeria’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Abubakar Bunu and the National Organizing Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Abubakar Mustapha.

Sambo, who offered the prayer after the completion of Tawwaf at the Holy Ka’abah (House of the Lord) commented on his activities in the Holy land saying, “We prayed for our nation’s peace, progress and development. We prayed to Almighty Allah to remove all the evils that are within us so that the Transformation Agenda of Mr. President will succeed.”

The Umrah (lesser pilgrimage), is performed by Muslims from all over the world who converge at the Holy city, Meccah to observe the ritual, which can be undertaken at any time of the year but mostly observed in the holy month of Ramadan.

The pilgrims perform a series of worship symbolizing the lives of Prophet Ibrahim, and his second wife Hajara. The pilgrims pray for mercy and forgiveness from God and for Him to grant them their earthly and heavenly wishes.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014—47

NIPR to sue noncertified practitioners, employers

Nigeria losses N300bn annually to bitumen cabal —Marketers

BY LUKA BINNIYAT

BY ETOP EKANEM

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ADUNA — THE Association of Bitumen Marketers and Distribution of Nigeria has said that the country losses over N300 billion yearly to massive importation of bitumen by a syndicate.

Vice Chairman of the association, Fred Nyabam, made this known at a news conference in Kaduna, yesterday..

Nyabam said: “The role of our association in the distribution and supply chain of bitumen in the country, cannot be overemphasized.

We therefore take the pains and risk of bridging the gap between pipelines and products marketing company and construction companies, so that the construction industry will remain afloat.

“Unfortunately, the price of this all important product was jacked up in early 2012, from N75,000 to N147,825 per tonne (almost a 100 per cent increase) by Nigerian National Petroleum Company/Petroleum Pricing and Marketing Company officials.

"Regrettably, till date, NNPC/PPMC have not told the stakeholders and Nigerians the premise upon which the increase was based.

“We have been compelled to believe that an alleged cabal actually exists, because all the efforts we have made to ensure that the unwarranted price of N147,825 per tonne is readjusted to bring it at par with those of other bitumen producing countries of the world has proved abortive.

“The Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company, KRPC, constructed by Chiyoda of Japan is the only refinery in West Africa that has a bitumen plant and was designed to produce the requirements of Nigeria and the excess exported to other African countries; so bitumen is a statutory product of the plant, like petrol, kerosene and diesel.

“But regrettably, Nigeria has suddenly become a bitumen importing country, instead of exporting the products which Kaduna Refinery was designed to achieve, because of a few selfish individuals. This is clearly an economic sabotage against Nigeria as a nation and must be resisted."

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From left: Mr Olawale Johnson Dasaolu (1st position, University of Lagos student) being presented with a cheque by Dr. Eugene Juwah, Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, during the prize-giving ceremony of the nationwide essay competition on Mobile Number Portability organised by the NCC.

We'll continue with impeachment moves against Al-Makura— Assembly •Says those demonstrating against were sending the gov off •As Assembly members relocate to Abuja

BY ABEL DANIEL

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AFIA — THE Nasarawa State House of Assembly, yesterday, said that it would continue with the impeachment processes against Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura despite demonstrations by some paid agents.

The chairman of the House Committee on Information, Baba Ibaku, told Vanguard on telephone that the impeachment would be carried out so that the world would not see the legislators as liars, pointing out that those demostrating over the matter were merely sending the governor off.

He spoke even as all the members have relocated to Abuja, the nation’s capital for fear of attack by Al-Makura’s supporters.

His words: “The world will see us as liars if we withdraw the impeachment process at this stage. People who are telling us to discontinue do not understand what we are doing now.

“We are moving on to the next level where we shall direct the Chief Justice of the state to constitute a panel to investigate the allegations levelled against him. ’’That investigation takes a period of three months. They may finish before then. Then soon after that the deal will be done.

“No one out of the 20 members has withdrawn or is threatening to withdraw his signature for the impeachment, contrary to what some people are insinuating. We

are on course. We are religiously following the provisions of the 1999 Constitution to perfect everything on this impeachment.”

Reacting to the series of demonstrations against the House’s decision, Ibaku said: “They are only sending AlMakura off. He is going so that they will be happy and they will be happy for his exit soonest.

"When he took us to Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, people were aware but they did not protest; when he mobilised his people to stone Assembly members at the Assembly complex, did anybody protest against that? He gave them money and as soon as the money gets exhausted, all the protesters will disappear.”

CONFAB: Brambaifa dissociates self from plots to kill report

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BUJA — DEPUTY National Chairman of the Senators Forum, Senator John Brambaifa, has distanced himself from media reports that the North was plotting to kill the yet-to-be presented National Conference report.

According to reports, a prominent northern member of the Senators' Forum, who is a delegate at the confab, convened a meeting of northern delegates to discuss moves to ‘kill’ the final report of the conference and was said to be wooing other five members of the forum, who are also delegates.

Distancing himself from the plot yesterday, Brambaifa said in a statement: “The truth of the matter is that as the current deputy chairman of the Senators Forum and to the best of my knowledge, no delegate representing the Senators Forum at the

National Conference has held any meeting with Senator Khairat Gwadebe since the inauguration of the conference, talkless of having a meeting to be wooed to kill a Conference Report that has not been presented to conference delegates at plenary.

“It is important to say categorically here that as a delegate of the National Conference I believe strongly that the purpose of the conference is to bring together well-meaning patriotic Nigerians to discuss our problems and find common agreeable positions for us to live as a people.

"Therefore, I see any plan to kill a report that has not even been presented to Conference Plenary as destructive, in bad taste and should be condemned totally by all well-meaning Nigerians. I, therefore dissociate myself from the publication.”

AGOS—THE Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, NIPR, has concluded arrangement to drag non-certified practitioners and their employers to court, saying the era of quackery in the practice of reputation management is gone.

The President of the institute, Dr Rotimi Oladele, made this known during the induction of 101 members with the theme: “Identifying opportunities in public relations for selfreliance and national development” in Lagos.

According to Oladele, “this is not an era we should allow quackery in the practice of reputation management, information management and relations management because if you allow quackery, it will turn into what fraudsters are doing to this country. So it is important to know who is managing what.

"If you are a public relations practitioner in any organisation or on your own as a consultant, you must be licensed by the institute so that we can know and support you with expertise and regulations.

But if you don’t, the first thing to do is to give you a good period of time to adjust yourself by way of taking up the windows of opportunities.

If you don’t, we take you and your employer to court.

On how the institute has been punishing erring members, he said: “We have our internal tribunal called disciplinary committee which has its jurists. They will sit and investigate and then adjudicate each case on merit.

If you are not pleased, you have the right to appeal to the law court.

“There will soon be advertisements in the dailies, giving non-certified practitioners three months notice. Those who want to apply to go through the windows of opportunities will be allowed to do so but those who who do not apply and who do not regularise will face the law court.”

Two lectures,"Orientation: Professionalism, ethics and networking" by the Registrar of the institute, Dr Stephen Adebayo and "Identifying opportunities in public relations for self-reliance and national development" by Dr Isah Momoh of Lagos Business School were presented.

48— Vanguard , WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014

SWEARING IN: Governor BabatundeFashola of Lagos State, SAN (2nd right), his Deputy, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire (right) and Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa (2nd left) watches as the Chairman of Tribunal of Enquiry, Justice Ebenezer Adebanjo (rtd.), signs his Oath of Office, during the swearing in of Tribunal of Inquiry on the BRT Accident and Vandasilation along Ikorodu Road, at the Conference room, Lagos House, Ikeja.

FLAG OFF: From left: Pius Ekeh Jr, MD, Mobile Software Solution, MSS, Enyika Iheanyichukwu, Software Developer, MSS, Yemisi Oladipo, Graphics Artist, Yinka Tanimowo, Director, MSS, and Chris Uwaje, CEO, MSS and Chief Software Architect/Originator, the Malaria Destroyer Game, MDG, during the flag off of the National Competition for Malaria Destruction, NCMD, in Lagos. Photo: Emeka Aginam.

LAUNCHING: From left: Somoye Habeeb: Brand Manager, Startimes, INDUCTION: From left: Registrar, Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, Ayokunle Idowu, Brand Strategist, Anetor Irete, Public Relations Manager, NIPR, Dr. Stephen Adebayo, guest speaker, Dr Isah Momoh of Lagos Business Ihuoma Omenazu, Account Manager, Cutler Communications, at at the launch School, and President, NIPR, Dr Rotimi Oladele, during the induction and of Startimes Star Sport 2 Channel in Lagos. Photo: Akeem Salau. orientation of new members, in Lagos.

DECORATION: From left: Mrs Ajoke Kazeem, newly promoted Corps Commander, Bisi Kazeem and Deputy Corps Marshal, Ayo Omidiji of the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, during the decoration of the newly promoted officers of the Corps in Abuja.

