Oil theft: Axe dangles on ex-ministers, others

...towards a better life for the people VOL. 25: NO. 62455

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ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

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Dasuki denies maltreating Vandals die as NNPC pipeline explodes in Buhari after 1985 coup 8 Lagos 7

Oil theft: Axe dangles on ex-ministers, others zAs Buhari vows to arrest, prosecute them zSays amount involved mind-boggling zAdds it'll take 18 months to re-jig economy zNotes: Nigeria'll not tolerate same-sex marriage zIt's difficult to ascertain genuine B'Haram leaders

MEETING: President Muhammadu Buhari (right) and World Bank president, Mr Jim Yong-Kim, during a meeting at the Blair House in Washington DC, on Tuesday. Photo: State House.

COLUMNISTS: A peek into Muhammadu Buhari's mind •P.17 C M Y K

Buhari’s •P.19 Buhari: Making haste slowly undemocratic rule: Cui bono?

•P.19

By Levinus Nwabughiogu

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BUJA — PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari vowed, yesterday, to

SWhichever documents we are able to get and subsequently trace the sale of the crude or transfer of money from ministries, departments, Central Bank, we will ask the cooperation of those countries to return those monies to federation accounts and we will use those documents to arrest those people and prosecute them.

This, I promise Nigerians T

Crisis in Gbajabiamila's camp over letter to Oyegun 9

arrest and prosecute former ministers and government officials found culpable of looting and stealing Nigeria’s crude oil.

He said his administration will recover the mindboggling funds stashed in foreign bank accounts The President, who made the vow during his

Continues on Page 5

Ex-SGF, Aminu Saleh dies @ 82 46 Mr & Mrs

2— Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

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POCKET CARTOON

LECTURE: From left: Guest Speaker and former Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi; Speaker of the Ghanaian Parliament, Edward Doe Adjaho and Vice President of Ghana, Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, during the 3rd annual President Atta Mills Memorial lecture in Accra, Ghana, Tuesday.

Oil theft: Axe dangles on ex-ministers, others Continues from Page 1 meeting with members of Nigerians In Diaspora Organization, NIDO, resident in the United States and Canada at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington DC, also expressed difficulty in identifying genuine Boko Haram leaders with whom to negotiate for the release of Chibok girls, disclosing that the sect was plotting to exchange some of their leaders being held by the government with the girls.

The President, who has been in the US on an official visit, lamented that “corruption in Nigeria has virtually developed into a culture where honest people are abused.”

According to him, the government has

established contact with countries with possible traces to the illegally acquired monies, expressing his determination to re-instill the culture of transparency in Nigeria’s public life.

Said he: “We are now looking for evidences of shipping of some of our crude, their destinations and where and which accounts they were paid and in which country.

When we get as much as we can get as soon as possible, we will approach those countries to freeze those accounts and go to court, prosecute those people and let the accounts be taken to Nigeria.

250,000 barrels per day of Nigerian crude are being stolen and people sell and put the money into

TAKE HEART

BY ELLA RANDLE

When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning, by dreams that need completion, by pure love that needs expressing, then we truly live life— Greg Anderson-

Y

OUR dreams are more than goals and visions that fire your heart and saturate your soul with joy at the very thought of them. They are those continuing visions of what you want your life to be at its highest level of fulfillment—what you want to do, how you want to do it, what kind of person you want to become in the process.

Your destiny and reason for living are wrapped up tightly in your dreams and desires, like the genetic information inside a seed. That dream in your heart contains your spiritual “DNA,” the very blueprint for who you are. Your dream is that idea, that vision for your life that burns inside of you— something you can’t ignore for long. It keeps coming back to your mind because it is part of who you are; it will never leave you alone.

Your dreams don’t need to remain dreams forever; they have a real possibility of coming true. If you’re a big dreamer, you’ll achieve big dreams. It’s a strong belief in yourself combined with those big dreams that’ll make you a personal success. Don’t settle on small dreams when you can be achieving bigger things.

individual accounts.

The amount is mindboggling

“The amount of money is mind-boggling but we have started getting documents where some of the senior people in government and former ministers have as much as five accounts and were moving about one million barrels per day on their own. We have started getting those documents.

“I assure you that whichever documents we are able to get and subsequently trace the sale of the crude or transfer of money from ministries, departments, Central Bank, we will ask for the cooperation of those countries to return those monies to the federation account and we will use those documents to arrest those people and prosecute them. This, I promise Nigerians. A lot of damage has been done to the integrity of Nigeria with individuals and institutions already compromised.”

The President also decried the underhand dealings which he said was going on at the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, saying that unlike in his days as a Federal Commissioner of Petroleum, “everybody is now behaving anyhow.”

On oil subsidy

Also speaking on oil subsidy, the President said he was still studying the scenario, saying that total removal of subsidy may have adverse effects on the masses.

According to him, “who is subsidizing who? But, people are gleefully saying 'remove subsidy' They want petrol to cost N500 per litre.

If you are working and subsidy is removed, you can’t control transport, you can’t control market women, the cost of food, the cost of transport.

“If you are earning N20,000 per day and you are living in Lagos or Ibadan, the cost of transport to work and back, the cost of food will go up and you cannot control the market women because they have to pay what transporters charge them.

"Virtually, half of the Nigerian population will find it difficult to live.

Where will they get the money to go to work? How can they feed their families?

How can they pay rent? If there is need for removal of subsidy, I will study it. With my experience I will see what I can do. Our refineries are not working, we have a lot of work to do.”

Appointment of ministers

On the appointment of ministers, Buhari dismissed those accusing his administration of being too slow in taking crucial decisions relating to governance and appointment of political office holders.

He cited the immediate past PDP government, which he said spent more than two months to settle down during its 16-year rule, noting that he needed time to correct the anomalies in the system He said: "Within the past two weeks I’m being asked when I’m going to form my cabinet. And in some quarters they are now calling me 'Baba Go Slow'.

I’m going to go slow and steady.”

It 'll take 18 months to re-jig economy

Buhari also pledged to study the Diaspora Bill with a view to signing it into law as requested by Nigerians in the Diaspora.

He advised Nigerians living abroad and searching for government jobs back home to suspend their ambition as the nation’s economy was in a bad shape. He said that it would take his administration at least 18 months or more to resuscitate it.

He, however, promised that some of the job-seekers would be engaged by the Federal Government as consultants to enable them contribute their quota to the nation’s development.

It’s difficult to ascertain genuine B'Haram leaders

Also responding to a question on whether his government was going into negotiation with Boko Haram, President Buhari said the Federal

Government would only negotiate if genuine and confirmed leaders of the militant sect come forward and convince it of the current conditions of the girls, their location and the sect’s willingness to negotiate.

He said:“There are people who are claiming to be leaders of Boko Haram.

They will help us to recover the Chibok girls. But, this is a very sensitive situation.

Firstly, government has to establish that those that are claiming to be leaders of Boko Haram are indeed the leaders of Boko Haram.

How do we do it – it is quite difficult. In what conditions are they? Are they alive?

Have they been kept as students? - because they are between the ages of 14 and 18.

“They are 220 (in number) and they have been in captivity for 18 months. There are rumours that some of them have been sold and married off.

There are rumours that the leadership of Boko Haram had married some of them and they have already had children with them.

“But, the objective of the Federal Government is clear. We want them back, alive, so that we can return them to their parents; rehabilitate them psychologically and if possible facilitate their continuing education. This is the objective of the Federal Government. And if we can get a confirmed Boko Haram leadership, we will negotiate with them.“ According to the President, the sect is plotting to exchange some of their leaders currently being held by the government in different security prisons in the country.

He said that the government was working closely with the neighbouring countries of Cameroon, Chad, and Niger towards securing the release of the girls.

He applauded the Nigeria Police for their efforts at checking violent crimes such as robbery and kidnapping and praised the Anambra government

for demolishing the property of anyone found to be involved in the kidnap of innocent citizens.

A statement by the Special Assistant to the President, Mallam Garba Shehu added that “President Buhari promised also that his administration would at the right time tap into the enormous talents available amongst members of NIDO especially as consultants while their requests for voting right in 2019, a Diaspora Commission and opening of new consulates in parts of the United States and Canada would be looked into.”

All those who spoke at the interactive session expressed their readiness to assist the APC-led administration of Buhari to achieve its campaign promises for the benefit of Nigerians.

They also called on Buhari to sign into law the Diaspora Bill.

Meanwhile, the President had earlier met with a group of young professionals in the United States at the same venue and assured them of his government’s resolve to fight corruption, remain steadfast and invest heavily in education which he said was the answer to taking the youth out of poverty and ignorance.

Nigeria won't tolerate gay marriage

Meanwhile, the Presidency, yesterday, stated that Nigeria would not give any endorsement to the idea of gay marriage. It, therefore, rejected it when it came up at the meeting between President Buhari and officials of the United States of America.

The rejection of the gay marriage idea by Buhari was confirmed by the Special Adviser to President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, on his Twitter handle.

"The issue of gay marriage came up here yesterday (Tuesday).

President Buhari was point blank. Sodomy is against the law in Nigeria, and abhorrent to our culture,” Adesina said.

6—Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

Gunmen raid shop in Umuahia, kill 52-yr-old owner

By Anayo Okoli

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MUAHIA—FOUR gunmen operating in a tricycle, popularly known as Keke NAPEP, last Saturday at about 7p.m., shot dead a 52-year-old trader, Obiora Ibe, in his shop on Club Road, Umuahia.

The gunmen were also said to have collected an undisclosed amount of money, being the sales for the day, his phone, and that of his wife.

Vanguard gathered that the deceased told his wife, Azuka, that they should close for the day and go home, shortly before the incident, as there were no more customers.

Mrs. Ibe explained that while they closing shop, a young boy of about 20 years, entered their shop, pretending to buy something only for him to pull out a gun and ordered her to give him the money and phone, which she did.

According to her, her husband, who was going out of the shop, saw the boy going away with the apron containing money and phones and raised alarm.

While the person with the apron quietly walked into a waiting tricycle, another member of the gang shot her husband on the neck and head, before they zoomed off.

OSHODI-APAPA EXPRESSWAY: Bad spots at Iyana Itire and Ilasamaja bus stops, Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, causing traffic gridlock and are hot spots for robbers. It is often sand-filled by Federal Road Maintenance Agency, FERMA, only to be washed away by rain. PHOTO: Joe Akintola, Photo Editor.

17-yr-old defiles neighbour’s daughter

By Esther Onyegbula

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AGOS—A 17-year-old teenager, identified as Tobi George, is currently being investigated by the police at Alakara Division, Lagos, for allegedly defiling a minor on Ogunfunmi Street, Surulere.

It was learned that the act, which had become a recurrence, started sometime ago, after the victim and her younger sister began to stay in the suspect’s house on return from school.

Vanguard gathered that trouble started on July 13, when the victim’s younger sister innocently revealed to her class teacher, during a lesson on sex education, that their neighbour ’s son, Tobi, did to her sister what she was teaching her and her classmates.

Startled by the revelation, the teacher invited the victim’s parents to school and

zExposed by sex education in victim's school informed them of what their daughter had said.

The victim, thereafter, told her parents that the suspect threatened to kill her if she ever told anyone what he was doing to her.

It was learned that the suspect took advantage of the victim, who normally stayed in his house with her younger sister after they closed from school, pending when their parents would return from school at about 6p.m.

The parents immediately took her to Good Tidings Hospital where several tests carried out revealed that the victim had been sexually abused repeatedly, as her hymen had been broken.

Alarmed by the discovery, the parents, Mr and Mrs Adedoyin, went to the suspect's parents to report the

Furniture maker arraigned over lawyer's murder

By Abdulwahab Abdulah & Bartholomew Madukwe

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furniture maker, Oluwaseun Oladapo, 24, was yesterday arraigned before a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja for alleged murder of human rights lawyer, Kunle Fadipe, who was stabbed several times in different parts of his body.

It would be recalled that the arraignment of the defendant before Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye was stalled at the last proceeding, following nonrepresentation by a lawyer, which compelled the judge to hold that he could not be arraigned in the absence of his lawyer because of the weight of the charge against him.

The defendant, who lives at 24, Osho Street, Abeokuta area of Ogun State, was accused of robbing Fadipe of a large sum

Oladapo. of money, while armed with an offensive weapon to wit, a knife, and assaulted one Abiola Owolabi by stabbing her with a knife.

He was arraigned by the state on a five-count charge of murder, armed robbery and assault occasioning harm.

“Oluwaseun Oladapo on July 4, 2014 at about 3a.m., at No. 1 Harmony Estate, Ifako Ijaye, Iju Lagos, in the Ikeja Judicial Division, murdered one Kunle

Fadipe by stabbing him several times on numerous parts of his body,” the charge read.

Director of Public Prosecution, Mrs Idowu Alakija, informed the court that the offence was contrary to Section 221 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

However, when the charge was read to the defendant, he pleaded not guilty.

Subsequently, Alakija told the court that the prosecution was ready to open trial.

Counsel to the defendant, Mr Worer Obuagbaka, urged the court to stand down the matter for an hour as he just received service on the proof of evidence and needed to study it.

Justice Ipaye held that in the interest of justice, more time should be given to the defence counsel to study the proof of evidence.

The matter was adjourned to August 17 and 18 for trial.

issue.

Parents of the suspect were said to have gone wild and threatened to inflict injury on the victim’s mother.

Vanguard learned that Tobi, who had defiled his younger sister, was in the habit of sexually abusing other young girls in the vicinity.

The suspect has been arrested and the case is currently being investigated at Alakara Police Division.

Confirming the incident, Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, said he would get back to Vanguard, but had not done so at press time.

Ambode declares war on rapists in Lagos z...as Mirabel celebrates 2nd anniversary

By Chioma Obinna

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ITH about 760 cases of sexual assault recorded in two years and only two convictions in Lagos, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, yesterday, declared war against perpetrators of rape in the state, saying ‘desist from such act or face the music.’

Making the declaration at the second anniversary of the Mirabel Sexual Assault Referral Centre, the governor, who was represented by the state Solicitor-General, Mr. Lawal Pedro, described rape as criminal and expressed his commitment and passion to descend heavily on anyone with the intention to take advantage of the female folks.

He advised victims to report to the appropriate centres as early as possible.

Regretting that justice had remained difficult to dispense in cases of sexual offence due to inadequate evidence in most cases, Ambode said: “Rape is an offence that requires the victim to provide concrete evidence, which would help in the prosecution procedures and fresh evidence are crucial in identifying and ascertaining if the crime was actually committed or not.”

Ambode also stressed the importance of comprehensive forensic analysis in determining true rape cases, revealing that Lagos State had put measures in place and given necessary assistance to facilitate quick and seamless adjudication of justice.

On the lessons learned in the last two years, Managing Partner of the referral centre, Mrs. Itoro Eze-Anaba, said victims of rape should not be blamed for any reason, warning that giving excuses and passing blames to victims was tantamount to justifying the act.

She said it was easier to empathise with children who are assaulted, but often difficult to believe adults when they are sexually molested.

While commending those who had partnered with the centre, including the Police, in the last two years to record tremendous success, EzeAnaba called on all to be part of the campaign to eradicate rape.

To sustain activities at the centre, she pleaded for sponsorship, adding that those who suffer one form of molestation or the other needed a trusted voice to speak for them.

She encouraged victims not to bottle up their experience in shame, but to speak out and fight for justice.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015—7

CRIME ALERT: Lagos warns residents of new robbery dimension

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AGOS State government yesterday alerted residents on a new dimension of criminal activities in parts of the state perpetrated by men of the underworld.

In a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Habib Aruna, the state

government said unscrupulous persons rendered their prospective victims unconscious through the rubbing of a perfumed handkerchief on their face.

The statement alerted that the bandits usually targeted victims in either a lonely commuter bus,

taxi or at a quiet corner.

It added that by the time the effect of the drugged perfume wears off, the criminals would have fled after robbing a victim.

The statement listed the Igando axis in Alimosho Local Government Area as one of the areas where this new dimension

of crime had become very pronounced in recent times.

It said: “It is not yet known how harmful the drug being used on the handkerchief is.

“While that is being checked out, it may be necessary to alert members of the public on this new dimension.”

PROTEST: Youths protesting at the Plateau State House of Assembly over the dissolution of all councils, in Jos, yesterday.

NAN PHOTO.

Vandals die as NNPC pipeline explodes in Lagos

By Evelyn Usman

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AGOS—A yet to be ascertained number of pipeline vandals were roasted in the wee hours of yesterday, following a Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, pipeline explosion at Arepo, Ogun State.

Although an unconfirmed report put the death toll at 100, National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, could not state whether any casualty was recorded, as it claimed it could not access the terrain due to the magnitude of the fire.

There were different accounts of how the explosion occurred.

A version said some of the vandals intentionally fired some shots on the broken pipeline during a heated argument, thereby resulting in an explosion that sparked off a wild fire.

Trouble, as gathered, started after different group of vandals stormed the creeks in boats loaded with empty jerry cans and engaged in a verbal confrontation over ownership of a section of the pipeline.

One of the group leaders, whose identity was given simply as Killer, was said to have ordered the other groups to vacate the creeks, stating that he was the owner of the section they invaded.

Apparently taking the order

as an affront, leaders of other groups reportedly told their boys to break another section of the pipeline, from where they began to siphon the product.

In the process, a member of Killer's group allegedly fired a shot at the broken pipeline, resulting in an inferno.

Another version had it that the vandals had finished siphoning the petroleum product and were leaving the creeks when one of the boats developed a fault.

In the process of trying to start its engine, a spark of fire emerged, causing the explosion.

Several of them were reportedly burnt beyond recognition, while some, who managed to swim to safety, sustained severe burns.

... ground zero inaccessible

As at 6.30p.m. yesterday, the fire was still raging. No agency had reported at the scene to contain the spread of the fire at press time.

NEMA’s South-West spokesman, Ibrahim Farinloye, when contacted, could not confirm the number of casualty.

He simply stated that the agency could not give details since it was yet to access the terrain.

He said: “An unconfirmed report on a clash between different groups of vandals at

Arepo around midnight has led to pipeline explosion.

“NNPC has been alerted about the explosion and has immediately shut down supplies to suffocate the fire, while efforts are on to put it out by the NNPC safety unit.

“No one can confirm if there are casualties or anyone injured because no agency is yet to access the scene which is swampy. No one can confirm until we get to the scene.”

However, residents of the area have called on the relevant authorities to come to their aid, following the

incessant fires caused by vandals.

A resident, Mr. Majekodunmi Fatai, said: “For a long time now, there had been no agency securing the pipelines. We noticed the absence of security agents since a pregnant woman was shot dead around this area some months ago.

“No one can access the scene today, not even officials of NNPC fire safety unit, as they are afraid that vandals could be lurking around to shoot at any intruder, just as they killed one NNPC official last year.”

10-yr-old boy buried alive in Enugu

By Austin Ogwuda

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NUGU— A 10-yearold boy was allegedly buried alive by suspected occultic men in Ngwo, Enugu State.

The discovery was made during a three-day fasting and prayer crusade organised to cleanse the community of evil.

Vanguard gathered that the boy was allegedly abducted along Independence Layout axis.

However, a Catholic priest from Abia State, Reverend Father Modestus Chilaka, invited by elders to assist in cleansing the land, rescued the boy.

At press time, it was not known whether the boy had been reunited with the parents; or his whereabouts.

State Police Command’s spokesman, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, told Vanguard: “I am not aware of the incident, but I will check.

“Maybe it happened and it was not reported. I will get back to know if I have the details.”

However, the traditional ruler, Ogwugwu Ebenebe 1 of Ameke Ngwo, Igwe Jerome Okolo, said: “I was here and I saw a small boy who was buried alive as a sacrifice.

“The priest said there was such thing happening and they have buried a boy for rituals.

“He prophesied and said he will go there and rescue him. He went and they rescued the boy and brought him to this ground and everybody saw him.”

... as fuel tanker explosion kills one in Ogun

By Daud Olatunji

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BEOKUTA—TRAGEDY struck in Abeokuta, yesterday, following an explosion at a government petroleum dump site, leaving one person dead and two injured.

The explosion occurred when a fuel tank exploded and caught fire at a construction site inside the the premises of Ogun State Road Maintenance Agency, OGROMA, located opposite Agbeloba House, Quarry Road, Abeokuta, Ogun state capital.

According to bricklayers working at the construction

site, the victims were working on the three underground tankers being relocated from the government fuel dumps at the old secretariat, when the explosion occurred.

Other eyewitnesses said that the massive explosion could have been due to the improper management of the welding works on the underground tanks by the contractor.

An eyewitness told Vanguard that the incident occurred around 3p.m.

The source, who pleaded anonymity, said the explosion occurred when one of the below-the-surface fuel tanks being worked upon by welders, exploded and

reverberated through the area.

It was gathered that the deceased, identified simply as Yemi, was reportedly hit by the shrapnel of the tank on which one of the artisans was working, the impact of which threw him inside a ditch.

The eyewitness added that the tanks, which were dug out from the state government fuel dump located at Oke-Ilewo area of the capital city, were being reburied at the defunct OGROMA yard, when the explosion occurred.

Meanwhile, policemen from Adigbe Police Station later arrived the scene of the incident to evacuate the remains of the dead.

8—Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

DSS releases Obua, Jonathan’s ex-CSO

By Chris Ochayi

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BUJA—FEW hours after he dispelled rumours of his death in the custody of Department of State Services, DSS, Chief Security Officer, CSO, to former President, Goodluck Jonathan, Mr. Gordon Obuah, was released to his family.

Vanguard gathered from reliable security sources that Obua, who was allowed to go after a comprehensive debriefing by operatives of DSS, spent Tuesday night with his family.

Obua, according to security sources, was released around 10p.m.

Tuesday’s night.

The former CSO has been held in the DSS facility in Abuja since the night of July 16, and there were widespread speculations that he had passed on in detention.

The rumour followed an alarm raised by Jonathan's former CSO's lawyer last Sunday that he was denied access to outsiders, including his doctor, lawyer and family members as well as his medications for hypertension and diabetes.

This development prompted DSS to present him before newsmen at the services’ conference room, where he expressed surprised over rumours of his death.

FORUM: From left— Mr. Emeka Ene, Chairman, Society of Petroleum Engineers Nigeria; Mr. Antigha Ekaluo, Deputy Director, Gas Monitoring and Regulation, Department of Petroleum Resources; Dr. Chima Ibeneche, past President, Nigerian Gas Association; Dr. Ibilola Amao, Principal Partner, LONADEK Consulting; and Mr. Bolaji Osunsanya, President, Nigerian Gas Association, at the 16th annual general meeting/natural gas business forum of the association in Lagos. PHOTO: Etop Ukutt.

Dasuki denies maltreating Buhari after 1985 coup zSays he knelt to beg Akande for Buhari as ACN/CPC flagbearer in 2011

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MMEDIATE past National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki (retd), has sworn that he never maltreated nor took part in maltreating President Muhammadu Buhari when he, as military Head of State, was removed in a 1985 coup, as being erroneously alleged.

He said: “I always respect and dignify my seniors and those in positions of authority whether in service or after.

Though a young officer, I was reluctant to be among those that arrested him. And I was not.

“I only met him afterward at Bonny Camp with Lawal Rafindadi. There is no way I could have maltreated him as being alleged in some

quarters. I am glad most of the actors are still alive.”

The former NSA made the disclosure even as he stated that he knelt down begging Baba Bisi Akande, who was then Chairman of Action Congress Nigeria, ACN, to accept then General Buhari because “General Buhari is a man to be trusted.”

Dasuki, who spoke to blogger Yushua Shauib in Abuja, also disclosed how he and some others confronted late General Sani Abacha over June 12 election, which was won by late Chief Mashood Kashimawo Abiola.

He said: “This led to our premature retirement. The persecution that followed forced me into exile, where I

teamed up with opposition elements struggling for the return of democracy.”

‘My campaign for him’

On his roles in politics, the former NSA, who had been having running battles with the Department of State Services, DSS, narrated how he supported the campaign aspiration of Muhammadu Buhari in 2003, 2007 and 2011 presidential elections.

He said respected Northern elements like Adamu Adamu, Bashir Kurfi, Sule Hamman, Wada Maida and Kabir Yusuf are among individuals privy to his active involvement.

While revealing how he campaigned for Buhari to

Gas flaring's beyond penalties—STAKEHOLDERS

By Ediri Ejoh

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PERATORS in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry have argued that ending gas flaring in the nation’s hydrocarbon operations should go beyond merely prescribing penalties to instituting measures that will encourage production.

Nigeria is among the top ranking nations in global gas flaring so much that it lost over $133.716 million (about N26.743 billion) to gas flaring in December 2014, as oil and gas companies in the country flared 20.11 percent of their total gas production.

The President/Chairman, Falcon Corporation Limited, Dr.

Chima Ibeneche, speaking yesterday in Lagos, at the 16th annual general meeting, and the 2015 Business Forum, of the Nigerian Gas Association, argued that a lot more still needed to be done to monetise the nation’s gas resource.

According to Ibeneche, the issue with gas development is not gas flaring, and penalties alone will not rid the industry of it, especially as the penalties are so insignificant that producers prefer to pay, if at all they do, than to develop the gas.

He argued: “The situation is an economic choice that has to be made. There must be a little amount of gas that

must be flared.

“The real issue of monetising gas goes beyond gas flare, but gas reservoirs that are available to be produced, but no pipelines to be connected to the power stations.

“These areas are very easy to find an economic justification for. A fiscal incentive is needed to drive the gas industry to the level it is supposed to get to.”

Against this backdrop, the Council Chairman, Society of Petroleum Engineers, SPE, Nigeria, Mr. Emeka Ene, in his presentation, identified a number of strategy for monetising gas.

These include identifying and securing the closest markets, developing an integrated flare-out model, and recognising that associated gas is not nonassociated gas, among others.

He said these were imperative considering the fact that the current domestic gas consumption is approximately 100,000 metric tonnes per annum, which translates to less than 1kg/capital.

Ene argued that Nigeria’s per capital consumption is very low compared to the country’s population, estimated at over 170 million.

emerge the joint candidate of ACN and CPC in 2011, Dasuki disclosed how he pleaded with Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in the presence of Bisi Akande to accept Muhammad Buhari as the joint presidential candidate for ACN and CPC. Dasuki said: “In the belief that Yoruba and south-westerners are never religious fanatics, especially regarding politics, me and my group suggested that Tinubu should be a running mate to Buhari.

“When other elements opposed that proposition, Tinubu team therefore recommended a BuhariOsinbajo ticket. Unfortunately, the ticket failed to stick as Pastor Tunde Bakare was eventually pushed forward by other forces.”

Speaking further, the former NSA recalled how prior to the 1983 coup that ousted President Shehu Shagari, himself and two young military officers, who are still alive, travelled to Jos to brief Major General Buhari, who was then the GOC of 3rd Armoured Division, on the furtherance of the planning of the 1983 coup, which made Buhari the major beneficiary.

He said: “Buhari expressed his bitterness about insinuations on his stewardship in one of the public institutions, but I assured the then GOC not to worry about such reckless and mischievous insinuations.”

Asked why he participated in the ouster of Buhari less than two years afterward ousting Shagari, Dasuki simply answered that General Buhari should know who to blame.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015—9

NEC meeting that the party recognized Senator Bukola Saraki as the Senate President and Hon. Yakubu Dogara as the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

“Similarly, it was after this NEC meeting that we accepted to cooperate with the Tambuwal’s Reconciliation Committee under the aegis of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Governors Forum.

Tambuwal's reconciliation committee

SYNDICATION FACILITY: From left, Rizwan Haider, Managing Director, Orabank, Bénin, Nkechi Ogeah, Head, Corporate Banking, Diamond Bank, Bénin, Loic Noliste, Head, Corporate Banking, Societe General, Bénin, Ben Ihekire, Managing Director, Diamond Bank, WAMU Zone, Kennedy Malick Melamu, Managing Director, MTN, Bénin, Myriam Adotevi, Managing Director, BGFI Bank, Julien Koffi, MD, BGFI Bank, Bénin, Moustafa Alaofe, MD, UBA, Bénin, and Hanno de Kock, Chief Financial Officer, Bénin, Corporate Banking, Societe General Bank, at the conclusion of FCFA 60 billion Syndication Facility to MTN Benin.

Crisis in Gbajabiamila's camp over letter to Oyegun zLoyalists disown letter

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

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BUJA—THERE appears to be a crack within the ranks of the Femi Gbajabiamila camp in the House of Representatives as some members of group have disassociated themselves from the letter emanating from the camp to the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun on the sharing of principal offices.

The Speaker, Yakubu Dogara had last Thursday replied the national chairman on why the letter from the national leadership that contained the names of four nominees for the remaining four principal offices was not read on the floor of the House.

Dogara, Oyegun and long standing tradition

Dogara told Chief Oyegun that there had been a long standing tradition on the sharing of principal offices, which was always guided by the principle of federal character and that the 8th Assembly has decided to maintain the tradition for the sake of fairness to all the six geopolitical zones.

But the Gbajabiamila group on Monday, faulted the Speaker’s position alleging that he was hypocritical in his assertion as he (the Speaker) had jettisoned zoning during the election of presiding officers of the House on July 9.

The group in the letter to Oyegun signed by Hon. Nasiru Sani Zangon-Daura, alleged that Dogara’s reply to Oyegun’s directives was fraught with fundamental flaws and that going by the House Standing Rule, the South-East that has only two APC members, who as first time

members were not qualified to occupy any principal office.

However, two members of the group yesterday claimed that they were not part of the letter from the camp to the national chairman and that there was no time the group met to take such decision.

In a statement with the title, "Let’s sheathe the swords and embrace peace" signed by Muktari Dandutse representing Funtua/Dandume Federal Constituency of Katsina State and Tijjani Abdulkadir Jobe representing Tofa/Rimin Gado Federal Constituency of Kano State, the members said there was no time they agreed to write the letter to the chairman.

The letter read in parts: “Our attention has been drawn to a

letter dated July 18, 2015 purportedly signed by Hon Sani Zangon Daura and addressed to the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief John Oyegun on behalf of the Loyalists Group.

Party supremacy

“In the said letter to the National Chairman, Hon. Nasiru Zangon Daura insisted that party supremacy must reign in the selection of four principal officers in the house. While we categorically reaffirm our membership of the Loyalists Group and our unflinching allegiance to the supremacy of the party, we wish to make public that the said letter did not emanate from any formal or collective

meeting of the group.

“We make bold to state that the views expressed by Hon. Nasiru Zangon Daura was his personal opinion and never has the Loyalists Group met or agreed to write formally to the leadership of the party in reaction to last week’s Speaker Dogara’s entreaties to the national chairman of our great party on the way forward.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the last time the group met was immediately after the maiden meeting of the APC National Executive Committee, NEC, held in Abuja on July 3, 2015; where we accepted to engage the Hon. Aminu Tambuwal’s -led Reconciliation Committee.

“Let us stress, that it was at this

“In fact, up to this moment, we are confident in the Tambuwal’s Reconciliation Committee as we await its report.

“While we want to use this medium to dissociate ourselves from the letter by Hon. Nasiru Zangon Daura to the leadership of the party, which to us is his personal views, we remain resolute in the conflict resolution mechanism embarked by the leadership of the party through the APC Governors Forum.

“We still maintain our spirit of give and take through negotiations with the Consolidation Group, in the same vain, we salute and commend the Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara’s posture on his magnanimity and compromise disposition, by conceding two major principal positions to the Loyalist Group all in a bid to promote peace and stability in the green chamber.

“We therefore urge the APC, Leadership to throw sentiments aside and accept the olive branch extended by the Speaker, so as to achieve amicable resolution of this lingering impasse in the House of Representatives as this will ensure peace, stability and progress for the onerous national assignment and expectations bestowed on all of us.

“We want to also use this medium to call on all members of the Loyalists Group nationwide to bury their hatchet, embrace peace and take Nigeria first, above personal interests.”

Protests, as UNILAG raises cut-off mark

By Dayo Adesulu & Ikenna Asomba

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AGOS—ALLEGED attempts by authorities of the University of Lagos, UNILAG, Akoka, and the Joint Admissions Matriculation Board, JAMB, to change the official cut-off point of JAMB from between 180 and 200 to 250 was yesterday greeted with protests by some candidates billed to participate in the school’s 2015/2016 post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (postUTME).

According to UNILAG management, registration for the screening will hold between July 21 and August 7, even as the screening test will hold between August 12 and 13.

Vanguard gathered that some candidates who were accompanied to the university to

register for the screening, were shocked to learn that the cut-off point usually placed at 200 over the years was increased to 250.

This irked the aggrieved candidates and their parents as they embarked on a peaceful protest in front of the university’s main gate.

The protesters were seen carrying placards with various inscriptions such as “Go back to the JAMB 180 cut-off mark,” “We insist that the 250 cut-off mark is unacceptable,” “Our children must not be disqualified from participating in the post-UTME screening,” among others.

