FUEL:FG accuses oil marketers of sabotage

...towards a better life for the people VOL. 25: NO. 62369

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ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015

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FUEL: FG accuses oil POLITICAL CAMPAIGN: marketers of sabotage Court awards >>5 •As DSS invites them to explain current scarcity •Govt owes more than N264bn in subsidy •FG cuts second quarter fuel import by 50% >> 5

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N500m to APC

2 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015

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Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015 — 3

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Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015—5

POCKET CARTOON

WOMEN RALLY: Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State (3rd left);

his wife, Olufunso (3rd right); wife of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential candidate, Hajiya Aisha Buhari (2nd right); wife of APC Vice Presidential candidate, Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo (2nd left); Osun State Deputy Governor, Mrs. Titilayo Laoye-Tomori (left) and wife of Rivers State Governor, Mrs. Judith Amaechi during the APC South-West zone presidential women rally at MKO Abiola International Stadium, Kuto Abeokuta, yesterday.

FUEL: FG accuses oil marketers of sabotage

By Clara Nwachukwu & Michael Eboh with agency reports

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BUJA — THE F e d e r a l Government has accused oil marketers of undermining efforts to make petroleum products available to Nigerians, especially at this critical period close to the Presidential polls.

The accusation follows resurgence of long queues in Abuja, Lagos and major cities in the country resulting from fuel scarcity, a development that has made some retail outlets to indulge in all manner of sharp practices at the expense of consumers.

The current scarcity, just a few days to the elections, triggers recall of a similar experience

just before the initial February 14 date before it was rescheduled to March 28, during which motorists queued for long hours waiting to buy the scarce commodity.

IPMAN chiefs, depot operators summoned to Abuja As a result, a number of executives of the major and independent marketers as well as depot operators were yesterday summoned to Abuja by Director, Department of State Services, DSS, to explain the reason for the current round of scarcity.

According to one of the parties invited by the DSS, who spoke to Vanguard in confidence,

TAKE HEART

BY ELLA RANDLE

The world is full of enchantments, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper— W.B. Yeats

W

E can bring more excitement into their lives and try to make each day count by doing things to add wonder in our lives - to make our lives more wonder-full, we can look at things with fresh eyes. Think about things that have become habit for you. The next time you do them, do them as if you were a beginner again.

You can also make a list of things you found wonderful at different stages in your life and spend some time reveling in those wonders. Especially, about how you could re-experience those things again if need be!

Find time and a quiet place and allow yourself plenty of time to go through and really think about the many things to be grateful for in your life. Be joyful of these moments, they are part of your stories.

The lessons and blessings are things to be grateful for in life. If necessary, change direction, create new dreams or rediscover dreams you left behind. Enjoy your life. Be grateful for it.

“ yes, we have been in Abuja all day to see the Director-General of the DSS. They accused us (marketers) of sabotage, and asked us to explain why there are no products when government has paid us.

“We accepted the invitation because we have nothing to hide, and challenged them to prove that we have been paid.

After we explained ourselves, the DSS promised to speak with the CBN Governor, who will in turn speak with the banks to continue to raise facilities for us, pending when government is able to pay.”

The accusation of sabotage is based on claims by government that it had paid off about N30 billion of the N264 billion outstanding debts from subsidy reimbursement owed marketers, which the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala promised to pay off before the end of March.

Furthermore, no other Sovereign Debt Note, an instrument equivalent to cash used as guarantee for payment of subsidy has been issued to marketers.

Since more products have been imported, interest rates have risen as well as foreign exchange differentials, government now owes marketers even more then the N264 billion originally recorded.

Government did not fulfill its promise

However, Vanguard reliably gathered that

the Federal Government has not fulfilled its part of the bargain in paying the N264 billion outstanding debts.

Besides, even the much publicised N30 billion that government claimed to have paid in the first week of March has not yet been fully paid to all beneficiaries, a development that made banks even more reluctant to raise Letters of Credit, LCs, to marketers to bring in more products.

According to our source, “part of the N30 billion was only paid last Friday, and even at that not all the marketers have received the payment.”

Recall that at a crucial meeting late February in Lagos with OkonjoIweala, who is also the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, government promised a phased payment of the

N264 billion outstanding subsidy debts to marketers.

In attendance at the meeting were the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele; representatives of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN; Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria,

IPMAN; Depot & Petroleum Products Marketers Association, as well as bank chiefs.

Thereafter, the Finance Minister promised that the outstanding sum will be paid in phases up till the end of March, but only N30billion was so

Continues on Page 8

POLITICAL CAMPAIGN:

Court awards N500m to APC

By Innocent Anaba

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AGOS — A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, yesterday, ordered the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, to pay the All Progressives Congress, APC, N500 million as damages for unlawfully banning its presidential campaign fund-raising platform.

Trial judge, Justice Ibrahim Buba, handed down the order in a judgement in the suit filed by the party against NCC, Etisalat, MTN Nigeria Limited, Globacom Limited, Airtel Nigeria Limited and V i s a f o n e Communications Limited.

The court held that APC was protected by the constitution to push for the enforcement of its fundamental right once violated.

The court dismissed NCC’s counter affidavit and held that the action of the respondents was illegal and unconstitutional.

The damages are to be paid jointly and severally by all the respondents.

APC had sued the commission, demanding N25 billion as damages, for allegedly banning its presidential campaign

fund-raising platform. It had accused the NCC of instructing Etisalat, MTN Nigeria Limited, Globacom Limited, Airtel Nigeria Limited and V i s a f o n e Communications Limited to discontinue an SMS platform it created for the purpose of getting donations from willing members of the public for its presidential campaign.

The party had claimed that it initiated the participatory fundraising platform as a way of getting members of the general public to contribute N100 to its presidential campaign fund each time they sent APC as an SMS to 35350.

It added that NCC, by a letter dated January 19, 2015, instructed the other respondents to shut down the platform, warning them “to avoid running political advertisement/ promotions that will portray them as being partisan.”

The commission was alleged to have also threatened to sanction any of the telecommunications service providers which failed to comply with the order.

APC, considering the NCC’s instruction and the consequent shutting down of its fund-raising platform as both discriminatory and an

infringement on its fundamental right protected by Section 39 of the Constitution and Articles 9 (1) (2) and 19 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Cap. A9, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, headed to court.

It argued that the NCC did not give the same instruction to the other respondents when the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, set up the short codes designated: 6661, 662, 6663 and 6664, being managed by one Wagitel Communications Limited to raise funds for the campaign of President Goodluck Jonathan and his vice, Namadi Sambo, in 2010.

Mr & Mrs

6—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015

Two docked over adulteration of drinks

By Onozure Dania & Tayo Ogundipe

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AGOS—A 37-year-old woman, Oluwatoyin Quadri and a teenager, Mumuni Ishola 19, were yesterday arraigned before a Tinubu Magistrate’s Court over alleged adulteration of drinks.

The defendants, trader and sales representative, respectively, were docked before Magistrate L. A. Owolabi.

The prosecutor, Inspector I. Okeke, told the court that the defendants conspired amongst themselves to commit the offence, which happened on March 13, at Breadfruit Street off Issa Williams in Lagos Island.

Magistrate Owolabi granted the defendants bail in the sum of N50,000 each, with two sureties each in like sum.

The matter was adjourned till April 13 for mention.

Youths beat Goodluck, Sambo campaign coordinator in Jigawa

By Aliyu Dangida

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UTSE—THE Coordinator of Goodluck/Sambo Campaign Organization in Jigawa State, Alhaji Yusuf Alasan, was last weekend beaten to coma by irate youths over campaign funds.

The youths, drawn from the 27 local government areas, were invited to Dutse, the state capital, to be part of the Transformation Agenda of Nigeria,TAN, campaign for President Jonathan to be re-elected.

Drama started shortly after the occasion ended, when the youths demanded for their fees but were told to drop their telephone numbers to receive alert on payment.

This did not go down well with the youths, which resulted in verbal exchange between both parties before they descended on Alasan.

The youths accused the campaign coordinator, who doubles as the coordinator of SURE-P in Jigawa State, of diverting their entitlements running into millions, describing his action as betrayal and a breach of trust.

Hoodlums attack Vanguard’s General Editor, 3 others in traffic; cart away cash, valuables

By Evelyn Usman & Ebun Sessou

zWe’ve arrested two suspects—POLICE

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T is no longer news that Lagos, commercial hub of the nation, has been bedevilled by perennial traffic gridlocks on most major routes. What is news now is attacks on exasperated motorists by hoodlums in traffic.

The latest attack was that on Vanguard’s General Editor, Mr. Adekunle Adekoya; Assistant Chief Sub-Editor, Mr. Etop Ekanem and a Senior Sub-Editor, Mr. Oboh Agbonkhese, yesterday, on Ijora Bridge. Time was 1.35pm.

Mr. Emeka Anaeto, Vanguard’s Economy Editor, was also attacked in front of the National Stadium at about 2:30pm.

Motorists who use the ApapaOshodi Expressway have been going through hell, daily, in the unending traffic gridlock caused by drivers of heavy duty vehicles.

Marauding hoodlums take advantage of this to attack trapped motorists, while the federal and state governments trade blames on the causes.

Beating the traffic

To beat the traffic along the Oshodi/Apapa Expressway, motorists with destinations along the axis resort to other routes to link their offices on daily basis. One of the alternative routes is the Costain-IjoraMobil (Malu) Road.

Unfortunately, this route is not spared the unending traffic gridlock associated with Lagos State, as motorists are trapped for several hours before getting to their respective destinations.

Hoodlums, using dangerous weapons, dare security agents as they operate in broad daylight, dispossessing trapped motorists of cash, telephones, laptops, tablet PCs and other valuables.

Vanguard staff are not spared this ordeal as over 12 staff had been attacked in one month by hoodlums.

The trio of General Editor, Adekunle Adekoya, Etop Ekanem and Oboh Agbonkhese were on their way to work at Vanguard’s corporate head-

T h e vandalized vehicle of Vanguard 's General Editor.

INSET: The interior.

quarters, located at Kirikiri Canal, off Berger Yard Bus Stop, along the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway yesterday.

Ordinarily, they ought to have used the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, but to avoid the gridlock, Adekoya opted to drive through Ijora, a route he had used for years, and is familiar with, but ran into another gridlock.

Moving at a snail pace after close to an hour of being trapped at a point, 10 men, whose ages were estimated at between 20 and 24, emerged from nowhere.

Victims’ stories

According to Etop, “one of them broke the side window and even destroyed the bumper.

From the shattered glass, they took the General Editor’s bag containing documents and cash, as well as his blazer jacket.

“In my attempt to prevent one of the hoodlums from taking the items away, I sustained injury on one of my fingers. The incident lasted 20 minutes.

“They also attacked other cars in the traffic. Some motorists even left their vehicles and ran away.”

Asked if the hoodlums were armed, Etop replied: “They

were just shouting, attacking people and vandalizing vehicles. I did not see any gun with any of them. I do not know if they had hidden it somewhere.”

According to Adekoya, "somebody hit me from behind. As I made to find out what happened, I heard a bang on the rear window glass, which immediately cascaded into shards of broken glass.

“A fellow reached in, opened the door, and made for my work bag containing cash, bank cheque books, and other documents. Etop struggled with the fellow, got wounded and started bleeding. He let go of the bag.

“Another member of the gang u-turned, reached into the car again, removed my blazer, and took it away, all in broad daylight. The attack began at 1.35p.m."

Etop added that among other victims was a woman who bled profusely from an injury to her wrist. The hoodlums had vandalized their car and the driver of the vehicle kept asking “where is the nearest hospital?”

Mr. Anaeto, the Economy Editor, who was attacked in front of the National Stadium, said he abandoned his car and tried to escape, but was surrounded by about 10 of the hoodlums,

Bike rider burnt to death on Third Mainland Bridge

By Bose Adelaja

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RAGEDY struck, yesterday, on Third Mainland Bridge, Lagos, as an unidentified motorcyclist was roasted to death.

The incident was said to have occurred at the UNILAG area of the bridge around 6a.m., which resulted in a traffic jam.

According to eyewitnesses, the unidentified rider, who rode alone

from Iyana-Oworo end, was speeding.

He was flagged down by some law enforcement agents, who warned him to maintain normal speed but he was defiant.

It was learned that on getting to UNILAG area, the motorcycle slipped, crashed and fire erupted, which engulfed the rider. He was said to have been burnt beyond recognition.

Another account had it that the fire might have been ignited by the fact that the victim was in possession of petroleum product.

The incident was said to have caused panic on the bridge as the source of the gridlock was not known to many, who thought it was caused by political campaigns, until some law enforcement agents were able to contain the situation.

who took everything, except his clothes, from him.

Meanwhile, people were watching from across the road, while shop owners around shut their doors against him when he tried to take refuge.

Police story

When contacted to find out why no policeman was stationed along that axis to control traffic, spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, Kenneth Nwosu, disclosed that policemen were at one end of the bridge.

He added that when report of the attack reached the Police, a team of policemen was drafted to scene, where two of the suspected hoodlums were arrested.

He added that efforts were still on to apprehend other fleeing members.

He could, however, not state whether items stolen from Vanguard’s General Editor, Adekoya, were recovered from the suspects.

Navy

The area is one of the designated points for Navy patrol since the launch of a task force, Operation Gbale, a Yoruba word for sweeping, by the former Flag Officer Commanding, FOC, Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Ilesanmi Alade, to proffer a lasting solution to the traffic gridlock that had kept Apapa on lockdown for years.

A senior Naval officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, pointed out that the control of traffic was not the constitutional responsibility of the Navy, but that it decided to help out because of the security implication of such situation.

However, Naval authorities assured Vanguard that officers would be drafted to the axis.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015—7

Gwoza escapee narrates ordeal; says women, girls trapped

By Ndahi Marama

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AIDUGURI—A 38-yearold woman (names withheld), who escaped from Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State, Monday, said yesterday that hundreds of women kidnapped by Boko Haram sect were still trapped and kept in various houses in the town.

She said since the insurgents captured the town, many women and young girls, numbering over 100, had been relocated from Sambisa Forest, were brought in by the sect and kept in Gwoza.

Gwoza, about 250km south of Maiduguri, the state capital, was declared Islamic caliphate

by Shekau immediately after taking over the town, with over 50 policemen still missing and scores of residents dead.

Narrating her ordeal to journalists in one of the Internally Displaced Persons Camps, IDPs, in Maiduguri, the escapee said they were kept in one of the beautiful houses in Gwoza, along with some young girls brought in from Sambisa Forest by the sect.

‘My escape’

On how she escaped from Gwoza, she said: “There was a loud bang, suspected to be a bomb explosion, near our house. It forced us to break the wall and escape, while two of the young girls died.

“Two others also sustained injuries during the blasts and shooting that engulfed the town. As I speak with you now, many of these young girls and women are still trapped in Gwoza.”

The woman said she later found herself before former governor of Adamawa State, Boni Haruna, in Madagali,

who assisted her by calling her brother in Yola.

The mother of five noted that she was happy in Maiduguri, where she met her husband, who had earlier escaped, doing fine in one of the IDP camps,

although she did not say anything about the whereabouts of her children.

She said: “I thank God for saving my life from the hands of Boko Haram. We have been under their control in the last

three months; they kept us with many young girls.

“They gave us food every day, but they did not allow us to go out. Sometimes the leader will go round all the places and preach their ideology to us.”

Police arrest 92 suspected cultists, 5 robbers in P-Harcourt

By Jimitota Onoyume

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ORT HARCOURT— RIVERS State Police Command, yesterday, paraded 92 suspected cultists arrested from different locations in Port Harcourt.

This came on the heels of several cult-related killings that had claimed about 25 lives this month.

Public Relations Officer of the command, DSP Ahmad Muhammad, who briefed the press in Port Harcourt, said the cultists, who were paraded in Port Harcourt, were arrested with assorted firearms and ammunition, including cutlasses and charms.

The police further warned cultists and other miscreants to turn a new leaf or be ready to face the full wrath of the law.

“I wish to warn these miscreants to turn a new leaf and recant cultism, but if they are ready to test our renewed commitment they should be ready to face the full wrath of the law,” Muhammad said.

The Police also paraded five robbery suspects, who were arrested at a Police check point on Akpajo area of Port Harcourt on their way back from a robbery operation in Akwa Ibom State.

Among items recovered from

the robbers were a Sienna bus with number plate RH 339 CH, a locally-made revolver pistol, 17 phones and 1.6 million naira cash.

Muhammad also confirmed the death of one in Omoku from politically-related clash.

According to him, the clash among members of rival political parties started in the early hours of yesterday at Okposi community in Ogba Egbema Ndoni Local Government Area, adding that the parties threatened to burn their secretariat.

He said the timely intervention of the police

saved the situation, noting that anti-riot policemen had been deployed to maintain peace in the area.

Vanguard gathered from community sources that the clash was between members of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and All Progressives Congress, APC, in the area.

The police spokesman also confirmed that 37 persons were arrested at Onne and Eleme area of the state after a raid on criminal hideouts.

He said the innocent ones among them would be released after a thorough screening.

By Bartholomew Madukwe, Victor Ogunsola & Echewodo Jane

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31-year-old man, Stephen Ofem, was yesterday arraigned before a Kirikiri Magistrate’s Court in Lagos for allegedly stealing N300,000 belonging to Numphy Plaza.

The accused, whose address remains unknown, was alleged said to have committed the offence at Numphy Plaza, 1st Avenue, Festac Town, Lagos.

Ofem was arraigned by the police on a two-count charge of conspiracy and stealing.

Magistrate A. Adesanya granted the accused bail in the sum of N150,000 with two sureties that are to be blood relatives and a clergyman or community leader.

The matter was adjourned to April 13 for hearing.

... 30-yr-old for $26,520 internet love fraud

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Some of the 92 suspected cultists paraded by police in Port Harcourt, yesterday.

Robbers lose gun in failed car snatching operation

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Man, 31, docked for N300,000 theft

By Evelyn Usman

five-man robbery gang, weekend, lost its only weapon while struggling to snatch a vehicle from a middle-aged man in the Ikotun area of Lagos.

The robbers reportedly accosted the owner of a Toyota Highlander (names withheld) at about 9pm, Sunday, as he was driving into his compound on Sosanya Street.

One of the robbers, armed with a locally-made cut-to-size gun, was said to have ordered owner of the vehicle to come out of the car he bought about two months ago and hand over its keys to him.

The car’s owner struggled with them and the pistol fell inside a ditch.

However, the man was reportedly overpowered by robbers, subsequently kept him inside the boot of the car before it was driven out.

The victim said: “They drove out of the vicinity, dropped me off along the road and drove off. On my way to the Ikotun Police Station to report the incident, I found my car parked in the middle of the road.

“There was no one inside, so I quickly entered and drove it to the station where I made a report.”

Next day, the victim’s co-tenants were said to have invited the Police, following the discovery of the robbers’ gun inside a ditch.

Policemen reportedly took the gun away.

HE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Monday, arraigned one Nwakanma Chukwudi before Justice D. V. Agishir of the Federal High Court sitting in Enugu, on a 12count charge bordering on cyber crime, obtaining money by false pretence and impersonation.

The suspect, aged 30, who claimed to be a British national by name Barry Bernard, is being prosecuted for duping one Donnalynn, a Canadian, who he met on a dating site.

The EFCC, in a statement

by Head, Media & Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, said in the course of their romantic affair, Chukwudi, who also claimed to be resident in Manchester, United Kingdom, had sent several love mails and pictures to Donnalynn.

C o n s e q u e n t l y, Donnalynn did not have any course to doubt him when he requested for $26,520 Canadian dollars from her, having been communicating with him over a period of time.

When she later found out that she had been duped, she petitioned the EFCC.

8 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015

Continues from Page 5 far announced to have been paid.

The CBN governor equally directed the banks to raise $500million LCs for marketers to enable them continue to import products, for which marketers were bolstered to import more thereafter.

Govt now owes more than before Currently, the Federal government is now owing marketers even more than the previous N264 billion, as more products have been imported thereafter.

Recall that Vanguard had also exclusively reported an additional N6.5 billion based on the differential arising from the reduction in the pump price of petrol from N97/litre to N87.

Explaining the increase in the level of indebtedness, our source said: “They, (Government), gave us SDN for N99billion billed to the end of April and we have been importing since our last meeting with the minister and CBN governor.

“But the banks are still reluctant to raise more LCs, because if out of N264 billion you give only N99 billion SDN, that is not encouraging at all.

“We urged them that they should pay everything if it ends by April ending; everything including the subsidy, bank interests and foreign exchange differentials but they refused, and the banks say they can no longer help us.”

Against this backdrop, the marketers insist that they cannot be guilty of sabotage since they have brought in more cargoes when only N30billion had been paid.

Responding to Vanguard’s inquiry, the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, the industry regulator, could not give the stock level currently available in the country.

The agency, however, maintained: “We have continued to monitor the movement of products, what is available, where it is going to, to ensure they are used judiciously, and that marketers are not hoarding the product or selling above the pump price or diverting the product.”

FG cuts second quarter fuel import by 50% Meanwhile, the Federal Government, yesterday, cut down the importation of premium motor spirit, also called petrol, by 50 per cent for the second quarter of 2015.

A source in the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, told Platts in Abuja that the agency had issued permits for the importation of 1.5 million metric

TONY ELUMELU ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAMME: From left; Director, Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP), Parminder Vir; founder, Tony Elumelu Foundation, Tony O. Elumelu; CEO, Tony Elumelu Foundation, Reid Whitlock; and CEO and founder of Java Foods, Zambia and member, Selection Committee TEEP, Monica Musonda during the official announcement of the selection of the first 1,000 African entrepreneurs for the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP) in Lagos.

FG accuses oil marketers of sabotage tonnes, compared to a permit of three million litres it issued for the first quarter of 2015.

The PPPRA source also disclosed that the number of import permits for fuel allocation for the second quarter was reduced to 36 from 42 in previous quarters.

The reduction, Platts stated, was due to requests by oil marketers for lower allocations due to rising import costs and a government subsidy dispute.

Confirming this development, Mr. Obafemi Olawore, Executive Secretary, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN, said: “For the second quarter, all major marketers reduced their request for allocation because even they have stagnated on meeting first quarter allocations.”

Sources told Platts that despite the fact that the Federal Government has paid N100 billion of the total

outstanding subsidy debt, marketers are concerned the debt may continue to mount even on second quarter imports, particularly as they come after the presidential election set for March 28.

The PPPRA issued permits for around three million metric tonnes of gasoline in the first quarter, which the agency said at the time was to cover for the nearly absent output from domestic refineries.

It is envisaged that the ongoing turnaround maintenance of the countries ‘refineries will make up for the reduction in fuel import as it will help bridge the supply gap.

If the refineries fail to take shape by the second quarter, operators told Vanguard that the country might be plunged into serious fuel crisis.

The operators, who chose not to be named, further stated that if the target set for the refineries were not met, the NNPC might be forced to rely

on its strategic reserves, which it had told Nigerians is capable of serving the country for about 30 days.

Repairs and maintenance of refineries The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, had a couple of days ago, stated that the refining capacity of all the refineries in the country will grow to 90 per cent by April 2016.

Mr. Ian Udoh, Group Executive Director, Refining and Petrochemicals, NNPC, who stated this, further explained that the corporation has since last October, engaged the services of local engineers to undertake a comprehensive repairs and maintenance of the Kaduna, Port Harcourt and War ri refineries, adding that the contract was expected to last for 18 months, terminating in April. 2016.

He said: “The project started since last October, so we are looking at another 14 to 15 months or early next year.

After then, the refineries should be in a good shape.

“However, it is not going to be a sudden jump in production, it would be gradual. We have ordered a lot of materials, as the materials comes we install them using our local resources.

“It is an ongoing process that will allow the reliability of the refineries to continue improving across the period, because most of our problems have to do with reliability of the plant. We can start all of them now, but from time to time one equipment will fail or some other faults will occur, and we have to shut down to repair.

“The frequency of shutting down to repair is rather high, but we expect that to gradually diminish until we have 90 per cent capacity by early next year, given the 18 months schedule that we have set.”

CBN gives banks three months to submit recapitalization plan

By Omoh Gabriel

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BUJA—THE Central Bank of Nigeria has directed some systemically important banks considered too big to fail, that are short of capital to submit recapitalization plans to it by June 13th.

The CBN letter suggest that a few undisclosed banks do not meet the minimum CAR of 10 per cent and 15 per cent for regional/national and international banks, respectively, under Basel II. These banks have been given three months, till 13 June 2015, to submit recapitalisation plans and till 30 June 2016 to implement same.

The letter also affirms CBN’s willingness to support the banks in their bid to raise the required capital.

Some banks have either been

raising funds through rights issues or have approached the international capital market to raise dollar denominated bonds.

CBN last year classified eight Nigerian banks – First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank), Zenith Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTBank), United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), Access Bank, Ecobank Nigeria Plc, Diamond Bank Plc and Skye Bank Plc – as systemically important financial institutions (SIFIs) and imposed on them a new set of rules, requiring them to maintain a minimum Capital Adequacy Ratio CAR of 16 per cent.

Renaissance Capital in its note to investors said “On 13 March, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) issued a letter to the banks, extending the implementation deadline for

higher capital requirements for systemically important banks (SIBs).

It set a deadline for banks that breach minimum capital adequacy ratios (CAR) under Basel II to submit their recapitalisation plans and execute same”.

It said “One of our key takeaways from the CBN letter is that a few banks (undisclosed) do not meet the minimum CAR of 10 per cent and 15 per cent for regional/national and international banks, respectively, under Basel II. These banks have been given three months, till 13 June 2015, to submit recapitalisation plans and till 30 June 2016 to implement same”.

The letter also affirms CBN’s willingness to support any under-capitalised bank and that it may require rapid remedial actions if adequate capitalisation is not restored. “In our view, this

extension is a positive development for Nigerian banks as we have previously noted that the pace of implementation of Basel 2 (nine months) and other tighter capital requirements were rather speedy”.

“That said, feed back from our recent international investor road show suggests that given the deteriorating Nigerian macro environment, significant capitalraising events could struggle to attract meaningful international investor participation. We also find international investors increasingly questioning the Nigerian banks’ ability to create value given constraining regulations and weakening macro fundamentals. ''We, however, think that the domestic investor pool or private equity capital could be supportive in some dire instances, drawn by depressed valuations and/or the long-term investment case for the sector.''

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015 — 9

Obasanjo warns against rumoured plan to hand over to military ...Says global community, AU won't condone it ...Condemns attacks on Buhari over certificate

By Daud Olatunji

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BEOKUTA—FORMER President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday, raised alarm of a rumour that the Jonathan administration planned to hand over to the military if he loses next Saturday’s presidential election, warning that this would undermine the integrity of Nigeria among the comity of nations.

The former President raised the alarm while hosting the South West women of the All Progressives Congress led by the wife of the party’s presidential candidate, Hajia Aisha Buhari.

Obasanjo had recently warned against introduction of Interim National Government which he said could plunge the country into chaos in the same manner the former President of Cote d’l voire , Laurent Gbagbo did when he refused to hand over after he lost the election.

The former President said, he was happy that Nigeria has gone beyond the rumour of Interim National Government, and expressed hope that the country will also survive the rumour of handing over to the military.

He explained that the intentional community especially

the African Union will neither accommodate nor recognise any government that emerges without the constitution of the country.

According to him, Nigeria has all it takes to dictate pace for other countries in Africa adding that Nigerians should blame themselves for where it is today.

His words: “I do hope we will get things more right. A lot of rumours are flying around, I think we have done away from the rumour of Interim Government because that is not in our constitution. I hope we will soon go away from the

PROGRESSIVE GOVERNORS' FORUM: From left; the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Delta State, Olorogun O'tega Emerhor; APC presidential standard bearer in the March 28 general election, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari; Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State and Senator Chris Ngige in crucial discussion on arrival at Progressives Governors Forum in Imo State, as part of the activities to wind down campaigns for the Saturday elections.

POLLS: Mixed feelings trail deployment of soldiers to Lagos

By Ikenna Asomba & Ediri Ejoh

L

AGOS—THE deployment of soldiers to Lagos streets ahead of Saturday’s Presidential election is eliciting mixed reactions among residents in the state.

While some residents see the deployment as a welcome development, others are lamenting that the road-blocks mounted by the stern-looking soldiers on major roads have resulted to traffic gridlock, adding that their presence is intimidating.

Vanguard, however, gathered that major areas in Ajegunle, where chaos by street urchins had become a norm, have in the past few days witnessed normalcy.

Some of the areas where the soldiers were spotted mounting road-blocks yesterday, were AlabaOro, Akpasa, Ishaga and

Roundabout in Amukoko; Achakpo bus-stop, Okoya busstop, Itire bus-stop, Wilmer busstop, Otto Woff road, Trinity busstop and Tolu bus-stop among others.

A trader at Alaba Suru Market, Mr. Farouk Suleiman, lamented that several residents and traders are being intimidated by the gun and horsewhip-wielding soldiers.

Suleiman said: “Some traders in the area now close their shops at 7:00pm unlike 10:00pm on a daily basis.

Others said, gridlock has suddenly resurfaced from Mile 2Orile axis because of the checkpoints placed on roads by the military to inspect vehicles coming to that axis.

Some market women, however applauded the presence of the soldiers, saying it is prayer answered.

A market woman who preferred anonymity, argued that since the soldiers mounted roadblocks in the area, they have been enjoying smooth operations of their business, adding that thugs who usually come to extort money from them, had all gone into hiding.

She said: “In the past four months, this area had witnessed several violent clashes between different groups of thugs who openly brandish assorted weapons with which they terrorize residents of the area and people going about their normal businesses.

Whenever the fight broke out dangerous weapons like machetes, cutlasses, jack knives were freely used by the hoodlums, even as they usually fire indiscriminately to incite fear in the people’s mind.

rumour of handing over to the military because the military is not meant to run affairs of a nation in terms of running government.

“And the intentional community will not condone it, particularly African Union where it is part and parcel of the constituting act of the African Union, that any government that is brought about, not on the basis of the constitution will not be accepted, will not be tolerated and will not be a member of the AU until that government is dismantled.

“It shouldn’t be Nigeria, we are the largest country in Africa, we should be a model, setting examples, we shouldn’t be drawing Africa backward, I hope we will not. I hope at the end of this exercise, we would be where we should be, leading Africa and showing examples for the rest of Africa and indeed the rest of the world.

“We have the goodwill of many people, I watched, last night, President Obama talking about our constitution, I watched our brother from Ghana, the current Chairman of ECOWAS talked about our constitution, they are all interested, they all wish us well, should we wish ourselves anything less?,”he said.

Meanwhile, Obasanjo who also bemoaned hate campaigns among the political parties said political parties should focus more on what unite the country against what divide the country.

