Purnish oil thieves, Northern Govs tell FG

...towards a better life for the people VOL. 25: NO. 61869

AGM—From

left, Mr Segun Agbaje, MD, GTBank PLC; Mr Oluwole Odeyemi, Outgoing Chairman; Mr Egbert Imomoh, incoming Chairman and Mrs Olutola Omotola, Company Secretary at the 23rd GTBank Annual General Meeting in Lagos, yesterday. Photo: Lamidi Bamidele.

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

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FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013

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Vice-President (West Africa), Huawei Technologies, Mr. David Fan (left) in a handshake with Globacom’s Executive Director (Special Projects), Mr. Mike Jituboh after signing the $750m (N120 billion) Glo network upgrade contract in Lagos, while the Managing Director, Huawei Nigeria, Mr. Jimmy Pang looks on.

Punish oil thieves, Northern govs tell FG

BY HENRY UMORU

•If you catch one thief and you do not A punish him, others will think that if they do the same thing, they will go scotfree•

BUJA —GOVER NORS of the 19 Northern states, yesterday regretted that President Goodluck Jonathan has not punished those who allegedly stole the nation's oil money, warn-

ing that the situation portends danger for the country.

Speaking when the Continues on page 5

COLUMNISTS:

ADISA ADELEYE The politics of amnesty...

—P.49

DONU KOGBARA Glo Feedback •P.17

Mr & Mrs

AGM—From left: Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Group Managing Director, Access Bank Plc; Gbenga Oyebode; Chairman, and Sunday Ekwochi, Company Secretary at the 24th Access Bank Annual General Meeting at Oriental Hotel, Lekki Lagos, yesterday.

Photo: Akeem Salau.

FG approves N5.8bn for post-election violence victims; Arewa youths reject offer

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POCKET CARTOON

VISIT—From left: Gov Abdul'aziz Yari of Zamfara State in handshake with President Goodluck Jonathan, while Vice-president Namadi Sambo looks on during visit of the governor and elders from Zamfara to the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday. Photo: NAN.

Punish oil thieves, Northern govs tell Jonathan Continues from page 1 Ambassador Ibrahim Zakari-led Committee on reconciliation, healing and Security set up by the Northern governors to find out the causes of insecurity in the region, submitted its final report, the Chairman of the Northern States Governors Forum and Niger State Governor,

Babangida Aliyu also asked the Federal Government to explain what it was doing with the oil subsidy money against the backdrop that there were no marked improvements at the petrol stations.

“Where is the subsidy money going into; we have been told that people collected money and

LIFEWORDS

BY PASTOR ITUAH

Take time with God, a little patience brings a big blessing, and a big blessing comes from a little patience, the bigger the patience the mightier the blessing.

TAKE HEART

BY ELLA RANDLE

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S unique as we all are, a lot of us want the same things. We want to shake up our current less-than-fulfilling lives. We want to be happier, more loving, forgiving and connected with the people around us. So, we make decisions (“I’m going to hang out with happy people!”) and we strive for markers of that accomplishment.)—Brene Brown Brené Brown, speaker and author has spent the last 12 years figuring out what keeps us from living—despite our best efforts—the kind of wholehearted, fully involved existences that we’re trying to lead. It turns out that a lot of the assumptions we hold so dear and we believe will turn around everything are...well...just plain wrong.

She summarises aptly, for example, contrary to what most of us think: “Belonging is not fitting in.

In fact, fitting in is the greatest barrier to belonging. Fitting in, I’ve discovered during the past decade of research, is assessing situations and groups of people, then twisting yourself into a human pretzel in order to get them to let you hang out with them. Belongingis something else entirely — it’s showing up and letting yourself be seen and known as you really are”.

Many of us suffer from this split between who we are and who we present to the world in order to be accepted. But we’re not letting ourselves be known, and this kind of incongruent living is soul draining.

go free? Today there is more thievery in the oil sector. If you catch one thief and you do not punish him, others will think that if they do the same thing, they will go scotfree,” he said.

Aliyu further decried the level of insecurity in the North, pointing out that the economy of the area had been crippled following incessant killings and wanton destruction of property in the zone and the problem was increasing because, "we have taken many things for granted.”

Aliyu then appealed to members of the Boko Haram sect to take the advantage of the Federal Government’s readiness for dialogue by accepting the peace initiative in the interest of the zone.

He said: "Members of the insurgent group are called upon for immediate ceasefire, accept the offer made by the federal government and come forward for dialogue and eventual submission of arms.”

He also hailed the committee members for showing the courage to visit Borno and Yobe states, as part of its fact-finding efforts. He added: "It was after your committee vis-

ited that other groups were emboldened to go.”

The governor who warned that governors as Chief Security Officers of their respective states must ensure that there was peace to enable them stay with the people after they must have served their various terms in office, assured the team that the 19 Northern governors as chief security officers of their states, "would look at your report, dissect it and implement your recommendations.”

The problem with the North

Meanwhile, the Northern States Governors’ Forum Committee on Reconciliation, Healing and Security, NSCRHS, in its report submitted to the governors yesterday identified poverty, economic inequality, narrowing opportunities; illiteracy; ignorance; widespread impunity; injustice; disregard to rule of law; unequal access to political power, among identified groups, as some of the

reasons for insecurity in the Northern states.

Other reasons include ownership and access to resources (land and territory), conflicts and unhealthy competition around ethnic and religious identities, among others. Speaking while presenting the report, Ambassador Ibrahim who noted that the Committee was inaugurated August 22, 2012, disclosed that 140 memoranda, reports, White papers and position papers were received, stressed that the feeling of lack of respect, issues around appointments into traditional headship positions, the deterioration in personal and inter group relationships and widespread impunity also contributed to insecurity in the region.

Present at the presentation were governors of Niger, Bauchi,Adamawa, Katsina, Kwara, Kebbi, Kogi, Kaduna, Gombe, Acting Governor of Taraba and Deputy governor of Jigawa, as governors of Benue, Nasarawa and Plateau were absent.

FG approves N5.8bn for victims of violence

BY SONI DANIEL, REGIONAL EDITOR, NORTH & BEN AGANDE

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BUJA—THE Federal Government, yesterday, announced the approval for the release of N5,747,694,780.00 to nine states of the federation for direct disbursement to those who suffered losses of property, means of livelihood and places of worship in the post-election violence of 2011.

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, who announced this, said government’s decision was

to assist those who suffered losses during the crisis as recommended by the Sheikh Ahmed Lemu panel that was set up after the crisis.

The states to benefit from the money, according to Abati, are, Bauchi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Niger, Jigawa, Katsina, Kano, Adamawa and Akwa-Ibom.

Abati explained that the interest of those who died in the course of the crisis would be accommodated by the Federal Government.

It would be recalled that following the post-election violence and civil disturbances in some states after

the April 2011 elections, President Jonathan set up a panel of enquiry headed

by Sheik Ahmed Lemu, to among other things, identify the spread and extent of losses suffered across the country.

The committee recommendation was adopted by the Federal Executive Council which directed the Federal Ministry of Lands and Housing to assess the reported losses and damage to property in all affected states.

The Special Adviser to the president noted that based on the Ministry’s report, “President Jonathan has

approved the release of funds to nine of the 14 affected states as follows: B a u c h i ; N1,574,879,000.00; Sokoto, N55,888,506.00; Zamfara, N93,253,485.00; Niger, N433,375,875.00; and Jigawa, N208,667,634.00.

Others include: Katsina, N1,973,209,440.00; Kano, N944,827,000.00; Adamawa, N420,089,840.00 and Akwa Ibom N43,504,000.00.

The presidential spokesman explained that” Inspection and assessment of damages and losses suffered are yet to be carried out in Borno, Yobe, Gombe, Kaduna and Nasarawa states as modalities and further instructions for the ex

Continues on page 12

6—Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013

Lagos bizman docked over N11m fraud

BY BARTHOLOMEW MADUKWE

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AGOS — A 50-year-old Lagos businessman, Jamiu Oduye, was yesterday arraigned before an Igbosere Magistrate Court in Lagos, for allegedly defrauding one Oluremi Olowookere of N11 million.

The accused, a resident of Macaulay Street, Olorunsogo area of Mushin, Lagos was said to have supplied Olowookere a non serviceable Wallenberg printing machine.

It was gathered that on receiving the machine, Olowookere then reported the case to the police, after efforts by him to settle the matter with the accused proved abortive.

Oduye (accused) was arraigned on a four-count charge of conspiracy, theft, fraud and breach of peace, which he pleaded not guilty to.

However, Magistrate A.A. Adefulire granted the accused bail in the sum of N1 million with two sureties in like sum, and adjourned the case to May 28 for mention.

Customs arrest passenger with gun at Lagos airport

BY DANIEL ETEGHE

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AGOS— OPERATIVES of the Nigeria Custom Service, NCS, of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, yesterday, arrested a passenger, Mr. Ukeje Goodluck Joseph, with an air soft gun also known as Zinc Alloy Shell G.15 pistol and five sachets of pellets at the International Wing of the airport, during the inward screening of passengers of Kenya Airways flight KQ532 from Johannesburg, South Africa.

The pistol was found on the passenger during routine screening by Customs officers and other relevant agencies at the airport.

The passenger, however, claimed that he bought the gun for his son, stressing that the pistol was not a real gun.

Speaking on the arrest, the Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Customs Service, Airport Command, Mrs. Thelma Williams noted that the passenger and the air soft gun including the five sachets of pellets have been handed over to the Airport Police Command for further investigations.

Lagos police smash kidnap syndicate, arrest 6 zBamigbetan’s abductors relocate to Ghana

BY EVELYN USMAN AND UJU MBANUSI

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AGOS — THE Lagos State Police Command, yesterday, said it had smashed a kidnap syndicate which recently relocated to Lagos from the eastern part of the country and arrested six suspected members of the gang.

Also, the command said investigation into the kidnap and subsequent release of the Ejigbo Local Council Development Area Chairman, Mr Kehinde Bamigbetan, showed that some of his abductors had fled to Ghana.

According to the command, the suspects confessed during interrogation to have one of their hideouts somewhere around IbejuLekki, where they have successfully kidnapped four persons.

The Lagos State Police Command boss, Mr Umar Manko, who briefed newsmen on the circumstances that led to the suspects' arrest, said an AK -SZ riffle with registration number 6090 was recovered when their Ikorodu hideout was searched.

Manko disclosed that the suspected kidnappers were arrested by operatives of the Special Anti Robbery Squad, SARS, when they wanted to abduct a victim.

One of them whose identity he gave as Solomon Eze, popularly known as Pastor, was arrested in the densely populated Ajegunle area of Lagos on a tip off., adding that his confessional statement led to the arrest of five others, Ikechukwu Chedom, Sunday James, Obinna Egbugha, Christian Ezinkwo and Emmanuel Iloakazi, in Surulere area of Lagos, where other ammunition were recovered.

We were after exotic car owners—Suspect

The suspects told journalists at the command headquarters where they were paraded that their targets were owners of exotic cars.

According to one of them, Sunday James: “This gang was formed January this year after one of us, Victor Emmanuel, rented an apartment in IbejuLekki where we would be keeping our victims. But operations started proper in February. Since we started, we have kidnapped four persons. The first person we kidnapped fetched us N1 million.

Victor, owner of the apartment where the victim was kept got, N200,000 while the rest of us shared the balance of N800,000, of which I got N100,000.

"The second victim fetched us N1.8 million. We bought a Sport Utility Vehicle with which to convey our victims for N1.5 million and shared the balance of N300,000. Of that amount, I got

The suspects and recovered weapons

N75,000.”

On how they usually abduct their victims, James said: “Whenever we are driving on the road and see any exotic car, we would intercept and order its owner to get down and force him into our vehicle.

“We usually abandon our targets vehicles because we do not need them. We decided to leave their vehicles because some of them have car trackers that could easily give us out.”

On whether his gang was responsible for the kidnap of the

Ejigbo Local Council Development Area boss, Mr Kehinde Bamgbetan, he said: “Since we started, we have not kidnapped any influential person or politician.”

The suspects, according to the command boss, would be charged to court, adding that effort was still on to get Bamigbetan’s kidnappers.

Bamigbetan’s abductors relocate to Ghana

Investigations, according to him, showed that some of

Bamigbetan’s abductors had relocated to Ghana, adding that one of them passed on recently at an undisclosed hospital, after he jumped from a three-storey hotel building when operatives of SARS stormed the place.

The deceased identified simply as Soldier, was reportedly in the company of his girlfriend, when he took the fatal jump. But Manko did not state whether he was a military man or not. He simply stated that investigation was still ongoing.

Parents, buyer of sold twins arraigned

BY AUSTIN OGWUDA

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SABA — AN Asaba-based couple arrested for allegedly selling their new born twins to a Lagos-based buyer has been arraigned before an Asaba Chief Magistrate’s Court on a twocount charge.

Also arraigned was the said buyer of the twins and a welfare officer who allegedly facilitated

the deal, on a separate two-count charge.

All four accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charges and were admitted to bail.

Although the crime allegedly committed seemed heinous, the magistrate exercised his discretion by granting them bail but with stringent conditions.

The accused couple were granted bail to the tune of

N200,000 each and in like sum, a responsible surety who must be under domicile within the jurisdiction of the court and must be a civil servant of not less than 10 years either in the Federal Government, state or local government level employment.

The court, therefore, adjourned the case to May 16, 2013 for definite hearing.

Kidnappers demand N30m ransom for abducted 90-yr-old man

BY DAYO JOHNSON

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KURE — KIDNAPPERS of the 90-year-old former President of the Master Bakers Association of Nigeria, MBAN,Ondo State Chapter, Alhaji Musa Adisa, have demanded a N30 million ransom.

One of his abductors, according to a family source, made contacts requesting the said amount before he could be released.

Son of the victim, Alhaji Musbau Iyiola, during a chat with newsmen in Akure said Adisa was abducted by three armed men last Tuesday while on his way to the mosque to observe his early morning prayer.

Iyiola said the kidnappers called him on telephone to open a negotiation, noted that till their last conversation, both parties did not reached any

agreement.

“They called me and demanded N30 million, and where would I get that amount from? I told them to collect N500,000, which is what I could afford, but they said no and ended the conversation. “ The son who is the new president of the association, however, appealed to the state police command to assist the family in securing the release of his father.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013—7

Two policemen, 5 Boko Haram members killed in Yobe

BY BALA AJIYA & NDAHI MARAMA

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AMATURU — AT least two policemen and five suspected members of Boko Haram died after a midnight shootout between the insurgents and security forces in Gashua town of Yobe State, residents and security sources said.

Also, gunmen robbed one of the second generation banks in the town, carting away more than N9 million.

Gashua is about 185 kilometres from Damaturu, the state capital and also an epicenter of Boko Haram sect which had witnessed series of killings and bombings in recent times.

Briefing newsmen in Damaturu, the state Police Commissioner, Mr. Sanusi Rufai, said: “Gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram sect members attacked Gashua town, Wednesday, where they killed two policemen, robbed a bank and went away with over N9 million, while five of the suspected sect members were equally killed.

Likewise, spokesman of the Joint Task Force, JTF, Lieutenant Eli Lazarus, said in a statement that most of the Boko Haram gunmen fled in the heat of the shootout, and abandoned their vehicles and cache of arms.

Fati Umar, a female school teacher and resident of Gashua, also sent a text message at about 1 a.m saying ‘please do pray for us! We are in danger’.

Fati later confirmed on phone to journalists that dozens of Boko Haram gunmen invaded their Mobile Base area of Gashua at about midnight shooting and

chanting Islamic slogan ‘Allahu Akbar,’ meaning 'God is Great.'

"From the way they were moving, it was like they were going from house to house. There were several gunshots around our house but the gate was firmly locked.

"It was this morning we heard they attacked a police station and the prison," she said.

Lieutenant Lazarus said in his statement that the attack started at midnight.

“At about mid night, Thursday, April 25, 2013, unknown gunmen

BY BOLUWAJI OBAHOPO

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Comptroller of Immigration, Kaduna State, Mr Hamman Abdullahi-Yerima, addressing newsmen after arresting 217 illegal aliens in Zaria, yesterday. Behind him are some of the illegal aliens. Photo: NAN.

Human rights abuses in Nigeria worrisome —FG

BY IKECHUKWU NNOCHIRI

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BUJA — THE Federal Government, yesterday, described as worrisome, continued reports of human rights violations across the federation, saying it was capable of “constituting a blight on our diplomatic relations with the rest

of the world.”

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 3rd Annual General Assembly of the Network of National Human Rights Institutions in West Africa, NNHRI, holding at the headquarters of the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, in Abuja, Secretary to the

Residents flee as gunmen kill four cops in Borno

BY NDAHI MARAMA

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AIDUGURI — RESIDENTS of Bama, 75 kilometres from Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, have fled after gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram sect members shot dead at least four policemen and set ablaze houses, yesterday, according to residents and security sources.

The gunmen attempted to kill the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, there, who managed to escape with bullet injuries.

Police sources and residents of Bama said several houses around the Police Divisional Headquarters were torched in the ensuing shootout between the gunmen and security forces.

Hundreds of residents of Kasubula area of Bama have so far fled their homes and currently taking refuge in the surrounding bushes.

A civil servant in Maiduguri whose family lived in Bama said he received distress call from his wife that their house had been torched.

He said: "My wife just called to tell me that they were assisted to escape by jumping the fence

suspected to be Boko Haram terrorists attacked JTF location in Gashua town, the Police Area Command and Gashua Divisional Police Station. Men of the JTF were able to repel and contain the attack on its location."

Violence in Kogi community as Fulani herdsmen kill farmer

when my house was set on fire, and presently she and my two daughters are with others in the bush."

A top security source who

pleaded anonymity confirmed the killing of the cops, but declined comments on possible civilian casualties.

PENSION THIEF VERDICT:

You've a case to answer, NJC tells Thalba

BY IKECHUKWU NNOCHIRI

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BUJA — THE National Ju dicial Council, NJC, yesterday, maintained that Justice Abubakar Thalba of an Abuja High Court at Gudu had a case to answer regarding the slap-onthe-wrist sentence he handed to a self confessed pension thief, John Yakubu Yusufu.

The council reached the decision at the end of a two-day emergency session at its headquarters situated within the Supreme Court complex, Abuja.

Consequently, NJC which was presided over by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Mariam Aloma Murhktar, yesterday, constituted a high powered disciplinary committee with a

mandate to weigh the defence filed before it by the embattled judge vis-à-vis the record of proceedings at the trial court which culminated to the N750,000 fine Justice Thalba ordered Yusufu to pay in respect of the charge against him.

It would be recalled that Justice Thalba had on January 28 convicted Yusufu who confessed before the court that he conspired with six other accused persons and stole about N23 billion from the Police Pension Fund.

Though Thalba had denied his alleged convivial relationship with Yusufu, however, investigations by Vanguard, yesterday, revealed that members of the NJC unanimously condemned his decision on the matter.

Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, noted that in the recent past, human rights violations and abuses had held people down and devalued the nation’s cherished values.

He said: “On behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria, I welcome all members and other participants to this Annual General Assembly. It is gratifying that the national institutions on human rights in West Africa are synergizing and building institutional bridges for the promotion, protection and enforcement of human rights in the sub-region.

“In the recent past, human rights violations and abuses have held our people down, devaluing our cherished values and constituting blight on our diplomatic relations with the rest of the world.

“Thankfully, with the restoration of democratic governance in all the countries in the sub-region, there are conscious efforts by governments in West Africa to ensure respect for, protection and fulfillment of human rights. In the case of Nigeria, our National Human Rights Commission has been repositioned to effectively discharge its mandate.

“I believe that this meeting will provide an opportunity for national human rights institutions in the sub-region to take a retrospective estimation of their work; share best practices and develop common platform for addressing challenges still impacting negatively on the enjoyment of human rights by our people."

OKOJA — VIOLENCE erupted, yesterday, in Egbe, the commercial hub of Yagba West Local Government Area of Kogi State following the killing, Wednesday, of a farmer allegedly by Fulani herdsmen.

According to an eye witness, Mr. Tope Kekereawo, the deceased, whose name was simply given as John, was killed in his farm at about 8 am, just eight days after his wedding.

Kekereawo who disclosed that he shared farm demarcation with the deceased said he had gone to the farm with the late John and when they first sighted the herdsmen in their farms, a brief argument ensued after which they all departed.

He said the deceased had complained about cows eating up his farm products and warned the herdsmen who were two in number to depart.

He said: “However, five minutes after, I was working in my farm when I heard John crying for help. I rushed there only to meet him rolling in the pool of his blood. He must have been cut in the stomach as parts of his bowel was exposed."

The witness said he immediately called for assistance from nearby roadside and the victim was rushed to ECWA Hospital, Egbe where he was confirmed dead.

Vanguard gathered that the next day after the manhunt for the culprits did not yield fruit, irate youths in town were said to have turned the heat on Hausa/ Fulanis living in the community which led to subsequent burning of the popular Sabo Market at Isaba area of the town, forcing the Hausa traders to scamper for safety.

Police spokesman, Umanu Nwaneri, who confirmed the incident said two persons had been arrested in connection with the crisis.

Though he refused to mention the casualty figure, a local source confirmed to Vanguard that four other persons were killed in retaliation, bringing the casualties from the two camps to five.

8—Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013

BY CHIOMA OBINNA, PETER OKUTU, JOHNBOSCO AGBAKWURU, VICTORIA OJEME, NNAMDI OJIEGO & BOLUWAJI OBAHOPO

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HE Minister of Health, Pro fessor Onyebuchi Chukwu, yesterday, said about 116 million people from four African countries, including Nigeria and four other countries were currently suffering from malaria.

The figure accounted for 47 percent of global burden arising from the disease. Chukwu called for intensified efforts to rid the continent of the disease.

The others include the Democratic Republic Congo, DRC, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Kenya.

This was even as the United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, has said treated nets were key to the reduction in malaria-induced deaths and illnesses.

The Better Society Foundation, TBSF, an international Non-Governmental Organisation said about “$4.4 billion (about N620 billion) has been mobilised from international partners and African governments to make vital interventions in the fight against the eradication of the disease in Africa over the next three years, adding that additional $3.6 billion (about N55.6billion) was needed in funding the project from 2013 to 2015 in Nigeria.

At a media parley to commemorate the World Malaria Day, the Executive Director, TBSF, Mr Ade Dare, said,“It is critically important that we stay on course.

Malaria resurgence will remain a persistent threat until the disease is eradicated altogether. We need to keep up the momentum but more importantly hold the gains. With sustained funding rapid progress towards ending malaria deaths can continue, but without it, gains could be quickly reversed putting millions of lives at risk".

Speaking to commemorate the World Malaria Day at the African Union Conference of Health Ministers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Chukwu said various strategies were being implemented in the control of the disease, add-

World Malaria Day: Nigeria, 4 others account for 47% global cases zUN calls for more efforts to curb deaths ing that there was need to move on to elimination and ultimately eradication stages.

He said the continent needed to adopt several integrated approaches to eliminate malaria, even as Nigeria has distributed 51,703,880 Long Lasting Insecticide Nets, LLINs. His words: “Nets alone cannot lead to the expected outcome. We must diversify into other strategies such as IRS, larviciding and environment management. Awareness creation is being scaled up through the use of NIFAA, Nigeria Inter-Faith Association, as well as the investiture of malaria ambassadors “In the African region, malaria is still of public health importance. Globally, it is estimated that there are about 247 million cases per year and Africa accounts for 86 percent (212million).”

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OORDINATING Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has been appointed first chairperson of the Governing Council of African Risk Capacity, ARC, a continental financial climactic disaster risk management agency.

ARC is a specialised agency of the African Union, which supports African states to mitigate the severe social and economic impact of extreme weather conditions through a structured insurance system.

By deploying innovative tech-

Dr. Gabriel Onwe stated that the statistics of infected persons were derived from reported cases of the disease in the state.

The Kogi State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Idris Omede advocated the use of LLINs, saying the transmission of malaria parasites can best be reduced using the long lasting mosquito nets.

The Commissioner noted that N480 billion is spent annually nation wide as a result of the malaria scourge.

Nigeria’s Malaria ambassador, Aliko Dangote decried the prevalence of the disease in spite of development of new drugs, saying it remained a major threat to the health of the citizens in the developing countries.

Insecticide treated nets key to eradication of malaria UNICEF’s Director of Programmes, Nicholas Alipui noted that malaria still killed 660,000 people every year, adding that most of them were African children. Alipui maintained that universal coverage of insecticide-treated bed nets is key in making gains against malaria.

He said: “It is unacceptable that every day more than 1,500 children still die from a preventable and curable disease. We must distribute insecticide-treated nets to all who need them, provide timely testing for children and appropriate medicine when they are infected.”

The Ebonyi State government

Okonjo-Iweala appointed chairperson of ARC

BY INNOCENT ANABA

has disclosed that about 96,000 residents across the 13 local government area of the state were affected annually by the malaria scourge.