From left: Immediate past President, Rotary Club of Ikeja, Rotn. Goke Olayinka, guest speaker, MD /CEO, CMC Connect Ltd, Mr. Yomi BadejoOkusanya, and President, Rotary Club of Ikeja, Rotn. Lanre Fasehun, at the launch of the Rotary theme for the year "Light Up Rotary." Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi.

CONVOCATION: Mr.Olufemi Odunewu (8th right), Miss Ebun Jegede (9th right) and their colleagues, at the convocation ceremony of Glasgow College of Nautical Sciences, United Kindom.

PRESENTATION: Group Head, Marketing and Communications, First City Monument Bank, FCMB, Mr. Ikechukwu Kalu (2nd left), presenting the trophy of the Enactus Nigeria National Competition 2014 to the team leader, Ekiti State University, Dolapo Odupele (2nd right), Tade Ayodeji (right) and Ayomide Adesanya, as the winner of the competition sponsored by FCMB in Lagos.

VISIT: From left (front row): Mr. Chris Onuegbu, Vice Chairman, Dr. Don Mmuo, Deputy Rector) and Patrick Ezeigwe, Chairman and others, shortly after the new executive of the AcademicStaff Union of Polytechnics, Federal Polytechnic, Oko, paid a courtesy call on the Rector.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014— —49

50—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014

COLLOQUIUM: Jurists, lawyers, activists eulogise late Aturu

BY ABDULWAHAB ABDULAH, BARTHOLOMEW MADUKWE & ONOZURE DANIA

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HEAD of the burial of activist and lawyer, Mr. Bamidele Francis Aturu, jurists, lawyers, right activists, labour leaders among others, converged yesterday to honour him at a special colloquium and day of tributes in Lagos.

The theme of the colloquium held at the Abibatu Mogaji Model Secondary School, Dopemu, Lagos, opposite the late Aturu’s chambers was Struggle for Social Change in Nigeria.

It will be recalled that Aturu passed on aged 49 after a brief illness on July 9.

At the event, prominent Nigerians who took turns to speak about the life and time of Aturu eulogised and praise his doggedness in human rights crusade.

Among those who spoke at the event were Issa Aremu, Vice President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC and delegate to the National Conference; National Industrial Court justices; former Chairman of Ikeja Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Monday Ubani; renowned lawyer and human rights activists, Femi Falana (SAN); Mrs Ayo Obe and Biodun Aremu, Secretary Joint Action Front, JAF. Others, who spoke glowingly about Aturu’s courage for the emancipation of the downtrodden include, the executive director, Community Life Action Project, Mrs. Ngozi Iwere; former lecturer at Ibadan Polytechnic and the chairman of the event, Mr. Femi Aborisade; the lead speaker, Professor Princewill Alozie of the Lagos State University, LASU. Chairman, NBA Ikeja Branch, Mr. Yinka Farounbi, and the coordinator of the Ijaw Monitoring Group, IMG, Mr. Joseph Evah, were also there.

The event was also attended by Aturu’s widow, children and family.

Falana said: “As a lawyer operating in a capitalist environment, I used to harass him to charge clients but he did not know how to charge fees.

“I always charge him to take his fees from the rich to service the poor. He was just learning that. He did many cases free of charge.

“He believed in liberation theology. In his commitment to the struggle, he was a man of Jesus Christ. He did not entertain any debate in regard to his religion. And we

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respected him for that.

“His religion actually reinforced his commitment for the struggle. He believes that Jesus Christ was a human right activist.”

Another Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Alhaji Adetola Kazzim, said: “The legal profession and entire human right activist will miss him. Some people are human right activist just to be noticed and some are doing it in order to make contribution. Bamidele Aturu belonged to the latter.

“I am not an activist, but I have a son who is a human right activist. Definitely,

Bamidele has left his mark and he will not be forgotten in a hurry.”

The presiding judge of National Industrial Court, NIC, Lagos Division, Justice Benedict Bakwaph Kanyip, urged Nigerians to value human rights to make the deceased rest in peace.

“There is something about him that is difficult to describe.

Bamidele has lost more cases before me than he has won, yet he will say that it is not a definition to his relationship with judges.

“I urge us all to value human rights because that is the least we can do to make

Professor Princewill Alozie (left) and Dr. Sylvester Odion-Akhaire.

Aturu rest in peace.”

Aremu said he would never forget the roles played by the late lawyer for the advancement of the struggles embarked upon by rights activists to chase out the military in Nigeria polity, adding “Aturu will always take the lead in planning and strategising whenever the situation called for it.”

Aborishade said the human rights community has lost a big opportunity in person of Bamidele Aturu, saying he was a leading voice to the cause of social justice.

Aborishade noted that the human rights community needs to come together again and mobilise to sustain and actualise Aturu’s struggle for a better Nigeria.

To Mr. Wale Ogunade, Aturu’s death was a big loss to the Nigerian human rights community and the development of the law profession.

He said: “He always stood on the path of truth and that was why he was never tainted in any way as an activist. He was one of the few good lawyers who is always ready to test the veracity of controversial laws.”

Mrs Ngozi Iwerre, Executive Director, Community Life Action Project, a civil rights group, said majority of Nigerians were disillusioned with the situation of the country, hence the pain for the exit of Aturu at this time the country needed him.

From left— Jacob Faith, Oluwatobi Aturu, son; Olumide Olanrewaju and Mrs Adebimpe Aturu, widow, at the colloquium. PHOTOS: Lamidi Bamidele.

From left: Mr. Adeyinka OlumideFusika; Rev R i c h a r d Akinnola; Ayo Obe and Dr Joe O k e i Odumakin.

From left: Mr. Uche Ubani; Mr. Malachy Ugwumadu and Mr. Lanre Arogundade.

From left: Alhaji Adetola Kazeem (SAN); Mr. Femi Falana (SAN); Mrs Mma Odi and Lanre Arogundade .

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014— —51

52 — V anguard Vanguard anguard,, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23 , 2014

Ukrainian rebels returning recovered black box of crashed MH17 to Malaysian aricraft official

MH17: Ukraine rebels hand over black box allow international

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senior separatist leader, Aleksander Borodai, has handed over the black box from an airliner shot down over eastern Ukraine to Malaysian experts in the city of Donetsk.

“Here they are, the black boxes,” Borodai told a room packed with journalists at the headquarters of his selfproclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, as an

armed rebel placed the boxes on a desk.

Both sides then signed a document, which Borodai said was a protocol to finalise the procedure.

Colonel Mohamed Sakri of the Malaysian National Security Council said the two black boxes were “in good condition.”

The rebels also announced a ceasefire within a 10km radius around the crash site to

investigators to safely access the vast area where the Malaysia Airlines flight was shot down, AFP news agency reported.

The move came after a United Nations Security Council resolution condemned the shooting down of the plane and demanded that armed groups allow “safe, secure, full and unrestricted access” to the crash site.

Identification process of victims begins

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ORENSIC experts have begun identifying the victims of the MH17 plane crash in Ukraine, international police say.

The remains, which were earlier moved out of territory held by proRussian rebels, are due to be flown from the city of Kharkiv to the Netherlands.

It has emerged that only 200 bodies arrived in Kharkiv - not 282 as claimed by the rebels, Dutch officials said.

The Malaysia Airlines plane crashed in a rebelcontrolled area last Thursday, killing all 298 people on board.

Western nations say there is growing evidence the rebels shot down the plane

using a missile supplied by Russia.

Russia has suggested Ukrainian government forces are to blame.

In a statement, Interpol said international experts in Kharkiv would carry out preliminary examinations on the bodies before their transport to the Netherlands.

BRIEFS

EU seeks sanctions on Russia over Most of Ukraine those who died

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HE European Union threatened Russia on Tuesday with harsher sanctions over Ukraine that could inflict wider damage on its economy following the downing of a Malaysian airliner, but it delayed action for a few days.

Efforts to forge a united front were hampered by a French announcement that the planned delivery of a warship to Moscow would go ahead despite U.S. and British pleas to halt it.

At a meeting in Brussels, EU foreign ministers for the first time raised the possibility of restricting Russian access to

European capital markets, defense and energy technology,

asking the executive European Commission to draft proposals this week.

Kerry urges Hamas to accept Gaza truce offer

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NITED States Secretary of State John Kerry has called on the Palestinian group, Hamas, to accept a ceasefire along the lines of an Egyptian proposal, to end the raging Gaza conflict that has already killed at least 607 Palestinians and 29 Israelis.

The top US diplomat spoke in Cairo on Tuesday after meeting

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, whose government offered the ceasefire proposal last week.

The Palestinian leadership has proposed to Egypt a plan for a ceasefire to be followed by five days of negotiations to stop the fighting, Palestinian official Azzam al-Ahmed told reporters in Cairo yesterday.

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VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014 —53

Aregbesola’s O’REAP a rip off — Omisore

BY GBENGA OLARINOYE

Our loyalty to Oyinlola made PDP expel us — Igbalaye

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HE PDP candidate Senator Iyiola Omisore has flayed the Osun Rural Enterprise and Agriculture Programme, O-REAP of the incumbent governor as a fraud saying the estimated N4 billion spent on agriculture cannot be accounted for.

