B-Haram slaughters 43 students in Yobe

...towards a better life for the people

**

VOL. 25: NO. 62088

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

N150

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26 2014

MISSING $20BN: I TORTURE OF EJIGBO WOMEN: Police parade mastermind, 11 others want the whole truth 6

— Okonjo-Iweala

8

B-Haram slaughters 43 students in Yobe •Abducts female students, gunmen fire at male students •Burns all hostels, classrooms, 40 houses •Soldiers at check point redeployed 24 hrs before attack •43 bodies brought to morgue so far— Hospital source •We now know their tactics, we'll go after them— Army D

BY KINGSLEY OMONOBI, BEN AGANDE, VICTOR AHIUMA-YOUNG, UMAR YUSUF, NDAHI MARAMA, LAIDE AKINBOADE BALA AJIYA & DAUD OLATUNJI

A M AT U R U — BARELY 24 hours after the soldiers manning the check point close to the main

HORROR IN YOBE

Continues on page 5

COLUMNISTS:

•P.19

•P.19

•P.38

Mr & Mrs

DAMAGE—Gov. Ibrahim Gaidam with Speaker Yobe House of Assembly, Adamu Dala Dogo (below left) inspecting the damage in the school, yesterday.

Reps commend Sanusi drags Jonathan to court CBN 9

8

2 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014

C M Y K

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014—3

C M Y K

4— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014

C M Y K

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014—5

POCKET CARTOON

INAUGURATION—President Goodluck Jonathan (M) cutting the tape to inaugurate the office of the Auditor-General of the Federation in Abuja, yesterday. He is flanked on the right by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Accounts, Sen. Lawan Ahmed and on the left by the Auditor-General of the Federation, Mr Samuel Ukura, while others watch. State House photo.

B-Haram slaughters 43 students in Yobe Continues from Page 1 gate of the Federal Government College, Buni Yadi, Yobe State were withdrawn, Boko Haram terrorists, numbering more than 50, yesterday, invaded the school at 1.30 am, killing more than 43 students and staff while abducting 16 female students. The insurgents

who went on a killing spree without any challenge from security agents also burnt down all the students’ hostels, the classrooms, and about 40 houses including the council’s secretariat complex, high court, government and private establishments as well as telecommunication masts.

The governor’s media aide, Alhaji Abdullahi

LIFEWORDS

BY PASTOR ITUAH

When a bird is alive it eats ants. When a bird dies ants eat it. Time & circumstance can change at any time. Don’t devalue or hurt anyone in life.

TAKE HEART

BY ELLA RANDLE

Sometimes new opportunity means new opposition. Not everything God asks us to do will be comfortable — Joyce Meyer

Y

OU have a choice to feel beautiful and em brace your whimsy with uplifting virtues from within. Whenever there are droplets of hard ice raining down, that is when you experience those days where it seems that things are not going as expected.

Figuratively, you can shrug and snap open an umbrella or wear a rain coat, those droplets will fall away like beads of water on the feather of a duck, and more interestingly your attention could be so caught in the moment of doing something uplifting, you can even go Shakespearean by writing a love sonnet while taking a walk in the rain. I hope you smile and laugh at this attempt to simplify life challenges, for that is the intent of humour. Laughter opens the heart for joy to come in.

We are powerful genies. We are creating our worlds momentarily. But the most powerful genie is Divine Spirit. When you think about it, the power to choose the next thought is within the grasps of our reach.

When we choose beautifully, we are transformed to a state that is ever expanding and it comes with it, a most exhilarating feeling of love.

This is a profound knowing but it is going beyond to living from the heart that makes it an awesome experience for any who sees the face of love in another.

Love thyself as thy neighbour, one of the most powerful impacting expressions of our times. It is our divine nature to be kind, generous and loving beings. I choose to live this way and of course it’s your choice to always choose the path of love.

Bego confirmed that on Monday before the attack, the few soldiers stationed close to the school were redeployed without any cogent reason.

The college was the fourth educational institution attacked in the state in the last eight months. Buni Yadi is about 65 kilometres from Damaturu, the state capital, while Gujba town which witnessed a deadly attack at the College of Agriculture, last year where over 40 students were killed, is located south and about 35 kilometres from the state capital.

Inusa Danboyi, an SSS 3 student of the college was one of those killed.

His father, Mallam Danboyi who wept uncontrollably at the morgue of General Sani Abacha Specialist Hospital, Damaturu, where he had gone to collect his son’s corpse said: “Inusa is my son, and an SSS 3 student who aspired to get western education and was even preparing for his final SSS 3 examination. But see what fate had in stock for him”.

Fear has now gripped Damaturu town following the massacre and the abduction of the students as the residents wondered why the security agents could not contain the insurgents, who appeared to be succeeding in their mission.

Many parents are also saying they would seek admission for their children, especially female students in other regions

of the country where there is peace.

One of the victims who did not want his name mentioned told Vanguard at the specialist hospital that “the insurgents who invaded the school gathered all the girls in one room, where they started preaching against western education and warned all of us not to return to the school, and after killing most of the female students who are mostly SSS 3 students, they absconded with over 16 girls”.

Pupils burnt alive in the attack Adamu Garba, who teaches at a secondary school attached to the college said he and other teachers, who ran away through the bush estimated 40 students died in the assault.

Garba who spoke to Associated Press in Damaturu, where he and several other teachers fled to, said “the attackers first set ablaze the college's administrative block, then moved to the hostels, where they locked students in and started bombing the buildings. At one hostel, students were trying to climb out of the windows and they were slaughtered like sheep by the terrorists who slit their throats. Others who ran were gunned down and students who could not escape were burnt alive.

“The gunmen, in fact, had to separate the female students from their male counterparts. They opened fire on the male students including some staff of the college, before abducting many of the female students to the Sambisa Forest”.

Another source working at the mortuary in General Sani Abacha Specialists Hospital in Damaturu said, “ambulance services have been bringing in bodies from Federal Government College since morning”.

Likewise, a senior medical source in the hospital, who is not authorized to speak to the press said: “So far, 43 bodies have been brought and are lying in the morgue”.

Spokesman of the Joint Task Force (JTF) in Damaturu, Captain Eli Lazarus confirmed that there was an early morning attack on the school college in Buni Yadi by suspected terrorists, but could not give the actual number of casualties as the figures are still being collated, promising to send details to the press as soon as possible.

However, the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Sanusi Ahmed Rufai told journalists that 29 people were killed, but he was not immediately clear if all of the dead were students.

Rufai said he was on his way to the scene with Governor Ibrahim Geidam to assess the extent of the damage.

The authorities of the school, however, confirmed that 29 of its students were killed by the insurgents. Mr Ibrahim Abdul, a senior master, gave the figure while receiving Governor Ibrahim Geidam during a sympathy visit to the school. Abdul said that 11 students also sustained various gunshot wounds.

Defence HQ vows to track the killers Meanwhile, the Defence headquarters, yesterday, vowed that it will go after Boko Haram terrorists who perpetrated the attack noted that troops were now conversant with the methods of the attackers.

Speaking on phone with Vanguard, Director of Defence Information, Major-General Chris Olukolade said: “Our troops are on the trail of the terrorists who attacked and killed the students. We have discovered where they came from. We now know their methods and how they plan the attacks. We will get them and we will deal with them appropriately”.

Jonathan condemns Yobe killings In his reaction to the latest killing by Boko Haram, President Goodluck Jonathan in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, said he “received with immense sadness and anguish, news of the callous and senseless murder by terrorists, of scores of students at a college in Yobe State in the early hours of today (yesterday).

“On behalf of himself and the Federal Government, President Jonathan extends heartfelt condolences to the parents and relatives of the murdered students.

“The President wholly condemns the heinous, brutal and mindless killing of the guiltless students by deranged terrorists and fanatics who have clearly lost all human morality and descended to bestiality.

Continues on Page 53

6 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014

Jealous lover remanded for killing girlfriend

Torture of Ejigbo women: Police parade mastermind, 11 others ...declare 4 others wanted

BY CHINYERE ABIAZIEM

L

AGOS — ONE Chris tian Ifeanyi Samuel was yesterday remanded in Ikoyi prison by an Ebute Meta magistrate's court for the murder of his 26-year-old girlfriend.

According to Inspector G. Osuji, the prosecutor, Samuel was angry with his girlfriend after he learnt she was dating another man.

On January 11, 2014, 23-year-old Samuel took Ijeoma Nwachukwu, the deceased, to an hotel located around Abule-Oshun where he killed her.

After lodging in the hotel, Samuel forced Nwachukwu to drink liquid substance suspected to be acid which led to her death.

On carrying out the unlawful act and exiting the scene, the hotel manager, Kehinde Ajibola, questioned Samuel for leaving alone since he came in with a lady, but the accused told Olaitan that he only wanted to get something and that he would be back shortly.

Meanwhile, Samuel did not return as promised, which raised the suspicion of the hotel manager, who decided to check on Nwachukwu and to his surprise found her corpse on the floor of the room.

Instead of reporting the incident to the police, the 64-year-old hotel owner directed one Ajibola and Azeez Olaitan to remove the corpse from the hotel.

Olaitan and Ajibola decided to dump the corpse along Mile 2-Badagry Expressway.

However, Sangojumi, Ajibola and Olaitan were accused of conspiracy to commit felony, enabling Samuel to escape arrest and prosecution by unlawfully removing and dumping Nwachukwu’s corpse who to their knowledge was unlawfully killed by Samuel.

After hearing parties involved in the matter, the magistrate, Mr Olatunbosun Abolarinwa ruled that Sangojumo, Ajibola and Olaitan be granted bail in the sum of N100,000 and two sureties each in like sum, while Samuel be remanded in Ikoyi prison pending advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP.

The suspects.

BY IFEANYI OKOLIE & ESTHER ONYEGBULA

L

AGOS — POLICE authorities yesterday paraded 12 persons and declared four others wanted following their involvement in the torture of three women at Oba Morufu International Market, Ejigbo, Lagos.

Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Frank Mba, who paraded the suspects before newsmen, yesterday, said some of the suspects were members of the Oodua People’s Congress, OPC, providing security at the market and officials of the market association who he said also extorted N50,000 from the victims' father.

Mba gave the identities of the suspects as Isiaka Waidi, the Baba-Oja of the market, who masterminded the dastardly act that culminated in the arrest, debasement, torture and extortion of the victims; Haruna Abdullahi and Buhari Yusuf, who mixed the concoction of pepper and alcohol that was applied on the bodies and private parts of the victims.

Others include Saheed Adisa, Lateef Tijani Ahmed Adisa, the Iyaloja Oloruntoyin Dauda, Adekunle Adenuga, Jimoh Busari and Azeez Akinosun.

According to him, operatives of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad, FEDSARS, led by Deputy Commissioner of Police, DCP Chris Ezike, who coordinated the arrests, are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of one of the victims, Juliana Agoma, a Republic of Benin national, who was

The victims moved to Cotonou by her father where she subsequently died.

He said: “It would be recalled that earlier this year, the Inspector General of Police, M.D. Abubakar, in a move to ensure speedy delivery of justice in this case, ordered the immediate take-over of its investigation by the Force Criminal Investigation, Lagos Annex, from the Lagos State Police Command.

"Consequently, a team of crack detectives, led by DCP Chris Ezike, swung into action and conducted discreet investigation in line with standard best practices, during which the suspects, in connection with the matter, were arrested.

"The Police have also declared wanted the following suspects: Tiri, an alleged member of OPC who was captured in video footage and alleged to have stripped naked one of the victims, Ajoke Agoma, mother of the two other female victims in the presence of her husband; Otepa Oluranti, Akeem and Michael Abolore, whose whereabouts are yet unknown but who have been implicated

in the heinous crime.

"The IGP has commended the human rights, civil society and Women Support Group as well as Office of the Public Defender, Lagos State Justice Ministry and all other stakeholders who assisted the police in this and other matters relating to human dignity, safety and security.

"He, however, called on general public to assist the Police with information that will lead to the arrest of the fleeing suspects."

Victim's account According to Nike, 12, "That day, I accompanied my sister, late Juliana, to the market and we took N50 pepper, but the OPC men said we stole baby clothes. They stripped my sister, me and my mother of our clothes, robbed liquid pepper on our bodies.

"They mixed grounded pepper with dry gin in a bottle and poured it into our private parts. They also inserted sticks into our private parts while beating us.

"They kept beating and hitting my sister on the head until blood started oozing from her eyes and other parts of her body.

"My sister, Juliana, became very sick and was then taken to Tokpa, near Badagry border where a nurse attended to her at home, in addition to traditional treatment, but she later died."

Account of victim's dad "It was the Baba Oja that insisted that we must pay a fine of N150,000 and after pleading they accepted N50,000 of which N20,000 was paid that day.

"It was after the payment that they now tortured them until they became unconscious Later, my son, Kehinde, was harassed by the OPC men into paying the balance of N30,000. The torture lasted from about noon to evening of same day.

"After that, my landlord was asked to evict us. Our uncompleted house was demolished and we were chased out of the community same day."

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014 — 7

Naval officer injures Policeman's eye with car key

BY EMMA NNADOZIE,

CRIME EDITOR

L

AGOS — A NAVAL officer, Master Warrant Officer Unaji Benjamin Enejor, has been alleged to have inflicted serious injury on the right eye of Police Inspector Emmanuel Nbillah with his car key at Kirikiri area of Lagos state.

This happened during a mild argument that ensued after the naval officer rammed his car into the Police officer’s wife’s store.

The naval officer, attached to Armed Forces Resettlement Centre, Oshodi, with service number M4351, was reportedly driving his Honda Shuttle car with number plate LSR 34 CE along Akere Street in Kirikiri when it veered off the road and rammed into a restaurant belonging to the wife of the policeman, attached to the State Criminal Investigations Department, SCID, Panti, Yaba, Lagos.

Emmanuel Nbillah, the victim.

Vanguard learnt that the Police Inspector and his wife, who were sitting close to the store, escaped death by the whiskers as the wall of the store was damaged.

It was gathered that after the incident, the couple and their neighbours confronted the naval officer, who resides in Ojo Navy barracks, insisting that he must pay for the damages but

he reportedly snubbed them after identifying himself as a naval personnel.

The situation took another dimension few minutes later as the wife of the Police officer rushed to Kirikiri Police division to lodge a complaint.

While there, a hot argument ensued between the Naval officer and the Police inspector who was said to have also identified himself.

Eyewitnesses told Vanguard that in the course of the argument, the Naval officer brought out his car key which he poked into the right eye of the Police inspector after which he sped off in his car.

Sympathizers chased the naval officer to an adjoining street where he was caught.

He was subsequently taken to Kirikiri Police station where he was detained. The case was later transferred to the State Criminal Investigations Department, SCID, Panti, Yaba, for further investigation.

The wounded Police officer was also rushed to General Hospital, Ajeromi and thereafter to Navy Reference Hospital before he was referred to Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, Idi-Araba where he is currently receiving treatment.

At press time, the spokespersons for the police and that of the Navy could not be reached for comments.

OOU medical students protest against ‘fee extortion’

BY DAUD OLATUNJI

A

BEOKUTA — MEDICAL students of the Olabisi Onabanjo University, OOU, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, yesterday, protested what they described as school fee extortion from the management of the university.

The angry students, armed with placards with various inscriptions, such as: "Injustice is cruel and it breeds anger. We will not pay illegal school fees"; "Stop this unnecessary student extortion" and “Who will pay for my 10 years fee in a six-year course," stormed the Ogun State House of Assembly, demanding an immediate stoppage of the extortion.

Speaking on behalf of the students, President of the OOU Medical Students Association, Yemi Adegbesan, alleged that the vice chancellor of the school, Prof. Sabur Adesanya, had asked them to pay an “extra two years illegal fee.”

Adegbesan pleaded with the Speaker of the House to urgently wade into the matter as “time is not on the side of the final year students.”

He said: “The medical school curriculum runs for six years, which automatically requires them to pay for six sessions with or without strike by academic or non-academic staff of the institution.

“Is Prof. Saburi Adesanya

The protesting students, yesterday. above the law? He has refused to allow final year medical students from OOU do their induction just because he wants them to pay extra two years school fees.

“This is illegality that is unprecedented in the history of university education in Nigeria. The students have extra time in school because of ASUU, SSANU, NASU and other union strikes.

“We had on December 17 written a petition to the House on the issue but up till now, nothing has been done and that is why we are back.”

Addressing the protesters, the Speaker, Hon. Suraj Adekunbi assured them that the state will look into the matter with a view to finding a lasting solution to it.

Adekunbi however, told the stu-

dents not to take laws into their hands just as he advised them against being used by opposition in the state.

He said: “In a democratic setting, processes are more important than the outcome. We need to follow due process and you know there is no way we can jump the gun.

“If we are going to do something, it will not be done in haste; we have to involve the management of the university.

“I also have a brother in your school who is in his 10th year, so I understand your plight but I want you to have confidence in us that we will do the right thing and everything will be done in accordance with the provision of the law.”

Be our eyes Are you an eye-witness to an accident, robbery, fire outbreak, kidnap, building collapse, etc? Share it with Vanguard readers. Send pix, text or e-mail to The News Editor on 08023145558, or kayodematthew@yahoo.com

Five remanded over alleged robbery

BY ONOZURE DANIA

L

AGOS — MAGIS TRATE Eniola Fabamwo of a Lagos magistrate's court, sitting in Ikeja, yesterday remanded five young men in Kirikiri Prisons, pending the legal advice from the office of the Director of Public Prosecution, DPP, over alleged robbery.

The defendants are Saheed Saka, 33; Hammed Badmus, 28; Jelili Rasaki, 18; Odeyinka Lukman, 18 and Sunday Awaka, 18.

The defendants are facing a two-count charge of conspiracy and armed robbery preferred against them by the Police.

The prosecutor, ASP Barth Nwaokoye, told the court that the defendants and others at large committed the alleged offence on February 7, 2014, at about 2am.

Nwaokoye alleged that the defendants, while armed with gun, cutlass and other dangerous weapons, robbed one Toyota Sienna car, with number plate FJ 192 LND valued at N1.5 million.

The prosecutor said the defendants also robbed one Olakunle Egbeyemi of one BlackBerry phone worth N80,000, one Nokia phone, worth N30,000, one wrist watch worth N80,000 and one wedding ring worth N150,000.

Policeman attacks wife with cutlass over missing N70,000

L

AGOS — A POLICEMAN, Michael Okoli, has been arrested by the police at Okokomaiko Division for allegedly attacking his wife, Felicia, with a cutlass.

The incident happened at their home, 4, Abukareem Close, Afromedia Estate, Lagos State.

His wife is in a critical condition at Gbagada General Hospital after she was rejected by many hospitals.

The Delta State-born Okoli confessed that he was angry after he did not find N70,000 he kept aside for house rent and when he asked his wife about the missing money, she was rude to him.

In anger, he took a cutlass and attacked Felicia. After the attack, she was taken to several hospitals before she was eventually admitted at Gbagada General Hospital where she is being treated.

Okoli, an elder in a Celestial Church of Christ parish at

Afromedia and a spy policeman, said he did not know what came over him while carrying out the attack.

According to reports, it was not the first time Okoli was attacking Felicia with cutlass. He admitted he cut off one of Felicia's fingers during a quarrel before the current incident.

Narrating what happened, Okoli said he kept the N70,000 at home before he went to work and when he returned and checked where he kept the money, it was no longer there.

He said when he asked Felicia about the money, she was rude and started abusing him, asking him whether he was sure he kept any money at home at all.

The response provoked Okoli who attacked her with cutlass.

The couple got married 18 years ago and are blessed with four children, two boys and two girls, the eldest being 17.

8—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014

Reps laud CBN over timely remittance to Federation Account

BY EMMAN OVUAKPORIE

A

BUJA—THE Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has again been commended by the House of Representative Committee on Finance for its unequalled record of timely remittances to the Federation Account.

This is barely after six months after the apex bank was given a clean bill of health as the highest revenue generating government agency.

Speaking at the resumed session of the 2014 Budget Defence yesterday, February 25, 2014, the chairman, Finance Committee, Dr. Abdul’Mumin Jibrin, stated that the Apex Bank, over the years, had been very consistent in its remittances to the Federation Account as and when due.

Dr. Jibrin noted that the National Assembly will continue to commend the Central Bank of Nigeria for the fiscal discipline, which it has been demonstrating and for the good work it has been doing for this country.

He further explained that the apex bank had not only been timely in its rendition, but also ensured that the amount it remitted into the Federation Account had been on the increase in the last four years.

FG raises passport fee by 50%

A

BUJA—THE F e d e r a l Government has increased passport fee by 50 per cent, while applicants for change of data will pay N30,000.

The information on the increase was contained in the circular titled “Passport Reforms”, which has been sent to ACG Passports, Nigerian Missions, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other relevant local and foreign government agencies.

It was gathered that the circular was issued on February 17, 2014, and signed by the Deputy Comptroller in charge of Operations/Passport Mr. Muhammad Babandede.

The circular also stated that the Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, has approved the passport reforms.

Missing $20b: I want the whole truth, says Okonjo-Iweala zSanusi feeds Nigerians with voodoo statistics — Maku

BY JOHNBOSCO AGBAKWURU, JOSEPH ERUNKE & UDUMA KALU, with Agency Reports

T

HE Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has demanded to know the whole truth about the alleged missing $20b which the suspended Central Bank Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi said is missing from the federation account.

A statement yesterday from the finance ministry to the BBC, said the minister, “ asked for urgent action with regard to an independent forensic audit of conflicting claims of unaccounted funds made by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamdio Sanusi.”

According to the BBC, the direct statement from Dr Okonjo Iweala, said, “My position on this has been clear from the start. The Ministry of Finance’s reconciliation showed a shortfall of $10.8bn in NNPC remittances to the Federation account. After this, the conflicting claims continued with new figures such as $20bn being mentioned. So since 13th February I have called for an independent forensic audit.

President Goodluck Jonathan indeed announced last night that there will be an investigation into whether there are any funds missing from NNPC. He also indicated that the correct process needs to be followed in this investigation and I understand that the entity that has the proper authority to initiate such an investigation is the Auditor General of the federation.

“I therefore want to see the

truth from an investigation under the auspices of the Auditor General, which in my view should be undertaken as a matter of extreme urgency by independent external auditor.”

Meanwhile, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr. Labaran Maku said yesterday that the suspended Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi made himself a whistle blower as well as a voodoo statistician feeding the country with unsubstantiated figures of missing funds.

The minister who stated this while fielding questions from newsmen after defending his ministry ’s 2014 budget proposal at the Senate said that Sanusi as the manager of the nation’s monetary policies who advised the president on monetary issues should have not made himself a whistle blower.

Maku said, “But the reality of what has happened is that there

are issues with the account of CBN of 2012 as the president explained. The Financial Reporting Council has said that there are issues that should be addressed so the president returned it back to the council and the council again returned it with some of the items with questions.

“CBN is the nerve centre of the nation’s financial system.

If there are problems with it, it means that it can generate a lot of problems in the banking system and the economy and so the president has been trying to sort this out and between him and the CBN governor there have been communications since April 2013. So, it has nothing to do what my brother Sanusi has said relating to the NNPC. This has been ongoing conversation between them.

“Unfortunately, the CBN governor is also the chairman of the board and he can’t sit in a matter he is being

investigated for, so, what the president has done as the appointing officer of the CBN was to ask the governor to step aside pending the outcome of the investigating.

“He has not been removed and we don ‘t know where the uproar is coming from. Are we saying that the queries that were raised relating to the CBN account were false? In the end if he is found not guilty, he still has his tenure to run.”

At the budget defence, Senator Domingo Obende, APC, Edo State accused the minister of going on air to announce that the N800m Okpella Water Scheme was completed and commissioned while in actual sense the projected never neared any completion.

But the minister swiftly denied having said so, saying that he never even went to the project site because of time constraint during the good governance tour.

CONDOLENCE VISIT: From left — The Governor of Niger State, Dr Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu; Former Head of State, Abdulsalami Abubakar and Former military President, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida when they paid a condolence visit to the family of Minna-based businessman, Alhaji Labaran Kago, who died yesterday.

Auditor General critical to anti-corruption crusade — Jonathan

BY EMMA UJAH, Abuja Bureau Chief

A

BUJA—PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has pledged to ensure an effective Office of the Auditor General of the Federation, OAuGF, considering its critical role in the nation’s fight against corruption.

He made the pledge while commissioning the new complex of the OAuGF, in Abuja, yesterday.

His words, “an effective and efficient auditor general’s

office would not only guarantee accountability but would ensure our fight against corruption is won back quickly.

I want to assure you that government would do everything possible within the ambit of the law and available resources to support your office.”

The president said the speed with which approved the purchase of the new complex located at the Central Business District was a demonstration of his determination to boost the activities of the office.

According to the president the OAuGF must work assiduously towards a genuine audit of all public offices and must be seen to be carrying out its mandate through timely audit exercise of Ministries Departments and Agencies.

In his remarks, Mr. Samuel Ukura, the Auditor General for the Federation, AuGF, told the president that the new complex which was a more conducive work environment would spur his management and staff to work harder than before.

He disclosed that his staff had

maintained offices in various organizations which they were supposed to audit and that the situation did not meet international best practices but that with the new complex his staff would come under one roof and that the synergy among them would briong about greater efficiency.

According to him, “if you are staying in somebody’s house, he’s feeding you and even giving you some other requisites, unless you have a heart of a stone, you will not write any bad thing about him.”

9—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014

Poor budgetary allocation stalls police recruitment — Minister

BY JOHNBOSCO AGBAKWURU & JOSEPH ERUNKE

A

B U J A — SUPERVISING Minister of Police Affairs, Ms Olajumoke Akinjide, yesterday, disclosed that poor budgetary allocation was hindering the smooth operation of the Nigeria Police Force.

The minister equally said consideration for recruiting additional police men and women to raise the current staff strength of 370,000 was on but regretted that it was being hindered by meager allocation to the ministry.

Speaking when she appeared before the Senate Committee on Police Affairs to defend her ministry ’s 2014 budget, Ms Akinjide, told the committee that already her ministry has led a delegation to the Minister of Finance to complain about the shortfalls in the ministry’s budgetary allocations particularly as regards the drop in personnel costs.

According to her: “It is something that worries us and we have made a representation to the ministry of finance. There is no reason to justify the decrease, at worse, we should maintain last year’s amount. The ministry is looking at it and I believe this will be rectified very soon.”

Answering question on the preparedness of the Nigeria Police in the 2015 general elections, Ms Akinjide assured that the police was ready for the 2015 elections, stressing that, “ we are ready to deliver on a free, fair and credible elections because it is a cardinal policy of the President Goodluck J o n a t h a n ’ s administration.”

“The minister also said that there was zero budget for police reform programmes, noting that at the National Economic Council, NEC,meeting chaired by the Vice President and attended by all the governors, it was agreed that one percent of the consolidated revenue funds would be devoted to the funding of the police reform programmes.

Suspension: Sanusi drags Jonathan to Court

BY IKECHUKWU NNOCHIRI

A

BUJA—EMBATTLED Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, yesterday, went before a Federal High Court siting in Abuja to challenge the powers of President Goodluck Jonathan to suspend him from office.

In the suit he filed through a consortium of lawyers led by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Chief Kola Awodein, Sanusi, told the high court that his purported suspension was as a result of some discrepancies he discovered in respect of amounts repatriated to the federation account from the proceed of crude oil sales between the period of January, 2012 and July, 2013.

He maintained that his sin was that upon discovering the financial anomalies, he had cause to inform the National Assembly considering the fact that the revenue of the federation and the national economy was directly affected.

He further insisted before the court that his purported suspension by President Jonathan was aimed at punishing him for the disclosures he made with regards to how revenue that accrued to the federation was being mismanaged.

Sanusi contended that the President did not approach or obtained the support of the Senate, saying his discussions with several lawmakers including Senator Bukola Saraki, confirmed that the decision to oust him from office was unilaterally taken by the Presidency.

Consequently, he urged the court to restrain President Jonathan, the Attorney

General of the Federation and the Inspector General of Police, from giving effect to his purported suspension from office as the CBN Governor, pending the determination of his suit.

Besides, he begged the court to make an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the defendants from obstructing,disturbing, stopping or preventing him from in any manner whatsoever from performing the functions of his office as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and enjoying in full, the statutory powers and privileges attached to the office of the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria.

In an affidavit he deposed in support of the suit, Sanusi averred: “I have been informed, and I verily believe the information given to me by

senator Bukola Saraki to be true and correct that the senate did not give the President any support for my purported suspension and removal from office as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria” Sanusi told the court that his interlocutory application was necessary considering the issues raised in the suit, saying delay would entail irreparable and serious damage and mischief on him in the exercise of his statutory duties as the CBN Governor.

He urged the court to exercise its discretion in his favour by granting the interlocutory injunctions as the President’s continued unlawful interference with the management and administration of the apex bank, unless arrested, poses grave danger for Nigerian economy.

It was his prayer that the court should order the maintenance of status quo ante bellum, which he said should be that he should return to his office as the Governor of the CBN. Sanusi further averred that the actions of the President in suspending him from office was contrary to provisions of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act relating to the appointment and removal of the CBN Governor.

He said his purported suspension, “amounts to unlawful interference in the administration and management of the apex bank and is therefore illegal, null and void.”

He said it would be in the interest of Justice for the court to grant all his prayers.

Meanwhile, the suit, dated February 24, is yet to be assigned to any judge for hearing.

E-PASSPORT: From left — Mobile enrollment specialist, Nigeria Immigration Services, NIS, Supt. Abdulkadir Sagadir; Deputy President of the Senate, Sen. Ike Ekweremadu; wife of the Deputy President of the Senate, Lady Nwanneka Ekweremadu; wife of the Ambassasor of Nigeria to Japan, Mrs. Georgina Agbo; Ambassador of Nigeria to Japan, Hon. Godwin Agbo; and Officer-inCharge of Consular and Immigration, Amb. Essien Ntekim during the launch of E-Passport Mobile Enrollment by the Deputy President of the Senate service at the Embassy in Tokyo, Japan.

Atiku, Nyako, Amaechi spurn Jonathan’s ultimatum to wavelength with the is not about what position you and to make a better Nigeria, the return to PDP different president in that he was not hold, it is not about seniority, leadership of this country must

BY EMMANUELAZIKEN, Political Editor

F

ORMER Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State and others who left the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP for the All Progressives Congress, APC have spurned President Goodluck Jonathan’s ultimatum to return to the party or lose their seniority in the party.

In separate reactions to the ultimatum handed down at a PDP rally last weekend in Owerri, the defectors said that the president and the PDP burnt the bridge with which they crossed over and that the party left them with no option than to leave.

Governor Nyako in his own response said that he was on a

thinking of seniority but of service to his people.

President Jonathan had at the PDP rally in Owerri last weekend told the defectors to return or lose their seniority in the PDP. A confidant of Atiku who spoke on his behalf told Vanguard that it was unrealistic for the president to woo the defectors after he kept mute severally when they were being hounded out of the party last year.