However, the registrar of UNILAG, Dr Taiwo Ipaye, said that of the 32,000 candidates that applied for admission into the university, only 9,000 were eligible for screening.

Some parents who brought their wards to the campus for the post-UTME registration, expressed disappointment over their children’s exclusion from JAMB’s list of shortlisted candidates.

Vanguard gathered that the decision to increase the cut-off point to 250, especially in federal universities, considered as most sought after by candidates, was to reduce the army of candidates who chose them as their most preferred institution during the last UTME screening test.

Aside from UNILAG, other federal universities said to have increased their cut-off point from 200 to 250 are Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, Ife, Osun State, University of Ibadan, UI, Oyo State, University of Illorin, UNILORIN, Kwara State, and

University of Nigeria, UNN, Nsukka, Enugu State.

But when contacted by Vanguard, Vice Chancellor, UI, Professor Isaac Adewole, said: “Our JAMB cut-off point to qualify candidates for post-UTME in University of Ibadan is still 200. We will use that in conjunction with the post-UTME scores of candidates to give them admission into our school.”

Reacting, one of the parents, Dr. Ben Emone, expressed dissatisfaction at the sudden change in procedure by the university and JAMB, noting that though his son made UNILAG his first choice, and scored 260 in the UTME, he noted that the tradition of the university had been to peg its cut-off mark at 200.

10—Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

Amuwo Odofin residents raise alarm over illegal structure

By Iyabo Aina

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A G O S — RESIDENTS of Amuwo Odofin Local Government of Lagos state have called on the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Environment to intervene in a looming environmental crisis in the area.

The residents said the crisis could result from the danger posed by a structure erected by a resident at the industrial layout, which had endangered the lives and businesses of the entire residents of Amuwo Odofin.

Speaking in Lagos, they said if completed, the structure would open up the entire commercial layout to endless flooding, which may result in loss of lives and property, as the site of this construction had no place on the existing survey recognised by the ministry.

SYNAGOGUE INQUEST: Court orders status quo as contractors sue Coroner, others

By Innocent Anaba

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AGOS—A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, has ordered parties to maintain status quo, in the two separate suits by two engineers, Oladele Ogundeji and Akinbela Fatiregun, seeking to quash the coroner’s verdict on Synagogue Church Of All Nations building collapse, which recommended their prosecution over the collapse church building.

The two structural engineers, supervised the collapsed sixstorey church building.

Respondents in the suits are the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in VISIT: From left; National Treasurer, National Road Transport Workers Union (NRTWU) Chief Nigeria, the Attorney General of Lagos State and the coroner, Mr. Ibikunle Isma; General Secretary; Clement Wetkur; Deputy President, Chief Elijah Umemokpo; National President, Dr. Najeem Usman Yashim and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo during NRTWU's Oyetade Komolafe.

The Lagos coroner, Mr. courtesy visit to the Vice President at the State House, Abuja, yesterday. Photo by Abayomi Adeshida.

Komolafe, which conducted an inquest into the deaths of the 116 the church and the two following which he was arrested engineers are praying the court to persons, who perished in the engineers. and detained and asked to make declare that “the findings and accident, had on July 8, 2015 Ogundeji and Fatiregun, written statement regarding the recommendations of the 4th indicted Ogundeji and through their lawyer, yesterday, role that his company, Hardrock respondent as contained in the 4th Fatiregun of criminal before Justice Mohammed Idris, Engineering Construction respondent’s verdict dated July 8, negligence and recommended prayed the court to restrain the Limited, played in the collapsed 2015 as they relate to the their prosecution by Lagos police from inviting or arresting SCOAN building. applicants’ indictment for State. them for questioning.

According to them, the move to prosecution for criminal Lagos State Governor, Mr. The plaintiffs are seeking the arrest them on July 16 followed negligence and recommendation Akinwunmi Ambode, had last protection of the court, arguing the fundamental rights for prosecution for criminal week, expressed the readiness that the police has been after enforcement action they filed negligence by the 1st to 3rd of the state to implement the them, claiming that their against the respondents on July respondents are invalid, null and coroner ’s verdict, including constitutional rights to dignity and 15, challenging the coroner’s void and of no effect, whatsoever.” filing criminal charges against personal liberty, enshrined in verdict.

They are also urging the court to sections 34 and 35 of the They argued that arresting them declare that the Lagos constitution, were at stake as they in the face of the pending suits Commissioner of Police lack the could no longer move about freely. would occasion injustice, adding power to act on the coroner’s The plaintiffs added that the that they had raised serious issues verdict to investigate or prosecute police had visited Ogundeji's awaiting determination by the them. home, saying that when they did court.

They are further praying the not see him, they detained his Following the argument, the court to perpetual injunction brother-in-law. judge ordered all the parties to restraining the Lagos State Justice (Mrs) E.I. Ikponwonba, As for Fatiregun, the police was maintain status quo, pending the Attorney General or any officer in a ruling, held that the said to have gone to his office in determination of the applicants’ under his authority from initiating petitioners failed to comply with Ikeja on July 16 to arrest him but motions on notice. or commencing criminal the issuance of pre-hearing he was not around. He was, He adjourned till August 3, proceedings against the applicants notice of filing within the statutory however, said to have voluntarily 2015 for hearing. on the basis of the findings and period as required by the gone to the Police Station, In the said motion on notice, the recommendations of the coroner.

Electoral Act 2010.

However, the Certified True Copy (CTC) was not available as at the time of report, though the petitioner’s lawyer said they are AGOS—Workers at the Construction Corporation management had the right to considering the option of yesterday sack workers and re-employ China Civil Engineering (CCECC) appealing against the ruling. continued their protest over them on contract as was what they said was unlawful applicable globally.

Mr Babatunde Liadi, sack and poor wage by the management of the company. General Secretary, National No fewer than 100 workers Union of Civil Engineering, In his address on the occasion, the governor assured residents that barricaded the Iganmu office Construction, Furniture and

By Olasunkanmi Akoni the state government will give due of the company in Lagos to Wood Workers, said that they attention to strengthening the protest their sack by the had not been informed of the AGOS—GOVERNOR capacity of colleges of education to CCECC management. crisis in the company.

Akinwunmi Ambode of train teachers.

Meanwhile, the Lagos A worker who spoke at the Lagos State , yesterday, reaffirmed Ambode, represented by his office located inside the Metropolitan Area Transport his administration’s commitment deputy, Dr. Mrs. Oluranti Adebule, national Theatre Complex said Authority (LAMATA), owner of to improve the welfare of teachers said that teaching is a noble they were disenchanted with the rail project, has said it only in the state aimed at developing profession that should be the manner which the awarded contracts to the quality of education. encouraged and accorded the management disengaged company and monitors the Ambode, who made the attention that it requires. progress of the job. them. remarks at the 35th Convocation L AMATA’s Exter nal However, an official, who did According to the governor, “We Ceremony of the Adeniran can safely say the teaching not disclose his name before Relations Specialist, Mr Ogunsanya College of profession holds the key to the he was hurriedly invited to a Kolawole Ojelabi, said that Education, Otto-Ijanikin, added realisation of the major goal of management meeting said that the agency was not involved that his administration will give education which is to drive and the company was not owing in the payment of the the required attention to the facilitate socio-economic and the workers. labourers’ wages or oversees education sector.

The source said the their employment. technological development.''

ETI-OSA REP’S POLL: Tribunal dismisses PDP’s application

By Abdulwahab Abdulah & Bartholomew

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AGOS—THE Lagos State National and State Houses of Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal sitting in Ikeja yesterday dismissed an application filed by candidate of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Tony Omotesho Akala-Bakare, who in the last elections (March 28 & 29) contested for the seat of Eti-Osa Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.

Akala-Bakare, in his application filed through his lawyer, Adegboyega Erinle, had asked the election tribunal to declare him winner of the said election that candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, Jide Akinloye, was declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. Respondents in the matter are Jide Akinloye, APC and INEC. Among others, the petitioners (Akala-Bakare and PDP) averred that there are 10 Registration Areas and 604 voting points in the Eti-Osa Local Government of Lagos State in which election was purportedly held by INEC on March 28 and 29, 2015.

The three-man-panel, led by

CCECC construction workers protest sack, poor wages

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Ambode promises improved teachers’ welfare

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Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015 — 11

MISMANAGEMENT: Aregbesola should declare his assets – PDP

By Gbenga Olarinoye

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SOGBO—OSUN State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday called on Governor Rauf Aregbesola to clear his name of alleged mismanagement of the state

resources by publicly declaring his asset.

The PDP, in a statement by Prince Diran Odeyemi, its director of media and strategy, also demanded that the governor and not his aides to state the exact amount Osun owes.

The party suggested that such

declaration will inform the opinion of the people of Osun state in assessing the quagmire they are in and to know if it is as a result of embezzlement or mismanagement of public fund.

It however added that from its findings only public asset declaration can help Governor

VISIT: From left; Chief of Staff, Kwara Govt House; Alhaji Yusuf Baba Abdulwahab, Board Chairman, International Aviation College, Ilorin, Captain Edward Yobo, Kwara State Governor, Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed and Rector of the College, Captain Mumini Abdulkarim during a courtesy visit to Government House, Ilorin...yesterday.

Why we shut Federal Poly, Ilaro — RECTOR

By Daud Olatunji

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BEOKUTA—THE Management of the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Ogun State has explained that it ordered that the school be shut following a protest by the students last week Friday.

The Rector of the Polytechnic, Segun Aluko disclosed this, yesterday,

that the management took the proactive step because, hoodlums had hijacked the protest embarked upon by the students of the institution last Thursday.

Aluko, while briefing newsmen on the decision of the management to close the school and what caused the agitation, said the protest was getting out

Igbosere courts hear dud cheque, illegal firearms cases

By Onozure Dania

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AGOS—IT was an exceptionally busy day in courts located in the Igbosere area of the Lagos metropolis yesterday.

In one of the Magistrate’s courts, Magistrate A. O Soladoye adjourned the case of a 74-year-old business man Chief Morrison Olori alleged to have issued N8.5million dud cheques, for trial.

In another court, was the arraignment of two siblings Suileman Sanusi and Kehinde Sanusi, who are standing trial over alleged illegal fire arms possession and disobedience of court order. Their case was however stalled due to

the absence of the trial Magistrate.

The arraignment which has suffered several adjournments has now been further put off till August 6, for possible arraignment.

Also a judge at one of the High Courts, Olabisi Akinlade, granted a leave application to a former Director of Afribank Nigeria Plc, Mr Chinedu Onyia to travel to the United Kingdom for his medical check-ups.

At the first Magistrate court, Soladoye who took over the case from the former Magistrate, Adeola Adedayo and adjourned the case till August 26, to enable her go through the case file.

of hands, as hoodlums had infiltrated the students body.

He said, “The protest was getting out of hands, because the hoodlums had hijacked it. They even threatened to locate the headquarters of National Association of Nigerian Students to the school.”

The Rector, also accused the Students Union Government President, Moshood Saheed, of conveying 23 students in a 15-seater bus from the school to Ota, for a victory party shortly after he became the union leader.

He said this was against school rules, because the vehicle had an accident in which some students sustained injuries.

In his reaction, Saheed described the allegations by the management against him as lies.

He denied holding any victory party at Ota, claiming that he went to attend a convention of the Junior Chambers International like every other student, as he had yet to become SUG president.

He said 21 of them that went on that journey had appeared before a disciplinary committee and they had been warned never to engage on such trips without informing the school authorities.

Aregbesola to salvage part of his largely e r o d e d popularity among Osun people.

“By so doing, the people will be able to check and determine, if he had actually mismanaged state funds or the monies have been embezzled.

“The political goodwill of Papa Awolowo is being

enjoyed today by the people that have little or nothing to do with him while alive, whereas the late sage did not hide any of his properties from the public scrutiny.”

The statement reads in part: “For instance, we noticed a lot of discrepancies whenever his aides defend him. Prince ‘Gboyega Famoodun, Osun APC chairman once told the world that Osun state government was already raking in funds through the lease of the helicopter bought for the state by Aregbeola by hiring it out.

“But Aregbesola has been saying it at every forum that the helicopter was bought for surveillance, but could not be put to optimum use because the federal government had refused to give the state its personal security code for the use through its control centre.

“We observe poor coordination from his party the APC, media aides and his various groups and this is not helping his cause of open administration Ogbeni Aregbesola claimed in several of his public statements.

JAMB re-assigns candidates to varsities

By Dayo Adesulu

T

HE Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has announced the adoption of a policy that will allow it re-assign candidates of universities with surplus applicants for the Unified Matriculation Examinations, UTME, to others with under subscription.

The decision was taken during its 2015 Combined Policy Meeting, held on July 14, in Abuja.

JAMB registrar, Professor Dibu Ojerinde, who explained the benefit of the new policy said: “The policy will help needy universities with lower number of candidates than their capacities admit more number. ‘’It will assist JAMB candidates have better chances for admission in the universities they are reassigned to, contrary to situations where they would await admission in the universities of their first choices until the admission exercise lapses. ''

12—Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

RIVERS GOV POLL: Wike

knows fate July 29 as tribunal rules on jurisdiction

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

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BUJA—THE Rivers State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja, yesterday, adjourned till July 29, to decide whether it has the jurisdiction to entertain petitions challenging Governor Nyesom Wike’s election, outside Rivers State.

The Justice Pindiga-led panel adjourned to rule on the matter after it heard separate preliminary objections that were filed by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Governor Wike and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, who are all respondents before the tribunal.

Th e three respondents took turns yesterday to challenge the legality of the tribunal which they said was not empowered by the 1999 constitution to conduct its proceedings outside Rivers State.

INEC was the first to query the constitutionality of the tribunal yesterday.

Arguing through its lawyer, Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, the electoral body maintained that the action of the tribunal in relocating its sitting to Abuja, was in gross violation of section 285(2) of the constitution.

It contended that going by the

aforementioned section of the constitution under which the tribunal was established, “a tribunal sitting in Abuja cannot qualify as a tribunal established in Rivers State”.

INEC further argued that the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, lacked the powers to voluntarily relocate the tribunal to Abuja when a state of emergency has not been declared in Rivers State.

“The reason ascribed to this anomaly is that there was pandemonium, chaos in Rivers State. But my lords should take judicial notice that the Court of Appeal is currently sitting in that state, likewise the Federal High Court. The seat of government is there and very functional.

“It is our contention that the only constitutional exception to the provision of section 285(2) , is in line with section 304 of the constitution dealing with the

power of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to declare a state of emergency in any state. As it stands today, there is no such declaration in Rivers State.

“It is therefore our submission that the power vested on the President of the Court of Appeal is not such that enables her to override the provisions of the constitution”, INEC added, even as it placed reliance on the decided case law in Ogboru vs Ibori.

HOMAGE: From left: Chief Patrick Onyeobi, Iyase of Asaba, Prof. Epiphany Azinge, Okilolo Ahaba, and Mr. Kingsley Otuaro, Deputy Governor of Delta State, during the paying of homage to Asagba of Asaba in Asaba, yesterday. Photo: Nath Onojake.

APC faction flays Sylva, others over PDP defectors in Bayelsa

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By Samuel Oyadongha

ENAGOA—A faction of the All Progressive Congress, APC in Bayelsa State, yesterday, flayed the former governor of the state, Chief Timipre Sylva over the reception held weekend to receive scores of defectors from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, saying that the action was illegal and a desperate attempt to provide cover for corrupt politicians against possible prosecution by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The APC faction led by Chief Richard Kpodo, said though the party was focused on the desired change in the governance of the state and was mobilizing Bayelsans for the governorship poll in 2016, the reception held to receive Sylva’s former aides had made the party a dumping ground for corrupt aides seeking protection against possible prosecution by the present administration.

Kpodo emerged the factional Chairman of the party, after the crisis of confidence that rocked the party over alleged cases of diversion of party funds and expulsion of some persons from the party by the Chief Tiwe Orunimighe led state executive of the state.

Speaking at an interactive

session in Yenagoa with media executives in the state, he noted that the mini-rally held at the newly unveiled party secretariat of the party at

Baybridge area of the state capital was illegal.

“The defectors, purportedly received by the sacked Chairman of the APC, is an illegality and

done to provide cover for bands of corrupt politicians and fake protection against prosecution by the administration of President Buhari," he said.

Ship owner accuses Navy of illegal detention of vessel

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By Ifeyinwa Obi

AGOS—AN indigenous ship owner and a member of the Nigerian Shipowners Association, NISA, Mr. Osita Onumonu has alleged that his 5,000 tonnes vessel, MT Sapphire 1 and her crew, was detained shortly after it was attacked by pirates.

Osita, Managing Director of Mercury Oil Limited alleged that the Togolese flagged vessel was arrested on February 18, 2014 by the Nigerian Navy

offshore Agbara and taken to Fomoso in Bayelsa State.

He explained that preliminary investigations had shown that the vessel was attacked by pirates shortly after it was engaged in a Ship-to-Ship transfer operation, adding that through the AIS of the vessel, the captain was able to alert the Navy, which consequently arrested the vessel and refused to let it go.

“MT Sapphire 1 has been under arrest by the Nigerian Navy, I trade with the vessel

sometimes, I take products for individuals and companies including the company doing the bar beach construction.

“One one of such occasions, my company sought for a Naval clearance from the Nigerian Navy for an STS off Agbara Offshore on two badges, we finished the STS and unfortunately we were attacked, in the course of the attack, we alerted the navy, when they arrived the pirates absconded and abandoned the vessel."

N225BN DESOPADEC DEBT: Court fixes July 29

for hearing in oil communities, Delta govt suit

A

By Theresa Ugbobu

GBOR—A Delta State High Court sitting in Agbor, yesterday, adjourned till July 29 for hearing in the case

by Host Oil Communities of Nigeria, HOSTCOM, against the Delta State Government over an alleged N225 billion debt owed the Delta State Oil

Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC. Trial judge, Justice D. Maido, who just took over the case, ordered proper service of the court processes on the governor, the state government, the state accountant general and other defendants in the case before commencement hearing in the

matter.

The plaintiffs, Godwin Ogbetuo, Maikpobi Okareme and others on behalf of themselves and oil communities in the state, contending that the state government was owing the DESOPADEC N225 billion as at December, 2013, which had risen to N300 billion as at May, 2015.

Lawyer sues Rivers govt over TIMARIV, Omehia

By Davies Iheanachor

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ORT HARCOUT—A port Harcourt based legal practitioner, ThankGod Nwugha, has dragged the Rivers State Government before a Rivers State High Court over the disbandment of the state’s Traffic Management Authority, TIMARIV and the restoration of the right and privilege of Sir Celestine Omehia.

Parties in the suit include Governor Nyesom Wike, the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, the state House of Assembly and Sir Omehia.

The claimant is seeking for a judicial interpretation of the acts of disbanding TIMARIV that was constituted by law with just mere proclamation and announcement by the governor of the state and others in the suit.

Nwugha also wants the court to determine whether the first defendant can by way of public announcement or proclamation confer benefits, privileges and entitlement or right appurtenant to the status of a former governor of Rivers State to Omehia in the faceofsubsistingjudgmentofthe Supreme Court in the case of Rotimi Amaechi vs INEC and two others 2007.

Peter Mission urges support for less privileged

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S A B A — CHAIRMAN of Peter’s Mission for the Less Privilege, Mr. Onoriobe Smith has call on government at all levels and well meaning individuals to assist the less privileged in the society.

Speaking when he distributed food items and cash gift to single parents in Asaba, he noted that there was need for relevant government agencies and well placed individuals to reach out to the less privileged and vulnerablepeopletoprotectthem and help them actualize their aspirations.

He urged the beneficiaries to be courageous in the face of daunting challenge of economic hardship.

He also said that the NGO has resolved to engage the less privileged on skill acquisition programme in Asaba, to make them self reliant which is one of its cardinal objectives.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015—13

C M Y K

14 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

CORRUPTION: EFCC summons Saraki’s wife, Yar’Adua’s daughter

By Soni Daniel, Regional Editor, North

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ACED with mounting criticism that it is not doing enough to tackle rising corruption in the land, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, has taken its anti-graft war to the doorstep of the wives of some top-ranking Nigerian politicians.

Vanguard gathered last night that the wives of the Senate President, Mrs. Toyin Saraki and that of the former Kebbi State governor and daughter of late President Umaru Yar 'Adua, Zainab Dakingari, were the latest suspects summoned by the commission over alleged corrupt practices.

The two prominent women are said to have used their positions to draw huge sums of money into companies which they have interests while serving as first ladies of their Kwara and Kebbi states.

Mrs. Dakingari is said to have been invited by the commission to shed light on over N2 billion said to have been misused during her tenure as the state governor’s wife.

Dakingari was expected to appear before the commission’s crack team of interrogators on Wednesday but she sent in words that she had travelled abroad for Umrah, (lesser Hajj) and promised to report on Monday next week.

Again, Buhari vows to crush insurgents zRegrets US law on terrorism; reiterates zero tolerance on corruption

zSays stiffer penalties await corrupt officials

By Levinus Nwabughiogu

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BUJA—PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday in Washington DC reiterated his commitment to crush Boko Haram insurgents in Nigeria.

The president who addressed a joint session of United States Institute for Peace (USIP), the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the Atlantic Council, the National Democratic Institute (NDI), the International Republican Institute (IRI), and the International Foundation of Electoral Systems (IFES) stressed that failure was not an option for his government.

He vowed that every inch of Nigerian territory lost to Boko Haram members would be reclaimed by his government.

He said: “On the issue of terrorism, Nigerians have lived with fear and insecurity for far too long. The human and material costs of the insurgency in my country and to my people are staggering and unacceptable.

Defeating Boko Haram

“Defeating Boko Haram and finding a durable solution to the underlying causes of the insecurity in Nigeria are therefore a major priority of the new administration. Nigerians understand that terrorism stifles

VISIT: Governor Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina State (left) and the Executive Director, Abuja & North, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Mr. Adam Nuru, during a courtesy visit to the governor by officials of the Bank in Katsina. development and undermines the stability of society.

“The Government that I lead is committed, and will do whatever it takes, to free Nigeria from the menace of terrorism. No matter how long it takes, we will reclaim every inch of Nigerian territory that is under the control of Boko Haram. We shall continue to do these within the framework of the rule of law and in compliance with our international and domestic human rights obligations.

“Let me emphasize that, as a Government, we have no illusions whatsoever about the enormity of the challenges ahead of us. We know that it will be a long and bruising struggle, but this is a fight we are in to win.

Failure is not an option for us. We do not contemplate it.”

The president said that in his bid to find solution to the problem, he has had to travel to Chad and Niger republic, saying that he was due to travel to Cameroon upon his return from the United States.

He also recalled that he had released $21 billion for the MultiNational Joint Task Force within the region to fight insurgency.

“In the first week of my presidency, I visited Chad and

Niger to strengthen cooperation within the Lake Chad Basin Commission Members, the primary region of the Boko Haram insurgency. Upon my return to Nigeria from the US, I shall visit Cameroon on the 29th of July to further strengthen our sub-regional efforts at countering terrorism.

Multi-National Joint Task Force

“Already, I have released twenty-one million US Dollars ($21 million) for the rapid takeoff of the Multi-National Joint Task Force. This is the force set up by the countries of the Lake Chad Basin Commission, comprising Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria plus Benin to jointly combat the insurgency.

“We are confident that we will defeat terrorism in our country and region, because we have the will to win this fight. We will win because we have the support of the Nigerian people who voted us into office to do things differently in order to secure them from harm and provide for their prosperity and well being.

We will win because the United States and indeed, the International Community have pledged to stand with us in solidarity.

“But winning the battle against terrorism means we have to do things differently; after all, the race for the future will never be won by going backward or standing still.

Winning means we must change our strategy in a manner that will prioritize the mobilization of maximum capacity to fight terrorism, while ensuring the safety and protection

of local communities in the frontline of the fight against terrorism”, he said.

...Rues US terrorism law

President Buhari, who had a guest of the United States however regretted that the application of Leahy Law which he said has restricted the efforts of the Nigerian Forces as it leveled human rights violation charges against them.

He therefore appealed to the U.S. Congress to soft pedal on the law.

“In our efforts at combating the activities of Boko Haram, the new Government has sought and obtained the support of not only our neighbours, other international friends and partners. Regrettably, the blanket application of the Leahy Law by the United States on the grounds of unproven allegations of human rights violations levelled against our forces has denied us access to appropriate strategic weapons to prosecute the war against the insurgents.

“In the face of abduction of innocent school girls from their hostels, indiscriminate bombings of civilians in markets and places of worship, our forces have remained largely impotent because they do not possess the appropriate weapons and technology which they could have had, had the so called human rights violations not been an obstacle”, the president said.

“Unwittingly, and I dare say, unintentionally, the application of the Leahy law amendment by the U. S. Governmenthasaidedandabatedthe Boko Haram terrorist group in the prosecution of its extremist ideology and hate, the indiscriminate killings and maiming of civilians, in raping of women and girls, and in their other heinous crimes. I believe this is not the spirit of the Leahy Laws. I know the American people cannot support any group engaged in these crimes.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015—15

Gunmen raid shops, kill 52-yr old man in Umuahia

By Anayo Okoli

U

M UA H I A — F O U R unknown gunmen operating in a tricycle, popularly known as Keke Napep last Saturday at about 7pm shot dead a 52-year old trader, Obiora Ibe, in his shop on Club Road Umuahia.

The gunmen were also said to have collected Ibe’s, undisclosed amount of money, being the sales of the day, his phone and that of his wife, after shooting him.

The victim, Obiorah Ibe was said to have told his wife, Mrs. Azuka Ibe that they should close and go home, shortly before the incident, as there were no more customers for the day.

According to Mrs. Ibe, while they were packing, a young boy that she put his age at less than twenty years entered their shop, pretending to have come to buy something only for him to pull out a steel gun and ordered her to give him the money and phone, which she willing did.

Mrs. Ibe narrated that it was at that point that her husband who was coming out from the shop saw the boy going away with the apron that was containing money and phone and shouted.

She said that while the person with the apron that contained the money quietly walked into the Keke Napep that was waiting in front of the shop, another member of the gang standing by the side shot her husband on the neck and head, before they zoomed off in the Keke Napep.

An eye witness, who is a neighbour to the Ibes, Mr. Peter Chinweokwu said that he was inside his store when he saw

somebody pushing his son and wife inside the store, telling them to go inside the store immediately.

“I didn’t know that they were armed robbers, so I asked him, Oga what is it now; he said that I should give him the money I sold for the day. I told him that I didn’t have any money, that I had not sold anything. The next minute, he closed the burglary against us while we were still

inside the store and went into my neighbour’s shop.

“We were inside that place when I heard the sound of a gun. I peeped and saw that somebody was entering inside the Keke with one steel gun.

When I came out, I saw that they had shot my neighbour and I rushed him to hospital but when we got to the hospital, the doctor confirmed him dead”.

Tribunal: Umeh tenders truck-load of documents

By Vincent Ujumadu

A

WKA—THE candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the March 28, 2015 national assembly election for Anambra Central Senatorial District, Chief Victor Umeh yesterday tendered voluminous documents that almost filled a truck.

The materials tendered include polling unit results, otherwise known as Forms EC8A1, ward to ward results, otherwise known as Forms EC8B1, constituency collated results known as Forms EC8D1 and declared result sheets or Forms EC8E1.

Also tendered were Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, electoral guideline for primary election of 2014, a letter dated November 4, 2014, which was received on November 5 and addressed to Chief Umeh as winner of the APGA party primary election, among other documents.

It took almost three hours for Umeh’s counsel, Chief Patrick Ikwueto, SAN, to conclude tendering the documents, which were all accepted by the respondents’ counsel.

Umeh and APGA had sued Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC)

for Anambra State, collation officers in all the seven local governments areas in Anambra Central Senatorial District, Mrs. Uche Ekwunife and Peoples Democratic Party.

The APGA candidate said he tendered the documents with which INEC conducted the election, adding that they had earlier been admitted as exhibits by the tribunal.

According to him, after analysis of the polling booth results, it was found out that several anomalies took place, adding that if everything was properly articulated, the evidence would show that he won the election.

‘Imo didn’t receive bailout fund from FG'

By Chidi Nkwopara

O

WERRI—Imo S t a t e Government says it has not received a kobo from the bailout fund recently approved by the Federal Government for the payment of workers' salaries.

The Chief Press Secretary, CPS, to Imo State Governor, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, made the clarification in a release made available to Vanguard in Owerri.

Onwuemeodo said the clarification became necessary, following concerted effort of people he described as “habitual enemies of the administration to use the issue of bailout fund to tarnish the image of Imo Rescue Government.”

The CPS said that it would get the bailout fund as promised, but, the truth remained that the expected money was yet to be received.

16—Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

PRESIDENT BUHARI HOSTED BY U.S. SEC OF STATE, WORLD BANK BOSS

President Muhammadu Buhari, accompanied by Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno, Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo, Governor Adams Oshiomole of Edo, Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo, Rt. (Hon.) Rotimi Amaechi, Amb. President Muhammadu Buhari and John Kerry, U.S. Secreatry of State, on Ade Adefuye, Amb. Bulus Z. Lolo, Alhaji Ismaila Isa Funtua and Permanent the way to a programme of US Government luncheon hosted by John Kerry at the Department of State Secretary Ministry of Power in Washington DC. Photos: State House

President Muhammadu Buhari, exchanging pleasantries while waiting for John Kerry's programme.

President Muhammadu Buhari, President of the World Bank, Mr Jim Yong-Kim, accompanied

by Ms Sue Helman, and others, at a meeting at the Blair House in Washington DC, Tuesday.

Gov Ugwuanyi moves to flush out ghost workers

By Austin Ogwuda

E

NUGU—ENUGU State governor Mr. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, yesterday inaugurated an eleven-man Stakeholders Committee on Staff Audit and Biometric data capturing of the existing 17 local government councils in the State with a view to block leakages and checkmate ghost workers.

The Committee is headed by the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Mr. Edward Ubosi.

The governor charged the members to take the assignment seriously, noting that “the staff audit is also intended to

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help the government, identify and flush out ghost workers and block all avenues of leakages and wastages that have hitherto weighed down the finances of local government councils.

“The Committee’s report”, he said, “will be central to the successful execution of government’s plans to institute far reaching reforms and take requisite measures to standardize and restore sanity to the manner with which staff matters and related issues are handled in our local governments.

“The reforms will help the government bring to an end the incessant complaints, disputes, confusion, impunity and uncertainty that had

long bedevilled p e r s o n n e l administration in the third tier of government.

He noted that the task before the committee was an onerous one but pointed out that it was one that must be tackled, “promptly, zealously and dispassionately in order to save the system of local government administration in Enugu State from imminent collapse”.

The committee has the following terms of reference: ascertaining the staff strength of each local government council and determine the financial implication of the staff in respect of monthly salaries of each local government council.

Others include to “ascertain the outstanding salaries and allowances of each local government council, SUBEB, Local Government Service Commission and Pension Board; determine the number of political appointees in each of the local government councils and verify the total number of primary school teachers in each local government.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015 — 17

T

HIS week President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB), has finally undertaken the much-anticipated state visit to the United States of America. There is no gainsaying the fact that the state visit is one of the most important events for the sixweek old administration and to underscore its significance, PMB even penned an Op-Ed article for the WASHINGTON POST newspaper. That article offers a peek into the Sphinxlike, inscrutable mind of our president. From the beginning of the administration, it was clear that the vow to destroy the Boko Haram insurgency would be central to both the security and foreign policy planks of the government. That explained why Buhari paid early visits to our near neigbours, Niger and Chad as well as hosted a summit that firmed up resolve at a subregional level, against an insurgency that is not only killing, maiming and disrupting livelihood in Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroun, but has consciously chosen to become an affiliate of international terror.

Buhari's war on terror It was therefore no surprise that PMB’s article would open up on the Boko Haram terror group and the heightening of its bombings of soft targets over the past few weeks all over Northern Nigeria. Buhari told his American readers that the world had actually “moved a step closer to the defeat of Boko Haram”. If his readers raised an eyebrow at such a definitive declaration, PMB justified his positive assertion by adding that we “are beginning to see a degrading of Boko Haram’s capabilities as a fighting force”.

The spates of attacks that we are witnessing in the bombings of markets, motor parks, places of worship or even assemblies of workers are indicative of the changing reality on the ground: Boko Haram “appears to have shifted away from confronting the military directly to an increase in attacks on civilian areas”.

The use of an elderly woman and even a 10-year old girl in suicide bombings, in the context of Buhari’s analysis, are desperate acts claiming innocent lives, but they are not indicative of strength. On the contrary, “It shows that it (Boko Haram) is losing”.

This positive message is one of the platforms he took to Washington and the context could not be any more favourable. The previous government in Nigeria had a very difficult relationship with the Obama Administration, with the Nigerian Ambassador in Washington expressing frustration that the United States was refusing to sell Nigeria vital equipment needed to fight the insurgency.

