Our close shave with death — ABUJA BLAST SURVIVORS

...towards a better life for the people VOL. 25: NO. 62175

Musa, Emenike'll knock out France

— Keshi >64

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FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014

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15 men gang-rape 16-yr-old girl in Rivers >7

Our close shave with death — ABUJA BLAST SURVIVORS

•Death toll now 22; 52 injured, 34 vehicles damaged •We had information two weeks before blast — DSS •US/EU condemn bombing; New Telegraph Editor, Bisala buried •We'll defeat terrorists — Sambo outrage •Lagos car blast: Fear grips Apapa residents, workers >9 ABUJA—AS from within and outside Nigeria continues to

BY SAM EYOBOKA, OKEY NDIRIBE, BEN AGANDE, FAVOUR NNABUGWU, IKECHUKWU NNOCHIRI, VICTORIA OJEME LAIDE AKINBOADE GABRIEL EWEPU, FUNMI OLASUPO

trail last Wednesday ’s bomb blast in Abuja, which claimed 22 lives and left 52 others injured, some of the survivors have narrated their close shave with death.

The Department of State Service, DSS, on its part disclosed that security agencies actually obtained Continues on page 5

COLUMNIST: Donu Kogbara

A gentleman bows out •P.17

Mr & Mrs

VICTIMS OF ABUJA BLAST—Vice-President Namadi Sambo and SGF, Anyim Pius Anyim (top left) visit victims of the Abuja bomb explosion at Maitama General Hospital, Abuja, yesterday. Photos: Abayomi Adeshida & AFP.

Euphoria over Ekiti polls turn sour as APC, PDP bicker >10 C M Y K

2 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 — 3

4 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014—5

POCKET CARTOON

AFRICAN UNION—President Goodluck Jonathan (2nd R) and other heads of state and governments of African Union (AU), after the opening session at the 23rd Ordinary Session of AU in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, yesterday. Photo: NAN.

Our close shave with death— Abuja blast survivors Continues from page 1 intelligence reports two weeks ago that the terrorists planned to attack a busy shopping mall or market in Abuja. Major markets in the city were virtually deserted, yesterday, following the bomb blast.

Taxi driver cheats death

A taxi driver, who identified himself as Malachy Odo, said he was caught up in the midst of the ravaging fire after the bomb exploded at the car park of Emab Plaza.

He said: “I had arrived at the plaza in my cab minutes earlier. After the last passenger alighted from the cab, I was revers-

ing when I heard the explosion. My car went up in flames, and I struggled to pass through the window and in the process my left hand caught fire.

As I was running for my dear life, broken glasses pierced my feet. I was later rushed by rescuers to Maitama General Hospital.”

Another survivor, Mrs Mary Andrew, said she was lying on the ground beside her groundnut tray, while waiting for buyers at the entrance of Emab Plaza, when the blast occurred.

According to her: “I was lying down when the bomb exploded, and my baby was also with me.

After the blast, I discovered that three of my fellow groundnut sellers were dead. I was very

LIFEWORDS

BY PASTOR ITUAH

When you encounter rejection, shake it off and move on. Sooner or later you will succeed if you don’t quit. Don’t personalise it; because someone rejects what you have to offer doesn’t mean you are being rejected.

TAKE HEART

BY ELLA RANDLE

Happiness and the state of joy is ever lasting when it comes from within— Take Heart Quotes

U

NHAPPINESS lies in that gap between what we have now and what we think we need. But the truth is, we don’t need to acquire anything more to be content with what we already have. We don’t need anyone else’s permission to be happy. Your life is magnificent not because someone says it is, or because you have acquired something new, but because you choose to see it as such. Don’t let your happiness be held hostage. It is always yours to choose, to live and experience.

And from the experts of wisdom notes, Mack and Angel Hack comes this beautiful saying. “As soon as you stop making everyone and everything else responsible for your happiness, the happier you’ll be. If you’re unhappy now, it’s not someone else’s fault. Take full responsibility for your own unhappiness, and you will instantly gain the ability to be happier. Stop seeking in vain to arrange conditions that will make you happy.” Simply choose to appreciate the greatness that is yours in this moment, and the right conditions will start to line up around the contentment you seek.

lucky, I was not hurt, and I thank God for saving my life.”

I was covered with broken glasses — Olasupo

Samuel Olasupo, who sells and repairs mobile phones at Emab plaza had this to say: “I was about to step out of my shop to the gate to buy corn, when the bomb exploded. I was thrown to the floor and my body was pierced by pieces of glass.

When I recovered from the impact of the blast, I gave glory to God.” He said the bomb-laden car was parked at the entrance of the plaza for more than 30 minutes with nobody inside.

Daniel Itodo said he was still searching for his cousin, 24-year-old Bassey Bassey, who hails from Cross River State.

Bassey, who was said to be the first child of his parents was working with a pharmaceutical shop at the plaza.

“I was at home when I heard about the blast at Wuse II, and I remembered that my cousin, Bassey Bassey was at the shopping plaza. I rushed to the pharmacy where he was working at Emab plaza, near Banex. I was told that about three minutes before the bomb blast, my cousin left with a customer that came to the pharmacy to buy some drugs. Since then his phone has been switched off and he is nowhere to be found. I have gone to University of Abuja Teaching Hospital and National Hospital, where I saw health officials attending to some injured people brought to them, and I learnt four persons were in the intensive care unit.

But I was not allowed to have access to them. I went to Garki Hospital and I could not see him there.”

He continued: “I went to Maitama General Hospi-

tal where I saw up to 10 dead bodies. Four could not be identified because the bodies were charred.

One of the bodies was without a head, with intestines packed on one side.

“The parents are yet to be informed because we have not seen him dead or alive. We are still searching for him. I will meet with the manager of the pharmacy to know whether the customer was alive or both of them died and for the management of the pharmacy to tell us the exact story about our brother ’s whereabouts.

“I want the government to step up security, because it is very painful as innocent Nigerians are daily becoming the objects of attacks. The security agencies should improve on their strategies because these terrorists are spreading fast across the country.”

Another eyewitness who spoke to Vanguard identified himself as Joseph Okonkwo. Okonkwo who said he is a journalist said his office was located at Emab Plaza. He said he writes for Legis Magazine based in Abuja.

Said he: “As I was entering Emab Plaza, yesterday (Wednesday), I walked past a particular shop I normally go to which is close to the gate.

I later saw the person I went to visit and discussed with him after which I suddenly heard a big bang. A lot of things flew into the air. I saw a lot of smoke.

“I began to run and when I was about to jump a fence, I saw some people whose skin had been peeled by the heat generated by the blast. They were trying to jump too.

Everybody ran to the back side because the explosion occurred at the gate.

Some people who were close to me were affected by the blast. The impact of the blast is still disturbing me. I was psychologically affected but physically okay.”

Speaking to news men at the scene of the blast yesterday, the FCT Commander of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Mr E.C.Ewurum confirmed that some suspects were arrested by security operatives at the scene of the explosion. He said they had been taken away for interrogation. He also said three ambulances involved in rescue operations had already taken the dead and injured victims of the blast to different hospitals within the city.

My close shave with death

“My name is Ikechuku Iba, aka Ogbologbo. I am a taxi driver in Abuja, my park is at Emab plaza and everybody in the plaza knows that I always stayed at the exact spot where the bomb went off

yesterday. That was where I usually parked my car, waiting for passengers. But thank God, on Wednesday, 30 minutes before the bomb went off my sister phoned me to come. I was reluctant at first because it was the peak of activities but I later decided to go. Just 30 minutes after I left the Plaza, the bomb went off.

Thank God I wasn’t around and thank God I went to Asokoro to see my sister. A lot of people were calling me to ask whether I was involved because they all know I was always there.

“There was a particular boy I saw being taken to the hospital and I knew the mother as a banana seller, I used to buy banana and groundnut from her but she was caught up in the blast and she died.

I knew so many others who died. When I went to Maitama hospital yesterday to check people, I recognised about four people but some people were badly burnt”.

On whether there was any of his friends missing, he said: “There was one Mallam Shehu who used to sell fruits at Emab plaza; we have been looking for him since the blast but we are yet to locate him, and Saheed, who sold provisions had his two legs cut off; the woman that used to sell banana, who we called Mama Bobby died in the blast. One Mama Charity also died as well as one Hausa man that used to sell guava. So many other people died.

“We are still looking for one of our drivers whose car was completely burnt in the blast, his name is Ukpu. We have checked Maitama Hospital, he is not there.

We got intelligence report of plans by terrorist to attack— DSS

24 hours after the bomb blast, the Department of State Services, DSS disclosed, yesterday, that security agencies got intelligence report two weeks ago showing that terrorists planned to attack a busy shopping mall or market in Abuja.

Deputy Director Information, Department of State Services (DSS),

Marilyn Ogar, who made the disclosure, said “when we got the report we had to go from one shopping complex to another telling people to be more security conscious and vigilant. Every day since the report, our surveillance teams went round the motor parks, markets, supermarkets, trying to ensure that the instruction we left behind were strictly adhered to.

“Yesterday (Wednesday), the surveillance team was here (Emab Plaza) up till about 12:30pm observing, monitoring. When they discovered that the security people here were enforcing what they were told, the team retreated.” She urged Nigerians to continue to give security agencies information that will help them stop the terrorists in their track.

Also speaking, Force Police Public Relations Officer, ACP Frank Mba advised managers of big companies and owners of cinemas and busy shopping malls to help by instituting a strong access control regime and also install CCTV cameras.

Mba reiterated the importance of shielding hawkers from entering shopping malls saying, “it’s also good to keep away hawkers from busy places, because hawkers attract people which make the target softer”.

We'll defeat the terrorists — Sambo

Meanwhile Vice President of Nigeria, Namadi Sambo, yesterday, condemned in strong terms, the activities of terrorists saying “this cowardly and unjust act will be defeated; evil can never be sustained”.

The Vice President, who was accompanied by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, (SGF), Senator Ayim Pius Ayim; the Minister of FCT, Sen. Bala Mohammed; the Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro and the Minister of State for FCT, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide spoke when he visited the scene of the bomb blast.

Reiterating Government’s commitment towards fighting terrorism,

Continues on page 16

6—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014

Landlord drags church to court over unpaid rent

Court remands 4 internet fraudsters over killing of couple •Remands man for killing neighbour’s daughter

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BEOKUTA — AN Ogun State High Court sitting in Isabo, yesterday, remanded four internet fraudsters popularly called Yahoo Boys in prison for allegedly killing a couple, Muritala Salami and his wife, Sabiat Salami in Owode-Egba in Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area of the state.

The suspects, Kazeem Oseni, 28; Saheed Akinyele, 35; Idowu Oguntade, 37 and Dotun Sobukola, 33, were arraigned on a 14-count charge bordering on conspiracy, attempted murder, unlawful killing and belonging to an unlawful society.

The prosecutor, Inspector Rotimi Adeniji, told the court that the accused persons committed the offence on August 7, 2013 between 7pm and 8pm in Owode-Egba area of Ogun State.

According to Adeniji, the accused conspired with others, now at large, to commit the crime.

He said: “The accused and other members of the group, now at large, belonged to an unlawful society known as 'Federal Mopol'."

However, the court did not take pleas of the accused, despite the effort by their counsel, Ade Ogungbade and Anthony Bukola.

The chief judge, Olanrewaju Majekodunmi, however, ordered that the accused should be kept in the prisons pend-

A R A R A B A (NASARAWA) — THE landlord of The Lord's Chosen Church, New Nyanya, Mr Kola Sunmonu, yesterday, sued the church in a Mararaba chief magistrate's court for allegedly failing to pay rent.

Counsel to the plaintiff, Mr Raphael Nnabuike, told the court that the defendant was supposed to renew the rent annually.

Nnabuike also said the plaintiff had let part of his plot of land, measuring 100ft by 100ft at New Nyanya, to the defendant at the rate of N35,000 each year.

He told the court that the defendant only paid the initial rent of N35,000 on July 3, 2012. Nnabuike said the rent expired on July 3, 2013 but the defendant did not renew the tenancy.

The counsel alleged that the defendant also refused to sign the tenancy agreement which the plaintiff drafted and gave the church.

He told the court that part of the agreement was that the defendant should not erect any permanent structure on the plot.

Nnabuike said the defendant had gone to erect a permanent structure on the plot.

He tendered a receipt of one year rent payment issued to the defendant by the plaintiff in 2012 as evidence.

The plaintiff, therefore, prayed the court to grant him permission to take immediate possession of his plot and also recover the arrears of six months rent, which amounted to N17,500, from the defendant.

The plaintiff also urged the court to help him recover N20,000, being the legal expenses he incurred from the case.

The pastor of the church, Mr Charles Nnabuife, who was in court without legal representation, told the court that the Lord's Chosen Church preached what it practised.

Nnabuife said that the church was not in the court to contest the land with the plaintiff because it was not the owner of the land.

The defendant prayed the court to appeal to the plaintiff to give the church time to settle its rent.

It also prayed the court to beg the plaintiff to sell the said plot of land to the church if he planned to sell it.

The magistrate, Mr Habila Abundaga, asked Nnabuike, counsel to the plaintiff, to wade into the matter and resolve the dispute between the two parties before the adjourned date of July 24.

A

BY DAUD OLATUNJI

ing legal advice from the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The judge adjourned the case till October 6.

Remands man for killing neighbour’s daughter

The court also, yesterday, remanded in prison, a 33-year-old man, Jimoh Owolabi, for allegedly killing his neighbour ’s daughter.

The state counsel, Funke Fakolade, told the court that the killing was allegedly carried out on May 2, 2013 at

Sagbesona compound, Idofoi, Ayetoro Road in Abeokuta.

She said the accused conspired with one Akeem, now at large, and was facing a two-count charge of conspiracy and murder.

Fakolade explained that the accused and his accomplice abducted his neighbour's seven-year- old daughter, Timilehin Abiona, killed her and cut her head off.

She said: “Owolabi killed the little girl in his room and took her body to the forest to cut off her head. The accused and his accomplice were stopped by

the policemen on duty along Odo-Irori for a search and were consequently caught with the head of the girl in a polythene bag.”

The court refused to take the plea of Owolabi as presented by his counsel, Mariam Lawal.

Justice Hezekiah Solanke remanded the accused in the Oba prison in Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area of the state.

Solanke adjourned the case till October 15, pending advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Some internally displaced persons from Borno and Taraba states waiting to be registered for relief assistance at the Gombe State Emergency Management Agency. Photo: NAN.

Bandits overpower policemen, rob bullion van

BY EMMAAMAIZE

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SABA—OVER 20 sus pected robbers laid ambush and overwhelmed policemen escorting a bullion van with undisclosed amount of money belonging to two new generation banks, along the Benin-Asaba Expressway, by Edo/Ogwashi-Uku junction in Delta State, Wednesday.

Police spokesperson in Delta State, DSP Celestina Kalu, who confirmed the robbery in a statement, yesterday, said the bandits made away with some money.

She said the bandits opened fire on the bullion van and two police escort vehicles, while a policeman attached to the Counter-Terrorism Unit, CTU, was seriously injured in the ensuing gun battle.

Her words: "On 24/06/2014 at about 1330hrs, heavily armed suspected hoodlums numbering over 20, laid ambush and opened fire on a bullion bars van in the course

of cash transit being made on behalf of one of the new generation banks.

"Two escort vehicles attached to the bullion van were riddled with bullets while the suspected hoodlums made away with undisclosed amounts of money to an unknown destination, along Benin/Asaba expressway by Edo/Ogwashi-Uku. "On receiving the distress call thereto, patrol duty personnel were immediately mobilised to the scene and they successfully rescued the bank escort team, who squarely engaged the hoodlums in a fierce gun battle but were unfortunately overwhelmed by the hoodlum's superior fire power and their staggering numbers.

"A team of Base 5 Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU) personnel returning from Ekiti State on special duty and whose vehicle arrived the scene in the course of the gun battle also aided the

bank escort team to engage the hoodlums.

"One of the CTU personnel was fatally wounded by gunshot while others with serious bullet wounds were rushed to the hospital for medical treatment.

"Items recovered at the scene are one empty bullion van with registration number, PF 3183SPY; two Hilux pick-up vans with registration numbers, FR 98 LSR and PF 1628 SPY; 343 expanded AK-47 ammunition and two magazines with 60 rounds of AK-47 live ammunition.

"Investigation into the matter has been stepped up while the possibility of insider action is also being looked into."

It was gathered that a Toyota Highlander SUV and a Camry saloon car used by the hoodlums were abandoned and recovered at Idumuje-Ugboko village.

The police spokesman disclosed that "information at our

disposal goes to the effect that the hoodlums snatched a Sienna Space bus with number plate, JJJ 16 XJ, as a getaway car."

Two female

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BAKALIKI — TWO fe male children of a peasant family in Epheunyim village in Ndegu Okpuitumo community, Abakaliki Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, were reportedly found dead in a shallow stream in the area.

The corpses of the two children, Ibuchi Nwangele, 8, and Oruomachi Nwangele, 2, were found in the night by some individuals close to the stream.

Worried by the incident, Governor Martin Elechi, state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Maigari Dikko and Senator Chris Nwankwo visited the bereaved family to ascertain what could have led to the deaths.

In his account, the traditional

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 — 7

15 men gang rape 16-yr-old girl in Rivers

BY JIMITOTA ONOYUME

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ORT HARCOURT — PO LICE have arrested members of a 15-man gang that allegedly raped a 16-year-old girl in Gbuga area of Ogbunabali, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The state Police Commissioner, Mr Tunde Ogunsakin, told newsmen, yesterday, at the Police headquarters in Port Harcourt that the girl allegedly attended a party organised in the area, adding that she took a glass of strong drink offered her by one of the rapists which made her pass out before she was allegedly raped by 15 men.

He said: “The victim reported that she attended a party at Ogbuga Street in Ogbunabali, Port Harcourt organised by one Tina.

"While at the party, she was given a glass of strong drink by Tambari Dumlesi. That was the last memory she had before she was raped by 15 men. She woke up to find herself in torn boxers and with swollen privates.

"The victim has since been taken to the Police clinic for check up and treatment while three suspects have been apprehended. Investigation is still on.”

Police nab ritualist

He said his men also arrested a ritualist and kidnapper in Igwuruta area of the state, adding that a human skull was among items recovered from him.

According to the Police Commissioner, the suspect confessed that the human skull was that of a lady he allegedly murdered for money rituals.

He said: “The Special Anti Robbery Squad responded to a tipoff and led a combined team to arrest a suspect of cultism, kidnap and ritual killing in his home in Igwuruta, Rivers State on June 24, 2014.

"At the point of his arrest, the suspect was discovered to be in possession of two locally made pistols, live ammunition and a human skull. These were recov-

ered from him.

"Upon subsequent investigation, it was revealed that the skull was that of a lady murdered by the suspect and his gang. The

cial sacrifice.

"The suspect has since confessed his membership of the brutal cult group, Dey-well."

BY INNOCENT ANABA

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Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, officers at the scene of an accident on JosAbuja road in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau, yesterday. Photo: NAN.

Man machetes friend to death in Ondo

BY DAYO JOHNSON

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KURE — A 24-year-old man, Success Okon, has reportedly hacked his friend, simply identified as Solomon, to death during an argument over ownership of a compact video disc in Ile-Oluji area of Ondo State.

Success, according to an eyewitness, hacked his friend to death using a cutlass at Agunla Onipetesi camp in Ile-Oluji-Okeigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State.

The accused person, who is in police detention, reportedly had an altercation with the deceased over the ownership of the disc.

This degenerated into a fight between the two friends and in the twinkle of an eye, the suspect rushed inside the house only to return with a cutlass which he used to hack the deceased to death.

He reportedly used a sharp cutlass to machete his friend on

siblings found dead in Ebonyi stream ruler of Ndegu Okpuitumo community, Eze Pius Nwangele, was said to have told Governor Elechi and his team that the corpses of the two children were discovered at 8 pm last Friday.

He explained that the community undertook an intensive search for the children for some weeks when nobody could give a vivid account of their whereabouts.

The traditional ruler said the community suspected foul play by another wife of the father of the children ( names withheld), who had been a having running battles with her co-wife and mother of the dead children.

The royal father disclosed that he had intervened many times in the family feud between the father of the children, Mr. Christopher

suspect also owned up to using the skull as a medium to get rich, claiming that the skull speaks to him and provides him with 10, 20, 30 Naira notes after spe-

Appeal court acquits 2 minors condemned for robbery after 10 yrs

Nwangele and his two wives.

He said the matter took a twist when the first wife attempted to sell the second wife into slavery and had arranged thugs to beat up her husband.

The prime suspect, according to reports, had been arrested by the police for interrogation and prosecution.

The governor, in his reaction, expressed shock and anger at the death of the two children, assuring that the state government would probe the deaths and unravel the circumstances surrounding it.

Elechi directed the Commissioner of Police to ensure that an autopsy was conducted and proper investigations carried out.

the face and neck following which he bled profusely.

Some sympathisers rushed to the scene and took the victim to the hospital but he reportedly died before medical assistance could be rendered in the hospital.

A family member of the deceased reportedly alerted the police and the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, in charge of Ile-Oluji quickly dispatched homicide detectives to the scene of the crime.

The corpse of the deceased has been deposited at the state's general hospital mortuary in Ile-Oluji for autopsy.

Police image maker in the state, Wole Ogodo, confirmed the incident, saying the deceased was dead before the arrival of police to the scene of crime.

According to him, the case which was formerly being investigated at Ile-Oluji has since been transfered to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Akure.

8 nursing students die, 5 others injured in Bauchi auto crash

BY SUZAN EDEH

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AUCHI — TRADEGY struck, yesterday, when no fewer than eight nursing students of University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) were killed in a motor accident while five others sustained injuries along Sade village in Darozo Local Government Area of Bauchi State.

It was gathered that the accident happened when the

students were travelling for a fellowship of Christian Worship Conference in Abuja.

The Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, DSP Mohammed Haruna, said the accident occurred at 2 p.m, when a convoy of three buses, conveying students of University of Maiduguri and School of Nursing, UMTH, to Abuja for Christian Worship Conference were involved in a fatal accident.

AGOS —THE Court of Ap peal in Lagos, yesterday, discharged and acquitted Sopuruchi Obed and Otobong Sunday Edet, two minors, who were sentenced to death for armed robbery by a Lagos State High Court on August 29, 2009.

They have spent 10 years in prison and five years on death row, respectively.

They were 17 years old when arrested on September 30, 2004 on allegations by police at Igando police station, Lagos State that they were part of a group of young men seen by a police informant spending lavishly at a beer parlour, and overheard boasting of their unlawful escapades.

During their trial at the lower court, no one testified of being robbed by any of them.

Based on the allegations, they were arrested, charged and eventually convicted.

Following the appeal against their conviction by a civil society group, Legal Defence and Assistance Project, LEDAP in 2011, the Appeal Court in a unanimously decision, allowed their separate appeals and set aside their conviction and sentence.

The court resolved two out of three issues raised for determination in the appeal in their favour.

In particular, the court found that the evidence of the prosecution witnesses were mere hearsay and that the vital evidence required to prove the charges were not provided by the prosecution.

The court noted that at the time of the incident, Mr. Obed and Mr. Otobong were under-aged persons who ought to have been taken to juvenile court rather than a high court.

A scene of an accident involving an articulated vehicle that fell at Coconut bus stop on Mile 2-Apapa expressway, Lagos due to bad portion of the road, yesterday. Photo: Biodun Ogunleye

8—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014

EFCC gets order to detain Adamawa SSG, bank mgr

BY SONI DANIEL, Northern Region Editor

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HERE were indications last night that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, was not in a hurry to free Secretary to Adamawa State Government, Mr. Kobis Thimnu, who is being held in connection with the alleged looting of the state’s account.

Findings by Vanguard indicates that the embattled SSG is being kept by EFCC along with the North East Regional Manager of a commercial bank, said to have been involved in the massive withdrawal of funds by top government functionaries of Adamawa State.

A source at EFCC confirmed that the two men were being kept on the orders of a court to help investigators, who are probing the alleged mismanagement of state funds lodged in two banks.

110 victims of Kaduna attacks get mass burial

BY LUKA BINNIYAT

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ADUNA— NO fewer than 110 victims of Monday and Tuesday ’s killings in Sanga Local Government Area of Kaduna State were, yesterday, given mass burial.

Chairman of the local government, Mr. Emmanuel Adamu confirmed this development in a telephone interview with Vanguard.

The National Chairman of Ninzom Progressive Youth, Mr. Bezard Wuyah, who also confirmed the mass burial, said those buried

included an unnamed Igbo trader and his wife. The victims were buried in a parcel of land between Gwantu Kurmi and Kobin near the local government.

Speaking on the issue, Adamu said: “We have just finished giving 110 people mass burial this (yesterday) afternoon. We had no choice, because their corpses were decomposing as a result of poor facilities at the hospitals.

“However, not all the dead were given mass burial. Some families were able to identify their loved ones, so they were allowed to take the bodies away. I cannot give the number of bodies taken

away by families.

“All those that are injured will be treated by Sanga Local Government free of charge. Normalcy has returned with the beefing up of security in the area. Today (yesterday) we got eight Toyota Hilux loads of soldiers from Kaduna, who have come to join those already on ground.

“I want to appeal to all the people of Sanga to please forgive and leave vengeance to Almighty God. I beg everyone to remain law abiding, but vigilant.”

On his part, Wuyah said: “This (yesterday) afternoon, our people who were killed

without provocation were buried in a mass grave between Gwantu Kurmi and Kobin.

“It was not only our people that were killed. I am told that an Igbo man, who had lived long in Kobin, was killed along with his wife and his shop burnt by the Fulani herdsmen.

“Our land has been desecrated and we are deeply mourning. We do not expect the government to treat this with levity by taking our peaceful and law abiding nature for granted.”

Meanwhile, the 24 hour curfew imposed on the area is still in force.

NAEC CONFAB: From left— Brig.-Gen. Joe Komolafe (rtd.); Maj.-Gen. Garba Wahab, Chief of Admin, Nigerian Army; Maj.-Gen. Sunday Adebayo, Commandant, Nigerian Army Education Corps, NAEC, and Dr. Gbenle Animashaun, at the 2014 NAEC 2nd quarter conference in Ilorin, yesterday. NAN PHOTO.

Why FG dropped charges against Mohammed Abacha— ADOKE zSays Abacha family cooperating in recovery proceedings

BY SONI DANIEL, Northern Region Editor

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BUJA—THE Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke, in a statement in Abuja, said that the withdrawal of charges against the son of the late Head of State, Mohammed Abacha, was done in the best interest of the nation and not to shield him from prosecution.

Adoke insisted that before freeing Abacha, the Jonathan administration had consulted widely with experts, international development agencies and partners before coming to the conclusion that it was in the best interest of the country to withdraw the charges against him.

Adoke, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Ambrose Momoh, explained that the withdrawal of the criminal proceedings against Mohammed Abacha would facilitate the recovery of $380

million from the Luxembourg proceedings and another $550 million from forfeiture proceedings instituted by the US Department of Justice.

According to Adoke, the Abacha family has not only undertaken not to contest the proceedings, but to also cooperate fully with the Federal Government in the recovery proceedings.

The Attorney General pointed out that although the key objective in the prosecution of corruption cases is the deprivation of the criminal offender of the proceeds of crime, Nigeria had already achieved that by taking away the proceeds of crime from the Abacha family.

He said: “This principal objective has been achieved to a very significant degree in the Abacha proceedings.

While the yearning for criminal sanctions in form of

custodial sentences against the Abacha family is understandable, it should be appreciated that this is a case that has lingered for over 16 years.

“It is, therefore, important to understand that this is not a straightforward case where conviction is assured.

“The standard of proof in criminal cases of this nature, which is ‘proof beyond reasonable doubt,’ poses great difficulty for the prosecution as any shadow of doubt is resolved in favour of the accused person.

‘FG wants best deal’

“This much was appreciated by the administration of former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, when it entered into a Global Settlement Agreement with the Abacha family.

“What the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan has done is to ensure that

government gets the best deal it can in the circumstance. To this end, this administration has consulted widely.

“The Ministry of Justice, therefore, wishes to assure the public that it will at all times be guided by national interest, the need to promote transparency, accountability and international best practices in the Ministry’s dealings with the Abacha family and indeed, all such recovery proceedings.”

The minister explained that the Federal Government was currently pursuing recovery proceedings against the Abacha family and its associates in Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom.

He said government had also made a request for Mutual Legal Assistance in criminal matters to the United States of America in respect of the stolen assets within that jurisdiction.

Adoke said government was also working assiduously with the Department of Justice of the United States in respect of the forfeiture proceedings it commenced against the Abacha family and its associates.

Recovered

According to him, the proceedings will make it possible for the Abacha family and its associates to forfeit over $550 million and £95,910 million in 10 accounts and six investment portfolios linked to the Abachas in France, Britain, British Virgin Islands and the United States.

The minister boasted that the various steps taken by the government had led to the recovery of $226.3 million from Liechtenstein in addition to the $7.5 million that was recovered from an associated company of the Abachas’ in Liechtenstein in 2011.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014—9

Subscribers hail Glo roaming services in Brazil

T

HE roaming service offered by Nigeria’s telecommunications operator, Globacom, in Brazil has been commended by Nigerian sports administrators and consultants currently in Brazil for the ongoing 2014 World Cup. Globacom had, yesterday, announced the launch of pre-paid roaming service in Brazil to complement post-paid roaming hitherto available in that country.

The development is expected to excite thousands of Nigerian soccer fans and tourists who have either travelled or intend to travel to Brazil.

Steve Stretch, Head of Glo Gateway, Globacom’s international gateway division, said the pre-paid roaming service is offered on Tim Brazil and comes at competitive rates.

Tim is the largest mobile operator in Brazil, with over 74 million subscribers.

Stretch said with the pre-paid roaming service on Tim, Glo prepaid subscribers, who travel abroad for business or leisure, will now be able to make and receive calls on their phones, send SMS and browse the web on their phones with ease.

MEETING: From left— Consul-General, Chinese Consulate, Mr. Liu Kan; Vice Governor, Fujian Province of China, Mr. Zheng Xiaosong; Deputy Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr. Kolawole Musibau and Director General, Department of Commerce, Fujian Province, Mr. Huang Xinluan, at the Fujian-Nigeria trade and investment promotion meeting in Lagos, yesterday. NAN PHOTO.

LAGOS CAR BLAST: Fear grips residents, workers in Apapa

BY IFEANYI OKOLIE

P

ALPABLE fear has gripped residents and workers at Apapa area of Lagos State, following Wednesday night's car bomb explosion that killed about four persons and left many others injured at the Folawiyo axis of Creek Road, Apapa.

Meanwhile, security operatives have shut down business activities between Trebor Roundabout (near A.C. Christlieb) and Alex Junction on Creek Road, areas that were badly affected by the explosion.

Operatives of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal, EOD, Unit of the Nigeria Police were also at the scene at about 7a.m., carrying out post-blast investigations, while the Nigerian Navy and policemen from Area B Command cordoned off the area, preventing motorists and pedestrians from accessing the scene.

Workers that resumed for work at the early hours of yesterday were turned back by security personnel. Some workers, who spoke with Vanguard, lamented the poor state of security in the country.

‘I wonder where we’re heading’

Adaobi, a staff of the company whose building was affected by the blast, told Vanguard that she could not come to terms with the fact that insurgency is now at her doorsteps.

She said: “I cannot believe what I have seen today. I have been thinking that all these bombings and killings occurring in the northern part of the country, which I read about in the papers, will never

get to the south.

“I have never thought that Boko Haram, whose aim, I think, is to create an Islamic Caliphate in the entire northern Nigeria, would ever come to the south. But what I have seen today is shocking.

“When I looked at my office building, I discovered that the glasses on the entire building were destroyed by the blast and I wondered where we are heading to.”

Another staff of a company located around the axis, who gave his identity simply as Shola, called on the security agencies to live up to expectations.

He said: “This is a shame for a government that has sworn to protect us. This

has shown clearly that our security agencies are deeply confused. They are yet to come to grips with what insurgency is all about.

“With this bombing, they have shown clearly that they lack the ability to gather and analyse intelligence reports effectively, which I also think is the only way to prevent attacks such as this from happening.

“I would admit that I have not lost complete hope in our security agencies, but I would admonish them to live up to expectations because our lives are in their hands.”

Residents alarmed over presence of aliens

However, some residents of Apapa, who spoke with Vanguard, said they now live

in fear following the incident, also called on the Police and other security agencies to checkmate the activities of aliens who have no business being in the area.

The residents also called on Nigeria Ports Authority, NPA, the Customs Service and the Police, to reduce increasing spate of traffic gridlocks that has made life unbearable for residents and others doing business in the area.

Charles Nwachukwu, a resident of Pay Crescent said:”Apapa in now filled with aliens; I mean, people who have no business being here and they have been operating unchallenged. I am scared terrorists may have exploited this situation to attack our area.”

JUNE 12: I didn't betray Kokori, says Osoba

BY CHARLES KUMOLU

A

FORMER governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba, has dismissed claims in some quarters that he betrayed a former Secretary of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, Chief Frank Kokori, during the struggle for the actualisation of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.

He also noted that had Kokori not survived his incarceration, he (Osoba) would have been blamed.

Osoba, who said this in Lagos at the launch of a book, Frank Kokori: The Struggle for June 12, regretted that those enjoying the benefits of June 12

struggle today were not among those who fought in the struggle.

He said: “I am here to celebrate Kokori and my survival too. It was alleged that I gave Kokori up. Thank God he survived. Otherwise I would have been blamed.

“Only 49 of us signed the document when NADECO was formed behind the late Moshood Abiola.

The youngest of us then was Labaran Maku, the Minister of Information.

“My name would have died with Kokori. I know nothing about how he was betrayed and lured out to be arrested.”

In his remarks, former Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who was represented by a former

Commissioner for Information in the state, Mr. Dele Alake, said: “In spite of Kokori’s incarceration and torture, he remained a symbol of consistency, perseverance, responsibility and a galvaniser of oil workers who staged massive protests for the emancipation of Nigerians.

“I am aware of his role in the struggle for June 12 actualisation. I thank and appreciate him for the role he has played and is still playing for the enthronement of genuine democracy in Nigeria.”

The book is a memoir which gives account of the June 12 struggle. He noted that he wrote the book to showcase the heroes and gladiators who

helped Nigeria achieve democracy, but were neglected in the present political dispensation.

“The book is a candid account of my roles and the roles that other heroes played in the quest to revalidate the June 12, 1993 presidential election,” Kokori stated.

Also speaking, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who was represented by Mr. Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo, commended Kokori for the book, saying that no better person could tell the story of June 12.

The book reviewer, Mr. Kayode Komolafe, Deputy Managing Director of ThisDay newspapers, described it as distinct from other books on June 12.

10 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014

EKITI: PDP, APC break truce as parties resort to war ...Senate in rowdy session over credibility of polls BYEMMANUELAZIKEN, LEKE ADESERI, OKEYNDIRIBE & JOHNBOSCOAGBAKWURU

T

HE euphoria that greeted the victory of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in last weekend’s Ekiti gubernatorial election turned sour yesterday as partisan bickering and recrimination surfaced from the winners and losers of the election.

While the victorious Ayodele Fayose slammed the vanquished incumbent, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, for pretence in his quick concession of victory, saying it was a publicity stunt, he also cautioned Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos not to further provoke Ekiti people with supposedly derogatory remarks.

PDP, APC grandstand in Senate

propaganda with sensitive issues like this.”

“If the governor says I am not going, his party too must make pronouncements otherwise I do not mind them going to court.

“The court will ask you: ‘it is usually the incumbent that rigs, why would somebody who is not an incumbent now rig and defeat you in your ward?

He said that none of the APC Senators or House of Representative members, including former governor, Mr Segun Oni, won in their polling booths.

Fayose commended Fayemi for the bold step taken in conceding defeat, though it was meant to induce public sympathy.

He said though he would run an inclusive government, he would only work with those who were willing to work with him.

The bickering over the Ekiti election, which also surfaced in the Senate chambers where PDP and All Progressives Congress, APC senators exchanged hot words over the conduct of the election, was also conveyed in communiqués by the two parties. At the end of the first meeting of its newlyconstituted National Working Committee, NWC, APC condemned the process of the Ekiti election as badly skewed in favour of the PDP just as the PDP in a riposte flayed the APC of planning mayhem, saying the party was set to return to its bad ways.

Fayemi spoke with Fayose yesterday, says aide

Fayemi not picking my calls again —Fayose

Watch your words, Fayose warns Fashola

Fayose in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) said that although Fayemi at the weekend conceded publicly and congratulated him, the governor had not picked calls from him since then.