“The bridge has been burnt and how can they come back after the president looked the other way when the bridge was progressively destroyed by the Tukur leadership.”

Nyako in his own response said yesterday that he was more disposed to service to the people and not looking for seniority.

“Leadership is about service, it

you could be a ward chairman or a councilor and still contribute greatly to the development of your community rather than a minister whose only contribution is only to steal money from the treasury,” Nyako said yesterday through his director of media, Alhaji Ahmed Sajoh.

“We are not struggling for position within the PDP or in the nation, our concern is what quantum of development are we likely to contribute to the betterment of the society we find ourselves in and I think that should have been President Jonathan’s major concern not about seniority within the PDP.” “He can keep his seniority within the PDP, we are not interested in seniority, we are interested in a better Nigeria

think outside the box, must think beyond acquiring power or position for its own sake, but think of acquiring power and position for the development of the country.”

“He is thinking of position, we are thinking of service, he is thinking seniority we are thinking of contribution,” the governor said.

Speaking on behalf of the five governors who left the PDP, Chief Chukwuemeka Eze, the spokesman of the new PDP which collapsed into the APC said yesterday: “With due respect, President Jonathan is simply playing to the gallery. For the avoidance of doubt, Atiku, Amaechi and the other patriots who left the sinking and undemocratic PDP have no intention of returning to the party, either now or in the future.

10 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014

LASG asks A’Court to dismiss Pedro’s impeachment suit

BY BARTHOLOMEW

MADUKWE

L

AGOS—LAGOS State Government has asked the Court of Appeal to reject the appeal filed by a former Lagos State Deputy Governor, Mr. Femi Pedro, challenging his removal from office on May10, 2007.

Pedro, through his lawyer, late Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, had approached the High Court of Lagos by way of an originating summons dated July 8, 2007, over his impeachment.

He asked the lower court to declare that the process leading to his impeachment as the State Deputy Governor was improper, illegal, null and void.

It will be recalled that the presiding judge, Justice Yetunde Idowu, in her ruling, dismissed the suit on technical grounds, saying it was brought in form of originating summons instead of the writ of summons as provided by law.

Dissatisfied, Pedro appealed against the ruling and urged the appellate court to set aside the decision of the lower court.

At the resumed hearing of the appeal, Lagos State gov-

ernor and the Attorney General of Lagos State, (2nd and 3rd respondents) in their Motion on Notice prayed the court for extension of time within which to file and serve their brief of

argument.

The former deputy governor, in his brief of argument dated May 21, 2013, stated that he resigned his office as deputy governor of Lagos State on

May 8, 2007, which qualified him to all entitlements and benefits of office enjoyed as a former deputy governor, including pension and other emoluments.

GUBER ELECTION: Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, National Organising Secretary, Abubakar Mustapha (right), presenting the nomination form to Ekiti State gubernatorial aspirant of the PDP, Adedayo Adeyeye on the forthcoming governorship election in the State, at the Party Headquarters in Abuja, yesterday. Photo: Gbemiga Olamikan.

We saw Sanusi’s suspension coming —ASSBIFI

BY VICTOR AHIUMA-

YOUNG

L

AGOS—ORGANISED Labour in the nation’s financial sector, yesterday, said it was not surprised by the suspension of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, as it saw the suspension coming, lamenting that the financial pains Sanusi inflicted on the Nigerian bank workers were yet to subside.

A statement in Lagos by Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions, ASSBIFI, insisted that Mallam Sanusi ought to have been relieved of his post long ago because since he became the CBN Governor in 2009, the country had witnessed various policy somersaults rolled out by the CBN. The statement by Emeka Ogene and Obukese Orere, President and General Secretary of ASSBIFI respectively, lamented that the Sanusi-led CBN turned Nigeria into a financial policy testing ground and most of his policies were geared towards punishing the Nigerian workers in the financial sector.

The statement reads in part: “The depletion of Bank workers during the Malam Sanusi regime was far more than the Soludo era when 89 Banks were forced to merge and reduced to 25 in 2005.

"The managements of some of the Nigeria Banks were also adversely affected more in the Mallam Sanusi era as vendatta was the hallmark of the Mallam Sanusi regime. Evidences abound, which gave rise to litigations that are still ongoing.

"The financial pains the Mallam Sanusi era inflicted on the Nigerian bank worker with its alien policies are yet to subside as many affected bank workers are yet to get their exit payment as at today. Many financial sector workers have been made to taste

early retirement due to Mallam Sanusi’s policies.

"Mallam Sanusi ruled the CBN as a lord who was not accountable to anybody, not even the Ministry of Finance to which it is subjected."

IGP orders investigation into Ikorodu family of Aberija of Morekete, community’s petition Bayeku area of Ikorodu,

L

AGOS—THE Inspector General of Police, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar, has ordered an investigation into a case of unlawful possession of fire arms and threat to life made against a group of suspected hoodlums in Bayeku town, Ikorodu Local Government Area of Lagos State.

Alhaji Abubakar gave the order following a complaint by landlords and residents of Bayeku area against a group of people branded as land speculators, who have continued to make life unbearable for the residents of the area with constant invasion of the area with hardened criminals brandishing guns, cutlasses and shooting sporadically into the air each time they invaded the area.

A resident who commented on grounds of anonymity, said: “This people have no regards for life or rule of law, they have perpetrated all manners of brigandage on the community even in broad

daylight. We are calling on police authorities to come to our rescue.”

Meanwhile, a lawyer in the area, Mr. Lekan Daramola, in a petition to the IG on behalf of the landlords, residents and the

identified six of the suspected hoodlums, who he said had been arrested on various occasion by the police, but left off the hook on the intervention of one “Jendo.”

Badia residents fault LASG's verification exercise

L

BY MONSURU OLOWOOPEJO

AGOS—LAGOS State Government has commenced verification exercise for 2,252 persons who were evicted after the government pulled down several structures in Badia East, Apapa-Iganmu Local Government.

The verification exercise has, however, been faulted by those evicted describing it as ‘tedious’ the procedure for the verification which would aid disbursement of the fund.

The verification which

commenced on Monday at the National Theatre, Iganmu, is expected to authenticate the list of the evictees captured after the demolition exercise on February 23, 2013.

Speaking on the verification exercise, Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeola Ipaye said: “The state government embarked on the exercise for the purpose of disbursing the approved financial assistance by the government to the tenants and landlords affected by the demolition in the community.”

Awolowo Foundation counsels confab delegates

BY DOTUN IBIWOYE &

WILLIAM JIMOH AGOS—THE Obafemi Awolowo Foundation, OAF, has called on the delegates to the National conference to adopt the late sage’s prescriptions of the Nigerian constitution during the conference.

The Executive Director of OAF, Dr. Tokunbo Awolowo-Dosumu, spoke at a briefing yesterday, ahead of a symposium titled, ‘’The Nigerian Constitution: The Awo Road Not Taken’ scheduled for March 4, at NECA House, Alausa, Ikeja.

According to AwolowoDosumu, the public lecture would produce a communiqué that would be made available to every group that would send delegates to the conference, lamenting that the neglect of Awo’s views for alleged political reasons while he was alive had affected the country negatively.

L

Abiola widow’s name struck off fraud charge

L

AGOS—THE name of the former chairman of Integrated Micro-Finance Bank, IMFB, and wife of late acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 Presidential election, Chief MKO Abiola, Dr. Doyin Abiola, has been struck off from the charge preferred against some executives of the bank before a Federal High Court in Lagos.

Her counsel, Mr. Keni Pinheri, SAN in a statement, yesterday, said: “Charge no. FHC/ L/210/2013 has been widely reported and an unprecedented media onslaught had been unleashed on our client in relation to the charge vis-àvis her activities as the former non-executive chairman of Integrated Micro-Finance Bank, IMFB. “We wish to state that for cogent and very compelling reasons, our client’s name was struck off the charge on February 10, 2014 by Justice Abang of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014 — 11

Ekiti names Fasuan, 5 others as confab delegates A

BY GBENGA ARIYIBI

DO EKITI—EKITI State Government has announced the names of the state’s nominees for the forthcoming national conference.

The list was contained in a statement, issued by Governor Kayode Fayemi dated February 19, and addressed to President, Goodluck Jonathan.

According to the statement, the state delegation include: International Law expert, Professor Akin Oyebode; Prof.

Bisi Aina; Catholic Bishop of Ekiti Diocese, Most Revd.

Felix Ajakaye; elder statesman and chairman of the defunct Movement for Ekiti State Creation, Chief Oladeji Fasuan; Secretary, Yoruba Unity Group, Dr. Kunle

Crisis rocks Osun LP congress

BY GBENGA OLARINOYE

O

SOGBO—MAJOR crisis engulfed Osun State chapter of the Labour Party yesterday, following attempt by a faction led by a former Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Fatai Akinbade to allegedly hijack the party structure in the state.

Akinbade who is also a governorship aspirant of the party allegedly mobilised his supporters to the state secretariat of the party in Osogbo to attend the state congress of the party where his supporters allegedly caused chaos, a situation which forced the transition committee chairman of the party, Chief Daniel Afilaka out of the venue.

Chief Afilaka and his supporters, according to sources reportedly left the venue of the congress after the meeting started when followers of Akinbade took over the congress and attempted to dominate the party structure in the state.

Akinbade, a former governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, recently defected to the LP where he had also declared his intention to contest the August 9 governorship election.

It was learnt that since Akinbade joined the party, his supporters and old members of LP have been having running battle over who will be the new state chairman of the party.

Olajide and Chairman, Ekiti State Council of traditional rulers, HRM, Oba Idowu Adamo Babalola.

According to the Governor’s letter, which was routed through the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Prof.

Oyebode, Prof. Aina and Bishop Ajakaye are to represent Ekiti North, Ekiti Central and Ekiti South senatorial districts respectively.

Chief Fasuan, who leads the state delegation is a nominee for the elder statesman slot.

Dr. Olajide and Oba Adamo Babalola are the state’s representatives for the two slots allocated to Ekiti out of the 15 slots to represent Ethnic Nationalities/Groups in the zone.

COMMISSIONING: From left: Executive Secretary, MTN Foundation, Ms Nonny Ugboma, Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State, and Olowo of Owo, Oba Olateru-Olagbegi, at the commissioning of the six workshops upgraded by MTNF, at Government Technical College, Owo, Ondo State, yesterday.

Ondo Assembly speaker dies @ 52

BY DAYO JOHNSON

A

KURE—SPEAKER of Ondo State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Adesina Samuel Ajayi, 52, is dead.

Hon Ajayi died yesterday following a protracted battle with the Cancer of the Urinary bladder, throwing the House into mourning as colleagues betrayed their emotions and wept openly.

The late Speaker had been bed ridden in the past six months, while the rumour of his death had been spreading across the state since November last year.

Members of the House of Assembly who came early to the assembly for plenary betrayed their emotions as news of the demise of the speaker was confirmed.

The Assembly complex erupted as the news spread and workers burst into tears as they gathered in groups to discuss the death of the Speaker.

The deputy speaker, Dare Emiola has been acting since September last year when the deceased Speaker was hospitalised at an undisclosed hospital in Lagos.

A statement by the state government confirmed the death of the speaker.

The statement by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Olurotimi Adelola in Akure, said: “The Ondo State Government has announced the death of the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Adesina Samuel Ajayi, representing Odigbo Constituency 11. The late speaker during his life time was a bridge builder, a man of integrity and a reliable team player who placed the interest of the state above personal considerations.

“The untimely death of the speaker occurred in the early hours of Tuesday, February 25, 2014, after a protracted battle with the cancer of the urinary bladder. The Ondo State Government received the news with rude shock and disbelief and commiserates with the family of the late Speaker, the state legislature as well as the entire people of the state on this irreparable loss. It is our prayers that God will grant every one of us the fortitude to bear this loss.”

Leadership of the Assembly declined comment on the death of the speaker when contacted.

But some workers interviewed described his death after many months of pain as unfortunate.

They prayed that God would give his family the courage to bear the irreparable loss.

12 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014

INEC seeks laws to guarantee financial, operational independence

BY AUSTIN OGWUDA

A

SABA—CHAIRMAN of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega, yesterday, called for the review of existing laws establishing Election Management Bodies, EMBs, such as INEC, to guarantee both financial and operational independence in line with global standards.

He explained that by so doing, there would be a change of mind set since many Nigerians have lost confidence in the electoral system.

Jega spoke at a seminar organised by Delta State Independent Electoral Commission, DSIEC, in collaboration with INEC in Asaba.

He said: “The quality of the legal framework on which an EMB is established and functions is critical to generating public trust. If the legal framework is such that it undermines the independence of the EMB, the public is likely to lose confidence in the EMB. “This is why it is important to continue to review and to improve the laws establishing EMBs at all levels in Nigeria in order to bring them up to global standards that guarantee both financial and operational independence. I look

forward to a time when all laws establishing EMBs will be standardised based on global best practices.

“I should further point out that as you move across states, from one to another, you see clear disparities if not discrepancies in the laws establishing the state Independent Electoral Commission and one of the things that INEC has been en-

gaging, Forum of State Independent Electoral Commission, FOSICON, is on how we can achieve standardisation in the laws of the state Independent Electoral Commission. We are not saying that all the laws must be the same.

“Obviously, the whole idea of a federal system is to ensure that there is relative au-

tonomy for the states even in their legal jurisdiction. But there are approved standards, international best practices. Right now frankly, the laws establishing many state Independent Electoral Commissions will require substantial review in order to accommodate these best practices.”

COMMISSIONING: From right: Chief Willson Eboh; Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State; Chief Emmanuel Okumagba and Delta State Commissioner for Basic Education, Prof. Patrick Muoboghare, during the commissioning of Olodi Primary School, Warri, built by the state government, yesterday. Photo: Henry Unini.

Odi people move against FG assets in Britain over N37.6bn judgment award

BY JIMITOTA ONOYUME

P

ORT HARCOURT— THE people of Odi in Bayelsa State have moved against the assets of the Federal Government in Britain, as they have registered in England, the N37.616 billion judgment debt, awarded to them as compensation for the 1999 military invasion of their community.

It will be recalled that Justice Lambo Akanbi of a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, had on March 19, 2013, awarded against the Federal Government, N37.616 billion over the military invasion of the area, describing the action of the Nigerian Army as an abuse of federal might.

Other judgment debtors in the suit FHC/PHC/CP/11/2000 are the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, the Minister of Defence, the Chief of Defence Staff, the Attorney General of the Federation and the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The Crowther solicitors of the Odi people in London have entered the judgment,

in England, asking the Federal High Court to release the money to the community at the High Court of Justice, Queen’s Bench Division, London.

Counsel to the Odi people, Chief Lucius Nwosu (SAN), on the implication of the action of the London solicitors, said: “The adverse consequence on the

image of Nigeria arising from the recognition of the judgment of the Federal High Court on the Odi matter in England regarding our respect for human rights and rule of law is anyone’s guess. The advisers of the President must be held responsible for the quality of

Police action in Rivers tended towards anarchy—Abe

C

HAIRMAN, Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Senator Magnus Abe, yesterday, said but for God’s intervention, the Police allegedly supported political crisis that rocked Rivers State would have degenerated to the dark days of militancy in the Niger Delta region.

He spoke at a special thanksgiving service in honour of his family for God’s protection and mercies, at the Chapel of Annunciation, University of Port Harcourt.

Senator Abe traced the crisis that enveloped the Niger Delta region in the past to bad policing.

He said: “If you were in this state a couple of months ago, you could feel the tension in the air. Everyday, there was a story about one crisis or another. All the issues were security relat-

their advice. With this recognition, Nigeria’s assets in England can be attached.”

The Odi people have also initiated contempt proceedings against the suspended governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Malam Sanusi Lamido before a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, seeking to send him to jail.

ed. If the situation had continued, it would have been a matter of time for blood to flow on the streets of Rivers State.

“What happened in Khana, where people walked openly with AK-47 rifles on the streets of Bori, shooting and setting things on fire with the police at 200 meters away, was just an eye-opener. People called the police, but the police said they had instructions from the then Commissioner not to intervene even if people were dying.”

Senator Abe, who represents Rivers South-East in the National Assembly, said Rivers people, irrespective of their political affiliations need to give thanks to God for saving the state from an impending crisis.

Edo govt, doctors reach agreement

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

B

ENIN—EDO State Govern-ment and doctors in the state under the aegis of Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, have reached an agreement on matters affecting the doctors’ condition of service and improving infrastructure in the state's health sector.

The doctors had embarked on a strike last year over their demands for employment into various cadres in the health management board, improvement in the infrastructure in hospitals and health centres across the state and full implementation of the doctors' Consolidated Medical Salary Structure, CONMESS and the Consolidated Health Salary Structure, CONHESS. Speaking after a meeting with the doctors, the state governor, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole told newsmen that “I just finished a meeting with the doctors, and we discussed the entire healthcare delivery chain, including primary healthcare centres and the fact that we have carried out a comprehensive survey to establish precisely where we have health centres, hospitals, and how many doctors and nurses we need. Now we have all these figures with us and the challenge is finding the money to employ all the hands that we need.

“We are convinced that there is no point opening a hospital without a doctor, because the building will not treat anybody. It is the doctor inside the building that treats patients."

Madam Tobi-Ogbakpah for burial

B

URIAL activities for the late Mrs. Ajiyenmikpiaghan TobiOgbakpah will commence with a service of songs at her 12, Ofotoku Road residence, Sapele, on February 27.

A statement by the family said internment is on February 28 at Ologbo while reception will follow immediately at 12 Ofotoku Road. Inlaws' greetings and entertainment are slated for March 1, while second

outing service will hold at First Baptis Church.

Late Tobi-Ogbakpah

C M Y K

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014 — 13

Security beef up in Otuoke over community chief's abduction

BY SAMUEL OYADONGHA

Y

E N A G O A — THERE was heavy security presence, yesterday, in Otuoke, Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, following Sunday's abduction of Chief Inengite Nitabai by gunmen.

Chief Nitabai's abduction, it was learnt, might not be unconnected with an alleged land dispute.

The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Hilary Opara, a family source told Vanguard, was to meet with the kidnapped chief and other family members over a land dispute on Monday before the sad event of Sunday.

Our correspondent who visited Otuoke, which is also a host to the Federal University, observed large presence of security operatives in the community and checkpoints at the entry and exit points.

Chief Nitabai was whisked away in his car, a Sports Utility Vehicle, by armed men, who stormed his home Sunday night.

The vehicle was later recovered at Onuegbum waterfront where it was abandoned, an indication that his abductors might have escaped through the creek.

At press time, the gunmen were yet to establish contact with their victim’s family.

A member of the family who spoke anonymously, pleaded with the kidnappers to release their bread winner, whom he described as a man of peace, on humanitarian ground.

Two suspects, it was learnt, have been arrested in connection with the incident.

Meanwhile, the state government has condemned the abduction of the chief and urged security agencies to fish out the perpetrators of

the heinous crime.

The state government, through the Commissioner for Information

and Orientation, Deacon Markson Fefegha, warned that government would not hesitate to

prosecute any person found culpable in the act.

The state government,

it will be recalled, had prescribed death penalty for convicted kidnappers.

BY JIMITOTA ONOYUME

P

ORT HARCOURT— GOVERNOR Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, has called on Britain to appeal to President Goodluck Jonathan to intensify his effort in the battle against corruption.

He also expressed concern over the way the Federal Government was going about the crusade against oil theft in the country, which he noted, has largely depleted the country’s resources.

The governor in Port Harcourt, when he played host to the British Minister for Africa and Member of Parliament, Mr. Mark Simmonds, said he was not sure if the Federal Government was truly determined to confront oil theft and corruption.

He said that Rivers State Government acquired two helicopters that would have aided the government in the crusade, but the Federal Government denied them entry into the country, apparently for political reasons.

“For two years now, the Federal Government has refused entry into the country, two surveillance helicopters paid for by the Rivers State Government.

These helicopters have cameras and their job is to fly all over and whoever that is stealing oil, you will see," he said.

Ojiyi for burial

D

Delta 2015: S-South group vows to work against Orubebe

A

S the battle over who takes over from Delta State governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan in 2015 intensifies, South South Youth Political Forum, SSYPF, currently evaluating past performances of aspirants, has

Amaechi to British Govt: Tell Jonathan to step up fight against corruption

said it will never support the ambition of the immediate past Niger Delta Affairs Minister, Elder Godsday Orubebe.

SSYPF said it had decided to work against Orubebe because failed to attract dividends of democ-

racy to the people of the South-South during his tenure as minister.

National Chairman of SSYPF, Alaowei Promise Lawuru, in a statement, after a meeting with delegates from Burutu, Delta State, said: “We the

youths in South-South are not pleased with Orubebe's performance because he failed to touch the lives of our people during his tenure.

“We will, therefore, not support such a man who didn’t have the pains of

Deltans and the Niger Delta people at heart. At our meeting on whether to work for Orubebe or not, we gave reasons, why Orubebe cannot become Uduaghan’s successor and at the right time before the primaries, they shall be published.”

R. Samuel Ojiyi of Nise, Anambra State, is dead, aged 76.

A statement by Mr. Victor Ojiyi said service of songs will be held at his residence 7, Carter Street, Enugu, on March 3, commendation service at Cathedral Church of Good Shepherd, Enugu on March 4. Burial will take place on March 6 after a funeral service at St. John’s Anglican Church, Nise, Anambra State.

Late Dr. Ojiyi

14—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014

Vanguard opens business office in Ikeja

From left, Mr. Gbenga Adefaye, Editor in Chief/General Manager, Publications, Vanguard Newspapers; Mr. Emeka Nkwocha, Advert Manager, and Ms Titi Jolaoso, Financial Controller, yesterday.

From left, Mr. Temisan Amuka, Circulation Manager, Vanguard Media Ltd; Ms Janet Najomoh, Advert Dept, and Ms Alero Atsimene, Deputy Advert Manager. Photo Joe Akintola, Photo Editor

V

ANGUARD NEWSPAPERS, yesterday, opened its business office in the Ikeja central business district.

The office situated in the imposing Trinity Mall on 79/81, Obafemi Awolowo Road, Ikeja, Lagos, will

protect the interest of customers within the Ikeja metropolis and also bring Vanguard’s services closer to the Ikeja populace.

Advertisers afraid of the perennial traffic gridlock on the Apapa/ Oshodi Expressway can now

From left, Mr. Eze Anaba, Deputy Editor, Vanguard Newspaper; Mr. Fred Odueme, AGM Brands; Mr. Emeka Nkwocha, Advert Manager, and Pastor Emmanuel Obuh, during the opening ceremony of Vanguard Media Ltd advertisement Office, at Trinity Mall, 79/81, Obafemi Awolowo Road, Ikeja, Lagos. Photo Joe Akintola

Ms Titi Jolaoso, Financial Controller, Vanguard Newspaper (left), and Mr. Olushola Ojo, Internal Auditor.

book their adverts with ease.

Beyond adverts, the office will also serve as contact point on editorial and circulation matters.

The office was formally opened with prayers by Pastor Emmanuel Obuh.

In attendance at the openning were the Editor in Chief/General Manager, Mr. Gbenga Adefaye; AGM Admin/Legal, Mrs. Omasan Dudu; Financial Controller, Titi Jolaoso; Advert Man-

ager, Emeka Nkwocha; Circulation Manager, Temisan Amuka; AGM, Brands, Fred Odueme; Internal Auditor, Olushola Ojo, and Mr. Eze Anaba, Deputy Editor.

Indian neuro-surgeon arrested for practising without licence

BY VICTORIA OJEME

A

BUJA — AN Indian Neurosurgeon, Dr. Raju Bhuvaneswara Basina, has been arrested by officials of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, MDCN, for operating without a practice licence.

The 53-year-old doctor was arrested by the Police from Apo Resettlement Division, on Monday, at Asokoro District Hospital in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, following a fresh round of onslaught by the MDCN against

quackery.

He was said to have been conducting neurosurgical operations at Asokoro District Hospital for more than a year without licence from MDCN, the regulating agency for doctors and dentists in the country.

Basina was performing a craniotomy (brain surgery) in his hospital when police and MDCN’s inspectorate officials, led by Dr. Henry Okwuokenye, arrived at the hospital for his arrest.

The team was also accompanied

by President of the Guild of Med-

ical Directors, Dr. Tony Phillips.

Chief Medical Director of Asokoro Hospital, Dr. Ahmadu Abubakar, had to prevail on officials of MDCN to wait for him to finish his surgery to pick him up.

Okwuokenye, who is Head (Inspectorate Unit) of MDCN, told journalists that investigations had revealed that Basina had already worked as a doctor at Asokoro Hospital for many months before eventually applying for a licence in August last year.

He said: “The MDCN is yet to process Basina’s application

while response from our counterpart in India’s medical regulating agency is pending.”

But Basina has continued to work on contract, insisting that he had applied.

According to him, mere application does not constitute temporary licence meant for doctors trained outside Nigeria.

Okwuokenye added that Basina should have waited for response before practising. ”We wrote a letter to India to tell us about the status and licence of Basina but they are yet to get

Anambra: Tribunal dismisses Obidigbo’s petition

BY VINCENT UJUMADU

AWKA — ANAMBRA State Governorship Election Tribunal sitting in Awka, yesterday, dis-

missed the petition filed by a governorship aspirant on the platform of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Dr. Chike Obidigbo, saying the petitioner had no

business in the tribunal.

In a ruling that lasted about one hour, chairman of the tribunal, Justice Ishaq Bello, said Obidigbo could not be joined in the peti-

...traders accuse govt over MASSOB extortion

BY ENYIM ENYIM

O

NITSHA — TRADERS in Onitsha main market have accused Anambra State government of sponsoring the activities of Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign

State of Biafra, MASSOB, in the market.

The traders, who spoke one after the other, headed by Dr. Ikechukwu Umeh, said MASSOB members had been extorting them without government’s intervention.

But the government, through the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Robert Okonkwo, dismissed the allegation, saying the government was not involved in MASSOB’s activities.

tion in the spirit of the Electoral Act. Justice Bello said it was the view of the tribunal that the applicant was not known to be a party in the election and could not statutorily be joined in the petition.

According to him, the law does not provide for a ceremonial respondent in an election petition as a party must be connected with the election.

Justice Bello added that in the prevailing case, the applicant had a mistaken belief he had a case.

back to us. Although he claimed to have applied, mere application is not a licence to practice.

“When we asked him if a doctor could practice in India without licence, he said no. Why then is he practising in Nigeria? Time has come for us to sanitise the system, Nigeria is not a banana republic where anything can happen,” he stated.

Among documents Basina filed in his application were photocopies of credentials from Nazims Institute of Medical Sciences and Rangaraya Medical College.

As at the time of this report, it was not clear if Basina had been granted bail by the police.

During talks with regulatory officials at the hospital, Basina insisted he trained in the United States, among other places, but added that getting a practice licence in Nigeria was too long and inconvenient.

At a point, he insisted that practicing licences were easily ordered “over the phone” in India or taken in less than two days in the US. “Can I do this in India? I go to india, I apply, and while waiting for them, I start practising?” Okwuokenye queried.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014—15

NNPC denies conniving with Swiss coys to defraud Nigeria

BY EMMAN OVUAKPORIE & LEVINUS NWABUGHIOGU

A

BUJA — Nigerian Nation al Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, yesterday, denied entering into any form of clandestine oil business arrangement with two Swiss oil trading companies, Vitol and Trafigura, to defraud Nigeria of billions of dollars.

Instead, the corporation insisted that its pricing strategy was aligned to international best practices obtained in the oil industry.

Group Managing Director of the corporation, Mr. Andrew Yakubu,

gave the testimony at an investigative hearing at the House of Representatives.

The investigation, entitled, 'Urgent Need to Investigate Alleged Connivance of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, with Swiss Oil to rob Nigeria of billions of dollars,” was organised by the House Committees on Petroleum Resources (Upstream and Down Stream).

Yakubu said: “The prices of oil were determined by Platts. Honourable Chairman, we affirm that the claims by the “Bernes Declaration” are baseless and without

material substance and request you to set it aside in its entirety.

“We submit that our pricing strategy is aligned to international best practice in the industry. Our prices are based on a reference to the benchmark of crude Brent whose prices are published by Platts for the international trading community, a premium/ differential for individual crude grades and the selection of an option. ”Average of five consecutive day publications by Platts provides about 97 per cent of the value of any of our crude blends with differential/premium account for

about three per cent of the total value.

“The differential/premium are established based on a wide range of publications (Platts, Argus, LOR, etc) and internal market assessment by the Corporation for all crude grades.”

Yakubu also defended the popular practice of selling crude oil for refined product, saying it was a typical procurement strategy.

He added: “The NNPC Act mandates the Corporation to supply petroleum products to the Federation as supplier of last resort. In order to meet this obligation, 445,000 barrels of crude oil is assigned to the Corporation at international price for domestic refining.

“The Corporation disposes unrefined portion of the assignment through direct export or other secondary

arrangements, including “Swap,” to ensure procurement and delivery of refined petroleum products.”

The “Swap Arrangement” referred to by the “Bernes Declaration” is a known practice in the industry where equivalent value of product is exchanged for crude oil off take. This is a typical procurement strategy for supply constraint but resource dependent nations to hedge for supply security challenges.

“It is to be noted that the NNPC delivers the international market value of the crude to the Federation on the basis of the General Sales Agreement and Conditions."

There is, therefore, no value loss to the Federation.”

'Nigeria spends N125.38bn on fish importation annually’

BY GABRIEL EWEPU

A

BUJA — THE Fed eral Government said, yesterday, that the country spends over N125.

38 billion annually on fish importation.

The government lamented that despite the abundance of water resources and marine eco-systems that could lead to saving of more than that amount and create jobs for the teeming population, the country was spending so much on importation of fish.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, who disclosed this at a ‘One Day Interactive Session on Re-Positioning the Fisheries Sector,’ maintained that the Federal Government had not placed ban on importation of fish as being speculated.

He said what government had done was to come up with policies that would help curb sharp practices that had bedevilled the growth and development of the fisheries sub-sector.

PAC set to fight cyber crime

T

HE POLICE Assis tance Committee, PAC, yesterday, said it was intensifying efforts to support the Police and other security agencies in fighting the menace of Internet crime prevalent in the country.

Director General of PAC, Dr. Martins Oni, who gave the assertion, lamented that the image of the country was being seriously eroded at a fast rate within the international com-

munity through perpetration of cyber crime by Nigerians looking for easy way to make illicit money.

Oni, who spoke at a three-day workshop on the theme, ''The Need To Fight Internet Crime In The Country,' in Lagos to train PAC field officers on how they could assist the Police and other security agencies through information and intelligence gathering to fight the menace.

16—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014

Globacom supports Nigeria's centenary celebration to promote unity

N

IGERIA'S NATIONAL Operator, Globacom has stated that its active support for Nigeria's centenary commemoration is consistent with its commitment to promoting the values that unite and sustain the country.

The national carrier, which is a Foundation Partner and Platinum Sponsor of the centenary project, stated this as the activities commemorating the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern protectorates of Nigeria into one country in 1914, reach a climax.