On its part, the United States was concerned about the deep C M Y K

A peek into Muhammadu Buhari's mind corruption that pervaded the anti-insurgency operations under the Jonathan administration.

America argued that even bullets were not reaching frontline forces in some instances while it was not sure that our forces at the time could even properly use attack helicopters that the administration was seeking to purchase. Buhari was upbeat, explaining that six weeks into his administration, “I have replaced the heads of Nigeria’s army, navy and airforce”. And more significantly: “Our new military leadership has not been chosen because of their familiarity with those in government, as was often the case in the past, but on their track records and qualifications alone”.

This new development compliments the decision to shift command and control to the theater of operations in the Northeast of the country, which will also bring the military leadership closer to the joint operational activities with the neighbouring countries, the earliest plank of the security apparatus that Muhammadu Buhari worked out, soon after his inauguration. In terms of a concrete demand, PMB was unambiguous: “We seek the support and partnership of the United States in…the fight against terrorism…Our allies can provide much-needed military training and intelligence as our soldiers take the war effort to Boko Haram”.

The transition to a new government in Nigeria came about because the Nigerian people wanted change after 16 years of PDP rule, which in the last four years under President Goodluck Jonathan especially, degenerated into probably the worst period in our national history. The administration

Why did he have to announce to American readers that he was not going to have a cabinet in place until September?

seemed determined to run Nigeria into the precipice, exploiting the fault lines of the country in a desperate desire to remain in power by all means and exhibiting an incompetence that frightened Nigerians and foreigners alike.

The external component of the change process was the close manner that the United States and Britain particularly, monitored developments in the lead to the elections and the closer manner that Nigerians and these countries also policed the outcome of the voting process. Buhari was aware of that fact, and his OpEd piece described his meeting with President Obama appropriately as “the first time a president of the United States will encounter a Nigerian counterpart following the peaceful transfer of power in a contested election in our history”. He is the beneficiary of that process and by Monday afternoon, he got a ringing endorsement from President Obama, who reminded that “President Buhari came into office with reputation for integrity and a very clear agenda..”

Determination on good governance Buhari himself had emphasised to his American readers his “determination…(at) instilling good governance and tackling the scourge of corruption that has held Nigeria back for too long”. He went further that he was going to seek Obama’s assistance in locating and returning $150 billion in funds “stolen in the past decade and held in foreign bank accounts on behalf of former, corrupt officials”. He then vowed that such a manner of conducting Nigerian affairs cannot be allowed to continue.

In a broad historical sweep, Buhari argued that: “there are too few examples in the history of Nigeria since independence where it can be said that good management and governance were instituted at the national level.

This lack of a governance framework has allowed many of those in charge, devoid of any real checks and balances, to plunder”. That failure of governance was also a factor in the inability to defeat Boko Haram along with the conduct of the military campaign.

Buhari used the article to allow a peek into his plan to set the country on a path of restitution: “So the path we must take is simple, even if it is not easy: First, instill rules and good governance; second, install officials who are experienced and capable of managing state agencies and ministries; and third, seek to recover funds stolen under previous regimes so that this money can be invested in Nigeria for the benefit of all our citizens”.

This perspective flows into one of the most-talked about issues in Nigeria today, and that is the slow pace of events, at a time when people had been primed for rapid changes and the appointment of a new cabinet. Already, PMB is being described as “BABA GO-SLOW” in many quarters. Buhari confronted that issue frontally: “I was elected on a platform of change”, he reminded. “I know this is what the people of Nigeria desire more than anything else. I know they are impatient for action. I realise the world waits to see evidence that my administration will be different from all those that came before”.

Having reminded that he was aware that he was a president that much is expected from, especially by the mass of the young people who warmed up to him as a candidate of change, he then cautioned: “…reforming (Nigeria) after so many years of abuse cannot be achieved overnight”. For the politicians in search of cabinet appointments, they still have two more months to wait: “cabinet ministers (will be) appointed in September…some months after I took oath of office”. Why would the nation wait for that long? Buhari said “it would neither be prudent nor serve the interest of sound government to have made these appointments immediately…instead, Nigeria must first put new rules of conduct and good governance in place…to ensure that this process is carried out correctly”.

I think that the Op-Ed piece affirmed basic platforms of the Buhari agenda: the fight against Boko Haram and the anticorruption fight, especially the loot recovery effort; to return a whopping sum of $150Billion that was stolen by officials of government in ten years alone!

He added that: “…we look to U.S. businesses as well as the Obama administration to help develop governance initiatives that can ensure that Nigeria’s wealth benefits all of its people, not just a few. By taking these steps, we will be positioned to benefit from increased investment- particularly in energy and electricity- from the United States”. By the second day of the four-day visit, the World Bank was pledging the sum of $2billion to assist in the re-development of the insurgency-ravaged Northeastern part of Nigeria.

And that will certainly represent a major take away from the state visit to the United States. But there is also a point of worry in all these points, and one that represents a problem that Muhammadu Buhari has to correct as fast as possible. Why did he have to announce to American readers that he was not going to have a cabinet in place until September? Why did he refuse to tell the Nigerian people who actually voted him to power and who were impatient for action, as he also acknowledged? Why must the charity of our leaders begin abroad? It insults our patriotism to have to discover such an important decision in the Op-Ed page of an American newspaper!

Crest of popular support Muhammadu Buhari came to power on the crest of tremendous popular support and enthusiasm; I have supported him since 2003, and I have no doubts in my mind that he will provide the leadership for the change that will put Nigeria on a path of sanity and a gradual restitution away from the institutional kleptocracy of the past sixteen years. But he has to communicate better with the Nigerian people. In a democracy, the government and especially the president, must not only be seen to be working for the people, he must earn the people’s trust on an on-going and permanent manner, through a regular dialogue and respect for desires that can often be impatiently held and expressed. In Nigeria today, the majority of our people are young, with 75% of the population under the age of thirty-five. They were the most mobilized segment of the population that bought into the agenda for change that Buhari represented. They are also the internet and social media generation, that should not be taken for granted and must be kept on board the chariot of change. The visit to the United States looks like ending up as successful and a major endorsement for Buhari. But he has to work harder in the way that he communicates his activities, decisions and plans to the Nigerian people, because in the long run, that is the endorsement which matters most!

18 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015 EMBATTLED Governor Kassim Shettima of Borno State told newsmen that the appointment of two top defence functionaries from the state is a sign that the war against the Boko Haram terrorists will soon enter the end-game stage. The new National Security Adviser (NSA), retired Major General Babagana Monguno, and the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Tukur Buratai, are from the State.

Both have been involved in one capacity or the other in the efforts of the federal government to rein in the terrorists, with Buratai having just recently commanded the Multinational Joint Task Force, the military coalition of Nigeria and her neighbours dedicated to the defeat of Boko Haram.

Since Buratai took over, a flurry of activities has pointed to a possible recharge of the lingering war on Boko Haram. He has renamed the code of the operations from “Operation Zaman Lafia” (campaign to bring peace) to “Operation Lafia Dole” (campaign to enforce peace). He has visited many traditional rulers in the theatre of war to

Rec harging The W ar On echarging War Boko Haram solicit cooperation of the populace, and opted to celebrate the I EL Fitri Sallah with the troops at the war from.

There are merits in assuming that when a “son of the soil” takes over command of a military operation he is likely to give something extra; he is likely to exhibit more “ownership”. A case in point was that of the immediate former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Marshall Alex Badeh, whose hometown, Vimtim, in Adamawa State was overrun by the terrorists, but he later coordinated efforts to retrieve not only his hometown but also recovered almost every territory occupied by the insurgents during the six-week surge under ex-President Goodluck

Jonathan.

Buratai must bear in mind that since the President Muhammadu Buhari assumed power, Boko Haram has become much more murderous than ever, wreaking a death toll of nearly 1,000 people under two months. They have returned to the asymmetrical strategy of suicide bombings. They have gone back to residing among the people and using deceptive couriers, such as children, women and disabled people to penetrate crowded places to do their evil deed.

To effectively confront the menace, the cooperation that Buratai seeks cannot be over-emphasised. Efforts must be put in mobilising the citizenry all over the terrorprone areas and the country at large to be vigilant. People must be sensitised on how to identify danger and report to the military authorities. Greater cooperation between the military and the Civilian JTF vigilantes is a sine qua non.

New strategies must be created to cope with the changing dynamics of the terrorist offence. The new “home boys” in charge cannot afford to fail. The end of Boko Haram must begin now.

OPINION Unnecessary media war on Sen.Orji

By Ikenna Ugwuagha

I

T is a fact that since former governor of Abia State and now senator representing Abia Central district, Theodore Orji (Ochendo), parted ways with his predecessor, Chief Orji Uzo Kalu, there has been no love lost between them.

Prior to that, Kalu the godfather, had lorded it over Orji, the godson, in the running of the affairs of the state for almost four years of Orji’s first term in office. Orji was then tagged a Bishop without a cathedral by Abia people.

But immediately Senator Orji liberated himself and the state from the shadow of Kalu and his family, a well-planned and sustained media attack was launched on him, his government and family by Kalu and his supporters. Readily available to carry out the media attack was Kalu’s two Lagos-based newspapers.

Followers of his column and the newspapers can easily attest to the fact that from 2010 till date, all forms of lies and libel have been written against Orji, his government and family. Attack on Orji formed part of the editorial policy of Kalu’s newspapers. In the face of all these malicious media attacks and provocation

by Kalu, Orji has remained focused and silent, knowing too well that two people cannot be mad at the same time. Besides, silence, they say, is golden.

Having completed his second term as governor, Orji was voted into office as a

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senator in the last election. Many had expected that Kalu should have learnt his lesson and stopped his pettiness, jealously and unfounded media attacks against Orji. But as a leopard can hardly change his colour, he has continued to throw tantrums at Senator Orji in his weekly column.

In his column of July 4, Kalu asked why Abia State should be seeking financial assistance, whereas Orji wasted eight years as governor chasing shadow. But has Kalu forgotten that he was the man behind the mask during Orji’s first four years in office, despite the huge debt profile he handed over to Orji? If other viable and rich states like Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Lagos with huge monthly allocations and IGRs seek financial assistance, why shouldn’t Abia? Have we forgotten that on assumption office in 2007, Orji promoted all civil servants in the state that had their promotions delayed during Kalu’s administration.

Orji was the first state governor to pay the minimum wage of N21,000. It is of note and credit to Orji that during his administration, workers never embarked on strike in the state. Orji was the first governor of the state to give workers a standard and functional

It is time Kalu left his successor and his family members alone

Secretariat.

There is no doubt that Abia State is today among the few least indebted states in the country courtesy of Orji’s prudent and accountable management of the state’s resources for eight years. There are so many capital projects executed across the state by Orji’s administration. They are verifiable and visible contrary to Kalu’s claim that Orji’s was chasing shadow for eight years. Posterity will ever remember Orji as the man who laid for the first time a solid foundation for modern Abia in all ramifications. Abia people and visitors to the state can attest to it.

On his claim that he has written severally how Orji looted Abia State for eight years, the question is, when has Kalu become the chairman of any antigraft agency in the country? When has trying somebody on the pages of newspaper become law in Nigeria? If truly Kalu has a dossier on Orji, he should submit it to the appropriate authorities. Is he afraid of going to the anti-graft agency because of his case pending there? Orji was one of the most accountable governors in the last eight years. While in office, Orji has consistently disclosed the state’s income and expenditure. So neither Orji nor any member of his family was under investigation or prosecution for any fraud then and now.

Every Nigerian knows that since 2007, Kalu had contested two senatorial elections in Abia North and had been rejected by the people twice. Questioning

Orji’s election to the Senate in the last election is the height of hypocrisy and jealousy. Kalu should be more concerned about his petition at the Tribunal challenging the victory of Senator Mao Ohabunwa of Abia North who defeated him at the poll. When has Kalu become INEC or a Judge to conclude that Orji’s senatorial victory was fraudulently procured? It would be recalled that Kalu had boasted in 2011 that Orji would not win his re-election in office. Orji won with a landslide, and Kalu lost his senatorial election. In 2010, Kalu claimed to have returned to the PDP parading a membership card, only to make a U-turn to contest the senatorial election on the platform of the Progressive Peoples Alliance, PPA, in 2011 and 2015.

Nigerians should not be surprised if they soon hear Kalu saying that President Muhammadu Buhari or Atiku Abubakar has begged him to join the All Progressives Congress, APC. In fact, it is said his mother and brothers have already gone to the APC national headquarters to pledge their loyalty to the party leadership. Truth be told, Nigerians are not suffering from amnesia. I think it is time Kalu left his successor and his family members alone and face his political predicament?

Nigerians, especially the people of Abia, know better the track record and antecedents of both Kalu and Orji. Before them lies an open book that can never be closed for generations to come.

*Dr. Ugwuagha, a university don, wrote from Faulks Road Aba, Abia State.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23 23,, 2015— 19 Send Opinions & Letters to: opinions1234@yahoo.com

Buhari’s undemocratic rule: Cui bono?

I

AM an enthusiast of late Belgian artist, Georges Prosper Remi, better known as Herge, the creator of the famous Adventures of Tintin series. The crisis in the All Progressives Congress (APC) federal government reminds me of Tintin in The Crab with the Golden Claws. Merchant ship’s Captain, Haddock, was a terrible drunkard, and while on a voyage, he complained bitterly to his First Mate, Allan, that he was being deprived of adequate supply of whisky. Allan, a brute and secret agent of opium runners, told the tipsy captain: “Of course, of course, you know I would never deprive you of whisky for anything in the world”. As he gleefully walked off to fetch more whisky, he added under his breath: “For then, I’ll be boss of this ship and do just as I like”.

That we are currently in a functional dictatorship under President Buhari is pretty evident. In a dictatorship, only the Executive and, sometimes, the Judiciary, are in existence.

With the constitution scrapped, the ruler exercises legislative functions and governs by

decrees. Under Buhari, the Executive Branch is not even fully in place; only the Presidency and the Judiciary are active.

The National Assembly was inaugurated on June 9th 2015, but it has not been able to perform any of its functions covering the areas of: representation, legislation, appropriation and oversight.

Without the National Assembly sitting and freely carrying out its constitutional duties, we cannot claim to be running a genuine democracy.

The Assembly cannot function because the ruling APC is at war with itself over sharing of offices and positioning for advantage in the unfolding government.

It is not Buhari’s fault, some will say. He made it clear, even before the Assembly was inaugurated, that he would work with anyone who emerged.

Right? Not quite.

Buhari has become part of the problem by his deliberate flashing of conflicting signals.

Why would he, after pledging non-interference, start stiffarming and refusing to meet

with those that emerged as helmsmen in Senate and House of Representatives? Why is he now telling them they must comply with the wishes of the APC leaders, which are at variance with his own widely publicised non-interference stance? This has helped to stalemate efforts to resolve the conflict. It is responsible for the further postponement of the resumption of the Assembly from July 21st to 28th 2015. Even at that, there is no guarantee that an attempt by the party leaders to muscle their way through will bring solution. It might merely make matters worse, in which case Buhari will simply sit pretty in Aso Villa and continue to rule Nigeria “just as he likes”.

In the shadow of this conflict, a lot of worrisome developments are going on bordering on a reckless throwback to Buhari’s basic state of nature: militarymindedness and approach, which no one is checking. Here is a checklist.

Economic and Financial Crime Commission’s (EFCC’s) Ibrahim Lamorde, a man who blows hot and cold in the fight against

In the shadow of this conflict, a lot of worrisome developments are going on bordering on a reckless throwback to Buhari’s basic state of nature: militarymindedness and approach

Buhari: Making haste slowly HE profound British humanist, Sir situation, haste just for the sake of Thomas More, may have lived four appearing busy has dubious benefits.

T centuries before his time. This is when he What is more important in a race is not should have been around to give full expression to the Utopian desire of some Nigerians for the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.

To such Nigerians, since President Buhari was sworn into office on Friday, 29 May 2015, his ministerial list should have been submitted to the Senate on 30 May 2015 for confirmation on the 31st.

Since they were racing against time, it would have made no difference that at that particular time the nominees would have been confirmed by the Seventh Senate.

The President would have proceeded to Daura to switch on the light so that thenceforth, light failure throughout the country would have been put at bay forever. And by Monday, June 1 2015, Boko Haram would have been totally exterminated.

This is the Utopia that would have been satisfactory to the critics. Otherwise, Buhari has been cleverly dubbed “Baba Go-Slow”.

Perhaps unknown to these critics, no matter how fast a man wants to run, he can never run away from himself.

Neither can he run faster than his shadow.

Much as we do not accept that Buhari deserves the appellation of Baba Go-Slow, it is still necessary to quickly affirm our belief in the aphorism, “Slow and steady wins the race”. It is too early in the day to see Buhari as trying to lead the nation into what experts call “diagnostic paralysis” – a medical condition in which a patient dies because much time was spent diagnosing his ailment.

Admittedly, pace is important, particularly given the fact that the immediate past administration left Nigeria prostrate. But in our current C M Y K

how fast you take-off but how well you end. Going by the lessons of history, some past leaders who hit the ground running ended up running the country aground.

There were also others who hit the ground running in the opposite direction.

Buhari’s delay in constituting a team may indeed convey a sense of ennui, but one cannot easily forget that the bungled National Assembly leadership selection process also added a picture of dismay very early in the life of the administration. We wonder how the critics expected the President to submit his ministerial list into a vacuum or worse still, into a Senate that has been at war with itself.

If Buhari received a change mandate, he certainly deserves a breathing space to do things differently. True, he may have been forced to calibrate his speed based on the rot he met on ground, but he is also aware that his stock of goodwill with an impatient population is not inexhaustible. Most importantly, he knows that rots in society never end.

See how we have apparently stampeded Buhari into receiving his initial baptism: In our usual way of putting the cart before the horse, we may have pushed him into inaugurating the National Economic

What can anyone say about a man, who while he is yet to speak, his body language alone is sending shivers across the world, to the admiration of most world leaders

corruption, is now in the “high” mode. He was the hammer in Malam Nuhu Ribadu’s EFCC under President Obasanjo. When late Yar’ Adua came on, he was made to go soft. Under Jonathan, he was almost forgotten, only to return to hammer under Buhari. The first victims of Lamorde’s sudden resurgence include former Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido and his sons who were arraigned for alleged fraud. In a spooky ruling, a judge remanded them in prison for six weeks without trial or bail! It took the intervention of an Abuja Federal High Court judge, Justice Gabriel Kolawole, for them to be admitted to bail. Why would Lamido be treated like this while one of his colleagues who lavishly funded Buhari’s presidential campaign and thus nearly bankrupted a state was put in his delegation to the USA to see President Obama?

Is this how the war on corruption will go?

Buhari’s illegal appointment of Amina Zakari as “acting” Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman would have created immediate uproar in the NASS if it were in session. This illegal Buhari puppet will conduct the next elections (she appears already preparing to do so) if the NASS impasse remains unsolved.

Certainly, if the NASS was functional, it would have queried Buhari’s refusal to appoint ministers and fully constitute the Executive Branch as the constitution demands. The lawmakers would have asked him to explain why not a single person from the South East Zone has met Buhari’s queer standard of “merit” in his twenty or so appointments so far, while all the

Council, NEC, headed by the Vice President, without the r e l e v a n t Ministermembers, like the Finance and N a t i o n a l P l a n n i n g Ministers who are expected to provide the Council with appropriate materials and expert advice.

Evidently, Buhari remains focused. He is already walking his talk; but he is not noisy about his achievements. Let’s look at a few instances: He meant business when he asserted at his inauguration, “I am for everyone and I am not for anybody”. Morning shows the day.

Today, Nigeria proudly occupies the highest seat in the African Development Bank. On assumption of office, President Buhari met on his table, the application of an impeccably qualified Nigerian, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina.

It did not matter to Buhari that the young man was of the opposition extraction, having served the immediate past administration as Minister of Agriculture. He immediately dispatched a high-powered delegation led by a former Vice-President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, to go and lobby all the stakeholders that would decide the issue.

Buhari’s role here, though largely unsung, is the moral equivalent of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s unconditional surrender at the middle of the announcement of the last presidential election results. Buhari did not require a large team to do what he did. Neither did he need a jet plane so as to be seen as fast – even where he moved at the speed of sound.

The penultimate Thursday, President Buhari quietly turned down an offer of five armoured Mercedes Benz S-600 (V 222) cars for his use, at a planned cost of

rest five zones have been represented with the North overwhelmingly favoured. They would have enquired into the sudden release of 182 Boko Haram detainees in Maiduguri and the posting of 47 convicted Boko Haram prisoners to a poorly secured Ekwulobia Prison in Anambra State in total disdain of the protests by the citizens throughout the South East.

Definitely, they would have wanted to know the truth behind the raiding of former National Security Adviser, retired Col. Sambo Dasuki’s properties, as well as the detention of Gordon Obua, former Chief Security Officer of former President Goodluck Jonathan. By now, Buhari would have had a taste of legislative power, which is actually an extension of the people’s power. They would have had a say in the over 700 billion Naira bailout package and, at least, given it some legitimacy.

The absence of legislative power has given Buhari the space to govern as he best knows how: with impunity. Brash, devil-may-care nepotism (Northern domination) is in full force. Lack of respect for rights and interests of people outside his favoured orbit is in full bloom, and his political enemies are already “smelling the rod” without (and before) trial. His favourite puppy could be the next INEC Chairman. Buhari will unfairly consolidate his personal power base.

In other words, most of the socio-political and economic reforms done since his first dictatorship could be reversed before the National Assembly comes back to life.

See who is benefiting from the NASS crises?

N400 million, maintaining that the ones he inherited from former President Jonathan were enough for him.

Surely, President Buhari is making haste slowly. An eloquent testimony here is from the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, who pleasantly acknowledged that Nigeria’s foreign reserves have risen from $29.1 billion left by the Jonathan administration to $31.89 billion, as a result of Buhari’s tight fiscal policy, anchored on the blocking of leakages. What more can anyone expect in just five weeks?

We see dry bones rising again. We hear our refineries are returning to full production in the next few days!

Is it by accident that the thief catchers have suddenly woken up from their deep slumber? Right now, no fewer than five ex-governors – in a particular case, joined by two of his children – as well as onetime Head of the Federal Civil Service; are all getting their day in court. And more old files are being dusted up! What can anyone say about a man, who while he is yet to speak, his body language alone is sending shivers across the world, to the admiration of most world leaders, who are now falling head-long to host him?

What is now left is for the National Assembly to assemble itself, sink individual differences and jump into this moving train so that, like the old Spirituals, we shall soon proclaim together, “Yes, they said it couldn’t be done; but thank God Almighty, we did it!”.

20—Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

— 21

CBN empowers women to drive economic growth

By Michael Eboh

T

MOU: From left; Chairman, African Corporate Governance Network (ACGN), Jane Valls

(left) and President, African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA), Mr. Oscar Onyema at the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between ASEA and ACGN, in Lagos.

he Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, said it has introduced a number of initiatives to encourage active women participation in business, so as to enable them contribute meaningfully to the growth and development of the Nigerian economy.

Speaking at the Nigerian Institute of Management’s, NIM, 2015 Women in Management and Leadership Conference, in Abuja, Deputy Governor of the CBN, Mrs. Sarah Alade, disclosed that lack of access to finance is impacting women’s

EMPLOYEES COMPENSATION:

NSITF disburses N267m in 4 years

By Victor Ahiuma-Young

N

igeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) said it has disbursed N267 million under the Employees Compensation Act, ECA, in the last four years.

Speaking on the performance of the programme at the 58th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) in Lagos , Managing Director of NSITF, Alhaji Umar Munir, said that the amount disbursed so far covered 2,800 employees, who have suffered one degree of injury or the other in the line of duty.

Represented by Mr. Ismail Agaka, General Manager, Lagos Corporate office, Munir said “It is a scheme that is still growing, but not without its own challenges as the acceptance from the employers is still very low. We have those who are not contributing, and those that registered for the scheme and still refused to contribute.”

He noted that the compliance among the public sector was nothing to write home about, while that of the private sector was below average, but he reasoned that it was growing when compared to the initial years.

According to him, “We are working on the employers through NECA and the organised labour. It is a scheme for the future, in Nigeria, social protection scheme is still growing and we

C M Y K

believe that it is sustainable.”

Agaka said part of encouraging employers to join the scheme, was the annual reward given to the companies that have credible compliance status, the programme which was jointly managed by NSITF and NECA. At the event, seven ambulances and other safety equipments were distributed to companies who were adjudged to have fulfilled

safety measures as set out by the two organisations.

In response to the credibility of NSITF to successfully manage the programme, Agaka said NSITF remained the only government agency who had been able to give appropriate account of its proceedings over the years.

He recalled, “Between 1961 to 1994, under National Pension Fund, we collected, N900million, and when it was transformed to NSITF, between

1994 to 2004, we collected N44 billion, and when the new pension scheme began, NSITF was able to transfer N65 billion to the Trust Fund, this shows that we are accountable, reliable and transparent.”

Director General of NECA, Segun Oshinowo, however, charged NSITF to put in place measure that would classify employers according to their risk level in terms of contribution to the scheme.

Huge benefits coming with Lafarge-Holcim merger, says Hoddinot

By Franklin Alli

T

he new Managing Director of Lafarge Africa Plc has assured that the just concluded merger of Lafarge Group and Holcim will hugely benefit the Nigerian economy, the company’s shareholders, host communities and other stakeholders.

These benefits range from more taxes to the government, high returns on investment to shareholders and more corporate social responsibility in host communities.

Peter Hoddinot, the new MD, gave the assurance in Lagos at a press briefing on the successful completion of $40 billion merger between Lafarge and Holcim.

Hoddinot said following the successful completion of the merger on July 15, 2015, the new group will now work together towards creating the highest performing company

in the global building materials industry.

“Now as LafargeHolcim, we will step into the next phase of our transformation to become the leader in every respect – a company that has a positive impact on the world and can

Both companies have similar corporate philosophiesdelighting customers

make a real difference for its customers, its employees, its shareholders and society,” he said.

According to him, the merger marks a milestone in the c o m p a n y ’ s commitment to providing the best cement, concrete and aggregates products to Nigerians.

He explained that the merger was borne out of the following reasons: “Both companies have similar c o r p o r a t e philosophiesd e l i g h t i n g customers; they have similar market capitalizations or market values in the stock markets.

participation in the economic life of the country.

“Some financial analysts have maintained that financial exclusion can lead to social exclusion and reduced growth.

This is the reasons why the CBN was keen on empowering the small business sector as a way of promoting women participation through financial inclusion,” she said.

Some of the initiatives introduced by the CBN, Alade disclosed, included the design of a regulatory framework that mandates deposit money banks to commence the disaggregation of the composition of their workforces by gender.

She further stated that the CBN has also adopted a financial inclusion strategy capable of reducing the financial exclusion of women to about 20 per cent in 2020.

She noted also, that the CBN has undertaken the revision of the micro-finance policy, regulatory and supervisory framework that provides greater access to women engaged in commerce and industry.

In addition, she said, “The CBN has used dedicated SME funds to deepen and increase access to credit and reduce the high cost of funds for womenowned businesses.

‘Some of these programmes include: the N200 billion Small and Medium Enterprises Credit Guaranteed Scheme (SMECGS) and the N220 billion Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Fund with 60 per cent earmarked for women-owned businesses.

$126.80

0.85

$3,284. 00

-52.00

$11.40

CURRENCY DOLLAR

-0.03

$56.50

- 0.54

50.05

-0.02

BUYING

195.95 POUNDS 306.3088 EURO 213.9536 FRANC 204.0179 YEN 1.5826 CFA 0.3055 WAUA 271.5843 YUAN/REN31.5636 RIYAL 52.2597 SDR 273.028 KRONA 28.6646

CENTRAL 196.45 307.0902 214.4994 204.5384 1.5866 0.3155 272.5636 31.6446 52.393 273.7245 28.7377

196.95 307.8716 215.0452 205.0588 1.5906 0.3255 272.9699 31.7256 52.5263 274.421 28.8109

CBN Exchange Rate as at 22/ 07 /15

22—Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

The lowest APR doesn't always provide the best financing option when you take into account the loss of time spent elsewhere

,

,

Avoiding small-business financing mistakes

W

HEN taking on financing as a small business, the correct course of action always hinges on answering this question: what am I trying to accomplish?

The thing is, financing decisions don’t exist in a vacuum. Small businesses often miss the vital details when assessing whether to borrow or not, such as the full financing cost, the drain on their time, the opportunity costs and baked-in fees.

The right financing option varies for every company. Here are the common pitfalls and the best ways to avoid them so your small business can choose the best option at each stage of your company’s growth.

Be aware of your real interest rate - Surprisingly often, people

Small businesses often miss the vital details when assessing whether to borrow or not who think they know how to calculate interest rates often don’t.

For example, if you borrow N1,000,000 and pay N1,100,000 back over three months on weekly instalments, your interest rate wasn’t 10 percent, as simple math would dictate. Taking a closer look at the time frame for the note and your average principal outstanding reveals that it’s actually closer to 80 percent. That’s a difference of 70 percentage points in your financing cost.

This mistake happens because most businesses simply calculate annual percentage rate (APR) as total fees divided by the amount borrowed, rather than calculating the interest based on the amount outstanding at every point in time (i.e. the amortized amount). The difference is massive for small businesses as financing mistakes are compounded. In the example above, the actual annual rate is eight times higher than the optical.

Pay attention to hidden fees When taking out financing you must take into account origination fees. Many lenders charge origination fees of 3-4 percent, which are deducted from the loan amount. Depending on how quickly you pay that loan back,

that fee can have a large impact on the true interest rate you’re paying.

A N30 fee on a N1,000 loan is really a 3 percent fee upfront that will significantly skew your real APR, especially for short-term loans. It’s very similar to ATM fees that seem like a small amount, but can cost you big over the long-run. When borrowing money, be aware of the fees that accompany the capital infusion: administrative fees, application fees, contract fees, due diligence fees and more. These fees are sometimes hidden in the fine print, so comb through everything carefully before moving forward.

Treat opportunity cost like a real cost - Banks routinely take up to two weeks to review a loan application and, if approved, another 1560 days to fund the loan. For executives running a business, that’s time they could have spent generating sales and growing the company.

BUSINESS NAIRA EXCHANGE RATES (22/07/15) Currency DOLLAR STERLING EURO FRANC YEN CFA WAUA RENMINBI RIYAL KRONA SDR

Buying(N)

Central(N)

196

196.5

197

306.3088 213.9536 204.0179 1.5826 0.3055 271.5843 31.5636 52.2597 28.6646 273.028

307.0902 214.4994 204.5384 1.5866 0.3155 272.2771 31.6446 52.393 28.7377 273.7245

307.8716 215.0452 205.0588 1.5906 0.3255 272.9699 31.7256 52.5263 28.8109 274.421

Application process The lowest APR doesn’t always provide the best financing option when you take into account the loss of time spent elsewhere.

The adage that time is money still holds today. Look for lenders, online and off, that can move at the speed of today’s business and expedite the application process so you can spend your time making money, instead of jumping through hoops to borrow it.

People are financing without knowing it - Financing occurs far more often than we realize.

Giving your customers a 2 percent discount for paying within 10 days rather than 30 days is really a 2 percent finance charge equivalent to a 73 percent APR. In another scenario, if you’re offering your customers a 10 percent discount to pay immediately or pay full price on Net-30 terms, you may have a better alternative. The alternative would be to get financing which may cost you 4 percent for the month and then receive the full payment in 30 days. In this case, financing saves the company 6 percent. This is how thinking about discounts as financing will pay off in the long run.

Similarly, if you let customers pay you with a credit card, you are essentially incurring a 3 percent financing fee to grant them 25 days to pay, since that is the “float”, or grace period of most credit cards.

Selling(N)

Commod Light Crud

Natural G Sugar Coffee Cocoa

Typical MSME outfit

N220bn intervention fund: MSME operators lament inaccessibility

By Yinka Kolawole, with agency reports

T

HE Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector is acknowledged globally as the oil that lubricates the engine of socioeconomic transformation of any nation. The sector is strategically positioned to create up to 80 percent of jobs, improve per capita income and contribute significantly to Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

According to National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data, in 2010 MSMEs contributed 46.54 percent to the Nigeria’s GDP in nominal terms, with the potential to contribute more in view of their large numbers within the country. But the sector is characterised by huge financing gap and has been unable to realise its huge potential as operators continue to lament their dwindling fortunes. This is due mainly limited access to credit facility traceable to the reluctance of banks to extend credit to them.

Even the establishment of Microfinance Banks (MFBs) has not helped to bridge the gap of providing loans to this critical

sector of the economy.

MSME Dev Fund: It was in recognition of the significant contributions the MSME subsector can make to the economy that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) launched the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF) on August 15, 2013, an Intervention Fund with a take-off seed capital of N220 billion. This was in furtherance to the apex bank’s developmental functions and mandate of promoting a sound financial system in the country.