Briefing newsmen, state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Sunday Nwangele, represented by the Director, Hospital Services Management Board in the state Ministry of Health,

nology based on satellite weather surveillance and software run by independent risk professionals, the ARC will help African governments plan better for emergency situations, manage them efficiently, greatly reduce response time and ensure sufficient distribution of resources to disaster areas.

Reacting to the development, Okonjo-Iweala, expressed her delight at the honour.

She described ARC as a timely and innovative African response to the increasing challenges brought on by extreme weather conditions which deserves the support of all Africans.

AGM—From right: Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Zenith Bank Plc, Godwin Emefiele; Chairman, Sir Steve Omojafor; and Company Secretary, Mike Otu at the bank's 22nd Annual General Meeting, AGM, at the Civic Centre, Ozumba Mbadiwe Road, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Why we take foreign hostages—Ansaru

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BUJA—ANSARU, a break away militant group from Boko Haram which kidnapped seven foreign construction workers in Bauch has explained why the group abduct foreign hostages, saying it was meant to send a message to the western powers on the kind of advice they give to Nigerian leaders.

A young member of the group who called himself Mujahi Abu Nasir while speaking on the group’s activities also said their sympathizers are everywhere in Nigeria but that the group avoid the killing of fellow Nigerians.

Having split off from Boko Haram—the dominant Nigerian extremist group responsible for weekly shootings and bombings — this new group, Ansaru, said it eschews the killing of fellow Nigerians.

The West, which has often regarded the Islamist uprising as a Nigerian domestic issue, has been explicitly put on notice by Ansaru, adding an international dynamic to a conflict that has already cost more than 3,000 lives.

Ansaru is believed to be responsible for the December kidnapping of a French engineer,

who is still missing, and for the abduction of an Italian and a Briton, both construction workers, who were later killed by their captors as a rescue attempt began last year.

It is also likely that the group was involved in the February kidnapping of a French family on the Cameroon-Nigeria border. They were released on Friday, under conditions that are unclear, as well as the kidnapping of a German engineer in Kano killed during a rescue effort last year.

“Any white man who is working with them” — meaning “Zionists,” — “we can kidnap them, everywhere,” said Mujahid Abu Nasir.

He had slipped into Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, with a bodyguard, travelling hundreds of miles from Ansaru’s secret headquarters in the north.

He said he had come under the authorization of Ansaru’s leader, Khalid al-Barnawi, who the United States said has close ties to Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and has designated a global terrorist.

For three hours, with chilling precision, Abu Nasir, in a neat-

ly pressed shirt and polished shoes, laid out Ansaru’s philosophy, after reciting a verse from the Koran promising “hell fire” for nonbelievers saying “opponents would be killed; Al Qaeda sympathizers were everywhere in Nigeria; and Westerners would be kidnapped”.

He said Ansaru had been motivated by Al Qaeda itself, trained by its affiliate in the region — Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb — and was now following in both their footsteps.

Before speaking or touching anything, Abu Nasir carefully put on black gloves and examined a reporter’s pen to make sure there was no camera hidden in it.

He said he was the son of a Nigerian aristocrat, and he spoke Arabic, which he said he had perfected at a university in Khartoum, Sudan. He understood English perfectly but would not speak it, on principle.

“By taking these hostages, we are sending a message that they should be careful about giving bad advice to our leaders,” he said of Nigeria’s government, which he called a “puppet” of the West.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013—9

PDP crises: Respect INEC report, Govs tell Tukur zSeek political solution on Oyinlola

zAig-Imoukhuede to step down as chief executive

BY HENRY UMORU

A

BUJA—THE crises rocking the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, have taken a new twist with governors elected on the platform of the party now pushing for the full implementation of the report of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on the 2012 National convention.

The governors at the end of a closed-door meeting on Wednesday, it was learnt, also pushed for the adoption of a political solution to the problem that led to the exit of the party’s National Secretary, former governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola.

The governors who met under the platform of the PDP Governors' Forum described the INEC report as a time-bomb for PDP with a warning that failure to implement it would lead to disaster and legal problems for the party.

INEC had last month released the report of its monitoring of the 2012 convention of the party in which it alleged that the election that produced majority of the members of the National Working Committee, NWC, was defective and in gross violation of the party’s guidelines for the convention.

Specifically, INEC had claimed that besides the quartet of the National Chairman, National Secretary, National Auditor and the National Financial Secretary, who went through the process of election with counting of votes, the other members of the NWC who were elected by affirmation failed the guidelines as stipulated by the PDP’s convention guidelines.

The National Chairman, Bamanga Tukur polled 3,185 votes; sacked National Auditor – Bode Mustapha scored 3,005 votes; Financial Secretary, Elder Bolaji Anani got 2,975 votes and sacked National Secretary Olagunsoye Oyinlola got 3,061 votes.

The INEC report after some initial trepidation in the party heriarchy was subsequently dismissed by the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh who described the report

POLICE AUCTION!!!

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Access Bank reduces unclaimed dividend by N2.46bn

BY MICHAEL EBOH

A

BOOK LAUNCH—From left: Former Minister for Aviation, Chief Femi Fani Kayode; Author, Lanre Alfred; Publisher, Ovation Magazine, Dele Momodu; and Publisher, Encomium Magazine, Kunle Bakare at the public presentation of a book ‘High Life: Amazing Lifestyles of Nigeria’s Rich and Famous’ by Lanre Alfred in Lagos on Wednesday.

as a fabrication aimed at embarrassing the party.

“This report is totally false and is clearly part of the orchestrated media attack on our party, aimed at causing confusion and undermining the psyche of our members,” Metuh was quoted as saying when the report of the electoral body first emerged.

His assertion nonetheless, the party’s governors, it was learnt, are now pressing for the full implementation of the report through holding of a mini convention to fill up vacancies or regularize the election of those INEC alleged to have been irregularly elected.

The source at the meeting told Vanguard that the PDP governors resolved that it has become imperative to implement the report against the backdrop that, with the present situation, the future actions of the present NWC could be questioned, given the INEC query on the election of the NWC members.

According to source, the governors resolved to tell Tukur to go ahead with the implementation of the report where those affected will face fresh elections if they so desire as a soft-landing.

LOSS OF DOCUMENTS This is to notify the public of the loss of original Federal Housing Authority ownership documents in respect of corner shops at ‘D’ Close junction, 5th Avenue, Festac Town, belonging to Mrs. Nwabunie Janet Umebe. If found contact the nearest police station.

Signed: Mrs. Nwabunie Janet Umebe

In the alternative, the NWC members who do not return could be compensated with board appointments.

Vanguard also gathered that the governors were making case for the return of one of their former colleagues, the sacked National Secretary, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola through what they termed political solution to the problem.

It would be recalled that Oyinlola was removed last January following the action of a federal high court rul-

ing which pronounced that the zonal congress that produced him was illegally conducted and he was immediately replaced by the Deputy Secretary, Solomon Onwe who has been in acting capacity since then.

The governors are peeved with the speed with which Tukur moved to execute the court ruling, despite apprehensions that a strict interpretation could have also affected all the other members of the NWC elected at the national convention.

Unemployed youths urge FG to forget amnesty for Boko Haram

BY SONI DANIEL

A

BUJA—BARELY 24 hours after President Goodluck inaugurated a 25-man committee to work towards disarming members of the Boko Haram sect and granting them amnesty, thousands of unemployed youths have asked the Federal Government to jettison the idea or risk their wrath.

Although the angry youths drawn from the 774 local government areas of the country, did not say what the form of their action would be, their leader who gave his name as Okey Felix Nwachukwu, warned that they would take steps to compel the government to address their plight.

The youths, who converged in Abuja, yesterday, described the attempt by the government to dialogue and settle violent groups

in the country as a step in the wrong direction capable of truncating the fragile peace in the country.

Acting under the aegis of Group of Unemployed Nigerians from the 774 LGAs of the country, GUN774, the group said it was fed up with the lackadaisical attitude of the government towards the unemployed despite the huge resources accruing to the administration in recent years.

The group said: “We, the unemployed Nigerians in the 774 LGAs condemn the amnesty to the violent Boko Haram group.

We ask the President to jettison the proposed amnesty and set up a broad-based committee to find ways of ending rising unemployment in the country, which has even more dangerous implications for the country.

CCESS Bank Plc, yesterday, announced a reduction in its unclaimed dividend by 78 per cent in one year, even as the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive of the bank, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede assures shareholders that his exit from the bank will not create a vacuum or hinder the growth of the bank.

This came on the heels of declaration by the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, that the value of unclaimed dividends as at the end of 2012 is N60 billion.

Access Bank, according to its annual reports and accounts for the 2012 financial year, presented to shareholders at its Annual General Meeting, in Lagos, said the value of the unclaimed dividend dropped by N2.46 billion to N687.67 million at the end of the 2012 financial year, from N3.148 billion recorded in the 2011 financial year.

The bank declared a total dividend of 85 kobo per share, broken down into interim dividend of 25 kobo per share and a final dividend of 60 kobo per share.

The bank recorded profit before tax of N44.9 billion, rising by 86.3 per cent from N24.1 billion recorded in 2011, while its profit after tax appreciated by 150.9 per cent to N42.9 billion from N17.1 billion in 2011.

Commenting on the result, Mr. Gbenga Oyebode, Chairman, Access Bank, said, “in 2012, your bank made clear progress on a number of strategic fronts towards ensuring sustainable growth in revenue, profitability and shareholder value.

“The successful acquisition of Intercontinental Bank in 2011 has enabled us to create one of Nigeria’s largest banking groups..”

The outgoing Managing Director/Chief Executive officer of the bank, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede assured shareholders that the bank has in place a strong succession plan, expressing confidence that the growth currently seen in the bank will be sustained and surpassed by the incoming executive.

Aig-Imoukhuede, who is to step down in the next couple of months, thanked the bank’s shareholders and other stakeholders for their support over the years, saying, “I am clear that the company I run today will be far greater in all parameters tomorrow.”

10—Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013

Obalufon dies @ 85

O

BALUFON of Sepeteri, Oba Abdul-Kareem Oyesiji Akanji, 85, is dead.

The monarch, who was installed by the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, was said to have died Wednesday.

He was born in 1928 and installed on April 19, 1986. He spent 27 years on the throne.

Vanguard gathered, yesterday, that the remains of deceased monarch would be interred today, according to Muslim rites.

... as book on Nigerian monarchs debuts

N

IGERIAN Monarchs—A Concise Biography, the first comprehensive reference work on traditional rulers in Nigeria, will be presented to the public in September.

The publication will feature a brief history of the kingdom, biography of the sitting monarchs and a chronological mention of predecessors.

Burial

P

RINCE Albert Oduniyi, 65, is dead.

He will be buried on Saturday, May 4 at Odogbolu, Ogun State.

He is survived by wives, children, grandchildren and son-in-law, Mr. Alex Folorunso, a staff of Vanguard.

Late Oduniyi.

ACN blames Baga massacre on FG, calls for ICC's intervention

BY OLASUNKANMI AKONI

L

AGOS—ACTION Con gress of Nigeria, ACN, yesterday, blamed President Goodluck Jonathan for the killing of 185 people, mostly women and children, in Baga,

Borno State, saying the act constituted crimes against humanity. The party urged the International Criminal Court, ICC, to get involved.

ACN said President Jonathan should be held accountable for failing to distinguish between support for se-

Lagos records 13,398 road accidents, 148 Okada deaths begun to increase across the “While vehicles accident

BY OLASUNKANMI AKONI &MONSUR OLOWOOPEJO

L

AGOS State government, yesterday, said no fewer than 13,398 road accidents, involving vehicles and commercial motorcycles, popularly called Okada, were recorded in the last 15 months in the state, with 148 deaths from Okada-related accidents.

The government, however, vowed to commence aggressive enforcement of road traffic laws, saying “the level of disobedience of the law has

state since January 2013.”

Commissioners for Transportation, Health and Information and Strategy, Mr. Kayode Opeifa, Dr. Jide Idris and Mr. Aderemi Ibirogba, respectively, spoke at an inter-ministerial briefing at Alausa, Ikeja.

According to Idris, the data were gathered from the ministry periodic survey in various public health institutions within the state, saying “13,398 road traffic accidents were recorded in the state from January, 2012 to March 2013.

ILO urges action on work-related disease

BY VICTOR AHIUMA-YOUNG

I

NTERNATIONAL Labour Organisation, ILO, yesterday in Geneva, Switzerland, called for an “urgent and vigorous” global campaign to tackle the growing number of workrelated diseases, which claim an estimated two million lives annually.

Director-General of ILO, Guy Ryder, in a statement issued for the World Day for Safety and Health at Work, said: “Occupational disease impoverishes workers and their families and may undermine whole communities when they lose their most productive workers.

“Meanwhile, the productivity of enterprises is reduced and the financial burden on the state increases as the cost of health care rises.

Where social protection is weak or absent, many workers and their families, lack the care and support they need.”

Ryder said prevention was the key to tackling the burden of occupational diseases, and more effective and less costly than treatment and rehabilitation. He said the ILO was calling for a “paradigm of prevention with comprehensive and coherent action targeting occupational diseases, not only injuries.”

Senate c'ttee decries condition of NIMR

BY CHIOMA OBINNA

S

curity agencies battling the insurgency in the north and the incitement of the same forces against civilians caught in the cross fire.

ACN, in a statement, called on the National Assembly to investigate how troops from foreign countries became part of

ENATE Committee on Health has decried the country’s inability to adequately fund Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, NIMR, Yaba, the only medical research institute in the country.

Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, who made the call in Lagos during the committee’s visit to the institute, said the nation needed massive research in medical issues like

malaria, HIV\AIDS, tuberculosis, hypertension, among others.

He said: “Research remains a veritable avenue to the development of health sector and nation building.”

Okowa said Nigerians ought not to die of preventable and treatable ailments. He called on all tiers of government and private sector, including spirited individuals, to give adequate attention to health issues confronting the citizenry.

were 7,267, Okada recorded 6,131 in the last 15 months.

For Okada, the peak was in February 2012 and August 2012. In August, we recorded 646 Okada accidents, while in February, 696.

“Since August, we have experienced a steady decline in the number of road traffic accidents. In March, it has declined to 126 due to the introduction of the road traffic law in August last year.

“From January 2012 to March 2013, we recorded 148 deaths from Okada-related accidents."

the Joint Task Force, JTF, now battling the insurgency in northern Nigeria.

In the statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, ACN said the Baga massacre was far beyond the justifiable call for a judicial commission, arguing that it was time for leaders under whose watch the killings were perpetrated be held to account.

According to ACN, those engaged in the killings, including the Boko Haram sect must not get away with the crimes.

ACN said: ‘’Enough is enough. Even in countries at war, innocent citizens are not being daily mowed to death either by insurgents or state forces, as we are experiencing in Nigeria.

“It is clear that the Nigerian government is either unwilling or unable to prosecute these crimes, despite the deceptive assurances by those at the helm, hence the ICC must immediately beam its search-light on the situation in Nigeria.”

Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013—11

ACHEBE: Committee unveils funeral programme A

BY LEVINUS NWABUGHIOGU

BUJA—THE National Transition Committee responsible for the burial arrangement of late Professor Chinualumogu Achebe has unveiled the programme.

According to the committee, the burial of the late literary giant will be a week-long event. In a press briefing, yesterday, in Abuja, the Burial Coordinator, Professor Uzodinma Nwala, said the funeral rites will commence on Sunday, May 19, and run through Sunday, May 26.

Details of the programme showed that Sunday, May 19, will be a day of prayers and religious worship to at the National Christian Centre, Abuja, and simultaneously in other centres across the country and abroad.

According to Nwala, Monday, May 20, will feature a symposium by the Association of Nigerian Authors, ANA, at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.

He said the day will also showcase tributes and a number of cultural troupes drawn from different parts of the country at the same venue.

Mourning and Ikoro Salute in honour of late Achebe at its secretariat in Enugu.

“Achebe's remains will leave Enugu for Awka, Anambra State, Wednesday, May 22 for the commencement of a celebration of life ceremony in which all state governors and federal ministers are expected to participate at the Alex Ekwueme Staduim.

“From the stadium, the body will leave for Ogidi, his hometown in Idemmli Local Government Area, where it shall make a brief stop before proceeding to the family compound.

Interment

“The funeral will climax with the interment of the professor, fondly called Iroko on May 23, after a church service at St. Philips Anglican Church, Ogidi.”

According to him, President Goodluck Jonathan, state governors, diplomats and international literary

dignitaries will be in attendance.

He said: “Friday May 24 will feature Ikwa-Ozu in the family. Similarly, there will a Jumat service at the Central Mosque, Abuja, for the Muslim faithful who shall join other Nigerians in prayers for the repose of the soul of late Achebe."

According to the schedule, Ikwa-Ozu will continue on Saturday May 25 in Achebe's family compound.

Thanksgiving service, which will hold at St. Philips Anglican Church, Ogidi, on Sunday, May 26 is expected to mark the end of the ceremony.

Ekwerenmadu speaks

Speaking during the briefing, Chairman of the occasion and Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekwerenmadu, described late Achebe as a world figure who impacted the world with his literary works, saying “ we

shall give late Professor Chinua Achebe a befitting and decent burial.”

Senator representing Achebe’s senatorial zone, Anambra Central in the Senate, Dr. Chris Ngige, extolled the virtues of Achebe, saying the memories of late academic guru would live for a long time in the hearts of those he touched with his works.

Similarly, a member of the House of Representatives, Professor Chudi Uwazurike, in his remarks on the occasion, said Achebe’s death was a hit to his friends and associates.

He, however, described his burial as a celebration of a life well lived.

The events attracted dignitaries across the country, including ANA's Deputy President.

It would be recalled that Achebe died late last month in Boston, United States of America, USA.

May 21, body arrives

Nwala said on Tuesday, May 21, there would be airport reception as the body of the late professor arrive the country via Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

He said the body was also expected to be taken to the National Assembly for a reception and thereafter departs for Enugu, where it will be welcomed by south-eastern governors, led by Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State.

He said: “It is also expected to proceed to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN, for academic procession and ceremony.

“Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo will, same day, observe what the committee referred to as Ohanaeze Night of

Deportation fears: Nigerian attempts suicide in UK

A

Nigerian asylum seeker, who is married to a British man, is fighting for her life in hospital after an overdose medication just days before she was due to be sent back to Nigeria.

May Brown, a 19-yearold college student, fled to Britain from her home country three years ago after witnessing her father’s murder and being subjected to sexual abuse.

She settled in Weymouth, Dorset, where she met her husband, Michael Brown, 12 months ago and the couple married last December.

Mrs Brown, who was a games maker at last summer’s Olympics and has two university offers to study law, applied to stay in the UK. However, despite her marriage her application was rejected.

Mr. Brown, 34, said UK Border Agency officials believe their marriage to be a ‘sham’ with no ’emotional attachment,’ and that his wife was also so distressed at the prospect of returning to Nigeria she took an overdose of medication.

Her mother-in-law, Helen-Claire Brown, found her collapsed on the bathroom floor on Monday morning with a note to her husband saying she ‘couldn’t live without him.’

Passage LECTURE: From right— Mrs Nike Akande, Chairman, AES Excellence Club; Governor Ibikunle Amosun of of Ogun State and guest speaker; and Dr. Ausbeth Ajagu, President, Governing Council of the Club, at the Club's business lecture and luncheon in Lagos, yesterday. PHOTO: Joe Akintola, Photo Editor.

M

AMA Mary Asigheghe, 80, is

dead.

A service of songs held, yesterday, at her residence in Ovwere-Ovu. Today, her body will leave Warri for Ovwere Baptist Church at 8a.m. Interment follows at her residence.

In-laws’ greeting holds Saturday, by 10a.m, while outing and thanksgiving service follows at the church on Sunday.

Late Mama Asigheghe.

12—Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013

Edo LG polls hold in Ikpoba-Okhai, Oredo

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

B

ENIN—THE local government elections in Oredo and Ikpoba Okhai Local Government Areas of Edo State, held yesterday.

The elections were postponed by Edo State Independent National Electoral Commission, EDSIEC, last Saturday due to non-availability of election materials.

Voters turned out in large numbers to exercise their civic responsibilities. Materials arrived early in most of the polling units but Vanguard observed that there was mix up in some of the units. Materials meant for some areas were taken to the wrong places. As a result, EDSIEC officials had to take the materials to where they ought to be and that delayed voting in the affected units.

Etche disowns call for Amaechi's resignation

BY JIMITOTA ONOYUME

P

ORT HARCOURT—THE people of Etche Local Government Area in Rivers State, yesterday, dissociated themselves from the call on Governor Chibuike Amaechi to resign over the crisis rocking Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state by a chieftain of the party from the area, Prince Emma Anyanwu.

It will be recalled that Prince Anyanwu had called on the governor to resign, if he was unable to resolve the intra-party conflict tearing PDP apart in the state.

Reacting to the call by the party chieftain, Chairman of Etche Local Government Area Council, Mr. Reginald Ukwuoma, said Anyanwu's view did not reflect the collective position of Etche people.

Lauding Amaechi for his achievements in the state, Ukwuoma pledged the support of his local government to the state government.

He said: “Etche council completely dissociates itself

from what had been ascertained by many as true, the information from one of us, Prince Anyanwu, stating that the governor of the state should resign.

“If that statement is true as said, Etche council completely dissociates itself from it. Anybody calling for the resignation of the governor of the state is completely on his own. Etche

people are irrevocably committed to the cause of the governor because we are better treated.

“There is no reasonable Etche man or woman, who can look at the infrastructural developments that dot the streets of Etche and call for his resignation. We never gave anybody the mandate

to speak on our behalf. It is only in Amaechi’s administration that Etche has witnessed massive infrastructural overhauling, starting from the council headquarters to the airport. We have not had it this good, done by one man in one tenure. Nobody should bring bad luck to Etche people.”

CUSTOMERS’ FORUM: From left: Sales/Marketing Manager, Samuel Odio; Mrs. Fatima Gana of USID and General Manager, Denis Hotel, Olugu Kalu Ndukwe, at a customers' forum of Denis Hotel, held in Abuja. Photo: Gbemiga Olamikan.

Delta oil communities storm NASS ...demand cancellation of OMLs to Shell

BY HENRY UMORU & JOSEPH ERUNKE

A

BUJA—ETHNIC nationalities in Delta State, under the aegis of Delta State Oil Producing Communities, yesterday, urged the National Assembly to order the cancellation of Oil Mining Leases, OMLs, awarded to Shell Development Petroleum Development Company.

Representatives of the five ethnic communities of Itsekiri, Ijaw, Urhobo, Isoko and Ndokwa, who stormed the National Assembly Complex, blocked

the gates, thereby, making entrance into the building impossible for close to three hours as vehicles were parked outside the Mopol Gate.

They described the process of allocation of the oil leases as fraudulent.

They said that it was an attempt to exclude the people from their indigenous rights, adding that there must be right to first refusal to qualified indigenes of the local communities to buy into them.

Presenting a five-page petition on behalf of the communities to the leadership of the National Assembly, Chief Ayirimi

Emami of the Itsekiri ethnic nationality, alleged that Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Deiziani Allison-Madueke, Shell and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, were involved in the award of four oil blocs to the tune of about N58.9 trillion.

Meanwhile, the Senate after listening to the aggrieved communities, said that the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Management of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, will appear before it next week to explain their sides of the issues raised.

FG approves N5.8bn for victims of violence; Arewa youths reject offer Continues from page 5 ercise are still being expected from the state governments.

“Funds to cover the losses sustained by victims of the post election violence in these five states will be approved and released at the conclusion of the assessment exercise” he said.

Arewa youths

Meanwhile, Northern youths, yesterday, spurned the Federal Government’s offer of N5.8 billion com-

pensation to the families of the victims of the 2011 postelection violence that rocked most parts of the North and a few southern states.

The youths, who denounced the offer through the National President of the Arewa Youths Consultative Forum, Alhaji Yerima Shettima, noted that the offer was a Greek gift from the Presidency to the affected states so as to win their support for President Jonathan’s re-election in

2015.

Yerima, who queried the sincerity of the government in the offer, wondered why it had taken President Jonathan more than two years to remember the families of the victims while the issues that gave rise to the violence were yet to be addressed.

The youth leader noted, “to us, we see this as medicine after death and a desperate attempt to woo the North once again to support Jonathan’s re-election in 2015. "

Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013 — 13

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14— Vanguard, FRIDAY,APRIL 26, 2013

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16— Vanguard, FRIDAY,APRIL 26, 2013

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Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013 — 17

GLO FEEDBACK There should also be a strong and sincere commitment to satisfying ALL Glo customers.

Arinze’s polite response was that he would like to treat all legitimately disgruntled customers equally but can’t help those who don’t bother to formally notify Glo representatives when they feel short-changed. And I think that this is a very fair point

From A. Ogaga (gagaitufe@yahoo.com): It was nice of you to bare your mind on the Glo thing.