“The governor said I am conceding to defeat. Let me be realistic with you, there is a difference between propaganda and reality.

I have been calling the governor since after our meeting but he hasn’t picked the call.

“If you read all papers now, he said I will create local governments before I go; how do you reconcile these things? I am not a propagandist, I am a realist. The governor says he will do employment before he leaves; that means you want to create problem for the incoming government.”

“Their party said we are still studying the ink used by INEC; it is the governor that conceded, not our party,” he said.

Fayose recalled that in 2003, his predecessor, Mr Niyi Adebayo, also conceded defeat but went ahead to conduct a mass recruitment though he had only six months remaining in his tenure.

“I respect the governor; he is our leader, up until the 15th of October, he remains our leader but I want to appeal to APC not to play

However, a senior aide of Governor Fayemi, however, denied the accusation that the governor had cut off communication with the incoming governor, saying that both men spoke yesterday morning on telephone.

The aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also defended the creation of new local governments, saying it was a process that commenced last January and would come to an end by endorsement of the state House of Assembly.

Fayose also yesterday blasted Governor Fashola over his comments that democracy was diminished with the election of Fayose in Ekiti State.

Replying through the Director General of the Ayo Fayose Campaign Organisation, AFCO, Chief Dipo Anisulowo, Fayose cautioned Fashola to refrain from insulting Ekiti people with his comments on the election.

“The governor’s comment that Ekiti people were induced with money to vote for the Peoples Democratic Party is an insult on the entire people of Ekiti State, and we in the PDP will not take lightly to anyone insulting Ekiti people under whatever guise.”

“It is only a hypocritical mind like Fashola that would claim that the results of an election as credible as that of last Saturday was induced by money and that Ayodele Fayose ought not to have been voted for by Ekiti people because he was standing trial for alleged corruption.”

Anisulowo, who reminded Fashola that Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon Adeyemi Kuforiji was also standing trial for alleged corruption, said; “Fashola should first remove the timber in his eyes before talking about the speck in

CONFERENCE: Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State (left) discussing with the British Deputy High Commissioner in Nigeria, Mr. Peter Carter during the Nigeria Infrastructure Building Conference 2014 at the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos yesterday.

other people’s eyes.

“Therefore, on the Ekiti election, Ekiti people have rejected the APC and its deceitful government and elected their own governor. If Fashola and his ilk are not pleased, they should go to the tribunal instead of insulting the collective intellect of Ekiti people.”

Ekweremadu to the rescue as tempers rise

Meanwhile, the timely intervention of the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, stopped APC and PDP senators from exchanging blows as tempers rose yesterday over the outcome of the just-concluded Ekiti election.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Senator Andy Uba, had, while relying on Order 43 of the Senate Standing Order, commended the electoral body for conducting what he described as the most credible election in the country.

Senator Uba, who also commended the people and government of Ekiti State for the peaceful conduct of the election, further praised the security agencies for ensuring adequate security during and after the election and urged all the relevant stakeholders that contributed to the success of the polls to carry on with the same spirit in subsequent elections.

But it was too much for Senator Babafemi Ojudu, (APC, Ekiti Central) who drew the attention of the Senate to the fact that Senator Uba’s younger brother, Chief Chris Uba had led the Police to cause havoc during the election.

Senator Ojudu said: “My col-

league (Andy Uba) had already read Order 43, I don’t need to repeat it. I will like to commend the governor-elect of Ekiti State and my governor for accepting the result of the election.

“But I want to say here, Mr. President, that my colleague who stood here to talk, his younger brother Chris Uba, led police to the hotel and smashed all the doors of the hotel…''

He was immediately stopped

by PDP senators who shouted at him to sit down.

Senators Smart Adeyemi (PDP, Kogi West) and Philip Aduda, (PDP, FCT) led the PDP senators in stopping Ojudu, leading to a rowdy uproar before Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, who presided at the session overruled Ojudu, using Order 43 that prohibited discussion of controversial issues in the Senate.

Election not free, fair — APC

Meanwhile, the APC at the end of the first meeting of its National Working Committee, NWC declared the just-concluded election as neither free nor fair as it claimed that the process that led to it was skewed to favour PDP. The party said it had as such directed its members and officials who were arrested or limited in the days leading to the election to seek legal redress.

A communiqué of the meeting issued by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed stated thus: ”In order to prevent a recurrence of what happened in Ekiti, especially the militarisation of the process, the harassment and intimidation of citizens, especially those in opposition, my party has

decided to challenge in court some of these constitutional breaches and will also encourage our leaders and supporters, who were arrested, harassed and intimidated to seek the enforcement of their fundamental rights that were recklessly abridged by the security agencies.”

He further stated that: “We believe that the events leading to the D-Day in Ekiti negate the principles of a free, fair and credible election. From the militarisation of the election to the police attack on our supporters, arrest and detention of our leaders across the state and the use of huge funds to induce voters, the federal authorities skewed everything in favour of the PDP.” According to him: “With thousands of armed troops, police, state security and civil defence personnel deployed to Ekiti, the state was simply under a total lockdown.

APC planning mayhem in Ekiti — PDP

Responding to the APC communiqué yesterday, the PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh said the APC was about to resort to what he claimed were the party’s old behaviour as he claimed the party was set to cause mayhem in Ekiti State.

Noting that the communiqué of the APC demonstrates their ‘preference for anarchy and blind homage to nihilism and destruction of the democratic order', Metuh said: “The APC has once again confirmed that it is nothing but a chaotic organisation, totally averse to democracy and orderliness. It has shown that it is a party of desperate, frustrated and violent individuals promoting a Janjaweed ideology.''

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014—11

Osun parents protest new education policies ...Premise of their protest faulty – GOVT

BY DAUD OLATUNJI

BY GBENGA OLARINOYE

A

O

SOGBO—THE contro versies surrounding the new education policies of Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State resurfaced yesterday as parents of children in public primary and secondary schools in the state protested against the new policies.

The parents, who converged on the state secretariat of the Parents Teachers Association, PTA located at the Government Technical College, Osogbo, condemned the common uniform introduced by the state government.

Led by Alhaji Mayowa Popoola, the protesting parents also claimed that the tablets of knowledge Opon imon given to students were not sufficient as many of their children could not benefit from it.

Also, the parents condemned the quality of school uniforms given to school children in the state, claiming that the uniforms are of low quality and could not last.

They also complained about the price of the uniform, which they said was expensive, stressing that not many of them could afford it.

The state government charges between N1,800 to N2,000 per uniform.

Addressing the protesters, the state chairman of the PTA, Dr Ademola Ekundayo appealed to the aggrieved parents to remain calm and promised to take their demands to the Governor.

He assured that the state executives of the PTA would meet with

SWEARING-IN: Hon. Justice Omolara Adeyemi (left) being congratulated by Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State after being sworn-in as a Judge, while Chief Justice Bolajoko Adeniji looks on. Photo by Dare Fasube the government officials on how to ensure enduring peace in the education sector in the state.

Govt reacts

Government, through Mr Semiu Okanlawon, Director, Bureau of Communications and Strategy, Office of the Governor, in its response to the protest by the parents said; “The premise of their supposed protest is faulty because the government has never claimed that it has completed the distribution of the tablets. Don't forget that right from the day Opon Imo was launched, the government told the whole state that 50,000 units

would be brought into the country by the manufacturers while 100,000 units are to be assembled at a factory for that purpose in Osun.

“What the Government has reeled out at campaigns are the statistics of distribution at various federal constituencies. For instance, the governor told the crowd at Iwo that so far, a total of 2,062 pupils have received Opon Imo in Iwo Federal Constituency while 2,299 tablets have been distributed in Ayedade/Irewole/Isokan axis.

“Do these figures represent the number of pupils who should actually get Opon Imo? The an-

swer is no! So, where did they get the claim that government has said all pupils in the state have collected the tablets.

“On the issue of uniforms, nothing can be father from the truth because there is no single point of sale but several points of sale across the state. There are agents and distributors who supply these uniforms.

“If their grievance lies in the fact that a company manufactures these uniforms, the people have seen the economic benefits of mass production and how this has generated employments and boosted the industrialisation mission of the government.”

Fayose receives certificate of return from INEC, urges caution

BY GBENGAARIYIBI

A

DO EKITI—THE gov ernor-elect in Ekiti State, Mr Ayodele Fayose yesterday received certificate of

returns from the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, just as he vowed to appoint Ekiti State-based indigenes as commissioners and other political appointees.

INEC presented the certificates to Fayose and his deputy, Dr Olubunmi Olusola at its headquarters in Ado Ekiti, the state capital, in the presence of a huge crowd of their

Fayemi creates 18 LCDAs, await House approval

BY GBENGAARIYIBI

A

DO EKITI—EKITI State government is to create additional 18 Council Development Areas from the existing 16 Local Council Areas, sequel to the recommendation of the committee for the creation of local government, headed by retired High Court Judge, Justice Akin Ajakaiye.

But the governor-elect, Mr Ayodele Fayose has kicked against the decision, saying it was ungentlemanly on Fayemi's part to create additional councils in the twilight of his administration.

According to the statement by the state Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation, Mr

Bankole to join Ogun guber race

Tayo Ekundayo, in Ado Ekiti yesterday, the local government development areas would finally be created after a referendum to be conducted by the State Independent Electoral Commission, SIEC, and the consideration of the outcome of the referendum by the state House of Assembly.

The 18 new council areas, according to him are to operate as Local Council Development Areas, LCDAs, pending the concurrence of the National Assembly, which would accord them the status of full-fledged local government councils.

The new councils and their proposed headquarters as contained in the White Paper and

approved by the State Executive Council are as follows: Ado West Local Council Development Area (Okesha); Ado-North LCDA (Oke-Ila); Ado-Central LCDA (Ijigbo); Ekiti North-East LCDA (Iloro-Ekiti); Ogotun/Igbaraodo LCDA (Oke-Agbe); Osi/Isokan LCDA (Ifaki); Eka Meta LCDA (Erijiyan-Ekiti); Okemesi/Ido-Ile LCDA (Okemesi-Ekiti); Gbonyin LCDA (Aisegba); Irewolede LCDA (Iloro-Ekiti); Irede LCDA (Ipoti-Ekiti); Ikere West LCDA (Anaye); Ajoni LCDA (Aiyedun); Ifelodun LCDA (Igbemo -Ekiti) Araromi LCDA (Iyin Ekiti); Ero LCDA (Igogo); Ifesowapo LCDA (Bamisile Land); Ifeloju LCDA (Ilupeju-Ekiti.)

supporters and party men.

The presentation was sequel to his victory over the incumbent governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the Saturday’s election Speaking after receiving the certificate ,Fayose thanked the officials of INEC assisted by the security agencies for conducting a free, fair and acceptable election in the state.

“With this election, INEC has proven that it has the capacity to put Nigeria back on track. You did not choose a governor for us in your office, but you allowed Ekiti people to freely choose. This will forever remain in history.”

The governor-elect used the opportunity to caution people outside the state to desist from making harsh comments about the election, saying “democracy is the government of the people, by the people and for the people. ”I will go for the goal like Chief Obafemi Awolowo because I will not look sideways,” he said.

B E O K U TA — A strong indication has emerged that former Speaker of House of Representatives, Hon. Dimeji Bankole will soon declare interest in the 2015 governorship election in Ogun State.

Vanguard gathered that the former Speaker is being tipped by the Presidency to contest the governorship election under the People’s Democratic Party against incumbent governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun in 2015.

It was gathered that, the move was calculated to tackle the ruling All Progressives Congress in the state in 2015 because both Amosun and Bankole hail from Ogun Central Senatorial district.

Addressing the PDP members in Ilaro during Ogun West Senatorial District stakeholders meeting, Bankole hinted that he may declare his governorship ambition at the next stakeholders meeting scheduled to hold in Abeokuta, Ogun central.

Omoluabi in Diaspora website for launch

O

SUN State indi genes in the diaspora are set to launch a website and app to serve as a repository of talents and expertise.

The app and the website, Omoluabi in Diaspora are to assist both public and private entities engage in the development of Osun State by making available a pool of professionals and experts of Osun origin in the diaspora.

This will also be bolstered by non-Osun indigenesfriends and well-wishers of the state, who have continued to keep a keen eye on the developmental programmes being carried out under the leadership of Governor Rauf Aregbesola.

According to the Chief Coordinator of the project, Alhaji AbdulRahman Animasaun, “It is our own little way of supporting Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s laudable work in Osun State.”

12 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014

Edo Assembly crisis: Market women, youths may execute court order —Oshiomhole

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM & GABRIEL ENOGHOLASE

B

ENIN—AS crisis continues to rock the Edo State House of Assembly, Governor Adams Oshiomhole, yesterday, warned that market women and the youths of the state might help the police to execute the court order banning four House of Assembly members from entering the Assembly premises if the police, created by law, continued to flout court orders.

Oshiomhole spoke when addressing thousands of youths from Edo Central senatorial district who came to demand for the recall of the suspended Deputy Speaker of the House, Mr. Festus Ebea.

Oshiomhole lamented that democracy was being threatened in Edo State following the refusal of the police and the suspended lawmakers to obey the court order restraining them from the Assembly complex.

er than any one of us; it is greater than the god father, the police and all of us. I am committed to ensuring that the business in taking Edo to the next level cannot be compromised by this distraction. Edo State under my stewardship will continue to carry development to every part of Esanland. Very soon we will release promotions to our civil servants and we will take development to the next level.”

Mock plenary

Meanwhile, the crisis rocking

the state House of Assembly took a dramatic turn yesterday, w h e n a group, Edo Assembly Parliament and Civil Society Organization, held a mock plenary session at the forecourt of the Assembly complex and passed a vote of no confidence on the lawmakers.

The group which converged at the gate to the Assembly complex, with its Speaker and Principal Officers, went with a mace, a Sergeant-at-Arms and repre-

sentatives of state constituencies. It sat for about 30minutes and thereafter summoned the state governor, to appear before it today to explain the re-awarded Central Hospital building project Speaking with newsmen, Mr. Curtis Igbo, who acted as the Speaker, said they took over the constitutional responsibility of the elected parliamentarians as citizens of Edo State since the lawmakers no longer represented the interest of the people.

Calling for rescue

He said: “I have been watching the situation in the House of Assembly and it is very pathetic. The suspended lawmakers who went to court first have refused to obey the court order with the police watching. If I call Edo people to rescue democracy they will do so. If I call them to come and rescue me from these gangsters they will do so. Under the Police Act, the police have a duty to enforce court order, and the reason they are police is because of law. If you remove the law that set up the police, there will be no police. If the police, who are a creation of law refuse to obey the law, refuse to obey court order, they are the ones who are behaving like the English turkey. I cannot be governor if there is break down of law and order and the police can no longer function as police.

“I want to appeal, and ask you to also appeal, to the police to obey the law and obey court order. Democracy is a celebration of the rule of law.

People are saying this matter should be settled. Do you settle a matter by disobeying court order? I watched them on television abusing the bailiff when they were served court order. When they threw the court summon at the bailiff, saying it was nonsense, the police were watching them.

“As we speak, we have enough security challenge in Nigeria. Ambitious politicians should not export crisis to Edo State. This state is great-

VISIT: Senator Lee Maeba, Chairman, Governing Board of the Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research, NIFOR, (left) and Governor Adams Oshiomhole during the Board's visit to the governor in Benin City, yesterday.

Terrorism: Unite against Boko Haram —CNS ...says they are enemies of the nation

BY JIMITOTA ONOYUME

P

ORT HARCOURT— CHIEF of Naval Staff, CNS, Vice Admiral Usman Jibrin, has called on Nigerians to unite against Boko Haram, describing the terrorist group as an enemy of the nation.

Speaking in Port Harcourt during a tour of Navy formations in the state, the CNS said the military was winning the war against Boko Haram, noting that the Islamic sect had been pushed deeper to border towns.

“There should also not be any political inclination in definition on the context of Boko Haram because the terrorists seek to destroy us and our livelihood,” he said.

On oil theft in the Niger Delta region, the CNS said security forces had reduced the menace to an appreciable level.

According to him, oil theft had dropped from 4.2 million

barrels to one million barrel loss, expressing the hope that it would further drop to 500, 000 barrels per month soon.

He said: “With the Federal Government's support of the Navy and collaboration with other security agencies, oil theft has been reduced from the previous 4.2 million barrels lost per month to one million barrels. We project that with several successes the Navy recorded in the month of May alone, oil theft will further drop to an all time low of 500, 000 barrels per month. With this anticipated reduction, the Federal Government will earn more revenue to move the nation forward, and further improve the livelihood of Nigerians.”

He added that the Navy would take delivery of three warships before the end of the year to enhance its fight

against oil theft and securing of the nation’s water ways.

Grounded chopper: I’ll go to court if…

—Oshiomhole

T

HE management of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, Benin Airport Branch, yesterday, apologised to Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State over the recent incident at the Benin Airport where his chartered helicopter was stopped from flying.

This came as the governor Oshiomhole vowed to go to court and challenge any authority which sought to infringe on his fundamental human rights if his right to movement from one place to another within the country was violated again.

Speaking when the management of NAMA , Benin Airport Branch, paid him a visit to apologise, the governor who said he had direct contact with President Goodluck Jonathan following the incident, added: “I’m convinced that he (President) didn’t give those orders that I should be stopped. The next time I’m so interrupted, I will not hesitate to go to court and challenge the infringement on my fundamental right to movement. We need to strengthen our democracy.”

He advised the airport authorities to shun partisan politics and insist on professionalism, saying that “it will be a sad day if the management of a sensitive institution that has to do with air safety joins the club of politicians and political actors."

PDP's victory in Ekiti'll be replicated in Edo —Orbih

BY GABRIEL ENOGHOLASE

B

ENIN—EDO State chapter of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has boasted that the party’s victory in the governorship election in Ekiti State will be replicated in Edo State in 2016, saying that a PDP government in 2016 will probe the present administration in the state.

Chairman of the party, Chief Dan Orbih who spoke yesterday in Benin while receiving hundreds of defectors from the All Progres-

sives Congress, APC, in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area of the state, accused the state government of being intolerant to the opposition parties in the state.

According to Orbih, “What happened in Ekiti State where the PDP emerged victorious will be repeated in Edo State because Governor Fayemi introduced competency test for the teachers in that state. He was hostile to the workers and introduced oppressive taxation. That is what the Edo State government has done and surely, Edo people will speak in 2016.”

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014—13

Oshiomhole woos S-Africans to invest $200m in Edo G

OVERNOR Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has told the Board of the Nigerian Institute For Oil Palm Research, NIFOR, to advise a South African investor to look in the direction of Edo State for the investment of $200 million in the cultivation and production of oil palm on 100,000 hectares of land.

Speaking, yesterday, when he hosted the NIFOR Board, led by Senator Lee Maeba, Oshiomhole said the state had adequate land reserves and other infrastructure to meet

the demands of the investors.

Responding to Senator Maeba’s disclosure that a South African investor was seeking to plough $200 million in the agric sector in Edo, Enugu and Benue States, Oshiomhole maintained that Edo was the safest in the entire nation and its people were hospitable.

He said: “Other agro-companies that have investments in the state are doing so well that they have asked for more land for expansion.”

He told the NIFOR Board members that government

would approve more land for the institute if it applied for it.

Oshiomhole noted that government had cause to revoke reserved land from some landlords who were not actual farmers but were sub-letting such land to small-scale farmers and collecting rent.

He assured NIFOR of government’s support whenever such was needed.

Earlier, Senator Maeba, who led other members of the Board on the visit, said

they were in Government House to introduce themselves to the governor and solicit the government’s collaboration to acquiring 5,000 hectares of farmland to provide over 2,500 direct and indirect jobs for Nigerians, especially the people of the state.

According to him, “God did not make any mistake in citing NIFOR in Benin. NIFOR has on its pay roll, over 2,000 employees and is very particular to mention that nearly 2,000 of these are from Edo

State and so we can conveniently say that NIFOR is one of the major employers of labour in Edo State.”

Senator Maeba commended the governor for his commitment to the infrastructural development of the state and called for its sustenance.

The Nigeria Institute for Oil Palm Research, NIFOR, was established in October 1939 as a Research/Training Institute.

UNICEM assures on zero industrial accident

BY EMMA UNA

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ALABAR—UNITED Cement Company, UNICEM, has said occupational health and safety are top priorities of the company, aimed at achieving zero industrial accident.

Managing Director of UNICEM, Mr. Oliver Lenoir, who disclosed this, said besides compliance with local safety laws, the company had adopted international workplace safety best practices and initiated policies to promote safety of employees, contractors, and their family members.

Mr. Lenoir, who spoke to Vanguard on the company ’s safety month, said: “UINICEM has raised the bar in ensuring the safety of its workers raising awareness on health and safety as a core business value.

That is why we are committing the whole of June as safety week and the theme for this year is, My Actions, My Impact, Our Progress."

According to Lenoir, the company had, through awareness programmes and sensitization of its workforce, achieved great milestones in safety standards.

“Our yearly compliance rating has continued to soar and it is worthy to note that we have progressed from compliance rating of 35.55 in 2011 to 72.5% in 2012 as reported by external health authorities. Our target is to achieve 100% in the near future,” he said.

14 —Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014

S-East APC opposes Okorocha's plan to issue ID's to residents of Northern extraction A

BY CHRIS OCHAYI

BUJA—THE All Progressives Congress, APC, in the South East has opposed plans by the Imo State government to issue identity cards to Northerners residing in the state.

The party, while calling on the state governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, to rescind the policy it described as unconstitutional and undemocratic, said, Boko Haram elements were not playing Northern script.

Spokesman of APC in the zone, Mr. Osita Okechukwu in a statement yesterday in Abuja, warned that any attempt to segregate Nigerians like in Nazi Germany would be the greatest disservice to the country.

He said: “Whereas we condemn the devilish and heinous atrocities of the deranged Boko Haram elements, we are of the candid view that Boko Haram elements are not playing Northern script, as their agenda is more or less opaque and futile.

“We cannot easily forget that Boko Haram killed General

Mohammed Shuwa, uncountable Northerners and nearly assassinated the Shehu of Borno.

Reports indicate that the Emir of Kano did not recover fully from the trauma he suffered in their hands before his death.

“Any attempt to segregate

Nigerians like in Nazi Germany will be the greatest disservice to our dear country and to do so will either by omission or commission be playing into the hands of Boko Haram insurgents.

“To us, the unity, stability and

harmonious relationship of Nigerian citizens is paramount and fundamental, accordingly, we do not subscribe to the day Ndigbo residing in other parts of the country will be subjected to screening and carrying identity cards in our beloved country."

COMPETITION: From left: Chief Keith Richards, Chairman, Promasidor Nigeria Limited, Professor Atim Antai, Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Education, and Mr. Olivier Thiry, Managing Director, Promasidor; at the prize-giving ceremony for the 2014 Cowbell National Secondary Schools Mathematics Competition, NASSMAC, in Uyo, yesterday.

Obiano asks Police to stop harassing monarch

BY VINCENT

UJUMADU WKA—ANAMBRA State governor, Chief Willie Obiano, has asked the police to stop harassing one of the famous traditional rulers in the state, Igwe Chidubem Iweka of Obosi in Idemili North local government area.

According to him, if the police wants the monarch to make a statement on any issue, they should go to his palace to take the statement.

Obiano had said during the celebration of his 100 days in office in

A

Awka that he had to go to Abuja to inform the Inspector General of Police, IG, that it was not proper for his men to invite a traditional ruler to Abuja for the purpose of making a statement, adding that respect should be accorded the traditional institution.

In an interview with Vanguard, Igwe Iweka said the governor knew that the police had invited him three times to Abuja over the death of one of his subjects who was killed by security operatives at Nkpor in Idemili North local government.

Police abort groups' presentation of Enugu budget implementation the South East, were

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BY TONY EDIKE

NUGU—ENUGU Citizens Forum convened by a coalition of over 50 civil society groups to present the analysis of the implementation of the state 2013 budget was yesterday aborted by the police.

The event was slated for Oakland Event Centre along the Ebeano Tunnel road but the participants, drawn from some states of

denied access to the hall by four policemen who claimed to have the instruction of the police commissioner to stop the meeting.

Management of the centre had informed the organisers that the Police Public Relations Committee, PPRC, of the state police command had booked the same hall which the coalitionearlierreservedandpaid for, and decided to give them another hall downstairs.

Steer clear of S-East, cleric tell Boko Haram

BY NWABUEZE

OKONKWO NUGU—THE Archbishop of the Enugu Province of the Anglican Communion, Most Rev. Emmanuel Chukwuma, yesterday, warned members and sponsors of the Boko Haram Islamist sect to stay away from the South-East zone, warning that the group’s activities in the zone would be regarded as a direct invitation to war.

Most Rev Chukwuma, who was the former chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, South-East zone, gave the warning while briefing newsmen ahead of the 3rd Session of the 15th Synod of Enugu Diocese of the Church which commenced yesterday.

He expressed dismay over the incessant bombing across the country suspected to be carried out by the Boko Haram group, noting that time had come for the federal government to adopt a radical approach in checkmate the group’s activities.

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Group flays Abuja, Lagos bomb blasts

BY DOTUN IBIWOYE

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AGOS—IGBO Youth Congress, IYC, yesterday, condemned the Creek Road, Apapa, Lagos, and Abuja bomb blasts warning the insurgents that any infiltration to the southern part of the country will be met with great resistance and prosecution of the perpetrators.

In a chat with Vanguard, National President, ITC, Comrade Jerry Ugwu, stated that the Jigawa State House of Assembly has no right to sue Abia State government over the 486 terror suspects that migrated to the state in wee hours of the night recently.

He said: “We have condemned the bomb blasts in Apapa and Abuja. How can you tellmethatagroupofmenwalked to the state government saying they are seeking for jobs? Did AbiaStategovernmentadvertise that they are employing, in any media asking people to come for job opportunity?"

Vanguard , FRIDAY,JUNE 27, 2014 — 15

PUBLIC SERVICE REFORMS: We've gone far in key sectors —Sambo A

BY FUNMI OLASUPO

BUJA—VICE President, Arch. Nnamadi Sambo, has said that the federal government’s reform in agriculture, aviation and transportation sectors had gone far.

He made the disclosure, yesterday, during the Bureau of Public Service Reforms, BPSR, seminar series in Abuja.

Represented by Head of Civil Service of the Federation Alhaji Bukar Goni Aji, the vice president stated that Nigerian airports had been refurbished, while in agriculture, farmers now had direct and easy access to fertilizers.

He also said the railway system was making a head way in the transportation sector of the country.

According to him, government established the BPSR to be on its own and gave it a substantive directorgeneral capable of driving it.

“We have strengthened our reform capacity to be in line with our transformation agenda, these also includes public service reform, refocusing the Servicom unit and the Bureau of Public Service Reform,” Sambo said.

The Vice President tasked the Bureau to come up with a new strategy that could assist

the federal government in its transformation agenda.

World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly, restated the bank’s commitment to support Nigeria in its reform process.

Nelly said it was critically important for proper alignment of government function for the activation of citizen’s growth.

She said: “We, the World Bank, promise to partner with

Nigeria for improved industrialisation in Nigeria and deepen highlight key areas we consider the most important in the country.

“At the same time, we know that it is important and we cannot let the civil service reform down because the reform of the civil sector for good government cannot be over said, it is capable of supporting economic growth

and poverty reduction, providing essential social services.

“Looking at Nigeria, not long ago, Nigeria was recognised as one of the largest economies and there is now need to carry forward to further provide quality services to Nigerian citizens to ensure that the benefit of the economy is shared throughout the region.”

PRESENTATION: From left: Mrs. Abimbola Jijoho-Ogun, General Manager, Admin/Special Duties, Lagos State Waste Management Authority, LAWMA, Mr. Oladimeji Oresanya, MD, LAWMA, and Mr. Tunde Sonoiki, Group Head, Collections, Sterling Bank Plc., at the formal presentation of Sterling Bank's branded uniforms to LAWMA in Lagos. Photo: Akeem Salau.

ALLEGED DEFAMATION: Tinubu to face Senate disciplinary c'ttee

BY JOHNBOSCO

AGBAKWURU

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BUJA—THE Senate yesterday frowned on alleged defamation of its leadership by Senator Oluremi Tinubu, who represents Lagos Central Senatorial District, and directed its Committee on Ethics and Privileges to investigate the allegation and report back within two weeks.

Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, SAN, had in a Point of Order informed the red chamber

that Senator Tinubu had in an interview with journalists recently, alleged that there were rots in the leadership of the senate and that if the rots continued, she would not like to come back to the senate.

Claiming that his privileges had been breached by the alleged defamation by a serving senator, Senator Ndoma-Egba, who said he was speaking as a member representing Cross River Central senatorial district, said: “I would have brought this matter on the first day of our resumption

but for respect for the memory of our departed colleague, Senator Dahiru Awaisu Kuta.

“Today, therefore, is my earliest opportunity to raise it and that is why I raise this matter of privilege. There’s a story carried in Thisday of June 5, 2014, attributed to a distinguished colleague of ours, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, and the headline is this: Activities in the Senate are depressing and I will read with your kind permission, parts of the story."

Reps halt planned increase in BDC's licensing fees

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BY EMMAN OVUAKPORIE

BUJA—THE House of Representatives yesterday put a halt to the proposed increase in licensing fees by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, for Bureau de Change from N35 million to N70 million.

Also, the lawmakers mandated the House Committee on Environment to investigate the ocean surge at Kalauma Federal constituency in Bayelsa State that has made many indigenes homeless.

The lawmakers, apparently irked by the massive unemployment the new policy may cause, roundly condemned the CBN directive expected to take effect in the next two weeks.

This was sequel to a motion brought to the floor of the House by Ibrahim Shehu-Gusau, PDP, Zamfara State.

According to the legislator, the apex bank has raised the minimum capital requirement for operation of BDCs in Nigeria from N10 million to N35 million.

He also noted that the mandatory cautionary deposit was equally reviewed from N3 million to N35 million, which should be deposited in a non-interest yielding account in the CBN, along with the licensing fee from N500,000 to Nl million; and annual renewal fee increase from N10,000 to N25,000, while the application fee of N100,000 remained unchanged.

He argued that the BDCs had provided millions of Nigerians job opportunities and that there should be an immediate halt to it.

Shehu-Gusau also expressed concern that the new rule will send many BDCs operators out of business, adding that this would further lead to massive unemployment in Nigeria.

16—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014

Our close shave with death— Abuja blast survivors Continues from page 5 Sambo said: “Mr. President will not leave any stone unturned until we defeat this terrorism. Terrorism cannot survive in Nigeria or any part of this country. We are doing everything to ensure that within the shortest possible time, this will become a matter of the past”.

Another victim dies, 52 injured, 34 vehicles damaged

One of the injured, who was admitted at the Intensive Care Unit, ICU, of the National Hospital is dead.

Vanguard investigations across the major hospitals in Abuja, yesterday also revealed that the number of those injured was 52.

The police told journalists at the scene of the blast that only 17 people were injured.

Specifically, the Director-General of the FCT Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, Alhaji Abbas Idriss said the 52 injured victims are spread across five hospitals in the FCT: Maitama has a total number of 36 victims, Wuse Hospital, 7; Na-

tional Hospital 6; Garki Hospital 2 and Turkish Hospital 1. It was equally learnt that while 17 vehicles were completely destroyed , a total of 34 were damaged.

Major markets deserted A visit by Vanguard to major markets in the Abuja metropolis showed that they were virtually deserted as very few traders ventured to open their shops. Customers also preferred to shop at neighbourhood shops.

Most affected were: Wuse, Garki, Utako.

The Head, Corporate Affairs of the Abuja Market Management Limited, AMML, Mr Innocent Amaechina, who spoke to Vanguard on phone yesterday, said the scanty market activities in the FCT was quite natural because of the explosion the previous day.

But he advised that rather than panic at the development, residents should be reassured that government was on top of any possible security breach in the markets.

“The fact is that people are afraid naturally because of what has happened and people are be-

coming more security conscious especially after the bombing of Emab plaza."

He said the agency is in close collaboration with security agencies to see that markets in the FCT are safe for Abuja residents.

US, EU condemn Abuja bomb blast

The United States (US) and the European Union have also condemned the bomb attack at the Emab Plaza, Abuja, describing it as heartless act.

The US in a statement issued yesterday, by its embassy in Abuja, said: “We extend our deepest condolences to the families of the victims and call on all Nigerians regardless of region or religion to join in and support efforts to put an end to this evil against humanity,” it enjoined.

The US said it remained committed to supporting Nigerians in their struggle against violent extremism “and to helping the Government of Nigeria as it works to counter these threats to citizens and its national called on the Federal Government to ensure that the perpe-

trators are brought to justice. The EU in its statement said, “We condemn in the strongest terms the bombing of a shopping centre in Abuja, killing 21 people. This attack is the latest in a long series of violent acts terrorising the Nigerian population.

“We express our deepest sympathy to the families of the victims. As demonstrated by the increased support we have provided recently, the EU stands with the government of Nigeria in its fight against terrorism and violence, and for the rule of law and human rights,” it said.

NBA asks FG to step up efforts to end terrorism

The Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, in its reaction yesterday, urged the federal government to intensify its efforts towards ensuring an end to the current reign of terror in Nigeria.

The association, in a statement it issued in Abuja yesterday, signed by the National President of the association, Chief Okey Wali, SAN, read: “The Nigerian Bar Asso-

ciation received with shock the sad news of bomb blast in Emab Plaza, located at Wuse II area of Nigeria’s Capital, Abuja on June 25, 2014 which resulted in the unfortunate and untimely death of 22 persons and left many more injured.

“This latest bomb explosion in Abuja is only part of a series of sporadic bomb blasts in some parts of Nigeria.

“The NBA outrightly condemns this bomb blast, which has caused deaths and grievous bodily injuries to many Nigerians.

“There can never be any justification for these dastardly and brazen acts of carnage.

“This latest bomb explosion brings to the fore the need for the Federal Government of Nigeria to intensify efforts in bringing these acts of terrorism and insurgency to an end."

CAN, Catholic Church condemn blasts

THE Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN and the Catholic Church has also condemned the bomb blast, saying that these activities of Islamic funda-

mentalists have brought untold embarrassment to the nation.

In two separate reactions last night, Secretary General of CAN, Rev. Musa Asake and the Director of Social Communications at the Lagos Archdiocese, Monsignor Gabriel Osu were unanimous in pleading with the Federal Government and especially the security agencies to fashion tactics in dealing with themenace, admonishing that the leadership of the Church has been restraining Christian youth to avoid plunging the nation into a huge conflagration we may be unable to contain.

Asake maintained that the Federal Government has done a great deal to stamp out the renewed wave of terrorism in the country, “but they still need to do more since these Islamic jihadists have refused to respect the sanctity of human life.”

According to him, there is the urgent need to effectively monitor the nation’s borders and stop these foreign muruaders because “I am yet to believe that Nigerians will mindlessly bomb their fellow brothers in these dastardly manner and still able to sleep at night.”

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 —17

Media crackdowns

A gentleman bows out shouldn’t be surprised. Ekitians have a history of not allowing any Governor to stay for more than one term; and since the previous incumbent is not currently querying the means by which he was replaced, let me accept the status quo and wish Chief Fayose well.

By the way, my response to the diehard PDP supporters who have sent me

abusive messages for daring to highlight Fayemi’s strengths is as follows: Fayemi is not perfect. He has faults like every other human being, this columnist included. But he is a decent Gentleman overall; and your ungrammatical fulminations against him and me were utterly laughable!

A worthy representative

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AST week, the day before the Ekiti State gubernatorial election, I told you that I had known Dr Kayode Fayemi, the then Governor, since we were both youngsters and that I held him and his wife, Erelu Bisi, in the highest esteem.

I urged Ekiti indigenes to vote for Fayemi because I felt that he had done a good job under difficult circumstances and was convinced that he had what it took to carry the people he had diligently and honestly served for nearly four years to the next level and fulfil their socioeconomic development dreams.

But the election result did not go the way I’d hoped. Ayo Fayose, the PDP candidate, has been declared the winner by a wide margin; and Fayemi has graciously conceded defeat and congratulated his victorious opponent.

I am very depressed about this outcome; but I guess I

H

ENRY SERIAKE DICKSON, the PDP Governor of Bayelsa State, recently came to London, having been invited to address a lunch that was hosted by a British Parliamentary group that has a special interest in the African business scene.

This highly regarded group only organises four official lunches per year; and the lunches take place in the hallowed House of Commons.