Financial system While launching the fund, former CBN Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi said: “In 2012, Nigeria had about 17.6 million MSMEs employing about 32.4 million people, and contributing about 46.54 per cent of nominal GDP. A survey by IFC and Mckinsey in 2010 noted that 80 per cent of these MSMEs are excluded from the financial markets. The state of MSMEs in this country underscores the importance of this fund.”

Objective The broad objective of the Fund

is to channel low interest funds to the MSME sub-sector through Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) to enhance access by MSMEs to financial services; increase productivity and output of micro-enterprises; increase employment and create wealth; and engender inclusive growth.

Eligibility: Eligible activities under the Fund include: Agricultural value chain activities; Cottage Industries; Artisans; Services to hotels, schools, restaurants, laundry etc.; Renewable energy/energy efficient product and technologies; Trade and general commerce; and any other income generating enterprise as may be prescribed by the CBN. A maximum of 10 percent of the Commercial component of the Fund is channelled to trade and commerce, to ensure that productive sectors of the economy attract more financing necessary for employment creation and diversification of the country’s economic base.

Loan tenor and rates: The facility has a maximum tenor of one year for micro enterprises and up to five years for SMEs with option of moratorium. The Fund

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015 — 23

,

Negative signals, events, thoughts and feelings are not resolved in our organisations when we suppress, deny or devalue them

& YOU

dity de

Gas

Wrong ways organisations are hoping for the best

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126.85

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3,283.00

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is administered at an interest rate of 3 percent per annum under the wholesale funding to the PFIs with a spread of 6 percent bringing the lending rate to borrowers at a maximum of 9 percent per annum inclusive of all charges.

Accessibility hurdles Two years after the launching of the intervention fund, MSMEs operators are lamenting their inability to access the fund, noting that the process of accessing the loan is cumbersome.

Mr Segun Kuti-George, Chairman, Nigerian Association of Small Scale Industrialists (NASSI), Lagos Chapter, told NAN that his members had been unable to access the fund, despite deliberate efforts by his association to assist members in writing presentable proposals.

He said that the slow disbursement of the loans had made most SME operators to lose confidence in the scheme. “Up till now, we just hear that some amount has been disbursed to some SMEs. We don’t know the people who have received the funds, because I don’t think any of our members have accessed any loans,” he said.

Mr Olufemi Egbesola, President, Association of Small Business Owners, (ASBON), also said that the announcement of the N220 billion fund brought relief to members of the association but none of his members has been able to access any loan. “To me, I think the

Banks are reluctant to get involved in disbursing the fund because of unattractive interest rate

,

process of accessing the loans is too tedious. You are asked for this, we bring, tomorrow they ask for something else, collateral documents and so on, even after fulfilling all the requirements, we still have not heard anything,” he lamented.

It was the same story for Prince Saviour Iche,Ppresident, Association of Micro Entrepreneurs of Nigeria (AMEN), as no member of the association had accessed the MSMEDF loan. He said they had written letters to relevant agencies to alert them on the need to fast-track the disbursement of the loans, but the efforts had not yielded any results.

Banks shun participation Findings reveal that most banks are reluctant to get involved in the disbursement of the fund because of what they perceive as unattractive interest rate, a CBN official said. Deposit money banks (DMBs) charge as high as 25 percent interest rate on commercial loans while MFBs charge between 30 to 40 percent, whereas they can only earn 6 percent from administering the Fund.

Slow disbursement: Meanwhile CBN has acknowledged the slow process of disbursing the fund with less than N100 billion disbursed so far. An official of the apex bank noted that while the criteria might be stringent, CBN was just being careful in order to ensure that those who actually got the fund had the ability to pay back.

“There are conditions for microfinance banks to meet before they can assess the fund, and entrepreneurs also have to meet the conditions before the fund can be disbursed to them."

So, it takes a lot of rigour to put on the table resources for entrepreneurs to use. We don’t want to make mistakes; we want to disburse the fund and make sure people pay back for others to assess the fund.

"I do the very best I know how, the very best I can and I mean to keep on doing so until the end"...Abraham Lincoln

T

owards the beginning of a new year, organisations hope and expect the best to happen to them. The irony is that even organisations that have not evolved any game plan or have not taken definitive steps towards achieving their desired results will still hope for this 'same' best. The truth of the matter is: the best does not come to organisations who are mere positive or who are wishing for the best. The best will come to organisations that can match their desires with equal amount of time bound actions.

Over the years, some executives and managers have unwittingly used one key phrase and that key phrase has not worked in the best interest of organisations. They have told their subordinates, •'just be positive and everything will work out fine'. Imagine a situation where someone tells his manager about his/her inability to meet a target or perform an expected task, and what the manager tells him/her is don't worry -just be positive and everything will work out fine. With that kind of response, there is no way that particular staff member will bring the best for his/her organisation. What the manager has done was to simply hope for the best – without proffering solutions or asking what can be done to have an optimised results. Dr Martin Seligman was right when he said, •'If the cost of failure is high, optimism is the wrong strategy'.

Wrong strategy Organisations are failing more than ever before because, they always assume some magical effect will turn around their situations.

Such organisations believe that by hoping for the best, the best will graciously and calmly come to them – that is mere optimism and it does not happen most of the time. In order to achieve higher and sustainable results for the year, organisations and individuals would need to move from mere optimism to Optimal Thinking. The difference is that mere optimism will say, •'our organisation

BY ‘UJU ONWUZULIKE

When your organisation is not working, others are working

The way forward for any organisation that wants to thrive in this year is to avoid leaving one•fs success to chance or serendipity. When your organisation is not working others are working and that means they are trying their best to be better than you.

More so, many organisations have mastered the art of suppressing negative signals or negativity to their detriment.

Most times they tend to ignore negativity. Negative signals, events, thoughts and feelings are not resolved in our organisations when we suppress, deny, or devalue them. It would be like heaping layers of unresolved problems, which will ultimately affect our morale, stress level, productivity and teamwork. It's like putting a coat of fresh paint over rust. Sooner or later, the paint peels off and the rust resurfaces.

Proactive organisation wants the best for 2014', while Optimal Thinking will ask, •'what can we do to achieve the best for our organisation in this 2014, what are our options'?

After sharing with participants in one of our workshops on •'Developing a Highly Productive Workforce', I realised an important fact.

Many people can memorise their company's visions and goals but do not understand or know the step by step actions to be taken to realise their goals.

Every organisation's vision could be a wishful thinking if they lack an implementable game plan for achieving success. Let us assume that a particular bank has projected a profit of $10 million for the year.

To show a mark of seriousness and commitment, that particular bank is expected to provide answers and measures to the following questions: Is it in our best interest to achieve the $10 million? What are the best actions to be taken to achieve our goal?

What can be done differently in order to achieve the result?

Are there right people that will achieve the results? What are the step by step strategies or game plan for the $10 million attainment?

Without providing compelling structures and answers to the above, achieving the $10 million profit will be difficult and impossible.

What will a proactive organisation who wants to achieve better results do? That organisation will have to acknowledge the rust (which could come in any form detrimental to the organisation), treat the rust, and then apply the best paint in order to have the finest result. In the long run, no organisation can achieve better results by suppressing negative signals with positive thinking. Organisations that want to better their results this year and beyond must first and foremost acknowledge the reality on ground and also try to optimise the situation and not sweeping the negative signals under the carpet.

Final note: Hoping for the best has been totally misconstrued and sometimes abused by some organisations.

These organisations more often than not hope for opportunity to knock on their 'business' doors.

I like the saying – •'if an opportunity does not knock, you will need to build a door and knock on the opportunity.'

That means you need to be proactive, decisive and above all an opportunity builder who does not sit all day long waiting for the best to magically come his/her way. Finally, in the remaining months of the year, don't just want to be the best, learn how to be the best and just do it.

C M Y K

24 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

BRIEFS

Africa not a country, AfDB tells foreign investors

T

DRAW: From left: Head, Retail Banking Group, Skye Bank Plc, Nkolika Okoli; winner at the 'Reach for the Skye' promo draw, Mr. Adebowale Sulaiman; Area Manager, National Lottery Commission, Ibadan, Mr. Tayo Fasuhanmi and an actor, Mr. Olaniyi Afonja, during the promo's draw in Ibadan.

BVN: CBN to extend Diaspora enrolment to other countries

By Babajide Komolafe

T

he Central Bank of Nigeria is set to extend the ongoing Biometric Verification Number (BVN) enrollment to bank customers in the Diaspora.

A source in CBN disclosed this to Vanguard, saying that the ongoing pilot scheme in United Kingdom is scheduled to end this week.

Speaking under condition of anonymity, he said that the pilot scheme is for two weeks and it would be concluded this week. After this, the scheme would be extended to other countries including, France, Spain, Italy and China, etc.

He said under the scheme, the CBN has appointed Online Integrated Solutions (OIS) services as consultant.

He said this was because OIS is the company that handles issuance of passports to Nigerians in the Diaspora for the Immigration Service.

He said the appointment is to provide options for bank

customers in the Diaspora to enrol for the BVN, adding that this was necessitated by the fact that Nigerian banks don’t have branches in all the countries or cities where Nigerian bank customers are based.

“Diaspora customers have the option of either walking into a branch of the Nigerian bank in their country of

Under the scheme, the CBN appointed Online Integrated Solutions (OIS) services as consultant

residence, or visiting the local office of OIS to enroll for the BVN. While the BVN enrollment through the bank branch is free, customers don’t need to pay for it, enrollment through the OIS services is at a cost, presently £30 in the United Kingdom pilot scheme,” he said.

According to OIS, Diapora Nigerians that intend to enroll for the BVN through its services must present the following: Valid ID (Drivers Licence or International Passport), One recent passport photograph, and 30 pounds enrollment fee, via card payment.

The company in a message to customers on its website stated, “Dear valued customer, please be informed that the CBN has ordered, with effect from 31st October 2015, customers who haven’t completed their BVN registration would not be able to transact in any Nigerian bank, restrictions would be placed on their ATM use and

Internet Banking access. In partnership with Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS), OIS Services has introduced BVN enrolment service to our centers to make your life easier ” Recall that the need to allow the Diaspora customers was part of the reason for the extension of the deadline from June 30th to October 31st. While announcing the extension, the CBN said: “It has come to our notice that the BVN registration has elicited tremendous interest from the Nigerian banks’ customers who crowded the bank halls, in order to beat deadline.

Furthermore, there is need to give Nigerian banks’ customers in diaspora, ample time to enroll on the programme.

The guideline for their enrollment is being finalised and will be released soon. “In view of the foregoing, it has become imperative for the bank to extend the timeline for all bank customers.

IMF worried over investors’ mobility in China

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he International Monetary Fund (IMF) has told China about its concern over investors’ ability to enter or leave Chinese financial markets as they wish, said sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

Those worries were raised last month when the IMF met with Chinese officials in China to discuss the chances of including the yuan in the fund’s basket of currencies, also known as the Special Drawing Rights (SDR).

The SDR is an international reserve asset, and Beijing has been lobbying the IMF to include the yuan in the basket to boost the currency’s global

clout to complement a rising Chinese economy and reduce China’s reliance on the dollar.

The talks were held before Chinese shares plunged as much as a third in late June, prompting Beijing to stage its biggest-ever rescue of the stock market.

The measures, which included steps such as barring some investors from selling their shares, drew criticism of unwarranted government interference and cast doubt on China’s appetite for market reforms.

The IMF requires any SDR currency to be “freely usable”, a criteria that U.S.

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said in April that China has yet to meet.

The sources said the IMF had asked China - which still has a closed capital account - to improve the transparency of its financial markets, but said the fund did not voice any concerns about the yuan’s value. It also did not flag any issues with the yuan’s exchange rate mechanism, in particular the way China fixes a midpoint for the yuan every day from which it can rise or fall 2 percent, they said. China’s central bank, which the sources said had held the talks with the IMF, declined to comment.

he international investment community should stop referring to Africa as a country but as a continent of 54 states, which, in spite of many similarities, differ from one another in many respects.

African Development Bank President, Donald Kaberuka gave this charge while addressing a development think-tank in Beijing.

Kaberuka said making this distinction had become necessary to ensure that potential business opportunities in African countries are not jeopardised by a single story line whereby negative issues in one country are attributed to all 54 countries on the continent. He was speaking at a round table discussion on “Investment Opportunities in Africa” organised by the Centre for China and Globalisation (CCG).

Citing the Ebola epidemic which hit three countries in West Africa, Kaberuka said it was improper to use this to scare potential businesses destined for other parts of the continent.

In the same way, he said, it was unfair to associate China’s business relationship with Africa in terms of natural resources. This is because it is varied and more sophisticated, dating back to the 1970s when the less endowed China at the time had begun to finance infrastructure projects in Africa.

Having realised the fastest industrialisation in history, China now has an opportunity to help Africa emulate its successes through new development vehicles that are sustainable and beneficial to both parties.

The world is changing and the traditional way of doings things are no longer working, Kaberuka said, noting that development actors were illequipped to cope with some aspects of globalisation.

“The institutions we have today for managing globalisation are lagging behind the process,” he said. The AfDB is innovating and adapting to the changing dynamics, Kaberuka said, noting that the 2008 global financial crisis would have hit Africa much harder if the Bank did not adopt counter-cyclical measures to assuage the impact of the crisis on the regional member countries.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015 —25

MOU: From left; Mr Bitrus Riki, NOUN Head of Legal; Professor Patrick Eke Eya, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academics; Mrs. Josephine Akinyemi,

Registrar, NOUN; Vice Chancellor, Professor Vincent Tenebe; Head, Africa Regional Office, International Professional Managers Association (IPMA) UK, Professor Olufeyisan Feyi-Sobanjo and Deputy Vice Chancellor, Admin, Professor Victor Adedipe, with the university's principal officers handing over the signed MoU on Advanced Professional Management Skills, in Lagos.

Lecturers tasked on building competence in teaching, learning

By Dayo Adesulu

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ONSIDERING the importance of teachers to students’ academic success, lecturers have been enjoined to build competence in teaching and learning to boost students’ performance. Professor Sola Akinrinade who gave this charge during a training for top executives in tertiary institutions held in Texas, USA said: “Institutions can enhance their capacity for sustainable development by developing their teaching and learning competencies.”

He said that tertiary institutions need to create a new teach-

Mi-Genius Psychological Test helps students discover potentials PG. 27

Do we really need more universities?

PG. 28 C M Y K

ing and learning environment and culture that does not confirm existing academic tradition but explores potentials for a sustainable future.

According to him, institutions can enhance their income generation potential by enhancing enrolment through developing a culture of quality teaching and learning. He explained that for lecturers to deliver quality lectures, they must be willing to upgrade themselves through constant learning.

Constant learning Akinrinade while speaking on the theme; Developing Competence for Sustainable Development of Higher Education, noted that some steps need to be considered by every institution to attract quality faculty or teaching staff, saying, it will attract quality students including foreign students to the school.

He urged institutions of higher learning to introduce: “Reward system that recognizes teaching excellence and its contributions to institutional growth and sustainable development. Place more emphasis on research, or, more correctly, publishing.”

He, however explained that the reward system does not have to tied solely to salaries, but recognition that entails pecuniary re-

ward.

The institutions, he pointed out should engage in the process of constant capacity building in

A Ph.D is a research not a teaching degree; it confirms you as a researcher and not necessarily as a teacher in the higher institution

pedagogical skills for teachers.

“A Ph.D is a research not a teaching degree; it confirms you as a researcher and not necessarily as a teacher in the higher institution,” he said. At the minimum, he said, the institutions should introduce a regime of compulsory pedagogy training workshops for all newly recruited staff from Lecturer II and above, including staff promoted from training positions to these levels either upon acquisition of higher degrees or by experience and publications.

Akinrinade who charged the top executives in higher institutions to build the capacity of their staff to deploy technology for teaching said: “Smart boards, online teaching including use of

social media for teaching, use of Google Scholar facilities will enhance effective teaching.” Stressing on the need to build capacity to deploy technology for examination processes, he maintained that tertiary institutions must invest in the development of facilities and infrastructure for quality teaching and learning experiences including laboratories, smart classrooms, library resources and well-equipped workshops.

According to him, curriculum development of tertiary institutions should reflect innovation and dynamism, as well as proactive responses to contemporary developments in the

Continues on page 26

Learners deserve world-class educational resources — PEARSON

By Dayo Adesulu

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OTHERED by the curriculum challenges faced by stakeholders in education sector, the Managing Director, Pearson Nigeria Métier Bakare, has reiterated Pearson’s commitment to providing resources adding that Nigerian learners deserve world-class educational resources.

He said: “The Nigerian-centric

resources have been specifically developed to meet the requirements of the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) in achieving Universal Basic Education curriculum compliance” adding that “New curriculum resources from Pearson’s popular United Kingdom series are now also available in Nigeria”.

Speaking on the latest

curriculum resources from Pearson made available in Nigeria, Bakare said Pearson’s efforts are focused on ensuring that the success of Nigeria’s new curriculum will depend on the quality of learning resources delivered throughout the country.

According to him, “The best results in curriculum reform occur when schools and educators are fully supported. This support can Continues on page 26

26— Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

Learners deserve world-class educational resources — Pearson Continued from page 25

CELEBRATIONS: Andrea Pompermaier, General Consol of Italy in Nigeria, Barbara Pepoli (middle), General Manager, Loving Gaze, Lucia Melchiori, Educational Director SS Peter and Paul School (left) John Williams, Head Teacher at SS Peter and Paul End of year Party in Lekki.

Lecturers tasked on building competence Continues from page 25 learning systems and environment.

Citing examples of institutions which have a reputation for competence and excellence in certain courses and programmes, Akinrinade pointed out Ife for Pharmacy; UI for Medicine; ABU for Architecture; Ibadan Poly for Accounting and Yabatech for Fine Arts to mention a few.

He said, because of the peculiarity qualities of those schools, students desiring to study any of these programmes will naturally see it as a privilege to be admitted to the institution, thus enhancing quality of input and output.

Moreover, in order to attract students nationally and internationally to our institutions, Akinrinade counselled schools to introduce courses that are innovative and have enrolment appeal: Mechatronics, Biotechnology, Human Resources Management, International Law and Diplomacy.

Integrity in learning His words: “Work with professional bodies such as ICAN and CIBN to make it possible to obtain dual certification for those registered in such programmes. ‘’Eliminate teaching fraud and establish a reputation for integrity in learning. ‘’Introduce and enforce a sanctions regime for erring teachers who skip classes for various unofficial reasons, teachers who extort students in various ways (money, sex and other forms of gratification) ‘’Eliminate, as much as, possible avenues for examination malpractice – sorting, blocking, etc. ‘’Keep enrolment within approved levels that comply with carrying capacities approved by regulatory authorities and capable of being sustained by existing facilities. Set up active, viable and dynamic quality assurance unit. ‘’Boosts your internationally generated revenue as tuition reC M Y K

gime for international students at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels are not regulated by government in publiclyowned institutions.’’

According to him, when the aforementioned is done, it will enhance institutions placement on international ranking tables as there is consideration for the presence of staff and students from other countries in the list of factors weighted by ranking bodies such as these.

Other benefits, he noted include, enhancement of international profile of your institution with alumni in places not previously thought possible. ‘’Develop your internal capacity as an institution to be able to attract strong candidates from other countries.

He told the top executives: ‘’Focus on realistic targets. Begin by reaching out to West African countries particularly Anglophone with similar higher education systems. Remember: a

foreign student is a foreign student – even if from Benin Republic or Cameroon. ‘’Develop partnerships that involve staff and student exchange and in-courses or programmes where you have strong credentials. ‘’Develop partnerships with institutions that permit credit transfer through harmonisation of programmes that do not conflict with the provisions of national academic standards.

"Introduce courses that have enrolment appeal – but this time for international students.

On marketing of your institution, he urged schools to have a visible presence in the international community which does not necessarily have to do with ranking. For example, he explained that Afe Babalola University’s presence in the international media including CNN; internet adverts, have promoted the school. ‘’A little financial investment can go a long way," he said.

NOUN boosts students’ global opportunities

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By Tare Youdeowei

S part of its continuing ef fort at enhancing the academic proficiency of its graduates and equip them with Advance Professional Management Skills that will make them globally competitive and gain unrestricted access to global employment opportunities, the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the International Professional Managers Association of UK. Among the special benefits of the collaboration with NOUN would bring the students are; mapping and integration of NOUN academic and IPMA-UK professional programmes to give NOUN management and management related students accelerated career advancement by graduating with both their university degree and the internationally recognized professional qualification of IPMA-UK.

The collaboration will also provide all NOUN students the unique opportunity of accessing the renowned IPMA-UK electronic library to enhance their study and research. It will also give them global networking opportunities.

The International Professional Managers Association is a United Kingdom based international examining, licensing and regulatory membership qualifying body that provides management and management related students and workers with the unique opportunity to participate and be part of the process of improving administrative and managerial performance and effectiveness in all areas of business, industry and public administration around the world.

IPMA is a member of the National Academic Recognition Information Centre of the United Kingdom (UK-NARIC) and recognized in Nigeria by the Federal Ministry of Education.

come in a variety of forms.

Pearson resources come with a full host of teacher assistance, including new freely available teacher guides that can be downloaded from the Pearson Nigeria website.

"This technology, if used in the right way can also play an important part in helping teachers adapt to new curriculum requirements and in helping learners meet learning outcomes in a stimulating learning environment.”

Bakare who explained that the introduction of a new curriculum in itself in Nigeria will not improve learning outcomes, insisting that rather the superior curriculum resources and teacher support are also fundamental to ensuring students are actually learning in schools and achieving higher rates of literacy and numeracy.

Pearson with its years of expertise points out that the success of Nigeria’s new curriculum will depend on how it is applied by teachers in classrooms across the country.

The global learning company informs that teachers need pedagogically sound materials which motivate and engage students in the learning process.

As such, Pearson’s resources bring together international expertise in developing instructional resources to support national curricula in several countries within Africa, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas.

Pearson resources in Nigeria are created with local understanding ensuring that the resources which are proven to have a measurable impact on improving learning outcomes are accessible to both the educators and their learners.

He pointedout that the successful implementation of the new Nigerian curriculum requires a comprehensive approach that incorporates teacher training, technology and assessment.

Pearson Nigeria continues to offer pioneering and dynamic professional development to teachers ensuring that they can make the most out of curriculum resources for their learners.

Educationists make case for inclusive education, financial literacy

By Destiny Eseaga

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PECIALISTS in early childhood education, school administration and teaching have had a one day forum in Lagos where they charged Government at all levels and stakeholders in the education sector on inclusive education as a way of addressing obstacles to children with special needs participation in education, stating that inclusive education is a child’s right and not a privilege as all children are valued members of the community.

Speaking at the forum organized by The Learning Craft supported by Westwood Ikoyi and Almond Ethical Ltd, on the theme All Children Can Learn, Coordinator and Co-founder The Learning Craft, Mrs. Rhoda Odigboh decried that a situation where children with special needs are segregated or treated different from their peers is a violation of the right of children with disabilities to education as enshrined by the United Nation Convention in Article Seven, on the right of children with disabilities to inclusive education.

She explained that inclusive education as a system of education adopts and admits every child regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, illness, religion, social or economic status, in the same learning environment.

Her words: “Inclusive education is a system that emphasizes that all children

should be involved in a school system, learning in an environment that accepts all of them as equal members of the society. Separate education is not equal education and research has shown that typical children and children with special needs learn more in inclusive classes."

An education administrator, Corona Schools Trust Council, Mrs. Maureen Ihonor while speaking on the topic: Inclusive Education in 21st Century Contemporary Classroom, admitted that children learn better when they are in the same learning environment without segregation saying inclusive education is not an alternative but a choice.

Learning environment She said: “We are supposed to empathize and not sympathize with children with special needs as all children can learn at the same rate if given the same learning environment to operate."

On financial literacy for children with disabilities, the founder and chief Executive Officer, Ajapa World, Mr. Akinwunmi Braithwaite charged parents and guardians on the need to educate their wards on financial discipline.

He said: “Children must be educated to be productive citizen and be financially independent.

They must be tutored on how to make money and adopt the ESS concept of Earn, Spend and Save."

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015 —27

Rotary equips public schools with computers, others

By Tare Youdeowei

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GRADUATION: Cross section of graduating students of Wellsprings College, Omole, Lagos, at the school premises.

Harness students’potentials, Dampres director urges

By Dayo Adesulu

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TAKEHOLDERS in education sector have been urged to ignite and harness the potentials of Nigerian children for national transformation .

The director of Dampres Private Schools, Ikorodu, Mr. Ezekiel Adams who gave this clarion call during its students’ graduation averred, “We cannot have an enduring transformation in the society without first leading and transforming our children in the right direction as the future generation.”

According to him, we need to provide platform for these children to exhibit their God-given talents, innate abilities and potentials for uplifting of the nation.

He maintained that there is need for a paradigm shift from the old idea in which children and youth have to wait till they grow old before they can serve their nation. “We need to seriously change the way we view children and youth and how we respond to their needs and give them their rightful place in the society,” he said.

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Adams who stressed on the importance of investing in raising godly children, noted that proper investment in them is a way of securing a glorious future for our society. He explained that liberal investment in children and youth will lead to discovering the amazing potentials deposited in them.

The director who lamented that many children in some parts of the world are faced with child trafficking, illiteracy, kidnapping, exposure to ponography and other social vices said our country needs to rise to the challenge.

In proferring solutions, Adams called for the collaboration of religious organizations, parents, non-governmental organizations and leaders to work in synergy with the government to bring national development.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the occasion while speaking on the theme ‘A Transformed Child’ charged students to possess the spirit of resilience, noting that no matter how many times

such a child has failed, he will not give up.

“Resilience provides individual with skills to surmount life challenges completely,” he added According to him, the

process of adapting well in the face of threats and recovering from a fallen situation is the only way out and through creativity, transformation is sure.

Mi-Genius Psychological Test helps students discover potentials — WELLSPRING

By Dayo Adesulu

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n order to assist students discover their potentials early in life, the Principal, Wellspring College, Omole, Lagos, Mrs Oluwayemisi Oloriade has urged stakeholders in education sector to conduct MiGenius Psychological Test for students.

She explained that the test will prevent students from going into studies and careers that they will be struggling with to succeed.

According to Oloriade, the introduction of the MiGenius Psychological Test conducted on Wellspring students has helped them do well academically and position them for a greater future.

Oloriade who appealed

to parents to cooperate with schools in directing children to where they would excel academically and ultimately have job satisfaction said, “Some of the results conformed to the directive given by the Counseling Department of the school.”

The principal who spoke during Wellspring College's valedictory service for class of 2015 held at the school premises said the 52 graduands have a bright future because they are well grounded academically and morally.

Apart from the MiGenius Psychological Test which the principal stated as important for students, she noted that memory enhancement programmes for students is essential too.

ITH a view of p r o v i d i n g scholarships to 20 deserving public school students, 25 computer units to five schools, 2,000 dictionaries to 20 public schools and sponsor 50 corrective eye surgeries for cataract in Amuwo and Ojo communities, Rotary Club of AmuwoR1,District9110,has installed it’s 29th President in the person of Rotarian Patrick Ejiogu.

The installation and induction ceremony of the board of directors comprised of; Patrick Ejiogu – President, Essienette Aniekan- Vice President, Francis OquguaSecretary, Josephine Okpanachi- Treasurer, Christy Akaeze- Chair, Club Admin, Toby Okorafo- Chair, Rotary Foundation, Noela Ifedirah- Chair, Public Relations, Alex AkwuoleChair, Service Project, Chris Okpala- Chair, History & Archive, Ifeoma Mba- Chair, Membership, Uche JinwaChair, Youth Service, Ike Ugwu- Chair, Sergeant-atArms, Uzomaka AkanemeChair, Bulletin Editor and Lara Adeyemi - Chair, Club Trainer,for 2015–2016Rotary year Upon assuming office the president said; “This year and beyond I pledge to be a good example to all, maintaining high level integrity with good interpersonalconduct,equity, justice and good conscience inconductingtheaffairsofthe club with the best acceptable practices without compromise,” as he solicited for support to the tune of 12

million naira to meet the needs of Amuwo and Ojo communities.

Supported by his wife, ChinweEjiogu,thePresident implored the Awardees GuestofHonour-MrAnogwi Anyawu managing director, Sun Stone Nig Ltd; Hon MohammedGololo,Member House of Reps. Gamawa Federal Constituency, Bauchi State; Mrs Stephanie Linus,Nollywoodactress;Mr Casmir Chibuzo Azubuike, managing director Mainstreet Bank Insurance Brokers; Pastor Kingsley Okonwo. General Overseer, David Christian Centre; Mrs Nnenna Olumba Kulu, Neokal Oil, Gas and Marine Services Ltd; Mr Emeka Anagor regional manager, Enterprise Bank; Mr Okey Igbokwe, MD/CEO CIO Agency, who were recognised for their meritorious humanitarian servicethus;“Ourcarefullyset goals this year are very challenging yet highly achievable, however, we are faced with limited resources, hence the purpose of gathering here today, which is partly to raise funds to execute these projects.

Consequently, this is a passionate appeal for your support in our quest to raise funds for these projects.”

Handing over to Ejiogu, the immediate past president, Rotarian Kosiso Udechukwu, stated that the goals set last year were reasonably achieved due to the support of club members, as she implored all members and well wishers to support Ejiogu fully in achieving the goals set for 2015 -2016.

HOMAT advocates entrepreneurship education

By Olayinka Latona

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HE Chairman and founder of HOMAT Group of Schools, Mr. Wale Amusa has advocated that education must be tailored towards addressing societal challenges that hinder the country ’s growth and development.

Amusa stated this during the school's graduation and prize- giving ceremony held at Ikorodu Town Hall where over 190 Senior Secondary School students graduated.

Amusa stressed that introduction of entrepreneurial studies as a subject in primary, secondary and tertiary institutions will go a long way to curb the rate of unemployment and also assist youths to be job creators rather than job seekers.

In his words; “The fact that we are in technical age, technical aspects of academic work need to be done. That is practical work that our younger ones can lay their hands on in future so that they can be job creators rather than job seekers.

Having entrepreneurial skills will also be the solution to graduate unemployment in the country.”

In his charge to the graduands, the proprietor advised them to be agents of change wherever they find themselves, imbibe self discipline, pray and occupy themselves with profitable ventures for them to achieve greatness in life.

He also called on parents to encourage their children to imbibe culture of self discipline and also be role models for their children.

28— Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

Do we really need more universities?(2)

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INSPECTION: From left: Mrs. Margaret Aziba, Registrar; Pro-Chancellor, Chief Gilbert Grant; Anthony Cardinal Okogie; and Vice Chancellor, Prof Steve Afolami, all of Augustine University, Ilara, Epe, after inspection of facilities in the university.

Rising cultism, corruption in varsities worry me — Cardinal Okogie

By Amaka Abayomi

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HE Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi, has expressed concern over the increasing rate of corruption, cultism and sexual harassment in the Nigerian university system.

Speaking to journalists after inspecting facilities in Catholic Arch-diocese of Lagos owned Augustine University, Epe, Lagos State, Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie laid the blame on the doorsteps of the Nigerian Universities Commission, NUC, and the activities of lawmakers and politicians.

He said “most of these vices are thriving because the NUC has failed in carrying out its duties the way it ought to that would be beneficial to our nation.

“I don’t blame the youths who engage in these activities because that is the kind of society we have built for them, especially when our law makers and other top politicians fight in public. So you begin to wonder what kind of example we’re setting for them.”

Speaking on the rationale for setting up the varsity, the Archbishop said the desire of the Catholic Church to assist the Federal Government in educating the citizens, especially the youths, is to fill the big lacuna in the kind of university education they are getting today.

He said “we’re worried about the dwindling quality of varsity education young Nigerians are getting in our varsities. To correct this, all is set for holistic academic activities to begin at the Augustine University, in the serene Ilara community of Epe, Lagos State.

“Augustine University, which is to commence academic activities in September, would provide holistic education that can be compared with what is obtainable in developed climes.

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“What differentiates us from others is that we would be providing holistic education as there must be a clear cut difference in what we are offering in terms of spirituality, academics and morality so as to produce people that would make a mark wherever they go, not just in academics but in all ramifications.”

Augustine University, which is built on a large expanse of land in the quiet Ilara community of Epe Town, is to accommodate 500 students who would all reside on the campus so as to ensure adequate

concentration with minimal outside interference.

It also boasts of first class teaching and learning methods with multi-media facilities and internet access to aid research and learning. The varsity has nine departments and would run 13 programmes.

Pointing out that the Catholic Church has a track record of investing in quality education, the Pro-Chancellor of the varsity, Prof Gilbert Grant, said the setting up of the varsity is timely as a premium has been put on building persons with character.