Truth is that the twin word corruption and deception, have been entwined into the very fabrics of our national life. We have seen megadeception by our government functionaries and corporate organisations. This is why the fight against corruption is heading down the drain.

While believing that we

Talking about sitting back and looking helplessly, I must admit I had been toeing that line of action for too long, though with a guilty conscience. For quite sometime now, I discovered that MTN had been charging me extra two seconds for each call I make. Initially I felt like complaining but the Nigerian mentality of sitdown-look got a better of me and I just let it go. As I thank you, DK for igniting this fire to talk in me, I want to ask MTN why they are depriving me and perhaps other millions of Nigeria of extra seconds of their airtime.

Once again thank you DK. With more of your type in our society, we certainly will fight corruption to a disgraceful halt.

L

C M Y K

ast week, I complained about the fact that Glo did not honour a “special offer” that was conveyed to me via a text message a couple of weeks ago.

According to the text message, any credits I loaded onto my phone before a certain date would be doubled free of charge.

But when I bought N5000 credit, I didn’t receive an additional N5000 worth of credit; and I didn’t march to the nearest Glo office to protest because I’m trying to avoid stressful scenarios that might make my blood pressure soar. But I said that we “Nigerians are too prone to sighing and shrugging philosophically when things go wrong…” …and that “too many of us think and behave like defeated victims and put up with rubbish”…and that “we will continue to get a raw deal until we become MUCH more combative and develop a MUCH stronger sense of entitlement.”

Shortly after this complaint was published, I got a call from a Glo Public Relations Officer called Arinze. He was very apologetic. He assured me that the special offer had not been a scam and promised to make enquiries on my behalf.

I told him a) that several Vanguard readers had written to tell me that they’d had similar bad experiences and b) that I hoped he would be just as interested in assisting nonjournalists who also feel cheated by Glo. In other words, it is not enough to be nice to columnists who have the power to tarnish Glo’s glossy corporate image on the pages of newspapers.

and that we should give Arinze the benefit of the doubt.

Even in highly developed countries – the UK, for example – where consumer laws are sophisticated, consumer-friendly and fairly easily enforced, companies that aren’t meeting their obligations to the general public (fully or at all) cannot be properly held to account if customers don’t make the effort to raise alarms about poor services/products and don’t demand the respect they deserve.

Anyway, Dear Readers, it’s a good sign that Glo took the trouble to send Arinze to get in touch with me. But good signs can be superficial and misleading in the sense that they don’t always lead to good results. So let’s wait and see.

If Glo fails to deliver a promised benefit, walk into a Glo office and politely explain your position to a Glo employee. If you’re not happy with the outcome of your attempt to seek justice, let me know and I’ll let Arinze know!

In the meantime, Glo is not the only network that needs to beef up its PR and performance. Here are two of the many letters I received about this issue.

cussed is not peculiar to Glo. It is applicable to other network providers. Network providers in Nigeria seem to have perfected the art of developing new strategies for cheating subscribers.

Well we live in Nigeria where we are well disposed to accommodating unpleasant experiences. If you can’t then look else where.

Welcome to Nigeria where we are suffering and smiling.

Dr Eugene Juwah, Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communication Commission, NCC

cannot sit back and look helplessly, it is advisable that we should not fall for their cheap deception. When I got a similar mail on my MTN line, I ignored it because I knew that stingy network couldn’t be that generous.

From +2348020393163 Monorien Christopher Your write up entitled NA WA FOR GLO! should be recast as NA WA FOR NETWORKS IN NIGERIA! This is because the issue of promo deception you dis-

Responses to: donzol2002@yahoo.co.uk or to 0802 747 6458 (texts only).

PLEASE KINDLY NOTE THAT UNLESS YOU REQUEST ANONYMITY, YOUR COMMENTS MAY BE PUB LISHED, WITH YOUR NAMES AND CONTACT DETAILS ATTACHED.

18 — Vanguard, FRIDAY,APRIL 26, 2013 THE funeral service of Chief Oluwole Awolowo, scion of the Awolowo family, was another occasion for public officials to display their importance rather than pay their respects to the dead with the solemnity the event demanded. Protocol officials of the Federal Government and those from Ogun State Government were in a battle for superiority, in the church – before God and man.

In contention were seats, really the front row.

The seats were no indications of the depth of sympathy mourners had for the family. Those who turned up to mourn had enough attention for themselves that they would not tolerate a breach of their importance. Their lieutenants saw to that, carrying on as if their lives depended on pressing the status of their bosses.

Who sat where, who spoke first, were so important that misguided protocol officers made an issue of them. A protocol official of the state government had enough effrontery to ask the Federal Government delegation to vacate the front seats for Governor Ibikunle Amosun and other governors. One would have expected

Before God, Before Man that as the host, the state protocol officials’ interest would have been in the smooth running of the event, such that they would have catered for all interests.

Assuming that the front seats in the church were reserved for the officials deemed more deserving of them, where were the visitors from Abuja supposed to sit? The importance of occupying the front seats was not lost on others at the occasion. They watched as a new row of seats was arranged to have the governors in front.

Protocol officials of the Federal Government resisted the affront, particularly when their bosses were asked to vacate the seats. All these were going on in a funeral service, where people

were in mourning and had turned up to worship the Almighty!

The battle for sitting rights over, the next move was on the order of precedence for speeches. The moderator asked the representative of the President to speak before Governor Amosun. The team from Abuja ignored him. Some consultations and everyone realised the President’s speech should be after the governor’s. Amosun in his remarks admitted a protocol faux pas in asking that he speaks after the President’s representative.

Were the protocol officers who created those curious situations punished for almost throwing the event into the sort of crisis that could result in unanticipated security challenges? Are protocol officers trained adequately for their jobs? Do these squabbles have places in worshipping God? Protocol officials should facilitate orderliness through their duties. The ugly incidents in Ikenne should have been avoided if they understood that their jobs demanded more than securing front seats for their bosses.

OPINION

BY YUSHAU SHUAIB Continued from yesterday's pg 18

M

AYBE I should add here that during the President Olusegun Obasanjo administration in which Dr. Okonjo-Iweala was also an influential member, I wrote some critical opinion articles on the activities of the President, Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Nasir elRufai, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, among others.

During the short-lived administration of President Umaru Yar’Adua, I x-rayed some of the President’s policies and those of Segun Adeniyi, his spokesman.

I even wrote critical commentaries on my supervising Minister then, Mr. John Odey, who on some occasions, publicly responded to and addressed some of the issues raised in my write-ups. As late as 2012, I wrote an article on President Goodluck Jonathan with the title: “Flood in the Eyes of the President” and it was published in most national dailies.

Following this, I received words of encouragement even from some of his aides and was consequently requested to support my postulations with photographs.

The Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Muhammad Sani-Sidi, who

My writings and Dr. Okonjo-Iweala (2) had intervened several times to resolve the current issue with Madam Minister, is one of the bosses who have tolerated my critical opinions on various issues.

We disagree and later agree on issues like normal human beings do.

In essence, encouraging responses that I have received in the past have served as the impetus for me to continue with my cherished hobby. To me, I am simply contributing to the betterment of our country. It was in view of the above, therefore, that I was encouraged to pen the open letter to the Finance Minister on some developments, which I strongly believe she has the capacity to address.

I was initially elated when I received a telephone call from the Minister on Wednesday March 20, 2013 at 6.15pm.

Naturally, I was happy that, once again, my effort has yielded fruit. Receiving a call from someone that a reputable international news organisation described as one of the most influential women on earth is humbling. I felt jubilant when I heard: “Shuaibu, this is Okonjo-Iweala!” However, when she added: “Why should you do this to me?

You can’t praise me and condemn me and call it constructive criticism. Haba Shuaibu!” I knew that my opinion had not been viewed positively.

Despite the huge difference in age and status, the Minister took her time to explain to me why so much of what I concluded was not the case. During the conversation, the Minister even read portions of my write-up.

W

hile feeling flattered and honoured that a world-class technocrat like the Minister was humble enough to personally call me and explain her position to me, I couldn’t help wondering why this particular piece attracts such concerns and why so much more meaning than I intended has been read to it.

To me, the article was as harmless as every other that I had written in the past.

I was still contemplating how to tackle the seeming complications when just a few days afterwards, hate comments and rejoinders, pointing out that my article had been inspired by ethnic and religious considerations, began to

appear in newspapers and Nigerian online forums.

I want to emphasise, once again, that my article was written with the purest of intentions, and even a cursory internet search will reveal that I have done this religiously in the last 20 years. Contrary to insinuations of ethnocentrism, sectionalism and sponsorship in many of the reactions and rejoinders to the opinion, I take full responsibility for the views that were expressed. I have never written with, or caused articles to be published with malice. I am a strong believer in the oneness and potentials of this country, and most of my opinions have been centred on great Nigerians that I admire and will not want to see fall into disrepute.

Despite this, however, I have realised that the said opinion has caused great discomfort to some individuals and groups. I want to reassure my elders and my good brothers and sisters, especially from a section of the country, who might have felt offended by my write-up that I harbour no grudge against them. I will not like to see this discomfort and the continuation of unnecessary hate comments. After all, we are one big family.

Concluded *Mr. Shuaib, a public affairs commentator, wrote from Abuja.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013 — 19

N

IGERIANS' wish and prayer is that the successful trend of the 2011 General elections should be sustained in such a way that our electoral headaches would be minimised if not completely eradicated. However, one observes with regret that given the actions and inactions of the functionaries of the electoral body so far, our euphoria, optimism and hopes following 2011 elections may have been misplaced. The signals from our electoral body have not given us much cause for joy. The signals one gets from some actions of our Electoral Commission indicate that many of their decisions are either not well thought out or that the high echelon of that body is confused or that they are acting a script written for them elsewhere.

Who these scripts writers are, or do we call them pay masters, will definitely be known sooner or later.

This writer is not a member of any political party in Nigeria but since man is a political animal one cannot be indifferent to political developments in one’s country.

For instance, one is at pains to ascertain why an electoral body worth its name will send its personnel to observe the convention of a political party, endorse all the processes and after more than one year sing a different song in respect of the conduct of

the said convention.

The confusion created by the report of INEC on the conduct of the National Convention of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, conducted in March 2012 is one instance where the electoral body, instead of giving democracy free rein, is creating stumbling blocks in the process.

According to newspaper reports, the INEC’s 12-man committee under the chairmanship of Col. M. K Hammanga rejected the adoption of affirmation for nine of the 12 members of the National Working Committee of the party elected at the Convention. The said report stated that the process adopted by the PDP to elect the affected nine officials of the party violated paragraph 6.5 of the guidelines used for conducting the 2012 congresses and national convention of the party. Concerned about this matter which affects the leading political party in the country, I had to avail myself of the constitution of the party. I have not read the said guidelines but it is an established fact that no guideline is superior to the constitution of the party whose provisions are binding on all party members at all times. Having read the constitution of the party from the first page to the last I did not observe any section that states that party officers should not be elected through affirmation. There is no

Our electoral body should desist from causing confusion in the political parties; they have enough challenges in ensuring a free and fair election in 2015

,

provision that states that every party position must be filled through casting of ballot. I stand to be corrected.

M

oreover guidelines for election are prepared by a few members of the party. But a convention is the highest organ of the party whose resolutions supersede guidelines for elections at any level of the party. If the electoral guidelines were presented to the National Convention of the party and the convention adopted affirmation for election of those members of the National Working Committee of the party who were returned unopposed from their various states and geopolitical zones, it means that those members elected by affirmation were duly elected as confirmed by the party’s highest organ, that is the National Convention.

One wonders what use the electoral body’s presence at the national convention of a political

Between the Delta State govt and Shell

BY BOBSON GBINIJE “No form of society can be reasonably stable in which the majority of the people are not fairly content. People cannot be content if they feel that the foundations of their lives are wholly unstable”.- James Adams (1878 - 1949).

T

HAT Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, is a major stakeholder, player and partaker in the petroleum industry remains a cardinal fact.

Shell is synonymous with the petroleum industry in Nigeria. It is the initium-et-finis and the locus classicus of the petroleum industry and it constitutes the structural matrix on which the petroleum sector and subsectors lie.

In 1903, seismic, geological, geophysical and engineering data acquisition, processing, detoxifications and interpretation revealed the presence of minerals in Nigeria. Oil exploration began in Nigeria in 1908. Exploration efforts were truncated in 1914 up till 1918 during the First World War. It was again punctuated in 1939 up till 1945 during the Second World War. And in 1956 before Nigeria got her independence in 1960, Shell-British Petroleum, Shell-BP, discovered oil at Oloibiri and it became commercialised in 1958.

Shell’s efficiency and modern drilling equipment complemented by other multinational oil companies immediately increased production from a mere 5,000 barrels per day in 1958 to 17,000 barrels per day. By independence in 1960, it increased astronomically to 340,000 barrels per day up till 1966. This progressive increase in production was checked in 1967 because of the Biafra-Nigeria Civil War (1967 - 1970). But by 1970 daily production had reached one million barrels per day. A peak production level of

2.6 million barrels per day was achieved during the second quarter of 1979. OPEC quota, the vagaries of price index, youth belligerency, communal riots, militancy and technical problems have led to fluctuation in production levels since 1980.

Consistent with the principles of mercantilism, Shell strove to fundamentally maximize profit through the increasing of its production levels, also to justify the joint venture partnership with the Nigeria National Petroleum Company, NNPC, which is 60-40 percent. Shell realising that it cannot be an Island unto itself got involved covertly and overtly in communal activism. This was aimed at providing amenities for the communities and areas in which it operated.

In fairness to Shell, it actually provided developmental aids in form of schools, hospitals, roads, employment, town halls and scholarships for and to the people in its areas of operations. But in the wake of the new renaissance in Warri and its environs and nay the Niger Delta, facts have come out to show that Shell is subsumed in the histrionics and deceit of multi-sectoral underdevelopment of the people and their communities.

Shell collects substantial commercial revenue but ploughs back little to the people. Shell’s exploration and exploitation has precipitated ecological devastation, bio-diversity toxicity, environmental pollution, fauna degradation and seismographic despoliation on every facet of the lives of the people.

The people are asking, what has Shell done for us? What has Shell got to show for over 46 years of its operations in our towns and villages? The youths have a right to take their destinies in their own hands, as it looks as if Shell’s Machiavellian diplomacy and its divide and rule strategy has pitched the people - Ijaws, Isokos, Urhobos, and

,

BY ADEWALE SANYAOLU

,

INEC's unguarded meddling

party is to it and Nigerians if it cannot utilise its presence in ensuring that things are done properly. Shouldn’t the INEC officials present at that convention have advised the PDP leadership to use the ballot for all the positions in contest, instead of allowing affirmation for electing some candidates only to cry wolf 12 months later?

It is tendentious and unexpected of an impartial electoral body.

Significantly, paragraph 3 of Article 7: "Aims and Objectives of the party" states that the party should adhere to the policy of the rotation and zoning of party and public elective offices in pursuance of the principle of zoning, justice and fairness.

If in pursuing this objective, the leaders of the party in their wisdom distribute all positions in the party's National Working Committee equitably among the six geopolitical zones in the country, what is the quarrel of INEC with this? Politics has been described as the management or resolution of conflict.

In this wise, the party leadership may encourage the various candidates contesting party positions to arrive at a consensus and support one candidate for a particular position. This arrangement was not novel in the March 2012 Convention of the PDP. The late President Yar ’Adua emerged Presidential candidate of the 2007 Presidential Primaries of the party through consensus.

Hence, a leading aspirant for the position, Dr. Peter Odili, had to step down for him. The then INEC observed this convention but did not advise the cancellation of the

It is the responsibility of the NNPC to supervise the activities of oil companies operating in the Nigerian petroleum industry particularly those in which government has participatory interest

,

Itsekiris against themselves. The elders against the youths, the youths against the elders and the youths against themselves, while Shell sits idly by luxuriating in the mutant scenario. The only response we got was a “relocation threat” which has been carried out, anyway.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, came into being on April 1, 1977 by a merger of the defunct Nigerian National Oil Corporation, NNOC, and the former Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources. The statutory instrument, Decree No. 33 of 1977, which established the Corporation, created a public organisation which would on behalf of the government, adequately manage all aspects of the Nigerian petroleum industry, from exploration for crude oil and natural gas, through their production to their sale as crude oil and natural gas, and refining or processing of crude oil and natural gas to produce petroleum products and other derivatives both for domestic consumption and for export.

It is also the responsibility of the NNPC to supervise the activities of oil companies and service companies operating in the Nigerian petroleum industry (both foreign and indigenous), particularly those in which government has participatory interest (Shell) and the statutory regulation of all activities of the nation’s petroleum industry.

In laconic terms NNPC is the “policeman”

process.

Similarly Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, at another convention of the PDP some years later, emerged the National Chairman of the party through consensus, supported by other contenders like Dr. Sam Egwu and Senator Anyim Pius Anyim. INEC observed this convention and did not advise its cancellation.

Why is it that it was only in the PDP Convention of March 2012 that INEC is finding fault with the process of affirmation which was used in previous conventions by the party? There is definitely more to this than meets the eye. The INEC should not weep more than the bereaved.

If there are party members who were aggrieved by the process of affirmation used in electing nine of the 12 NWC members, they know where to seek redress. Our electoral body should desist from causing confusion in the political parties. They have enough challenges in ensuring a free and fair election in 2015. Already some newspapers have written editorials advising INEC on the way to go in voters registration. The direct data capture machines on which billions of naira was spent in 2007 did not solve our multiple registration problems. The 2015 election is less than two years away.

How prepared is INEC in the area of voters registration, voters education and other logistics.

Instead of giving due attention to these areas of its mandate, it is meddling with the internal affairs of political parties. Prof. Jega’s INEC can definitely do better. *Mr. Sanyaolu, a public affairs analyst, wrote from Abuja.

of the petroleum industry.

To make for effective administration, NNPC (Holding Office) was compartmentalised into subsidiaries with various statutory responsibilities; some of the subsidiaries are the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company Ltd., NPDC, Integrated Data Services Company Limited, IDSC, Pipelines and Products Marketing Co. Ltd, PPMC, Warri Refinery and Petrochemicals Company Ltd, WRPC, Nigerian Gas Co.,NGC, NAPIMS and Directorate of Petroleum Resources, DPR. If NNPC and its various subsidiaries were doing or carrying out their statutory functions, Shell wouldn’t have made such egotistical calculations as divesting and relocating from Warri because of what it perceive to be a hostile working environment, which it ironically has been creating over the years. If NNPC, especially, the inspectorate and directorate units of DPR and NAPIMS, was doing its jobs, Shell wouldn’t have put Warri, its environs, environment and the totality of the Niger Delta into petulant dehumanisation and having the audacity to declare economic antagonism, masqueraded as relocation and divestment, against the people.

It actually takes two to tango and Shell will concede the obvious fact that it has been playing on the intelligence of the people. This new dawn of awareness has precipitated a recrudescence of political and economic renaissance. You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.

Shell’s gamut of prevarications, diplomatic ventriloquisms and kangaroo dramas have turned full circle. Shell has become the Frankenstein of its own monster.

In his address to the Institute of Directors, Brian Anderson, who was until June 1997 the Managing Director of Nigeria’s Shell Petroleum Development Company Limited observed that “the world around us is changing rapidly; liberalisation, globalisation and technology are three powerful forces at the global level shaping the future.

Continues on Monday pg. 18 *Mr. Gbinije, a social critic, wrote from Warri, Delta State.

20—Vanguard , FRIDAT FRIDAT,, APRIL 26 , 2013

*House where electrocution occurred.

Electrocution and maiming of 12 year-old lad: Father battles PHCN zWants govt, public intervention

T

O be born with disability is quite challenging. Being born whole and having to suffer sudden disability for no fault of yours at a tender age could be cruel, far more challenging and regrettable.

This is the agony 12-year-old Master Uchechukwu Ewurum, a JSS2 student resident at No 8 Ojoto Street, Mile 2, Diobu, Port Harcourt, Rivers State now has to contend with. Until February 23 this year, the youngster, according to his father, Peter Ewurum, had been able-bodied, normal and “full of energy”. But that normalcy was shattered when the lad suffered electrocution which prompted the amputation of his entire right arm and left a wide wound on his belly.

Uchechukwu’s ordeal began at

*Peter Ewurum

House 1 on same Ojoto Street where he had gone with his mother, Stella, to visit a bereaved cousin to his father. Time was about 8.30pm. On the top floor of the storey building where his host lives, high tension power lines of the Power Holding

,

BY EGUFE IAFUGBORI, PORT HARCOURT

The lad suffered electrocution which prompted the amputation of his entire right arm and left a wide wound on his belly

,

Company of Nigeria, PHCN, dangle across less than a metre apart from the outdoor handrail.

Overtime, the space between had become even closer following collapse of the cross arm at the nearby PHCN pole which left a cable sagging a finger tip from the handrail, according to residents.

On this fateful day, the space was too close for comfort. Nobody, including Uchechukwu knew there was transferred current loaded on the handrail from the naked high tension cables.

Uchechukwu was first to unconsciously touch the rail. He a received a massive shock, the impact damaging the hand on the rail as well as the right side abdomen. “At that moment, onlookers, including his mother who was on the stairs, were too afraid to rush to his rescue. But by some stroke of luck the current flung him a little from the rail after much damaged had been done,” Mr. Ewurum narrated.

Doctors at Rehoboth Hospital, D-Line, Port Harcourt informed Uchechukwu’s father that the damaged hand had to go if his son must survive. The hand was removed to the right shoulder.

Ewurum alerted authorities of the Mile 1 Ikwerre Road District Office of the PHCN which oversees power supply to the area. He felt PHCN was liable and should take responsibility for the accident.

“The cable that maimed my son has been hanging too close to more than four buildings on the street. It got closer to House No 1 when the cross arm on the PHCN pole got broken, leaving a cable sagging beside the handrail. Fault-fixing, disconnection and re-connection teams visited the line regularly. They had been alerted repeatedly by affected residents to replace the broken cross arm and also to shift the entire pole and cables farther away from the houses. No action was ever taken,” he alleged.

Discouraged at complaining to deaf ears, affected residents had

*Master Uchechukwu Ewurum...maimed following electrocution. ignored the deadly wires, taking for granted the misfortune begging to happen. After unlucky Uchechukwu paid the price PHCN workmen were spotted on March 19 replacing the cross arm.

It took a pre-action notice served March 5 through Ewurum’s counsel, Emmanuel Okpala, to the District Business Manager, Benedict Nwaorehu, before he conceded to a meeting with Uchechukwu’s father. The District Manager was all defensive, claiming first that he was not aware of any danger at the accident spot till he was served the pre-action notice.

Nwaorehu who confirmed meeting with Ewurum and his legal counsel based on the written notice was quoted as saying: “I pointedly told them that the so-called accident didn’t happen in the area as claimed because Ojoto is just a stone throw from our office. A serious electrocution and associated burns that led to amputation of the boy’s hand could have happened elsewhere. I suspect a cooked up story”.

The District Manager also raised issue with the delayed notification, concluding that even if the parents of the child were too unsettled to reach the office, other neighbours would have alerted the authorities immediately. But Ewurun responded thus: “Saving my son first was priority. Besides, he only granted audience because a lawyer

wrote. That does not mean I had not complained earlier”.

The PHCN manager further claimed finding out that four buildings, including the accident spot, are dangerously close to the high tension cables and were among those marked for demolition by the Rivers State Government following a more critical electrocution which killed scores of persons in 2009 in Trans-Amadi when a high tension line fell on houses and pedestrians.

On April April 10, Ewurum sought the intervention of the Rivers State House of Assembly in a petition blaming PHCN’s negligence in the incident and praying the lawmakers to prevail on the company to take responsibility. The House is yet to take definite action on the petition. “I am not giving up hope in seeking redress, but the uppermost challenge now is settling the hospital bills and resettling my son to the new life with a single arm,” he said.

At the end of March, bills posted were already in the region of N3 million. I don’t know what the final figure would be but I am obviously not going to be able to raise that kind of money on my own,” he lamented.

He, therefore, called on the Government, corporate bodies and well meaning individuals to come to his aid. He gave his contact number as 08037113282.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013 — 21

138.7 2,327.00

+11.00

17.44

-0.3

101.76

+1.45

91.06

+1.88

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

1.15

154.75 236.133 201.0667 164.5926 1.5639 0.2886 231.6852 25.0416 41.2634 26.9693 232.2952

155.25 236.896 201.7163 165.1244 1.569 0.2986 232.4338 25.1229 41.3967 27.0565 233.0458

SELLING 155.75 237.6589 202.366 165.6562 1.574 0.3086 233.1824 25.2043 41.53 27.1436 233.7963

CBN Exchange rate as at 25/04/2013

Finance Ministry abandons Customs warehouse for 7 yrs

Nigeria loses N116.4bn yearly to rice smuggling •Stakeholders seek review of trade policies

BY JIMOH BABATUNDE

A

N estimated 80,000 metric tonnes of rice is smuggled into Nigeria from Benin Republic every month, which represents a loss of revenue to the country amounting to about N9.7 billion monthly, or N116.4 billion annually.