Speaking through his campaign spokesman Prince Diran Odeyemi, he maintained that though the programme on the surface is portrayed as beneficial to farmers, Omisore maintained that beneath what was seen is high level fraud perpetrated by the programme’s officials.

“The case of Osun State cannot be different as it is predominantly an agrarian economy where more than 80 percent of the population reside in the rural areas and more than 70 percent of this rural population are basically into agriculture and agro-allied enterprises. Therefore, it is an understatement to say that agriculture is very important and as such, any serious government should not handle it with levity.

“From our investigation,

BY DAPO AKINREFON

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•Aregbesola: We’re reaping the leadership of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has used the agricultural development agenda tagged Osun Rural Enterprise and AgricultureProgramme (OREAP) to fraudulently enrich themselves to the detriment of the well-being of the resource –poor farmers of the State.

“Despite about Four Billion

•Omisore: It’s a rip off Naira (N4 Billion) that this government claimed it has spent on agriculture in the last three and half years, there is still nothing commensurate on ground.

According to our finding, the OREAP is an agenda in the right direction but being implemented by a group of persons that are bereft of integrity.”

I’m ready for arrest — Aregbesola

BY GBENGA OLARINOYE

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HE APC candidate and incumbent governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola yesterday declared that he was not afraid of the alleged plot by the leadership of the PDP and the police to arrest him and some of his associates ahead of the election.

Addressing APC supporters at the mega rally held at Unity High School, Ejigbo, Governor Aregbesola said that all the chieftains of APC in the state are ready for the police arrest adding that the arrest of APC leadership will not deter people from casting their votes for the party. The mega rally was also addressed by Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State.

Aregbesola charged the people of the state to ensure that they cast their votes even if he was arrested by the police saying that his arrest is meaningless without their votes.

He also called on the people not to be intimidated by the threat of arrest by the police, stressing that we are available for police arrest if that is what the PDP led federal government wants to do with the deployment of heavy soldiers and other security operatives to the state.

According to him, “If am arrested, my only charge to you is that don’t be afraid. Just go out and cast your vote. Police arrest is meaningless.

We are ready for them. We are not running away. We are available and we are ready to lead our people to the promise land.

Governor Aregbesola said that his administration has just kicked off it ignition and it will not stop until 2018

when his government will ensure that all dilapidated schools are no more and poverty vanished in the state.

Earlier, Governor Abiola Ajimobi had enjoined the people of the state to ensure that they return Aregbesola to office for the completion of the on-going infrastructural and development projects.

“The quantum of whatever this government has done is not commensurate to what they have budgeted for as well as the financial supports to agricultural development the State received from development partners, donors and international agencies.

“For example, we heard that the recent loan of Ninety-Seven Million Dollars ($97 Million) received by the government of Rauf Aregbesola under the Federal Government’s Rural Access and Mobility Project (RAMP). How much of this money has been spent? How many real rural roads and allied infrastructures have been provided with the money and where are they? We challenge Ogbeni Aregbesola to come out with the breakdown of how the OREAP fund was expended if he has nothing to hide.

Osun PDP asks Aregbesola to account for allocation

BY GBENGA OLARINOYE

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HE PDP in Osun has demanded detailed account of how the state’s allocation and other funds collected by the Rauf Aregbesola administration since its onset in 2010.

The party, in a statement issued by its director of Media and Publicity, Prince Diran Odeyemi, said the demand was upon disclosure that projects hitherto claimed by the administration have now been proved to be projects either funded by the Federal Government or with local governments allocations.

The party said it welcomed the confession by government spokesperson, Sunday Akere that “the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan through UBEC, built all elementary and middle schools in the state, while those roads executed at local government are paid for by all council areas in the state”.

The party thus queried: “With the facts at our disposal, Ogbeni Aregbesola has received over N300 billion from federation account since he took over as the governor of the state.

“All elementary and middle schools in Osun state are built by

UBEC, all High Schools were constructed with SUKUK bond, Osogbo/Ila Odo road originally designed and partly executed by a PDP government, is being funded by Bank of Infrastructure, Abuja, another establishment of FG so where is the state allocation” “Both Aiyegbaju and Aje markets are being funded by private organisations, while Ring Road in Osogbo and Gbongan Road are being financed by contractors themselves. We are left with no option, as indigenes to demand for account of what Aregbesola has earned”

SDP candidate flays focus on ‘stomach infrastructure’

BY GBENGA OLARINOYE

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OCIAL Democratic Party (SDP) candidate, Mr. Olusegun Akinwusi has faulted the on-going distribution of kerosene, foodstuff and cloths to electorate by some political parties in the state, saying it was against

democratic culture.

Akinwusi regretted that some wealthy politicians both within and outside the state were only utilizing the high level of poverty in the land to woo unsuspecting citizens to their sides by sharing kerosene and foodstuffs to voters.

The SDP candidate in an interview in Osogbo, on Tuesday,

called on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to check the excesses of both the APC and the PDP who he alleged were deeply involved in such acts.

Akinwusi stated, “I have told people who do not have conscience to collect these things from them but those who have conscience should reject them.

“It is disgraceful that the two parties are holding sway at both the national and the state levels and have all failed in eradicating poverty. Now, election is at the corner and they are spending little of our stolen collective wealth in their which could have been used to turn the lives of people around as baits to catch people into their nets.

NE of the recently expelled members of the PDP labeled as spies of the APC in the opposition party, Mr Teslim Igbalaye has traced their woes to their continued loyalty to the immediate former governor of the state, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola.

“I was expelled based on my loyalty to Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola. Inspite of my expulsion, that will not deter me from being loyal to him. We held a rally for him and based on that rally in his hometown of Okuku, they first suspended us from the party.”

Faulting the decision of the PDP, he said “with the way things are going, I do not think the PDP in Osun State will exist.

A serious minded party will never indulge in such acts of expelling its people with less than a month to a governorship election. Rather than woo people to the party, they are expelling. What happened in Ekiti State is a different scenario, you cannot compare it to Osun State because Aregbesola is a grassroots man.”

Group rebuffs ‘stomach infrastructure theory

BY DAPO AKINREFON

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he Oranmiyan Support Group has said that the proposed stomach infrastructure introduced by a candidate in Osun State by distributing bags of rice and kegs of kerosene to secure their votes, will not work.

Leader of the group, Mr. Ayo Akinola described the action as derogatory and insulting to Osun voters.

Akinola said that the people of the state are too politically aware to be deceived and conned through the distribution of these items to get their votes.

He said “one wonders where this theory of stomach infrastructure, as derogatory as it is of our collective pride, is coming from. The South West, from time immemorial has been known for principled and independent political choice.

The south west has always been known to lead other regions in political maturity and anyone who now wants to reduce our collective pride to mere bread and butter is no doubt an enemy of the people of the geo-political zone, and is on the journey of reckless catastrophe.

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54—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014

Enugu Assembly serves Deputy Gov, Onyebuchi, impeachment notice zAPC kicks, says notice based on flimsy excuses

BY TONY EDIKE

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NUGU— ENUGU State House of Assembly, yesterday, commenced impeachment proceedings against the state deputy governor, Chief Sunday Onyebuchi, who was accused of gross misconduct and disobedience to the lawful directives of Governor Sullivan Chime.

However, the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state has described reasons for the impeachment as flimsy. The impeachment notice signed by 22 of the 24 members of the House was read at plenary yesterday.

Only the Speaker of the House, Mr. Eugene Odoh, and the member representing Aninri constituency and younger brother to the Deputy Senate President, Mr. Matthias Ekweremadu, did not sign the sixpage impeachment notice.

The Assembly, however, directed its Clerk, Mr. Christopher Chukwurah, to serve the deputy governor the impeachment notice within seven days. The speaker, Mr. Odoh, presided over the brief session convened primarily to deliberate on the impeachment notice.

The notice

The motion was presented by leader of the House, Mr. S. K. E. Udeokoye, who also sponsored it.

The allegations levelled against the Deputy Governor included running a poultry farm in his official residence, which had been undergoing reconstruction since 2012, but had long been abandoned, and his alleged refusal to represent the governor at two official functions in Enugu and Onitsha.

The impeachment notice presented by Udeokoye reads: “In the exercise of the powers

Dep Gov’s camp

vested in the Enugu State House of Assembly by Section 188(1) – (9) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and all other powers enabling the Enugu State House of Assembly in that behalf; “We the undersigned members of the Enugu State House of Assembly append our names and signatures to this Notice of Allegation of Gross Misconduct in the Performance of the Functions of the Office of Deputy Governor against the Deputy Governor of Enugu State, Mr. Sunday Onyebuchi.