Globacom's Group Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Mohamed Jameel, said: "Globacom is a wholly indigenous company that is committed to promoting unity, growth and development of Nigeria.

"We share the vision of the country to become one of the top 20 economies of the world by the year 2020, and we believe that this is achievable only through unity, which is reinforced by celebrating the ties that hold the country together."

According to him, the centenary anniversary of the creation of the entity called Nigeria presents a unique opportunity for the country to celebrate the common values uniting the nation in spite of its rich cultural diversity.

PPPRA pays N832bn subsidy in 2013

BY CHRIS OCHAYI

A

BUJA — THE Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, disclosed, yesterday, that it paid a total sum of N832.06 billion as subsidy claims to marketers of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, otherwise known as petrol under the Petro-

leum Support Fund, PSF, in 2013.

The agency noted that the 2013 total subsidy payment figure was slightly lower than its 2012 figure of N862.06 billion which it paid and that it has been able to, as part of cost cutting measures, eliminated previous manipulation

of bill of lading to continuously make such savings to the government.

This was disclosed at brief hand-over ceremony between the out-going and in-coming Executive Secretary of the agency, Reginald Stanley and Farouk Ahmed respectively.

Meanwhile, queues of ve-

MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS: From left, Tony Ojobo, Director Public Affairs, Nigeria Communications Commission, NCC; Muhammed M. Bintube, Commissioner; Jerry Ugwu, Chief of Staff to the Executive Vice Chairman, NCC, and Reuben Muoka, Head of Media, also of NCC, at the on-going GSM Mobile World Congress, in Barcelona, Spain. Photo: Emeka Aginam

Danjuma Foundation donates N10m to improve girl-child education

J

ALINGO — THE Danjuma Foundation on Tuesday donated N10 million for the improvement of women and girl-child education in two rural communities of Taraba State.

Mrs Felicia Onibon, the President of Change Managers International Network, an NGO, disclosed this in Wukari during an appraisal workshop to mark the end of its one-year educational programme

in the area.

The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports that the TY Danjuma Foundation is a philanthropic organisation put in place by a former Defence Minister, Gen. T Y Danjuma.

The foundation is sponsoring NGOs to support rural communities in the areas of education, health care and income generation.

According to her, the project is focussed on promoting girls and women education in RafinKada and Gidan-Idi communities of Wukari Local Government Area of the state.

She said that within the last one year the project had touched the lives of 200 girls who had dropped out of secondary school due to unwanted pregnancies.

hicles, which had resurfaced in some parts of the country, yesterday, hit Abuja, the nation's capital, as marketers blamed the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, for delaying the approval of import allocation for the product.

Import allocation for the first quarter of this year had been delayed by PPPRA, the agency responsible for it, without any official reasons.

Many filling stations remained shut across the city with long vehicular queues recorded in the very few stations that had the product.

A marketer expressed worry that the nation was about to go back to days of acute shortage of premium motor spirit, PMS. The marketer, who chose to be anonymous, said "most marketers are running out of stock and because of the time it will take to get the approvals of PPPRA and then the Department of Petroleum Resources, the real problem is about to start.

"Other parts of the country are already facing the problem, but we have managed to keep Abuja wet."

He added that, "but by last Sunday most stations began rationing because stocks were going down rapidly. We have been promised that the approvals will be released this week, but that might be too late to avoid the problems in the coming days.

"It is only the NNPC that will be able to sell but how many service stations do they have; very few compared to the major marketers and independent marketers.

However, the management of PPPRA has refused to comment on the fuel situation.

2015 polls: 88% of registered Nigerians eager to vote, says NOIPoll

A

BUJA — AS the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, is making preparations towards the conduct of next year‘s general elections, 88 per cent of adult registered

voters have expressed eagerness to cast their votes during the elections.

A reputable independent firm, NOIPolls Limited, which revealed this in its public opinion poll entitled, ‘Countdown to the 2015

Election Poll’ conducted on 17 February 2014, indicated that vast majority of 92 per cent of the 25 per cent yet to register, are planning to register in time for the 2015 elections.

It added that majority of 88 per cent of registered voters eagerly looking forward to voting in the 2015 elections, cited the need ‘to exercise their right to vote as Nigerians’ 40 per cent and ‘to vote for the

right/good leader’ 31 per cent as the top reasons.

It noted that, “on the other hand, of the 12 per cent of registered voters who do not look forward to voting, the most cited reasons include the suspicion that “their vote will not count,” 36 per cent; they “don’t have the time,” 22 per cent; and they “don’t trust the elections,” 21 per cent.

It would be recalled that in January 2014, Mrs.

Augusta Ogakwu, the Secretary of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, announced that the presidential and National Assembly elections will hold on February 14, 2015, while the state assembly and governorship elections are scheduled for February 28, 2015.

Mixed reactions have trailed the election timetable.

While some Nigerians applauded INEC for the timely release of the schedule for the elections, others have questioned the decision to hold the presidential and National Assembly polls before the governorship and state assembly elections.

They argued that holding the presidential poll first would have a bandwagon effect on the subsequent elections.

As Nigeria prepares towards the 2015 polls, INEC Chairman, Attahiru Jega has painted an optimistic picture of the 2015 elections, saying the lessons of the 2011 elections had been learnt and new processes are now in place to make the coming elections “much better than anything in the past.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014 — 17

C M Y K

18 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014 WE are in a landmark year. We mark the centenary. The National Conference is Nigeria’s future. We are building the future with minimal attention to children who the United Nations Assembly started celebrating in 1954, 60 years ago.

Our children, our leaders say, are our future.

Volumes of speeches, deliberately long and windy to provide cover for their emptiness, help our leaders celebrate their elevated duplicity.

Has anyone mentioned the rights of our children – our future – as the debates rage about the future of Nigeria? Nothing shows the neglect of the future better than the reluctance of some States to implement the Child Rights Act, CRA, 11 years after it became law. The illegality of various State Houses of Assembly having to pass or reject a federal law is one case our fiery lawyers shun.

The CRA has, as one of its goals, the elimination, or at least reduction of child labour. Child labourers are house helps, apprentices, hawkers, street traders, market/ shop assistants, bus conductors, motor park touts, ‘porters’, beggars for themselves or

Child’s Right To Nothing aides to adult beggars.

Section 28 of the Act states, “No child shall be a. Subjected to any forced or exploitative labour; or b. Employed to work in any capacity except where he is employed by a member of his family on light work of an agricultural, horticultural or domestic character; or c. Required, in any case to lift, carry or move anything so heavy as likely to adversely affect his physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development; or d. Employed as a domestic help outside his home or family environment".

Subsections (3) and (4) prescribe a fine of N50, 000 or five years’ imprisonment or

both, for individual offenders while a corporate organisation and its members would be liable on conviction to a fine of N250, 000.

CRA also prohibits child marriages and betrothals. In Section 21, any marriage contracted by anyone under 18 years is invalid. Under Section 22: "(1) No parent, guardian or any other person shall betroth a child to any person. (2) A betrothal in contravention of subsection (1) of this section is null and void". Both provisions are in the Criminal and Penal Codes, though they are hardly enforced.

If States, since 2003, implemented the CRA, with its provisions for education and well-being of the child, Nigeria could really be optimistic about its future.

The height of the hypocrisy is that Governors whose States have refused to implement child’s rights join in trumpeting the importance of children to Nigeria’s future.

We have to halt the national hypocrisy that equates conducting elections to a future for Nigeria. We can only build a fractured, fractious future without our children.

OPINION

BY SYLVESTER OKORO

W

HEN Sanusi Lamido Sanusi lost his job, and chose to head for Lagos rather than Abuja where he has a home, many did not read much meaning into it, until it emerged that he was to be received by the All Progressives Congress, APC, chieftains led by, none other than Mallam Nasir el Rufai, in posh cars made available by prominent Lagosians.

That singular act confirmed stories that had made the rounds in exclusive circles that some of the chieftains of the party had met with the financial rabble rouser in one of the financial capitals of the world, and perfected a grand plan to ruffle Abuja's feathers, as a step to gain political capital and preparatory to his joining the party.

Either he neglected to tell them about his alleged financial misdemeanours or he told them and the plot was to get him out there, make so much noise about the always-tainted Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, so that any disciplinary measure against him would be seen as persecution.

But he succeeded halfway as it has now emerged he operated a house muddied by alleged financial recklessness. To think that President Goodluck Jonathan had this information since June last year and did nothing about it is, to say the least, either an evidence of his naivety or a large-heartedness that is not for a clime like ours.

It is much more confounding that with all this information, Jonathan tried persuading the 'Emperor' of Nigeria’s financial institutions to resign but rebuffed him and perhaps told the story of his encounter with the President on phone to THISDAY newspapers that carried it weeks ago. It is therefore no wonder that, now

C M Y K

Fashola, Sanusi, el-Rufai and the APC that the APC deep-throat in government has fallen from his high horse, those presenting warped logic over his sack are apologists from the APC. Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, said: “You see, I don’t understand this kind of economic management. If the man is going in June, there must be a sense in which messaging about executive tampering with the independence of the Central Bank has economic consequences for investor positioning. This is not a suspension; it’s a sack really because it’s only there’s no power to sack him and they have looked and looked and looked and they have said: we suspend.

It’s a sack really. The message you are sending out is that it is better to keep quiet about corruption. That’s what it seems to me.”

Is that so, Governor Fashola? Would he dare take on Tinubu the way Sanusi took on Jonathan? We all know he would be impeached within the five working days of the week; so, stop pontificating. Fashola said further: “For me really, if someone in my government tells me that some money is missing and without concluding any investigation, they suspended the person who blew the whistle. It is when the audit is concluded that they can now decide what to do to the man. But now, before the completion of the audit, they have sacked the man who alerted the head of the government that money is missing.”

Interesting! Why not hire an audit firm from Chicago to audit the tax system in Lagos State since he became governor and see whether Lagosians, at least the true ones, will allow him sit in Alausa, and continue to report to that godfather of his. And who, except

Sanusi, is saying that money is missing? In the legal profession where he comes from, does the word of one inconsistent loud talking banker confirm a misdeed, even if there was one?

“So what message is the Presidency sending out to Nigerians on corruption and others who may want to reveal any atrocity committed in the country?” you asked sir, and you went ahead to answer the same question thus: “The message the Presidency is sending out is that Nigerians should keep quiet whenever they see any corruption perpetrated in the country. That is not a good sign for the economy.”

Your Excellency, you are completely wrong, and if your sense of history does not serve you well, I will remind you that no one in all our history has been able to cow us as has been done in other climes, even Western ones. You want an example, Sir? I will give you only one: Sanusi Lamido Sanusi. He has been running riot with his mouth for the past three years like a political governor rather than a financial one who should not rock the boat of state; but remained there because the President, for some inexplicable reason, trusted him and knew Nigerians wanted a breed like him. But it got into his head, and if you read the papers with their deluge of his alleged financial recklessness, should we also say it got into his pocket?

Governor Fashola, please, remove your APC toga for a few minutes and answer this question: Should such a man have been retained? Should the amiable Lagos Governor not be aware, may be it would be necessary for him to be told that the President had been told since the first week of June last year, a clear eight months and three weeks ago, to fire the man

and his deputies.

As a newspaper put it: “The decision to suspend the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Sanusi Lamido, was based on a report of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria dated June 7, 2013. The report was made after a review of Sanusi’s response to the query issued to him by the President over the apex bank’s financial statement of 2012. His response was dated May 20, 2013.

“According to a copy of the report obtained by our correspondent on Thursday, the council indicates that the explanation provided by the suspended CBN governor is ‘a clear display of incompetence, nonchalance, fraud, wastefulness, and abuse of due process and deliberate efforts to misrepresent facts on the part of the leadership of the CBN.’ The council advised the President to exercise the powers conferred on him by Section 11(2)(f) of the CBN Act 2007 or invoke Section 11(2)(c) of the said Act ‘and cause the governor and the deputy governors to cease from holding office in the CBN’.”

What more is there to say about this prince of Kano who rattled about like a commoner and acted in very un-princely ways? Those things that have propelled him to engage in a macabre dance will fully unravel in the next few weeks or months, no doubt.

*Mr. Okoro, a public affairs analyst, wrote from Lagos.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014 —19

, I

S somebody surprised that Sanusi Lamido Sanusi who was until Thursday, last week, Governor of Nigeria’s Central Bank finally had to vacate his exalted office before the end of his five-year term? Are there Nigerians confused that his exit had such direct presidential link, as there was no ambiguity to the statement announcing his removal by presidential spokesman, Reuben Abati? There was no pretence that his ouster came directly from the President who just couldn’t wait to see the back of the Kano prince before his projected exit in June. The presidential order announcing his removal had no slight hint of the usual courtesy, gratitude and good wishes often extended to public officers, even those apparently sacked, for their services to the country. Abati’s statement was brief, brusque and full of accusation. In the eyes of President Jonathan, Sanusi not only went beyond his brief as CBN Governor but also abused his office. He was disrespectful of his employers, violated laid down procedures and the oath he swore to on his appointment. With such strongly-worded statement from the Presidency in a country where

it is routine to provide very soft landing even for confirmed public thieves, Sanusi ought to be made more answerable for his term in office. But did Sanusi really abuse his position in the manner given out by Abati? And if so, would he be prosecuted? What would be the outcome of such prosecution? Or is there more to Sanusi’s removal than Nigerians have been told?

Certainly, there is more to Sanusi’s removal and many Nigerians would say so. His sack is most unusual. It is a record in its own right. Although for a public officer of his rank, Sanusi can neither be hired nor fired without presidential assent. But there was too much of presidential angst in Abati’s announcement to go unnoticed. The President must have personally felt affronted by this particular officer, an appointee of his predecessor, that his spokesman had to be clear that Jonathan personally wanted him out. This, I say, shouldn’t come as a surprise to Nigerians. That the announcement came when the former CBN Governor was abroad on official assignment also couldn’t have been by chance. It was a coup against him, a way to

,

rub it in that he occupied his office at the pleasure of somebody, a boss who could send him home like an erring school boy.

Relations between Sanusi’s CBN and the Presidency have gone sour in recent times. If one must put it starkly, it was a psychological battle or it’s been made to look like there was one between President Jonathan and Lamido Sanusi.

There couldn’t have been any love lost between the two since the contents of a letter Sanusi wrote to Jonathan last September found its way to the public, particular the public letter written to Jonathan by his estranged mentor, former President Obasanjo. Sanusi had in that letter alleged that about N50 billion of oil revenue due to Nigeria had not been paid into the Federation Account by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

U

ntil Obasanjo alluded to this episode in his letter, there was no hint of any kind that Jonathan paid any attention to Sanusi’s allegation against the NNPC. But it was a sore point in the letter Jonathan was forced to write in his response to Obasanjo. It would become a major point of public

The unending military siege to Delta State

D

ELTA is a densely populated state that also happens to house a vast amount of oil and gas. The Sapele-Warri-Ughelli corridor, extending to Port Harcourt, is the industrial and commercial heartbeat of the state and has a high volume of vehicular traffic. A testimony to the socio-economic importance of this corridor is the never-tobe-completed East-West Road that spans four states: Delta, Rivers, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom. Yet, it is precisely the short stretch of it between Warri and Ughelli that the Federal Government has managed to make motorable, seven years and N349 billion after, that exhibits the unbearable hardship of military checkpoints, MCPs, through which a permanent siege has been laid to the state. If you have ever travelled on that road at peak hours, or worse, are a frequent commuter between Warri and any of the towns further south—Ughelli, Patani, and all of Isokoland—then a nightmare for you must be a dream of sandbags and oil barrels that create bottlenecks in the middle of your road.

On Saturday, the 15th, I set out from Warri with an older cousin—I call him Brother Reuben—and his wife on a trip to visit my mother in Otor-Owhe, but with stops in Iyede to attend a funeral and Oleh for a wedding.

We crawled through the first MCP at Okuokokor in about 20 minutes, though from the DSC roundabout where the EastWest Road begins to the checkpoint is less than half a kilometre. At about 11:05 am, our progress was halted with sterner resolve as we fell into one of now-three-and-nowfour lanes caused by the MCP just before Beta Glass Company. For 43 minutes, we

stewed in the sun and expressed our frustrations in hisses and impotent rage. As we passed through the checkpoint, we noticed that the sentry hut was empty and the two soldiers in the vicinity were chatting with someone in the nearby petrol station.

Thankfully, they had ensured to deploy helmets atop the sandbags to stand in for them! On our return, at 6:20 pm, we saw the gridlock ahead and turned just in time at Delta Power Station into the Otor-Udu Road, an alternative route to our destination in the Udu-Ovwian area of Warri. We might as well have gnashed our teeth through the Delta Glass MCP for we ran smack into another in Ujevwu! Suffice it to say that a journey of 20 minutes, give or take, from the Delta Glass MCP took a full hour longer.

But we were lucky: I heard stories of two to three hours lost to the East-West Road checkpoints.

But why build roads, supposedly for the freer flow of traffic, and then erect obstacles in them to defeat the purpose? To combat kidnappers, I am told. Very funny! And not only because the soldiers do not check vehicles, do not do any actual policing— are indeed often not to be seen at the checkpoints—but also because I am yet to hear of any kidnapper arrested at a military checkpoint. Despite being hemmed in by MCPs, Kelvin Oniarah, the alleged kidnap kingpin of Kokori was arrested in a hotel in Port Harcourt, while one Enueme Ogaga, his alleged sidekick, was nabbed in Ashaka far from a checkpoint. And outside Delta State, the report “Another kidnap kingpin, 6 robbers nabbed in Rivers” (Vanguard, 20 February 2014) informs us that the said

‘subsidy’ on kerosene was not a law that the NNPC was bound by and so was summarily ignored.

Yet, no Nigerian buying kerosene has benefitted from the subsidy money her ministry was happy paying middlemen and other touts of the Nigerian oil sector.

Sanusi has not kept quiet in all this. He has continued to provide information on the scams going on in the oil industry and neither Okonjo-Iweala nor AllisonMadueke could claim they still see Sanusi as their friend anymore.

Together they had tried to sell Nigerians on the baloney that buying fuel, which has again been scarce in the last two weeks, at high prices is the only way out for Nigerians to put an end to the corruption in the oil sector. Iweala had in fact contradicted Sanusi at one of their recent outings at the National Assembly. Sanusi’s disclosures have looked like a battle between him and Jonathan represented by his fronts in the NNPC corruption saga, namely, Diezeani Allison-Madueke and Okonjo-Iweala. These are ministers seen as very close to the President, people he wouldn’t and, perhaps, couldn’t sack from office.

In exposing the rot going on under the watch of these ministers, Sanusi would seem to be fighting President Jonathan. The muscleflexing between him, his former friends and the President would take a foolish turn weeks ago when it was said that a telephone conversation between the President who had asked for Sanusi’s resignation and Sanusi degenerated into a shouting match. Sanusi, Nigerians were told, had rebuffed the President.

This all makes Abati’s announcement of Sanusi’s removal while away on an ECOWAS meeting in Niger look like Jonathan asserting his power.

But is he right?

kidnapper “was traced to a . . . bank . . . where he went to withdraw [the] ransom” paid for his victim.

Checkpoints are an extreme policing device suitable only for a town under military occupation. They are to be used sparingly and only for a

,

Sanusi and Jonathan: Between the prince and the president

It was said that a telephone conversation between the President who had asked for Sanusi’s resignation and Sanusi degenerated into a shouting match

discourse and has remained so since December 2, 2013 when Obasanjo released his bombshell of a letter to Jonathan.

Rather than the issue thrown up by the trio’s letters dying down, it has proven a major weapon and talking point in the arsenal of opposition parties in the run-up to the next presidential elections. The crises in the PDP in which there have been scores of defections have been made worse by spin-offs from the initial allegation by Sanusi.

Sanusi’s whistle-blowing has exposed Nigerians to the rot being perpetrated by players in the downstream sector of the Nigerian oil industry, especially the NNPC in collusion with the Finance Ministry which has tried to control the damage caused by Sanusi’s exposure. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has tried to ‘reconcile’ the NNPC account with that of the CBN by telling us all that only N10 billion could not be accounted for by the NNPC. It was an unconvincing argument that has since attracted the attention of the National Assembly and is now the subject of parliamentary probe. The Jonathan administration, indeed President Jonathan himself, has not been looking too clean in these series of investigations.

Both Okonjo-Iweala and her Petroleum Ministry counterpart, Diezeani Allison-Madueke who many Nigerians would not be unhappy to see go, have been summoned severally to the National Assembly to state their sides of what they know of the socalled missing N50 billion. The investigations have dovetailed into investigation of how presidential orders have been violated by the NNPC and so-called subsidy has been paid on kerosene even when Nigerians have not enjoyed a kobo of it. Indeed, Allison-Madueke made the outstanding claim that the presidential order to stop

Checkpoints are an extreme policing device suitable only for a town under militaryoccupation.

They are to be used sparingly and only for a specific and immediate goal, then promptly dismantled

,

specific and immediate goal, then promptly dismantled.

A

s I ranted against military checkpoints—they are a gratuitous infliction of pain; they hinder movement and economic activity and we mount them with glee only because we are not a productive economy, are not in competition with any other nation (crude oil and gas do not travel on the roads); they show us as a conquered

people, a land rendered comatose by military dictatorship and civilian brigandage, etc.—my auditors recounted their experiences. On hearing me swear to write a column about the MCPs, Mr. George Okoro, a retired Shell Community Relations Coordinator, said: “Well, you may write all you want but our governments delight in seeing us suffer, that's all.” The next day, on a visit to Professor G.G. Darah in his Udu-Warri home, I was still in a huff and so, it turns out, was he about the ubiquity of checkpoints in Delta State. He had once counted, he said, “29 checkpoints between Auchi and Asaba.” Delta State, he declared, “is a war zone. You won’t see checkpoints coming from Abuja, until you leave Auchi.”

Elsewhere, countries that take themselves seriously strain to outdo their nearest competitors in lowering the cost of doing business, partly by shortening the time for travelling between two points. And so China develops its new high-speed trains with France, Japan and Germany as its competitors. We do not have a rail transport system that would pass the laugh test; all we have are inadequate and decrepit roads.

And yet we find every reason to bring traffic to a halt on them. Perhaps the powers that be who authorised the permanent military siege to Delta State might care to prove Mr. Okoro wrong?

C M Y K

20 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY,

FEBRUARY 26 , 2014

Abandoned by parents, pregnant at 15, homeless at 16 •Nursing mother takes to begging in Lagos

BY BOSE ADELAJA

D

ESCENDING Oshodi-Oke overhead bridge linking the main market this particular day, attention was drawn to a dark young woman, dressed in red trousers, a blouse and a pair of rubber slippers. He was standing and carrying a 10-month-old baby boy on her shoulder and was begging for alms.

The baby looked frail and sleepy, crying profusely under the scorching sun. He started vomitting at a time but the mother was without a wrapper to cover him or a handkerchief to clean him up. The nursing mother who claimed to be 16 held her son firmly, although an experienced mother could easily deduce that she was a novice in nursing a baby.

Even traders and passersby could not help but wonder aloud what a girl of her age was doing at that spot under the scorching sun. But as soon as she spotted this reporter, she intensified gestures that suggested she was there for serious business. ‘’E saanu mi nitori Olorun, a ni’lo owo lati jeun ni...’’(Help me for God’s sake, we need money to feed ourselves...), she appealed in Yoruba Language.

Vanguard Metro’s subsequent chat with the 16-year-old

*Bimbola Oguntoyinbo with her baby inside an abandoned bus who is now late. Sodiq was one of the customers at the shop. One thing soon led to another and she found herself pregnant, prompting her to relocate to Sodiq’s rented apartment at Sodeke until the arrival of their baby boy, Waris.

But the joy of the baby’s arrival was short-lived as Sodiq soon started facing some challenges which affected his finance and he could no longer afford the house rent and the young family was rendered homeless about two months ago.

Sodiq’s response to this was to disappear with his belongings, leaving mother and child at the mercy of good Samaritans. When Bolanle could not cope with the situation, she

,

I was sleeping inside a bus until I was attacked by some area boys who dispossessed me of my belongings, including my wrappers; also, they wanted to rape me and steal my baby

nursing mother which lasted several hours revealed that she is a product of a broken home and that she got pregnant at the age of 15. Also, she escaped a rape attempt by some street urchins, popularlly called Area Boys based in Oshodi.

Bimbola Oguntoyinbo, as she was later identified, hails from Ogbomoso in Osun State but was born and bred in Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State.

According to the nursing mother, she was brought up by her late maternal grand mother, Madam Bukola Oguntoyinbo, who resided in Ago-Oba and took up the responsibility of fending for her grand daughter until she got pregnant for a bus- conductor by name Sodiq Adewuyi.

She told VM that prior to her relationship with lover boy Sodiq, she worked for two years as a service girl with a food vendor popularlly called Mama Kundus C M Y K

,

took to the streets of Abeokuta and few days ago, she decided to relocate to Lagos in search of greener pastures.

According to her, her mother, Bukola Oguntoyinbo, about 35 years of age, got married to three different men and gave birth to nine children. ‘’I came to Lagos to find a job. I arrived here few days ago but unable to find a job, I was forced to take to begging in order to save my sick baby,’’ she informed.

As regards accommodation, she took this reporter to a motor park called ‘’Aso Rock’’ near Mushin park. ‘’I was sleeping inside a bus until I was attacked by some Area Boys who dispossessed me of my belongings, including my wrappers. Also, they wanted to rape me and steal my baby. The situation prompted me to run for safety. As at now, I am afraid of going back to the park because of my experience but I am homeless and need mon-

ey to take care of my baby. I am looking for menial jobs, be it service or sales girl, house help, gardner to stay alive,’’ she said.

At ”Aso Rock”, some of the operators confirmed that Bolanle had been their ‘guest’ but however denied a rape attempt by their members. ‘’We have never engaged her in a discussion as regards her mission. Some of us stay inside this bus and we decided to accommodate her after discovering she was stranded,’’ they chorused.

Officials of the park When this reporter insisted on seeing the officials of the park, she was referred to the financial secretary who rained insults at the reporter for disturbing him at that point in time. ’’What is your business with her? I have been seeing her around but never knew she passes the night here. I am having my lunch now. Why are you disturbing my enjoyment?’’ he shouted at VM. VM was also referred to two other men who on discovering that their ‘visitor’ was a journalist put an end to further discussion as they angrily turned on the girl, upbraiding her thus in Yoruba Language: ‘’Why did you bring a government official to this park? If care is not taken, they will come and seal this park and all of us will be rendered jobless, what is your mission with a journalist...?’’

Several pleas to them fell on deaf ears as they ordered the teenage mother to leave the park immediately with her child. The owner of the bus was equally reprimanded and warned thus: ‘’Never you harbour a stranger in this park again or else you will be dealt with...’’.

The girl-mother subsequently left with her child to an unknown destination.

Boko Haram: GEJ should act decisively now! (1)

BY EBELE ORAKPO

‘T

HESE guys are becoming bolder and bolder by the day. The killings are getting out of hand,” commented Florence in the Apapa-bound commercial vehicle as the vehicle crawled slowly through the usual early morning traffic.

“It makes me really sick. At the rate we are going, very soon, our leaders will have no one to lead but themselves,” said Julia, to which Tim responded sarcastically: “That is if they survive the onslaught.

The Borno State Governor practically told the world that he is overwhelmed and that is the truth.”

“He said the Boko Haram guys are better equipped and motivated than the Nigerian soldiers. How did he know that? Is he in close contact with them?”asked Ade. “He doesn’t have to be. He sees what goes on in his domain,” said Florence.

“I don’t think they are better equipped but the fact is that the soldiers are trying to be cautious. If they apply maximum force, there will be too many collateral damages and then the opposition and human rights activists will begin to scream blue murder as usual. Remember some people said former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika should be prosecuted? These are indeed drastic times and call for drastic measures. The President should do the needful. He should be firm and damn the consequences. He is the Commander-in-Chief for crying out loud!” said Iyke angrily.

“Bros cool down. This is democracy and not autocracy, so he has to consult widely before taking any decision..,” stated Ade. “Yes, I totally agree. But like I said, these are drastic times. Ever heard of veto power? Let him do something fast if they are still interested in ruling human beings,” insisted Iyke.

“He has called them for dialogue and they refused to come. One of their demands was that GEJ must convert to Islam! I don’t understand what he is waiting for to act. Smoke them out wherever they are and finish them up,” said Tim. “It’s not that simple…” said Ade.

Camerounian friend “A Cameroonian friend told me how their former President, Ahmadou Ahidjo, crushed Islamic fundamentalists in Cameroon. He sent out troops and bombarded their hiding places and destroyed them, with the cooperation of the people. Have you heard of any religious insurgency in Cameroon since then?” asked Julia.

“In this war, all hands must be on deck; it should not be left for the President and soldiers. The governors, National Assembly, state houses of assembly, local government chairmen, everyone must be involved. We must see them as a common enemy.

Only then can we defeat them,” said Florence.

“Common enemy? You make me laugh. Some people recruited them and are sponsoring them. We may be pointing accusing fingers at the West but a complete stranger cannot successfully raid your home without assistance from an insider. The Igbos say that ‘it is the rat in the house that told the rat in the bush that there is fish in the kitchen.’ They would not be this successful if they do not have allies amongst the people,” said Iyke. ”Not all rats oo. These expatriate rats (Belgium rats) in Lagos don’t need any insider to tell them anything. They have very high IQ and know how to get into a wardrobe, eat up your skirts alone or your blouses so that the others become useless, and they wisely avoid all your traps. No weapon fashioned against them ever prospers,” said Iyke. Äh, that one na witch, no be ordinary rat! They always manage to jump and pass over every trap laid down for them,” declared Ade. This caused some laughter.

Continues next week

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014 — 21

By NAOMI UZOR

T

HE Former Special Adviser on Food Security to the former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Prof.

Ango Abdullahi, has said that Nigeria’s vision to be among the 20th largest economy in the world is unachievable.

Delivering a lecture at the 35th Kaduna International Trade Fair Seminar, he said for Nigeria economy to compete with other developed nations, there is need for government at all levels to provide agricultural infrastructures to the sector, which used to be the main source of revenue of the economy before the advent of oil. He said the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), did not help agriculture production because of the devaluation of naira which increased the cost of production and procurement of agricultural inputs. ”What Nigerian farmers need is what will help them produce and not just prayers. No prayer will drop maize from the sky, what they need is infrastructures. When SAP came, it sapped the rest of the economy, it sapped the agriculture, the naira and everything meaningful” he lamented.

According to him, countries devalue their currency when

Nigeria’s 2020 economic vision unattainable — Abdullahi they want to borrow, but Nigeria has nothing to devalue, except oil, which he said is already being sold in dollars.

He noted that lending to the agricultural sector should not

be more than one digit interest rate, adding that the farmers need indigenous technology to help them improve their produce and if the economy must improve, the people need to go back to agriculture.