A group of stakeholders in the rice business sector under the aegis of All Farmers’ Association of Nigeria (AFAN), who made the disclosure, said the potential revenue of the rice sector is being threatened by the activities of smugglers and their collaborators. They called on the federal government to review its Trade Liberalisation Scheme agreement among West African states in the face of continued smuggling activities from the country’s neighbours.

A large scale farmer in Kano and a

member of the association, Sabo Nayara , said the call for the review became imperative because of imbalance of trade, smuggling and dumping of goods in the country.

He said while the government is trying to encourage local production of rice, thereby creating employment, income and value chain, some other people are rubbishing these noble efforts by smuggling the product into the country.

Nayara said that it was disheartening to note that investments and policies of government were being threatened on a daily basis by the incessant smuggling activities by a small few.

“Unscrupulous smugglers find it attractive to smuggle goods from neighbouring countries into

Nigeria without paying necessary duties. This affects investors’ investment in the country. For instance, Benin Republic consumes only white rice but imports parboiled rice with destination for the Nigerian market. If the Federal Government reviews the trade liberalization scheme and closes its borders to smuggled goods, neighbouring countries will take us serious. The quantum of rice being smuggled through our land borders from the Republic of Benin is increasing on a daily basis. Almost 45,000 MTS is entering the Northern part of the country from Niger and Cameroun,” he stated.

According to him, if they are encouraged in Kano State, “we have great potential for supporting the increasing rice demand in Nigeria, as today, the average output per hectare in the state stands at 6.25 metric tons .”

Bunmi Owolabi, a local rice farmer in Kogi, said that the major routes used for smuggling in the North is Maradi and Zinder as lot of warehouses in Katsina state are used for smuggling operation of rice.

BY GODFREY BIVBERE

O

VER seven years after the award of contract for the construction of a government warehouse for seized goods at the Ogun State Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in Abeokota by the Federal Ministry of Finance, the project has been abandoned, even as seized consignments worth several millions of naira are wasting away.

Although the exact date of commencement of the project could not be ascertained as at press time, a source close to the Command told Vanguard that construction of the warehouse started around 2005 before it was abandoned. The source said since the award, the Command has not heard anything from ministry.

When Vanguard visited the Command’s office at Abeokuta on Monday, a lot of the seized items including rice, poultry products, textile materials etc, were seen rotting away, while cars of different types littered the compound.

Meanwhile, the increased volume of impounded smuggled items by the Command is attributed to the antismuggling stance of the Customs Area Controller (CAC), Comptroller Ade Dosumu, the source said.

In a chat with newsmen recently, Public Relations Officer of the Command, Mr. Chike Ngige said, “the new CAC has sent a signal to smugglers within the border points that it cannot be business as usual, as he led the officers on a night antismuggling operation and recorded huge success. The operation meticulously carried out lasted till the wee hours of the following day.”

•FROM LEFT, Company Secretary, Mr. Michael Osilama Otu; Chairman, Sir Steve Omojafor and Managing Director, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, all of Zenith Bank Plc at the bank’s 22nd Annual General Meeting, in Lagos.

BOI, Gombe disburse N3bn to SMEs

BY JONAH NWOKPOKU

T

HE Bank of Industry and Gombe State government are set to disburse N3 billion to Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (SMEs) under the second phase of trade intervention aimed at providing more funds for entrepreneurs in the state.

Flagging off the scheme, Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo said the fund is to be disbursed as soft and affordable loans to SMEs in the state, to invest in value addition activities in the agro-allied and mineral sectors of the state economy.

He recalled that the state government had two years ago signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with BOI in order to reposition the economic fortunes of the state. This, according to him, led to the creation of a “Matching Fund” of N1 billion through a joint contribution of N500 million each by the State government and BOI to SMEs engaged in value addition activities in fertilizer blending, groundnut oil processing rice processing, poultry feeds processing, fish feeds processing and tomatoe processing. Others

are; cosmetic processing, aluminium long span roofing sheet manufacturing, poultry farming, printing, metal fabrication, block/interlocking molding, carpentry and furniture making.

Dankwambo also disclosed that a site has been provided for Industrial Cluster/Enterprise Zone for groundnut oil millers and rice processors who were before now scattered in different places within the state.

“We have directed the Ministries of Works, Water Resources, Trade and Rural Development to provide access roads, water mains, fencing and electricity to this cluster,” he said. The governor said the scheme has generated hundreds of jobs through cooperative societies and the SMEs. “About 1,380 jobs have been created by 39 cooperative societies while it is envisaged that by the time all the 133 cooperative societies are visited, more than 3,000 new jobs would have been created. And another 6,000 indirect jobs created as well, through the forward and backward linkages of the production processes of the 133 cooperative societies and SMEs,” he stated.

22 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013

Market capiltalisation of quoted SMEs stands at N4.10bn — Onyema

BY NKIRUKA NNOROM

E

LEVEN companies currently listed on the Alternative Securities segment of the Exchange have combined market capitalisation of N4.10 billion as at April, 19th, 2013, says Oscar Onyema, CEO, the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

He made the disclosure at the launch of alternative securities market for emerging businesses in Lagos.

The companies, which span multiple sectors, include; Adswitch Plc, Afrik Pharmaceuticals Plc, Anino International Plc, Capital Oil Plc, Juli Plc, McNichols Consolidated Plc and Rak Unity Petroleum Company Plc. Others are Rokana Industries Plc, Smart Products Nigeria Plc, Union Venture & Petroleum Plc and West Africa Aluminium Products Plc. He stated as at 2012, the companies polled negative return -1.62 percent and year-to-date return of 1.71 percent in first

quarter of 2013.

Lamenting the difficult being faced by the emerging companies in Nigeria, Onyema said that some of the identified problem militating against their accessing the capital market includeculture of non-compliance, unclear purpose and inferior perception, restriction on the amount of capital that could be raised, belowaverage performance of companies, as well as inadequate accounting standards, controls and management of resources He further stated that companies in that category have difficulty in accessing long term capital due to high cost of funds as a result of perceived high risk and informal nature of their business.

He added that the companies have nclear and specific rules to govern the board’s decisions.

According to him, the NSE has taken steps to make some interventions in the area of introduction of Designated Advisers to assist ASeM companies meet post-listing obligations; the Exchange has also formulated clearly

defined brand identity for the board.

“We give support to ASeM companies through value added services and advocacy effort; we introduced alternative capital raising products, in addition to creation of ASeM Rule Book,” Onyema stated.

Speaking at the event, Muhammad Nadar Umar, Director-General, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) noted that recent data provided by the National Micro-Small and Medium Enterprises, MSMEs collaborative survey 2010, put the number of MSMEs in Nigeria at 17.28 million with total employment put at 32.41 million, even as he added that deliberate efforts must be put in place to grow these numbers if the country must achieve its national vision of being among the 20 most industrialised nations by the year 2020.

“To achieve this, all the challenges confronting the MSMEs must be addressed, especially effective access to affordable finance. The ASeM provides a platform for access to long term finance for growth,” he affirmed.

FROM left: Executive Director, Market Operations Technology, Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, Mr. Ade Bajomo; Chief Executive Officer, NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyema; Chief Executive Officer, C & I Leasing Plc, Mr. Emeka Ndu and Executive Director, Business Development, NSE, Mr. Haruna Jalo-Waziri at the bell ringing ceremony in commemoration of the listing of their corporate bond admitted on the Daily Official list of the NSE.

FBN Capital wins awards on project finance, debt, capital markets F

BN Capital Limited, the investment banking and asset management subsidiary of FBN Holdings Plc, has won three international awards: the EMEAFinance Project Finance award for ‘Best Infrastructure Deal in Nigeria 2012 (Apapa SPM)”, the Achievement Award for “Best Local Currency Bond House in EMEA” and the Global Finance “Best Investment Bank in Nigeria 2013” Award.

The awards, which are to be received from the awarding organizations at the Charity Dinner coming up in London in June and during the World Bank/IMF Meetings in Washington DC in October respectively, highlight FBN Capital’s leading position in Project Finance and

Capital Markets in Nigeria.

The “Best Local Currency Bond House in EMEA” and ‘Best Infrastructure Deal in Nigeria” awards are in recognition of FBN Capital’s excellence in deal making, according to Chris Moore, CEO & Publisher of EMEA Finance Magazine.

“FBN Capital’s ability to draw together local and foreign banks to meet clients’ funding needs is a testament to the team’s deep understanding of the market.”

In a survey conducted by Global Finance, the international financial publication based in New York, with input from industry analysts, corporate executives, banking consultants and technology experts in more than 20 countries around the world, FBN Capital emerged the winner in the Country Category. Announcing the award from its

New York headquarters, Joseph Giarraputo, Global Finance President and Publisher said “Investment banks are now operating in a world where returns are expected to be lower than ever.

The trust of one’s clients is now the most important quality that an investment bank can have”, he said. Among the criteria for choosing the winners are market share, number and size of deals, service and advice, structuring capabilities, distribution network, efforts to address market conditions, innovation, pricing, after-market performance of underwritings and market reputation.

ASHON parleys key stakeholders on capital market recovery

BY NKIRUKA NNOROM

F

OLLOWING the need to beef up confidence in the capital market, stockbrokers under the aegis of Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria, ASHON, said it plans to pull all capital market participants together in an effort to chart a way forward for the market.

The programme, which is the first of its kind, is meant to bring the policy makers, apex regulator – Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, issuers, investors, as well as all trade groups in the market together to review the progress made so far in wooing domestic investors back to the market.

Briefing the press ahead of its inaugural capital market night billed to hold on 23rd May, 2013, in Lagos, the ASHON president, Mr. Emeka Madubuike, said the event will also provide a unique opportunity to juxtapose the NSE with other emerging markets it is benchmarked against with a view to making necessary adjustments where possible.

“All of us are aware that between 2008 and now, the market has taken a downturn and in the last two to three years, we have worked tirelessly to ensure that we try and bring back investors’ confidence and that is part of what we are continuing to do by using this platform to refocus and to ensure that our investors, most especially the retail investors, come back to the market.

If you look at the number in the market in recent time, you will find out that the percentage that foreign investors use to have in the market is continuously dropping. This is the result of all the efforts that is put in place to ensure that investors’ confidence is restored and that processes and rules are put in place to ensue that this is carried out on a continuous basis,” he said.

“There is an arrangement for us to meet on a regular basis; this we need to do so that we can interface between us and all the other stakeholders in the market to ensure that the role we are playing is done on a continuing basis.

It is also an opportunity for us to share experiences with other practitioners in the market so that we might hopefully come up with other ideas to ensure that the market continues on its recovery,” Madubuike added.

Continuing, he said, “What we intend to do is to look at what has happened in other markets because the same issue that we went through, other market also went through. We tent to also look at what other market did in order to get back to where they are and then see what we can learn from so doing.”

The ASHON boss further stated that the association will use the forum to launch a development Fund as part of its repositioning agenda, adding that henceforth, the forum will serve as an avenue to hand over to new executives of the association.

The theme of the programme is “Investment Opportunities in a Frontier Market: The African Perspective.” It is expected to be an annual events going forward.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013 —23

NEXIM pledges to finance cashew development

BY DANIEL GUMM

F

INANCING for the cashew value chain development appeared settled going by the discussions two banks held with stakeholders in Lagos.

The banks: Nigerian Export Import Bank, NEXIM and Ecobank Plc. Both banks pledged to intervene in the cashew sector to enable the stakeholder have access to finance so that they would be able to grow the sector.

In a keynote address by Managing Director of NEXIM, Mr. Robert Orya at the forum, he noted that Nigeria, the world’s 6th largest producer of cashew, with annual production of about 120,000 tonnes, will be a good employer of labour if properly harnessed.

Represented by Rev. Ifeanyi C.

Nwade, he said that his bank, NEXIM has disburst a total of $50 million to the cashew sector from 2002 till date, adding that they spent not less than N1 billion on cashew and promised that they were willing to spend more on the commodity.

The cashew industry, according to the NEXIM boss also provides about 600,000 jobs and a total annual trade worth N24 billion, making the sector a major contributor to Nigeria’s non-oil GDP. Orya said that the Nigerian cashew industry has continued to operate below its potentials, explaining that the industry is challenged with a myriad of problems ranging from old/low yielding plantations to inadequate processing facilities and low level of access to finance. He said the inability of Nigerian local producers to process their products has meant that about 95 per cent of the annual production is exported as raw commodities with attendant low prices and inability of producers and exporters to receive commensurate reward for their efforts, he said.

This also, according to the NEXIM boss has economy-wide implications for increased export revenue, development of the industry and increased job creation in line with the transformation agenda of the federal government.

To address some of these challenges, the Nigerian-Export Import Bank in collaboration with the African Cashew Alliance, and the USAID West African Trade Hub launched the Nigerian Cashew Cluster Finance Scheme in 2012, through which NEXIM disbursed about N150 million under the pilot scheme and has cumulatively disbursed about N1billion to date to the subsector.

He challenged the stakeholders to present quality applications, supported by good business plans and off-take arrangements to facilitate increased funding intervention to the sector, especially towards enhancing value-added processing, reiterating the commitment of the bank to the growth and development of the cashew industry.

But Ecobank advised the stakeholders to make themselves attractive and bankable before approaching a bank to access fund.

Earlier in his opening remarks, President of National Cashew Association of Nigeria, NCAN, Mr. Tola Faseru said that Nigeria produces 2,000,000 metric tons of cashew annually.

VConnect enlightens business owners on digital marketing

BY RITA OBODOECHINA

A

S part of activities marking the second year anniver sary, VConnect, Nigeria’s local search engine and information service provider have taken its campaign to Ikota Shopping Complex in the heart of Lekki, to enlighten business owners on the impact that digital marketing have on their businesses.

According to Regional Sales Manager, VConnect, Mr. Olawale Onibudo, said, “Everything is going virtual, hence, the need for them to embrace the digital paradigm, we offer Targeted SMS Services, Web Development, Email Marketing, Banner Adverts, and Video Marketing amongst other things to these business owners.”

He said the company positions its businesses where they can easily be accessible online, adding that its online visibility gives their businesses a global outlook in the most cost effective manner they can ever come across.

Online mart launched in Lagos

A

N indigenous company Morpheus Online Business Services has launched an exciting e-commerce platform in Lagos. The platform buyam.com.ng is set to alleviate the stress shoppers’ encounter while trying to meet their needs. It is a unique ‘storefront’ concept that allows merchants to create an online destination for their brands within the portal.

In a press release, Emeka Mordi, the company’s Managing Director affirmed the company’s excitement and been thrilled about the platform and the opportunities it presents Nigerian stores to leverage e-commerce to grow their business exponentially without the normally prohibitive associated cost. According to him, this will be a dependable avenue to buy wide range of products online at great prices for the teeming population of Nigerians.

24—Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013

TREBLE CHANCE Aston V. Reading South'pton Stoke Barnsley Blackpool Ipswich Leicester Peterboro Brentford

v Sunderland v Q.P.R. v West Brom v Norwich v Hull v Derby v Birmingham v Watford v Sheff Wed v Doncaster

SOCCER TIPS Man U deser o deservved tto win Premier League —Milner

FOUR HOMES

MANCHESTER City midfielder James Milner has admitted it hurt to waatch Manchester United win the Premier League title but conceded the Red Devils are deserved champions.

United beat Aston Villa 3-0 on Monday to claim a 20th league crown after losing out to local rival City in dramatic style on the final day of last season. While Milner believes the better team came out on top, he is hoping that he and his teammates can bounce back by beating Wigan in the FA Cup final before reclaiming the title next year.

"It hurts," Milner told Sky Sports News. "Well done to Manchester United, they're obviously a strong team and the league doesn't lie, so they deserve the league.

"We're massively disappointed, but it fuels the fire for next season and we're desperate to go again next season to try and win it back. Hopefully we can finish this season with silverware.

"We've seen how hard it is to retain the title and how much they [United] used that disappointment from last season to drive them on this year.

"They've been very good in the league, very solid and seem to grind out results every week. They've deserved it and we have to look at where we've gone wrong and try to put that right."

Milner believes City’s failure to finish games off during periods of dominance is . one the main reasons for losing out to United, adding: "There have been games when we have dropped points when we shouldn't have done.

"There have been games where we've been well on top and not put teams to bed. When we've had that period of dominance in a game, we've not scored two or three more goals and that's maybe where we could have improved this year.

LATE "But if you look at our defensive record TIPS this year, it's still very strong and as a team we've got to keep improving."

1 X 3 X 5 X 15 PAIR Liverpool announces FOUR AWAYS 16 testimonial 12 X 24X 30 Gerrard X X 46 18 against Olympiakos PERMUTATION THE influential Reds midfielder is "delighted" being rewarded for his loy7 X 8 X 9 X AVOID alty to theafter club with a match against the 13X 16 X 23 team he scored one of his most famous 26 valuable goals.

TIPS RISKY and Liverpool has announced that Steven Gerrard is to be rewarded for his loyalty 41 36 X 38 X 39 to the club with a testimonial match CREDIT

EXCELLENT

Cheltenham 2 Chesterfld 2 Burton A. 2 Accrington S 3 AFC Wimbl'dn3 Tranmere 3 Notts Co 3 Brentford 3

Reading 7 South'pton 7 Stoke 7 Blackpool 5 Ipswich 5 Leeds 5 Leicester 5 Peterboro 5

against Olympiakos.

The match against the Greek giant against whom Gerrard dramatically netted in the knockout stage of Liverpool's triumphant 2004-05 Champions League campaign - will take place on Aug. 3 at Anfield.

"I am delighted to be honored by Liverpool with a testimonial match and particularly thrilled that Olympiakos has accepted my invitation to play the fixture," Gerrard told the club's official website.

"Last time we met proved to be such a memorable game both for me personally and Liverpool.

X-RAY OF THE DRAWS WEEK 41 F.A cla ys Premier ship .A.. Bar Barcla clays Premiership 1 Arsenal 2 Aston V. 3 Chelsea 4 Everton 5 Man City 6 Newcastle 7 Reading 8 South'pton 9 Stoke 10 Wigan

v Man Utd v Sunderland v Swansea v Fulham v West Ham v Liverpool v Q.P.R. v West Brom v Norwich v Tottenham

.

1 XX 1 XX 1 X2 XX XX XX 2X

NPower Football Championship 11Barnsley 12 Blackburn 13 Blackpool 14 Bristol C 15 Cardiff 16 Ipswich 17 Leeds 18 Leicester 19 Middlesbro 20 Millwall 21 Peterboro 22 Wolves

v Hull XX v Crystal P. 2 v Derby XX v HuddersfieldXX v Bolton 1 v Birmingham XX v Brighton 2X v Watford XX v Charlton 1 v Nottm For 2 v Sheff Wed XX v Burnley 2X

N Power Football League One 23 Brentford 24 Bury 25 Carlisle 26 Crawley 27 Crewe 28 Leyton O 29 Notts Co 30 Scunthorpe 31Sheff Utd 32 Shrewsbury 33 Stevenage 34 Tranmere

v Doncaster XX v Yeovil 2X v Colchester XX v Hartlepool 1 v Walsall X v Oldham 1 v Coventry XX v Swindon . 2 v Preston 1 v Portsmouth 1 v Milton KD 2 v Bournem'th XX

NPower Football League Tw o 35 AFC Wimble'don 36 Accrington S 37 Burton A. .

38 Cheltenham 39 Chesterfield 40 Dagenham 41 North'pton 42 Rochdale 43 Rotherham 44 Southend 45 Torquay 46 Wycombe

v Fleetwood XX v Oxford XX v Gillingham X v Bradford C.XX v Exeter XX v York X1 v Barnet 1 v Plymouth 1 v Aldershot 1 v Morecambe 1 v Bristol R. 2 v Port Vale 2

Scottish Division One 47 Airdrie 48 Cowdenbeath 49 Morton

v Livingston 2X v Dumbarton 2X v Hamilton 1

8 9 36 39 Revised Pairs 8 x 9, 13 x 16 18 x 23, 36 x 39

Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013 — 25

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26 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013

C M Y K

Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013 — 27

RMD and Queen Nwokoye at the event.

Obi Emelanyo making acceptance speech after receiving his award

AMAA 2013:

The triumphs, tumbles and surprises!

BY BENJAMIN NJOKU

A

LTHOUGH the award ceremony sprang up surprises among the audience, the ninth edition of the annual African Movie Academy Award,AMAA, which held last Saturday night, in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State lived up to its billing.

The star-studded event however brought Bayelsa to limelight again after the state tactically missed to host the

I N S I D E:

event the previous year. But unlike what AMAA is known for, the event was partially hijacked .

Held at the Gloryland Cultural Centre in Yenagoa, this year’s awards night was rather exceptional, not because of Bayelsa State cultural troupe annoyingly dominating the stage, but because there were relatively few fashion missteps on the red carpet. Also, this was the first time in nine years that the award ceremony dragged into the early hours of Sunday

Fed Govt donates N25m towards Yenagoa film city C M Y K

to the surprise of the attendees.

However, the highpoint of this year ’s AMAA was the televising of the event to over 50 million viewers across the continent and beyond. At least, stars and producers from twelve African countries, including Nollywood practitioners such as Victor Osuagwu, Aki and Pawpaw, Ibinabo Fiberesima, Yvonne Okoro, Kemi ‘Lala’ Akindoju, Uti Nwachukwu, Alex Ekubo, Rita Dominic, Chioma Chukwuka, and other

Nollywood uniting Africa

AGN President, Ibinabo Fiberesima and friends. numerous guests who graced the glamorous event which was tagged ‘Africa One’. Nightcrawlers from Bayelsa and neighboring states also besieged the venue to experience and witness the occasion.

Stand-up comedian, AY Makun, who almost turned the event to AY show as he held the audience spellbound with his rib-cracking jokes co-hosted the award night alongside British-Ghanaian Actress and TV presenter, Ama K. Abebrese and uber-classy Dakore Egbuson-Akande who also caused a stir as she was gracefully carried onto the well lit stage with four guards like a queen mother. As a daughter of the soil, Dakore was accompanied to the event by her hubby, Olumide and she gave a good account of herself, while communicating in the typical Bayelsan language.

Commendable this year, was the organisers’ effort to

incorporate the actors from the Yoruba film sector into the award ceremony. A handful of Yoruba actors who featured prominently in this year ’s AMAA include Faithia Balogun, Doris Simon,Funke Daramola, Mercy Aigbe, Sahid Balogun and many others. It was the first time, they were featuring prominently in the annual event.

Meanwhile, Nollywood veterans, Chief Eddie Ugbomah, Pete Edochie and ace film director, Tunde Kelani were among recipients of AMAA Lifetime Achievement Awards. The award body also gave Special Recognition to ace producer, Emem Isong, veteran actors, Kanayo O. Kanayo, Kenneth Okonkwo, and the Film and Video Producers and Marketers Association of Nigeria (FVPMAN), describing them as pillars of Nollywood.

Continues on page 30

Here comes phone that lasts two days without charge

28 — Vanguard, FRIDAY,

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30—Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013

HOW AMAA 2013 was hijacked!

Continues from page 27

H

OWEVER, the big winners of the night were late Nollywood actor, Justus Esiri who emerged the Best Actor in a Leading Role. Esiri, 71, who died on February 20 and was buried on April 12 in his home town in Abraka, Delta State, won the award for his role in the film titled “Assassins’ Practice”, Belinda Effah, Best Promising Actor for the film “Kokoma”, while Best Director prize went to Niyi Akanni, for his outstanding work in the film, “Heroes and Zeros”.

Nigerian documentary “Fuelling Poverty ” clinched the Best Documentary category.

South Africa followed Nigeria with four awards, this year’s award for Best Actress in a Leading Role went to South Africa’s Florence Maseba, for the film “Elelwani” The award night witnessed performances by several artistes

including P-Square, Waje, Flavour, Timi Dakolo who got a standing ovation and Magic Band from Malawi got the audience rocking at several points of the show. Also worthy of note is the rousing applause Nollywood veteran, Kenneth Okonkwo was given on his appearance on stage to receive his Pillars of Nollywood award.

Okonkwo, who is rarely seen in public gave a heartfelt acceptance speech as he thanked his wife and fans for their love and support.

However, despite the technical and logistic problems that almost marred the award ceremony, it recorded a huge success in terms of attendance and production.

Condemnable was the activities of the local organisers(Bayelsians) who practically hijacked the award night and turned it into a cultural extravaganza which was not supposed to be so.