Alleged defiance

The allegations

“The Deputy Governor is guilty of various acts of gross misconduct in the performance of the functions of his office as the Deputy Governor of Enugu State. The particulars of gross misconduct are as follows: “Between February 2013 and February 2014 the Deputy Governor wrongfully deployed the resources of his office and exercised the powers thereof to resist and ridicule the implementation of a public health policy of the Government of Enugu State of Nigeria and thereby abused his office as follows: “By a resolution of the Enugu State House of Assembly at its plenary on Tuesday, February 12, 2013, the Enugu State House of Assembly prohibited the maintenance and operation of commercial livestock and poultry farms within residential neighbourhoods in Enugu metropolis in promotion of public health standards; which resolution was further accepted by the Government for implementation.

zOnyebuchi “Notwithstanding the said resolution, the Deputy Governor continued to maintain and operate a commercial poultry farm within the premises of his official residential quarters; and further refused to carry out the directives of the relevant officials of the Government, who visited his official premises to monitor compliance with the said resolution.

“Consequent upon the intimidation of the relevant officials of the Government by the Deputy Governor in respect of the matter aforesaid, the Governor of Enugu State via letters with reference numbers: GHE/CAO/31/239 and GHE/ CAO/31/240 dated 24/12/2013 and 27/12/2013, respectively, directed the Deputy Governor to relocate the commercial poultry farm out of the premises of his official residential quarters, which is also within the general premises of the Government House, Enugu, and adjacent to the Governor’s office.

“The Deputy Governor further defied the directive herein, and in a most discourteous manner and in utter disregard of the office of the Governor, responded via his letter dated 8/1/2014, insisting that he would not relocate his commercial poultry farm from the premises of his official residential quarters.

“When the Government through the appropriate ministries and departments relocated the birds and cleared the premises of the noxious stench emanating therefrom, the Deputy Governor wrongfully deployed the resources and powers of his office as Deputy Governor to invite the press and openly castigated the Government and her officials, thereby impugning and denigrating the authority and office of the Governor, and embarrassing the Government.”

The lawmakers further alleged that the Deputy Governor “habitually refuses, fails and or neglects to carry out and or perform the functions of his office as directed by the Governor pursuant to Section 193(1) of the Constitution without any excuse.”

‘Unconstitutional‘

They cited such manifest breaches of the constitution to include his alleged refusal to carry out the directive of the Governor to represent him at the flag-off ceremony of the construction of the second Niger Bridge in Onitsha by President Goodluck Jonathan on March 11, and at the SouthEast Governors Forum held in Enugu on Sunday, July 8 “despite the express directive of the Governor to represent him at the Forum.

The deputy governor could not be reached for his reaction to the impeachment notice, yesterday, but one of his aides said that he (Onyebuchi) would react formally to the notice at the appropriate time. His aide said: “I can tell you that the Deputy Governor has repeatedly given clear explanations to these issues which I think were not the main reason for trying to remove him from office.”

APC’s position

Meanwhile, APC, South-East zone has described the alleged impeachable offences brought against Onyebuchi as flimsy and appealed to the House to withdraw the “flimsy petitions” forthwith.

The party, in a statement by its chieftain in the zone, Chief Osita Okechukwu, said: “We have made a close study of the allegations such as disobedience to the directive prohibiting the maintenance of commercial livestock in residential quarters and disobedience of lawful directive to represent the governor in the South-East Governors Forum and the flagoff of the second Niger Bridge.

“Whereas, we are not holding brief for Chief Onyebuchi, APC South-East is of the candid view that the items listed are flimsy allegations; therefore we appeal to the House to withdraw the flimsy petitions forthwith.

“Consequently, we call on the Governor to call the House to order, to maintain the harmonious and peaceful atmosphere that subsist in Enugu for which we praise him;.

We can see the hand of Esau and the voice of Jacob.”

“We are making this appeal not only for the sustenance of our fledgling democracy, but in the collective interest of the good people of Enugu State.”

By Bartholomew Madukwe

PEOPLE SPEAK

08102479985

“The Deputy Governor persists in his defiance of lawful directives issued to him by the Governor, which defiance has adversely affected and will continue to affect the smooth running of the Government; and he will continue to do so if not removed from office.”

(nwamad@yahoo.com)

On doctors' strike

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OCTORS want surgeon-general.

Of what use is the office to patients' care? I’m yet to see any compelling justification for this office. Should we also create pharmacistgeneral and radiographer-general and so on?

—Ms Anwulika Nduba, Student.

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HE strike is for the benefit of their private hospitals. They are out to increase their income by depriving the poor of needed medical services. Trust me, they will also insist on being paid for the period they were on strike.— Mr. Innocent Ayambuba, Worker.

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HESE Nigerian doctors are very selfish. Someday, they will wake up and say unless the position of the President of the country and the governors are left for them to solely occupy, they will go on strike indefinitely.— Mr. Uche Mabia, Footballer.

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IGERIAN doctors do not match theoretical knowledge with practical expertise.

Why can’t pharmacists and chemists manufacture standard drugs? Now we have to patronise made in India drugs and other health products.— Ms Okereke Bukola, Student.

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F the powers that come with being named a hospital consultant include the right to ‘own’ a patient and make decisions on that patient, wouldn’t it be that government has just introduced chaos into the health sector?— Mr. Martin Dickson, Businessman.

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OCTORS are truly a blessing to humanity. But like everything in Nigeria, it has been taken over by charlatans. No one forced anyone to study any course, so they should not bother us with all this shenanigans of these.— Ms Chioma Ani, Model.

Vanguard , WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014 — 55

IMPEACHMENT: Thugs attack lawmaker in Ebonyi zCP deploys policemen to the Assembly complex

BY PETER OKUTU

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BAKALIKI—A member of Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Nnenna Nwene, was yesterday allegedly attacked by thugs for her role in the impeachment of the speaker, Chukwuma Nwazunku.

This came as the state Commissioner of Police, Maigari Dikko, deployed policemen to the Assembly complex since the speaker was impeached last Monday.

The lawmaker, who represents Ohaozara East state constituency, was attacked as she was driving to the residence of a fellow member of the House, Ikechukwu Ogbu, who is in the camp of the new speaker, Helen Nwaobasi, who was installed yesterday.

Ogbu’s residence had served as a point of convergence for the 18 members loyal to the new speaker, Nwaobasi.

Narrating her ordeal, Nwene said she was accosted as she was nearing Lawrence Onor Street, close to the residence of Ogbu, for a meeting with her colleagues.

“They poured dirty water on me and threatened to deal with me for joining in the impeachment of the former speaker,” she said.

She, however, said the incident, rather than weaken her, had further strengthened

her resolve to stand firmly behind the new speaker and any other resolution reached by members of the State House of Assembly in favour of the new leadership.

Vanguard learnt that a top politician in the state (names withheld) allegedly doled out over N100 million to buy over some of the aggrieved members of the State House of Assembly to the side of the impeached speaker, even as there are strong indications

that one of the lawmakers (names withheld) left the camp of the new speaker after benefitting from the said largesse.

Meanwhile, controversy has continued to trail the impeachment of Nwazunku and his subsequent replacement with Nwaobasi by the members.

Nwazunku, speaking to reporters at his residence, hinted that members had resolved their differences and had agreed that

he was still the speaker.

However, only six members were with him during the briefing, while 16 members were with the new speaker when she briefed reporters later, just as Nwaobasi also maintained that she remained the authentic speaker.

“You can count the members here with me, there is no going back and there is no compromise. I remain the speaker of Ebonyi State Assembly,” she said.

FAREWELL PARADE: Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, Osita Chidoka (middle), Parade Commander, Luka Friday (left) and others, during the farewell parade in honour of Osita Chidoka in Abuja. Photo: Gbemiga Olamikan.

Lawmakers battle LG boss over unpaid allowances

BY CHINENYEH OZOR

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S U K K A — A N uneasy calm now pervades Nsukka local government council as the legislative arm, demanding members’ unpaid allowances, shunned the visit of Vice Chancellor of University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN, Professor Benjamin Ozumba, to the chairman, Charles Ugwu.

The relationship between the chairman and council lawmakers broke down seven months after they were sworn in, over the unpaid allowances.

Following the councillors’ refusal to be part of the welcome party, the chairman was compelled to deploy his personal assistants to receive the Vice Chancellor.

It was gathered that four months after they were sworn in, the chairman, who claimed to have spent N8 million to rehabilitate primary schools in the area, refused to pay their allowances and other entitlements.

Every effort made to reach leader of the legislative arm, Celestine Ogbu, proved abortive as his mobile phone could not be accessed.

However, a councillor who pleaded anonymity, said the reason they boycotted the visit

was that the chairman did not inform them of the VC’s visit.

He added this was not the first time the council chairman was ignoring the legislative arm during an important function of the local government.

"After all, the same thing happened when he inaugurated the eightclassroom block which he said he built with N8m. I am not surprised that the chairman did not invite us," he said

DEFECTION TO APC: Imo govt dismisses fears over Okorocha's re-election

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BY CHARLES KUMOLU

AGOS—SPECIAL Adviser to Imo State governor and Liaison Officer in Lagos State, Mr. Alex Ononugbo, has dismissed fears that the defection of the state governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha to the All Progressives Congress, APC, would affect chances of his reelection, noting that the people would never regret the decision.

