Arrest Tompolo, Dokubo, others now — DANJUMA

...towards a better life for the people VOL. 25: NO. 62330

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ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

N150

THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015

BUHARI vs JONATHAN:

Peace Committee— From left: Senator Ben Obi , Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe (Ret) and CAN President, Ayo Oritsejafor; during inauguration of the National Peace Committee for 2015 general elections in Abuja, Tuesday. Photo: Gbemiga Olamikan.

42&43

Okonjo-Iweala tackles Soludo

Arrest Tompolo, Dokubo, others now — DANJUMA

By Abdulsalam Muhammad

•Says call for war by ex-militants irresponsible •Accuses politicians of deviating from issue-based campaigns

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ANO— FORMER Defence Minister, General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma (Ret), has called for the arrest of Asari Dokubo, High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, General Boyloaf and others over recent war threats by the Continues on Page 6

COLUMNISTS:

There can be no postponing the February 2015 •P.17 elections

Reduction in pump price: Half a loaf is worse than no bread •P.19 PDP PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN:—The crowd at the PDP Presidential rally in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, yesterday. Inset: President Goodluck Jonathan [M], Vice President, Namadi Sambo [left] and First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan [right]. at the rally. Photos: Nwankpa Chijioke.

68.8 million PVCs ready — INEC The ugly side of Buhari and Jonathan — Atedo Peterside C M Y K

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40 killed as Boko Haram invades Adamawa villages

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Mr & Mrs

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6—Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015

POCKET CARTOON

DIVESTMENT—From left: Mr. Godwin Emefiele, Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria; Mr. Akinsola Akinfemiwa, Chairman, Heritage Bank Limited, and Mr. Tunde Ayeni, Chairman, Skye Bank Plc, at the divestment ceremony of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) from Mainstreet Bank and Enterprise Bank Limited in Lagos on Tuesday.

68.8 million PVCs ready—INEC •Says 65m PVCs released, expects 3.8 million today •You’re plotting to postpone polls, APC accuses PDP, Presidency •IG orders crack-down on pre-election trouble makers

By Clifford Ndujihe, Kingsley Omonobi, Evelyn Usman & Umar Yusuf

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AGOS—THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), yesterday, enjoined those who fear that non availability of Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) will hurt next month’s general elections to have a rethink.

Reason: All the cards have been printed and are ready for collection.

The Pan-Yoruba sociopolitical organization, Afenifere, on Wednesday after a four-hour meeting in Akure, country home of its chairman, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, lamented that more than 15 million voters had not collected their cards and 14 million voters cards were yet to arrive the country.

It said non-distribution of 30 million PVCs, about half of the over 60 million registered voters will not lead to a credible election.

Indeed, the polity has

been awash with hiccups trailing the collection of the PVCs, which prompted calls for postponement of the polls from some quarters.

Speaking on the issues, yesterday, in a phone chat with Vanguard , Mr Kayode Idowu, Chief Press Secretary to INEC National Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, said it was not true that 14 million PVCs were yet to be printed.

His words: “All the PVCs have been printed.

Altogether, 68.8 PVCs were printed. We have received 65 million PVCs which are out for distribution.

The remaining 3.8 million PVCs will be out there between tomorrow (today) and Friday.”

To ensure hitch-free polls, INEC urged wouldbe-voters who are yet to collect their PVCs to do so, warning those without the cards not to come to the polling booths during the polls.

Speaking at a stakeholders consultative meeting towards a

TAKE HEART

BY ELLA RANDLE

successful and violencefree 2015 election, hosted by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Kayode Aderanti, the Lagos State Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC, Akin Orebiyi, threatened to arrest those found around polling units on election day without voters cards.

So far, Orebiyi, disclosed that out of more than four million voters whose PVCs are ready, only 2.3 million had collected, appealing to those who are yet to collect theirs to do so as quickly as possible.

“There are various categories of people affected by the PVCs; those who registered in 2011 and whose PVCs are ready for collection now — they should go and collect them if they have not; those who registered in 2011, who saw their names on the displayed register at the polling units — their cards are on the way; those who registered in 2011 but who, for one reason or the other, their data are not on INEC’s records ought to

have re-registered; those who registered in 2014 their cards are on the way, if they have not arrived.

“Those who registered in one particular place and have moved to another location and would like to vote in the new place – they ought to have requested for transfer. If they have, this must have been effected.

If not, they can only vote where they registered originally.

“Those who did not reregister when they ought to, we have no PVC for you. Stay at home on election day. Those who never registered and are willing to register nowthe registration window is closed. Stay at home on election day” He revealed that stringent measures such as the provision of a Smart Card Reader had been introduced by INEC, with a view to ensuring there were no rigging by any means.

Orebiyi highlighted part of the benefits of the Smart Card Reader to include; detecting fake or cloned PVCs; ensuring no elector uses another person’s PVC, ensure an elector does not vote in more than one place as well as to check inflation of result figures.

Other measures on ground according to him, included the numbering of sensitive materials such as ballot papers which he said are in serial numbers, while the ballot boxes of each local government are colour coded.

This came as the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) accused the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Presidency of plotting to postpone the February general polls.

Meanwhile, InspectorGeneral of Police, Suleiman Abba, has ordered immediate crack down on political thugs and miscreants perpetrating mayhem for immediate prosecution no matter their status in the society as the Lamido of Adamawa, Muhammadu Bakindo Aliyu Musdafa, urged politicians to embrace peace and pelt

their opponents with votes instead of stones.

PDP, Presidency plotting to postpone polls

While the allegations and counter-allegations against the genuineness of the WASCE certificate of the APC presidential Candidate, MajorGeneral Muhammadu Buhari (ret) continue, the party has accused the PDP and the Presidency of orchestrating the ongoing campaign for election postponement, despite their serial denial and assurances that they are ready for the polls.

The APC said in a statement in Lagos by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed that "There is no clearer indication that the PDP and the Presidency are the puppeteers behind the election shift campaign of Wednesday’s newspaper advertorial.

"This advert, which has the picture of President Goodluck Jonathan and the logo of the PDP — meaning they will be the sole beneficiaries of the postponement they are seeking — leaves no one in doubt that the ruling party and the Presidency are pathologically dishonest, deliberately deceptive and chronically terrified about the elections."

While urging its members and supporters in particular, and all Nigerians in general to

remain vigilant and firm in saying ‘no’ to election postponement, the APC appealed to the Chief Justice of the Federation (CJN) to ensure that the courts are not used as a tool to sabotage the elections and indeed the nation’s democracy.

IG’s riot act to trouble-makers

The Inspector-General of Police has ordered that miscreants and thugs causing untold discomfort for supporters and actors of opposing political parties in the on-going political campaigns be dealt with.

Vanguard gathered that reopening of courts by judicial workers necessitated the IGP’s order.

Several suspects were arrested in connection with perpetration of violence during political campaigns at different locations in Katsina, Bauchi, Rivers and Plateau states which contravenes Section 227 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Sections 94 and 95 of the Electoral Act. A statement signed by Force Public Relations Officer, CP Emmanuel Ojukwu noted that “while the IGP advises politicians to play the game by the rules, the Nigeria Police will not condone any act of hooliganism from any quarter."

Arrest Tompolo, Dokubo, others now— DANJUMA

Many people lose the small joys in the hope for the big happiness— Pearl S. Buck

Continues from Page 1

Whatever you’re waiting for – peace of mind, contentment, grace, an inner awareness of abundance – it will surely come to you, but only when you’re ready to receive it with an open and grateful heart. So be as grateful as possible, for small things, not just for big things – for the simple act of breathing, the time together, the conversations, etc.

Every moment counts. Every second matters.

Whatever is given is a gift. Make the most of it.

And focus on the resources you do have access to. It all begins and ends in your mind. What you give power to has power over you, if you allow it.

Too many of us are hung up on what we don’t have, can’t have, or won’t ever have. We spend too much energy being down, when we could use that same energy – if not less of it – doing, or at least trying to do, some of the things we really want to do.

ex-Niger Delta militants.

General Danjuma, who spoke to reporters at the permanent site of multibillion naira North-West University, Kano, said the drumbeats of war by the Niger Delta militants was highly irresponsible.

He said: “Those were reckless statements coming from i r r e s p o n s i b l e individuals; they should be condemned and be arrested immediately”.

The ex-militants had at a meeting with Bayelsa

State governor, Seriake Dickson, at the Government House, Yenagoa, weekend, threatened to declare war against the country in the event that President Jonathan loses his reelection bid.

Danjuma, who refused to comment on the inaction of the President over the drumbeat of war by his kinsmen, condemned Nigerian politicians for sacrifing issues-based campaign for slander.

Danjuma, also a former

Chief of Army Staff, however, cautioned on the need to reverse current trends where politicians were having a field day denigrating one another in the buildup to the general elections, pointing out that such unwholesome practice was counterproductive to democracy.

General Danjuma commended Kwankwaso over the infrastructure development of Kano State, adding that the legacy was worth emulating by other

stakeholders in the polity.

He also identified lack of continuity as the bane of Nigeria’s infrastructure development and appealed to successive administrations at each tier of government to embrace continuity in collective interest of the nation.

“Governor Kwankwaso is leaving behind a lasting and enduring legacy for Kano and we hope his successor would consolidate on the gains,” Danjuma said.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015—7

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8—Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015

By Emma Ujah, Abuja bureau Chief

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BUJA — THE Federal Government, yesterday, accused the former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, of poor managerial ability, saying he was largely responsible for the N5.67 trillion contingent liabilities of distressed banks, bought up by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON, to save the banking industry in 2008.

Reacting to Soludo’s comments on the economic downturn in the country, the Federal Government also said the former CBN governor was "an embittered" loser in the Nigerian political space and out to discredit the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

The Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi OkonjoIweala, in a lengthy response in Abuja, yesterday, said Soludo deliberately distorted facts to suit his mission when indeed, he should have hid his head in shame after plunging the Nigerian banking sector into an unprecedented crisis in 2008.

Okonjo-Iweala’s response was signed by her Special Adviser on the Media, Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu.

Embittered loser

She said: “It shows how an embittered loser in the Nigerian political space can get so derailed that they commit intellectual harakiri by deliberately misquoting economic facts and maliciously turning statistics on their head to justify a hatchet job.

“We cannot go by someone’s subjective view, driven by bitterness. We need to look to the truth and to professionalism. This is where Professor Soludo totally fails.”

She said Soludo was in desperate search for relevance in the country, after being left in the cold after his futile attempts to become governor of Anambra State.

According to her, “he claims in his article that he has had his own share of public service, yet he has failed twice in his attempts to be governor of Anambra State and Vice Presidential candidate of various parties.

Desperate search for power and relevance

"There is definitely an issue of character with Prof. Charles Soludo and his desperate search for power and relevance in Nigeria. Nigerians should, therefore, beware of so-called intellectuals without character and wisdom because this combination is fatal.

“So much of what is written is outright nonsense and selfseeking aggrandizement that need not be dignified with a response. It is totally remarkable that Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, the man who presided over the worst mismanagement of Nigeria’s banking sector as Governor of the

Soludo, an embittered loser in search of relevance —FG zAccuses him of poor managerial ability z Says he's responsible for N5.67trn liabilities of distressed banks’ Central Bank of Nigeria between May 2004 and May 2009, can write about the mismanagement of the economy.

“Nigerians must be reminded of his antecedents as CBN Governor, and even prior to that, as the Chief Economic Adviser to the President. The consolidation of the banking sector was a good policy idea of the Obasanjo administration but Soludo went on to thoroughly mismanage its implementation leading to the worst financial crisis in Nigeria’s history. So what did Soludo do?"

N5.67trn contingent liabilities of distressed banks

The government alleged that as CBN governor, Soludo compromised the banking supervision mandate of the apex bank, leaving a questionable corporate governance practice in many banks where managers of the banks gave themselves and cronies huge amounts of money in loans without collateral.

“So, let it be noted for the record books that Soludo’s s i n g l e - h a n d e d mismanagement of the banking sector led to an incredible accumulation of liabilities that will cost tax payers about N5.67 trillion (being the total face value of AMCON-issued bonds) to clean up.

"Let it be noted also that this amount, which is more than the entire Federal Government 2015 budget, constitutes the bulk of Nigeria’s 'contingent liabilities' mentioned in Soludo’s article." zSee full text on Pages 41-43

COMMISSIONING: Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State (right); Chief Kola Jamodu, Chairman, NB Plc (left) and Dr. Olusegun Aganga, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment during the commissioning of ultra-modern Aba Brewery expansion in Aba, Abia State.

Jonathan backing N-Delta militants in threats to destabilise Nigeria — APC Campaign

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By Levinus Nwabughiogu

BUJA — THE All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Organisation, APCPCO, has slammed President Goodluck Jonathan for allegedly identifying with former militants in the Niger Delta who threatened to cause violence should he fail at the February 14 presidential polls.

The APCPCO said in a statement in Abuja, yesterday, that Jonathan’s unholy alliance with people that served a notice of their intention to foment trouble was against the oath of allegiance he swore to over five years ago to maintain the

territorial integrity and indivisible Nigeria.

The statement signed by the Director of Media and Publicity of the APCPCO, Mallam Garba Shehu, condemned the President’s attitude of “condoning treasonable statements and gross indiscipline by some elements of his kinsmen— as a breach of presidential oath to protect all Nigerians and a sheer display of double standard and selective justice.

“How can the President feign ignorance of the war plots and call to arms in Bayelsa State Government House in Yenagoa, supervised by a PDP

Oil spill: Reps ask Chevron, communities to settle rift within 10 days

By Emman Ovuakporie

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BUJA — THE House of Representatives Committee on Gas (subcommittee on Environment) yesterday asked officials of Chevron Nigeria Limited and representatives of communities ravaged by series of oil spills in Warri, Delta State to reach an amicable settlement within the next 10 days.

Chairman of the committee, Hon. Alfonsus Gerrald, in a reaction to Chevron’s outright rejection of report presented by the representative of National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency,

NOSDRA, Olubunmi Akindele which stated that the independent damage valuation done by Chevron and which put the cost of compensation at N30 million was inaccurate and cannot be used for any credible effort at solving the problems generated by the oil spill which affected many communities.

Gerrald (PDP, Imo), who is also the deputy chairman, House Committee on Gas said: “In as much as Chevron is not at liberty to reject whatever NOSDRA recommends based on assessment of damages to ecology of communities which is in line with the act

establishing it by which a culprit must abide, the claim agents who are the representatives of impacted communities should also not make their claims binding as the basis upon which the committee must reach its conclusion.

“What all the parties have submitted to us are working tools that guide our deliberation and subsequent decisions which should be acceptable to all”, he said.

He averred that: “section 88 and 89 of the constitution empowers the House to carry out investigations through its Committees - be they standing or Ad-hoc.”

Governor, Seriake Dickson, and the Presidential Special Adviser on Amnesty Programme, Kingsley Kuku, with majority of Niger Delta ex-militant kinsmen?

“Whereas this President was quick to condemn MEND for allegedly supporting the opposition candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, and lambasted claims by the hoax Federal Government-hired Australian negotiator with the Boko Haram, Dr Stephen Davis; publicly bad-mouthed his critics particularly former Head of State, Olusegun Obasanjo; yet he has refused to call to order tribal warmongers like Kingsley Kuku and his cohorts - Asari Dokubo, Tompolo, Boy Loaf and others.

"This is a total and unequivocal support of Mr. President for aiding and abetting treason in the land, an impeachable offence by all standards.”

It also described as clandestine the procurement and distribution of arms and ammunition across the nation, saying it was a grand design by the President and his party to scuttle democracy or eventually break up the country for parochial gains.

“It is now common knowledge that strange planes and helicopters laden with arms have been landing at unauthorised spots in some parts of the country.

The incident in Kano where a cargo plane supposedly going to neighbouring country of Niger landed unexpectedly, and the use of drones one of which allegedly crashed recently; coupled with the shady movement of millions of raw dollars to do undercover black market buying of weapons in South Africa."

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015 —9

NCAA threatens to sanction airlines operating below standard A

BUJA —DIRECTORGENERAL, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, Captain Muhtar Usman, has threatened to sanction airlines that operate below the required standard of international best practice.

According to him, “if for any reason we find any operator that is operating below the set standard, we will not hesitate to keep that aircraft on ground because without safety, there will be no air transportation.

“Our own is to promote air transportation and safety; so we always try to bring the airlines up to standard where we find them going below standards.

“Our own is to try as much as possible to keep these airlines working in safe condition and safe atmosphere.

“Safety cannot be compromised because our target is safety, so it is always safety first.”

The NCAA boss said that no airline could operate within the country’s airspace without the Air Operate Certificate, AOC, from the authority.

According to him, AOC is the certificate issued by NCAA to airlines that enables them to operate in Nigeria.

Usman explained that if an airline failed to use “its license between 30 days and 90 days, such airline would not be allowed to operate within the airspace.”

“For an airline to operate again, it must come to NCAA to start a process of acquiring a new licence to enable it to fly. Processing of renewal of

licence is a continuous process,” the NCAA chief said.

On the monitoring of airlines to ensure compliance with safety regulations, Usman explained that the AOC clearly defined the role of airlines.

FEB POLLS: Falana, others task journalists on objectivity

By Olayinka Latona

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AGOS — LAGOS lawyer and human rights activist, Femi Falana, SAN, has urged media practitioners in the country to adhere strictly to the rules of engagement on accuracy,

Court restrains 5 telecoms firms

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AGOS — A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, yesterday, restrained five telecoms firms from suspending All Progressives Congress, APC, campaign fund-raising platform.

Trial judge, Justice Ibrahim Buba made the ex-parte order following an application by the party.

The telecom companies effected by the order include Etisalat, MTN, Glo, Airtel and Visafone.

They were restrained from giving effect to a directive by the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, which warned them against running political promotions that will portray them as being partisan.

The judge ordered the telecoms firms “to continue to run, operate and/or restore to its full operative use the SMS Code

allowing it to commence flight operations, stressing that the certificate qualified aircraft to operate within any airspace.

“To get an air certificate, you need to have a minimum of two or three aircraft to operate scheduled services,” he said.

INSPECTION: Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State, (3rd left), his wife, Ebelechukwu (middle) Dr. Joseph Akabuike, Commissioner for Health (3rd right), the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Achebe (2nd right), and others during the inspection of facilities in Onitsha General Hospital.

APC campaign fund-raising platform:

By Innocent Anaba

He said airlines that do not fulfill their role in accordance with the AOC, would be made to lose their licences.

Usman also said that NCAA would issue a Certificate of Airworthiness, CofA, to an aircraft before

platform 35350 created for fundraising for the applicant’s presidential campaign.”