So it was a great honour for Governor Dickson to be allocated this prestigious, not-easy-to-get slot.

Nigerian dignitaries rarely gain access to such privileged platforms in the United Kingdom, so I was very grateful when I was invited to the event; and I am happy to report that Governor Dickson did Nigeria and Bayelsa proud.

He was eloquent and confident without talking too much or being arrogant. He explained his agenda for his state, emphasised his laudable commitment to education, outlined various investment opportunities and firmly put the toxic and worrying but not insurmountable Boko Haram menace into perspective.

He also made it clear that he was a

staunch supporter of Mr President and urged the foreigners to believe in the Jonathan administration.

I used to share Dickson’s faith in the Jonathan administration, but have gradually become disillusioned to the point where I now regularly criticise it. And this difference of opinion puzzles me. But I guess it’s normal and healthy.

You and I can look at the same scenario or individual and see totally different things. I may not see what you see and you may not see what I see; and let’s face it: We are all entitled to view personalities, political challenges and life in general through non-identical prisms that may or may not be rose-tinted.

At any rate, I was touched by the unconditional loyalty that Dickson displayed towards his Big Brother and Boss; and I agree with the English entrepreneur who told me after the lunch that if all of Jonathan’s team members were as credible and persuasive as Governor Dickson, the Presidency would probably not be floundering under the weight of constant doubts about its competence.

OPINION Fayose, Ekiti and politics of South West

BY MATTHEW ADEJOH

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ETER AYODELE FAYOSE, the Governor-Elect of Ekiti State, is an enigma in Nigerian politics. Nobody seems to understand his style and strategies. Until the declaration of the results of the governorship election of June 21, 2014, which proclaimed him as winner, by a large margin, it was confusing whether, indeed, this ebullient politician was truly a man of the people or merely a selfconceited rabble-rouser. Compared to the quiet, soft-spoken and shy-looking incumbent Governor of the State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Fayose appears loud and too much of an extrovert. He exudes so much confidence that when he speaks, he is easily taken for an arrogant person.

Yet, underneath Fayose’s outward appearance is a caring, humane and generous personality, attributes once tasted by the people of Ekiti State, but only for a few years, after his victory over sitting Governor Niyi Adebayo, at the election of April 19, 2003. Between 2003 and 2006 when Fayose was politically manipulated out of office, the people found in him a unique brand of compassion and commitment to service, never experienced in the State. Like old lovers, Fayose and the people of Ekiti State have been searching for one another. And now, they have been reunited.

Governor–Elect Fayose’s second coming is also the return of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to Ekiti State.

The major infrastructure and social development, by which Fayose endeared himself to the people of Ekiti, was achieved on the platform of the PDP, deploying the party’s political expertise, and in keeping with its manifesto. Therefore, a substantial part of the credit of Fayose’s achievements in Ekiti State went to the party under which he served. Which explains why the PDP has been firmly entrenched in Ekiti State for a long time, in spite of the incursion of the All Progressives Congress, APC, into states of the South West

zone?

Apart from Fayose’s past record of excellent performance in Ekiti State, his victory was made easy by the woeful, if not total lack of performance of the APC Government of Fayemi. Like other APC states in the South West, the Fayemi administration operates more as a propaganda machinery rather than one devoted to practical efforts and concrete projects. The reason for the poor performance of the Fayemi administration in Ekiti State is that it lacks the necessary framework and policies for service delivery to the people. Not only is the APC without men and women of vision and commitment, the party lacks unity and focus, thereby making it easy for the PDP and a formidable politician like Fayose to reclaim the State. It should be noted that the bulk of members who joined the APC were frustrated members of the PDP who could not have their selfish interests in the party.

In preparing for the Ekiti governorship election, the superior experience and political skills of the PDP were amply demonstrated, especially in the selection of the party’s flag bearer. Out of over 26 aspirants who contested the PDP primaries for the position, most of whom were eminently qualified, the party, under the supervision of former Rivers State Governor, Dr. Peter Odili, was able to choose Fayose as its candidate.

Naturally, some of the participants protested but, again, the party was able to calm frayed nerves and reconcile its members for a unified contest against the APC candidate. It was a clear demonstration of the advantage of experience which the PDP has over all other political parties in the country.

The Ekiti governorship election has been universally declared as transparent, free and fair. Even the opposition parties, including the APC and the Labour Party, have accepted this position. The defeated incumbent Governor, Kayode Fayemi, has conceded defeat and

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HE Egyptian authorities have been cracking down on journalists for a while and a Cairo court has just outraged the civilized world by unfairly sentencing three Al Jazeera TV channel employees to jail terms ranging from seven to 10 years.

Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed were arrested last December while they were covering the military coup that had toppled the democratically elected ex-President Mohammed Morsi a few months earlier.

All three men were accused of aiding the Muslim Brotherhood, Morsi’s banned organisation, and of producing false news reports…simply because they had made objective observations about the situations they encountered.

A couple of weeks ago, I bitterly complained on this page about harassment of Nigerian media houses. My ire was triggered off by the fact that soldiers had, because they were upset about a story that portrayed the army in a bad light, tried to prevent this and other newspapers from being distributed.

This tantrum was, to be fair, uncharacteristic; and it did not last long.

Meanwhile, none of the Nigerian journalists who have criticised our government or its armed wing are in prison awaiting trial. So while we must continue to complain whenever the Nigerian authorities misbehave, let us also thank God about the fact that they are icons of liberalism compared to their horrible Egyptian counterparts!

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congratulated Fayose. There is not a single protest or threat of court action against the conduct or results of the election.

The credit goes to President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, whose electoral reforms are already yielding fruits.

Compared to what elections in Nigeria used to be in the past, the Ekiti case has shown that we are, indeed, close to the Promised Land, as far as elections are concerned. The President’s proclamation of “one man, one vote - one woman, one vote and one youth, one vote”, is now almost a reality.

Over the years, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has been the proverbial whipping boy in all matters relating to election failures. All that is now changing! In the Ekiti election, accusations of late arrival of voting materials were virtually non-existent, nor were there charges of bias or collusion against INEC officials.

Indeed, Ekiti is the best in INEC’s performance in the conduct of elections in Nigeria. Professor Attahiru Jega and his officials must be commended for their roles in the success of the election in Ekiti State.

Of course, the conduct of the Ekiti election was successful because there was adequate security. The nation’s security agencies, the military, police and civil defence organisations, were adequately deployed to protect life and property during the election. Indeed, the security arrangements were so impressive that the United States Mission in Nigeria had to issue a statement, commending INEC, the nation’s security agencies and other electoral stakeholders for their preparations and logistics. Prominent politicians, including state Governors and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PDP, Chief Tony Anenih, also commended the Federal Government, INEC and the Security Forces for the peaceful conduct of the elections in Ekiti State.

*Mr. Adejoh, a commentator on national affairs, wrote from Abuja.

18 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 WE treat pensioners with levity for two major reasons: today ’s active people never think of ever being pensioners; some are having their “pension” in advance, mostly by corrupt means.

Pensions of old, weak, ill, bedridden, blind, hungry, angry are stolen daily. Do we care how pensioners survive, if ever they are paid, and when they are never paid?

How do thousands of Nigerians serve their country in the military, civil service and allied places, and no record of their service exists?

Why is the discovery only made when they leave service?

No part of our national life reflects our poverty of care than our pension system. For years, many thought only the military was affected. The evidence was when ex-servicemen locked down parts of Abuja.

We tend to see them as some “old people” bent on inconveniencing

Tomorrow’s uncaring Pensioners society, which in our estimation they should not be a part of, at their age.

“We deserve an honourable and respectful treatment as part of the heroes of this nation. We are patriots, we are not dead yet, and should not be treated as if our continued existence is constituting a nuisance and unnecessary expenses to the nation,” one of their leaders said when ex-servicemen stormed the National Conference venue in Abuja to press their case.

Their demands are not new. Even the Constitution states that our people deserve care, at all ages.

Specifically, Section 16 (2d)

p rovides that, “The State shall direct its policy towards ensuring that suitable and adequate shelter, suitable and adequate food, reasonable national minimum living wage, old age care and pensions, and unemployment, sick benefits and welfare of the disabled are provided for all citizens.”

Where are the laws that should give life to these constitutional provisions? Why have we not had welfare laws in almost 16 years of the Constitution!

The ex-servicemen have taken their cases to the National Assembly countless times. They got no audience. Pensioners perish on

queues, where they are grilled to identify themselves. It is no longer the responsibility of their former employers to know them. While they are winding their way through narrow gates to their pensions, some people have been made busy of wholesale theft of pensions.

Nothing contributes to theft, corruption and inadequate commitment to national service than the efforts people deploy to work for themselves, out of the knowledge that their retirement plans, if left in the hands of others, are utterly ruined.

America fired its Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, a retired general, over poor care for its veterans. Our governments turn away from dealing decisively with pensions because those who should do not depend on pensions. We forget that most of us are tomorrow’s pensioners.

OPINION

Delta State: Waiting for Uduaghan's successor

BY GODFREY UBAKA

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S the compelling and compulsive dateline 2015 begins to wear the apron of approximated immediacy and predictive reality, our politicians are no doubt building all manner of bridges and alliances.

Far reaching consultations and diverse forms of horse trading are currently on-going across the country.

With the political dust raised in the Ekiti State governorship election beginning to settle, the focus no doubt is already being directed at Delta State both for the October 25 local council election and the countdown to who emerges as successor to Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan come May 29, 2015.

From Akwukwu Igbo in Oshimili North Local Government Area to Burutu on the Atlantic seaboard and fromOghara in Ethiope West bordering Edo State to Bomadi, criss-crossing the Warris, Delta Central Senatorial District, Isokos and all of Delta North Senatorial District, there is no doubt that Delta presents a vast peculiarity in developmental and integrative exigencies.

Traversing the nooks and crannies of this miniNigeria, one thing stands out evidently and incontrovertibly clear, and that is the mounting yearnings of the people to have demonstrable practical involvement in the leadership emergence process both in the oncoming local Council elections and the 2015 governorship elections.

Engaging the people at the grassroots, you

feel a palpable surrender to the grip of hopelessness arising from a perception fuelled by experience that the process of leadership emergence has been prone to ‘the oga at the top said’ syndrome. They readily identify character, service pedigree and integrity or lack of it in the aspirants that come their way.

They also can identify those who are ready to hit the ground running from the very first day in office as against those who will start another learning process.

It is also not out of place that invested with the expected practical democratic rights, the minimum of which is to participate in the process that culminates in the emergence of the leadership that is to determine the direction of their lives and that of society, the people at the grassroots have a clear picture of the kind of people they would want to lead them.

The people of Delta desire a leadership that can be trusted to take the State to the next level of economic and infrastructural development and create employment opportunities to soak up the army of unemployed and currently demobilized youths across the State. The people want a leadership with vision and a practical roadmap to sustainable and integrated development, piloted by men and women of character and integrity.

There is therefore no gainsaying that the one who is to govern Delta State should be a democrat in the true and every sense of the word. It is indeed instructive that a number of the aspirants have been carrying out

consultations with long convoys, including lorry loads of soldiers and detachment of mobile policemen apparently to protect them from the people they seek to govern. This is as ironic as it is instructive. Deltans require a democrat who will put the people and their collective developmental aspirations first before primordial proclivities.

Across the State, one is confronted by a growing army of restive and unemployed youths who in some cases have lost faith and confidence inthe future and in the promises of the operators. The economic potentials of the State must be harnessed and translated into a better secured future. Harnessing these potentials require a leadership that can constitute a credible bridge between the private and public sectors.

It is indeed of utmost importance that the man who is to emerge governor of Delta State come 2015 will be a politician that can be trusted not just in a particular section of the State but across the ethnic divides of the State.

Truth is, that poverty has no tribal, racial or ethnic colouration. What is required in Delta, therefore, is a political mechanism of credible bridge building.

Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan in more ways than one, has taken a bold step in defining the developmental roadmap for the State along the line of 'Delta State Beyond Oil'.

His succession calls for a prudent manager of resources, a technocrat of proven track record and a level headed politician.

The State has had more than its fair share of political controversies and litigations that should not continue in the future. There is indeed a big and urgent task to be accomplished for a greater Delta State. Therefore, the focus at this critical juncture should be on how the electoral process can throw up the best man for the task of putting the people first in the resource mobilisation and allocation for enhanced development of the oil rich state.

The unfolding political equation in Delta is as interesting as it is ominous. This is because of the waiting game the APC and other parties in opposition are playing. The APC is waiting and watching with keen interest to see if there can be any miscalculation on the part of the PDP with respect to the emergence of a gubernatorial flag bearer. Any miscalculation on the part of the PDP can turn out to be more expensive for it than ever imagined.

The crucial question at this stage is, what will constitute a miscalculation on the part of PDP? Without equivocation, the most striking will be to pick a candidate outside Delta North, the only senatorial district yet to produce a governor in the 23 year political history of the State.

Deltans also want a grassroots governor who is at home with the people and the environment and is readily accessible to the people.The PDP will also do well to watch out for politicians with baggage of liabilities, litigations and EFCC invitations as unlikely election winners. *Mr. Ubaka,a public affairs analyst, wrote from Asaba, Delta State.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014— —19

E

KITI is a state I love so much. Sorrounded by mountains like Jerusalem, the numerous prayers offered by seekers and lovers of God from all works of life, and diversity of peoples on these mountains make Ekiti a state of peace and godly pursuits.The people are objective, unassuming, calculated and their youth are seldom involved in senseless riots common in Nigeria these days.

Ekiti is one state you hardly find area boys and glorified beggars as you find on other APC controlled states of the South West.They spoke during last Saturday gubernatorial election, preferring PDP to APC. To politicians across all divides, they should learn from the Ekiti message.

Ekiti has told us that no matter what we do as politicians and supporters, the electorate know those who will not return to office.Dr Fayemi who lost in the election displayed the spirit which is lacking in Nigerian politics. He cared so much about peace in the state he loves,and did not want dissipation of energy and money in the spread of lies and acrimonies that usually

follow election results.Ekiti people may well reward him for this in no distant future, if he remains level headed as he has been, even in APC.The Federal Government should expand the message of peace they have come to be known for by engaging Dr.Fayemi in some ways.

When Ekiti, under Fayemi, is compared with Borno under Dr. Shettima, you see the price the common man pays for having certain men as leader. They are both under APC, and located on the fringes of their geographical zones. The governors are perhaps within the same age bracket, bear the prefix of “Doctor” to their individual names, but while one works hard to keep peace in his state, the other superintends over terror, blackmail of FG and prophesying the spread of terror to the South, while his state is soaked in the blood of the innocent.

Another message from Ekiti is that some people actually are agents of trouble in this polity.

As mosquitoes carry malaria about, so they seem to carry political palaver. Early in the year during the Anambra State governorship polls, Mallam El Rufai was prevented from leaving his hotel room and all went well in the end.The people spoke and

Ekiti has told us that no matter what we do as politicians and supporters, the electorate know those who will not return to office

,

gave their mandate to Governor Willy Obiano. Within four months only,Obiano has made Anambra a safe place with reduced crime.

I passed through Onitsha head bridge last week at about 8 pm on foot just to test what I heard and the place was free and safe, and that confirms what we said about APGA. It can be argued, therefore, that the prevention of Governors Amaechi, Oshiomhole, and same El rufai, all of the APC from getting near Ekiti during the recent polls gave it the peaceful and less rancorous colour it had. What do they want there, with the huge challenges in their individual states?

P

rof. Jega promised that the Osun election will be better, we agreed with him in prayers. The

False analogy between Ekiti and Osun

BY SOLA FASURE

T

HE outcome of the governorship election in Ekiti State which went in the way of former Governor Ayodele Fayose, took not a few people, especially the progressives, by surprise.

The details showed that 360,000 votes were recorded with Fayose, beating 17 other candidates, garnered 56 per cent and his closest rival, the incumbent Fayemi, a paltry 33 per cent. Coming in a distant third is Opeyemi Bamidele who barely scraped five per cent.

Since the result came in bits and pieces from Saturday evening to Sunday morning when it was officially announced, reactions to Fayose’s victory has been that of consternation, perplexity, befuddlement, shock and outrage.

In an election that is adjudged to have fulfilled the minimalist demand of freely cast polls and honestly counted ballot, the outcome is against the run of received wisdom that Ekiti people would ordinarily vote a party parading the likes of the incumbent, Dr Kayode Fayemi. This is not just on the strength of his achievements in office, but also the quality of their personalities.

Many meanings have expectedly been read into this development. The first is the resurgence of the PDP in the South West. Of course, this victory was well savoured with pictures of President Goodluck Jonathan and party chieftains beaming with smiles and clinking glasses of the choicest wine. The President evidently had a resurgence of hope that his dipping electoral fortunes in the South West might be reversed.

But then, the flipside is that this victory will soon turn to ashes for him since it signposts the defeat of an incumbent by the most unlikely challenger. Let him

then be sober. For indeed, Fayemi was considered a performing governor whose programmes were considered to be wellconceived, well executed and well received and yet he lost. This is in sharp contrast to Jonathan who is seen largely as a clueless tourist in government, whose only capability is sadistic preying on opposition, the weak and easy targets, even as his failures continue to mount in inability to provide security, unmitigated corruption, grinding poverty and dimming hope for Nigerians.

The second assumption, flowing from the first, is that this trend may extend to the August 9 governorship election in Osun State. Everything is wrong with this assumption. With the benefit of political science, we know that no two elections are the same and that two months is still a long time to consolidate or inverse a political trend.

Every election, to be credible, must have an element of ‘bounded uncertainty’.

This is the assumption that in-so-far as the election has not been conducted, the people could decide to go one way or the other in the exercise of their sovereign right to decide who governs them. This assumption of ‘uncertainty’ is however within certain boundaries of rationality and subject to scientific evaluation and therefore prediction, and in most cases, with pin-point accuracy.

Osun is not like Ekiti in many material respect and therefore cannot bring the same outcome. The first is that the PDP does not have as much grip in Osun as it does in Ekiti. Indeed, the projection before the election was that Fayemi would do well in Ekiti South, split the centre and make the required 25 per cent in the North.

Whereas in Osun, PDP has no stronghold in the West, Central or South. Virtually all its heavyweights in the state have joined APC. Ede, the last bastion of the party, fell when former Governor Isiaka Adeleke defected to APC and has since joined

,

BY CLEMENT UDEGBE

,

Message from Ekiti

electoral law allows campaigns until 24 hours to voting proper so people can do what they like during campaigns. States like Ekiti need peace even if they are being governed by the APC. Ekiti people have told us that even if you are a good man, you must belong to the right party to win their votes. Many have argued that the governor is the party, and the people will only look at him during polls. Such worked where there was massive rigging with the power of incumbency. But where the elections remain free and fair, a good candidate must be in the right party to win. Chief Ikedi Ohakim was in the right party, the PDP, but the Imolites rejected him and his party in 2011 in favour of Governor Rochas Okorocha of APGA. Senator Chris Ngige was a good candidate, tried and tested by Anambrarians, but they rejected him early this year for being in the wrong party APC in favour of Obiano who was relatively unknown at that time.

Now Ekiti have chosen Fayose with his baggage of EFCC court case, for being in the right party.

If EFCC does nothing and he gets sworn in by October this year, he will acquire the constitutional immunity. If he does well to right his wrongs, the case will be consigned to history.

It should be obvious to all that those Governors who think that they can abandon the party platform on which they got elected to the state house to join

Ekiti and Osun are not operating from the same moral values wavelength; Osun people value honour and integrity and have always voted on principle

,

the campaign train of Governor Rauf Aregbesola.

The two main governorship candidates, Governor Aregbesola and his challenger in PDP, Senator Iyiola Omisore, are from the same Osun East, Ijesa and Ife constituencies, respectively. While Ijesas will deliver 90 per cent of the votes for Governor Aregbesola, not only because he is their son, but also for the many programmes he executed in the zone, including 15 township roads which were commissioned recently, Senator Omisore will count himself lucky if he can get 30 per cent of the votes in Ile-Ife. This is in light of the unprecedented crowd that welcomed the start of his campaign, in the ancient city, the effusive royal blessings and endorsement he received from Oba Okunade Sijuade and also the projects he executed in Ile-Ife.

O

n the contrary, Senator Omisore, when asked, could only point to one project, the Airforce Training School in Ipetu-Ijesa, which has since been disputed and credited to former CDS, Air Marshall Oluseyi Petinrin and former Minister of State for Defence, Erelu Olusola Obada.

Secondly, Ekiti did not join the tragic bandwagon of 2011 in the South West when the whole region regrettably voted for President Jonathan. It was the only state that saw the future and voted for the presidential candidate of the then Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, Alhaji Nuhu Ribadu. Of course, it is a moot point

other parties are running a big risk, come 2015. In Imo, for example, the people will speak come 2015, and their governor must not just be good, he must also be in the right party to make it.

APC from every reasoning is the wrong party for Imo State if we listen to the message from Ekiti people who are also of the South West, the supposed stronghold of APC. Anambra and Ekiti elections, both held this year, ought to serve as a guide to those who have ears. A governor may be engrossed in executing his fancy projects,building roads and houses, with an eye on getting popularity on the social media. But the people want to see food on their tables, and when that is not forth coming change becomes imminent.

Ekiti message has implications for Lagos State.If the PDP in Lagos will follow the Fayose example, stay close to the people and reduce the drudgery of the APC leadership with the crippling traffic, bad roads and constant harassment of the people by area boys, they will give the APC a good run for their mouth and pockets, and things might change for the better.

The Ekiti message includes that APC can be defeated in the South West, and while they chase GEJ around, PDP should pull the carpet from under their feet.

*Mr. Udegbe, a legal practitioner, wrote from Lagos.

that in spite of his living in denial, President Jonathan is the most hated politician in the South West today and it flies in the face of logic that Osun that soundly rejected him in 2011 will now endorse his party and candidate in 2014. What on earth has changed that could have endeared him or his candidate to them?

Thirdly, if the point is on grassroots support and connection, Aregbesola is far ahead of his closest competitor. There is no artisan or trade union group that has not endorsed him and openly supported his second term bid. Any doubter should take the local cab (korope) or a commercial motorcyclist (okada) and start discussion on ‘Aregbe’ and gauge the political mood in the state.

Fourthly, most of his projects are of direct mass munificence. Take the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme, OYES, through which 40,000 youths were taken off the streets with the first batch of 20,000 given soft landing in employment and empowerment in various schemes. They are fanatical in their support of the governor. The beneficiaries of other programmes like O’REAP and other ‘O’s are also rooting for their benefactor. Also, the parents of the 300,000 school children given free meals every school days, the 750,000 given free school uniforms, the 10,000 given computer tablets are all touched at the grassroots.

We must also not forget the thousands of the elderly and vulnerable citizens that are receiving free healthcare services and monthly stipend from the government.

What do we make of the thousands who enjoy free train rides every festive period?

These are all grassroots impacted programmes that will count in political decision making at that level.

Lastly, Ekiti and Osun are not operating from the same moral values wavelength.

The ethical revolution that gave birth to the Omoluabi consciousness in Osun will serve as a bulwark against the philistinic wholesale ceding of electoral birth right for a mess of pottage as witnessed in Ekiti on Saturday. Osun people value honour and integrity and have always voted on principle. *Mr.Fasure, a political analyst, wrote from Osogbo, Osun State.

20 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014

Tanker drivers spoil for showdown over killing of member •Want killer cop punished and N30m compensation

BY BOSE ADELAJA

J

UST like many before him, Olalekan Lawal came to Lagos to eke out a living and take care of his family. Happily fortune smiled on the 26-year-old as he soon found himself working with the Petroleum Tanker Drivers, PTD, Lagos Zonal office. As a tanker driver, his job entailed lifting petroleum products from the Apapa Tin Can Island in Lagos and deliverying same to other parts of the country. At the end of each business day, he returned home to his family in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State.

Being thus employed, he was able to meet the immediate needs of his family which included his wife, three children and an aged mother.

But on Friday April 25, 2014, fate played a cruel joke on the family as the bread winner was cut down in his prime few hours after loading fuel at Tincan Island. This was no thanks to a trigger- happy cop serving with a Nigerian Navy Ship, NNS. Although his body had been laid to rest but things are no longer the

•The scene of the incident. INSET: The late Olalekan Olalekan was said to have rejected this, arguing that it would affect the quantity of fuel he had to deliver.

An eye witness, Taofeek Bamijoko, said this infuriated the officers one of whom fired a shot that

,

The deceased was shot at close range, left in the pool of his own blood, and the security agents left after shooting sporadically to scare away a gathering mob

same in this family as his aged mother and widow are still mourning and lamenting over their tragic loss.

But tanker drivers in Lagos are not taking Olalekan’s death lying low as they have vowed to seek for appropriate redress and have petitioned both the State governor and the Nigerian Navy to register their anger over the development and to register their protest over constant harassment and brutality of their members.

According to the tanker drivers, Olalekan and his copy boy had finished loading fuel product before midnight of that fateful day and were waiting with their colleagues when suddenly a team of OP Messa, comprising operatives of the Nigerian Navy and the Nigeria Police attached to Nigerian Navy Ship, NNS, Beecroft Naval Base Command, arrived the scene.

Upon arrival, they accosted the drivers one after the other, demanding an illegal fee of N500 from each.

On getting to Olalekan, he was said to have explained to the security operatives that he did not have sufficient money on him to which they demanded that he gave them an equivalent of the amount in petrol.

,

instantly killed the tanker driver. Vanguard Metro, VM, gathered that the deceased was shot at close range by a Naval officer. Olalekan, as gathered, was thereafter left in the pool of his own blood and the security agents left after shooting sporadically to scare away a gathering mob.

VM was informed that the deceased was shot on the chest and he died before help could come. It was also gathered that the killer cop later returned to the scene to retrieve pellets from the shots fired, apparently to erase every trace of evidence of their dastardly act. It was an action that provoked the tanker drivers who barricaded both sides of the road, resulting into a serious traffic gridlock on that fateful day.

Olalekan’s brutal murder was enough to send his copy boy into coma. Three days after, he parked his bags and baggage and retired to his hometown.

Subsequently, the tanker drivers had threatened to embark on a twoday industrial strike which was later called off following the intervention of the State governor Babatunde Fashola, who asked them to intimate him of the development for neces-

sary action.

Olalekan’s cousin, Taiwo Samuel, who also lives and works in Lagos told VM his family was greatly affected by the tragic incident which occurred barely a month after Olalekan’s elder brother died under tragic circumstances. ‘’His wife was disoriented by the incident and has relocated to the village where she is presently staying with our mother,’’ he said. As at the

time of filing this report, the triggerhappy cop was yet to be fished out, while no compensation has been paid to the deceased’s family.

But both the State Public Relations Officer of the tanker drivers association, Comrades Tayo Aboyeji and his national counterpart, Atanda Adebayo, have condemned the killing. The comrades called on the Nigerian Navy and the Lagos State

government to act fast on the matter. According to Atanda: ‘’We appeal to both the government and Nigerian Navy to be compassionate with the victim’s family. The deceased was a bread winner during his life time and we don’t want his family to be left without hope.

Our member was carrying out his legitimate duty when the officials of Operation Messa shot him at close range for refusing to part with an illegal fee of N500, a practice which is common among the officers.

We wish to bring to the public the constant harassment, brutalisation and extortion of our members by officials of Operation Messa and other law enforcement agents, a situation which is already taking its tolls on us as a union’’. Among other things, the tanker drivers are demanding adequate compensation to the tune of N30 million from the Naval officers. Also, they want the culprit to be fished out and brought to book.

Meanwhile, sources hinted that the State Governor has ordered the State Commissioner for Police to investigate the matter. But a source with the Nigerian Navy hinted that some senior officers have visited the PTD secretariat after the incident. But he was not forthcoming on information on the fate of the trigger-happy cop.

Maritime sector: Stakeholders lament sea piracy, kidnapping

BY JIMITOTA ONOYUME, PORT HARCOURT

T

HE Federal Government has been urged to step up security patrol on the water ways to guarantee increased foreign investment in the nation’s maritime sector. Participants at an awareness seminar organised by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council in Port Harcourt on the role of Nigerian Shippers’ Council as ports economic regulator lamented the rising incidents of sea piracy, kidnappings and acts of insurgency in the country, adding that they were discouraging foreign investment in the nation’s maritime sector.

Sir Ernest Elochukwu who spoke on “An overview of local shipping charges and rates at Nigerian Ports” said the ugly incidents of insecurity in the country had forced most shipping companies coming to the country to inflate cost as risk control, adding that the situation also informed rise in freight charges.

While urging the Nigerian Shippers’ Council to reduce charges of local shipping companies Sir Elochukwu said the current high charges were detrimental to development of international trade in the country. “ Most times charges are duplicated under dubious nomenclature, thus escalating the cost of doing business in Nigeria,” he observed.

General Manager, Bua Ports& Terminals limited, Alhaji Mohammed Ibrahim Lile, on his part called on the National Assembly to urgently pass the Port and Habour Bill, saying the law would enhance smooth operations in the martime sector.

Speaking on “Role of Nigerian Shippers’ Council as Ports Economic Regulator”, Alhaji Lile also called on government to set up national coast guard that should operate separately from existing security agencies, noting that it would effectively combat sea piracy

and other related security challenges on the waterways.

He further called for synergy among the various stakeholders to drive efficiency in the ports. “We must support the government to achieve its target of 48 hours cargo clearance and lower cost of operation. It is a herculean task but with unity of purpose, there is no limit to what we can achieve,” he said.

Earlier, the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers Council, Hassan Bello, said the Council as the nation’s port economic regulator would rid the ports of corruption, “inefficiency and unchecked increase in the charges by service providers among others”.

The Executive Secretary who was represented by the South South zonal Coordinator of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Mr Maurice Effanga, assured that the Council would address challenges militating against smooth operations at the nation’s ports.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 — 21

FG earns N30.9trn from extractive industries in 4 years

BY CHRIS OCHAYI

T

HE Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI, has disclosed that Federal Government earned total revenue of N30.90 trillion from extractive industry between 2007 and 2011. Chairman of NEITI, Mr. Ledum Mitee, revealed this in Abuja at the public presentation of two independent reports on fiscal allocation and statutory disbursement audit 2007-2011 and 2011 solid minerals audit.

He noted that out of this amount, mineral revenue remittances account for N23.7 trillion (less JV Cash Calls and NNPC Subsidy Claims) while non-mineral revenues stood at N4.014 Trillion. He said further that the country earned N2.3trillion from Value Added Tax within the same period.

The audit also revealed that the total oil and gas revenue disbursed to the Federal, State, Local Governments and the beneficiaries of the 13% Derivative within the period of four years was N22.35 trillion.

Mr. Mitee gave the breakdown of revenue disbursed to three tiers of government to shows that N9.75 trillion was disbursed in 2007, N5.42 trillion in 2008, while N4.28 trillion and N2.80 trillion respectively were disbursed in 2009 and 2010.

He said since the reconstitution of the Inter Ministerial Task Team, lMIT, last December by the Federal Government, NEITI working with the relevant agencies through the IMIT, the commendably uniquely Nigerian machinery for EITI implementation, have made recoveries from the 2009-2011 Audit Report alone, of a total of N64,401 ,841, 370.40 from some companies, notably AMNI,.Hevron,Midwestern, Mobil, Agip and Total, According to him, “another $5.8 million is expected to be paid this week by Express Petroleum & Gas Company. He said, “From the Report, total transfers to Excess Crude Account, ECA, between 2007 and 2011 stood at N8.53Trillion with the

highest transfer of N3.15 Trillion recorded in the year 2011.

“The Report indicated that transfers to ECA dropped below N1Trillion in year 2009 recording only N339.54 billion in the whole year. The report further disclosed that the sum of N31. 15 billion was reported

by F AAC as under-remittance of funds

by NNPC in December 2011. However, we now have confirmations that NNPC made remittances in February 2012.

“NNPC cited nationwide strike at the time as reasons for delay before the audit window closed. The Fiscal Allocation and Statutory Disbursement Audit also revealed that the total oil and gas revenue disbursed to the Federal, State, Local Governments and the beneficiaries of the 13%

Derivative within 2007-2011 was N22.35 Trillion. The break down shows that N9.75 Trillion was disbursed in 2007, N5.42 Trillion in 2008, while N4.28 Trillion and N2.80 Trillion respectively were disbursed in 2009 and 2010.

“On allocation to State offices of the NDDC, the report further revealed that there was a general allocation of N7.44 billion to the nine state offices of the Commission for the completion of projects.

It highlighted that most of the projects were neither identifiable nor scheduled for monitoring and proper management.

The report observed that the NDDC enabling Act is silent on the issue of how the budgets of the oil producing companies are obtained by the Commission.

The Report shows that the Niger Delta Development Commission received total revenue of N593.96 billion within the period 2007 to 2011. It equally disclosed that NDDC spent N459.24 billion on recurrent and capital related projects.

The report further revealed that out of N680.53 billion due to the Commission from the Federal Government between 2007 and 2011, only N216. 90 billion was paid leaving a deficit of N463.62 billion.

From the report, 22 projects were duplicated in the projects schedule with a total contract sum of N1.18 billion, mobilization payments of N370.70 million and mobilization of N93.09 million recovered.

On the revenue to states, he said the audit examined oil and gas revenue transfers to the State governments using 9 States as pilot. The States are Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Gombe, Imo, Kano, Nassarawa, Ondo and Rivers.

From left: Director-General, United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, Li Yong; Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga; Nigerian Ambassador to the World Trade Organisation, David Adejuwon; and Nigerian Ambassador to Austria, Abel Ayoko, during the UNIDO Forum on Strategies and Instruments for Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development, in Vienna, Austria.

GS1 set to check counterfeiting with barcode

BY NAOMI UZOR

G

S1, a non-profit organization, yes terday, said it is set to trace and track counterfeiting of products within Nigeria and the world over with its barcode numbering.

In a parley with pressmen, the C.E.O, GS1 Nigeria, Mr. Tunde Odunlami, said with GS1 barcode identification system, it will be difficult for pirates to operate within and outside Nigeria as the system is based on global standards and solutions to improve the efficiency and visibility of supply and demand chains globally and across sectors and designed with tracking and tracing solutions which allows companies worldwide to uniquely identity their trade items.

”GS1 standards improve the efficiency, safety, and visibility of supply chains across multiple sectors. With local member organizations in over 110 countries, GS1 engages with communities of trading partners, industry organisations, governments, and technology providers to understand and respond to their business needs through the adoption and implementation of global standards.

It is driven by over a million user companies, which executes more than six billion transactions daily in 150 countries using GS1 standards” he said.

He disclosed that the organization is marking its 40th anniversary, and has a vision of a world where things and related information move efficiency

and securely for the benefit of businesses and improvement of peoples lives, every day, every where. ”We have been in Nigeria for seven years. We took a task that seems impossible.

Business in Nigeria still see themselves as competitors instead of collaborators, we took the challenge of pushing barcodes into the market first, and we came up with pricing structure in a way that even a person selling pure water can have barcodes and so far, we have been able to push momentum into the market.

Our pricing membership structure is the cheapest in the world and favours the SMEs “ he said.

166.3

-2.75

3,139.00

+3.00

17.49

0.43

114.48 +1.03 106.05

-0.31

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

154.73 262.1436 209.9067 172.2668 1.5137 0.3011 237.6733 24.8278 41.2525 28.145 238.3306

155.23 262.9907 210.585 172.8234 1.5186 0.3111 238.4414 24.9085 41.3858 28.236 239.1008

155.73 263.8378 211.2633 173.3801 1.5235 0.3211 239.2094 24.9892 41.5191 28.3269 239.8709

CBN Exchange rate as at 26/06/2014

22—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014

‘Rebasing negatively affected NSE’s market capitalisation to GDP ratio’

By NKIRUKA NNOROM

T

HE recent rebasing of the nation’s Gross Domestic Products, GDP, undertaken by the Federal Government has negatively impacted the contribution of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE’s market capitalisation to the GDP, says Oscar Onyema, the Chief Executive Officer of the NSE. He spoke at the second quarter Capital Market Committee, CMC meeting held in Lagos, saying that following the rebasing, the market capitalisation to GDP ratio has

dropped to below 20 percent.

According to him, the figure highlights the importance of getting more investors to participate in the market, as well as getting more companies to list.

“The market capitalisation to the GDP ratio before the rebasing was bad and with the rebasing, it has even become worst, I think down to 16 to 20 percent.

This highlights the fact that we need to get more people involved; we need to bring more companies to list in the market to raise the market capitali-

sation to GDP ratio significantly,” he stated.