He said that, issues of insecurity, economy, employment, amongst others should form the focus of the campaigns of political parties.

He however, called on women to take active role to make the country a better Nigeria adding that they would be the greatest victims should anything go wrong in Nigeria.

Obasanjo said, “I am happy to hear directly from you, Mrs Buhari that the campaign so far,

from the assessment has gone very well. May be I should say one or two things about campaign, I do hope that whatever happens at the elections, the one coming this week and the one coming a couple of weeks after that, that we would have learnt the right lessons from what has taken place this time around.

“Unfortunately, issues that should have been the main item of our campaign, are not being addressed. We have serious issues of security, we have serious issue of our economy, we have issue of unemployment particularly youth unemployment, we have serious issues of infrastructure, these are issues amongst others that I believe campaign of those who are interested in the present and the future of this country should be directed at.

“How are we going to get them, what are we going to do, not trivial issues of certificate, no certificate, not trivial issue about someone being a Nigerian or not.

“I said it, this is what they had in Cote d’Ivore that led them into almost a very serious problem, not issue of religion, not issue of tribe, not issue of section but issues of unity of this country I hope this will be the last time in the history of this country that we will have this type of campaign of hatred or division.

In her earlier remarks, Mrs Buhari described Obasanjo as a true nationalist, adding that Obasanjo acted beyond party level while solving issues affecting the country.

She said, “Baba exercises his prowess as a father, as a former head of state of Nigeria twice, very few Nigerians have the opportunity to rule the country twice, we are here today to show our appreciation the way you handle things as a statesman and also a nationalist.

“We thank you so much for acting beyond party in getting things right, thank you for that, may you live long to continue solving out problems.”

Meanwhile, Mrs Buhari, while addressing the people at the APC South-West zone Women’s Presidential rally held at MKO Abiola International Stadium, Kuto, Abeokuta, lamented that her heart bleeds for the women in the North-East states of Yobe, Adamawa and Borno, who have had their husbands slaughtered by the Boko Haram insurgents.

10— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015

Fashola accuses Yoruba leaders of sell-out L

Monsuru Olowoopejo

AGOS—GOVERNOR Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State yesterday alleged that some Yoruba leaders collected money from some politicians, with the aim of persuading their subjects to vote for the financiers.

However, Fashola and the standard bearer of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode urged residents to eschew violence on Saturday, saying; “This electionwill be historical.”

They spoke at the APC campaign rally in Shomolu Local Government which also witnessed the defection of some members of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in the council to the APC. Fashola who addressed the crowd in English and Yoruba lamented that the action of these Yoruba leaders discredited the status of the Yoruba race.

Speaking in Yoruba, he said: “The Yorubas need to think. Some Yoruba leaders have betrayed usthe Yorubas because of money. ‘’This election is for freedom. And this was how it happened in the past which prompted the late Herbert Ogunde, who titled one of his songs ‘Yoruba think.' The money is blood money. And posterity will judge them for that action.”

Vanguard gathered that the governor was apparently referring to the leaders in the South-West who have lately romanced the PDP presidential candidate, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.

The governor noted that their action will not affect the outcome of the polls because Nigerians have resolved to change the

8th day prayers for Alhaja Folami

A

LHAJA SIKIRAT Modupe Folami is dead, aged 84.

She died on Tuesday, March 17, 2015.

She was laid to rest on Wednesday, March 18, in accordance with Islamic rites.

A statement by Abdul Rasheed Omobolaji Folami for the family said the 8th day Fidau prayers will take place today, March 25, at City Hall, Lagos.

The deceased is survived by many children and grand children.

Late Alhaja Sikirat Folami.

government at the centre.

Fashola added that the Presidential election billed for Saturday, March 28 will be historical. “This will be the first time since independence that Nigerians will be changing a government that has failed to perform its responsibilities to its citizens. Previously, it is the military that does that for us.”

Stay close to the polling booths

The governor warned the electorate not to leave the polling booths after casting their votes, saying; “There is nothing that stops you from waiting at the polling units after casting

your vote. But the electoral law prohibits campaign for vote at the polling units.

“Asking electorate to stay 300 meters away from the polling units is like asking one to stay away from the polling units three times the length of a football field. And one cannot see what is happening,” he added.

Fashola said that election is governed by law, adding “those who said you should stay away from the polling units are reading the electoral act wrongly. And they planned to rig the election.

Advise for election day

According to the governor, “before you leave home on Saturday, the first thing you

should do is to wash your hands so that the card readers can recognize your finger print. Also on that day, dress well and call others when you are going to the polling units.

“After you have been accredited and you have cast your vote, stay where you can see how the voting process is going on.

“It is not only the political parties that have interest in the electoral process. Citizens who aren’t affiliated to any of the political parties also have interest in the outcome of the polls.

“Don’t fight with anyone at the polling units. The electoral act says that once the voting is completed in each of the polling units, the electoral officer must count the vote and announce the result to the residents."

ENDORSEMENT: From left: Lagos State President of National Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, Comrade Lasisi Akinsanya, raising the hand of All Progressives Congress, APC, Lagos State governorship candidate, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, during the endorsement of Ambode by NULGE in Ikeja, Lagos. With them are Ambode’s running mate, Dr Idiat Adebule and Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Ademorin Kuye.

TAN rally shuts down commercial activities in Lagos In his remark,

L

By Charles Kumolu

A G O S — T H E Tr a n s f o r m a t i o n Ambassadors of Nigeria, TAN, yesterday, shut down commercial activities in major markets across Lagos as a result of its mega rally convened for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate, President Goodluck Jonathan.

The event, which held at the National Stadium, attracted people from all parts of the state including representatives of professional groups, traders and artisans.

Speaking at the forum, National Vice Chairman of TAN, Dr Ifeanyi Ubah said the gathering was convened to tell Nigerians that there is no vacancy in Aso Rock till 2019.

He further said that his group would not spare anything to ‘’liberate the people of Lagos State.’’

Similarly, the PDP governorship candidate in the state, Mr Jimi Agbaje promised to run a fair and open administration, adding that

everybody irrespective of tribe and religion would have a say in his government.

Agbaje also urged Lagosians not to cast their vote for the APC, adding that PDP is the only party that is interested in the welfare of Nigerians.

General Coordinator of the groups at the rally, Chief Somtochukwu Anaeli, said TAN has provided direction for Nigerians at a very critical time.

Anaeli said the turnout was an indication that the state is supportive of President Jonathan’s re-election bid.

ANTI-JEGA PROTEST:

Adams defends

OPC Lagos rally from the 7up bus-stop of old toll

L

By Ikenna Asomba

AGOS—BARELY eight days, after its controversial protest in Lagos, for the removal of Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, the Convener, Coalition of Concerned Nigerians, CCN and National Coordinator, Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, Otunba Gani Adams, Tuesday, fired back at the All Progressives Congress, APC, saying his members never destroyed the party’s campaign bill boards and posters as claimed.

Since that protest which saw members of the OPC and other pro-Jonathan groups marching

gate along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway to the National Stadium in Surulere, several APC chieftains have repeatedly accused the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, of plot to use the OPC to forment trouble in Lagos before, during and after the March 28 and April 11 elections.

ItisagainstthisbackdropthattheOPC leader, at an interactive session on the general election, in Lagos, lashed out at the APC, saying the photograph shown by one of the major television stations in itsreportageoftheprotestwasafilephoto of a protest rally by the Dr. Fredrick Fasehun-led OPC to protest a threat by Boko Haram to attack the west on December 12, 2011.

Court joins APC in UPN suit

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By Innocent Anana

AGOS—A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, yesterday, granted an application by the All Progressives Congress, APC, seeking to be joined in the suit by the Unity Party of Nigeria, UPN, in which it wants to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to list candidates of the party for March 28 and April 11 general elections.

The trial judge, Justice Okon Abang also granted a similar application by the APC’s presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari seeking to be joined as a co-defendant to the suit.

Ruling on the application for joinder, Justice Abang held that assuming without deciding that the suit succeeds, the implication would be that all the electoral materials already printed and distributed by INEC in preparation for the elections would have to be destroyed and new ones printed.

The court noted that the suit

by UPN on February 25 after the postponement of the initial February 14 presidential election date, came up for the first time in court on March 6, a period of 21 days to the rescheduled presidential election.

‘Presidential polls, opportunity to fix Nigeria'

L

A G O S — COORDINATOR of Take A Stand Nigeria, TAN, Adebola OduOnikosi has called on Nigerians to see the 2015 general elections as an opportunity to reshape the history of Nigeria.

He also noted that the group which is, powered by the Nigerian Professionals Coalition, NPC, was borne out of the urgency to get Nigerians to stop sitting on the sidelines and get involved in creating a dynamic Nigeria.

He said this in Abuja at an interactive session that was moderated by Life and Mind Coach, Mr. Lanre Olusola.

In a lecture titled: Nigeria: Having A Dream is not Enough, OduOnikosi regretted that Nigerians had been too indifferent about how leaders emerge in the country.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015 — 11

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12—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015

Wike, Dakuku, Princewill vow to tackle multiple taxation if elected

By Jimitota Onoyume

P

ORT HARCOURT— GOVERNORSHIP candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Mr Nyesom Wike and his counterparts in the All Progressives Congress, APC, Dr Dakuku Peterside and Labour Party, Prince Tonye Princewill, have agreed to tackle the issue of multiple taxation if any of them is elected governor of the state.

Speaking at the 2015 governorship debate in Port Harcourt, Monday night, the candidates conceded that there was challenge of multiple taxation in the state which should be resolved for the business climate to thrive.

They also assured that they would diversify the economy to create alternative sources of income for the state.

While Peterside said that if elected he would, among other things, focus on growing agriculture, rejigging the economy to achieve better result, Wike said he would,

Boat owners sue Defence Ministry over alleged N3bn debt

By Jimitota Onoyume, Festus Ahon & Ochuko Akuopha

P

ORT HARCOURT—HOUSE boat owners, under the aegis of Joint Task Force, JTF, House Boat Owners Coalition, have dragged the Ministry of Defence before a Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, over alleged non-payment of over N3 billion owed them in respect of 13 house boats hired by the JTF, Operation Pulio Shield, for security surveillance of crude oil explorations in the creeks of the Niger Delta region.

The matter which came up for hearing yesterday, was further adjourned to April 23, 2015.

Meanwhile, workers of the house boat owners; Etukcom Integrated Service Limited, Peaches Integrated Limited and Godsam Industrial Services Limited besieged the premises of the court to protest what they described as the unwillingness of the Defense Ministry to clear the debt which they said has accumulated in the last three years.

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among other things, reduce cost of governance and create the enabling environment for private investors to thrive.

On security, the Labour Party

governorship candidate, Princewill, said he would apply the carrot and stick approach to resolve the insecurity challenge in the

state.

On their parts, Wike and Dakuku spoke extensively on partnering the police to deal with the situation in the state.

PVC: Agbor community welcomes Jega’s apology

By Emmanuel Aziken

A

TOWN HALL MEETING: Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State addressing PDP stakeholders of Ukanafun/Oruk Anam federal constituency at Ukanafun Local Government Council Hall.

POLLS: Nigerians'll witness bloodless revolution —OSHIOMHOLE

By Simon Ebegbulem

B

ENIN—AHEAD of Saturday’s presidential election, Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has said that Nigerians will witness what he described as a bloodless revolution, but warned against any plot by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to use the military to intimidate voters in states controlled by the opposition.

Speaking after a road walk tagged March for Buhari, which started from Oba Ovoranwen Square in the city centre, and

culminated in a mass rally in the New Benin area of the state capital, Oshiomhole said Nigerians have the opportunity on Saturday to vote out the government which has failed them in the past 16 years.

He stressed that the transformation agenda of the current administration has failed to make any meaningful impact on the country, and rather than transform the country, President Goodluck Jonathan’s transformation agenda has deformed the country, adding that Jonathan’s administration has

abused the trust of the people and should be voted out.

He said: “I have seen the huge gap between the promise and the reality. Nigeria today is 16 years into democracy. Governments have come and made promises, they have abused the trust of our people.

“On Saturday, Nigerians are being called upon to make a decision that will define the future of our great nation and indeed the future of the black race."

DESOPADEC commissioner takes PDP campaign to Warri markets

By Daniel Gumm

W

ARRI—DELTA State Commissioner in-charge of Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC, Mr. Matthew Poko Opuoru, yesterday, took the Delta South Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, campaign of 6/6 to Okere, Polokor and Karien Markets as well as shops at Cinema Site in Warri, calling on the traders to vote for President Goodluck Jonathan, Senator James Manager and Mr Daniel Reyenieju in Saturday's polls.

The commissioner, who led hundreds of PDP chieftains and

faithful in Okumagba Wards 1 and 2 as well as other wards in Warri to distribute hundreds of aprons to traders in the markets, assured them that a vote for President Jonathan, Senator Manager, the member representing Warri federal constituency at the National Assembly, Daniel Reyenieju, Delta State PDP governorship candidate, Senator Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa, the member representing Warri South Constituency II in Delta State House of Assembly, Dennis Omovie and other PDP candidates in the March 28 and April 11 polls, will guarantee continuity in human capital as well as infrastructural development in the area.

GBOR Community in Ika South Local Government Area, Delta State, has welcomed the apology tendered by the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, over the initial failure of the commission to produce and distribute the Permanent Voter’s Cards, PVCs, in the area.

The community in a statement yesterday, enjoined members of the community to vote wisely given the challenges the community went through to ensure that they were not disenfranchised.

The statement by the President-General of the Agbor Community Organisation, Gen. Nick Agbogun (rtd) also endorsed Senator Ifeanyi Okowa in the state's governorship election.

“Agbor Community Organisation expresses satisfaction with the unreserved apology, in a letter and in some national newspapers, to the people of Ika South council, by Professor Attahiru Jega, Chairman of INEC, for the bungling of the production and distribution of the area’s PVCs.” “The organisation commends INEC for acknowledging its faults and rectifying same, thereby vindicating the peoples’ claim to counter that vexatious disenfranchisement.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015—13

Boko Haram kidnaps 400 women, children in Damasak D

AMASAK—BOKO Haram militants have kidnapped more than 400 women and children from the northern Nigerian town of Damasak that was freed this month by troops from Niger and Chad, residents said yesterday.

There was no immediate official confirmation of the figure, but the Islamist group has previously carried out mass kidnappings. Boko Haram’s abduction last April of nearly 300 schoolgirls in the region stirred international outrage and drew global attention to the group’s six-year insurgency “They took 506 young women and children (in Damasak).

They killed about 50 of them before leaving,” a trader called Souleymane Ali told reporters in the town. “We don’t know if they killed others after leaving, but they took the rest with them.”

Troops from Niger and Chad last week found the bodies of at least 70 people in an apparent execution site under a bridge leading out of Damasak, where the streets remain strewn with debris and burnt-out cars after the fighting.

Ali said his wife and three of his daughters were among those seized.

“Two of them were supposed to get married this year. Boko Haram said they are slaves so they were taking them because the captives belonged to them,” he said.

Mohamed Ousmane, another trader, said the militants took his two wives and three of their children.

A 40-year-old resident who gave her name as Fana said fighters had rounded up captives in the main mosque before taking them out of town.

She said she saved her two children by hiding them in her house.

Nigerian, Chadian and Niger forces have driven militants out

of a string of towns in simultaneous offensives over the past month. Nigeria says all but three of the 20 local government areas occupied at the beginning of the year have been freed.

Nigeria’s rearranged election is now due to take place on Saturday.

ENDORSEMENT: Chief Joe Omene, President General of Urhobo Progress Union, UPU, raising the hands of Chief Great Ogboru, Delta State governorship candidate of Labour Party, signifying his endorsement by the UPU, at Uvwiamughe-Agbarho.

Presidency planning smear campaign against Oshiomhole, others —EDO GOVT

By Simon Ebegbulem

B

ENIN—EDO State Government, yesterday, raised alarm over alleged plot by the Presidency to embark on smear campaign against Governor Adams Oshiomhole and also arrest key leaders of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state before Saturday's presidential election.

A statement by the state Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr Louis Odion, said the plot was PDP's last minute effort to rig the elections, warning that people of the state will resist any attempt to rig the elections in the state.

He said: “We wish to alert the Nigerian public, foreign election observers and lovers of democracy to an evil plot by the Presidency to clamp down on APC in a last-ditch attempt to rig the coming general elections in Edo State in favour of the PDP. “The devilish design consists of a vicious smear campaign against Governor Oshiomhole, in form of newspaper adverts/ articles and sponsored television documentary

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dripping of lies and slander as well as intimidation and detention of APC leaders across the 18 councils in the state on trumped up charges.

“One of such was featured on the national network of NTA yesterday signed by “Edo Political Rebirth Group” a phantom body, in clear breach of decency and NBC code. We find it curious that whereas

decent jingles taken by APC and its supporters to the same NTA were rejected outright, this supposed public trust has been desecrated and parlaysed by PDP to slander innocent citizens of Nigeria.

“We are aware that some media organisations, mindful of the laughable and libelous contents, had responsibly rejected the said adverts/

documentaries despite the huge amount of money offered them in dollars.

“We not only condemn this recourse to Nazi tactics by a desperate PDP government, but wish to reassure that the governor remains unshaken in the noble struggle to reclaim Nigeria from a hopelessly incompetent ruling party."

A-Ibom disowns Oil Rivers State

By Soni Daniel

A

KWA Ibom State has distanced itself from the proposed Oil Rivers State, being listed as one of the states to be created as part of the implementation of the National Conference Report by the Federal Government.

Former Minister of Lands and Housing, Chief Nduese Essien, who spoke on behalf of Akwa Ibom delegates to the conference, described as fraud, the attempt by certain persons to foist the creation of Oil Rivers State from Rivers and Akwa Ibom States on the people of the two states without their knowledge and consent.

Chief Essien, who was a delegate to

the confab, said the issue of creating the so-called Oil Rivers State was never discussed and did not feature on any part of the report of the conference.

Essien said that at no point throughout the duration of the conference did the issue of creating any state out of Akwa Ibom come up for discussion either in the plenary or at the committee level, as none of the delegates made any such demand.

The delegate, who expressed shock and disappointment with the inclusion of Oil Rivers State among the proposed states listed for creation by the Federal Government, called on the Presidency to urgently speak on the matter before the election on Saturday in order to douse the tension generated by the ugly development.

Urhobo monarchs shun Jonathan, Ogboru’s endorsement

By Egufe Yafugborhi & Perez Brisibe

W

ARRI—MONARCHS of the 24 kingdoms in Urhobo nation, yesterday, shunned an event by Chief Joe Omene's faction of the Urhobo Progressive Union, UPU, to endorse President Goodluck Jonathan and Chief Great Ogboru, as presidential and governorship candidates respectively in the forthcoming general elections.

The event at U v w i a m u g h e Agbarho, Ughelli North of Delta State, witnessed the endorsement of the candidates by the UPU joined by other dignitaries.

Speaking at the event, Chief Omene urged all Urhobos to vote for the re-election of President Jonathan and Chief Ogboru of Labour Party.

He said: “Just the way we embarked on the Uvwiamughe declaration, today, we are embarking on the U v w i a m u g h e endorsement and it is on this endorsement all Urhobos would abide.”

14 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015

Verdant Zeal Innovention Series 2015 in Lagos

From left, Mr, Gbenga Adefaye, General Manager/Editor-in- Chief, Vanguard Media Ltd; Mr. Tunji Olugbodi, Group Managing Director, Verdant Zeal Group; Professor Pat Utomi, Guest Speaker, during Verdant Zeal Innovention Series 2015, entitled, 'The Role of Innovation in Creating a New Agenda for National Development,'at Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.yesterday. Photos: Kehinde Gbadamosi

From left, Chairman, Troyka Holdings, Mr. Biodun Shobanjo; Mr. Tunji Olugbodi, Group Managing Director Verdant Zeal Group, Mr. Kunle Afolayan, Managing Director Goldens Effects Pictures, and Mr. Lere Baale, Director Business School Netherlands.

From left; Mrs Fola Akinsola, Mrs Biyi Tunji- Olugbodi, and Rev Matthew Siyanbade.

From left, Mrs Funke Egbemode, General Editor, The Sun Newspaper; Mr. Kayode Akintemi, General Manager Channel Television; Sir Steve Omojafor, Chairman, STB-MC Cann Limited; Professor Pat Utomi, Guest Speaker, and Mr. Biodun Sobanjo

Cross section of the audience

From left, Mr. Segun Olugbodi, Mr. Yinka Olugbodi, Team Building International, and Mr. Kola Olugbodi, Group Managing Director, Background Check International.

Cross section of the staff of Verdant Zeal Ltd.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015 — 15

TAN/PDP mega rally at National Stadium, Lagos

Mr. Chris Ubah, Deputy Director, PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation (2nd left); Mr. Jimi Agbaje, Lagos State PDP Governorship Candidate, with other members of PDP, during Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria, TAN/PDP mega rally, at National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.

TAN members, receiving cheers from the crowd.

Crowd at PDP presidential rally

Tee Mac making speech during the TAN/PDP mega rally at National stadium, Surulere, Lagos.

APC presidential rally in Bauchi

All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Candidate, addressing the rally in Bauchi

Buhari in the midst of party supporters at Bauchi.

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Party supporters

16 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015

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Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015 — 17

B

Y now, most Nigerians know whom they will vote for. I would thus like to start a conversation, which is bigger than people and parties. It’s a conversation about social norms and our values as nothing we do happens in a vacuum. We all agree that things must change in Nigeria, but how does change occur? There is first and foremost one major concept which must be enshrined, perhaps even in the constitution and that is, the idea of an opportunity society, without which, all of the reforms Nigeria needs would be for naught.The American ethos is based on the idea that any child, no matter his or her background, can achieve whatever dreams and ambitions if he or she is willing to work for them. In Nigeria, the “reverse American dream” as I call it, holds sway. Many public office holders and business people in Nigeria today do not come from rich, prosperous homes. So, on the surface, if one takes this “shoeless legacy” into account, it appears opportunities do exist for underprivileged kids as Nigerian presidents, governors and pastors’ humble beginnings are often public knowledge. However, being formerly poor in America or in any other society, is not enough of a pre requisite to guarantee success in any given field. One must work for it, one must earn it and that is the basis of the opportunity society.

Unfortunately, as rich and powerful as many of Nigeria’s newly made elites are, one cannot hold them up as role models, due to the dubious ways in which they acquire their new status. In any case, success in Nigeria is often simply about being at the

When a thief is judged and sentenced in accordance with his crimes, culturally, we affirm that stealing is wrong. When we throw him an “owambe” party to welcomehim back, we do the opposite C M Y K

tprincewill@yahoo.co.uk

Who will bell the cat: Creating an opportunity society right place, at the right time.

That in itself is the antithesis of an opportunity society where talent and work define merit rather than opportunism, connections, sheer criminality or varying degrees of “goodluck” which to many, has proven to be a disaster.

Opportunity society Why is the opportunity society so important you might ask? Why can Nigeria not continue to reward hustlers and opportunists?

Are opportunists not just capitalists, i.e. people who are able to compete better? I answer with a resounding no.

All competitions have rules, especially because the market is free and the game is democracy; yes, the contest is open to all but competition, above all, means selection based on ethical criteria: the best man gets the job, the best product wins, no matter where it is from. For most Americans, economic empowerment is a right almost as great as the right to life itself, much like the pursuit of happiness, as enshrined in the US Constitution. It matters less that there are such huge gaps between rich and poor so long as there are opportunities for everyone’s advancement within the society. Sadly, our understanding of democracy and its workings put us very far away from this ideal of opportunities for all.

How are opportunities structured in Nigeria? How does one gain rewards or attain one’s goals? Certainly not by working hard. It’s both unfortunate and revealing.

This is the true cost of corruption: in the UK, a shopkeeper’s daughter, Margaret Thatcher, became prime minister. She gained admission to Oxford and the rest is history. In Nigeria, a former hairdresser, Patricia Etteh became speaker of the House of Representatives.

You might say that is the Nigerian dream. Except that “the dream” in other climes,

does not involve being embroiled in corruption scandals. For the dream to truly work we must demand and expect more moderate, less ostentatious behaviour from public officials, it must also become the norm for Nigerians to be content with what hard work can afford them. But this can only happen if the opportunity structure, or the chance to gain rewards within society is shaped differently. It all starts with very simple things: seeing a person punished for deviant acts tells society that such acts are unacceptable.

When a thief is judged and sentenced in accordance with his crimes, culturally, we affirm that stealing is wrong.

When we throw him an

“owambe” party to welcome him back, we do the opposite.

Right and wrong must be clarified again in order for us to move forward. In fact, this clarification can serve to unify society and therefore promotes social change: it often just takes one person to change the course of history.

When Rosa Parks showed defiance by refusing to give her seat to a white passenger, in accordance with segregation era law, she didn’t just show grit. She changed America forever by forcing the wider society to reflect and consider alternative norms and behaviour patterns. So who, in Nigeria, will bell the cat and force the most recalcitrant among us to consider that no

one is born to starve, to die or have their dreams taken away from them before they can even try to make something of themselves?

There is no such thing as “born throway” as the First Lady, Patience Jonathan, so inelegantly put it, there is only failed leadership. Who will reform and rectify the Nigerian dream of an opportunity society, where one is not blocked by ethnicity and religion, where one can find legitimate means of achieving success, without strain to one’s morals and beliefs? Who will attract and reward the talent needed to develop this country, thus eschewing archaic discriminatory policies?

Winter of discontent They say writers take pen to paper because the disconnect they feel between themselves and the status quo reflects the divide between society and progress. I write because I march, PVC in hand, to demand that this society and its leaders, does right by me and those like me who believe that to progress, society must challenge itself to excel. As our winter of discontent blazes, Nigerians are prepared to work for a new country where citizens are rewarded because they are either highly trained, or have something to give, not because they have godfathers, or because they are well connected. Change, my friends, is upon us.

Who is afraid of EFCC?

T

HE incomparable Femi Fani-Kayode has advised both General Buhari and former governor, national leader of the APC, Bola Tinubu, not to fear the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) if indeed they are “clean”. This was in reaction to claims by the APC that the Federal Government intends to use

the EFCC to arrest APC leaders on false charges.

Ironically, APC supporters believe fear of prosecution for corruption is the motivation behind the PDP’s electioneering tactics, as the First Lady herself stated she does not want to visit her husband in jail. If the EFCC is indeed the “big bad wolf” of Nigerian politics, one must

Lee Kuan Yew

T

HE founding prime minister of Singapore passed away last weekend.

He’ll notably be remembered for creating an efficient, uncorrupt civil service, managing the tensions of a multi-ethnic society, giving the best, most talented the opportunities to work and create a more prosperous society. Singapore today, is where Nigeria could have been, had we benefitted from honest, conscientious leadership. Mr Lee wasn’t a democrat, in fact, he created a single-party state, proof that what matters most is not one’s past or outward appearance but what is inside,

the will to do right by citizens.

The late Lee Kuan Yew

wonder why it has been reduced to tackling petty crimes rather than the high profile cases it was designed to prosecute. However, the EFCC’s workings should not become the equivalent of reality TV, where convicts’ public humiliation would be seen as blood sport. Nigerians should be more interested in the possible developmental uses of recovered funds. But for this to work one would need more transparency.

After all, who really knows the fate of the assets recovered by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), from failed banks for instance? Recovering funds from one corrupt individual to simply end up giving them back to another has become the norm in Nigeria. Yet another area where change is needed.

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

18 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015 WHO are contesting for seats as your legislators: State House of Assembly, House of Representatives, and Senate? Do you know them? Have they spoken to you?

What would be the bases of your decision about these men and women, who in their numbers and memberships really rule Nigeria? Do you realise the importance of their decisions? Do you appreciate the implications of the stand you take when you tick one, and not the others?

For the past 16 years we have underrated their importance. Our fixation with the executive, the presidency, and the governorship is such that we forget legislators. We tend to forget that legislators should regulate conduct of the executive and innumerable organs of government that left on their own distort the course of Nigeria. How have the legislators acted in the past 16 years?

Their attitude is as self-serving as the executives, but particularly worse because the legislature in most cases indulges the executive and is willing to do all it wants.

The legislature as watchdog as is critical in its contributions to the effectiveness of

As 2015 Countdown Begins monitoring governments.

The intensity of the jostling for executive offices has shut out legislators who are glad to assume a back seat in the current scrutiny that contestants are undergoing.

It should not be so. The electorate should invest the same attention in choosing their legislators; they can make a lot of differences in what happens to Nigerians.

Reasons abound for worries beyond the worthiness of those who would be chosen in Saturday’s elections. With the governorship and state legislative elections, how the Independent National

Electoral Commission, INEC, manages Saturday would have vast implications for the next elections on April 11. Is INEC ready?

Professor Attahiru Jega, its Chairman, was in-charge when the previous general elections were postponed. The 2011 postponement was so late that some voters had voted when Jega announced the postponement. The issue then was nonavailability of voting materials.

Jega in the past four years promoted INEC’s readiness. He excused all INEC lapses with claims that the 2015 elections would be the acid test for INEC. . The poor distribution of the permanent voter’s cards, PVCs, and the non-readiness of some materials required for the elections, days to the event, are question marks on preparations INEC made.

Nigerians should troop out in their millions to vote. It is important that we do not spend the next four years blaming others for the state of Nigeria. We have a chance to decide that future and it is crucial that we utilise our votes in reshaping Nigeria. We can.

OPINION

By Alex Atawa

I

N a few days from now, the Presidential election will be held in all thirty-six (36) States of Nigeria plus the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). All observers will admit that this is the closest Presidential polls since the return to democracy in 1999.

We held subsequent elections in 2003, 2007, 2011, with the Peoples Democratic Party winning convincingly with landslides. In the 2011 elections, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.) the Presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) came second with the other parties Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) following very far behind with third and fourth place respectively.

The other sixteen parties only received honourable mentions. Interestingly enough, both the candidates of ACN (Mallam Nuhu Ribadu) and ANPP (Ibrahim Shekarau) have decamped to PDP, leaving Gen. Buhari as the only person from the opposition in the 2011 Presidential election that have not joined the ruling PDP. This action has not actually made the prospect of the PDP winning any easier, as would have been expected.

In 2003, Gen. Buhari, as ANPP’s candidate, lost to PDP flag bearer and then incumbent President, Gen. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo (rtd.). In 2007, still as ANPP’s candidate, he lost again to PDP, this time with, Umaru Yar’Adua as its candidate. He left ANPP to form CPC and contested for the third time. The statistics

Will rebranding of Buhari work? of the 2011 elections are as follows: Buhari received 12,214,853 votes, coming second to the incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP, who polled 22,495,187 votes.