The Governor of Kaduna State, Dr. Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, said policies and implementation is one major challenge that the country has as different governments comes up with different policies

and implementations, and when they leave office, those policies and implementations dies and soon another government comes in with a new one.

From left: Executive Director, Business Development, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr Haruna Jalo-Waziri; Chairman, UBA Capital Plc, Mr. Chika Mordi; Group CEO, UBA Capital Plc, Mrs Oluwatoyin Sanni; CEO, UBA Capital Asset Management, Mrs. Modupe Mujota; during the Bell Ringing ceremony at the NSE, in Lagos.

N480bn bank loans hinder local shipping firms’ operations Jolapamo, who disclosed this in Lagos during a meeting held with the Minister of Transport, HE Chairman of Nigeri Senator Idris Umar, and stakean Shipowners Associa- holders on policy guidelines tion (NISA), Chief Isaac Jola- for the granting of ministerial pamo, has attributed the col- waivers under the Coastal and lapse of indigenous shipping Inland Shipping Act 2003 othfirms to over $3 billion (N480 erwise known as the Cabotage billion) owed to banks.

Law, stressed that about 50 percent of Nigerian shipping companies have folded up.

Both Jolapamo and the Secretary of NISA, Capt.

-0.75 168.05 Niyi Labinjo, called for

BY GODFREY BIVBERE

T

2,934.00

-16.00

16.63

0.3

109.66

-0.64

102.09

-0.66

CURRENCY BUYING CENTRAL DOLLAR POUNDS EURO FRANC YEN CFA WAUA

154.75 258.123 212.1777 173.8764 1.5102 0.3053 238.3459 RENMINBI 25.4025 RIYA 41.2601 KRONA 28.4279 SDR 238.7638

155.25 258.957 21 2.8633 174.4382 1.5151 0.3153 239.116 25.485 41.3934 28.5197 239.5352

SELLING 155.75 259.791 213.5488 175 1.52 0.3253 239.8861 25.5676 41.5267 28.6116 240.30

CBN Exchange rate as at 25 /02/2014

immediate removal of the waiver clause contained in the Cabotage Law. The waiver clause, according to Labinjo, has been made more important by the Ministry of Transport at the detriment of implementation of the Cabotage Law itself.

“I am alarmed at the kind of the vessels that are granted waiver in Nigeria. Instead of giving waivers to specialised vessels in consonance with the dreams of the initiators of the

Act, we end up giving waivers to Anchor Handling and Tankers, which the Act did not provide for,” Labinjo stated.

He said: “In other climes, they do not leave the administration of waiver to be handled by the ever busy government officials like the Minister, Permanent Secretary or NIMASA, but rather an all inclusive exercise where applications for waivers should be received by the

maritme administrator and

forwarded to the stakeholders, who do the needful and make recommendations to the implementing agency which then carry out the recommended action.”

Senator Umar said the federal government in conjunction with Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) was open to receiving contributions from stakeholders on how to make the Cabotage regime work.

5 African countries keen to establish polling agencies

BY PETER EGWUATU

T

HE Managing Director/CEO, NOI Polls Limited, Ms. Oge Modie, has said that five African countries have indicated interest to collaborate with NOI Polls to establish polling firms in their countries.

Speaking at a social media forum ‘Connecting Africa through Data’ in Lagos, Modie said that the countries included Angola, Ghana, Mozambique, Rwanda and Tanzania.

She said that her organisation has revolutionised data gathering and usage in Nigeria as the results of the polling conducted by the firm had been supporting planning and policies by governments and private firms in Nigeria.

According to her, Nigerians can be proud of providing data generated scientifically in the country for planning and advocacy instead of relying on data hoisted on the country by several organisations outside the shores of the country.

Speaking in the same vein, Mr. Bayo Akindeinde, the head of Enhancing Nigerian Advocacy for a Better Business Environment (ENABLE) in Nigeria, said that advocacy should be based on data generated scientifically and not on sentiments as it is often the case.

Akindiende explained that his organisation is supporting NOIPolls because of the crucial need for data generation in Nigeria and the credibility of the company. He, however, advocated that data should be used to engage the

social media to begin to engage in evidence based discussions and arguments for the good of the society.

Dr. Bell Ihua, the Director of Research of NOIPolls, who introduced the portfolios of indices on Well-Being, Consumer Confidence and Business Confidence, which the firm launched recently, said that the indices could be used to measure economic growth, consumer behaviour and impact of policies on the population.

“Portfolio of indices is key to enabling stakeholders in all major sectors of the Nigerian economy and across the globe to make informed decisions.

“They also serve as key pointers to would-be-investors in the Nigerian economy to enable strategic entry into the country,” Ihua said.

22 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014

BRIEF CapitalSquare unveils platform to boost entrepreneurship

BY JONAH NWOKPOKU

C

APITALSQUARE has unveiled a platform targeted at fledgling entrepreneurs to showcase their products and introduce their services to target markets.

CapitalSquare is a membership-based co-working space in Lekki, Lagos, with a goal to make it easier for small businesses to do business by providing affordable office space, business resources, and learning and networking opportunities, thereby helping them grow in the process.

Tagged the ‘Demo Day,’ CapitalSquare said the platform will provide opportunities for individuals who have created new products or services to showcase their products in order to raise awareness and grow customer base.

Speaking about the platform, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Capitalsquare, Modupe Macaulay, said that the inaugural edition of the programme which will be coming up by March will involve three entrepreneurs presenting their projects in front of the media, investors, thought leaders in the startup ecosystem, and other entrepreneurs, in order to raise awareness, grow their customer base, increase investors’ interests and receive feedback on their products.

“Demo Day is something we came up with because we wanted to give something back to the startup and SME community here in Lagos. There are so many businesses that would go much further if only more people knew about what they were doing, so we’re trying to make that happen,” she said.

“We’re still working on the agenda, but basically, we’ll have three people come up to give a short presentation and demo of their products, followed by a question and answer session from the audience. There will also be time for networking, and hopefully people will leave having learnt something new, and having made some valuable contacts,” she added.

C M Y K

Implementation of compulsory building insurance still a mirage – Niger boss STORIES BY ROSEMARY ONUOHA

M

ANAGING Director of Niger Insurance Plc, Mr. Kola Adedeji, has said that not much has been achieved in the implementation or enforcement of the law on compulsory insurance of public buildings, despite all efforts by the National Insurance Commission, NAICOM, so far.

Adedeji said that the development confirms the opinion of experts on compulsory insurance that it should be restricted to areas where a need is generally felt and in sectors where supervision is possible at a reasonable cost.

It will be recalled that the Insurance Act of 2003 made provisions for a number of compulsory insurances amongst which is the insurance of public buildings. Section 65 of the said Act provides thus: “Every public building shall be insured with a registered insurer against the hazards of collapse, fire, earthquake, storm and flood” The Act defines public buildings as including tenement house, hostel, building occupied by a tenant, lodger or licensee, building where the public has ingress and aggress for the purpose of obtaining educational or medical services or recreation or transaction of business. This would include eateries, restau-

rants, internet cafes, shopping malls etc. Punishment for noncompliance with this provision is stated as either a fine of N100,000 and/or imprisonment of one year.

According to Adedeji, on the face of it, this provision should provide a lot of benefits to Nigerians taking into cognisance the incessant collapse of buildings nationwide especially in Lagos State.

“Nevertheless, it is impor-

tant to stress that problems associated with the insurance of public buildings cannot be divorced from the general problems of the Nigerian Insurance Industry, though some peculiar challenges are identified,” Adedeji said.

He identified challenges confronting the law to include ineffective legal framework, poor compliance culture, lack of awareness on the part of the public, and ineffective

implementation of strategy adopted by NAICOM. On ineffective legislative framework, Adedeji said that generally, the legislative framework for insurance practice in Nigeria is inadequate and ineffective. “Often times we find the law making unenforceable provisions which though good on paper is almost impracticable without strong enforcement provisions,” he said.

Arc. Musa Sada, Supervisory Minister, Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, with Chief Olabode Afolayan, REDAN President in Las Vegas, USA, at a Synergy meeting with NAHB on Artisans capacity development initiative

Parents don’t discuss insurance with their children — Survey A

new online survey shows just how difficult life insurance conversations can be. Parents would rather talk to their children about drugs/alcohol, religion and politics before life insurance, which is a topic only slightly more comfortable than sex/puberty. The survey also shows parents are the primary source for initial conversations about life insurance. This topic avoidance might be one reason that 22 per cent of Americans feel they are not at all knowledgeable about life insurance. The State Farm survey, conducted by Harris Interactive among over 2,000 U.S. adults also revealed a gap in Americans’ knowledge of life insurance and general misconceptions about the benefits life insurance provides to those who are insured.

“Parents know life insurance is an important element to protecting their family, yet there seems to be a disconnect between that importance and the importance of commodities such as cable TV or cell phones,” said Joe Monk, senior vice president and chief administrator officer– State Farm Life.

“The challenging financial times

experienced by families over the last several years only underscore the importance of planning for the long term and talking with those we love about family finances, including life insurance.”

“While the primary benefit of a life insurance policy is a death benefit – or the payment made upon the passing of the insured individual – some policies, such as permanent policies, also offer living benefits. These policies build a cash value that can be used over time for other life goals, such as paying for college or providing a little extra cushion during retirement,” Monk said.

Findings from key survey said that life insurance conversation is uncomfortable - When it comes to life’s most important topics, higher percentages of parents feel comfortable talking with their children about drugs and alcohol (55 per cent), religion (53 per cent) and politics (44 per cent) than discussing life insurance (38 per cent), family finances (36 per cent) or sex/puberty (30 per cent).

Parents count - 45 per cent of Americans first learned about life insurance from a family member.

Daughters were most likely to name their moms (21 per cent) as their top source for first learning about life insurance, while sons are most likely to list their dads (22 per cent). Becoming a parent is the number one life event that prompts individuals to obtain life insurance coverage (37 per cent), however just 51 per cent of parents have individual life insurance policies outside of work.

More than 7 in 10 parents consider life insurance to be important (71 per cent) and over three-fourths say it plays a role in their overall financial plan (78 per cent), yet only 59 per cent of parents would be likely to adjust their budget to purchase life insurance. A greater percentage of parents would be willing to adjust their budget to afford cable TV (76 per cent), a family vacation (69 per cent), or a cell phone and service for each family member (62 per cent), compared to life insurance.

Seventy-eight per cent of Americans consider themselves at least somewhat knowledgeable about life insurance. However, one in five (22 per cent) feel they are not at all knowledgeable about life insurance.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014 — 23

Stories by ROSEMARY ONUOHA

From left: Susan Oranye, Executive Secretary, Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria, PenOp; Wilson Ideva (MD, Premium Pension), Head, PenOp Legal & Regulatory Committee; Misbahu Yola (MD, Legacy Pension), Chairman of PenOp; and Sadiq Mohammed (MD, ARM Pension), Head, PenOp Technical Committee at a PenOp event, in Lagos.

T

HE National Insurance Commission, NAI COM, has said that the country is much likely to attain a sustained economic growth and development if it can adapt its insurance industry with innovative ways that will bring on board the generality of the country’s population.

Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Fola Daniel who said this noted that NAICOM incepted the Market Development and Restructuring Initiative (MDRI) in 2009 to among others enforce compulsory insurances and eradicate fake insurances in the country.

Daniel said, “This initiative has been vigorously pursued by the Commission across the six geo-political zones of the country. We are not hesitant to solicit support in the implementation of compulsory insurances in Nigeria especially as regards insurances of buildings and assets.”

Daniel stated that the Nigerian insurance industry has witnessed tremendous changes in recent times owing to the new reforms embarked upon by NAICOM. “These reforms include the introduction of Risk Based Supervision, migration to International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) from the Nigerian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (NGAAP); Market Conduct Reforms, Claims Settlement Reforms, Financial Inclusion, etc, all geared towards developing the industry and improving the general perception about insurance,” Daniel said.

“Suffice it to say that these reforms are in line with the Federal Government’s vision 2020:20 of deepening insurance penetration to become

Insurance innovative can sustain economic growth — NAICOM the insurance industry of choice among the emerging markets in terms of capacity, safety, transparency and efficiency.”

Daniel stated that in order to ensure adequate understanding and build capacity amongst the stakeholders, the Commission did resolve to conduct series of workshops and seminars for all stakeholders.

Having also recognised the urgent need to develop the retail insurance market which has remained grossly untapped considering the vast population of the country, Daniel said that it became imperative for the Commission to incorporate micro-insurance and takaful as important vehicles for achieving greater insurance penetration in the country.

He said, “In collaboration with GIZ of Germany and oth-

er development agencies, the Commission in 2012 conducted a Country-wide Diagnostic study on the viability of micro-insurance in Nigeria.

One of our goals was to generate at the end of the exercise, a document that will enable us take evidence – based decision on the issue of micro-insurance in Nigeria and also serve as a public resource in its own right. Indeed, the report of the study reveals huge potentials amongst the low income groups and was consequently adopted by NAICOM for the development of a micro insurance framework in Nigeria.

“Similarly, NAICOM recently released the Takaful Guidelines to the market and now is ready for implementation.

Preparatory to the commencement of the operation of the guidelines, the Commission has embarked on a series of

Youths commends PPMC over community relationship

A

Niger Delta youth group Niger Del ta Youths for Transformation Agenda, NDYTA, has commended the Pipeline Products and Marketing Company PPMC, Warri Area, and Mr. Enoh Williams, Manager, PPMC, Warri Area, for building and sustaining good community relationship with host communities and for the effective coordination and consistent distribution of petroleum products across the country.

Speaking at a forum in Warri, Delta, Mr Fiawei Pathfinder, National Coordinator, NDYTA , said the commendation is based on the PPMC boss’ determination to add value to the system which has guaranteed prompt service delivery of petroleum products to marketers without favouritism.

He noted that the PPMC has also ensured the maintenance and total rehabilitation of all pipelines tampered with by vandals with a view to ensuring constant

availability of petroleum products.

The NDYTA said the good relationship with host communities was key to the numerous achievements of the PPMC in the oil and gas sector and called for more support from the Nigerian Union of Petroleum Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN among others Pathfinder said the group will carry out awareness and enlightenment campaigns to communities on ways to stop crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism and illegal bunkering prevalent in the Niger Delta region, noting that the nation lost billions of dollars to these acts of sabotage.

The Group noted that it will embark on voluntary campaign to the creeks and communities on the need to protect installations of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.

capacity building programmes for its management and technical staff in order to position the commission to effectively implement and supervise takaful operation in Nigeria.

“Again, to ensure that the insurance industry leverages the Nigerian Oil and Gas Content Development Act 2010 to further expand its market, the Commission developed a guideline for the industry.

The guideline serves as a roadmap on how oil and gas insurance business should be conducted in Nigeria.

“As part of our continuing efforts at protecting the interest of policyholders, the Commission indeed strengthened its Complaints Bureau Unit. The human and material capacity of the unit has been substantially enhanced to meet with the challenges of dealing with complaints emanating from the public against the industry promptly and professionally.

Also, in order to put a stop to the vexed issue of delayed or non-payment of insurance premium by the insured, the Commission commenced the implementation of section 50 (1) of the Insurance Act 2003 on January 1st 2013.

This law stipulates that “the receipt of an insurance premium shall be a condition precedent to a valid contract of insurance and there shall be no cover in respect of an insurance risk unless the premium is paid in advance”.

Invariably, it presupposes that no insurance cover shall be granted by any insurance company without having received the premium.”

BRIEF

Insurance swindle case to go to jury trial

T

he case of a Cloquet man charged with swindling his client is going to jury trial, even though he’s effectively already lost his insurance license in a separate Department of Commerce decision.

Steven William Schmidt, 56, of Cloquet was initially charged with felony theft by swindle and felony theft by false representation in November 2012. As investigation of the case continued, Assistant Carlton County Attorney Jeffrey Boucher has since filed three additional criminal charges — all for insurance fraud — against Schmidt.

The two sides met Jan. 27 in Carlton County Court for a settlement conference, but reached no resolution. A jury trial has been set for June 2.

According to the criminal complaint: Schmidt has conducted business under multiple names, including Schmidt and Associates, Schmidt Consulting LLC and Schmidt Wealth Management. The most recent business was Safe Money Solutions, LLC, currently located on the 600 block of North Road in Cloquet. According to the Better Business Bureau website, Safe Money Solutions offers financial services for post retirement, estate and annuities. Department of Commerce Detective Brandon Johnson began investigating Schmidt, a licensed insurance provider in Minnesota, in October 2012, following a complaint from a client of Schmidt’s who said he had advised her to withdraw money from her annuities between 2004 and 2008, claiming he would use the proceeds for other retirement investments. Boucher explained that although the state did the investigation, the county attorney’s office is prosecuting the alleged crime.

The complaint notes that on or about Nov. 12, 2007, three “request for annuity” policy fund forms were sent to Allianz Life Insurance Company. The forms were signed

by Schmidt’s client, but were completed in different handwriting using a different pen. The fax imprint forms read SW Schmidt and Associates. The client received $42,403 in proceeds from those three requests. However, on or about Nov. 19.

2007, a check in the amount of $39,258 was made out to Schmidt Consulting from the client’s account, a check she said she thought Schmidt completed but she signed.

24—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014

GTI’s private trading floor'll boost stockbroking practice — CIS

BY PETER EGWUATU

T

HE Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) has said that private trading floor in the Nigerian capital market will usher in a new era and boost the practice of stockbroking in the country.

The council of the CIS made this statement last week, when it visited the 150-seat multipurpose private trading floor built by GTI Securities in Lagos. It is a floor where brokers and dealers can trade on the securities listed on Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the NASD Plc. Speaking on the association’s behalf, the president, Ariyo Olushekun,

said the emergence of private trading floor will deepen the practice of stockbroking as it will allow stockbrokers to engage in private practice as qualified professionals in their own right as lawyers, medical doctors, accountants and other professionals as against the current situation where stockbrokers can only work under a stockbroking firm.

“What you have here is a mini stock exchange. Some stock exchanges in West Africa and other parts of the world don’t have a floor as robust as this. This is very impressive; I will like to commend your effort. I urge other colleagues to find time to visit this floor and see what you have done

and see how they also want to contribute to stockbroking and market development,” Olushekun said.

He advised the management of GTI Securities to expand the trading horizon of the floor by adding other platforms such as the commodities exchange and the debt securities and bonds exchange.

In his remarks, Mr. Emmanuel Ohanwusi, first Vice-President, CIS, described GTI as the biblical Moses that will lead stockbrokers to the Promised Land, noting that such opportunity for private trading and practice is what the stockbroking community has been yearning for.

From left: Etim Effiong, first runner-up, short film category; Ronke Ogunmakin, second runnerup, documentary category; Florian Schott, first winner, short film category'; Gbenga Salu; second runner-up, documentary category and Victor Okoye; first winner, documentary category at the MTN Short Film Competition Season 2 prize presentation, in Lagos.

Ihejiahi charges bankers to remain focussed

BY NKIRUKA NNOROM

T

HE out-going Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr. Reginald Ihejiahi, has advised bankers to concentrate on their core mandate and avoid unnecessary distractions from other engagements if they must excel in their chosen profession.

He made the remark at the thanksgiving service organised by the bank to celebrate his retirement from office after 10 years of meritorious service.

Ihejiahi completed his tenure February, 2014, having served as the Fidelity Bank’s CEO for 10 years. He was appointed on December 2013 and assumed office in February 2014.

Speaking at the end of the ceremony, Ihejiahi pointed out that getting involved in other engagements could limit a

banker ’s level of success.

In his word, “Banking is like any other profession that you must stay focused. It is not the sort of thing you do and do other things. You might succeed, but I don’t think that is the way to do it.”

He pledged to continue to support the bank in retirement and to be ‘an advocate for every thing concerning the bank,’ while thanking God that Fidelity Bank survived all the banking sector reforms that took place during his time.

Speaking earlier, the Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, applauded the out-going CEO for his sagacity in managing the bank, saying that it is worthy of celebration.

“To lead is to live dangerously; this is because as a leader, you take decisions that could affect the institution for better and you also take decision that could destroy the

organisation. Therefore, to have led a bank for 10 years is no mean task. To have led a bank and the bank is not distressed means that you successfully lived dangerously,” Okonkwo said.

He stated that the celebration was a culmination of decades of thorough leadership of a thorough bred professional, who has led the bank successfully.

Under Ihejiahi’s leadership as the CEO of Fidelity Bank, the bank grew exponentially in all vital indices. For instance, shareholders’ fund grew from N2 billion in 2003 to N167 billion in 2013; branch network grew from mere 17 as at the time he took over in 2003 to 213 last year.

Customer base jumped from 150,000 to 2.5 million, while the total assets grew from about N20 billion to over N1 trillion.

Stockbroking firms, company registrars and investors

T

HE Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, is a regulated market and stockbrokers are the specialists in this market. Stockbrokers sell and buy shares on the stock exchange for their clients and in the process their firms earn commissions. Stockbroking firms are also investors, they buy and sell shares for their own accounts.

Company registrars are chosen by each company primarily to carry out the functions of maintaining the records of shareholders in the company and for the payments of dividends and bonus shares to shareholders of the company.

Investors are required to provide company registrars with details of bank accounts into which any dividends due to them should be paid. Investors should also use the services of stockbroking firms to open accounts with the Central Securities Clearing System Plc, CSCS. Bonus shares due to investors should be credited into these accounts with the CSCS. The introduction of the NUBAN account numbers and a number of electronic payments initiatives by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, have made it easier for investors to mandate bank accounts into which their dividends could be paid.

However, office locations of stockbroking firms are limited and are largely in Lagos and a few other cities in Nigeria.

Investors outside of Lagos and outside of other major cities cannot readily become clients of stockbroking firms and hence there are a number of investors without CSCS accounts.

Efforts should be made such that more investors have accounts with CSCS or in the alternative the investors should dispose of their shares.

An example from the United Kingdom may give some indications of how an appropriate scheme can be drawn up for investors on the NSE. In the mid 1990s, building societies in the UK transformed into public limited companies.

Essentially, building societies were like cooperatives and the transformation to public limited companies required that holders of savings and investment accounts and holders of mortgage and loan accounts in the building society were given free shares in the public limited companies.

F

or example, Halifax Building Society had about 18.1 million savings and investment accounts and 2.5 million mortgage accounts at the transformation to Halifax Plc. About 2.7 billion free shares were distributed to qualifying account holders and it is evident that each account holder received only a limited number of shares.

Arrangements were put in place for shareholders in Halifax Plc to sell their shares through a designated company. When a shareholder indicated to the company that he/she wanted to sell his/her shares, a deal would be concluded at the current market price and the share transfer forms would be sent to the shareholder by post. The shareholder was required to complete the share transfer forms and return them with the share certificate to the designated company, also by post. Payment would then be made to the shareholder by direct credit within the number of days stipulated by market rules.

There may be concerns that the Nigerian postal system may not be able to handle such transactions within the time limits for delivery of documents. However, it is mainly the banks that have large numbers of shareholders and each bank could designate a stock broking firm which their shareholders could use with the collection of documents being undertaken at bank branches.

A number of investors acquired their shares in the banks during public offers and some of these investors hold the minimum or close to the minimum of 1000 shares. Following on the intervention of the CBN in some banks in 2009, some distressed banks were merged with others. The shareholders of the distressed banks received shares in the banks they merged with but they received only a fraction of the number of shares they previously had. The result is that there are a large number of shareholders who have much less than 1000 shares in some of the banks. It would help the process of dematerialisation of share certificates if such shareholders are encouraged to bring forth their share certificates.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014 — 25

C M Y K

26—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014

‘Gang rape on the increase in Lagos’ • Mirabel treats 181 victims in 6 months •Rotary donates lab equipment to centre

By CHIOMA OBINNA

B

EING raped just once is an experience. Nobody prays to be raped but there are some people who have been unfortunate to be gang-raped. It is bad enough to be raped by one individual but worse when several individuals violate you. But these things are happening daily right where we live and work even by people known to us.

Whether we talk about it or not, it is happening. Only those affected know what it is to be raped.

The trauma the victims go through is unimaginable. The perpetrators in most cases are hardly caught and even when they are caught they get away with light punishment. The society bleeds over the wickedness they unleash. Gang-rape occurs when a group of people participate in the rape. Unfortunately, this deadly menace is said to be increasing in Lagos, apparently due to light sentences being given to perpetrators. In most cases perpetrators are given option of fine as low as N200.000.

To Managing Partner of Partnership for Justice of the Department for International Development in Lagos, Mrs. Itoro EzeAnaba with over 10 cases of gang rape being recorded every month at the Mirabel Centre, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital alone, there is a significant increase in gang rape in Lagos.

Mirabel Centre, a sexual assault referral centre, provides timely professional services which include, medical examination,

treatments, amongst others to victims of rape and sexual abuses.

Out of 43 cases of rape treated by the centre in the month of December, 2013 and January this year, 20 were gang rape.

Speaking during the presentation of laboratory equipment worth thousands of naira to the centre by Rotary Club of Ikoyi Metro in partnership with Rotary Club of Accra East, Ghana, EzeAnaba revealed that no fewer than 181 raped victims have been treated at the Mirabel Centre between July 2013 and January 2014. Most of the victims were gang raped.

She explained that out of the 181 victims, five have tested positive to HIV, one delivered of a baby and some are being treated for various Sexually Transmitted Diseases, STDs. Further decrying also the surge in child molestation, she pointed out that most of the perpetrators are known to the victims.

Specifically, Eze – Anaba said high incidences of rape and sexual assault is currently on the rise in Agege, Kosofe, Alimosho and Ikeja areas of Lagos.

She expressed worry that the centre could attend to 181 cases in six months. “There is urgent need for parents and guardians to be more vigilant about uncomfortable situations happening around their environments.”

Reeling out some of the pathetic stories from the victims, she narrated how a six year old child was consistently raped by her father and how a victim had to commit abortion seven consecutive times for her father. “We don’t want to

scare you but most of the stories are not printable. It is a kind of mixed feelings. I am happy we have the centre, but when you consider the fact that 181 women and boys have been raped between July and January this year, it makes you sad that it is happening in the first place. But at the same time, it makes you happy that at least, you have somewhere they can go for help.”

“We have had clients of 0 to 70.

We have boys who have been sexually molested by older men.

We have treated serious vagina injuries in about five cases and serious bleeding that we referred to different hospitals.”

She said 85 percent of the children that have been raped, were raped by people known to them right in their homes.

She expressed gratitude to Rotary Club, describing the gesture as an added motivation to approach other organisations.

The President, Rotary Club of Ikoyi Metro, Mr. Kelvin Ofili, while presenting the equipment to Mirabel centre in partnership with Rotary Club of Accra East said the donations was part of the Club’s contribution towards reducing the healthcare cost as well as alleviates the trauma being faced by rape victims Ofili noted that the donation was part of the Club’s objective to do things that would help the weak in the society and Mirabel Cen-

tre, is one of the few affecting the lives of the weak which informed the donation today. What they are doing here is a noble venture”.

President Nominee, Rotary Club, Accra, Mr. Bright Attah noted that as Rotarians, it is required of them to create conducive environment for the less privilege and that motivated them to donate to Mirabel centre.

Past President, Rotary Club, Ikoyi Metro, Emeka Onohwakpor, who pledged continuous support to the centre, urged the centre to do more in its fight against rape.

The equipment include; Blood mixer, Vortex Machine, Microscope, Bucket centrifuge, VDRL strips, Macconkey Agar and Petri dish.

From left: Immediate Past President, Damisola Matti-Balogun; President Nominee, Rotary Club, Accra East, Ghana, Bright Attah;President Rotary Club, Ikoyi Metro,Kelvin Ofili; Managing Partner, Partnership for Justice, Mrs Itoro Eze-Anaba, and Past President, Emeka Onohwakpor during the presentation of laboratory equipment by Rotary Club, Ikoyi Metro to Mirabel Centre, sexual assault referral centre at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital. Photo: Lamidi Bamidele.

Doctor, why an antidepressant when I am NOT depressed!

A patient’s husband once called me: “ Doctor, I don’t think my wife is depressed. Why have you prescribed her an antidepressant?”

Last week, at his follow up visit, another patient asked me: “Doctor, I googled the medicine you gave me last time....”

Good.

“They are for treating epilepsy.....”

Yes? “I don’t have epilepsy......”

Yes? “So I didn’t take them.”

Not good.

Patients and their spouses or family members are often surprised when given medications that seem unrelated to their chronic pain complaint. Some patients, on returning home, are unable to reproduce the detailed explanation at the Consultation visit. Research has been extensive and significant clinical evidence accumulated on many of these “non-analgesic” drugs. The efficacy of some types of antidepressants and anticonvulsants

have been proven.

Interestingly, the very non-analgesic medicine that we are usually reluctant to prescribe, and which most patients request, are sleeping pills. I will explain that in a moment.

Antidepressants, in low doses, have been shown to be useful in neuropathic pain, a type of pain that originates from the peripheral nerves and typically exemplified by diabetes. It can affect central nerves when due to a stroke. We use tricyclic antidepressants like amitriptylline and nortriptylline, and sometimes “SSRIs” like paroxetine or fluoxetine.

These medications also improve mood and aid sleep, both good “side effects” in someone with chronic pain. Gabapentin, carbamazepine and pregabalin (lyrica) are anticonvulsants that act by “calming” nerves that conduct pain signals. We have found them useful in treating neuropathic pain. They also, as a side effect, can promote sleep.

Another group of medications

we use in treating chronic pain are muscle relaxants like cyclobenzaprine, tizanidine, robaxin and baclofen. These drugs relieve muscle spasm in low back pain and other conditions.

Again, as a side effect, they promote sleep.

There are only two major groups of true analgesics that we use in treating intractable pain.

These are non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (nsaids) and morphine like opioids. The first group have numerous subgroups. Examples include diclofenac, meloxicam, ibuprofen, naproxen. They are “aspirin-like drugs” and are widely available in Nigeria.

They do not promote sleep but sometimes Ibuprofen may be mixed with a sedative to aid sleep.

The morphine-like group includes morphine, methadone, hydrocodone, oxycodone, hydromorphone and other opium derivatives. Aside from other side effects, these drugs will make you sleepy. They have very strong efficacy despite the risk of toler-

ance and dependency (minimal when monitored by a trained Pain Doctor treating true chronic pain in a compliant patient). They are often referred to as “narcotics” and are internationally controlled because of high potential for diversion and abuse. They are highly regulated in Nigeria and not widely available.

Thankfully NAFDAC is exploring ways to make these drugs more available for Nigerians especially in the treatment of cancer pain.

Of course we shouldn’t forget the very effective drug acetaminophen (paracetamol, tylenol, panadol); and tramadol ( ultram, zydol) a drug that acts on pain in a different manner, has a number of side effects especially in the elderly, and significant abuse potential.

So why are we reluctant to pre-

scribe “sleeping pills” for our chronic pain patients?

First we look at some factors......is the patient compliant? Do we know ALL the patient’s medications? Does the patient have underlying medical prohibitions to excessive sedation?