He also called on Imo indigenes in Lagos to ensure that they use the liaison office

to protect and promote their interest, adding that Okorocha is concerned about bringing governance to the door-step of the people.

His words: ‘’The defection to the APC is in the interest of the South East and it will not prevent him from seeking for re-election if he desires to do so.

“Some people have described his defection to the APC as being unstable but the truth is that he can only be among the people who share the same views and policies

with him and that is what APC is offering.

“He has the opportunity to replicate what he is doing across the country. And if the opportunity presents itself, he will take it. ‘’I can assure you that Rochas was not working to be re-elected. Rochas was labouring not to satisfy political interests. The things he has done so far is a proof to that. Crime rate in Imo State was phenomenal before we came in.

You could hardly work on the streets of Orlu and Owerri."

Food security: Don raises alarm over rural/urban migration

BY CHIDI NKWOPARA

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WERRI—THE Dean of Post Graduate Studies, Imo State University, Owerri, Professor Chinedum Nwajiuba, has raised alarm that the nation’s quest for food security might remain a mirage, if the high rate of urbanisation and ruralurban migration of youths was not checked.

Nwajiuba raised the alarm in a paper, “policy interface on the agricultural sector in Imo State”, delivered at a seminar organised at Umuezeala Nsu, Ehime Mbano local council area of Imo State on Nigeria and the green economy.

He said: “Hitherto, most of the people were farmers but with high rate of urbanisation and rural urban migration, especially of the youth, only a small proportion of the people are engaged with agriculture as occupation.”

The Professor of Agricultural Economics was particularly irked that farm labour was often scarce, despite very high aggregate unemployment level.

NCPC boss, John Kennedy Opara loses father

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HE EXECUTIVE Secretary of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission, NCPC, John Kennedy Opara lost his father over the weekend.

The father, late Nze P.J.C Opara, died in the State House Clinic, Abuja, on Friday, July 18, after a brief illness.

Late Nze P.J.C Opara, a devoted Christian and an accomplished businessman died at the age of 81.

He will be buried on August 8, at his residence, Umuopara Nguru, Aboh Mbaise Local Government Area, Imo State with a funeral mass at St. Mary ’s Catholic Church, Umuopapra Nguru.

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56 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014

* Gov Obiano and Bishop Owen Nwokolo at the site of a collapsed building belonging to the St Christopher Anglican Church Onitsha

Collapse of buildings in Anambra

•Govt orders seal off of giant buildings under construction

BY NWABUEZE OKONKWO, ONITSHA

B

UILDING engineers, un der the umbrella of Nigeria Society of Engineers, NSE, are heatedly trading blames with building contractors over the incessant collapse of buildings in the commercial city of Onitsha in particular and Anambra State in general.

While the NSE members are accusing the contractors of embarking on building projects without approval by relevant authorities, the contractors feel that engineers often take advantage of every situation to rip-off their clients by over-estimating the cost of building projects.

However, in what appeared to be an intervention process to checkmate the ugly trend, the state government has empowered a 10-member committee it set up to investigate the cause of the frequent collapse of

buildings. It has also sealed off all building projects bigger than a bungalow in all parts of the state.

Handing down the order during his visit to the site of a collapsed five-storey building at Fegge Area of Onitsha, Governor Willie Obiano said that work on any building above a bungalow should be stopped forthwith, pending when the professionals would assess the quality of materials being used for it.

Quality of materials Obiano also noted that government would set up a laboratory where all the quality of materials to be used for buildings would be tested and approved before anything else.

It was to underline this that he set up the 10-member panel of inquiry on collapsed buildings in the state. The panel has

Peter Okpala, an architect as its chairman; while Osita Okafor is the technical secretary, just as the Divisional Police Officer, DPO at Fegge, Rabiu Garba and others are members.

The panel which is currently winding up, has so far identified flaws of any or all of the stages of design through construction. It also noted that failure by building owners and developers to comply with building regulations, or the architects and engineers, contractors as well as government agencies or officials to perform their duty in compliance with established building codes construction requirements.

The panel attributed most of the collapse to late change in design, altering the method in which the rods supporting the beams or pillars were connected to them, and inadvertently doubling the forces on the connection.

They, therefore, recommend-

,

Engineers, contractors trade blames

ed some solutions to the ugly incidents which included that the state government should establish a regulatory course for practitioners in building industry, provide adequate sanction on the deviators and employ experts on architectural designs and structural engineers into the state urban development board to control and regulate buildings in the state.

Members of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, NSE who spoke to newsmen in Onitsha on the development, included Emmanuel Nwankwo, Onitsha branch chairman; his predecessor, Christian Uzom; Ike Otubelu, Chief Inspector of Engineer-

neers of blame in respect of buildings collapse, adding that the contractors do not engage the services of engineers in most cases.

They, therefore, advised contractors to employ the services of COREN members so that any problem arising from the contract would be heaped on the engineer.

They attributed the buildings collapse to substandard rods, use of light weight stones and shabby mixture of concrete materials. They disclosed that if Obiano had not ordered stoppage of work of high buildings and ordered every developer to go to COREN for re-certifica-

Investigations have shown that most of the buildings springing up in Onitsha and its environs did not conform with the required building standard

ing Regulation Monitoring, ERM, a body established by the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, COREN and Eugene Ejikeme, also an engineer.

Nwankwo, Uzom, Otubelu and Ejikeme informed that in Onitsha, engineers have been having a running battle with contractors, until last year when the engineers obtained a court order in their favour.

The experts absolved engi-

,

tion, no fewer than 150 more houses would have collapsed in various parts of the state because investigations have shown that most of the buildings springing up in Onitsha and its environs did not conform with the required building standard.

They confirmed that as a result of the order, the committee has so far sealed no fewer than 150 high-storey buildings still Continues on page 57

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014 — 57

Cement: Unending furore over standardisation HE recent recommendation by the House of Representatives concerning cement standardisation which tallied with a recent recommendation by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, SON, has generated a huge controversy among cement manufacturers and key industry stakeholders. This dust is not unexpected, given the pivotal role played by cement in the nation’s construction industry.

The House had in response to the rising cases of building collapse in Nigeria, set up an ad hoc committee on cement composition and pigmentation. The Committee, which was headed by Yakubu Dogara, recommended the use of 42.5mpa grade cement “because it is less susceptible to misapplication and most stakeholders will prefer it if given the chance to choose between 32.5mpa and 42.5mpa.”

The committee made 12 recommendations which were all adopted by the lower chamber of the National Assembly.

The legislators charged the governing council of the SON to ensure that all cement manufacturers in Nigeria retool and upgrade their production lines to start producing the 42.5mpa grade within a reasonable time from now.

It also recommended the creation of a cement fund from contributions of N10 per 50kg bag of cement produced in Nigeria and N20 only per 50kg of cement imported into Nigeria for the establishment of state-of-the-art laboratories in all the geo-political zones within the period of three years.

When it comes on stream, the fund would be managed by a task force to be set up by SON, the Council

for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, COREN, the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria, CORBON and the Nigerian Institute of Building NIOB. Furthermore, the House recommended that any cement manufacturer or distributor implicated in the sale of expired cement should be maximally sanctioned to ensure that sanity prevails in the nation’s cement manufacturing and construction industry.

While the major cement manufacturers have already hailed the decision of House, the small players have cried foul. In separate statements issued by them, the three major manufacturers stated that long before the quality review by the SON, which pegged the 42.5mpa grade as the minimum standard for general purpose use, they were already producing that grade as their minimum quality.

Minimum quality BUA which operates the oldest cement plant in Nigeria, the Cement Company of Northern Nigeria, CCNN, said it has been producing the higher grade of cement right from the outset, hence the company saw nothing wrong with the House’s decision.

“The BUA cement brand is different from others because it is of 42.5 and 52.5 texture grade. This is the highest quality texture which mixes and dries easily. Most companies import lower quality.

Our prices are also competitive,” the company said.

Similarly, the Group Managing Director of Dangote Cement Plc, Devakumar Edwin, said the company has never produced a lower

Stacked bags of cement...War over grading grade of cement and that the quality review by SON, which was also affirmed by the House of Representatives that investigated the disturbing menace of structural failures only confirmed its long held view that Nigerians deserved the best quality of cement.

But many stakeholders seem to have a different opinion.

COREN in a presentation by its President, Kashim Ali, an engineer, maintained that there is no scientific proof to insinuations that low grade of cement is responsible for the spate of collapsed buildings in Nigeria. COREN had observed that SON, which is the regulatory agency for setting standard for cement in Nigeria, did not have a competent laboratory for determining cement quality.

It also said that SON’s board as presently constituted lacked the technicalcompetencetoembarkon

Engineers, contractors trade blames Continues from page 56 under construction in various parts of the state, pending when their materials would be tested at the newly set up laboratory.