BOX OFFICE HITS SYNOPSIS

Oblivion

O

n the surface of the Earth, Jack and Victoria are acting as a skeleton maintenance crew for drones protecting the water collection operations. The drones pick off remaining Scavs left behind from the war that cause problems. While Jack is good at his job, he feels wrong abandoning the Earth. He’s also plagued by dreams of a life he has no recollection of. But as Jack and Victoria spend their last days on Earth, Jack is about to discover that his past has been a complete lie. The Hollywood movie will be released today in the box office.

TOP MOVIES OF THE WEEK G.I. Joe. Retaliation Weekend Getaway Identity Thief The Gods Are Still Not To Blame Lion Of Judah Exhibition Schedule for 26th April - 2nd May 2013 SILVERBIRD CINEMAS, VICTORIA ISLAND Oblivion : 11:20am,1:35pm,4:00pm,6:25pm,8:50pm The Gods are still not to Blame : 1:40pm,6:20pm Lion of Judah : 12:05pm,1:45pm G.I.JOE: Retaliation: 11:10am,3;45pm, 8:30pm

Fed Govt donates N25m towards Yenagoa film city M

EANWHILE, speaking at the award night, President Goodluck Jonathan announced a donation of N25 million to the proposed Yenagoa Film City, while also stating that the N3billion earlier pledged to the movie industry would be made available to it in the next few weeks.

The President, who was represented by the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Chief Edem Duke urged the practitioners to focus more on telling stories that portray Africa in its proper perspective and commended the industry for collaborating with other African countries to tell stories across borders. Jonathan also assured the Bayelsa State government of technical and financial support in the promotion of the tourism industry and establishing an Underwater Research and Imaging Centre in collaboration with the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation, UNESCO, to create training opportunities for the people.

Also speaking at the event, Governor Seriake Dickson, announced the institution of a Bayelsa State Indigenous Movie Trust Fund with an initial donation C M Y K

of N250 million for the development of budding talents, which would be managed by persons from within and outside the state.

Dickson congratulated Nollywood on the feat achieved by one of its stars, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde for her induction as one of the 100 most influential personalities in the world by Time Magazine, describing it as a stamp of global approval for the movie industry in the country.

He pointed out that beyond the fun and glamour of AMAA, the event would be used as an avenue for promoting tourism, agriculture and manufacturing as well as prepare for a post oil era.

He described the entertainment industry, especially Nollywood as a major employer of labour and a medium for cultural exchange and a tool for rebranding the country and continent.

The Bayelsa State Governor also said government would make available plots of land to deserving stars that would be required to build befitting residential accommodation and take advantage of the facilities that would be provided at the proposed Yenagoa Film City.

SILVERBIRD CINEMAS, IKEJA The Gods are still not to Blame: 1:10pm, 7;40pm Lion of Judah; 12;50pm,4;45pm G.I.Joe: Retaliation: 8:50pm.

Identity Thief: 11:25am Weekend Getaway: 3:20pm.

Oblivion: 10:40am,1:05pm,3:35pm,6:10pm,8:40pm SILVERBIRD CINEMAS, ABUJA Oblivion : 11:30pm, 2:00pm, 4:30pm,7:00pm,9:30pm The Gods are still not to Blame: 1:10pm, 5:00pm,7:10pm Lion of Judah: 11:30am, 1:20pm, 3:10pm G.I.Joe: Retaliation: 12:00pm, 2:10pm, 4:20pm, 6:40pm, 8;50pm.

Identity Thief: 2:40pm, 6:30pm, 8:45pm Weekend Getaway: 5:10pm, 9:10pm.

Hansel&Gretel: The Witch Hunters: 11:40am, 4:05pm.

SILVERBIRD CINEMAS CEDDI PLAZA , ABUJA Lion of Judah : 11:10am,1:05pm,4:50pm Weekend Getaway: 2:50pm, 6:50pm, 7:00pm.

The Gods are still not to blame : 1:50pm,6:30pm,8:50pm SILVERBIRD CINEMAS PORT HARCOURT Oblivion : 12:40pm,3:00pm,5:30pm,8:00pm The Gods Are still not to Blame: 12:30pm, 6:35pm,8:40pm Lion of Judah: 11:20am,2:35pm,4:45pm G.I.Joe: Retaliation: 12:00pm, 2;00pm, 4:10pm, 6:20pm, 8:30pm Identify Thief: 4:20am.

Weekend Getaway: 4:15pm Hansel&Gretel: 6:30pm,8:30pm Looper : 8:20pm SILVERBIRD CINEMAS UYO The Gods are still not to Blame: Lion of Judah: Looper: Weekend Getaway: Silverling Playbook: Django Unchained: Hotel Transylvania:

4:35pm, 6:40pm 11:40am, 1;30pm, 3:20pm, 5:10pm.

11:50am, 2:05pm, 4:25pm, 6:45pm.

12:30pm, 2:40pm, 4:50pm, 7:00pm 11:45am, 2:10pm, 4:30pm, 6;50pm 6:05pm.

12:25pm, 2;15pm, 4:05pm

Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013 — 31 With

Prince Osuagwu

princeosuagwu@gmail.com 08050498513

T

he global demand for smartphones, which boast web connectivity, high resolution, touch-screen displays and access to application stories is at an all time high. In Nigeria the case is not different as it is highly sought after by individuals ranging from corporate executives to housewives who feel the need to be at the top of their game. Perhaps, this informed the introduction of the L series II smartphones by LG Electronics, recently.

The L series II according to LG, consist of the L7 II, L5 II and the L3 II. These mobile devices are all aimed at the budget-conscious consumer.

The new Android Jelly Bean phones offer significant improvements on the previous models, including new, rounded and friendly design aesthetics. Overall, they are irresistibly beautiful as well as undeniably brilliant.

General Manager, Mobile Communications, LG Electronics West Africa operations, Mr. JS Yoo, said: “LG has a history of pushing the envelope when it comes to style and L Series II builds on this heritage of design innovation.”

Here comes phone that lasts two days without char ge

…. As LG L series II debuts

Galaxy S4

phone; Quick Button which enable users customize the quick launch of apps like the camera, browser or music player, using a hot key. Safety Care lets users program 3 options- emergency call forwarding, phone non-usage notice, and my location noticein the event of an emergency; and the Dual SIM function will benefit those that use their phones for both business and personal reasons, in order to ensure both worlds are kept separate.

All three L Series phones are designed in ways that make users feel incredible. The striking layouts are progressive, timeless, and inlaid with life-enriching innovations.

P

eople say that there has been more information in the past twenty years than ever before in the history of the world. Practically anything you search for on google will yield about 300,000 results.

But with this information boom comes loads of challenges.

Carelessly edited, quickly downloaded projects; unchecked facts that could get you into a lot of trouble with your boss, and copying and pasting that could question your creativity. Let’s face it, it is nearly impossible to work without the internet today, but with these simple habits you can override the negatives and click to your advantage.

Write, un-write and rewrite: It’s easy to know information that has been copied from the net. If the blue underlined fonts don’t give you away, the writing style will. So do not be lazy, take out time to put whatever you must have

C M Y K

S

amsung Electronics, would in May release the fourth generation of its flagship Galaxy S series, the Samsung Galaxy S4, in Nigeria. The device will be introduced to the Nigerian market in Lagos on May 10, 2013.

However, the company said it has already started receiving pre-orders for the 5-inch, full HD display flagship device.

LG L Series II The beauty of the Samsung Galaxy S4 lies in its highly Key features in the L series users to use their fingertips crafted design, encompassII phones include the to take down and then share ing a larger screen size, battery and minimized bezel, all Quickmemo which allows handwritten ideas on their housed in a light and slim shape. A prototype of the device shows its slimmer and looks stronger than its predecessor, the Galaxy S3. It seems to have less to hold copied into your own words. the office or the audience you in comparison with S3 but Cross check: Any Tom, Dick or are making a presentation to. yet has more to see Attribute: In some countries, Harry can put anything online. Crosscheck with credible No wonder Managing Diyou could get jailed for It takes a bigger man to find online and non virtual rector of Samsung Electronplagiarism. So if you lift the out just how much of it is true. sources. ics West Africa, Mr. Brovo intellectual property of Being in a rush to share A touch of you: Give Kim described the device as someone else, be sure to make information that you aren’t information got from the a product of Samsung’s commitment to redefining the reference to the writer. If it’s sure of could jeopardize your internet a touch of yourself. way people live towards a scholarly work, be sure to credibility before your online Personalize it with charts, maximizing their fulfilment use the required style for audience, your colleagues at pictures and creative words. of life”. referencing.

The Galaxy S4 runs on Google’s latest Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean operating system and features 2GB of RAM. The most notable improvement in the Galaxy S4 lies in its camera, which now features various modes to allow users to capture photos from thout are safe from attack, wi. sporting events or in lowce cu impacting performan light conditions with just one ymantec’s internet se t, pler The 2013 NIS is also simrin g touch. Its dual-shot function rit y so ftw ar e pr od uc g fe of kin us e, to will allow users to take picNorton is really thinlatest as a en ha nc em en ts su ch user tures and videos with both internet security. The NI S reen-friendly sc ch tou the 13-megapixel rear camy rit ed iti on , th e 20 13 cu se ed fo r an Norton Internet in te rfa ce en gi ne er an d era and front-facing 2-megaso ftw ar e fe at ur es se r ce br ow pe rfo rm an r ste fa pixel camera at the same e Th nt. an tis py wa re , rta reasingly impo touch screens. layers time and combine the input protection, 5 patented bo ok incte st NI S fe at ur es fa ste r optimized for on-less - with from both cameras into one of pr ot ec tio n, Fa centrols la rtu ps & sh ut do wn s, It is also versiup da te s no w final product. protection, Parental co lin e stampletely re-engineered to al l pr od uc t e th in co lo ad ed wn do Other features of the ded an an d an ad va nc ed on p rtu sta ni mi ze an d in sta lle d n. The identity theft protectiola te st miut do wn tim e. It fea tu re s ba ck gr ou nd ; consumers can vice include ‘Group Play’, NI S, lik e al l th e n, is sh ximized battery power to automatically they are safe which lets users share mupr od uc ts fro m No rto and ma uce power consumption; be rest assuredthreats without sic, photos, documents and red games with those around ry from the latest Windows® 8 compatible ke resulting in extended batte m ma nu al ly ch ec ki ng fo r them without requiring Wima to ed er ne fro e en gi ns po t res uc ter od fas pr , and dition faster.

Windows 8 safer and ming lifestem sleep and hibernate updates. In adlonger require Fi or cellular signal; ‘Smart sy co no be ers tes da um ns up Pause’ which enables users co re th Wi te s. It al so of fe rs mo vices co ns um er s ca n control the screen by where more on-the-go with de an d staicient support for digital re bo ot, so st up-to-date they look and the Smart su ch as ta bl et s rtup, eff di a fil es , de sig ne d to receive the mo th ou t be in g Scroll’ feature, which lets wi me sta n ter tio ec fas ot ultrabooks, files such pr dia me l ita dig re ed su ov en . pr users scroll through emails eos interrupted sh ut do wn an d im ar e as photos, music and vid po we r without touching the screen. ba tte ry

How to avoid dangers of copying from the net

BY LAJU ARENYEKA

Samsung flags of der offf pre-or pre-order for Galaxy S4

Norrtton thinks Internet Security with NIS S

32 — Vanguard, FRIDAY , APRIL 26, 2013

,

Scriptwriting is poor, scriptwriters are unappreciated and poorly paid: at the worse end of the value chain

,

C M Y K

Nollywood Uniting Africa

in Nollywood. Scriptwriting is poor, scriptwriters are unappreciated and poorly paid: at the worse end of the value chain. Historical films are few and far between and those done in well developed local languages such as Yoruba are a breath of fresh air, despite poor plots, bad narratives and bad editing.

The ethnic or ‘African’ component therefore cannot be overemphasized. There are no novels being adapted into film. Practitioners are impatient to perfect their trade

N

ollywood has however come to stay and has lent its stability to the African commercial film industry as a whole, with international trade within Africa more versatile than it is with any other industry.

A rash of movie awards are springing up and intensifying all over the place with a clear view to recognizing both the work done and the enormity of the work that still needs to be done. This year the maiden edition of the AfricanMagic Viewers’ Choice Award ceremonies took place in Lagos to huge public attention.

The African Movie Academy awards, held recently in the current presidential cradle of Bayelsa State, thumps at its chest and boasts of being the “African Oscars”. This claim is left to be proven in other regards apart from size, but the theme for the 2013 edition, ‘Africa-One-Africa without borders the integration cinematically ’, is no coincidence.

•Iyabo

•Jim Iyke

•Omotola

,

E

VERY practitioner, consumer and observer of Nollywood appears to have their own unique ideas about the Nigerian film industry which all nonetheless agree has grown in leaps and bounds and has thrived for twenty years. As the industry celebrates 20 years under the able leadership of Ibinabo Fiberisima, the first female president of the Actors Guild, it is clear that Nollywood is an official Nigerian industry to be reckoned with, adding billions of dollars to the Gross Domestic Product and reeling out more than 100,000 jobs both directly and indirectly.

Still industry insiders and stakeholders are not resting on their laurels. They are not particularly pleased with the position they are in and seem to feel there is more the industry is missing, apart from the lack of unification and production quality. Lack of investment, lack of expertise, lack of internal and external regulation, and of course copyright issues are only some of the factors militating against the development of Nollywood, despite its huge growth.

According to Adim Williams, a film marketer and Vice President, Association of Movie Producers (AMP), compared to other film industries (Hollywood and Bollywood) the quality of movies in Nollywood is poor because their production is constrained by the budget. They don’t have enough funds to finance the product, so they make do with what they have. The industry’s financial strait, he claims, stems from low investment inflow, poor state of infrastructure, marketing and distribution system as well as insecurity in the country, and most importantly, the activities of pirates which guarantee no return on investment.

Definitely, originality is one factor that has been sacrificed

The unification of Africa via film might be the much needed impetus that will bring about the much needed investment renaissance in the industry

,

The huge resources being poured into these award ceremonies and parties appear, on the face of it, to be huge wastes, considering they only appear to reinforce the African propensity to celebrate mediocrity, one of the banes of our development. There is also nothing original or particularly innovative about them. They are, however, a response to the staying power and growth of Nollywood, and its great potential to expand exponentially into other African countries.

The unification of Africa via film might be the much needed impetus that will bring about the much needed investment renaissance in the industry. Already investing is Big TV, with DSTV taking their reality show interests beyond the tired Big Brother into zeroing on the lives of Nollywood icons such as Omotola and now Jim Iyke.

Now, these reality shows might be insufferably boring and might fail to get the desired attention; people might not pay attention now,

but they will the Art of Foundation In this our tropical zone, foundation, also known as pancake, is recognized as a necessary evil for the woman who must keep her make-up on in the course of the day. On the one hand, the heat causes sweat, which in turn has the tendency to streak powder and powder make up. On the other hand, foundation tends to be uncomfortable for the wearer inside the heat, causing the wearer to squint and look more wrinkled than she originally did. The balance is very tricky...

Not the back of your hand

The prevailing wisdom is to test the colour on the back of your hand before deciding on it. In reality, the colour of the back of the hand is seldom the same as that of the face, and neither is the texture. A better

Helping twins, multiples central to our

BY EBELE ORAKPO

R

esearch has shown that the Yorubas of Nigeria have the highest twinning rate in the world, at 45-50 twin sets (or 90100 twins) per 1,000 live births. This may be one of the reasons why British-born Nigerian twins – Emmeline Ndubuisi and Pauline Ifechukwude Okafor, decided to come home and help twins and multiples in Nigeria.

Born on March 9, 1983, in London, England, Emmeline and Pauline Okafor, are the first of the four children of Mr. and Mrs Paul Okafor.

The other two are Kelvin Okafor, a fast rising

photo-realistic artist, and John-Paul Okafor, a mortgage advisor.

The twins, both law graduates of Kingston University, dumped their initial dream of becoming Ejima Solicitors to pursue their passion which is empowering twins and multiples. According to the delectable twins, they have not completely abandoned their dream of practising law; they only shelved it for now as they hope to achieve that vision at a later stage.

Today, Emmeline works as a Service Manager for a leading provider of services helping businesses such as SKY and BT commu-

Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2012 — 33

Helping twins central to our NGO Continues from page 32

bet is to take a wild guess if you have never used a foundation before, then adjust with regard to how light or how dark until you get the perfect blend. You are free to do your own blends according to your mood and expertise.

The skin rules apply

the dry skin/ oily skin always and will always apply. It is as always: oil-based foundation for dry skin; water based for oily skin and normal skin.

These are not environment dependent.

Starting at the nose, stipple in small, tight areas, moving to the cheeks and the borders of the face, stippling product inward towards the center.

Repeat this process for your chin. With what is left on the brush, stipple over the area above your lips and below your mouth. Avoid the area where you get smile lines for now. Take a bit of foundation on the outer edge of your brush, and dot lightly under the eyes, concentrating the product at the lower inner corners where your undereyes are darkest. Stipple lightly over this area, taking the foundation applied under the eyes up and onto the eyelid and browbone. Take some on

•Dakore your brush, and stipple it across your forehead and into the hairline (almost as bad as the jawline is a blatant change in color at your hairline, which many people tend to neglect).

Your entire face should now be covered. Take the remainder of the product on your brush, and dot it under your jawline.

Stipple this upwards to “connect” with the product on your face, and downwards slightly to fade it into your neck. Stipple lightly where your ears connect to your face.

Buff in a circular motion

After you have stippled all over your entire face once, lightly buff in small circular motions using the same brush.

This blurs imperfections and removes any excess product, and melds the product with your skin, giving it a natural skin-like texture. Make sure to buff under your eyes, over your eyelids, and around your hairline to blend the product into the tight borders surrounding these areas.

Keep buffing until the foundation starts to feel a bit tacky

Finish with any other powders and

NGO — Okafor twins nicate to their customers through voice data and call centre services, and Pauline works as a Project Coordinator within the financial sector, providing trading systems for private banks such as Goldman Sachs, Citi-Group and Standard Charterd Bank.

Recently, they created the House of Ejima Ltd, an interior decorating outfit where the two bring their love and passion for home and office renovation to life because according to the twins nicknamed Copy and Paste, at House of Ejima, they hope to ‘Copy Your Dream and Paste It into Your Reality.’

Twins Connect Skills & Empowerment Centre:

“With a deep rooted sense of responsibility and desire to Continues on page 33

,

•Ibinabo

•Emeline and Pauline Okafor....We will copy your dream and paste it into your reality.

In this our tropical zone, foundation, also known as pancake, is recognized as a necessary evil for the woman who must keep her make-up on in the course of the day

,

blend

Apply loose and any other powder products (blush, bronzer, contour, etc.), and blend well.

If you wish to sheer down this application further, dampen your brush slightly before application to prevent excess product from being absorbed by the bristles. Make sure to always use a clean brush for application ( wash every 3-4 days) to avoid caking. And never forget to set and blot!

Let your foundation set

This step is crucial. Let the foundation set for 3-5 minutes.

Take a tissue, and blot all over your face, avoiding the nose if you have large pores. Pay special attention to the eyelids, lines under the eyes, and the corners of the eyes (where excess product will definitely have creased and collected). If your foundation tends to set into your smile lines, you may wish to buff very lightly over this area once more using the same brush as before.

reach out to twins, especially those that are less advantaged, we are pleased to introduce the Twins Connect Skills and Empowerment Centre, a non-governmental organisation. Helping twins and multiples is actually central to our NGO,” they said. At the centre, twins and multiples between the ages of 15 and 30 years, will be provided with “social skills, character growth, educational guidance, and career development, with the goal of increasing personal and professional achievement.

They stated that the training will involve “skills acquisition, empowerment, tutorship and entrepreneurship/ leadership in a large selection of fields, including comedy, carpentry, sports, fashion, music, theatrical arts, modelling and other business areas,” adding that the Empowerment Center will work collaboratively with established personal development and mentoring organisations.

Going beyond empowerment: “We will not stop at empowerment, but on a case by case basis, we look to finance the actualisation of their chosen business or career paths through our loan scheme.” ther programmes lined up by Emmeline and Pauline are Twins Connect TV pro gramme, financing, Consulting services, Entertainment, Counselling and Intellectual property development. The TV programme “ would be used as an avenue to reach out not only to twins but to the general public. In financing, we hope to help to facilitate funding, directly or through partnering with financial institutions, to enable business production and development and also aid the growth of their existing

O

trade.”

The Consulting services will entail “advising and helping to develop key business concepts, strategies, financing and good corporate decision-making, all aimed at helping to grow and develop business ideas.”

“We will use the Twins Connect TV programme as a platform for not only creating awareness of our activities but also an impactful household entertainment programme which documents the success of the work carried out and the progress of the individuals.

T

he counselling unit will be “advising twins on the best possible way of dealing with life and its challenges. Acting as a point of contact, a support system where they can discuss any issue or concern that they experience.”

Intellectual property development unit will aim to “develop ideas, concepts, and programmes and learn how to identify and manage various rights within their business field.”

Said the twins whose mission is to regularly develop ways of promoting and enhancing the skills and talents of these individuals, “ we hope to offer workshops, guidance and support on the transition from youth to adulthood.

“At the same time, reinforcing the importance of positive supervision over our youth and how this benefits and contributes to the growth and development of our society.

“Our dream is to be a leading, trusted and respected empowerment body in Nigeria, Africa in particu l a r, a n d t h e w o r l d a t large,” they said.

34 — Vanguard Vanguard,,

FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013 YOUR LUCK TODAY

By Joshua Adeyemo Phone 08056180139

CANCER; You will be in good position to consolidate on progress made yesterday. However you will need to watch your mood from 9.46am to 12.43pm.

LEO; It is important you don’t take things for granted around mid-morning and early afternoon period so that you will not run into avoidable disappointments.

VIRGO; If you are in position to control your actions you would fare better if you can wait till after 12,43pm before you make an important move. Be family minded.

LIBRA; Your being receptive can enhance your prospects but that is not to say you have to be naïve, especially during mid-morning and early afternoon periods.

SCORPIO; Success is boldly printed on your cards and like yesterday if priority attention is given to money the scope of your success will be wider.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

By Richard Eromosele

E

VERYONE of us wants to be the champion in our field of endeavour.

However, not everyone wants to undergo the painful process that could make the champi-

To be the champion onship stuff.

The mystery of life is that we must give something in order to get something.

For example, to be the champion we need to realise the

position of the champion is not vacant and it will not be voluntarily vacant except we forced it to be vacant. Simply put,

TERROR MUDA in “Never say goodbye”

we must be ready to dethrone the current champion if we must become the champion.

Do you want to be the champion?

Then be prepared to beat the current champion.

By Lanre Kehinde

SGITTARIUS; Although things may be happening around you, you are the right person to make things happen and give others opportunities.. Be wise.

CAPRICORN; Take note that others may break promises made before early afternoon period; that is to say you should not take anybody for granted before 12.43pm AQUARIUS; Although friends are willing to assist you circumstances may not allow complete help as expected. 9.46am to 12.43pm can be a bit sensitive.

PISCES; Emphasis will continue to be on career related issues. However you will not be wrong if you take matters-of-the-heart more seriously now. Be more loving.

ARIES; Mid-morning till early afternoon period may bring more promises than it can actually deliver; your being clever will see you through. Be very practical.

TAURUS; Continue to attach necessary importance to your family values. Here is a day when joint ventures can bring you under pressure between 9.46am and 12.43pm.

KAPTAIN AFRIKA

in

“Princess Shii’

By Andy Akman

GEMINI; Other people will continue to feature in your activities; that is to say you will need to be as cooperative as reason permits. Watch it between 9.46am&12.43pm

ASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLING Send yyour our dat th ttoo the As tr ological datee and place of bir birth Astr trological Counselling, PP.M.B .M.B 1100 00 7, Apapa, Lagos 007,

Who am I? Dear Joshua I don’t want my data published but tell me everything I should know about myself. Sometimes I am confused the type of a person I am, especially when others misunderstand me. Thus I am asking you who is actually in me- Astrologically.

Diran-Abuja.

Dear Diran, At face value one may be tempted to wrongly take you for a very soft person but, with the preponderance of fixed quality and fire element in your Astrological make ups here is a determined and ambitious Soul with stronger will-power (actually once your mind is made up on any important issue you rarely change). Saturn as the only planet at home when you were born pointed to a person who will always take important decision when and if his career will not be put in danger; meaning my career first.

Although, the Sun is the Centre of the Solar system and wherever is placed in any given horoscope is the heart of that horoscope, by implication placement of the mighty Sun in Cancer here means that you are mainly a Cancer born person, with more than two (there were actually four) heavenly bodies placed in Kingly Leo when you were born, you are equally a Leo born person as Leo was serving as the stellium during your birth hour.