The court also granted APC leave to serve the originating motion on notice and other processes on NCC outside the court’s jurisdiction.

APC had argued that the platform was to operate till February 12, when campaign activities for the presidential election were to stop in line with Electoral Act and the election time-table.

APC is also demanding N25 billion damages from the defendants for violating the fundamental rights of the party and its members.

It is contending that since the platform was suspended, it has been unable to disseminate or receive information from its supporters via the SMS code 35350.

objective and balanced reporting during the February general elections.

Speaking at the first public lecture series of the Lagos State Polytechnic, School of Communication and Liberal Studies, Ikorodu campus, Falana said elections cannot be successful without the active involvement of the media because the voters cannot be fully educated and enlightened without it.

Speaking on the theme “2015 Election: Legal and ethical issues in media reporting,” Falana counselled media practitioners to desist from giving undue advantage to any candidate or any political party, stressing that the importance of the media to the success of electionerring process cannot be over-emphasised.

According to him, accurate reportage of any election by media practitioners promotes transparency, credibility and impartiality that give legitimacy to the process.

In his words: “As far as the law is concerned, the media has a larger responsibility to educate and enlighten Nigerians with a view to mobilising and sensitizing them to make the right choices while electing politicians. Giving undue advantage to one candidate

over another is a criminal offence. All candidates and political parties should be given equal airtime and reportage.

"Media practitioners should present balanced, accurate and fair account of the electioneering process. They should not allow themselves to be used as tools to violate the law.”

Falana said he entertained no fears about next month’s election, assuring that the nation will not break.

Advising Nigerian youths, especially students, not to be used during or after the election as political thugs, Falana asked the youths to challenge those going for political offices on the under-development in the country.

Also speaking, the school’s Rector, Dr. Abdulazeez Lawal, who described the lecture as timely and appropriate, called on Nigerians to ensure that they perform their civic responsibility during the forth coming election.

The Dean, School of Communication and Liberal.

Studies, Mr. Adebayo Alake, in his opening speech, said Nigerians needed to be fully and accurately informed to enable them choose those who will govern them or represent them, noting that there is a crucial link between the media and democracy in dissemination of information to the people.

40 killed as Boko Haram invades Adamawa villages

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OLA — BOKO Haram terrorists are rampaging through seven villages in Adamawa State, killing, burning and looting with no troops protecting civilians, fleeing villagers said yesterday.

More than 40 people have been killed this week, according to a resident, Emmanuel Kwache.

Kwache said:“They slaughtered people like rams and they burned down our houses after looting food. There’s no presence of troops, some residents are hiding on top of hills, while those that could not run were abducted, particularly youths and women.”

State legislator Adamu Kamale said he has appealed in vain for troops since the attacks began on Friday. On Monday the militants moved into Michika town, he said.

In Maiduguri, capital of Borno State and some 200 kilometres north of Michika, people fleeing other Boko Haram attacks say the militants warned they are preparing to massacre them in Maiduguri and that “there will be no mercy.”

Maiduguri is the biggest city in the northeast where troops repelled a daring offensive by hundreds of militants, Sunday. Boko Haram attacked Maiduguri at three entry points and at least 200 combatants were killed in prolonged gun battles, according to residents and security forces.

“They kept saying ... we can all run into the big grave they are preparing for us in Maiduguri,” said Aishatu Ba’malum, who fled from Monguno, a northeast town taken Sunday by militants.

Maiduguri’s population of two million has been swollen by about 200,000 refugees who have fled Boko Haram in the surrounding countryside.

Four roads lead to Maiduguri and Boko Haram already controls access to three. The militants are believed to be attacking the fourth road leading to the northern city of Kano, according to residents too scared to leave though they fear an imminent attack.

10— Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015

Agbaje's firm owes Lagos N1.6m tax —Fashola zIt's a lie—Agbaje LAND USE CHARGE:

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By Dapo Akinrefon & Monsuru Olowoopejo

AGOS—THE Lagos State governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola, SAN, yesterday, accused Jaykay Pharmacy, owned and managed by the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Mr. Jimi Agbaje of owing the state N1.6 million as unpaid land use charges.

But in a swift reaction, Mr Agbaje faulted the claims made by the governor that his company defaulted in the payment of the land use charge.

Explaining the importance of taxation, the governor said: “The payment of tax is the first principle of the social contracts between the government and the citizens. It is an irreducible legal minimum of citizenship and breach of this responsibility is a criminal offence under our law.”

In addition, he said: “All those who have paid their taxes have shown that they are lawful citizens. Anyone who has failed to pay tax is a bad citizen. He is

also a cheat, such a person benefits from the commonwealth-the roads, hospitals and other facilities provided by funds generated from taxes paid by the residents.”

Lagos Chief Judge on tax cases Meantime, the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Oluwafunmilayo Atilade has disclosed that 600 tax cases were prosecuted in year 2014.

Atilade said: “We dealt with 600 cases, but the important thing with these cases was that it showed increase in compliance.”

She noted that some of the cases were not completed because the defaulters complied, saying “the prosecution led to the recovery of hundreds of millions for the state government.”

Notable personalities present at the conference include the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu 1, former Minister of Industry, Dr. Onikepo Akande among others.

Agbaje reacts

Reacting to the allegation, Agbaje said the governor lied, saying “I have even been commended for paying my Land Use Charge on time.”

Fashola made the disclosure at the 8th Annual Lagos State taxation Stakeholders’ Conference held in Ikeja.

Fashola, who explained that Land Use Charge, LUC, was a consolidated tax combining ground rent and tenement rate, said: “Tax is prescribed by the 1999 constitution. It states that it shall be the duty of every citizen to declare its income to the appropriate and lawful agency; and pay the required tax promptly.”

Accusing Agbaje’s pharmacy of defaulting in the payment of land use charge to the coffers of the state, the governor said, “ you will remember that in 2007, he (Jimi Agbaje) claimed that he was in Democratic People’s Alliance, DPA and later crossed to PDP. You know that he (Agbaje) manages a pharmacy called Jaykay Pharmacy, located at 9, Randle Close, Apapa Local Government. His pharmacy has not paid Land Use Charge for 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 respectively; it amounts to N1, 629, 064.62.”

Speaking further, he said; “let us do that mathematics to see how many facilities the fund would have provided in our hospitals and stationery in our schools. But this was the same person who was complaining that the state government spent three per cent of its budget on Primary education.

Local Government is responsible for the management of the primary schools and yet he has withheld their taxes.”

The governor declared that the pharmacy paid LUC in 2013 and 2014 because the management and the candidate of the PDP realized that the election would be holding in 2015.

Fashola said: “I know that you have to vote next month but look at that candidate that would need to take over from me and be careful of who you vote for. This is the man who wants to be your next governor. I will advice you that you avoid deception and tax evaders.”

PROTEST: Lagos State University, LASU, students, lecturers and non-academic workers, protest alleged victimization of students and staff by the vice-chancellor and the Lagos State Government in Lagos, yesterday. Photo: Lamidi Bamidele

Vigilante officer shoots Amosun's convoy in error

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By Daud Olatunji

BEOKUTA—OGUN State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun and members of the State Executive Council, including commissioners and senior special assistants, Tuesday evening escaped death when a vigilante member allegedly shot at the Governor’s convoy in Agbado, Ifo Local Government Area of the state.

Vanguard reliably gathered that, the Governor’s convoy alongside members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, were on the re-election

campaign rally of the local government before the incident.

It was further gathered that the vigilante officer, whose name could not be ascertained at the time of filling this report was at the area as part of security apparatus put in place for the visiting governor.

An eye witness who pleaded anonymity hinted our correspondent that the vigilante member reportedly opened fire on the convoy even when there was no argument between him and another person.

It was gathered that, the

bullet hit a White Toyota Coaster bus with number plate Ogun 12 OGGH, conveying the commissioners and SSA’s which was few vehicles away from that of the governor.

The source further said that some of the commissioners who were dozing in the bus around 10pm were confused as many of them scampered for safety.

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AGOS—A NonG o v e r n m e n t a l Organisation, NGO, Activists for Good Government, has called on the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, to investigate the killing of Mr Peter Eyitayo and the shooting of Mr Lanre Ogunjimi at Agege, Lagos State.

The group said that while Ogunjimi was shot, Enitayo was

killed last week during a clash between supporters of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, at Agege.

The group demanded an independent investigation, alleging that some policemen, who used to team up with politicians, were involved in the attack.

The leader of the group, Comrade Declan Ihekaire, said: “Given the different reports of

By Dapo Akinrefon & Ikenna Asomba

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AGOS—THE All Progressives Congress, APC, Ikorodu Division, yesterday, refuted reports that the Lagos State governorship candidate of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Mr. Jimi Agbaje has been endorsed by indigenes of Ikorodu, arguing that he is not an Ikorodu native.

Speaking at the party’s Secretariat, in Oke Ota-Ona, Ikorodu, former Lagos State Deputy Governor, Prince Abiodun Ogunleye and former Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Asiwaju Olorunfunmi Bashorun, said reports that Agbaje is an Ikorodu indigene and that he has been endorsed in consensus by Ikorodu indigenes under the aegis of Eminent Persons of Ikorodu Division, EPID, must be rejected on many grounds.

Ogunleye said: “Our attention has been drawn to information making the rounds in Ikorodu and the whole of Lagos State, that the Ikorodu people under the aegis of Eminent Persons of Ikorodu Division have decided to vote for Mr. Jimi Agbaje of the Peoples Democratic Party in the February 28, 2015 gubernatorial election, because he is an indigene of Ikorodu. This position is faulted and rejected.’’

Agbaje sues for peace

Meantime, Agbaje has urged supporters and members of the party to eschew violence ahead of the February general elections in the state.

He said this at a rally organised by the party for Agege and Ifako Ijaiye local government areas.

Afenifere Renewal Group dismisses Jonathan's endorsement

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By Dapo Akinrefon

AGOS—THE Afenifere Renewal Group, ARG, has

‘Probe killings during PDP, APC clash in Agege'

By Esther Onyegbula

Ikorodu people never endorsed Agbaje —APC

political assassinations and killings resulting from political rallies and clashes among party followers and thugs, it has become necessary to reemphasise the need to take necessary proactive measures if the February 2015 elections must not end in another violent experience.

“It is never too late to take such steps if the nation must be safe from gradual descent into political anarchy.”

said that it is not a party to the endorsement of President Goodluck Jonathan’s reelection.

It will be recalled that a Yoruba socio political Organisation, Afenifere has endorsed President Jonathan’s re-election, saying the leaders of the organisation decided to give their support to the President because he “convoked the National Conference and is ready to implement the report.

In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Kunle Famoriyo, the group described the use of its insignia to promote the said endorsement as fraudulent and an attempt to deceive Yoruba people.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015 —11

FG to partner Ondo on devt, says Jonathan A

By Dayo Johnson

KURE—PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has promised that the Federal Government will work with the Ondo State Government to further develop the state if reelected in the February 14 presidential election.

Jonathan made the promise yesterday in Akure during the PDP presidential campaign rally.

“All we request from you is your votes.

“When you vote massively for us to ensure we remain in power beyond 2015, we will work with your government to make sure that we give you the best,” the president said.

Jonathan also promised that the party’s leadership would resolve the lingering crisis within the state chapter of the PDP. “We have issues in Ondo State.

The party will work very hard to make sure that Jimoh Ibrahim, Gov. Olusegun Mimiko and Olusola Oke, the three main contenders in the state chapter, sit down together and talk about the interest of the state. ‘’If the leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP in Ondo state failed to resolve their difference, the party may loose the state to the opposition party in the February general election.’’

He fingered personal interest by the warring leaders as the crux of the over three months crisis.

“They must not sit down to discuss personal things or

individual interest. They must work together to make sure that, collectively, we attain the development of Ondo State and the nation.

“Everything about politics is the people, not self. I know how I came into politics. Politics is about the people; but for the people, I wouldn’t have been here today.

“I did not join politics because I wanted something for myself. So I am encouraging every politician to think about the people,” he said.

Jonathan also said that the Federal Government would be

able to work with leaders to bring the dividends of democracy to the state if only they consider the interests of the state.

Earlier, Mimiko, had said that the people of the state were supporting Jonathan on principle.

He said the president’s transformation agenda had brought unprecedented development to the country.

The governor assured the president of massive votes in the state because of the recent

merger of the PDP and the Labour Party, saying this was an electoral asset.

Vice-president Namadi Sambo also appealed to the people to vote massively for all PDP candidates in the elections.

According to him, power generation, which stood at just 2, 000 megawatts in 2011, was now over 4,000 megawatts under Jonathan’s administration.

He said that the president had also added 20,000 tarred roads to the mere 5,000 he met in 2011 while he had revived the Nigerian Railway Corporation.

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DO EKITI—ONE person was killed yesterday when the Automated Teller Machine, ATM, of one of the first generation banks was attacked in Ado Ekiti by armed robbers who carted away an undisclosed amount of money The bank which is located at the Ajilosun area of the state capital was attacked by the robbers at about 2a.m.

Vanguard gathered that the robbers disarmed one of the night guards at the bank,and shot him on the chest.

When Vanguard visited the bank, there was a huge presence of policemen around the bank.

C M Y K

By Caleb Ayansina

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BUJA – The Nigeria Election Debate Group (NEDG), yesterday, debunked rumours that the group had leaked election debate questions to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, President Goodluck Jonathan, just as it fixed 1, 8 February 2015 for Vice Presidential and Presidential debates respectively.

The Chairman of the NEDG, Mr Shola Omole stated this during a press conference on the preparation of the Presidential Debates organised by the NEDG, in Abuja. Omole, who is also the Director General of the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), said 13 out of 14 political parties recognized by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had indicated interest to take part in the debate.

Osun lawyers walk in support of Buhari/ Osinbajo

By Gbenga Olarinoye

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AWARD: Chief Lemmy Wainidi (2nd left), receiving the award of Are Atunluse Odua 1 of Yoruba on behalf of President Goodluck Jonathan from the President, Yoruba Council of Youth, Aremo Oladotun Hassan(middle). With them are; Coordinator, PDP Arewa, Lagos, Alhaji Jida Sayid (left), National Secreatry, Yoruba Council of Youths, Prince Isreal Akintola (2nd right), andPDP National Leader, Donald Obaseki, at the PDP Secretariat, Lekki, Lagos.

One feared dead as robbers attack bank's ATM in Ekiti

By Gbenga Ariyibi

Election debate: NEDG denies leaking questions to Jonathan, PDP

Most of the customers who came to transact business could not be attended to as the doors were under lock and keys.

None of the bank officials was ready to say anything, as they directed enquiries to their head office in Lagos.

The attack sent fears to other banks in the metropolis as many of them hurriedly shut their doors against customers.

Customers who spoke to journalists lamented incessant attacks on banks in the state and called on the government to address it without further delay.

When contacted, the state police commissioner, Mr Taiwo Lakanu admitted that the ATM unit of the

bank was actually attacked, but said police had no record of any life lost.

Lakanu added that one of the attackers had been arrested and is helping the police to nab

others.

The CP said his men were already investigating, adding that those connected with the robbery would be apprehended.

SOGBO—LEGAL practitioners in Osun State under the aegis of Lawyers for Change, yesterday in Osogbo staged a solidarity walk to drum support for the presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress APC, Major General Muhammadu Buhari and his running mate, Professor Yemi Osinbajo.

The lawyers, donning Tshirts with inscription of “Lawyers for Change,” numbering over 100 marched through major streets in the state capital, distributing pamphlets and other souvenirs to create awareness and seek support of the electorate ahead of the February 14 presidential poll for the APC.

Amosun's claims on education, employment deceitful —ISIAKA

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By Daud Olatunji

B E O K U T A — GOVERNORSHIP candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ogun State, Prince Gboyega Nasiru Isiaka has tackled the state governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun over the claim that he spent N170 billion on education.

Isiaka who spoke through his Campaign Director of P u b l i c i t y, Ifekayode Akinbode also carpeted Amosun on his claims that 50,000 jobs have

been created, challenging him to mention the sector the jobs were created and those employed into those offices in the last three and half years.

He, however, warned the governor to stop deceiving unsuspecting members of the public who he said are tired of his ‘knack for peddling falsehood’.

According to him, Education in the State had never suffered reversal as being currently experienced and both teachers and students can attest to this fact.

“It will be recalled that the governor in the past few days manufactured two beautiful lies.

Firstly, he said his administration had in the last three years spent

the colossal sum of N170 billion on education. This is official deceit taken to a ridiculous height. It is a common knowledge that unified examinations did not hold in Ogun secondary schools last term due to paucity of funds.

“It is also a common knowledge that since the kangaroo distribution of just 300 pieces of bags and some books (which did not go round) to students in 2011; there has not been a repeat performance.

“The debilitating result of this is that our students have no books to study while there are no instructional materials and teaching aids for the teachers, hence the mass failure recorded in the previous examinations."

12—Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015

Jonathan must flag off Ogidigben EPZ project Feb 4 —WIG

By Egufe Yafugborhi

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ARRI—AS reactions continue to trail the recent visit by President Goodluck Jonathan to the Itsekiri nation in Warri, Delta State, the Warri Interest Group, WIG, has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to perform the groundbreaking of the controversial $16 billion Export Processing Zone, EPZ, in Ogidigben, Warri South- West Local Government Area on February 4.

The President had, during his visit to the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse II, directed the state governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, to liaise with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and relevant authorities to fix a date for the ground breaking, which he said he will perform before the end of the current administration.

But National Coordinator, WIG, Alex Eyeful, in a statement in Warri, yesterday, said there can be no better date than February 4, since President Jonathan had told the Warri monarch that he would be coming back to the oil city same day to discuss politics with the royal father.

Eyengho said: “It is a matter of

using one stone to kill two birds.

Mr. President in the company of the Olu of Warri should dash to the EPZ project site at Ogidigben in the morning for the muchawaited groundbreaking ceremony which should not take

more than two hours. Thereafter, he can discuss politics with the monarch and his subjects. Doing otherwise would amount to putting the cart before the horse.

“Mr. President has enough time between his visit to the Olu of

Warri last Friday and his promised return February 4, to liaise with the Petroleum Minister and Governor Uduaghan to put proper plans in place for a successful groundbreaking ceremony on February 4."

RALLY: Chief Great Ogboru, Labour Party's governorship candidate in Delta State, addressing party faithful and supporters at the party's campaign rally in Ughelli, yesterday.