In the buildup to the 2011 elections, Gen. Buhari did not campaign much in the south and many pundits stated that he felt he did not need the south, and as a result may want to govern for the North only. With the merger of CPC, ACN, aggrieved members of PDP (New PDP) and ANPP, including the questionable Rochas Okorocha faction of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the dynamics appears different now. The merger and defections have ostensibly given APC a majority in the House of Representatives.

After the merger that some have called coming together of strange bedfellows, APC needed to pick a presidential candidate that could withstand the candidate of the ruling PDP, the incumbent President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR. The APC Presidential

All these recent transformational rebranding for a party with “Change” as its motto, makes one wonder if it is really genuine

Primaries held December 2014 in Lagos, disappointed many watchers, who thought the party would have fielded a younger, more vibrant, educated flag bearer without the baggage of military coup and alleged human right violation.

However, APC must have seen something in the septuagenarian Gen. Buhari that the rest of the world did not initially see.

Nonetheless, the party must have also realized that their candidate needed repackaging and rebranding. Whether the rumours of the hiring of an American Public Relations (PR) firm for millions of dollars is true or not, no one can deny that the General has undergone some rebranding. The greenback paid must be working. The failure of APC to field a younger flag bearer has not become a death knell as some opponents hoped. It should be noted that Gen. Buhari, born 17 December 1942, will be 76 years old at the end of his first tenure, while Nelson Mandela was 76 years old (born July 18, 1918) when he became the first black President of South Africa in 1994 and stepped down in 1999 at age 81.

The retired Major General in the Nigerian Army, that truncated our democracy and ruled Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 August 1985, is now faced with convincing our electorate that he now believes in democracy and is a different person thirty years later. For the first time in his political life, Gen. Buhari has had to campaign for votes all over

Nigeria, just like President Goodluck. Gen. Buhari has been seen in parts of Nigeria that he never would have thought of visiting. His new handlers must have read the pulse of the country. The garment of Islamic fanaticism may have necessitated this Sunni Muslim to choose a Pastor (like ACN did in 2011) and fraternize with pastors and Christian religious organizations. The selection of Pastor Tunde Bakare did not work for CAN in 2011 maybe because of his smaller congregation or the fact that Tunde Bakare was once a Muslim. This time around, the opposition went for a church with a larger congregation base.

Also, Gen. Buhari has been visiting various ethnic groups in Nigeria and even donning their clothes. The native of Daura in Katsina State has been seen wearing Igbo outfit, resource control, and even tying Urhobo wrapper when he visited the indomitable Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) before the group’s current fiasco. The APC General has also changed his Hausa/ Fulani regalia for a corporate suit and even a tuxedo on at least two occasions.

All these recent transformational rebranding for a party with “Change” as its motto, makes one wonder if it is really genuine. Anyway, we will know in a few days if the rebranding of General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.) will work.

Wishing all Nigerians a peaceful and non-violent election. Vote your conscience and let your PVC speak for you.

•Rev. Atawa, a public affairs analyst, wrote from Asaba, Delta State.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015—19 —19

Buhari/Jonathan: Saturday's hard choice I N just a matter of three days the long anticipated 2015 elections would have been under way. What took several years of arduous planning and billions of tax payers’ money that both the government and the election planners may never be able to account for would have come. Six weeks ago Nigerians felt ready for the elections before top members of the Jonathan administration engineered a shift in the electoral date. That shift has afforded the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) time to put its house in order and better prepare for the task before it. The delay allowed for wider distribution of the Permanent Voters’ Cards and test running of the contentious card readers.

But more than all of this, the shift in date was a convenient excuse for the Peoples Democratic Party to catch its breath and make desperate plans to forestall a defeat for which it seemed headed had the election gone ahead as planned on February 14. The PDP must by now be

congratulating itself for pulling off such a masterstroke decision that has brought it back into electoral reckoning. But whether this is sufficient to ensure victory is something we must all wait to see until the last ballot is cast on Saturday, 28 March.

The decision Nigerians are called upon to make on Saturday is certainly a hard one. It is, however, a decision most probably made many weeks if not months ago. While the six weeks delay may have worked eminently in favour of the PDP, far more than anything the All Progressives Party could hope to gain from it, it is doubtful if it is enough to chip off the substantial part of the apparent lead enjoyed by the APC. For most of what the PDP has done in the last six weeks amounted to no more than a practical demonstration of the huge war chest it controls by way of hundreds of billions of Naira at its disposal, slush funds it deployed to win the support of already impoverished citizens reduced to subjects by their poverty. Otherwise, not much

damage could have been done by the documentaries made on Muhammadu Buhari or, more notably, Bola Tinubu.

While the Buhari documentary was in many instances a poor attempt at working to an answer, manipulating facts to suit premeditated objectives, the Tinubu documentary, although far more on point, was directed at a well-heeled financier/king maker that is not standing in the election. Either way, such attempt at speaking to the intellectual side of the Nigerian voter would have been very effective among a more sophisticated electorate- highly literate, educated and mobilised.

Not one whose reality is determined by the immediate pursuits of non-existent jobs, food, clothing and housing- in short by the material poverty of its existence, poverty the Jonathan administration has on the one

At a fundamental level there is very little or nothing to choose between the PDP and the APC. What the PDP is doing at the centre the APC governors are doing in the states they control

For a second war against indiscipline-after voting for Change on the 28th I N all his utterances since 2003 when Maj-Gen Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) has been running to be an elected head of state, he has not once promised to launch a second War Against Indiscipline. If he has even adverted to the need to still do something drastic about the national moral characternow sunk to more dissolute levels than in 1984/85, I have yet to hear of it. But I wouldn’t be surprised if he chose to guard his tongue on that subject. WAI provides incriminating evidence against the 20-month BuhariIdiagbon regime. Yet not once or twice I have heard a few people wax nostalgic about the culture of civic responsibility and social decorum that was beginning to take hold before Maj-Gen Babangida decided it was his turn at last to be a dictator.Indeed, just the other day, a group described as Igbo leaders of Northern Nigeria more or less asked for a WAI when they visited Buhari in Abuja. Impunity and indiscipline, they said, have long become a phenomenon of our lives. Describing Buhari as “a man of impeccable character, disciplined and result-oriented,” they said “We want discipline to reign again.”

Buhari must promise another war against indiscipline, now or after he is elected—as I believe he will, the country being primed for change, for characterdriven and purposeful leadership. The new WAI will, obviously, have to be fought without kobokos or horsewhips, jackboots, and rifle-butts. The indelible scenes created by WAI brigade soldiers wielding those weapons present some of the most unforgettable images on record of military rule. Yet undeniable is the fact that the root problem WAI sought to address—the staggering indiscipline in

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our public lives, manifested more openly in the chaos that ruled our bus stops, perennial lateness to work then closing hours early or outright abstinence, mindless littering and the turning of our streets into open garbage dumps, excessive noise, air and water pollution, corruption, etc.—persists today.

It is no exaggeration: the indiscipline that rules our lives today, distorting every moral value and threatening to transform our collective consciousness beyond recognition,has reached unimaginable proportions. Take corruption,or ordinary stealing, as President Jonathan insists. The amount stolenought not to be of any consequence to the offence. If in doubt, ask those who will not coddle corruption and the corrupt. The British, for instance. In April last year, Culture Secretary, Maria Miller, first apologised then repaid to the treasury the £5,800 (N1.12 million) she

Buhari knows too well that any wars he must fight can only be won constitutionally

hand found no way to ameliorate, and on the other hand been responsible for. The Nigerian voting ethic is governed by the guts, by how well the material needs of voters are met. Ours is politics of the belly now called stomach infrastructure. For the most part of the Jonathan years, the ability of Nigerians to meet their material needs has been seriously downgraded. Which is why this administration’s fate might have been sealed long before now.

But this very fact, that is the pauperisation of the people, may ironically account for whatever gains and inroads the PDP may have made among the voting population whose poverty, like a vicious cycle, has made them more vulnerable to the kind of financial bombardment orchestrated by the PDP in the last few weeks. Both the poor and the very wealthy across the country have in this instance been laid open to the attack and have been falling all over themselves (as we’ve seen among double-speaking Yoruba leaders and nationalists) to claim their share of the ‘free’ money the PDP (and the APC) has been distributing.

Otherwise, Nigeria’s current ruling party is as good as gone. The party or, better put, its flag bearer’s goodwill with the Nigerian people has since gone into overdraft.

Goodluck Jonathan by virtue of his failure to rise to the demands of leadership, surrendering the authority vested in him by the Nigerian people to corrupt and rapacious subordinates, has long lost the respect of many Nigerians.

In spite of the efforts he has put into fighting the insurgents in the

wrongly claimed as mortgage expenses, and in October 2011, Liam Fox, Secretary of State for Defence, resigned amidst an investigation into the relationship between him and his close friend and bestman, Adam Werrity, on the ground that he had “allowed the distinction between personal interest and government activities to become blurred.”

I hear you laughing! Corruption defines the state in which the character or integrity of a person or thing is degraded or compromised. It is the fertile ground on which official graft grows like weeds. Our national character has been so degraded that a moral war needs to be waged to restore its integrity.

Happily, the man who added WAI to our political acronyms is he who promises to lead the country out of its ethicopolitical wilderness. Look, we have reached the point where we pardon convicted treasury looters even before any serious penance and smugly reward the prime suspect in the rigging of a governorship election with a ministerial appointment!”People will talk? Let them talk!” impunity yells.So, when, Mr President will Brig. Aliyu Momoh, the Field Officer Commanding of the Ekiti rigging operation, be made Chief of Army Staff?

Buhari knows too well that any wars he must fight can only be won constitutionally. From Abuja to London and Lagos, he has been insisting on his transformation from autocrat to democrat. He can’t change the past, he says, but he can change the present and the future. WAI is one past that he most certainly can change. He should know that one reason why he failed 30 years ago is that he launched a war for which he lacked

north and rolling back the gains they have made in the last five years in just six weeks, there is no certainty that things would change if he is given another chance. Had he done the right thing at the right time there would have been no question about his staying on in office.

But this is cold comfort to Nigerians as their only credible alternative, Mohammadu Buhari, is surrounded by persons whose morality reminds one of a pigsty. It stinks. At a fundamental level there is very little or nothing to choose between the PDP and the APC. What the PDP is doing at the centre the APC governors are doing in the states they control.

Many of them have alienated the electorate who they dumped after using them to gain or return to office. They owe their workers several months salaries, are insensitive to the needs of the electorate, and have roundly failed and betrayed the people in the same way that the PDP governors and the president have betrayed Nigerians.

Even though General Mohammadu Buhari has done quite a bit to shore up his national and democratic credentials, away from the image of a religious bigot/ autocrat, and has by personal example shown he is not particularly moved by material acquisition, he is surrounded by persons of questionable means.

All of which makes the decision Nigerians must make even more difficult. Thus both leading presidential candidates in Saturday’s election are snared by their surroundings.

the requisite formations, arms and ammunition. No Economic and Financial Crimes Commission or Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, no due process. Now all he would have to do if elected (and may he be elected), is to, first, strengthen the EFCC and ICPC (merge them, I say) financially and institutionally, including, by the way, the police and the judiciary, and then grant them the autonomy to go after any and all corrupt persons. The more sacred the cows, the better.

If you are like me, character, integrity, vision and the moral authority of personal example are key deciding factors in this as in any election. Which makes Buhari’s impassioned plea to be seen as a born-again democrat, backed by his stubborn insistence on a minimum public morality, worth the leap of faith that comes, invariably, with every election. He knows that his newfound acceptance, especially by a critical section of the intelligentsia, is hard-won.

And that he is on probation, pending proof at every step that he is the convert zealous for atonement that he says he is.

The first proof for me will be a second WAI. To be launched in the first 100 days of his tenure.

Now, dear readers, be sure to vote and be an agent of the change Nigeria truly needs!

20 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015

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Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015

— 21

Microsoft, Unilever, others win great place to work award

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ICROSOFT Nigeria, Unilever Nigeria and six other companies have been declared the best companies to work in Nigeria at the 2015 Great Place to Work Nigeria (GPTWN) Awards. Others that clinched the coveted awards on account of their strong ethical standards and work-friendly environment include Mansard Insurance Plc, Coca-Cola Nigeria, NSIA Insurance, Akintola Williams Deloitte, DHL Nigeria, and Konga.

While Microsoft beat FITC and DHL Nigeria to clinch the award for the category of Delivering Excellence in Wellness, Sahara Group, a major player in the oil & gas sector, trounced Fidelity Bank and Diageo Nigeria to clinch the award in the category of Delivering Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). FITC, which was first runner up to Microsoft however, won the Delivering Excellence in Leadership category.

Lagos Business School and First Bank of Nigeria was first and second runner up, respectively.

Also, Akintola Williams Deloitte emerged winner in the Delivering Excellence in Learning & Development

The eight companies that made the 2015 Best Companies To Work for in Nigeria list set a high standard for us all category. The firm beat DHL Nigeria and Accenture Nigeria who were first and second runner up, respectively. A pool of over 75 organisations was assessed from which three were nominated in each category and a winner selected.

Speaking during the third edition of the award ceremony and dinner tagged, ‘Good to Great,’ held on Friday, March 20, 2015 at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, Country Manager, GPTWN, Mr. Michael Thomas, said “The eight companies that made the 2015 Best Companies To Work for in Nigeria list set a high standard for us all. Their outstanding achievement builds a better society by creating great workplaces.”

GPTWN is an affiliate of Great Place to Work, San Francisco, US, a global research, consulting and training institute that specializes in analyzing, understanding, selecting and publishing best workplace lists in the country.

The Great Place to Work Awards are a distinctive way Great Place to Work Institute recognizes the accomplishments of organisations across the world who have implemented creative and effective approaches to developing trust, pride, and camaraderie within their unique workplaces.

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From left: (FRONT ROW): Director, Policy, Government and Public Affairs, Chevron Nigeria Limited, CNL, Senator Gbenga Aluko; Permanent Secretary, Katsina State Ministry of Health, Dr. Muhammed Qabashiru; Community Development, Ahmed Abdullahi, Supervisor, National Petroleum Investment Management Services, NAPIMS; and Government Relations Manager, PetroBras Nigeria, Mrs. Meg Irozuru. (BACK ROW): Community Engagement Advisor, CNL, Mr. Thomas Akagbosu; and Katsina State Tuberculosis and Leprosy Coordinator, Dr. Abdulrasheed Yusuf, during the presentation of a Chest Clinic built by Star Deepwater Petroleum Limited to the Katsina State Government in Abuja.

Port Regulator: NPA, Shippers Council bicker despite FG’s pronouncement D

By Godfrey Bivbere

ESPITE Federal Government’s declaration of the Nigerian Shippers Council, NSC, as the Port Economic Regulator, there is still disagreement between the Council and the Nigerian Ports authority, NPA as to the constitutionally recognised body for the function.

The disagreement between the two government agencies resurfaced at the recently concluded awareness seminar titled “Monitoring and Compliance with Concession Agreements, Eight Years Post Concession,” organised by the management of Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA. While the NPA and some of the

terminal operators seem to favour the performance of that function by the Port Authority, the Shippers council insisted that as the appointed federal government regulator it has the statutory right to perform the duty. Matthew Egbadon, principal partner, Highfliers Solicitors, in a paper presented at the seminar, explained that the Concession Agreement empowers NPA to act as the regulator until a substantive one is appointed.

However, some representatives of terminal operators at the function said that they can only recognise NPA as the port economic regulator. Darbney Shallholma, Director Commercial Shipping Services of the NSC, said it is

not right for NPA to undertake the duty of monitoring as it is a party in the agreement and therefore cannot perform the duty.

Shallholma noted that there is no clear definition of who the regulator is in the 2006 concession agreement and the ambiguity has left room for some form of disagreement as to who the regulator should be.

She further noted that the appointment of the Shippers’ council as the port economic regulator by the Federal Government is not an abnormally, since the agreement has provision for the action from the beginning.

NSE market capitalization increases by N27bn

$142.90

-1.25

he market capitalisation of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterday improved by N27 billion to close at N9.872 trillion due to marginal gains posted by some blue chip equities. An analysis of the price movement showed that PZ led the gainers’ table, appreciating by N1.20 to close at N25.55 per share. It was followed by Flour Mills with 97k to close at N32.93, while Stanbic IBTC increased by 76k to close at N27.90 per share. Dangote Cement improved by 58k to close at N152.88 and Nigerian Breweries rose by 50k to close at N132 per share.

Consequently, the All-Share Index rose by 78.53 basis points or 0.27 per share to close at 29,584.00 compared with 29,505.47 recorded on Monday.

Conversely, Seplat Petroleum recorded the highest price loss to

$2,764.00

49.00

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lead the losers’ chart, dropping by N18.08 to close at N370 per share.

Nestle trailed with a loss of N15 to close at N805, while Guinness lost by N2 to close at N127 per share.

Cement Company of Northern Nigeria dipped N1.01 to close at N10.79 and UAC declined by 71k to close at N33.49 per share. The volume of shares traded dropped by 65.43 per cent with an exchange of 211.43 million shares worth N2.85 billion traded in 3,808 deals. This was against the 611.72 million shares valued N5.62 billion exchanged in 3,271 deals on Monday. Zenith Bank was the toast of investors, accounting for 47.51 million shares worth N782.61 million traded in 361 deals.

FCMB traded 16.87 million shares worth N46.33 million transacted in 188 deals, while Transcorp sold 15.53 million shares valued N41.11 million.

12.70

0.08

$55.22 $45.87

0.79 1.76

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

196 289.8448 210.1904 198.9444 1.6194 0.2998 269.4377 31.5779 52.2611 28.1978 269.9312

196.5 290.5842 210.7266 199.4519 1.6236 0.3098 270.1251 31.6589 52.3944 28.2697 270.6198

197 291.3236 211.2628 199.9594 1.6277 0.3198 270.8124 31.7399 52.5277 28.3417 271.3084

CBN Exchange Rate as at 24 /3/15

22 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015

All you need to do is notify your Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) six months before your retirement and submit all the necessary documents

,

CPS, a huge success – Ideva M

ANAGING Director of Premium Pension Limited, Mr. Wilson Ideva has described the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) as a huge success and the most impactful government initiative in recent times.

Ideva said, “The scheme has already begun to improve the lives of retirees in the country. It is also inching towards becoming a critical contributor to national development.”

He said that there was need to applaud the initiators of the scheme in the country. “Initially, when the idea was presented, a lot of people did not believe in. This is understandable considering where we were coming from,” he said.

He noted that such skepticism has been dissipated with the successes recorded by the new pension scheme since its more than ten years of existence. He recalled the pathetic situation of pensioners before the scheme was introduced and juxtaposed it with the current situation where workers are partners in the management of their pension funds. He urged people to note the difference between the new Contributory Pension Scheme and the old defined benefit system under which some pensioners are still being managed.

He noted that under the new scheme entitlements are being paid regularly. “All you need to do is notify your Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) six months before your retirement and submit all the necessary documents.” He said. “Once this is done, within one or two months upon retirement you will be paid your lump sum which has replaced the gratuity and thereafter you begin to enjoy continuous programmed withdrawal.”

Ideva also pointed out that while the old scheme which operated before 2004 left a huge pension deficit within the economy said to be in the neighborhood of two trillion naira, the new scheme has accumulated pension asset of over 4.7 trillion naira and an enrolment of over 6.5 million people.

“So when you put this together you will see that it has been a success story and this pool of funds is already playing a critical role in national development” he said.

“The pension industry has been a huge success and we are playing our role effectively as stipulated in the Pension Reform Act,” he said.

,

INSURAN "Government should comply with ‘no premium, no cover’ policy" Mr.Oluwagbemiga Olawoyin is the Managing Director of Prorisk Insurance Brokers. In this interview with ROSEMARY ONUOHA, he speaks on why it is necessary that government abide by the ‘no premium, no cover’ rule, and other issues.

Excerpt .

Kindly give a review of can follow, in ter ms of activities in the insurance performance, utilisation of shareholders’ funds, creation sector in 2014 Year 2014 was a year of of shareholder value and consolidation of various every other thing that reforms which the National surrounds stakeholders of Insurance Commission, companies will receive proper NAICOM, have been rolling focus because these are things out in the insurance industry. companies have to report 2014 represents a year where under the IFRS. Also in terms the structure was put in place of per formance, the ‘ no and you will see the fruits of premium, no cover ’ policy of these reforms going forward. the regulator recorded a very For example, NAICOM huge success and compliance effected implementation of the International Financial Reporting Standard, IFRS, in 2012 and only very few companies had their accounts approved within the statutory period of on or before 30th of June. Quite a lot had their accounts ratified and approved very close to the end of that year. However, in 2014, when 2013 accounts were submitted and approved, tremendous success was recorded and that tells you There is no that it is a year of gainsaying that consolidation. If the IFRS challenge could be this is an election surmounted that means that year, so things are you are going to see a very good industry in terms of going to take a bit financial reporting. Once the of slowness to pick financial reporting is good and robust, every other thing up

which made organisations to be more liquid because it reduced greatly the issues of default, trade receivables and debtors. Companies were able to get cash for what they sold, so, that made more money available for investment and to also meet obligations both in terms of claims, reinsurance costs etc.

2015 first quarter review To review the performance of the insurance industry in the first quarter of 2015, we have to review the entire economy of the country because insurance business is a part of the whole of the economy.

So how has the economy of the nation been in the first quarter?

There is no gainsaying that this is an election year, so things are going to take a bit of slowness to pick up. Also there are global economic issues associated with terrorism and low oil prices and Nigeria, being predominantly a mono product dependent economy, which is oil; it means that economically, Nigeria will struggle. If Nigeria will struggle, quite a lot of business activities will also struggle. Recall that the International Monetary Fund, IMF, reviewed the GDP earlier forecasted for Nigeria downwards. These are pointers that things are going to be slow.

However, be that as it may, I strongly believe that it is during this period that

Miss insurance title returns to Standard Alliance

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From left: Chief Executive Officer, Unity Dolls, Paul Orajiaka; Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Education, Mrs Grace Ebunola Oladimeji and wife of Auldon CEO, Ifeyinwa Prisca Orajiaka displaying the award plague on Lagos State Support Our Schools Initiative, in Lagos.

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ust two years after Standard Alliance Insurance Plc passed on the Miss Insurance baton through then Miss Sefiat Sadik to another queen from one of the companies in the insurance sector, the title for 2015/2016 returned to the company through Miss Cynthia Okoro who was crowned the new Miss Insurance at the 2015 Miss Insurance show held in Lagos.

The yearly Miss Insurance Dance organized by the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) to deepen awareness for insurance business in the country saw Miss Okoro going home with the star prize of a brand new KIA Picanto.

Miss Anna Ogbodo of African Alliance Insurance Ltd and Miss Isioma Lisa Isiocha of Anchor Insurance Company Limited emerged first and second runners-up respectively.

Whereas the first runner-up won five days all-expense paid trip to Dubai, the secondrunner up got a home theatre television.

An excited Miss Okoro of Finance Department at Standard Alliance was short of words to express her joy as, according to her, she never dreamt of coming tops from the lots that contested.

The company’s CIIN Office Representative Committee officer, Mr. Odetundun Emos Mayowa, while presenting

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015,

•Oluwagbemiga Olawoyin insurance should take center stage and do well. Let’s look at it this way, when the economy slows down; the first thing that happens is that money becomes scarce. So if money is scarce, the only tool that you can use to hedge against loss of whatever asset you have acquired before now is insurance. So this is the best time to purchase insurance and for us, we see opportunities.

Though, it has not been officially announced that the naira has been devalued, but we all know it has been devalued and that tells you

that the value of assets are bound to go up. So, we are knocking at peoples’ doors and this has been our message. Sometimes, people may not be fully aware of things they can do at a time like this. So when you explain it to them, then you will be surprised the kind of responses you will have. We are getting responses here and there. With the fear of insecurity around, and people not sure of the direction of the election, they are being conscious of a need to buy one form of insurance or the other especially to hedge against

From left: Mr. Olusola Babalola, Chief Finance Officer; newly crowned miss insurance, Miss Cynthia Okoro; Mrs. Rhe Emerhor-Iwuagwu, Executive Director; Mr. Nelson Egboboh, Head, Corporate Communications all of Standard Alliance Insurance Plc as miss insurance showed her car star prize to the Management of the company the new Miss Insurance to Management and Staff,

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explained that he was sure Miss Okoro was getting the

these perceived risks.

To what extent has the public embraced public building insurance?

The Insurance Act 2003 talks about the duty of care of the owner of a public building.

The Act also defines what a public building is. Currently, we have a class of insurance that takes care of a duty of care of individuals and businesses; it is called public building liability insurance. For insurance operators, the public building liability aspect of the Act gives it more impetus to drive home the product for us and to say to owners of public building: ‘You have a responsibility to ensure that whoever comes to your premises do not suffer injury or death while in your premises.’ So that is the high and low of that aspect of the Insurance Act 2003. However, people are buying but the rate of purchase is still low. The purchase is low because awareness is low. But as we move on things are going to pick up. Why will things pick up? Naturally I believe things will pick up because Nigerians are becoming very aware now. Within that awareness is a society that is becoming more litigious.

People are very conscious of their rights and are beginning to pursue it. So, the purchase is a bit low, but as we move on I believe things will improve.

Every time we present this to people, it is always ‘ we didn’t know, how can we go about it’ and the pricing is always right.

Do you support the idea that there should be a window of exemption for government on ‘no premium, no cover’ I don’t support the idea that there should be a window for government on ‘no premium, no cover.’ In terms of non-

title after a rigorous training he organized for her days preceding the event.

The company’s Group MD/ CEO, Mr. Bode Akinboye whose joy knew no bounds congratulated Miss Okoro on behalf of the Board, Management and Staff for bringing the honour to the company, assuring that the company will support her successful reign.

Executive Director, Mrs. Rhe Emerhor-Iwuagwu, counseled her to use the opportunity of her reign as the face of insurance in Nigeria to establish herself in the industry. On behalf of the Management, Iwuagwu wished her well as she commenced her reign.

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CE & YOU

— 23

Let’s look at it this way, when the economy slows down; the first thing that happens is that money becomes scarce. So if money is scarce, the only tool that you can use to hedge against loss of whatever asset you have acquired before now is insurance

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payment of premium in our industry, I think the government will probably be the greatest culprit by sheer number and quantum. Every time government wants to do insurance, it is in billions. So if there is default in paying that billions, the effect is also going to be big on the sector. So I would rather want a window to be given to private concerns and individuals because in terms of payment, the rate of default both in terms of numbers and quantum is low.

There is higher rate of integrity on the side of individuals and private organisations because they pay their premium.

Although they can struggle to pay due to cash flow issues but

Every time government wants to do insurance, it is in billions. So if there is default in paying that billions, the effect is also going to be big on the sector

once you are able to sit down and discuss it with them, they can arrange a payment plan.

However, default in the first instance can be traced more to the doors of the government. So if insurers are saying that government no longer insure their assets because of ‘no premium, no cover,’ I will say that government is not doing insurance because they don’t consider it as one of the top priorities and not because of ‘ no premium, no cover.’ Insurance is supposed to be a top priority issue. For example, the Pension Act says that an employer must have a compulsory group life policy in place for workers in addition to the contributory pension scheme. Now, if a civil servant dies and there is no compensation at the end of the day, will government come to say that no premium was paid for the compulsory group life insurance. So, if no premium was paid, is government saying that there was no insurance in place for the staff? Now, for such a staff that died, where lies the effect of the Pension Reform Act that compels every organisation including government to have compulsory group life insurance? So for me, it is all about compliance and respect for the rule of law. Therefore if there is going to be any window at all, I would rather push that the window be given to individuals and private concerns because they are the drivers of economic growth. If they can get flexibility as regards ‘no premium, no cover’ we might likely record a lot of success.

Government should just be encouraged to pay rather than look for windows of exemptions.

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24 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015

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Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015 — 25

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

•Attahiru Jega

Preview Giant Telescope Allows Distant Exploration

•INEC smart card reader

INEC CARD READER:

This technology may fail you — Tech stakeholders warn Jega

By Emmanuel Elebeke

W

ITH a gigantic 39metre aperture, this giant telescope is now in development in Chile's Atacama Desert after receiving approval two years ago. The Telescope is expected to take 10 years to build and cost in the region of €1 billion to complete.

By 2024, the Telescope will become operational, with the remaining components being added from then on.

Elements of the main mirror and optics system which reduce blurring of the planet's atmosphere will be brought in during phase 2. The Telescope is extremely powerful, with pinpoint accuracies when exploring nearby galaxies, stars and anything else which floats around in space.

At least three observatories are expected to pop up during the coming years.

The Giant Magellan Telescope is expected to be up and running by 2021, while The Thirty Metre Telescope has expectations of a 2022 release near Hawaii's Mauna Kea volcano's summit.

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I

NFORMATION technology, IT, experts, have expressed fears that the new technology being employed by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, may fail Nigerians in the forthcoming general elections.

The fears were anchored on the possible and noticeable lapses already exhibited by some of the machines as demonstrated by the electoral body.

Their position is that IT system generally degrades in performance when processing a large-sized database like in the case of INEC, which is

I N S I D E

faced with over 60 million registered voters in the elections.

One of those who buttressed this point is the former president of Nigeria Computer Society, NCS, Dr. Chris Nwannenna, who said the argument adduced by INEC that the system would work in Nigeria simply because it worked in other climes is not tenable.

According to him, the argument does not hold water considering the fact that Ghana has a voter population of 14 million and 23000 polling units compared to Nigeria with a voter population of over 73 million and 180 000 polling units.

Nwannenna, citing these differences, argued that it is not guaranteed that Nigeria will record the same level of success in the use of the new technology.

Omatek lights up energy saving crusade with solar tech solution factory

Ghana has a voter population of 14 million and 23000 polling units compared to Nigeria with a voter population of over 73 million and 180 000 polling units

5G technology, critical infrastructure in connected world—Huawei

Recall that during his interaction with the Senate on the issue of Card Readers and Permanent Voters Cards, PVCs on the 18th of February 2015, the INEC Chairman was reported to have said that the card readers were manufactured in China ‘they had been tested in Texas USA, where their functionality and durability had been ascertained.” But at the same time, however, he admitted that out of the “182, 000 card readers INEC bought, 503 have failed to work”. This, according to him happened, before the real field test was carried out in a real life environment in the 12 selected states.

Another area of concern expressed

by Nwannenna is that the new election system being introduced by INEC includes a module for SMS (Short Continues on page 27

Signal Alliance forum pushes for standardization of local solution

26 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015

SOCIETY & SOCIAL MEDIA

By Agbolade Omowole @iamagbolade

Ten reasons online businesses fail

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tarting an online bussiness is not a piece of cake. This is what those marketers who paint ‘larger-thanlife’ pictures don’t tell you because they are only interested in selling you their electronic book for $29.