Reacting to the allegation, a prominent contractor in Onitsha, Chief Damian Nweke, blamed engineers and even the government for bureaucratic bottlenecks and extortions when it comes to approvals for building projects, adding that developers prefer to hire contractors because engineers charge double what contractors charge for a project.

Nweke, however, noted that the double charge or bureaucratic bottlenecks should not be used as an excuse by contractors to do shoddy jobs that could lead to building collapse and probably kill some people since it would amount to ‘penny wise, pound foolish’.

He said that any person who is not qualified to handle a building project should not be

registered as a contractor in the first place as there must be a yardstick for ascertaining who is actually a contractor and who is not.

Some of the property owners in Onitsha, Chief Patrick Ikenta, a patron of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Anambra State council; Chief Emmanuel Chinemelu (a.k.a World Bank), a big time importer; Chief Okwudili Otti, General Manager of the Caltec group and Chief Gilbert Bravo Obi, chairman of Nigerian Importers Association, blamed some businessmen for bringing substandard building materials into the country.

Ikenta, Chinemelu, Otti and Obi who also attributed the trend to developers looking for a way to save costs, urged government to be strict in registering or engaging registered engineers so as to know who to hold responsible and who to prosecute and whose license would be withdrawn in the event of the collapse of any building.

They also urged the Standard Organization of Nigeria, SON, to go round the markets and fish out all substandard materials, adding that developers should limit their buildings to three or four-storey In recent time, many buildings had collapsed at their roofing stages in the state, especially in the commercial city of Onitsha, with the latest being a fivestorey which went down on Saturday July 5.

The building which was located at Aloy Offia Crescent, within the Old Mercedes Lorry Spare Parts Market, Nkpor, an outskirt of the commercial city of Onitsha, damaged about four vehicles parked near it.

Eye-witness informed that the ground floor of the building was erected many years ago and was being used as a private nursery school until about two years ago when the owner sold it out to someone else.

such an activity”.

This view was shared by the Consumer Advocacy Foundation of Nigeria, CAFON. Its President, Sola Salako, asserted that since the commencement of cement production in Nigeria in 1952, the 32.5mpa grade has been the prevalent variant available and widely used in construction across the country. CAFON argued that

,

T

BY AUGUSTINA ANYAEGBU

form mortars, sandcrete, saying that all three grades of cement approved by SON, and available in the market have been satisfactorily used for construction purpose in the country”. Falade had surmised that “the production and marketing of Grade 32.5 already certified and approved by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, SON for use in Nigeria should

Overwhelming evidence abound that the 32.5mpa grade of cement has been the variant used for the construction of millions of buildings in the country, including sky scrapers

“overwhelming evidence abound that the 32.5mpa grade of cement has been the variant used for the construction of millions of buildings in the country, including sky scrapers and multi-storey buildings, all of which are still of good and enduring quality and standard today, 57 years later”.

President of the Nigerian Institute of Building, NIOB, Tunde Lasabi noted that experience throughout the world has shown very clearly that cement quality is not the source of building collapse.

Building collapse Lasabi said the root cause is most of the time related to poor construction practices.

He emphasised the need for training and re-training programmes for block makers and cement users in all parts of the country as is being done by some cement manufacturers.

The Nigerian Society of Engineers, NSE, also spoke in the same vein. Its President, Adewale Falade, contended that “cement as a material is not used directly in construction works but is normally mixed with other materials such as sand and granite to

,

continue unabated.”

Vanguard Features, VF learnt that a pressure group has risen to champion the cause of the small manufacturerswhomaynotbeable to immediately meet the recommendations of the House of Representatives.

The group, Alliance Against Monopoly, in a statement jointly signed by its President, Chief Ike Omife, and the Secretary-General, Dr. John Ikegbunam, noted that the findings and conclusion of the House Committee Report were at variance with the submissions of most of the experts who testified on oath during the public session.

It wondered how the Committee arrived at a conclusion that defied logic in a matter in which empirical facts were furnished by both experts and industry practitioners.

The organisation then wondered how a parliament which ordinarily should have the interest of the people at heart would endorse an obviously skewed report designed to entrench monopoly in the nation’s vibrant cement market.

An Abuja -based building contractor, Alhaji Idris Mohammed debunked claims that the quality of cement causes building collapse. Mohammed who said he has been in construction for over 30yearssaid experiencehasshown that it is the use of inferior materials and not adhering to the right measurement that cause buildings to collapse.

58—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014

Terrorism: FG to upgrade Oghara Naval Logistics Command —Obanikoro

BY GODWIN OGHRE

S

APELE—THE Federal Government is to upgrade the Nigerian Naval Logistics Command, Oghara, Delta State and enhance the welfare of Naval personnel across the country in its efforts to halt terrorism in the country.

The Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, who disclosed this during his assessment tour of the command, reiterated the Federal Government’s determination to bring lasting solution to the security challenge posed by Boko Haram, saying that the Federal Government will crush terrorism in no distant time.

Senator Obanikoro also allayed fears, particularly of the parents of the abducted Chibock school girls, saying: “The government is doing everything humanly possible to rescue the girls. There is no cause for fear. I trust in the capacity of the President and I urge all Nigerians to do the same.

“The Federal Government will investment more in this

command. I have seen a number of areas where urgent attention is needed. The gov-

ernment will also ensure that it boosts the morale of naval officers and ratings

across the country to enhance our fight against terrorism.”

INAUGURATION OF RIVERS APC COMMITTEES: From left: Senator Magnus Abe; Engr Tele Ikuru, Rivers State Deputy Governor and Chief Davies Ikanya, Chairman, All Progressives Congress, APC, Rivers State, during the inauguration of APC committees in Rivers State, in Port Harcourt, yesterday. Photo: Nwankpa Chijioke.

Piracy: Bayelsans beg government to declare state of emergency on waterways

BY SAMUEL OYADONGHA

Y

ENAGOA—WORRIED by the upsurge in attacks by pirates on marine commuters in Bayelsa State, Bayelsans have called on the government to declare a state of emergency on the creeks and waterways.

They also want the government to deploy personnel to the creeks with a view to safeguarding the lives and property of innocent travellers.

The appeal is coming on the heels of last Friday's attack on a passenger boat heading to Okpoama in the East senatorial district of the state in which three persons, including an aide to a former commissioner and a boat driver lost their lives.

An environmentalist, Mr. Alagoa Morris, who spoke to Vanguard yesterday, in Yenagoa, said: “Pirates rampaging in the creeks of Bayelsa State are denying fellow Ijaws of their lives and property. The state government should declare an emergency on the creeks and mobilise funds to take care of men and materials with a view to safeguarding the lives of innocent commuters.”

C M Y K

He specifically cited the deplorable situation on the waterways of Southern Ijaw, Nembe and Brass Local Government Areas of the state.

He said: “I am saddened by the ever rising activities and danger posed to those plying our creeks in Bayelsa State, especially in Southern Ijaw, Nembe and Brass councils of the state. This is causing travellers and transporters grave concern as lives and property are at stake.

“As one working for a grass-

roots organisation which also entails a lot of sailing in the creeks, I appreciate the prevailing situation. Last Friday, three persons, including the speedboat driver, lost their lives on their way to Okpoama from Ogbia (Emakalakala route).

“During my trip on the same day, I saw operatives of Operation Doo Akpo in the creeks escorting market boats and at other spots, the Joint Task Force, JTF, also escorting speedboats leav-

ing Twon-Brass to safe zones before returning to Brass.

“Sadly, there is no such arrangement to escort speedboats from Yenagoa or Ogbia back to the Brass Island and the pirates take advantage of the lapses to strike.”

According to him, the scenario in the creek is capable of sending wrong signals to the investing public especially when the government is wooing investors to the state.

We've not endorsed anyone yet for Delta guber —UPF Ovie Omo-Agege. ants in the race.

BY AUSTIN OGWUDA

A

SABA—THE leadership of Urhobo Political Forum, UPF, has said that it had not endorsed any of the aspirants for the 2015 governorship race in Delta State, but is still searching for a credible person that will adequately protect the Urhobo interest when elected.

UPF, led by the Senior Political Adviser to the state governor, Chief Ighoyota Amori, made this clarification while reacting to a publication to the effect that the group had given its nod for the candidacy of former Secretary to the State Government, Chief

National Publicity of the group, Mr. Ejaife Odebala, in a statement, in Asaba, yesterday said that the forum’s national chairman, Chief Amori, never told Ovie Omo-Agege that he had been endorsed when the latter paid them a visit, describing the publication as misleading.

The statement noted that the publication gave “an impression that UPF and our leader, Chief Amori, have for himself and on behalf of the forum, endorsed Omo-Agege for governor of Delta State in the 2015 governorship election against all other aspir-

“For the information of the general public, UPF has not endorsed anyone including, Omo-Agege for the 2015 governorship election as all the aspirants that have come to the UPF have been encouraged to continue in the race peacefully and constitutionally.

“As a political pressure group within the Peoples Democratic Party, we are looking at all those running for governorship at the moment and at the appropriate time the UPF will take a position on who will be served the Urhobo interest.”