Market ownership tussle: Delta community accuses ....It's not true —JTF JTF of complicity

By Festus Ahon & Perez Brisibe

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GHELLI—THE OtorIwhreko community, Ughelli North Local Government Area, Delta State, has accused men of the Joint Military Task Force, JTF, 222 Battalion, Agbarha-Otor of complicity in the crisis involving it and the Ekuigbo community over the ownership of the Ughelli main market.

A community source told Vanguard that the councillor representing Ekuigbo, Mr Simeon Unuefepha, accosted one Johnmack Otorkhra, a youth from Otor-Iwhreko, who was said to be buying jerricans at the market on Sunday and accused him of collecting revenue from a trader despite the restraining order by the state Ministry of Justice on both communities to desist from such act.

Saying that the argument which ensued led to a fight between the youth and the councillor, the source who does not want his name in print, alleged that the councillor stormed the community on Tuesday with two pickup load of soldiers and destroyed some chairs in the Otor-Iwhreko community town hall.

The JTF has, meanwhile, denied the allegation of complicity, saying that its men were in the community to keep peace.

C M Y K

Contacted, the Otor-Iwhereko community chairman, Mr. Felix Okoro, said: “An indigene of my community, Otorkhra was at the market buying jerrycans when he was accosted by Mr. Unuefepha in company of others, who accused him of collecting levies from traders leading to a fight

after which it was resolved only for us to hear on Monday about 8a.m., that soldiers from the 222 Battalion have destroyed our community town hall.”

A senior officer attached to the 222 Battalion, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that when officers of the battalion got to the scene, Mr. Otorkhra in

company of other youths fled the scene.

Saying that four Otor-Iwhereko youths were arrested on Monday morning in connection with the incident, the officer, said “When the Commanding Officer was passing the market on Monday morning, he saw some set of youths collecting revenue from traders in the market and subsequently arrested them."

Goodluck’s Women coordinator, senatorial aspirant dump PDP for APC in Edo

By Simon Ebegbulem

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E N I N — N AT I O N A L President, Goodluck-forTransformation and state Women Coordinator, Goodluck Campaign Organisation, Chief Evelyn Igbafe, a former member of the House of Representatives and senatorial aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Edo South, Ehiogie WestIdahosa, have dumped the PDP for the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Edo State.

Mr. Roland Ehigiamusoe, a former Commissioner in the old Bendel State and a founding member of the PDP, alongside over 5,000 of their supporters also joined the APC. Speaking when they were received by Governor Adams Oshiomhole, Chief Igbafe said

that she was merely on sabbatical before, but was now fully back to the party where her heart truly belongs.

She assured Oshiomhole and other APC chieftains who received her, that many people were disenchanted with the PDP and that “many are on their way to the APC.” Ehigiamusoe, on his part,

said PDP was a sinking ship which is under the grip of a single man.

He said: “I have been a member of the PDP right from inception when it was formed on August 30, 1998. I have been there since and I have witnessed a lot of things. I am not surprised today that the PDP is sinking."

Ogoni group commissions secretariat in Lagos

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HE Ogoni Welfare Association, OWA, Lagos State Chapter, has commissioned the first phase of its secretariat, Ogoni House, in Lagos.

The event witnessed a large turnout of Ogoni people, who saw the building as home away from home.

The edifice has a hall, offices and other facilities.

Commenting on the

achievement by the Ogoni people in Lagos, the immediate past President of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni people, MOSOP, Mr Ledum Miite said: “Those who dreamt this dream have made the dream happen.

They have transformed the house from their minds to the land. To have a house away form home shows the extent to which the Ogoni struggle has gone."

Jonathan executed over 70 projects in Rivers —SEKIBO

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By Davies Iheamnachor

ORT HARCOURT— AIDE to Prof. Rufai Alkali, Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Mr. Horsfall Sekibo, has said that the President Goodluck Jonathan administration had concluded over 70 projects in Rivers State, adding that it was only enemies of the administration that were saying that the president has done nothing for the people of the state.

Sekibo, who represented the President’s SA at the commissioning of Rivers State Chapter of Goodluck Support Group, GSG, secretariat/victory march in support of the president at Lord Ugboma Drive, GRA, Port Harcourt, said the President has the interest of Rivers people at heart and had concluded over 70 projects in the state.

Glo named among Africa’s six most admired brands

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AT I O N A L

telecommunications carrier, Globacom, has been adjudged one of the six most admired brands in Africa in the latest ranking by one of the continent’s most reputable business magazines, African Business.

The rankings, published in the latest edition of the London-based magazine, showed that Globacom polled a total Admiration Score of 345, placing the company as one of the six most valued brands on the continent ahead of many multinationals.

According to a statement by the organizers of the annual rankings, the results were arrived at after a rigorous, multifaceted exercise. The statement, by Rupert Kemp, Valuation Director, Brand Finance Africa, and Karin Du Chenne of TNS, the magazine’s partners on the project, said the process integrated consumer research and financial valuation.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015—13

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14—Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015

ASUU-LASU warns students against thuggery

By Olasunkanmi Akoni

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O AVERT crisis, the Academic Staff Union of University, ASUU, Lagos State University, LASU, chapter, has warned students and people against being used by some external forces to cause crisis and disrupt academic calendar of the institution.

Ayodele Asokere, chairman of ASUU-LASU caretaker committee, gave the warning, yesterday, following discovery of Short Message Service, SMS, being circulated to foment trouble in the school over spurious allegations.

Asokere, who affirmed that there was currently no crisis in LASU, urged students and parents to stand against plans to disrupt the school academic calendar, as nobody stood to gain anything from destabilising the system.

He, therefore, dissociated the union from an alleged plan by suspended former executives of ASUU in the school to stage a protest.

He said: “This became necessary because text messages sent to people's phones about the strike were baseless, and should be ignored."

Bird Flu affects 4 new states, as FG votes N145m for farmers

By Gabriel Ewepu

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HE FEDERAL Government, yesterday, confirmed fresh out-break of H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus, also known as bird flu, in four more states.

This came as government has also set aside over N145 million to compensate 39 farmers in 11 states who lost their birds to the flu.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, disclosed this at a meeting with

Commissioners of Agriculture of the 36 states of the federation in Abuja.

Adesina said Oyo, Jigawa, Gombe and Imo states were the newly infected places and that brought the number of states affected to 11.

According to the minister, the number of birds exposed to the flu had risen to 232, 385, with 51, 444 mortalities recorded.

He said Kano State had the highest exposure rate of 136,905 birds, with 17, 987 mortality rate, followed by Lagos State with 38, 845 and 4, 732 mortality rate.

However, he said the Federal Government would pay a compensation of N145.145m to 39 farmers in the 11 affected states, including Kano, Lagos, Ogun, Rivers, Delta, Edo, Plateau, Gombe, Imo, Oyo, and Jigawa.

The minister said the compensation was to ensure that farmers remain in business.

He said: “We will do everything to ensure that we protect our poultry industry from this particular situation.

“So I want to announce here, that effective from today (Wednesday), the

compensation of a total amount of N145. 145 million will be paid to 39 affected farmers across the 11 states. And those 11 states are Kano, Lagos, Ogun, Rivers, Delta, Edo, Plateau, Gombe, Imo, Oyo, and Jigawa state.

“The entire N145.145m will be paid out to the farms and we have all the lists of the farms and we have actually collected all the information and this amount will cover these farms for which we have done depopulation."

DPR plans upward review of licence fees for oil marketers

By Chris Ochayi

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BUJA — THE Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, said, yesterday, it was considering an upward review of filling station licence fees for oil marketers and operators in the oil and gas sector of the economy.

Zonal Controller of Operations at the DPR, Mr. Mohammed Usman, who stated this during an interactive session with independent and major oil marketers at its oil Marketers Annual General Meeting in Abuja, noted that the licence fees for filling station owners was the lowest in all business enterprises operating in Nigeria, saying they pay only N30,000 for two years.

He argued: “If those that are selling potatoes heard that we are charging the filling stations N30,000 as licence fees for two years, I am sure they will want to lynch us.”

He said it was based on this reason that the agency was considering an upward review of the licence fees.

Usman, however, said the agency would increase the tenure

of the licence from two to five years, so it would be more convenient for them.

In his remarks, Vice President, Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Abubakar Shettima, urged the DPR to review the span of the licence from two to five years.

Shettima also called on the agency to ensure that the tank farm owners did not sell refined

products above official price.

“In most of the places where we buy this product at the tank farm they sell above stipulated rate and when we bring this to our various stations we encounter difficulties in selling.

“We want the DPR to look into this problem, especially as regards Premium Motor Spirit and kerosene."

Jonathan, Buhari urged to respect Abuja Accord

By Joseph Erunke

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BUJA — THE National Peace Committee, NPC, set up in the wake of the signing of a non-violence pact by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,

President Goodluck Jonathan and his All Progressives Congress, APC, counterpart, General Muhammadu Buhari (ret), yesterday, expressed worry over some unpleasant comments emanating from the two camps in the build-up to February poll.

To this end, the committee had asked the two leading candidates to ensure they adhere strictly to the agreement they entered into.

It also tasked the two politicians to caution their supporters on the implications of some of their actions and statements.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015—15

Jonathan promises more attention to Rivers, Bayelsa if re-elected

By Imiatota Onoyume

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ORT-HARCOURT — PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has promised special attention to Rivers State if re-elected for a second term, saying allegations

by Governor Rotimi Amaechi that he neglected the state is reflective of the fact that he had not been sectional in his dealings.

President Jonathan, who spoke before an enthusiastic crowd of supporters just as his wife, Mrs. Patience Jonathan asked the state to exceed the two million votes it gave her husband to 2.4 million votes.

The President, who spoke while flagging off his presidential campaign in the state, yesterday, reminded MEETING: From left, Andrew Elijah, Chief of Staff, Ijaw Monitoring Group; Mrs. Diezani Alison- people of the state that he was one of them as he traced Madueke, Petroleum Minister, and Mr. Johnbull Boma, Chairman, Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, Lagos his association with Port-Harcourt, which he said became Chapter, at a meeting with the minister, in Lagos. his home between the time he left secondary school and became deputy governor of Bayelsa State in 1999.

While assuring that he would leave indelible prints in Bayelsa and Rivers states if elected for a second term, the President said the focus of his administration had been to provide even

By Ikenna Asomba Nwaka who noted that Dr. during our rancour-free primary development for all sections of the Ikpeazu was not a stooge said: election. country.

By Austin Ogwuda "I must say that the Abia PDP is BIA STATE chapter of the “Most time when a leader is “One thing I need to use this & Francis igata Peoples Democratic Party, leaving an office and he supports one chapter of our great party that platform to say, not for the PDP, yesterday, said members and a particular person, the general had a very peaceful primary. purpose of Rivers people but for ENUGU STATE Police leaders of the party unanimously impression is that he would go Only God knows when the top the purpose of the rest of the Command, yesterday, said chose Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, to be for a fool, but we have not done seat in Abia State would have country is that the Director that it had commenced a the next governor of the state, to that. Abia PDP went for a well bred gotten to the South senatorial General, APC presidential full scale investigation into avoid the mistake of transfering and educated man. A man who district. But the party sat, looked campaign organisation alleged explosion that power to those who could wreck in every sense of honesty merits at events and said this is the time (Amaechi) when he was in rocked the Ohanaeze the ship of the state. the office he wants to occupy. I to give our brothers from the Yenagoa and when he was in Port secretariat in Enugu, last State Chairman of the party, have known Ikpeazu for over 14 South a sense of belonging."

Harcourt mentioned clearly that Saturday, just as Biafran Senator Emma Nwaka; Meanwhile, the the President had done nothing years. Our roads have crossed warlord and former Chairman of the National severally. One thing I can assure governorship candidate, for these two states.

Secretary General of Broadcasting Commission, is that he is a humble man. You Ikpeazu, who tagged his “Don’t worry, it is a good news Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Col Professor, Herbert Orji and programme for Abia State as don’t give power to rascals because people have been Joseph Ahuzia (ret) said Growth and saying that I concentrated President, Institute of Chartered because they won’t know their 'Abia Ohanaeze had lost its Transformation Agenda,' said development in the South-South.

Accountants of Nigeria, ICAN, limit. steam.

Mr. Chidi Ajaegbu, disclosed this he had resolved to make the Bayelsa State was a part of Rivers “We tried it before but discovered Vanguard investigation , while speaking at the PDP Abia state a number one destination State, and I was a part of this that the rascals wrecked the ship showed that the alleged in terms of quality of life, state.”

State 2015 Campaign of state.

That is why this time, we plan to destroy the Organisation Fund Raising productivity, sanctity of life were very careful to choose “So I have been a part and secretariat might not be Dinner for Ikpeazu, in Lagos. and safety of property. someone that won’t repeat history parcel of this state. If I must unconnected with the concentrate development in the recent leadership struggle South-South that means it must rocking the group, where be loaded in Rivers and Bayelsa accusations and counter states. But if the DG (Amaechi) accusations of fraud were According to him: “The appealed to the striking members

By Anayo Okoli & is telling Nigerians that I have being leveled against government in spite of the of JOHESU to end their strike Chimaobi Nwaiwu done nothing then you should themselves. disregards of the due process by now in the third month. know that I am a transparent State Police Command members of JOHESU, has shown According to him, the Yayale person.

NEWI — NNAMDI spokesman, Mr. Ebere goodwill to the members and has Ahmed Committee report was “I am not going to comment on AZIKIWE University Amaraizu said in a paid them all their salaries to date, taking a holistic look at the development in Rivers and Teaching Hospital, NAUTH, statement that “the Police but the response received from problems in the health sector with Bayelsa states because this is a Nnewi, has lost over N90 million have commenced an JOHESU has been to intimidate a view to finding a lasting part of my area. I can reassure to the ongoing health workers’ investigations into the other health workers, locking up solution. you that just work with us, vote strike called by Joint Health Sector incident of explosion at the the hospitals and have remained Abali, who noted that the strike for us on February 14, myself and Unions, JOHESU, on November, meeting hall of Ohanaeze unperturbed by the suffering of was painful and sad, said Sambo, vote for Wike and Ipalibo 2014, which has crippled Ndigbo located at G.R.A, Nigerians. healthcare was a team-work and on February 28, definitely we healthcare delivery in the Enugu last Saturday, at Similarly, CMD of the Federal could not be successfully must leave indelible prints in hospital, just as many lives have about 9p.m.

Medical Cenre, FMC, Umuahia, undertaken by one unit.

Rivers State.” been lost to the action.

“It was gathered that fire Abia State, Dr. Chuku Abali, has Addressing newsmen yesterday from the alleged explosion in Nnewi, on what he called engulfed some parts of the “Further Sensitization of the hall, but was quickly put Public on the ongoing JOHESU off to avoid extensive Strike” Chief Medical Director, damage."

CMD, of NAUTH, Professor Ihenacho Campaign however, warned that "nobody It was further gathered

By Chidi Nkwopara Anthony Igwegbe said “the Organisation, Emperor Iwuala, holds the patent for destruction that a yet to be identified Federal Government is not the APGA candidate described the of billboards and campaign young man, who had insensitive to the plight of WERRI — GOVERN- situation as “barbaric and an posters. Before the billboards earlier jumped and Nigerians and preventable death ORSHIP candidate of All exhibition of political immaturity were erected the Campaign escaped having been occasioned by the persistent strike Progressives Grand Alliance, and cowardice.” allegedly sighted by the Organization paid the necessary

by JOHESU.” Captain Emmanuel Ihenacho, Expressing worry that his legal fees and fulfilled all workers, was seriously He lamented that efforts by the has decried alleged destruction of principal’s “campaign billboards conditions prescribed by the Imo suspected over the alleged Federal Government to ensure his campaign posters and were destroyed while those of a State Government for the erection plan to set the hall, where harmony in the health sector was billboards in Imo State. particular group of candidates of his principal’s campaign Ohanaeze meetings were being truncated by the different Reacting through the Director from a particular political party billboards.” regularly conducted, health sector unions.

Media and Publicity, Captain were not touched, Iwuala, ablaze.

Police probe blast at Ohanaeze Enugu secretariat

Why we chose Ikpeazu as our gov candidate — Abia PDP A

JOHESU strike costs us N90m, says NAUTH boss

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APGA gov candidate decries alleged destruction of posters in Imo

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16 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015

Okorocha wants commissioner's killers fished out

By Chidi Nkwopara

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W E R R I — GOVERNOR Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, has blamed a resurgence of criminal activities, following Sunday gruesome killing of a serving Commissioner in the state House of Assembly Service Commission, Mr. Tobias Onyekele, on politicians yet to accept the concept of free and fair election.

Onyekele, was murdered by unknown gunmen at

Ugwu Orji, Owerri North Local Government Area of the state.

There have been anger and apprehension in the state over new wave of criminal activities, including kidnapping, armed robbery and snatching of cars.

Governor Rochas Okorocha, who condemned the gruesome murder of Mr. Onyekele, called on the security agencies to leave no stone unturned in their investigation to unveil the elements behind the

murder, and to ensure that they were brought to book.

Governor Okorocha, while reacting through his media aide, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, said “when the news of the murder got to me, I could not understand why anybody could think of killing such a man and that was why I drove myself to the scene of the incident to know exactly what happened.”

The governor vowed to “give the police all the needed support and cooperation to ensure that those behind this wicked act do not go unpunished”.

By Clifford Ndujihe

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cross section of Igbo women and youths has urged President Goodluck Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, not to take the South-East geo-political zone for granted in the February 14 presidential polls or he may lose millions of votes in the area.

In a joint statement, the Igbo Women Assembly, IWA, and South-East SelfDetermination Coalition, SESDC, said the president might lose millions of Igbo votes ‘’not because Ndigbo do not want to vote for him but because of other factors, some of which, there may not be adequate time to

POLLS: Don’t take South-East for granted, Jonathan warned remedy just three weeks to the elections.’’

According to the statement by Mr. Samuel Edeson (Coordinator, SESDC) and Mrs. Maria Okwor, (Leader, IWA), ‘’problem number one is the great difficulty in assessing the permanent voters card, PVC, by eligible voters. The cumbersome and stressful yet unsuccessful attempts by many to get their PVC will most certainly impact negatively on the volume of votes from the South -East.

Problem number two is the anger among many groups

in the East who feel sidelined by the handlers of the president who are said to be choosy as they isolate certain groups in favour of others, those sidelined claim they will not vote either way. They say they will stay at home on February 14 and mobilize their members and supporters to stay home in protest to what they see as disrespect and humiliation by the president’s men.’’ ‘’There are organizations who accuse the PDP of arrogance and overconfidence. They say they are tired of being reminded by the PDP that they can go to hell as the party will win in Igbo land head or tail and therefore do not need to canvass for support. There are also Igbo groups who believe that Jonathan has not performed, especially in the area of fulfilling promises made to Ndigbo four years ago. They feel offended that he has refused to approach the people with his agenda and rather bent on getting their votes free of charge.''