If you are thinking of going into an online business, then you have to get some nittygritty of working online that will kick start you in the right direction because only two out of every 10 new online businesses survive after the first 120 days.

The ten reasons most people fail in internet business are: The wrong mindset - If you want to start an online business just because you’re are jobless, then you have to reconsider your decision and options. Most times, an online business is an extension of an existing business or work hand-in-hand with the ‘brick-and-mortal’ Weak business model - before casting your net into the deep, you have to test the water. Downloading an ebook online that promises to teach you how to make money is not enough. You have to build a model around the business Business Plan - the aphorism ‘if you fail to plan, you have planned to fail’ best describes why 80% of new entrants into internet business fail.

No experience on Entrepreneurship - understand that online business works best for entrepreneurs. If you don’t have the experience and knowledge of doing business, then your chances of making money online are very slim.

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No social capital. TEAM is an acronym for Together Everybody Achieves More. In other words, you need a team to make your dream work. Social capital in this context refers to a network of influential people whose contact you can leverage on.

Social capital also refers to a mastermind alliance. It is a team of people who are into your line of online business.

Networking with them will definitely take your business to the mountain top.

Patience: You may not start making those lump sum of money within the first three month of your starting an online business.

Get rich quick schemes don’t work out in internet businesses. You have to work hard.

You have to dedicate a minimum of 6 hours to your internet business when you are just starting.

No financial backup: If you already have a job, don’t quit at once to start your internet business. Save up some wads of cash for some months. The savings will sustain you until your online business starts paying off in spades Marketing Mistakes - The success of any business whatsoever, both online and offline is predicated only on your marketing and innovation,

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Omatek lights up energy saving crusade with solar tech factory

By Prince Osuagwu

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IGERIA’s integrated Information and Communication Technology (ICT), solution provider, Omatek Ventures Plc, has started a crusade aimed at plugging energy wastage in Nigeria. Omatek’s opinion is that Nigeria’s lingering electricity supply challenge would become a thing of the past when everybody understands the importance of conserving energy.

The company said it therefore decided to deploy solar technology solutions to reduce power consumption in Nigeria by as a much as 85 per cent.

It also followed the commissioning of its 50KVA 3-phase off-grid solar solution factory that will represent the solar solution for factories, banks, telecoms firms, government and other organisations that require big power installations.

Off-grid solutions, on-grid solutions as well as Light Emiting Diode, LED bulbs are produced at the Omatek factory at Oregun in Ikeja.

Already the company has started its crusade in earnest, lighting up and installing solar technology solutions at many secondary schools and other institutions in Nigeria, including the Greenwood School, Corona private school and the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE. In an event attended by two federal ministers, Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Omobola Johnson and her counterpart in the power sector, Dr Chinedu Nebo, Omatek used the opportunity to commission its 12watts, 20 watts, 500 watts power solutions that is touted to replace the “I better pass my neighbour generator”, for small homes, shops, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), churches, rural electrification and rural system, street lighting implementation, schools among others.

An elated Chief Executive Officer of Omatek, Mrs Florence Seriki, immediately after the commissioning, said that “these are all-in-one installations assembled locally and packed with Omatek’s solar, inverter, battery and controller in all-in-one carton. They can be self-installed.”

She added that “Omatek Solar Solution, which is a hybrid solution that provides 24 hours lighting/power Solution by use of our solar-led bulbinverter hybrid solution; whilst providing 70 – 90 per cent cut/deduction in power consumption and drastically reducing power consumption by an average of 85 per cent on the overall grid, will enhance growth in the real sector and general economic development.”

According to her, “We have installed these solutions in schools, homes, offices and factories and proud to inform you that the education sector welcomed not just provision of power and green energy, the hostels and all reading areas have 24 hours lighting and this bridges the digital gap in our schooling system, as students had stopped reading in darkness.”

She also explained that, Omatek has almost completed the set up and the establishments of two local factories that will manufacture solar panels and the LED bulbs, saying only the all-in-one solutions are currently being produced

•Florence Seriki locally.

Capturing key benefits inherent in the solar solutions, Seriki explained that the solutions “provides 24-hours alternate power/green energy for businesses, homes; provides 24-hour lighting solution to all; provides 24 hour solar energy and lighting solution for students, hostels, SMEs, homes, hostels, SMEs, small homes, shops; reduces power consumption by an average of 85 per cent by all; and well as providing affordable solar solution for continuous/uninterrupted lighting system.”

In addition, Seriki said the solar solution promotes safe and clean environment; reduces in fire risk by use of the LED solution and materials

If your electricity in a month costs N10,000, you can reduce to N3,000 if you use LED bulbs as these bulbs conserve a lot of electricity

particularly used as well as bridging digital gap in the education system and enhance modern living and reduces cost of living and running businesses considerably.

According to Seriki,the Omatek LED bulbs have a life span of three to five years while the solar will last 25 years.

The batteries also last between five to 10 years, she added.

It’ll bring SME boom -Nebo The power minister, Prof Chinedu Nebo was visibly elated with the development and gave a long message of hope that portrayed Omatek’s energy saving crusade as the solution Nigeria has been waiting for. “This kind of

initiative makes it possible to live offgrid and this means you don’t need to be connected to the national grid before you can get efficient power supply to handle your home, office and industrial activities.

Omatek has also demonstrated in line with Federal Government Policy.

President Goodluck Jonathan has asked us to develop a renewable and energy efficiency policy which is at the final stage of implementation. We believe it is something that will liberate Nigeria.

Nigeria has never had a renewable and energy efficiency policy and what Omatek has demonstrated here in terms of solar power supply and LED indicates that they know exactly what the government wants to do because this imitative is perfectly in tandem with the policy of the Federal Government of Nigeria. With regards to LED bulb, Omatek has shown that everyone, not just companies, but every Nigerian can cut power consumption from 70 to 90 per cent. In other words, if your electricity in a month is N10,000, you can reduce to N3,000 if you use LED bulbs as these bulbs conserve a lot of electricity. For a hundred watts of regular bulb, if you have a five watts of LED, it will serve you the same purpose, give you the same luminosity so at the end of the day, the whole country would benefit”.

Clarion call According to Nebo, “if the whole of the country put LED in use, it will free us 1,200 megawatt of power for industry, manufacturing, SME and industrial revolution will further boom. So, this is a clarion call to all Nigerians to begin the process of modification of making all our offices LEDified, all homes LEDified. In fact, new housing estates shouldn’t get approval until they demonstrate that they will use LED all through because that is the only way we can save a lot of energy which we waste at will in this country.

“Another thing that Omatek has also demonstrated today that we just commissioned is a home solution, whether it is small home, kiosk solution, shop solution, SME and big solution. It is solar powered light integrated with Inverter, The days of ‘I better pass my neighbour’ generators are numbered. ‘I better pass my neighbour generators kill.

Many people have died using such.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015—27

5G technology, critical infrastructure in connected world—Huawei

By Emeka Aginam

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ifth-generation mobile technology, 5G, will become critical infrastructure in a super-connected world, Ken Hu, Huawei’s Deputy Chairman and Rotating CEO, has said.

Hu, who stated this while delivering a keynote speech at “The Road to 5G” session at the capacity building event last weekend, said that the driving forces for 5G will include demand for a superior user experience, the emergence of the Internet of Things, and the requirements of vertical industries in the upcoming industrial revolution, Hu said in a keynote speech at a forum held on the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress.

He emphasized that the 5G vision can be realized only through open cross-industry collaboration, intensive technological innovation, and evolutionary commercialization strategies.

“Fully deployed 5G networks will have the capability to reach

over 100 billion smart nodes,” Hu said. “This capability is extremely valuable for many applications. “Additionally, 5G’s one-millisecond latency will pave the way for self-driving

vehicles and industrial applications that require extremely low latency.

“Meanwhile, 5G will have a peak speed of 10 Gbit/s, so that downloading an 8G byte high-definition movie takes almost no time: from more than an hour with 3G, to seven minutes with 4G, to six seconds with 5G. “More than just an upgrade, 5G will become a powerful platform that enables new applications, new business models, and even new industries – as well as many disruptions,”Hu said.

To get to 5G, Hu said that telecommunications operators must first collaborate openly with vertical industries, and let business needs drive standards development and technological innovation.

Second, the industry needs intensive technological innovation, such as Huawei’s recent breakthrough in developing a new air interface for future 5G networks.

The industry, he said,needed to innovate in key areas such as network architecture and all-spectrum access, Hu added.

To get to 5G, Hu said the industry should adopt evolutionary technology commercialization strategies, in which the operators make full use of innovations designed for future 5G networks.

“We believe that such strategies will help mobile operators maximize their return on investment in 4G, stimulate market demand for 5G, and extend their market leadership from 4G to 5G,” Hu said.

'This technology may fail you' Continues from page 25 Messaging Service); which implies that results are to be transmitted by SMS from Polling Units directly to, perhaps, INEC servers somewhere.

He however, questioned the workability of the Card Readers and the onward transmission of results.

For him, the malfunctioning of the card reader alone will be lesser of the problems because if the card reader malfunctions, it will be obvious to everyone watching, adding that the hacking of SIM cards in the Card Readers should be more worrisome to all concerned. He also pointed out that it will not be easy to know when SMS messages fail to arrive at their destinations.

Nwanneenna, who is also the Managing Director, Condata Systems Limited, argued that the system was only partially successful in Ghana even though Ghana’s Electoral Commission had earlier trained the operators and had also conducted a two-day test of the system before live deployment.

Quoting an Africa report, which stated that, “the biometric machines brought forth significant problems with reliability, he stated that in two polling stations visited by the Africa Report, in Ghana,

biometric machines broke down and held up voting for over an hour. In some cases, voters, having to wait in line for so long, who then considered skipping the vote and heading home”, leading to extension of the voting till the next day.

He equally revealed that there were also issues of “fraud that took place regarding the biometric identification cards of unsuspecting voters in the Ghana example, which led to the challenge of the result of the election in court.

“Contrary to what INEC would want us to believe the voting model that is about to be replicated here is that of Kenya not Ghana. Ghana’s model did not incorporate SMS module but Kenya’s own did. Kenyan voters were to identify themselves biometrically and to “ensure complete transparency, each returning officer would transmit the results, using handsets provided by the country’s biggest mobile phone network, directly to a giant screen at the tallying center in Nairobi.”

“This is similar to what INEC is proposing to do. There is also no doubt in my mind that UNDP which virtually runs the ICT department in INEC with Kenyan consultants would certainly recommend Kenya’s model.

“Much as I know that biometric kits could fail to recognize thumbs, forcing ID card (PVC) numbers to be typed laboriously by hand; in electronic transmission, exhausted returning officers could forget identification numbers needed to access the system or found that their figures would not transmit; that the main server could crash, overwhelmed by the relatively minor amount of data it was being asked to process; the possibility that no backup had been catered for, it is better INEC

Multi-functional LED series interactive white board enters Nigeria

By Maxillian Anosike

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T goes without saying that the world has left black boards to the museums. Information and Communication Technologies, ICTs, have even moved beyond the once modern white boards to interactive boards that not only aid teaching and learning, but can be used for presentations in the corporate world.

Newer innovations are even several steps away from the conventional ways of projecting texts and pictures on whiteboards to having a multi touch &multi-functionalities solution. One of such is the CNIT IT-Pad which has been newly introduced into the Nigerian market by YS technologies.

Mr.Yomi Soyinka, the MD/CEO of YS Technologies, explained that the tool is a computer on its own, a writing board and yet a normal TV. His words:” What we have is a robust solution for e-learning and e-conferencing. A powerful tool for teaching,collaborating and presentation. It is highly interactive which affords you the opportunity of engaging your listening audience or students and also improves communication, while saving you time and usual hassles associated with the projector.

Screen images can be enlarged or rotated and handwritten notations such as texts and drawings can be selected and moved around on the screen.

It’s an all in one system that can record and playback lectures or meetings anytime. Also, it makes conferencing very easy with a fitted camera. Users can upload or download via the cloud or Bluetooth.“ “So basically, it’s actually several steps ahead of the usual interactive whiteboards and projectors that we are used to in this part of the world.”

An interactive whiteboard is an instructional tool that allows computer images to be displayed onto a board using a digital projector. The instructor can then manipulate the elements on the board by using his finger as a mouse directly on the screen to drag, click or copy items; he can also handwrite notes which can be transformed to text & saved.

Since YS is not a new entrant into the Nigerian IT and Electronics market and according to Soyinka, “the IT market in Nigeria is so robust and still very fertile and we haven’t even finished scratching the surface,” the company plans to propagate this product strategically with a five year projection plan of controlling between 18 &22 % share of the IWB market. The IT Pad which was produced in Asia is the result of years of collaboration between CNIT as technical partners, based in Asia and YS Technologies Ltd. The two parties have ensured that every stage of the production line meets international best practices and standards.

Signal Alliance pushes for standardization of local solutions I

By Emeka Aginam

NFORMATION and Communications Technology, ICT, experts at the just concluded Signal Alliance Customer Week Workshop organized in conjunction with Cisco rose up from the forum calling for the consumption of local technology through strict implementation of the local content law and standardization of local technology products to enable them compete internationally.

This workshop is one of the major activities of the annual Signal Alliance Customer Week that includes; customer visitation across the country, corporate social responsibility programmes in Lagos and

Abuja, and customer appreciation event respectively.

Noting that technology must be applied as one of the key component in the diversification of the Nigeria economy, the forum among other things urged stakeholders to work together to build an ecosystems that will support start-ups from setting up investment institutions from seed funding to technology backed private equity.

According to the workshop, there was need to promote incubators and accelerators; deepening government structures that supports indigenous technology like the Federal Ministry of Communication Technology, National Information

Technology Development Agency, NITDA , SMEDAN, among others.

The workshop with the theme ‘Diversification & Innovation: A technology roadmap to grow Nigeria economy’ among other things attracted business leaders both in the public and private sectors, technology leaders & entrepreneurs, and media practitioners.

“We are quite satisfied with the outcome of the conversations that took place, considering the challenge the Nigeria economy is currently facing due to fall in global oil prices, exchange rate collapse, and uncertainty surrounding the elections. This is compounded by the fact that Nigeria is largely an importbased and a mono-product economy.”

28 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY,

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MARCH 25, 2015

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30 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015

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Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015 — 31

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32 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015

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VOL. 1 NO 26

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015

Abia State to handover 102 Primary Schools to original owners

PAGE 2

•Road leading to the university

Tension mounts in Igbariam campus of Ojukwu varsity over cattle menace

By VINCENT UJUMADU

A

WKA—TENSION is mounting at the Igbariam campus of the Anambra State –owned Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, COOU, and its environs following the university community ’s complaints over the menace of cattle in the area.

Students, staff and visitors to the university often fight for space with the herds of cattle in every part of the massive campus and sometime, hundreds of cattle are seen grazing in front of offices and lecture halls and in the process, distract the academic activities.

Worried by the development, authorities of the university have consistently been complaining to the state C M Y K

government, security operatives and the northern community in the area, but nothing has been done.

Vice-Chancellor of the university, Professor Fidelis Okafor said in an interview at Igbariam that the development has become worrisome, adding that the

While we would not allow the students to take laws into their hands, we appeal to the relevant authorities to prevail on the herdsmen to remove their cattle from the university campus

students in particular have been itching to deal with the situation in their own way. He however said that they have been counselled to be patient as the management was doing something about it.

Okafor said: “These cattle destroy crops and mess up the environment. All appeals to the grazers had fallen on deaf ears which is why the students were itching to be allowed to handle it their own way.

“While we would not allow

•IGP Suleiman Abba the students to take laws into their hands, we appeal to the relevant authorities to prevail on the herdsmen to remove their cattle from the university campus. It is not good that students and staff should be fighting for space with cattle.

“We are therefore calling on the government, the law enforcement agents and the head of the Hausa community to wade into the matter before it gets out of hand.”

When South East Voice

Continues on page 3

ALSO IN THIS EDITION

IFC, World Bank, others meet in Abia to boost power supply

PAGE 4

Another unpaid Imo contractor laid to rest

PAGE 8

2 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015

Abia State to handover 102 Primary Schools to original owners U

MUAHIA—THE Abia State government is to hand over 102 primary schools to their original owners to manage under the first phase of the programme.

Out of this number, 24 schools each would be handed over to both the Catholic and Anglican churches, eight to the Adventist Church and 13 to the Oua Iboe Church.

The Apostolic Church is to get two of its primary schools back while the Methodist Church would get 16 of its schools. The Assemblies of God Church and the Presbyterian Church would get six of their schools back each.

Governor Theodore Orji who spoke when he met with the Interdenominational Committee on Return of Schools in Abia State at the Government House, Umuahia,

said that other schools including those owned by individuals were ‘’being articulated for handover.’’

According to him, the schools will be handed over as soon as the committee handling it was through with the necessary

Government was however conscious to avoid crisis that might erupt between communities and churches as that was the reason why some schools were yet to be given to their former owners

•Governor Theodore Orji inspecting a school library formalities.

Orji stated that government was however conscious to avoid crisis that might erupt between communities and churches as that was the reason why some schools were yet to be given to their former owners. He stressed that his government was the first to hand schools back to their former owners since the end of the civil war and passed a law to back it up.

He pointed out that his government had done well in terms of building new schools and rehabilitating old ones in addition to equipping such schools to make them qualitative.

Orji blamed the decay in

schools to their forceful takeover by the government after the end of the civil war.

He commended the churches for the positive change in the schools since they took them back and promised to continue replacing teachers who withdraw from such schools.

Earlier, the Chairman, Interdenominational Committee on Return of Schools in Abia State, Rev. Fr. Anthony Ogbenna had expressed gratitude to the governor for the return of 30 mission schools to their owners.

Ogbenna said that the move had been justified by Abia

emerging the second best in the nation in WASCE results for two consecutive years just as he ‘’acknowledged with deep sense of humility,’’ Orji recent proposal to return more primary schools to the missions.

He, however, appealed to the Governor to look into the withdrawal of government teachers in the schools already returned since the beginning of the 2014/2015 academic year as well as allocate a reasonable lump sum of money to the former owners to rehabilitate dilapidated infrastructure in addition to returning all schools formerly owned and managed by them before their forceful takeover in 1970.

….As Anambra govt wages war against illiteracy in riverine community

I

GBEDOR—IGBEDOR, a riverine community in Anambra West Local Government Area of Anambra State was agog last week, when the state Commissioner for Education, Professor Kate Omenugha visited the community in line with Governor Willie Obiano’s war against illiteracy, especially in rural communities of the state.

On arrival in the community, Omenugha and her team were treated to a rousing reception by school children and staff of Central School and Community Secondary School, Igbedor, during her courtesy call on the palace of Atta Okakwu of Igbedor, Eze Chigbata Mordi.

In line with Obiano’s administration’s policy to position Anambra State among the three top states with the lowest illiteracy rate in the country, the commissioner said that Igbedor was visited to enable the government obtain first hand information that would enable it know what areas of intervention it would embark on.

Accompanying Professor Omenugha during the visit were the Senior Special Assistants to the Governor on Primary Education and Political Matters; Lady Pat Offiah and Mrs. Ijeoma Obodoeze respectively as well as the Zonal Director, Post C M Y K

Primary School Service Commission, PPSSC, Otuocha, Mrs. Theresa Okonkwo; Public Relations Officer, Ministry of Education, Nnaemeka Egwuonwu and the Personal Assistant to the Education Commissioner, Michael Arinze among other stakeholders in education.

Addressing members of the community at the Palace of Eze Mordi, Omenugha disclosed that welfare of the Igbedor people and others residing in tough riverine terrains was a priority to the administration.

The Commissioner, who however regretted that some children of the community were not in school, said: “The vision of this administration is to ensure that every child goes

to school. Our mission here today is to engage you (Eze Mordi) and your people, with a view to finding what your challenges were to enable

Poverty is the major challenge to the people’s interest in sending their children to school.

Our community is also an agrarian community, which has no means of transporting our agricultural products to other parts of the state for sales

•Omenugha paying homage to the Attah Okakwu of Igbedor, Eze Chigbata Mordi.

government know how to alleviate your plights.”

Earlier in his welcome address, the Atta Okakwu of Igbedor, Eze Mordi, commended the state

government for sending enough teachers to the Community Secondary School, Igbedor, although they were insufficient.

•Professor Kate Omenugha, addressing the people of Igbedor.

•The Commissioner and her entourage enroute Igbedor.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015 — 3

•Cross section of the elderly, celebrating the Ito-Ogbo Obosi

ITO OGBO OBOSI: Celebratingtheelderly inanAnambracommunity O

BOSI—THE Obosi Community last week celebrated the elderly during their age long Ito Ogbo Obosi festival. The celebrators who were born between 1934 and 1936 were in the Asika Age Grade and the 12th age grade which had done so since 1985. The Ojiweludo Age Grade which celebrated then involved those born between 1903 and 1905. Over 200 gaily men and women.

Among those who celebrated the Ito- Ogbo were Mary Ego Onyekwuluje, Chief Godwin Ndubeze, Roseline Emodi (Mama Nkwo Abadagu), Chief Anthony Ezenwabude, Mabel Utataziam Udeze, Engineer R. C. Ekwulugo, Josiah Mgbemekwuna, C. N. C. Chidoka and Mrs Anthonia Ahuaku Akabogu (Nwanyi Mbaise).

Others included Winifred Egotanwa, Daniel Mbogu, Christopher Chidebe, Kenneth Onwuka, Mrs Eunice Onuora, Gabriel Nwakwueh Arinze and Mike Maduegbuna.

The age grade members were accompanied by their spouses, children, greatgrand children and friends as well as well wishers as they danced and thanked God for giving them long lives to witness the occasion.

In his welcome address on the occasion, which was attended by scores of senators, members of the House of Representatives, the former Secretary General of Commonwealth and Adazie C M Y K

Ogulani- Obosi, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, ministers, members of the Anambra State Executive Council, as well as state legislators, the traditional ruler of Obosi, His Majesty, Igwe Chidubem Iweka III, said that ‘’Ito Ogbo Obosi is a culturally valuable celebration of old age that has existed in Obosi Ukwalla Kingdom for centuries.’’

According to him, ‘’from the olden days, as was prevalent in Igbo land, the people of Obosi attached great value and respect for agedness.

Longevity was and is still considered a great blessing by Igbo people generally. ‘’The ancients in Obosi kingdom therefore, introduced Ito- Ogbo at 80 as a celebration of maturation, an expression of oneness with oldness and a tribute to

As is customary in Ito-Ogbo Obosi, all the octogenarian celebrators of today are hereby exempted from all taxes and levies in the town.

Ndi Ogbueshi na Nwanyi Nokwudo Eshi are also exempted from all mandatory appointments in community service

geriatric fulfilment. Elderly people in many societies are often neglected, ridiculed and even abused their wealth of experience and knowledge lost by the naïve and belligerent new generation, yet, longevity is always prominent in everyone’s fervent supplication to the Almighty Father. ‘’This triennial festival in Obosi kingdom bestows and sustains great honour to our aged men and women who have reached the enviable age of 80 years. ‘’The titles, Ogbueshi for the men and Nwanyi Nokwudo Eshi (Ogbueshi Nwanyi) for women are awarded to the celebrators while their grey hairs are beautifully adorned with red caps and specially designed caps for men and women respectively. The red

•The traditional ruler of Obosi, His Majesty, Igwe Chidubem Iweka III arriving at the venue with members of his cabinet. cap is an exclusive preserve of titled high chiefs in Obosi Ukwalla kingdom.

Ndi Ogbueshi - Ogbueshi no n’ebaa, this is our special tribute to you for eight solid decades of your viable contributions to the growth of humanity here in Obosi and across the universe. ‘’As is customary in ItoOgbo Obosi, all the octogenarian celebrators of today are hereby exempted from all taxes and levies in the town. Ndi Ogbueshi na Nwanyi Nokwudo Eshi are also exempted from all mandatory appointments in community service. However, those like J.O.S Amobi (Ogbueshi 120) who at the age of 96, has continued to be active in community service, must be encouraged. We believe that activity is essential in the extension of life. Our salute to Longevity and Activity cannot be

complete without doffing our hats to our own dear Chief Emeka Anyaoku, who at the age of 80 years is still a glob trotter, internationally acclaimed in his indefatigable service to humanity. ‘’Our moral and social lesson for our youth and jetage generation in this auspicious ItoOgbo celebration is that these octogenarians did not get to the age of 80 years and above by reckless living and abuse of alcohol, hard drugs, chemical substances and indulgence in cultism. Long life is supported and assisted by clean- healthy living; adequate exercise, balance and moderation in all things edible.

The youth must always show love and respect for elders while striving to tap the good attributes of their vast knowledge and experience.’’

Tension mounts in Igbariam campus of Ojukwu varsity over cattle menace Continues from page 1 visited the campus, hundreds of cattle were seen in four different areas and motorists had to queue to allow the cattle pass through the main gate of the university.

Apart from the university community, the people of Igbariam and Awkuzu which share boundary with the university have also been complaining about cattle menace on their crops.

They said that despite pleas to the herdsmen not to take the cattle into the farms, they have consistently refused, adding that sometimes the cattle uproot

crops and make their farms look like a theatre of war.

An indigene of the area, Mr. Ifeka Okafor said their patience was running out, adding that they were only keeping quiet because their traditional ruler pleaded with them not to take the law into their hands.

“We have heard how the activities of the herdsmen led to loss of lives in some parts of the country and we don’t want that to happen here. But a situation whereby all our crops are destroyed by these cattle cannot be tolerated indefinitely. We appeal to the authorities concerned to do something immediately before the situation gets out of hand,” he said.

4 —Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015

65 per cent in the urban areas and 35 per cent in the rural communities, making it one of the largest populations in the continent without access to electricity. At the launching of the Lighting Africa-Nigeria programme in Aba, Abia State, last week, the World Bank revealed that people living in off-grid areas rely on polluting, expensive, inefficient and dangerous fuels like kerosene to meet their power needs.

About 12 international solar energy companies were at the Aba launch to educate the people and introduce their products to them.

According to Mr. Itotia Njagi of the Lighting Africa Project, the programme would help to increase access to affordable, clean and safer energy for over 30 per cent of the Nigerian population in the rural areas,

•Solar panels on top of a building

IFC, World Bank, others meet in Abia to boost power supply

By ANAYO OKOLI

U

MUAHIA—WORRIED by the severe hardship Nigerians are going through in getting electricity from the power supply companies, the World Bank has waded in to complement with solar energy power.

Tagged, ‘’Lighting Africa, a

joint initiative of International Finance Corporation, IFC, and World Bank,’’ the project was aimed at working with solar energy manufacturers, distributors, governments, development partners, finance institutions and other stakeholders to fast-track the development of sustainable market for off-grid lighting products like solar energy

power in the country.

World Bank was worried that the country, with the highest population in Africa and huge economic potentials had a very low access to electricity, hence the need for alternative sources of energy.

According to World Bank’s statistics, Nigeria with a population of about 174 million had an electricity access rate of

Lighting Africa is helping to build a market to bring offgrid lighting and energy services across Africa by establishing quality standards, investing in consumer education, creating a favourable investment climate and supporting innovative business models

with low income and without access to grid electricity.

Itotia said: “Lighting Africa is helping to build a market to bring off-grid lighting and energy services across Africa by establishing quality standards, investing in consumer education, creating a favourable investment climate and supporting innovative business models. As we foster these partnerships among all parties in the industries, various opportunities would be explored and our goal of inclusive electrification would be achieved in Nigeria.”

The Lighting Africa programme has since been working very well in some African countries, like Kenya, Ghana, Liberia, Senegal, Ethiopia, Mali and Congo, among others, he added.

According to IFC Country Manager for Nigeria, Eme Essien Lore, “part of the World Bank group’s targeted interventions in power sector includes off-grid solutions that make access to power more inclusive. These solutions, mostly solar powered, will reduce the hazards of using fuel based energy sources, improve the climate and accelerate development in Nigeria”.

Also speaking, Mr. Alwell Nwankwo, Nigeria’s manager, programmes; said the efforts would facilitate the achievement of global sustainable energy for all by 2030, as the country would take advantage of the programme to solve the perennial power problems facing the people.

Nibo community builds staff quarters for health centre staff ...as Obiano flags off National Immunization Days

By OBIALUNAMMA NWADIOGBU

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KWULOBIA— APPARARENTLY to ensure effective health care delivery for the rural folks , the Nibo community has constructed a staff quarters for its Primary Health Centre in partnership with the Anambra State government.

Commissioning the staff quarters, Governor Willie Obiano, who equally flagged off the 2015 National Immunization Days, NPIDs, in the state at the Nibo Health Centre in Awka South Local Government Area, called on Anambra women to immunize their children against deadly but preventable diseases.

Obiano, accompanied by his wife, Chief Ebelechukwu, said that diseases like Tuberculosis, TB, measles, pertussis, tetanus, poliomyelitis and hepatitis B should be immunized against.

The governor said the commissioning was in fulfilment of his pledge at a similar programme last year, to build the staff quarters. He called on parents, care givers and community leaders to ensure that all eligible children C M Y K

were taken to immunization points in the state. Wife of the governor, Ebelechukwu, who arrived earlier than her husband, shared great moments with the women and their children, even as she expressed immense joy with the flag-off of the initiative which according to her was at the root of the health policy of the present administration in the state.

Mrs. Obiano described the National Programme on Immunization Days, NPIDs, for 2015 which run from March to April this year, as a very important exercise, noting that, “anything that touches on the

welfare of the mother and child is very important because prenatal care is the backbone for building and maintaining a healthy citizenry.”

She expressed happiness that

I am aware that the strategic objective for the health sector is to ensure good physical and mental state for Ndi Anambra so that they will be productive

•Obiano’s wife giving polio vaccines to children at the commissioning

the newly introduced pneumococcal conjugate vaccine otherwise known as PVC 10 unveiled in the state in February 2015 would be formally in use during the immunization, pointing out that ‘’the drug protects children who are less than five years old against pneumonia,’’ as well as improve child survival in children in the state.

She said that injectable polio vaccine will be introduced later in the year as part of the polio eradication end game strategy.

She also noted the assurance by health experts that the vaccines were safe and free. As they say, “prevention is better

than treatment,” she further added.

The 2015 First Round is targeted at children aged 0 to 59 months for oral polio vaccine, while other antigens like measles, yellow fever, pentavalent vaccine and BCG among others would be given to children of less than one year. Ebelechukwu observed that “healthcare is one of the 13 enablers which are key to the actualization of the Four Pillars of Economic Development, FPED, of the Chief Obiano administration namely Agriculture, Trade and Commerce, Industrialization and Oil & Gas.

•Obiano, his wife and others during the commissioning

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015 — 5

•Obiano middle flanked on the (left) by Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu, Chief Nwankwo (right), former Governor Dame Etiaba and Chief Ajulu Uzodike, an industrialist.