Equally it is important to point out prominence of bold Aries in your chart as it hosted your natal Moon. Anyway equal distribution of planetary placement in push-full and non-push-full positions will ensure balanced personality with powerful LEADERSHIP skill in you. Your natal Sun, Moon and Stellium in Cancer, Aries and Leo respectively are indications of your being mainly a Cancer born person and partly Aries/Leo; meaning that basic characteristics of the three Star signs mentioned (namely Cancer, Aries and Leo) are highly pronounced in your inner-se

VIRGINIA

Commen3

dadadekola@yahoo.com

by Lawrence Akapa

Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013— 35

Ahmadiyya tasks leaders on good governance

T

Tel: 08098097290 email: isholaism@yahoo.co.uk

Your treatment of women! (2) Continued from last week

S

cholars like Ata bin Rab ah (May Allah’s mercy be with him) stated, the fact that the Prophet (pbuh) never resorted to the permission of beating and said, ‘He who beats his wife is not a good person’ (Hazimi, al-Itibar) Islam encourages kind treatment of women and forbids in both word and spirit, their abuse in any form, be it physical, verbal, emotional and psychological. It therefore stands to reason that rape is something that Islam condemns in the strongest terms and, in fact a rapist in an Islamic country would be sentenced to death by the Islamic courts.

It was this type of thought that permeated the psyche of Muslim societies from the time of the Noble Messenger of Allah (pbuh)until this day and any behaviour to the contrary by Muslims today is nothing other than their deviation from the principles advocated by Islam and the lifestyle of the Noble Prophet (pbuh). Issues like

honour killings and spousal abuse in Muslim societies which are often highlighted in the media and for which Islam is criticised are practices that have their place in culture and have no basis in the Qur’aan

always makes an issue of and maligns the treatment of women in Islam it is interesting to note that Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world (Guiness book of records) and in the west, in

,

By Abu Muhammed

Islam advocates the institution of Hijab so that women are judged for what they are truly worth and not merely objects for men’s gratification

and Sunnah. Shariah always has an ‘inner’ as well as an ‘outer’ mechanism that are used to achieve its objectives. In the issue discussed, if the psyche of the society could be described as the ‘inner’ mechanism to allow for women to be respected and honoured then it must be said as an ‘outer’ mechanism. Islam advocates the institution of Hijab so that women are judged for what they are truly worth and not merely objects for men’s gratification. As much as the media

,

particular, most reverts are women who have no hesitation in donning the hijab. In fact, they do so with much pride.

In Islam rape and all other forms of women abuse are reviled. The Prophet (pbuh) discouraged and penalised adultery, fornication and rape.

May Almighty Allah Ta’ala grant us the wisdom, courage and moral strength to uphold the rights and dignity of our women in society. Ameen.

Concluded

ISBON holds Da’wah in Ogbomosho

T

HE Patron of Islamic Brotherhood of Nigeria, ISBON, Ustaz Shaykh Abdur-Razaq Adam Thanni has charged politicians and office holders in the country to consider patriotism and philanthropy as point of duty to the nation.

The scholar made this remark while delivering a lecture at a Three-Day Da’wah Camp programme organ-

ised by ISBON in Ogbomosho, Osun state. He stated that “Almighty Allah has provided enough to go round, wealth that is capable of taking care of, not only himself and his family but, his community at large,” adding that failure to care for others, might result into loss of recognition, honour, dignity and povertywhich could in turn trigger crimes in the society.

The biennual event also coincided with the formal inauguration of Ogbomosho branch which had eminent dignitaries in attendance.

The personalities included the Chief Imam of Ogbomoso land, the Mufassir and other members of League of Imams and Alfas, Ogbomoso, the former governor of Oyo State, Gov. Alao Akala among others.

From left: Rolph Olson,Political Attache US Embassy; Ustaz Abdulrahman Sulaiman Adangba, National Chief Missioner; Jeff Hawkins, Consulate General, US Embassy; Bode Sanusu National Secretary General and Patrick, a staff of US Embassy when Al-Fatih-ul Quareeb Islamic Society of Nigeria hosted a delegation from the American embassy at its National Secretariat, Imole Oluwa House, Ogba, Lagos.

HE Majlis Khuddam-ulAhmadiyya of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Organisation, has charged leaders at various level of governance to lead by example, show justice and equity and eschew all forms of vegeance inorder to move the nation forward. The cahrge was contained in a communique issued at the end of its 41st annual convention held at Oke-Ado, Ibadan Oyo State recently.

It also held that Nigerians, irrespective of their religious persuasions should bow at the threshold of the Divine power and pray for God’s intervention in the affairs of the nation.

The group noted that “Government should guarantee the security of life lives and property by establishing social justice and refraining from double standards in the administration of justice. Those who are truly guilty of perpetuating violence and those aiding them must be brought to book regardless of who they are and the cause they claim to pursue.”

The convention also condemned the treatment being given to Muslim brothers and Sisters in Pakistan. “We hereby implore the international community to look into the murders of minority religious groups in Pakistan being engineered by some Muslim clerics and ask the Pakistani government to respect freedom of religion has fully entrenched in the UN charter on human rights.”

Among other key observations at the end of the 4-day Convention are, “that the salvation of Nigeria as a nation, at this time of its beleaguered history, depends largely on the youth who are the custodians of its future.”

It also held that the pluralist nature of the country is not an

accident of nature but a divine scheme to teach Nigerians the virtues of tolerance, mutual understanding and cooperation.

The event was attended by no fewer 2,500 participants who were drawn from 22 states of the federation, including representatives of the Majlis Khuddam-ulAhmadiyya from the Republic of Benin, Republic of Burkina Faso and the Republic of Cameroon.

Other participants are Secretary to the Oyo State Government, Senator Olufemi Lanlehin, President, National Youth Council of NigeriaComrade Wale Ajani ,founder of Shafaudeen Islamic Society, Engr. S.A. Olagoke, Director of Youths -Oyo State Ministry of Youth, Alhaja Adegbola, representative of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, President of the, representative of the Youth Wing of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).

Other activities at the convention included educational and sports events such as Taekwondo, Soccer, Table Tennis, Tug of War, among others.

Also, MKAN, in conjunction with Humanity First, an international NGO founded by the former Supreme Head of the World-Wide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Hadrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, conducted a health camp at Oja’ba in the heart of the city of Ibadan during which free medical services were rendered to the people irrespective of religious or ethnic affiliations.

During the period, the youth wing of the Ahmadiyya muslim jamaat, also embarked on Humanitarian Visit to Orphanage to FOMWAN Motherless Babies participated in environmental sanitation by clearing drainages in the community.

NIKKAI: Al-Fatihu Quareeb weds Ansar-ud-Deen

T

HE family of the National Chief Missioner of Al-Fatih-ul Quareeb Islamic Society of Nigeria, Ustaz Abdulrahman Sulaiman Adangba will be giving out his daughter, Maimunat Adangba, in marriage to the family of another Islamic

scholar, Chief Missioner of Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria, Sheikh Abdur Rahaman Ahmad.

The marriage ceremony will hold on Saturday, May 4, 2013 at the Lagos State Secretariat Central Mosque Alausa, Ikeja.

•From left: Imam Quozim Hamzat, Sheikh Issa Khidr Lawal Chief Imam, Iju /Ogundimu Central Mosque; Abdul Quadir Markaz and Alhaji Abdul Rahman Adeshina during a turbaning/fund raising ceremony organised by Iju Ogundimu Central Mosque.

36—Vanguard , FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013

Contractors get EGCDF ultimatum

Parents tasked on children's reading habit

Edo youths caution PDP over ‘sponsored protests'

C

HAIRMAN of Egbema-Gbaramatu Communities Development Foundation, EGCDF, Delta State, Chief Michael Johnny, has issued a twoweek ultimatum to defaulting contractors to complete all abandoned projects in the communities.

Johnny expressed displeasure, in Warri, over the behaviour of some contractors to the foundation, saying that he will inspect projects in Egbema and Gbaramatu on May 1.

Johnny said: “It is unfortunate that some contractors collected money and abandoned projects awarded to them, while others collected soft loan from the foundation, but deliberately refused to pay back.

“Such nonchalant attitude will not be tolerated by my administration.”

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

B

ENIN—CHAIRMAN of Edo State is in Safe Hands, a political group in Edo State, Mr. Washington Osifo, has said that youths of the state will resist any attempt by Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to distract Governor Adams Oshiomhole through what he described as “sponsored protests” against the results of the just concluded local government elections.

Meanwhile, following calls

by PDP for the cancellation of last Saturday’s elections,

Edo North Action Congress of Nigeria Youth leader, Mr. Roland Igbadumhe, has said that ACN’s victory at the polls was a reflection of the achievements of the Oshiomhole-led government in the state.

Addressing newsmen in Benin, Osifo said: “The people of Edo State should not be hoodwinked into the empty rhetoric of the Chief Dan Orbih-led PDP, because they have no ideas of what is referred to as a free and fair election.

“Edo people should ask Orbih, who is complaining about the conduct of the

party congress that threw him up as PDP chairman.

“It is not an issue that materials for the conduct of the elections arrived late as that did not stop Edo State Independent Electoral Commission, EDSIEC from conducting a free and fair election.

“As people who are interested in the future of democracy in Edo State, we commend Oshiomhole for the enthronement of the principle of one-man one-vote.

“PDP lost the election because they were not prepared, therefore, they must stop protesting and disturbing the peace of the state.”

BY FESTUS AHON

U

GHELLI—DELTA State Commissioner for Higher Education, Prof. Hope Eghagha, has charged parents to encourage their children to form reading habit of relevant books to improve their vocabulary, knowledge and develop a sound mind.

Eghagha spoke during an interactive session with newsmen on the celebration of the World’s Book Day. Eghagha said: “The celebration is meant to enhance and inculcate reading culture in our people, hence 23rd of every April is set aside to celebrate the day all over the world.

“We have a lot to benefit from it. It develops sound mind, provides necessary information, serves as knowledge reservoir, develop the brain, among others.

“Books also help to boost the economy of a state. When people buy books, publishers benefit from the proceeds.”

... as hotel denies report of kidnap, rape

World Malaria Day: Nigerians tasked on hygiene

BY EMMA AMAIZE

W

A R R I — M A N AG E MENT of Casa De Pedro Hotels Ltd, Effurun, Delta State, has denied allegation that a 53-year-old woman was kidnapped and raped in the hotel, noting that the hotel was not a den of kidnappers as alleged in

N

IGERIANS have been advised to make more effort towards hygiene to ensure that there are no breeding areas for mosquitoes.

Sanjay Kashyap, Marketing Director of Reckitt Benckiser, gave the charge during an event to mark 2013 World Malaria Day at Ifako-Ijaiye council, Lagos State, yesterday.

Kashyap said the Mortein brand was in partnership with the state Ministry of Health to implement health programmes and malaria control activities aimed at stopping the scourge of malaria.

some quarters.

It, however, admitted that the woman, a staff of Petroleum Training Institute, PTI, Effurun, actually checked into Room 602 in the hotel on April 16, at 5:30p.m., but said that the report of attempted kidnap and rape was false.

Manager of the hotel, Mr. Imonsan Godspower, told Vanguard he was baffled that some journalists in Warri took advantage of the situation to

attempt a rip-off the hotel, saying that the management refused to be cajoled.

He said: “This incident was reported to me on the 17th of this month, when I resumed work. The General Supervisor told me what happened.”

Imonsan urged members of the public to disregard the allegation, saying “this is the first time in the history of Casa De Pedro that such a thing has ever happened.”

Standard Bank: June 7 for ruling on Braithwaite's application

BY JIMOH WILLIAMS

A

Lagos State High Court sitting in Igbosere, yesterday, adjourned till June 7 for ruling on an application for an amendment of the originating summons by Lagos lawyer and an elder statesman, Dr. Tunji Braithwaite, over the erection of a 14-storey building and five-level car park being constructed close to his

residence in Victoria Island

by Standard Chartered Bank.

At the resumed hearing in the matter, Braithwaite argued that his application for amendment of his originating processes was justified and meritorious in law.

He contended that the respondent’s conduct in rushing the construction of the building to 9th floor was not only manifestly wrong, but

also makes it necessary for him to amend his originating summons.

He argued that the validity of the development permit allegedly issued by the Lagos State Government had also been challenged.

“In all civil litigation, it is the duty of the court to aim at, and to do substantial justice and allow formal amendments as are necessary for the ultimate

By Bartholomew Madukwe

PEOPLE SPEAK

08102479985

achievement of justice and the end of litigation,” he argued.

Counsel to the bank argued that the application deserved to be dismissed.

Counsel argued: “The application to amend may be made to a judge. Such application shall be supported by an exhibit of the proposed amendment and may be allowed upon such terms as to costs or otherwise as may be just.”

(nwamad@yahoo.com)

What's your take on rotational presidency?(2)

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O TAT I O N A L presidency is a good thing because Nigeria is ethnically heterogeneous. It, therefore, becomes essential to rotate the office of the President. But we should not sacrifice good governance for rotational presidency.—Miss Morenike Kuponiyi, Lawyer.

I

T is undemocratic and so we should not succumb to that aspect of politics. In a society like ours, calling for rotational presidency is like fanning the embers of ethnicity and mediocrity. There will be so much trouble.— Mr. Chukwuma Onwuemene, Lawyer.

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HE only good thing about rotational presidency is that it gives a sense of participation to all segments of the country.

However, it is undemocratic as it forecloses the chance of equal participation by qualified citizens.— Mr. Charles Igwe, Lawyer.

I

T is a very nice idea, if enacted into law by the legislature. Going by the fact that we have six geo-political zones, each zone should be able to produce a president based on the reputation of their candidate.It is good.— Mr. Nnamdi Onwonyishi, Lawyer.

I

throw my weight behind rotational presidency. Gone are the days when some people get all the political power and believe that the presidency is theirs by divine right. Rotational presidency will ensure equal representation.— Mr. Jacob Bamigboye, Lawyer.

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O TAT I O N A L presidency celebrates mediocrity. The people’s votes would not count. I do not think this country needs it. What I believe is that the president should be elected based on what he or she has to offer.— Mr. Ekpeowoh Samuel, Lawyer.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013—37

FGPL committed to shareholders' interests —Board

BY INNOCENT ANABA

T

HE Board of Direc tors of First Guarantee Pensions Limited, FGPL, has restated its commitment to the shareholders and contributors on the safety of their investment in the company, adding that they were making efforts to amicably resolve issues that might have existed between them and the management of National Pension Commission, PenCom. FGPL board, led by Chief Ojo Olaiya, restated its position in the wake of the reported marching order from PenCom to the Directors of the Pension Funds Administrator, PFA, to resolve their differences within the shortest possible time.

PenCom had taken over the management of FGPL based on the content of a 2011 Draft Target Examination, putting an interim management committee to superintend over the affairs of the company, but the regulator was challenged in court by the board of directors of the PFA comprising both local and foreign shareholders, individually and in joint capacity.

Ruling on November 28, 2011, Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Lagos, restrained PenCom, their servants or agents, from interfering with and or dealing with the assets of FGPL; while on July 18 2012, Justice Donatus Okorowo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, in a final judgment declared as null and void “First Guarantee Pension Limited Target Examination Report” authored by PenCom on the basis of which the report was made in violation of the Fundamental Rights of a Director of FGPL. A source in the industry, on the claim that Justice Gabriel Kolawole of Federal High Court, Abuja, ordered parties to revert to status quo, expressed surprise that an ex-parte order, which does not subsist after 14 days was being used by the regulator to continue to ignore a lawful pronouncement of a law court, even as it had gone on appeal.

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Ex-NIMASA boss didn’t benefit from contracts, says witness A

PROSECUTION witness in the trial of former Director-General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Raymond Omatseye, has said the accused did not financially benefit from contracts awarded during his days is office.

The witness, Ibrahim Ahmed, an Investigating Police Officer with Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, told a Federal High Court in Lagos that investigation did not reveal that Omatseye financially benefited from the contracts.

Ahmed, who was cross examined last Friday by defence lawyer,Olusina Sofola (SAN), said the contracts were approved by the agency’s board.

He referred to a memo indicating that the chairman of NIMASA’s board, Senator Baba Tella, directed that quotations for the contracts be submitted for approval.

When asked whether his investigation could not establish that there was a submission of quotations for the contracts, Ahmed said on page 17b of the memo (tendered before the court), the chair-

man of NIMASA board told the ex-DG to bring up quotations to board for final approval.

Ahmed, who told the court in an earlier testimony that contracts were split by NIMASA to avoid exceeding the DG’s approval threshold, said he did not investigate the companies that benefited from the contracts and others that bidded.

On claim that there was manipulation in the contract award process, Ahmed said he could not establish that because he could not reach the companies.

Asked if, in the course of his investigation, he discovered that the companies met to agree on the bid they were to submit, Ahmed answered in the negative.

He said the companies’

PSN ANNUAL LUNCHEON: From Left: Mr. Biola Adebayo, Operation Director, Fidson Healthcare Plc, representing the MD of the company and chairman of the occassion; Mr. Obembe A.C., Chairman, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, and DR. Obiora Chukwura, Chairman, Greenlife Pharmaceuticals Ltd., during the 2013 Annual Luncheon and Swearing-in of the Executive Committee of Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, Lagos State Branch, in Lagos, yesterday. Photo: Joe Akintola, Photo Editor.

Bayelsa govt mobilises against smear campaign

BY SAMUEL OYADONGHA

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E N A G O A — BAYELSA State Government, yesterday, engaged members of Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, and civil society groups in the state, over the planned campaign against rumour mongering and spread of false claims on the policies and plans of the current administration in the state.

The government, through the Public Information Management Committee, PIMC, during an interactive session

with members of non-governmental organisations, pressure groups and other stakeholders, said though the campaign against rumour mongering was active, “it is to ensure proper dissemination of information.”

Chairman of the committee, Chief Boma Spero-Jack, said the campaign through the committee was committed to work with the public, especially the media, to ensure that misinformation does not become a way of life for the people of the state.

According to him, the campaign by the state government can only succeed with the sup-

port and inputs of stakeholders.

He called on media organisations to ensure that the people of the state get the right information so as to avoid misinformation.

He said: “Let me assure you that this is not a gagging committee. It does not say don’t speak. It does not say that it is an offence to speak. The committee is set up to encourage you to speak. The only proviso is that you make sure that you check your facts. Any meaningful individual or organisation must make sure you uphold the ethics of the profession.”

NULGE leader commends LG Commission’s Chair

BY EMMA ARUBI

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ARRI—A LEADER of Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, in Delta State, Mr. Monday Agbeyi, has said that the recent award conferred on Chairman of Delta State Local Government Service Commission, Mrs. Nkem Okwofu, was well deserved.

Agbeyi, in a statement in Warri, said all the recipients

quotations were not shown to him and that there was no other memo that stated that the quotations were submitted.

Omatseye is being tried on a charge of 27 counts, containing allegations of contract splitting, bid rigging and allegedly awarding contracts exceeding the threshold allowed a D.G. by the Public Procurement Act, while he was in office.

of the state NULGE 2013 award are the union members' role models, having contributed immensely to good governance in the state, local government administration and the welfare of council workers generally, adding that their being chosen for the award was not misplaced.

He commended wife of the state governor, Mrs. Roli Uduaghan and the deputy governor of the state, Prof.

Amos Utuama, for their outstanding contributions to the growth, peace, and infrastructural development in the state, noting that the duo had provided the pillar of support to Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan in the administration of the state.

He commended Mrs. Uduaghan, whose I Care programme and other women empowerment schemes had served as a motivation to propel the NULGE welfare package for the year.

Nigerian Army 82 Div shoots to test fitness

BY EGUFE YAFUGBOHI

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ORT HARCOURT— GENERAL Officer Commanding, GOC, 82 Division of Nigerian Army, Maj-Gen. Adebayo Olaniyi, took to the trenches, yesterday, with officers of the division on a gunfire exercise to test the shooting skills of his soldiers.

The exercise, which took place at the Army 2 Brigade Headquarters Shooting Range, Igwuruta, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, marked the Division’s observance of the 2013 Annual Army Range Classifications.

Addressing newsmen after taking part in the exercise, Gen. Olaniyi noted that the exercise was a routine and significant.

He said: “From what we are doing here, we are able to pick our best firers to represent the Division in the Nigerian Army Sports Championship holding in June this year and from the national champions, we pick representatives for intercontinental army shooting competitions.

“Secondly, it enables every officer, especially non-combatant soldiers, to improve their shooting competence. That helps us as an army and the nation at large to be better prepared for security challenges."

38—Vanguard , FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013

IMSG explains Okorocha’s treatment abroad

BY CHIDI NKWOPARA

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From left: Mr. Young E. Ekwekuwo, Owerri Airport MD; Mr. George Uriesi, Managing Director, FAAN; Capt. Fola Akinkuotu, Director General -Designate, NCAA; Mazi Nnamdi Udoh, Managing Director, NAMA, and Capt. Chinyere Kalu, during inspection of Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport facilities in Owerri, in preparation for its commissioning.

ASUU faction emerges at UNIZIK

BY VINCENT UJUMADU

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WKA — THE crisis rocking Nnamdi Azikiwe University ’s branch of Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, took another dimension yesterday with the emergence of a faction, known as ASUU Nnamdi Azikiwe University Progressives.

The group, consisting of many professors and other academic staff, said at a crowded news conference at the School of Post Graduate Studies of the university, that as stakeholders in the institution, they would not watch the local ASUU drag the name of UNIZIK to the mud.

Spokesman of the group, Professor Maduabuchukwu Uduko, lamented a situation where the institution’s ASUU dragged the university to court without consulting members, adding that the action was capable of denting the image of the university.

Imo govt to compensate owners of demolished structures in Owerri WERRI — Mr. Uche cise. provisions of the master plan O Nwosu, Imo CommisHe said those to be compen- of the capital city. sioner for Land, Housing and sated were owners of affected He added that the demoliUrban Development, yesterday, said government would compensate those affected by the recent demolition of illegal structures in Owerri.

Nwosu was speaking in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Owerri while reacting to comments by some victims of the exer-

BY ENYIM ENYIM

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NITSHA — Following the resumed clash between Enugu- Otu, Mkpumado, Eziagulu- Otu at Aguleri, Anambra State and Olu at Ibeji in Kogi State over

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tion of illegal structures was not meant to witch-hunt anybody but for the development of the state.

Nwosu said Imo government was set to restructure Owerri to become a modern city, but that such plans could only be achieved by adhering strictly to the master plan.

oil well dispute, a member of Anambra State House of Assembly, Mr. Obinna Emenaka, yesterday, called on the Federal Government and the National Boundary Commission to quickly wade into the crisis.

Emenaka, who described the killing of people from his place over land as barbaric, said it was high time both the federal and state governments intervened to end the killing and maiming of people in the crisis.

Anambra governorship aspirant drags LP to court

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WKA — THE decision by Anambra State leadership of Labour Party, LP, to relocate the state secretariat from the private house of a governorship aspirant in the state, Chief Basil Iwoba, has become a subject of litigation at the

cleric tells FG HE SENIOR Pastor of Christ Livingspring Apostolic Ministry. Pastor Wole Oladiyun, has called on the Federal Government and other stakeholders in the county to allow youth participation in their transformation agenda.

Making the call during a media briefing on the church's 15 th anniversary, themed: 'Behold I will do a new thing,'

houses with original documents of such buildings.

Owerri Capital Development Authority (OCDA) recently began demolition of illegal structures in Owerri where many house owners had become victims of the exercise.

The commissioner said the exercise was in line with the

Anambra/Kogi crisis: FG, Boundary Commission called to intervene

Include youth in decision-making,

BY OLAYINKA LATONA

WERRI — IMO State government has denied the rumour that Governor Rochas Okorocha was flown abroad for medical attention because of the dismal state of affairs in government owned general hospitals in the state.

Commissioner for Health, Dr. Joe Obi-Njoku, who disclosed this to newsmen in Owerri, explained that Governor Rochas Okorocha was first treated at Orlu before being flown to a London hospital for a second medical opinion.

“The governor was not flown abroad for medical attention because of the alleged

sagging functions of general hospitals in the state, as some people have been bandying,” the commissioner said.

Noting that Okorocha received medical attention in a hospital at Orlu before he was taken to a London hospital for a second opinion, Obi-Njoku, however, explained that there were certain things medically that could not be done in the country because hospitals here were not fully equipped.

On the vexed issue of privatisation of medical establishments in the state, the commissioner said government adopted the option following the comatose state of the facilities when the administration came on board.

He described as diversionary controversies trailing the planned concession of the state-owned hospitals, adding that government had confidence in the ability of the new managers of the hospitals to properly handle the affairs of the medical outfits, as well as give adequate attention to the citizenry.

“We are reactivating the hospitals and equipping them with necessary facilities that would help to attain the high level needed to discharge effective services to the people,” the commissioner said.

at the church headquarters, in Lagos, Pastor Oladiyun said young people had a right to be involved in the decisions that affected them.

Describing youths as essential building blocks, Oladiyun argued that for peace, political and economic stability of the nation, federal, state, local governments and various organisations should support young people, so they can grow into productive and powerful leaders of tomorrow.