NOTAP expands, gets 1st substantive Directors, 35 years after

By Emmanuel Elebeke

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ATIONAL Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion, NOTAP, has promoted six staff to the position of substantive Directors to head six departments.

This followed the expansion of the agency to six departments, six zonal offices and five functional units by the management.

Before this development, the office had four departments with acting directors.

The recent approval by the Head of Civil Service of the Federation to expand the office, gave rise to two additional departments and five new zonal offices.

The additional zonal offices are for North East, North West, North Central, South East and South-South, while the Lagos zonal office is to cater for South-West.

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Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015 — 17

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PEAKING last week at the Chatham House in London, Nigeria’s National Security Adviser (NSA), Colonel Sambo Dasuki, suggested the postponement of the February 2015 elections by three months, in order to enable the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) distribute outstanding Permanent Voters Cards (PVC). The figures being bandied around say that about 30 million of such cards were yet to be given out to prospective voters.

The NSA who spoke during a Qand-A session, told his audience that he had suggested to the INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, that a postponement by three months was allowed by law and that it would be a good idea to delay, to give INEC more time to distribute millions of biometric voters’ cards to voters.

Distribution process In truth, there had been notable hitches with the PVC distribution process in many parts of the country, leading to a lot of apprehensions about the conduct of the February 2015 elections.

On the other hand, INEC had consistently assured that it was going to conclude the PVC distribution process before the elections. INEC spokesperson, Kayode Idowu, also reiterated the determination of his organisation to ensure that there are no delays to the elections: “It is not a conversation of the commission at all. As far as we are talking now, the date is what it is”, the INEC spokesperson was quoted by VANGUARD newspaper. And strangely, early morning television programmes by last

There can be no postponing the February 2015 elections week, were beginning to feature “pundits and experts” who argued that the elections be postponed! It was beginning to appear that something truly mischievous was being cooked up for serving to the Nigerian public.

I do not want to deconstruct the intentions of NSA Sambo Dasuki, but it seemed those who are inclined towards the postponement of the elections underrate the feelings in the country.

Perhaps more than at any point in our history, especially since 1999, the coming election is one that Nigerians anticipate with a determined excitement, because of the possibilities that we could have an election whose outcome will give us a new direction of growth and development.

Postponement suggestions: When the NSA made his suggestion for a postponement, it became something like a confirmation of some of the rumour that has made the rounds

in the country.

There is an alleged message from an Aso Villa insider which had boasted that those at the helm of affairs would not be disposed to handing over, even if they lost the coming election.

The message had spoken of handing over to the military than allowing Buhari in power; they would not even mind the disintegration of our country! It

It is clear that there can be no postponement of the elections. The stakes are too high and the feeling of the Nigerian people is clear too

was then no coincidence, when ex-Niger Delta militants met inside the Government House in Yenagoa, to threaten war against Nigeria if President Goodluck Jonathan was voted out next month.

It became even more worrisome that the Bayelsa Governor, Seriake Dickson and Presidential Adviser, Kingsley Kuku were in attendance at the meeting where the threat was issued against Nigeria. Those in attendance also included thugs who had been given licenses to import arms and warships by the Jonathan administration!

So far, we have not heard denials from the presidency or denunciations from SSS spokeswoman, Marilyn Ogar. In the world of contemporary Nigerian security, those who threaten our peace have all the right to do so, once they are counted to be on President Goodluck Jonathan’s side of the divide.

Of school certificate, mudslinging and stonings: Pattern of Nigerian electioneering

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EMI FANI-KAYODE made the most of the hysteria. APC Presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, according to him, does not possess the minimum requirement to be a candidate in the upcoming elections. A furore was deliberately engineered around what must have been known to the PDP strategists to be a red herring, but one that was useful as a diversionary tactic.

It seemed that the PDP team could not run on the basis of the record in office of its candidate so a dirty tricks campaign has been very central to their tactics.

Each new day seemed prepared for a more vicious campaign than the previous. When candidate Goodluck Jonathan speaks, there were not often many, if at all any, inspiring bites that could elevate his campaign.

It was often as if the campaign is bogged down in the murky waters that it engineered by itself.

Unlike at any point in our recent history, the dirty tricks tactic has just not cut it with the Nigerian public.

The scurrilous documentaries of recent days have taken the PDP campaign to new lows, clearly underlining how serious the crisis of confidence has become within the party and the campaign.

C M Y K

Then there have been the unacceptable stonings of the president’s campaign train in Katsina and Bauchi states.

Whoever was behind those irresponsible acts should not only be condemned but must be brought to book. No one should stone the Nigerian President’s campaign entourage or any other person’s for that matter, because they are exercising rights that Nigeria’s Constitution protects and which are central to the construction of democratic society.

But it is very curious that these acts of irresponsibility have taken place in PDP-controlled states. So what is happening?

In Bauchi, there have been accusations and counteraccusations. Isa Yuguda, the governor, accused “Abuja politicians” from Bauchi, as being responsible; and the prominent ones are the National Chairman of the PDP, Adamu Muazu and FCT Minister, Bala Muhammed.

Bala suffered the indignity of being pelted with pure water on live television, but would he have arranged to be so ridiculed at home?

In response to Yuguda’s accusation, Bala Muhammed fired back that the Bauchi Governor is actually a mole of the opposition APC, inside the PDP.

In Bauchi, the allegation is that Isa Yuguda planted his cronies as the APC and PDP governorship candidates respectively, so head or tail, he wins. The scenario has been carefully engineered to ensure that whoever wins the election will not be interested in examining the more unwholesome happenings over the past eight years in the state, post May 2015.

There is no biting the fingers that fed, eh? In the meantime, what appeared to be an internecine fight within the PDP is becoming a source of tension within circles in the Niger Delta, who always wanted to find the opportunity to hang every Northerner! Asari Dokubo has threatened to “retaliate” for the attacks on the presidential campaign team in the North.

Election to remember The campaign and lead to the 2015 elections will long be remembered for the way that different forms of media were exploited by all sides, to further their agenda. Social media has taken a life of its own in our country and the battles on the virtual spaces of social media

have been so reflective of the deep divides in our country today.

They are indicative of the importance of the coming elections amongst the Nigerian people.

The campaign strategists are slinging mud and in the process no one seems able to remember that we had been promised “issues-based” campaigns. The issues got swamped under layers upon layers of mud that are slung in all directions. We are not any clearer about the plans to stem the looming economic meltdown that Nigeria faces, while we have not been presented with coherent perspectives about how to defeat the Boko Haram insurgency and the solutions to the underlining socio-economic issues which conditioned the emergence of the tendencies to insurgency and sundry rebellions across the country.

The political elite is far too busy trying to win power to really focus as seriously as these problems demand. This is electioneering in the Nigerian manner of doing things and because the people are far too driven to express their franchise to affect the process of governance, it is clearer each passing day that these will be the most defining elections in Nigerian history!

The events of the days since the NSA’s suggestion for election postponement have shown just how unpopular the suggestion is.

The groundswell of feelings in Nigeria has not been in their favour while INEC has continued to express its determination to conclude the distribution of the PVCs and also hold the elections as scheduled.

On Tuesday this week, INEC Chairman, Attahiru Jega told Nigerian political parties that his commission will overcome all its challenges before the commencement of the February elections: “I want to ...assure you that we are committed to ensuring that the elections we will conduct will be remarkably very-very much better than those we conducted in 2011”.

On the distribution of PVCs that was the peg that NSA Sambo Dasuki anchored his call for elections postponement on, Jega said that: “We believe that even though there may be challenges, such as the distribution of the PVCs, we feel confident that with the measures and mechanisms that we have put in place, that these challenges are challenges that we can overcome.

We shall overcome them well in advance of the conduct of the 2015 general elections”. It was even more comforting to hear that President Goodluck Jonathan assured the American Secretary of State, John Kerry, at their meeting in Lagos at the weekend, that the May 29 handover was “sacrosanct”. That indicated that the elections would hold as planned. It was the position which Kerry had canvassed during the meeting.

Feeling of Nigerians It is clear that there can be no postponement of the elections.

The stakes are too high and the feeling of the Nigerian people is clear too: these elections must hold as scheduled. Those calling for their postponement labour in vain. Similarly, scenario creation patterns seeking the engendering of crisis to prevent the handover of power, the setting up of an interim government or other extra-constitutional contraptions will be dead on arrival.

The dominant sentiment is for the political parties to get themselves and their candidates ready to face judgment time in February 2015. There are pseudoscientific pretenses at opinion polls, skewed in partisan directions that are making the rounds in the context of the ongoing political process.

It is the right of those setting up those polls, but in the long run, what we must all work for are elections that are free and fair, allowing the Nigerian people to express their preferences. The campaign for the postponement of the elections doesn’t fall within conditions that respect the fundamental rights of the Nigerian people.

Luckily, those within this bracket are a minority. As things stand, we will go to the polls in February; believe me when I say that like most Nigerians, I am very expectant about the coming elections.

18 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015 IF Nigeria is ours, we should protect it; we should place the interests of Nigeria above personal ambitions. We want to see such thinking in action during the elections. Change in our attitude is more important than who wins and loses the elections. The most important attributes of the elections should be the equanimity, grace, humility with which contestants accept the results. It is the responsibility of contestants to lead their supporters to change that would ensure there is no violence during and after the elections. It is an important change that would secure the lives of Nigerians quicker than the long speeches we hear.

Such momentous positions, most likely to be seen as sacrifice, are rare in our politics. How contenders in the elections receive the results would determine our future in more defining ways than would be appreciated, now that the focus is just on winning.

Do their supporters realise losing is possible? Dr. Kayode Fayemi, for mer Governor of Ekiti State, showed that critical example last June when he conceded victory in the governorship election to Ayodele Peter Fayose. Dr.

By Eddie Mbadiwe

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“ OR a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday and a watch in the night’’.

That was the Psalmist recounting how a thousand years pass like a flash in the sight of the Almighty.

February 14, 2015 will long be remembered by Nigerians as the most memorable of St. Valentine’s Day in our history. In the spirit of St. Valentine, we must make and give pure unadulterated love and not hatred. That day is already etched indelibly in our collective psyche.

The principal gladiators Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, Gen. Muhammed Buhari and of course other presidential candidates are all part of history in live mode. What happens on the day and after will be the toast of gist and gossips in many pepper soup joints for a long long time. February 14 is the litmus test whether this fragile and fledgling democracy will endure.

Reverberations from February 14 will to a large extent determine the fate of February 28th.

Professor Atahiru Jega who many equate and juxtapose for INEC will be exposed to intense searchlight from all corners of the globe. The visit of the U.S Secretary of State, John Kerry confirms renewed world C M Y K

Change Nigerians Want Fayemi conceded victory, called governorelect Fayose, who he addressed as “my brother, congratulating him on his victory”.

Action made his words meaningful. Within hours, he met the governor-elect “to discuss the future of our dear State and how we would work together to institute a smooth transition programme.Despite our diverse party affiliations, and regardless of which way we voted, we must remember that we are all sons and daughters of Ekiti State.

Ekiti is ours to build together.”

We want peace. The first catalyst for peace, contrary to what many propound, is not justice. Utterances of leaders are important,

their lives, their examples are the next most important ways of changing society. Our people are tired of leaders who lead them to war, usually from behind, with the masses as cannon folders. In our search for ways of deepening our democracy, we tend to emphasise electoral victories over high note performances like the one that Dr. Fayemi gave.

The bellicose crowd forget that democratic governments are called to serve the people, by the people, on terms the people dictate.When would our politicians concede victory and not destroy everything in sight to make the point about their importance to the sustenance of Nigeria? We need men and women of character who know there is more to life than being in public office.

We need more people who want to serve the people, and who would accept the people’s decision on who serves them.

Nigeria needs people who can make the difference – positively, people who want peace and would sacrifice for peace

OPINION Four years is not eternity interest in what goes on in Nigeria.

There has never been anything quite like this in our history, not even in the days of Action Group when Chief Obafemi Awolowo criss-crossed the country in his helicopter, landing in places, some of which were barred to him but he still landed.

The atmosphere is electric and pregnant with expectations. Will it be GEJ or GMB? Suddenly we have all keyed into this Ibo proverbs ‘ugurunaatuoyi’ (literally translates as harmattan can be very cold).

There is need to look at our elections timetable and see if there is a way to stagger the polls so that we do not have a virtual shut down just to keep government moving. Maybe we can look at a system whereby one half

As long as we continue making our electoral processes better, that is, 2015 better than 2011, there is no cause for despondency

gets elected and this other half a year later.

This will to some extent reduce the amount of money spent and also the unnecessary heat in the polity. The electorate call this their season of harvest and are unrelenting and vicious extracting their pound of flesh from the candidates. Some of the delegates to the primaries are already moulding blocks waiting for the final suck from the candidates’ jugular closer to February 14th.The building plans and contractors are in place.

There have been some ugly incidents especially in Rivers, Bauchi and Katsina. Burning of party offices or disruption of rallies, throwing stones at the president’s convoy are acts which all of us must condemn.

Anyone trying to take us back to the ‘ wetie’ days of 1965 Western Nigeria must be stopped NOW. Such characters must be excluded from our political culture. All in all, the robust nature of the campaigns will help sharpen Nigeria’s democracy until the day when the electorate will start asking for ideas and not cash.

That day may not be too far away if we get into our statute books the amendments to the UBE Act which

makes education mandatory up till JS3 which I sponsored in the House of Representatives. This bill has scaled major hurdles. Functional education which this bill addresses will reduce some of the election malpractices. We must not forget that unless we get to the root, we can never change the fruit.

Alan Greenspan who was chairman of the America Federal Reserve for a record five times and worked with both Republican and Democratic Presidents supports this view in his statement that ‘‘The Solution to some of America’s gravest problems lies in the way we educate our children’’.

The sum total of this contribution therefore is that as long as we continue making our electoral processes better, that is, 2015 better than 2011, there is no cause for despondency. The system will continue to fine-tune and evolve until such a time that our brightest will have the courage to navigate the current murky shark infested waters called Nigerian politics.

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran teach that everything that happens is ordained by God. Is it necessary to lose sleep over a brief four year span? *Dr. Mbadiwe, a public affairs commentator, wrote from Lagos.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015— 19

REDUCTION IN PUMP PRICE: Half a loaf is worse than no bread

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ODAY, we shall attempt to follow petrol on its journey from 6 kobo to N97 per litre – from General Yakubu Gowon to President Goodluck Jonathan. It has been a journey in which the Federal Government has always portrayed fuel price hikes as the panacea to every problem in the economy.

We are told that whatever goes up must come down. But increase in the pump price of our petroleum products has remained deaf to this: once the journey starts, there is no coming down. And funny enough, the increases are invariably predicated on increases in the cost of crude oil.

On occasions, though, the cost of crude plummeted but the pump price of the products still remained at their giddy heights. None of the infinitesimal reductions in pump prices ever came without a big fight between our Labour Unions and the Federal Government.

The history of fuel price increases dates back to the administration of

Gowon, which in 1973, increased the price by 40%, from 6 kobo to 8.45 kobo.

The Olusegun Obasanjo administration remains guilty as charged: That regime was the first to increase the pump price of petrol by 70% in 1978, from 9 kobo to 15.30 kobo per litre, as a Military Head of State. As a civilian President, Obasanjo increased prices six times and he had cause to climb down only once in 2000!

The Sanni Abacha regime was not any better. Abacha was the only President in the country to force an increase of 362% down our throats, in 1994, from N3.25 to N15, which two days later had a slight reduction to N11 after a very severe pressure from the Labour Unions.

History will continue to smile at the late President Musa Yar’ Adua who, less than one month after assuming office, reduced the price from N75 to N65 in June 2007.

He maintained that price throughout his stay in office.

On January1, 2012, President Jonathan gave the country what goes down in history as the worst New Year gift ever when pump price was increased by 120%, bringing it to N140 per litre. It took the Occupy Nigeria Movement to force the price down to N97.

It cannot be said that the Federal Government has not been sufficiently warned on the danger in over-reliance on a monoeconomy. Before the advent of the oil boom in the 70s, the nation’s economy was largely dependent on revenue from agriculture.

At a point, Nigeria’s palm oil seedlings were adjudged the best in the world and that was when Malaysia came to Nigeria to collect our oil palm seedlings but today, the various agricultural edifices for which Nigeria was known have gone into oblivion – the groundnut pyramid of the North; the cocoa, rubber and timber of the West; and the palm produce of the East, the revenue sources that financed our budgets, have all been consigned to history.

Nigeria cannot continue to play the ostrich on the issue of fuel prices

Keyamo, corruption and Hobson's choice

By Peter Ntephe

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ORRUPTION has been the central theme of this year’s presidential campaigns. The elections in February, with all due respect to the litany of lesser candidates, will once again be a straight fight between the president, running on the PDP ticket and General Mohammadu Buhari, the APC candidate. A few days ago, Festus Keyamo published a diatribe, accusing the president among other things of not doing enough to fight corruption.Keyamo expressed a preference for the General whom he described as a ‘clear alternative’ and ‘rallying point for the … masses’ and the ‘only viable option.’

Keyamo is an accomplished human rights’ lawyer in Nigeria. In the spirit of his trade perhaps, he allowed for contrary opinions but immediately went on to denigrate anyone who held or attempted to vent them as having ‘betrayed their conscience and the people because of ethnicity and selfaggrandisement.’ Oh Festus. No. A laudable history in human rights’ advocacy does not inveigh in your views insurmountable wisdom or the preserve of morality. Here’s why.

Keyamo tacitly admits Buhari’s highhandedness in the General’s stint as military president but assures that any such tendencies will now be tempered by the checks and balances of a democracy. Yet, therein lies the flaw in the Buhari argument. If Buhari’s alleged efficacy in tackling corruption in his truncated tenure as dictator was by the compulsion and absolutism allowed him by military rule, how does he now propose to be effective in a liberal democracy where such devices are anathema?

We haven’t heard from the General himself beyond bare affirmations that he will fight corruption. He hasn’t elaborated any plan or strategy with which he will work the magic. He just says he will and his supporters want the rest of the country to C M Y K

lap it up? No, hard questions must be asked of him the same way Keyamo wants hard questions asked of the president.