•Governor Willie Obiano during the inauguration

Anambra trains 500 youths at Technology Incubation Centre

By OBIALUNAMMA NWADIOGBU

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KWULOBIA—ABOUT 500 youths from the 21 local government areas of Anambra State sponsored by Governor Willie Obiano’s administration are undergoing incubation courses at the Technology Incubation Centre owned by the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology.

This was even as another batch of 500 youths were being trained at Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company on self reliance skills.

The programme tagged State Youth Skill Acquisition and Empowerment Scheme was inaugurated by Obiano at the Technology Incubation Centre, Nnewi North Local Government Area.

The first batch of the trainees would be trained on ICT, soap making, spare-parts fabrication and production of car wash liquid detergents, among others.

At the end of the incubation period ranging from three weeks to six months or more depending on the skills acquired /trade, the beneficiaries would be given certificates of Technology Entrepreneurship bearing the imprimatur of the National Board for Technology Incubation.

Obiano said the programme was in line with his earlier promise to establish one vocational centre in each of the three senatorial districts.

He explained that the second batch of trainees would also be selected from

all the local government areas when the other two vocational centres come on stream, adding that, at the end of their training, the youths would be provided with seed money to establish small scale businesses to become self reliant.

Obiano, who used the

occasion to commission a 300-KVA transformer, for the centre restated the ongoing efforts of his administration to boost power supply in the area to drive the on-going industrial revolution, in addition to mass infrastructural development, including the

shopping Mall project in Nnewi.

Highlight of the event was the announcement of a scholarship award to Master Onyebuchi Osuma Emejulu from Onitsha North, from primary to tertiary level, for singing the Anambra Anthem off hand, assuring that his government would continue to encourage youths to achieve their aspirations.

In her speech , the Centre Manager, Technology Incubation Centre, Pastor Uche Chukwu expressed gratitude to the governor for the ongoing developmental projects in the centre through his intervention, including landscaping, the installed trans-

former, renovation of existing building and approval for the construction of Auditorium and Incubating Block Complex, among others.

Mrs. Chukwu assured that they would work to achieve the vision and expectations of the state government and urged the youths to take full advantage of the opportunity.

Earlier, Commissioner for Science and Technology and Mineral Resources in the state, Chief Obi Nwankwo said the flag off was for initial 500 youth skill Acquisition programme which he said was the first technology based youth empowerment scheme of the scale in the history of Anambra state.

Provost warns students against cultism, exam fraud, others

By OBIALUNAMMA NWADIOGBU

U

MUNZE—THE Provost, Federal College of Education, Technical, Umunze, Anambra State, Professor Josephat Ogbuagu, has reiterated the resolve of the college on zero tolerance for cultism, examination malpractices and other social vices in the institution.

Addressing new entrants during the 26th NCE and 4th degree/PDE joint matriculation ceremony held at the permanent site of the college, Ogbuagu said that “the matriculation oath which you subscribed to places a burden of good behaviour on you. This implies that henceforth, your behaviour will be constantly monitored to access your suitability to be a student of this college.’’

He therefore asked them to work hard to justify their admissions, saying “to be able to do this, you need the fear of God, moral rejuvenation, academic alertness, selfdiscipline and the capacity to resist negative peers influence.

“We shall not hesitate to

expel any student whose behaviour does not conform to the accepted norms of this college. The students’ handbook will direct you on your privileges and responsibilities as well as the rules and regulations guiding students’ lives in the college.’’

He, however, assured the students that the college would not renege on its duty in offering the needed support to enable them actualize their dreams and aspirations even as he urged

•The Provost, Federal College of Education (Technical) Umunze, Professor Josephat Ogbuagu speaking during the matriculation

them to make their own input, stating that “to whom much is given, much is also expected.’’

Earlier in his address, the

We shall not hesitate to expel any student whose behaviour does not conform to the accepted norms of this college. The students’ handbook will direct you on your privileges and responsibilities

Vice-Chancellor of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, NAU, Awka, Prof. Joseph Ahaneku who was represented by the Dean Faculty of Education, Professor Emma Agbamuche said the new students were being formally admitted into the “university of their dreams” through their affiliated colleges.

He said: “It gives me pleasure to be here once again, this time for the 26th/ 4th joint matriculation of new entrants to NCE programmes of your institution and the degree programme of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, an affiliate university. I Continues on page 7

•Some of the matriculating students

6 —Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015

U

M U A H I A — DISTURBED by the rising cases of communal/ boundary clashes across the country with the attendant loss of lives and property worth billions of Naira, the Inspector General of Police has set up a committee made up of seven Assistant Inspectors-General of Police drawn from the various zones and police headquarters, Abuja, to go round such places to listen to the communities and make recommendations that would lead to the resolution of such crises.

The IGP Communal/ Boundary Resolution Committee has AIG Christopher Dega as chairman with AIG Mohammed Abubakar, AIG Jibrin Adeniji, AIG Yahaya Garba Ardo, AIG Mbu Joseph Mbu, AIGs Ikemefuna Okoye and Rasheed Akintude as members.

Already, the committee has visited troubled communities in states like Cross River, Enugu, Kaduna, Nassarawa and Benue before arriving Abia which has a number of intra-state and inter-state communal and boundary crises bedevilling it.

At the committee’s meeting at the Michael Okpara Auditorium, communities with communal/ boundary problems made their cases before the committee. Major complaints came from Akirika Obu-Ndoki community in Ukwa East Council Area of Abia State, which alleged that “they are facing mayhem” in the hands of their neighbours, Ika people of Akwa Ibom State.

Also, Ebem Ohafia Community in Ohafia Local Government Area complained of alleged intimidation by their neighbours- Ozuabam people in Arochukwu Local Government Area, in Abia State.

Umudiawa Ohuhu community equally brought before the committee an inter state boundary dispute between them and Ihitte Uboma in Imo State. Their report was presented on behalf of the community by High Chief Monday Nwokocha.

Presenting to the committee the problem between Ebem Ohafia and Abam communities, the President General of the town union, Mr. Anagha Kalu, a lawyer lamented what he described as incessant provocations from Ozuabam people. The crisis he explained dated as far as back as 1922, with various court cases which he claimed were won by Ebem people.

Anagha lamented that despite their victory in the various court cases, the alleged intimidation and provocation by Ozuabam C M Y K

•Some members of the committee, community leaders and police representatives.

Police set up c’tte of AIGs to tackle boundary disputes

By ANAYO OKOLI people had continued despite interventions by the various governments of Abia State. He alleged that their farm land had been invaded by Ozuabam people severally and urged the committee to wade into the matter, with a view to resolving the crisis and save the communities from impending bloody crises.

Perhaps the most pathetic story was the crisis between Akirika-Obu Ndoki people in Ukwa East, Abia State and their Ika neighbours in Akwa Ibom State.

According to Pastor Bonny Chimezie who represented the troubled community, their

community was presently occupied by Akwa Ibom

We are being provoked. In February 2000, there was a fight and many lives were lost, no single roof was left in Akirika-Obu. For four years we took refuge in Obingwa villages

•Mr. Anagha Kalu, President General, Ebem Ohafia, presenting his community’s case to the committee. people.

Tracing the origin of the crisis to the Nigerian civil war, Chimezie noted that their community was occupied when they ran to a safer area during the 30- month old civil war adding that the people were surprised to see their community illegally occupied after the war ended when they returned. According to him, “ we have been facing mayhem,” since then.

“On occasions we were chased out of the village. In 1979, some of us were killed.

Mbakwe, (the late governor of Imo State then) told them that the land belonged to Imo State and if they did not want to be administered by Imo State Government they should go to Cross River State.

Abandoned UNN Enugu campus administration block begging for completion

By FRANCIS IGATA

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NUGU—STAFF and students of the University of Nigeria, UNN, Enugu campus have expressed worry over the delay in the completion of the administrative block of the institution which had been under construction in the past four years.

The project which was started during the administration of the former Vice Chancellor, Prof. Bartho Okolo, would serve as a onestop-shop for all administrative units in the ivory tower and its completion would ensure speedy movement of files and other official transactions in the institution.

South-East Voice gathered during a visit to the abandoned building that work stopped at the site over two years ago even as the expansive building has become a safe haven for rodents and reptiles.

Officials who spoke to South East Voice on the condition of anonymity estimated the level of work so far done at about 30 per cent.

Continues on page 8

•The abandoned UNN Enugu campus administration block.

Chimezie also alleged that Babangida’s Decree 3 of 1985 on Boundary demarcation “ceded some of communities to Cross River and Rivers States and some to the present Akwa Ibom State where they are still protesting.

“We are being provoked. In February 2000, there was a fight and many lives were lost, no single roof was left in Akirika-Obu. For four years we took refuge in Obingwa villages. They have forcefully taken over our primary school; they chased away the police station at Akirika-Obu. Some of our people were forced to swear oath that they were part of Akwa Ibom and they are not happy. So many provocative things have been happening”.

The committee was told to warn the Akwa Ibom community to desist from removing sign posts of Akirika-Obu community, saying that the youths who have been agitating might be forced to retaliate and the consequences would not be light.

They appealed to the committee to forward their grievances to the National Boundary Commission, NBC, and urge it to create permanent boundary between Abia and Akwa Ibom States.

Addressing the communities, AIG Mohammed Abubakar who chaired the Abia State sessions, on behalf of the committee assured that their cases would be forwarded to the IGP who would liaise with the NBC to ensure that there is peace in the areas.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015 —7

Oil producing states train 203 farmers on new agric techniques at NRCRI •Cross section of farmers during the passing-out ceremony

By ANAYO OKOLI

U

MUAHIA—IN line with government’s new emphasis on agriculture as a source of revenue and food sufficiency, a total of 203 farmers drawn from seven oil producing states have been trained on new agriculture techniques at the National Root Crops Research Institute, NRCRI, Umudike, Abia State.

The two weeks- residential

training was sponsored by the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, for the beneficiaries who were drawn from various states including Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers.

The farmers were given lectures on agricultural production, processing and entrepreneurship among other innovations in agriculture.

At the graduation ceremony last Thursday, one of the participants, Mr. Acha Roberts

from Edo State who spoke on behalf of the other trainees said, “we learnt a lot about what we did not know before.

We are very lucky to have been selected for this training now that agriculture has become a lucrative business.

“We were very eager to learn and we learnt a lot. We thank the NDDC, NRCRI and its Head of Training Unit, Dr. Tessy Madu. But we plead that the training be subsisted and extended to other

people.”

In his remarks, the representative of the NDDC Managing Director, Mr. Salami Olaniyi, commended the farmers for successfully completing the training which he said was part of the Commission’s empowerment programmes aimed at boosting agriculture, food production and employment.

Also in his remarks, the institutes’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Julius Okonkwo

described the trainees as “a wonderful and lively class, the best we have had here,” and commended the NDDC for choosing his institution for the training because “we have the facilities to host and impart the needed knowledge.”

He however urged the farmers to apply what they learnt properly as, according to him, doing so would facilitate in achieving the government’s quest for food security for the country.

Ebonyi Dep Gov pays hospital bills for indigent rural patients at FETHA

By PETER OKUTU

A

BAKALIKI—THE families of the patients whose medical bills were paid by the Ebonyi State Deputy Governor, Mr. Dave Umahi last weekend have described the gesture as a miracle designed

by God to wipe away their tears.

The patients among others include a four- year old boy, Nwibo Chibuike and another Lebechi Nwanyim on admission at the Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki, FETHA for different kinds of ailments. They were brought to FETHA from the rural areas across the state.

As donations amounting over N1 million was made by the Deputy Governor towards the welfare of the psychologically depressed patients, they suddenly started beaming with smiles of relief as they came to the consciousness that they could be discharged from the hospital, sooner than later to

•Ebonyi State Deputy Governor, Dave Umahi, 4-year-old Chibuike and staff of FETHA, during the later’s visit to the hospital. reunite with their families.

These poor patients who hailed from Ebonyi, Izzi, Ezza South and Abakaliki Local Government Areas among others were initially amazed when they saw Umahi and his entourage including the Chief Medical Director, CMD, of

Provost warns students against cultism, exam fraud, others Continues from page 5 congratulate you all for it is no mean feat to be admitted into either Federal College of Education (Technical) Umunze or Nnamdi Azikiwe University, both of which are top flight institutions.”

He then urged the students to make use of the facilities at their disposal in the C M Y K

college to enable them graduate on-time with a diploma of the college or degree of NAU as appropriate, adding that for the students to achieve all these, they must be guarded against absenteeism in school, examination misconduct, certificate forgery and cultism,” among others.

FETHA, Dr. Paul Ezeonu and other staff of the health institution moving from one ward to another to fraternise with them.

Speaking immediately after

This is not the first time we have taken care of the needs of people in the state; apart from my annual scholarship schemes, paying the bills of indigent patients is a usual practice by me.

•Umahi with the CMD of FETHA, Dr. Paul Ezeonu during the visit. the visit, Umahi stated that the outing was part of his usual humanitarian programme for the people of the state as such gestures gave him happiness and relief, especially seeing the condition of the less privileged turn around for the better.

He called on well meaning Nigerians and other prominent individuals in the state to emulate such gesture by alleviating the suffering and pains of the poor and less privileged in society.

“This is not the first time we have taken care of the needs of people in the state; apart from my annual scholarship schemes, paying the bills of indigent patients is a usual practice by me. We need to support indigent patients because it is only a healthy person that is sure of wealth and a better tomorrow,” he said.

In his response, the CMD, Dr. Ezeonu commended the Deputy Governor for his kind gesture towards the indigent patients in the hospital noting that if other eminent personalities in the state could imbibe such virtue, the world would be a better place to live in. The CMD who gave instances of how patients had remained in the hospital for months because of non payment of their medical bills further enjoined privileged persons in the state to take up the task of supporting and alleviating the suffering of the masses through humanitarian services.

In appreciation, the mother of the four year old Chibuike, Mrs. Chibuike thanked God for using Umahi to alleviate their pains and worries even as she wished him well in his future endeavours.

8 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015

Another unpaid Imo contractor laid to rest

By CHINONSO ALOZIE

O

WERRI—ONE of the local contractors said to be owed billions of Naira for jobs executed for the Imo State government is dead.

The late contractor and traditional ruler of Itu, Ezenihitte in Mbaise Local Government Area, His Royal Highness, Eze Emmanuel Onwughara allegedly died of frustration arising from his inability to pay back a loan borrowed to execute some contracts. His death, brings to 20, the local contractors who have died following such frustrations.

South East Voice confirmed from a member of the deceased family (name withheld) that the death of Onwughara was as a result of his inability to pay the money borrowed from a bank to execute a road project awarded to him by the state government.

South East Voice was

•Governor Okorocha

Rochas

told that the frustration culminated to a “high blood pressure” which led to the traditional ruler joining his ancestors.

Some contractors under the aegis of Un-paid Imo Contractors, U-IPIC, had demonstrated within the state capital, Owerri, Imo State, demanding the payment of

debts amounting to about N180 billion by the government. They said that 19 of their members had died as a result of frustrations over their alleged indebtedness to financial institutions where they got loans to execute such contracts.

Members of U-IPIC, led by their president Rev. Udokadi Ononiwu pleaded with state government to appreciate the plight of his members adding that the primary responsibilities of government was not only to show care to it citizens but also to guarantee the enabling environment for the people to grow economically.

Consequently, the Imo State government through the Chief of Staff to the governor, Sir Jude Ejiogu had promised to address the issue in order to enable them get their entitlements.

Meanwhile, Eze Emmanuel Onwughara who has been laid to rest in his palace had two sons and a daughter.

….As Okorocha pays monarchs N140,000 monthly

By NONSO ALOZIE

T

he Imo State Traditional Rulers Council has expressed appreciation to the state governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha, for reviewing their monthly stipends from N70,000 to N140,000.

The improvement in the ‘’welfare package’’ was said to have been informed by the importance attached to the roles of the monarchs in ensuring peace and tranquility in their domains.

It was gathered that the present government in enjoying an ‘’uncommon relationship and supporting each other largely,’’ due to the increase in their monthly stipends, contrary to what obtained in the state earlier.

The traditional ruler of Umudioka ancient kingdom in Orlu zone, His Royal Highness Eze Thomas Obiefule who spoke on the issue told South East Voice the attention given to Monarchs in the state

by Governor Okorocha had never been extended to them by any other regime in the C M Y K

•Some of the protesting ex-students.

94 ex-UNN students cry out over delayed licenses

By FRANCIS IGATA

E

NUGU—NO fewer than

94 former students of the University of Nigeria Nsukka, UNN, have asked the relevant authorities to intervene in the subsisting dispute between the school management and Medical Rehabilitation Technical Board of Nigeria, MRTBN, which had led to their inability to obtain their licences since graduation last year.

The students who graduated from the Medical Rehabilitation Department, held a peaceful protest at the Enugu campus of the UNN, saying that their licences for induction were withheld following the standoff between the school and MRTBN. Chanting slogans, the former students marched round the

We have laid our grievance to various relevant authorities but to no avail. From our efforts at MRTBN, we discovered that there is an administration problem between the school and the board

Faculty Building, carrying placards with inscriptions which read: “Our intern-ship have been denied because we do not have licenses; UNN and MRTBN, please set us free; We are trapped, stagnated and helpless; After collecting our N50,000 each, no license, no induction, no job.” The protesting students alleged that they paid N50,000 each for the license which was yet to be issued.

The students who spoke to South-East Voice through their leader Mr. Ifeanyi Uwaegbuonu said,”We were told to pay N50,000 each for our induction which we did. From last year till now, we have not received any information concerning our licence which has hamstrung our induction.

“We have laid our grievance to various relevant authorities but to no avail. From our efforts at MRTBN, we discovered that there is an administration problem between the school and the board.

“We have been denied access to write our intern ship examinations at various centres because we do not have licences. All the places we went for intern ship turned us back.

They referred to us as quacks.

“It was during our efforts that we found out that the problem between MRTBN and the school is that the Board said that a physiotherapist should be the Head of Department instead of the medical doctor that we have now as HOD.”

Abandoned UNN Enugu campus administration block begging for completion •Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State and some traditional rulers N100,000 as basic salary and state. According to Obiefule, N20,000 each for security ‘’we are also happy with the and other miscellaneous kind of recognition of the roles expenses, bringing the total to the traditional rulers play in N140,000 monthly. peace building and unity in the Obiefule who did not say society,’’ adding that before when the payment structure the coming of Okorocha, took effect also described monarchs were under Okorocha as one with the remunerated. passion for rapid transforHe further said that only mation of the state adding that N70,000 was paid to the the governor’s instinct for traditional rulers without any positive development has other form of allowances unlike been attested to within the last the Okorocha’s government three years of his adminiswhich had been paying tration.

Continues from page 6 Also, a staff at the registry department who pleaded anonymity for fear of victimisation told South-East Voice that if the administrative block had been completed, the encumbrance of carrying files from one point to other would be a thing of the past.

He however revealed that the present administration has not shown any interest in completing the project even though the completion would boost the running and management of the school.

A post graduate student,

Ifeoma Ibe who commented on the massive project said the university authorities should not have embarked upon it if the knew it would be abandoned.

She said: “Abandonment of projects has become a culture in this country. It is sad that such expansive projects with lofty ideas at conception stages would be jettisoned midway.

“It is sad that this type of thing is happening. The stress associated with administrative problems for students on campus is excruciating. This building would have solved such problems if completed.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015 — 33

C M Y K

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C M Y K

MARCH 25, 2015

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38—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015

RIVERS STATE: Wike, public spirit and leadership

By Tonye Awoye Whyte, New York, New York

T

HE K-LEG Act informed the rest of Nigeria and the world that in Rivers State the Nigerian democratic project has been privatized, solely owned by tyrant Obasanjo and Co. Students of American history will recall how frequently George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and others insisted that the ability of the U.S. to avoid tyranny depended upon American citizenry clinging to the path of virtue. Nigeria’s own Nobel laureate the erudite Wole Soyinka is even more direct, he says, “…the man dies in all who keep silent in the face of tyranny…”

Well, the man did not die in a certain public spirited, virtuous Rivers man called, Ezebuwo Nyesom Wike. He mobilized material and moral resources to fight the K-Leg Act in court while the Plaintiff was on self-exile and righted this grave injustice to the Nigerian democratic project. The court righted this injustice and reinstated the winner of the PDP primaries Rotimi Amaechi as governor of our beloved Rivers State.

One of the chief virtues necessary to the good citizen is public spirit; without public spirit there is no nation. It is the foundation on which the national edifice of any nation is reared.

Hence it is most important that men and women, old and young, should understand what is meant by the civic virtue which we call public spirit.

What is public spirit

What is public spirit from the ideal standpoint? It is the outer manifestation of the noble emotion called Patriotism, the love of country, state or home town. Out of the emotion of patriotism, out of love of country or state, grows the virtue of public spirit, which is patriotism manifesting in activity. A virtue is a general and lasting love emotion. “Treat all elders as fathers and mothers, all young ones as brothers and sisters,” said Manu. Then the family emotion becomes the civic virtue. When the instinctive love of a man for his country, state or home town grows permanent and action compelling, then we have public spirit. Public spirit is steady patriotism in action.

The action by Nyesom Wike to mobilise material and moral resource to fight the K-Leg Act in court, and restore the legitimacy of the democratic process in Rivers State, the action to stand by the judgment of Justice IyayiLamikanra and support the chairman and councilors of Obio/ Akpor local government, the action by Wike to set up the Grassroots Democratic Initiative (GDI) to reinvigorate the People’s Democratic Party and restore the PDP in Rivers State as a grassroots political party and not the private

Nyesom Wike

property of a tyrannical governor.

Nyesom Wike’s unwavering loyalty and solidarity, to a fellow Rivers man and the leader of his party, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan are the public actions of a Public Spirited, virtuous Rivers man.

You cannot build a good house out of rotten bricks; you cannot build a great Nation or State out of citizens of bad or indifferent character. As there is no house apart from its bricks, so there is no nation or state apart from its citizens.

The citizens are the nation, and as is their character so must be the character of the nation or state.

Since, 1999 or the dawn of this republic our beloved Rivers State has been led by a very indifferent and undemocratic leadership.

This is the first time since 1999 that our Politics has finally become a public affair not the private domain of a governor or a connected, so called political class.

In the eighteenth century in England ‘politics’ was commonly contrasted to the principle of ‘establishment’. Politicians were people who challenged the established order of Crown, Court, and Church; and they challenged it in a peculiar way, not by Palace intrigues of

This personal politics is not committed to the spirit or practice of democracy

despotism, but by trying to create clear issues of policy and by making them public. Politicians were people, whether high-minded like Pitt the elder, or lowminded like Jack Wilkes, who tried to assert the power of ‘the public’ and ‘the people’.

This is exactly what Nyesom Wike is or is doing, asserting the power of the Rivers public and the people. No candidate in the current electoral cycle whether in the PDP or the APC has done what Nyesom Wike has done for the Nigerian Democratic project in Rivers State.

Politics is, then, an activity –it is not a thing, like a natural object or work of art, which could exist if individuals did not act upon it and it is when we act on it and make it public that we create political activity.

Personal politics

Over the past several years this public activity called politics in Rivers State has been privatized by Governor Amaechi. The Amaechi leadership withdrew from public politics and has become only interested in personal and career development and as a result he has created a more personalized non-competitive politics in the places were Rivers people spend their time.

This personal politics is not committed to the spirit or practice of democracy. The deconcentration of power and the right of Rivers people to pick its leaders in their local government has been usurped

by Amaechi.

This personal politics by making appointments of chairmen and councillors continually concentrates power with the governor not the people of Rivers State. This personalized politics of Amaechi continually denies the people of Rivers State the leadership they deserve.

This personalized or tyrannical politics of Amaechi totally ignores the trend in the twenty-first century, the dramatic revival in emphasis in local democracy. This renewed interest in the principles and procedures of democratic governance at the level closest to the people is in some ways a return to the very foundations of democratic theory and practice. Direct citizen involvement is the basis of community spirit and health. It is the right of all citizens to voice opinions and grievances.

In local civic arenas, the meaning of democracy – rule by

the people – is given life and form.

Nyesom Wike is the only candidate in this election cycle in our beloved Rivers State that understands that a vigorous and effective local democracy is the underlying basis for a healthy and strong nationallevel democracy. A wise sage long time ago gave an advice on leadership, he said, “…let them begin by improving the life of their own town; let them see to its paving, its draining, its lighting, its general comfort and cleanliness; let them learn to rule men on a small scale, and train themselves to be leaders in local politics.

When they have done this, let them bring their trained abilities to the service of the motherland in larger areas…” Nyesom Wike was two term chairman Obio/Akpor local government and national chairman of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria. He has done what our great sage advised and gone above that to defend the rule of law in the judgment given by Justice Iyayi-Lamikanra, while the governor he risked his life to ensure that justice is served in the K-Leg Act arrogantly undermines the rule of law in our beloved state.

Courts under lock and key

Today, in Rivers State our law courts have been under lock and key for close to ten months, thanks to our tyrant governor whom our illustrious sons mobilized the resources to fight his court battles and ensure his mandate. A famous quote by George Washington, etched in stone above the entrance to the Supreme Court building in Lower Manhattan, New York, reads: “The true administration of justice is the firmest pillar of good government.” Going by this quote our beloved state

does not and has not heard good government for a very long time.

The Amaechi legacy is a Rivers State without courts. A legacy that ensures that ordinary Rivers men/women cannot go to the courts for justice – the way our public spirited son Ezebuwo Nyesom Wike ensured that all material and moral resource was mobilized to get candidate Amaechi victory in a court of law.

Hypocrisy at the highest levels of state government is toxic to the moral fiber that holds our communities together. The open contempt for moral values by governor Amaechi has a corrosive effect. It is a sad period for Rivers people when their governor offers such poor leadership on moral values and ethical behavior. Rivers people are a moral people, and the first lesson of a democracy is not to hold the public in contempt.

Governor Amaechi holds Rivers State and its people in contempt and totally lacks the virtues of public spiritedness.

Public spirit is what a good citizen must have for the state or republic to survive. A willingness to, sacrifice one’s own individual interests for the common good.

In Goethe’s Wilhelm Meister novels, we read that “a man’s highest merit always is, as much as possible, to rule external circumstances, and as little as possible to let himself be ruled by them” are enjoined “to learn to live for the sake of others and to forget [ourselves] in an activity prescribed by duty ”, and learn that the precept, “let each endeavor everywhere to be of use to himself and others,” is “the utterance of life itself.”

It is refreshing to say in Ezebuwo Nyesom Wike Rivers State and its people have found such an individual.

Happy New Year!

VANGU ARD, WEDNESD AY, MARCH 25, 2015—39 ANGUARD, WEDNESDA

My wife likes undressing in the dark

I want to spend my windfall on a fling Dear Bunmi, I am married and have always been a one-woman man. Now that I’m going on to 45, I’m beginning to wonder if I’ve been missing something. I have always worked in the company of available women but I have kept myself in check. I am attractive, and have had more than my share of propositions over the years.

Recently, I inherited some money (my wife doesn’t know about this) and I’m in a position to show a girl a good time. I can even afford a small apartment near my place of work which is a bit far from my home. This will enable me to entertain as if I were at home. I’m tired of saying no to all these ladies flaunting themselves at me. Should I say yes?

Ken, By e-mail.

Why don’t you use a bit of that inheritance on your family? Show your wife you

Dear Ken, What you’re really asking is if I think you should take on a mistress? Well, what’s stopping you? Be rest assured that if you did, you would be writing to me a few months later on how to get your marriage back on track!

Temptations abound. Even your wife gets tempted too, if you ask her. That doesn’t mean you should rush headlong into it!

Dear Bunmi, Is it adultery if a married man goes out once a week with a woman who is also married?

My husband swears no lovemaking is involved and that he and his secretary are just ‘good friend,’ He says adultery means sex between a married person and a single person. What is your own definition?

Moni, By e-mail.

still care about your home and she’s bound to bend over backwards to please you.

He wants me to dress like a prude Dear Bunmi, I love my boyfriend to bits but he hates me wearing clothes that show off my body.

There was this particularly hot day that I met up with him wearing a comfortable denim shorts and a halter top. He hit the roof and said I looked like I was giving men the comeon. He said that now we’re together, I should dress more conservatively.

Well, is he for real? We even argue about what I wear when we go to clubs while other girls wear even more

revealing clothes. What’s his problem?

Moni, By e-mail.

Dear Moni, It’s obvious that your boyfriend is insecure and worried that if you look too sexy other men will steal you away from him. You need to give him a lot of reassurance that he is the only one for you.

But make it clear you dress to please yourself, just as you encourage him to wear what he feels comfortable in.

Hubby redefines adultery

Dear Moni, Adultery is

a

sexual

relationship between a married person and any other person who is not his or her spouse. You need to put a stop to your husband’s ‘sexless’ dates. If his secretary’s husband finds out, he is not likely to discuss definitions.

Alternatively, why don’t you ask him if it would be alright with him for you to go on ‘sexless’ dates with your male colleague once in a while. That should give you an idea of how limited his definition of adultery is.

Dear Bunmi, My wife and I have been married for 16 years and she still undresses at night with the lights off. I’ve mentioned this casually over the years, but she becomes upset and calls me a sex maniac, so I’ve dropped the subject. We are happy together. Our sex life is fine and we have four wonderful children. But if you can tell me why my wife behaves this way, I will find it easier to understand.

Ebenezer, By e-mail.

Dear Ebenezer, A woman who believes she must hide from her husband while undressing has some

warped ideas about sex which were undoubtedly instilled in her while she was a child. In an effort to teach their children modesty, parents sometimes given the impression that there is something evil about the naked body. Such children then grow up inhibited and ashamed. They feel they must hide that which is evil, and darkness is best for hiding.

Your wife’s behaviour is a bit odd and since you’ve condoned it all those years, it might be too late to change her. If her behaviour seems normal to her and does not make her unhappy let her be, as long as she doesn’t pass her phobia on to the children.

She sees me only as a friend Dear Bunmi, Agnes and I have been friends for ages. We grew up in the same neighbourhood and she tells me about her boyfriends, some of whom have been nasty to her. I always give her some advice but she doesn’t know I’m in love with her. A few weeks ago, she came to my flat after being let down by her latest boyfriend. I consoled her the best I could. One thing led to the other and we found ourselves in my bedroom. The love making was all I dreamt of, and more.

The next day, she was her chatty self again. She said we were better off forgetting what happened the previous night as she wouldn’t want us to spoil the friendship we had.

Well, I don’t want to forget about it. I love her and want

to be with her. Should I let her know this?

Ephraim, By e-mail.

Dear Ephraim, It is always difficult making the transition from friends to lovers. It’s obvious that the thought hadn’t crossed your friend’s mind that you’re anything more than a mate before you had sex. That’s why she believed your rump was nothing more than a drunken mistake.