UNESCO hosts students on acquisition of skills

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By Glory Ekwenuya

O promote its mission to empower youths through acquisition of skills and knowledge for the world of work, Yaba College of Technology's (YABATECH), International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training, (UNEVOC) has hosted students of YABATECH on the first World Youth Skills Day, in order to address youth unemployment and enhance self-employment.

Speaking at the event, the Rector, Yaba College of Technology and Head, UNEVOC Centre, Mrs. Kudirat Ladipo said; “With this World Skills Day, we know that our youth will be encouraged to acquire skills. By the time we close the skills gap in this country, unemployment would be reduced and our youth will become relevant and job creators.

"In Yabatech, we train our students to be entrepreneurs.

The youth should embrace entrepreneurship, instead of going around looking for white collar jobs. They should develop themselves and in the process bring out what is in them because we are all talented and gifted.”

Similarly, the UNESCOUNEVOC West Africa Cluster Coordinator, Mrs. Amina Idris said, “The area of skills improvement is always the focus of the board that is why the board is looking for areas to concentrate on and close the skills gap. The future of any country is in their youth and that is why the focus is in the youth.

“The board is always focused on three areas which are: entrepreneurial training, national vocational skills qualification frame work, training in the area of competencyandtrainingforindustry.

Theboardalreadyintroducedin2006 and 2007, the vocational enterprise institutions and the innovation enterprise institution in the area of closing skills gap and training our youthfortheworldofwork.Ourfocus is in the future of this country and that is the youth”.

Hon. Desmond Elliot encouraged the youths at the panel discussion to discover themselves, by knowing who they are, know their talent and potential.

Also speaking at the event, an invited quest Mr Olujimi Tewe said “The way to attract value is to give value. If you can be diligent in the small things you do, you will be diligent in the bigger one."

F that does not drill a hole in the theory that we need more universities, then let us consider another fact often ignored. There are thousands of empty seats in various universities begging for students. Let us start with Mathematics Department. But, before that, permit me to draw attention to a point made by Professor Soremekun of National Open University of Nigeria, NOUN. In his article published in PUNCH, June 2, 2015, he wrote about “many of the private universities, save a few, [which] are really contending with many unfilled spaces.” Soremekun had touched upon a sensitive aspect of university education in Nigeria.To the best of my knowledge, as someone who has stepped into at least 20 private university campuses, it would appear that only three or four (names withheld) can boast of full admission.

The rest face admission ranging from fifty per cent to ten per cent.

One private university in the Niger Delta could only find nine per cent of the applicants wanted in 2014; they had to offer scholarships to attract more students. All over Nigeria private universities have thousands of vacancies. While it is correct to say that tuition and other fees have controlled the crowd. It is still not true that there are no vacancies. There are.

No department in every university demonstrates the fallacy of crowded universities and scarcity of space better than Mathematics. There is probably no university in Nigeria having the full set of students it would really want to study Mathematics. With 70 to 80 per cent failure in WEAC Mathematics, where on earth are universities to find the students to read Mathematics at university level? It is easier for some universities to discover ice cube in the Sahara Desert than to find applicants for Maths.

Again, I received the shock of my life, when on visiting a state university, there was a 200 Level Maths class in progress with only one student in the otherwise

To the best of my knowledge, as someone who has stepped into at least 20 private university campuses, it would appear that only three or four can boast of full admission

empty class!!! So who says we need more universities when already thousands of spaces are begging for people to come and sit – providing they are qualified.

Education, Sciences and Fine Arts follow closely on the heels of Mathematics. Most students reading Education did not apply for it ab initio; it was offered to them after being turned down for Law, Economics, Banking and Finance or Mass Communication. Few of them want to teach after leaving the university. It is only now that Nollywood has created a career for Theatre Arts graduates that those departments are filling up – but not everywhere.

There is no need to list seriatim all the courses of study which have failed to attract the required number of students to various universities. Anybody who is still in doubt that we don’t need to rush to open more should go and visit at least twelve (two in each zone) and the truth will be clear.

Management of universities Three more reasons, among several argue against establishing more universities – even if there is space scarcity.

They are, not necessarily in order of importance, finance, academic staff and the crying need to reexamine the role of elected and appointed people in the management of universities.

Permit me to touch briefly on the third reason by providing examples.

At the moment, nothing less than twelve universities (again names withheld) are currently without Vice- Chancellors, VCs; either because he is on suspension or had been dismissed under circumstances which have left the teaching staff divided. Another ten or so are on the brink of such disruptions to academic pursuits in the universities. This development would not have been alarming if 2015 is an exceptional year in that regard. But, it is not.

Upheavals on campuses with VCs in the eyes of the storms have become as common as sand on the beach. It seems more than two centuries ago when Emeritus Professor Ayo Banjo, OFR, completed two tenures as VC of the University of Ibadan. Today, a VC lasting four years on the seat is rarity.

Yet a sage, Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882, had told us that, “An institution is the lengthened shadow of one man.´ (VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS, p 105). Each university, like other institutions acquires a culture, over time, by the leadership provided by some VCs and other leaders.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015 — 29

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30— Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

Working on a new world of work zWhat role for social partners?

By Funmi Komolafe

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HE annual workshop jointly organized by the Federal ministry of Labour & Productivity, and Human Capital Providers Association of Nigeria, HuCaPan, raised a number of pertinent issues, some of which we will be sharing with readers in this edition of Labour Watch.

Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr. Clement Illoh, set the tone at the workshop, responding to issues raised by stakeholders and throwing up new ones.

Out-sourcing Outsourcing has been an issue in Nigeria for a long time.

Whereas employers see it as a cost-saving management tool, from the trade union’s perspective, it is modern slavery with proven cases of abuse of workers’ rights.

The consequences of outsourcing in the oil industry, financial and manufacturing sectors have remained a challenge to labour unions.

Important convention Dr. Illoh said although Nigeira was yet to ratify the International Labour Organization’s Private Employment Agencies Convention 181, “ it is my view that we should place this all important Convention in our future agenda and work towards its ratification.”

He said in the new work order, Tripartism, Consensus and Social Dialogue were crucial to promoting harmonious world of work.

In the light of this, Dr. Illoh, who led Nigerian government delegation to the just-concluded 104 Conference of the International Labour Organization in Geneva, Switzerland said, the ILO as part of its review for the centenary anniversary of the organization in 2019 was taking a serious look at out-sourcing, workers without boundaries, insurgency, kidnapping and were being addressed at the international level.

He gave an assurance that “Nigeria will participate actively. If a teacher is kidnapped or killed by Boko Haram, it is a workplace problem."

New issues at work Dr. Illoh raised a number of workplace issues which should be of interest to trade unions, employers and students of industrial relations.

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WORKSHOP: From left, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour & Productivity, Dr. Clement Illoh; HuCaPan President, Mr. Neye Enemigin and Dr. Runa Onasode, representing ILO regional director at the event.

Dr. Illoh, popularly called indigenous permanent secretary (he rose from the post of a labour officer to become permanent secretary) noted that the culture of impunity hinders good labour relations.

In his words, “Labour administration goes beyond knowledge of the law; with law alone you cannot achieve industrial peace. It is about social dialogue and consensus, etc."

He said the government desired to ensure that the Decent Work Agenda was achieved in Nigeria. This encompasses freedom of association, social dialogue, collective bargaining, etc.

He noted that in some of these areas, Nigeria was at the deficit level but as stakeholders, “ we should work together to reduce it.” He explained that the deficit is more pronounced in out- sourcing and in the case migrant workers."

So, what should be done? Illoh said: “We want to deepen our relationship in the area of effective monitoring and evaluation to ensure performance is

in accordance with plans”.

It is the permanent secretary’s suggestion that stakeholders monitoring is the best practice.

“Government provides the leadership and workers are involved too”.

Illoh said he was aware that

In his words, “ Labour Administration goes beyond knowledge of the law, with law alone you cannot achieve industrial peace. It is about social dialogue and consensus, etc

unions were opposed to outsourcing because of the challenges associated with it, especially in terms of the conditions and welfare of workers but promised “We want to narrow the gap. From July, we’ll try to have a new licensing regime”.

The permanent secretary reminded all that outsourcing was not unique to Nigeria alone.

According to him, the ILO was working towards a convention to address issues about outsourcing as part of its centenary anniversary in 2019.

New forms of employment He outlined new forms of employment and response to trade unions issues.

He said now instead of going on strike to make demands on an employer, trade unions now ensure that workers over-produce so that labour might benefit. On globalization, he asked the audience: “Can Nigeria afford to participate effectively in globalization? Do we have the necessary infrastructure, power , human resources ? Questions begging for answers.

Paternity leave He said it was a new issue in the workplace and asked “Will it be with pay? If we adopt it, is it in addition to annual leave?"

Unfortunately, the central labour organizations though invited were absent but employers had an opportunity to discuss the issue and its implication.

Immediate past governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola , SAN is on record as the first head of government to introduce paternity leave in Nigeria.

In his presentation, president of HuCaPan, Mr. Neye Ochuko Enemigin promised the government that his association “is ready and willing to work with the ministry in various aspects such as the inclusion of HuCaPan in the policy guidelines on labour administration issues in contract staffing/outsourcing in the oil and gas sector.

Oil and gas sector This is with the view of sanitizing the industry and ensure that negotiation is done within laid down guidelines in compliance with laws in Nigeria.”

He commended government, saying “We commend the proposed new regime of recruiters’ license which is aimed at reviewing the license fee; extending the duration of the license to four or five years; and providing a less cumbersome renewal process; among others.”

He also commended the Joint Monitoring Team of the ministry and HuCaPan, saying “We appeal to the ministry to ensure that joint monitoring is carried out more frequently and recommendations of the monitoring implemented”.

This he said, “ would not only help the ministry achieve the goal of decent work for Nigerian employees but checkmate the activities of quacks and unscrupulous employers”.

FG plans mandatory training for civil servants

By Favour Nnabugwu

F

EDERAL civil servants will henceforth undergo compulsory training and performance appraisal before promotion.

Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Danladi Kifasi who gave this indication in Abuja, directed officials handling the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System, IPPIS, to speed up the exercise.

The Head of Service also identified the need to build the

capacity of the civil service across the board, so that they could be equipped with the basic skills and knowledge to discharge their duties professionally, knowledgeably, competently and effectively Kifasi said, “The Office of the Head of Service of Federation, OHCSF, has put in place a Structured Mandatory Assessment Based Training Programme (SMAT-P) which has been developed in partnership with reputable international training organisational and world-class experts. The programme is in the final stage of development. The OHCSF expects that programme will commence in August

2015. The expectation of the OHCSF is that delivering this programme over time raise leadership capacity of the Service at all levels and starts to develop a new breed of civil servant that is knowledgeable, committed, patriotic and professional.

“The curriculum and training for the scheme have been fully developed in partnership with the Management Development Institutes and local and international training experts. The OHCSF is currently receiving nominations from Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, for the commencement of the programme in July 2015.”

Vanguard,THURSDAY, JULY 23,2015—31

PenCom laments poor implementation of CPS in South-East Stories by Victor Ahiuma-Young

N

ATIONAL Pension Commission, PenCom, has decried the poor implementation of the Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS, in the South-east, lamenting that no state in the region has attained full implementation status, more than ten years since the inception of the scheme.

The commission therefore, has appealed to states and local governments in the zone yet to implement CPS quickly to avail their employees of the benefits of the scheme to avoid huge pension liabilities in the future.

Director-General, D-G, of the commission, Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, at a stakeholders’ sensitization conference on the Pension Reform Act, PRA, 2014, in Enugu, recalled that PRA 2004 was enacted to govern the Nigerian pension reform, explaining that arising from a comprehensive review of its implementation, the PRA 2014 which repealed the 2004 Act, was signed into law by President Goodluck Jonathan on July 1, 2014.

According to her, “It is pertinent to note that the PRA 2014 re-enacted the fundamental provisions of the repealed PRA 2004, which

include, the establishment of the CPS, uniform standards for pension administration as well as PenCom as the sole regulator and supervisor of pension matters in Nigeria. However, there are new developments introduced by the PRA 2014 such as upward review of the minimum rate of pension contribution and sanctions and penalties against infractions of the provisions of the Act. Furthermore, the PRA 2014 has introduced a provision that allows contributors seeking to own their primary homes, to

Recent developments with regards to inadequate finances affecting most states of the federation is a pointer to the urgent need for states to adopt the CPS

A cross section of pensioners at a retirement seminar apply part of their Retirement Savings Account balances as equity contribution for residential mortgage, subject to guidelines issued by the commission. The process of issuing these guidelines is already at advanced stages and it is our expectation that as soon as implemented, this would facilitate access to home ownership by pension contributors while bridging the housing deficit in Nigeria.

“Prior to the enactment of the PRA 2014, several states in the Federation, had adopted the CPS and were at various stages of implementation. However, the scorecard for the south-east zone has not been encouraging since no state has attained full implementation status. The PRA 2014 has enhanced states and local government participation in the CPS by expressly prescribing the coverage of employees of states

and local governments, in addition to the federal public service and private sector. I would therefore like to appeal to all the states and local governments in the south-east zone that are yet to adopt or implement the CPS to quickly embark on doing so in order to avail their employees of the numerous benefits of the scheme while avoiding huge future pension liabilities.

Pension liabilities Recent developments with regards to inadequate finances affecting most states of the federation is a pointer to the urgent need for states to adopt the CPS. The DG added “In our quest to assist the states in guided implementation, PenCom has established functional offices in the six geo-political zones including Awka for the South-

East Zone. These offices have been equipped to provide the required technical assistance to states and local governments in their efforts to adopt and implement the CPS. The PRA 2014 Act has also made provisions for voluntary participation in the CPS, thereby paving the way for the coverage of the Informal Sector through the Micro Pensions initiative. Already, the Commission has commenced a series of activities intended to kick start this initiative which focuses on the underserved segments of the Nigerian workers. PenCom is partnering with organized labour and well established trade groups in that regard. It is noteworthy that the PRA 2014 has also addressed other issues aimed at ensuring the sustainability of the CPS. These include establishment of the Pension Protection Fund and Minimum Pension Guarantee.

Trustfund Pensions stresses benefits of pre-retirement training THOUGH retirement is inevitable for every worker, but evidence indicates that only few actually prepare and plan for it.

The problems of unplanned retirement are better imagined than experienced.

I

N efforts to address this challenge, one of the leading Pension Fund Administrators, PFA, in the country, Trustfund Pensions Plc, has been organising pre-retirement training for its subscribers across the country.

One of such trainings was held in Lagos recently. The programme that was well attended by subscribers, featured an agro- allied expert, who took participants through the rudiments of fish farming and other agricultural based businesses.

Welcoming participants, Trustfund’s Zonal Manager, Central and South Zone, Maurice Ogar, explained that the purpose of the forum was to ensure that the company ’s subscribers lived quality lives after retirement. He said: “What is happening here today is part

of Trustfund Pensions Plc’s policy to occasionally invite some of our customers who are about to retire and have a forum for them where we prepare their minds for their retirement life. We educate them on what they will and can do when they eventually retire to be able to access their accounts by way of collecting their entitlements and beyond that, we also give them some tips by which they can live quality and comfortable lives even after retirement”.

You know Nigerians are usually apprehensive when they want to retire because they don’t know what the future holds for them but at this forum, we are going to assure them that there will not be much difference between life in retirement and active service because they have already made plans by opening retirement

savings account for themselves.

We as the managers of their retirement savings account are going to ensure that we pay them their entitlements and continue to pay them their monthly pension.

For instance, we have a facilitator here today that will give a talk and train them on fish farming and other agro allied production capacity start up training.

“The training is basically to ensure that they can have what they can do to argument their monthly pension earnings so that the standard of living will not depart drastically from what it was while in active service, the whole essence is that the standard of living will not descend from a high standard to a low standard while they are in retirement.”

Continuing, he said Trustfund was conducting the forum to ensure subscribers lived quality lives “because what they might be earning as monthly pension may not be as high as the salary they were earning while in active service. When they have

one or two things they will do at retirement, it will soar up whatever they might earn as monthly pension so that they will be comfortable with whatever they are earning alongside their families. The whole essence of the forum is to give them hope and confidence that they can live comfortably as Nigerians even after retirement.

Accessing of account “The pension law as amended last year, reduced the period of waiting after loss of job to be able to access his / her account. Under the old pension law, that is the pension reform act 2004, such a person was expected to wait for six months, if after six months, such a person could not find a job, he will then be able to access the account by 25 per cent but the new law has made the waiting period four months. So, if for instance you lose your job in May, you can access your account

by September, which is the fourth month of having to look for job without being successful. That means you can take 25 percent of what is standing in your account, after collecting the 25 percent, if you are lucky to get a job, you can then continue with your remittance, if not, you will then have to wait till you are 50 before you can get your remaining contribution.

“Once you are 50 you can come back for the remaining, because if by 50 you don’t get a job, you are qualified to get your full deduction. The law does not empower us to give monetary support to our clients.

What we are empowered to do is to help them save for life after retirement and what we have done at Trustfund is to get our clients trained for such a life.

Besides, we serve as advisors through forums like this so that we can teach them on how to manage whatever is accrued to them from their contributions.

32—VANGUARD, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

BAIL: Time for a rethink?

By Awa Kalu

V

ERY recent developments in our criminal justice system have led quite a handful of stake holders to believe that there is a subtle shift in the policy aspect of allowing persons charged with an offence to remain free until their cases are judicially determined.

The first point to make is that the predominance of a particular crime has always elicited a response from the legislaturewhether civilian or military.

Accordingly, when the aftermath of the civil war brought in its wake an intolerable and escalated level of armed robbery, the military hierarchy responded with pieces of legislation which prescribed the death penalty as punishment for convicts. In addition, execution was by firing squad and trial was by a special tribunal.

There is no need to emphasize that bail was not an option and remand was an inevitable consequence. Armed robbers were so dreaded that even in the ordinary social relationships, persons whose means of livelihood was uncertifiable were often put away on flimsy allegations of armed robbery.

Some commercial disputes and land matters were maliciously but temporarily resolved by one side branding the opponent(s) as armed robbers.

Treasonable felony Armed robbery and treason or treasonable felony were allegations which held sway during the military era. Of course, let us not lose sight of a heightened level of obtaining by false pretences (OBT) alias ‘419’.

The offence became so widespread and prevalent that public outcry against its deleterious effect reached a crescendo. Traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances led to the establishment of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the establishment of several miscellaneous offences tribunals for the hearing and determination of such offences.

Military tradition would not tolerate anything less draconian for dealing with any offence that was considered heinous.

Shift in range of offences: The return to civil rule, without any shed of doubt, led to the shift in

the range of offences that need the sledge hammerCorruption and allied offences, comprising a heavy dose of financial crimes. Kidnapping and terrorism, including several frames insurgency have since joined the fray. The response by the Obasanjo administration was quite swift.

The promulgation of the Independent Corrupt Practice and Allied Offences Act which established the ICPC as a commission was followed by the enactment of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Act and the attendant establishment of another commission. In wrestling, there is a tag team-a combination of two or more wrestlers on either side to fight for a prize. Perhaps the EFCC and ICPC were established as a tag team to wrestle corruption and allied offences but the effectiveness of both agencies will soon be gauged by the administration President Buhari which was voted into power on account of a firm belief by the public that the menace of corruption must be met head-on.

By the way, the legislative response by some states is to prescribe capital punishment for kidnapping.

Terrorism has also been met with very stiff penalties. Corruption and allied offences attract a range

Will Lagos Judicial Commission be dissolved?

of non-capital stipulations as punishment.

Having made a brief introduction of the offences which have threatened our public peace since the end of the civil war, it is beyond dispute that from a legislative point of view, the framework has always been available for dismantling any regime of crippling offences.

The inevitable question: The inevitable question at this juncture is whether there is any reason why a person tainted with

The return to civil rule, without any shed of doubt, led to the shift in the range of offences that need the sledge hammer

an allegation of crime concerning or arising from corruption, financial crimes and allied offences, must first be incarcerated before being released on bail, often on unfriendly terms?

If anyone should cast their minds back to the arrests that followed the recent reforms in the banking sector, it would become doubtful whether any bankeras allowed to go home without a remand soon after arraignment.

Recourse to our extant laws and constitution Even a feeble research would reveal that most of our former Governors and high profile political office holders, who were recently arraigned on allegation of corruption did not sleep in their houses (or mansions as the case may be) on the date of arraignment.

The EFCC has often been amenable to granting administrative bail to its high profile alleged offenders, even though its “trademark” seems to require a cacophony of print and electronic press coverage of its major arrests and arraignment.

To cut the long story short, does the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended (The Constitution) or any statute for that matter for the time being in force, contemplate either in its letters or spirit, a twotier approach to the administration of the bail requirement of our criminal justice system? I think not, but to enable our discerning readers to reach their legitimate and individual conclusions, a recourse to our extant laws and the Constitution, would seem inevitable.

Section 35(1) of the constitution provides for the fundamental right to personal liberty to the extent that: “Every person shall be entitled to his personal liberty and no personal shall be deprived of such liberty save in the following cases and in accordance with a procedure permitted by law.” The

How Buhari can take the profit out of corruption —Pg 35 —Pg 34

C M Y K

Constitution in itself points in the direction of what it means “by a procedure permitted by law."

Accordingly, subsection (4) of Section 35 to which reference has been made provides that: “Any person who is arrested or detained in accordance with subsection (1)(c) shall be brought before a court of law within a reasonable time and if he is not tried within a period of ; (a) two months from the date of his arrest or detention in the case of a person who is in custody or not entitled to bail b). Three months from the date of his arrest or detention in the case of a person who has been released on bail; he shall be (without prejudice to any further proceeding that may be brought against him) be released either unconditionally or upon such conditions as are reasonable to ensure he appears for trial at a later date.”

Presumption of innocence Several sections of the Constitution indicate unequivocally that the liberty of the individual is not a matter to be trifled with and significantly Section 36(5) of the Constitution proclaims boldly that, “Any person who is charged with a criminal offense shall be presumed innocent until he is proven guilty …”

It is our very humbly held view that the presumption of innocence is one of the most important or fundamental provisions of the Constitution designed to protect a person against whom a crime is alleged from being pulverized by the might of the State. One is aware that in certain quarters there are very stringent calls for this presumption to be repudiated in matters concerning corruption, economic crimes and unjust enrichment.

However, as long as this presumption remains extant, it is to be borne in mind, that, in a long line of cases, the Supreme Court has preached that the approach to the interpretation of the Constitution should be, “one of liberalism” (See NafiuRabiuv. The State (1981) 2 NCLR 293 at 317).

The purveyor of the now hallowed approach of liberalism did “not conceive it to be the duty of this Court to construe any of the provisions of the Constitution as to defeat the obvious ends the Constitution was designed to serve where another construction equally in accord and consistent with the words and sense of such provisions will serve to enforce and protect such ends”.

The view which can be canvassed generously is that the Constitution does not contemplate that a person who is presumed innocent should be put

Continues on page 33

VANGUARD, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015 — 33

BAIL: Time for a rethink?

Continues from page 32 away capriciously. In that regard, statutory inclination is to clothe a Trial Judge or any other judicial officer for that matter, with the discretion to grant bail to an accused subject to well-known guidelines.

Thus, the brand new Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, (following the Statutes which it repeals, i.ethe Criminal Procedural Act and The Criminal Procedure Code)makes provision for bail. By Section 158 thereof, it stipulates that, “when a person is suspected to have committed an offence or is accused of an offence, is arrested or detained, or appears or is brought before a Court, he shall subject to the provision of this part, be entitled to bail.” This recent enactment which came into force in the twilight of the Jonathan administration makes provision for bail even in cases where the accused is charged with a capital offense.

Capital offence By virtue of Section 161 of the Act, only a Judge of the High Court can admit to bail, “a suspect arrested, detained or charged with an offence punishable with death … under exceptional circumstances”.

Although the law reports are littered with well decided cases concerning bail, it appears that Bamiyi v.

The State (2001) 8 NWLR (Pt. 715) 270 is in the frontline of advocacy for liberalizing the grant of bail.in Bamiyi, the Apex reasoned that, “The Trial Court has in most cases discretion to admit the accused person to bail pending trial. In the exercise of the discretion, the following are the most important ingredients which will guide the court,i.e:(a) the nature of the charge; the evidence by which it is supported; the sentence which by law may be passed in the event of a conviction; the probability that the accused will appear to take his trial”.

On the peculiar facts of Bamiyi, he was not granted bail but nonetheless, the case constructed an indestructible template for reviewing applications for bail.

EDITORIAL TEAM Innocent Anaba ( Head) Wahab Abdulah Ikechukwu Nnochiri Dayo Benson (Supervising Editor) 08056180119 dayobenson@yahoo.com

arraignment. By the same token, Honourable Justice Kolawole released on bail, Governor SuleLamido, whose bail application was not heard by His Learned Judicial Brother (or Sister) sitting in the Kano Division. There are innumerable cases in which the grant of bail has either been delayed or realized on conditions which can cause alarm.

Traditional rulers are presently preferred as sureties just like persons who are public servants, landed gentry or money bags. It ought to be remembered that a surety who executes a bond in a given sum must be willing to extreat the bond when the accused person absconds or jumps bail. Should our public

servants still in active service be placed in jeopardy of losing their career just to make bail conditions stringent? There questions and there are questions.

Irrespective of the intensity of public opinion, the tendentious posture of the prosecution (which makes a habit of opposing bail applications irrespective of the merits), the individual preference of the judicial personnel and the deleterious effect to fair hearing of trial by or in the press, bail should be available to those who can meet the conditions as set by the court – which of course ought to be liberal too. Let corruption be fought without hesitation but without destroying the foundation of liberty afforded by the Constitution.

Lawyers brainstorm on ICT, future of legal profession Many other cases bear out this position.

In M.K.O Abiola v. Federal Republic of Nigeria (1994) 1 NWLR (Pt. 370) 155, the Court of Appeal postulated much earlier, that, “since the court presumes in favour of the liberty of the subject and his innocence until found guilty, the onus is on the prosecution to show, in a given case, that an accused or applicant for bail is one that should be refused” (See alsoEyu v.The State (1988) 3 NWLR (Pt. 78) 602 at 610). Can all those engaged in the administration of criminal justice heed this advice?

Even in the bail application of one of the most vilified high profile accused (at the time) the Court of Appeal did not hesitate to lay down the principle that, “indeed in a criminal trial as long as an accused person has not previously jumped bail and

On the peculiar facts of Bamiyi, he was not granted bail but nonetheless, the case constructed an indestructible template for reviewing applications for bail

subsequently delayed prosecution of the charges laid against him, he is entitled to protection under the Constitutional provisions which includes freedom of movement and presumption of innocence.

Thus, no matter how seemingly serious, grave, heinous or unconscionable an alleged offence or offences committed by an accused person might look, he is still entitled to that presumption as an article of faith and matter of rights guaranteed by the Constitution”.

Criminal proceedings Contrary toIbori, the events surrounding the recent criminal proceedings commenced by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against certain Ex-Governors of some states put the criminal justice system under public scrutiny. ExGovernors MurtalaNyako of Adamawa State, IkediOhakim of Imo State, SuleLamido of Jigawa State and Timpre Sylva of Bayelsa state were brought before the Federal High Court within the same week. While they are all on bail, it seems that Honourable JusticesAdemola and Kolawole did very well in epitomizing the spirit of liberalism which this brief article recommends. Honourable Justice Ademola granted bail to GovernorIkediOhakim the same day the bail application was granted and only a day after his

By Onozure Dania

L

AWYERS, under the aegis of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, and stakeholders in the justice sector, have gathered to brainstorm on the impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), on the profession.

The maiden edition of the ELegal Conference, themed, “Tomorrow’s Legal”, was organized by Nigeria’s fastest growing online community of Legal professionals, thelearnedfriend.com, at Lagos Court of Arbitration, International Centre for Arbitration and ADR, Lagos.

Thelearnedfriends.com is an online news aggregator and social media platform focused on showcasing technological innovations in the legal sector.

According to the Managing Director, Mrs. Mobola Obileye, "the nature of legal services is changing as more legal businesses are incorporating technology and digital media into their daily operations.”

Immediate past chairmanNBA Lagos branch, Mr. Alex Mouka, while delivering a keynote address, said the benefit of the conference was unquantifiable when juxtaposed with the cost of acquiring modern day technology, noting that lawyers must begin to brace up towards the challenges ahead.

He said: “The whole world is moving in a particular direction-

digital, and we lawyers cannot afford to be left behind. The idea about these conferences is to begin to prepare our minds as lawyers. I don’t expect that it will be an overnight change, no. It is not going to happen. But if we understand that someday we must operate in a completely online environment, then the sooner we begin to pull down the roadblocks the better. We may not achieve a paperless office now.

We do appreciate that more of our work has to be done in an online mobile environment and then begin to set up the tools. " Mouka, speaking on how realistic the fusion between the ICT and the legal profession will work out, he said: “Again, if something is bound to happen, it is going to happen. We should not only count the cost as it has been noted here. Most of the solutions are scalable. it is not as if you have to start with the most expensive solution, some of the solutions that have been suggested here can be tailored to the size or scope of your practice.If you have a small firm there’s solution for you and if you have a large firm there is also a solution you can adopt.

Also, speaking Chief Bolaji Ayorinde SAN, noted that “The world is a global village and the legal profession must keep up with the international best practices.

“All over the world new trends are coming up and Nigeria cannot afford to lag behind when

Continues on page 35

34—Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

VANGUARD, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015—35

How Buhari can take the profit out of corruption (2)

By Kolawole Olaniyan

P

RESIDENT Muhammadu BSimilarly, Buhari’s asset recovery agenda should take a firm stance against corruption in business transactions by establishing mechanisms to impose direct liability on companies and multinational corporations for bribing high ranking government officials.

The asset recovery initiative must also cover the theft of security votes and false funding requests for security operation or equipment by successive governments—federal and states alike.

This was in fact one modus operandi by the late dictator General Sani Abacha to steal the country’s wealth. Most of the funds were taken away in cash from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through instructions from Abacha to his National Security Adviser.

For example, the Adviser in one letter to Abacha titled ‘special allocation of funds’ said “Due to some security problems requiring immediate solution and implementation, I am constrained to ask your Excellency to kindly give consideration in approving funds to deal with the situation.

The situation as I informed you is desperate and imminent. It has to be dealt with properly and urgently.

These nagging problems which are in bad taste and not in our national interest, involve some countries within and outside Africa. Kindly approve £10 million, $50 million, and N250 million. The funds are urgently required to solve this enormous task. Please approve.”

This authorisation was then approved by Abacha and presented to the CBN for pay-ment.

The funds were released and stashed abroad. Around 30 of such letters were written over a three-year period from 19951998.

Furthermore, the government would need to put pressure on

financial institutions to generate suspicious transactions reports involving high-ranking public officials (known in money laundering law as Politically Exposed Persons, PEPs) and share such reports with the appropriate authorities.

Any financial institutions failing to report or intentionally

Nonetheless, the inclusion of this corrupt practice in several anti-corruption treaties, despite the human rights concerns that have been raised, suggests that it has become an accepted con-cept in the global fight against corruption.

The use of the offence of illicit enrichment may also be one

stories in the fight against corruption.

But while holding officials criminally liable for unexplained increases in their wealth has considerable appeal, particularly in systems where the courts are weak, as is the case in Nigeria, the human rights concerns against it are

President Muhammadu Buhari encouraging PEPs should be severely punished to send a strong message to other banks and financial institutions that it won’t be business as usual with this government.

The government can also rely on article 20 of the UNCAC regarding “illicit enrichment”, which allows for a reversal of the burden of proof.

The offense of illicit enrich-ment is defined as a significant increase in the assets of a public official who cannot reasonably or justifiably explain this in relation to his or her lawful income.

However, requiring a defendant to bear the burden of estab-lishing the legitimate source of the income in question is problematic as it raises serious human rights questions such as the internationally guaranteed right of presumption of innocence.

reason Hong Kong has been hailed as one of the few success

Once the stolen funds are returned to the country there is also the important issue of how to monitor the use of the funds to make sure that they are not re-stolen or diverted

understandable. While the accused should not be allowed to use human rights as a ‘trump card’ to frustrate recovery of stolen funds or defeat the course of justice, the need for an effective fight against corruption (and money laundering) must constantly be balanced against legitimate con-cerns to safeguard human rights of the accused.

Once the stolen funds are returned to the country there is also the important issue of how to monitor the use of the funds to make sure that they are not re-stolen or diverted, as it is alleged to be the case in the returned Abacha loot. Here Nigeria can learn from the experience of Kazakhstan where civil society groups were asked to supervise the use of illegally obtained funds for the benefit of

needy children.

This arrangement is permitted under article 57(5) of the UNCAC, which allows states to enter into mutually acceptable arrangements for the disposal of confiscated property.