Without a detailed anti-corruption plan

by Buhari, Keyamo’s recourse is to the sheer force of character that Buhari purportedly possesses. But philosophers going back to at least Max Weber have disparaged this reliance on charismatic authority as the basis for any sustainable or desirable societal configuration. Modern societies, as Weber famously argued, are oriented instead towards legal-rational systemization.

Corruption in Nigeria is systemic. It is rarely centralised or confined and permeates virtually all social strata. It is a habitual part of daily life - an expected element in nearly every social activity or transaction.

It has been endemic for over half a century if the first coup speech in this country is anything to go by.Ultimately coming to terms with public-sector corruption may therefore be not so much about jailing one or two or even a hundred big men and women. It may be more about systemic change that removes the structures permitting or inducing corruption and theft of public funds.

There is evidence of a leaning towards the latter approach by the Jonathan government, whether wittingly or unwittingly. One of the justifications canvassed by Jonathan’s government for the removal of petroleum subsidies was to eliminate the large-scale corruption (by ‘subsidy cabals’) that it made possible. It was a bold decision by the government, given the groundswell of opposition from the masses and the cabals’ potentially

Keyamo tries to trivalise the certificate issue by saying that the sworn affidavit should suffice

All the same, any nation that quickly harps on the increase of crude oil to hike the pump price of refined petroleum products but becomes reluctant to bring down the pump price of the same refined products when the price of crude oil falls, is at best, insensitive to the plight of the citizenry. This is where Nigeria does violence to mathematics and logic.

Mathematics can be very interesting but it becomes difficult when we attempt to twist it to illogical ends. For instance, if we agree with the Federal Government that the pump price of N97 per litre was arrived at when the price of crude oil rose to $140 per barrel, the Federal Government should, in all conscience, agree with us that now that the price of crude has fallen to $55 per barrel, the pump price should fall to N38.10 per litre. At a roundtable, N38 and N97 could form the basis for a lasting negotiation.

On the debit side, this immediately exposes the Federal Government to its dubiety over the years.

The Federal government will soon argue that the budget estimates currently lying before the National Assembly cannot be financed on N38.10. That is o ut of the question.

After all, the Federal Government has already made its money from the sale of crude. As soon as the crude oil came out of the ground, Federal Government sold 90% and it is just the remaining 10% left for refining for our local use that brings all the problems. Having made their money from the sale of crude, some oil-producing countries are able to refine the

destabilizing influence (borne out of pecuniary power). The mark of courage and character (which Keyamo seeks) is often not in creating a populist ‘show’; rather it is to take unpopular but necessary decisions.

A seeming preference for and the utility of a systemic approach to fighting corruption (by removing the structures making it possible) was less controversially demonstrated in the agricultural sector.

President Jonathan’s administration has revealed that by the simple expedient of removing government from the purchase and distribution of fertilizers, it ended 40 years of monumental corruption that had cost the nation nearlyN1 trillion. And with the end of the corruption-prone system, the government says, came more economic efficiency as bonus: fertilizers now reach up to 90% of registered farmers rather than just 11% under the old system. Arguably, it would have been possible to jail a few bureaucrats under the old system but the system itself would have remained. And so would the corruption, probably receding after a few jail sentences but exploding again virulently when prosecutorial microscopes moved elsewhere.

Keyamo reinforces his resort to charisma when he lauds Buhari as having the ‘character, the steel and competence to lead the nation.’ Yet what is the justification for this? Twenty draconian months in power in which the ‘best’ economic policies were doomed price controls and international trade by barter? The recent hapless handling of the WAEC Certificate matter definitely does not lend itself to these fabled claims of competence. Beyond the question of whether or not he has the qualification is the seeming levity and then ineptitude with which the general and his party confronted a clear constitutional requirement.

The APC screening committee was faced with the matter of requiring (sight) of the certificate and trifled with it before unwisely waiving it away. When it then became an issue between the parties as the campaigns heated up, we had a sworn affidavit which said it was with the army. When the army said they didn’t have the certificate, a hastily sprung statement of result appeared with comical features including a reasonably

10% and issue same free to their citizens.

The Federal Government is clever by half. The reduction of N10 per litre, which is directed only at petrol, came too little, too late. This is benign tokenism! And this is where half a loaf is worse than no bread. What happens to kerosene, diesel, gas and other petroleum products? Other countries have made reductions across board instead of restricting their reductions to only petrol.

In Nigeria, it took the strike of the oil workers to force the Federal Government to embark on this token reduction. India started reducing its prices from midnight of 14/15 August 2014. Ghana started in November 2014. Kenya, South Africa, Zambia and Tanzania have since announced substantial cuts in pump prices. In all these cases, the insistence is that any reduction that does not translate to substantial reduction in fares and transportation costs is not worth it.

Nigeria cannot continue to play the Ostrich on the issue of fuel prices. For now, the pump price must come down considerably to about N65 per litre. After that, we must do something more definitive by taking a cue from India where the Indian Oil Corporation, IOC, ensures that “prices increase or decrease every fortnight – depending on output cost”. In any case, we do not need any cult of experts to tell us that our return to agriculture is a viable solution to our economic predicaments.

There is no better way to give expression to the concomitant austerity measures.

recent photograph of the general and a first name that at best approximates to what we know of his first name. And just when we thought the dust had settled, WAEC challenged the authority of the Katsina State Government to issue a statement of result.

Charity begins at home is the aphorism.

If the general and the APC machinery could be put to so much trouble and be so clumsy in handling the small matter of a certificate that should be so easily within his personal control, wherein lies the confidence that they can expertly steer complex affairs of a convoluted state?

Let us be clear again, this is a democracy and not a military government where orders must be obeyed down the hierarchy without question.

Keyamo tries to trivalise the certificate issue by saying that the sworn affidavit should suffice and that ‘leadership is [not] a function of academic degrees and qualifications … [but] … a divine quality.’ The statement is shocking coming from a human rights’ lawyer of Keyamo’s pedigree. The sociology of leadership is clearly a different thing from satisfying constitutional specifications on the minimum qualifications for becoming president of the federal republic. The constitution is not just law but jurisprudence’s hallowed grundnorm, the underlying basis for the state. When a question arises as to whether it has been complied with in fact, the answer must stand up to scrutiny including, where necessary, the ultimate test inexamination by a court of law.

It is exactly in seeking to hold public figures to the highest standards of legal compliance and ensuring that the constitution is obeyed and the rule of law upheld that Keyamo has made his name in human rights.

It is election season and every Nigerian adult is entitled to his or her choice of who to vote for.Keyamo’s evidently settled for one side in the presidential contest and made it public. Like the good lawyer that he is, he has marshalled an argument which seeks to paint a one-sided picture in support of his choice. However, there are always two sides to a story.

•Dr. Ntephe, a lawyer, wrote from Houston, Texas, USA.

20 — Vanguard, THURSDAY THURSDAY,, JANUARY 29, 2015

A victim of political violence in Rivers State (inset) Dr. Asuni

Gathering storm: Tension in Rivers over spate of political violence

By Jimitota Onoyume, Assistant News Editor, Port Harcourt:

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ROM every indication, the people of Rivers State have every reason to be apprehensive as the commencement date of the general elections draws near.

Indeed, early warning signs of electoral violence have started rearing their heads in the State.

For instance, unknown gunmen opened fire at separate locations on some members of the All progressives Congress, APC, on the day the party had its presidential rally at the Amiesemaka stadium, in Ikwerre Local Government Area of the state recently.

This was followed by reported explosions that rocked the Okrika and Andoni local government offices of the APC within a space of two weeks this year. The dust generated by these ugly incidents had hardly died down when the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Nyesom Wike and members of his campaign train were trapped in the palace of the monarch of Abua as gunmen exchanged fire for about 45 minutes with security men attached to the guber candidate. Some persons reportedly sustained injuries in the incident. The PDP also alleged that some gunmen

opened fire on the vehicle of the lawmaker representing Ogu Bolo in the federal House of Representatives, Bright Tamuno, killing a former councillor in the vehicle, Hope George, while two others sustained gunshot injuries.

In the last one month stories of reported political violence in the state dominated the media.

Dr Judy Asuni, Executive Director, Associate Peaceworks. who has worked with various armed groups in the Niger Delta for over a decade expressed fears that this year’s general elections might record a higher percentage of violence than previous ones.

“My fears are that we may see even more violence than we have seen in previous elections, the stakes are very high now. I have just been in Abuja, the tensions in the North, people in the North feeling it is time to get their Representstives back, people In the South-South are feeling that Goodluck Jonathan should continue as President. I am afraid that the stake are higher than it had been in previous times,” she said.

Dr Asuni who trained youths drawn from 18 local government areas in the Niger Delta on resisting electoral violence appealed to residents in various local government areas in the region to shun offers from the

political class to engage in political violence. She reminded them that they were the ones to lose their lives in political violence and not the political leaders that engage them. “ We are working on a project with funding from Foundation for Partnership and Initiatives In Niger Delta,PIND, on nonviolent elections for 2015. We have worked for more than a decade now with members of the armed groups in the Niger Delta.

These young men are the ones that are being killed in political violence. So we are trying to get

My fears are that we may see even more violence than we have seen in previous elections, the stakes are very high now

the message home that you may be hired to harass, intimidate and steal ballot boxes by opponents but ultimately you can lose your lives in the process. We are doing a series of videos about people who have been killed in political violence. Talking to their wives, their children, sometimes their mothers. It is very sad, because the long time impact is huge ,children growing up without any father. We interviewed a family where the child was in the womb when the father was killed.

So this child has never known the father and the late father has never known the child. So it is very sad, “ she said Already there is fear and tension in the air in Rivers and several other states in the Niger Delta ahead of the general elections. Some residents in Rivers State said they may not come out to vote on the day of the elections if the prevailing spate of political violence is anything to go by.

Asuni on her part, advised the people not to boycott the elections, adding that they should rather come out to defend their democratic rights morally and psychologically.

“I hope that they will turn up for the elections. We are working on 18 local governments areas with likely electoral challenges; one of them is Okrika where APC secretariats have been attacked.

The other local governments are also prone to violence . One thing we are trying to do is get people to take control of the elections themselves,take control of the governance process. We had an instance where a party was trying to hijack the election process, the people resisted it, saying they wanted the election. In Kolokuma in Bayelsa State there was an attempt to rig the election but the people resisted it. This is what we trying to do at the local government level. To mobilize people to morally and psychologically protect their democratic rights., not physically.

She further advised political leaders at the national level to ensure the peace pact their presidential candidates signed recently in Abuja also applies in the states and local government levels.

“The politicians have a role to play to stop political violence. It was a good step with the presidential candidates signing a non-violence pledge. This message has to come down to the state and local governments, “ she said.

There is also another fear in the region that the elections could cause most of the armed groups to return to the creeks.

But Dr Asuni holds a different view. She maintained that most of them had since returned to the creeks, noting that this time with new leaders as their original commanders who led them to the amnesty programme were now enjoying their new status as political leaders in Abuja.

Meantime, the worry over the likely return of militancy in the region because of the elections stemmed from threatening statements that have been coming from various ex-militant groups. For instance, a faction of Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta, MEND, recently pledged support for General Muhamadu Buhari, while their rival group endorsed President Goodluck Jonathan as their candidate.

Dr Asuni expressed serious worries with this development in the region. “I think some of them, the ex-militants, are already back to the creeks, some of the groups are already being armed. The top militant leaders may not go back because they are enjoying lives in Abuja. When you move around Abuja the number of familiar faces you see from the Niger Delta in Abuja is very amusing. These top ex-militant leaders have too much to lose if they go back to the creeks. But their boys may go back . The other thing is that those in control of the boys these days are no longer the leaders in Abuja. The former commanders are like political leaders these days.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015 —21

R

adisson Blu An chorage Hotel has sacked 450 of its staff , attributing it to harsh operating environment in the country occasioned by recurring infrastructure and power challenges.

The 5-star, water-front hotel on Ozumba Mbadiwe Street, Victoria Island, Lagos is owned by Anchorage Leisures Limited, and has Oba Otudeko as Chairman, Board of Directors.

However, the protesting workers told Vanguard on Tuesday, that they were laid off by the hotel’s management on the justification of renovating the facility but without paying them their entitlements having worked for the organisation for 4-5 years.

Disengagement letters issued to the workers and signed by the General Manager Anchorage Limited, Michael Rathgeb, read in part: “Due to the recurring infrastructure and power challenges resulting in the need for an extensive rehabilitation of our property and equipment, and given the harsh operating environment, we regret to inform you that your services are no longer required effective January 25, 2015.”

According to the statement the extensive renovation of the facilities will “cover areas such as power generation, cooling system as well as other critical equipment.”

“The magnitude of the renovation work has however necessitated shutting

COMMISSIONING: From left: Chief Kola Jamodu, Chairman, Nigerian Breweries Plc; Dr.

Olusegun Aganga, Minister of Trade and Investment, representing President Goodluck Jonathan; Chief Theodore Orji, Executive Governor of Abia State and Mr. Nicolaas Vervelde, Managing Director, Nigerian Breweries Plc at the commissioning of Aba Brewery expansion in Abia State.

Radisson Blu sacks 450 workers over harsh operating environment

By Franklin Alli down business operations for the duration of the renovation”, the statement further indicated.

Spokesperson for the workers, Makanju Daramola, however, dismissed the claim by the hotel’s management that they laid off the affected staff and closed down the

company in order to carry out an extensive renovation of the hotel. Instead, he said, “We were sacked for agitating to belong to unions after the management signed agreement with the national Union of Hotels, Personal Services Workers and Hotels and Personal Services Senior Staff Association, the reg-

istered union representing the workers.

“We have been working in the organisation for 4 to 5 years as obedient servants but because of victimization from the managers, we staged a little protest without violence; they agreed with the national union that there should be union in

the company to protect the interests and welfares of the workers. The Managing Director, the General Manager and the Human Resources Manager, signed the agreement. They agreed that the unions Executive officers should come on Monday, January 25 to finalize everything and to

introduce the EXCOs and we resumed our work. “ This is not the first hotel we have worked; even if renovation is going on, you can write to the staff and tell them that renovation is going on and you can redeploy them to the subsidiary hotels. All the bookings they have for next week, they cancelled them and directed them to another hotels; the guests were even asked ‘what’s the meaning of all this?, Within two hours they checked out all the guests and before you know it they brought in mobile police to mount the gates and by 7.00 pm, they asked all the staff to leave the hotel premises without any explanation.

We left. The second day we came. We were told the owner is going to have a meeting with us; they arranged canopies and chairs and we waited for almost three hours and they told us to come and resume our work. As obedient workers, we again complied but unknown to us they had hidden plan; they had typed our termination letters; we were told to tidy-up everywhere. We did but after about 30 minutes, they called us again that they want to have meeting with us; unknown to us, they have typed our termination letters. They started sharing the letters, telling us that we should all go home, that they are renovating the hotel. We refused to collect the letters.

Yesterday, Tuesday, they paid us our salary for January and February.

Minister sets up committee to review concession agreement

By Godfrey Bivbere & Godwin Oritse

M

inister of Transport, Idris Umar, has constituted a committee to review the concession agreement between the Federal Government and private operators of the nation’s port terminals.

The constitution of the committee was as a result of calls from stakeholders over deficiencies in the concession agreement. Members of the committee include representatives the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, Nigerian Shippers’ Council, NSC, and the concessionaires with the NSC to serve as Chairman.

Disclosing this in Lagos on

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Wednesday at an interactive session with journalists, Executive Secretary of the NSC, Hassan Bello, said that the committee is to look at the shortcoming and mistakes of the agreement with a view of making corrections.

According to him, “The concession agreement has

The concession agreement has been there for how many years now, eight years and eight years is too long a time for the agreement to be binding without review

been there for how many years now, eight years and eight years is too long a time for the agreement to be binding without review.

“There must be changes even the operators are clamouring for review of the concession agreement; even the agreement has provision for review. The Federal Ministry of transport has set up a committee comprising the NPA, NSC and the concessionaires to review the agreement.

“What is most important to us is that the agreement right from the time it was signed made provision for the appointment of an economic regulator. Why this was not done maybe we were in a hurry to get things done.

“This is to take care of new

development and changes after eight years of operations so that we can correct them, so that the obligations, the rights, the duties and every part of the agreement can be clearly stated,” he noted.

Similarly, Chairman of the Ports Constultation Committee, PCC, Kunle Folarin, said that the lapses in the agreement today may not be unconnected with the fact that the NSC was not involved in the process leading to concessioning of the ports at the initial stage.

$166.95 5.10 $2,743.00 6.00

$15.20 -0.15

$49.00 0.84 $45.85 0.70 CURRENCY

BUYING

DOLLAR EURO FRANC YEN CFA WAUA RENMINBI RIYAL KRONA SDR

167 187.541 187.3878 1.4126 0.2659 233.3106 26.6999 44.4338 25.184 234.4346

CENTRAL

167.5 188.1025 187.9488 1.4168 0.2759 234.0092 26.7803 44.5668 25.2594 35.1365

168 188.664 188.5099 1.4211 0.2859 234.7077 26.8607 44.6999 25.3348 235.8384

CBN Exchange Rate as at 27/1/15

22 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015 — 23

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24 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015

UBA introduces Mobile Point Terminals U

INDUCTION: From left: Mrs Ayotola Jagun, Chief Compliance Manager, Oando; Folusho Philips, Chairman NESG; Ms Olajobi Makinwa, Head Transparency & Anti Corruption, UNGC New York and Mrs Uto Ukpanah, Company Secretary, MTN Nigeria, at the induction session for Nigeria Local Network Members of United Nations Global Compact Anti-Corruption Initiative, in Lagos.

nited Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has introduced mobile Point of Sale (mPOS) terminals. The Bank said that it has gone live with this initiative in partnership with POS partners across Africa.

A mobile POS terminal is about the size of Blackberry Curve phone, but works just like the traditional POS currently used in many stores and cash collecting business outlets. mPOS terminals are portable, low cost and extremely secure.

Many stores and cash collecting outlets that have

Analysts predict naira devaluation to N215/$

By Babajide Komolafe

A

NALYSTS have r e d i c t e d that the naira will be further devalued to N215 per dollar saying the current official exchange rate does not reflect the fair value of the currency.