“The second impact of rebasing is that initially, we thought that agriculture made up about 40 percent of the GDP and we highlighted four industry categories that we wanted to focus on, but after the rebasing, we have since realised that we need to go back and look at the sectors that make up the GDP now and refocus our energy on those sectors,” he added.

On how to encourage more retail investors’ participation in the market, he said, “It is

true that a lot of retail investors got their fingers burnt during the market crash of 2008, but we believe that given the rebound we have seen in the market, it presents a good opportunity for entry point to people.

“However, the way they come in and the way they access the market is completely different and people really need to understand that the market has an inherent risk and we have to find way to manage the risk.”

Continuing, he said, “For retail investors that do not understand how the market works, I will advise them to seek the advice of professionals or use the collective investment schemes because you don’t put money on the table and look away. You have to continue to do either fundamental analysis or technical analysis and do stock taking.

From left: Marketing & Activations Lead, West Africa Reckitt Benckiser, Mrs. Bamigbaiye-ElatuyiOmotola; Consultant Gastroenterologist and Director of Medical Education at Princess Diana of Wales Hospital, United Kingdom, Dr. Asif Naqvi; Consultant Gastroenterologist, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Dr. Sumaila Adamu; Dr. Musa Mohammed Borodo, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, and Marketing Manager, Healthcare Reckitt Benckiser West Africa, Mr. Qaiser Rashid at the Gaviscon Opinion Leaders of Nigeria, Golden Faculty session, in Enugu.

If you are a retail investor, that is not advisable, because you don’t have the right fiber to do that.”

He also advocated creation of more awareness, especially for retail investors, saying “There is financial literacy sub-committee of SEC that is taking the lead in making sure that we properly educate investors, policy makers and other stakeholders on the major characteristics of the market and how they operate generally.

UACN expects improved performance, returns over acquisitions

By NKIRUKA NNOROM

U

AC of Nigeria Plc has expressed optimism that investments and acquisitions it made in the previous year has positioned it for sustainable growth and improved performance in the coming years.

Within the 2013 financial year, UACN acquired majority stake in two new companies – Livestock Feeds and Portland Paints and Products Plc. The company currently has strategic partnership with Tiger Brands Limited for UAC Foods Limited and Famous Brands UAC Restaurants Limited and Imperial Logistics for MDS Logistics Plc. Addressing shareholders at the Annual General Meeting in Lagos, the Chairman, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, assured that the company would continue to

C M Y K

build on its strategy of working with partners that bring value to the business.

He said: “We are very optimistic as to the growth prospect of UAC in the medium term as we integrate the two newly acquired businesses into the UAC family and continue to build on the synergies created by our various strategic alliances with other industry leaders.

“The future of UAC is indeed bright as we are poised to reap the benefits of the investments we are currently making as well as the capacity upgrades we are undertaking in our various businesses.”

“As we continue to align our businesses to deliver good returns to our shareholders, we have taken other strategic initiatives geared towards minimizing our business risk and exposure.

These include on-going implementation of Enterprisewide Risk Management framework and the deployment of SAP (Systems, Applications, Products in Data Processing) as our Enterprise Resource Planning software,” Udo Udoma added.

He disclosed that the company posted impressive financial performance during the year despite difficult business operating environment characterised by erratic supply of public electricity, weak logistics, insecurity, limited public service and other costs of operations attributable to poor infrastructure.

He stated that UACN recorded top line growth of 13 percent from N69.6 billion in 2012 to N78.7 billion in 2013, even as operational profit grew from N11.5 billion to N15.3 billion during the period, attributing it to proactive responses to market dynamics

and competitive pressures by the management.

Also at the meeting, the chairman announced that due to the impressive performance recorded in 2013 and in line with the company’s dividend policy, the Board has recommended a dividend of N3.4 billion representing 31 percent over the N2.5 billion paid in 2012, which was unanimously approved by shareholders at the meeting.

Commenting on Nigeria’s centennial celebrations, he said, “As the country celebrates 100 years of the establishment of Nigeria by amalgamation of the Northern and Southern protectorates, we are proud of the contributions our company has made to the growth of the Nigerian economy over the period. We intend to make even greater contributions as we enter into our second century of existence.”

Caverton supports tertiary education, commissions 520seater lecture hall

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averton Offshore Support Group Plc has commissioned a 520-seater lecture hall at the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State.

The commissioning ceremony of the lecture hall, christened Caverton Hall, which was attended by dignitaries from the State Ministry of Education and the university has been lauded as a step in the right direction to assist in improving the quality of tertiary education in the country.

Speaking at the occasion, the Group Chairman of Caverton, Aderemi Makanjuola said it is in furtherance of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility ideals, adding “ we are mindful to leave our footprint on the sands of time’.

The construction which commenced in 2010 and was completed in 2013 cost N55, 000,000.

He also stated that Caverton plans to deepen the collaboration with the Federal University of Technology, Minna by offering Internship (IT) positions to students of the institution, while Engineering students from the university who finish at the top of their class graduating with First and Second class upper degrees are encouraged to seek

Ecobank named best Trade Bank in Nigeria

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COBANK has been named the Best Trade Bank in Nigeria by Londonbased Trade Finance Magazine in their 2013 Awards for Excellence.

Their annual survey ranks firms based on votes gathered from industry players and members of the magazine’s editorial team.

Manufacturers, exporters, importers, traders, government and multilateral agencies were consulted for their input on this survey.

This award comes amidst a growing demand for trade finance, as Nigeria continues to implement economic and structural reforms to create a stronger and a more diverse economy.

“Our pan-African orientation presents enormous opportunities for intra-African trade,” commented Foluke Aboderin, Executive Director, Corporate Bank, Ecobank Nigeria. “We have been particularly active in the oil and gas sector, but we are seeing increasing demand for our innovative financing solutions, including our online corporate banking service, Ecobank Omni, from other key sectors in the Nigerian economy, such as telecoms, power, manufacturing and agriculture.”

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014—23

Why passengers are scared of water transportation — NIWA

From left: Mr Abdul Akhor Bello, ex-Director/CFO, Mr Larry Ettah, Group MD, Sen Udoma Udo Udoma,Chairman and Mr Godwin Samuel all of UAC Nigeria at the 2013 Annual General Meeting of UAC of Nigerial Plc at the Golden Tulip Hotel Festac, Amuwo Odofin Lagos yesterday. Photo: Biodun Ogunleye

STORIES BY GODFREY BIVBERE

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HE National In land Waterways Authority, NIWA, has said that passengers are scared of traveling by water because they are not sure of the condition of the boats and ferries plying the nation’s waterways.

Disclosing this in Lagos at a meeting with operators in the water transportation business in its of-

fice in Lagos, Muazu Sanbo, the Lagos Area Manager of NIWA, said that the Authority will soon put in place measures to ensure that all safety requirements are met by operators in the sector.

Among the measures to be put in place are compulsory operators’ permits, survey certificate of all water craft to ply the waterways, use of manifest by all operators and compulsory certificate of

competence for all captains driving water craft on the waterways. Sambo said all operators must obtain their permits, survey certificates as well as stickers in the next three months or face sanction which may include stopping such offending firm from operating.

He also noted that the Authority has printed manifest which were shared to the operators to use before every firm would start printing for

themselves. The Area Manager pointed out that NIWA decision to print the manifest is to ensure that there is uniformity in the document used by all operators. He also said that the advantage of operators insisting on passengers writing their names on the manifest is that it comes handy for insurance claims in case of accident, as well as serving as a source of information on all the passengers on a particular

trip.

On the drivers’ permit to be gotten from the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Sambo said that all boat operators are expected to get theirs before the end of the year.

The NIWA boss also disclosed that they have established a safety compliance team that will be paying unscheduled visits to all the jetties to ensure that they are observing all the laws governing water transportation.

The time frame for the implementation of the measures to be enforced by the Authority, were agreed upon by both management staff of the NIWA Area office and representatives of the various firms operating in the sector in the Lagos area.

According to him, “We are worried about boat mishap on our waterways and our responsibility is to find out the human causes and ensure that it does not happen again.

When this is done and it still happens, then it is an act of God. “We are worried and we know that you are worried too.”

He stressed the need for partnership to ensure that the incessant boat mishap is curbed or reduced to the barest minimum, he concluded.

Smugglers ambush, attack Customs operatives

BY IFEYINWA OBI

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PERATIVES of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Anti-Smuggling Task Force on surveillance activities were ambushed by suspected smugglers at Kishi border town of Oyo State, engaged them in a battle and left them injured.

Addressing journalists in Ibadan at the weekend, Deputy Comptroller of Customs and Coordinator, Customs Headquarters Special Anti-Smuggling Task Force, Shallangwa Hassan Sule, expressed concern over the activities of smugglers along the Kishi border post.

Narrating the ordeals of his men, he said: “A group of people from the Kishi and Igbeti communities, assisted

by others from Ilorin, descended on officers of the taskforce who were performing their legitimate duty at that axis.

This team had for the past weeks made it very difficult for smugglers to carry out their nefarious activities, hence they resorted to violence.

This is with a view to intimidating the officers from carrying out their legitimate duty. But we want to assure them that we will not and cannot be intimidated by these acts of violence. We shall continue to vigorously perform our duty and also restrain ourselves from use of arms in order to respect the sanctity of human lives.”

Shallangwa expressed appreciation to what he called the quality leadership provided by the Customs Area Comptroller of Oyo/Osun Area

Command, Mr. Richard Oteri who, he said, has given the headquarters task force team the needed cooperation.

“But for those who think they can make profit through compromising our economy, health and national se-

curity, they have everything to fear because we will always track them down and bring them to justice,” he said.

Customs agents frown at attack on member Egunu and therefore manently damage his hard

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group under the aegis of Concerned Customs Brokers, CCB, has frowned at attack on one of its members, Raymond Onyimba by a faceless body for daring to partake in the local government elections in Enugu State.

The group stressed that the alleged claim that Onyimba collected bank loan and defaulted in repay is untrue. The group in a statement signed by Osita Mbonu and made available to Vanguard, explained that the bank had falsified the interest on the loan taken by Onyimba to purchase plots of land in

headed to the law court to seek redress .

The court then got an auditor to look at the account and the actual interest on the loan was agreed on which Onyimba promptly paid, Mbonu pointed out.

Obonu noted that the attack of Onyinba is not unconnected to his decision to vie for the position of Chairmanship of Ogwu Local Government Council of Enugu State in 2009.

According to the group, “It was at this point that his political opponents, without thinking twice, went all out to undo the person of Barr. Onyimba, with a view to discrediting him and per-

earned reputation, all in an attempt to scuttle his desire to serve his people.”

“Blackmail was orchestrated because of the pending suit instituted against the outcome of Awgu LGA elections, in the Federal High Court with suit No. FHC/EN/CS/286/2013, contesting an unlawful exclusion and in eligibility of the incumbent chairman.

“Court pronouncement in the matter Onyimba filed in court, would have put to rest the misrepresentation of facts by his opponents, but curiously and mysteriously, was delayed and out-rightly denied,” the group stated.

BRIEFS

Port Police boss commends officers

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HE Port Police Commis sioner in charge of the Western ports,Kayode Aderanti has commended men and officers of the Kirikiri Lighter Terminal division for the effective security policing currently being experienced in the Nigerian seaports.

Speaking during a familiarization tour of Kirikiri port Police Command in Lagos, Aderanti noted that level of performance of officers in the ports has been encouraging and urged them to keep up them temple.

He said that the current security situation in the calls for full alertness of the members of the Police force adding that most of the weapons used in committing crimes and other evils come in through the ports and land borders.

Aderanti did not mince words when he pointed out some important issues which he sad were paramount to the InspectorGeneral of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar which includes that fact that officers must be proactive at all times.

He said “ Ports all over the country have become very volatile due to the accessibility by both the good and bad merchants.”

Nigeria donates $.15m to IMO

BY IFEYINWA OBI

E

FFORTS by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to tackle piracy, armed robbery against ships and illicit maritime activity in the Gulf of Guinea received a major boost as Nigeria pledged US$100,000 to the West and Central Africa Maritime Security Trust Fund. Nigeria’s Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar, who led Nigeria’s delegation to the ongoing IMO Council meeting in London, also pledged a further US$50,000 to IMO’s general Technical Cooperation Fund.

The IMO’s Strategy for implementing sustainable maritime security measures in West and Central Africa outlines IMO’s undertaken and programmed work to implement all of the key areas identified in the Code of Conduct.

24 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014

Minister of Tourism, Edem Duke (middle), being welcomed by the Board Chairman of NIHOTOUR, Kanayo O. Kanayo (left) and Director General, Alhaji Munzali Dantata to the Food Exhibition/Colloquium at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.

Exhibitors at the just concluded Food Exhibition/Colloquium at the International Conference Centre, in Abuja.

FG to use Nigerian dishes as cultural diplomacy — Duke

By CALEB AYANSINA

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BUJA — Marking the 100 years of nationhood in grand style, the federal government recently told the fascinating story of the rich culinary and cultural heritage of Nigeria that have evolved over the years.

Nigeria’s rich food culture and its people of over 350 ethnic groups present a kaleidoscope of alluring diversity with its tourism/ hospitality benefits.

With the sole aim of making the country the most preferred tourists’ destination in Africa by 2020, the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) is convinced that the rich Nigeria’s cuisine could contribute towards achieving the loft ideal.

To this end, NIHOTOUR organised a 3-day Food Exhibition/Colloquium at the International Conference Centre, in Abuja, to increase public awareness on the different derivatives that can be obtained from food crops available in Nigeria.

Speaking at the centenary food fiesta, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Edem Duke promised to employ Nigerian dishes as tool for cultural diplomacy and extension of influence globally.

He said food is an enterprise and “there is need for us to aggregate our efforts from all ways including hotels, strengthening food industry and generate wealth for ourselves.”

The Minister also tasked engineers and others in the creative industry to develop a more efficient way of processing and preserving Nigerian food so that their shelf life span can be preserved and exported to the global community. “ We want wwto grow this sector beyond the shores of this country by improving on the food sector for the ultimate benefits of Nigerians and generations yet unborn,” said Duke.

Speaking on the theme; ‘One Hundred Years of Food, Culture and Hospitality in

Nigeria’, the Director General of NIHOTOUR, Dr Munzali Dantata said “the exhibition would provide a platform where government can be properly advised on best ways of promoting indigenous food as a tool for socio-economic development in line with the transformation agenda of Mr President.

“The exhibition will also be used to promote Nigeria’s rich cuisine in our hotels, restaurants, flights and encourage Nigerians to see it as a profitable venture for investment.”

Dantata maintained that it is

imperative for public and private sectors to avail themselves with NIHOTOUR programmes in view of enormous importance of the manpower in the tourism industry.

“Manpower development is a vital ingredient to qualitative hospitality and tourism development and NIHOTOUR will continue to play a significant role in this direction,” he said.

The Board Chairman of NIHOTOUR, Kanayo O. Kanayo said the fiesta is to bring transformation in the food sector of Nigeria.

Southern Sun sells Nigeria to South Africans

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elected team of top South African journalists from the print and electronic media that were recently in Nigeria for a familiarization tour of the country has described Nigeria as a wonderful country.

The familiarization tour was organised

by Tsogo Sun, South Africa, owners of Southern Sun Ikoyi in partnership with South African Airways (SAA).

The team that was in the country for three days and toured some tourists sites in Lagos described Nigeria as a very exciting place far different from the story they hear from outside.

Speaking on the tour, the Corporate Manager-Group Communications, Tsogo Sun, and Priya Naidoo said “We experienced Nigeria, and it is really wonderful. We didn’t really see only the great parts of Nigeria; we also got to see the market…what is so wonderful is the Nigerian spirit. You have amazing traders.

The entrepreneurial spirit of Nigerians is phenomenal.”

Speaking further on the reason for the

tour, she said it was to give the journalists a first-hand experience of Nigeria and also sell Nigeria as a destination to South Africans.

She said: “What we wanted was for some South African journalists to come out and experience Nigeria and, of course, our hotel. “Our core purpose is to let South Africans know, when they come to Nigeria, we’ve got an amazing hotel, Southern Sun, Ikoyi that is really the reason we are here.”

Part of the reason for the trip, which was organized in collaboration with the South African Airways, was to correct some of the erroneous impressions many in South Africa have about Nigeria, according to Naidoo.

She said: “The other reason that we are here is that we brought the largest radio station. John Robbie is our Breakfast Show host, and we brought his entire team to broadcast from Southern Sun Ikoyi. What was wonderful about that is he has a wide audience, people listen to him. He has the ability to change people’s mindsets.

Travelport rolls out new travel solutions

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ravelport, a leading travel service provider in distribution, technology, payment and other solutions for the $7 trillion global travel and tourism industry, has reinforced its commitment to Nigeria with the launch of six new technology solutions to benefit the local travel industry.

The new innovative solutions in Nigeria will enable both corporate and leisure agencies to take full advantage of the latest travel technology to help their agents work in a much more streamlined and efficient manner.

Speaking at the lunch in Lagos during the week, Rabih Saab, President and Managing Director, Africa, Middle East and South Asia at Travelport, said “Nigeria has one of the most exciting and fastest growing travel industries in the world, and it remains a key investment region for us.

“The economy and the travel industry in Nigeria have continued to flourish over the past few years and further growth is expected not only over the coming years, but decades. The launch of these cutting edge solutions therefore further reinforces the vital importance of Nigeria in our regional strategy – both today and in the future.”

Saab said the travel sector in Nigeria has been growing steadily over the recent years as a direct result of the country ’s rapid economic development. “Earlier this year, Nigeria’s GDP was revised up by 89% to exceed US $500 billion, effectively making it the largest economy in Africa.”

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014—25

I N S I D E

Almakura in Nasarawa: The burden of continuity

2015: Aspirants begin poster war in Bauchi

Rivers 2015: Equity vs Monopoly

Imo 2015: My plans, prospects and preparations Broadcast journalist and politician, Senator Chris Anyanwu was a refreshing face on Nigerian television in the early eighties with her unique reportage of the National Assembly, and subsequently, her gripping narratives of the dynamics of the international energy market. Trained in American journalism schools, Anyanwu following her days at the NTA and stint as Commissioner for Information in the mid eighties, made a unique incursion into print journalism with the introduction of The Sunday Magazine, TSM in the early nineties before anchoring her media dreams on radio with the establishment of Hot FM at the turn of the century.

With a heart of steel encased in physical frame of unfading beauty, the journey to success was not always smooth for Anyanwu. It was especially so for her when beauty and brain collided with the brawn of the Sanni Abacha regime at the peak of that regime’s bastardisation of human values.

Senator Anyanwu has lived to tell her story which has since progressed through two terms in the Senate and is now focused on an anchor at the Imo Government House.

Following a morning walk out session and over a breakfast of fruits, she spoke on her time in the Senate and the continuing plea of Ndi Imo for help. Excerpts:

one million bills, but at the end of the day it has to follow a process that is so sluggish. The fact that you pass a bill in one chamber does not guarantee that it will be passed in the other chamber. You have to have them passed in both the House and the Senate and it has to be done within a time frame that allows you to also go to the president and secure his assent.

The very sluggish process of passage of

BY EMMANUEL AZIKEN, Political Editor

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LMOST eight years in the Senate now. How has it been?

It’s been good. It’s been good. The Senate has been very satisfying for me in one sense and that is the fact that I have been able to lobby for projects going to the East, especially Imo State. I have always said that Imo State and the Southeast have been very underdeveloped even in the years that the Nigerian Federal Government was investing in industries and institutions, but not much was done in my state.

So, we have a situation where people go to school and after that go to Lagos, go to Abuja and even to other places where the opportunities are more. But that does not make for development, rather it dries it of useful manpower and the ripple effect of a large income earning population is not felt. You know if people are working there, paying taxes there and buying there, it will trickle down to the

ordinary people and lead to advancements but we haven’t felt it because there have been very few opportunities.

Now with me in the Senate what we have been trying to do is to try and lobby the Federal Government to bring projects, and we are talking about the basics like roads, water, hospitals and we have moved on to the higher levels and talking about employment, building institutions that can employ people or prepare people for self employment or employment elsewhere.

Building institutions That is where we are and to that extent I can say that it has been satisfying for me because I have been able to do a few of those and made my contribution.

What would you describe as your most challenging experience in the Senate?

The challenge has been that you don’t pass laws by yourself. You may have all the enthusiasm, you may come up with

,

Sen. Chris

bill that would have provided a legal framework to deal with Boko Haram and others who prey on young Nigerian girls.

If you have strong laws punishing those things it is going to be a restraint on others, but you see that bill is stuck somewhere.

One of the most important bills that I have been part of is the Occupational Health and Safety Bill. The bill is the answer to the abuse of Nigerian workers in

I am looking at Imo State, what the situation is there, what needs to be done and I am studying at how I can contribute to a greater Imo State

bills in the Nigerian legislature is very challenging if not frustrating, not just to me, but for most legislators. I wish there was some way of quickening the process of passage of bills. You see, it takes a lot of work to get meaningful bills. Often you have consultants, you have lawyers, a lot of research goes into them and these are things we think can have very meaningful impact on the people.

Is there any particular bill you proposed that has been so affected?

Off course! In the last assembly, my Sexual Offences Bill which was unanimously passed by the Senate did not go through the House and that journey was wasted.

It began the journey again in this assembly, now it has again gone to the committee in the Senate but the question again is if it gets a third reading in the Senate will it go through the House in the life of this assembly? And here is a

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the work place. It is a law protecting the Nigerian worker in the workplace and the workplace starts from a home where you have a given number of people, small businesses where people are exposed to all kinds of situations. Even in the farms where farm helps are spraying chemicals unprotected, building construction sites where people are working without helmets and all that.

The Senate has passed that bill for more than one and a half years now and it has been sent to the House but the House has not responded and has not even scheduled.

Why has the House not responded?

I don’t know, maybe it is their own internal administrative issue or they have a number of bills, I don’t know.

You have covered the National As-

Continues on page 26

26—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014

Why I don’t like discussing Rochas – Sen. Chris Anyanwu Continues from page 26 sembly as a reporter and now you are a senator. Is there a change in your perception of the National Assembly? Is it really a place that flows with Ghana Must Go? Well that was not my perception. In my time as a correspondent I didn’t see it as a place that free money went round at that time. At that time democracy was quite new and the quality of people in the National Assembly was not quite as high as the people you have now. Then, you saw a number of people who were out of place and the debate was not as rich.

So, when you saw those who spoke well and debated intelligently, they were the superstars and you were in awe of such persons.

Debating intelligently At that time you had a lot of farmers and all sorts of people in the House of Representatives and people whose backgrounds did not really prepare them well for the job and so, you saw them

Are you concerned over what some regard as the early retirement age of Nigerian military officials?

I personally, have very serious concerns over this issue. A lot of our strong men, a lot of our well prepared officers and men are being sent out of the force because they have reached the age of retirement and we spent a lot of money training many of these people abroad and we don’t get to use them.

I think we have to do something so that well trained persons can be retained in the system and institutional memory that is necessary to have continuity and to make progress can be preserved.

Sen. Chris

In the last three years that I have been chairman of navy we have had three chiefs of naval staff. That’s too much. For a nation that is facing challenges you

,

I don’t like to discuss the government or Rochas. I don’t believe in harassing people in government. I could be part of bringing you to power, but once you are seated there I leave you to do your job following their leader and doing whatever their leader said they did, but now, you have young men and women who know their onions and who have been educated well and who have quite some experience.

In the Senate you have phenomenally well experienced and well prepared people but if in the end the result as good as has been expected, then there must be something in the internal processes that makes it impossible for us to get the best out of these people.

You are chairman of the Senate Committee on Navy.

Has the Navy under your oversight made any contribution to the war in the Northeast?

We are not supposed to reveal all these, but the navy from the beginning has been involved in anti-terrorism because the navy has a corp of personnel that I want to say are the best trained for anti-terrorism and they were trained by American Navy SEALS. They have been there and they are there and they are contributing and play a very pivotal role.

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cannot afford to continue to change leadership that rapidly because each time you change, you lose momentum.

Any particular challenge you face being a woman in the Senate?

No! Absolutely no! Let me tell you the first time I became conscious that I was a woman was during the time of Abacha when I was arrested and when a soldier said you are a woman. Before that when I worked in NTA, I used to fly in helicopters, I used to go in ships and do all sorts of things and did jobs that many of my male colleagues were a little bit afraid to do.

In the Senate there is no such thing as a man or woman there, it is the job.

You have returned to the PDP in Imo State.

Yes. Is it different from the PDP you left in 2007?

Times change and the atmosphere changes.

The headship changes and they bring to the table their own ways of doing things, so I would not be surprised if it has changed since the leadership has changed.

People were surprised that after you helped to enthrone an APGA governor that you ditched the party?

But you have to look at the dynamics and one would be stupid not to respond to the internal dynamics or even the external dynamics.

Even the governor we voted in is no longer in APGA. He has ditched APGA and is now in APC. You know he never had any strong loyalty to APGA or any party and I will not be surprised if he ditches APC tomorrow. I left as a matter of pragmatism and in the overriding interest of my constituency.

Are you satisfied with the government you helped to install?

I don’t like to discuss the government or Rochas. I don’t believe in harassing people in government. I could be part of bringing you to power, but once you are seated there I leave you to do your job. If you succeed, you take responsibility.

If you fail, you take responsibility. If that government fails, he will have only himself to blame because both myself and Imo people have left him to his own devices. He has enjoyed more peace than any governor we know in the history of Imo State.

Not because he is a superstar or superman.

Not because he even deserves it, but because let us leave him and see what he can do. I will not even engage in assessing him when the time comes, Imo people will assess him.

There is hearsay about your intention to vie for the governorship. Is it true?

Yes! I am studying that possibility, I am consulting the people of Imo State. I am looking at Imo State, what the situation is there, what needs to be done and I am studying at how I can contribute to a greater Imo State. Yes, I am

looking at that right now.

What is driving this aspiration?

Imo needs help.

You think you are in the best position to offer this help?

I believe so. I believe I am ready, I believe I have been well prepared for this, I believe I have the passion to drive this, I believe I have the knowledge, the exposure, and the capacity to do this.

It is not about money. I hear some people boasting that they have the deep pockets to get the governorship.

That is absolute and total nonsense. The people that say this provoke an inquest into the source of their deep pockets. If a guy has never worked in his life, if a guy did not inherit wealth, if a guy is not known to have a huge account when he entered the political sphere and now he has deep pocket to prosecute this, you ought to ask, where is this money coming from? It is only in Nigeria that such asinine statements can be taken without proper and immediate investigation.

You cannot reap off a people and use the money to buy them and then spend four years to recover the investment and that is what is going on.

2015: Aspirants begin

BY SUZAN EDEH

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HE race for the vari ous elective positions in 2015 in Bauchi State is getting keener by the day. Now there is a poster war of sorts among the numerous aspirants.

For the governorship election, prominent politicians whose posters are pasted in various locations are the FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed (PDP); Former House of Representatives member, Ibrahim Makama Misau (PDP); Deputy Senate Leader, Abdul Ahmed Ningi (PDP); Engineer Sadiq Mahmud (APC); Engineer Nuhu Gidado (APC); and Senator Babayo Garba Gamawa.

Other aspirants whose posters are adding hues and shades to the political horizon include are Bauchi State Governor, Mallam Isa Yuguda (PDP); Barrister Lawal Husseini (APC); Mallam

Ali Wakili (APC); Senator Adamu Ibrahim Gumba, who are angling for the senatorial seats.

Those aspiring for state assembly seats like Barrister Babayo Dali, Alhaji Uba Boris and Alhaji Salisu Sabo Salihiyya have also flooded their constituencies with posters.

Almustafa Ahmed, Alhaji Aliyu Gebi, and Alhaji Yusuf Ibrahim (APC) are among House of Representatives aspirants whose posters were seen .

None of the aspirants has openly declared his intention to contest or comment on the campaign posters. However, their close aides and political associates claimed the aspirants were not aware of the posters A political associate of Alhaji Ibrahim Ahmed said: “The posters of Dankama displayed in all the 20 local government areas of the state is the handiwork of his supporters across the state who are thinking that the time has come for the state to move forward with people of high calibre who know how to meet the yearnings and aspirations of the people “They are responsible for the posters littering everywhere in the state. They are the ones pressuring him to come out and

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014—27

Almakura in Nasarawa: The burden of continuity

BY ABEL DANIEL

as citizens of the state continue to express disappointment in the governor ’s failure to unite the state and his condoning of the divide and rule ethnic politics that has festered over the years.

It is not surprising that under the Almmakura led administration, Nasarawa has witnessed the highest number of crises with thousands of innocent lives lost properties worth millions of naira lost to ethnic violence.

The claim in some quarters is that the governor has surrounded himself with commissioners, special advisers and political associates who themselves are either not feeding their principal with appropriate information about the grievances of the population or the governor is himself an adamant ruler who feels he could manipulate the electorate or convince them to vote him again.

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ANY agree that the incumbent administration of Governor Umar Almakura may have positively impacted the social and physical infrastructure in Nasarawa State. However, nearly every one is also agreed that the administration’s failure to provide peace is a problem for the governor’s future political ambitions. Yesterday, his deputy gave his indication to slug out the governorship with him in the next governorship election.

With the majority of members of the state legislature and a party structure rooted across the state, it is not difficult for the Nasarawa State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP feeling that the state is in its kitty.

Emblem of authority

Decamping with deputy governor

Al-makura legislature and other elected offices, he has pitiably made a mess of it and allowed the PDP to consolidate. It is no longer news that the drift in defection is from the party in power to the opposition PDP. Remarkably that is despite the 12 years of locust of the PDP,

first under former Governor Abdullahi Adamu and then the four years of Doma.

Even more, the modest efforts of the present administration in infrastructure development should have drawn love from the populace. But pitiably, little of that is seen on the ground

n poster war in Bauchi

contest but Dankama kept saying the time was not ripe for him to declare his intention.

He said until the electoral body blows the whistle he will not come out and publicly declare his intention that for now he is still consulting with political associates and the people of his constituency. I believe the posters show that he has supporters everywhere and surprisingly, he is not aware that

people are already pasting his posters and bill boards” A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Ahmed Isa Tahir said every politician has a campaign organization and most of the posters are the handiwork of the campaign organizations as such organizations believe in their candidate more than the political parties.

“This is the reason you see that when a politician is decamping to another political party, he usually decamps with his entire support group,” he remarked and appealed to politicians to do politics without bitterness by following the rules of the game in order to have successful and peaceful 2015 general elections.

A media aide to Mallam Ali Wakili (APC) said the posters of the senatorial aspirant were pasted by his supporters, friends and well wishers who are asking him to contest.

One of Governor Isa Yuguda’s aides, who did not want his name to be disclosed, said many political groups are calling on the governor to contest

for the senate and presidency but he has not publicly declared his interest for any of the political offices.

“The Governor is just listening to calls by the groups but to mount of pressure on Yuguda will make him break the rule. His supporters have gone ahead to print and paste his posters every where, but he is not aware about the development.”

Worried by the display of posters by politicians ahead of time, the Electoral body in Bauchi State organized an interactive forum for stake holders to get inputs for ensuring free and fair elections in 2015.

The state resident electoral commissioner, Mr. Samuel Usman Madaki, observed with dismay that electoral campaigns have been kick-started in the state, saying that such campaigns are capable of over-heating the polity before the elections.

Significantly, more people have continued to decamp from APC to the PDP starting with the deputy governor, Luka Barau Damishi to Senator Solomon Ewuga, Haruna Kigbu, Onje Giwado, former deputy governor, Hon. Agyo Mesa, Nawani Aboki, Hon. Ishak Ahmed Kana. Ewuga who is generally counted as the man who made Almakura governor in 2011 and many of those who

,

But not for now as the emblem of authority in the state is flown by Alhaji Umar Almakura of the All Progressives Congress, APC who dusted the PDP’s Aliu Akwe Doma in the last gubernatorial election in 2011.

The PDP has understandably not for once sought to make the governor’s job easy since the 2011 drubbing. Where the governor should have consolidated his party’s minority in the

that another dominant tribe, the Alagos may not throw their support because of the conflicts that have stalled cordiality between the two tribes especially since 2011.

Ewuga, an Eggon was blamed by the Alagos of leading the campaign for Almakura that helped to remove Doma, an Alago man as governor.

Understandably, today the Alagos are not in very good terms with the Almakura administration as majority of their leaders are in the PDP. Ironically it is this convergence of the two major ethnic groups in opposition to Almakura that is now giving the governor and his associate some measure of hope.

Their hope is built on the fact that neither of the two major tribes, Eggons and Alagos would yield the platform for the other to slug it out against Almakura.

That is despite the fact that the Alagos may not have any formidable candidate given the claim that the former governor, Doma may have settled for the Senate in 2015.

The other minority tribes, notably, the Tivs and the Magilis who have also been hit by the crises under the last four years would hardly be a sucour for Almakura. Till recently, the larger percentage of the Tiv communities in Nasarawa lived in exile and had cried out on several occasions of neglect.

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One cause for cheer, though is the increasing brinkmanship between the deputy governor, Damshi and Almakura

have decamped are men who dictate the pace of politics in the state.

Ewuga was able to help Almakura through his large sway over his fellow Eggons who constitute the majority tribe in the state.

Now he has left the governor’s side to rejoin the PDP after claims that the governor has reneged on an unwritten agreement to serve only one term and pass over the baton to Ewuga.

However, the PDP can hardly rejoice over the difficulties of the governor as its own house is hardly united.

The PDP men are divided over the choice of a candidate for the 2015 election with many of them aiming to seize the foibles of the APC administration.

Meanwhile, all is not totally lost for Almakura. If eventually an Eggon candidate emerges for the 2015 governorship election, there is the perception

Furthermore, the alignment of Senator Abdullahi Adamu, a former governor of the state with Governor Almakura is perceived by many people in the state as a poisoned chalice as it would do the incumbent governor really no good.

The state chairman of PDP Mr. Yunana Illiya while describing the exit of Abdullahi Adamu from the PDP said “his decampment was a welcome development that the party had to organize a celebration dinner because his exit was the best that could ever happen to the party in the state”.

One cause for cheer, though is the increasing brinkmanship between the deputy governor, Damshi and Almakura.

Yesterday, the deputy governor formally indicated his readiness to contest the 2015 governorship election on the platform of the PDP putting the disharmony between him and Almakura to the point of no return.

28—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014

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T is evident that many patriotic Nigerians are not happy with the current political and economic situation in the country. The condition of the ‘Nigerian situation‘ has always agitated serious minds since democracy returned to the country in 1999 after the hazy harmattan of military usurpation of power in the past decades.

As the Presidency was evidently celebrating the return of Ekitiland to the fold, the insurgents were busily engaged in killings and abductions in Borno and Kano States, Kaduna State not exempted. It is curiously observed that though Nigeria could geographically be described as one country, it is true that the problems of the country are viewed differently by different people in different parts of the country.

Though the fussy characteristics of politicians are common throughout the world, it is the ability to sense danger and respond accordingly that separates the civilized from the jungle ones. The divisive and devilish nature of the Nigerian politics has been responsible for violence, insensibility and the cultivation of nebulous concept of winning at all cost and winner-takesall.

It is an undeniable fact that old and new nations would always have their moments of crisis that could rock them to their foundation or threaten their cooperate existence, but the mark of maturity would make them understand and take appropriate measures to strengthen their foundation and cement their unity. Many plural societies of this world are prone to fissiporous divisive tendencies, only for statesmen supported by wise-men and not sycophants, to appear at the right moment to calm the nerves and return the situation to normalcy.

In Nigeria, it appears that the leadership has been waging phony wars against agents of destabilization in political uniforms. Though corruption has been recognized as evil, yet the war against it has been weakened through numerous escape routes.

How do you check corrupt governors with provision of unaudited security votes and immunity from prosecution while in office? It is the ultimate reaction to observed inadequacies in political and economic life that

Some observable obstacles to national unity and socialpolitical stability determines the maturity of a nation.

Nigeria‘s political history has shown cases of missed opportunities to build a strong and virile nation. The Civil war of 1967-1970 was believed to have been fought to keep Nigeria as one country, but the consequences of that war were far from the causes of the war.

If the Ibos fought with such tenacity to maintain Biafra, subsequent history should have noted the strength of nationalism as exhibited by the Ibo nation as a potent factor. Instead, what was offered the Ibo nation was a reduced territory (with non Ibo areas carved out), but not with enough resources to survive as a nation after such colossal devastation. It is not surprising that some are still having nostalgia for oil rich Biafra even with the existence of the South-Eastern Zone, which is 100 per cent Ibo. Thus, the ‘Ibo Problem‘ is a question of survival of Ibo nation in a country of many nations, some friendly, others antagonistic.