Federal High Court, Awka.

Iwoba donated his house at No. 22, Nya Ranch, GRA, Awka, to LP, for use as state secretariat, but leaders of the party later felt it was a Greek gift because the governorship aspirant was said to be determined to appoint his cronies into the party leadership without following due process which the party stakeholders

rebuffed.

Apparently to detach the party from the dictates of the governorship aspirant, the state chairman of LP, Mr. Sam Oraegbunam, secured another office at the high brow Udoka housing estate in Awka which was later commissioned by the national chairman of the party, Mr. Dan Nwanyanwu.

He said people of Aguleri had lost many lives in the renewed attack by the Ibaji, while two men had been taken captive and many houses burnt. ” The crisis is condemnable, unacceptable and a breach of the constitution of the land, sections 33 and 35 that stipulate the safety of Nigerians in any part of the country,” he said.

He regretted that in spite of concerted efforts by the governors of Anambra and Kogi states to end the crisis, it was still getting out of control and called on his colleagues in Kogi State House of Assembly and National Assembly to assist in finding a lasting solution to the problem.

ANSU receives N100m books from foreign varsities, indigenes abroad

BY VINCENT UJUMADU

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WKA — ANAMBRA State University, ANSU, Uli, has received books worth about N100 million from some foreign- based institutions and Anambra indigenes residing in the United States of America, USA. Other donors include the Students Aid Foundation, Ed-

ucation Support Initiative for Africa and Ujuokris Foundation for the Elderly.

The books are in the fields of criminal justice, management, political science, agriculture, among others.

Presenting the books to the Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Fidelis Okafor, at Uli, the president of Anambra State Association in USA,

ASA – USA, Dr. Allison Anadi, on behalf of the other organisations, commended the institution for attaining a very high academic standard.

Okafor urged the donors not to relent in supporting human development, assuring that authorities of the university would continue to do everything humanly possible to maintain their high standards.

Vanguard , FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013 —39

WORKSHOP— From left: Kimono Kollection’s, Mr. Hakeem Balogun; Marketing Manager, Hand Held Products, Samsung Electronics West Africa, Ms. Olajumoke Okikiolu and Business Head, Hand Held Products, Samsung Electronics West Africa, Mr. OVERSIGHT—From left: Senator Gyang Pwajok; Senator Danladi Saukara, Senate Com- Emmanouil Revmatas at the Samsung’s “Galaxy S4 Design for Life” mittee Chairman on Health; Senator Ifeanyi Okowa and Senator Paulinus Igwe, dur- workshop in Ikoyi, Lagos. Photo: Joe Akintola, Photo Editor. ing oversight function to NAFDAC in Lagos. Photo: Biodun Ogunleye.

INTERACTION—From left: Permanent Secretary, Osun Universal Basic Education Board, Alhaji Fatai Kolawole; Commissioner for Agric and Food Security, Mr Wale Adedoyin; President, Osun State Chapter of the Association for Proprietors and Heads of Schools, Mrs. Sadiat Oladapo, Osun State Deputy Governor, Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori and Senator Bayo Salami during an interaction with head teachers in Osogbo, Osun State.

WORKSHOP—From left: Prof Tola Atinmo, President Federation of African Nutrition Societies; Dr Busari Adebisi, SUBEB Chairman; and Dr Samuel Adenekan, Corporate Communication and Public Affairs Manager, Nestle Plc, during a workshop organised by Nestle Foods Plc for school teachers in Oyo State in Ibadan. Photo: by Dare Fasube.

LAUNCH—From left: Marketing Manager, Classic Beverage Total Impact, Mr. Obarotimi Bayo; General Manager, Mr. Gary Carlton and Group Brand Manager, Mr. Mani Siddhartha, during the launch of the La Casera new theme campaign in Lagos.

SUMMIT—From left: Max von Bonin, Storage Platform Lead, CEWA, IBM; Michael Manzi, Country Manager, CWG Uganda; CS Vinay, Associate Regional Manager/Head, Africa Finacle; Neeraj Bajpai, ISV & SI’s Architect, IBM; and Somas Balasubramanian, Client Technical Architect, IBM MEA, during a business Summit in Kampala, Uganda.

WORLD MALARIA DAY—From left: Chairman, Ifako Ijaiye LGA, Oloruntoba Oke; Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Olufemi Olugbile and Chairman, Primary Healthcare Board, Lagos State, Dr. Babatunde Sagoe at the World Malaria Day organised by Lagos State government in partnership with Mortein, in Ifako Ijaye, Lagos, yesterday.

APPOINTMENT—From left: Chairman, Association of General Private Medical Practitioners of Nigeria, Lagos State Branch, Dr. Adeyeye Jimmy Arigbabuwo; Secretary, AGMPN, Dr Olusegun Akeredolu; Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Ogun State, Mrs. Abimbola Ibironke Akeredolu, Wife of the National President of AGPMPN, Mrs.Omolola and her husband, Dr. Anthony Omolola during a ceremony organised by AGPMPN, to honour Mrs. Abimbola Akeredolu for her new appointment.

BRIEFING—From left: Business Critical System Sales Specialist, Hewlett-Packard, Nigeria, Mr. Bertram Idoko; Business Critical Systems Manager, HP Africa, Mr. Makis Phocas and Business Critical Systems Pre-sales, HP Nigeria, Mr. John Ilozor, during a briefing on HP Business Critical Sytems Services in Nigeria in Lagos. Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi.

40—Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013

Jigawa awards N2.2bn contract for Dutse International Airport

Benue House confirms five commissioner nominees

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UTSE—THE Jigawa State Government has awarded two contracts at the cost of N2.2 billion for the Phase 1B of the Dutse International Airport.

The Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Ibrahim Babandi, told newsmen at the end of the State Executive Council meeting in Dutse that the contracts would facilitate the completion of the airport project by September.

“Today, Council approved the contract for the Phase 1 B of the international airport project. The contract include additional access roads and apron; construction of security fence; control tower; fire station and emergency centre and air traffic control system.

“The total contract sum for the two companies is N2,211,126,812. 63. This is a representation of the government’s desire for the completion of the project by September in preparation for this year ’s Hajj pilgrimage so that the pilgrims can start using the airport.”

Babandi explained that Dantata and Sawoe Nigeria Ltd. was awarded a N1billion contract for the perimeter fencing and construction of access road to the airport.

ING holds AGM

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HE Nigeria I n t e r n e t Group,ING, non-governmental organization; promoting the use of internet in the country is to hold its Group Annual General Meeting, AGM, on Friday, May 31, 2013 at the Golden Gate Restaurant, Ikoyi, Lagos at 9am.

A statement by the Executive Secretary of the Group, Mr Fidelis Orji asked members to either call at or send emails to the NIG secretariat for clarifications on their financial status, even as he said that the constitution ‘’allows only financially up-to-date members to vote and be voted for during elections.

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NEC MEETING—From left: Minister of State for Finance, Dr Lawal Yerima Ngama; Minister of Finance Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Minister of National Planning Commission, Dr. Shamsuddeen Usman and Vice-President Namadi Sambo during the National Economic Council meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday. State House photo.

2,500 ACN members defect to PDP in Kwara

BY DEMOLA AKINYEMI

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LORIN—THE leader ship crisis in the Kwara State chapter of Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, has taken its toll on the party as no fewer than 2,500 members of the opposition party under the aegis of Mohammed Dele Belgore Forum, MDBF, yesterday defected to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. At the PDP secretariat, the crowd mainly from Ilorin South Local Government Area of the state complained of total neglect by their political leaders as a result of the acrimony between them.

The National Publicity Secretary of party, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, and party’s flag bearer in the 2011 governorship election, Mohammed Dele Belgore, SAN, had been at daggers-drawn over the party ’s candidacy in 2015 gubernatorial election.

However, many of the former ACN members, who were from wards like OkeOgun, Okaka I and II, Akanbi III, IV and V and Balogun-Fulani III in Ilorin South Local Government Area, while at the PDP secretariat tore the MDB banner and the ACN flag to show that they had left their former party.

The defectors were later, presented to the PDP chairman by the Ilorin South Local Government PDP chairman, Alhaji Adam Mohammed who explained that the

Belgore’s forum was the backbone of ACN in the local government.

Speaking at a reception ceremony for the new PDP members, the leader of the group, Mr. Abdulazeez

Kassim, said the erstwhile ACN had been the brain behind series of defeat suffered by the PDP in the council area, adding that a new lease of life has come to the party with their exodus.

AKURDI—THE Benue State House of Assembly, yesterday, confirmed five commissioner nominees submitted to it by Gov. Gabriel Suswam.

The nominees are Akpera Atime, Justin Amase, Egbiri Idah, Donald Ugbough and Anthony Onuh.

The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports that while Atime and Amase were subjected to thorough screening, Idah, Ugbough and Onuh were asked to take a bow and leave.

The assembly said Idah was a two-term member of the state legislature.

It said Ugbough hailed from the same place with the majority leader of the assembly, while Onuh hailed from the same place with the PDP state chairman.

One of the nominees, Amase, pledged that he would ensure that accountability and transparency was brought to bear in governance.

NAN reports that seven other nominees are expected to be screened today.

DSS seeks LGs support in tackling security challenges

BY UMAR YUSUF

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OLA— PIQUED by the recurring attacks by insurgents and other criminal activities within Adamawa State and its environs, the Department of State Security Service, DSS, has called for closer collaboration between the local government councils and the security agencies in a bid to tackle the current security challenges facing the northern states.

State Director of the DSS, Mr Olugbenga Jayeoba made this known in Yola, yesterday at a three-day security awareness seminar for commissioners and the 21 local government chairmen in the state.

The seminar was put together by the DSS in collaboration with the state government.

In his paper entitled: "Threat to Local Government Security: Manifests and Counter Measure", the

Jayeoba observed that in recent times, there have been security challenges hence the need for collaborative efforts towards ensuring security of lives and property."

He noted that communities and all those at the helm of affairs, particularly local government chairmen needed to be more involved in providing security for lives and property being the closest to the people at the grass roots.

“The people we have called are people who we believe are key to security issues in this part of the state, stretching from border communities of Mubi down to Toungo. In recent times, we have had some security challenges in this state, including insurgent attacks, armed robbery and other criminal activities,” he said.

The DSS Director asked the commissioners and local government chairmen to brace up by collaborating with traditional rulers and

other relevant agencies in the fight against insecurity and other organized crimes.

Earlier, Governor Murtala Nyako represented by the Head of Service, Mr Musa Kaibo had said that the workshop was due to the prevailing security situation in the state.

"This necessitated the collaboration with the DSS to fight the monster of insecurity," he said.

Nyako, who used the meeting to assure people of the state of his administration’s determination to protect lives and property urged traditional rulers and other community leaders to join hands with his administration in ensuring security in their domains.

He said that the nature of Yola, the state capital which had many exit points posed some security challenges, but stressed that his administration in collaboration with the relevant security agencies were equal to the task.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013 — 41

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44—Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013

I hardly eat at home — Chef Hounsa

LUCIEN Hounsa is a proud chef. His father was a chef and his eldest son is also a chef.

Though he never dreamt of being one, but his father’s insistence forced him into the profession in his native country of Benin Republic. Today, Lucien Hounsa is the Executive Chef of Ibis Hotel, Lagos with experience garnered over forty years in different African countries.

In this interview with JIMOH BABATUNDE, Hounsa said he finds it difficult entering the kitchen at home and urged Nigerians to ensure they have at least a chef in the family.

Here is an excerpt from the interview .

ON his journey to being a chef ftermysecondaryschool inCotonou,BeninRepublic, I went to the catering school of Hotel Des Deputes, Porto Novo also in Benin Republic. Luckily for me, I came fromafamilyofchefs,myfatherwasoneandmysonisalso a chef . I have never in my life dreamt of being a chef . I wanted to become an engineer, a scientist but my father always said he wanted me to come into the profession, being a chef .

Seeing the suffering my dad went through as a chef then, I said there was no way I will become a chef too, not knowingthatwithtimeitwillbecomeasortafterprofession.

Today, cooking is a sort after profession .

ThatwashowIbecameachef,aftermysecondaryeducation I went to the catering school based on the insistence of my dad , I started working as apprentice cook in Hotel Des Deputes in 1962 and I was there till 1966. After my apprenticeIwasemployedinthesamehotelasaCommis, a kitchen helper.

As a commis, you do all the small jobs in the kitchen like peeling potatoes, the vegetables and so on. After a year as a kitchen assistant , I was promoted to be a cook and that it has I progressed until I came to Lagos in 1972 .

InLagos,IworkedforNigeriaCateringhotels,theyhad a Panache restaurant in Mainland Hotel, they had Cassa pepper restaurant in Palmgrove among other restaurants they had then. I became one of the chefs controlling the restaurant.FromthereI movedtoEkoHotelin1977when it was opened , I was there for ten years , it was there I met the present GM of Ibis hotel, Richard Robaix. After ten years there, I was transferred back to my country Benin republic to open another Novo Hotel in Cotonou. I was there for another ten years before I retired, after my retirement I went to Burkina Faso where I opened an hotel,Iworkedforthreeyears beforegoingbacktoCotonou.

Six months later I was back in Lagos to join Planet One in Maryland, I was there for nine months from where I went to another hotel in Lekki . I did not spend more than six months there because of the standards of the hotel.

It was while there that the GM of this hotel who I had worked with in the past told me not to leave Nigeria again as they were working on this hotel then. After a year, he called me to come over and that was how I came here to open the restaurant in 2011.

Coping as a young chef and the first thing he learnt how to cook ThefirstthingIlearnthowtocook wasvegetable,potatoes

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to be precise. From preparation to cooking , there is techniqueforcooking.

On the best food he likes preparing They are so many, but one which many chefs will see as being simple is spaghetti , but it is not as simple as many thought. There are many ways to prepare Spaghetti. It is not supposed to be over cooked,ithastiming.Toknowifyourspaghettiiswellcooked , you take one of it from the hot water and throw it on the wall, if it sticks to the wall, it means it is cooked but if it falls down then it is not yet done.

On what inspires his cooking Ilovebeingcreativeandthisinspiresme. Achefhastobe creative, you seat down to think if I mix flour and egg togetherwithoutyeastandifitcomesoutwell,youasachef gives it a name and that becomes your speciality. If it does not come out well, you jettison it.

On the food culture in Africa I will tell you honestly that I will want the chefs to put more efforts into preparation of local food, because the foreigners that come into our countries want to experienceourfood,butsomechefs don’t like touching African local food. This is very bad. We should promote our local food.

On food that has impacted on him as a child Iloveokra andthishasimpacted on my cooking as a chef.

On the funniest thing to teach a chef The first thing to teach a young chef is hygiene. A chef must be clean.Achef mustnotgrowbeards, achefmusthaveshortnails,achef must be clean. So the first thing to teach is hygiene. I will advise parents to ensure that they at least send a child to catering school to becomea chef.Theprofessionis a goodone anditpays,butyouneed to like it to do it.

On the gadgets he likes using

ANJET rallies stak eholder o stakeholder eholderss tto promote PPP

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takeholders in the tourism industry have promised to continue to support the Association of Nigerian Tourism Journalists and Travel Writers (ANJET) in its quest for a developed tourism sector.

One after the other, the stakeholders in the public and private sectors representing the travel, hospitality and allied tourism sector who gathered at the Eko Hotel and Suites to honour the new patrons of the association, were full of praises for the renewed vigour in the body.

The Director-General, NTDC, Chief Olusegun Runsewe, who was represented by the corporation’s South-West Zonal coordinator, Alhaji Adekunle Kaka assured

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the association that the NTDC will in its capacity as the apex tourism authority support every positive and proactive group that have genuine interest in tourism. “We are the NTDC will continue to support the interest of ANJET and its goals to see that the industry attain its desire height and status.”

Let’s be focussed to promote tourism in Nigeria-FTAN president The President of Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN), Mr Alabi admonished the members of ANJET to be committed to the national call, by giving their best at all time in setting on tract a model for the tourism industry.

most Almosteverything inthekitchenfromoven toknives,blenderto cooker are all important.

Experience working at Ibis Lagos and its food culture Iamhappy workingwith agoodteamhere fromtheGeneralManager who is the chief marketer to the last person here.

Once you are lucky to work with a wonderful team you will always be busy and that is what we have been doing in the kitchen as our guests satisfactions is a testament to what we produce in the kitchen.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013 — 45

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46 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013

Vanguard CLASSIFIED GBADE-BELLO—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Motunrayo Zainab Gbade-Bello, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Motunrayo Zainab Dayo-Awe. All former documents remain valid. Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria and general public please take note.

OGHUVWU—I, formerly known and addressed as Mr. John Oghuvwu, now wish to be known and addressed as Pastor John Oghenekparobo.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

EZEYI—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Chinedu Christina Ezeyi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Chinedu Christina Akpata. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

ABARA—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Akunna Cynthia Abara, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Akunna Cynthia Charles-Obododike.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

ODEYEMI—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Titilayo Folashade Odeyemi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Titilayo Folashade Abereowo. All former documents remain valid.

Channels Television News and general public please take note.

EYOYIBO—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Amajuoritse Eyoyibo, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Amajuoritse Ann Okobi. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OGUNMUYIWA—I, formerly known and addressed as Mr. Ogunmuyiwa Oluwadamilare, now wish to be known and addressed as Mr. Julius Dare. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

O M U H O R — I , formerly known and addressed as Miss R o s e m a r y Aruoriwoghene Omuhor, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. R o s e m a r y Aruoriwoghene Ubogu. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OLUEH—I, formerly known as Miss Alero Rita Olueh, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Alero Rita Olueh Enaohwo. All former documents remain valid. General Public Please take note.

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Confirmation of Name I formerly known as Ighorhiohwunu Obijeko Peter, now wish to be known and addressed as Igho Obijeko Peters. The names belong to one and the same person.

All former documents remain valid. General Public Please take note.

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ANAGUI —I, formerly known and addressed as Mr. Anagui Anthony Chidi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mr. Emmanuel Anthony Chidi. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OKORIE—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Okorie Chidimma, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Emmanuel Chidimma Favour. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

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General public please take note.

OWUMI —I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Rosemary Bola Owumi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Rosemary Bola Natuke. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OBIUWEVBI—I, formerly known and addressed as Rt. Hon. Chief Christopher Emaye Obiuwevbi, now wish to be known and addressed as Rt. Hon. Chief O m i n i m i n i Christopher Emaye Obiuwevbi. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

KALU—I, formerly known and addressed as Eric Aso Kalu, now wish to be known and addressed as Prince Eric Aso Kalu. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

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OKEKE—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Maryann Ogochukwu Okeke, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Maryann Ogochukwu Odiakaose. All former documents remain valid. FUTO, NYSC and general public please take note.

OMO-AMEN—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Omo-Amen Jennifer Nosayawemwen, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Enakoko Jannifer Nosayawemwen. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

Confirmation of Name EKANONE—I, formerly known and addressed as Ekanone Joseph Ufuoma, now wish to be known and addressed as Jesuoseme Joseph Ufuoma. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

AKPOIGBE—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Omamode Veronica Akpoigbe, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Bukata Barry Omamode Veronica.

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Hassanat—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Hassanat Adetola Mumuni, now wish to be known and a d d r e s s e d a s M r s . A d e t o l a Koshemani Falomo.

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VANGUARD'S LAGOS OFFICE YOU CAN B O O K Y O U R A D V E R T S AT OU R L A G O S I S L A N D O F FI C E — VA N G U A R D MEDIA LIMITED (LAGOS OFFICE) K I O S K 4 8 E A S T P AV I L I O N T B S , L A G O S .

Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013 — 47

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IFEJIKA—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Augusta Ngozi Ifejika, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Augusta Ngozi Adejoh. All former documents remain valid.

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AGWUNOBI—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Agwunobi Ifeoma Anasteesia Jennifer, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ifenatuora Ifeoma Anastesia Jennifer. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

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Obama, ex-presidents gather for Bush P

RESIDENT Barack Obama praised his predecessor George W. Bush as a “good man” who should be commended for his resolve in trying to keep the country safe after the 9/11 attacks, and for his foresight in leading the fight for immigration reform.

Obama’s remarks came as he and the other four living presidents along with dozens of state, federal and foreign dignitaries gathered in Dallas to mark the opening of the George W. Bush Presidential Library on the campus of Southern Methodist University.

Obama, who has been a fierce critic of Bush’s handling of the country, and his colleagues followed the tradition of past presidential library

ceremonies by putting political differences aside.

Obama praised what he called Bush’s “compassion,” “generosity ” and “personality,” and said, “To know the man is to like the man.”

Remarking on the rare gathering of all five presidents, Obama spoke

of the “exclusive club” that he shares with Bush as well as Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter—who were also in attendance. But, he said, “it’s more like a support group.”

He recalled finding a letter in his desk from George W. Bush upon arriving in the Oval Office

UN approves peace force for Mali

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HE Security Council unanimously approved a new U.N. peacekeeping force for Mali on Thursday to help restore democracy and stabilize the northern half of the country, which was controlled by Islamist jihadists until a Franceled military operation ousted them three months

ago.

The resolution authorizes the deployment of a U.N. force comprising 11,200 military personnel and 1,440 international police with a mandate to help restore peace, especially in northern cities. The U.N. peacekeepers are not authorized to

Israel ‘shoots down Lebanon drone’

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SRAEL shot down a drone Thursday as it approached the country’s northern coast, the military said. Suspicion immediately fell on the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon.

The incident was likely to raise already heightened tensions between Israel and

Hezbollah, a bitter enemy that battled Israel to a stalemate during a monthlong war in 2006.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said he was in a helicopter in northern Israel at the time of the incident, said he viewed the infiltration attempt with “utmost gravity.”

Officials said Netanyahu was informed of the unfolding incident as he was flying north for a cultural event with members of the country’s Druse minority. They said his helicopter briefly landed while the drone was intercepted before Netanyahu continued on his way.

Match-fixing: Emenike cleared N

IGERIA interna tional and former Fenerbahce striker Emmanuel Emenike has

been acquitted of matchfixing.

“I have always maintained my innocence and

I thank God that justice prevailed at last,” Emenike told BBC Sport.

CAF U-17: We’re good for the trophy — Garba BY SOLOMON NWOKE, Morocco

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FTER their 4-2 win over the Carthage Eaglets of Tunisia in the semi final of CAF U-17, Nigeria’s Eaglets file out tomorrow (Saturday) at the Marrakech Grand Stade, here in Morocco for the continental trophy.

Coach Manu Garba affirmed that the Ivorians can never be twice lucky against them tomorrow.

At the group stage, Ivory Coast beat Nigeria 1-0. It was the only defeat the team had suffered. He said, notwith-

in 2009 offering his successor advice.

“He knew I would come to learn what he had learned,” Obama said.

“Being president above all is a humbling job.

There are moments when you make mistakes. There are times when you wish you could turn back the clock.”

standing their loss to the Ivorians in the group

stage, Nigeria were still a better team and would win the cup here.

Governor’s Cup Continued from BP by the organisers of the competition. The last four schools standing in the race will file out for the semifinal contest on May 22 at Agbor Stadium and Oleh Township Stadium, while the third place game will hold on May 24 at the newly completed Sapele Township Stadium.

Comprehensive Secondary school, Ogwashi-Uku, knocks horns with Edjekota

Secondary School, Ughelli in one of the semifinal matches at Agbor Stadium, Dom Domigoes school, Warri and Alegbo Secondary school, Effurun in the second semi at Oheh Stadium.

The winner of this year’s edition of the competition will have the opportunity of visiting Europe for a playing tour. The champion will also pocket N2m in addition to a brand new school bus.

undertake offensive military operations or chase terrorists in the desert, roles that will continue to be carried out

by France under an agreement with Mali.

The U.N. peacekeepers would take over from a 6,000-member Africanled mission now in Mali on July 1, although the deployment date is subject to change if security conditions deteriorate.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius welcomed the resolution, saying it “confirms the unanimous support of the international community for the stabilization of Mali as well as the intervention of France and the nations of the region to help this country.”

Ali Continued from BP we surged on to win the Nations Cup. Teams that are not consistent don’t experience such drama all the time. We don’t have a consistent team yet.

That’s why the Eagles were a sorry sight against Kenya. Their performance against Kenya was similar to what we saw in their first two or three matches at the Nations Cup in South Africa.

That’s why I feel that the Nations Cup victory was a fluke. I’ll be happy if they can prove me wrong, qualify for the World Cup and go to Brazil and do well.”

48—Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013

Imo:

Crisis, chaos

THE ascent of Owelle Rochas Okorocha as governor of Imo State and the onset of his controversial fourth tier of administration has inspired anarchy at the local government level in the state.

BY CHIDI NKWOPARA IT didn’t take long after the inception of the fourth republic for crisis to circumvent the democratic system in the local government areas of Imo State.

Indeed, after the first elections to kick start the fourth republic in December 1998, it took almost ten years before the next round of elections were held in the later years of the Ikedi Ohakim era.