Why don’t you tell her how you really feel about her?

She might not return your feelings but there is always a chance that she’ll realise she feels the same about you.

Being honest doesn’t necessarily have to stop the friendship you shared, so what have you got to lose?

I need a break from a stale marriage Dear Bunmi, My life is so empty, I feel I must do something while there’s still time. My husband never tells me he loves me, never takes me out – not even to the local joints – and never pays me a compliment. He goes out drinking with his friends most nights and spends Saturday watching sports on the telly.

On Sundays, he spends the day with his widowed mother.

Our love life is on Saturday nights – if he’s home. At 30 and with just one child, I feel I could still find love with someone else but I can’t bring myself to walk out on him. Is there any other alternative?

Clarion, By e-mail.

Dear Clarion, Have you tried telling your

husband how you feel? An honest talk might bring him to his senses. But since you’ve allowed his neglectful behaviour to go on for so long, he might not get your point right away.

As if you can go with him to visit your mother-in-law and suggest she visits more often.

You can also invite friends

over for an evening or go visiting together. Many wives suffer from what is called the doormat syndrome because they don’t get up the nerve to tell their husbands how they feel. I would give the relationship another go, if I were you. Only let your husband realize he’ll have to put in more efforts.

Many wives suffer from what is called the doormat syndrome because they don’t get up the nerve to tell their husbands how they feel; I would give the relationship another go, if I were you

Why don’t you tell her how you really feel about her? She might not return your feelings but there is always a chance that she’ll realise she feels the same about you

Share your problems and release your burden. Write now to Dear Bunmi, Vanguard Newspapers, P.M.B 1007, Apapa, Lagos, or bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk

40 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015

Baseball & Sof tball: Softball: World body in vit es invit vites Nigeria to global tourney

T

he World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in recognition for the strides being made by the Nigeria Baseball and Softball Association (NBSA) has invited Nigeria to participate in the 11th Women’s World Softball championship, which would hold from Aug. 9 to Aug. 15 in Oklahoma, U.S. As part of measures to ensure that the nation excels at the upcoming event the NBSA has concluded plans to select players that would represent the nation at the event from a national championship slated to hold in Ilorin, Kwara state, according to the NBSA’s Secretary, Kehinde Laniyan.

He says the competition would hold in May. Laniyan added that other

programmes will be linedup to sharpen the competitive edge of the selected players ahead of the championship.

“The federation is already working to ensure that our team competes favourably in Oklahoma because Nigeria is the only Africa representative.

“A national championship will be stage to aid the selection of players, that will represent the country and our players will begin to have good time, as we prepare for this championship.

The championship will be for players between the ages of 16 and 18 years” Laniyan, however, appealed to corporate bodies to support the team’s preparation ahead of the championship.

Women League: Taraba, Cerezo Queens set for new season, say Tahir, Ikenwa

BY EDDIEAKALONU

A

s the Congress of the Nigeria Women Premier League holds this weekend to fashion out modalities for the 2015 season, both Taraba Queens chairman, Mustapha Tahir whose team are campaigners in the premier cadre and Augustine Ikenwa, proprietor of Lagos based Cerezo Queens who are in the professional league division one say their teams are ready to play.

“We took time to screen, recruit and prepare for the season. We took our time because of the need to have a better performance this season,Tahir said. “We want to be one of the best in the Premier League, he said” Tahir heaved a sigh of relief that after several postponements, the congress would hold and usher in the season, saying “we are ready to play, we will show our level of preparation is worth being the best,” he stated On his part, Ikenwa, whose Cerezo side are featuring in the pro- One league, said my team is ready and our goal is to work hard and return to the premier cadre.” I am attending the congress in Abuja to help fashion out a road map for the new season,” Ikenwa said.

The Congress of the Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) and the draws of the 2015 Premier League will hold in Abuja on Tuesday 24th March, 2015. Stakeholders are expected in the city by Monday.

Enyeama set for centenary against Cranes

a Cup t of the 2015 Afric INCE missing ou in Equatorial Guinea, of Nations staged gl es re tu rn to th e th e Su pe r Ea as they face Uganda ll scene international footbaStadium, Uyo today. at the Akwa Ibom ball Federation had to settle The Nigeria Foot an co un tr y as a la te ric fo r th e ea st AfSouth American side Bolivia r fo t en em ac d friendly repl an earlier planne who pulled out of concerns ahead of Nigeria’s owing to security ns on Saturday.

– face presidential electio 74th in the world The s. ar ye Uganda – ranked t gh ei st time in fir e th r nst fo ai ia ag er il ig so N phant on home at in g th e Cranes were trium be s, on pi an ch am th e fo rm er Af ric 1 in an Af co n qu al ifi er in 2es gl Ea r pe Su 2, 2007.

Kampala on June niel Amokachi is expected Da h FF is set Interim coac in this tie as the N to handle the hostscoach Stephen Keshi before to announce new ek. the end of the we ain and goalkeeper Vincent Meanwhile, capt e his 100th appearance in anes.

Enyeama will mak urs against the Cr national team colohi s de bu t 13 ye ar s ag o, erian ever Af te r m ak in g me the second Nig Enyeama will beco ark after former captain and to reach this landm Yobo. defender Joseph trio of Ahmed Musa, Odion pected to In-form strike y Ujah will be ex vi’s men, oje Ighalo and Anthon ed Sr tin ilu ainst M lead the attack agwich Albion’s Brown Ideye is om Br t es W ile wh injury. ruled out owing to

S

Int’l friendlies not for FIFA rankings – NFF JUDE OPARA, ABUJA

T

he Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has taken a swipe at those who criticize it for allegedly scheduling international friendly matches with countries considered as weak football playing nations, insisting that the essence of the matches is not

Simeone extends Atletico deal till 2020

A

tletico Madrid Madrid have reached an agreement with Diego Simeone over a new contract that will keep him at the club until 2020.

The 44-year-old’s previous deal with the Vicente Calderon side was due to expire in the summer of 2017 and a number of clubs were allegedly keeping a close eye on his situation in the Spanish capital, including Paris Saint-

Germain.

However, Simeone has now ended all speculation about his future by agreeing a three-year extension.

“This is a very important moment. The club has shown faith in the staff and I really appreciate this,” Simeone commented at a press conference.

“I want to thank all the players, both the ones who have left the club and those who opted to stay put. This would not have been possible without them.

for the monthly FIFA rankings but to keep the team in shape ahead of its numerous competitive engagements.

Many analysts have been criticizing the federation because of the seeming inability of the football house to organize quality international friendly matches with countries rated above it on the monthly FIFA rankings.

The NFF had earlier scheduled a friendly with Bolivia rated 92 in the world but when they pulled out of the fixture last week, the federation quickly arranged for Uganda, 72 in the world to play the Super Eagles, ranked 42 by FIFA. Newly, appointed general secretary of the NFF, Sanusi Mohammed while reacting to the criticisms of not engaging bigger football nations, argued that the most important thing

is for the federation to utilize the FIFA windows by engaging the players instead of wasting the opportunity because of the lack of grade ‘A’ fixtures.

“For us the most important thing is to make sure that the Super Eagles are kept busy at any FIFA window. We may not be playing to better our position in the FIFA ranking because of the lowly ranked countries we are playing right now. But it is obvious that our players will remain fit using the friendly matches to put them in shape for future international championships.

“Do not forget that we tried getting Brazil and Ghana for the Eagles which could not work out before we opted for Bolivia which also pulled out and Uganda agreed to take their place. All these are efforts we made to keep the players busy on that FIFA window day rather than staying idle” the scribe stated.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015 — 41

NOC President heaps plaudits on F/Eagles, D’Tigers

AYC title a per sonal personal honour sa ys Sanusi says N

ewly appointed general secre tary of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Sanusi Mohammed has described the Flying Eagles seventh AYC title as a “personal honour”.

Sanusi replaced Musa Amadu as NFF general secretary last Thursday and three days later the Flying Eagles pipped hosts Senegal 1-0 to win a seventh AYC crown for the country.

“This triumph by the Flying Eagles was a personal honour done to me,” saluted an elated Sanusi, when he received the team at his office in Abuja

on their arrival from Dakar.

“I was appointed general secretary on March 19 and the number 19 is significant in Islam and three days later, the Flying Eagles won the AYC.” Sanusi restated the resolve of the NFF to now ensure they are fully prepared for the FIFA U20 World Cup in New Zealand from May 30.

The newly crowned African champions are drawn in a first round group that also has Brazil, Hungary and North Korea.

•NOC Boss, Engr. Gumel

P

resident of the Nigeria Olympic Committee, NOC, Engineer Habu Gumel has paid tributes to two national teams, the Flying Eagles of Nigeria for winning the African Youth Championship trophy for a record seventh time while also doffing his hat for Nigeria’s men’s Basketball team, D’Tigers for winning the inaugural 4-Nation Challenge Series in South Africa.

Gumel who is also an executive Committee member of the International Olympic Committee, IOC, said that

Kaka: I was better than Messi, Ronaldo

it was heart-warming to see Nigerian teams standing on the podium to the envy of many other African countries.

The NOC President who was overwhelmed with the sterling performances of the two teams urged other national teams to borrow a leaf from the allconquering Eaglets and D’Tigers to ensure that Nigeria climbs back to the zenith of sports in Africa and the world. ‘’It is heart-warming that these gladdening performances are coming towards to the All Africa Games and the Rio 2016 Olympics. It is an indication of what to expect from Team Nigeria. Let the boys not relent and rest on their oars. There are more huddles ahead but I know that with dedication, hardwork and their good coaches, victory shall be guaranteed”.

Gumel said.

The Flying Eagles of Nigeria overcame all odds in the finals of the African Youth Championship to beat host Senegal to win the trophy with glittering performances from the players which has given so much hope that Nigerian football would regain its dominance in the continent and the world.

Also, D’Tigers clawed their way to victory in South Africa beating Mozambique72-59 in the final.

Skrtel charged over stamp on De Gea T

•Messi

Kaka aka has stressed K Madrid ace Cristhe was a better player in his prim iano Ronaldo an e than Real Messi. Th d Ba

e Brazilian midfie rc lder beat the illus elona forward Lionel lon d’Or and FIFA tri W or ld Pl ay er of the Year aw ous duo to the Balimpressive season ards in 2007 afte wi th AC Milan and he r an outdid both Mes remains si “I won the Ballon and former team-mate Ronaldo. proud that he and Messi,” Kaka d’Or and World Player of Year against Cristiano “They win it ev told The Daily Mail. me that’s importaery year now, but I could beat th when I see that.” nt because I had the best oppoem back then. For nents. I’m proud The 32-year-old pl ay ed al on gside Cristiano Ro between 2009 an naldo at Madrid er ’s game duringd 2013 and he feels they helped im their time togeth “I definitely thin er at the Santiagoprove each othBernabeu. having him as a k we helped improve each ot day I stuck withteam-mate. I learnt a lot of thingsher. It was great helped me a lot. him and saw how he trained, hofrom him, every w he played. It

•Ronaldo

he fallout from Liverpool’s tempestuous game against Manchester United has continued in the shape of a Football Association charge and likely ban for Martin Skrtel for stamping on David de Gea. Skrtel will be suspended for Liverpool’s next three games unless he can persuade the FA’s disciplinary department that what happened in the final moments of United’s 2-1 win was not deliberate on his part and did not constitute violent conduct.

Brendan Rodgers tried after the game to make a case that it was an accident but the television pictures make a strong case against Skrtel and he is likely to miss Liverpool’s next two league matches against Arsenal and Newcastle as well as their FA Cup sixth-round replay against Blackburn Rovers. Liverpool will already be without Steven Gerrard for those three games because of the stamp on Ander Herrera that saw the former England captain sent off within a minute of coming on as a half-time substitute.

The referee, Martin Atkinson, informed the FA his view of the Skrtel incident was obstructed and that meant it went to a video panel for a disciplinary review. The decision was that it was a red-card offence, in breach of FA Rule E3, with the members of the panel rejecting Rodgers’s explanation that it was not as bad as it looked on television.

Liverpool are deliberating about whether they should challenge the FA and stick to Rodgers’s explanation.

“My reading of it wasn’t that [a stamp],” the manager had said. “The ball has been played through and when it is slowed down it looks like he has caught him with intent. I didn’t see it like that.

42—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015

determined by what is the thinking of your own people. If you describe yourself as a leader within a community and you are taking decisions that will isolate you from the generality of your people or moving against the general tide of your people.

Majority of the people in Ekiti State desire a change like majority of Nigerians do.

In taking the decision to move out, the question was which political party could we move to.

If I wanted to go to PDP, believe me, I would have opted to join PDP. I got invitation from PDP, I was approached several times and several people met with me, including the president of this country. And for me it was a matter of honour, he also wants to build his own party, but my intention was not to join the PDP. I wasn’t looking for greener pasture and I wanted to remain within the progressives’ family.

For me, the Labour Party, believed to be a party of workers was the closest to which I could go.

For Governor Mimiko as the leader of Labour Party, it was really a pleasure to work with

•Bamidele: I had a political disagreement with Governor Fayemi

PRESIDENTIAL POLLS: We're passionate about Buhari — Bamidele REP. Opeyemi Bamidele, former national president of the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, senior special assistant to the governor of Lagos State and presently chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Legislative Budget and Research in this interview reviews the developments in the polity giving reasons why he is passionately in support of the presidential aspiration of General Muhammadu Buhari. Excerpts:

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor

T

HIS election is a major test case for those of you who say you want to rescue Ekiti State. How can this be done given the disposition of the incumbent governor?

There are two sets of elections and for the presidential election, there is no doubting the fact that a lot of Ekiti people are excited about the Buhari-Osinbajo project and I don’t think that Ekiti is an exception. I think that has to do with the general desire of the majority of Nigerians for real change. I see a lot of things happening. Buhari has a lot of goodwill on the streets and what we need to do is for all of us to be on ground and annex this goodwill and especially work

hard within the next one week to see that we are able to properly harness the goodwill on the streets. Beyond that, for the April 11 election, that is the House of Assembly elections, these are local elections, the character of each candidate will count. PDP is parading all manners of people.

I don’t want to talk down on the personality of anyone, but what we have been able to do is to ensure that we look for people with the strength of character and I am sure all of these will count in the local elections, where people know themselves very, well, they know their history, their antecedents and you cannot just bring anybody.

One is surprised that you did

not go with your one time ally, Governor Mimiko to support President Jonathan. Why did you choose Buhari?

There is nothing personal in all of these? I also want to add that every politics is local. First a lot of things will have to be

There are two sets of elections and for the presidential election, there is no doubting the fact that a lot of Ekiti people are excited about the BuhariOsinbajo project and I don’t think that Ekiti is an exception

him. I mean he also stood up for the party in Ekiti and for all of us. But when he decided he was going to join PDP, and again you must give it to him, he came from PDP and I don’t think anyone would begrudge him for going back to his political family but I made it clear that there was no way I was going to proceed to join PDP and unfortunately, a lot of people thought that because I had a political disagreement with Governor Fayemi, they believed that I was actually out on a fight to finish with my own political family and the leadership including the likes of Asiwaju Tinubu. No, that was not the situation.

Why am I talking about the Buhari Osinbajo project? One, I am convinced that there is a need for new ideas in this country.

Nigeria needs new ideas. I chair the House committee on Legislative Budget and Research. I am very concerned about the economy of Nigeria.

The more you know about this country, especially the state of our economy, the more scaring you will become. There are a lot of things that Nigerians do not even know.

I give you a practical example.

I told my committee to carry out a research and all I needed was for them to take the budget of this country in the last four years and extract how much was budgeted for the procurement of generators and diesel by agencies of the Federal Government. Yes, a lot of Nigerians say we have too many agencies and they say, 427. And I was asking somebody, where did you pick up the figure of 427 Federal Government agencies because he was saying that they were too many and we needed to prune them down.

And he was saying, everybody says 427. And I said, I am telling you authoritatively, that the number of Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs under the Appropriation

Continues on page 43

Jonathan will win — Wogu IMMEDIATE minister of Labour and Productivity, Nwadiala Emeka Wogu in this interview gives reasons why President Goodluck Jonathan is in pole position to win this Saturday’s election.

G

IVEN your earlier call on the president to declare full scale war on Boko Haram and the result now, what are your expectations for Mr. President?

The victory of Mr. President and the Nigerian Army of which he is the Commander in Chief against the insurgents in the North East is being applauded by Nigerians.

Following these victories, the good people of the North East come March 28 2015 will vote massively for President Jonathan and nobody can stop them.

Besides the possible victory in the Northeast why should one vote for Mr. President?

The success of Mr President’s transformation agenda in all sectors of the economy is being highly

acclaimed by Nigerians particularly the common people whose lives have been impacted positively in the areas of education ( the Almajiri schools in the Northern states and 14 new Federal Universities).

The impact is also being felt in the areas of health, power, aviation, transportation etc.

I personally drove myself from Abuja to Aba by road and can confirm that the common people of Nigeria whom I interacted with on the way are happy over the rehabilitation

Continues on page 43

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015—43

My vision of Nigeria in four years by Goodluck Jonathan PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan’s vision of Nigeria is one of a rosy future built on a secured environment, robust and diversified economy and well laid infrastructure to guarantee good life to all Nigerians.

In articulating his vision of where he wants to take Nigeria to, the president recalled his well known humble beginnings, his challenges in office especially the difficulties tackling Boko Haram which he claims as a worldwide phenomenon that has only lately landed in Nigeria and his achievements so far in office.

“When I was growing up in Otuoke, a small town in Bayelsa, as the son of a boat builder, life was hard. Of nine children to my parents, only two of us survived.

But I had the chance to go to school. Many did not. I worked at my studies. God smiled on me.

I am here today as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and I tell you now: there is not a moment that I forget where I come from, or how tough life can be for so many of us.

“I have no sense of entitlement.

I am not from a big family. I do not come from a profession or background that believes it has some God-given right to rule. I am here because of the will of the people and I will remain here because of the will of the people.

I am willing and able to serve, but I am not desperate to serve. I am living proof that Nigeria is a country that rewards hardwork, integrity and ambition. At its best, Nigeria is a country where, no matter where you come from, through honesty, hard work and by the grace of God, everything

and children do not die due to lack of medical attention.

A Nigeria where no child goes to bed hungry or is out of school because of family circumstances. In the future of Nigeria that I see, the young and the youths will receive quality and sound education that provides them access to job opportunities and a higher standard of living. A Nigeria where the elderly have access to the medical care they require and life expectancy is significantly higher than it is today.

“A country where the old people realise the benefit of their work and the disabled are not left behind. Nigeria will be a country of equal

•Jonathan is possible.

Vision for Nigeria “I shall win this election because Nigerians know exactly who I am, and what I stand for. I fight for what I believe in. I don’t walk out of the door when the going gets tough. Nigerians know what I have delivered and I want Nigerians to know what I will deliver in the next four years.

Our plan will build on the platform we have laid in the last four years, to deliver growth, prosperity, peace and justice for all. We are ready to take Nigeria to the next level.

“The future I see and work for is for a Nigeria that works for all.

I see a Nigeria where mothers

opportunities where every child is able to attain his or her full God given potential. Indeed, my dream is that someday, a product of the Almajiri Schools becomes the President of this great country. It will be a Nigeria where justice is not measured in any currency but available even to the most vulnerable in our society.

My vision is that of a Nigeria that works for all, and not just a few.

“This has been a long campaign. I welcome the challenge of a vigorous campaign. Democracy needs competition, but it should be the right type of constructive competition. It is a sign of strength that Nigerians finally

have a choice. In this document, I present to you a very clear choice and path to Nigeria’s progress. It is a choice and path based on the foundations that we laid during my first administration. You will find our plan for security, education, health. Also, our plans for the economy, jobs and the different forms of infrastructure to support our growth. We have not left out the environment and how we will leverage international economic cooperation for our growth and development. Most of our plans have been costed and some are obviously a continuation and completion of what we began.

This is my promise to Nigeria, a vision for the next four years.

On security, the president said: “Boko Haram is part of an international phenomenon. It is a terror that does not know borders or boundaries. We understood this from the

I shall win this election because Nigerians know exactly who I am, and what I stand for.

I fight for what I believe in

beginning. Nigeria was on the right side of the argument in Mali against the extremists; and in support of democracy in Ivory Coast, Guinea, Niger, Burkina Faso and Guinea-Bissau. What we support abroad, we champion at home: democracy, freedom and the rule of law. It is a proud record and a reflection of Nigeria’s role and responsibilities in Africa and the broader community that we have upheld and deepened.

“We have formed a formidable team with Cameroon, Chad and Niger to effectively dismantle Boko Haram. In fact, everywhere that terror has been successfully tackled, it is through partnership.

And that is what this government has championed. In the past four years we have worked hard to improve the capacity of security agencies. We have provided specialised training to our armed forces, established police academy in Kano to beef up policing capabilities. In addition, we have now provided better and improved equipment to our security agencies. This process is ongoing. We have made these investments in order to improve the capacity of security agencies to protect all Nigerians.

“There is still a real risk of further terror attacks, against the kind of soft, innocent target of which there are so many across the country. And there will be further battles ahead. But Boko Haram’s claims of a Caliphate have been shown to be as empty and bankrupt as the rest of their hateful philosophy. Nigeria remains one, and undivided. We shall root out Boko Haram.

We're passionate about Buhari — Bamidele Continues from page 42 Act, to which we voted money, is 708. It has grown from less than 400 to 708 in the last four years.

So, the government is becoming bigger everyday and I am concerned that today, we have on the floor of parliament, a 2015 proposal that has 84% going for recurrent expenditure, consumables and we have only 16% going for capital expenditure. Which economy can grow that way? When you don’t spend money on capital projects, you cannot stimulate the economy because it is through capital expenditure that an economy can create jobs, that you can build the real sector of the economy.

We calculated how much was being spent on the procurement of generators and diesel by the 708 MDAs and we came up with a very staggering figure: over N360 billion has been spent on the procurement of generators and diesel over the last four years. We went beyond that to all the 36 states of the federation and

then to the 774 local government areas and saw that over N1.1 trillion had been spent on the procurement of generators and diesel. So, how much do we need to fix the energy sector.

So, there is no way I can be going to an election and allow myself to be brought down by the sentiments of who is my friend?

Who is a Christian? Who is a Moslem?

So, for me it is more of the economy. We need new ideas to grow this economy and everybody is talking about corruption. So, who deals with it? I have nothing against President Jonathan, he is a gentleman as far as I am concerned. But what manner of people are advising this administration?

What manner of people are in charge of this economy? And to what extent can I assure myself that President Jonathan would be in control of these people in the next four years. I am a member of the House committee that is investigating oil theft and I know the kind of revelation that has

been coming out and that is another issue. Part of the reason that the speaker is stepping that down until after the election is that we don’t want anyone to think that they are trying to use it as a campaign instrument.

Nigeria is bleeding at an unimaginable level and I cannot know all of this and have the moral conscience to say that the sustenance of this order.

Definitely, I am convinced that there is a need for a change, a

change that must be quick and a change that not only must be based on manifestoes written by consultants, but a change that also must be driven by people that can give us some measure of confidence.

...Jonathan will win — Wogu Continues from page 42 and reconstruction of Federal roads across the states.

Mr. President as well as the Party and the Presidential campaign organization have worked hard for the victory of PDP come March 28 2015.

Just as the First Lady, Mama Peace has mobilised Nigerian women to come out enmasse and vote for Mr. President who is the first Nigerian Leader who gave the women 35% affirmative action.

What is President Jonathan’s place in history?

Mr. President is Nigeria’s modern day Lee Kaun Yew of

•Wogu: Nobody can stop

Jonathan

Singapore who transformed his country in 31 years while our President will consolidate

our transformation Agenda in the next 4 years.

While it took Lee Kaun Yew 31 years to transform Singapore , it took Nigeria 38 years to destroy the part of transformation that was started immediately after independence until President Jonathan came to power.

In Abia State, from Aba to Umunneochi LGA ( 17 LGA of Abia State). We will re-enact the electoral success of 2011 and even do more.

President Jonathan will win the March 28 Presidential election and nobody can stop him.

44—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015

My plan to defeat Jonathan, Buhari — Onovo, NCP presidential candidate In this interview, the Presidential candidate of the National Conscience Party, NCP ,Mr. Martin Onovo maintains that there is no party that can defeat NCP in a free and fair election. Excerpts:

By Akoma Chinweoke & Achilike Anthony

F

OR a country that shed military rule a decade and a half ago, would you say democracy has taken root in Nigeria?

We would say that democracy is not taking root in Nigeria. We would say that criminology has taken root in Nigeria. We say this because, several criminal acts are freely used with impunity in Nigerian politics. Acts like thuggery, rigging, forgery, perjury, etc. For democracy to take root, the two pillars of democracy must be in place.

The pillars are the ‘Rule of law’ and the Integrity of the ballot.Without one or both, it cannot be called a democracy. In the current Nigerian case, the Constitution and the Electoral act are the fundamental laws for elections in Nigeria. Both are commonly violated with impunity.

Currently, Gen. Buhari’s certificate issue is still unresolved. The associated perjury is also ignored. At the same time, Dr. Jonathan raised

funds in violation of several election finance laws. Democracy cannot exist with lawlessness because democracy requires first, the ‘Rule of law’.

The process of coming to power by many of our rulers is criminal.

So, mostly criminals find it easy to come to power. Alhaji Maitama Sule rightly pointed out that the actual process of coming to power involves rigging, election violence, political assassination, abuse of state power and bribing of judges

We will win the election because, we are the oldest party in Nigeria today and the people know our history of integrity and patriotism

•Onovo: INEC must be pro-active

and lawyers. Some judges have been previously indicted. So if you are doing all that, rigging, violence, assassination and bribery to get to power, then, you are a criminal. And the system of such government can be called

a criminocracy. We must all reject and oppose any criminocratic acts and candidates.

Following endless controversy trailing the use of card readers and military personnel at election venues.

Are you satisfied with the level of preparation by INEC ahead of the elections?

Card readers were used successfully for elections in Ghana. If the card-readers are used efficiently, they can improve the integrity of the elections. We think that the field tests conducted by INEC provide an excellent opportunity to identify all issues with the cardreaders and fix them prior to the elections. We must ensure that only qualified and registered voters can vote. We must also ensure that no voter can vote more that once.

It has been widely reported that parties in power are cloning PVCs (another in the long list of criminal electoral practices).

There are also public reports that same parties are buying up PVCs from registered voters.

We would keep wondering how the cloned or purchased PVCs will be used by the parties. On the use of the military, we must insist that we have always used the military to support internal security during elections. This is the practice. With so many unlawful but powerful private armies in Nigeria, it is clear that the Nigerian Police alone cannot provide robust security for elections.

With multiple fatalities in several states during the primaries of the ruling party, it will be inappropriate not to expect serious security issues during the elections. We will need the military to support civil security arrangements.

Only paid praise singers want continuity — Arigbe-Osula MR. Emmanuel Arigbe-Osula, erstwhile minority leader of the House of Representatives was an active member of the House in his time as representative of Oredo Federal Constituency, of Edo State. Arigbe-Osula who is a keen supporter of the Muhammadu Buhari presidential aspiration in this interview gives his perspective why the former head of state should be elected president, debunks insinuations of hypocrisy in the support he is getting from party elders and dismisses opponents of the Buhari ascendancy as those committed to the retention of the system and structure of corruption

W

HY are you actively pushing for Buhari after your leading role in the enthronement of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan as Acting President four years ago?

My endorsement of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari is founded on the commitment of GMB to the eradication of corruption the single most destructive problem of our country. His antecedents and relentless quest to serve our nation and redirect it from the path of doom which 16years of PDP administration has brought our nation should be commended and supported by all well-meaning Nigerians in order to promote a better tomorrow for all us.

How then do you react to the assertion that he is surrounded about by allegedly corrupt persons?

Those who say that with the likes of APC leaders like Tinubu, Atiku, and Amechi who they allege as very corrupt, GMB may not be able to fight corruption are mischievous and does not recognize the resolve and collective commitment to change. With PDP being home to all, but just four of the governors indicted by the Nuhu Ribadu EFCC, and this administration being the singular must corrupt administration in the history of our nation, we are not

surprised that Tinubu, Atiku, and other progressive minded people that PDP had in their party have joined hands with GMB to end cancerous corruption that has destroyed our nation for years.

These people being castigated by PDP and GEJ campaign have instantly become heroes by siding with the people to save our nation no matter the smear and attack from detractors of progress.

With the self admittance of failure of his administration in the last six years, GEJ should not have sought for reelection, instead he should have honourably apologized to our people for the colossal waste of the nation’s wealth and injury caused the people by the failure of his administration and 16 years of disservice of PDP to Nigeria.

But the PDP is actively being promoted for its successes especially in the last four years?

It will take many years of serious commitment to anti-

•Arigbe-Osula corruption and progressive administration to salvage our nation from the ruin that PDP has left our country. Only ambassadors of corruption and paid praise singers will support the status quo, but prosperity shall not forgive those who seek to perpetuate fraud and the seemingly

endless destruction of our nation as collectively orchestrated by 16 years of PDP rule. The end cannot come soon enough on the 28th of March, 2015 when the resolve of the people to era in change will be manifested in the election of GMB.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015—45

POLLS: Delta SSG warns against use of card readers

By Festus Ahon

A

SABA—SECRETARY to Delta State Government, SSG, Mr. Ovuozorie Macaulay, has advised the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, against the use of the controversial card reader to avoid throwing the country into calamity.

Speaking with newsmen in Asaba, Macaulay challenged the Chairman of INEC, Prof.

Attahuru Jega to tell Nigerians where the card reader has been successfully used and proved to be reliable.

He said: “My problem with the card readers is that they have never been tested, used and proved successful anywhere. No matter how scientific, no matter how reliable they say it is, it is like an instrument that has never been tested in the theatre and for the first time you want to use it to operate on a human heart. It’s not done anywhere in the world.

With due respect to Jega, he is a professor and he knows what research is all about.

“This card reader has never been used before. This is the first time they are bringing it in.

We have had several byeelections, senatorial, federal constituencies and governorship. If I was a governor, I wouldn't even allow you to use it for my election, let alone in a national election. As civilised as America is, as scientific as Israel is, they have not used this method and it has

not been proved anywhere in the world.

“Such an object or apparatus cannot be put to test for the first time in a third world country like Nigeria. No amount of grammar by the INEC boss and his team can convince me that the intention of the card reader machines is genuine because the card reader lacks the pedigree and no instances where the machines have been

used successfully.

“Until they are able to prove to Nigerians the reliability of the card readers, as far as I am concerned, they should put the card readers aside and do the normal elections the way we do it and after the elections, when we have bye-elections, they can put it to test so that you don’t cause a national panic and that is my position on the card readers.”