The crucial problem of this country is the inability of the present political leadership (government and opposition) to sit down quietly and consider ways of forging unity amongst the nations (or tribes if you prefer) to co-exist peacefully. Experience has shown, in spite of our showmanship, that this country is not yet ripe for the nicety of party-politics violent and divisive. It is either we allow the emergence of a powerful and charismatic leader who will be supported by all, like President Tito of

old Yugoslavia or Ahmadu Toure of Guinea, or in the absence of such, a coalition of political parties in the formation of a national government. The point against a strong leadership is what happens after the death of such a leader.

Yugoslavia as a nation disintegrated after the death of President Tito and Guinea was not the same again after the death of Ahmadu Toure. However, at a particular time, each country would not sit down and pray for a solution to its problems but would work hard, fashion out a solution and pray for it to work - as we now do for the success of the National Conference (against all odds) As it is being voiced out in some quarters, the survival of democracy rests on effective party politics. It is agreed that periodic voting aids the operations of democracy in any civilized environment. There should be an opportunity for every citizen to assess the government periodically through voting exercise. The voter should have the option to confirm the ruling party or throw it out. To be meaningful, voting should be free and fair under a peaceful environment.

A free and fair election under democracy rests on a sound electoral system that is progressive.

A progressive system would not only recognize parties but also independent candidates (the right of each candidate to vote and be voted for).

The method of voting must also rest on the structure of the society, i.e.

Rivers 2015: Equity vs Monopoly

BY SOBOMA FYNFACE

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ANY Rivers people are getting increasingly worried by the kind of politics that would play out in our state as February 2015 approaches. Those who do not know exactly where we are coming from and the history of Rivers state may not exactly understand or appreciate the gathering political cloud. But one important fact remains that Rivers state is too strategic to Nigeria’s economic stability to be exposed to clearly avoidable political turmoil.

I am referring to the on-going attempts by some people to impose an Ikwerre political dynasty on Rivers state, and this may not be the best for our state. It is on this point, even if on no other ground, that I agree totally with Governor Chibuike Amaechi who has said repeatedly that it would be morally wrong and politically inexcusable for him, an Ikwerre, to handover to another Ikwerre in 2015 because that would be endangering an existing political sharing arrangement between Upland/Riverine areas of Rivers State. And

he is emphatic and passionate about this.

My position as a political stakeholder in Rivers state is simple: it will be unfair and unjust for three of our Ikwerre brothers to govern our state, in relay – Celestine Omehia, Chibuike Amaechi and now Nyesom Wike, if the master-plan of the promoters of the Nwike political project materialise in 2015.

It is important to begin now to sound this note of warning because, at my age, I must not keep quiet when I see possible and avoidable ‘destabilisation plan’ in the works.

It was in appreciation of our sociology that the founding fathers of our state, aware that the younger generation may not be good students of history, took steps to devise a political formula for sharing, equitably and in rotation, certain government offices and positions. The product of that prolonged dialogue among our elders was a formula we now refer to as ‘Upland/Riverine’ sharing arrangement.

The equity charter referred to above has, over the years, become a veritable instrument and standard reference point that

Amaechi enabled the people of Rivers State to be fair and just to one another, appreciate and fully support pan-Rivers State political projects that are usually of common

proportional (representational) voting in a plural society.The resultant government would be in proportion to the votes secured by each party. This method of voting leaves no section unrepresented. If the understanding is that no section would be left out, the incidents of rigging through stuffed ballot-boxes or stealing of them would be minimized. President Jonathan and his ruling party should read again the recommendation of Justice Uwais Committee on Electoral Reforms.

The other point of a clean and fair election rests on the selection of election umpires. In a plural society, the choice of umpires should be liberalized. So it should also be in a state where multiparty system is practiced. In the Nigerian example of a plural society, INEC in its present state, looks odd.

It should be made up of different political parties of the country to ensure fairness and equity.

EKITI ELECTIONS Ekiti gubernatorial elections had come and gone without any unpleasant reactions.

The winner had won a landslide election to unseat the incumbent governor, who graciously accepted defeat. Ekiti is not new to landslide victory to unseat a governor. The NPN‘s landslide victories of 1983 unseated UPN governors of Ondo, Oyo and Bendel States.

Only Ondo State reacted with violence when Omoboriowo (Ekiti) was named the winner in the former Ondo State by the federally nominated umpire. Ekiti people could now be described as real winners in the last election by removing their governor in peace through the results announced by INEC. A POSER: How could a winner (man of the people) with 203,090 votes from eligible voters list of 733,766, in a population of over 2 million people, feel comfortable?

It looks like a rule of minority by minority for majority democracy deluxe.

Some attributed current voters apathy to heavy presence of security personnel during election time, as a strategy. In Ekiti, it took more than 40,000 security personnel to secure voting strength of about 370,000.

interest and benefit to all our peoples.

It was in this spirit that Dr. Peter Odili emerged and was adopted as the governorship candidate of one of the leading political parties in 1998 by largely riverine political heavyweights and intellectuals, even when the upland section of our state, where Odili comes from, did not quite buy into the project. What is particularly remarkable about the 1998 overwhelming support for Odili was that Mr. Ebenezer Isokarari, from the riverine section, was not quite successful in attracting the support and sympathy of the political elite from the riverine.

The primary preoccupation at the time, if I may add, was for power to shift, after Ada George and Melford Okilo, all riverine, had successfully had shots at The Brick House, the seat of government in Rivers state. And the arguments and agitation for this shift to happen were largely spearheaded and championed by politicians and intellectuals from the Upland section of our state.

With the emerging ‘Ikwerre monopoly’ of our governorship seat, the political equity and our working political sharing formula that has helped sustain political equilibrium and sanity in Rivers state appear to be under serious threat.

V anguard anguard,, FRIDAY, JUNE 27 , 2014 —29

Air chief lauds production of military uniforms

A

The govt and the media: Partners in progress Being excerpts from a paper presented under the auspices of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in Benin city.

BY SAM OYOVBAIRE

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Expansive growth of private sector Can anyone imagine if the broadcast media was not deregulated before social media arrived in our communication shores? It should be duly acknowledged that this phenomenon contained a lot of foresight, as it was with the IBB regime’s democratization of the political process and governance, and of the expansive growth of the private sector in business, banking and finance, and industry and social services. Deregulation of the broadcast media opened many more professionals to enduring activity sectors as well as enormously productive employment and skills, but particularly the exposure SAM O YOVB AIRE OY VBAIRE of the country to the global society and economy, and advancement of civil liberties and democratic space.

Theme of the Press week: The theme of this year’s Press Week of this Chapel: the Government and the Media: Partners in Progress, conveys very thoughtful elements for discourses at this critical time in the affairs of our country.

We are in a season, perhaps a long phase or historical episode in which our country has been confronted with fundamental challenges equalled or perhaps slightly surpassed by the years of first military rule and the civil war in

1966 to 1970, and the catastrophic national experience of the annulment of the result of the 1993 June 12 general election which otherwise the country would have had a much earlier transition of democratization from military rule to civil, constitutional regime and democratic governance.

What do we mean by progress and what is the purpose and role of the government in its relationship to the media as partners? Thinking through the theme raises a huge array of dynamics, dialectics and even potentials of slipping through the tight ropes of governance and statecraft. Progress is development, and in contemporary times, the major structures, values and challenges of development are embodied in the ongoing democratization of Nigeria and the possibility or otherwise of sustaining, consolidating and advancing constitutional government and democracy.

It is common knowledge as enshrined in our Constitution Nigeria is besieged, besotted, and even that the primary and fundamental pur- overwhelmed by, among others grave pose of government is the security and and multiple insecurities to lives, propwelfare of the peo- erty and communities ple. Seemingly simple as this phraseology may appear, become consolidated in local, nationthe challenges of securing the people al, and global legal instruments and and providing for their welfare – indeed conventions – will understandably ina people with variegated and multiple sist upon advancing progress from the needs, beliefs, motivations and even context of an open society. In this mode worldviews such as we are in Nigeria - of characterizing the partnership becan be very daunting. tween the government and the media, We all know that the media, print and we can easily expand the profound broadcast, and in this age of internet and thesis long propounded by the world social media, exist as primary and fun- acclaimed philosopher, Prof. Karl Popdamental stakeholders in the business per, in his seminal works, The Open of ensuring that the people obtain and Society and its Enemies, and The Povexperience security and welfare and in erty of Historicism by ascribing to the their varieties, quantum and quality. It government the perspective and stratis for this purpose that the media is soci- egy to hold back on information disety’s proverbial watch dog, and is firmly semination, akin to the ways of a tribal acknowledged in the provisions of our or closed society so as to be allowed to constitution. You may have, by now, no- discharge its responsibility of security ticed that I have already raised a mouth- and provision of welfare. But the ful of issues which we certainly can not media quite understandably came into deal with exhaustively and in specifici- existence so as to dismantle the closed ties in today’s engagement. society and to maintain, deepen and An overview of the Nigerian state and expand the open society; to also enthe Nigerian nation for which the Fourth sure that any structures of constraint Republic and constitutional government to freedom and liberties are resisted, and governance were established in 1999 dismantled and surpassed. provide for us a table of complex, conWe can even visit my viewpoint or flicting, and even contradictory contents perspective in this discourse to the way for the government as well as for the me- in which much more recent and moddia to contend with, in their search and ern scholars like Prof Samuel Huntingpromotion of security, welfare and ton, have called the clash of civilizaprogress. Recall that the Fourth Repub- tions, meaning in this adaptation that lic had been preceded by colonial dom- goodness from the government strateination, fundamental crises of statehood gy is generally seen as badness for the and nationhood of the late 1960s, Civil media; and conversely, goodness from War, tortuous military rule of over three the media is generally seen as baddecades and a hurried transition of non- ness for the government. democratisation to the Fourth Republic.

To be continued

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Y short stay in the political lead ership of the Federal Ministry of Information (and Culture) seemed to have given me a lengthy profile. I am not likely to be wrong if I ask the present audience how many of us can easily recall with pleasantries the names and tenures of previous Ministers of Information from 1960 to date. Some of the Ministers stayed long in office while some others had short tenures. Mine was a short tenure, 1992/1993. Permit me, therefore, to openly utilize this podium to thank all officials of the Ministry who have continued to recall that once upon a time I headed the Ministry and thoroughly enjoyed the humorous appellation of being “chief journalist and chief media practitioner” when indeed I never possessed media expertise.

Today is not the occasion to say anything about what appears to me as my contributions to the Ministry and to the media, yet, in case people have forgotten the deregulation of the broadcast media by the IBB Military Regime in 1992, the law and the process of deregulation inaugurated the tremendous incorporation of the press and media into the ICT with its by-product of social media which has placed Nigeria in the proper role and context in contemporary global media industry and practice.

To limit this speech to contemporary times: Nigeria is besieged, besotted, and even overwhelmed by, among other forces: •grave and multiple insecurities to lives, property and communities •inadequate infrastructure – physical, economic, educational, health and related social infrastructure – vis-a-vis concrete demands and expectations •generations of unemployment of highly mobilized young men and women •extremist violence with the utilization of instruments such as armed robbery, kidnapping, suicide bombing and deliberate attack of segments of the population with a view to annihilate and cleanse human groups and settlements - instruments hardly known to the Nigerian state and the Nigerian nation twenty years before now. The veneration of violence to human beings has very unfortunately become part and parcel of livelihood in our country.

In the face of these marauding challenges to progress, what is, or can be, the character of partnership which the government and the media should or can forge? The government will naturally and normally insist upon controlled dissemination of information while dealing with these challenges.

The media, on the other hand, in its historical origin for advancement of freedom and protection of civil liberties – fundamental values which have

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GAINST the backdrop of Boko Haram ter rorism and other security challenges facing the nation, Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu has said that hundreds of Airforce personnel engaged in production of uniforms and accoutrements, will now become available to tackle insecurity with the introduction of Public Private Partnership.

Speaking in Kaduna, at the commissioning of an accoutrement production factory for Airforce uniforms jointly operated by the NAF and Bebeyi Group, Amosu said, “The good news is that we are going to be self-sufficient in kitting our men. Before now we had many of our soldiers that had to take up this responsibility and it affected the number of deployments.

“But with what we have today (PPP), we can free most of our soldiers and take them back to the core duties and allow Bebeyi and Company to make our uniforms for us. What are we trying to do, is part of national security. We are trying to enhance the quality of the population of Nigeria. We are trying to make space for gainful employment and as I said before if he can produce for the Air Force, he can also produce for the Army, Navy and even Customs and Immigration. So you can see the huge population that would be employed by this company.”

Asked how the faking of the uniforms can be prevented by terrorists, the CAS said, “The uniform materials you are seeing have underground coding. When we apply certain liquid, we know what we are expecting to see and the kind features that is embedded in these uniform and if you bring a uniform that looks like a camouflage, we have a way we can test and we will be sure that from the result it will be very clear that this is not from the Air Force."

While expressing joy at the partnership, Amosu said, “To be honest with you it is a happy day when a military organization can kit itself. It is a huge achievement and for now we can stand tall and check our officers and men not well dressed for a particular occasion. We are confident that we can now check that our men are well dressed. This is going to help us enhance discipline. So if we are going to rapidly change our uniform for security purposes, even if tomorrow or we want to change the colour, we can equally do that.”

Enhancing of national security On time frame, he said, “In thirty minutes for instance, if I take my measurement, my uniform is ready. In the same way when we are out in battle and we say we want to change our uniform from blue to green within days that can be achieved. It is good news for us. Again I want to assure that most of the workers we have here definitely will be ex-military men and I want you to take advantage of that because we don’t need too much of vetting, and don’t forget that when we discharge our men and companies such as yours are there to accept them, then you have really helped Nigeria.”

On national security, the CAS said, “when you can empower these people that have served the nation enough and for the service to say go home and you still pick them up, you have really helped the nation. We will not forget to put it down appropriately and to let the government know that companies like Bebeyi are doing a lot to enhance national security."

Responding, managing partner, Mr. Ade Bebeyi said, “I started the business because of my love for my country and especially because of the security challenges facing the country as miscreants were using military uniform to cause havoc. So I decided that there must be a solution. That was when I started and we have put every apparatus in place as there is none of my product can be faked. There is security code to identify all products. We can produce 500 uniforms per day and we have two places in Lagos; one for air force and one for police. It is part of the programme and 95 percent of our staff is going to be ex military men."

30—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014

What has kept me going for 25 years people warned their as a DJ—Jimmy Jatt •Says kids to stay away from him

By ANOZIE EGOLE

J

immy Adewale Amu a.k.a Dj Jimmy Jatt could best be described as a Disc jockey (DJ) with swag. He started his career in the entertainment industry as a budding rapper before delving into DJ business in the late 80s. In 1989, he debuted as a professional DJ, and today, after 25 years on the job, Jatt has every reason to recount his success story in the industry. In this interview, he speaks about his career, family and love life.

Why are you celebrating your 25th years as a DJ? HAVE been a DJ for 25 years. But I’m just celebrating my 25th years of being in the entertainment industry. I actually made up my mind in 1989 that I won’t do anything else apart from becoming a DJ. And since then, I have not

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looked back. So, it’s 25 years of my being a professional DJ. Really. I have been reluctant to celebrate this milestone. Most people around me know that I am not a loud person , but the only reason I was convinced to do this was because, its 25 years of relevance and consistency.

There has not been an off day for me in the past 25 years. I have never been found wanting in the industry for the past 25 years. I hear a lot of people celebrate 10 to 15 years but within that period, there are times when they take a break for a couple of years. But in my own case, I have ever been present. I felt for once in my life that I should really celebrate my achievements.

How did you take the decision to become a professional Dj? Being a DJ was something I developed passion for, when people felt it wasn’t a lucrative job. People warn their kids to stay away from me simply because I was a DJ. But I took up the challenge to change the mindset of people as much as possible. Right now, DJs are being celebrated, and the emerging generation today can see that there is life as a DJ. If I have done it for 25 years, then what’s more! It doesn’t mean I am retiring.

No, it means I am taking the profession to a highe r level.

Before 1989, what

were you doing?

Like I said, I’ve been doing DJ work before 1989. Some people would know me from the mid 80s when I was just a school boy at Obalende. I’ve never applied for any job in my life. Before 1989, it was between my education and and the DJ work. So, I’ve been a DJ for a long time such that I’ve never had time to think of any other thing.

What’s your plans for the celebration?

The main event will hold on the 3rd of August. It’s going to be strictly by invitation.

Then there will be the annual Jimmy ’s jump off later. This year ’s event would be tied to my 25th anniversary celebrations so we might switch the event a bit.

It might not take the same direction people are used to. Then from October till the end of the year, we’ll be getting

into some CRS activities to give back to the society, organise a lot of mentorship programmes for young DJs to encourage them. There would also be a TV reality show coming up soon. We are working tirelessly to make the best of this celebration.

What has kept you going all these years as a DJ? For me, my motivation changes. In the beginning, the driving force was the negativity of people towards what I do. Some people in my neighborhood warned their kids to stay away from me because I was a DJ. So, for me at that time, the motivation was to prove such people wrong. Then it got to a level where I got married and I felt I owe it to my family to be responsible. It also got to a point where I attracted young people into the business of DJ and they all were looking up to you. I owed them a duty to lead the way. These have been my motivation. Finally, it got to a point where people started celebrating me. At this time, my fan base cut across all generations. Today, I am one of the very few entertainers that dominate discussions among three generations in Nigeria. I am a brand that cuts across everybody. So I always have

•Continues on page 31

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014—31

What has kept me going for 25 years as DJ—Jimmy Jatt

Bayelsa to host Africa Fashion Reception week N

Continues from page 30 all these at the back of my mind, and it keeps me going.

Have you ever thought of quitting the job?

Of course, like every other business in this country, after six months, there are definitely times when frustration would set in even if you are into oil and gas business. But for me, right from the onset, there has always been that discouraging factor.

But I’ve had to deal with it from the very start. Even when I feel like I’m going to give up, I always remember those early times and I keep moving ahead. Because, if I give up, those people who didn’t give me a chance in the beginning would smile, so that kept me going even in my lowest moments.

Let’s talk about your forthcoming album “The Industry”?

The album would be launched at the black tie event. It’s titled The Industry and that speaks volume on what to expect from the album. We are still in the studio, but as at the last count, I’ve recorded with well over 80 artistes and 20 different producers in the country. So, its easier to count the people that are yet to get on the album than count the people in the album.

The album is basically a reflection of the state of the industry and it is quite different from my first album “The definition” .

This latest one is more of a reflection of the industry and it will have a minimum of 20 tracks.

Artistes in the industry We released 7 singles already and we are working on releasing a couple of videos as well. The album covers the industry, and when I say the industry, we can’t put every artiste in the industry on the album. But there is adequate representation from all sectors. You would find emerging artistes, talented artistes, A list artistes, rappers, singers and even old school and reggae artistes were also in the album. Like I said earlier, it’s a reflection of what I’ve seen in the past 25 years.

I think am excited about the album already because it’s a brilliant one.

Do you have plans to collaborate with international artistes or DJs? In terms of international collaboration, for me it has always been about projecting our own acts and our own music. I do get offers and deals from artistes in America to feature on the album, but I don’t see the need, it gives me joy to put an unC M Y K

I had the support of my immediate family, but from my extended family and outsiders, I got hostility and criticisms known Nigerian artistes on the album and see his career develop from there rather than featuring an international act.

In the past 25 years, have you ever felt challenged by any other Dj? I think in life, if you always see yourself as upcoming, you’ll always grow. But the moment you see yourself as a king, you loose it. For me, I work like a rookie, that’s my orientation. About seeing anybody as a threat, I do not think so. Everything in life is a competition, but how you take the competition affects your career, if you take it negatively, it’ll affect you negatively, if you take it positively it’ll affect you positively. I take it positively, and I’ve helped a lot of DJs to come up. Because if there’s no one chasing you, you won’t run and if you don’t run you won’t get to your destination in time. So, I always assist DJs to come up because if they grow it means you’ll also have to take your game to the next level. But if you don’t help people to grow, and everybody remains down you won’t grow as well. Competition is very healthy because it helps people grow.

At the beginning, did you get support from your parents?

Yes, I had the support of my immediate family, but from my extended family and outsiders, I got hostility and criticisms. But my parents weren’t worried because they knew me very well. They brought me up very well, and I always tell people that am a product of my family, my family is fun loving and music lovers, I just happened to be an introvert (laughs).

Would you say, you are fulfilled having spent 25 years as a DJ? I think once you get to that point where you are fulfilled, then the next thing is to buy your coffin, am not, am still hoping to make some impact and take things to the next level.

IGERIA’s leading tourism and entertainment destination, Bayelsa state, has been chosen as host for the Africa Fashion Reception Week scheduled for 3-5th July.

Participants from over 50 countries are expected at Africa Fashion Reception which is one of the five events lined up for by the World Fashion Week taking place in Paris in October.

Explaining the choice of Bayelsa as host for the highly prestigious event, minister of Culture and Tourism, Chief Edem Duke said the oil rich state had a proven track record of successfully organising international events.

Duke who further described Bayelsa as the pearl of tourism in Nigeria, said that aside from hosting the event, the state government has expressed its commitment to partnering with organisers of the show and the World Fashion Organisation towards building the proposed Fashion University in the state.

Speaking in the same vein, Director-General of the Bayelsa State Tourism Development Agency, Ebizi Ndiomu -Brown, said the hosting of the African Fashion Week was prelude to the long term investment of

the state government in the Fashion University. ”Bayelsa State is hosting the African Fashion Week, not just to showcase it’s beautiful tourist sites and rich cultural heritage to the world. But also to bring the fashion industry to the door steps of its teaming youths in futherance to our state’s drive for youth empowerment and economic diversification” she said.

The African Fashion Reception is jointly organised by Banzuk Gold Entertainment, the federal ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Bayelsa State Tourism Agency a n d Legendary G o l d Limited.

Edem Duke

Jibola Dabor declares for PDP, seeks jobs for his people

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•Jibola Dabor

eteran actor Jibola Dabor who took up the mantle to represent his people at the lower chamber of the House of Assembly has declared for Peoples Democratic Party, after ‘long consultation’ with his people, who according to the actor pressured him to contest in the coming 2015 elections.

Clearly moved by grave unemployment in his constituency Jibola has already insituted a drive to generate employment in his constituency by partnering with a giant financial institution and a telecommunication outfit through his foundation to establish a branch and a manufacturing base in the Owo/Ose communities of Ondo State.

According to his spokesperson, Bisola Iyasara, CEO of Bisola Hair and a motivational speaker, the recruitment exercise will commence as soon as the institutions are on ground.

“This is just another opportunity for Jibola Dabo to empower his people” says Bisola.

“He has worked tirelessly to convince these institutions of high repute to locate their branch and plant in his communities because he has dedicated his life to serve and empower his people”

32— Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014

Suarez banned U

RUGUAY striker, Luis Suarez was barred for nine games and suspended from all soccer-related activities for four months after he was accused of biting an opponent that marred his team’s 1-0 World Cup victory over Italy, FIFA officials announced Thursday morning.

Suárez, who was suspended twice previously for biting opponents during league games in the Netherlands and England, will miss the rest of the World Cup and the start of the English Premier League season.

Suárez’s suspension is the harshest penalty for on-field action in World Cup history, surpassing the eight-game ban imposed on Mauro Tassotti of Italy in 1994 after he broke an opponent’s nose with a vicious elbow.

“Such behavior cannot be tolerated on any football pitch, and in particular not at a FIFA World Cup when the eyes of millions of people are on the stars on the field,” Claudio Sulser, the chairman of the FIFA disciplinary committee, said in a statement.

Eagles good, not aggressive — Argentine coach A

RGENTINA coach, Allejandro Sabella, has praised the Super Eagles of Nigeria for their resilience in their 3-2 loss but blamed them for not being aggressive enough in the match decided at the Estardo Beira in Porto Alegre.

Lionel Messi scored two first half goals while Ahmed Musa scored a goal in each half in the 32 win that pushed the South Americans to square off against Switzerland while Nigeria will place France.

Sabella said he was impressed with the Eagles but was surprised that the team could not utilise space aggressively each time the opportunity came.

“Nigeria has a versatile team but the players were not aggressive especially when they had space to do so. It was a good match for both sides and the two teams showed why they were the best in the •Sabella

group, “he said.

The coach however showered praises on his wards for putting up a good display to record a 100 per cent performance in the first round of the World Cup. “You will be happy as a coach if your team is improving. Winning all games in the preliminaries gives us more confidence into the next stage, “he said

Pelé lauds USA soc

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here’s no doubt Pelé’s on a tional tour here in America, which he’s paid to sell watches and copies of his new book. But when one most famous footballers to ever toe a speaks on your country and your man ager, you pay attention.

Speaking in Miami, Pelé was asked about the US head coach Jurgen Klin mann and the state of the game, M and other, in the States today.

“Klinsmann is a great trainer and h lot of experience,” Pelé said. “We ha respect American soccer today.

“The U.S. group was very difficult Germany, Portugal and Ghana.

Ramadan: Musa, Ozil to abstain from fasting W

ITH the knockout rounds of the World Cup coinciding with the beginning of Ramadan, Media officer of the Super Eagles Ben Alaiya has calmed fears over its effect on top striker Ahmed Musa as Nigeria confront France in the second round on Monday in Brasilia.

There is nothing to be afraid of.

There are exceptions. Musa will be fine

France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Algeria and Nigeria are among the teams that have Muslim players who may choose to observe the 30-day period of fasting and reflection.

During Ramadan, the ninth and holiest month in the Islamic calendar, all healthy adult Muslims are expected to refrain from eating and drinking during daylight hours.

Such a scenario could play havoc

with the tightly-controlled diets of elite professional athletes, especially in the hot, humid conditions in which some World Cup games in Brazil are being played. ‘’Musa will not take part because he is working”, Alaiya noted. Musa would not be alone from abstaining from it. Another player who has made up his mind is Germany’s Mesut Ozil.

“Ramadan starts on Saturday, but I will not take part because I am working,” he said.

Appiah a

G

HANAIAN j the news on T confirmed Muntari Football Associatio Ali Muntari indefin immediate effect.”

The statement co suspended for an ‘ Ghana manageme Tuesday. Muntari a a training session portedly insulted th was happening. Bo

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 — 33

FLICKS Messi leads the way

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C

SKA Moscow attacker Ahmed Musa is hoping his pair of goals on Wednesday afternoon against Argentina will silence his critics once and for all.

The 21 - year - old registered his name on the score-sheet in the 4th and 47th minute, and could have walked away with the match ball and restored parity for the Eagles if not for the intervention of an Argentinian defender in the second half. “I will not talk much (about it). I think it silenced all that criticize me, it is not very

ccer

promo one in d move e of the a ball n-

d sMLS

has a ve to

t with

easy.

“They could see Musa today. This is what I have to say,” Ahmed Musa said at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.

Stephen Keshi broke protocol by insisting that the former Kano Pillars ace followed him to the press conference, which is usually reserved for players selected as Man of the Match.

Ahmed Musa has notched up 7 goals for the Super Eagles since he made his international debut, and joins Kalu Uche and Daniel Amokachi as the top scorer for Nigeria at the World Cup.

Moses sulks over bench role C HELSEA forward Victor Mo ses has taken his shut-out by Nigeria rather badly as he refused to warm-up with the rest of the squad before the World Cup clash against Argentina, an official has disclosed.

“Victor Moses has not taken his exclusion well. He refused to be part of the team’s warmup for the Argentina match,” an official informed.

“This kind of behaviour is not good for team spirit.”

Victor Moses was pulled

out in the opening group game against Iran and he has since not been in action for the African champions. The player has claimed he was injured and so missed the game against BosniaHerzegovina.

But coach Stephen Keshi said he was not aware the player was injured, adding Moses has failed to back track and help the defence when he has played.

The Chelsea ace must have been hugely disappointed not to feature against Argentina after he had tweeted he hopes to be back in action against the South Americans.

axes Muntari, Boateng from Ghana squad

ournalist, Gary Al-Smith, broke Thursday, and the Ghanaian FA i’s suspension now: “The Ghana on (GFA) has suspended Sulley nitely from the Black Stars with

onfirms that Muntari has been unprovoked physical attack’ on ent member, Moses Armah, on and Boateng had a fight during two days ago and Boateng rehe coach when he queried what oateng reportedly trained isolat-

ed yesterday and has also been suspended for ‘vulgar verbal insults targeted at the coach’ by the Ghana FA today: “Yes I am going now, no longer part of the team for the remainder of the World Cup, there is a disagreement with the coach,” the player told reporters Boateng and Muntari had to leave the Ghana camp by 8:00 am (local time), just five hours before Ghana will face Portugal in their important last group match.

It is to be seen how the rest of the squad will react to Appiah’s firm stand against the two trouble makers, who have been suspended ‘indefinitely’.

is name was ringing out into the darkness on the long road home to Uruguaiana, on the Ar gentine border, and well beyond, last night.

Lionel Messi’s compatriots had made the 11-hour trek by road to belong to this World Cup campaign in some small way, and for the tens of thousands who did not even step inside the stadium, the journey was worth it because of him.

His relationship with his country has been a complicated one, ever since he left for Spain on an Aerolineas Argentinas jet as a 13-year-old. The Buenos Aires locals expect their nation’s stars to play for one of the city’s clubs before they leave. But in one hour of football Messi added to the real notion that this tournament will all boil down to a two-man shoot-out between Neymar and him. Single-handedly, the Barcelona men have borne their countries into the second round. They have both scored four goals at this World Cup. The Brazilians are ready for that match-up. Though the affection for Messi is something of a guilty secret in Sao Paulo, where shirts bearing his name are seen in a way that the detested Diego Maradona’s never were, Brazil feels its totemic player is the more complete of the two. But the Argentine is playing with an ease, conviction and a broad smile on his face. It will take something special to stop him travelling all the way to the Maracana on July 13. Another absorbing test of Louis van Gaal’s quality may lie ahead, when the Dutch are scheduled to meet the resurgent force of nature in a semi-final.

The suspicion remains, as it has throughout these past three weeks, that flaws exist around him. None in blue and white could hold a candle to his presence. No other member of the so-called ‘fantastic four – Sergio Aguero, Gonzalo Higuain and Angel di Maria – has found the net in this competition. The defence looked suspect. But the performance suggested that this nation is ready to unfurl itself on the knock-out stage, for all that.

Keshi keeps mum over Suarez’s biting

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s the world awaits the outcome of investigations into the alleged biting incident involving Uruguay’s Luis Suarez, coach Stephen Keshi stayed out of the controversy when asked his opinion on the matter.

He looked round and asked back ‘’Did it happen? Are you sure it happened?. I don’t know. Please, no comment on that”, he said. Help also came his way from the FIFA official at the post match conference who informed the media to restrict their questions on the Nigeria and Argentina match.

FIFA investigates Neymar’s underpants

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IFA has reportedly launched an investigation into Neymar’s underpants.

If there’s one thing that the governing body cares above all else, it’s the protection of its high-paying sponsors’ exclusivity. The rule ensures players don’t have underpants made by non-FIFA sponsors peeking out of their shorts.

The underwear alarm went off at FIFA headquarters when Neymar’s were partially exposed after he swapped shirts following Brazil’s 4-1 win over Cameroon. And if you think that this is all a big joke, consider that Denmark’s Nicklas Bendtner was fined •100,000 ($125,797)

by UEFA (European football’s governing body) when he celebrated a goal by lifting up his shirt to reveal the name of a betting firm on the waistband of his underpants at Euro 2012. This isn’t the first time Neymar’s underwear has raised concerns from the football brand police. When a similar situation occurred while he played in a Champions League match for Barcelona two months ago, his press agent had to deny that it was an intentional marketing strategy.

34—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014

Kefee was

managed in America. Her remains has not arrived the country yet. On that fateful day she died, she complained that she did not like the way she was feeling and they had to call for emergency. After examining her, they said that nothing was wrong with her.

But she insisted that she was not feeling fine. Coupled with stress, she slumped. It has been agreed by the family members and the husband that

By ANOZIE EGOLE & she would be buried in her home JULIET EBIRIM town, Sapele and we are making all the necessary paper ONTRARY to the news preparations to fly her down going viral that the to Nigeria. remains of Delta state born “We have been asked by the talented gospel artiste, Kefee husband to organise a kind has arrived Nigeria, friends of memorial service for her and colleagues in the tagged, ”An evening with Nigerian gospel industry led Kefee”, which we are by front-line gospel artiste planning to do immediately and Glo ambassador, Sammie •Sammie he arrives.

Okposo, have debunked the Okposo “We are therefore planning rumour. The singer also said something big for her which that Kefee was not pregnant will include a documentary as reported by some media about her and probably, a houses. stage play. Also, there are Hear him, “Kefee was not pregnant, though she had a medical plans for annual lecture in her history that was being properly memory. We are setting up a committee to that effect,”he said. o

Fayrouz unveils top 10 fashion finalists for l’original show

not pregnant

— Sammie Okp oso

BY EBUN SESSOU

A

fter rigorous online screening, owners of natural premium soft drink, Fayrouz has unveiled ten most fashionable teams who will move to the next level of the l’original expression competition.

In a statement signed by the Senior Brand Manager, Fayrouz, Nnenna Ifebigh-Hemeson, the fashion finalists include Applause, Belle AFrique, Creative Lights, Echo, Elan, Elite, Eureka, FIB, Loud Tribe and Secret Project.

According to her, over 350 teams registered for the competition but only ten fashion icons were able to scrap through and get to the final stage of the competition.

Her words: “The Fayrouz L’Original Expression show will discover and promote different teams of four creative minds which consists of a Fashion Designer, Make-Up Artiste, Photographer and a Model. “These teams will create original designs to win the sum of $20,000 as well as many fashion opportunities of a lifetime.

“Since inception, Fayrouz has differentiated itself as Nigeria’s only natural premium soft drink within a market of various products filled with chemical ingredients such as artificial additives, preservatives and sugar substitutes. Fayrouz has proven its originality with this unique formulation and stands out as a unique brand for its counterparts to follow’, she said.

They will also select the final two teams who will move to the grand finale set in Lagos in July with style icons, Mai Atafo, April By Kunbi and KinaButi as grand finale judges.

C

•Kefee

Uche Jombo in US to deliver baby

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•Mai Atafo

eavily pregnant prolific actress and filmmaker, Uche Jombo is currently in the United States of America, to have her baby and she is expected to stay in the country until next year, well after she must have delivered her baby.

But Uche is not in the US only to make a baby, she is also putting finishing touches to a number of her films expected to be released in the next two months.

According to sources from her camp, she has produced her sixteenth film and has about eight movies yet to be released.

Uche Jombo has had over one hundred movies to her credit. As a screenwriter, she has written and co-written several movies, some of which include: Visa to Hell, The Celebrity, Games Men Play, Girls in the Hood & A Time to Love. Uche Jombo went on to produce her own movies which includes Nollywood Hustlers, A Mother’s Fight, Lies Men Tell, After The Proposal, Under Your Skin, Unconditional, Almost Perfect, Oge’s Sister, False, A Long Night, to mention but few. She is being currently touted as the richest actress in Africa on account of the number of movies she has produced.

•Uche Jombo

Deluxe nightclub Quilox, goes on one-month break C

LUB Quilox, premium exclusive nightclub has announced its intention to proceed on a one-month break. The pause is part of the club’s unique schedule, which makes room for two clubbing seasons in a calendar year with a 30-day break in-between.

The break, which is scheduled to take place during the Holy month of Ramadan, will be starting on 30th of June 2014 and run till the 31st of July 2014.

Since its opening on December 20, 2013, the superior, international nightclub with its impeccable design,

opulent finish, unique decor and lighting has held countless events and is known to have transformed Nigeria’s elite nightlife. The premium nightclub is expected to re-open after the break in magnificent style.

“We love our customers and appreciate their continuous patronage. We urge everyone to look forward to an even more explosive season when we return as we prepare to introduce fresh and exciting new clubbing events as well as offering you the finest from our brand new restaurant” says management.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014—35

Female lecturer asked me out

— Ruth Kadiri Ini Edo ha miscarria s another ge?

T

HE rumour making rounds right now is that Nollywood star actress, Ini Edo has had another miscarriage, making it the third time in a row for the actress since her marriage to American-0based husband, Mr. Philip Ehiagwina six years ago.

The source who craved anonymity said the AkwaIbom-born star has been devastated by the situation and worried that the husband may be looking beyond the marriage to seek for children.