Buhari should not enter into any deal (so-called plea bargain) with corrupt officials or their families (as former President Goodluck Jonathan shamefully did with the returned Abacha loot) to share part of recovered funds, as to do so will be to allow them to profit from their crime, thus providing the gateway to impunity which can only further encourage corruption among high ranging public officials. In fact, the government should review any such deals with a view to achieving justice for victims of corruption.

Nonetheless, an entrenched culture of corruption is extremely difficult to transform.

To effectively address it will require reform of political institutions that are often resistant to change.

Buhari should refuse to listen to those who may want to resist change because the status quo serves their interests.

Nigerians remain optimistic that a change in leadership would bring accountability in government and that they will now be able to enjoy the benefits of good governance in the form of access to basic necessities of life.

One can only hope that the new found hope is not short lived, and that Buhari will be able to deliver on his promises of ending corruption by working hard to take the profit out of corruption.

As Montesquieu wrote, “When a republic has been corrupted, none of the ills that arise can be remedied except by removing the corruption and recalling the principles; every other correction is either useless or a new ill.”

Removing the corruption means stopping corrupt officials from reaping the benefits of their crime.

Dr Olaniyan is the author of ‘Corruption and Human Rights Law in Africa’

Lawyers brainstorm on ICT, future of legal profession Continues from page 32

From left : Mark Slade, Mr. Alex Mouka, immediate past chairman NBA Lagos branch, Mr. Azubuike Ezenwoke, Tolu Aderemi, Mrs. Mobolaji Obileye, director, thelearnedfriends.com, Chief Bolaji Ayorinde SAN, Dele Nedd and Femi Ojomu during the conference on ICT.

If you have a small firm there’s solution for you and if you have a large firm there is also a solution you can adopt.

Also, speaking Chief Bolaji Ayorinde SAN, noted that “The world is a global village and the legal profession must keep up with the international best practices.

“All over the world new trends are coming up and Nigeria cannot afford to lag behind when we have a country with so many lawyers, with so much intellectual capacity, we need to now combine that with technological advancement.

That is the reason why this is

going on and I think it’s a good innovation for the judiciary.

“This will help law firms to keep up with their international counterparts, help the law firms to keep up among themselves, you can see that most of the work in the courts are now going digital so, it’s a conference that will be very helpful for the lawyers that have attended the conference he said.”Other speakers at the conference included Mr. Femi Ojumu, who unbundled the expression ICT and characterized it as a physical or web-based configuration which facilitates the use, exploitation, mining, storage and transfer of data that’s underpinned by scientific expertise.

36—Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015 Map of Delta State

DESOPADEC:

Okowa’s bill is for devt of Delta, not anarchy —Prince Maikpobi Okareme, Nat Coordinator, HOSTCOM, Evang Isibeluo, Secretary, HOSTCOM, Delta

By Emma Amaize, Regional Editor, Niger Delta

T

HE National Coordinator of Host Communities of Nigeria, HOSTCOM, Prince Maikpobi Okareme, says some persons and groups in Delta State are over-dramatizing their fury over the executive bill by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa to restructure the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC. Speaking to Vanguard in Warri, Okareme, who is also the national chairman, Community Development Committee, CDC, Oil and Gas Producing Communities of Niger Delta, said Okowa’s plan to reorganize DESOPADEC was well intended and called for patience and understanding on the part of all stakeholders. The Secretary of HOSTCOM, Delta State, Evangelist Gabriel Isibeluo, who supported his position, said that oil communities held a meeting with the governor even before the public hearing and those present at the meeting pointed out areas of disagreement to him (Okowa).

Sues for calm, understanding Okareme told Vanguard, “I can tell you emphatically that the bill is not an invitation to anarchy. I want to appeal to everybody in the oil producing areas to remain calm. We have discussed with Okowa, the blurred areas have been ironed out. We have all agreed with the governor that the Commission should remain as a Commission for the oil and gas producing communities, we agreed on that because that is one of the major areas of discontent.”

DESOPADEC not hijacked: “We have all agreed that it should be narrowed to oil and gas producing communities, which is the core mandate area. Then, in terms of appointment, all members of the board, all must be indigenes of oil and gasproducing communities at all times. We have settled this, the governor agreed with us. The next step is that the governor should take nominations from the communities, the communities should be given the privilege to nominate those that will represent their areas in the board and the governor’s business will be to forward the names to the House of Assembly for confirmation.''

New board takes effect in August: Okareme asserted, “The other part is that the principle of

production remains intact because derivation money is based on what comes in from the producing areas. So it remains intact, we now submitted that all times, any ethnic nationality producing more than 10 per cent of the total production of the state should have a minimum of two persons in the board and we have agreed that by August when the new board will take effect, it will be made up of 12 members. The 12 members include eight representatives of the communities, then the chairman, managing director and two executive directors, one for project and the other, finance/ administration as we have in the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC. We rejected the recommendation for executive director, social services by the governor. That is our recommendation and from the way we see the Ad Hoc Committee on DESOPADEC Amendment Bill, we are sure that recommendation will sail through.”

Okareme said, “The other provision we asked the House of Assembly to delete from the existing law is the ex-officio members because we have two ex-officio members, representing the Ministries of Finance and Economic Planning. So those two positions, we want them deleted from the law because that is what the law says. Nevertheless, we do not want them because those people have always acted as clog in the wheel of progress.”

There is the contention that Governor Okowa has been discussing with some of you people under the auspices of HOSTCOM, leaving others out, why is this so?

Well, again that is not correct, when we met with the governor, we all agreed that there should be public hearing and we came

The bill is not invitation to anarchy in the state, it is not at all

Delta governor, Ifeanyi Okowa...consulted stakeholders

Prince Maikpobi Okareme back, briefed our people and they prepared ahead of time. Then before the public hearing, there were announcements repeatedly made on Delta television and radio. Then, they published advertisements in some newspapers, including Vanguard and Pointer, the stateowned newspaper and Urhobo Voice. They requested the public to make submissions. It was not limited to a particular group.

HOSTCOM, Ministry of Justice, DESOPADEC and others came for the public hearing, I counted about 27 groups and they all came into the main chamber of the House of Assembly to make their different presentations. After the written presentations, the Committee also created room for oral submissions, so everybody participated.

Do you really think that Okowa means well with his executive bill?

Well, when we met him, as a Senator, he mentioned to us that what he sent to us was a framework. He said he knew that the bill would not come back to him exactly the way he submitted

Evang. Isibeluo it. Clearly, he envisaged that the real owners, the beneficiaries of the commission would make their input and the House of Assembly, which has the mandate of the people as legislators will listen and put the views of the people into consideration. So, his mind is already prepared to make adjustment based on what the people want.

DESOPADEC restructuring I support Okowa on DESOPADEC restructuring. We participated in the public hearing on the proposed DESOPADEC law at the main chamber of the Delta State House of Assembly.

Majority of the stakeholders support the restructuring to make DESOPADEC more responsive to the beneficiaries. HOSTCOM proposed that in line with the derivation principle, all ethnic groups producing more than 10 per cent of Delta State quota should have two members out of the 12-member DESOPADEC board at all times.

“During my presentation, I

even asked the state House of Assembly to increase derivation percentage from 50 per cent to 60 per cent in line with the Revenue Bill passed by the House of Representatives in 2012. At the hearing, I called on the governor to release funds to the commission to enable it pay contractors, who were given part payment since March.”

Urhobo to produce next DESOPADEC MD Okareme, who has been in the forefront of the struggle for the state government to remit 50 per cent of Derivation unencumbered to DESOPADEC, said the speculation that the governor wants to deny Urhobo ethnic nationality of the headship of the commission with the new amendment is unfounded. He said the governor made it clear to us that he was not against the principle of rotation of the headship of DESOPADEC, which is already on ground. By August when the new board will take effect, the new Managing Director, who is the chief executive of the Commission, will be an Urhobo man; the governor did not tell anybody that he is opposed to that.

“After Urhobo, it will go to Isoko, Ndokwa and Ika in that order because Ika is now oil producing.

It is after that it will now come back to Ijaw and start all over again. Host communities leaders actually met with Governor Okowa at Government House, Asaba, which was where we discussed and agreed that there should be a public hearing on the bill.

There was no question like I said before on the principle of rotation in DESOPADEC leadership and the fears were allayed by Okowa.”

The bill is okayIsibeluo HOSTCOM scribe, Evangelist Isibeluo said, “We held a meeting with Okowa, he explained to us and we pointed out areas of differences. What matters is the overall objective of the bill, which is what we have to consider not the individual interests of certain persons and groups, which is what some people are portraying. The bill is not invitation to anarchy in the state, it is not at all.”

He said those accusing the governor of not consulting the oil communities were not being fair to him, as the oil producing communities HOSTCOM represents their interests and nothing was untouchable about the bill until the public hearing, which everybody was invited.

Isibeluo, however, noted that at the public hearing, all manner of groups came, claiming to be representing the oil communities and they all made their presentations. He said what is important is that bill captures and addresses the needs of the oil producing communities and so far, there was nothing to suggest otherwise, except for those fighting personal and selfish battle.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015—37

Residents flay rising refuse dumps in Warri W

ARRI—EPIDEMIC is looming in Warri, Delta State as heaps of refuse have taken over major areas in the oil city.

Areas most affected according to investigation by Vanguard include the populous Okurede Urhobo and parts of Ogunu communities, consequently, some residents are gripped with fear of contacting strange diseases.

However, the people of Warri South Local Government Area, have commended the private company (Alate Waste Enterprise) engaged for waste collection for effective performance, saying that they will not succumb to intimidation by a non-existing State Employment and Expenditure for Result, SEEFOR agent, who claims responsibility for waste collection in their area.

Addressing newsmen after a meeting of some prominent chiefs, sons and daughters of Okurode community in Warri over an alleged threat by yet to be identified SEEFOR agent, Chief Godwin Okorodudu, the Unur’ Vwodo of Okurode community, called on the state Commissioner for Environment, Mr John Nani and the Delta State Government

not to pay any agent that claims to be responsible for waste collection in their community for doing nothing.

Chief Okorodudu said that the community was not aware of any SEEFOR agent coming to their community for waste collection but a private company engaged by them for that purpose, adding that they

have an arrangement with Alate Waste Enterprise to come three times in a week for waste collection, an arrangement they claimed had met their waste disposal needs.

“Some time last year, we saw some SEEFOR trucks in our community but they didn’t discuss with us on any issue but for about eight months, we have not been

seeing them, consequently our community chairman and prominent sons arranged for a private company to be collecting waste from us. Since they introduced him, he has been functioning well because we took a date with him to come three times a week to save residents from contacting strange disease,"he said.

GRADUATION: From left, Father of the day, Mr Celestine Toruka, Headmistress, Madonna International Nursery and Primary School, Gwagwalada, Rev. Sister Felicia Anukanti, Bursar, Sister Florence Onwuzuruike, and Chairman of the occasion, Chief Ifeanyi Odike, during the graduation of pupils of the school in Abuja.

Itsekiris in DESOPADEC reject Okowa's bill W ARRI — THE Association of Itsekiri Staff in the state Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC, AISID, has rejected the proposed DESOPADEC Law Amendment Bill 2015 that had been submitted to the House of Assembly by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.

In a statement after a stakeholder’s meeting of the association, the workers said “After a thorough examination of the DESOPADEC Law Amendment 2006; DESOPADEC Law Amendment Law 2010; the relevant section of the 1999 constitution (as amended) on the principle of derivation; the Local Content Act 2012; the NDDC Act 2000 and the proposed amendment bill 2015, we resolved that the DESOPADEC fund is not from any other revenue sources of government other than crude oil/gas."

The statement by Chairman of the workers body, Mr. Weyinmi Agbeteyiniro, said: “We demand that the principle of derivation as enshrined in section 162 of the constitution be applied to ensure that only oil/gas producing communities are made the beneficiaries of DESOPADEC. “In line with the principle of derivation, as clearly defined in the 1999 constitution, (as amended), every member ethnic nationality in the commission should be entitled to exactly what they produce, we demand that the

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production quantum should not only be inserted in the law but should be the basis upon which everything in the commission is shared.

“We demand that like it is in the NDDC law, which this bill is being modelled after, the position of the Managing Director should be rotated

among the oil producing ethnic nationalities on the basis of production quantum, with the ethnic group with the highest production taking the first shot while the position of the chairman of the commission be rotated like in NDDC in alphabetical order.

“It is ironical to ask that the representatives of the oil

producing ethnic nationalities on the board be appointed on part-time basis while the executive directors and the managing director are on full time basis. This is not what is obtainable in NDDC. Hence, we reject the inclusion of part-time commissioners in DESOPADEC."

Oshiomhole warns perm secs, directors against fraud

By Simon Ebegbulem

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ENIN CITY—THE Edo State Government has given marching orders to Permanent Secretaries and directors in the state to block all leakages and fraud in their departments and ministries or face the repercussions.

The decision was reached at a seminar on enhancing internally generated revenue held in the state.

The state Head of Service, Mr. Jerry Obazele, in a communiqué at the end of the seminar, said that the top civil servants had, resolved to block all loopholes and work towards increasing the state’s Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, to cushion the effects of the dwindling revenue from the federation account.

He said: “It was generally agreed that there is an urgent need in Edo State to mobilise all efforts to increase internally generated revenue in the state owing to the dwindling receipts from the federation account and other external sources of revenue to it.”

OIL: Present new revenue derivation formula, Mudiaga-Odje

tells Buhari

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By Festus Ahon

SABA—FACILITATOR of Niger Delta Democratic Union, NDDU, Dr Akpo Mudiaga-Odje, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to present a new revenue formula that will guarantee the people of Niger Delta, who produces the resources of the nation adequate and fair derivation of at least 25 per cent in the first instance to the National Assembly for passage.

Odje in a statement, yesterday, lamented; “Since our democracy came into force, since May 29, 1999, none of the governments, has been able to pass a new revenue formula for the sharing of revenue securing into the Federation Account as mandatorily directed by Section 162(1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution as

amended.

“I, therefore, call on Mr President to take up the gauntlet and send a new revenue formula to the National Assembly prescribing at least 25 per cent as derivation to the Oil Producing Communities,” noting that “without the oil communities there will be no Nigeria or oil

wealth to distribute or aggregate for ‘our national development’ as its being done today.

“In that connection, I call on all oil producing states, including Rivers State in particular to set up their state oil commissions to meet the aspiration of the indigenes of the Oil Producing Communities.”

Odje, meanwhile hailed President Buhari for sourcing for the bailout funds of N713 billion for some state governments to enable them pay arrears of workers’ salaries from outside the Excess Crude Oil Account, which he described as a conduit pipe for draining the resources of the people of the Niger Delta.

Omon-Irabor joins Edo governorship race

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By Gabriel Enogholase

ENIN—AHEAD 2016 governorship election in Edo State, a Warri-based ctivist lawyer, Mr. Calsey Omon-Irabor has indicated his interest to contest the governorship election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC. Omon-Irabor at a meeting with the Esan Central Local Government executives of the APC at Edeinu-Irrua, said that

he was in the race because it was the turn of the Esan people of Edo Central senatorial district of the state to produce the next governor.

According to him, “I have come to inform you that I want to contest for the governorship race of Edo State because it is our turn, the Esan people to get the governorship of the state. The Benins have had their turn in the person of Chief John OdigieOyegun and Chief Lucky

Igbinedion; Edo North in the person of the incumbent governor, Adams Oshiomhole “In the current regime of Oshiomhole, the Esan people are marginalized. The governor, the deputy governor, Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Chief Judge of Edo State, Secretary to the State Government were from Edo South and Edo North, none from Esanland."

38—Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

Groups at war over invitation to EFCC to investigate former Gov Orji

By Anayo Okoli

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M UA H I A — S O M E organizations in Abia State have tackled a group called

Enugu community alleges imposition of traditional ruler

Save Abia Initiative for Change, SAIC, for allegedly sending a petition against the immediate governor of the state, Governor Theodore Orji and some members of his family, alleging embezzlement of N474 billion.

They accused the group of being used by politicians, who want to settle scores with the former governor and urged the group not to allow itself to be used by people.

The organizations include Abia Central Senatorial Zone Stakeholders, Ibeku Youths Assembly and All Igbere Consultative Forum; they specifically accused a former governor of the state of masterminding the “purported petitions using a faceless group to smear the image and rubbish the good works of the exgovernor, who he saw as a political enemy that must be destroyed at all cost.”

In separate press releases in

Mrs Odukomaiya dies @ 73

By Francis Igata

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RS RACHEL Aduke Odukomaiya (nee Oguntoye), a successful business woman who began life as a newspaper reporter with the now defunct Daily Express, has died in a London hospital, aged 73.

The deceased was the former wife of Prince Henry O. Odukomaiya, a retired former Editor of the Daily Times and later the founding Managing Director & Editor-in-Chief of the now defunct Concord Group of newspapers and Champion Group of newspapers.

Late Mrs. Odukomaiya attended Ade-Oshodi Memorial Baptist School, Lagos, and Reagan Memorial Baptist High School, Yaba, graduating in 1962.

Three years after working as a trainee reporter with the now defunct Daily Express, she gained admission to the University of Lagos, Yaba, as one of the pioneer students of Diploma in Journalism course.

Upon graduation, she was appointed in 1970 as an Information Officer with the Federal Ministry of Information, located then at Broad Street, Lagos.

Two years later, she gave up her civil service job and went back to journalism by working as the

ENUGU—A section of Ndiagu Uwani, Akpugo in Nkanu-West Local Government Area of Enugu State,yesterday,besieged the office of Chieftaincy Matters,Enugu Government, lamenting alleged imposition of a traditional ruler by the immediate past administration of Governor Sullivan Chime.

Bearing placards with inscriptions that read: ”Certificate stealing is a crime against the people," "Ndiagu Uwani is in peace,please do not give us crisis;" "Injustice is inhuman, don’t impose traditional ruler on the people,” the aggrieved protesters marched round the secretariat wearing long faces.

In a statement made available to newsmen at the scene by the Town Union President General, Boniface Edeh, the protesters alleged that a preferred candidate was issued certificate of recognition as the traditional ruler in flagrant violation of wishes and aspirations of the people.

Umuahia, the groups condemned what they described as alleged “the former governor's continued but unwarranted attack against Orji.”

The press statements were signed by Chief Egesi Marcus; Elvis Ngwakwe, Chijioke Kanu, David Uguru, Dr. Eme Chimezie Agbai, and Kalu Donatus, chairmen and secretaries of the various groups.

They challenged the signatories of the purported petition to make their identities public if they were genuine and are to be taken seriously.

According to them, the petition was part of the “plot and political vendetta against former Governor Orji by some aggrieved politicians.

“In as much as we are not saying that EFCC should not

bring to book any public officer found wanting in the discharge of his duties, it will be wrong for faceless groups and political detractors to incite EFCC against an achiever.

“Abians know better between this former governor who should be investigated for mismanagement of public funds,” the group said.

They said that it would be uncharitable to pay former Governor Orji, “who has lifted the bar of governance in Abia and restored equity and justice in the political landscape of the state with trumped up allegations.”

The groups, therefore, cautioned Orji’s political opponents and “all those who feel embittered because of his numerous reforms and policies to stop distracting him as he does his work at the Senate.”

Abia House approves N30bn loan for Ikpeazu

By Anayo Okoli

Late Mrs. Odukomaiya Lagos City Editor of the Nigerian Herald.

She is survived by four children and 13 grand children.

She will be buried in Lagos after a funeral service on Friday, August 14, 2015, at the Yaba Baptist Church, at 19/23 Commercial Avenue, Sabo, Yaba.

This will be preceded by a Christian wake and a recital of reminiscences by friends and family members at the Vining Hall, at Archbishop Vining Memorial Church Cathedral, Oba Akinjobi Road, Ikeja GRA, on Thursday,, August 13, 2015.

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M UA H I A — A B I A State House of Assembly has given approval for Governor Okezie Ikpeazu to borrow the sum of N30 billion from commercial banks at prevailing interest rates for the execution of some projects in the state.

The approval followed a letter to the House by the governor, seeking the permission of the law makers to source for the loan.

The N30 billion loan when secured, according to the letter from the governor, would be for construction and rehabilitation of roads, building of bridges in the three senatorial zones of the state.

It would also be expended on the dredging of Aba River and building of business clusters in Aba and environs. The Speaker

of the House, Mazi Martins Azubuike read the resolution on the floor of the House during plenary.

Also, the money when secured would be used to build a modern hospital in the three senatorial zones as well as for the provision of some critical infrastructure.

The House had also received two executive bills for consideration. The bills were for amendment of Abia State Security Fund 2007 and Matters thereto, and for the establishment of Abia State Marketing Agency.

Meanwhile, a member of the House representing Aba North State Constituency, Mr. Emeka Nnamani had commended Governor Okezie Ikpeazu for the number of road constructions currently going on in Aba, and assured him of the cooperation of his constituents.

By Bartholomew Madukwe (08102479985) nwamad@yahoo.com

PEOPLE SPEAK

....On President Buhari’s delay in naming ministers

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MB cannot afford to appoint people he cannot trust, most especially in some key offices like DG of DSS, Chief Security Officer, GMD of NNPC, among others. I believe that every zone has competent hands to help in building Nigeria. -Mr. Sunday Ajiboye, Musician

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s it that we cannot tell the truth from available facts? The facts on ground now are that Buhari is working for the Northern part of Nigeria. All appointments so far, apart from that of Femi Adesina, the Media Adviser, are from the North. -Mr. Paul Atumu, Businessman

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hose who hold Buhari captive are Yoruba politicians starting from Obasanjo and others. If Buhari tries not to work under OBJ's instructions, he (Buhari) should be ready to see another side of politics and the reason Obasanjo defected to APC. -Mr. Dominic James, Worker

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do not think Buhari can be caged by any Nigerian. Let us give him a chance to carry out more appointments. My fear is that of the western world who may have their selfish agenda which might influence his decisions. -Mr. Egbokodo Jolomi, Retiree

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am so surprised that people expect anything different from what Buhari is doing now. It was always going to be like this. I really wonder if this administration is going to change anything in its four years tenure. -Mr. Francis Esupofo, Musician

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o human is perfect, Buhari is a saint compared to the entire cabinet of Goodluck Jonathan, including his own inner and personal cabinet. Nigerians should just be patient with him. I am optimistic of good things coming. -Miss Blessing Emmanuel, Worker

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015 — 39

NYSC: 1st class graduates to serve at tertiary institutions, says DG

By Agaju Madugba

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ADUNA—THE National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, said yesterday that prospective corps members with first class degrees will henceforth be drafted to universities for their primary assignment, alongside their counterparts from polytechnics who graduated with distinction.

Speaking at the flag-off of the 2015 Batch ‘B’ pre-orientation workshop in Kaduna, NYSC Director-General, Brigadier-Gen. Johnson Olawumi, who disclosed this, also announced the introduction of other measures aimed at improving service delivery and efficiency by the NYSC.

Police parade suspected rapist, armed robbers, fake currency dealers in Borno

By Ndahi Marama

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AIDUGURI— BORNO Police Command has arrested 10 suspected armed robbers, fake currency dealers and a rapist in Maiduguri metropolis and Kwaya/Kusar local government area.

It also recovered N4.59 million fake one thousand naira note bills, two AK 47 rifles and four magazines with rounds of live ammunition.

Parading the suspects at the police headquarters in Maiduguri yesterday, the Police Commissioner, Mr. Aderemi Opadukun, said the police patrol and intelligence gathering in the state had led to the arrest of Adam Ajid of Fulatari ward of Maiduguri for d e f r a u d i n g unsuspecting members of the public with fake Nigerian currencies.

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PDP raises alarm over murder of six chieftains in Benue ...APC absolves self

By Peter Duru

However, in a swift reaction, the All Progressives Congress, APC in a statement by state chairman, Comrade Abba Yaro, absolved itself of the killings and blamed internal wrangling in the opposition party for the development.

Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Godwin Ayihe, lamented in a statement that the heinous crimes

against his party members had so as far gone largely unchecked as security agencies had no tangible evidence of arrests of perpetrators of the crimes.

He said: “It is, therefore, unacceptable to leaders of the PDP that six of our top members have been murdered in cold blood while security agencies seem to have no answers to the situation.

“It is, therefore, our call on Governor Samuel Ortom to take deliberate step to tackle the AKURDI—BENUE State prevailing security challenges in chapter of Peoples the state which appear to be Democratic Party, PDP, has raised worsening with the killings which concerned over the murder of six goes uncovered, thereby of its chieftains in the state, and engendering a heightening state called on security agencies and of insecurity in the state.

Governor Samuel Ortom’s “We make this call amid the state administration to unravel the of panic which is beginning to masterminds of the heinous crime. descend on members of our party who can rightly be said to have a genuine reason to fear for their safety in the face of the killings of fellow party men, especially as security agencies fail to bring the killers to book and stop the ugly trend.’’

Vanguard recalls that the last few weeks witnessed the killings of chieftains of the PDP in Benue State, including elder statesman, Atoza Ihindan, who was murder in a bizarre circumstance and till date, there had been no clue as to the masterminds of the killings.

Meanwhile, APC chairman in the state, Comrade Abba Yaro, said in a statement issued yesterday in Makurdi: “I wish to state clearly that our party does not deploy, condone or approve assassination or any manner of killings or violence in its politicking.

“On the other hand, it is the PDP that has been known for violence Mr Onoriobe Peter Smith (right) presenting cash gift to a beneficiary during the presentation of food in the 16 years that it held sway and cash gifts by an NGO, Peter's Mission for the Less Privileged to single parents at Asaba. in the affairs of the country.’’

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IG offers scholarship to children of slain officers

By Suzan Edeh

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AUCHI—THE Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, has offered scholarship to children of slain police officers who lost their lives while fighting insurgency.

He also said the officers will be promoted post-humously.

Arase, who made the promise at the State Police headquarters in Bauchi during a one day working visit to officers of the command yesterday, also

emphasised the need for community policing, pointing out that police-public partnership was one of the most effective ways to combat crime in the society.

The IGP said: “Public partnership is one of the most effective ways to combat crime in the society. The total number of police in the state cannot be adequate for security,so the police must rely on public partnership to be successful in crime prevention.

“I have spoken to the Police

APC, PDP youths clash in Jos over council dissolution

By Marie-Therese Nanlong dissolution of the councils was

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OS—A peaceful rally to protest the sack of council chairmen and councillors of the 17 local government areas of Plateau State by Governor Simon Lalong yesterday turned rowdy as youths said to be loyal to the All Progressives Congress, APC, and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP clashed at the venue of the protest.

Some youths believed to be PDP loyalists had earlier gathered in front of the State Assembly, saying the

a breach of their rights to choose their leaders before other youths believed to be APC supporters from Jos North stormed the venue of the protest.

The youths carrying placards with inscriptions such as “No to Councils Dissolution”, “Bring Back our Chairman and Councillors”, “Lawyer Lalong, a lawbreaker”, “Lalong, we no go gree”, “Lalong is another Boko Haram on the Plateau” among others, were chased by the alleged APC youths while the security agents stood helpless.

Public Relation department to go schools, motor parks, market places and other non state actors and talk about issues such as cultism, drug abuse and other social vices.

‘’When you begin to connect with the society in this manner, they will become nice to you and give relevant information that will make your jobs easy.

Oshimili-North APC passes vote of no confidence in exco

By Tare Youdeowei

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N its determination to ensure sanity in its fold, the entire members of OshimiliNorth local government chapter, Delta State of All Progressives Congress, APC, has passed a vote of no confidence on executive members of the party in the area.

This was made public in a press release issued on behalf of members of the party by the Public Relations Officer of the party, Mr. Marvin Edeni.

The document stated that the vote of no confidence on the executives was a result of antiparty activities as well as gross mismanagement and fraudulent acts by the executives led by Deacon Peter Umerah in collaboration with Mr. Kevin Njideaka, the senatorial candidate of the party in the last

election and Mr. Chris Ugoh.

The release revealed that the members of the party also at an enlarged meeting held recently at Akwukwu-Igbo, the headquarters of the party in the local government, resolved and approved the appointment of Mr. Stephen Ochendo Onwudike as Interim Committee Chairman and Mr. Simeon Modebe as Secretary while Mr. Morgan Agetue is the party’s Adviser.

The statement further said that apart from the vote of no confidence on the former executive, they remain suspended from the party.

The suspended executive members are to hand over all party ’s documents in their possession to the Interim Chairman and members of the newly appointed executive who will run the affairs of the party in the local government till a proper congress of the party is conducted.

40—Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

AIRTEL ADOPTS SCHOOL: From left— Mr. Godfrey Efeurhobo, Chief Sales Officer, Airtel Nigeria; Chief Joseph Akinola, Ojomo of Offa; Mr. Lamid Alabi, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Kwara State, representing Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed; Mr. Yahaya Mohammed, Assistant Director, Kwara SUBEB, during the commissioning of Airtel-adopted IyeruOkin Primary School 1, Offa, Kwara State.

HONEYWELL PROGRAMME: From left— Mr. Soji Akintayo, Managing Director, Pivot Engineering Company Limited; Mr. Obafemi Otudeko, Executive Director; Dr. Oba Otudeko, Chairman, both of Honeywell Group; and Mr. Lanre Jaiyeola, Managing Director, Honeywell Flour Mills Plc., at the graduation of the 9th class, Honeywell Excellence Programme, in Lagos.

LECTURE: From left— Dr. Modupe Ajayi, Registrar; Professor Adebiyi Daramola, Vice Chancellor, both of Federal University of Technology, Akure, FUTA, and Chief Wole Olanipekun, guest lecturer, at FUTA's 7th annual lecture.

HEALTHCARE AWARD: From left— Dr. Tolulope Adewole, Chemical Pathologist, PathCare Nigeria; Mr. Emmanuel Otitoloju, GM, Biosstadt Nigeria Limited; Mrs Bose Oladehin, Head HR; Dr. Olawale Olusanya, Consultant Pathologist, and Ms Precious Anyiwo, Marketing Executive, all of Pathcare Nigeria, at the Nigerian Healthcare Excellence Awards in Lagos.

From left— Rotarian Ike Ugwu; Rotarian Patrick Ejiogu, 29th President, Rotary Club of Amuwo R1, District 9110; and Rotarian Kosiso Udechukwu, immediate past President of the club, and members of Ejiogu's family, at the installation and induction ceremony of the new President and board of directors of the club in Lagos.

ANTI-MALARIA: From left— Sir Abiye Abere, Director, Malaria and Disease Control, Rivers State Ministry of Health; Dr. Peter Arome, Medical Director, St Peters Clinic, Bonny Island, Rivers State; Mrs Uduak Isaac Pollyn, mother of Mortein Baby, and Mr. Nwanah Ugochukwu, Area Sales Manager, Mortein, Rivers State, at the presentation of gifts to the first baby born in Bonny Island during the Mortein Anti-Malaria campaign flag off in Rivers State.

PHYSICIANS' ROUNDTABLE: From left— Dr. Esther Odiete, acupuncturist, Nordica Fertility Centre, Engr. Soetan Ebenezer, Mr. Agboola, Dr. Abayomi Ajayi of Nordica and Dr. Ottun A. T. at the Physicians' Roundtable in Ikeja, Lagos.

CHARITY: Mr. Onoriobe Peter Smith of Peter Mission for the Less Privileged (3rd left); members of the mission and prison officials, during the mission's presentation of food items and other materials to Ogwashi-Uku Prisons inmates at Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State.

INSTALLATION:

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Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015—41

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42—VANGUARD, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

be running around with our children in bushes and people were preparing themselves to find a place to run to.

So, we were all very worried.

But his name struck fear that ‘look, if he wins, you have to behave yourself.’ He won. The name alone started working for him before he started.

Then, the second thing is that people started respecting themselves by going to return stolen money on their own. If Buhari were somebody else, he will go and start borrowing money. The Western powers were quoted to have said they were going to help Nigeria and with that, if he were somebody else, he would have gone to start borrowing money, but he didn’t.

He looked for money to bail out the states that were owing backlog of salaries.

The third thing Buhari has done is power supply. Do you notice that the situation has improved? We all have noticed the improvement in power supply.

Power supply

•Rita-Lori: NDDC, Niger-Delta Ministry failed to develop Niger-Delta

UNDERDEVELOPMENT:

Jonathan tried for Niger-Delta but we failed him —Lori-Ogbebor •Says Niger-Delta can’t pressure Buhari now •Buhari has performed in six weeks NIGER-DELTA Leader, activist and Igba of Warri, Chief Rita Lori-Ogbebor, is not happy with the state of affairs in the Niger-Delta in spite of the efforts of the Federal Government to develop the region through the Niger-Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Ministry of Niger-Delta Affairs and Amnesty programme that will end in December.

In this interview, he lamented that these agencies performed poorly, adding that the region is so poor now and the leaders cannot pressure President Muhammadu Buhari for palliatives because their brother, former President Goodluck Jonathan, just left power.

According to her, Dr Jonathan tried his best for the region but the Niger-Delta failed him.