“The writing is on the wall that a further devaluation of the naira is in the offing as this is probably the only measure that will halt its loss in value”, said Analysts at the Financial Derivative Company (FDC) Limited Also, analyst at Ecobank said, “Given recent developments domestically, and within an environment of lower oil prices and sustained strengthening of the dollar, it is possible that the Central Bank of Nigeria could be forced to raise interest rates shortly and/or devalue the naira once again. p

Mixed naira performance Meanwhile the naira recorded mixed performance from Monday to yesterday at the interbank and parallel market. At the interbank market, the naira depreciated

by N1.92 kobo, as the interbank exchange rate rose to N192 yesterday from N190.18 last week. At the parallel market, the naira appreciated by N4, as the parallel market exchange rate dropped to N204 yesterday from N208 last week due to the 100 percent increase in weekly dollar sales to bureaux de change (BDCs) by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). From N15,000 per week per BDC, the CBN increased it to $30,000, in a bid to boost supply and halt the depreciation of the naira

at the parallel market.

On November 24th 2014, the CBN devalued the naira by 8.3 percent, moving the midpoint of the official exchange rate to N168 per dollar from N155. In addition the apex bank introduced series of measures to stem the persistent depreciation of the naira in the interbank and parallel markets. According to FDC Analysts, “These measures have had little or no effect in dousing the severe attack on the currency. JP Morgan‘s move of putting Nigeria on negative watch spurred a run on the currency which prompted an immediate intervention by the CBN. We expect a minimum of a three to five (3-5) percent further devaluation in the currency. Since the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) did not make any adjustments in its January meeting, citing the need to allow the changes made in November to manifestin the earliest possible

time. For the committee to react will be at the next meeting in March.“ The CBN will continue to intervene in the markets to keep the naira afloat, at the detriment of the external reserves.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofAML) is of the opinion that the necessary policy actions 200bps rate hike and naira devaluation) will not be taken until after the February elections. The bank is projecting that the naira will trade at an average of N202 in 2015.”

Also commenting on recent efforts of the apex bank to stabilise the naira exchange rate, Ecobank Analysts, in the Bank’s Middle Africa Briefing Note, stated, “Should devaluation take place (assuming oil prices remain low or fall further), one constraint to the timing are the

World Bank warns against future health disaster

T

The writing is on the wall that a further devaluation of the naira is in the offing as this is probably the only measure that will halt its loss in value

presidential and legislative elections scheduled on 14 February (a delay over voter registration could lead to a postponement by up to 90 days). “In the immediate future, dollar demand at the RDAS and interbank market is likely to fall, which in turn would reduce pressure on the NGN. This would likely be seen as a major success by the CBN in addressing some of the main sources of pressure on the currency.

“However, pent up demand will not simply disappear. The dollar supply gap created in the bureaux de change (BDC) market as a result of circular will raise NGN volatility, with further depreciation most likely in the weeks ahead. As a result, we expect the naira to trade on the interbank market between N200 to N220 per dollar”

already operated the new UBA mPOS have discovered it to be a good strategy to increase sales and expand their customer base. Existing large retailers are also adopting Mobile POS solutions and integrating them into their current point-of-sale environment to enhance the retail and payment experience. mPOS allows even the smallest business to be able to easily track and analyze sales and trends in their business as all sales are automatically and instantly captured on the retailer ’s system thereby improving accountability and transparency in business transactions.

It is also suitable for firms and companies that have agents on the field collecting cash on their behalf as an option to the less secure pay on delivery system.

According to Kennedy Uzoka, UBA’s Deputy Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Africa, “mPOS is just one of our many e-banking innovations. We have driven other initiatives such as the acceptance of international cards on our POS terminals.

Our POS terminals are also enabled for Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC), which means customers and noncustomers using foreign payment cards on our POS can see their transaction value in the currency of their card or home country; this aids transaction tracking and personal account reconciliation.”

UBA late last year introduced bill payments such as airtime top up, utility bills payment and Cable TV subscription on its POS terminals in select

he World Bank yesterday warned against future occurrence of health disaster saying the world is dangerously unprepared for future pandemics.

President, World Bank Group, Jim Yong Kim stated this while delivering a talk during the inaugural Global Futures Lecture at Georgetown, Washington. The lecture, titled ‘Lessons from Ebola: Toward a post-2015 strategy for pandemic response,” will kick off a semester-long conversation about the “Global Future of Development” at Georgetown as part of the university’s new Global Futures Initiative.

During the speech, Kim laid out a vision in which insurance companies, governments, multilateral organizations,

corporations and international donors worked together to build a system that would help all countries prepare for potentially catastrophic health disasters.

“The Ebola outbreak has been devastating in terms of lives lost and the loss of economic growth in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone,” Kim told an audience at Georgetown University. “We need to make sure that we get to zero cases in this Ebola outbreak.

At the same time, we need to prepare for future pandemics that could become far more deadly and infectious than what we have seen so far with Ebola.

We must learn the lessons from the Ebola outbreak because there is no doubt we will be faced with other pandemics in the years to come.”

Kim said that the World Bank

Group has been working for several months with the World Health Organization, other United Nations agencies, academics, re-insurance company officials and others to work on a concept of developing a pandemic facility; discussions also were held in informal sessions at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last week.

He said he expects that a proposal will be presented in the coming months to leaders of developed and developing countries. While a proposal would likely involve a combination of bonds and insurance instruments, he said that in some ways, a future pandemic response facility was similar to a homeowner ’s insurance policy.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015 — 25

NINTH from left: Mr Frank Nweke, Director General, Nigerian Economic Summit; Representative, Google, Nigeria, Mrs Lai Koiki; CEO, Greensprings Educational Services Ltd, Mike Purvis; British Deputy High Commissioner (Discussants) 14th from left and other discussants and ministers at the 30th anniversary lecture of Greensprings School, in Lagos.

Education in Nigeria can only develop through deliberate plans — NWEKE F

By Dayo Adesulu

ORMER Minister of Information and Communication, Mr Frank Nweke has urged the Federal Government to make deliberate plans that will be sustained over a period of time on developing the education sector.

He said; "Government cannot pay lip service to the issue of education reform and get it right in our education sector.

We cannot ignore doing the right thing and expect the right result. It does not work that way.’’

He noted that the role of a responsible, disciplined government is to reform education, ensure that the society and the continent obtain the

SCORECARD: Stakeholders differ on Jonathan's performance in education sector Pg. 27

Universities face the toughest year in Nigerian history (1) Pg. 28 C M Y K

right platform.

Nweke who spoke in Lagos during Greensprings School 30th anniversary lecture titled, “The Future of Education in an Uncertain World: Redefining Education in Africa” said that government and the private sector have the greatest roles to play in reforming the education sector.

He posited that the bulk of the responsibility to revamp education falls on the government and that only a responsible and disciplined government can make this work. He pointed out that if Mrs Lai Koiki, the Director of Greensprings School had spent all her time visioning without planning or if she had planned and

did not invest or if she had invested and did not sustain, she would not have recorded the academic success of 30 years.

“If you have Nigeria for instance investing one percent of her GDP in education, how can you positively see change. You cannot see a change. It cannot be by accident. Nigeria cannot develop by accident. It can only be through conscious,deliberate planning to sustain with the clear outcome anticipated upon over a period of time. There is no magic about it. It does not take being genius but discipline and sustainable development.

According to him, “Nigeria can join other progressive countries in area of education if only it has the right people in position doing the right thing in government. “Government in Germany, Finland, Malaysia and Singapore have done it and they are still doing it constantly. The notion that Nigeria is that because it is a public sector therefore, it cannot work.

If education will be repositioned, we need right thinking serious minded people in education to be on the driver’s seat.”

Continues on page 26

MOCPED: ERC calls for release of students’ results, certificates

By Amaka Abayomi

T

HE Education Rights Campaign, ERC, has called on the management of the Michael Otedola College of Primary Education (MOCPED), Noforija, Epe, Lagos State, to release the results and certificates of the degree students of the college, even as it demands that the Professor Olu Akeusola-led MOCPED administration be probed for mismanagement of funds.

This is coming as degree students of the institution, on Monday,

embarked on a peaceful protest to demand for the immediate release of their results and certificates by the school administration.

MOCPED is an affiliate college of Ekiti State University and students can seek admission into MOCPED for degree programs that would bear EKSU’s certificate. Though there is a cost and responsibility sharing arrangement between both institutions, MOCPED must regularly compile students’ results and present same to EKSU Senate for approval.

According to ERC’s national Coordinator, Mr. Hassan Soweto,

“unfortunately, since the degree programme started about eight years ago, MOCPED has not issued statements of results and certificates to any of the students who has completed this program and neither has any proceeded for the National Youth Service.

“This is because the authority of MOCPED is heavily indebted to EKSU and as a result, is unable to present students’ results to EKSU Senate for approval. This is in spite of the huge amount realised from Continues on page 26

26 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015

Education in Nigeria can only develop through deliberate plans Continues from page 25 Meanwhile, United Nations Resident Coordinator and United Nations Development Programme Resident Representative, Mr Daouda Toure, while speaking on The Future of Education in an Uncertain World said: "Fifty years after independence, 50 per cent of children in most developing countries who enter secondary school do not graduate, and many may not even go beyond primary school.’’

Making allusion to UNESCO report, he said in some African countries, only 50 per cent of children complete Grade 5. Out of this, less than half can comprehend a simple paragraph.

He added that even for programmes that have encouraged school enrolment through free universal access to primary schooling, Education for All reports show that many children drop out of school. According to him, studies show that schooling provides neither the financial literacy students will need to manage their own meagre resources, nor the requisite guidance to create

opportunities for securing a livelihood or create wealth.

Toure explained that the people are not interested in formal education because to them, schooling provides little assistance in promoting the physical health needed for economic stability and quality of life.

The UN Resident Coordinator submits that if education for over 50 years has not served Africa, how can we re-define it to give the best to our children, the gift of quality education that translates to better quality of life and improved life expectancy?

He said what is needed is a robust educational model that combines traditional content with critically important financial, health and administrative skills, which can be delivered via existing school systems. He advised that those who cannot go beyond the basic education level should engage in vocational training to fill the ever increasing demand in that technical area.

He said: “We cannot solve 21st Century problems with 20th Century curriculum! Our unreformed education system has served the colonial era and the immediate post-independence period. We must overhaul it completely to serve us in the 21st

Century.

“Changes can also be made to the existing system through training and continuing education for teachers, review of the methodology, use of up-todate learning materials and adoption of pedagogical approaches, which allow students to work in selfdirected teams to learn, discuss, and actively practice, using the basic content of standard governmental curricula instead of oral/ abstract teaching.’’

This phenomenon of mushrooming of schools transcends basic schools to universities.

The easy prey in such universities is Business Administration

Toure who maintained that through unique combination of relevant content, practical implementation, and student empowerment; our children will develop a body of knowledge, skills, and attitudes, added that it will avail them the opportunity to succeed after leaving school regardless of whether they go on to tertiary institutions or not.

"This requires the participation of all stakeholders in education, including the private sector,’’ he said.

The private sector, he pointed out, constitutes an important partner in the provision of quality education in sub-Saharan Africa. To him, government which remains the principal provider and the overall regulator of education rely heavily on the private sector to fill gaps where they exist in terms of both access and quality.

His words: "Unlike most developed economies where private education offers ‘exclusive’ options for the wealthier classes; in Africa, private education flourishes because governments are unable to meet the growing demand of their populations in quality basic education.

Budgetary shortfalls of the education sector remains one of the main reasons for poor quality.

Furthermore, inefficient use of the limited resources is also cited as another key challenge."

Private schools such as Greensprings have some advantages. They are flexible, dynamic, and quick to recognise and fulfill market demands compared to their inflexible and often bureaucratic public sector counterparts.

In Africa’s emergent economies, new private schools spring up just as

quickly as the burgeoning communities they serve. But private education is now offered by a multiplicity of providers, most of them calling themselves ‘’International Schools” with varying qualities. They range from state-of-the-art institutions to teacher and blackboard under a tree in villages where alternatives are scarce or nonexistent. In order not to allow them to continue to flood the market with inefficient and ineffective private schools, some of them not better than the public schools they claim to complement in terms of access and quality; Government should reinforce its regulatory role of such schools.

This phenomenon of mushrooming of schools transcends basic schools to universities. The easy prey in such universities is Business Administration. In reality, some of the graduates of these institutions cannot analyse a business problem beyond SWOT Analysis. I only wish they knew that they represent a real threat to the future of Africa. Private schools are often accused of earning fat profits for their proprietors and directors.

This may be true in some cases particularly for higher-end providers targeting the elite.

However, what is less often noted is the significant role of those providing education to deprived communities at very little or no profit.

Some of these schools I call 'good intention' providers, struggle to keep operating on meagre budgets, yet closing them would have negative impact on the communities they serve. All providers of education in Africa should equip our younger generation to not only think ahead, but also embark on projects which will meet the dynamics of the future of Africa; and at the same time put us closer or at par with other continents.''

Failure in UTME:

From left: Vice President, Home Science Association (HSA), Mrs. Anna Amadu; President, Mrs. Folashade Adunni Bakare; Principal, Home Science Association Secondary School, Mr. John Kehinde Olokose; and Past President, (HSA), Mrs. Folashade Olatunde, at a press briefing on the 25th anniversary of Home Science Association Secondary School, Alakuko, Lagos State.

Cinf ores, W aveT ek pr ovide Cinfores, Wa eTek pro e-learning solution

By Dayo Adesulu

MOCPED: ERC calls for release of students’ results and certificates Continues from page 25 the high tuition the degree students pay.

We must put it on record that a similar degree program of EKSU is affiliated with Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (AOCOED) and there are no complaints about nonrelease of results or certificates.”

Continuing, Soweto said: “This allegation of indebtedness raises pointed questions including whether or not student fees are not being mismanaged or embezzled by the Prof.

Olu Akeusola-led administration of MOCPED. The best way to allay this fear is for the College administration to be probed and the ERC calls for an independent probe

panel to be constituted and should include elected representatives of students union and staff unions of the college in order to ascertain how the college managed to default on payment to EKSU despite the huge amount degree students pay as tuition.”

The ERC called on the management of MOCPED to immediately release the final statements of results and certificates of all those who have completed EKSU’s degree program affiliated with the college as the situation has got to a stage where further refusal to release the results and certificates could warrant mass protests and demonstrations by the concerned students who have been patient for so long. The ERC also condemned the Lagos State Government, the owner of MOCPED, for failing to intervene in the crisis.

C

INFORES, WaveTek are set to solve mass failure in UTME. The National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA has cut a partnership pact with two indigenous software companies, Cinfores Limited and WaveTek Nigeria Limited.

This is in their bid to address the increasing rate of mass failure in national examinations in Nigeria through the use of Information and Communication Technology.The partnership was consummated at the weekend, when the agency

witnessed the signing of memorandum of understanding (MoU) with WaveTek and Cinfores Limited on deployment of a special version of Nigeria’s foremost e-learning and examination preparatory software, Cinfores BrainFriend.

The special version which is customised for the forthcoming 2015 JAMB UTME is known as JAMB BRAINFRIEND. Also present in the ceremony is Microsoft Nigeria Education Lead, Patrick Onwumere.

Speaking on the development, the Director General of NITDA, Mr. Peter Jack, said the agency

Continues on page 28

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015 — 27

SCORECARD: Stakeholders differ on Jonathan's performance in education sector

By Amaka Abayomi

I

t was Lyndon B. Johnson, LBJ, 36th President of the United States of America that said “freedom is fragile if citizens are ignorant.”

He had asked Congress for $1.5bn in new school programmes aid, saying “nothing matters more to the future of our country.”

Whether Nigeria’s leaders agree with LBJ in thoughts and action, whether a fragment of $1.5bn (on January 12, 1965, when LBJ made the demand) is spent on education in Nigeria today doesn’t require the knowledge of rocket science to assess.

Amidst ASUU strikes, promises of meeting UNESCO’s recommendation for education and Federal Government’s establishment of more varsities, President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration achievements in the education sector will have to be based on what can be seen.

There is no denying the fact that policies of the successive governments in Nigeria have added little value to educational advancement, which is being ravaged by a myriad of problems, and they worsen as the day goes by.

Chief of the problems is inadequate funding – which leads to other setbacks like shortage of quality staff, dearth of infrastructure, inadequate classrooms and offices, proliferation, insufficient admission spaces, examination malpractice, brain drain, inadequate laboratories for teaching and research, shortage of books and journals, low remuneration, inconsistent and ill-conceived policies among others.

In 2012, Nigeria spent less than nine per cent of its annual budget on education when smaller African nations like Botswana spent 19.0%; Swaziland, 24.6%; Lesotho, 17.0%; South Africa, 25.8%; Cote d’Ivoire, 30.0%; Burkina Faso, 16.8%; Ghana, 31%; Kenya, 23.0%; Uganda, 27.0%; and Tunisia, 17.0%.

The sector witnessed a 15 per cent increase in 2014 budget as 10.7% of the year’s total budget was allotted to education, up from 8.7% in 2013.

But speaking at the 2013 Education Summit organised by the Lagos State government, former Minister of Education, Mrs. Obiageli Ezekwesili, said the problem with Nigeria’s education system is not more funding but accountability and transparency.

“The fundamental challenge

of education in Nigeria is the many decades of poor sector governance and entrenched dysfunction with no mechanism of accountability and performance.

“When the funds meant for the sector leaves the Ministry of Finance to the Ministry of Education, it is still very robust, but it would be suffering from anaemia by the time it gets to the schools.”

Vanguard Learning sought the views of educationists, parents and students on how the sector has fared under President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.

The Zonal Coordinator, Lagos Zone of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Professor Adesola Nasir, said there has not been any significant improvement in the education sector in terms of structure and output.

Nasir said “The structures are decaying and the overall output from primary to secondary schools, such as rate of passing WAEC and NECO, among others is falling. The secondary schools and Colleges of Education have not really improved in terms of structure, infrastructure, teaching materials and staff training.

“This administration witnessed more strike than its predecessors as universities were on strike for over six months while polytechnics and Colleges of Education were on strike for close to one year, and that’s a very serious loss of valuable time.

“Funding is also an issue as apart from the initial funds we received from government in 2013, we did not receive anything for 2014 and we are now in 2015 and there is no hope of us getting the required funds.

“The worst aspect is that the horizon looks bleak. Though some people would say that 12 new varsities were established but the issue is that these varsities were established with

The structures are decaying and the overall output from primary to secondary schools, such as rate of passing WAEC and NECO, among others is falling

funds forcibly taken from TETFund, and the money used for all of them is not enough to adequately fund one standard varsity.”

Stressing that the education sector has been virtually destroyed by this administration, the National Coordinator, Education Rights Campaign, Mr. Hassan Soweto, said “six years ago, the number of out-of-school children was 6.5 million, now that number has risen to over 10.5 million and no Nigerian varsity is among the top 100 globally recognised varsities.