But the husband, was previously married to Ruth Okoro and the separation didn’t end on good terms.

Ruth Okoro expressed her bitterness several times in the media even blaming Jim Iyke for the split up, accusing him of wanting to date her.

F

or those who are still in doubt that the depraved act of lesbianism truly exists in our society Nollywood actress and scriptwriter, who studied Business Administration and Mass Communication at the Yaba College of Technology and University of Lagos (UNILAG) respectively, has revealed in an exclusive interview with iCampus, that a female lecturer asked (wooed) her out.

According to her, although the lecturer (whose name is withheld) was not extreme about it but she made it clear what she wanted. When asked how she managed to cope with the lecturer wooing her, the sexy actress said, ‘’I became friends with her daughter and that was the way out for me” Ruth who condemned lesbianism said she cannot imagine dating a fellow woman as it is immoral and ungodly.

Chinney Love out with third movie Okrika

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•Chinney Love

ave-making movie producer, Chinney Love Eze is back in the movie market with her latest effort Okrika. The movie, which is third in the stable of CLE Productions, after the success of big screen Cartel and Maduka daughters.

The film, according to Chinney is about a guy who was torn between marrying an illiterate lady he has been dating all his life

Davido, Tiwa Savage, Dr Sid, other shine at City People Entertainment Awards

By KEHINDE AJOSE

I

T was an evening where entertainment hugged glamour. The 5th edition of The City People Entertainment Awards was held on the 22nd of June at 10 degrees Event centre Ikeja Lagos.

Stars from various spheres of the industry came clad in their best, ready to savour the best moments of the event. The ceremony was anchored by the duo of Vj Adams and Yvonne Ekwere.

Davido won the award for artiste of the year (Male) while the Marvin songstress Tiwa Savage clinched the artiste of the year (female) award .In C M Y K

the collaboration of the year category, Dr Sid went home with the award winning through his hit song: ’Surulere featuring Donjazzy.

Performances from Oritsefemi, DJ Jimmy Jatt, Patoranking, Phyno, Praiz, Reminisce and other top notch music actsthrilled the audience.

Veterans in the Entertainment industry such as, Sir Shina Peters, Dr. Adewale Ayuba, Femi Kuti, Pasuma, King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal (KWAM 1) were awarded special recognition awards.

before coming to the big city and a new lady he just met and fell in love with. “ I titled the movie Okrika because that was what people called the illiterate girl after the guy dumped her” she told WG The crew of the movie includes Okey Zubelu Okoh as director, with Walter Anga, Ebere Okaro, Chinyere Wilfred, Uche Udoputa, Amara Maduka and Angel Ufuoma making up the cast.

36—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 With PRINCE OSUAGWU princeosuagwu@gmail.com 08050498513

Stop getting lost in your refrigerator

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OMETIMES, it could be an arduous task trying to find things in your refrigerator. Some other times, the problem is that you forget that some things are in the fridge. Let’s face it, few people clean their refrigerators very often; hence the issue of wasting food, or worse getting lost trying to find it.

LG’s Door-in-Door helps resolve such issues through the provision of convenient access and smarter organization. The double layered Door-in-Door opens with the simple push of a button, revealing the surprisingly spacious mini compartment with unexpected ease. This makes it quick and easy to find and access essential items and sought-after snacks without the inconvenience of searching through the bowels of a refrigerator while holding a pot or food in one hand.

LG’s recent survey found that, in most households, the refrigerator is opened approx-

imately 80 times per day – often by family memb e r s looking for the s a m e f e w items. The Door-in-Door feature makes it possible to find needed items without having to open the refrigerator ’s main door. This reduces cold air loss from the central compartment by as much as 41

percent. As a result, the compressor doesn’t need to ramp up its efforts to maintain a steady temperature inside the fridge, thereby reducing the amount of cold air loss and increasing preservation performance.

It also helps to cut down on spending at the supermarket by keeping food fresher for a longer period of

time.

Inside the Door-in-Door, LG’s adjustable Moving Basket combines with a handy drawer section to enable customized organization configurations to suit a variety of lifestyles. Each member

of the family can easily adjust the height of the different interior compartments according to their own needs.

This flexibility separates the Door-in-Door from conventional fixed configuration fridges and helps users to design a storage system that works best for them. Meanwhile, the Mini Table, another of the fridge’s smart features, provides a convenient, flat surface that makes it possible for users to pour drinks while standing at the fridge without carrying heavy bottles to the dining table.

A large capacity is not the only factor people consider when buying a refrigerator,” said Mr. Hyunwoo Jung, General Manager, Home Appliance Division, LG Electronics.

ASUS gives mobile market new tablets T

echnology company, ASUS has announced an innovative tablet lineup that provides users with a selection of tablets for a wide range of computing needs.

These include the newgeneration the ASUS Fonepad and the ASUS Transformer Pad Series.

The ASUS Fonepad 7 and 8 deliver powerful mobility with the latest64-bit Intel Atom Z3560 1.8GHz quad-core processor and3G phone functions. The 8-inch ASUS Fonepad 8 (FE380CG) has the largest viewing area of any 8-inch phablet on the market thanks to a supernarrow bezel measuring just

5.06mm and a 72.2% screento-body ratio. It features a HD1280 x 800 IPS display.

ASUS Transformer Pad provides on-the-go productivity and entertainment with its 64-bit IntelAtomZ3745 quad-core processor (up to 1.86GHz). It features the classic mobile keyboard dock with a new hidden hinge design. The latest ASUS Fonepad Series features the64-bit IntelAtomZ3560 1.8GHz quad-core processor which provides powerful efficient performance to give users a 7 or 8-inch tablet coupled with 3G phone functionality. The ASUS Fonepad Series has a

n a r r o w bezel design for easy onehanded use, with the 7-inch A S U S Fonepad7(FE375CG) being just 10.9cm wide and the ASUS Fonepad8(FE380CG) measuring 12cm across. The ASUS Fonepad Series features 3G connectivity and comes with dual SIM card slots. They are available in

black, white, gold and red.

New ASUS Transformer Pad models (TF103C/TF303CL) feature a new mobile keyboard dock with a hidden hinge design, and are

“Smarter, more intuitive food organization is now a must due to today’s busy lifestyles.

Our Door-in-Door provides users with easy access to the items they use the most and gives them the freedom to arrange things just the way they like it.

Not only does the Door-inDoor save time, it also keeps cold air locked inside the refrigerator ’s main compartment. We are continuing to receive industry recognition and consumer praise for this innovative and practical of features. LG is dedicated to making life easier and will always strive to deliver next-level convenience to its customers.”

powered by the latest64-bit IntelAtomZ3745 quad-core processor (up to 1.86GHz). The tablets themselves measure just 257.4 x 178.4 x 9.9mm, and are slightly thicker at 19.8mm when docked. The new keyboard dock has ergonomic chiclet keys with 1.9mm of key travel, and includes intuitive one-touch function keys for common tasks like Delete or Screen Grab .The ASUS Transformer Pad TF103C is available in black or white, and the ASUS Transformer Pad TF303CL comes in blue or gold.

Rev up your party with Samsung Giga Sound

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•Samsung Giga sound

very party lover knows that the sound is a major factor that determines whether a party is ‘hot’ or ‘not.’ With its new Samsung Giga sound, Samsung Electronics promises the former.

According to the company the music system delivers three unique benefits to consumers.

For instance it delivers a perfect party atmosphere anywhere, Rev up your party with power and sound that moves the party ” Speaking, Managing Director, Samsung Electronics West

Africa, SEWA, Mr. Brovo Kim, at the launch of the musical instrument said: ‘Samsung we believe and take pride in our innovation with design and features, with a view to delivering World class products, which enrich the lives of our consumers and deliver the future of technology today.”

The device makes it easier to host a party at your home, share and mix your music with the seven different effect modes like Flanger, Chorus, WahWah and Panning that can also play

multiple effects simultaneously. The musical instrument can enable users upgrade their sound systems.

The Premium Hi-fi Component Audio System is the perfect sound system to have a blast. Powerful Sound features ultra-high wattages that promise to deliver an earth-shaking sound experience while Giga sound Beat’s superior performance is aimed at delivering mesmerizing sound that will bring you to your feet.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014— 37

Pharmacy has gone beyond inspired guesswork — Akinkugbe

BY SOLA OGUNDIPE

E

MERITUIS Professor of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Professor Oladipo Olujimi Akinkugbe, has called for the synergy of medical skills in addressing complex health problems in the country.

In a presentation entitled “Apothecaries et al: The Case for Interdisciplinary Collaboration in the Health Sciences”, Akinkugbe, who was Guest Speaker at the formal inauguration of the Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy in Lagos yesterday, noted that the time had come for interdisciplinary collaboration, by way of orthodox and traditional medicine converging for the benefit of healthcare delivery.

Lamenting the disconnect of the “Medicine Man”, Herbalist,

Alternative Medicine Practitioner or the orthodox physician as one of the greatest impediments to progress in medicine in most of the developing world in the management of various forms of illness, he affirmed that many continue to “bury their mistakes” through their inadequacies.

To the pharmacists, he said: “An Academy such as you establish today is bound to be a welcome link between apothecary and the scientific basis of medicine. Thanks to the WHO recognition of Herbal Specialists and Alternative Medicine practitioners, it will now be possible for orthodox medical practitioners to discard their long-standing intellectual arrogance and partner with their other professional

•Emeritus Professor of Medicine, Prof Oladipo Akinkugbe

colleagues in the further development of medications by proven merit,” Akinkugbe stated.

Akinkugbe tasked the Academy to take more than marginal interest in resolving the many unresolved loose ends in our nation’s medical armamentarium.

He remarked that already, a small group of Nigerians put together in Abeokuta, is looking into the potential of medicinal properties of certain herbs in the treatment of diabetes.

He said the beauty of the small group, which he chairs, is that it is made up of clinicians, diabetologists, biologists, biochemists and senior scientists from Faculties of Pharmacy in existing universities and top Researchers from the Nigerian Institute of Pharmaceutical Research.

“We have gone beyond the stage of inspired guesswork.

Pharmacy must expand its coast beyond the ivory tower and ‘the buy and sell’ mentality to be more involved in original work – I am convinced that herein lies the first challenge of Nigeria’s Academy of Pharmacy. ” I look forward to the day when in my Ward Round clinicians, young and old, the pharmaceutical gurus, the herbalist and traditional medicine man would congregate around the bedside, each espousing his or her art, replacing inspired guesswork and incantations with evidencebased approach to rational therapy, and from which we will all depart with the sense of fulfillment that comes from making worthy contributions to advancing the frontiers of knowledge and improving the health status of our people.”

Church should wage war against poor health indicators— Kukah

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ATHOLIC Pontiff, Bishop Matthew Hasan Kukah, of the Diocese of Sokoto,. has urged the Church to be more focused on improving the nation’s health statistics and indicators rather than focus on abortion.

In. a presentation entitled: “Family and Pro-Life Movement: Celebrating & Expanding the Frontiers of Our Common Humanity” at the International Family and ProLife Family and Pro-Life Conference, held in Abuja, Kukah stated: “I worry that whenever the word Pro-life is mentioned, our minds go to abortion and contraceptives as the two principal evils.

Yet, I am convinced that without losing the focus on abortion and contraceptives, we need to identify many other

issues that affect the lives of those who are alive.

“In other words, we need to wage a campaign for those who have survived abortion, but are living well below the limits of acceptable human life.”

Greater threats In his presentation, Kukah noted that from statistics, human life in Nigeria as far as health is concerned, is at best nasty, brutish and short.

“The threat to human life in the world is real and the indicators are multiplying by the day. In my view, there are greater threats than abortion and we must therefore widen the scope of this campaign by taking more seriously the issues of poverty and misery around

which our people live.

“There is an amoral feeling about abortion by those who feel that they cannot bring children into the world when they are so poor.”

Kukah said working towards improved conditions must therefore be taken as part of the argument as opposed to focusing only on abortion. The arguments against abortion in the west will not be the same with the cases in our own situation especially given that culturally, our traditional societies revere life and hardly contemplate abortion in the popular sense.

On education, he said: “Families require some serious counseling in the area of family planning. Often people think that the Church is against family planning because our minds go to abortion and contraceptives.”

•L-R: Chairman, Reckitt Benckiser Nigeria Limited, Chief Olu Falomo; Marketing Director for West Africa, Reckitt Benckiser, Silivrili Oguzhan; 2nd National Vice President, Nigerian Medical Association, Dr. Barthy Okorochukwu and Managing Director, Reckitt Benckiser Nigeria Limited, Mr. Rahul Murgai pledging support to the ‘Save 10 Million Children’ Campaign during the Dettol Walkathon held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium last week. Photo: Lamidi Balogun.

Nigerian mothers acquire skills to save 10m children

BY CHIOMA OBINNA

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N the bid to reduce infant and child mortality in Nigeria, Reckitt Benckiser has launched the 'Dettol Journey to Save 10 Million Children' through its Mom to Mom campaign to ultimately help save 10 million Nigerian children from premature death.

Speaking in Lagos at the Dettol Walkathon to mark 50 years of Dettol in Nigeria, the company's Marketing Director for West Africa, Oguzhan Silivrili said the initiative is centered on helping Nigeria meet its 2015 Millennium Development Goals of reducing Child Mortality for Children under Age 5 by 6.3 percent by 2015.

Silivrili said the new Mom to Mom (MOMentum) campaign is about empowering and enabling mothers to teach other mothers about the best hygiene practices which will in turn make direct positive impacts on their families and loved ones.

"We intend to take pledge from each mother we contact in the direct contact programme to teach two other mothers, thus making a chain of empowerment all over Nigeria" he said.

"According to UNICEF, more than 70 per cent of death in children every year is attributed to six main causes: diarrhoea, malaria, neonatal infection, pneumonia, preterm delivery or lack of oxygen at birth. More surprising is the fact that malnutrition, lack of safe water and poor sanitation significantly contribute to half of all these children's death".

The World Health Organisation notes that globally, diarrhoea is the second leading cause of death in children under five years old, and kills around 760, 000 children every year. ''With such a dreary statistics, our efforts should go beyond mere empathy to taking concrete actions to reduce this alarming death rate amongst children'', Silivrili said.

SCD: 10 hospitals get special blood transfusion equipment

BY GABRIEL OLAWALE

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OPE for better lease of life has come the way of Sickle Cell Disease patients in Nigeria with the acquisition of specialised blood transfusion equipment known as “Cobe Spectra” by nine Federal and State Teaching Hospitals and the Sickle Cell Foundation of Nigeria, Lagos.

The equipment, which drains blood through one arm while replacing it through the other arm at the same time, was made available by the Olusegun Obasanjo Foundation, OOF, and Terumo Europe NV. Beneficiary hospitals include the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH; University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, UNTH; Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, AKTH, Kano among

others.

Presenting the equipment in Lagos, former President Olusegun Obasanjo said it was to ease the pain of sickle cell patients and also to identify with them. He said the initiative is driven with initiatives like food and nutrition security through the "Feed Africa Initiative", addressing gender imbalances through the "Girl Child Education Initiative", promoting skills acquisition and youth employment through the "Youth Empowerment and Employment Initiative"; focus on the noncommunicable diseases and waterborne diseases through the "Health Initiative. Managing Director, Terumo Europe N.V, Kyo Nishikawa said safety of blood products is important as blood and its components are essential to life.

38 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014—39

40— VANGUARD,

FRIDAY, JUNE 27,, 2014

Ramadan: Prices of foodstuff on the increase

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Welcome O' Ramadan Bismillahi-Rahamani-Raheem The Qur ’an says: “The month of Ramadhan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur’an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sights [the new moon of] the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey - then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful.”(Q 2:185) N less than 24 hours from now, Muslims all over the world would be in Ramadan, all things being equal. It is expected that by now, preparation should have reached cresendo. We were thought that the companions of the Prophet began preparation for the glorious month six months in advance.

Those who have failed to use the opportunity of Rajab and Shaban to get adequately prepared for the glorious month or failed to internalise the acts of ibadaah required in the month of Ramadan ma be caught napping during the course of fasting the whole month.

It is not only about abstention from food and drink, it is about clutching tenaciously with your Holy Quran, reciting it and ruminating over its message.

Ruminating over message It is about observing your Tarawih regularly, it is about Nawafil/Tahjud (night supplication), it is about attending tafsir where the exegesis and analysis of the Quran is done; of course it is about giving generously, especially to the fasting Muslims, it is about all these and many more; a busy time indeed.

That is why some people after the first week, or so, they return to their former self, panting and giving excuses.

Mosques are usually filled up within the first few days of the month and become scanty after a couple of weeks into Ramadan especially during Tarawih. It is

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nothing but inadequate preparation.

Some erroneously believe that a few weeks before Ramadan, they will have to eat voraciously to make up for the period of fasting in the month of Ramadan.

This is antithetical to the teachings of the Prophet. One hadith says: “No human ever filled a vessel worse than the stomach. Sufficient for any son of Adam are some morsels to keep his back straight. But if it must be, then one third for his food, one third for his drink and one third for his breath.” (Ahmad, AtTirmidhi, An-Nasaa’I, Ibn Majah ) Besides, by controlling what we eat now, we will not only benefit our health in the short and long term, but moderate eating will make us less heavier and enable us to

Let us begin to feel that Ramadan is here and anything we want to do must be in consonance with what is permitted in Ramadan

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maximise the amount of worship we do everyday during Ramadan and the rest of our lives.

We must start controlling our tongues now. Bad habit can not be controlled in overnight process. We must make a start now so that by the time Ramadan comes we would have achieved the necessary changes in our manners and characters.

Let us begin to feel that Ramadan is here and anything we want to do must be in consonance with what is permitted in Ramadan.

Mar ’aba Bika Yaa Ramadan. Allah gives us the grace to witness this forthcoming Ramadan, observe it and grant us the strength and ability to maximise the reward therein. Amin.

L-R:Prof. Abdul Rahmon Bello, Vice Chancellor University of Lagos; Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, Former Minister of Federal Capital Territory; Otunba Lateef Owoyemi, Chairman of the occasion; Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, Secretary-General Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs and Prof. Ishaq Akintola, Guest Speaker at the National Discourse, Themed: Corruption and the Challenge of Good Governance'' organised by The Companion, held in Lagos.

ITH less than two days to the commencement of the Muslims’ Ramadan fasting, the prices of foodstuff and fruits have increased slightly in some parts of the country.

In a survey by Facing the Kaaba in Lagos, Ogun, Ibadan, Oyo State, recently, we gathered that prices of foodstuff and fruits have slightly increased.

At Mile 12 market in Lagos, prices of rice, beans, millet, maize and other grains have gone up by 30 percent. A bucket of rice sold for N700 last week has gone up to N850 to N900 while beans sold for N1000 before now is now being sold for N1200 – N1400 depending on the quality.

Same goes for millet which is now sold for N500 as against N400. Alhaji Sheu, the secretary of the perishable items traders attributed the slight increase to innability of traders to deliver enough items to the Mile 12 Market which according to him serve other markets in Lagos and neighbouring countries.

“Traders probably wants to observe the month of Ramadan at home and it is a period they work less both in their various farms and moving the goods to the markets.”

As a result, Sheu maintained that the increase might continue throughout the Ramadan if

the number of trailers coming to the market is not increased.

“Right now, the demand is high as a result of the Ramadan which is less than two days now, and you know the law of demand and supply, it will continue to rise unless there is more supply of those items,” he said.

A trader at the market said inspite of the slight increase, people still throng the market to buy in preparation for Ramadan and also in anticipation that prices might increase when Ramadan fasting fully commenced.

Reports from other markets accross the South West indicated that prices of foodstuff and fruits have increased. In Ibadan, consumers are already groaning following the increase on some food items.

Karimat who spoke with Vanguard indicated that fruits that are relatively cheaper at Bodija Market in Ibadan are now “no-go-area.” “I dont know what happened, I cant buy the fruits as I used to buy them for sale. The prices of pine apple, orange and water Mellon have increased.

This will affect my profit margin and the sales generally.

Some people said it was due to Ramadan, while others said there was low harvest and security risk in the northern part of the country.”

Boko Haram: States, LG, urged to develop emergency plans

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TATE and local govern ment officials in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states have been advised to urgently develop emergency plans and engage in emergency preparedness in order to mitigate the massive loss of lives, destruction of properties and widespread devastation caused by Boko Haram terrorist attacks. Emergency planning and preparedness ensure community resilience and survivability as Boko Haram terrorist deadly attacks on communities and villages in the northeast have recently increased in frequency, renowned security expert, Dr. Ona Ekhomu has stated.

Speaking during a Disaster Management seminar held in Lagos last week, the Chairman of the School of Management and Security, Dr. Ona Ekhomu said that the almost daily attacks on rural communities leading to loss of lives, burning of homes and looting of markets was totally unacceptable. He said that given the high threat environment, emergency planning was a cognitive imperative.

He described emergency planning as an activity that produces a menu of action steps to help communities survive emergencies and disasters. He said that it was the

responsibility of state and local officials to exhibit variability by quickly developing plans that would anticipate Boko Haram attacks and give survival strategies to be adopted by the locals in order to save their lives. He said emergency preparedness involved organizing and testing the emergency plan in order to ensure that the plan would work when communities and villages come under siege by terrorists.

Ekhomu advised that emergency plans should be in writing and should be translated into the local Hausa language and made generally available to citizens in order to facilitate their successful implementation. He said that the community counter-terrorism emergency plan should identify facilities and populations covered and the vulnerability of such facilities and population to Boko Haram attacks.

He said that towns in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States that are constantly attacked by Boko Haram should be equipped with air raid sirens which should be sounded when the villages and community were attacked by BH. Ekhomu called on Federal, State and local government officials to emulate the private sector and develop scenariobased emergency plans.

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014—41

How to prepare for Ramadan — Imam Afini, others BYADERONKE ADEYERI

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HE blessed and most beautiful month is here and what better time to prepare for it than right now. Some of us deceive ourselves into thinking that when Ramadan comes, we will suddenly change and worship Allah night and day but it turns of differently because we are not used to it.

So, if we really want to make the best of this Ramadan then we need to prepare for it now.

Imam Abdulbari Yoosuph Afinni, the chairman of council of imams Eti osa, Lagos opines that Muslims all over the world should increase their act of worship especially by fasting in preparation for the holy month of Ramadan. “ We should endeavour to do the nonobligatory fast in order to prepare for Ramadan and even after Ramadan we should continue to do so for fasting will intercede for us on the day of judgment. Rasulallah (s.a.w) said: “Fasting and the Qur’an will intercede for the slave on the Day of Resurrection.

Fasting will say: “O My Rabb! I prevented him from food and desires, so accept my intercession for him.’

And the Qur’an will say: “I prevented him from sleep during the night, so accept my intercession for him.’ He (s.a.w) said: ‘And they will (be allowed to) intercede.’” (Ahmad, at-Tabarani, Al-Hakim, Sahih). He is also of the opinion that Muslims should begin to increase their act of giving before Ramadan which is a time to reach out to the poor and needy around us. “Ramadan is a time for generosity and giving. It is a time when we think about the less priviledged as well as thank Allah for everything he has given us.

The Prophet (s.a.w )said, “The best charity is that given in Ramadan.”, “He who feeds a fasting person will gain the same reward as he will, without decreasing from the fasting person’s rewards.”

mering or stumbling through its verses, then he will have twice that reward.”

So what better time for us to get into the habit of reciting the Qur’an than now? We should recite the Qur’an with its meanings and try to understand and implement in our daily lives.”

She also encouraged all Muslim faithful to acknowledge Allah as the only reason for their existence.

Alhaja Rafiat Akinsipo Oladoyin, a certified Accountant with Bureau of State Pensions, Ogun State, said abstinence from every ungodly act and total repentance is the best way to prepare for Ramadan.

“Ramadan is the month in which we can gain mercy and forgiveness from Allah for all of our past and present sins. When a

Muslims observe the Janaza prayer for late Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, Alhaji Abdulazeez Alao Arisekola, at the Lekan Salami Sports Complex Ibadan.

L-R: Alhaji Abdul-Ganny Agbotomokekere, Chief Immam of Ibadan,“Alhaji Busari Haruna, Alhaji Mustapha Ajisafe and Sheik Abdul-Rasak“Salaudeen at the Janaza of Late Aare Musulumi of“Yorubaland, Alhaji Abdul-Azeez Arisekola Alao held at Lekan Salami Sports Complex, Ibadan.

Babangida, Obanikoro, IGP, for Muslim Media Ramadan lecture •Imam AbduBarri Afini

person sins and then sincerely turns to Allah for forgiveness, one will find Allah ready to accept his repentance and to forgive him. She stated that Allah expects our total submission to His adding We must start controlling our that all Muslims should look out for tongues now; we cannot change the full moon which signals the beginning of the holy month of Ramlifetime bad habit in just one adan. She also stressed: “we must begin to control and protect our process tongues from vain talks and foul lanTherefore we should get into the habit of guages. Protecting the tongue is giving in to charity now so that in Ramadan, preventing it from lying, back-biting, slanwe would increase in our generosity. We der, tale-carrying, lying and other things should give whatever we can afford as Allah that have been forbidden in the Qur’an knows our intentions”. and Sunnah. Those who control their Alhaja Mariam Bolanle Ademoye, Chief tongues are of the best of Muslims. We Deeds Registrar, Bureau of lands and sur- must not deceive ourselves into thinking vey, Ogun state believes that Muslims should that by the time Ramadan comes we will exhibit the fear of Almighty Allah in their deal- all of a sudden break a lifetime habit and ings which will make it easier for them to control our tongues. Again this is another follow his commandments in the month of big deception. We must start controlling Ramadan.“The month of Ramadan is the one our tongues now; we cannot change lifein which the Qur’an was sent down as guid- time bad habit in just one process." ance for mankind and the month in which An Islamic instructor, Ustaz Aminu Adethe Qur’an was first revealed, so, it is the wale, said it was time to increase the month of the Qur’an. intensity of prayers to Allah in preparaWe should devote much of this blessed tion for the holy month of Ramadan. month reciting the Qur’an to have the fear of “Many of us do not spend as much time Allah. As Ramadan is starting less than 24 as we should do in prayer, we rush our hours from now, we must blow off the dust prayers and our hearts are often not and start to build a close relationship with present whilst we are supplicating to Althe Qur’an for it will intercede with us on the lah. He also encouraged Muslims to day of judgment. humble themselves before the Creator.

‘Aisha related that the Prophet (s.a.w) said: “We should humble ourselves making “Indeed the one who recites the Quran beau- ourselves low and not worthy before Allah. tifully, smoothly, and precisely, will be in the We should try to cry if we can and have company of the noble and obedient angels. hope that Allah will accept our Dua’a.

As for the one who recites with difficulty, stam-

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ROMINENT Nige rians are expected to grace the ninth Ramadan lecture of the Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria (MMPN) on peace and leadership on Sunday in Abuja.

MMPN chairman, Abdur-Rahman Balogun said in a statement on Sunday that the lecture would hold at National Mosque Hall, Abuja on Sunday June 29, starting from 11 a.m.

While Gov. Babangida Aliyu of Niger State was slated as the chairman, Sen. Musiliu Obanikoro, Minister of State, Defence would be the father of the day and Mohammed Abubakar, InspectorGeneral of Police as Special Guest of Honour.

The lecture which was ninth in the series, Entitled: “Peace and Leadership: The Missing Link” will be delivered by the duo of Prof. Musa AbdurRaheem of University of Ado-Ekiti and Malam Nurudeen Lemu.

Other guests expected at the occasion are the FCT Minister, Sen. Bala Mohammed as Chief Host, while Prof .Ishaq

Oloyede, Secretary-General, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) would be the Spiritual father of the day.Others were Director-Generals of Voice of Nigeria, Malam Abubakar Jijiwa, FRCN, MalamLadanSalihu, federal lawmakers, Islamic scholars, members of the public and the media. Balogun said in

the statement that the choice of the topic was to proffer solution to the current challenges in the country as it affects Muslims and nonMuslims alike.

He said all stakeholders including religious groups, security agencies, scholars in various fields and students have been invited to grace the occasion.

NACOMYO appoints new executives in Ogun

BY DAUD OLATUNJI, Abeokuta

T

HE National Coun cil of Muslim Youth Organisations, Ogun State chapter has appointed new leadership to paddle the canoe of the organisation in the state.

The organisation which held a-three- day bi-ennial conference in Ota, with delegates drawn from the six administrative divisions of the state, announced Alhaji Abdullah Oyetunde from Awori division as Coordinator while Abdul Rahmon Oyeneye from Egba

division emerged Secretary just as Alhaji Hassan Dagunja was named deputy coordinator.

A guest lecturer , Imam Shehu Adegbite however , stressed the importance of trust as a prerogative and responsibility of every individual delegates and the community at large.

Also speaking at the conference, Mutiu Agboke in his lecture charged the newly appointed officers to take recourse to the Book of Allah and the sunnah of the prophet and their guide while discharging their duties.

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42 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014—43

Minister makes case for ST&I policy

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100 DAYS: From left— Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State, Chimamanda Adichie, famous novelist, and the Governor's wife, Ebele, at the special lecture marking the governor's 100 days in office in Awka.

CULT WAR: Shoot anybody bearing weapons, Imo CP orders officers

BY CHIDI NKWOPARA

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WERRI—IMO State Police Command has directed its operatives to shoot at sight anybody caught engaging in cult-related activities.

The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Abdulmajid Ali, gave the order at the state Police Headquarters, Owerri, while parading over 50 suspects arrested for various criminal activities, including armed

robbery, rape, cultism, car snatching, stealing and kidnapping.

According to the CP, three cultists (names withheld) were arrested with arms in Owerri, while trying to escape from the police.

Oguta wears new look for Oputa's burial

BY CHIDI NKWOPARA

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WERRI—OGUTA is now wearing a new look, while security has been beefed up, following the planned burial of late Justice of the

Supreme Court, Hon. Justice Chukwudifu Oputa.

When Vanguard visited the town yesterday afternoon, some streets had been paved, even as it was not clear who was executing

PENGASSAN gets new exco

BY VICTOR AHIUMAYOUNG

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BUJA—A staff of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Mr. Francis Johnson, has been elected President of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN. At the fourth triennial national delegate’s conference of the association in Abuja, Mr. Johnson defeated Mr. Seyi Gambo of Petroleum Equalisation Fund, PEF, with 273 votes to 153.

In other results, Jude Nwaogu, got 245 votes to emerge deputy President as against Sam Ndukwe, who scored 179 votes.

The position of Industrial Relations Officer, IRO, was won by Nduka Ohaeri, who polled 248 votes to beat Elvis Irefo, who had 157.

For the Public Relations Officer, PRO, Emma Ojugbana got 245 to beat Abundance Osiefo, who had 126.

Others are Musa Achimugu, Treasurer; Eleas Eduga, Financial Secretary; Evelyn Ijeoma, Women in PENGASSAN; Amana D. T. and Y. P. Naron as Auditor 1 and 2, respectively.

the job.

The town, which is largely rural and sleepy, has suddenly come back to life as scores of prominent sons and daughters have returned to witness the burial of their illustrious son.

Some natives, who spoke to Vanguard, were of the view that Oputa not only lived a life worthy of emulation, but also succeeded in uplifting the name of the town.

“Rising to the Supreme Court was not a mean feat.

Justice Oputa achieved it by dint of hard work.

“He created a history that would be very hard to either forget or erase,” one of the natives, Emeka, told Vanguard.

He said: “Within a space of two or three days, four people were killed in a cult-related war.

People call them cultists, but I call them armed robbers.

“So I gave shoot at sight order that anybody seen with dangerous weapon should be brought down.”

The Imo Police boss also said that since he gave the order “we have not recorded any cult related issues again in Owerri.”

Speaking to journalists, one of the suspects, Prince Nimeme, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, claimed they were businessmen and natives of Abia State.

Our mission— SUSPECT

Nimeme said they were in Owerri to avenge the killing of one of their members in Aba, Abia State.

He said: “We came to avenge our brother that they killed. The person killed him in Aba and ran to Owerri to hide.

“We had information that he was in Federal University of Technology, Owerri, FUTO.” The suspect said they traced him to his house, but only met his friend and ended up beating him mercilessly.

BUJA—THE P e r m a n e n t Secretary in the Ministry of Science and Technology, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, has said the Federal Government was committed in deepening job and wealth creation through the implementation of the new Science, Technology and Innovation, ST&I, policy.

Mrs. Ita stated this at the ongoing National Council on Science and Technology, which began yesterday in Minna, Niger State.

She said the ministry was already looking at how the policy could apply at the grass root level to improve wealth penetration, improve utilization of raw materials and also develop home grown technology easily accessible to the grass root level.

She added that focus was on how to implement the new policy at the grass root level in a bottom- up approach and how the ministry would be able to project its research findings in two major areas of encouraging industry participation and bringing in innovation in existing patterns of processes, and activities.

She said: “We are looking at science, technology and innovation policy of 2012 that have been approved by the Federal Government and implementation has commenced.”

Transition

Oko Poly, German firm sign MoU on science courses

BY VINCENT UJUMADU

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WKA—THE Federal Polytechnic, Oko, in Anambra State and a German firm, Phywe–Lucas Group, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, to boost the institution’s teaching and learning of science courses and vehicle

maintenance.

Rector of the Polytechnic, Professor Godwin Onu signed for the institution, while the marketing director of the company, Mr. Klaus – Diester Hand signed for his organization.

Essentially, the company would supply, install and service modern science equipment for the training of

middle-level manpower.

The signing of the MoU was fallout of a meeting between the rector and the management of the company during his visit to Germany six month ago.

He said during the visit, they expressed the desire to collaborate for the purpose of upgrading the existing infrastructure and equipment in the institution.

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TEIDUNG Ime Abasiubong, aged 75, is dead.

Funeral service is at Ikot Ntuen Oku Primary School, Oboko Street, off Ikot Ekpene Road, Uyo, tomorrow by 10a.m.

44—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014

Ita-Giwa congratulates Fayose

ICAN : From left— Pedro Omontuemhen, Partner, PWC, representing the guest speaker; Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, ICAN, President, Chidi Ajaegbu, and 2nd Deputy Vice President, Isma'ila Zakari, at the institute's 40th induction ceremony of the Association of Accounting Technicians of West Africa.

Community demands return of land earmarked for DSC staff qtrs

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HE people of Orhuwhorun in Udu Local Government Area of Delta State have petitioned the Federal Government over portions of land earlier taken by government for use as Delta Steel Company, DSC, staff quarters, demanding that the land be returned to the respective families that own them “instead of wanton sales of the land for personal aggrandisement by staff of the ailing company.”

This was the crux of the petition presented on behalf of the Orhuwhorun community by their counsel, Cheif Vincent Erhinyoja to the Ministry of Justice, Delta State, when officials of the ministry held a meeting with representatives of the families on the way forward.

The Orhuwhorun families represented at the talks were Pa Moto D i g h r e , Orhuwhorunruemu Jome, Benson Krokro, Godwin Odoro, Chief Micheal Ofomor, Chief Moses Chegbara, Mrs Vero Efevwerhan and New-world Gbeton.

Others on the delegation were Pius Okejotor, Omuvwerhe Kolabe, Achoborhire Erhirienta, Felix Obioru and Thompson Kulabe.

The discussions with the Department of Peoples Right in the Ministry of Justice is expected to continue next month.

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APC leaders move to recall suspended Edo Dep Speaker

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

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ENIN— ALL Progressives Congress, APC, leaders in Edo Central senatorial district of Edo State, yesterday, said plans to recall the suspended Deputy Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Mr. Festus Ebea, had begun.

Speaking on behalf of the leaders, Chief Francis Inegbeneki said Mr. Ebea betrayed the people of the area when he decided to defect to Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, without consultation, particularly after the leaders prevailed on Governor Adams Oshiomhole to cede the Speakership or Deputy Speaker position to Edo Central, which he said was how Ebea became Deputy Speaker.

He said: “We are not happy with the show of shame, total disregard to the rule of law by members of the Edo State House of Assembly.

“What we are particular about is that the Deputy Speaker has made Esan to lose that position, while pursuing his personal

interest rather than the interest of Esan people who voted him into power.

“We do not support what he is doing. We in Edo Central do not have problem with the governor.

“Following Ebea’s actions,

the leader have commenced the process to recall him because he does not have our mandate to fight the governor.

“Esan people passed a vote of confidence on the governor. He has touched our lives in many ways.”