She also assessed President Buhari’s performance so far and awarded him high marks especially on power supply, security and management of the economy. However, she stressed the need for restructuring of the polity into fiscal federalism to enable each zone develop at its own pace.

By Clifford Ndujihe

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SSESSMENT of President Buhari so far President Buhari has done very well. The state of the nation before he took over was very precarious. Before President Buhari took over, there was a huge problem in this country.

Today, we thank God that that bad wind is over. I knew that I had to run around talking to heads of states, talking to people who should be taking certain actions,

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and today we thank God that that bad wind is over. Gratitude to all the churches, from what happened, I know that God hears prayers. When you see what is going on in other African countries like Sudan, one trembles.

So, given all the problems on ground and circumstances before Buhari came, one has to say welldone. Whether you like it or not, Buhari is a soldier. We all knew his antecedents. He has really

mellowed by the situation, advice and listening to people.

Buhari is used to central management; that is, as a soldier, he sits and dishes out instructions and he expects that all the other commanders will obey. But it is not so now. He now knows that if he says anything, the smallest person in a village can question him, so he knows he has to change.

Buhari name is a force that is helping the country. His name alone tells you that there is no

nonsense, don’t do any rubbish and that helped immediately.

From the day he won, there was an aura all over the country.

There was a kind of peace that removed the fear that people like us had. As mothers, some of us thought that we were going to

Jonathan, himself, as a person, deep down is a good person but he was surrounded by people who didn’t think well for the country; he was surrounded by people who were working for themselves and their families

Light is one of the problems that this country has. If Buhari has been able to improve light and has paid salaries, is that not enough? I can talk because I am an industrialist. I know that a lot of companies closed down and we were on very shaky ground because of light.

On controversy over the source of the bailout fund I heard the PDP saying that the money he used for the bailout was part of the money saved by the Jonathan administration. If that is true, most of the states were PDP states. Why couldn’t they pay for months? Why couldn’t pay especially when they were going for elections? It is because the money was not there.

On comments that ex President Goodluck Jonathan averted that danger by conceding defeat even while they were still compiling the election result Jonathan, himself, as a person, deep down is a good person but he was surrounded by people who didn’t think well for the country; he was surrounded by people who were working for themselves and their families. So, Jonathan’s heart is not the heart of a politician. His heart is that of a teacher. And they took advantage of it but Jonathan himself knew towards the end that he had been fooled by his so called friends.

And he knew that he was going to endanger himself and the whole country, and that heart of a teacher took over and he conceded to the advice of real stakeholders of this country.

On comments that President Buhari has performed below par in fighting insecurity Buhari has just been here for six weeks. He has to find his way.

Continues on page 43

VANGUARD, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015—43

Jonathan tried for Niger-Delta but we failed him Continued from page 42 Like I told you, there were precarious situations on ground which he himself has to overcome before performing. Don’t forget that this fellow came before and within a short period, he was torpedoed.

Let us talk about Boko Haram, in those days, our soldiers were dying, they were being killed and they were running away.

Then, mercenaries were fighting for us. Can you imagine Chad fighting for us? Later, we had to pump in money. The government had to inject money because of politics. The emphasis was that they should do what they could because of the coming election.

It is a different scenario today.

Today, our own soldiers are fighting. When you see explosions in remote areas, it means that the main force of the Boko Haram is being reduced.

So, what they do is to go as suicide bombers in isolated places, which means their fighting force is being reduced.

Fighting force I will be afraid if our soldiers are still running away but that our soldiers are now confronting them and reducing their strength.

One hopes that soon Buhari will be able to do something.

On the impression that people are suffering more now under Buhari’s watch It is not Buhari who squandered the money in the country. The money was in the hands of politicians, who used it for election. All the money owed by the different states that Buhari has just paid now, is it Buhari who made the states to owe it?

In fact, I must tell you I have never seen any government like the past government. This is why I keep emphasizing that I am a journalist, an industrialist, a mother and a traditional ruler. In all these I am dealing with people, we are the ones who pay salaries. How many companies closed down at the time before the election? How many companies were working? People like us were just managing to pay our workers. I think what Buhari did not do was to arrest all of them to account for that money.

But he can’t arrest a sitting governor Yes, but some of the governors are out now. And there are a lot of people he could have arrested but he changed from the Buhari we know to a political Buhari. In spite of his military background, he is listening to a lot of people who are now putting pressure on him not to fight for the money.

The man is in real trouble because many of his advisers should also be probed.

•Rita-Lori: Niger-Delta leaders have abandoned their people

On the poor state of NigerDelta region I fought former President Olusegun Obasanjo openly for 13 per cent derivation. We said to them, ‘create institutions to look after the Niger Delta, not to appoint one man, make him a minister and say he is the one to look after the Niger-Delta. So they created the NDDC. Let NNDC come and tell me what they have done.

East-West road They said NDDC is not doing enough. We said create the ministry of the Niger-Delta Affairs. What has the ministry done?

Before the election, the minister of Niger-Delta Affairs came and said he had done the East-West road. I said it will be very good, I will be able to convince my women to vote for you. Give us a date we will go and see the road and on the road we will campaign for you. He left and never came back.

I fought for 13 percent derivation. I carried placards in Abuja, that the money should be given to us. I took (former Delta State Governor, James) Ibori to court for eight years because of this fund. When Ibori was about leaving office, he created the Delta State Oil Minerals Producing Areas development Commission (DESOPADEC).

The NNDC and DESOPADEC should give us account. If people say they want to fight Buhari because of these funds, the question Buhari will ask them is, was Jonathan and your brothers

not there? They just left the place, why didn’t you fight them over these funds?

Now let me tell you, it is not that Jonathan didn’t try for the people of the Niger Delta, but we all failed Jonathan.

The Amnesty was a good programme. Jonathan continued with the Amnesty programme and even expanded it. Where is the fruit of the amnesty today?

All we hear is that (Kingsley) Kuku sent some people all over the world to study, that for every former militant, whether you go to school or not, you get N65, 000 every month. How long do you think the Federal Government will continue to pay that?

The amnesty programme is said to be ending this December and some people are saying, no, it must not end, that there is going to be trouble. Which trouble?

Because of all these problems, the Niger Delta has no money.

They should ask the leaders,

The NDDC and DESOPADEC should give us account. If people say they want to fight Buhari because of these funds, the question Buhari will ask them is, was Jonathan and your brothers not there?

especially those who managed the funds.

Her assessment of Niger-Delta governors over the years For me I don’t talk about things I don’t know. I don’t even know their names because they have not performed. If you ask me today, the governors I can tell you their names, I can tell you about Fashola, because he performed for me to see.

On comments that Lagos was a federal territory and was developed by the Federal Government over the years The Federal government can’t go and develop the Niger-Delta.

It can only create institutions to develop the area.

These people in the Niger Delta didn’t help Jonathan. As a person, Jonathan tried. If somebody can give his people money, N65, 000 a month, what do you expect him to do for you again? Even though, you are an illiterate, for all the period he was there and they were getting that N65, 000, they can use it to start a petty trade.

Now there is no more money and the amnesty programme is coming to an end this December, and some persons are asking me to go and fight on their behalf. If I go to fight, Buhari will ask me, was your son not there?

The leaders of the Niger Delta didn’t help the region. They have neglected the Niger Delta people. Even the ex-militant leaders have beautiful buildings in Abuja and Lagos, they drive expensive cars but have forgotten the Niger Delta and its suffering people.

It’s so pathetic that the nation is so poor now, that Buhari will

have to take time to face the problem headlong. We are so poor now that cultism, kidnapping and armed robbery have returned in the region. It’s a pity.

On clamour for restructuring and true federalism At the end of the day, that’s going to be the answer. We were doing it regionally before the military coup. Then, the regions were competing. After the coup, the soldiers who were already used to central command found it easier to embrace unitary government. Until we have fiscal federalism, this system of government that we have can’t work.

If for instance, each governor knows that the onus lies on his shoulder to cater for his people, he will work hard. Before, when we were Midwest, we were a very rich people. We had rubber.

The rubbers are still available if you go to Benin today. Timber is still there. We would have been very rich in our forest resources.

Had we continued, by now, we could have also done research on trees that grow within a short period. Today, we would have been a different country but everybody’s attention is on oil.

What do you think the President should do with the national confab report?

The national confab was actually asking for fiscal federalism. At the end of the day, that was what we gained. With the present generation of politicians, there will always be trouble. Can you imagine, in that confab, people were still struggling for states, how are you going to feed your people?

Workers' salaries People are not thinking about the country, they are only thinking of themselves. When 36 states can’t pay workers salaries, where will the 18 more states recommended by the confab get money to pay salaries and run the states? You think we will continue like this, so that one state or a group of states will continue to feed the whole country? It can’t work that way.

So, what I must ask Buhari to do is that he must take a look at that confab and face it squarely.

If he thinks at the moment, that the country is so weak, one has to depend on the other, they must create infrastructures that will give those states happiness.

Every bird must fly. All of them will continue to go their different ways to expand. However, there are some who want to remain where they are. Goodluck to them. But those who are ambitious and want to work, give them the privilege to develop themselves, to avoid these trouble we are experiencing in this country. The country is so big, so we all have different abilities for development. Some can’t develop but you can’t keep others waiting.

44 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

literary segment had among others, Mr Folu Agoi, a writer and educationist, Mr Segun Almaroof, a teacher and Mrs Adenike Arigbabu, a publisher and child worker.

The competition theme “The Road To Sambisa” designed by the Festival Consultant and Nobel laureate in literature, Professor Wole Soyinka, was deliberately chosen to reflect on the tragedy of the infamous ‘Chibok Girls’ episode in which over 276 girls were kidnapped overnight from their school in Chibok town.

Various sponsors *Festival Consultant, Prof Soyinka with some of the children during the event

Vision of the Child winners empowered for greatness T

By Japhet Alakam

HE 2015 edition of the yearly Vision of the Child (VoTC) competition has come and gone, but streak of fortune continues to trail the 12 winners as they will be hosted to a series of activities from July 27th through early next month.

The winners in the two categories – literary and painting – will be hosted by the VoTC organising team led by Foluke George to activities that include training at Microsoft Nigeria; special exhibition of the winning work in the painting category; special visit to the sponsors the project – Diamond Bank, Microsoft Nigeria, Honeywell Noodles and Airtel Nigeria.

There will also be training and mentorship sessions (reading, writing and IT) with special interview with selected TV and Radio stations.

TV and radio stations At the formal award ceremony held at the Civic Centre on Friday April 24 in the presence of parents, teachers and eminent citizens of Lagos led by Erelu Abiola Dosumu and distinguished painter and textile designer, Chief Mrs Nike Okundaiye with chief executives of the sponsoring corporate organisations from Diamond Bank; Honeywell Noodles and Microsoft Company.

Ashaka Victory from Ajara Grammar school Badagry came out top from 30 finalists from 35 schools that participated in the statewide competition. Shittu Ololade from Reagan Memorial School Yaba, came second, while the 3rd place prize went to Anthony Blessing from Masterhand Academy Badagry.

In the Literary category, which had the participants writing either C M Y K

essay, poem or short story on the theme,”THE ROAD TO SAMBISA.” Tamaramiebi Akika from Corona School picked the winning prize, Titiloye Tobi from Topo Grammar School Badagry came 2nd; Utibe Ekpeyong from Sacred Heart College Apapa was 3rd; while Etina Samuel Onche from Danvic Leaders Academy Apapa came 4th; and Princess Marinay from Park College Apapa, Angela Obinwa from Pampers Private school took the 5th and 6th prizes respectively.

The painting and literary competition, which was obviously dominated by schools from Badagry followed by Apapa areas of Lagos, had attracted 320 entries from 63 schools for the first phase.

Sixty (60) finalists from 35 schools eventually featured in the last leg out of which the final 12 winners (six for painting, six for Literary) were decided by a panel of eminent judges including (for painting)

renowned artists, Chief Nike Okundaiye, Tola Wewe , painter, art activist, Ndidi Dike. The

At the award night, the winners took home prizes from the various sponsors. Diamond Bank presented winners in the painting category with cash prizes (1st Prize, N250,000; 2nd, N200,000; 3rd , N180,000 respectively) and gift bags for all the finalists. The cash prize was presented by the bank’s Regional Manager, Mr. Benson Oraelosi Honeywell presented cash prizes of N100,000 each to the six winners from the Literary category with cartons of all its products to all the winners and 63 participants. The Prizes were presented by the Managing Director, Mr Lanre Jaiyeola.

Microsoft gave the 12 winners from both literary and painting categories with Tablets. The presentation was made by the Public Sector Director, Mr.

Hakeem Adeniji-Adele and Citizenship Manager for the company, Mr Olusola Amusan.

Airtel Nigeria presented gifts contained in backpacks to the 63 finalists including the winners.

Addressing the finalists, shortly before the winners were announced, the Head of LBHF Secretariat and coordinator of the VoTC Project, Mrs Foluke George, commended them for making it into the final of the competition. "For making it to the final, you are all winners."

In a message to the gathering, the LBHF coordinator Jahman Anikulapo, representing Prof Soyinka, thanked the administration of Governor Babatude Fashola for its continuous belief in the prospective of the project to produce a new generation of young leaders, and urged the sponsors to remain committed to supporting the development of the Nigerian Child through the Vision of the Child.

The Gala Award Night, which had on the bandstand, members of the Renaissance Jazz Band of Freedom Park, Lagos, was climaxed with a superb performance by award-winning singer, Timi Dakolo who got the whole house dancing and singing along amidst loud applause for the artiste The Vision of the Child (VoTC) is the children segment of the yearly Lagos Black Heritage Festival (LBHF). The justconcluded edition is the Season 4 having started in 2010.

Female artists interact in forms, similarities via diverse media

By Prisca Sam-Duru

R

IGHT from the Banana Island Lagos gate, visitors and residents entering the estate, heard loud noise and blast of music, which emanated from the Ford Foundation building.

Ordinarily, one would conclude that a flamboyant birthday or anniversary celebration was going on but that was wrong. It was actually the annual African Artists Foundation AAF, Female exhibition which held at the weekend, at the Ford Foundation, Ikoyi Lagos.

Choking manner The exhibition hall was packed full in such choking manner that viewers intermittently found themselves, taking refuge outside. Of interest in this is that most of the viewers were actually young men and women which speaks eloquently of how much art is evolving in the country.

The exhibition, curated by Allyn Gastel, a writer, who studied photography at Haverford College and University of Pennsylvania, which enjoyed the support of Ford Foundation,

opened on Sunday, 19, 2015 will rd run till 3 of Auigust 2015.

Exhibiting, were 8 creative artists selected from across the world who include; Joana Choumali from Cote d’Ivoire, Nkechi Ebubedike (Nigeria/ USA), Akwaeke Emezi(Nigeria), Modupeola Fadugba (Nigeria ), Selly Raby Kane (Senegal), Nkiruka Oparah (Nigeria), Moonchild Sanelly(South Africa) and the lady with the Hang, best known as The Venus Bushfires(Nigeria).

The exhibiting artists utilised diverse media; film, fashion, paint, photography, digital collage, and sound, to create full worlds with the precision and

The initiative was conceived to highlight the importance of investing in female artists

intentionality inherent in the concept of design.

The artists’ impeccable display of diversity and complexity of each of the country’s world views covering the areas of complete, distinct, nuanced and fantastical, was amazing. They designed and manifested their own distinct realities in a show that was a typical exploration of the kaleidoscopic amalgamation of our individualities.

Some of the works on display are Adorn by Choumali, Bright Boys by Ebubedike, Emezi’s short film titled Ududeagu, Eight Days Of Lazy by Fadugba, Kane’s Alien Cartoon, Sanelly’s Moonchild and Fragile Light by The Venus Bushfires.

According to AAF, the annual Female exhibition was initiated owing to how rapidly the art

sector is evolving. “The initiative was conceived to highlight the importance of investing in female artists, designers and women in the arts and culture industries in Nigeria. It was due to the disproportionately low number of women participating in the arts community, compared with their male counterparts. The platform was created as a programme designed to encourage as well as challenge women interested in visual art, and provide unimpeded opportunities for the expression of their perspectives and reactions.

A whole lot of issues are addressed through this exhibition. In Ududeagu for instance, Emezi creates a piece of visual mythology that examines loss and leaving from multiple perspectives.

* Eight Days Of Lazy by Modupeola Fadugba

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015 —45

Day forest creatures stood still for Kongi’s Harvest

By Chris Onuoha

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HERE's no better way to describe the living literary legend’s Remembrance Day than to say here comes a man with accentuated aura that even the spirits, the rain and his seemingly teaming enthusiasts bowed for. Mistake this not for celestial reverence but ‘to whom honour is due, obeisance prevails’.

Prof. Wole Soyinka who won the prestigious Nobel Prize for literature in 1986 is a worthy living role model. His birthday celebration has become a phenomenal annual event since 2010 when he clocked 76 courtesy of Zmirage Multimedia and Global New Heaven that created the “Project Wole Soyinka International Cultural Exchange (WSICE), as a platform of Arts and Culture, to affirm and uphold the dignity of a man known worldwide as a literary icon.

This year was not an exception st as a 4 day event to mark his 81 birthday celebration which started on July 12 and ended on

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15 with series of literary activities at his hill top Ijegba Green Belt country home, in Abeokuta, Ogun State came to a climax with a dance drama presentation titled; ‘Kongi’s Harvest’ by the Crown Troupe of Africa, directed

by Segun Adefila and written by Soyinka himself., Performed at his amphitheatre, situated at the heart of Ijegba forest, the spirit of the play held the evening rain spellbound as notable personalities, thespians, Nollywood actors, 81 student finalists of the essay competition and others who trooped to the venue were awed by the energetic cast crew that displayed without flaws the true ills, effects and how to end dictatorship in modern day Africa.

Despite the unavoidable absent of the chief host, Soyinka who in his written message pleads that he is saddled with those obligations beyond his deflection, however, the play was quite electrified with a typical forest ambience, well organized stage, lightings, props, costumes and maneuvering outlets that depicts

*A scene from the splendid performance of Kongi's Harvest at Ijegba forest, Abeokuta a real village set. Perhaps, this is in line with open theatre initiative rapidly gaining momentum.

Laced with intermittent dance, choreography, poetic recitation and serenading melody, the play brought to fore – the issues of tyranny and bad leadership across the African continent including traditional stools as displayed by the tyrant Kongi, ‘Segun Adefila’, Oba Danlola, ‘Art Osagie Okedigun’, Oba Sarumi ‘Rasheed Ibrahim’, the heir apparent Daodu ‘Toyin Buraimoh’, Organising Secretary ‘Akrah Joy Princess’, Kongi’s mistress Segi ‘Aishat Onitiri’, alongside other cast members.

The drama centered on the people of Ismaland whose

spiritual king Oba Danlola was incarcerated by the tyrant political leader Kongi. The self imposed political dictator, Kongi is obsessed with power in which rivalry seems an anathema. He detained Ismaland’s two Obas – Danlola and Sarumi in a quest to suppress and deprive them of their domestic role as kings, spiritual leaders and presenters of the sacred yam during the New Yam festival. This did not go down well with the people as they agonise over Kongi’s excesses.

Seeing that it is an uphill task to actualise his aim, he employs a machinery of governance comprising the Aweri Fraternity, the ubiquitous organizing secretary and the brutal

Carpenters’ Brigade. However, despite plots to achieve his plans of usurping leadership both political and spiritual, Segi and Daodu hatched plan to assassinate him during the New Yam festival, thereby persuading Oba Danlola to play along to draw him to the public where he will be killed. As the assassination plot failed, Kongi discovers the counterplan, kills Segi’s father and banished Daodu from the land.

The true story tells how Oba Danlola tries to save the Ismaland people from Kongi’s tyranny, warns of future political instability as well as the total feel of despair and hopelessness the land will experience in Kongi’s regime.

46—Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

L

By Chioma Obinna & Gabriel Olawale

AGOS—UNLESS there is divine intervention Lagosians seeking healthcare services in any of the Federal Health Institutions in Lagos may have to go elsewhere.

This is because workers in the various Federal Governmentowned institutions have remained on strike for weeks now.

A routine check by Vanguard yesterday showed total collapse of services in most facilities visited.

As at 11 am when Vanguard visited Federal Medical Centre, FMC, Ebute-Metta, in Lagos, the situation remained unchanged as the strike called by the hospital’s branch of the Joint Action Committee, remained in full force.

The hospital was a shadow of itself. All clinics including outpatients and accident and emergency of the hospital were under lock and key. Only a few security men were seen in the compound.

The entrance to all clinics, wards and administrative offices were locked. The only office opened was the office of the hospital’s Corporate Services. A few staff who

Former SSG, Aminu Saleh dies @ 82

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CONFERENCE: From left, Dr. Anu Gokhale, Prof. David Adewumi, President, Nigerian Computer Society, NCS, and Tope Aladenusi, Head, Cyber Risk Services, Deloitte, at the NCS 12th international conference and Annual General Meeting in Akure, yesterday. Photo: Emeka Aginam.

Strike grounds healthcare services in govt hospitals in Lagos were outside the gate however told Vanguard that patients have stopped coming since the workers have been on strike about a month now.

“For weeks, the hospital has remained under lock and key.

The situation has sent many patients away after they have visited many times without any formal attention. The situation remained unchanged for weeks now.”

“For patients who are in serious need of medical attention, we direct them to Military Hospital, Yaba, but if they brought l i t t l e children, we direct them to some primary healthcare c e n t r e s around.”

Reacting to the situation w h e n Va n g u a r d called at his office, the Head of Corporate

Services, Mr. Harrison Etim said that the hospital management has been making wide consultation and meeting with the union officials to broker peace and return normalcy back to the hospital.

“At the last meeting which was held last week, the Board of management and union met and reached an agreement. It was resolved that a congress will be held and they will call off the strike so we are expecting they will keep to the agreement.”

From the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, the situation was the same. Only skeletal services were being rendered as members of the two institutions’ Association of Resident Doctors, ARD, refused to go back to work despite efforts by the management to resolve the issues.

Main One rues dearth of women in technology

By Prince Osuagwu

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AGOS—BASKING from the euphoria of celebrating five years existence recently, Communication Services Company, MainOne, has thrown weight behind Technology camp, an initiative by the Women T e c h n o l o g y Empowerment Centre aimed at training Nigerian girls on software skills.

This year’s Technology Camp is a two-week technology education and

mentoring programme designed to help girls develop an early interest in computers and other information technology.

Speaking at the press conference to announce the event, MainOne’s Chief Executive Officer, Funke Opeke, lamented under-representation of women in the technology industry currently and noted that at a 7.3 ratio, as shown in global Technology Industry reports, there was need for concerted efforts to reverse the imbalance.

By Suzan Edeh

AUCHI—FORMER Secretary to the Federal Government and elder statesman, Aminu Saleh, is dead, aged 82 years.

He died at the Federal Medical Centre Azare, in Katagum Local Government Area of Bauchi state on Wednesday morning after a brief illness.

According to a family source who spoke on condition of anonymity, Aminu Saleh will be buried on Wednesday evening (yesterday) according to Islamic rites.

He is survived by a widow, 13 children and grandchildren. Among the children are Engr.

Kabiru Aminu Saleh, eldest son and the immediate past deputy Governor of Bauchi State, Sagir Aminu Saleh.

Meanwhile, the immediate past governor of Bauchi State, Mal Isa Yuguda, has described his death as a great loss to the country, considering his wealth of experience.

Isa Yuguda in a press statement, described the death as a monumental loss not only to his immediate and extended families, Katagum Emirate and Bauchi State but also the entire country, considering his contributions to the socio-political and economic development of the country over the years.

In the statement signed and released by his Chief Press Secretary, Ishola Michael Adeyemi, the former governor recalled that he enjoyed fatherly advises from the Late Aminu Saleh during his eight years tenure as the Governor of the State pointing out that he was always frank and straight forward on matters that borders on good governance of leadership.

Isa Yuguda particularly recalled that the Late Elder statesman allowed his son, Sagir Aminu Saleh, to serve as his Deputy Governor between 2011 and 2015, declaring that he enjoyed working with him (Sagir) because of his loyalty and commitment, virtues he believed he must have learnt from the old man.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015 — 47

ANAMBRA 2018: Group kick-starts campaign for

Obiano’s re-election

By Vincent Ujumadu

A

W K A — A N ORGANIZATION, Willie Obiano Support Group, WOSG, was yesterday inaugurated in Awka at a ceremony seen as the commencement of the campaign for the re-election of Governor Willie Obiano’s second tenure in 2018.

It was, indeed, a gathering of who is who in the state, with all the speakers eulogizing Obiano for doing well for the state within the short period of his administration and therefore needed the support of the people for him to continue with the good

work.

Obiano assumed office on March 17, 2014 and another election is expected to take place towards the end of 2017.

National chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Chief Victor Oye said that having witnessed the governor’s commitment towards taking

Confusion as NBC, ‘Radio Biafra’ operators engage in hide and seek game

By Austin Ogwuda

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NUGU—THERE is confusion in Enugu State following the claim by the National Broadcasting Commission [NBC] that it had successfully blocked the illegal Radio Biafra from operating and

consequent seizure of its transmission equipment in some parts of South-East zone as well as some arrests made.

Although police authorities in Enugu State claimed ignorance of any arrest, it was reliably gathered that an engineer working for the station based in

NSE boss lauds role of technology

By Prince Osuagwu

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HE CHIEF Executive officer of the Nigerian Stock exchange, Mr Oscar Onyema has confessed that but for technology, trading in the Nigerian stock exchange may have not been as smart as it is today.

Onyema, while highlighting the role of technology in the transformation of the Nigeria’s

Anambra State to a higher level, there was need for the people to pledge their commitment to ensure the success of his future political career.

Stock Exchange, explained that the NSE Technology framework, was based on leadership through innovation, operational excellence through business transformation; growth reputation through diversification, adding that technology had impacted positively on the exchange’s efficiency levels.

He promised that the NSE will continue to focus on providing the Best-in-Class technology

with smart trading tools and enhanced market surveillance capabilities.

He said the current NSE management team led by him will continue in its avowed aim of a technological transformative agenda, adding that it was in realisation of this objective that it launched several innovative solutions such as X-ComplianceQual and Broker –Trax, which were technologically driven.

Enugu had been picked up by men of the Department of State Security DSS and taken to Abuja.

Residents in the State are however confused because some of the ardent listeners to the station claimed that the station was still operating in skeletal form.

State police command’s spokesman Mr. Ebere Amaraizu told our reporter last night “I am not aware of the arrest and parading of the Radio Biafra suspects. Not to my knowledge”, he stated.

NBC’s Director General, Emeka Mba had said in Abuja last week that “we are working with security operatives, the Commission has also tracked down, neutralized and confiscated transmitter equipment from several locations in the region.

Oye said the party would do the needful to ensure that internal democracy was enshrined in APGA, assuring that the era of people being denied tickets after winning primaries was over, as that is the only way to carry everybody along.

He also explained that as part of measures to strengthen the party, the leadership would soon start the distribution of new membership card and urged members of the Willie Obiano Support Group to mobilize the people at the grass root to be part of the new APGA. Deputy governor of the state, Dr. Nkem Okeke said the group has a very vital role to play in ensuring that Governor Obiano wins the second term.

According to him, Obiano should be supported because he has elevated governance in the state, adding that Anambra was blessed to have such a leader with the purpose of making the state better.

He said: “Everything our governor does is aimed at making our state better. He is one person who has the vision of where he wants to take Anambra State. He is providing leadership, which is not just building of roads and other infrastructure, but providing quality leadership to the admiration of our people.”

48—VANGUARD, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

‘ISIS will fill the streets of Paris with dead bodies’

•ISIS shooting Syrian: Soldier in new video.

T

HIS is the shocking moment a French ISIS fighter vowed to ‘fill the streets of Paris with dead bodies’ before he shot a Syrian soldier in the back of the head and kicked him off a cliff.

In a vile ‘message’ directed towards the people of France, the

masked militant spoke in perfect French before brutally executing a Syrian army prisoner by shooting him in the head.

Ranting wildly into the high-definition camera used to record the execution video, the fanatic told listeners that ISIS ‘loves death like you love life’ and

encouraged the group’s supporters to continue to plot and carry out further terror attacks in the European country.

Chillingly, the latest threat comes after a series of ISIS-inspired attacks on France this year, including the massacre the Charlie Hebdo attack in which 12 people were killed on January 7 and the gruesome beheading of a delivery company owner near Lyon on June 26.

Today ’s stomachchurning video was filmed in an ISIS-held area in Syria’s Hama province and was published online by the terror group’s local propaganda office.

Standing on a remote clifftop a jihadi loomed over a kneeling Syrian regime army officer and claimed that he is one of the estimated 500 French nationals waging jihad on behalf of the terror group in the Middle East.

ECB Provides $980m cash injection to Greek banks

A

N ECB official neither confirmed nor denied to VOA reports that the ECB decided to increase Emergency Liquidity Assistance to Greek banks by about $980 million, the second such cash injection in just under a week.

Earlier in the day, Greek

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras met with bankers as lawmakers began another emergency debate on a second package of reforms demanded by the ECB and the International Monetary Fund.

Greek banks reopened Monday for the first time in

Protest: Japan pushes forward expanded Defence Bill

T

HE Japanese government is moving forward with a controversial security bill that would authorize the military to fight abroad for the first time since World War II. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his supporters say Japan needs to increase the scope and power of its military to counter potential threats from countries like China and North Korea that are increasing their military and nuclear capabilities.

“The security situation surrounding Japan is

becoming increasingly challenging. With this in mind, it is an absolutely necessary legislation to protect the lives of the Japanese and also to prevent the country from going to war,” said Abe about the new security measures.

A new Ministry of Defense paper entitled “Defense of Japan 2015” highlighted China’s provocative and “coercive” efforts to stake out disputed maritime claims in the East China Sea that includes the construction of an offshore gas platform.

Critics Abroad, Protesters

three weeks, but capital controls remain in place.

During the meeting with bankers at his office in Athens, Tsipras stressed the need for a stable banking system.

“What is important right now is that the system returns back to normal.

And at the same time, we have to ensure that our vulnerable citizens will not be harmed by the new developments,” said Tsipras.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting with the prime minister, the president of the Hellenic Bank Association, Louka Katseli, said the return to banking normalcy was in everyone’s interest.

“Together with the prime minister, we discussed the next steps we must take to ensure that the banking system returns to normal.

It is everyone’s goal that this difficult period comes to an end and all the restrictions on capital movement and withdrawals are gradually lifted,” said Katseli.

Sex abuse: UN rights official distracted from Africa resigns

T

HE U.N. rights official who admitted not following up for months on allegations of child sexual abuse by French soldiers in Central African Republic has resigned.

The U.N. confirmed Wednesday that Flavia Pansieri has left the post

of deputy high commissioner for human rights “for health reasons.”

No more details were given.

The allegations by children as young as 9 of trading oral sex and sodomy for food led the U.N. secretary-general

this summer to order an investigation into how the case was handled.

In a statement marked “strictly confidential” and obtained by The Associated Press, Pansieri said she was distracted from the case by issues including budget cuts.

20 Killed in Cameroon twin suicide bombing T least 20 people were A killed in northern Cameroon Wednesday in two suicide bombings that officials are blaming on Nigerian militant group Boko Haram.

The attacks happened simultaneously at a large market and a residential neighborhood in Maroua, the capital of Cameroon’s Far North Region.

Ousmaila Toukour, a businessman in the market, told VOA that hundreds of people were wounded and taken to hospitals.

The governor of the region, Midjiyawa Bakari, said authorities are investigating but voiced strong suspicion that the attacks were the work of Boko Haram.

Cameroon last week banned the wearing of fullface veils after Boko Haram suicide bombers attacked

•Kenyans bubbling as they await Barack Ob ama this weekend. the town of Fotokol on Cameroon-Nigeria border.

The bombers were women dressed as devout Muslims.

It is the second twin suicide bombing in Cameroon, both carried out by women.

Boko Haram has

launched many attacks in Cameroon over the past two years and clashed repeatedly with Cameroon’s army.

Cameroon is contributing troops to a five-nation task force being set up to combat the Islamist extremist group.

Ghana’s parliament plunged into darkness as energy crisis hits home

G

HANA’S parliament was thrown into darkness by a power outage on Wednesday, leading to jeers from the opposition as MPs flipped open their mobile phones to use as flashlights.

The blackout, which held up proceedings in the 275member house for nearly an hour according to officials and lawmakers, was symbolic of the energy

crisis the West African nation has been wrestling with for three years.

“The lights went off suddenly and the (meeting) chamber was plunged into darkness...it happened in the middle of a debate on a loan agreement for the transport sector,” Richard Quarshiga, the member of parliament for Keta constituency told Reuters.