Okowa disowns Ndokwa Coalition 4 Okowa

S

ENATOR Ifeanyi Okowa, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Delta North, has disowned the group, Ndokwa Coalition 4 Okowa -2105, saying he has no relationship with the group that is supposedly canvassing his governorship aspiration.

Dismissing the group’s recent publication, Okowa distanced himself from the content of the said report, insisting that he knew nothing about the group.

The group had, in a publication, promoted the plans of an unnamed gubernatorial aspirant promising to provide uninterrupted power supply from 2015 using a table lamp.

Disowning the group, Senator Okowa denied any link with the publication and with the group which he claimed is unknown to him.

“I have two major things against the publication and the first is that I don’t believe in smear campaigns, and I am making it clear that we have nothing in common.

“Secondly, I do not know the group and I have no relationship with the group and if they exist, they do not have any relationship with me or my associates,” he said.

Delta PDP women pay solidarity visit to Nwaoboshi

W

OMEN members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Delta State, yesterday threw its support behind the embattled chairman of the state chapter of the party, Chief Peter Nwaoboshi, describing penultimate Friday’s altercation between him and a party chieftain, Mrs. Marian Ali, as an embarrassment to them.

The PDP women, drawn from across the state, during a solidarity visit to Nwaoboshi, also condemned the protest by some women as a hired outing, staged to embarrass the state chairman.

The PDP woman leader in the state, Mrs. Felicia Adowei-Ajagu who led the solidarity visit to the state chairman, said: “They protesters were not PDP women. In PDP, women don’t wear black, we don’t troop to streets to get what we want."

Vanguard, WEDNEDAY, JULY 23, 2014 — 59 YOUR LUCK TODAY

LEISURE

By Joshua Adeyemo Phone 08056180139

CANCER; Professional advice may be needed over your finances but if you are sure of what you are doing you can go ahead. Be more family minded.

LEO; Some of you who are travelling purposely for love are in for a rewarding day. All of you will need to take your social life more seriously.

VIRGO; Unusual co-operation may come your way today but if you are carried away by this the whole thing may change soonest. Respect your spouse.

LIBRA; Tomorrow will prove more rewarding financially but you will have good opportunity to do things rightly within your working arena. Be loving.

SCORPIO; Although tomorrow may be your best day good opportunity to enhance your financial prospects will come your way even today. Try to be more practical however.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

By Richard Eromosele

E

VERY life should be an asset. Unfortunately, not every life is an asset.

Yes, life could be a liability if we fail to utilize it.

In order for our life to be an asset, we must

Is your life an asset? do the needful — what are those things we need to do? We must add value to humanity. It is no use coming into this world and

TERROR MUDA

Therefore it is not compulsory that we also existing the must live. If our goal world the same way is to add to the probwe met it. It is the lem of the world then impart we make on of what use is our people that makes coming? our life an asset.

Life is a privilege. Think about it!

in “Never say goodbye”

By Lanre Kehinde

SAGITTARIUS; This is your day when both your personal efforts and element of good luck will bring you much desired result. The more self assertive you are today the better for you.

CAPRICORN; Tomorrow is your day; although there will be some challenges within your base of operation today, eventual success will be yours. Be more family minded.

AQUARIUS; Even if friends have failed to live up to expectation in the recent days you will need to leave the past behind you and forge ahead. Lovers are fairly favoured.

PISCES; Business challenges of yesterday notwithstanding pleasant surprises are possible. The more financially ambitious you are today the better for your cause.

ARIES; Better opportunities indicated for those of you willing to be as self assertive as possible, and it could turn out to be a happy day to be remembered by real lovers.

KAPTAIN AFRIKA

in

“Pretty Lunatic’

By Andy Akman

TAURUS; Although you will need to keep your secrets for the next few days that is not to say you should not pursue your financial interest. Take care of your health.

GEMINI; Don’t wait till tomorrow before you make an important move because good luck and success are closer to you today than you image. Be hopeful.

ASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLING Send yyour our dat th ttoo the As tr ological datee and place of bir birth Astr trological Counselling, PP.M.B .M.B 1100 00 7, Apapa, Lagos 007,

Who am I? Dear Joshua, Please keep my birth data secret, but I want you to analyse my horoscope bluntly so that I can know who am I; talking about my personality. Who am I ?

Bello Kaduna.

VIRGINIA

dadadekola@yahoo.com

Dear Bello, What you will find here under will prove useful if you take them seriously and utilise them.

ANALY S I S O F YOUR HOROSCOPE DATA/ PLANETARY PLACEMENT Aries that hosted the most important heavenly body (the Sun) together with indicator of mental focus lensMercury, is known for special leadership quality and higher degree of positive aggressiveness. Yes you were endowed with leadership talents which can manifest either in the business world or POLITICS and probably both.

It is true that Aries can be very aggressive, but with many planets placed in more mild Star signs, with less than 50% of push-full influence, loving Venus as most influential planet when you were born, certainly aggression of Aries is greatly water down to the minimum . That is not to say you the timid type but yours is a balanced personality. You are gentle, honest and straight forward person. Preponderance of fixed and earth in your chart are pointers to the fact that you are the careful type who will not change his mind just for the fun of it. Then as peace loving Venus was the most influential planet when you were born, peace and harmony will always come first whenever you want to take any (important and/ or) decisive action.

Placement of mighty Sun (indicator of basic-self hood) the Moon (indicator of sub-conscious self/ emotion) and the Stellium (that is more than two planets in one Star sign} in Aries, Pisces and Taurus respectively meant that basic characteristics of the three Star signs stated in this paragraph are highly pronounced in your inner-self..

HOME & ABROAD

By Lawrence Akapa

60 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014

Opening Ceremony to attract 1.5 billion viewers

My mandate is to end football crisis

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M

HE Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony, which is due to begin at Celtic Park at 8pm today, will potentially have a global audience of 1.5 billion, according to Glasgow 2014 organisers – and it will certainly have more than a dollop of local flavour, and “a distinctly Glaswegian accent”.

Home-grown heroes and heroines have been lined up to entertain in the two-hour extravaganza, which will take place in the 40,000seater home of Celtic Football Club (where those in the stadium will pay between £20 and £250), and the 6,500 athletes from 70 nations will be introduced to the crowd by a different citizen of Glasgow (or “chieftain”) before 11 days of competition.

David Zolkwer, the Glasgow 2014 head of ceremonies who directed the 2002 Games ceremonies in his native Manchester, said: “We knew right from the start that the source of inspiration and the voice and character and personality of the ceremony had to reflect and explicitly include the people of the city.”

The 69-year-old rocker Rod Stewart (who was actually born and raised in Highgate in London), West Lothian-reared Susan Boyle, 53, who starred in 2009’s Britain’s Got Talent, as well as East Dunbartonshire’s Amy Macdonald, will feature. And Scottish classical violinist Nicola Benedetti will also take the stage, among some 2,000 fellow cast and crew in the firework-heavy show.

•Shelly Anne-Frazer ...to run relays for Jamaica in Glasgow.

Brazil appoint Dunga T

HE Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) have appointed Dunga as coach, replacing Luiz Felipe Scolari, whose contract was not renewed after the hosts’ World Cup semi-final thrashing

by Germany.

The 50-year-old Dunga, Brazil’s 1994 World-Cup winning skipper, takes the reins for a second time having led the Selecao at the 2010 tournament.

“I am immensely happy - thank you for your confidence in me,” said Dunga, who in his playing days was a tough-tackling midfielder with Serie A side Fiorentina and Germany’s Stuttgart, and who also had a spell in Japan with Jubilo Iwata.

“The fans are very down right now but they are right behind the team,” Dunga continued.

“I am not here to sell a dream, we must get down to work.”

•Dunga His no nonsense style was decried by some but his 91 caps showed the esteem in which he was held and that respect has endured, CBF president

Glasgow 2014 will be spectacular — Hoy

S

COTTISH cycling great Sir Chris Hoy says the “afterglow” of the 2012 London Olympics will help Glasgow deliver a “spectacular ” Commonwealth Games. “I went to three

Wiggins criticises Glasgow velodrome

S

IR Bradley Wiggins thinks Sir Chris Hoy should get more recognition at the velodrome that bears his name.

The 2012 Tour de France winner said the arena was “a bit corporate” and

Hoy, 38, had been “done over a bit. It doesn’t stand out that it’s the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, other than a little thing as you walk in.”

“It’s more like a shopping centre sign with an Emirates thing on it,”

Jose Maria Marin said.

“He was world champion, captain of a world champion side,” Marin said.

said Wiggins, who is taking part in his third Games.

“I think there should be more made for him. Stick a whopping great statue outside because it doesn’t hit you straight away that it’s his velodrome."

Commonwealths but this will blow them out of the water.

“That spirit and celebration of London is still there from the Games.”

Hoy, 38, insisted he had “no regrets” about retiring in 2013 and thus missing out on racing in front of Scottish fans in a velodrome named after him.