2015 elections 'll be crisis-free, says Uduaghan

BY AUSTIN OGWUDA

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SABA—G O V E R N O R Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State has asked Nigerians to discountenance perceived fear that the 2015 general elections might end up in crisis, saying the recent governorship election in Ekiti State is a sign that 2015 will be free and devoid of violence.

He spoke, yesterday, while receiving the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle and his team at Government House Asaba.

He said: “The 2015 general elections will be devoid of violence as only popular candidates selected by the grassroots in a free and fair manner will run for the

elections.

“If a candidate acceptable to the people at the grassroots is chosen, there will be no violence. The recent election in Ekiti State is an example.

“I have insisted in the forthcoming local government election in the state that the grassroots will elect the people they want. No candidate would be imposed on the people.”

The governor called on the international community to assist Nigeria in curbing oil theft and terrorism through monitoring and intelligence gathering and sharing because “terrorism is an international challenge and must be handled through international cooperation.”

Oshiomhole, Aregbesola for launch of book on late Oyerinde Also expected is Mr. Labaran said: “The book, written by a

BY VICTOR AHIUMAYOUNG

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OVERNOR Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State and his Osun State counterpart, Rauf Aregbesola, will tomorrow lead other Nigerians to the public presentation of a book written in memory of the late Deputy General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Mr. Olaitan Oyerinde.

Maku, the Minister of Information.

Olaitan was murdered on May 4, 2012, in his residence in Benin, where he was serving as Principal Private Secretary to Governor Oshiomhole.

The presentation will take place at Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde Auditorium of the Paschal Bafyau Labour House, headquarters of NLC, Abuja.

A statement by NLC Acting General Secretary, Chris Uyot,

close friend of the deceased, Lois Otse Adams, entitled OLAITAN OYERINDE— His Struggles for a Better Nigeria, will be launched under the chairmanship of Governor Aregbesola, while Governor Oshiomhole will be the Chief Host.

“The traditional ruler of Ede, Olaitan’s home town in Osun State, His Royal Highness, Oba Munirudeen Adesola Lawal, the Timi of Edeland, will be the Royal Father of the day.”

ORMER Special Adviser to exPresident, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, on National Assembly Matters, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, has congratulated the winner of last Saturday ’s governorship poll in Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, and urged politicians to endear themselves to the people by paying attention to the grassroots.

In a statement, yesterday, Ita-Giwa said: “I congratulate Dr. Ayo Fayose on his victory and also commend the maturity of the incumbent governor for accepting defeat with a view to ensuring continuation of peace and developments in the state.

“The Ekiti election is a testimony to the fact that as politicians, the needs and aspirations of the ordinary man on the street should not be neglected. It is also an indication that the electorate no longer vote for political parties, but for the individual.

“I commend Governor Fayemi too. He has done his part in the interest of the people. He typifies a modern politician and should be emulated.”

Lagos Signage Expo begins

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VER 200 exhibitors from Europe, Asia, America and Africa will from today converge in Lagos, to display their products at the Africa Signage and Outdoor Conference and Exhibition.

Among products to be showcased in the exhibition taking place at the Eko Hotel Expo Hall, is the HP Latex 360 printer launched into the Nigerian market by MFI Office Solutions, leaders in production printing solutions with products like HP INDIGO, OCE, and DUPLO. Mr. Altaf Lalani, Managing Director of MFI Office Solutions, said: “The production speed is ideal for handling urgent jobs. Its high quality print and durability are some of the qualities that sets HP Latex 360 printer apart.”

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014—45

Senatorial aspirant urged to restore peace among political leaders in Oshimili

FG distributes relief materials to 10 A-Ibom communities

BY CHIOMA ONUEGBU

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U

YO—AS part of its effort towards alleviating poverty in the Niger Delta region, the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs has distributed relief materials to 10 communities in Akwa Ibom State.

The relief materials, range from bags of rice, beans, garri, cartons of noodles, vegetable oil, gallons of palm oil, bags of salt, beverages, toiletries, mattresses, blankets and pillows. They were distributed to the benefitting communities among which were Akprankpan Uda, Udinghi, Amprang, Adadia cutting across Mbo, Oron, Essien Udim and Abak local government areas.

Mr. Onwukwe, Director, Special Duties, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Abuja, who flagged off the 2014 distribution exercise at the Uyo office, said the essence of the relief measure which cuts across the Niger Delta states, was to ameliorate the sufferings of people affected by ravaging flooding and erosion in Akwa Ibom.

Groups back Maku-Eyituoyor for Delta LG Chair

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S Delta State prepares for the forthcoming local government elections, some groups in Warri North Local Government Area have thrown their support for one of the aspirants, Mr. Francis MakuEyituoyor.

The groups include Jakpa Political Movement, Obieri Political Movement, Egbema Women Political Front, Egbema Grassroot Political Forum and Abigborodo Ladies Association.

They described MakuEyituoyor as a man who has been “tested” and therefore can be “trusted”, describing him as the people’s choice.

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VISIT: Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State (right) receiving some books from visiting Professor to Adenkule Ajasin University, Akungba, Ondo State, Prof. Kole Omotoso, during a visit at Government House, Yenagoa.

Unions in Edo tertiary institutions threaten strike

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

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ENIN—THE Coalition of unions in Edo State Government-owned tertiary institutions, yesterday, threatened to down tools if the state government appoints the next Provost of the College of Education, Igueben, without due process.

They argued that the templates for appointing provosts, according to the National Commission of Colleges of Education, was that the candidates must emerge within the institution and not from outside.

President, Coalition of Unions of Edo State Tertiary Institutions, Mr. Fred Omonuwa, who spoke to Vanguard, however,

expressed satisfaction over the cordial relationship existing between unions in the tertiary institutions and the state government, expressing optimism that the state government would heed to their appeal as regards the appointment of Provost in the College of Education, Igueben.

He said: “The issue of appointing provosts into our institutions is very dear to us. We find out that there is this tradition of always appointing provosts into these colleges from outside which is not in tandem with the regulation of National Commission for Colleges of Ed-

ucation, NCCE, and the agreement we had with the Federal Ministry of Education in 2003.

“If you see the templates for the appointment of provosts, you will find out that a provost into any college of Education must be a Chief Lecturer for at least 5 years and must not be more than 55 years old at the time of assumption of office. But most times they bring in Professors from Universities, which is unacceptable to us.

“So what we are saying is that the template for appointment must be strictly adhered to in line with what the Ministry of Education directed."

Boko Haram created to distract Jonathan —N-Delta youths an Youth Vanguard, Mr.

BY JIMITOTA ONOYUME

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ORT HARCOURT— YOUTHS of Niger Delta have described Boko Haram as a political creation to distract President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, vowing that terrorism will not stop Jonathan from running for a second term.

The youths, who spoke yesterday when they paid a courtesy visit to the Special Adviser on Youths to the Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Mr. George Turnah, warned the Islamic sect against further violence, noting that no group had the monopoly of violence.

President, Niger Delta Youth Movement, Mr. Felix Ogbona, who spoke on behalf of the youths, said a second term for President Jonathan was not negotiable, saying: “Enough of

the Boko Haram issues.

Enough of the antics they are playing to stop President Jonathan from 2015 election. We will do everything possible to return Mr. President for a second term.”

Director General, Jonath-

Ebis Orubebe, who also spoke for the youths drawn from the nine-member states of the NDDC, said one million Niger Delta youths would storm Abuja on July 16 to drum up support for President Jonathan to run for a second term.

Seplat boosts Delta community with borehole velopment Company Ltd,

BY GODWIN OGHRE

S

APELE—A borehole water scheme of 8,000 litres capacity has been donated to Okirighrwe Waterside community, Sapele Local Government Area of Delta, by Seplat Petroleum Development Company Limited, an indigenous oil firm, in conjunction with the National Petroleum De-

NPDC, both in Delta State.

Sapele Base Manager of Seplat, Dr. Chukumah Igelenyah, represented by the Community Relations Manager, Mr Lucky Obiuwovwi, said at the occasion that the water project was as a result of the collaboration structure the company entered with its host communities, facilitated by a Global Memorandum of Understanding.

IFE of former national chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and senatorial aspirant for Delta North Senatorial District, Dr (Mrs.) Marian Alli, has been advised to use her political ambition to bring about harmony and peace among political leaders in Oshimili South local government area, Delta State.

The Coordinator of Oshimili Political Vanguard, OPOVA, Dr Frank Anukwu, gave the charge while speaking to newsmen at the palace of the Asagba of Asaba, Professor Chike Edozien, during a rally in support of the decision by Oshimili South political leaders to zone the chairmanship position of the local government area in the forthcoming elections to the Oko area.

He said the decision was acceptable to politicians in the area as it would foster unity among the three zones that make up the local government area.

Delta LG poll: Aspirant tasks Bomadi PDP on transparent primaries

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HE leadership of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State, has been advised to be transparent in the forthcoming l o c a l government primary elections as it could impact on the 2015 general election in the area.

A chairmanship aspirant of the party, Mr. Gbekebor Awusa, who spoke in Asaba, appealed to the Bomadi PDP hierarchy to follow the directives of the state governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, and Chief Peter Nwaboshi, state PDP, chairman and all stakeholders, to go the grass root and conduct free and fair primaries, saying that it is the only way to build a strong party.

46—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014

Lokoja varsity seeks stronger ties with Israeli govt

Nasarawa earmarks N3bn for market development

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BY BOLUWAJI OBAHOPO

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OKOJA—THE Federal University of Lokoja, FUL, has called for stronger ties between the institution and the Israeli government.

The Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Abdulmumini Rafindadi, stated this yesterday during a lecture by the Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria, Uriel Palti on the topic,: “Education for Rapid Techno-scientific Development: The Israeli Example,” in the university.

Rafindadi said Palti’s visit to the school would afford the institution the opportunity to build a mutually beneficial relationship with other similar institutions in Israel.

According to him, “The State of Israel is recognised worldwide as one that has made tremendous strides in science, technology and agriculture within a record time. We will like to benefit from Israel’s experiences in such areas so that we in Nigeria can build our own nation along same line.

Kano selects 3 airlines for 2014 Hajj

K

ANO—THE Kano State government has selected three airlines that would transport prospective Muslim pilgrims from the state to the Holy Land for this year’s Hajj.

Alhaji Nuhu Badamasi, the Public Relations Officer of the state’s Pilgrims Welfare Board told the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Kano yesterday that the airlines would transport the 5,600 intending pilgrims to Saudi Arabia in this year’s Hajj operation.

Badamasi said the selected airlines were Kabo Air, Sky Power Airline and Max Air, adding that the Board had started preparations for the Hajj.

According to him, screening of intending pilgrims will commence on Monday, June 30, in all the 44 local government areas of the state.

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FORUM: Mrs Stella Denloye, Director, Laboratory Services, National Agency for Food Administration and Control, NAFDAC (left) and Dr Paul Orhii, Director General, NAFDAC during the consultative forum with importers of chemicals, cosmetics, medical devices and foods from China hosted by NAFDAC and Shangai Hanlin Laboratory Ltd China in Lagos. Photo by Biodun Ogunleye.

Kwara to transfer 4,333 primary school teachers to civil service ...To partner Philippine govt on new varsity

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LORIN—THE Kwara State government has resolved to transfer about 4,333 primary and post primary school teachers without relevant teachers’ qualification and related disciplines to the state civil service.

In view of this, the state Head of Civil Service and the Civil Service Commission have been directed to work out modalities that would integrate the affected teachers into the civil service.

This was even as the government has also concluded arrangements with the Philippine government on the citing of a Philippino University in the state.

These among others were part of the decisions taken at the weekly meeting of the state Executive Council Wednesday.

The Commissioner for Education, Saka Onimago, who briefed newsmen over the mat-

ter yesterday, explained that the redeployment of the teachers would however, be on gradual basis so that it does not affect smoothness of educational activities in the state.

Onimago said that were

Boko Haram: Foreign Minister delighted over collaborative efforts with other countries

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ALABO—THE Min ister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Aminu Wali has expressed delight at improved cooperation between Nigeria and its neighbours in the fight against Boko Haram.

Wali, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, on the sidelines of the ongoing African Union, AU summit, welcomed the cooperation of Cameroon, Chad, Benin and Niger in the

Shoprite opens new outlet in Ibadan

S

HOPRITE, a leading re tail shop in Nigeria, has opened what it called the largest store in the country, in Ibadan Oyo State.

In its bid to entertain and educate people of the ancient town the management of Shoprite had put together a series of activities which started off with a fun race, which had over 300 registered participants running a 4km distance within the metropolis.

Winners of the race were rewarded with shopping vouchers worth N120, 000. There was also the free breast can-

about 21, 000 teachers with the National Certificate in Education, NCE, in the state adding that they would be allowed to teach in primary and juniour secondary schools in the state.

AFIA—THE Nasarawa State government is to spend N3 billion on market development to boost economic activities and its revenue base, an official said.

The Commissioner for Commerce and Industries, Mr Emmanuel Bras-Yaji, made the plan known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Karu, Nasarawa State, yesterday.

Bras-Yaji said market development was necessary to enable the state government to fight poverty, youth unemployment and restiveness.

“As we are all aware the state government has boosted commercial activities in the state through the establishment of modern markets.

“The state government had earlier built and allocated shops to traders in the first phases of Karu International Market and Lafia Modern Market.

“Presently, the state government is also building three modern markets in Lafia, Akwanga and Keffi local government areas.

“Just yesterday, the state government handed over the site certificates to contractors for the construction of 1,200 shops for the second phases of Karu International Market at the cost of N670 million,” he said.

cer screening, which saw about 50 women go through the CT scanner as well as complimentary products distributed by the retail store and a number of its suppliers.

The event played host to a number of dignitaries from the state who were guided round the store which is situated at the newly-constructed Palms Shopping Mall on Ring Road, Ibadan.

The doors finally opened to the general public on June 19, and the store promises to offer customers an extensive range of quality products.

fight against insurgency.

He said Nigeria was “impressed” by the implementation of an action plan to counter Boko Haram terrorists agreed by the four countries last month at the Paris summit on security in Nigeria.

“The most important that happened between Paris and the follow-up meeting in London to date is the commitment of the neighbouring countries with Nigeria to cooperate and fight terrorism and insurgency.

“From the outcome of our meeting in London, the Cameroonians, the Nigeriens, the Chadians and the Beninese have really come all out prepared to link up with us to fight terrorism as if it is happening on their own soil.

“We all agree that whatever happens to Nigeria happens to anyone of them, to any country in Africa and our own sub region.

“Already these countries have gone ahead to start operating within their own national programmes to combat terrorism.”

He said Nigeria and its neighbours have agreed to establish an intelligence sharing unit to

be based in Nigeria.

The Nigeria minister welcomed an offer by the AU to send a team of experts to Nigeria and some ECOWAS countries to discuss a proposed regional security force.

Wali said he had discussed the matter with AU Commissioner on Peace and Security on the sidelines of the ongoing summit, and that similar proposal was being considered for other regions in Africa.

He defended the AU, which has often been criticised for being docile in responding to conflicts and insecurity in member states, saying “the AU had really been sized on the situation in Nigeria.”

The minister, who condemned the heinous activities of the Boko Haram, including the latest killings in Abuja, claimed that the activities of the group had been weakened by the operations of the Nigeria security agencies.

“They cannot confront the armed forces again and they now go for soft targets, this is cowardly of them and this shows that our security forces are gaining ground on Boko Haram insurgents.”

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 — 47

Umeh commences rebuilding APGA as crisis ends

BY CHRIS OCHAYI

A

BUJA—FOLLOW ING the Appeal Court verdict that reinstated his leadership, the Chairman of All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, Chief Victor Umeh, has started rebuilding the machinery badly affected by prolonged intra-party crisis that rocked the party.

To this end, the party has announced the appointment of four new members into the NWC to serve in acting capacity pending its next national convention. They were replaced by national officers who vacated their positions.

The four new NWC members as part of resolutions reached at its first national working committee meeting include, Mr. Uchenna Okogbuo, Acting National Vice Chairman for South East; Mr. Okwukwe Ibiam, Acting National Publicity Secretary; Mr. I k e c h u k w u Chukwunyere; Acting National Youth Leader and Ezinne Amaka Agbiogwu, Acting National Women Leader.

Speaking while addressing journalists at the party headquarters, Umeh said the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Anyim Pius Anyim, had written to the Chairman of the National Conference, retired Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi, to forward names of two representatives of APGA. According to the letter signed by Anyim, APGA national chairman, Umeh and the national secretary, Alhaji Sani Shinkafi are to be included as delegates to the national conference as the party ’s representatives.

JANG/ASSEMBLY RIFT: Ministries block House from performing oversight functions J

BY MARIE-THERESE NANLONG

OS —THE rift between the Executive and the Legislature in Plateau State has deepened with the state ministries refusing members of the state House of Assembly from performing their oversight functions over them.

The state government had earlier asked civil servants and other political office holders not to answer audit queries from the House without the express permission of Governor Jonah Jang.

Following the state government's directive, the state Com-

missioner for Transport, Abubakar Dashe, has written to the House, informing its Committee on Transport that it would not appear before it until he had cleared from Governor Jang.

The House had on June 17, 2014 notified the ministry of the plan by the Committee on Transport to pay a working visit to the ministry.

But responding to the request by the House, the Commissiner for Transport, Mr Dashe in a letter dated June 20, 2014, said the said working visit would not take place.

His reply entitled, “Re: Working Visit” read in part: “Referring

From left: Legal Officer, National Human Rights Commission, Miss Emereole Bismack; Deputy Director, Culture, Kaduna State Ministry of Culture & Tourism; Mr Yahuza Ilu and Sole Administrator, AGN Kaduna Chapter, Queen Abueh during African Ethics and Theatre Reformation Initiative (AETRI) sensitisation workshop on Actors Rights/Film Ethics 2014, in Kaduna, Wednesday. Photo: Olu Ajayi.

Strike: 10,000 Benue children may be denied secondary education

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BY PETER DURU

AKURDI — THE Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, in Benue State has cautioned that the eight-month-old strike by primary school teachers in the state may deny over 10,000 pupils the opportunity from gaining admission into Junior Secondary Schools next academic session.

The union regretted that the pupils had been at the receiving end of the trade dispute between teachers and the state government, as most of them had taken

to hawking for survival.

A member of the State Executive Committee and Chairman of the Gboko Local Government chapter of the union, Mr Charles Karamo Abur, made this known yesterday while speaking with newsman in Makurdi, the state capital.

His words: “Since it is the primary schools that feed the secondary schools,most secondary schools in the state would not be able to get their full intake for the next session.

NHIS to introduce health insurance cover for 24m pupils

I

BY DEMOLAAKINYEMI

LORIN— The National Health Insurance Scheme, NHIS, has said that it would introduce health insurance cover for 24 million pupils across the country by September this year even as the mobile health insurance policy would be introduced in the country next C M Y K

to your letter dated June 17, 2014, I am under instruction to write and inform you that the Honourable Commissioner has written to Government House for clearance but has not been cleared. ”We appeal you to shift the proposed visit pending when we get the clearance from Government House.”

When Vanguard spoke to the Transport Commissioner, Alhaji Dashe, over the issue on the telephone, he said: “I have not received any memo from the House. Who told you so? Is that what you will discuss with me?’’ and hung up.

month.

Executive Secretary of the scheme, Dr Femi Thomas, who made this known, yesterday, also called for universal health coverage rather than isolated healthcare schemes to ensure affordable and accessible healthcare services.

He spoke when he led the man-

agement of the scheme on a courtesy visit to Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of the Kwara State, at the Government House, Ilorin. ”We want to make health insurance scheme all encompassing, that is why we are targeting our primary school pupils across the country and by our estimate, they are 24 million. We are commencing in September."

”We all know that we do not have private schools in the villages, and since most of our people dwell in the rural communities, it then means that majority of our children have been caught in the fray. ”And since primary schools in the state would not be able to graduate those for secondary schools, then the intake for primary one would also be affected. ”All these (primary six) pupils have not been able to take their final examinations. So it is a serious minus on their part and they are going to wait for another session. ”Even if the strike was called off today, it means that pupils that are expected to be in secondary school by September, which is the beginning of another calendar year, would have been stagnated and would never be able to recover the one year of their lives they have lost or wasted. It is unfortunate.”

Bomb scare in UNIJOS

BY MARIE-THERESE NANLONG

J

OS — THERE was pande monium yesterday morning at the permanent site of the University of Jos as staff, students and passers-by scampered for safety following a purported bomb explosion on the campus.

A loud sound was heard on campus at about 10 am while normal activities were going on sending people especially students running for their lives.

At the time normalcy returned, nobody could actually say who started the rumour but students who were laughing over the incident were seen discussing the recent attacks in Abuja and Lagos.

A staff of the institution, Dr. John Galadima, from the Department of Mass Communications, told Vanguard: “It was a lie, there was no bomb in the school.”

Galadima said a mad man, who was just passing by hit something on the ground which made a loud noise “and people started running, meanwhile, the mad man had gone his way.”

However, the Police Antibomb squad was drafted to comb the place but no bomb was found and normalcy returned to the school.

Kano blast: Labour condemns killing of medical students

BY VICTOR AHIUMAYOUNG

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EDICAL and Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria, MHWUN, has condemned the brutal killing of five students of the Kano State School of Hygiene and three other citizens, in a bomb blast that also left over 20 persons injured.

The union in a statement by its President, Mr. Ayuba Wabba, called on the Kano State government to compensate the families of those killed and take adequate care of the injured. According to the statement, MHWUN “notes with pain, the incessant murderous attacks on working people and youth particularly those in the health sector, in Kano state.

"In particular, at this point in time, we unequivocally condemn the recent brutal killing of five students of the Kano State School of Hygiene and three other citizens, in a bomb blast that also left over twenty persons injured."

48— Vanguard , FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014

SIGNING: EU’s Commissioner for Development Cooperation, Andres Piebalgs (left) and Supervising Minister of National Planning, Bashir Yuguda and head of Nigeria’s delegation to the ACP/EU meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, at the signing of the 11th European Development Fund, EDF, National Indicative Programmes, NIP, between the Federal Government and the EU, at the just concluded 99th session of the African, Caribbean and Pacific, ACP, Council of Ministers meeting in Kenya.

SESSION: From left: Marketing & Activations, Lead West Africa Reckitt Benckiser, Mrs. Bamigbaiye-Elatuyi Omotola, Consultant Gastroenterologist/Director, Medical Education, Princess Diana Hospital, United Kingdom, Dr. Asif Naqvi, Consultant Gastroenterologist, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Dr. Sumaila Adamu, Dr. Musa Borodo, and Marketing Manager, Healthcare, Reckitt Benckiser West Africa, Mr. Qaiser Rashid, at the Gaviscon Opinion Leaders of Nigeria, GOLDEN, faculty session in Enugu.

BRIEFING: From left: Mr. Adetunji Doherty, MD, Medheights Pharmacy Ltd, Mrs. Tosin Doherty, GM, Admin, Medheights Pharmacy Ltd, and Mr. Bayo Adepojsu, Marketing Consultant, at a briefing by the firm on the formal introduction of Vitabiotics Pregnacare Original in Lagos: Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi.

FORUM: Mrs Stella Denloye, Director Laboratory Services (left)and Dr. Paul Orhii, DG, both of NAFDAC, during the consultative forum with importers of chemicals, cosmetics, medical devices and foods from China, hosted by NAFDAC and Shangai Hanlin Laboratory Ltd, China, in Lagos. Photo: Biodun Ogunleye.

VISIT: From left: Mr. Chukwunenye Okonkwo, Credit Manager, Stanbic IBTC, Mr. William Le Roux, Head, CIB Credit, Stanbic IBTC, Mr. Kunle Ade-Ojo, MD, Toyota (Nigeria) Ltd, TNL, Mr. Yemi Sanni, CEO, Stanbic IBTC, Mrs. Bola Ajibola, Unit Head, Conglomerates & Diversified Industries, Stanbic IBTC, Mr. Debola Seriki, Manager, Client Coverage, Stanbic IBTC, Mr. Bunmi Onafowokan, GM, Corporate Services, TNL, during the visit by the Stanbic IBTC team to TNL in Lagos.

HANDOVER: Coordinator Bare-Net Initiative, Mr. Miebi Bribena (left); handing over keys of a tricycle to one of the beneficiaries of the tricycles he distributed to Agbere and Odoni communities in Bayelsa State.

WORKSHOP: From left: Comrade Bayo Olowoshile, General Secretary, Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers’ Association of Nigeria, PENGASAN, Comrade, Ismail Bello, former Secretary, Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Lagos chapter, representing Comrade Isa Aremu and Comrade Okuneye Wasiu, Vice Chairman, NLC, at a workshop on Petroleum Industry Bill in Lagos.

AGM: From left: MD/CEO, Tantalizers Plc., Mrs. Abosede Ayeni, Vice Chairman, Mr. Mofoluso Ayeni, Chairman, Dr. Jaiye Oyedotun, at the Annual General Meeting of the company in Lagos.

WORKSHOP: From left: Providence Rotimi, Marketing Executive, SAP West Africa, Omo Edeh, Business Development Manager, Oryx Computer Systems, Ayokanmi Ayuba, Channel Enablement Manager, SAP West Africa, Damilola Adeneye, Consultant, C2G Consulting and Petra Tsamba, Pre-Sales Consultant, Nexus 23rd Century Systems, at the SAP Partnership Certification Workshop in Lagos.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 — 49

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50 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 — 51

52—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014

Delta embarks on budget reforms ...bridges gap between budget formulation and implementation

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UN WORK PLAN: Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State (left), exchanging the 2014 Cross River/ UN Work Plan with Country Representative, Mrs. Ratidzai Ndhlovu, shortly after the signing ceremony in Calabar, yesterday.

ELTA State Gov ernment, in collaboration with development partners, has begun a process to bridge the gap between budget formulation and its implementation in the state.

To this end, a one-day workshop for civil servants in the state, as part of the ongoing Public Financial Management, Legislation, Accounting and Expenditure Control reforms, was held in Asaba, the state capital.

The reform which is being funded by the state government in partnership with the World Bank, International Development Agency, IDA, and the European Union, EU, through the World Bank and Delta State sponsored State Employment and Expenditure for Results, SEEFOR project, is in compliance with the International Public Sector Accounting Standards, IPSAS. The reform is aimed at further strengthening the accountability and transparency module in the state financial and expenditure segment, to checkmate fraud, waste and corruption within its public sector.

Declaring the workshop open, Commissioner for Finance and Economic Planning, Chief Kenneth Okpara, said the administration of Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, as part of its determination to implant transparency and accountability in governance, was committed to entrenching a

robust performance-driven budget implementation in the state.

Okpara said this would be achieved by ensuring that some key indicatorsoutput, impact and outcome, were in place noting that the state government had also put in place, a monitoring and evaluation system with a framework that would check the implementation processes.

He explained that the move would further strengthen the state government’s determination in driving the state economy beyond oil as enunciated by Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan.

Earlier in his remarks, the Delta State Coordinator of the World Bank, EU and Delta State sponsored SEEFOR project, Mr. Benson Ojoko, said the workshop was aimed at training civil servants in the state on how to reform their budget processes, particularly on how to prepare the Fiscal Strategy Papers.

Amaechi accuses soldiers of partiality in Ekiti poll

BY JIMITOTA ONOYUME

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ORT HARCOURT— GOVERNOR Chibuike Amaechi, yesterday, faulted the alleged role of the military in last week's Ekiti governorship poll.

The governor, who spoke at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, in Ikwerre Local Government Area of the state, said soldiers allegedly harassed voters and escorted chieftains sharing textiles and food items, wrapper to voters.

The governor, who commended the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for a fair job, expressed the hope that his party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, would win the coming general elections in Rivers State.

He said: “From the INEC point of view, you can say it was fairly done, but what do you say about the military? The military

officers were escorting PDP members sharing money, wrappers, rice and beans, which influenced the outcome of the election.

"The arrest of APC supporters, especially those who were in the position to command votes, was also a factor. Why not wait until 2015? You see, there are basic differences. The differences are, first, Ekiti is mostly a civil service town, so if the civil servants decide on one way then you have to go along that way.”

Speaking on Rivers State, he said: “The second thing is the fact that we have been oppressed enough in Rivers State.

You virtually can see, we are in the airport, why not video the airport there to show its state? We have a situation where we don’t have development in Rivers State. Eighty per cent of developments you have in Rivers State was done by me as governor of Rivers State."

V anguard anguard,, FRIDAY, JUNE 27 , 2014 — 53

BRIEFS

Saudi king orders defense against Iraq jihadists

US condemns Abuja bomb blast

BY HUGO ODIOGOR,Foreign Affairs Editor

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HE United States has condemned Wuse bomb blast describing it as “ heartless and violent attacks on innocent Nigerians.”

In a statement issued by its Embassy in Abuja, the US said thest attacks on innocent Nigerians “are inexcusable and clearly bespeak the criminality of those behind these attacks in Abuja and other parts of Nigeria”.

The statement said “We extend our deepest condolences to the families of the victims and call on all Nigerians regardless of region or religion to join in and support efforts to put an end to this evil against humanity”.

It further restated its commitment “to supporting the people of Nigeria in their struggle

AMEROON security forces have killed at least 10 suspected Boko Haram militants in three clashes in the north of the country near its border with Nigeria, a senior military official said yesterday.

Cameroon has

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Brig. Gen. James B.Linder and his Nigerian counterparts, inspecting some of the trucks at Army HQ Abuja against violent extremism and to helping the Government of Nigeria as it works to counter these threats to citizens and its national unity”.

In a related development, Nigeria has taken delivery of the nonlethal transportation, communication and force protection equipment

donated by the US to support of the Nigerian Army in its battle against terrorism. Major General Ibrahim Sani, Chief of Army Transformation and Innovation, received the equipment from General Linder on behalf of the Nigerian Army. He said the equipment will

deployed over 1,000 troops along the long and porous border after it came under pressure from its neighbour for not doing enough to counter the Islamist insurgents, who are suspected of using Cameroon as a base.

Boko Haram grabbed global attention after kidnapping more than 200 girls from a school in northeast Nigeria in April, since when the group has killed hundreds of civilians. It has also carried out attacks and kidnappings

Husband of Sudanese ‘apostate’ says fearful family wants her out

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Sudanese Christian woman who faces death threats after a court cleared her of apostasy has been charged with forgery, after trying to leave the country, a lawyer said.

“She is arrested,” Mohanad Mustafa told AFP ..

The charge against Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag, 26, relates to the South Sudanese travel document she was carrying when authorities stopped the family from leaving Sudan on Tuesday following an annulment of her apostasy death sentence.

Ishag is also charged with providing false information, Mustafa said.

She was detained by national security agents at Khartoum airport, despite the presence of US

AUDI King Abdullah instructed authorities in the oil-rich kingdom Thursday to take “necessary measures” to defend the country from jihadists battling the government in neighbouring Iraq.

The announcement comes days after militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) seized the border

crossing from Iraq into Jordan, which also neighbours the kingdom, as they press an offensive in Iraq.

A statement said Abdullah ordered authorities “to take all the necessary measures to protect... the kingdom’s security against actions that could be taken by terrorist or other groups.”

Obama hails Libya’s milestone election

enhance the operational capabilities of the Nigerian Army. Brigadier General James B. Linder, Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command Africa, was received by Major General John A H Ewansiha, Chief of Army Training and Operations (CTOPS), Nigerian Army Headquarters.

Cameroon kills 10 Boko Haram suspects

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•Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Shag diplomats who were escorting her and her family, her American husband Daniel Wani said.

They were trying to travel to Washington, Wani said, insisting there was nothing wrong with the travel documents.

Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday summoned the charges d’affaires of

both the United States and South Sudan over the incident, official media reported.

US State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said Washington’s charge d’affaires had voiced “our concern that the family should be allowed to depart swiftly from Sudan.”

in Cameroon.

Cameroon defence forces killed six members of Boko Haram on Tuesday in the village of Wambache, Colonel Felix Nji Formekong, a regional military commander, told Reuters.

In a separate clash at another village on the same day, two other militants were killed, and another two were killed after a suspected Boko Haram convoy attacked a Cameroon army patrol in another village on Sunday, he added.

Boko Haram has waged a five-year campaign of attacks on civilians and security forces in northern Nigeria. But the mass kidnapping of the girls in April put the group in the global spotlight and drew pledges of a regional coordinated push against it.

Division threatens Sunni insurgency

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HE militants dismantling Iraq’s borders and threatening regional war are far from united — theirs is a marriage of convenience between ultra-hardline religious zealots and more

pragmatic Sunni armed groups.

For now, they share a common enemy in Shi’ite Islamist Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, whom Iraq’s Sunni minority accuse of marginalizing and harassing them.

RESIDENT Barack Obama hailed Libya’s general election as a “milestone” Thursday and said the United States would stand by the warscarred nation on its transition to democracy.

Libyan authorities have expressed hope that Wednesday’s election, the results of which were still being tallied, will pave a way out of the turmoil that has gripped the country

since the 2011 ouster of dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

“I congratulate the Libyan people on the conclusion of the elections for a new Council of Representatives, a milestone in their courageous efforts to transition from four decades of dictatorship toward a full democracy,” Obama said in a statement.

Indian’s PM rules out honeymoon in office

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NDIA’s new Prime Minister Narendra Modi said yesterday he had not had the luxury of a ‘honeymoon period’ since his government took charge a month ago.

Modi’s right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has suffered a series of setbacks since coming to power, including accusations of failing to act on widespread sexual violence, protests over train fare hikes, and clashes

with regional parties over the official language of g o v e r n m e n t communication. “Previous governments had the luxury of extending this ‘honeymoon period’ up to a hundred days and even beyond. Not unexpectedly I don’t have any such luxury,” the 63-year-old former tea boy wrote in a blog on his official website yesterday after completing exactly one month in office.

More US troops arrive Iraq

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NOTHER 50 U.S. special operations forces have arrived in Baghdad under the newly appointed command of a two-star general as the U.S. military steadily ramps up an advisory mission aimed at helping Iraq battle back Sunni militants, the Pentagon said yesterday.

The Pentagon said the first of two planned Joint Operations Centers in Iraq had also become activated, bolstering its ability to oversee U.S. teams and gather information about the situation on the ground, including about Iraq’s security forces.

Merkel speaks to Putin on Ukraine’s ceasefire

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ERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin for the second time in two days yesterday to discuss how to help resolve the crisis in eastern Ukraine, the Kremlin said.

The call took place “at the initiative of the German

side” and touched on questions of “monitoring observance of the ceasefire between the sides in conflict, the necessity of extending the truce, the establishment of regular work by the contact group and the freeing of people being forcibly detained”, the Kremlin said.

54—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014

Omisore’s unfounded claim in Osun Dear sir Y State, Osun, is now fully in that season when some Teflon politicians cast aside whatever is left of their threadbare integrity. The Osun Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore, is no doubt at full throttle in the electioneering season, lying through his teeth, lobbing the selfdemeaning salvos of fabrications, and authoring largely unsupportable and unsubstantiated claims against anyone he considers a threat to his ambition, especially the incumbent Rauf Aregbesola.

Recently, Omisore howled that the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Osun, Ambassador Oloruntoyin Akeju, was an out-and-

Now that further steps are being taken to shore up security in the State as promised, the PDP flag bearer is unduly depressed and making completely baseless claims.

Would he have preferred that no improvement is made on the vital business of protecting life and property in Osun? Since Aregbesola took office, it is evident that security has improved here. Unlike before when the PDP reigned, there is peace and security in all areas of Osun and the tide of armed robbery has subsided considerably.

As the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security explained recently on the State TV station, the newly purchased APCs are to be positioned strategically in the state to deter criminals and track What is Omisore afraid of? Is it fleeing inter-state bandits, that his boys would be deterred more so that the armoured vehicles have cameras, guns by the APC on election day? Is and other special devices mounted on them.

APC anti-crime hardware What is Omisore afraid of? synonymous with APC as a Is it that his boys would be political party and the scourge of deterred by the APC on election day? Is APC antiPDP? crime hardware synonymous out member of the All Progressives with APC as a political party and the Congress. He claimed, matter-of- scourge of PDP? The only individuals who think efforts factly, that the REC was Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s lackey and to that end would aimed at improving security in Osun be unfit to conduct the August 9 are meant to terrorise law-abiding governorship election. Since he people are Omisore and his refractory emerged as the governorship media minders. candidate of his party in questionable As always, this Omisore’s claim is circumstances, Omisore has been groundless. In my view, it is crying ignobly brewing all kinds of tasteless wolf where there is absolutely none. liquor of falsities against his main The people of Osun must be chary of opponent, Aregbesola, and the State politicians like Omisore who specialise REC. Of course, he has always drawn in brewing distasteful whisky of blank when asked to substantiate his unjustifiable affirmations. ostensibly believable assertions.