Did you notice the side effect in most of the medications listed in this article?

Sleep. ALL, except clean nsaids and acetaminophen, promote sleep! Yes, when asleep, you do not feel pain ( anaesthesia), but you want to wake up as well.

Don’t you? The take home message is for you to ask questions about every medication any doctor is prescribing to you and let the prescriber know other drugs you are taking, especially your pain doctor. And remember, not every pain-relieving drug is an analgesic.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014 — 27

Fashola honours Alakija, Evah, others for educational support

We've not pulled out of ASUP strike — Bauchi chapter

BY SUZAN EDEH

B

BY PROVIDENCE OBUH

L

AGOS—AS part of activities marking the 2014 “Support Our Schools Initiative” programme, organised by the Lagos State Ministry of Education, the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola and State Commissioner of Education, have presented Corporate Social Responsibility Award to corporate bodies and individuals that have contributed to the development of education in the state.

Those presented with awards include Mrs. Modupe Folurunsho Alakija, Comrade Joseph Evah and Chief Femi Okunnu.

Speaking at the occasion, the governor praised those present for their continued support for the cause of qualitative education in Lagos State.

He said the response to his appeal for private partnership in funding education was given the desired attention by the citizens. He recalled how individuals and religious organisations laid the foundation of qualitative education in Nigeria during the colonial and post independence period and said he is proud to see the level of commitment to education as he went through all the recorded efforts by the individuals and corporate bodies in various areas of interest in the education sector by the Ministry of Education.

Some of the corporate bodies presented with Awards during the event are, MTN Nigeria Communication Limited; Guarantee Trust Bank, First Bank of Nigeria, Chevron Nigeria Limited, Nigeria Breweries, Redeemed Christian Church of God, Catholic Church, among others.

INSPECTION—Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga (2nd left) and Managing Director, Peugeot Automobile Nigeria,PAN, Alhaji Ibrahim Boyi (left) with others, during the inspection of newly assembled cars at the PAN factory in Kaduna on Friday.

Aji condemns indicipine, poor work ethics in federal cvil serivce

BY DEMOLA AKINYEMI

I

LORIN—THE Head of Service of the Federation, HoS, Alhaji Bukar Goni Aji has condemned the prevailing low level of productivity, indiscipline, poor work ethics, low morale in the civil service, saying that the vices were the core causes of poor governance across the country.

Aji spoke in Ilorin, yesterday, while addressing the technical session of the 38th meeting of the National Council on Establishment, NCE. He spoke through the Permanent Secretary, Career Management Office in his office, Alhaji Mohammed Abbas.

He said: "The capacity of the civil service to deliver appropriate and timely service to the Nigerian people is however presently constrained by many challenges including low level of productivity, indiscipline, poor work ethics, low morale and unacceptable level of service delivery”.

“It is no gain saying that the civil service still remains a critical and indispensable mechanism for the realisation of the lofty objectives for good governance.

“It is our duty to overcome these challenges to ensure optimal performance and productivity and to reposition and of transformation the civil service to align with the best of standards.

“The optimal attainment of its (government’s) mandates rest on a professional, competent and result-oriented civil service work

force, with the capacity to effectively discharge its role of facilitating the successful conception, planning and programmes of government.

“The present Federal Civil Service is focussed on the vision of a world class, knowledgeable, skilled and competent personnel equipped to conceptualise and design programmes/projects for overall national development.

“The task of improving the civil service for enhanced service delivery to the citizens of this great country is one

that requires our collective resolve and efforts.

“We should constantly refine and redefine our structures, systems, processes and procedures to remove areas of overlaps and system dysfunctions and ensure greater efficiency, cohesiveness and effectiveness in our operations.

“The civil service and civil servants must exhibit the appropriate work ethics and values and demonstrate the highest standards of conduct and performance as hallmark of professionalism at all times,” he said.

AUCHI—THE Bauchi State chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, ASUP, has debunked rumours making the rounds in the state that it had pulled out of the eight-month -old nationwide strike by the association, describing it as false and speculative.

The Chairman of ASUP, Federal Polytechnic Bauchi, Aliyu Abdullahi who spoke in an interview weekend with Vanguard in Bauchi said that most of the polytechnics that were pulling out of the strike were owned by state governments under the leadership of unqualified rectors who could be intimidated over the issue.

Abdullahi said that the union was not insensitive to the plight of their students, pointing out however, that the struggle was in their interest.

“It is the sensitivity to the plight of the students that made ASUP to demand for the ‘needs assessment,’ where the Federal Government will go to all the polytechnics and identify their peculiar needs so that the system would be sanitized."

Herdsmen group condemns killing of Fulani nationwide

BY SALISU MARADUN

G

USAU—THE socio-cul tural organisation of Fulani nomadic herdsmenthe Miyetti Allah has condemned what it described as indiscriminate killing of Fulani across the country, and blamed it on the inability of the leaders to explain to the authorities the type of people the Fulani are in the society.

This was made known by a top leader of Miyetti Allah, Alhaji Muhammed Kiruwa, who is also the Ardo (Chief) of Zuru while speaking in an interview with Vanguard in Gusau, the Zamfara State capital, Monday.

Kiruwa who is aspiring to be the national president of the Miyetti Allah, (national

Fulanis Leader) also stated that lack of understanding between the people and the leadership of the country was the cause of the present misunderstanding of the intention of Fulani.

The Fulani leader however said that things would not have degenerated to the level it was now, if the issues had been comprehensively explained and dialogue adopted in dealing with them.

He promised to work hard by ensuring that the rampant killings and destructions following crises between Fulani and other tribes are brought to an end. According to him, the avenues to be used in resolving the issues were very simple as long as there was

cooperation and support from the government and the general public.

Kiruwa revealed that Fulani were peace-loving people anywhere in the world, citing example with some neighbouring countries where they have the majority. “We have Fulani in Ghana, Senegal, Mali, Ivory Cost and the Gambia, but in all these places I have mentioned, these people are living in peace with their neighbours,” he added, and asked the Federal Government and all other peace-loving stakeholders in the country to join hands towards finding a lasting solution to the problems facing the Fulani, “because these people are also Nigerians like any other tribe.”

28—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBUARY 26, 2014

DIARY

Select ICT events zTelecom CEM World Congress 2014 April 2014, Venue TBC, London zHong Kong ICT Expo 13 – 16 April 2014 Hong Kong. z Cards & payment Asia holds in Singapore 23-24 April 2014. zTransport Networks for Mobile Operators 2014 13 – 14 May 2014 London. zCritical Communications World 27-29 May 2014 BITEC, Bangkok, Thailand

Preview

New inventions shaping life and living

Airgun Cordless Compressor The Airgun inflates bicycle tires, rafts and other items quickly and easily, without the need for a manual pump or a large compressor.

Offered by Airman, the battery-powered Airgun compressor looks a great deal like a cordless drill.

Easy to hold in the hand, the device is equipped with a 5-inch flexible hose and an LED to help users see as they attach the hose. The Airgun can be used to inflate bike tires, and also comes with a selection of adapters to allow it to inflate balls and inflatable toys.

I N S I D E C M Y K

Google’s Africa connected: Three Nigerians in top 10

By PRINCE OSUAGWU

I

N a semblance of the biblical Ten Commandments, the Ni gerian Communications Commission, NCC, Monday, gave three Nigeria operators, MTN Nigeria, Globacom and Airtel Nigeria, seven strict instructions that must not be violated following their detoriating network quality since January 2014.

The seven laws followed a sledge hammer of N647 million sanctions which must be met before March 7, 2014.

The fine according to the commission’s Head, Media and Public Relations, Mr Reuben Muoka was specifically for failing to meet the Key Performance Indicators, KPIs, for quality of service in the month of January 2014.

For that, the commission also demands that the affected operators must not roll out sales promotions or sell SIM cards, in the whole of March 2014, pending when their services

will improve.

Conveying its disappointment over the operators’ service •Thou shall pay on or before March 7, 2014. quality, the commission issued •Thou shall be liable to pay N2,500,000 daily as long seven strict as the contravention persist. instructions with a stern warning that •Thou shall stop the sale of new SIM Cards they will be throughout the month of March 2014 implemented to the least option.

Instruction one says •Thou shall not churn or delete inactive or none that “payment of the revenue generating SIMs from March 1 to 31, 2014. fines shall be on or before March 7, •Thou shall not supply new SIMs to dealers 2014”. The second throughout March 2014. commandment warns about defiance to the •Thou shall stop all promotions until the KPIs are first law: “Failure to positively addressed. settle the said amount within the stipulated •Thou shall not deviate or alter provisioning pattern period, the operators in the remaining days of February 2014 or it shall be shall continue to be construed as a breach to the directive. liable to pay the sum of N2,500,000 ( Two Million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira Only) per day for as long as the contravention persist”.

The third commandment mandates the operators “to stop the sale of new SIM Cards throughout the month of March 2014, with effect from March 1 to 31, 2014” However, the commission did not rule out the possibility of the operators trying to adopt quick measures which may not favour them and so ruled in the fourth

The 7 commandments

Nokia goes Android with X series

Ericsson, others rise in defence of displaced Syrian families

Continues on page 31

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBUARY 26, 2014—29

KITS seminar to tell why Data Centre must not go wrong

A

RICHARD UDOFIA

S the number of Data Centre in Nigeria continues to rise with the attendant deepening of broadband internet penetration, it has become critically important now than ever to enlighten the stakeholders in the industry on reasons why Data Centre must not go wrong.

This is also imperative as cloud computing takes a firm footprint and cashless economy now finding its rhythm in the country.

It is on this background that data centre and infrastructure training providers, KITS Technologies, is planning a Data Centre design and audit seminar event for Saturday 1st March 2014 at the Sheraton Hotel in Lagos. The seminar will afford delegates deep insights into the latest data centre standards and best practice with full understanding what can go wrong in a Data Centre if there is lack of a complete understanding of data centre design and operations.

The company’s Director of Business and strategy, Mr Taofeek Okoya, said that the seminar will no doubt enlighten and broaden the knowledge of IT managers and Data Centre Managers alike on critical actions to take to reduce drastically data centre failure.

Participants will know why data Centre fails, and how to quickly resolve; when an audit is due and what audit exercise should reveal.

The event would equally be used to celebrate the success of Data Centre Expert certification qualification since it was made available in Nigeria few years back. The qualification had since made participants / delegates better Data Centre managers and auditors in various Data Centre across the nation.

Okoya said that KITS Technologies will be holding this unique event in conjunction with his Data Centre Infrastructure and technology partner Capitoline LLP of UK.

LG Electronics launches new chest freezer

Nokia goes Android with X series

By PRINCE OSUAGWU

N

OKIA finally bowed to the pow ers of Android operating system in the smartphone world Monday at the kick off of the mobile World Congress in Barcelona, with the introduction of Nokia X family, including the Nokia X, Nokia X+ and Nokia XL smartphones.

These smartphones, run Android apps, Microsoft services and signature Nokia experiences. Before now, Nokia refused to touch the Android or other operating platform with a long spoon, preferring to stick to its Symbian operating system and later, the Windows operating system, when it pulled a massive partnership with Microsoft some two years back.

The Nokia X, Nokia X+ and Nokia XL are priced to capture the fast-growing affordable smartphone market and provide an onramp to Lumia and Microsoft services like Skype, OneDrive and outlook.com Introducing the devices, Executive Vice President of Nokia’s Devices &

G Electronics, at the weekend, introduced a new Chest Freezer in the Nigerian market, saying it was aimed at making safe and healthy foods readily available to households and businesses.

The product is equipped with the capacity to meet both household and commercial needs, coming with a powerful compressor that has a 10- year warranty.

It also comes with a super fast blast freezing feature and the low voltage stabilizer (LVS). The LVS allows the chest freezer to function properly, even when local electricity supply is unstable. Specifically made for Africa, the new chest type model freezes food items 30 percent faster than a conventional freezer and offers an efficient Light Emitting Diode, LED lighting, an easy to open handle less door and quiet operation”.

Speaking at the product launch in Lekki Lagos, General Manager, Home Appliances Division, LG Electronics West Africa, Mr. Hyunwoo Jung said, that ”at LG, we understand that durability is just as important as strong performance. The compressor of our new chest freezer, which comes backed by a 10-year warranty, ensures worry free operation year after year. LG’s model is the first of this product category to offer a compressor with a decade-long guarantee of reliability”.

He said the newly introduced LG Chest Freezer is ideal for consumers that have to contend with an inconsistent power supply, this technology enables continuous operations despite fluctuations in voltage. It ensures that food stays frozen and eliminates the need for a separate voltage stabilizer.

Also speaking at the event, the Managing Director, Fouani Nigeria Limited, Mr. Mohammed Fouani said,” The LG Chest Freezer is the perfect addition to any kitchen and is ideal for everyday living. This uniquely designed home appliance preserves food and in the process prevents wastage. The low voltage stabilizer feature ensures that food stays frozen without an additional cost of purchasing a stabilizer.

For optimized cooling, there is a blast freezing feature, as well as the 3D cooling with 2-way air duct”.

•Nokia X family

primarily for growth economies; and our Lumia portfolio, which is where we introduce the greatest innovation and provide full compatibility with the Microsoft experience,” he added.

The Nokia X family features Nokia’s renowned handset quality and design, with a fresh, tile-based user interface inspired by the Lumia family.

All devices come with Fastlane, a screen which lets people switch between apps more smoothly.

Elop described the Nokia X family as an affordable introduction to popular Microsoft services, including free cloud storage using OneDrive. With the purchase of any Nokia X family smartphone in select markets, people will get one month of Skype’s Unlimited World Subscription, ideal to make international calls to landlines in more than 60 countries and to mobile phones in 8 countries.

Google’s Africa connected: Three Nigerians in top 10 ...as public voting begins

By EMEKA AGINAM

BY JULIET EBIRIM

L

Services, Stephen Elop, said that Nokia has connected billions of people around the world, and has with the new entrants demonstrated the designs to connect the next billion people to great experiences.

“Our deliberate approach is to offer four tiers of products including our affordable entrylevel devices like the new Nokia 220; our entry-level Asha touch phones like the new Nokia Asha 230; our new Nokia X, X+ and XL smartphones

A

slums of Lagos where he comes from, thereby providing financial aid for the scholars and encouraging school attendance.

Eseoghene Odiete runs Hesey Designs (http:// www.heseydesigns.com/), a women’s apparel and accessories line with pieces ranging from handmade accessories to shoes, slippers, journals, bags, purses and jewelries, all inspired by the African culture.

Eseoghene used Google Products to promote her brand as a young entrepreneur, creating international awareness for her fashion label. She now runs workshops to train other women on how to generate an income from designing fashion accessories.

Mayowa Adegbile is the initiator of Ashake Foundation (http:// www.ashakefoundation.wordpress.com). Mayowa initially used YouTube to post an appeal in order to raise funds for her initiative, a business school for widowed mothers, giving them the tools to make a living and support their families.

S public voting to pick $25,000 star prize winner in in Google’s Africa Connected competition begins, three Nigerians have made it to the top 10 finalists as announced yesterday.

The three Nigerian finalists include Eric Obuh, a social crusader; Eseoghene Odiete, a fashion designer; and Mayowa Adegbile, a philanthropist.

It would be recalled that the competition launched in August last year called entrepreneurs, creative innovators and web-lovers to share stories of how the web has transformed their lives and work. The 10 finalists were selected by a panel of judges from over 2,200 entries from 35 countries.

Five successful winners from among the finalists will now be selected by the online voting public.

The winners will bag $25,000 each, and will also have the opportunity to work with a Google sponsor over a six-month period to further their online business success.

The competition categories included Education; Entertainment/Arts/Sports; Technology; Community and NGOs; and Small Businesses.

Eric Obuh a.k.a. Vocal Slender (http:// vocalslender.net/) is a musician who used YouTube to distribute his content and Google+ to interact with his fans.

His music and online popularity have made him to earn a living from concerts and appearances. He From left: Acting Chief Executive Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Matuses his earnings to raise thew Willshere; Special Adviser on Education to Lagos State Governawareness about underpriv- ment, Otunba Fatai Olukoya and Etisalat Ambassador, Sasha P, at the ileged youngsters in the launch of Etisalat Gold Series Experience Centre, in Lagos.

30 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014

Ericsson, others rise in defence of displaced Syrian families

By EMMANUEL ELEBEKE,

(in Barcelona, Spain)

I

n apparent move to rescue the displaced Syrians in the crises ridden nation, world networking giant, Ericsson, says it is teaming up with Refugees United, and mobile operators across the Middle East to use mobile communications to expand the family reconnection services.

This action aims at reaching the nearly 800,000 displaced Syrians residing in Jordan and Iraq and helps those separated to locate each other via a mobile search tool.

According to Ericsson, the move is also aimed at complementing the successful deployment of the Refugees United service in East Africa, where the service is already live through mobile operators in Kenya, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Somaliland.

A statement from Ericsson indicated that about 280,000 refugees have already registered on the service and Refugees United estimates that hundreds of families have been

reunited.

Through this initiative, coalition of mobile operators is expected to launch several new initiatives to accelerate registrations of Syrians in these countries, including a free mobile application, a toll-free line, and a free SMS notification service.

The Refugees United family reconnection platform will be made available to Syrian families via a mobile application and toll-free lines; awareness will be created using SMS campaigns in the countries surrounding Syria The United Nations estimates that due to the crisis in Syria, people are being displaced at the rate of one in every 15 seconds.

According to the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, there are 4.25 million Syrians displaced internally and 2.4 million displaced in neighboring countries.

Ericsson is the technology partner to the initiative, helping to develop and maintain the overall mobile platform and will provide technical support and

Syrian refugees integration of the tool into mobile networks in Jordan and Iraq.

The Ericsson Mobility Report estimated 803 million mobile subscriptions in Africa and 354 million in the Middle East in the third quarter of 2013.

Relying on the ever-growing mobile phone usage across the region, this initiative empowers refugees to take the search for missing family into

their own hands – from any device.

Speaking on the development, Co-founder of Refugees United, Christopher Mikkelsen, says: “Everyone has the right to know where their family is. We are seeing camps quickly become crowded and family members losing touch with each other. We hope that the launch of this service and our toll-free line can

prevent some family tragedies.” By this process, mobile operators will send text messages to people living in refugee camps and refugee prone areas, offering an opportunity to register for the service with toll-free lines and SMS. The hotline will be manned out of a Refugees United office, where people can get help with registrations and other questions.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBUARY 26, 2014 — 31

Microsoft names new hardware partners for Windows Phone

BY EMEKA AGINAM, with agency report

I

n its bid to build momen tum in the mobile ecosystem, Microsoft has named nine new hardware partners for its Windows Phone series.

According to GSM Mobile World Congress daily news bulletin, while the list includes some familiar names like Lenovo, ZTE and LG Electronics, it also includes a number of regionally focused players such as Longcheer, Gionee and JSR in China and Karbonn and Lava (Xolo) in India, as well as contract manufacturer Foxconn.

According to Microsoft, its partners now include companies delivering 56 per cent of the world’s smartphone shipments.

The GSM Mobile World daily news bulletin yesterday quoted blog post as saying that Microsoft’s OS Head, Joe Belfiore, wrote: “Some of these partners are names that might not be familiar to you, but they ’re leading the global expansion in the smartphone category.

While the company highlighted the “deep commitments” it has with existing partners including HTC, Huawei, Samsung and

of course Nokia, the company has also taken steps to make it easier for new vendors to bring Windows Phone devices to markets.

To drive the adoption by new vendors, Microsoft announced its Windows Hardware Partner Portal, to provide access to tools and content needed to build Windows Phone devices.

The company was also working with Qualcomm to help manufacturers bring products to market through the availability of hardware reference designs.

The move comes as Microsoft eases some of the mandated requirements for the Windows

Phone platform, which should provide some additional flexibility for device makers.

For instance, the requirement to include specific buttons has been removed, and the company said it will work with existing Android hardware, making it possible to benefit from economies of scale in components and design across different lines.

In order to drive volume growth, the company will support additional Qualcomm processors, including the Snapdragon 200 – which will “get us to even lower price points than we see today” – and the Snapdragon 400 line, in the latter case including LTE capabilities.

2.3GHz licence: VDT attributes win to divine providence

T

HE Managing Director of VDT Communications, Mr. Biodun Omoniyi has attributed the recent win of 2.3G spectrum auction to divine providence and also expressed gratitude to Nigerian Communication’s Commission, NCC, and Globacom. According to him, “Our victory was by divine providence. We are also grateful to NCC for its integrity , transparency, and observation of fair rules in the bidding process and for

promoting a healthy communication industry.

We also thank Globacom as our big brother in the industry for giving us a chance and supporting the growth of younger players in the industry.”

VDT Communications Limited is the leading member of the Bitflux Communications Limited, the consortium which also has Bitcom Systems Limited and Superflux International Limited as members.

NCC reels out 7 commandments to three operators Continues from page 28 commandment that “the Service Providers shall not churn or delete inactive or none revenue generating SIMs from their networks during the period of March 1 to 31, 2014” Meanwhile in the fifth law, NCC directs that “Service Providers shall not supply new SIM Cards from their warehouses or other sources to its dealers or third parties throughout the period from March 1-31, 2014.

Similarly, the sixth law conditions that “the Service Providers stop all promotions until the KPIs which have been

identified in their respective networks are positively addressed”.

Pursuant to ensuring strict compliance, NCC in the seventh commandment advised that “any deviation or alteration of provisioning pattern, in terms of average daily number of provisioning, in the remaining days of February 2014 compared to the regular provisioning rates by the concerned service providers shall be construed as a breach to the directive”.

Details of the new sanction showed that Airtel Nigeria and MTN Nigeria, are to pay a fine of N185 Million each while Globacom is liable to the tune of N277,500.

The sanctions were said to have been communicated to the three operators in a letter signed by the Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Dr. Eugene Juwah.

Part of the letter to the affected operators, said that the Commission will carry out an audit of the three companies on March 1, 2014 and also on March 31st, 2014, to ensure that no sale of new SIM Cards takes place in any of the three networks within the period.

The letter made reference to an earlier directive of December 10, 2013, which warned the operators that “if the Quality of Service does not improve by 31st December, 2013, the Commission will be compelled to direct operators to, among others, suspend the activation of new SIMs and subscribers until such an operator can prove that it has met the Key Performance Indicators specified in the Regulations”.

According to Juwah, “ the Commission after careful collation of statistics from the Network Operating Centres, NOC, of all major networks operators for the month of January 2014, has concluded that the service provided by some of the operators during the period fell below the Key Performance Indicators published by the Commission in the Quality of Service Regulations, as amended”.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014 — 33

32— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014

Mourinho targets 10-0 win over Galatasaray

UEFA Matches Today Galatasaray Schalke

vs vs

Chelsea 8:45pm Real Madrid 8:45pm

Casillas wants to win Madrid’s first treble

R

EAL Madrid skipper Iker Casillas is determined to be part of the first team in the club’s history to win all three major competitions.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side have reached the final of the Copa del Rey and are currently top of La Liga after both Atletico Madrid and Barcelona slipped up last weekend.

They travel to Schalke

It’ll be Chelse a pleasure to a’s ne t – Dr hit ogba

•Mourinho

C

HELSEA manager Jose Mourinho wants his side to travel to Turkey and hammer Galatasaray 10-0 in tonight’s Champions League last-16 first leg.

The Portuguese coach was speaking tongue-in-cheek, of course, but he made it clear that he won’t set up his side to sit back in Istanbul.

Speaking after Saturday’s narrow 10 victory over Everton in the Premier League on Saturday, Mourinho told reporters: “Ideally I would prefer to go there and win 10-zero.

“Obviously we have some limitations.”

Mourinho was also asked about the former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, who prepares to face the Blues for the first time since leaving Stamford Bridge in 2012.

“He’s still good, still a threat,” the Chelsea manager commented. “It will be a strange feeling playing against him because we know him so well but as a manager I have come up against him before.

“We played Chelsea when I was at Internazionale and he was at Galatasaray when Real Madrid played them last season.”

Mourinho added: “We [Real Madrid] lost in Istanbul. They had us in trouble but Galatasaray is always a difficult place to go to; the crowd is difficult too.

Before the game and after the game it will be big respect for Didier, we will always be big friends because he is a real legend of the Chelsea club.

“But during the game we will not be friends and we know as well that Galatasaray have a very experienced team with many more big players.”

Galatasaray, managed by former Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini, are currently second in the Turkish Super Lig table, having taken 44 points from their opening 22 matches.

However, Gala showed earlier this season that they are no pushovers in Europe after qualifying for the Champions League knockout stages ahead of Italian champions Juventus.

D

Raul: ‘Ronaldo is the best around’ the centre of is surfacing in ose hands OMETHING wh t an eping gi e Europe. A sle by the Schalk ot be contained the Veltins Areand feet cann at es e he awak 04 players befor naldo has returned. e Ro r returns to th na. Cristiano rid commande ti’s soldiers lot The Real Mad ce An for k e attac d ranks to lead th e team has failed again an e th in a land wher e for conquest. sir again in its de so with the anger accumulat, And he will do eks’ suspension in La Liga e we Rey ed during thre - the Copa del es m ga o tw only playing in against Atlético. es semi-final gam is having his best goal-scor e t The Portugues ust now make up for los dm ing season an g his ban. He is still the Pi in time after serv scorer) in La Liga with 22 t al chichi (top go movic’s two goals agains rahi cover the re to e goals, but Ib or sc to lige him Leverkusen ob inent. He has scored nine nt e lead on the co ches, one behind the Swed at times in five m who is on ten.

S

•Ronaldo

IDIER Drogba has warned Jose Mourinho that he will be out to get one over on his former manager when he faces Chelsea in the Champions League tonight - although he admits the club will always have “a special place in my heart”.

The Galatasaray striker will go up against his former employers for the first time since leaving Stamford Bridge following their triumph in Europe’s premier club

Mancini admits Chelsea superiority Mancini was sacked by OBERTO Mancini claims Inter Milan in 2008 despite R his Galatasaray side have having just won Serie A for little chance of knocking Chelsea out of the Champions League.

The teams meet at the intimidating Turk Telekom Arena in Istanbul tonight for the first leg of their last-16 clash and, in an exclusive interview with Standard Sport, Mancini said: “We don’t have a lot of chance, even at home.”

The Italian, axed by Manchester City at the end of last season, added: “Chelsea are better, one of the best teams in Europe.

“But for Galatasaray to just play Chelsea is an important moment and we need to do a good job.”

the third successive season and was replaced by Mourinho, who went on to win the Treble — Serie A, Coppa Italia and Champions League — with the club in 2010.

However, the former Italy striker denies winning the Champions League with Inter for the first time since 1965 means Mourinho has a better record at the club than him. “No,” he said emphatically. “Mourinho won the Champions League because he took a good team.

He took a team that, like Manchester City, I had built.”

•Mancini

competition in 2012.

The Blues boss on that night in Munich was Roberto Di Matteo but it was Mourinho, now back at the helm in west London, who brought the Ivorian to the club from Marseille in 2004.

Under Mourinho’s tutelage, Drogba won two Premier League titles, the FA Cup and two League Cups, adding a further Premier League medal and three more FA Cups, as well as the European Cup, after the Portuguese left the club in 2007. And while Drogba speaks fondly of his time at Chelsea, he has warned he will feel no guilt if he scores against the Blues in the last-16 tonight.

“After the draw Jose texted me to say, ‘it’s your moment, enjoy it’,” Drogba told several national newspapers.

“People know how much I love the club and the fans.

“I will still be happy to score because I also want to qualify for the next round. But you have to show respect.”

He added: “I can’t forget what I’ve done there and all the memories of the club. Chelsea will always have a special place in my heart. And in my life.”

in the Champions League round of 16 today and the 32year-old believes this could be his side’s year.

“I want to have heard at the end of the season that Real Madrid have won the first treble of their history,” he told Marca.

Serena maintains WTA rankings lead

•Serena

A

MERICAN tennis ace, Serena Williams, continues to dominate the world rankings leading currently ranked world No. 2, China’s Li Na, with a massive 5865-points de-

A

spite losing to France’s Alize Cornet in Dubai’s semi-final last week.

According to Sport24, the world No 1’s sister Venus Williams stands at 29 in the world rankings following her title win in Dubai, which helped her gain 15 places.

This was reportedly Venus’s first tournament victory in 16months.

Germany ’s, Angelique Kerber, and Romania’s, Simona Halep, have both moved up two spots in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) world top 10 rankings while Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova has slipped down three spots, the report added.

PwC Chess4Change to empower youths

s a follow up to last year ’s initiative of Lagos State Chess Association to the development of chess at youth level with the Chess4Change programme, PricewaterCoopers yesterday added its weight to the laudable project.

Sponsor of PwC Chess4Change programme, Pedro Omontuemhen said his outfit is all out to complement the initiative of State chess development project.

The selected schools are Akande Dahunsi Memorial High School, Osborne, Government Senior College, Victoria Island, Kings College, Lagos, Holy child College, Obalende and Falomo Senior college, Falomo.

Mayweather shuns Khan for Maidana

F

loyd Mayweather Jr will face Marcos Maidana in a welterweight unification contest on May 3, quashing Amir Khan’s hopes of being the WBC champion’s next opponent.

Khan, 27, signed a contract in December that put him in line for a possible super-fight with Mayweather this year, but admitted last week on Twitter that he did not think the fight would take place.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014 — 33

32— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014

Mourinho targets 10-0 win over Galatasaray

UEFA Matches Today Galatasaray Schalke

vs vs

Chelsea 8:45pm Real Madrid 8:45pm

Casillas wants to win Madrid’s first treble

R

EAL Madrid skipper Iker Casillas is determined to be part of the first team in the club’s history to win all three major competitions.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side have reached the final of the Copa del Rey and are currently top of La Liga after both Atletico Madrid and Barcelona slipped up last weekend.

They travel to Schalke

It’ll be Chelse a pleasure to a’s ne t – Dr hit ogba

•Mourinho

C

HELSEA manager Jose Mourinho wants his side to travel to Turkey and hammer Galatasaray 10-0 in tonight’s Champions League last-16 first leg.

The Portuguese coach was speaking tongue-in-cheek, of course, but he made it clear that he won’t set up his side to sit back in Istanbul.

Speaking after Saturday’s narrow 10 victory over Everton in the Premier League on Saturday, Mourinho told reporters: “Ideally I would prefer to go there and win 10-zero.

“Obviously we have some limitations.”

Mourinho was also asked about the former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, who prepares to face the Blues for the first time since leaving Stamford Bridge in 2012.

“He’s still good, still a threat,” the Chelsea manager commented. “It will be a strange feeling playing against him because we know him so well but as a manager I have come up against him before.

“We played Chelsea when I was at Internazionale and he was at Galatasaray when Real Madrid played them last season.”

Mourinho added: “We [Real Madrid] lost in Istanbul. They had us in trouble but Galatasaray is always a difficult place to go to; the crowd is difficult too.