“Despite government’s propaganda of development, it is very glaring that no real development has been recorded in the sector. Even with the establishment of new varsities, how many of them have taken off, how many students do they have and are they properly funded because varsities set up over 30 years ago have not been upgraded by this administration.

“Public education has fared badly under this administration and we fear for the future because, with the election coming up, neither President Jonathan nor his opponents are proposing ways of salvaging the sector.”

Not sure how to rate the performance of the sector, a former Dean, Faculty of Administration, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, and a former Lead Public S e c t o r Management specialist at The World Bank, Professor Ladipo Adamolekun, says this government prefers quantity over quality as evident with the establishment of 12 federal varsities.

The renowned Professor of Public Administration said “though some people may commend the establishment of the varsities, but it goes to show government’s preference of quantity over quality.

“At the basic education level, Nigeria still battles with low enrolment and low quality

teachers as over 10.5 million children of school-going age are not attending school. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report Index, 2011-2012, Nigeria was ranked 140 out of 144 countries in primary education enrolment.

“At the secondary school level, students record poor performance in public exam as evident in the percentages of students who obtained five credits, including English and Mathematics in the May/June WAEC over the last five years: 23% (2008), 26% (2009), 24% (2010), 31% in 2011 and 39% in 2012.

“In NECO, failure rate was 98% in 2008, 88% in 2009, 89% in 2010, 92% in 2011, and 68% in 2012. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report Index, 2011-2012, Nigeria was ranked 120 out of 144 in secondary education enrolment.

“Universities are not left out as instead of having no less than 80% of the academics with PhDs, only 43% are PhD holders while the remaining 57% are not. Also, instead of 75% of the academics

to be between Senior Lecturers and Professors, only about 44% are within the bracket while the remaining 56% are not.

“There is an average of four abandoned projects per varsity in Nigeria” – with negative consequences for classrooms, laboratories, students’ hostels, and staff accommodation. Poor infrastructure adversely affects teaching, research, learning and students’ health and safety.

“Universities do not have adequate supply of PhDs but PhD holders seek graduatelevel positions and some compete to be truck drivers.”

For a parent, Mr. Tayo Adeyemo, the state of education has been horrible since 2011 which was made worse with the ASUU strike that lasted over six months.

"Rather than improving on the existing institutions,the President set up new varsities which i see as a waste of resources. Government claimed to have injected funds into our ivory towers but that claim was rejected by the institutions. There are crises in some federal polytechnics because of fund reduction by government. You then begin to wonder what type of leaders we are moulding when the youths are neglected and made to suffer in their own country."

28 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015

Universities face the toughest year in Nigerian history (1) “Whoever reads history with application will perceive that the same scenes are often repeated and that we need only change the name of the actors”, Frederick the Great, 1712-1786.

(VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS p 92).

A

SCHOLARSHIP: From right: Son of late General Charles Ndiomu, Mr. Didi Ndiomu; MD, Vetiva Trustees Ltd; Mrs Ifeoma Udom, foundation's Trustees Manager; Deputy Director, Command Schools Services, Nigerian Army Education Corps, Col. Jonathan Nwasor; Mr. Patrick Ndiomu (son); Mr Charles Ndiomu (son) and representative of the foundation's technical consultants, Axiom Learning Solutions Limited, Mr. Charles Ani Bassey-Eyo, during the 2015 Armed Forces scholarship award by Charles Bebeye Ndiomu Foundation.

Armed Forces Remembrance Day:

Ndiomu Foundation awards scholarships

By Bashir Adefaka

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HE Charles Bebeye Ndiomu F o u n d a t i o n , commemorating this year’s armed forces remembrance day with the Federal Government and particularly the Nigerian Armed Forces, in Lagos on Thursday, distributed scholarships to children of some of the deceased ranks and files of the Nigerian armed forces whose condition needed to be attended to due to the absence of their bread winners.

This was described as an effort by the family of Major General Charles Bebeye Ndiomu to immortalise the late military top brass through alleviation of pains and sufferings of the needy.

Managing Director, Vetiva Trustees Limited, trustee managers for the foundation, Mrs. Ifeoma Udom, explained that the programme, introduced during the armed forces remembrance day of 2014, was a social responsibility in memory of the late Major General.

She said; “Among a number of initiatives aimed at improving the standard of education and accessibility to quality education by the less privileged in society, the foundation has put in place this scheme in honour of our fallen heroes.

"The scheme is particularly aimed at giving back to the families of deceased armed forces personnel who lost their lives in the service of the nation, by awarding scholarships to children of such families annually.”

Udom said this year’s edition received 25 application forms of which 21 candidates were shortlisted and 11 applicants scaled through the screening process based solely on academic excellence.

“Three of the 11 current awardees applied for and received this award last year.

Notwithstanding it is the much desired aspiration of the

foundation that the award scheme will grow year after year both in terms of number of recipients and reach across the nation,” she said.

In his remarks, Col. Nwasor who described the late General Ndiomu as 'our boss', said the deceased General stood for excellence and it was the singular honour for his service of the Army to be associated with the Charles Bebeye Ndiomu Foundation.

Mr. Charles Ani Bassey-Eyo,

who represented the Technical Consultants, Axiom Learning Solutions Limited, described the programme as laudable and urged Nigerian military and the government to do more in supporting the foundation to grow.

Reacting to the awards, Mrs Waliat Abdulsalam, widow of late Lt. Cpl Salami Hakeem, said words would not be enough to appreciate the great impact the foundation has made in her now one-parent home.

Failure in UTME Continues from page 26 keyed into the initiative as part of its effort to deepen and encourage local content development in education and other sectors of the economy as mandated by the ACT setting up the agency.”Based on the transformation agenda of Mr. President, the Federal Government of Nigeria is doing everything possible to ensure that the Nigerian educational system is improved and made world class.“There is certain decline in quality of education in our country. The mass failure in UTME and other national examinations in recent years, as a case in point, is a mixture of many things including the non-availability of quality local resources to change the tide of mass failure and exam malpractice that has plagued the nation,” he said. The NITDA boss, also stated that NITDA as an IT agency, is committed to transforming every sector in the country through the introduction of ICT. He pointed out that in its various effort to ensure qualitative education in the country, NITDA would engage various local and international organisations to develop locally

adapted solutions that will meet the needs of the sector.

He added that the agency will do everything possible, within its disposal, to support the partnership between the two companies. In his remarks, the Managing Director of Cinfores Limited, Mr. Asawo Ibifuro, said the software companies decided to introduce the examination software, Jamb BrainFriend to arm Nigerian students to be better prepared for the forth coming JAMB examination. Asawo, who frowned at the increasing rate of failure of students in JAMB examinations, said the software company, “is committed to helping the students and exam candidates to adequately prepare and pass their various educational examinations by developing the customized version that would help them overcome any kind of questions that come their way.He also noted that the software, apart from arming the students for their exams, it would also prepare them and erase any phobia or myths surrounding the electronic JAMB examination, which is taking off this year.” He however, assured the candidates that the software

DMITTEDLY, Frederick the Great, exaggerated a little bit. The Prussian warrior and philosopher, who was faced with total destruction of his army until he was saved by what, in history, had become known as 'reversal of alliances', still had a point. Several scenes, in history repeat themselves all over the world, sometimes in the same country, such that it is difficult to disagree with that broad generalization.

All the stakeholders of Nigerian varsities, private and public, face the toughest year in our history since 1948 when the University College, Ibadan, opened its gates to admit students.

The closest experience we have had to what we can expect from this year and several years after, was in the 1980s when the historical Structural Adjustment Programme, SAP, was introduced by President Babangida. Then, as now, the global price of crude oil fell suddenly and uncontrollably – resulting in major upheavals on Nigerian campuses. The most noticeable then was the brain-drain, as hundreds of Nigerian academics, mostly the youngest, brightest and the best, fled abroad when their take home pays at Nigerian universities could no longer take them home.

Brain-drain is still a possibility; but, not on the same scale as that of the 1980s. Nigerian certificates, The closest including Ph.Ds have since been experience we have seriously devalued. One only has to listen to the utterances of some had to what we can doctorate degree holders in Nigeria expect from this year these days to realise how far we have climbed down the greasy pole to and several years mediocrity – even in academia. But, after, was in the that is subject for another day.

Those under focus today, among the 1980s when the stakeholders are the Visitors, Pro- historical Structural Chancellors, V.Cs, Council Members, Ministers and Adjustment Commissioners of Education and Programme, SAP, the Senates of the universities. was introduced by Without realising it, they are in the trenches in the frontlines of what President will definitely become several Babangida battlegrounds, currently called university campuses. Peace is the last thing anybody with sense should expect. The reasons are clear to those who have learnt anything from the verdicts of economic history everywhere. But, first permit me a diversion, whose relevance will become clear later with respect to V.C. Emeritus Professor Tekena Tamuno, OFR, former V.C of University of Ibadan, U.I, and one of the best historians the world has ever produced (history is my hobby, so I should know), set an enviable example as VC of U.I which others, in the perilous times ahead, might want to emulate. Offered a second term, my second favourite Prof (sorry, my brother is also a Prof and blood is always thicker than water) in Nigeria, turned it down. He wanted to return to the classroom and teach history. To him, despite the perks of office attached to the office of VC, history came first. What some of our current and future VCs might learn from Professor of Professors is a simple lesson, being VC is not a do or die affair. And, it might save your life. Professor Akesode’e story at LASU is there as lesson.

Let me now return to the matter on hand. Back in the early 1980s, when the first major decline in the price of crude oil was experienced, after a prolonged and steady increase from 1973, aggregate national revenue dropped drastically and the Federal and State governments were forced to slash allocations to universities sharply. All hell broke loose immediately. Now, let us pause to examine the similarities between our experience in the 1980s and the present unfolding drama.

First, in each case governments and the universities were locked into several agreements and plans covering several years based on the assumption that the price of crude oil, which had by then become dominant in our economy, would remain so. And, for almost a decade, that assumption was correct – until 1982, when the decline started.

Suddenly, agreements reached with academic and non-academic staff regarding salaries and entitlements could no longer be afforded by governments. That was sufficient cause for disruptions on campuses. Then, as the Federal Government introduced measures, aimed at stabilising the economy, but, which had hyper-inflation as one of the unintended consequences, everybody’s salaries was no longer sufficient to meet their needs. Universities wanted more money to cushion the impact of devalued currency at the same time governments had less.

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L- r: Mrs M. Olukemi Akin-Ajayi Principal, of Lagos Anglican Grammar School Surulere, Lagos, Chief (Mrs) Leila Fowler receiving LASMAB award from Prof. (Mrs) Modupelola Omoegun chairman, Board of Governors, LAGGS, while Ven. Ayo Olusa the Executive Secretary LASMAB during the fundraising, award and thanksgiving of Lagos Anglican Grammar School Surulere, Lagos to mark its 60th Anniversary L-R: State Secretary, Motorcycle Operators Association, Lagos, Comrade Israel Chukwu; State Secretary, Nigeria Automobile & Technicians Association, Comrade Kayode Ayodele; Senator Gbenga Ashafa and the Chairman, Ikosi- Isheri branch, National Union of Road Transport Workers of Nigeria (NURTW), Alhaji Gunwaola Ogundipe, during the members' stakeholders meeting with the senator at Ikosi- Ketu.

NTI introduces enhanced Maths, Science programmes

N

ATIONAL Teachers Institute, NTI, has

commenced an enhanced Mathematics and Science

teacher training programmes with a view to arresting the failure rate of students at Ordinary Level examinations in Mathematics and Science subjects.

Director-General of the institute, Dr Aminu Ladan Sharehu, who disclosed this while opening a Course Facilitators and Centre Managers Train – the-Trainers workshop, in Kaduna, said that the new programmes were meant to improve the quality of teachers and arrest the fallen standard of education. He said they expect the participants to adequately impact on the students across the country through strategic learning and teaching techniques.

His words, “We at the National Teachers Institute are always proactive and not reactive. We always make sure and do try as much as possible to better teachers’ quality."

Igbo group's confab holds in Lagos

T

HE Igbo C o n s u l t a t i v e N e t w o r k Organization ICN, (Aka Igbo Campaign Network) a group of Igbo indigenes with more than 27 chapters all over Lagos State is organizing a one-day election sensitization convention in Lagos on Friday January 30, 2015.

The convention/seminar which is meant to enlighten the people about their voting right and general conduct during the February, 2015 general elections will bring together critical stakeholders like Resident electoral commissioner of INEC in Lagos State, governorship candidates of major political parties, and the Lagos State Police Command, PPRO among others, and will hold under the distinguished chairmanship of Mr. Kevin Umeh Okeoma, national coordinator of ICN.

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34—Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015

‘Employees can access pension fund after four months’ •IT makes pension’s administration easier— Trusftfund Pensions Stories by Victor Ahiuma-Young

N

EW Pension Reform Act, PRA, 2014, has reduced the waiting period for accessing benefits in the event of loss of job by employees, to four months from the six months provided by the amended PRA 2004.

Trustfund Pension Plc, Apapa Business Managers, Lagos, Blessing Atigogo, started this while presenting a paper on “the role of IT, Customer service and investment in shaping the future of the pension industry ”, organized by Lagos council of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, in collaboration with the National Pension Commission, PenCom. According to her, “Section 4 (2) of the PRA 2004 provided for a waiting period to access benefits in the event of loss of job by employees is six months. But in the new law, Section 7 (2) states that the waiting period for accessing benefits in the event of loss of job by employees has been reduced to four months.” While urging workers and pensioners to get acquainted with PRA 2014, she noted that over the last 10 years, the pension industry had grown exponentially in statue and influence.

According to her, “with the new PRA 2014, this industry has transformed in number of ways; new technologies, new penalties, new investment portfolio, new ways of doing business, resulting in new level of performance.

Manager which supports the industry ’s broad data management.

“Today, data processed information remain safe and secured with efficient and effective information technology back up. Information can be retrieved in case of disaster or investigation unlike when you keep packing manual files and data. Recently, there is more demand for information by individual RSA holders on the performance of their respective RSAs, on the data update etc.

The Retired Saving Account, RSA, holder/customer can interact with the internet anywhere in the world to access desired information. This has made the business of pension open and the client on top of his account, monitoring, quarrying and getting feed backs. A mobile phone can do all these.

Today, data processed information remain safe and secured with efficient and effective information technology back up

New lelvel of performance The most significant are in the increase in number of retirement savings account holders, pension funds and assets, IT development, customer centered service outlook and investment portfolio process.”

Atigogo noted that technology had been very significant and the fastest driver of the objectives in the pension industry providing the innovative incremental advances necessary for the industry to upgrade and expand its services.

She said “today, the membership has grown to over six million Retirement Savings Account, RSA, holders and 100,000 pensioners which would be practically ineffective to manage manually. But with the promise of technology which profound impact on the data management and transactional capabilities, issues of benefit payment, RSA pin generation and computation, crediting are made easier and faster with accompanying reduction in cost.

In the industry, we have deployed software as AFIS, SugarCRM, PF

“Through IT, research on investment is made easy to ascertain risk. Investment transactions can be done online and values credited quickly and effectively. Analysis of market reviews/performance is made easy for good investment decisions. IT in the industry has been able to support divergent legacy accounting system and platform. Technology in the industry would integrate and correlate sources of information from range of sources like never before. Data will not simply represent inventory to passively store or ware house, but rather can now be dynamically interconnected information to correlate, integrate and used

holistically. The IT becomes the nerve center that adds value to stored legacy information, turning it into an actionable commodity.”

According to her, “Information technology has been able to provide mediums through which individuals, customers alike can interface with their respective pension fund administrators.

Mediums such as Facebook, twitter, Google plus, LinkedIn just to mention a few have massively increased the interface with PRAs. For the future, there is need for IT maker participants to continue to evolve to cope with

Emuesiri Oshodi, Head, Customer's Service and Relationship Management; Blessing Atigogo, Business Manager, Apapa and Maurice Ogar, Zonal Manager, Central and South zone, Trustfund Pensions Plc, at the workshop.

NSITF to cater for aged, unemployed T HE Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, NSITF, has now been empowered to handle social issues of providing social security to the aged and unemployed in addition to the implementation of Employee Compensation scheme.

This addition followed the amendment of NSITF Act, which was passed by the two chambers of the National Assembly on January 14, 2015.

The new law is expected to be presented to President Goodluck Jonathan for assent.

Speaking on this expanded mandate, Chairman, Board of Directors of NSITF, Ngozi Olejeme, credited the step to the unrelenting effort of President Jonathan to improve the welfare of workers and vulnerable groups.

According to her, “The Board will like to extend its appreciation to both the Senate and House of Representatives for

landscape marked by evolving regulatory issues. The hunt for financial investment returns and new client service illustrate the need for fresh and further approaches to technology and underscores the increasing critical role that lies ahead for third party providers seeking solutions to challenges in the industry headon.

“This is a very critical arm of business growth and vital to its survival. The industry has survived the years because they recognize the fact that it cannot thrive without her customers’ satisfaction.

this massive boost. We know that the President will assent to the bill once it is presented to him. The implementation of the employees’ compensation scheme by the NSITF was an idea that was very dear to Mr. President. He wanted to ensure that workers that sustain injuries in the course of their duties are no longer left to their fate.

The signing of the new national minimum wage law without hesitation shows that he is committed to bettering the lives of the Nigerian workers. These additional responsibilities of providing some forms of social safety net to unemployed and aged person will be done with passion and dedication.

The NSITF is well-equipped to execute these new additions.”

Similarly, Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, MD/CEO, of NSITF, Munir Abubakar, said NSITF was ready for the implementation of the new responsibilities.

He said “We are elated by these additions. The Federal Government has given us a huge task and our

responsibility is to ensure smooth implementation. We are ready for the task at hand. Social security is a collective care arrangement to meet contingencies and other conditions of insecurity due to either deprivations or contingencies or both.

Social security arrangements are collective remedies against adversity and deficiency.

The adversity aspect is addressed through a contingent social security such as the recent Employee Compensation Act. The problem of deficiency is directly addressed through the provision of a basic social security. The two dimensions are complementary and are closely related to the problem of human poverty reduction and development.”

Abubakar explained that currently in Nigeria, statutory schemes such as contributory and tax-financed programmes did not cover more than five to 10 percent of the labour force and

or population; while over 60 percent of Nigeria’s population lacked any type of social security protection.

The NSITF MD/CEO said “The lack of any kind of social security is more pronounced among the vulnerable groups such as people with disability, orphans, widows and old people who are largely outside the labour force and cannot count on family support and who have not made adequate provision for their own pensions. The adoption of basic social security floor for Nigerians cannot be over-emphasized.