Dele Adebayo Omisore’s new-fangled falsehood is Ikire, Osun State. his hollow claim that Aregbesola is planning to unfurl the canopy of violence on Osun in order to win the governorship election.

M

Shoddy job on Ijora-Badiya culvert

Governorship election Virtually all the major newspapers of Monday June 16 reported the Osun PDP candidate as saying that the 20 Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) bought by the Osun State Government to improve security in the State are to be used by Aregbesola to intimidate the electorate during the election.

In the twisted logic of this former Chairman of Senate Committee on Appropriation, the fact that those security apparatuses are yet to be formally handed over to the police is enough reason to conclude sententiously that they are meant to be used to instigate violence, intimidate opponents, and fill eligible voters with trepidation.

Yet, when in April last year Governor Aregbesola handed over five APCs and about 120 patrol vans to the police so as to enhance security, the lying spirit that often inspires Omisore did not lead him to caterwaul that they would be used to scare off suitable voters in the election year that is 2014.

Dear sir

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ERMIT me to use your widely read newspaper to draw the attention of Governor Babatunde Fashola to the plight of motorists plying the IjoraAmukoko-Alaba Road.

The traffic gridlock at Ijora is usually caused by a bad spot just after the railway crossing if you are coming from Lagos.

Following persistent calls for the repair of that portion of the road, the local government (I suppose), embarked upon the construction of a new culvert. That road was closed to motorists for over two months until it was reopened to traffic in April this year.

But less than a month after, that section has gone bad again. I cannot fathom why the Chairman of the LGA whose private hospital and Council secretariat are located a stone throw from the bad spot, could allow such a shoddy job to be done. It is evident that he is not on top of his job and should either sit up or be sent parking.

Chinonye Azoro Amukoko

DEMOCRACY is not really what you gain but what you can give. It should be a self sacrifice for the total welfare of the masses. Nigeria is practising pre-mature democracy and has totally lost the value of ideology in the system.

Nigerians should wake up from their slumber.

Gabriel O Francis 08077666411

World Press Freedom Day

As we mark World Press Freedom Day, Nigerians should observe ‘a minute silence’ in honour of journalistic martyrs who have suffered and are still suffering assasinations ,horrendous repressions and poor emoluments etc,in the discharge of their jobs as members of the fourth estate of the realm. We admonish all journalists to be brave,shun bribes and continue to practise their noble profession with

,

,

,

Democracy Day

Monday .08077273741

Okorodudu

Boko Haram insurgency and Fulani herdsmen

It is an understatement to say that Nigeria is under attack!

Nigeria our beloved country is currently fighting two undefined wars. While most Nigerians can boast of having heard about Boko Haram and their numerous evil deeds.

I seriously doubt whether up to 60 percent of Nigerians can claim to know a thing or two about the latest killing human machines called the”Fulani Herdsmen”.

Then the question is,who are these herdsmen? Frankly speaking,our security agencies have failed us. Why is it that those behind these evil men masquerad-

The question is,who are these herdsmen? Frankly speaking,our security agencies have failed us; why is it that those behind these evil men masquerading as herdsmen have not been unmasked

,

integrity. Happy World Press Freedom Day. Chief Bobson Gbinije,Mandate Against Poverty(MAP)Warri, Delta State,+2347050481424

Nigeria, biggest economy in Africa

Most countries and organisations of the world do not believe, not with all the challenges the country is currently witnessing and the number of companies and industries that have relocated.

It has already been put up by the World Bank which said that if such celebrated GDP does not reflect in the lives of the citizens, then the government must be deceiving itself.

Anonymous writes from FCT, Abuja

Kidnapped Chibok school girls

I can’t imagine 234 American school girls kidnapped and weeks after, Barack Obama would be giving excuses. Jonathan has not only failed as a president, he has also failed as Commander- In- Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces.

Worse still, the generals he relies on for his intelligence gathering and military tactics have failed to prove they are capable of providing him the needed military might to tackle the Boko Haram insurgence. Is a pity.

ing as herdsmen have not been unmasked? How on earth can ordinary herdsmen acquire sophisticated weapons of war if they are not being backed by some influential people in our midst?. Our leaders and head of security agencies should have a rethink. Mr. President should wake up from his slumber before the entire nation is reduced to rubble by these agents of death.

Anonymous +2348060768946

Still on Boko Haram and northern leaders

The present insecurity situation in the North east cannot be won until the Northern governors stop shielding members of Boko Haram sect and acts of terrorism. It is surprising that the Northern Governors Forum through its chairman is giving the international communities and the Federal Government 90 days to end Boko Haram terrorist acts.

This is making a mockery of the Federal Government and the international communities in the efforts to rescue the Chibok school girls. It is now obvious that the North has lent its region to be a breeding ground for terrorism, death, destruction and global threat.

Anonymous +2347052624455

SAYINGS OF OUR ELDERS The game of life is the game of boomerangs. Our thoughts, deed and words return back to us sooner or later. Be kind to get kindness back in return.

Simon Adewale08056180103, Send us your Sayings of Our Elders. They must be African sayings or proverbs. Biblical or English proverbs are unacceptable.

Address your sayings to: The Co-ordinator, Sayings of Our Elders,Vanguard Media Ltd., PMB 1007, Apapa,

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 — 55

56—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014

•National Conference in session

Confab approves state, community police •Wants officers from DSP rank posted to state of origin STORIES BY HENRY UMORU, LEVINUS NWABUGHIOGU & JOSEPH ERUNKE

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GITATORS for state police in the country had their way, yesterday, at the National Conference as delegates not only approved the establishment of state, they also backed creation of community police.

Delegates resolved that henceforth, any state of the federation desirous of having

a State Police Force can establish, fund and control it.

The delegates approved the setting up of Security and Intelligence Services Oversight Committee, SISOC, to map out security architecture for the country.

The SISOC is to be composed of a retired chief justice of Nigeria as chairman, a former head of the civil service and a former Director General of the State Service or National Intelligence, as members.

Similarly, the conference also accepted the proposal for the establishment of Water Way Safety Corps to man the waterways in riverine areas.

The corps is expected to perform similar functions to those of the Federal Roads Safety Corps, FRSC. These decisions were taken during the consideration of its Committee on National Security’s report.

It approved that state governors should be involved

in the running of the Federal Police in their respective states and officers from the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police in the Federal Police should be deployed to their states of origin. The resolution is expected to put to rest the long debate and controversies the establishment of state police enacted.

State police when established by states that desired them are to compliment the efforts of the Nigeria Police Force.

The jurisdiction of the Federal police will be the entire country but they will handle clearly spelt out matters and offences while the jurisdiction of the State Police will cover the state and operate within laws enacted by the State Assembly.

It was reasoned that this will address the concern of language and culture, as this group of officers actually constitute the operational component of the force.

To make the police more people friendly, the conference called for the amendment of section 214 of the 1999 constitution so that The Nigeria Police Force will be called The Nigeria Police.

A proposal for the establishment of a National Border Patrol Force to secure and protect the nation‘s borders was also approved.

The Border Patrol Force is to be domiciled in the Ministry of Defence.

The number of vehicles in a convoy is to be determined by FRSC in consultation with the Police and the DSS. The law is expected to reduce the recklessness of government officials’ convoys,

C'ttee proposes independent candidacy

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HE National Conference Committee on Politics and Governance has recommended independent candidacy in the electoral system, to expand the country’s political space.

Prof. Jerry Gana, a coChairman of the committee, made the recommendation while reading the committee’s report on Thursday in Abuja.

Gana said that the absence of a provision for independent candidacy in the 1999 constitution had unnecessarily restricted the democratic space.

“Every Nigerian who meets the specified condition in the Electoral Act should be free to contest elections as an independent candidate.

Accordingly, Section 221 of the 1999 constitution should be repealed and replaced as follows: “Every Nigerian who meets the specified condition

in the Electoral Act should be free to contest any election as an independent candidate.”

On matters of party politics, Gana said that the present party system was characterised by weak structures, lack of internal democracy and poor funding. “The system is also characterised by lack of accountability, absence of ideology and the over bearing role of godfathers.”

To address the problem, Gana said that the committee was proposing that the government should not fund any political party.

Fund raising activities “Political parties should be funded through membership subscription, donations, sale of party cards, souvenirs and other fund raising activities.”

He added that the committee also proposed that as a requirement for registration by INEC, a party must have a constitution stating clearly its ideology, policies and goals for the country.

Gana said that the committee recommended that government should re-visit the salary structure.

“Pay civil servants well, so that they can meet their basic obligations to address poverty and social insecurity problems.

“Government at all levels should reduce the cost of governance so as to have more money for capital development projects.”

The committee also recommended that the Federal Government should take appropriate measures to ascertain the exact number of all ethnic nationalities and their locations.

This, he said, would enable the government to ascertain the correct ethnic composition of the country.

The committee also called on the Federal Government to grant equal rights, freedom and privileges to all citizens in addition to their state residential rights, freedom and privileges. In this regard, nationality and citizenship of Nigerians shall be obtained by birth, registration and naturalisation,” he said.

The committee also called for powerful and nationwide anticorruption strategies to ensure a corruption-free society.

“The committee is convinced that ideals are achievable. The right political will should enable the nation to overcome most of the hurdles on our path to political, economic and social development,” Gana said.

which had in the past led to loss of lives as well reduce wastage of government funds.

The conference also agreed that retired military personnel should be mobilized and trained to fight terrorism.

In addition, government was mandated to set up Counter Terrorism Architecture to harmonize national counter terrorism efforts and provide the platform for foreign assistance among others.

It would equally interface between Nigeria and Africa Union (AU) countries especially contiguous states such as Niger, Chad, Cameroon and African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism and engage the services of welltrained counter-terrorism operatives to work within the established in-country infrastructure.

The proposal that the federal character outlook of the military be reflected at the entry point into the Nigeria Defence Academy in cases of officers and at the recruitment stages and training depots, in case of soldiers, airmen, and sailors was also accepted.

State of emergency Conference also agreed that table of equipment including clothing should be updated regularly instead of waiting for the declaration of a state of emergency.

The conference at its plenary also approved the proposal for the establishment of a Military Industrial Zone which will include but not limited to collaboration with the industrial and manufacturing sector in the area of research and development, production, use and support for military training, weaponry and equipment.

The confab approved a proposal for compulsory life insurance for all armed security personnel by government and implored the Federal Government to look into all pending Police Reform Committees/Panel Reports and implement their recommendations.

Also accepted is the proposal that the Federal Government should set aside a special fund to rehabilitate and reconstruct the North East, which has suffered devastating attacks from Boko Haram.

Similarly the conference recommended that all the communities such as Odi in Bayelsa State, Zaki-Biam in Benue State and others that were destroyed in the process of restoring internal peace be compensated.

On gender, the conference approved gender mainstreaming with respect to recruitment into the Armed Forces and the various security agencies.

Vanguard, FRID AY, JUNE 27, 2014—57 FRIDA

Fayose intoxicated by accidental victory—Aregbesola STORIES BY GBENGA OLARINOYE

Babatope, Obada, Oke, storm Ijesa for Omisore

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HE Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has described the outburst of the Ekiti State Governor-elect, Ayodele Fayose, as an ‘over-reaching euphoria of a coincidental victory.’

Fayose had recently said Aregbesola is ‘dangerous to Nigeria’s democracy ’ for allegedly calling on his APC supporters to dare security agents during elections.

Aregbesola, in a statement by the Director, Bureau of Communications and Strategy, Office of the Governor, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, said “Fayose is only whipping a dead horse by referring to a media report which had been refuted with the retraction published by the same newspaper that published it”.

A newspaper (not Vanguard) had last week quoted Aregbesola as telling his supporters to dare security agents during the forthcoming election.

Okanlawon, disclosed that the misrepresentation of what the governor said was refuted the following day in a well-explained response published by the same newspaper. “To put the record straight, the governor only directed the people across the

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* Aregbesola state to go out en mass to vote, protect their votes and not to be intimidated by security agents or members of the opposition political parties before and during the election.”

He said that Fayose, in an overjoyous celebration of a victory, which subtly came through a yet to be ascertained mystery, needs to demonstrate that his victory at

the poll on June 21 is not a fluke.

The statement said: “We think that after his so-called victory, Fayose should be busy and worry more on how his government hopes to contend with sustaining and surpassing the huge achievements recorded by the Kayode Fayemi administration before the people of Ekiti get impatient with him.”

Aregbesola lost Osun Guber poll last year — Omisore

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HE PDP candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore has said that the state helmsman, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has lost out because of his anti-people programmes.

Speaking at Inisa in Odo Otin Local Government Area yesterday , Omisore said Aregbesola has incurred the wrath of Osun people through his anti - people programmes that have impoverished the masses of our people. He said, “ the obnoxious school merger and reclassification have done more harm than good.

This ill thought program has thrown our state into confusion.

There was a time pupils in Iwo were going to schools in choir uniform, masquerade dresses, and hijab to schools because of Aregbesola’s bad policy”.

He, however, assured the people

that all anti- people’s programmes would be reviewed on assumption of office on November 26, 2014 in order to correct all the ills and confusion associated with Aregbesola obnoxious policies.

Omisore however, maintained that party faithful should go to Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC , in their local government to collect their permanent voters card that will enable them to vote out Aregbesola on August 9.

Speaking earlier when Omisore paid him a courtesy visit, Olunisa of Inisa , Oba Joseph Oladunjoye Oyedele, Fasikun 11, waxing biblical said that Omisore should not despair that at times the enemy will pursue someone to his greatness, adding that Joseph and King David were two good

•Omisore examples in the Bible who rose to prominence through determination.

He urged the PDP gubernatorial candidate to give Inisa it’s due when he is elected.

Monarch to Omisore: Remember us when you get there

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DP candidate, Senator Omisore yesterday received an unusual royal praise for his courage in navigating what one traditional ruler described as the very bad road into his kingdom.

The traditional ruler of IlaIjesa, in Atakumosa West local government, Oba Gabriel Oyebode, while receiving Omisore said that the PDP candidate was the first candidate to visit his kingdom.

“Since the creation of this state, no governor has ever been

BRIEFS

here to visit us, not to talk of tackling our problems,” Oba Oyebode told Omisore as he urged him not to forget the community when he comes into office.

Oba Oyebode, who saluted the courage of the PDP candidate for visiting the community despite the bad condition of the road said “this road has been in this terrible condition since I was born. ‘’Help us fix it when you become the governor. There is

no light here and we want you to do something meaningful about it”.

He emphasised that “No governor has come here before.

This is the first time in history.

But, please don’t forget us when you get there. We believe you will get there”.

Stressing that there was need for government at all levels to give recognition to traditional institutions, with a view to enhancing notable development at the grassroots level.

HE PDP candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore has taken his campaign to the backyard of Governor Rauf Aregbesola in Ijesha zone.

His campaign train was joined by some prominent Ijesha citizens including a former Minister for Transport, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, erstwhile Minister of State for Defence, Erelu Olusola Obada, former chairman, House Committee on Defence, Hon Busayo Oluwole Oke who stormed Ijesa zone on house-tohouse campaign.

The campaign train, which moved from Osogbo to Osunjela, Okebode, IlaIjesa, Ibodi, through Osu and other communities in Atakumosa West local government urged residents on the need to

vote for visible and positive change in the governance of the state.

The circuit of the candidate was conveyed in a release signed by the director of media and strategy of Iyiola Omisore Campaign Organisation IOCO, Prince Diran Odeyemi .

Babatope was quoted to have told the inhabitants of Okebode after a visit to the Obaloja of Olokebode, Oba Ezekiel Adeniran Agunlejika, that he was in support.

“I’m in full support of Omisore and I want to recall that 17 years ago when he wanted to become governor, I took him to all local governments in Ife Ijesa zone. That shows that long before now, I have been supporting his political aspiration”.

Four years enough for govs to perform, says Akinwusi

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HE Social Democratic Party, SDP candidate Mr. Olusegun Akinwusi has kicked against a second term for governors saying that most of the second term is devoted to looting and personal aggrandisement.

Speaking while inaugurating the 45member campaign committee set up by the state chapter of the SDP in Osogbo yesterday, the candidate explained that four years is enough for any governor to perform “but the extra-four years are being used for selfish purposes”.

He argued that most of governors lose focus of governance during the second term in office, and many times, use the period to serve themselves rather than the people.

“Many of the governors are busy seeking another elective office, they want to go to National Assembly; some use such time to amaze more wealth and others are busy fighting for political survival after office.

“We hear of their noises in their first term but after securing peoples’ mandate, they become very quiet. Can we hear anything again from Lagos

where Governor Raji Fashola is now serving his second term? Can you hear anything from our comrade governor in Edo, Adams Oshimohle as was in his first term in office?

“Many of the governors having problems with President Goodluck Jonathan are second timers and they are bothered more about themselves than the state they govern”, he stated.

The former Head of Service HOS explained that he already has his programme sparring just four years period to turn the fortune of Osun state around for good if elected and after that hand over to a new generation of leaders.

“One major thing in our programme is the state economy and we are going to put in place something similar to President Barrack Obama’s ‘Economic Stimulus’ where we will prop up the state economy by granting financial support to people in the state”, he stated.

According to him, part of his emergency plan to jumpstart the economy include financial assistance to farmers, market men and women, civil servants, students, elderly and so on.

58 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 20 14 2014

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Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014—59

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ABUJA BLAST

New Telegraph Managing Editor, Bisalla buried •He was a humble and thorough-bred Journalist—FCT Minister •Nigerian Guild of Editors, NGE, mourns •Information minister commiserates •NUJ to immortalise him

BY HENRY UMORU& EMMANUEL ELEBEKE

M

ANAGING Editor of New Telegraph, Mr Suleiman Bisalla who was among those killed in last Wednesday’s bomb blast at Emmab Plaza, Abuja was buried, yesterday, at Gudu Cemetery, Abuja amidst encomiums from Information Minister, the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and other eminent Nigerians.

As early as 9 am yesterday, relations, friends, colleagues gathered at the Maitama District General Hospital where his remains were deposited, before it was moved to the Abuja National Mosque for prayers and then buried at the Gudu Cemetery. Bisalla who hailed from Plateau State, left behind a wife, five children and relations.

Former Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu, Ex- Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, senior Journalists, friends, relations were at the burial site to pay Bisalla the last respect.

Meanwhile, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, Senator Bala Mohammed, yesterday, paid tribute to Mallam Bisalla, describing him as a humble and thorough-bred Journalist as well as an outstanding personality who practiced the journalism profession in line with its guiding ethics and principles.

According to the Minister, there were valuable lessons to be learnt from the life of Mallam Bisalla, stressing that humility, hard work, honesty and integrity were his guiding principles, just as he urged younger generation of journalists to emulate his sterling qualities by shunning blackmail and sensationalism.

NGE mourns bombed editor, other victims

Also reacting to Bisalla’s death, the Nigerian Guild of Editors, in a statement by its president, Mr Femi Adesina said “as we condole the Bisalla family, and the families of the other dead victims, we can’t but ask: where and who next? Nigeria, very sadly, has become one huge sepulchre, and death

now very cheap. Unnatural deaths have become so commonplace, that Nigerians are almost becoming inured to the news of it, except those directly affected. This is not good for our common humanity.

“We recognize the almost intractable nature of the insurgency in the land, and government is trying its level best. But it remains the bounden duty of government to secure the lives and property of the citizenry, and we, therefore, ask that our security agencies will not relent in carrying out their constitutionally prescribed duties. Terrorism must never get the better of us. Never. But we must devise new tactics and strategies to rein in the situation."

Information Minister, Mr. Labaran Maku, also condoled the management and staff of the New Telegraph Newspaper over the death of their Managing Editor, Mr. Suleiman Bisalla. In a letter to the Managing Director of the newspaper, Mr. Gabriel Akinadewo, the Minister said he was saddened by the demise of Mr. Bisalla and 21 other Nigerians in the bomb explosion at Emab Plaza in Wuse Two, Abuja on Wednesday.

We will Immortalise Bisalla— NUJ President

National leadership of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, described Bisalla as one Journalist who had passion for the profession, stressing that it would ensure that Suleiman Bisalla was immortalised.

Speaking with Vanguard, the President, NUJ, Mohammed Garba, who noted that Bisalla would be highly missed on the Journalism profession, described the incident as shocking and unbelievable.

He said, “it is indeed unbelievable, shocking to us that he was one of the victims of the bomb blast. We will indeed miss him in Journalism profession.

"Bisalla is one person that is really committed and has a lot of passion for Journalism profession in Nigeria.

NUJ will liaise with the management of his media organisation to see how we can immortalise him, I want to assure the family that we will not abandon them, we will tray and see how we will support the family.”

60 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 — 58

Messi pays tribute to Eagles A

RGENTINA superstar, Lionel Messi has reserved words of special praise for players of Nigeria’s Super Eagles despite scoring a brace against the African champions on Wednesday.

Messi’s brace condemned the Super Eagles to a 2-3 defeat to see the Albiceleste top Group F of the 2014 Fifa World Cup with nine points from three games.

Messi was however complementary of the vanquished side while insisting that Argentina played their best game of the competition against the Super Eagles.

“We saw a good Argentina, despite the two Nigerian goals. Now we want more, we have to keep improving,” he said to reporters.

He added that Wednesday ’s game against the Super Eagles was an improvement from the first two games against Bosnia and Iran.

“I think we have improved from the last [two] games. We played against a team that was going forward with good players.

“We said before; our strikers had to move a little bit more because we weren’t finding spaces. We had that today and we have to work, so the next game we won’t concede goals,” he said after the game on Wednesday.

Sports Minister congratulates Eagles

S

•Messi

Babatunde undergoes successful surgery S

UPER Eager b u r g e o n i n g midfielder, Babatunde Michael has undergone a successful surgery on his fractured wrist and has since returned to the team’s Camp base in Campinas, ahead of the trip to Brasilia for the second round duel against France.

Though, his team mate

TAN hails Eagles A FTER Wednesday’s spirited display against Argentina, Tr a n s f o r - m a t i o n Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) has commended the Super Eagles for reaching the second round of the ongoing World Cup in Brazil.

Former Eagles star, Waidi Akanni, who led TAN’S 15-man team to the World Cup, stated that the Eagles have continued to improve with every game and urged the players to do better against France in Monday’s second round match.

“The Eagles have shown that they have what it takes to rub shoulders with the big teams with their

PORTS Minister, Dr Tamuno Danagogo yesterday hailed the Super Eagles for qualifying for the second round of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil despite losing 2-3 to two-times champions Argentina.

Congratulating the Eagles, the minister said the team’s qualification for the second round was a pointer to what they can

performance against Argentina.

They attacked and defended in numbers and the tactics worked well for the team.”

He also commended the government for the support given to the Eagles and urged President Goodluck Jonathan to continue to motivate the players with incentives that would ginger them to victory.

“The President have shown that he loves sports and he has been rewarding sports men since he came into the saddle. We, however, need more of this to motivate our sportsmen”.

Ogenyi Onazi, whose shot did the damage jokingly said that Babatunde stopped his goal bound shot. “I swear that was a sure goal if not for Tunde’s hand, I wish him quick recovery”, he said.

“Unfortunately, he is ruled out of the tournament because it will take at least three weeks for that surgery to heal”, Head Coach Stephen Keshi said. He added that Nigerians should not fret over the development as there are capable replacements for the player. “It’s not looking good that he will feature again in the tournament ,we are sad about that but we have people who can fill in for him very well and I think we have to go win for him now”, Keshi added.

The player has since joined his teammates in Campinas ahead of the trip to Brasilia for the second round game against France.

The national team boss also dispels insinuations that he has any personal issues with Victor Moses, hence he is not being featured. “It’s purely medical, my last child is older that Moses, so why will I quarrel with my son?.

achieve in the tournament.

“The Eagles should go out there and show the stuff they are made of.

We are proud of their achievements in Brazil and hope they will continue to soar as the tournament progresses,” the minister said in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on media affairs, Patrick Omorodion. yesterday.

Adullahi believes Eagles can go far

T

HE immediate past Minister of Sports, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi has congratulated the Supers Eagles of Nigeria for qualifying for the round of 16 at the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

Although the Super Eagles lost narrowly to the Argentines by 2-3, they made it to the second round, with 4 points having beaten Bosnia and Herzegovina and drawn with Iran to emerge second in the group.

A very elated Abdullahi, praised the Eagles for their hard-work, resilience and commitment. “I am very happy with the performance of our team.” he said.

•Babatunde

MTN WGC: Regional qualifiers tee off

T

OP golfers would converge this weekend on the Lakowe Golf and Country Club, Lekki-Epe expressway, Lagos for tee off by 7am for this year’s MTN World Golfers Championship, Western Region Qualifiers.

The event would feature top golfers, from Ibadan, Abeokuta, Sagamu, Ewekoro and Lagos. These golfers would compete for spots at the National Finals in Uyo, for the final selection to represent the

country at the international level, in Durban, South Africa.

The General Manager, Consumer Marketing, MTN, Kola Oyeyemi, explained that the company’s strategic purpose of continuously hosting the tournament is not only to contribute to the growth and development of the sport in Nigeria but also to create unique experience that would help golfers Be Better at their game.

According to him, MTN is the only corporate organisation that has consistently sponsored golf for almost a decade and the company is poised to even do more. “We realise that Golf appeals to discerning company executives, business men and women who are passionate about the game.

Apart from guaranteeing physical fitness, it also gives them the platform to network”. he stated.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 — 61

Nigeria won’t be easy to beat — France coach F

RANCE coach, Didier Deschamps does not believe his side will have an easy time when they meet Nigeria in the round of 16 at the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals in Brazil.

The Super Eagles go head-to-head against Les Blues on Monday with bookmakers seemingly unanimous that the French would be too strong for the African champions.

Deschamps, a World Cup winner in 1998, however does not share that opinion and does not think a win over the Super Eagles will be an easy one.

“Some people thought we were the kings of the world after beating Switzerland 5-2 but Ecuador showed they have qualities, and Argentina had a difficult match against Nigeria.

“Nigeria are a strong, fast team who have great qualities and it is going to be a really difficult match and we will have to fight,” Deschamps said in his post-match press conference after Les Blues drew their final preliminary game 0-0 against Ecuador on Wednesday.

France struggled to break down the welldrilled Ecuador side at the Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro with many q u e s t i o n i n g Deschamps’ decision to ring several changes in his squad.

The former France captain however defended his decision and added that he was confident his charges will play better against Nigeria.

“My team selection was not by chance and it’s important that all players get into the rhythm. Now we have five days to prepare for our game against Nigeria.

“They had a team with 10 players in front of us defending well. We had an enormous number of chances and we are disappointed we were not as effective as in our previous matches,” he said.

Chelsea offer • 20m for Emenike

C

GLORY BOYS: Super Eagles celebrate Ahmed Musa's goal against Argentina, Wednesday. Nigeria lost 2-3. Photo: AFP

Bring on France — Emenike S

UPER Eagles energetic forward, Emmenuael Emenike will not allow Super Eagles qualification for the knockout stages of the Brazil 2014 World Cup get the better of him as he is already talking tough ahead of the clash with France in the round of 16.

While reminiscing on the titanic clash against Argentina in the final Group F match Wednesday, Emenike who is yet to score his first goal at Brazil 2014. said, “I am delighted that we made it out of the group stages.”

He poured praises on Argentina skipper, Lionel Messi. “Messi is a great player, I have played against him twice and in my opinion he is really something special. We lost against Argentina, but I thought we did well and were a little unlucky.”

Looking ahead, Emenike speaks on the clash against France.”I am sure we are going to give France a tough game.”

Meanwhile, the Nigerian striker has given the green light to a transfer to the English Premier League amid

speculations that he is wanted by several top clubs there.

The Fenerbahce striker said that he would be open to a move to England when told about interests from Chelsea and Tottenham.

“If I got an offer from those clubs [Chelsea and Tottenham] in England which meets Fenerbahce’s valuation and if my club are happy with the offer I would have no problem

making the move,” Emenike said.

“I want to stay at Fenerbahçe but if I do get an offer and if my club gives the green light I would seriously consider a transfer.”

HELSEA have lodged a surprise •20m offer with Turkish giants Fenerbahce for Nigeria striker Emmanuel Emenike and are ready to wrap a deal one of Europe’s most quickest, if not unpredictable forwards once the World Cup concludes.

Emenike has spent less than 12 months with Fener after completing a late switch to Istanbul from Spartak Moscow last summer, but Turkish newspaper Fanatik is reported by the Metro to believe that Chelsea are chasing fresh strike cover in a move that has come completely out of the blue.

Jose Mourinho still views Atletico Madrid marksman Diego Costa as his number one strike star for next season, with today’s shock move for Emenike completely independent of that longawaited deal, which is still expected to go through for a fee of £32m before the end of this week. Emenike is currently strutting his stuff for Nigeria at the World Cup.

We must beat Nigeria — Benzema F

RANCE top striker, Karim Benzema has warned his French squad to get serious for a tough encounter with the Super Eagles of Nigeria in the second round of the World Cup insisting that they must do everything to beat the

African champions.

Still savouring topping their group with seven points with the Real Madrid forward scoring three times, Benzema said that there are no pushovers again in the World Cup. France finished top of

their group with 7 points with the Real Madrid forward scoring three times. Their reward is a clash with Nigeria in the Round of 16 and Benzema said the Super Eagles would be no pushovers. “ There are no easy opponents, we saw this against Ecuador. Now we must rest, recover

well and get 100% for the knockout. Nigeria is a good team, it will be difficult but we must do everything to win”, he said.

The sides have only met once previously in an international friendly back in 2009. Les Bleus lost 1-0 in Saint-Etienne to a Joseph Akpala strike.

Keshi Continues from BP

•Deschamps

•Keshi

asked what he thought about the probability of Nigeria facing Karim Benzema. He replied quick as a flash: “And France will be facing Musa, Emenike … ” There are reasons to be confident after a performance in which Eagles caused problems for Argentina and showed that on a good

day, the African champions are as good as any of the teams to go all the way.

“All the teams are good.

It doesn’t matter [who you face],” Keshi noted.

“You have to appreciate that. It is only Nigeria that don’t appreciate that. Nigerians always think that every team we face we have to kill them 5-0, 10-0. It doesn’t work that way.”

62 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 — 58

Germany, USA qualify T

HOMAS Muller sealed Germany ’s victory over the USA, but both teams go through to World Cup Round of 16.

A draw would qualify both of these teams and, with Jurgen Klinsmann on the American bench, this raised more than a few doubts in Portuguese minds. In the end, it was goal difference that saw USA qualify ahead of Portugal.

Bastian Schweinsteiger made his first start of the tournament, replacing Sami Khedira, and Lukas Podolski stepped in for Mario Gotze.

The game was almost called off due to heavy rain and flooding in Recife, but was able to go ahead as planned.

As expected, Germany

kept much of the possession early doors, but Thomas Muller and Podolski both went for the same cross and the chance went begging.

Omar Gonzalez was decisive in defence with last-ditch tackles on Muller and Schweinsteiger.

Graham Zusi’s leftfooted strike from distance whistled over the bar, while Tim Howard caught a Toni Kroos snapshot and dealt with Mesut Ozil’s attempt.

Lazio striker Miroslav Klose, who matched Ronaldo’s all-time record of 15 World Cup goals in the last game, replaced Podolski for the second half.

Germany ’s sterile possession finally paid off when Howard parried

a Per Mertesacker header and Muller scored on the rebound from the edge of the box with a sensational curl off the inside of the right boot. Remarkably, it was Muller ’s ninth World Cup goal in just nine appearances.

With this result, USA would still be qualified due to a superior goal difference.

They appeared to realise that and focused on not conceding any more rather than securing an equaliser, while Germany rarely got out of third gear.

Deep into stoppages the Americans did have a chance with Alejandro Bedoya, but Philip Lahm came diving in with a decisive block and Clint Dempsey’s header was off target.

TIME TO GO: Ronaldo (l) bids Abedi Ayew of Ghana bye.

Ronaldo heads home as Portugal, Ghana crash

C

RISTIANO Ronaldo should have gone out of Brazil 2014 – and perhaps from the World Cup forever – with a hattrick at the very least.

That was no less than this Portuguese man o’ war deserved for the command performance he gave here on football’s greatest stage.

Instead he had to settle for one, winning goal and as it happened a couple more would have made no difference to the timing of his departure.

It would have taken a cascade for Portugal to overhaul the United States.

Run after run and shot after shot ended in seemingly impossible frustration.

When one last brilliant effort was somehow denied, he just sat there beating his fists on the turf in despair and disbelief.

If it is some small consolation Ronaldo will be remembered for this virtuous performance, not for his failure to match Lionel Messi and now Neymar in World Cup goalscoring achievement.

That he could deliver his genius despite his belief that Portugal were

not good enough to challenge for this great prize is all the more to his credit.

Kudos, also, to Ghana.

They came into this match out of meltdown in their dressing room and made a splendid

fight of it.

But now they follow their two expelled teammates home.

So too does Ronaldo – but in victory at the last and in glorious failure on this day.

Abuja bomb blast: Eagles mourn! blast cast a shadow on

T

HE qualification of the Super Eagles to the round of 16 in the ongoing World Cup in Brazil was enough reason for the players and officials of the team to celebrate. It has taken 16 years for Nigeria to achieve this feat of moving into the second round of the World Cup after France 1998.

And when they lost 2-3 to Argentina to move into the second round, the sad news of yet another bomb blast in Abuja saddened the joy of the team and took away the celebration. ‘’The news of the bomb

the Eagles camp. It was devastating news on a day of celebration”, Media man of the team Ben Alaiya said almost in tears.

Alaiya said that chief coach Stephen Keshi was also saddened by the bomb blast. ‘’Nobody is happy here.

From the chief coach to the players and backroom staff, nobody is happy.

How can we be happy when Nigerians are being killed”, Alaiya asked. Super Eagles will play France in Brasilia on Monday as victory would see them moving into the quarter finals.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 — 63

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014

Musa, Emenike ‘ll knock out France — Keshi M

ANY out here in Brazil feel that the French national team have good players who can run down Nigeria when the two countries face each other in the second round of the World Cup on Monday.

Karim Benzema has been touted as the portent striker that would cause trouble for the Super Eagles who rattled Argentina before going down 3 -2.

Stephen Keshi was Continues on Page 61

We must beat Nigeria — Benzema • P. 61 Chelsea offer • 20m for Emenike • P. 61 Results USA Portugal

0 2

Germany Ghana

•Benzema

More stories on pages 32 & 33

1 1

•Emenike

QUICK CROSSWORD

TODAY'S

PUZZLE

YESTER DAY'S YESTERDAY'S

ANSWERS

ACROSS 1 Grasp (4) 4 Feline (3) 6 Manufactured (4) 9 Tune (3) 10 Pose (8) 11 Clothed (4) 14 Ban (3) 16 Dulcet (5) 19 Surrendered (8) 21 Principle (5) 23 Easing (8) 24 Managed (5) 27 Hairpiece (3) 31 Abrupt (4) 33 Go by (8) 34 Prosecute (3) 35 Ale (4) 36 Wages (3) 37 Gasp (4)

DOWN 2 Ceremony (4) 3 Bucket (4) 4 Campaigner (8) 5 Rank (4) 6 Parrot (5) 7 Sicken (3) 8 Hang (5) 12 Sneer (5) 13 Beneath (5) 14 Wager (3) 15 Renovate (5) 17 Furnish (5) 18 Leathery (5) 20 Speech (8) 22 Label (3) 25 Entertain (5) 26 Go in (5) 28 Cage (4) 29 Cease (4) 30 Hide (4) 32 Regret (3)

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS ACROSS: 1, Access 5, Thwart 8, Decadent 9, Rota 10, All 12, Angel 15, Sow 17, Inn 18, Ill 19, Ask 20, Groom 21, End 22, Eel 23, Imp 24, Nod 26, Elect 29, Tie 33, Ague 34, Progress 35, Unison 36, Evaded.

DOWN: 2, Creel 3, Edam 4, Stern 5, Title 6, Work 7, Ratio 10, Again 11, Liked 12, Angle 13, Grope 14, Limit 15, Slept 16, Wedge 25, Organ 27, Lupin 28, Close 30, Issue 31, Mess 32, Area.

How to Play Sudoku

P

lace a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line can have two of the same number).

Each row (nine lines from left to right), column, (also nine lines from top to bottom) and 3 X 3 block within a bold block (nine blocks) contains number from 1 through 9. This means that no number can appear twice in any block, column or row.

No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction, division or multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination.

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