Before the game and after the game it will be big respect for Didier, we will always be big friends because he is a real legend of the Chelsea club.

“But during the game we will not be friends and we know as well that Galatasaray have a very experienced team with many more big players.”

Galatasaray, managed by former Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini, are currently second in the Turkish Super Lig table, having taken 44 points from their opening 22 matches.

However, Gala showed earlier this season that they are no pushovers in Europe after qualifying for the Champions League knockout stages ahead of Italian champions Juventus.

D

Raul: ‘Ronaldo is the best around’ the centre of is surfacing in ose hands OMETHING wh t an eping gi e Europe. A sle by the Schalk ot be contained the Veltins Areand feet cann at es e he awak 04 players befor naldo has returned. e Ro r returns to th na. Cristiano rid commande ti’s soldiers lot The Real Mad ce An for k e attac d ranks to lead th e team has failed again an e th in a land wher e for conquest. sir again in its de so with the anger accumulat, And he will do eks’ suspension in La Liga e we Rey ed during thre - the Copa del es m ga o tw only playing in against Atlético. es semi-final gam is having his best goal-scor e t The Portugues ust now make up for los dm ing season an g his ban. He is still the Pi in time after serv scorer) in La Liga with 22 t al chichi (top go movic’s two goals agains rahi cover the re to e goals, but Ib or sc to lige him Leverkusen ob inent. He has scored nine nt e lead on the co ches, one behind the Swed at times in five m who is on ten.

S

•Ronaldo

IDIER Drogba has warned Jose Mourinho that he will be out to get one over on his former manager when he faces Chelsea in the Champions League tonight - although he admits the club will always have “a special place in my heart”.

The Galatasaray striker will go up against his former employers for the first time since leaving Stamford Bridge following their triumph in Europe’s premier club

Mancini admits Chelsea superiority Mancini was sacked by OBERTO Mancini claims Inter Milan in 2008 despite R his Galatasaray side have having just won Serie A for little chance of knocking Chelsea out of the Champions League.

The teams meet at the intimidating Turk Telekom Arena in Istanbul tonight for the first leg of their last-16 clash and, in an exclusive interview with Standard Sport, Mancini said: “We don’t have a lot of chance, even at home.”

The Italian, axed by Manchester City at the end of last season, added: “Chelsea are better, one of the best teams in Europe.

“But for Galatasaray to just play Chelsea is an important moment and we need to do a good job.”

the third successive season and was replaced by Mourinho, who went on to win the Treble — Serie A, Coppa Italia and Champions League — with the club in 2010.

However, the former Italy striker denies winning the Champions League with Inter for the first time since 1965 means Mourinho has a better record at the club than him. “No,” he said emphatically. “Mourinho won the Champions League because he took a good team.

He took a team that, like Manchester City, I had built.”

•Mancini

competition in 2012.

The Blues boss on that night in Munich was Roberto Di Matteo but it was Mourinho, now back at the helm in west London, who brought the Ivorian to the club from Marseille in 2004.

Under Mourinho’s tutelage, Drogba won two Premier League titles, the FA Cup and two League Cups, adding a further Premier League medal and three more FA Cups, as well as the European Cup, after the Portuguese left the club in 2007. And while Drogba speaks fondly of his time at Chelsea, he has warned he will feel no guilt if he scores against the Blues in the last-16 tonight.

“After the draw Jose texted me to say, ‘it’s your moment, enjoy it’,” Drogba told several national newspapers.

“People know how much I love the club and the fans.

“I will still be happy to score because I also want to qualify for the next round. But you have to show respect.”

He added: “I can’t forget what I’ve done there and all the memories of the club. Chelsea will always have a special place in my heart. And in my life.”

in the Champions League round of 16 today and the 32year-old believes this could be his side’s year.

“I want to have heard at the end of the season that Real Madrid have won the first treble of their history,” he told Marca.

Serena maintains WTA rankings lead

•Serena

A

MERICAN tennis ace, Serena Williams, continues to dominate the world rankings leading currently ranked world No. 2, China’s Li Na, with a massive 5865-points de-

A

spite losing to France’s Alize Cornet in Dubai’s semi-final last week.

According to Sport24, the world No 1’s sister Venus Williams stands at 29 in the world rankings following her title win in Dubai, which helped her gain 15 places.

This was reportedly Venus’s first tournament victory in 16months.

Germany ’s, Angelique Kerber, and Romania’s, Simona Halep, have both moved up two spots in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) world top 10 rankings while Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova has slipped down three spots, the report added.

PwC Chess4Change to empower youths

s a follow up to last year ’s initiative of Lagos State Chess Association to the development of chess at youth level with the Chess4Change programme, PricewaterCoopers yesterday added its weight to the laudable project.

Sponsor of PwC Chess4Change programme, Pedro Omontuemhen said his outfit is all out to complement the initiative of State chess development project.

The selected schools are Akande Dahunsi Memorial High School, Osborne, Government Senior College, Victoria Island, Kings College, Lagos, Holy child College, Obalende and Falomo Senior college, Falomo.

Mayweather shuns Khan for Maidana

F

loyd Mayweather Jr will face Marcos Maidana in a welterweight unification contest on May 3, quashing Amir Khan’s hopes of being the WBC champion’s next opponent.

Khan, 27, signed a contract in December that put him in line for a possible super-fight with Mayweather this year, but admitted last week on Twitter that he did not think the fight would take place.

34 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014

C M Y K

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014 — 35

C M Y K

36 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014

C M Y K

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014 — 37

Market evangelism strategic for church growth —Oritsejafor

By SAM EYOBOKA

S

IXTYISH Emily Ologure, a petty trader of salad materials and a widowed single mother of four struggled to maintain a balance as doctors had inserted a rod in her right thigh after an Okada accident which make standing erect a herculian task.

But as gospel music wafted from the meat section of the Ugbuwangwe Market in Warri, Delta State, where she sells her wares for the upkeep of herself and four children, she was captivated and made the effort to be part of a gospel crusade by the Word of Life Bible Church.

And by divine arrangement, the preacher and martriach of the church, Pastor (Mrs.) Helen Oritsejafor spotted her and beckoned on the widow of 15 years out of the crowd of trad-

tears. When given an opportunity to speak, she narrated how she had an accident the previous year and was rushed to a nearby hospital where they inserted a rode in her right leg, saying "I was not supposed to come to market because of my condition, but I am still owing the hospital and have not been able to continue with the treatment."

She expressed gratitude for the empowerment by the WOG, promising that she would never fail to worship God all the days of her life.

Monumental neglect

*Emily Ologure in tears ers. Mrs Oritsejafor, fondly called Mama Helen, asked the woman who trunges from her Dumowo Street, Ekpan home to Ugbuwangwe every morning, the worth of her wares and the woman responded; "N100,000."

Unaware of her health challenge, the Woman of God immediately signed a cheque of N100,000 for the widow.

Quite naturally, while the other traders went wild celebrating the kind gesture, Emily Ologure broke down in

The story is similar in all the eight markets she had visited thus far. At the Central Market, Agbarho in Ughelli North Local Government February 18, Mama Helen was inspired to speak on the neglect of the town by several governments, praying God to uproot all demons responsible for such monumental neglect.

Mrs Oritsejafor also randomly picked out two female traders in the market, Mrs. Ufuoma Godfrey and Mrs. Esther Izomah for empowerment. They went away with N50,000 each while 2-year old Miss Gift Ulikinfun who accompanied her mother to the crusade bagged full scholarship to university level.

At Ogbe Ijoh Market, Mrs. Oritsejafor bought items on display to encourage the traders and gave scholarship to one Suntia Samson, a second year student of a Benin tertiary

institution, while Desmond Agingbe, 13, of Kpillman Paramilitary Secondary School, Warri was given scholarship at Pessu Market.

Speaking at each of the occasions, Mama Helen stressed the need for women and their male counterparts to accept the leadership of Christ to attain needed recovery of lost glories.

While inviting the traders to the forthcoming Daughters of Sarah Convention scheduled for March 20-26, she maintained that market evangelism is strategic for church growth because the women rise early morning to go to market without much time for God. In an interview, Pastor (Mrs.) Oritsejafor said the essence of the state-wide crusade, outside of creating awareness towards the Daughters of Sarah convention, "is to give someone out there an opportunity to say yes to Jesus.

"It is also to see God meet them at the very point of their need. Suffice to say that through the crusades many traders have given their lives to Christ. Not to mention that scholarships have been given to indigent students, as well as funds to market women to help grow their businesses.

"So, we have decided to take the gospel to them and let them know that God is their source," she noted.

According to a source close to the church, Mama Helen is billed to cover about 12 markets in the Warri area and its environ ahead of the DOS convention tagged, "Discover to Recover".

R-L: Lagos State Secretary of Christian Association of Nigeria, (CAN) Archbishop George Amu, National President of CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor and president, International Foundation for Christian Unity, Surv. Cyprian Agbazue at a meeting of Christian leaders with the CAN president at a Chapel in University of Lagos.

Bishop Okah joins elite club

R

IGHT Rev. Michael Edaduri Okah of Christ the Rock Kingdom Church, Warri will on Saturday, receive the invest-iture of Archbishop at a pres-entation/enthronement service at the church auditorium.

The enthronement exercise shall be performed by the chief consecrator, Most Rev. Hr. C.A.O. Apena (JP) who is the national president of Renaissance College of Bishops.

The journey for Rt. Rev. Okah who attains an epochal height in his call to the Lord's vineyard, started over five decades ago when he was ordained a pastor in 1961 at Oria-Abraka by an American missionary, Rev. Paul Stein.

That was after he graduated from the Bible Training College organized and run by Bethesda

*Archbishop Michael Okah Missionaries at Oria-Abraka then. Bishop Okah got converted into Pentecostal faith from Catholism on April 15, 1954 at a time Pentecostal/ Charismatic movements were making rapid inroad into Nigeria. This was the narration he revealed in his just published book; The History of Pentecostal Movement in

Nigeria, as a participant observer. According to him, “the Pentecostal movement brought more light to the Christian belief than the orthodox churches.”

Based on his performances, evangelization, preaching, teaching here in Nigeria and overseas, travelling, speaking engagements, et al, the national executive council and the board of trustees deemed it auspicious to appoint him a bishop on February 10, 2001.

Over a decade later the whole exercise is being replicated this time to the highest point as an archbishop. He was born in August 1940 at Kokori, in Ethiope East LGA, Delta State.

His mother died when he was just four years old and was raised by his father, Elder Okah Obukohwo Oghenegreke.

* From left, Most Rev. Okoh, Bishop of Ibadan North Diocese; Most Rev. Segun Okubadejo, Bishop of Ibadan South Diocese; Rt. Rev. Jacob Ajetumobi (host); Most Rev. Joseph Akinfenwa and Master Seyi Oluwole exchanging pleasantries during the Standing Committee Meeting of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) at the Cathedral of St. James' The Great, Oke Bola, Ibadan. Photo:Dare Fasube.

L-R: Master Toyosi Phillips; Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most Rev. Alfred Adewale Martins, Executive Chairman, Peacock Group of Companies, Aare Segun Phillips, a parishioner of St. Leo Catholic Church, Mr. Bamidele Ogunleye during a courtesy visit to the archbishop.

38— VANGU ARD,WEDNESD A Y, ANGUARD,WEDNESD ARD,WEDNESDA

FEBRU ARY FEBRUARY

26,2014

I'm being rushed into proposing Dear Bunmi, ’VE BEEN with my girl friend for close to four years and I’m sure I want to spend the rest of my life with her, only I’m not sure if I’m ready to get married yet. Her family is not making things easy for me, every time I talk to them, they ask me when I’m going to propose. I’m worried that if I do it now, my girlfriend will think her family pressurised me into it, and that it didn’t come from me. Do you think I should just cave in and get married to keep everyone else happy?

Dave Bye-mail

I

He smuggled his girlfriend in Dear Bunmi, SUFFERED a serious ailment last year and had to be hospitalised for about a month.

I live alone with my husband since all the children are either in the boarding house or living away from home. We have servants.

All the time I was hospitalised, my husband was really wonder-

I

ful. He visited me regularly and was so caring that I felt more love for him than in all the 20-something years we’d known each other.

When I got home, a few of the things in the deep freezer were missing and I asked the cook how he got to know how to prepare the specially-packed delicacies.

He looked scared when I asked him and he said he didn’t touch

My wife's friend turns me on Dear Bunmi, NE OF my wife’s close friends called it quits with her cheating husband and spends a lot of her time with us.

She has a lovely daughter. I think I’m in love with her. I fantasise about making love to her all the time as she is very sexy and attractive.

My wife and I have been married for close to 12 years with four children, but our love life is nothing to scream about.

My wife’s friend is contemplating starting a relationship and I’m thinking of zeroing in before another man gets in there. Do you think I should?

Kenny Bye-mail

O

Dear Kenny,

You’d be making the biggest mistake of your life if you did.

Fantasising about your wife’s friend is one thing, asking her to sleep with you is begging for trouble! Chances are that she might be horrified at your suggestion. Not only that, you also risk jeopardising your marriage and destroying your whole family.

And for what? A romp with a woman who seems an attractive solution to a sexless marriage?

You need to concentrate on rekindling your love life with your wife. Try spending more time together and, if necessary, reduce your contact with this woman.

Don’t take advantage of her vulnerability by propositioning her!

anything. When I threatened him with the police, he blurted out that it was my husband that took out the items for one madam to cook. After several prodding, he explained that he’d been bringing a woman home to sleep over all the while I was in hospital.

I felt such disgust and loathing for him that I couldn’t bear the sight of him. But for our four children, I would have walked out of the marriage. He’s always had his affairs, why bring his trollops-home? He said it was a mistake and he was sorry, but I’m sure he’s not.

Boma, Bye-mail.

Dear Boma, What your husband did was awful but after 20 years of marriage, you want to find out why he felt confident enough to bring another woman to your matrimonial bed. Sadly, this goes on all of the time. It is the ‘baby’ in the men wanting to show off their beautiful homes to their latest catch.

With time, you’ll learn to forgive this indiscretion, but make him know you’ll never condone it again. You’ve invested so much into this marriage to throw it away on a fling your husband might not even be serious about.

I don't know where I stand with him Dear Bunmi, MY CURRENT boyfriend is a medical doctor who works in a teaching hospital. We’ve been seeing each other for months and he’s been calling me less and less. When we first met, we couldn’t get enough of each other and

I’m now afraid he’s losing interest.

The problem is, whenever I get so frustrated and I decide to give up on him, he calls me up, apologises and says he’s been very busy at work, then we meet up and have a wonderful time. Then

I regret my outburst Dear Bunmi, MET my current boy friend through a close friend who sort of ‘arranged’ for both of us to get together.

A few days ago, I had a really rough time at work and took off my anger on him. I said some hurtful things I now regret and I haven’t heard from him since. Should I go after him and apologise?

Weyimi, Be-mail

I

Dear Weyimi, I suggest you make contact with this man. For all you know, he may be waiting for you to make the first move.

Take responsibility and apologise for your part in what happened and explain why. Understanding this may

help him forgive you. Stress the good things in your relationship and say how much you want it to work out again.

If he responds positively, make him feel welcome - and don’t blame him for disappearing.

If you’re not sure of how you feel, then hang on a bit. Did things blow up because you’re cooling off the relationship? If so, forget it. Compromising out of desperation seldom works. If you’ve noticed he always walks away at any sign of trouble, he’s not going to be a good long-term partner. If you’re sure you want him back, have tried a couple of times to contact him with no success, take the hint and let him go.

I don’t hear from him again.

I really fancy this man, but the relationship will definitely not go anywhere if he makes no time for it - expecting me to be good and ready when he eventually shows up. What do I do?

Oluchi, Bye-mail.

Dear Oluchi, Are you sure his busy schedule doesn’t include a wife or other girlfriends?

What’s the point of being in a relationship if you hardly ever see each other? Why does he see you only when he’s at a loose end?

Until he’s willing to place you higher on his list of priorities, get busy with your own life and fill your own social calendar instead of hanging around and hoping he’ll call.

You may gain his attention if he realises you’re not moping when he is not around and you’re having fun without him.

That instead of being expected to drop everything any time he makes time for you, you could be meeting other eligible men.

Dear Dave, After four years of being with this woman, I don’t really get the reason you’re still dragging your feet. Is it for financial reason? You said you would want to spend the rest of your life with her, but you are not ready for marriage yet? I

think you should be flattered that your girlfriend’s family is eager to welcome you into their fold! If you don’t get a move on, your girlfriend might mistake your indecision for reluctance. She might think you don’t want to get married and could meet someone while you’re still dithering.

This could put a spanner in your works!

On the other hand, if you really are not sure about marriage, don’t rush into it whatever the pressure. Asking someone to share their life with you isn’t like asking them on a date. There’s no going back without someone getting hurt. Only, you have to be fair and let your girlfriend know of your fears. If after four years she’s still willing to hang around for you to make up your mind, that would be entirely up to her. If, however, she’s impatient to get married, then you must be prepared to let her go.

I think you should be flattered that your girlfriend’s family is eager to welcome you into their fold!

If you don’t get a move on, your girlfriend might mistake your indecision for reluctance.

She might think you don’t want to get married and could meet someone while you’re still dithering Was he unfaithful abroad?

Dear Bunmi, Y HUSBAND came home from a twomonth course abroad a changed man. He’s not interested in love-making and this has been going on for a few months. When I make the first move, he said he had things on his mind and that I should give him time. I have this sinking feeling that he’s caught some STD abroad and is trying to treat it before he makes love. I haven’t seen him with any medication though. What do you think could be responsible for his suddenly going off love-making?

M

Sherifat, Bye-mail Dear Sherifat, Your guess could be spot on!

A lot of men have unprotected sex when they’re away from home and some develop symptoms that suggest an infection. The good news is that he wants to safeguard you from this - without giving the game away by using protection until he’s fully recovered.

You need to confront your husband about this.

It will be difficult for both of you to face up to what has happened but the sooner you do, the easier it will be to rebuild your relationship.

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

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014 — 39

C M Y K

40 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014

Estate Surveyors seek better regulation of estate agency •Induct 34 new fellows

BY JUDE NJOKU

I

SSUES bordering on the practice of estate agency and the need to regulate it to avoid a scenario where quacks and charlatans have made it an all-comers business, took the centre stage at the 20th John Wood Ekpenyong Memorial Lecture put together by the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, NIESV, in Lagos last week.

The lecture which was delivered by the 11th President of NIESV, Mr. Oghene Jonathan Idudu coincided with the formal induction of 34 estate surveyors and valuers into the highest grade of Fellows. Setting the tone for the lecture, the NIESV President, Mr. Emeka Eleh decried the influx of those he called charlatans into the practice of estate agency. He explained that the Institution midwifed the birth of Estate Agents Association of Nigeria under the leadership of Mr. Chudi Ubosi to to bring sanity into estate agency business.

Speaking on the theme Estate / Agency: Have we lost it? Mr Idudu decried the invasion of Nigeria by estate agency practitioners from foreign countries.

“Practitioners from outside Nigeria, mostly from the UK, Dubai, France and the USA come into Nigeria, check into some good

From left, immediate past President, Bode Adedeji, President, Emeka Eleh, one of the new Fellows, Mr. Festus Azikagbon and NIESV National Secretary, Adekunle Awolaja class hotels and then advertise in some Nigerian newspapers their presence. They invite prospective Nigerian investors to visit them in their suites to arrange property investments abroad. The Institution has had the opportunity to mention this unregulated estate agency to top EFCC officials including their Chairman but our expectation to be invited to discuss the matter further

has not materialised,” he lamented.

Idudu noted that valuation which is the core of estate management as a profession, is heavily dependent on estate agency because estate agency produces comparables and no good valuation would be complete without comparables.

“Estate agency produces

good income. It may be pejorative to be referred to as ‘estate agent’ but the truth is that very many of our firms are sustained by the income from estate agency,” the former Chairman of the Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria, ESVARBON said. He noted that the new scale of fees for estate surveyors provides a whopping

10 percent of total rent paid in advance, hence the huge income from estate agency.

Idudu posited that “because estate agency is lucrative, we have invited both flies and lizards to our selves. Competition from all sorts – lawyers, doctors, engineers, accountants, teachers, unemployed and all manner of people get into estate agency”.

Tracing the evolution of estate agency practice till date, Idudu opined that the Indigenisation Decrees of 1972 and 1977, did not suggest that estate agency should be an all-comers enterprise. “The two decrees sought to ensure that Nigerians had good control of the ownership of the business,” he said. He rejected insinuations that it was the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC that made it possible for quacks to invade the profession.

The former Knight Frank CEO who sampled the views of some senior estate surveyors and valuers on the theme of the lecture, posited that majority of them felt that although estate surveyors have not completely lost estate agency, they have decided to share it with some unqualified practitioners.

Meanwhile, the newly inducted fellows have been charged by Mr. Eleh to be ambassadors of the profession.” You should be defenders of the profession in word and deed. You should be very worthy ambassadors in your branches; be mentors to the younger surveyors and students, your word should be your bond.

The clients should get the very best of service from you,” Mr Eleh said.

FG inaugurates National Habitat Committee CALEB AYANSINA

T

HE Federal Government has promised to ensure that African concerns are properly integrated in the

New Global Urban Agenda to be developed by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme UN-Habitat.

The Supervising Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban De-

velopment, Mohammed Musa, an architect, who made the promise at the inauguration of National Habitat Committee, in Abuja, said the country’s re-

Brazilian investors to build over 1,000 houses in FCT

BY HENRY UMORU

M

OVED by the housing deficit in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, a delegation of Brazilian investors has promised to build over 1,000 houses in Abuja in the next few months. The investors who visited the FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed, claimed that they have the technology and technical capability to produce a two- bedroom flat in day.

Speaking on behalf of the delegation, the Director of Bitello Group, Frederico Joao Stella lauded the Minister for the opportuC M Y K

nity given their companies to participate in the development of Abuja.

The delegation was led by the former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Nigeria to Brazil, Mr. Vincent Okoedion who described the delegation as one of the quick benefits of President Goodluck Jonathan’s Transformation Agenda.

Responding, Senator Mohammed said the delegation showed interest in partnering with the FCT Administration on its rail mass transit, mass housing as well as road development. He said that FCT Administration expects over $3 billion if the partnership and collaboration come to fruition.

sources would be properly mobilised to articulate the continent’s position.

The third United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development, Habitat III will be held in 2016, twenty years after the Habitat II conference which took place in Istanbul, Turkey in 1996.

Vanguard Homes & Property learnt that the conference will take stock and address the problems facing the world’s cities and towns, where an increasing proportion of the population resides.

“We appreciate that the Habitat III conference will examine the changing structure, form and functionality of towns and cities in the intervening period, and restrategise towards developing a concise focused, forward looking and action oriented new Global Urban Agenda for the 21st century. We expect that one of

the unique attributes of the anticipated new agenda would be its propensity to integrate all facets of sustainable development in order to set the stage for the promotion of global prosperity, equity and welfare. We are also committed to provide the focused and purposeful leadership for the African continent by ensuring that African concerns are properly integrated into the new urban agenda, by contributing positively in terms of relevance and impact,” he assured.

In her remarks, the Deputy Executive Director of UNHabitat, Dr Aisa Kacyira lauded the country’s commitment towards UN programmes.

She maintained that “Africa is the first urbanising continent in the world, therefore, the leaders should take a lead in the facilitating process.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26 , 2014 — 41

Abuja World Trade Centre is a brand like that of New York — Consultant THE World Trade Centre in the Federal capital city, Abuja, is unique in many respects. It is the first 25-storey building in the city and located at the Central Business Area, dwarfing all other structures in the city. In this interview the property consultant, Mr. Kenneth Njoku explains the concept behind the complex and what the nation’s economy stands to gain from the Centre. Excerpts:

By EMMA UJAH, Abuja Bureau Chief

I

DEA behind the Abuja World Trade centre The concept behind the World Trade Centre, as the name indicates is a brand, a worldwide brand. Many developed countries are using it.

A key example is the one in New York. When one hears World Trade Centre, the one in New York readily comes to mind. The concept is that it is a modern market; a trade zone where you have everything that you can actually think of in business in one strategic location. So we are looking at commercial towers for banking halls, oil and gas corporate offices, headquarters of conglomerates and an address for international organisations as well as a shopping mall.

first time we are having such a product in our country.

Corporate organisations taking up offices in the WTC The World Trade Centre operates like a club of a high network of businesses. When you are doing business at the WTC, it is totally different from having an office in any other part of the city. What you have in the WTC is a high network of people not just of Nigerians or Africans but global players in one complex. Global businesses thrive on net-

working, connections. At the WTC, you don’t need to go out to look for the connections. All the connections you need are in there. You have it at your finger tips.

Don’t forget, it’s a world

•Mr. Njoku Kenneth

Boosting the economy The other section will be residential. In that area too, we are looking at leisure- so we will have hotels. It is a comfort zone. It is something that will boost the economy because in that complex, we are building seven towers. It will give employment to Nigerians.

People will be working there when the complex is completed.

Having residential apartments in a work environment When you have a residential area, which we call the serviced apartments adjacent the commercial towers, it gives you straight access. You don’t have to look for a car or taxi to take you to your office. You can just walk from home to your office, as well as, walk to the shopping malls where you can buy whatever you need. It takes away from you all the stress of traffic.

If you have visitors or conferences to attend in the commercial towers, you can simply walk from the residence to the venue and it is very comfortable. What we are looking at is quality, comfort and worldwide class. Living where you are working is what the complex provides. It is the

class brand. When you are asked, ‘ where is your office and you say that office is at the WTC’, it means so much to businessmen.

Security of tenants in view of global terrorism If you come to the complex right now, even before it is completed, the security there is world class.

We are going to have seven towers and that means that we are going to have a mega security station in that complex.

Like I said earlier, it is an international brand and that means there is a standard that must be maintained. We recognise that security is one of the issues we have in this country and therefore we are putting all necessary measures in place to ensure that individuals and their properties are safe.

Talking about insurance, that is guaranteed; talking about fire disasters, that is also guaranteed.

Every individual that works there will have an access card so no stranger can walk into that complex without an access card.

Everybody will have his own record. It is all computerised.

Use of shopping mall and individual cards For the shop-

ping, it will have its own access which will be open to the public. There is a different route into the mall. But you can’t access the main complex from the mall. The railway that is being constructed by the Federal government passes by the mall so one can actually get to the mall by rail or by road because there will be a rail station by the complex.

Commercial towers If you come out of the Metro, you head straight into the mall where the security is fivestar. Those in the commercial towers can access the mall because there is a connection but those who just come to the mall for purchases cannot get to the commercial towers from there.

Completion date In a matter of one year, the first phase will be completed.

The first phase consist of one commercial tower and one block of serviced- apartment.

If you drive through the Central Area, you will see that the facade is already up. So we are running at a very high speed. We have 22 floors of the commercial tower and 25 floors of the serviced-apartments.

Design of serviced apartments One bedroom; two bedroom, three, four- we have villas inside there. Right now there is mad rush for the serviced apartments and the commercial towers to the extent that we have a waiting list.

We are not telling people to give us money then we build for them. No. the funds are there already and we have trust and credibility because of the good brand we have.

•Abuja World Trade Centre

Insufficient funds stall on-going roads projects

BY FAVOUR NNABUGWU

T

here are strong indications that all on-going road projects across the country may be put on hold for a while due to insufficient funds to complete them at the original due dates.

Also the the payment of Federal Government’s outstanding debt to contractors which was put at over N118billion in 2013, may be delayed.

The Minister of Works, Mr. Mike Onolememen explained that despite the shortfall of funds released to the Ministry last year, it achieved significant progress of works on the various projects across the six geo-political zones of the country.

Onolememen made the disclosures at the 2014 Budget Defense with the Senate Committee on Works at the National Assembly.

The Minister who is an architect, stat-

ed that in terms of performance on projects under the capital budget of the ministry, some key road projects were completed in various parts of the country, while substantial progresses were recorded on a number of other on-going road and bridge projects.

He stated that the value of work done in 2013 amounted to about N 183bn as against the capital budget of N 141,487,997,912.00, which represent about 130 per cent of the capital budget of the ministry in 2013. According to the minister, outstanding certificates of jobs done by contractors in 2013 currently stands in excess of N 118 billion.

He further hinted that the performance of the ministry would have been considerably enhanced if there was near 100 per cent release of budgeted funds as the ministry would have been able to take full advantage of the cur-

rent dry season. According to him, more progress can only be achieved with the on-going massive rehabilitation projects when the outstanding funds are released to the ministry.

Onolememen said he had directed the Managing Director of FERMA to undertake the immediate recovery of the bad portions along the Aba-Ikot Ekpene road. He further disclosed that tremendous progress has been made under the Public Private Partnership,PPP on the 2nd Niger Bridge and the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

The Chairman Senate Committee, , Senator Ayogu Eze stated that funding gap as well as the outstanding payments owed to contractors are not healthy for the road sector development in the country.

42—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014

•Obasanjo

Renewed crisis ravages PDP in Ogun

BY DAUD OLATUNJI

R

•Daniel

ESPITE appears far from sight for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State ahead of the 2015 elections. Stakeholders and factions of the party have renewed hostilities in the battle for the soul of Ogun PDP. An end to the trouble is far from sight as many factions have come up to challenge the current executive of the party.

The trouble, which started seven years ago, was worsened following the call by three factions of the party for the harmonisation of the state executive committee.

The crisis cost the PDP the state in 2011 and paved the way for the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN now All Progressives Congress (APC) to mount the saddle of leadership.

Findings showed that the trouble was ignited by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC’s) letter signed by the Secretary to the Commission, Abdullahi Kaugama, which recognized Bashorun Dayo Soremi as the state chairman of the PDP. The letter read: ‘You will recall that the Federal High Court in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/ 347/2012 and FHC/L/CS/535/ 2012 held that the Congresses conducted by the Bashorun Dayo Soremi Harmonised State Executive Committee

and the Executive Committee that emerged therefrom are valid. The Commission as a law abiding institution has resolved to accept and relate with the said executive committee in obedience to the orders of the Federal High Court.”

The party as at the time of filing the report was being overseen by Buruji Kashamu whose loyalists have been positioned as executive members.

The three major factions in the party are those loyal to former President Olusegun Obasanjo; f o r m e r Minister of Commerce, J u b r i l MartinsKuye; and immediate p a s t governor of the state, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, which jointly accused the INEC of bias in its handling of the matter.

The factions under the aegis of the Concerned Members and Stakeholders of the PDP in Ogun State, in a legal notice from their lawyers, Gani Bello and Co dated February 10, 2014 and sent to INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, argued that by its support for the Dayo-led state exco, the commission

had failed in its responsibility as the “main referee and umpire for party primaries.”

They accused the INEC of compromise in its official duties by recognizing and dealing with only the Adebayo Dayo-led State Executive Committee backed by party financier, Prince Buruji Kashamu.

The factions were reacting to the reply written by the INEC Secretary, Abdullahi. A. Kaugama to the situation report on the state PDP crisis.