Economic growth in

UN commends Ortom's illegal arms recovery

By Innocent Anaba

T

HE United Nation’s High Commission for Refugees, UNHCR, has commended the illegal arms recovery initiative of Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, stating that if the programme succeeds, it would reduce the incidence of communal clashes in the country thereby reducing the number of internally displaced persons, IDPS and refugees.

Country Representative of the Commission, Angelle Atangana expressed the excitement, yesterday, when she visited the Governor at the Benue Peoples House in Makurdi.

She said “If the initiative succeeded, it would curb the incidence of communal violence and reduce cases of internally displaced persons and refugees.”

The representative

commended the people of Benue State for hosting refugees from Cameroon and taking care of them until they returned to their country.

Mrs. Atangana had told the governor that they built over 200 houses for the IDP’s in the state, provided relief materials to them along with victims of floods and sued for a more robust collaboration with the state government to achieve more.

In his response, Governor Ortom expressed the commitment of his administration to sustain partnership and donor agencies and development partners.

He said that as a demonstration of this commitment he included N5billion in a supplementary budget he submitted to the House of Assembly for approval to enable him pay counterpart funding demanded by the partners.

Ghana, once a favourite of investors in Africa, has been slowed by a fiscal crisis that has forced the government to seek International Monetary Fund support and undermined its reputation abroad for financial management.

But it is the energy crisis that has most sapped business confidence at home and angered ordinary Ghanaians ahead of elections next year.

Parliamentary reporter Kenneth Sackey told Reuters there were jeers from some opposition MPs while others were seen using their mobile phones for light.

Burundi election results to be announced tomorrow

V

OTES were being counted Wednesday in Burundi, a day after a controversial presidential election was marred by preelection violence that has led thousands of people to flee the country over the past few months.

Results from the polls, which were condemned as illegitimate by the international community, are expected Thursday.

The presidential election Tuesday is believed to have had low turnout, as President Pierre Nkurunziza ran without significant opposition for a third term.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015 — 49

LG workers in Imo spoil for war over 4 months salary arrears The workers have announced that they would proceed on indefinite industrial WERRI—LOCAL government action with effect from next Monday, since workers in the 27 local council areas it was very clear that government negotiaof Imo State, are spoiling for a protracted tors have refused to meet their own part of war with the state government over non- the recent agreement with the state govpayment of their four months salaries and ernment.

When Vanguard visited some of the local allowances. government headquarters yesterday, including Owerri Municipal, Orlu, Isu, Ehime Mbano, Ihitte Uboma and Obowo, the angry workers

By Chinenyeh abatement should join were seen bemoaning their hands in the crusade for a plight, while waiting endOzor noise-free society to be lessly for government paymasters allegedly schedS U K K A — achieved in the country uled to visit the councils to She implored Federal ACOUSTICAL Society of Nigrtia, ASCON, Government to adopt Lagos pay salaries.

Some of the aggrieved has called on the Federal State research techniques Government and National on “free horn day,” which and hungry workers, who Assembly to reinforce law was briefly dramatized in spoke on strict grounds of on environmental noise 2014 by Mr. Babatunde anonymity, gave a graphic of their pollution for a noise-free Fashola administration to account address excessive noise in predicaments since society in the country. started Dr. Joy Oluchi Uguru most parts of commercial government reneging on the payment made the call during a three areas in the country.

Uguru stated that of their salaries and day international conference on reduction of excessive allowances. environmental noise noise remained the major They were particularly pollution, at university of way of rescuing the nation irked that the state Nigeria, Nsukka, noted from killer sicknesses such government surreptitiously that government at all as stroke, high-blood came up with a new salary levels; agencies pressure, among others, structure in which a large responsible for that contribute to untimely chunk of the take home pay environmental noise deaths in the country. was inexplicably slashed.

By Chidi Nkwopara

O

ASCON wants FG to reinforce law on noise pollution

N

NDDC laments paucity of funds

BY ANAYO OKOLI

U

MUAHIA—THE Board of Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has blamed noncompletion of some of its projects on non-release of funds due to it by the Federal Government.

The board put the outstanding amount to be

N800 billion.

It said that paucity of funds had made them not to have embarked on new major infrastructure development as the major focus of the Commission.

Senator Bassey EwaHenshaw, the chairman of NDDC Governing Board, who disclosed this when he visited Governor Okezie

Ikpeazu, recently, called for the assistance of governors of NDDC states in getting the funds.

“Funding remains an intractable challenge, and between 2001 and now more than N800 billion of funding due to NDDC has been withheld by the Federal Government”, the board chairman lamented.

Gender equality necessary for devt of women —Varsity don

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ROMOTION OF gender equality and the recognition of its diversity have been identified as the basic drivers of growth and development of women in Nigeria.

A University teacher, Professor May Nwoye of the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, Niger State, made the identification in a paper presentation at a two-day conference on 'Women in Management and Leadership,' organized by the Nigerian Institute of Management, NIM, in Abuja.

Prof. Nwoye in her paper, entitled, 'Beyond The Glass Ceiling: The Impact of Entrepreneurial Orientation and Value Innovation in The Advancement of Women in Management,' called on industrial actors within the economy, particularly, the men to recognize and appreciate gender diversity, bearing in mind the equality of rights and opportunities that exist in the corporate world.

She said: “Despite the fact that corporate organizations are being influenced by globalisation, gender asymmetric factors continue to disfigure the shape of many professions.

“Attrition rate of female in top

management gets higher as you move up the corporate hierarchy - both vertical and horizontal,” she stated.

On whether women had not had their fare share of management responsibilities in today ’s public and corporate establishments over and above their male counterparts, Prof. Nwoye contended that gender discrimination had hindered the progress of women in management.

“Discrimination is bad in all its ramifications,” she said.

“Gender discrimination reduces the available talents in the economy with loud economic consequences. Inefficiency gives rise to mis-allocation in the distribution of talent.

“The economy does not benefit from the unique leadership style that God has endowed women with.

Addressing newsmen at the conference, the President of the Institute and its Chairman in Council, Dr. Nelson Uwaga, called on Nigerian men to de-emphasize the culture of intimidation of the female gender as a way of asserting their superiority, adding that the trend is outdated and inimical to societal growth."

50—Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

POLIO: Nigeria’s 1-year milestone

By Sola Ogundipe

T

HE biggest news about polio this year is that Nigeria has not reported any case of the crippling viral disease so far in 2015. Nigeria is the third remaining polio endemic country, but it has not seen a case of polio since July 24, 2014, precisely in the last one year.

Tomorrow, July 24 will mark one year since Nigeria’s last case of wild poliovirus. It would be the longest period the country has gone without a case of the disease. Nigeria will cease to be on the list of countries tagged polio endemic.

Last in Africa The achievement has particular significance, because Nigeria is the last country in Africa and one of only three countries in the world in which polio is still endemic.

When polio is eradicated in Nigeria, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, the world will be free of the disease forever.

A few weeks later, on August 11, it will be one year since the last case of polio in Africa: a case in Somalia that came at the end of an outbreak in the Horn of Africa.

Africa has overcome significant challenges — including lack of security and difficulty reaching children in remote

• Cheryl Ukegbu.

• Nigeria’s polio milestone. places — to protect their children from polio.

These are important milstones, says Rotary International. The lowest number of polio cases ever reported occurred in first six months of 2015.

Pakistan and Afghanistan recorded a global tally of 33 cases between January and June, 2015, compared to 122 cases in nine countries recorded over same period last year.

Polio has decreased by over 99 percent since 1988, when there was an estimated 350,000 cases in more than 125 endemic countries, compared to what we are seeing in 2015.

It’s been four years since India reported a polio case. It has since been declared polio-free. An amazing feat for a country that in 1985 reported some 150,000 cases of polio. This had fallen to about 6,000 in 1991, to 741 in 2009 and to just 42 in 2010.

In 2009, India had half of the reported cases of polio worldwide.

Role of Rotary: Rotary has played an important role in reaching these milestones. Rotarians have dedicated their time and their personal resources to keep children safe from this disease by immunising them, donating money, raising funds, and urging governments to support the cause.

Rotary donated $688.5 million to fight polio throughout Africa, including more than $200 million designated for Nigeria. $688.5 million to fight polio throughout Africa, including more than $200 million designated for Nigeria.

While this is notable progress, the job is not finished yet. But it’s not yet time to celebrate. Before Nigeria can be certified polio-free, it must pass two more years without a case of polio.

To achieve this, all children in Nigeria continue to receive the polio vaccine, including those in hard-to-reach and underserved areas. Maintaining highquality immunisation campaigns and disease surveillance throughout the continent is essential.

Last June, Rotary granted $19 million to support polio eradication efforts in Africa, including $9.9 million for Nigeria. By continuing to support polio eradication in these final years of the campaign, the world ensures the best possible chance that August 11, 2014 marked the very last case of polio in Africa.

Nigeria is making progress, but this is only one step on the final road to polio eradication.

COMMON SEXUAL PROBLEMS AND THEIR NOVELTY BASED SOLUTIONS (ADVERTORIAL)

I

AM in love with a woman who is much older than me. She is 44 years old and I am 29. But we are very fond of each other and I want to take the relationship to the next level by telling her outright that I want her to be my girlfriend. What do you think? – Kevin Dear Kevin, clearly her age is of concern to you which is why you have written us. But here is the thing about these kinds of relationships.

The two people involved are really all that matters. You are an adult and so is she. If you are both looking for a casual relationship, I see no reason why you shouldn’t go for it. The two main issues when it comes to dating someone who is that much older are the ability to relate to each other and the ability to have kids. If you get along and you have common interests then you can have an interesting relationship.

Marriage will be more challenging simply because as she advances in age, getting pregnant becomes more and more improbable. Once you are both aware of the challenges and you are both okay with it, then go ahead and ask her out. You like each other already so it shouldn’t be hard.

The key to asking a woman out is boldness and patience.

Women are turned off by fear and insecurity. They love bold men. Secondly, it is normal for a woman to blow you off a few times before she says yes. They do it because they don’t want to appear easy.

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The effects last for days too – Uche I just got the Arousal Cobra Vibrator I ordered. Your packaging is impressive and you deliver on time. Very professional - Carol Thank you Carol – Uche Adults in need of these treatments/novelties can call 08171912551 or 08027901621 for help or visit www.zeevirtualmedia.com. Zee Virtual Media delivers all over Nigeria. For enquiries email us at custserv@zeevirtualmedia.com- Uche Edochie, MD, Zee Virtual Media.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015—51

NAFDAC and decency in bread productionmillers to desist from using

Sambo Dasuki: An encounter with the spymaster

By Yushau A. Shuaib

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HEN the erstwhile Finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, forced my premature retirement from the civil service after serving my nation for nearly 20 years, I returned to my hobby of writing.

My retirement, which I am still contesting in court, was because of a single article I had written.

Not only was I retired prematurely, many institutions and individuals in government became afraid of associating with me for fear of victimisation. I had been stigmatized as the “Rebel in Civil Service.”

Surprisingly, while many agencies of government and managements distanced themselves, I received massive goodwill from the media professionals who not only stood by me but provided their platforms for my works.

Meanwhile few top public officers do secretly seek my professional advice in public relations management. An instance when one of the spokespersons in the Presidential Villa sought my intervention about a report on erstwhile First Lady Patience Jonathan in Sahara Reporters, which was considered inaccurate. I called the Publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, to correct the erroneous aspect of the said report.

Opinion and conviction I took time to explain that there is a major difference between my person ‘Shuaib’ a Nigerian who has right to his personal opinion and conviction and Shuaib who now represents a PR consultancy for professional attainment and contentment. I assured him that I would continue to express myself through opinion writing while engaging in media relations for my clients. Sowore accepted to publish the Presidency ’s response on Patience Goodluck Jonathan and subsequent press statements from that office.

Curiously, there were very few top functionaries who stood by me too and showed support during the critical period of my life. Sambo Dasuki, the former National Security Adviser (NSA) was one of them.

It was after attending a workshop organised by The Netherlands Embassy for security agencies where I presented a paper and also published an article that I received an invitation to meet with NSA. During our first encounter, I criticised everything about President Jonathan and his administration. Dasuki was very attentive, probably thinking that my bitterness was informed by my sudden exit from the service.

Dasuki attempted to influence

my return into the service but I was reluctant. I had decided to work for government but not inside government so as to enjoy my liberty of selfexpression. I nevertheless obliged his request that I should provide him daily media content analyses that should i n c l u d e suggestions and Sambo Dasuki recommendations.

In the course of our occasional Abiola (MKO). This led to their interactions, Dasuki was always premature retirement. The open and transparent about persecution that followed forced information. He once told me him into exile where he teamed how himself and two young up with opposition elements military officers (they are still struggling for the return of alive) travelled to Jos to brief democracy in Nigeria.

Major General Buhari who was Apart from serving as then the GOC of 3rd Armoured Managing Director of Nigerian Division on the furtherance of the Security Printing and Minting planning of the 1983 coup which Company (NSPMC) after the made Buhari the major return of democracy, Dasuki had beneficiary of the ouster of the engaged in legitimate elected President Shehu international businesses, mostly Shagari. He even told me how outside the country.

Buhari expressed his bitterness On his roles in politics, Sambo about insinuations on his Dasuki narrated how he stewardship in one of the public supported the campaign institutions. Dasuki assured the aspiration of Muhammadu then GOC not to worry about Buhari for Presidential elections such reckless and mischievous in 2003, 2007 and 2011. In fact, insinuations. he mentioned names of I asked why he participated in individuals who were also privy the ouster of Buhari just less than to his active involvement two years afterward. He simply including respected Northern answered that General Buhari elements like Adamu Adamu, should know whom he should Bashir Kurfi, Wada Maida, Sule blame. Probing further, I Hamman and Kabir Yusuf enquired how he treated Buhari among others. on the day of the August 1985 coup. His exact response goes Major thus: shocker “I always respect and dignify my seniors and those in positions The major shocker for me in his of authority whether in service or narratives was his campaign for after. Though a young officer, I Buhari to emerge the joint was reluctant to be among those candidate of ACN and CPC in that arrested him. And I was not. 2011. He disclosed how he I only met him afterward at pleaded with Asiwaju Ahmed Bonny Camp with Lawal Tinubu in the presence of Bisi Rafindadi. There is no way I Akande to accept Muhammad could have maltreated him as Buhari as the joint Presidential being alleged in some quarters. candidate for ACN and CPC. I am glad most of the actors are Dasuki stated that he knelt down still alive.” begging ‘Baba Bisi Akande’ who Dasuki told me the story of how was then Chairman of ACN that he and some others confronted “General Buhari is a man to be late General Sani Abacha over trusted.”

June 12 election which was won In their belief that Yorubas and

by Chief Mashood Kashimawo South Westerners were never fanatical especially regarding politics, Dasuki and his group suggested that Tinubu should be a running mate to Buhari. When other elements opposed that proposition, Tinubu team The major shocker therefore recommended a Buhari-Osinbajo ticket. for me in his Unfortunately, the ticket failed to narratives was his stick as Pastor Tunde Bakare was campaign for Buhari eventually pushed forward by other forces. to emerge the joint Shuaib, a Syndicate Writer candidate of ACN and Blogger is on www.yashuaib.com and CPC in 2011

A

By Martins Ikhilae

LTHOUGH the preparation and consumption of bread is undoubtedly ancient and global, the broadness of its acceptance as a befitting consumable is indeed gratifying, its human body nourishing status having been globally certified by acclaimed food scientists and nutritionists as dependable source of energy, protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins, iron and calcium.

This explains the concern and seriousness attached to the sanitization of its baking by the nation’s health boosting organ known as the National Agency for Food,Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, whose preserve it is to oversee processed edibles among others as specified by its enabling act.

Understandably, its acceptance has made it an economy booster because it is not only an item of commerce but also a source of employment to many. It also avails the government a dependable indigenous revenue avenue. Little wonder that NAFDAC, a regulator in the sector is all out to sanitize the industry so as to bring to bear acceptable sanity,standards as well as hygienic and good manufacturing practices in its production.

The Agency has severally emphasized the entrenchment of decency, hygienic and good health sustaining practices as basic principles in its production.

Some of the measures adopted to salvage the industry include sustenance of inter-state consumers and bakers enlightenment fora, hosting of workshops, organizing training for existing and would-be practitioners. Others are closure of illegal and substandard production plants, mopping up bad products from market places and other sales outlets.

Additionally, the agency has consistently warned bakers and

Potassium Bromate - a deadly cancer and human organs ravaging diseases causing substance , for baking.

NAFDAC inspectors move to all nooks and crannies of the nation frantically examining and supervising production processes and centers. Even the agency’s Director General, Dr Paul Orhii is known to have at numerous instances, personally coordinated and led unscheduled inspection visits Alternatively, NAFDAC upon intensive research has approved/ recommended other healthy and internationally acceptable substances as more suitable for baking. To avail the nation of consumable processed food, the agency ensured that decent and standardized production and hygienic practices were adopted and fully embraced by Fast Food Service Centers (eateries) operators while bakers/bakeries were successfully compelled to desist from anti-human health sustaining practices such as avoiding usage of deadly/ cancer disease causing potassium bromate as dough enhancer. Encouraging inclusion of cassava flour in baking,upgrading of NAFDAC surveillance systems and manpower development via modernized global standard trainings for its workforce.

Consistently hosting of consultative fora with stakeholders,advocacy visits to states chief executives,traditional rulers, youth leaders, inclusion of Food Safety Education in School Curriculum, the NYSC community development service programme, modification and sustenance of its Consumers Safety programme.

Ikhilae, is a Lagos based Public Affairs Analyst.

NAFDAC debunks allegations of corrupt practices

By Chioma Obinna

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HE National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control, NAFDAC, yesterday debunked allegations of corrupt practices against the Director General of the Agency saying, the publication by the online media was “baseless, false, misleading and frivolous as nothing of such has happened under the watch of Dr. Paul Orhii” Describing the publications as ill-conceived, the agency in a statement made available to Vanguard said it would have ignored the publications but decided to clear the air on possible wrong signals the publications must have sent to the general public on the person of Dr Paul Orhii.

The statement signed by the NAFDAC Director, Special Duties, Dr. Abubakar Jimoh, noted that the Agency has been inundated by concerns from stakeholders and strategic partners following publication which had also crept into the main stream media attributed to a director of finance and accounts, Mr Ademola Mog-

bojuri.

According to the statement, “It is a curious paradox that the so called Director of Finance and Accounts who has been superintending over contract awards, payments and other due processes since 2010 would now turn around to make such false and disparaging allegations against the chief executive just when he was redeployed to another directorate due to his incompetence and insubordination” Explaining what may have brought about the misunderstanding, the statement states: “In any case, redeployment and movement of officers in civil service are a normal routine. This is not the first time since the creation of NAFDAC that Directors are reshuffled. In most cases, some Directors have been redeployed up to five directorates within three years in the agency. This is why we are at a loss to decipher what the hullabaloo is all about except to believe that he is being used as a willing tool in the hands of counterfeiters to derail the focused administration in its quest to safeguard the health of the nation.

52— Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

C M Y K

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015—53

C M Y K

54 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

Messi's dressing sparks anger in Gabon T

HE Gabonese government have denied claims that Barcelona’s Lionel Messi was paid €3.5m (£2.5m) to visit the country to take part in a ceremony at one of the venues for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.

Messi, who has yet to link up with his Barcelona team-mates on their US tour, was pictured at the weekend in the country’s second largest city, Port-Gentil, where he helped to lay one of the first stones for the planned 40,000capacity venue.

France Football had claimed that he and his former Barça team-mate Deco received •3.5m for the trip but a statement from the Gabon embassy has denied that was the case.

“The Republic of Gabon strongly denies having transferred or having promised to transfer any sum of money to the Argentine international football player Lionel Messi, who was in Gabon from 17 to 18 July 2015 on the invitation of Ali Bongo,” it read.

The four-times Ballon d’Or winner was also criticised for showing his support for Bongo, the controversial Gabonese leader, who has been accused of committing electoral fraud to remain in power and various human rights abuses. Messi later appeared at one of the president’s restaurants in the city, with Bongo explaining

how the meeting had come about.

“When I was in Barcelona a few years ago, I met Messi who had told me that he would come to visit me in Libreville,” he said.

“It’s a promise he made me. He is a man of honour who just kept his word.”

Meanwhile, Gabon’s opposition party have accused Messi of showing a “lack of respect for standards and principles” after he turned up wearing denim shorts and a Tshirt.

A statement from the Union du Peuple Gabonais (UPG) party read: “The messiah of football arrived in Gabon like he were going to a zoo: dirty, unshaven and his hands in his pockets, looking for peanuts to throw to them!

“When you’re called Lionel Messi and you’re a multi-billionaire, you don’t have the right to present yourself to officials of a republic, even a banana one, with your hands in the pockets of a ripped, tattered pair of shorts.

“Gabon isn’t a zoo. We don’t know what the Argentine came to Gabon for, but we at least have the right to denounce his negligence and his lack of respect for standards and principles. We are uneasy with Messi’s attitude and his attire. Only for these reasons, linked to respect for the host country, do we condemn the footballer’s indelicateness, to say the least!”

Siasia

Continues from BP

while the second leg is due in Congo in a forthnight.

The Dream Team VI coach has invited Enyimba’s Kingsley Sokari, four others to boost his team performance against Congo.

Siasia insisted that the invited players would add bite to the team’s attack and solidify the defence as the team intensifies preparations for the potentially explosive return leg in Pointe Noire on Sunday, August 2.

The invited players are overseas -based Aminu Umar and C M Y K

Abdullahi Shehu, Semiu Liadi of Warri Wolves FC, Ndifreke Effiong of Abia Warriors and Flying Eagles’ midfielder Kingsley Sokari.

The home -based professionals are expected to report to camp immediately while those based overseas are expected in camp by this weekend.

Meanwhile, Coach Siasia has sounded a note of warning to all players given permission to travel after the team’s first leg game against Congo in Port Harcourt to report unfailingly to camp on Wednesday or be axed.

Ogba reception now July 26 …Momoh, Izamoje, Ngerem Expected

T

HAND PRINT — Lionel Messi leaves his hand print in cement at the construction site of a new soccer stadium in Port-Gentil, Gabon,

My aim is to make T/tennis team for AAG, says Onaolapo O JO Onaolapo, a bronze medalist in the 2014 Commonwealth Games on Wednesday said making the team for the 11th All Africa Games in Congo Brazzaville was his priority.

The Games are scheduled to run from Sept 4 to Sept. 19.

Onalolapo told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) during his training session in the Knock-up Hall of the National Stadium, Lagos that he was determined to make the list.

He said making the list would not be an easy task because of the calibre of players currently at the National camp currently on trials for the Games.

“My main focus for now is the trials for the Games and I’m doing everything possible to be selected to

•Ojo-Onaolapo represent the country.

“I know I have a big task ahead of me because of the quality of foreign and home-based players in camp for the Games.

“It’s going to be the survival of the fittest because we are all striving to make the final selection of players to represent to

Oliseh Continues from BP professionals expected to join the team in Tanzania.

Lazio midfielder Ogenyi Onazi is ruled out of the encounter after his dismissal against Chad last month, but there will be a return for Enyeama, Mikel Obi and Victor Moses.

Eagles skipper Enyeama, whose differences with the NFF over his comments after the game against Chad have been sorted out, has been tipped as a key player in the plans of new coach Sunday Oliseh.

“From the way Oliseh

spoke about Enyeama in our meetings, it tells you that the coach wants him to play a huge role in his team building for the Eagles” a top source disclosed.

“He said the experience of Enyeama is needed by the team but he also highlighted on the need to install discipline in the team.”

The top sources also revealed: “We may not be seeing too many new faces in the Eagles from the start, but I think what Oliseh wants to do is change the mentality of the team because he believes the Eagles can win every match.”

attend the Games.

“No matter what, I will remain focused to achieve my aim,” he said.

Onaolapo, who plays for Marcozzi Table Tennis Club in Italy, commended the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation for the camping and trials ahead of the Games.

HE planned grand reception for Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), President, Dr Solomon Ogba by the Edo Sports Media Practitioners, will now hold this Sunday, July 26, 2015 in Lagos, according the body’s Chairman, Osaretin Emuze and Scribe Smarts Ebodaghe in a release.

The event which is to celebrate Ogba, over his recent award of a Honorary doctorate degree, by the prestigious University of Port Harcourt for his robust contribution to sports development will hold at Adna Hotel in Ikeja, the Lagos state capital from 6pm prompt.

Expected to chair the event is the Chairman of Channels Television, Mr John Momoh, while Brila FM boss, Dr Larry Izamoje, is expected to highlight the dignitaries that includes Dan Ngerem, Aisha Falode, Edo FA Chairman, Frank Ilaboya, Hon Tom Joel Onowakpor and all Sports Editors and Managers of sports in electronic media outfits..

Emuze declared that the event will kick-start many others being planned by the body to honuor illustrious indigenes especially from the former Bendel State, now Edo and Delta, for their contributions not only to their states but sports.

Comedian Continues from BP tothrow dollar bills over president Sepp Blatter.

Brodkin, dressed as one of his characters, Jason Bent, placed a pile of banknotes on the desk next to Blatter, having announced himself as a delegate from North Korea’s 2026 World Cup bid. As he was being led away by security he threw more notes over the stillseated president.

Brodkin was released after questioning following his arrest. A police spokesman said: “He will be charged for trespassing because he wasn’t allowed to enter

the building … If there will be a trial it is still to be decided by the prosecutor. Trespassing in Switzerland is just prosecuted by request like other minor crimes.”

Shortly after the event, Brodkin tweeted from @Jason9Bent’s account saying: “Excited to be at FIFA meeting Sepp Blatter to secure the #NorthKorea2026 World Cup.” He has attempted similar stunts in the past, interrupting Kanye West’s set at Glastonbury last month and almost managing to board the England team’s planeto the 2014 World Cup.

VANGUARD, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015 — 55

TRANSFER, TRANSFER, TRANSFER

City table £60m for De Bruyne M

ANCHESTER City are prepared to pay a British record £60million to prise Kevin De Bruyne away from Wolfsburg.

De Bruyne has given City the green light to begin the bidding by telling Wolfsburg he wants to leave.

City have set aside a substantial war-chest to land De Bruyne, despite making the £49million Raheem Sterling their costliest signing last week.

Their opening offer is expected to be around £40million, but it is understood they are willing to go as high as £60million to land the former Chelsea midfielder.

This will eclipse the current British transfer record of £59.7million, which Manchester United paid for Angel Di Maria last year.

Ironically, Di Maria could help City land De Bruyne and PSG have dropped their interest in the Belgium star to pursue the Argentinian.

Wolfsburg are resigned to losing De Bruyne after his camp told director of football Klaus Allofs he does not want to stay just 19 months after buying him from Chelsea for £18million.

Wolfsburg have fought hard to keep De Bruyne and were prepared to offer him a new five-year deal with an escape clause worth £150,000-a-week.

M

ANCHESTER United have made a momentous 100 million euros (£70 million) bid to sign Bayern Munich forward Thomas Muller, according to German outlet Bild.

Although this offer was previously denied by Stuart Mathieson of the Manchester Evening News earlier in the week, reports suggest the bid stands as of yesterday.

Muller worked with United boss Louis van Gaal during the Dutch-

B

RENDAN Rodgers has refused to give Mario Balotelli any assurances about his Liverpool future and said it is up to him whether he stays at Anfield.

‘I’m not sure (whether he has a future), that will entirely beuptoMario.Heisworking hard to get fit and we will see when the season begins.’

•City target: De Brune (L)

Pedro CAN leave Barca

M

ANCHESTER United and Chelsea may well be interested in signing Pedro but they’ll need to stump up £22million for

his signature.

Barcelona boss Luis Enrique is keen to keep the attacker and insists he’ll only leave the Nou Camp if his release clause is met.

Speaking after the friendly win against LA Galaxy, Enrique is standing firm over the 27year-old Pedro.

He told Spanish-paper Sport: ‘Pedro? If he wants to go, a club will have to meet his release clause.

‘I have talked with Pedro to discuss his situation. I have told him how I think about it and he told me how he feels about it.

‘I obviously won’t reveal the exact content of the conversation we had.’

Oscar rejects Chelsea exit talk H E L S E A midfielder Oscar has rejected talk of a move away from the Premier League champions, amid interest from Juventus.

The Brazil international was picked out by Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri as a potential signing last month.

C M Y K

•Muller man’s tenure at the Allianz Arena and could be lined up as a replacement for Angel Di Maria, who continues to be linked with a transfer to Paris Saint-Germain.

Balotelli’s future in own hands – Rodgers says

•Pedro

C

Man U make 100m euros Muller bid

However, the player ’s agent has already distanced him from a move, and Oscar has now reiterated his desire to stay at Stamford Bridge and build on his three trophies since arriving in 2012.

“I will be staying at Chelsea,” he said.

•Oscar

•Balotelli

Swansea plan to keep Gomis

S

•De Gea

‘Please Don’t Go’

O

NCE a player has their sights set on a dream move, there is normally very little that can stand in their way.

But Rio Ferdinand has come up with a humorous way of persuading Manchester United keeper David de Gea that his future lies at Old Trafford, and not at Real Madrid.

The former England defender was never shy of showing his comical side during his playing days, and Ferdinand was back in the role of chief jester as he posted

a short clip of him headbopping to the KWS version of Please Don’t Go. It was designed as a message to De Gea, who has been strongly linked throughout the summer with a return to his hometown with La Liga giants Real Madrid.

It remains to be seen whether Ferdinand’s antics convince the Spain international that he can achieve all his career goals with the Manchester club, but a similar stunt didn’t dissuade Abel Xavier from joining Liverpool from Everton back in January 2002.

WANSEA will resist any attempts to lure their France striker Bafetimbi Gomis away from the Liberty Stadium.

Wealthy Dubai-based Al Ahli have been linked with a shock move for the 29-year-old Gomis, who scored 10 goals for Swansea after joining from Lyon on a free transfer last summer.

Gomis had an eventful first season at Swansea, spending the first half of the campaign in the shadow of Wilfried Bony.

•Gomis

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015

Messi’s dressing sparks anger in Gabon •Gabon not a zoo, officials fume — Pg.54 •Controversy he received £2.5m for visit

Siasia invites more players for Congo

Comedian charged over Blatter cash stunt

S

WISS authorities have announced that the British comedian Simon Brodkin will be charged after he interrupted a Fifa press conference in Zurich on Monday

F

OLLOWING his side’s slim victory over the Congolese U-23 national team, Samon Siasia has invited five additional players to boost the Dream Team’s effort to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics qualifiers.

The Nigerian side defeated Congo 2-1 in Port Harcourt on Sunday with a brace from Junior Ajayi, Continues on Page 54

Comedian Simon Brodkin Continues on Page 54

•Enyeama

•Moses

RED CARPET — Lionel Messi and Presudebt Ali Bongo

Oliseh lines Enyeama, Mikel, Moses for Tanzania S

UPER Eagles captain Vincent Enyeama is expected to

•Oliseh

lead several established Eagles stars to Tanzania for AFCON 2017

qualifier against the Taifa Stars.

Oliseh is expected to

release his list of invited players for the game against Tanzania in the

second week of August with the foreign-based Continues on Page 54

QUICK CROSSWOR

TODAY'S

PUZZLE

YESTER DAY'S ANSWERS YESTERDAY'S

ACROSS 4 Molluse (5) 7 Masticated (6) 9 Observe (3) 10 Deity (3) 12 Active (5) 13 Egg-shaped (4) 15 Instrument (5) 17 Newest (6) 19 Organ (4) 20 Decipher (5) 22 Drag (3) 24 Embarrassed (7) 27 Number (3) 28 Destroys (5) 31 Carpets (4) 33 Entry (6) 35 Sculpt (5) 37 Ruler (4) 38 Harbour (5) 39 Total (3) 41 Heave (3) 42 Office (6) 43 Repasts (5)

DOWN 1 Transversely (6) 2 Memory (6) 3 Fasten (3) 4 Arch (4) 5 Fabric (5) 6 Instrusion (8) 8 Idiot (4) 11 Lengths (9) 14 Magma (4) 16 Particle (4) 18 Try (4) 21 Stubborn (8) 23 Existed (4) 25 Top (4) 26 Powder (4) 29 Published (6) 30 Cover (6) 32 Aroma (5) 34 Stick (4) 36 Burden (4) 40 Container (3)

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS ACROSS: 1, Soil 4, Era 6, Clip 9, Air 10, Altitude 11, Near 14, Bar 16, Sleep 19, Competed 21, Tenet 23, Detained 24, Watch 27, Won 31, Mute 33, Examiner 34, See 35, Fear 36, Due 37, Eddy.

DOWN: 2, Oily 3, Lair 4, Educated 5, Apex 6, Canal 7, Lie 8, Irate 12, Screw 13, Smart 14, Bet 15, Renew 17, Event 18, Pride 20, Detonate 22, Tan 25, Amuse 26, Cheer 28, Mend 29, Fire 30, Tend 32, Tea.

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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C M Y K