Ex-militant leader disowns colleagues who endorsed Buhari

By Akpokona Omafuaire

W

ARRI—EX-MILITANT leader, Mr Clifford Wilson, yesterday, said that the ex-militants who endorsed All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, and Delta State governorship candidate of the party, Chief O’tega Emerhor, were not former militants.

The President of Leadership, Peace and Cultural Development Initiative, while reacting to a newspaper publication that ex-militants under the aegis of Coalition of Association of Ex-Agitators had endorsed Buhari, said the group was not recognised anywhere.

He also disowned their leader, Isreal Akpodero, challenging him to show Nigerians where his camp was located.

“We, the former freedom fighters, don’t know Israel. We don’t know the body. We don’t know where they came from.

President Jonathan has done very well, so if any person is coming to make negative comments about him, that person is under attack and should seek medical attention,” he stated.

C M Y K

PRESENTATION: Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, Delta State PDP governorship flag-bearer, (right), receiving a customized T-shirt from executive members of Urhobo Youth Leaders Association, led by Mr. Francis Arhiyor (3rd from right), for Jonathan/Okowa election, in Asaba.

Sack Jega now, Ohanaeze youths tell Jonathan

By Godwin Oghre

S

APELE—OHANAEZE Youth Council, the apex socio-political and cultural umbrella body of the youths of the Igbo nation at home and Diaspora, has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to sack the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Ataharu Jega, saying that it has no confidence on Jega to conduct free and fair elections on March 28 and April 11.

The council, through its National President, Mazi Isiguzoro Okechukwu, said: “Jega will wreak unprecedented havoc on the country if he is allowed to preside over the conduct of the general elections.

By his antecedents, he has shown preponderance of evidence which indicate that he is biased against the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the platform under which President Goodluck Jonathan is contesting the presidential

election, but favours the All Progressives Congress, APC, which has Gen. Mohammadu Buhari (rtd), as presidential candidate.

“He should therefore, be sacked now before it is too late.”

The group, in Sapele, Delta State, also threw its weight behind the presidential ambition of Jonathan and the Delta State PDP candidate in the April 11 governorship election, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa.

No apology for decision to vote Buhari, Emerhor —UPU

By Egufe Yafugborhi

W

ARRI—URHOBO Progress Union, UPU, faction led by Chief Tuesday Onoge, has said that the Urhobo nation owes no one an apology on its resolve to vote for all candidates of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the coming general elections.

Alhaji Mumakai-Unagha, National Publicity Secretary of UPU, stated this at the Ekpan, Uvwie Local Government area, home of Chief Onoge while addressing a crowd of youths from all 24 Urhobo kingdoms who visited.

He said the Urhobo have not benefitted from the present administration to justify further support for President Goodluck Jonathan, maintaining that the administration has humiliated and brought hardship to Urhobo nation.

"President Jonathan is our brother from the South-South, but voting on sentiments in the past has done us no good. Change is sweeping across the country and Urhobo which has suffered mockery and neglect under our so called South South brother's administration cannot be left out of the coming change," he said.

Abe takes campaign to more communities

A

HEAD of Saturday’s general elections, the All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate for Rivers South-East senatorial district, Senator Magnus Abe, has taken his reelection campaign to more communities in the area.

This came as he got the endorsement of 28 groups consisting of chiefs, elders, women, youths and professional organisations bringing to 38, sociopolitical groups in the Rivers South-East backing his re-election to the Senate.

Abe, who is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream) visited communities in Khana, Eleme, Andoni, Oyigbo, Gokana, Tai and Opobo/ Nkoro, where he was described as “a worthy representative of the people.”

Prominent among the groups were the Obolo consultative forum, OCR; Ogoni Generation Next Project, OGNP; Ogoni Democratic Movement, ODM; Rivers Progressives Alliance, RPA; Indigenes without borders and ‘O’ela Obor Eleme, OOE among others.

POLLS: DESOPADEC commissioner sensitises Isoko nation

A

CHIEFTAIN of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the commissioner representing Isoko ethnic nationality on the board of Delta State Oil Producing Areas D e v e l o p m e n t , DESOPADEC, Mr Joseph Ogeh, is currently on a sensitization tour of Isoko North beginning from the two wards in Iyede Kingdom.

Ogeh’s first point of interaction was with the youths whom he described as the leaders of tomorrow and needed to properly be prepared for the elections.

He said he was in Iyede to educate the people on the voting procedures, a move appreciated by the youths, who assured him that they will vote all the PDP candidates beginning from President Goodluck Jonathan, who is seeking a second term in office.

46—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015

Obi to Groups: Why you should vote for Jonathan

F

ORMER governor of Anambra State and the Deputy National Director General of President Goodluck Jonathan’s Campaign group, Mr. Peter Obi, has called on maritime groups to support the candidacy of President Goodluck Jonathan in the forthcoming election.

The group comprises freight forwarders, maritime workers, Ndi Otu Okiwu (Igbo lawyers in Lagos) and selected Igbo groups, including Aka Ikenga and Igbo Amaka.

Obi, who made the call during separate interactions he had with the groups in Lagos yesterday, insisted that Jonathan remained the best candidate in the election.

He noted that no past President has done what Jonathan had done in four years, adding that Jonathan had not only resuscitated dead corporations in the country such as the railway, but was also building new ones and expanding the frontiers of the country’s economy.

Using agriculture as an example, Obi said under Jonathan, Nigeria’s food import bill had reduced by 50 percent.

He reminded maritime workers that President Goodluck Jonathan had done a lot to reduce their suffering, including the movement from the usual nine hours to 24 hours operations.

Obi, who also noted reforms and upgrade executed in the ports, said plans had also been concluded to build new ports to ease the congestion experienced at the old ports.

On the reasons Jonathan should return, Obi said he possessed essential qualities of leadership which, according to him, includes patience, fairness, sense of justice and integrity among others.

He argued that General Muhammadu Buhari’s taunted integrity did not translate into All Progressives Congress, APC’s integrity as, according to him, all those surrounding Buhari cannot be said to be men of integrity.

C M Y K

ARISE WOMEN: From left— Mrs Dayo Jalekun, member, Queens College Old Girls Association; Mrs Shirley Okharedia, President; Assistant Pastor Hetty Bakare, Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG; Mrs Obiageli Ogbechie, Manager, The Incubator; Pastor Tosin David and Pastor (Mrs) Siju Iluyomade, Convener, Arise Women, during the Arise Women Medical Outreach to Queens College, Yaba, Lagos. PHOTO: Lamidi Bamidele.

Why I organized Igbo leaders in Northern states for Buhari— OGBONNAYA ONU

By Henry Umoru

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BUJA—FORMER governor of Abia State, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, yesterday gave an insight into why he mobilized Igbo leaders in the 19 Northern states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, to endorse the presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), saying the people of the South-East must not put their eggs in one basket.

Speaking with Vanguard yesterday, Dr. Onu, who was optimistic that APC would win Saturday ’s presidential election, said General Buhari had been campaigning on issues and the manifesto of the party, adding that the people of the South-East geopolitical zone had been with the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, since the coming on board of the present political dispensation.

The former national chairman of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, and a chieftain of APC said: “It is very important that the people of the South-East do not put their eggs in one basket.

“If you look at the politics of the nation over the past 16 years, the people of the SouthEast supported the ruling PDP. “However, if you look at the way the ruling PDP treated the South-East, you would find out that there is not really any remarkable reward for the loyalty and the support that the south had for the ruling PDP. You know the people of the South-East, they are very enterprising.

“Many of them are engaged in commerce and trade and they need good roads so that people can move in and out of the South-East.

“I do not know if you have visited Awka; you need to travel between Awka and Enugu, you would be amazed on how bad that road is.

“You need to travel between Owerri and Port Harcourt, you would be amazed how bad the

road is, especially the Imo State section of that road.

“These are all federal roads. From Aba to IkotEkpene and from Umuahia to Ikot-Ekpene.

“It appears that each time election is by the corner, a foundation stone will be laid for the second Niger Bridge.

You know the last time that this happened and everybody thought that that bridge

would be built, but nothing came out of it. Again just under one year to another election, similar effort is coming on.

“There is not really anything that the people of the South-East can say is the reward they got or they are getting from this loyalty, this massive support.

“So APC is a national party; a very strong party. We now have two strong parties in a multi-party democracy in the country.

... as Buhari promises to revive dead industries in South-East

By Chimaobi Nwaiwu

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N E W I — PRESIDENTIAL candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), has pledged to revive dying industries in the South-East that were shut down by lack of power.

Buhari made the promise at a town hall meeting in Onitsha, Anambra State, where he was represented by a chieftain of the party, Chief Audu Ogbeh, because of his invitation to Abuja to meet chairman of Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, and Ghana’s President, John Mahama, on the elections.

Buhari noted that the SouthEast was the place Nigeria's industrial revolution would take place, adding that the industries that sprang up in the region in 1982 had all shut down because of lack of power.

He said: “There is no way the country will survive with

importation. There is nothing we are producing any more in Nigeria because of importation and it has led to the terrible decline of Naira.

“South-East is strategic in revamping the economy of Nigeria. It is not just about election; industries in South-East must be encouraged.”

PDP, a ‘use and dump’ party—MBADINUJU

By Vincent Ujumadu

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WKA— FORMER governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju, who recently dumped Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for APC, has described his former party as an organization known for using and dumping people, adding that injustice had remained the bane of the party.

Mbadinuju told reporters in Awka that he decided to join APC because it had proven to be a promising political party of the present and future.

The former governor, who

went down memory lane on what he described as his ugly experience with PDP, said he had already informed the executive members of PDP in his Umuaku Ward in Ihiala Local Government Area of his decision to withdraw his membership and his registration with APC. He said: “It is painful because as a founding member of PDP, who toiled hard to ensure that it gained acceptance of the majority of our people, I had very high hopes for the party.

“However, it is necessary to join APC now. It is the right thing to do because it has proved to be a promising party for the present and future, as everything good about PDP has since vanished.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015—47

CPP adopts Jonathan as candidate

By Chris OchAyi

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BUJA — THE Citizens Popular Party, CPP, has adopted the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, President Goodluck Jonathan as its candidate for this Saturday’s presidential election.

Addressing newsmen yesterday in Abuja, the National Chairman of CPP, Chief Sam Eke, said that the party decided to support President Jonathan’s re-election bid to enable the administration i m p l e m e n t recommendations of the 2014 national conference.

He added that the party’s decision was based on the fact that President Jonathan willl continue to pursue vigorously and complete his transformational agenda.

Implementation of CONFAB report, solution to imbalance, injustice —Sen Adeyemi ...urges Nigerians to rally round Jonathan

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

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BUJA — CHAIRMAN, Senate Committee on the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Senator Smart Adeyemi has said that the injustice and imbalance in the Nigeria polity will be addressed through the implementation of the National

Conference, CONFAB, report.

Senator Adeyemi also said that the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan will facilitate the implementation of the 2014 conference report.

Meantime, Senator Adeyemi has accused the All Progressives Congress, APC, of committing sins against God and Nigerians by luring a man of God, Professor

Yemi Osinbajo that was winning souls for Christ into murky waters of politics thereby betraying his ‘divine’ calling.

He said that the party had sinned against God and Nigerians by allegedly foisting its presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), who, he described as a dictator to the electorate, even mindful of his

I'll win — Kwara LP gov candidate

By Demola Akinyemi

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LORIN — THE governorship candidate of Labour Party in Kwara State, Dr Mike Omotosho, has said that the outcome of the gubernatorial election in the state will surprise many as he will win the election, therefore, it was an insult to expect him to step down for the incumbent Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of the All Progressives Congress, APC or Senator Simeon Ajibola of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP because they have nothing to offer him.

Addressing newsmen in Ilorin, yesterday, Omotosho also directed his teaming supporters to vote for President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday.

He said: “We do not have godfathers, but God is our father. We shall not cave in to the threats and confrontations of those that want to hold our state captive at all cost. Kwara shall be free."

SERIES: From left, Group Managing Director, Verdant Zeal Ltd, Mr. Tunji Olugbodi; Chairman, Troyka Holdings, Mr. Biodun Shobanjo; Chairman, 2015 Innovention Series, Sir Steve Omajafor, and Guest Speaker, Professor Pat Utomi, at the 2015 Verdant Zeal Innovention Series, yesterday, in Lagos. See more pictures on Page 14.

Lamido denies rumour of mass defection to APC

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UTSE:— GOVERNOR Sule Lamido of Jigawa State, has denied recent media report that some members of his cabinet have defected to the opposition All Progressive Party, APC, ahead of the coming general elections.

Declaring open the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP

stakeholders meeting at Government House Dutse, Governor Lamido clarified that the online publication was untrue, and aimed at creating confusion with a view to hindering the imminent success of the PDP at the polls.

He accused the opposition APC of orchestrating malicious

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PE — OVER 500 members of the All Progressives Party, APC, have been received into the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, by the Lagos East senatorial coordinator of the GoodluckThumb, Habib Uthman, during the 'thank you Nigeria' concert/rally organised by the C M Y K

propaganda to create confusion and divert the attention of PDP card carrying members.

An online media had weekend reported that some serving commissioners, special advisers and members of the state of House of Assembly from Jigawa State have dumped the ruling PDP to APC.

Following the report, Governor Lamido directed all the commissioners and members of the state Assembly to publicly make self introduction to journalists at the meeting and reiterated their commitment to work for PDP and pledged to remain in the party.

Abide by the outcome of Sat polls, Aliyu advises

By Wole Mosadomi

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judiciary into politics, adding that the judiciary should not be mani- pulated into giving victory to anyone who does not deserve it.

Aliyu, at the commissioning of Nigerian Union of Teachers,

INNA — CHAIRMAN, Northern Governors' Forum and Governor of Niger State, Dr. Muazu Aliyu, has called on all Nigerians to abide by the outcome of Saturday elections.

He also enjoined Nigerians to SABA—OVER 500 youths be orderly and maintain the peace have been employed during the polls to further the Federal entrench democracy in the through Government’s Graduate country.

The governor also called on the Internship Scheme, GIS. The project director of the opposition not to drag the

NUT, Endwell School and Tractor Hiring Scheme in Minna, yesterday, commended the judiciary for its roles so far, adding that government will not allow anyone to drag it (judiciary) into politics.

According to him, “Our judiciary has been doing well and we must not allow anyone to drag it into politics. The courts are independent, just and fair and they will not be used to give anyone victory where they do not deserve it.”

FG employs 500 youths through GIS

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PDP receives 500 APC decampees in Lagos

By Daniel Gumm

alleged draconian regime as a military head of state.

Speaking in Abuja, yesterday, Senator Adeyemi said that the laudable recommendations contained in the conference report would ensure that Nigeria was restructured along the lines of true federalism, while also engendering development.

He said that his constituency was firmly in favour of restructuring and state creation, adding that such would ensure justice, equity and even development.

He added that the injustice done to different sectors of the polity can only be redressed through the implementation of the confab report.

According to him, politicians of the South-West specifically needed to watch their moves as the decades of the region’s agitations for national conference was about being realised.

He said: “I commend the Federal Executive Council for approving the implementation of the confab report and I assure them that the National Assembly is eager to commence work on its final implementation."

“I am in support of creation of states. Who does not know that the Igbo, the Ijebu, the Southern Kaduna people, the Oke-Ogun, Southern Borno need another states, or that we need to solve some of the contradictions that stall development in Kogi?

South-West Zone of the group, in Epe, Lagos State.

The event, which featured roadshow and musical performances by artistes such as Ade Piper, Dre Snag, Mallam Spicy, Little Doctor and Fuji Maestro, Remi Aluko, among others, also witnessed the award of 'Democrat of the Decade' to President Goodluck Jonathan by members of the group.

Posthumous awards were also given to late M.K.O Abiola, late Chief Bola Ige, former minister; late Alfred Rewane, renowned political icon and Itsekiri leader; late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, late Kudirat Abiola and late Funsho Williams, for their contributions to the consolidation of democracy and national development.

scheme, Dr. Peter Papka, disclosed this while declaring open a three-day orientation training for interns and representative firms in Asaba, Delta State.

The project director represented

by Augusta Onyeozirila, said the scheme which is under the Subsidy Re-investment and Empowerment Programme, SURE-P, had turned out more than 2,000 trained graduates with over 500 fully employed.

Dr. Papka noted that the scheme had done a lot in providing the unemployed graduates with internship opportunities that would expose

them to skills relevant to the current labour market and enhance their chances of being employed and self-reliant.

He pointed out that the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, SMEs, had witnessed massive growth due to increased manpower as some interns had used part of their monthly stipends to start their businesses.

The GIS project director disclosed that the scheme’s statistics showed that 12,493 firms across the country registered to participate in the programme while 248, 104 graduates had also registered,which indicated confidence of firms and graduates in the programme.

48—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015

COMMISSIONING: Ogun State Governor, Sen. Ibikunle Amosun (middle), Oba Kehinde Olugbende, Olu of Ilaro/Paramount ruler of Yewaland (2nd left) and others, during the official commissioning of Ogun State Plainfields Housing Estate, at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta. Photo: Wunmi Akinola.

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SIGNING: From left: Mrs Yewande Sadiku, CEO, StanbicIBTC Capital, Mr Timothy Oguntayo, GMD/CEO, Skye Bank Plc, Yinka Sanni, CEO, StanbicIBTC Bank, and Mr. Atinuke Taiwo, Div. Head, Legal, Regulatory & Company Sect, FMDQ, during the formal signing of Series I 20 billion Commercial Paper programme of the planned N100 billion Commercial Paper for Skye Bank, in Lagos, yesterday. Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi.

SESSION: From left: Mr. Ishola Aregbesola, governorship candidate, Action Alliance Party, AAP, Mr. Joseph Okonmah, Chairman, Nigeria Institute of Public Relations, NIPR, Lagos chapter, Mr. Adeniji Adegboyega, governorship candidate, KOWA Party, Alhaji Fassy Yusuf, former Ogun State Commissioner for Information and Debate Moderator, Mr. Ayodele Akele, governorship candidate, National Conscience Party, NCP, and Mr. Bolaji Ogunseye, governorship candidate, Alliance for Democracy, AD, at the Lagos Decides 2015 interactive session with governorship candidates in the state, organized by NIPR, Lagos chapter, in Lagos.

INDUCTION: From left: Prof. Munzali Jibril, Deputy President, Nigerian Institute of Management, Dr. Nelson Uwaga, President and Chairman, NIM and Mohammed Sulaiman, Registrar/Chief Executive, NIM, at the induction of new members under its NIM/NYSC Strategic Partnership Scheme in Abuja.

CONFERENCE: Mr. Osagie Okunbo, Managing Director, Chief Executive Officer, Shell Plc ( left) and Mr. Fred Okoigun, Group Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer, Arco Group Plc, during a tour of the Arco Group stand by the Shell MD, at the ongoing Nigeria Oil & Gas conference and exhibition in Abuja.

CAMPAIGN: Commissioner (Special Duties) in-charge of Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC, Mr. Matthew Opuoru (middle), at Polokor Market, Warri, during the Delta South PDP 6/6 campaign at Warri South Constituency 2. Left is Chairman, Okere-Urhobo Youth, Cyril Eboh and others.

CONCERT/RALLY: South-West Coordinator of “TheGoodluckThumb,” Prince David Omaghomi (3rd left), addressing members of the “TheGoodluckThumb” and some APC decampees to PDP, during the Thank You Nigeria Concert/Rally organized by the South-West zone of the group in Epe, Lagos State.

LAUNCHING: From left: Mr Lekan Olufodunrin, Managing Editor, The Nation Newspapers, Mrs Olubunmi Fabamwo,DG,PSSDC, Magodo, Mr Ayodeji Ayopo, author and his wife, Toyin, at the launch of the books, Confront Your Mountain & The Spring of Inspiration, authored by Ayodeji Ayopo in Lagos. Photo: Biodun Ogunleye.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015 —

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50 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015

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52 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015

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Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015 —53

Osun monarchs split over Jonathan's endorsement

By Gbenga Olarinoye

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SOGBO—PROMINENT traditional rulers in Osun State have dissociated themselves from the mass endorsement of President Goodluck Jonathan for a second term in office arguing that it was wrong for royal fathers to be partisan.

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade had recently in his palace in Ile-Ife led other prominent monarchs in Yorubaland to endorse President Jonathan for another four years term.

But in what appears to be a crack in the ranks of traditional rulers in the state, a faction of the rulers who met in Ikirun, headquarters of Ifelodun Local Government Area of the state yesterday stated that the purported endorsement of Jonathan by a section of the royal fathers had put the traditional institution in public ridicule.

The statement of the group which was read by Akirun of Ikirun, Oba Abdulrauf Adedeji reads in part: “Of recent, the press is awash with the report of

and comments on the endorsement of a particular presidential candidate by some traditional rulers in Osun State and the use of their beaded walking sticks to pray for him.

“It was also alleged that in the process, huge amount of hard currency was doled out. This has become the general talk in the public domain.

“The general impression is that all traditional rulers in Osun State without exception were involved.

Consequently, our subjects have been accosting us, demanding our explanation for engaging in such

act.

“Some of them (our subjects) have also demanded for their own share of money collected by us. No doubt this is an embarrassing situation to us. For this reason,we have decided to make it clear to the public that not all traditional rulers were involved in the act.

“Particularly, we the undersigned and many others were not involved and are hereby dissociating ourselves from the episode.

“Our main concern is good governance, that will bring life

to our people. As the saying goes, the glory of a king is the welfare of his people. We believe very much in this wise saying. It is therefore, our wish and prayer that whoever emerges as the winner will be the one that will bring make more abundant to our people.

“We, therefore, call on our people to vote according to their conscienece and not on consideration of monetary graft.

“We also appeal to the politicians to play the game according to the rules, devoid of violence and other forms of foul play."

Resist illegal arrest, Ekiti APC tells members

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By Gbenga Ariyibi

DO EKITI—THE All Progressives Congress, APC, in Ekiti State has told its members to resist illegal arrest by the police and agents of the government The party expressed its worry over what it described as selective invitation of its members by the police “over purposes that are not clear to the party. “ According to the statement by

the publicity secretary of the party, Taiwo Olatubosun in Ado Ekiti yesterday, it noted that; ‘’Such invitation confirmed our earlier fear that the PDP working in cahoots with the police would start arresting our leaders from Wednesday to put them out of circulation ahead of Saturday's Presidential election.

Reacting swiftly, the PDP state secretary, Dr. Tope Aluko said neither the party, nor state government has intention to arrest any member of opposition ahead of Saturday ’s presidential election.

Aluko pointed out that APC has a tradition of raising false alarm just to curry public

sympathy.

The PDP state scribe further dismissed the allegation of the APC that it was working in concert with the police to intimidate and harass members of opposition.

Olatubosun said the party had information that Abuja had sent a contingent of armed men to lock down the state and start arresting APC members from Wednesday, March 25, to unsettle the party ahead of March 28 presidential and National Assembly polls.

Meantime, Governor Ayodele Fayose has carpeted the All Progressives Congress, APC, for always portraying issues not in their favour or interest with negative connotation The governor was apparently reacting to the statement credited to the APC spokesman, Alhaji Lai Mohammed that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was planning to use what he called “modified Ekiti rigging strategy” to rig the Saturday presidential election.

CAMPAIGNS: Olusoji

cautions against inflammatory comments

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OKOJA—THE National Coordinator, National Youth Coalition For Jonathan/Sambo 2015, Prince Olatunji Olusoji has advised politicians to desist from making inflammatory comments capable of jeopardising smooth and acceptable general elections.

Prince Olatunji, who spoke in his home town Ayere, in Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State during a rally he organised for youths from his constituency to gather support for President Goodluck Jonathan, Senator Smart Adeyemi and Hon. Teejay Yusuf said such statements could over heat the polity and create

avoidable tension.

He also reminded politicians that their individual ambitions are subordinate to national interest.

Nigeria must exist as a nation first before we could pursue our individual ambitions.”

He therefore, advised those fanning the embers of war and disunity to have a rethink, saying “we have more to gain by staying united.”

He reiterated that politics was a call for service and not a platform to cause disaffection among citizens.

2015: Jonathan best for S-West interest —ISIAKA

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BEOKUTA—AN appeal has gone to the electorate in the South West to vote for President Goodluck Jonathan in the general election, holding on Saturday.

The Ogun State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate, Prince Gboyega Isiaka made the appeal while drumming support for the re-election of the President in Abeokuta yesterday.

Isiaka said the people of the South West will benefit more if the President is allowed to continue with his transformation agenda and see to the implementation of the confab report.

The investment banker turned politician said all the change Nigeria needs is already in the report of the confab which the president has promised to start the implementation immediately after the election.

He said: “The best way is to continue with the transformation agenda of the president and the change we all desire as Yorubas are part of the reports of the confab."

INEC recruits 20,000 ad-hoc staff for Oyo

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By Ola Ajayi

BADAN —FOUR days to the March 28 election, the Independent National Electoral Commission in Oyo State disclosed yesterday that about 20,000 ad-hoc staff had been recruited for the election in the state.

The state Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Ambassador Rufus Akeju said this while speaking at a Stakeholders’ Election Forum in Ibadan yesterday.

According to him, the recruited staff include members of the National Youth Service Corps, civil servants, professors from universities across the country and others.

Akeju hinted further that they have been screened, trained and recruited as presiding officers and assistant presiding officers.

In addition, he said, 400 Supervisory Presiding Officers were invited from the federal ministries, departments and agencies.

54—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: Survey gives Jonathan 17% edge over Buhari

BRIEFING:

Mr. John Adaji, National Treasurer, National Union of Textile & Garment Tailoring Workers Union of Nigeria, NUTGTWN (left) and Mr. Andrew Edioma, Zonal C h a i r m a n , NUTGTWN, at a briefing on the Special Delegates Conference of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, in Kaduna. PHOTO: Olu Ajayi.

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survey conducted by two independent research firms has projected that President Goodluck Jonathan of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, would defeat All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), in next Saturday’s presidential election with at least a margin of 17 percent.

The survey was carried out by Chike Uchime of FORWARD MAGAZINE and Daniel DicksonOkezie of Zevland Ventures Limited.

Using 24,000 sample size across 33 states and the FCT, to decide through an opinion survey who will win the presidential election, the outcome of the research exercise was based on three critical factors: the respondents’ views on the achievements or performance of the President from 2011 to date and how this can affect his chances in the coming election; The correlation between the outcome of the 2011 Presidential election and the likely outcome of the 2015 presidential election; and a detailed study of the various dynamics that had taken place since 2011 and the likely impact on the outcome of the 2015 presidential election.

According to the survey, “when asked which of the two main political parties they preferred, 65 percent of the respondents opted for PDP, while 31 percent favoured APC.”

Jonathan promises additional state for Souh-East

By Anayo Okoli

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BA—PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, promised to ensure the creation of an additional state in the South-East and also address issues of infrastructure decay in the zone if re-elected.

He described the geopolitical zone as his political taproot and promised not to neglect it if he wins Saturday’s election.

The President made the promises in two separate sessions with the Aba business community and at an interactive session with stakeholders in Owerri, Imo State.

Speaking in Owerri, the President assured that he would ensure that the recommendation of the national conference on an additional state for the region was implemented.

He said: “The proper thing to do is to ensure that the South East geo-political zone gets an additional state as recommended by the National

Conference for equality, before any other zone agitating for additional state is considered.”

President Jonathan added that he was elated by the massive support he had been receiving from the South-East zone, pleading that the same support should be given to him and his party in the general election to enable him consolidate on the achievements recorded by his administration.

Jonathan said: “The SouthEast is the support base of PDP and I am here again to solicit your support and blessings in the Saturday election.

“It is a rare privilege for me because the South-East has not supported anybody the way they have supported me

HEVRON Nigeria and its Agbami co-venturers have restated their commitment to the total eradication of tuberculosis, TB, in Nigeria and in promoting an efficient and effective health sector.

The Agbami co-venturers consist of Star Deepwater Petroleum Limited (a Chevron company and operator of the Agbami field), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Famfa Oil, Statoil and PetroBras.

Speaking at a ceremony marking the 2015 World Tuberculosis Day in Abuja, Mr. Gbenga Aluko, Director, Policy, Government and Public Affairs, Chevron Nigeria Limited, who was representing the coventurers, said the group was set to commission five additional chest clinics, in Zamfara, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Akwa Ibom and Enugu States, in addition to the 24 chest clinics they had already built across the country.

power distribution companies, to enable the company commence work to boost the industrial growth of Aba. He said: “The South-East, generally, I owe you so much.

You have taken me as one of you. Everybody knows that politically, I am stronger in the South-East.

“The South-East is the taproot of my political structure, so I cannot ignore the zone. I can do anything humanly possible for the zone.”

On dearth of infrastructures and amenities in the zone and Aba city in particular, as raised by both MAN and ACCIMA, the President promised to tackle them if he wins on Saturday.

He said: “We are worried by the falling of the Naira. We will work with you; after the elections we will sit down and discuss the next four years.”

... as Buhari tells Nigerians: Don’t be intimidated

By Charles Kumolu, Gbenga Oke & Susan Edeh

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ORMER Vice President Atiku Abubakar, yesterday,

Oil firm restates commitment to fight against TB

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since 2011.”

Speaking earlier, the factional chairman of the Imo State Council of Traditional Rulers, Eze Cletus Ilomunanya, said that they were solidly behind the reelection of President Jonathan, who he said had done well in the last four years.

Ilomuanya regretted that the number of traditional rulers in the state, who ordinarily would have joined in the reception for the President, was reduced on account of what he said was intimidation by the state government.

Also speaking at Aba, Jonathan promised to quickly resolve the problem between Geometric Power station owned by Professor Barth Nnaji and some

According to him, in spite of the fact that the Agbami field is offshore Nigeria, the coventurers treat the entire country as the Agbami community, in line with the Deep Offshore Community Affairs Group, DOCAG, engagement principles.

He said the co-venturers had carried out 25 interventions in in 25 states within the last eight years and trained and equipped over 50 health workers.

dismissed insinuations of his possible endorsement of President Goodluck Jonathan for a second term as he affirmed that only General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) could tackle the critical problems facing the country.

Atiku spoke at the North-East Zonal Rally of All Progressives Congress, APC, as Buhari urged voters not to allow themselves to be intimidated from coming out on Saturday to cast their votes.

Yesterday ’s zonal rally attended by governors and party chieftains from the NorthEast literally shut the city.

Roads leading to the Ibrahim Babangida Square, venue of the rally were congested as early as 7a.m., even though the rally did not commence until

late evening.

Atiku, who was making his first appearance at a Buhari rally, said: “I want to use this opportunity to plead with all of you to vote for Buhari.

“All his promises to you in 2003, 2007 and 2011 would be fulfilled this time if given the needed votes in 2015.