In between the end of the tenure of the first elected local government administrators and Ohakim’s controversial local government elections, transition committees were appointed against the rule of law.

However, those who alleged impunity against Ohakim in the operation of the local government system would scream murder at what many now claim is the bastardisation of the local government system by the incumbent administration of Owelle Rochas Okorocaha.

A week or so after assuming office, Governor Okorocha in his first broadcast to the people of Imo State summarily announced the sacking of the local government administration in the state. To justify his action, Okorocha told Imo people that the local government administration had become riddled with indiscipline and corruption, stressing that “our people had lost confidence” in

Interlocutory injunction

*Okorocha: In the eye of the storm crisis or the other since the take off of the system. In some cases, the traditional rulers are at war with sections of their subjects.

Workers are hardly seen in their offices but salaries are paid at the turn of every month

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the council operators.

In its place, the Governor announced the establishment of Community Government Councils in all the autonomous communities in the state. After tinkering with the new idea for a while, the Governor sent a Bill to the House of Assembly with a view to making his new idea a creation of law. The House obliged and today, CGC is now an Act of Parliament.

In a bid to quickly implement the scheme, the Governor ordered the posting of some civil servants to their respective communities. They obeyed the directive but the leadership of labour in the state engaged the government in dispute over the action.

The CGC has since thrown up new challenges. Lofty as the CGC is to the protagonists, evidence has since shown that virtually all the autonomous communities have one form of

mandatory and all the officers, including the treasurers and directors of administration and general services. Other workers of the councils were sent on vacation.

Apart from this, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr. Jerry Okolie dragged the Attorney General of the Federation and others to court.

Not long after, government unearthed a law called Imo State Local Government Administration Amendment Law of 2009, with which it claimed that the chairmen and councilors were elected for a two-year tenure. By virtue of this document, their tenure ought to have expired by August 2012, a matter of weeks after the Court of Appeal judgment.

Faced with the glaring possibility of government using the document to oust the elected council operators, the chairmen again proceeded to file a fresh suit, HOW/499/2012. This suit was however struck out by Hon. Justice Ngozi Opara on September 4, 2012, without hearing the merits of the matter.

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This initial faulty start by Chief Okorocha has continued to be the major clog in the wheel of administrative process in the local government areas of the state as the third tier literarily collapsed. Chief Okorocha also sacked the operators of the Local Government Development Areas, LGDAs. It must be mentioned that the LGDAs were creations of an Act of Imo State House of Assembly. The operatives of these LGDAs were largely appointees of the incumbent Governor.

Remarkably, the Governor did not approach the lawmakers to amend the law establishing the LGDAs. While the operators of the LGDAs retired to their individual homes to lick their wounds, the local government chairmen and councilors approached the court to seek redress. While the matter was in court, Okorocha appointed transition committees for the 27

local council areas.

The State Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Benjamin Ahanonu Njemanze, in his judgment, ruled against the plaintiffs (chairmen and councilors).

Dissatisfied with the outcome of the matter, the aggrieved chairmen appealed the judgment. On July 5, 2012, the Court of Appeal, Owerri Division, in its judgment affirmed that the governor had no power whatsoever to dissolve the democratically elected councils or to constitute transition committees.

Transition committees Following the judgment, a new wave of crisis hit the local council areas. While the chairmen and councilors struggled to retain their seats, Okorocha’s appointees, who were already superintending over the affairs of the councils, refused to vacate their seats. The police, at a point, had to be used to enforce the court judgment. This drew the ire of government functionaries, including the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Chief Soronnadi Njoku.

To ensure that nothing worked in the councils, government announced training programmes for the top management officers of the councils. The training was

Not satisfied with the unfolding drama, the elected chairmen filed an appeal before the Court of Appeal, Owerri Division, as well as a motion for interlocutory injunction restraining the Governor from interfering with their duties pending the conclusion of the case or the conduct of an election to replace them.

With the case ongoing, the governor appointed sole administrators to run the affairs of the local councils. In like manner, the legislature has since screened and approved the Governor’s appointees.

While the leadership of Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, ALGON, urged their members to remain and physically attend their official duties, the state government has since used the power of incumbency to assert the supremacy of its appointees.

The crisis in the state local government system is almost two years old and it is still unclear who has been handling the finances of the local governments. A recent visit to the local councils showed that they are completely comatose. It was learnt that workers are hardly seen in their offices but salaries are paid at the turn of every month.

Nobody can say if the parties will sheath their swords at the conclusion of the ongoing court battle but until sanity returns to the third tier of government in Imo State, development of the hinterland will remain a mirage.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013—49

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OR the purpose of this article, amnesty means general pardon being proposed for members of the Boko Haram Sect by the Federal Government. As matter of fact, the definition of a ‘ghost’ is not that clear, considering its usage in the Nigerian political scene. I must confess that though I have heard about ‘ghosts’, I have not been that fortunate to have seen one. Leaders should therefore, excuse my flight into the world of fantasy.

Many Nigerians in their benevolent disposition have called for amnesty for the murderous members of the Boko Haram Sect, piously hoping that mere call of a general pardon would signify the cessation of hostilities. These beautiful Nigerians have as a nice precedent in that amnesty granted to those clever militants of the Niger Delta. The result was the end of attacks on the oil installations; production of oil(mainstay of the Nigerian economy) has increased from the lowly figures of 700,000 barrel per day of those war years to the present promising figures of about 2.6million barrels per day. It should be realized that uninterrupted supply of oil has made possible the monthly queue of states and local governments at Abuja for their share of the national cake.

However, the call for amnesty became more serious and emphatic when the Sultan of Sokoto, spoke. He was reported to have stated that, ‘we want to use this opportunity to call on the government, especially Mr. President, to see how he can declare total amnesty for all combatants without thinking twice; that will make any other person who picks up arms to be termed a criminal’. The Sultan’s call was ridiculed, without perhaps that sober moment of reflection by those who see in every word traces of religion or ethnic bias.

The Sultan of Sokoto, Abubakar III, the head of Muslims in Nigeria and also a Fulani, is a descendant of the illustrious Fulani Jihadist, Uthman Danfodio – the founder of the Sokoto Caliphate. The

07059197616

The politics of amnesty:

Ghosts vs politicians and the rest of us Sultan’s view was widely supported in the North.

Writing about the Fulani race, a notable Yoruba historian of the last century, Rev. Johnson noted in his History of the Yoruba, published about 1920, that, ‘Their mere generous treatment of fallen foes and artful method of conciliating a power they could not openly crush, marked them out a superior people in the art of government’.

Before I am crucified by hack writers as a Yoruba Coward, it is necessary to hear from those who have tasted the honey from Umar Yar’Adua’s Amnesty Programme.

As it has been argued in many enlightened quarters, the Jonathan administration failed to seize the initiative against the Boko Haram marauders and murderers earlier until they have now become more organized, stronger with greater capability to strike and cause havoc, at will. Perhaps that has been the misunderstood message of former President Obasanjo on limited military action in Odi (Bayelsa).

In his book, ‘The State And The Citizen’, J.D. Mabbott noted that , ‘In 1928 I came

across two valleys in Roumania where all civilized activities had ceased, owing to the presence of a band of brigands.

Markets were empty, fields untilled, houses barricaded. The terrorized population must have numbered some thousands. The brigands were finally rounded up by the Army; they numbered thirty-five’.

A mere serious problem is that the Boko Haram insurgency in the country has been politicized beyond the realm of common sense. The opposition parties see the problem of insecurity as that of the federal government alone for President Jonathan to solve. The serious situation is being viewed in the narrow political sense and some politicians have become paranoid and others, ambivalent. In their ‘it’s your problem, not mine attitude,’ security situation is worsening, threatening the foundation of the country. Security is a national problem and should be viewed as such by all Nigerians.

President Jonathan should be congratulated for being realistic on the question of amnesty being thrown at his

doorstep. He was applauded when he told his Maiduguri audience that he could not negotiate with ‘ghosts’, but he should have known better. There are no ‘ghosts’ anywhere but real human beings who had either been killed or arrested. ‘Ghosts’ do not throw bombs or carry guns and they are still armed to pursue their act of destruction.

If there is another opportunity to dialogue and put a lasting end to disastrous insurgency, this is the time. A gate is now opened to bring happiness and help to the innocent and unfortunate victims of the Boko Haram evil gangs while at the same time evolve a mechanism for curbing or preventing future acts of terrorism. This is a case for all Nigerians and not for a particular party that has not shown enough capacity to solve the power problem in the last fourteen years. The simple truth is that it might be too late before the Opposition is organized and strong enough to provide an alternative and better government.

And for the rest of us, there is still hope.

Nigerians love and believe in the efficacy of prayers – a former Head of State is reputed to be a ‘Prayer Warrior’, and so are many politicians. The country is deep in the ocean of political, social and economic turbulence, begging for salvation. The government and the opposition preach the same sermon of prosperity and security. But how? That is the dilemma at the moment. Apart from Boko Haram insurgency, there are other problems of armed robberies, kidnappings, ritual killings and random killings by ‘unknown gunmen’.

Many analysts attribute these criminal activities to one cardinal problem – POVERTY. This is by itself is a product of mass unemployment arising out of continuous application of wrong economic policies or right economic policies at the wrong time. May God bless the country with visionary leadership.

2015: Jega’s reforms stir INEC HOULD it fail to give Nigerians free, fair and credible elections in 2015, it would mean that Professor Attahiru Jega led Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has fallen short of all promises of reforms it had made to the people since its inception in 2010.

And so, to get it right and avoid mistakes of the past, the regime has seemingly started off programmes and activities envisaged to produce the needed results in 2015 elections.

But there are aggressions against some of the moves already made largely occasioned by feelings that the reforms were sentimentally conceived to “deal” with perceived enemies of Jega.

But on the other hand, some other moves which however included a three day retreat of the Commission held in Sokoto State last week appeared to have elicited applauses due to the progress it recorded.

For one, INEC, penultimate week launched into what authorities called “ routine exercise”. But in critics’ quarters, it was seen as “dartshootings” at perceived

Furore over restructuring The development was later to generate unusual tirade of controversies in the Commission as most people kicked. But in quick succession, the Chairman of the Commission moved to pacify the frayed nerves.

This was evident in a marathon meeting, Jega had with the 36 Resident Electoral

•Jega

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enemies. Whatever the arguments, the idea behind the move, many believe, was to ultimately rid the Commission of bag eggs and get it ready ahead of 2015 elections. Remarkably, the exercise affected 26 directorates in the commission which were pruned down to nine. Also, some departments were collapsed into others.

The consequence of this however was a palpable fear that many a director, especially those who have less than two years to their retirement would lose their jobs due that an ensued caveat to either adhere to the option of voluntary retirement or get transferred.

To this end, about 67 Directors faced the challenges at the insipient stage of the changes.

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BY LEVINUS NWABUGHIOGU

And so, to get it right and avoid mistakes of the past, the regime has seemingly started off programmes and activities envisaged to produce the needed results in 2015 elections

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Commissioners, REC, on Monday April 15, 2013. The meeting later dissolved into secret session where many contentious issues arising from

the restructuring were laid to rest. “It is all about the review of contentious decisions on restructuring, posting of Administrative secretaries to the 36 states,” a source at the secret meeting said noting the urgency of correcting situations where RECs and Administrative Secretaries were persons from the same state.

The new directors and heads of departments who have now assumed office are F. Tobi ( Audit Directorate); Irene Oguhuma (Alternative Dispute Resolution Directorates); Shettima Ngaladi (Security Directorates); Okechukwu

Ndeche (Planning and Monitoring Directorate); Kaura Ismaila (Stores Directorate); Gali Isiaku (Commissions Secretariat); Wase Lawal (Procurement Directorate); Usman Usman (Adminitration Directorate); Uzzi Osaze (International cooperation and Protocol Directorate); Gammy Ajaoku (Health services Directorate).

Other new heads of departments appointed are Arabambi A. D. (Publicity, Gender and CSO Liaison Dept); Musa Adamu (Human Resources); Salamatu Ibrahim (Finance and Accounts Department); Akem Emmanuel (Voter Registry Department); Chidi Nwafor (ICT); Oladimeji Kayode (Electoral Operations); Bala Shittu (Elections and Party Monitoring Department); Ogakwu Augusta (Legal Services Dept); Engr. Moses Udoh (Estate, Works and Transport Department).

Jega’s Appeal for understanding: In the meeting with the RECs, the Chairman reportedly acknowledged the controversy that greeted the recent changes in the Commission and pledged to make things right.

Sources said the meeting succeeded in stopping the widely speculated showdown that was in the offing in the Commission after the changes were announced.

50— Vanguard, FRIDAY,APRIL 26, 2013

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54 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013

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EFORE Stephen Keshi was officially announced the new Super Eagles coach, I had the privilege of discussing the problems of the Eagles with him.

Samson Siasia had just been disengaged and Keshi was on line for the job. He was in the United States and we spoke on phone. I told him the challenges he would face as the new Eagles coach.

And when he got the job, I repeatedly told him what I strongly felt was a way out. Keshi agreed entirely and told me he did exactly the same thing in Mali and that if he had stayed on as the coach in Mali the country would be reaping from such a programme now.

And what was this way out? A return to our local league. Selecting the potentials from there, training, exposing them and using them in matches. I recalled the days of Clemense Westerhof and Keshi himself told the rest of the story. ’’Each time we came home for international matches, we met quality players from the local league. They were in camp with us and the competition for positions was strong.

I would ask him, coach, where did you get these players from? He would answer by telling me ‘’I tell you, it is not every match that I’ll need you.

Some of the boys here, Huuuummm.’’

Westerhof ’s exclamations had a way of sending messages across. Victor Ikpeba, a great striker in his time, never forgot how Westerhof made the national team very competitive even when they were at the top of their careers; when they thought they could walk home and pick first team shirts.

Westerhof would gather them before training and reel out some names of •Keshi the local boys doing well and say openly that the boys from Europe were not better than the local ones, insisting that the difference was just having the opportunity to sign contracts in Europe.

He told them that their own opportunities were coming soon. And before the foreign-based players, Westerhof would say ‘’I have some terrific players here. Barnabas Imenga, Huuummm. Precious Monye, Huuummm, Abdul Sule, what a strong man. Thompson Oliha, Ah! Yaayayaaaa. … I tell you, something rules.

Mikel Obi, Emmanuel Emenike, will happen here today.’’

The home boys who had been so Peter Utaka were pathetic in that same profiled would put everything in match against Guinea in Abuja. The training to justify the rating of their 2-2 draw ensured Guinea knocked us coach. And the foreign-based would out of the Nations Cup finals in Gabon exact so much energy and finisseto and Equatorial Guinea. Siasia lost his prove their class. That way, Westerhof job.

The neglect of the local players achieved his objective – to bring out the best from the players. Training was started with Bonfrere Jo after Westerhof left. All the coaches that like match situations.

Sometimes, he even staked money followed, including indigenous for the winning side although they did coaches, found nothing good in the more tactical training than 11-a-side. local league.

But we knew that they either lacked And the local players were playing some matches. When we played the technical competence and ability Uganda in Lagos, Westerhof invited to transform potentials or that they only two Europe-based players in Dan were simply lazy and wanted to continue with already made materials.

Amokachi and Samson Siasia.

And Eagles beat them 2-0 with goals But it got to the stage that the so called coming from the two players. Against already- made materials were Benin Republic in Cotonou, he used disappointing the country badly.

Keshi set down to work with is team. local players and Eagles won 1-0, the goal coming from Ishaya Jatau. I Note that three new guys in the recalled all these to Keshi and he technical crew were never part of the agreed that the best way was to make past coaching crew that never saw any the Eagles competitive again by thing good in local players. Keshi, investing his experience on the local Sylvanus Okpala and Valere league players. I told him what the Houndinou. They believed that local foreign-based players did to Siasia. I players were worth giving a told him how some players started chance and set down to work. The walking in the field just ten minutes federation saw wisdom too in looking into the game. I reflected on the inwards and backed Keshi and his performance of Osaze Odewengie and team. They provided the funding for how Kashimawo Laloku concluded long-term camping and training of the that ‘’Osaze was so bad that I suspect local players. The new programme he played a revenge game.’’ He was started. Okpala had coached in referring to the feud between Osaze Enyimba and Rangers and knew some and Siasia who excluded him from good players in our league. Valere had some matches because he broke camp contact with our clubs as he was into

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The changes we expect from NFF now

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•Maigari

Suddenly, the local players began to have a name in our Eagles again, courtesy Keshi’s programme strongly backed by the NFF

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football business as players’ agent. He also knew good players from the league. This programme gave room to the emergence of the likes of Sunday Mba, Ejike Uzoenyi, Azubuike Ekwuekwe, Uche Kalu from Enyimba now in Europe, Chigozie Agbim, Gabriel Reuben, Papa Idris, Gambo Mohammed, Godfrey Oboabona, Gomo etc.

In Keshi’s first competitive match, a Nations Cup qualifier against Rwanda in Kigali, Osaze proved that he was not vengeful against Siasia in the Abuja match but simply showed that he was no longer strong in African football which I always say is different from European football. He was worse in Kigali.

I returned and wrote that it would be long for Osaze, Dickson Etuhu and Yakubu Aiyegbeni to play for the Eagles again. I said that Rwanada match might have been their last under Keshi. It was a back page lead report in Vanguard.

Uzoenyi, Egwuekwe and Oboabona were outstanding in that same match that the foreign-based players failed totally. They rescued Nigeria from defeat. Juwon Oshanuwa was another good local player. Egwuekwe remained a rock in the defence of the Eagles but unfortunately for him he fell sick in the camp before Nations Cup and never played a match.

Mba was on and off until the Nations Cup where he became the hero of our team. I once wrote that with Gabriel Reuben, Keshi could do without Mikel

Obi. I said that even with Mikel, we would need a strong marker like Reuben. Obi is a great passer of the ball but lacks the kind of marking ability Eagles would always need in front of the back four or back three depending on the formation.

Papa Idris is another player I’m hoping would have a chance someday. Kalu Uche (different from Kalu Uche in Spain) was brilliant but his stay in the local Eagles was short as he moved to Europe. Uzoenyi became the star in Eagles until his form dropped just before the Nations Cup. Reuben went forward from his defensive position to score in Malawi and we knew a star was in the making.

Suddenly, the local players began to have a name in our Eagles again, courtesy Keshi’s programme strongly backed by the NFF. You can then imagine how, as someone close to the team, I felt when same NFF withdrew from CHAN, an Nations Cup meant for players who ply their trade in the continent. CHAN is a developmental programme which I thought Nigeria would take seriously. I had been against appointing different coaches for that competition. I wanted the Eagles coaches or one of the assistant coaches to be in charge of the Local Eagles. This is to make for smooth transition to the main team. And when it appeared we were getting it right with local players, the NFF withdrew from a competition that is a development programme, a competition that we ought to be clamouring for, going by the standard of our general football. Yes, NFF said that it was due to paucity of funds.

They could have planned better and entered for the competition. While they may have reasons to downsize in their different departments including the large staffing in their secretariat, I think it was wrong to disengage two of the technical staff of Keshi especially without the consent of the head coach.

And these are the two guys very instrumental to the local content that we are now celebrating in the Eagles.

It is possible this was an oversight.

And it is on this basis I plead with them to reinstate Okpala and Valere for the sake of the good job that they are doing with our local players and the entire team under Stephen Keshi.

Everybody should embrace peace and make progress. And while I feel for the NFF over paucity of funds, I’m equally taken aback that this problem is being pronounced more after winning the Nations Cup, when the Eagles ought to have become a better brand that could attract more money and all sorts of sponsorship.

We are African champions.

This means better rating of Eagles, more engagements, endorsements, better exposure to our kit and other sponsors and the attendant material and morale benefits etc.

Against all these backgrounds, I plead with NFF to reinstate Okpala and Valere and re-enter for CHAN. Even government appreciates our football more now and I thought that NFF would seize the opportunity the Nations Cup victory provided to gather more than discard some of the factors that led them to the top.

Sincerely, NFF deserves some credit for the Nations Cup victory.

Unfortunately, the controversy that followed the victory denied them this.

But they could reverse this rather than aggravate the controversy. Building the local content continues. They even need to do more. We are watching.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013 — 55

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Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013

Delta: Governor’s Cup final for May 27

O

RAGINSERS of the maiden Delta Governor ’s Cup have fixed May 27 as final of the competition at the Warri City Stadium.

May 27 is Children’s

Ali dubs Nations Cup victory a fluke •Says Eagles may not qualify for World Cup

BY ONOCHIE ANIBEZE

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NE time Nigeria F o o t b a l l Association Chairman, Alhaji Yusuf Ali has expressed fears over Nigeria’s qualification for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

“World Cup? I’m not sure we will qualify. They need to find peace in our football for us to move on.

There are disputes here and there. No peace, no progress,”Ali said yesterday in a telephone chat. He was a highly respected football official and a friend of FIFA President, Sepp Blatter.

In his time, the job of chairman of the FA was not a full time one. He doubled as FA chairman and Managing Director of Unipetrol, now Oando.

The secretariat was in charge of daily administration of football and he had both a dynamic secretariat and a board with men of character and comfort.

The picture is totally

Moses: I’m not thinking about Mourinho

different now. Ali always pleaded with members to accompany teams out on i n t e r n a t i o n a l assignments.

Now, members lobby for trips. ‘’I’m not sure we will qualify for the World Cup with the way we are going. The players will always come but they may not give their best.

The atmosphere may not be good with all the bickering going on now.”

Ali then analyzed the team technically. “ I watched all the Nations Cup matches and I think that our victory at the Nations Cup was a fluke. We haven’t got a solid team yet. Cast your mind back to the first two matches of the Nations Cup and even the difficult match against Ethiopia and you would understand better when I say our victory was a fluke. Something dramatic happened and

Continues on Page 47

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ICTOR Moses would ‘love’ to see Frank Lampard stay at Chelsea next season but is not speculating about the possible return of

•Moses

Match-fixing: Emenike cleared — Pg 47

PUZZLE

Jose Mourinho.

Chelsea fans dream of a return of their former ‘Special One’, current Real Madrid boss Mourinho, after he left the club in 2007 at the end of three trophy-laden years.

But Moses, who only moved to Stamford Bridge in 2012, does not want to add to the gossip, as he said: “At the moment, there is the rumour going on that Jose Mourinho is coming back.

“He is a good manager but we

are just concentrating on playing games and trying to stay in the top four and then playing in the Champions League next season.”

Inside today's Sports Vanguard

QUICK CROSSWORD

Sudoku TODAY'S

Day celebration and organisers of the competition decided, during the week, to add glamour to the day ’s event by staging the football final of the Governor’s Cup. Other side attractions like musical concert by school children and traditional dance by a select group have also been lined up Continues on Page 47

YESTER DAY'S YESTERDAY'S

ANSWERS

ACROSS: 2 Vision (5) 7 Foo-list (4) 8 Modernise (6) 9 Old-fashioned (5) 11 Ocean (3) 13 Sphere (3) 15 Skin (4) 16 Child (3) 18 Always (4) 19 Ludicrous (7) 20 Regretted (4) 22 Dagger (4) 23 Thing (7) 25 Whirlpool (4) 27 Rabbit (3) 28 Twofold (4) 30 Age (3) 31 Trivial (5) 36 Condition (6) 37 Light (4) 38 Set (5)

DOWN: 1 Skirmish (5) 2 Defective (3) 3 Newt (3) 4 Mire (3) 5 Strange (3) 6 Stock (5) 10 Cupid (4) 11 Rejected (7) 12 Previously (7) 13 Late (7) 14 Whisker (7) 16 Shy (5) 17 Name (5) 18 Moose (3) 21 Parched (3) 24 Centre (4) 26 Stupefied (5) 29 Conscious (5) 32 Pig-pen (3) 33 Fix (3) 34 Also (3) 35 Yelp (3)

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS

How to Play Sudoku

ACROSS: 1, Creel 5, Piling 8, Vodka 10, Debate 11, Sent 14, Sanity 15, Freedom 18, Red 19, Tar 21, Type 23, Decay 24, Data 27, Dad 29, Asp 31, Winsome 32, Talked 34, Line 35, Amazed 38, Allot 39, Tugged 40, Began

THE VIGILANTE

DOWN: 2, Rue 3, Evaded 4, Lot 5, Pass 6, Linnet 7, Groyne 9, Devoted 12, Ear 13, Tidy 16, Rota 17, Macaw 20, Radical 22, Prim 24, Detest 25, Tall 26, Asking 28, Estate 30, Pen 33, Dead 36, Mob 37, Era

e-mail: rowolove@yahoo.co.uk

P

lace a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line can have two of the same number).

Each row (nine lines from left to right), column, (also nine lines from top to bottom) and 3 X 3 block within a bold block (nine blocks) contains number from 1 through 9. This means that no number can appear twice in any block, column or row.

No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction, division or multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination.

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