,

2015:

•Kuye

party in the state, threatened to seek legal redress against the commission if it failed within 21 days to withdraw its recognition of the Kashamubacked state exco.

They also demanded the recall and transfer of the Ogun INEC legal officer and “other officers who have openly compromised their official duties” over their alleged role in the state PDP crisis.

The Concerned Ogun PDP stakeholders also demanded an unreserved apology from the commission over its alleged bias in the party’s crisis.

The legal notice, which the office of the INEC c h a i r m a n received on February 14 read in part: “Our clients by their instruction hereby employ this medium to register their objection and protest the seemingly ignoble and parochial robe that INEC has chosen to wear in Ogun State.

“The letter dated 31/08/12 (hereinafter called the attached letter) written to you by your own Ogun State INEC legal officer, if truly authored by your commission has in the opinion of our clients thoroughly broken your myth of unbiased arbiter.

“Our clients wonder how

The trouble, which started seven years ago, was worsened following the call by three factions of the party for the harmonisation of the state executive committee The report was sent by the Ogun State Legal Officer of the electoral body, Mr. B.O. Ogunbona, to Professor Jega last August.

The lawyers, who said in a five-page notice to Jega to be solicitors to two chieftains of the Ogun PDP, Omotolu Ladega and Alhaji Kayode Mustapha who they identified as the “accredited representatives of the concerned members” of the

,

your commission has now come to know by names, particulars, personalities and activities of the different factions in Ogun State PDP. We understand that rather than bother yourself with the upcoming 2015 elections, your Commission is engaged in the old history of how in 2008 “Governor Gbenga Daniel (OGD) and his group circumvented the democratic process to keep his loyalists in the executive committee of the party so that only aspirants anointed by him emerged as party candidates.

“Your Commission has obviously embarked on a wondrous frolic and a journey of no return! We are instructed that what is embarrassing in your attached letter was the open adoration and embrace of a group or faction that installed the Bashorun Dayo Soremi-led Executive whilst pouring invectives, vituperation and condemnation on other groups, particularly the group that allegedly installed the Joju Fadairo-led Executive.

“The overall concern of our clients is that with the role being played by your Commission in Ogun State PDP as exemplified in the attached letter, it is almost certain that you have virtually abandoned your constitutional responsibility as the main referee and umpire for party primaries.

Continues on page 43

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014—43

Cracks in Nasarawa APC:

Early warning signs to 2015 FRICTIONS had long been expected in many state chapters of the All Progressives Congress, APC as a result of the melting of strange elements. While many other states are still containing their issues, the frictions in Nasarawa State seem unending

BY ABEL DANIEL

T

HE first sign of crisis in the newly formed All Progressives Congress, APC in Nasarawa State was not long in coming. It came on the waves of the recently conducted primary elections for the nomination of party candidates for the forthcoming local government elections.

The primary election results which took seven days to be announced were trailed by rancour as many party stakeholders claimed that the results were doctored in a way to favour some of the aspirants.

One of the most negative products of the primaries was the arson that was made on the multi million naira hotel owned by the interim chairman of the party in the state, Architect Stanley Buba, penultimate week in Akwanga by some alleged irate youths .

According to a witness, the youths rained abusive words on the APC, as they alleged manipulation of the primaries.

“They said that he (chairman) changed the names of those that were voted during the primaries by putting names of his boys who were not nominated.”

“The youths also swore to take legal action on the injustice meted on them or dump the party for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),” the source said.

However police in the area said they were still investigating the incident.

Buba, the embattled interim chairman of the APC traced the burning of his hotel in Akwanga to some people whom he said “contested the council election and failed in Akwanga local government”.

It must be recalled that some yet to be identified irate youths allegedly razed the Light House Resort, a hotel in Akwanga belonging to the party chairman.

In his reaction to the development when he visited the hotel, Governor Tanko Almakura wondered why anyone would go to the extent of burning the hotel in the face of several appeals by the state government for peace on the issues. He thus called on people in the state to desist from such acts contrary to law.

Responding to allegations of election fraud in the just concluded APC primaries, Buba said that the results of the party primaries were scrutinized and endorsed by the electoral committee in the three senatorial districts before the final declaration.

Amongst other things stated as reasons for the delay and cancellation of the council primaries result in some local governments were election irregularities and malpractices at the polling units in places like Nasarwa Eggon, Wamba, Doma, Lafia, Kokona, Keana and Toto local government areas respectively.

Furthermore, the seat of the interim committee chairman of APC in the state is currently being challenged in the High Court of Justice in Nasarawa State. The Chief Judge Hon. Justice Isha Mohammed had declared the position of the interim chairman in the state APC vacant pending the hearing of the motion on notice.

Justice Mohammed had in an exparte order restrained Buba from being recognized as the interim committee

•Al-Makura: chairman of APC in Nasarawa State pending the determination of the court.

The plaintiff, Hon. Nurudeen Umar had gone to court earlier to stop Buba on

the allegation that his appointment as interim chairman of the party contravenes the APC constitution that stipulates that a member of the interim

committee must be drawn from either of the 3 major political parties that formed the APC. Buba he alleged was not a member of either of the three political parties that merged to form the APC. Furthermore, the suspension of the Deputy Governor, Chief Damishi Barua from the party over his statement that the APC’s decision to frustrate the president’s bills in the National Assembly was not in good taste is also stoking further controversy.

Barua told journalists in his home town recently that he was not aware of any suspension as no notice was served him while he was away to the United States of America.

“I am just hearing it from you, but if the party say they suspend me for making a statement in Goshen Church, I made that statement as a Nigerian and not as a deputy governor under APC, and I had the right to make that statement”.

“I said that the decision by the APC to frustrate the president through the stoppage of bills by the APC legislators at the National Assembly was not the best for this country”.

“If government could be stopped from implementing policies because of political interest, then we are not being fair to our people. I insist and stand by this position no matter any political affiliation I belong as a Nigerian”, Damishi Lamented.

2015: Renewed crisis ravages PDP in Ogun Continues from page 42 “Right now the Dayo Soremi/Adebayo Dayo group has been laying claim on your letter under reference as their authority for being the only group in Ogun State PDP recognized by INEC. This, in the opinion of our clients is not acceptable.

“In fact, the Ogun State INEC as presently constituted is not in a position to conduct or observe true and fair primaries in Ogun State PDP. The only way of redemption open to your commission is to assure our clients that the letter under reference has been discountenanced and consigned into dustbin.”

Allegation is laughable — Dayo Reacting, the Adebayo Dayo-led PDP Exco described as laughable the allegation by the three factions against INEC. The Dayo-led exco also

described the three factions as faceless individuals, who called themselves concerned members and stakeholders of the PDP. “Contrary to the false claims in the letter, the Adebayo Dayo-led Exco neither derives its strength from the 31st August, 2012 report nor the 18th September, 2012 letter by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). As could be gleaned from the report and letter themselves, they were based on several judicial interventions and decisions, which INEC, as a law-abiding institution, could not but obey.

“It should be noted that these decisions were not appealed by the so-called concerned members and stakeholders of Ogun State PDP. Where have they been since 2012 when these decisions were taken? Both the court verdicts and the INEC letter were widely publicised yet they raised no eyebrows since 2012. The

truth is they are just waking up from their slumber. They have missed their right of appeal and cannot now turn round to blame INEC for their own lapses. They have missed it on all fronts. It is too late to cry when the head is off.

“It is common knowledge that the former Governor Gbenga Daniel and some of his associates have since joined the Labour Party (LP) just like a good number of them have defected into the PDP. Over 80 percent of the members of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo group are with us in the PDP having turned down the directive of the former leader to join the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“Also, all members of the Senator Jubril Martins-Kuye (JMK) group are with us.

Indeed, while mischief makers were churning out their lies, members of the group led by JMK himself were attending a meeting at the Lagos residence of

•Kashamu Senator Ayo Otegbola. In attendance at the meeting were party bigwigs such as Chief Alani Bankole, Prince Buruji Kashamu and party chairman, Engr. Adebayo Dayo among others.”

44—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014

Rep gets go-ahead to seek re-election

W

ARRI—THE People for Peace and Development Initiative, PPDI, has called on the lawmaker representing the Warri federal constituency in House of Representatives, Mr. Daniel Reyenieju to seek re-election for the federal seat because of his legislative success and robust way of representation, adding that PPDI would mobilise the entire constituents for his election in 2015.

Spokesman of PPDI, Mr. Eyowe Jacob, who led a delegation on a visit to the lawmaker at his Warri residence, said that it will be better for the lawmaker to go the House again because of his wealth of experience in legislative matters, as well as his achievements so far in lawmaking and constituency projects.

Eyowe said: “We are aware of the role Reyenieju played on the floor of the National Assembly before former armed Itsekiri youths were granted amnesty. During Reyenieju’s tenure, he had served in many subcommittees and committees, which go a long to prepare him for future assignment.

“We call on all the constituents of the Warri federal constituency to return Reyenieju for his glaring achievement in the National Assembly, because of his experience so that an experienced person will be in the National Assembly to represent Warri federal constituency.”

Uvwie monarch condemns soldiers' move to take over Ohore village

BY FESTUS AHON

U

GHELLI—THE Ovie of Uvwie Kingdom, HRM Emmanuel Sideso, Abe 1, has condemned the planned demolition of buildings in Ohore village, Uvwie Local Government Area, Delta State by men of the Nigerian Army, describing it as oppressive.

Ex-militant leaders ask Uduaghan to run for Senate

BY EMMA AMAIZE

W

ARRI—FORMER militant leaders from Delta South senatorial district, Delta State, 'Gen' Bonny Gawei and ’Gen' Frank Akiefa, have called on Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan to run for senate in 2015.

Gawei and Akiefa in Warri said “The man who the cap fits as our senator in Delta South senatorial district in 2015 is Uduaghan, an Itsekiri and member of the G3, comprising Ijaw, Itsekiri and Isoko.

“Besides, the fact is, it is the turn of the Itsekiri ethnic nationality to produce the next senator for the district. ''The Isoko people have produced before and the Ijaw presently have a third-term Senator in the person of Senator James Manager. Dr. Uduaghan is a performer and the right choice. ''We have seen the improvement in education, health, transport and road sectors of the state. We want him to replicate that and more as a senator that is why we want him.

We want the man that will bring development to Delta South, the state and Niger-Delta.''

The monarch, who addressed women of the kingdom, who embarked on a protest against the alleged harassment and dispossession of land belonging to Ohore community by soldiers, lamented that the “village is on the verge of being sacked.”

He said; “ When the Ministry of Defense needed land to establish the Nigerian Defence Academy, NDA, the community generously gave out land for that purpose. All along, we have been looking for development in the area for the past years. Of recent, it was observed that the place is now being commercialised, being sold to companies, and administered by the Army.

“That was not the purpose for which the land was donated.

Of course, no reasonable community will accept that.

This is our place, we welcome development, investors, but at the same time, people should not cheat or marginalise us in our place. You could see most

of the houses there are not meant for the army. They are owned by private individuals.

“Our people cannot get a shop there, they are being thrown away, but in the actual fact, they are supposed to benefit from it. We will continue to protest this marginalisation and oppression peacefully because we want peace and dialogue in Delta State.

“We are not against any development, but do not go outside the agreement. Can you imagine that a village is on

Ogboru lauds Jonathan for suspending Sanusi

L

AGOS—PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan’s suspension of Malam SanusiLamido as the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Governor has been commended by a former Democratic People’s Party, PDP governorship candidate in Delta State, Dr. Ovedje Ogboru.

Ogboru said the suspension

2015: Declare your intention now, group tells Jonathan

BY SAMUEL OYADONGHA

Y

ENAGOA—A group, Movement for SocioPolitical and Economic Development of Ijaw Nation, MSPEDIN, has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to declare his intention to contest the 2015 presidential poll.

MSPEDIN said that the President has done better than previous administrations and deserves a second term to consolidate on his transformation agenda.

The group, in a statement in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State by its chairman, Isaac-Boro Benin, urged all the ethnic nationalities

and political parties to cultivate the spirit of tolerance and mutual coexistence.

Lauding the developmental strides of the President, the group said “We salute your courage, Mr. President, in the way you are piloting the affairs of this country despite the numerous challenges.

“You are a man with genuine intentions for speedy human capital, infrastructural, sociopolitical and economic development of the country. We are calling on you to declare your intention to contest the 2015 presidential poll in order for you to complete your transformation agenda for the benefit of Nigerians.”

PEOPLE SPEAK

08102479985

the verge of being thrown away? All the houses were marked for demolition. Where are the people going to stay if you throw them out? This is what they just came to tell me.

“Although in the past, I had written several letters, but I promise that I will work with those in authority here to take the message of their protest to the Presidency. We want our undeveloped lands back, so that we can make use of it. We want other Nigerians to come to our aide,” the monarch said.

of Sanusi was long overdue because of the manner he has conducted himself in office since his appointment in 2009.

Ogboru, who spoke with newsmen in Lagos, described Sanusi as a politician and activist, who also wanted to function as a banker, which is not possible in view of the sensitive and conservative nature of the office of the CBN governor.

“Sanusi lacks decorum and this is unbecoming the position of a CBN governor, who is supposed to be conservative and be of more action than talking.

It is against the ethics of public administration for an employee of government to fight against the system with a view to pulling the government down.

“Sanusi has turned himself to a politician and activist unbecoming of professional bankers. You cannot combine politics and activism with banking and expect things to be alright. The three are not mutually related. So, if Sanusi wants to be a politician and activist, he should resign his appointment and when he fails to do so, the president has every right to suspend him, so that he can face his politics and activism,” Ogboru said.

By Bartholomew Madukwe (nwamad@yahoo.com)

On suspension of Sanusi as CBN governor

It is always said that you cannot be a judge in your own case. Be that as it may, the questions Nigerian people should be asking Sanusi Lamido is whether he has anything to do with oil-blocs. Mr. Dominic Eriata - Businessman

The Constitution did not define the relationship between the CBN Governor and the President. What are the offences spelt out in the constitution warranting the removal of a CBN Governor? Mr. Olutayo Ariyo - Businessman

The people saying that President Goodluck Jonathan has the power to suspend Sanusi Lamido as CBN Governor, should tell us where he derived such power. That is all I can say about it for now. Mr. Emmanuel Bako - Worker

The Governor of the Central Bank is not a civil servant and thus, is not amenable to traditional civil service regulations.

Nor is he a Presidential appointee comparable to a Minister of government.

Mr. Nicholas AlozieBusinessman

Goodbye Sanusi, welcome Emefiele. Sanusi sacked so many bankMDs, young bankers and brought the economy to nothing, but at last, was himself shown the exit door, the same way he did to others. Mr. Timilehin Jaiyeola - Worker

Let a new team headed

by Emefiele do the investigation since the FG can no longer repose trust in Sanusi. When you doubt your accountant, a new one is required to handle the finances of the organisation. Mr. Chris Nduba - Worker

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014—45

2015: No defections in Owan East —Iriase

N-Delta youths laud NPDC

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

Y

B

ENIN—THE member representing Owan East/West federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Mr. Pally Iriase, yesterday, attributed the defection of some members of All Progressives Congress, APC, to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Owan West Local Government Area, to the personal ambition of the defectors.

The APC lawmaker, who described as untrue, reports that APC members decamped to PDP in Owan East council, said: “We are aware of the internal crisis in Owan West APC and that was why those people decamped, just a few of them who have their individual interests ahead of the 2015 elections. That is normal and there is no cause for alarm.

“But what is worrisome is the report that people decamped to PDP in Owan East.

That was not true. I am from that council and no- body decamped there. There was no defection of any APC member from Owan East, and the internal problem that led to the defection of our members in Owan West are being resolved.”

Madam Moses-Egbo for burial

T

HE late Mrs. Erienta Moses-Egbo, who died on October 31, 2013, aged 81, will be buried on February 28.

A statement by Olorogun Jaro Egbo, said service of songs will hold on February 27, at her residence on Ughelli/Asaba expressway, Ebor Iyede, in Isoko North Local Government Area, Delta State.

Open air service and reception will hold at Opre Primary School, Ebor Iyede, on February 28, followed by interment.

She is survived by six children, grand and great grand children amongst whom is Olorogun Jaro Egbo, Senior Special Assistant to Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan on NDDC Matters.

Late Madam Moses-Egbo

SUMMIT: Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State (left) and Prof. G. G Darah during the Southern Leaders Summit at Tinapa Business and Leisure Resort, Calabar, Cross River State.

Orubebe’s exit for betterment of N-Deltans —Omoru

BY FESTUS AHON

U

GHELLI—CANDIDATE of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, in the October 12, 2013 Delta Central senatorial byelection, Olorogun David Omoru, has said that the sack or resignation of the Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe, was for the betterment of the Niger people, insisting that Orubebe failed Niger Deltans as a minister.

Omoru, in a chat with newsmen, said: “The sack of the affected ministers was not only timely, but appropriate, considering the failures recorded by them. Therefore, their sack is a welcome development and huge relief to Nigerians.”

He alleged that Orubebe, had, in many instances, especially

with regard to the East-West Road, which he could not complete, demonstrated that he lacked the capability to assist in pushing the president’s transformation agenda.

Omoru, a former Special Assistant to Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, said that the former minister, who hails from Burutu area of Delta State, had the opportunity to endear himself to the people of Niger Delta by ensuring the completion of the East-West Road, but chose to neglect it, alleging that “it shows he did not mean well for President Jonathan.”

According to him, the inability of the Jonathan administration to complete the road

before the end of 2015 election will be a minus to his electioneering chances in the Niger-Delta region and blamed it on Orubebe.

Noting that it was time for President Jonathan to identify and work with astute and credible politicians from Delta State in the realisation of his 2015 presidential ambition, he said: “Most of those parading themselves as governorship materials in Abuja are paper weight in the grassroots politics of Delta State.

“If Orubebe was honest in his quest to become the governor of Delta State in 2015, he would have handled the Niger-Delta Ministry with commitment, and would have completed the EastWest Road on schedule."

Delta monarch tasks politicians on tolerance

T

HE Ovie of Uvwie Kingdom, HRM Emmanuel Sideso, Abe I, has advised politicians in Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State not to see politics as a do or die affair.

The monarch, at an interdenominational church service to mark his 6th coronation anniversary in Effurun, said: “While speculations are rife that the Delta State local government elections will hold this year, we consider it very pertinent to call on the political class to ensure that the election in Uvwie council is not a do or die affair.”

He appealed to politicians in the area to play politics according to the rules and not to employ violence to the detriment of the sustained peace and development in Uvwie Kingdom.

He expressed gratitude to Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan for

his developmental strides in Uvwie council and appealed to the governor to appoint indigenes of Uvwie as commissioners in the state.

Identifying peace and security as the hall mark of his

achievements since he ascended the throne six years ago, the Ovie urged indigenes and non-indigenes in the area to treat security matters with seriousness.

OUTHS in the Niger Delta region, under the aegis of Niger Delta Youths for Transformation Agenda, NDYTA, have commended the role of the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, NPDC, a subsidiary of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, was playing in the petroleum and gas industry in the country, saying that the company has shown commitment to the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan in the petroleum sector.

The group, made up of ex-militants, also passed a vote of confidence in the Managing Director of the NPDC, Mr Iyowuna Briggs, for his tireless efforts and managerial skills that have shaped the company into a global brand in the highly competitive oil industry with a daily output of 130 000 barrels of crude oil production per day, saying that he was a pride and a role model to people of the Niger Delta region.

Speaking in Warri, Delta State, the national Coordinator, Mr. Fiawei Pathfinder, condemned the politically motivated attacks on the NPDC boss, noting that the company was doing well particularly with the five newly acquired assets following the divestment from the oil mining leases OMLs 26,30 and 40 by Shell Petroleum Development Company.

NDYTA noted that NPDC had engaged communities in consultations, meetings and visits to ensure hitchfree relationship with host communities and called on all stakeholders to support NPDC.

PDP chieftain flays neglect of Sapele LG

C

HAIRMAN of Association of Past Peoples Democratic Party, PDP chairmen in Delta Central senatorial district, Delta State, Chief Godwin Edeki, has faulted what he termed the “unwarranted blackout and the underdevelopment of Sapele Local Government Area, by politicians in the area, who the people voted into office.

Edeki, also a former chair-

man of PDP in Sapele council, said that the political players, who the people of the area elected into the state House of Assembly since 1999 have disappointed them by not reciprocating the good gesture by providing them with dividends of democracy by utilising funds accruing to them as constituency funds.

Addressing newsmen in Sapele, he said: “If you take

a look at Sapele council, you will not find any good road or any infrastructural project executed by any of the elected officials with funds allocated to the area by the state government since 1999.”

He said roads worst hit, include Ogaga Road, Old Eku Road, Okergbagha Road among others, all in the council, which he noted had been abandoned by the contractors.

46—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014

Lagos sets for Fashola‘s investiture as Eko Nite Patron

BY OLASUNKANMI AKONI

P

LANS HAVE been con cluded for the hosting of investiture of Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State and his wife Dame Abimbola Fashola as patron and matron of Eko Nite of Music, Culture and Awards.

Organisers of the award, Mr. Olutimehin Samson, explained that the highlight of the event would include award of recognition to distinguished heroes of Lagos as well as induction of past governors of Lagos State into Eko Hall of Fame.

National leader of All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu is expected to be the chief host, while Sir Okoya Molade Thomas will chair the occasion.

Surety docked for 'missing' suspect

BY ONOZURE DANIA

L

AGOS — A 38- yearold woman Rasheedat Adebola, who stood as a surety for a suspect at the headquarters of SARS office of Lagos Police Command, Ikeja, was yesterday arraigned before an Ikeja Magistrate Court, for allegedly failing to produce the suspect.

The defendant, who is standing trial before Magistrate Eniola Fabamwo, is facing a count charge of failing to produce a suspect.

The prosecutor, ASP Barth Nwaokoye, told the court that the defendant and two others at large committed the alleged offence on November 13, 2013, at about 5:30pm in SARS office.

2015: Jega needs our prayers —Cleric

BY BOSE ADELAJA

A

S political parties warm up for 2015 general elections, Apostle Paschal Goodnews of Citadel of Mercy, Igando, has urged Nigerians to pray earnestly for the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega, to enable him overcome the task ahead.

Such prayer, he said, was necessary as the forthcoming elections will be tough and heated, while an attempt to toy with it will throw the nation into deep crisis.

The cleric said there would be tough times ahead, and declared that Jega’s life was in severe danger, adding that death threats will be sent to him from many sources.

C M Y K

Group tackles NERC, DISCOs over high service charge, estimated bills

BY ANAYO OKOLI

U

MUAHIA — A group, PowerUpNG, which advocates for fair electricity distribution and billing, has condemned the high electricity bills being imposed on Nigerians by the various DISCOs in the country, say-

ing they were exploiting the people.

The group, though in support of privatisation of electricity distribution for better performance, also condemned the system of estimated billing being used by the DISCOs It also frowned on and con-

demned the resulting exploitation of consumers, in the name of Maintenance Service Charge or Fixed Charge and unreasonable estimated billing, causing so many families untold pains.

The group said in a statement

by Adetayo Adegbemle: “We are driven by the desire for con-

COMPETITION: From left, Mr. Ehi Braimah, MD/CEO, Neo media and marketing; Mr. Matthew Olayanju, director of quality assurance, Lagos State Ministry of Education, representing Permanent Secretary, Mr. Onyekachi Onubegu; Executive Director (Commercial) Promasidor Nigeria Ltd, and Professor Adewale Sholarin, Director General, National Mathematics Centre, Abuja, during the 2014 Cowbell National Secondary Schools Mathematics Competition press conference, at Sheraton Hotel, in Lagos. Photo: Bunmi Azeez

Pure water producers to face hard times in Anambra

BY ENYIM ENYIM & CHIDI NKWOPARA

P

RODUCERS OF sachet and bottled water whose products do not meet the standard of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, may face hard times as Anambra State House of Assembly has moved for the closure of such industries.

This came as the Registrar, Environmental Health Officers Reg-

istration Council, EHORC, Mr. Augustine Ebisike, said government would save a lot of money currently being spent on purchasing drugs, if environmental cleanliness was given top priority.

Chairman of the Anambra House Committee on Health, Dr. Emeka Anaebonam, stated this while addressing reporters after an oversight function of the committee to some producers of sachet and bottled water in the state. ” Today, we visited bottled wa-

Abia govt reads riot act to contractors

Ugovernment hasState orMUAHI — ABIA

dered contractors handling road and housing projects in the state to return to site or face its wrath.

The government said in a statement issued in Umuahia yesterday that the order became necessary to enable it complete all ongoing projects before the 2015 date of its termination.

The statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Charles Ajunwa, said the government had already constituted a high-powered team to monitor and ensure compliance to the order.

The government said it would be particularly ruthless with contractors who had been advanced money but chose to flout the order, warning them

to adhere strictly to the directive.

It warned that contractors who disobeyed the order would have themselves to blame.

ter producing industries in the state and we found out that none of them has met the standard of NAFDAC in terms of quality products they dish out to the general public.

“After visiting all the water industries in Anambra State, we would write our report and recommend those that should be closed down,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Registrar, Environmental Health Officers Registration Council, EHORC, Mr. Augustine Ebisike, has said government would save a lot of money being currently spent on purchasing drugs, if environmental cleanliness was given top priority.

Ebisike stated this in Owerri during the opening of a five-day training programme organised for members of the council.

VIP Express Tourism boss, others bag CTAA

V

IP EXPRESS Tourism, one of the leading tourism companies in Nigeria, has again won the ‘Tourism Organisation of the Year’ in the 2013 edition of the Capital Territory Advancement Award.

The company emerged winner in the 2012 edition of the award, making it a two time winner in this category for the second year in a row.

The firm was adjudged the champion in the ‘Tourism Organisation of the Year’ category in the CTAA, at a gala and dinner award

night, at the Shehu Musa Yar’adua Centre Abuja.

Receiving the award on behalf of the Managing Director, Sandra Wilcocks, the Management of VIP Express Ltd led by Wesley Bezuidenhout, Lesrie du Plesis, Francois Brites, Owoseni Samuel and others, thanked Newaves Innovation, organisers of the event.

Also, the Director of Abuja Environmental Protection Board, Mrs. Aishat Adebayo, and other individuals and corporate organisations won awards.

sumers to be fairly treated and to make sure as watch-dogs, Electricity Distributors follow the laid down regulations by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC. “We hereby state categorically that we support with no reservation, the unbundling of Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, vis-à-vis, the privatisation of key structures in the power generation, transmission and distribution in Nigeria. We believe this is the way forward for our dear country.

“While we do not accuse the NERC, under the leadership of Dr. Sam Amadi, of colluding with the DISCOS to cheat Nigerians, a reasonable evidence points to the fact that the NERC, has been turning a blind eye to their activities.

“To start with, consumers all over Nigeria are paying Electricity Usage Tax in the name of Maintenance/Fixed Service Charge. It has also been confirmed that Electricity Consumers in Lagos are paying a lot higher than consumers in other parts of Nigeria.

“For Instance, customers of Ikeja Distribution Company and EKO Distribution Company are paying N750 monthly Maintenance Charge while Enugu Distribution Company charges N650 as monthly maintenance charge.

It also canvassed the formula for estimated billing be revealed to consumers, adding that electricity distribution companies should start the installations of pre-paid meters immediately.

...Eko laments rising attacks on electricity facilities, workers

BY KUNLE KALEJAYE

T

HE MANAGEMENT of the Eko Electricity Distribution Company, EKEDC, has lamented the spate of vandalism of its facilities and continuous brutalisation of its workers by members of the public while discharging their legitimate duties.

The company’s Assistant General Manager, Public Affairs, Mr. Godwin Idemudia, said the company was deeply worried over the daily attacks on both its staff and wanton destruction of facilities on allegations of“not too impressive power supply situation.”

Aside from the load limitation from the national grid, Idemudia said the major challenge bedeviling the company and the power sector at large, was consistent vandalism of its facilities, including cable and transformers.

In a statement made available to Vanguard, Idemudia noted that over time, members of the public had continued to vent their anger on the company’s staff and

Vanguard , WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014

MEETING: Lagos State governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, (middle), former Federal Commissioner for Works and Housing, Alhaji Femi Okunnu, (3rd left), Mrs. Funmilayo Osinowo-Bashorun (right), former Lagos State Special Adviser on Education, Professor Tunde Samuel (left), immediate past Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State, Mr. Olasupo Shasore, (3rd right), Chief Waidi Ayeni (2nd right) and Prince Rabiu Oluwa, during Governor Fashola’s meeting with the Confab Committee members, at the Lagos House, Ikeja.

- 47

SWEARING IN: Kwara State governor, Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed (left), congratulating one of the newly sworn in Commissioners, Prince Saheed Popoola of the Ministry of Sports and Youth Development, at the State Banquet Hall, Ilorin.

LAUNCHING: From left: MD, Fouani Nigeria Ltd, Mr. Mohammed PRESENTATION: From left: Senator Tony Adefuye, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, Fouani, MD, LG Electronics West Africa, Mr. Deog Jun Kim, and General Speaker, House of Representatives, and Hon. Babatunde Adejare, during the Manager, Home Appliance Division, LG Electronics West Africa, Mr. Hyun presentation of welfare packages to the people to mark the Speaker's 44th birthday Woo Jung, during the official launch of LG Chest Freezer in Lagos. in Lagos.

From left: Mr. Andre Venter, Head, Super Sport Africa, Mr. Martin Mabutho, Head, Marketing & Sales, Multichioce, and Mr. Tijani Umar, President, Nigerian Basketball Fedration, NBBF, during the briefing on the DSTV Basketball Premier League, in Lagos.

PRESENTATION: From left: Mr. Matthew Willsher, Acting CEO, Etisalat, Noviolet Bulawayo, winner, Etisalat Pan-African Prize for Literature, Karen Jennings, runners-up and Yewande Omotosho, at the prize presentation of the Etisalat Pan-African Prize for Literature, in Lagos. Photo: Joe Akintoba, Photo Editor.

From left: Mr. Moses Obodo, Regional Sales Manager, Nigerian Breweries, Mr. Hubert Eze, Sales Director and Mr. Walter Drenth, Marketing Director, Nigerian Breweries, during the launch of Star Lite Beer in Lagos.

C M Y K

CELEBRATION: From left: Professor Wale Omole, Chairman, 50th Anniversary Committee of Archbishop Vining Church, Ikeja, Chief Clement Owokande, and Chief Michael Lawani, during the 50th anniversary celebration of Archbishop Vining Memorial Church Cathderal, Ikeja Lagos.

From left: Director, Debt Management Department, West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management, WAIFEM, Baba Musa, Acting Director, West African Monetary Institute, WAMI, Ghana, Mr, Emmanuel Onwioduokit, Director, Financial Sector Department, Ousman Sowe, DG of WAIFEM, Professor Akpan Ekpo, Director, Finance and Administration, Euraclyn Williams and the Advisor, Business Development Unit, Prof. Godwin Omotor, at the regional course on banking supervision, in Lagos.