“Buhari, I am telling you that so many challenging responsibilities await you if God allows you to be President. The task is enormous. It is the task of fixing Nigeria.

Presently all the sectors in this country have collapsed.

“We have been supporting you because we believe that you will save this country. When God makes you President, the retarded development and the growing unemployment should be among you priorities.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015 — 55

POLL: Business moguls endorse Jonathan

By Ikenna Asomba

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AGOS—AHEAD of Saturday ’s presidential election, business moguls under the auspices of Corporate Forum, CF, yesterday, endorsed the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan, saying it took the step because the President has fulfilled his 2010 campaign promises anchored on the Transformation Agenda.

Addressing newsmen at the National Institute of International Affairs, NIIA, in Lagos, Chairman of the Forum, Otunba Funsho Lawal, as well its Directors, Amb. Greg Mbadiwe and Francis Kudayo, said the group whose membership spans across sectors such as the oil and gas, manufacturing, telecommunication, banking and IT, said Jonathan’s reforms has made Nigeria the number one economy in Africa; one of the fastest growing economies in the world and the number one destination for Foreign Direct Investment in Africa.

Pointing however, that Jonathan deserves a second term for these giant strides, Lawal said: “The reasons the Corporate Forum is endorsing President Goodluck Jonathan for a second term in office is because we have discovered that the President has fulfilled his 2010 campaign promises anchored on the Transformation Agenda to

APC youth leader to politicians: Use your children as thugs

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ENIN CITY—FEW days to the presidential election, Edo State Youth Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Osakpanwa Eriyo has urged youths of Edo State not to make themselves willing tools to desperate politicians in the state who may want to perpetrate violence during and after the elections.

The APC Youth leader, who gave the advice yesterday in a chat with newsmen, appealed to security agents, including the police in the state to be vigilant, just as he raised alarm of alleged plot by the

Monitoring of votes: Confusion over IGP’s orders

By Kingsley Omonobi & Jude Opara

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HERE was confusion yesterday over the stance of the police on the propriety of voters waiting behind to monitor the votes after this Saturday ’s presidential election.

The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Suleiman Abba had at an election stakeholders’ forum in Abuja yesterday insisted that voters should go home after voting in order not to infringe against electoral laws.

At another forum also in Abuja where he gave orders to commanders of a mobile police squadron, the police boss said his earlier order was only an advisory as he said that voters who want to remain behind could stay. Speaking at an INEC interactive session in Abuja, he said: ‘’We are all stakeholders and so the better we talk heart to heart and appreciate these issues so as to make amends, there is still time. We also continue to hear about directives and statements which we believe

bring a breath of fresh air to all sectors of the economy and the polity.”

“President Jonathan’s score card of transformation cuts across sectors such as fiscal management reforms, financial sector reforms, pension reforms, local content reforms, job creation reforms, manufacturing reforms, agricultural reforms and others.

if we do not exercise restraint can only threaten the security arrangements in the conduct of the elections. ‘’A good example and I know it may become a matter of discussion during the interactive session yes and I repeat and I advise, I advise every voter when you cast your vote, I advise you to go home.”

Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state to unleash mayhem on APC members with a view to arresting key leaders of the APC. Eriyo decried PDP's desperation to return President Goodluck Jonathan by all means. ''And that is why I am appealing to our youths in Edo State to eschew any violent conduct. I am appealing to security agents to remain neutral. They should only arrest anybody trying to cause trouble during and after elections.

“Our youths must play according to the rules, they should reject any offer to go and kill or help rig election.

Any politician that tells any youth to go and rig election, tell that politician to tell he or her children to do it. We must resist the offer of money and vote for who will secure our future” he stated.

While urging the people to vote for Gen.Muhammadu Buhari, Osakpanwa asserted that the people of the state have suffered under the PDP-led Federal Government therefore declared that “we are going to vote for Buhari since President Jonathan who we all voted for in 2011 as our brother abandoned us”

Promoter flays Fashola over FG’s contribution to Lekki port

By Ifeyinwa Obi

A

L L E G AT I O N S levelled against the Federal Government by Lagos State Governor, Raji Fashola over the fate of the Lekki Deep Seaport project has been described as false.

Twice this year, Fashola had accused President Goodluck Jonathan-led Federal Government of failure to pay its counterpart fund of $117 million towards the actualization of the project.

But promoters of the project have said that the governor’s allegation was a lie, stating that the Federal Government, through the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA,

has been faithful in its equity contribution towards building the port.

“NPA is a regulator and equity partner in the project.

The equity part of Lagos State has been fully paid and the NPA is contributing their equity,” Managing Director of Lekki Deep Seaport, Haresh Ascoani, said yesterday, during a visit by the Managing Director of NPA, Mallam Habib Abdullahi to the facility.

Ascoani said, the deep seaport project would transform the Lekki Free Trade Zone into a new industrial city in Nigeria when it becomes operational.

56 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015

Group calls on EFCC to investigate Lagos State government

By Evelyn Usman

T

HE COALITION Against Corrupt Leaders,CACOL, a civilsociety group, has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,EFCC to investigate activities of the Lagos State Government, on budgetary reports of income and expenditure between year 2007 and 2011.

Executive Chairman of CACOL, Debo Adeniran, made this call during a peaceful protest staged by the group yesterday, from Ikeja under bridge to the government house, Alausa from where they made a detour to the EFCC office.

Urhobo group backs Agoda for Senate

E

FFURUN—HON. John Agoda, OFR, All Progressives Congress, APC, senatorial flag bearer for Delta Central has received a boost to his candidature from an endorsement by the Urhobo Progressive League, a socio-cultural group based in Delta Central. While addressing newsmen in Effurun, yesterday, the group in a statement by its President, Elder Ekugbe Onomivwori, insisted that Agoda is the group’s candidate for the Senate on account of his impeccable credentials as a true Urhobo patriot and veteran legislator.

According to him: “Throughout his tenure in the House of Representatives, Agoda was continuously rated as one of the top ten legislators in the entire country.

Coupled with the fact that he has never betrayed his people, this eminently qualifies him to become the next Distinguished Senator of the Federal Republic from Delta Central.”

Jonathan commissions 504mw Alaoji power station

By Eric Ugbor

A

BA — PRSIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has commissioned the phase 1, 504 MW simple cycle Gas Alaoji Power station in Aba, Abia State, with the assurance that his

but when I came here , I discovered that contrary to what we heard that there was no way the project would be abandoned with the amount of the government had spent on it . “ I am happy today that the first phase of this project has been completed and other components

COMMISSIONING: From left, Power Minister, Professor Chinedu Nebo, Abia State Governor, Theodore Orji; President Goodluck Jonathan, Finance Minister ,Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Muazu, and the Managing director, NIPP, Engr. James Olotu, cutting the tape to commission the Phase 1 504mw Simple Cycle Gas, Alaoji power station, in Aba, Abia State, yesterday.

of the second phase are already on ground and that is the focus of this administration to provide adequate power supply that would energies our micro, small and medium scale business.

“Power is key to development and without power our small and medium scale businesses cannot survive and that is why this government has decided to set up Nigeria Development Bank to support small businesses because if they are allowed to provide their own power, their income will not be enough for them to survive.”

He stated that the government was committed to the total transformation of the power sector in the country, saying it was eminent that constant power supply was necessary for the speedy economic development of the country.

Earlier, the Minster of Power, Professor Chinedu Nebo, said the commissioning of the project at Alaoji in the South East of the country would boost industralization, manufacturing, small and medium scale businesses and create job opportunities in the zone.

Culture, education identified as major components to shape innovention

By Princewill Ekwujuru &Providence Obuh

A

POLITICAL economist and former president of African Democratic Congress, ADC, Prof.

Pat Utomi, has identified

integration of culture and education as major components that could help shape innovation in the country.

Utomi, who was guest speaker at the fourth edition of the annual Verdant Zeal Innovation series,

titled “The Role of Innovention in Creating a new Agenda for National Development,” said invention was not the same as innovation, adding that culture, if integrated into education, could help shape innovation.

POLLS: Guild of Editors condemns hate

campaigns

T

HE NIGERIAN Guild of Editors has condemned the hate campaigns by the political parties as they canvass for votes towards the general elections starting with the presidential and National Assembly polls next Saturday.

The Guild, in a communique issued at the end of its standing committee meeting in Lagos, where it appraised the state of the nation, said the campaigns, rather than focus on issues that are germane to our national life, have rather dwelt on individuals

Snr. Elder Francis Oguaju is dead

L

ATE SENIOR Elder Francis Oguaju (Eze Adikaibeya) of Umudim, Isiala Okporo, Orlu Local Government Area of Imo State, is dead, aged 86.

He had since been buried according to Jewish tradition, but final funeral ceremony will hold, Monday, April 13, 2015 at his compound in Umudim Okporo, Orlu, Imo State.

Late Oguaju

administration was determined to provide steady power supply that would boost the economic development of the country.

The President said: “When I was the vice president, I inspected all the moribund NIPP projects in the country based on the negative report we had then

“and it was done in such bilious and acrimonious way, whipping up negative emotions and sentiments, emphasising our fault lines as a people.”

It, however, commended the electorate for keeping their heads, and urged them to do the same all through the elections.

The Guild of Editors further resolved that: • After the initial postponement of the elections by six weeks, due to security concerns, and the need for the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to get better prepared, it is gratifying that no further postponement is being contemplated.

• The six weeks postponement window has allowed our armed forces, in collaboration with a multi-national coalition from the sub-region, to deal devastating blows on insurgents in the Northeast of the country. We salute the gallantry of the forces.

•The stakes are high in the elections, no doubt, but voting to elect leaders is an integral part of democracy. Without a free and fair voting process, we can’t say

we have a democracy.

• The onus is on all stakeholders to comport themselves decently and in order in this season. INEC, political parties, politicians, the electorate, security agencies, the media, among others, must work for the overall good of the country.

• When results of free and fair elections are released, let the loser be gracious in defeat, and let the winner be magnanimous in victory.

• We repeat: No country should die because it held elections. Fair play, please. And may these elections strengthen the bonds of our unity in diversity.

“It is important to recognize that the challenges before Nigeria as a country, if developed appropriately with the youth surge should been seen as an asset and not a liability. ‘’What we need to do is have the right educational policy, ensure that the young people have the right values around them,” he said.

Utomi in his paper, titled “Role of Institution in Human Development,” said it was values that shaped human existence, and that culture was responsible for progress and not politic.

“Societies fail as a result of failed culture,” he stated.

Utomi, who gave examples of latest innovation as traceable to education, said the basic foundation of a child should be good education.

He said Nigeria needed to teach people how to strategize while putting pressures on younger Nigerians to innovate.

He, however, challenged the media on its role, noting that the the media had to take it as a responsibility to show case

POLLS: Vote for restructuring, Igbo youths urge voters

By Clifford Ndujihe

A

S NIGERIANS go to the polls on Saturday to elect their president and national Assembly members, Igbo Youth Movement, IYM, has urged Igbo voters to vote for those who would restructure the

country.

The group, in an advisory to Igbo voters ahead of the polls, by its founder and leader of South-East Self Determination Coalition, SESDC, Evangelist Elliot Uko, said: ‘’The vote on March 28 is about justice and equity."

57 — VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25 , 2015

*The Plane, before it crashed

*Passengers inside the plane before it crashed

*Debris at the crashed scene

ISIS recruits 400 kids I

SLAMIC State has recruited at least 400 children in Syria in the past three months and given these socalled “Cubs of the Caliphate” military training and hardline indoctrination, a monitoring group said on Tuesday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the children, all aged under 18, were recruited near schools, mosques and in public

*Bereaved families.

areas where Islamic State carries out killings and brutal punishments on local people.

One such young boy appeared in a video early this month shooting dead an Israeli Arab accused by Islamic State of being a spy. A French police source said the boy might be the halfbrother of Mohamed Merah, who killed three soldiers, a rabbi and three Jewish children in

Police: German plane killing 144 disintegrated, photos emerge

A

ERIAL video and first photos showing the site where the German wings flight 4U 9525, carrying 144 passengers and six crew, crashed have emerged.

The Airbus operated

by Lufthansa’s German-

wings budget airline crashed in a remote area of the French Alps on Tuesday, killing all 150 people on board including 16 students Germanwings confirmed its flight 4U 9525 from Barcelona to Dues-

seldorf went down with 144 passengers and six crew on board. One of the plane’s black box recorders has been found and will be examined immediately, France’s interior minister said. In Washington, the White

House said the crash did not appear to have been caused by a terrorist attack. The airline believed there were 67 Germans on the flight. Spain’s deputy prime minister said 45 passengers had Spanish names. One Belgian was

aboard.

Also among the victims were 16 students and two teachers from the Joseph-Koenig-Gymnasium high school in the town of Haltern am See in northwest Germany, a spokeswoman said.

Toulouse in 2012.

“They use children because it is easy to brainwash them.

They can build these children into what they want, they stop them from going to school and send them to IS schools instead,” said Rami Abdulrahman, head of the British-based Observatory.

Islamic State declared a caliphate last year in territory it controls in Syria and Iraq and is being targeted by U.S.-led air strikes in both countries.

It has beheaded or shot dead Syrian civilians, combatants, foreign aid workers and journalists and has released videos appearing to show children witnessing or participating in some of the killings.

The group persecutes

Child brides take Zimbabwe govt to court over marriage laws 4 African authors top Man Booker Int’l finalists across the world and en-

T

HE “Memoirs of a Porcupine,” the “Confessions of the Lioness” and the lessons from the Sahara desert are just some of the titles and themes explored by the four authors from Africa who are among 10 finalists for the Man Booker International Prize.

The finalists for the prestigious literary award were announced on Tuesday by the chair of judges, Marina Warner, in South Africa at the University of Cape Town.

The African writers are Mia Couto of Mozam-

bique, Marlene van Niekerk of South Africa, Ibrahim al-Koni of Libya and Alain Mabanckou of the Republic of Congo.

The Man Booker International Prize recognizes achievement in fiction, considering a body of a work over a writer ’s career. The winner will join the ranks of authors such as American novelist Philip Roth, Canadian writer Alice Munro and the late Chinua Achebe, the Nigerian author sometimes referred to as the father of African fiction.

“We have ranged

tered the vision of writers who offer an extraordinary variety of experiences,” said Warner.

T

WO former child brides have taken Zimbabwe’s government to court in a groundbreaking bid to get child marriages declared illegal and unconstitutional.

Loveness Mudzuru and Ruvimbo Tsopodzi say

child marriage, which is rife in Zimbabwe, is a form of child abuse which traps girls in lives of poverty and suffering. “I’ve faced so many challenges. My husband beat me. I wanted to stay in school but he

Congolese hospital sees rise in rape of girls as young as 18 months

G

IRLS as young as 18 months are being raped and left with horrific injuries in eastern Congo after being stolen from their homes at night, a charity said on Tuesday.

The children, many of them under five, have been treated at the Panzi Hospital in Bukavu,

South Kivu province, which has helped thousands of women and girls raped during 15 years of conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Naama Haviv, executive director of Panzi Foundation USA, said 34 infants and young girls from Kavumu had been treated at the hospital in

the last two years.

“While we’ve seen very significant violence against women and girls in Congo, what’s new and particularly devastating about this crisis is that it is centered in one community. It seems that children are specifically being targeted,” Haviv told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

refused. It was very, very terrible,” said Tsopodzi, a mother of one, who was married at 15.

“I want to take this action to make a difference,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from Harare on Tuesday.

“There are a lot of children getting married.”

Data published last year indicates one third of girls in Zimbabwe marry before their 18th birthday and 5 percent before they turn 15.

Child marriage deprives girls of education and opportunities, jeopardizes their health and increases the risks of exploitation, sexual violence, domestic abuse and death or serious injury in childbirth.

58 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015

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62 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015

Eagles, Cranes do battle in Uyo T

HE stately Akwa Ibom International Stadium, Uyo will come alive today, when the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Cranes of Uganda lock horns in a prestigious international friendly match.

The last time the venue witnessed elemental explosion of football proportions was when the Super Eagles hosted the Bafana Bafana in a 30th Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Wednesday, 19th November, 2014.

The match ended 2-2.

The Bafana Bafana will be on the Super Eagles’ mind when they take on Uganda, as they also have a date with the South Africans in Nelspruit four days later.

Coincidentally, the first and last clashes between Nigeria and Uganda at senior level ended in 2-1 wins for the Cranes.

On March 14, 1978, Nigeria lost an Africa Cup of Nations semi final to Uganda 1-2 in Ghana, with both goals scored by Phillip Omondi. The last time both teams squared off was on June 2, 2007, the Cranes coming from behind to win 2-1 after John Utaka had put Nigeria ahead in a 2008 Nations Cup qualifier in Kampala.

In-between, Uganda won a friendly match 1-0 in Kampala on September 26, 1981; the Eagles won a Cup of Nations qualifier 2-0 in Lagos on August 28, 1992 and both teams drew 0-0 in Kampala on July 17, 1993.

The two teams’ clash in Abeokuta on March 24, 2007 sticks in the memory: it took a lastgasp Nwankwo Kanu header for Nigeria to earn a 1-0 win.

M

COMBATIVE... Super Eagles midfield strongman Ogenyi Onazi and South Africa’s Dean Furman slug it out during a contest. Nigeria and South Africa have a date on March 29 in Nelspruit.

Costa’s injury a pain for Spain C HELSEA expect Diego Costa to be fit for their Premier League game against Stoke immediately after the international window despite the forward’s anticipated withdrawal from the Spain squad for their games against Ukraine and Holland with a hamstring injury.

Costa, who was omitted for Spain’s games against Belarus and Germany in November when he was struggling to overcome niggling hamstring and groin complaints, hurt his thigh again during Chelsea’s win at Hull on Sunday and departed 15 minutes from time. The Brazilian-born striker had scored his side’s

Okagbare Continues from BP the Rio 2016 Scholarship for Athletes programme.

Secretary General of the NOC, Hon Tunde Popoola said that the Scholarship for the athletes was a good incentive that would allow the athletes to prepare well with the best facilities and challenge for medals in Brazil. The beneficiaries would also be paid an unspecified amount of money from now till the Rio Olympics.

One of the athletes was later dropped on grounds of being involved in doping.

The eleven approved beneficiaries include speedster Blessing Okagabare (Athletics), Nneka Reginald

Özil faces questions over night out in Berlin club

(Athletics), Ese Brume (Athletics), Christian Amechi Morton (Athletics), and Divine Oduduru.

Others are Maryam Usman (Weightlifting), Victoria O. Adesanmi (Weightlifting), Aruna Quadri (Table Tennis), Edem Offiong(Table Tennis), Jonathan Akinyemi (Canoe/Kayaki) and Adekuoroye Odumayo (Wrestling).

Nine Nigerian elite athletes also benefited from the London 2012 Olympic Scholarship for athletes.

The Nigerian athletes were selected through the nomination of the Nigeria Olympic Committee with their various sports federations.

second goal, his replacement Loic Remy swiftly registering the winner, but appeared in some discomfort as he limped from the pitch seeking treatment.

He underwent scans on the hamstring at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground on Monday before

travelling to Spain’s base in Las Rozas, 25km outside Madrid, having been requested to do so by the Spanish football federation. Costa will be seen by the national team doctors there and if, as anticipated, they confirm Chelsea’s diagnosis, the forward will fly back to London.

ESUT Özil faces a potentially awkward conversation with Arsène Wenger to explain why he went to a nightclub in Berlin on Saturday night, having been ruled out of Arsenal’s Premier League fixture at Newcastle United earlier in the day through illness.

Wenger will seek Özil’s side of the story and, in the past, the manager has had to remind some of his players about their responsibilities; most recently, Jack Wilshere, who was pictured in a London nightclub holding a shisha pipe.

But Arsenal do not seem too bothered about this situation at the moment, not least because no one ever said that Özil, who is back in Germany on

•Özil international duty, was seriously ill.

He was sent home from training one day last week but he was merely a few degrees under the weather and, with Tomas Rosicky fit, Wenger decided to give him a breather. Özil has played a lot in recent weeks – he had started in each of Arsenal’s previous 12 matches in all competitions.

Fenerbachce fans bash Emenike

T

HESE are not the best of times for Super Eagles striker Emmanuel Emenike as fans of his Turkish club Fenerbahce have made him public enemy following his decision to walk out of their derby against Besiktas at last weekend.

Emenike has come under fire from sections of the Turkish press and fans for his goal record this season. He has only scored four goals over the league campaign.

The 28-year-old started in the Istanbul derby against Be-ikta-but missed a great chance early in the first half to put

Fenerbahçe ahead and was heckled by the the home supporters afterwards.

Fenerbahce Coach Ismail Kartal revealed he had a special prayer session for Emenike to score goals.

“I prayed for Emenike to score and win over the fans again,” Kartal told Lig Tv. Kartal urged the Fenerbahce fans to be more understanding with the striker.

“The fans need to be more patient and understanding, he cannot change around his fortunes with everyone getting on his back,” he added.

Eagles Continues from BP

•Emenike

Platini

Continues from BP year term running one of the world‘s richest sports federations.

But within minutes of taking the applause of the 54 member federations, and with Blatter sat in the audience, Platini launched new criticism of FIFA‘s scandal-plagued leadership.

FIFA is to hold a presidential election on May 29. Blatter is favourite to win but for the first time faces three rivals for his post. Europe, infuriated by controversy surrounding the awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, is leading the campaign against the Swiss official.

“We do love FIFA dearly.

Europe`s entire football community loves FIFA

dearly. It is precisely because we love and respect it that we want it to be perfect,” Platini said.

The UEFA boss also sought to win over the heads of the Asian, North America, South American and Oceania confederations who likewise were at the European body‘s annual congress.

Without naming anyone, Platini said: “Certain people are perhaps trying to turn us against each other, seeking to divide and rule.

“They are trying to isolate the supposedly arrogant and selfish Europeans.”

“Do not believe everything that you hear,” said Platini.

absent at the last African Nations Cup in Equatorial Guinea, after being held to a 2-2 draw

by South Africa last October and are anxious to exorcise the ghosts of failing to make the grades at the same Uyo Stadium.

Speaking to Sports Vanguard, stand-in coach of the three-time African AFCIN champions, Daniel Amokachi said that though he was concerned about the short time used to prepare the players for the match, however noted that the team would strive to get victory against the Ugandans.

“I am worried that we did not get enough time to prepare the team for this match but that is the

situation that we have found ourselves and have to make the most of the situation and get the victory that we want to give our fans.

“Most of the players are playing for their clubs and would only have about two days to train for the game, which I would have loved to be more than that.

“We will approach the match like any other friendly game and do our utmost best to get the result but our fans have to be patient with us because football is not mathematics. We must understand that our opponents are not going to just sit back and allow us score them at will but our mission is victory”, Amikachi said in Nnewi, venue of the league match between Ifeanyi Uba FC and Rangers International.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015 — 63

Ifeanyi Uba FC’ ll maintain winning run —Dobrev

By John Egbokhan

C

*CAF President, Issa Hayatou (left) med with the AYC trophy

and Senegalese officials cheer F/Eagles captain, Musa Moham-

Danagogo hails F/Eagles, D’Tigers performances

S

PORTS Minister and Chairman, National Sports Commission, Dr. Tammy Danagogo has commended both the Flying Eagles and the National Men’s Basketball team, D’Tigers for their performances last week-

end, stressing that Nigerians are proud of them.

The Flying Eagles emerged champions of the just concluded African Youth Championship in Dakar, Senegal beating the host 1-0 in the final to clinch their seventh title in the

competition while the basketball team led by Olumide Oyedeji were winners of the 4-Nations Invitational tournament in South Africa.

“The victories posted by our teams have proved that talents abound in our country

...Elegbeleye tips them for W/Cup glor gloryy

By Jude Opara, Abuja

D

IRECTOR Gen eral of the National Sports Commission, Hon. Gbenga Elegbeleye says the victorious African Youth Championship (AYC) title holders, the Flying Eagles are in pole position to be the first African team to win the first ever FIFA senior World Cup. Elegbeleye who expressed his optimism yesterday when he received the victorious team in his office said he was particularly delighted that the team which was made up of mainly players that won the 2013 FIFA Cadet championship in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have continued to progress even as he stated that they are getting better by the day.

According to him, what really stands the team out is that they don’t fear any opposition and that they are also well disciplined, a development he insisted, will help them to excel in their chosen career.

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‘’You boys have made us proud and I want to assure you that very soon, Mr. President will be receiving you because you have once again put the name of Nigeria on the world map. As a government we will continue to give you all the support you desire and I say that the sky will be your limit."

*Elegbeleye

and if properly harnessed and given adequate preparation and support, they will always conquer like our Flying Eagles and the Men’s basketball team showed in Senegal and South Africa respectively at the weekend,” Dr. Danagogo said.

"That our basketball team also went to South Africa and won all the matches they played to emerge winners, a few days after beating their host, Burkina Faso in Ouagadougou in the Afrobasket/All Africa Games qualifier shows that they are a force to reckon with and are ready, not only to defend their All Africa Games title but take a shot at the Afrobasket title in Tunisia this year,” he stressed.

OACH Mitko Dobrev of Ifeanyi Uba FC has promised to turn the Newi-based outfit into a winning team in the 2014-2015 Nigerian Premier League season.

Dobrev has steered his team to two victories in three outings and after their latest conquest of Rangers International at the Gabros Stadium in Nnewi, Dobrev told Sports Vanguard that his target was to steer the team to secure a ticket to play continental football next season.

“I know it is still early days yet but I believe that with improved performances that we can be amongst the teams who will qualify to play continental football

next season”, Dobrev said after his team pipped Rangers International in Nnewi.

Victory did not come easy for Ifeanyi Uba FC, whose only goal was scored in the first ten minutes and despite late rallies by the Coach Kelechi Emeteole-tinkered Rangers side, the homers were still able to preserve their lone goal lead, to the delight of their teeming fans, which also included oil tycoon owner, Ifeanyi Uba. Reflecting on the match, Dobrev said that “beating a team like Rangers was not easy to achieve because of their history but I am happy that after we scored the first goal, we tried to score more goals but failed and also did not allow them to score.

Rasaq Adegbite of Rangers (l) challenges Chibuzor Okonkwo of Gabros International

Amokachi: Eagles will miss Ideye against Uganda

By John Egbokhan, just back from Nnewi

S

TAND-IN Super Eagles coach, Daniel Amokachi has admitted that the team will miss injury-stricken West Brom striker, Brown Ideye, who has

*Ideye

been ruled out of tomorrow’s international friendly with Uganda at the Uyo International Stadium, Akwa Ibom.

Ideye, who some weeks back, was rated as the best Nigerian forward by Amokachi cropped an injury last week in action for his English Premier League side and immediately informed the NFF to exclude him from the double-header friendlies against Uganda and South Africa.

The former Dynamo Kiev and Sochaux hitman, first made his international debut for the country in 2010, scoring fives goals in 24

appearance before going on an hiatus, prompted largely by poor form.

But he soon seemed to have rediscovered his form, netting four times in six appearances for the Baggies, which prompted his recall to the Eagles mix, only for that to be dashed by the injury, which Amokachi said was a setback for his plans against Uganda and South Africa.

“Ideye will be missed in the friendlies with Uganda and South Africa”, Amokachi told Sports Vanguard at the Gabros Stadium in Nnewi, venue of the Premier League match

between Ifeanyi Uba FC and Rangers International. Amokachi added that “there is no way a team would not miss

Ideye because he is about the best Nigerian striker in the world, I felt he was going to make to our quest to win.

L-R: Brand Manager, Seven-up Bottling Company Limited, Segun Ogunleye, Director, Pepsi Football Academy, Coach Kashimawo Laloko and Head of Marketing, Seven-up Bottling Company Limited, Norden Thurston, at the 70th birthday celebration of coach Laloko in Abeokuta, Ogun State, over the weekend.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015

Platini attacks Blatter F

•Platini

Eagles, Cranes do battle in Uyo

— Page 62

OOTBALL legend Michel Platini on Tuesday scored a hattrick of victories for the presidency of UEFA and made an immediate attack on Sepp Blatter‘s leadership of world body FIFA. The 59-year-old Frenchman secured unopposed a third fourContinues on Page 62

Costa’s injury a pain for Spain — Page 62

•Diego

Okagbare, others receive Olympic Scholarships

T

EAM Nigeria’s quest for medals at the Rio 2016 Olympics in Brazil received a boost yesterday when Nigeria Olympic Committee, NOC, received the approval of the IOC for 12 Nigerian elite athletes to benefit from

•Kickoff 6pm

•Okagbare

Continues on Page 62

Eagles eye win against Uganda — Amokachi

BY JOHN EGBOKHAN

S

•Massa

•Musa

UPER Eagles will be gunning for victory when they face the Cranes of Uganda in an international friendly today at the Uyo Stadium.

The Super Eagles were Continues on Page 62

•Amokachi

QUICK CROSSWORD

TODAY'S

PUZZLE

YESTER DAY'S ANSWERS YESTERDAY'S

ACROSS 3 Precipitous(5) 9 Tenant (6) 10 Rushed (6) 11 Composition (5) 12 Due (4) 15 Travel (4) 17 Lingered (7) 20 Colour (3) 21 Material (5) 23 Regretted (4) 25 Cab (4) 26 Couch (5) 28 Insect (3) 30 Turned (7) 33 Cease (4) 35 Cable (4) 36 Intellect (5) 38 Team (6) 39 Hidden (6) 40 Postpone (5)

DOWN 1 Apportion (5) 2 Flower (5) 3 Observe (3) 4 Tried (6) 5 Cheese (4) 6 Wages (3) 7 Seat (5) 8 Appended (5) 13 Authorisation (7) 14 Parched (5) 16 Liberate (7) 18 Exclude (5) 19 Mine (3) 22 Parrot (5) 24 Obscure (3) 27 Beginner (6) 28 Pale (5) 29 Soar (5) 31 Weary (5) 32 God (5) 34 Sea-eagle (4) 36 Cot (3) 37 And not (3)

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS ACROSS: 1, Placid 5, Minted 9, Ceded 10, Gullet 11, Rotund 12, Devil 14, Eyed 17, Rat 18, Ruse 20, Doped 22, Mused 23, Natural 24, Messy 26, Renew 29, Idle 30, Cup 32, Rode 33, Miser 35, Dogged 36, Ranting 37, Remit 38, Dither 39, Legend.

DOWN: 1, Pegged 2, Asleep 3, Iced 4, Deter 5, Merit 6, Idol 7, Taurus 8, Dodged 13, Vacuous 15, Yoked 16, Dense 18, Ruler 19, Sewed 21, Day 22, Mar 24, Minded 25, Slight 27, Notice 28, Wedged 30, Cider 31, Peril 33, Mere 34, Rate.

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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