“I would have loved to have been out there, obviously, but it’s about being realistic and thinking with your head and I could see I wasn’t going to be at my best,” he explained.

— Danagogo INISTER and Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC) Dr. Tamuno Danagogo has revealed that he has a presidential mandate to ensure an end to the incessant crisis that has been rocking Nigerian football in recent years.

The Minister while receiving members of the Club Owners Association of Nigeria who paid him a courtesy visit in his office said the crisis has been contributing negatively to the development of football in Nigeria hence the need to do all that is possible to solve the problem once and for all.

He said that given the huge passion which the people of Nigeria have developed in football, the federal government has no option to ensure that the template for the smooth running and administration of the game in line with FIFA Statutes were put in place.

But Danagogo regretted that despite the efforts he has put in solving the problems of football including private meetings with football stakeholders have yielded little or no result a situation he insisted led

•Danagogo to some of the issues that caused the recent FIFA suspension after a Jos High Court sacked the board of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

According to him, all issue in Nigerian football centers around the management of the game including the issue of the League Management Company (LMC), the issue of many stakeholders not duly represented on the board of the NFF. “All these issues are things I believe that if we all work with the interest of Nigeria and the game first, they would be solved easily, I have personally made private efforts to end some of this crisis but I am still optimistic that these are issues we have to sort out peacefully."

Usman Continues from B/P With the push for medals starting tomorrow, Team Nigeria will take their mind out of the hassles as they join other nations in a spectacular celebration of life, arts and entertainment all rolled into one show , which organisers say will blow the mind of all.

London Olympics flag-bearer Mariam Usman will once again carry the flag of Team Nigeria tonight in Glasgow.. The weightlifter ’s expected entrance into the track of Celtic Park will surely lift the spirit of Nigerian fans, who will be counting on her for medals. Nigeria will feature in seven

events, comprising athletics, boxing, table tennis, wrestling, shooting, weight lifting, and Para sports.

Since the country ’s maiden appearance at the 1950 edition in Auckland, Nigeria has featured in nine other Games, the last being in New Delhi in 2010, where the athletes garnered 11 gold, eight silver and 14 bronze medals, which ranks as the country ’s second best outing at the Games.

The best outing for Team Nigeria was the Victoriaames in 1994, where the athletes scooped 11 gold, 13 silver and 13 bronze medals.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014 — 61

Uche begins Villareal pre-season A

FTER being controver-sially ignored by former Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi from Nigeria World cup squad, Villareal forward Ikechukwu Uche returned to preseason training with the rest of his Villareal teammates under the watchful eye of coach Marcelino Garcia Toral.

Uche exercised at the ‘Ermita de la Mare de Deu de Gracia’ Vila-real with the rest of the Villareal squad except for injured Pablo Iñiguez, Hernán Pérez, and Mexican internationals Giovani Dos Santos and Javier Aquino, who will join the team on July 24th.

The 30 year old is in line to join the team on a tour of England on August 1st in which the Submarine will face Middlesbrough FC and Swansea.

The Yellows will fly from Valencia to Leeds on Friday August 1st, and will establish their headquarters for the tour at the Oulton Hall Hotel, in the city suburbs.

Last season Uche scored 14 times from 30 games as Villareal marked their comeback to the La-Liga finishing in 6th place.

S

TARTimes yesterday unveiled a new channel, Star Sport 2. The channel is dedicated to airing a variety of sports on the pay-tv platform.

Irete Anetor, Public Relations Manager of the NTA-Star Network, said that Star Sport 2 has a rich, diverse and global outlook aimed at meeting the teeming needs of current and prospective customers, who are constantly searching for rich sports content. “It will offer our sports inclined customers as well as prospects a diverse range of sports like soccer, tennis, golf, rugby, car-racing, cricket and extreme sports. The content of Star Sport 2 will

•Uche (r) ready for pre-season

Obi gets another chance at Inter N

I G E R I A international midfielder Joel Obi has been offered another chance to stay put at Inter Milan as he was included on a 26-man squad for a pre-season tour of USA. Obi, who played on loan last season at Parma, has never stopped dreaming of becoming an important member of Inter and this is another chance to

Solanke makes Chelsea cut D

•Solanke

Startimes launches Sport 2

OMINIC Solanke has been rewarded for his sterling performances for the Chelsea B team last season by being included in the team’s preseason tour to Austria.

The Anglo Nigeria who top scored at the European Under-18 Championship was included alongside seven of his B team colleagues from last season on the blues tour list of 26 to Austria where they will play two friendlies.

16 year old Solanke ended last season with the Under-18 with 18 goals and has already played in the team’s two preseason games so far.

prove he is capable of featuring for the club.

Obi’s career has been hampered by injuries and he will now hope he stay fit this season.

The Serie A side will battle Real Madrid on July 26 in Berkeley, Manchester United on July 29 in Washington DC and Serie A rivals Roma on August 2 in Philadelphia.

They could play in the final of Intercontinental Cup in Miami on August 4.

•Joel Obi

include live broadcasts and highlights, sport news, sports programs, sports movies and exercise education” He noted that soccer lovers will have a lot to watch out for on the channels, in the following weeks, as StarTimes has the exclusive rights to air some competitions.

StarTimes will air the Guinness International Champions Cup and the European Qualifiers for UEFA EURO 2016 on the new channel as the pay-tv has acquired the exclusive rights to air these competitions on its platform.

UEFA shuts PSG stands

F

RENCH club Paris Saint-German were ordered by UEFA to close part of their stadium as punishment for their supporters’ abuse of disabled Chelsea fans during their Champions League quarter-final match in April.

Jose Mourinho’s exclusive World Cup analysis UEFA said that it had ordered a one-match closure of sectors 104 and 105 of the Parc des Princes, the club’s home stadium in the French capital.

Renard on Ivory Coast coach shortlist A

FRICA Cup of Nations winner Herve Renard is among five people being considered by Ivory Coast to become their new national team coach.

Renard, who coached Zambia to the title in 2012, is joined on the list by fellow Frenchmen Luis Fernandez Francis Gillot, Frederic Antonetti and Portuguese Manuel Jose.

The shortlist was put together from a list of 37 prospective candidates.

A decision is expected to be announced by the end of July.

The new man will take

over from Sabri Lamouchi, whose two-year contract was not renewed after the country failed to reach the second round at the World Cup in Brazil.

In September, the Ivorians begin the qualifiers for next year ’s Nations Cup in Morocco.

The 45-year-old Renard ended his second spell as Zambia coach in October 2013 to take over at French club Sochaux for the second half of the Ligue 1 season.

•Renard

62— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014

C M Y K

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014— —63

C M Y K

VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014

Usman to lead Team Nigeria out

BY JOHN EGBOKHAN

T

EAM Nigeria will to night join other Commonwealth countries to celebrate the start of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Continues on pg 60

Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2014

Opening Ceremony to attract 1.5 billion viewers — Pg 60

•Mariam Usman

•Bolt... To dazzle in 100m

Rodríguez signs for Real — Pg 32

•6,500 athletes from 70 nations ready •Rod Stewart, Boyle to dazzle fans

•show starts 8pm

•Okagbare

•Celtic Park

TODAY'S

PUZZLE

My mandate is to end football crisis — Danagogo — pg 60 QUICK CROSSWORD

YESTER DAY'S YESTERDAY'S

ANSWERS

ACROSS 1 Dangerous (6) 5 Box (4) 8 Rustic (5) 9 Shelter (3) 10 So be it (4) 11 Price (4) 12 Begin (5) 13 Overseas (6) 16 Observed (4) 18 Snare (4) 20 Individual (3) 22 Posed (3) 23 Fish (3) 24 Trace (4) 25 Detail (4) 28 Infer (6) 30 Intended (5) 32 Penniless (4) 33 Parched (4) 34 Expert (3) 35 Trivial (5) 36 Action (4) 37 Coming (6)

DOWN 1 Discharge (6) 2 Cursing (8) 3 Brawl (6) 4 Satisfied (9) 5 Hide (7) 6 Scheme (4) 7 Ceremony (4) 8 Aye (3) 14 Specify (9) 15 Friend (3) 17 Consume (3) 19 Adjust (8) 20 Lubricate (3) 21 Penetrated (7) 26 Repaired (6) 27 Dislike (6) 29 Rushed (4) 30 Be gloomy (4) 31Attempt (3)

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS ACROSS: 3, Asked 9, Thrush 10, Distil 11, Pride 12, Erne 15, Have 17, Reading 20, Set 21, Kudos 23, Even 25, Tart 26, Dense 28, Use 30, Salvage 33, Need 35, Ever 36, Abate 38, Icicle 39, Efface 40, Exert.

DOWN: 1, Steer 2, Arena 3, Asp 4, Shrink 5, Eddy 6, Die 7, Atlas 8, Fleet 13, Reverse 14, Edged 16, Vestige 18, Guess 19, Sot 22, Salve 24, New 27, Easter 28, Undid 29, Eerie 31, Avian32, Erred 34, Ibex 36, Ale 37, Eft.

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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