48 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014

C M Y K

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014—49

C M Y K

50— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014

C M Y K

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014—51

C M Y K

52— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014

C M Y K

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014 — 53

NNPC PROBE—NNPC Group Managing Director, Mr Andrew Yakubu (R), with members of the House Joint Committee on Petroleum Resources Downstream, Upstream and Justice, investigating the alleged connivance of NNPC with Swiss Oil dealers to rob Nigeria in Abuja, yesterday. Photo: NAN.

B-Haram slaughters 43 students in Yobe Continues from Page 5 that his administration will not relent in its ongoing efforts to end the scourge of terrorism in parts of the country which has sadly claimed more innocent lives today.

“The Armed Forces of Nigeria and other security agencies will continue to prosecute the war against terror with full vigour, diligence and determination until the dark cloud of mass murder and destruction of lives and property is permanently removed from our horizon,” he said .

Supervising Minister of Education, Barr.

Ezenwo Nyesom Wike in his reaction yesterday, condemned the attack.

He immediately reached out to the management and staff of the school to commiserate with them.

While commiserating with families of the bereaved, the Minister noted that the Federal Ministry of Education will continue to liaise with security agencies and relevant stakeholders to improve security around all Federal Unity Colleges.

Atiku weeps over massacre of school pupils Former vice-president,

Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, yesterday, broke down in tears when informed of the killings of the students. The former vice president said in a strongly-worded statement by his media office in Abuja that all the Federal Government had been doing about addressing the security situation in the NorthEast region of the country amounts to mere chasing of shadows if school walls cannot be protected from armed attacks.

Alhaji Abubakar particularly frowned at the impression given by President Goodluck Jonathan at his Presidential Media Chat on Monday that the government has been successful at pushing armed attacks to the fringes of the country.

“My heartfelt condolences go to families of the slain students. It is unfortunate that innocent school children, will become victims of armed attacks.

“This will not be the first time in recent times that school children are being attacked, and it is particularly disheartening that the Federal Government is yet to devise a strategy of keeping our schools safe from terror attacks. If our counterinsurgency strategies are not strong enough to keep our children safe

inside their schools, then one must wonder if such a strategy isn’t mere chasing of shadows,” Atiku said.

According to him, “it is important that the Federal Government ups its counter-insurgency strategy and desists from taking credits in pushing armed attacks to the fringes, as the president would like to put it. No Nigerian’s life is less in value to another.”

He said it is imperative for government to ensure security in schools, in particular the Federal Government Colleges because of their unique role in forging national unity among pupils from diverse backgrounds in the country.

Why Boko Haram attacks persist— Interior Minister Minister of Interior, Patrick Abba Moro also said yesterday that the Boko Haram insurgents were successful in their attacks because they have changed their tactics and are now wearing camouflages of the soldiers.

The minister also said that the attacks persist because the Nigerian security outfits have not been able to provide security personnel in all the localities of this country.

He stated these in

Abeokuta during the commissioning of an administrative block and 36 unit staff quarters of National Security and Civil Defence Corps at the college of Security management.

He said: “In recent times, the insurgents have changed tactics.

They have started wearing camouflages of the soldiers. They have started claiming to be members of certain organisations like welfare organisations, Red Cross organisations and infiltrate the local communities. In the process, they mingle with the local communities, and assume the colour of the vigilance groups and security outfits.

“And once they mingle with civilians, it becomes very difficult for the military and security agencies to identify very quickly who is a civilian or not. “ In the circumstances, the security men don’t have any choice but to make sure that these insurgents, in the midst of civilians, are located but, in the course of this action, civilian casualty certainly will occur.

It's satanic, unjustifiable, says Labour Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria,

ASCSN, has described the massacre of the 43 students as satanic and unjustifiable in any way.

The trade union (ASCSN) which workers of all the 104 FGCs in the country, otherwise known as unity schools, belong to, said the unprovoked killings of the innocent students was the height of barbarism.

Visibly shaken Secretary General of the Association, Lawal Basir, said though the association was compiling details of the incident for a formal statement today “it is a sad development in our educational sector and national life. It is condemnable in its entirety.

It is not justifiable in any way or under any circumstance- be it religion or otherwise. Are these killers Nigerians? I can't imagine fellow Nigerians killing Nigerian citizens as if they were chicken. We claim we have security in those areas, yet innocent students were murdered without provocation. It is hard to believe. Please, I cannot say more. It is a sad day. We will issue a formal statement tomorrow (today).”

APC slams Jonathan’s comments on Borno The All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned President Jonathan’s vituperation against Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima during his media chat on Monday night, saying it was unwarranted, unpresidential and petty.

In a statement issued in Abuja, yesterday, by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said President Jonathan was wrong to have threatened, no matter how subtly, to withdraw from Borno the troops who are battling against Boko Haram insurgents, and urged him to apologize to the people of Borno and to all Nigerians for the presidential indiscretion.

It said the threat, which was in response to the statement credited to the Governor, that the soldiers needed to be better equipped and more motivated, showed clearly that President Jonathan does not have a full grasp of what is expected of him as President and Commander-

in-Chief of the Armed Forces. ‘’Mr. President, your most important duty as President is to ensure the welfare and security of all Nigerians, irrespective of the criticisms you may face or whether or not they voted for you.

Therefore, you are not doing anyone a favour by performing that duty. It is the role you swore an oath to perform.

"Also, even if you feel that the Governor should not have made the statement he made, it is incumbent upon you, as the President and the father of the nation, to take the higher road, instead of choosing a public forum to air your grievances. Wittingly or unwittingly, Mr. President, you have played into the hands of the insurgents who must by now be gloating at the discordant tunes in government over the battle against them," APC said.

Using the President’s exact words to the Governor during his media chat, the party said: "A (President) should be mindful of what they say.

Yes there are issues, but no matter how frustrated you are you, don’t make this kind of statement."

It said based on the anger exhibited by President Jonathan while commenting on Gov. Shettima’s statement, the party was justified in its call on the President not to go ahead with his reported plan to remove the Governor and replace him with a military administrator.

"President Jonathan should know that a leader cannot afford to be taking decisions on the basis of a perceived slight or criticism, because such decisions are most likely to be wrong and counter-productive.

He should also use his enormous powers as President for the benefit of the people, not to their disadvantage.

"By his threat to pull out the troops from Borno for one month, he has further victimized the good people of the state, who have been at the receiving end of the senseless attacks by Boko Haram. A retraction of his threat and an apology to the people will be a good starting point for Mr. President to make amends,’’ APC said.

54— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014

C M Y K

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014—55

C M Y K

56 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014

Boosting Nigeria’s housing stock with FMBN’s workers’ fund

BY KUNLE ADEKOYA

W

ITH an estimated 16 mil lion shortfall in the national housing stock, there is need for a radical policy review of the strategies that would accelerate the provisionofdecentaccommodationfor affluent and average income earning Nigerians.

It is important that the government has admitted the enormity of the situation by accepting to review existing mortgage services with a view to liberalising lending to citizens who are interested in owing personal houses. More importantly, there has been a deliberate effort to recognise the contributions of the private sector as the key driver of the economy..

Former Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Ms Amal Pepple, sometime last year, described as unimpressive previous efforts of government to get directly involved in building of houses. For instance, the Federal Housing Authority, established some 40 years ago, could deliver only 37, 000 houses, an average of just a thousand units per year. This is not a good record given the abundance of resources in the country.

Instructively, the houses were beyond the reach of the low income earners. Although the houses were financed with tax payers money, they were priced too high and of comparatively low quality.

President Goodluck Jonathan cutting the tape to commission Aviation Village in Abuja units in the ‘Aviation Village’, along Abuja Airport Road.

The President, who received his own e-card from the Supervising Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Musa Sada, an architect, recognised the benefits of the e-platform and noted that it will engender the confidence of

,

Using the NHF e-collection platform web portal, a contributor can scrutinise his record of contributions online and print out a statement of account at a computer workstation around the world

In some instances, they were built on bad terrains and inaccessible neighborhoods. All these contributed to high cost of delivery. Invariably, only the rich could afford to buy and re-sell, thus defeating the intention of the government.

The Dr Goodluck Jonathan administration is, however, charting a new course through a long term perspective planning – developing the right policies, strategies and frameworks and involving all stakeholders, especially the private sector in financing massive erection of new, standard houses. One of these new initiatives is the revitalisation of the National Housing Fund, NHF, with the introduction of an electronic collection platform in June, last year. The e-card was formally unveiled penultimate week by President Jonathan at an impressive ceremony where he also commissioned 270 housing

,

contributors to the NHF while also eliminating fraud and promoting transparency with accountability.

Besides these immediate benefits, the NHF e-card is also seen as a huge step forward in achieving speed, accuracy, and value-added services. The e-card is a form of identification card bearing the contributor’s name, participation number and photograph. It also enables the holder to access records of his/her contributions using any of the information technology channels such as Automated Teller Machine, Point-of-Sale terminals and the internet.

Using the NHF e-collection platform web portal, a contributor can scrutinise his record of contributions online and print out a statement of account at a computer workstation around the world. Yet another benefit- NHF card can be used as an e-wallet to stash extra

cash for purchases via POS terminals or online. But only the extra cash, excluding the NHF funds, can be spent.

Gimba Ya’u Kumo the managing director of the bank, is elated at the success of the initiative. “Mr. President would be pleased to know that we have begun to harvest the benefits of the NHF e-collection platform, especially in the volume of NHF collections. For instance, the rate of collections rose significantly from about N700 million to over N2.2 billion per month.

We estimate a further 100 per cent increase in monthly collections to achieve about N4 billion per month before the end of the year,” he said proudly.

Collection platform Managers of the e- collection platform, the Puzzles Group, represented by Mr. Bayo Adeyemo, quoting World Bank statistics, described Nigeria as the sixth fastest growing economy; an economy with a huge housing deficit. He said the new project would mobilise funds to finance massive housing projects across the country.

“The implication of this pool of funds on the socio-economic development of our country is quite considerable. The FMBN would be able to fund the construction of about 1000 housing units in every state of the federation with the associated benefits of generating over one million new employments

all over the country as a direct consequence of the growing construction and mortgage sub-sector.” Mr. Adeyemo rationalised.

He identified massive leakages in revenue collection as the bane of economic growth and development and fingered the lack of capacity by government agencies to track and collect funds legally due to government. “Failure to block these leakages, which often runs into billions of Naira, will continue to hamper genuine efforts to stimulate the economy, create employment and help achieve the transformation agenda of this administration,” he warned. He, however, assured the President that Nigeria has the requisite skill and knowledge to reverse this ugly trend.

President Jonathan played a smart politician when he rose to a seemingly cynical remark by the President, Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar. The labour chief said a friend had asked why the President would leave his job to commission a mere estate of 270 housing units when the country needs an excess of 16 million housing units. Quoting the Singaporean legend, Lee Kwan Yu, President Jonathan said “changes occur because of the little things we do”.

He described the efforts of the FMBN on the ‘Aviation Village’ as significant and noted that with consistency, government can replicate and re-create the “small but durable” estates across the country. The President reasoned that most times

big projects had failed the nation, citing the abandoned iron and steel industries at Ajaokuta and Ikot Abasi.

Despite the altercations, the President sought the co-operation of the NLC in ensuring the success of the NHF, although Comrade Omar had earlier pledged to mobilise and sensitise workers on the benefits of embracing the scheme which he described as a testimony of true transformation in the housing sector.

Testimony of true transformation The Supervising Minister, Sada disclosed that the estate was originally conceived to house the personnel of the Nigerian Airforce, but was expanded to 270 units to accommodate more contributors to the NHF. The bank provided a N2.4 billion loan, for buildings and infrastructure and was built by Suntrust Real Estate Investment Limited.

Chairman, Senate Committee on Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Senator Bukar Abba Ibrahim praised the track record of the bank in the last three years but asked government to re-capitalise it to enable the bank deliver its mandate. He also advocated the integration of the informal sector into the scheme to make the NHF serve more people.

Established in 1956 as the Nigerian Building Society, the FMBN has come a long way in Continues on page 57

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014 — 57

The DNA lab in LUTH

DNA: Succour beckons •As Nigeria solves genetic puzzle

BY CHIOMA OBINNA

W

HEN in March 2012, the Chief Medical Director of the University of Lagos Teaching Hospital, LUTH, Professor Akin Osibogun cried out that Nigeria lacked genetic testing centres, many Nigerians shared his pains. The lamentation attracted a lot of sympathy apparently because it came at a time Nigerians were mourning the death of victims of the ill-fated Dana air crash. Another reason why it was easy for many to join the renowned Professor in his lamentations was the difficulties the families of the victims went through in a bid to identify their loved ones.

The lamentations have continued unabated, ostensibly due to the pains most Nigerians go through in a bid to get forensic testing, parental testing, newborn screening, and identification of plane crash victims, among other genetic tests.

The good news is that an end to the agony associated with genetic testing seems to be in the horizon in Nigeria. Those in need of genetic tests can now visit the new Molecular Biology Laboratory Centre, MBLC, at LUTH. Genetic testing which is also known as DNA testing, allows the genetic diagnosis of vulnerabilities to inherited diseases, and can also be used to determine a child’s parentage or a person’s ancestry.

Forensic testing uses DNA sequences to identify an individual

for legal purposes. This type of testing can identify crime or catastrophy/crash victims and rule out or implicate a crime suspect It was also gathered that MBLC would help in the genotype of specific viruses to direct appropriate treatment. Others include the identification of oncogenes and mutations linked to different forms of cancer, diabetes, blood disorders, neurological diseases, design of medication and more accurate prediction of their effects. It will also assist in the advancement in forensic applied sciences, biofuels and other energy applications; agriculture, livestock breeding, bioprocessing, risk assessment, biotechnology, anthropology and evolution. Another proposed benefit is the commercial development of genomics research related to DNA based products.

Genomics research It is against the backdrop of the enormity of functions that the MBLC would perform for Nigerians that an elated Osibogun declared: ‘’ I must say that I have been lucky in seeing our efforts come to fruition.’’

Continuing, he said: ‘’Following the sad incident of the DANA crash of March 2012 and the protracted delays that preceded the release of bodies, we set for ourselves the goal of developing the capability

for DNA Biotechnology not only for the purposes of identification, but also for other very important purposes, including prenatal screening and genetic diagnosis. We also hope that in future we will be able to go into the advanced areas of gene therapy.”

Still giving a breakdown of what the Center would offer Nigerians, Osibogun said: ‘’LUTH was hoping to be the leading centre with capability to deliver qualitative care, research and development and with this Centre, Nigerians will no longer travel abroad for treatments while LUTH will be top of DNA biotechnology.

“With the establishment of this laboratory at LUTH, the NNPC/ Chevron joint venture has unlocked DNA biotechnology for Nigeria and in particular, LUTH will be able to provide some services for Nigerians which hitherto were not readily available in the country. These include prenatal diagnosis of sickle cell anaemia, DNA finger printing (using biologic products to identify individuals), parentage testing, screening for bosom cancer gene 1 &2 (BRCA 1/2) and other types of molecular diagnosis.’’

Continuing, he said: ‘’If there had been a DNA facility in the country before now, maybe Nigeria would have saved billions of Naira lost to medical tourism annually. Critical observers are of the view that with the establishment of the Centre at LUTH, no Nigerian

will go abroad for DNA testing and other medical treatments by this time next year.’’

The Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, who commissioned the Centre was confident that MBLC which was put in place by Chevron/Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC Joint Venture, would turn Nigeria to a destination for medical tourism in Africa.

“The availability of this Centre

will have a significant impact as thousands of Nigerians who could not afford overseas medical treatment now have access to quality and affordable healthcare services, which will be provided by this facility,” he noted.

Another person, who is optimistic that succour had come for Nigerians, is Dr. Joy Irobi-Devolder, Associate Professor of Molecular Genetics at the University of Antwerp, Belgium.

Irobi-Devolder, who is the Chief Consultant to the LUTH/NNPC/ Chevron Joint Venture said: ‘’I think this is a wonderful opportunity because we are now in an era of human genomic sequencing and there are so many genetic diseases. ‘’Now about 100, 000 infants are dying in Nigeria every year and this is largely because of misdiagnosis. Now the old technique of using haemoglobin blood count is actually not properly diagnosing the disease very well and this is why it has become important that this centre is now going to develop genetic assay that is going to correctly diagnose every sickle cell patient’’.

Lending his voice, Vice President, Policy and Planning, Chevron Corporation, Rhoda Zygocki, said: “Our partnership with LUTH in providing the Molecular Biology Laboratory Centre, worth N100 million, aligns with our commitment to helping to improve the quality of healthcare delivery in Nigeria”.

Our collaboration of NNPC/ Chevron Joint Venture in the molecular laboratory project was a deliberate support to bring succour to Nigerians, who hitherto had to travel overseas for the services offered by such facility.

Boosting Nigeria’s housing stock with FMBN’s workers’ fund Continues from page 56 discharging its mandate.

To meet the challenges of raising the national housing stock, experts reckon that the bank requires a massive injection of funds and a capital base up to N200 billion. As a first step, government may provide sovereign guarantee for the Bank’s bonds and loans.

Furthermore, the Central Bank of Nigeria could grant the bank long term loan as high as N250 billion at an interest rate lower than 5%. This will put the bank on a solid pedestal to fund the building of affordable housing for teeming Nigerians yearning to own their own houses.

The Bank also requires a favourable business environment to thrive, especially a review of existing legal and legislative frame-

work to ease transactions in housing property, property and lien registrations and lien enforcement. It is also necessary to review the Land use Act of 1978 to meet critical national demands. The land registry in the various states must be modernized to support timely and cost effective transactions.

To ensure that Nigeria meets its housing target, government will have to enforce compliance with the NHF Act. Specifically, it is imperative to rein in defaulting corporate bodies, especially commercial banks and insurance companies. By the provisions of the Act, commercial banks are expected to invest 10% of loans and advances in the housing sector. Similarly insurance companies should invest 20% and 40% of their earnings on non-life and life funds in housing. That will provide more investible funds for a radical improvement in housing delivery.

58—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014

Akpabio bags NewsAfrica leader of the year award

A

KWA Ibom State Governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio, has been voted NewsAfrica Leader of the Year 2014.

He is the second person to be so voted in the 14year history of the magazine, with Kofi Anan, a one-time Secretary-General of United Nations, being the first person to have won the award in 2002.

A press statement issued, yesterday, in London by the publisher of magazine, Moffat Ekoriko, said Akpabio was voted ‘for showing uncommon leadership in a country where leaders see their success in office in terms of personal wealth; for taking initiatives others are shy of, and for giving hope of a greater future for Nigeria, a key country in Africa.’

Ekoriko noted that Akpabio’s feat in transforming Akwa Ibom State, which was once a backwater into Nigeria’s fast-

est developing state has made him the ‘the poster boy of the Nigerian political class, so much so that the performance of other office holders is measured in relation to his.’

To emerge as NewsAfrica Leader of the Year, the publisher hinted that Akpabio scored higher than presidents, business leaders, and even religious leaders with multi–million congregations.

Global lecture As NewsAfrica Leader of the Year 2014, Akpabio is expected to deliver this year’s NewsAfrica Global Lecture on “Delivering the Dividends of Governance: An African Experience”. The lecture, which holds in London in May 2014, will be attended by political, business and civil society leaders from all over Af-

rica and the Caribbean as well as selected European ministers.

NewsAfrica’s Leader of the Year is an African on the continent or in the Diaspora who has demonstrated unique leadership capabilities in tackling the problems of development, inequality, poor leadership or crisis bedevilling the continent. Such a person must have the strength of character and courage to challenge the status quo of the vicious circle of poverty, deprivation and crisis that has badly branded Africa and its people.

The person’s leadership credentials must have the capacity to challenge others to offer better service to their societies. Above all, he/she must be an African of exemplary character, free of the taint of corruption and abuse of power of which most African leaders often come afflicted.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014—59

C M Y K

60 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014

Why Nigeria’s sports family should celebrate Emefiele — Amaju

BY ONOCHIE ANIBEZE

T

HE entire Nigeria’s sports family has a genuine cause to celebrate Godwin Emefiele, President Jonathan’s nomination for the job of Governor of the Central Bank.

This was the position of Amaju Pinnick yesterday. Pinnick heads sports in Delta State, the foremost state in sports development in Nigeria.

And he spoke from that vintage position.

“We, in the sports family, commend President Jonathan for nominating somebody who invests in sports and who will surely do more for sports as Central Bank Governor,” Amaju said.

He, however, did not only extol Emefiele’s strides in sports but equally celebrated his achievements in the banking industry, concluding that as Central Bank Governor “Emefiele is a square peg in a square hole.”

Amaju captured Emefiele this way: “His appointment didn’t come as a surprise to many who have followed his track record. He is a right choice in all ramifications. He has demonstrated humility, d e x t e r i t y , professionalism and fear of God in the discharge of his duties as Managing Director in one of the leading banks in Africa.

Nobody noticed any difference when the pioneer MD of the bank, Jim Ovie exited. Rather, the bank has been

Keshi Continued from BP news,” stated Keshi, who is back to the United States of America after a week of seminar with FIFA ahead of the World Cup. “He is a great kid and it’s sad he sustained the injury which will keep him out of the World Cup proper not just the

•Emefiele growing bigger in stature, status and liquidity. Delta State Sports Commission identify with him because our private sector initiative in sports development wouldn’t have reached appreciable level without him. Emefiele was part of our success story in the last Sports Festival in Lagos. Zenith Bank was our official bank.

He was with us during the festival. Today, Delta State is the only state that it’s local league is sponsored by private initiative. Zenith Bank are the sponsors. They were also the sponsor of E K Clark Wrestling Championship, a national championship that discovered talents and helped in taking some youths off the streets.

Zenith Bank under Emefiele was the Official Bank of the Africa Youth Athletics Championships that Nigeria hosted last year.

It was a huge success.

Zenith Bank under Emefiele contributed 50 per cent of the football Mexico friendly.”

On if he has plans to call a replacement for Dike for the Mexico friendly, Keshi said, “I would have loved to, but the time is too short.”

Nigeria take on Mexico next Wednesday in Atlanta, Georgia, in a friendly as part of their build-up for the World Cup in June.

house edifice named After Patrick Okpomo, the former indefatigable Secretary of Nigeria Football Association who is now late.

Zenith Bank under Emefiele is involved in a cycling programme in Agbor that has developed many cyclists. Today, Agbor is a strong hold in cycling.

Zenith Bank under Emefiele partnered Delta Football Association in hosting the Annual General Congress of NFF last November.

They have, in many ways, complemented the efforts of Delta State Governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan in taking youths off the streets.

And just last year they helped in training coaches and referees in Nigeria when they sponsored the training programme conducted here by Head of Arsenal Academy Andrew Douglas, former assistant coach of Arsenal Mark Elis and Jeff Winter, a former Premier League referee who were here for 10 days. We can go on and on to note why the sports family should celebrate this man I will prefer to call Mr. Due Diligence.

I see him doing more for sports.”

Drogba tempted by Chelsea return

D

IDIER Drogba has admitted he would be tempted by a return to Chelsea at the end of the season if Jose Mourinho came calling.

The Ivorian striker will lead the line for Galatasaray in their Champions League round of 16, first leg tie against Chelsea on Wednesday night but the lure of a return to Stamford Bridge at the end of the season could prove too strong.

In an interview with

NOGIG 2014: Swimming takes centre stage

T

HE Olympic size swimming pool of the Chevron Recreation Centre will be the centre of attention as swimmers competing in the 2014 Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry Games will battle for honours in the swimming events beginning today.

In the basketball event which began Monday at the same centre, NNPC exhibited class after

2014 Lagos Polo: Final phase gallops off

T

HE final week of the 2014 Lagos International Polo Tournament begins today with five more titles up for grabs.

The standard displayed in the first week, where four titles were decided, suggests that polo faithful are guaranteed great value for their time and money as the Beginners Cup, Italian Ambassador’s Cup, the Governor ’s Cup the Independence Cup and Majekodunmi Cup will be vied for by a host of enterprising Nigerian players and some professional players from

Sportsmail, Drogba was asked if he would come back to the Barclays Premier League and replied: If, and I say if, by any chance it could happen, it would only be with one team.

‘My contract ends this summer and then I will decide what is the best solution for me. But I had a great time at Chelsea and if Jose was saying, “Didier, I want you to come back”, I would think about it.’

•Action at the Lagos Polo tournament.

Argentina, South Africa, Chapel Hill & Dunhill, Spain, England who are UBS, Caverton Group, all listed for action.

Dansa Foods Ltd/ MTN and GTB are the Dangote, Southern Sun major sponsors of the Hotel, Smooth FM, Beat tournament, while Veuve FM, Delaney and Avlon Clicquot, Union Bank, Group are co-sponsors.

overrunning NAOC by 60-4 margin. Team Chevron dismissed Team Total 24-20 in a closely fought encounter, while Team Mobil also decisioned Team Shell 19-16.

Apart from swimming, the centre is also witnessing action in scrabble and chess At the Ikoyi Club 1938 centre, action continues today in tennis as the mens singles event enters the quarterfinal stage this morning.

Sam Adoki of Chevron who walked over Meki Nzewi, also of Chevron will confront Makinde representing DPR. In other matches, Kayode(Total) who defeated Victor Ifejika(NAOC) will face Iloeje(NNPC).

Rume(Mobil) will face Bashir of NNPC while Cornell(ExxonMobil) meets Debo(NLNG).

In the ladies singles category, semi final matches will be played this morning as Ogechi(NNPC) confronts Juliet(Chevron) while Esther(Shell) takes on Ulo Kasuwa(NNPC).

Multichoice satisfied with involvement in basketball league

M

ULTICHOICE Nig Ltd., sponsors of the DStv Men’s Basketball Premier League, on Tuesday said that it was satisfied to be involved in Nigeria’s Basketball League..

Martins Mabutho, the Head of Marketing and Sales, Multichoice, made the statement at a news conference in Lagos to herald the commencement of the 2013-2014 season.

He said that Multichoice renewed its sponsorship rights with

the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) with vigour, adding that it remained committed to the league.

Mabutho said that the renewal of the right in 2013 was to continue to develop the sport in Nigeria and the entire Africa.

He noted that the company signed a threeyear sponsorship for the 2013 -2016 seasons.

“The sponsorship which is valued at several millions of dollars was to be utilised for many

projects by the NBBF. “These include management of the league, technical development, marketing and promotion as well as running of the secretariat,” he said.

Mabutho, however, said that the renewal of the sponsorship rights was not targeted at brand visibility.

“Our support for the game is hinged on the belief that basketball is on its way to becoming a nationally recognised sport.

“We also decided to

•Umar renew the sponsorship because of our love for and toward the growth and development of basketball."

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014—61

C M Y K

62— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014

C M Y K

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014—63

C M Y K

V anguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014

Keshi gives up on Bright Dike N

Inter want Mikel

I

TALY ’S biggest journal La Gazetta dello Sport informed that Italian side Inter Milan are still interested in acquiring Chelsea and Super Eagles midfielder John Obi Mikel.

Mikel was watched by Inter ’s sporting directors Marco Branca and Piero Ausilio, who wanted him in the Italian club, but the transfer did not materialize in January.

However, now with the acquisition of Nemanja Matic, Jose Mourinho seems to have enough depth in the squad to let Mikel leave the club and even lower the transfer fee which currently is set around 15 million euro, but there is still one major obstacle, which is Mikel’s salary of approximately 4 million euro per year. John Obi Mikel’s contract with Chelsea expires in Summer 2017.

•Bright Dike

Nigeria, USA friendly for June 7

T

HE United States soccer team will play its final sendoff match before the World Cup against Nigeria on June 7 at EverBank Field, a source with the city of Jacksonville has confirmed.

BBC first reported the match would take place late Monday night, but U.S. soccer spokesman Neil Beuthe told the Times-Union early Tuesday that the organization isn’t ready to make any announcement about the three sendoff matches until it resolves “an issue with Ukraine.”

UEFA Matches Today Galatasaray vs Chelsea 8:45pm Schalke vs Real Madrid 8:45pm Zenit

Result 2

Dortmund

4

Drogba faces test of emotions in special reunion — Pg 32-33 •Admits he would be tempted by Chelsea return

•John Obi Mikel

QUICK CROSSWORD

Sudoku TODAY'S

IGERIA coach Stephen Keshi has ruled out injured striker Bright Dike from the World Cup in June.

Toronto FC striker Dike injured his Achilles tendon in training and last week successfully underwent surgery.

“It was a very sad •Continues on Page 60

PUZZLE

YESTER DAY'S YESTERDAY'S

ANSWERS

Across: 1 Pressed (6) 5 Abandon (6) 9 Paddled (5) 10 Ceramicist (6) 11 Acid (6) 12 Send (5) 14 Image (4) 17 Spot (3) 18 Assistant (4) 20 Renovate (5) 22 Apportion (5) 23 Gift (7) 24 Passage (5) 26 Dissuade (5) 29 Asterisk (4) 30 Marry (3) 32 Travel (4) 33 Sacked (5) 35 Surpass (6) 36 Front (6) 37 Principle (5) 38 Lower (6) 39 Modern (6)

Down: 1 Spoil (6) 2 Choice (6) 3 Pitcher (4) 4 Challenged (5) 5 Liability (5) 6 Revise (4) 7 Involve (6) 8 Objective (6) 13 Ogre (7) 15 Traded (5) 16 Outcast (5) 18 Change (5) 19 Slept (5) 21 Crooked (3) 22 Plus (3) 24 Abaft (6) 25 Knife (6) 27 Diatribe (6) 28 Regret (6) 30 Broader (5) 31 Postpone (5) 33 Gala (4) 34 Fruit (4)

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS Across: 4, Start 7, Flaunt 9, For 10, Dad 12, Rally 13, Epic 15, Piled 17, Cheese 19, Edge 20, Tread 22, Ten 24, Refused 27, Nor 28, Miser 31, Same 33, Absent 35, Valet 37, East 38, Dream 39, Dog 41, Den 42, Polite 43, Green

Down: 1, Affect 2, Malice 3, End 4, Sore 5, Trade 6, Relegate 8, Tape 11, Disturbed 14, Char 16, Lees 18, Eden 21, Repairer 23, Name 25, Foal 26, Line 29, Static 30, Rotten 32, Evade 34, Stop 36, Amen 40, Got

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.

Printed and Published by VANGUARD MEDIA LIMITED, Vanguard Avenue, Kirikiri Canal, P.M.B.1007, Apapa. Phone: Newsroom: 018773962. Deputy Editor: 01-8944295. Advert Dept: 01-7924470; Hotline: 01-8737028; Abuja: 09-2341102, 09-2342704. E-mail: editor@vanguardngr.com, news@vanguardngr.com, letters@vanguardngr.com. Advert:advertproduction@yahoo.com Website: www.vanguardngr.com (ISSN 0794-652X) Editor: MIDENO BAYAGBON. Phone: 01-7742861, All correspondence to P.M.B. 1007, Apapa Lagos.

C M Y K