It will establish and implement a non-contributory social security scheme to provide protection floor containing basic social security guarantees that will ensure that over the life cycle of citizens of Nigeria in need can afford and have access to essential healthcare and have income security at least at a nationally defined minimum level.“

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Supreme Court needs people of diverse intellectual background — Oyetibo MR. Tayo Oyetibo was conferred with the prestigious rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in 2003, which is a rank reserved for legal practitioners who have attained distinction in the practice of law in the country. He is a consummate advocate, reputed for his integrity and professional skills in the area of dispute resolution, particularly litigation and arbitration.

In this interview, he spoke on the usage of enforcing judgement of the court, appointment of Supreme Court justices from the Bar and lawyers failure to report to the Chief Judge any judge who fails to sit or who sits late.Excerpts:

By Bartholomew Madukwe

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OURTS all over the country have been under lock and key for four weeks now, following the strike embarked on by the Judiciary Staff Union of What do you think the problem is?

There is only one executive.

The Attorney General, the Minister of Finance and any other minister, they are officers under the president. So there can only be one executive under the constitution of Nigeria. It is not a department or ministry that constitutes the executive; it is part of the executive. And what the JUSUN is trying to achieve is the independence of the judiciary from the executive, so the problem is with the executive.

Overlap of functions The issue is to be resolved by the executive, irrespective of whatever ministry. You may have an overlap of functions, but the fact remains that there is only one executive. The executive has the solution to it.

But can strike action be used as an instrument to enforce judgement of the court, as it appears to be in this case?

I think the whole essence of independence is that no one arm exercises control over the funding of the other. There is a structure prescribed by the constitution and there is a judgement of the court, I believe

what the Union is saying is that the judgement should be obeyed. Of course, the question has been raised whether you can use a strike to enforce the judgement of a court.

The answer is no.

However, when it comes to trade unionism, it is more or less pressure from the government to adjust its position and yield to the demands of a Union. And it is also correct that you do not use a strike action to enforce judgement of the court. From whatever angle you look at it, what is important is for the judiciary to enjoy its independence according to the constitution and the judgement of the court.

The way forward is for the government to sit with the Union and resolve the dispute.

The solution cannot lie with the Union, it must lie outside the strike action itself, and that is with the government.

Among the three arms of government, one may wonder, why is it only with the judiciary that financial autonomy is an issue?

You know the constitution was only amended recently for the National Assembly to have its own financial independence, and some other statutory bodies.

It is one thing for a provision to be in the statutory book, it is another thing for the arms of government concerned to implement according to the letters of the constitution. I think the whole essence of the strike

•Oyetibo... The solution cannot lie with the Union. is that the letters of the constitution and the judgement as pronounced by the court should be implemented. So there is provision and there is implementation.

Some lawyers have argued that the appointment of Supreme Court justices from the Bench should be extended to the Bar. What is your view?

I believe firmly that the Supreme Court should be populated not only by judges on the Bench, but also should be drawn from experienced lawyers at the inner Bar and in

What the JUSUN is trying to achieve is the independence of the judiciary from the executive. So, the problem is with the executive, the issue is to be resolved by the executive, irrespective of whatever ministry

academics. We have living examples of people who have come from either the Bar or academics to sit on the Bench of the Supreme Court and they have done very well. Justice Teslim Elias, Justice Nnamani, Justice Niki Tobi, and recently we have Justice Nweze.

Presently, justices of the Supreme Court are being drawn from the Court of Appeal, while judges from the High Court are drawn to the Court of Appeal.

Intellectual background We have had occasion in the past where Chief Judges were elevated to the Supreme Court direct. Justice Oputa never sat on the Bench of Court of Appeal. Justice Craig never sat on the Bench of Court of Appeal. Justice Nwokedi moved directly from the High Court to the Supreme Court.

These are identified good hands.

What we are saying is that rather than restricting the appointment of Supreme Court justices to the Court of Appeal,

members of the inner Bar that have been identified and willing to go to the Supreme Court Bench should be appointed. We need people of diverse intellectual background; we need them in the Supreme Court to strengthen it. You do not have to restrict appointment to the Supreme Court to Court of Appeal alone. No, because it is the highest court in Nigeria and whatever it says is the final point of law.

Don’t you think judges have failed to assert their independence?

It is up to a judge to declare the law as it is. The constitution of Nigeria makes a judge to be independent in its decision. So it is up to the individual judge, if he or she wants to tie his or her hand. I do not see anything tying any judge under the law or under the constitution. So each judge will decide according to his or her conscience. But I expect that a judge will exercise that independence in deciding any matter. However, I do not lose sight of the fact that some judges try to submit to the Continues on page 37

Feb polls: Anambra and Electoral Act compliance

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Supreme Court needs people of diverse intellectual background — Oyetibo Continues from Page 36

wishes of the executive in their state. It is not expected of them to do that and it is not a requirement of the constitution that a judge must dance to the tune of the executive. Any judge that does that is not acting according to the oath of office that he or she has taken- to do justice to all manner of men, without fear or favour.

The National Judicial Council (NJC) has been accused of not taking measures that will make judges be proactive in the discharge of their duties, shun indolence, late sittings and unnecessary adjournments.

What is your take on that?

I know that judges make returns to the NJC on the works they have done, and the NJC do query some of the lazy judges. Having said that, the NJC sits far off, it is seated in Abuja. You have 36 states and you can imagine the number of judges that sits on the Bench of each High Court of the various states. So there is a wide gap. There should be a mechanism for monitoring activities of judges, particularly those who sit late and those who do not sit regularly. Unless such information is brought to the NJC, there is no way they will know.

Performance of judges The Bar should bring to the attention of the Chief Judge of the state, judges who do not sit early or who do not sit regularly. This will assist the

EDITORIAL TEAM Innocent Anaba ( Head) Wahab Abdulah Ikechukwu Nnochiri Dayo Benson (Supervising Editor) 08056180119 dayobenson@yahoo.com

want to finance it. They will go as far as telling you methodology, how they intend to finance the programme.

Then NPN will tell you that this is our four cardinal programmes. Have you found that in recent campaigns? Do they even have Research Department?

Political parties used to have R e s e a r c h Departments. Do they have information, statistics? So people just clamour for power, they w a n t power for the sake of power.

It is when they get to office that they will start thinking •Oyetibo... There should be a mechanism for Chief of how many schools monitoring activities of judges.

Judge in are in a state. But a monitoring political party is the performance of judges in supposed to conduct its the state. The Chief Judge corruption. Some make own research and make the should be able to take general statements like “I will findings available to the immediate steps, which make sure that the economy candidates. If a party cannot includes reporting to the NJC improves”. How does he want sponsor research for its to solve the problem of late the economy to improve from candidate, then what are they sitting or irregular sitting by what it is now? You must go sponsoring? They do not have some judges. information. And this is the to particulars. In the days of Are you aware of any UPN and NPN, you will see bane of our politics, it is most such report from the Bar to the statistics that UPN will unfortunate. If we carry on like the Chief Judge of the state, rule, how many schools are this, things will get worst and against any judge who failed in this state, this is what we worst. to sit or who sits late?

The electorates should ask the intend to do, this is how we It depends on the particular candidates questions like how branch of the Bar. But the truth do you want to improve the is that many of the branches economy, how do you want to have not been doing that. fight corruption, how do you Certainly, it is necessary that want to bring alive the textile branches of the Bar report What we are saying industry, how do you want to judges in their various states improve on agriculture etc. It is who fail to sit or who sits late; is that rather than by the candidate’s explanation it is part of the function of the restricting the that we will be able to know if Bar. he or she knows what he or she As the general elections appointment of is saying. draws closer, what is your Supreme Court It is a general saying to go to position on INEC ’s the poll and say I will fight preparations towards justices to the Court corruption. What does that ensuring free and fair of Appeal, members mean? Do you box corruption? elections?

Those are issues that we have One of the major issues is to of the inner Bar that different sectors of the economy. get our candidates contesting have been identified The textile industry has almost in the elections to dwell on gone aground in Nigeria. issues, than personality. And and willing to go to Nobody has come to tell how when they mention issues, it is the Supreme Court he or she intends to resuscitate not deep. They talk of fighting the textile industry in Nigeria.

Bench should be corruption, but they do not talk Power sector, railway, nobody about how they intend to fight appointed has said what he or she wants

to do with them. Candidates must come with a particular, which is what campaign is, that is what it means to convince people.

Has Nigerians heard anything about what the government wants to do with the tax? These are the main issues that should agitate the mind of anybody who will come and seek your mandate to govern. The candidates are not talking about government, they are talking about themselves.

It is so unfortunate. This cuts across the board, all the candidates. They are not discussing issues. Nigeria should have gone pass this type of campaign, going to the poll and dancing. Is it the dancing that will feed the man on the street? What do you see in our campaign? Candidates go to dance.

Nigerians will get the government that they deserve, if these are the kind of people that want to govern us. They are not telling us issues, they are not telling us how they intend to achieve what they are promising us they will do- if at all they make promise.

Building of infrastructure It is not just promising, you must tell us how the promise can be attained, that is the real campaign. You can take for example the health sector, how do you want to improve on its present state?

You can even take the issue of cement production in Nigeria, which is very important in the building of infrastructure. The prize of cement keeps going up; it should be an issue for campaign. Housing should be an issue. Have they ever joined issues in campaign? This one may choose a method and the other one will counter it, so you place your strategies before the electorates and then we will go and reason.

But they will never go to particulars because they know that is where you will catch them. They will expose themselves once they go into particulars. It is when you have researched that you will know how to achieve, but because they have not researched that is why they are not going into particulars.

38—VANGUARD, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015

Owerri NBA holds law week

Feb polls: Anambra and Electoral Act compliance

By Emenike Nwagwu

C

HIEF Chris Uba’s roles in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, his romance with Independent National electoral Commission, INEC and the judiciary to achieve his political objectives is a matter of concern to all.

Chris Uba has become a political force that neither Senator Andy Uba, Anambra State, its people and the judiciary are spared from his attacks depending on which political divide one finds himself. From the 2003 National Assembly elections, when Chris Uba first experimented with his own list of candidates alongside that of the PDP in Anambra State, the state has never had one list of candidates for elections till date.

It has always been the PDP list against the list of Chris Uba. The existence of such parallel list of candidates in Anambra State PDP in 2003 produced such cases as Uba v Ukachukuru and Ukachukwu v. Uba which consumed the career of many Justices of the Court of Appeal, including Justice Okechukwu Opene JCA). The cases of Abonu v. Obi, Enemuo v. Durn as well as that of Jerry Ugokwe that took an appeal to the ECOWAS Court of Justice as a ploy to buy more time, all emanated from Chief Uba’s action. By the time the curtain was drawn on the elections of 2003 and its related cases, not less than four judges both at the High Court and the Court of Appeal had lost their jobs as a result of their conducts in the cases in which Chris Uba had interest.

In the primaries that led to the governorship election of 2013 in Anambra, Chris Uba reenacted his act when he took his brother and governorship aspirant, Senator Andy Uba to conduct their primary election at a different location while the rest of the aspirants were at another properly designation venue participating in a lawful primary election under the supervision of Governor Shema of Katsina State duly designated the PDP National Executive Committee, NEC for that purpose. The outcomes of the parallel primaries

were subject matters of litigation that ended at the Supreme Court. Just as in Emeka v.

Okadigbo, Lado v. C.P.C and others, the Supreme Court pronounced that Senator Andy Uba did not participate in the primary election conducted by the PDP and would not have won such a primary election in which he did not contest and can, therefore, not become the candidate of PDP in the said election.

Tony Nwoye was declared nominated as the candidate of the party in that election. It would have been expected that Chris Uba and his camp would have learnt a lesson from their selfish acts and the subsequent judgments of courts that kept Senator Andy Uba out of an election he would have likely won to become the Governor of Anambra State.

It seems, however, that the lessons of that great event were lost on the self-styled “ war Lord”.

Again, when the whistle was blown for the primary election to nominate the candidates of the PDP for the National Assembly election, the PDP and Chris Uba went their divergent ways. At all the dates of the primaries, Chris Uba purported to have conducted his own primaries at separate venues from that conducted by the NEC of PDP, not many people took Chief Chris Uba serious, but a new twist attended the whole saga on January 14, this year, when it was confirmed that the INEC had published the ‘list’ submitted to it by Chief

By the time the curtain was drawn on the elections of 2003 and its related cases, not less than four judges both at the High Court and the Court of Appeal had lost their jobs

Uba as the list of PDP candidates for the National and State Assembly elections in Anambra as against the authentic list of candidates of PDP submitted by the National Chairman and Secretary of the party, which is a product of a lawful exercise, a result of party primaries conducted under the supervision of the party.

Not a few people have been dumbfounded at seeing this direct affront on democracy. The people of Anambra, particularly, the PDP family have since then been thrown into great wonder.

The question on every lip is: “What went wrong with our legal order as to hand the people of Anambra and their rights to choose their leaders over to Chris Uba?” The INEC has a ready defense for publishing the said Chris Uba’s list of candidates. According to INEC, it was obeying what was termed a judgment of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, which had declared in November, last year that the tenure of one Ejike Oguebego was subsisting as the chairman of PDP in Ariambra.

It further declared that it was only the list of candidates produced by the said state executives of PDP in Anambra that should be accepted and published by the INEC and no other. If the said judgment is couched as it is rumoured, then INEC may be justified in publishing the Chris Uba list of candidates because a Judgment, no matter how perverse, stands until it is set aside on appeal.

However, it is worrisome that among the reasons given for the acceptance of the Chris Uba list of candidates is that it was the primaries conducted ‘by Chris Uba and Ejike Oguebego that INEC officials monitored.

If one understands the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) on the monitoring of political party activities, it is the national leadership of the party and not its state chapter that relates with INEC on political party activities. How did INEC prefer to monitor the primaries conducted by Ejike Oguebego and Chris Uba and failed to monitor the one conducted by the NEC of PDP through its National Working Committee?

The Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, Owerri branch held its annual law week in Owerri, Imo State.

From left: Former Chief Judge, Imo State, Justice P. C. Onumajulu; Chief Judge Imo State, Justice Paschal Obinna Nnadi; Justice Mary Peter-Odili (JSC), Governor Rochas Okorocha and Justice Rapheal Agbo (JCA).

L-R: Mr Gerald Ezeuko, SAN and C h i e f M i k e Ahamba, SAN.

L-R: Chief L i v y Uzoukwu, SAN, Mr Kelvin Nwufo, SAN and Mr Chuks Ekomaru, SAN.

L-R: Chief K e n Njemanze, S A N , Chief N. A .

Nnawuchi, SAN and C h i e f J u d e Nnnodum, SAN. From left: F. A. Onwuzulike, R e v Cannon Chinedu Edward and former Chairman N B A Owerri branch, S. I. Opara L - R : Former C h i e f Judge Imo S t a t e , Justice B. A .

Njemanze (rtd) and P r o f .

Ernest Ojukwu, SAN.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015—39

Total number of registered voters 1,791,433

•Oshiomhole: Determined to stop Jonathan

•Anenih: Lost some foot soldiers yesterday

Showdown in Edo! THE governorship election in Edo State is not scheduled to hold until 2016 but the forthcoming presidential and National Assembly elections would be a strong contest between the two dominant parties in the state, the All Progressives Congress, APC and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Indications to that were shown yesterday when the women coordinator of the Goodluck Campaign in the state, Mrs. Evelyn Igbafe, three term member of the House of Representatives, Hon Ehiogie West-Idahosa and several other PDP members defected to the APC.

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM & GABRIEL ENOGHOLASE

T

HE two major figures that would lead the combat by the two parties even though not contesting themselves would be Governor Adams Oshiomhole and Chief Anthony Anenih, the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PDP. Unlike in 2011 when the governor was laid back in support of his party ’s candidate, Governor Oshiomhole is firing from all cylinders against the PDP’s candidate, President Goodluck Jonathan.

The governor has accused the president of neglecting the people of the state after they gave him total support in 2011.

The governor particularly frowned that Federal Government gave the sum of N2 billion to PDP states from the Ecological funds but not a dime to Edo State despite the ecological problem ravaging Auchi and the Queen Ede area in Benin City.

He therefore declared that the people of the state will vote for Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, the APC candidate. The

governor at a recent rally in Ring Road apologised to the people of the state for persuading them to support Dr. Jonathan in 2011.

The PDP leadership in the state is, however, doing all to convince the people to vote for Jonathan.

It promises to be a tough contest that could be narrowed down to a fifty-fifty between the two major candidates.

National Assembly And for the National and state Assembly elections, the two parties have picked their best candidates and are ready to go. In Edo South senatorial district, made up of seven Local Government Areas, Pharm.

Matthew Urhoghide, the senatorial candidate of the PDP will be battling it out with the Minority whip of the House of Representatives, Hon. Samson Osagie, who is the APC candidate for the Senate.

Osagie spent eight years in the State House of Assembly and is currently spending his eight year in the House of Representatives, arguably making him one of the most

experienced lawmakers in the country.

He will be banking on his experience and the predominantly APC membership in Edo South to defeat Urhoghide. However, Urhoghide is not a neophyte in the politics of Edo South having run for governorship under the then APP. In 2011 he lost out to Senator Ehigie Uzamere in the hustle for the Senate ticket of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, the incumbent senator who after breaking the second term jinx in 2011 has opted out from another contest.

Urhoghide finally clinched the ticket of the PDP and is bound to set anxiety in the camp of the APC given the strong backing he has from PDP leaders including Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, Senator Rowland Owie, Captain Hosa Okunbor, Pastor Osagie IzeIyamu.

One contest that would In the House of Representatives, the PDP is fielding daughter of the Esama of Benin, Barr.

Omosede Ighbinedion, a lawyer for Ovia Federal Constituency.

While the PDP fielded a

Amanyaevbo as winner of the primaries. The situation created tension for the APC in that area but as it seems, the leadership of the party waded in and resolved the crisis.

Omosede would be banking on the influence of her father, but it is still not going to be easy for her since she is a new comer into the game. In Ikpoba Okhai/Egor Federal constituency, it is not going to be an easy one for the APC candidate, Paul Ohonbanmu who is widely regarded as an introvert. That is where the PDP candidate, EJ Agbonayinma stands a chance to exploit.

Edo Central Senatorial zone former bank Manager, Charity Amanyaevbo.

Though there was an earlier disagreement between Amanyaevbo and the incumbent member in the area, and Hon Isaac Osahon following the disputed primaries in the APC. Osahon went to court to challenge the declaration of

Unlike in 2011 when the governor was laid back in support of his party’s candidate, Governor Oshiomhole is firing from all cylinders against the PDP’s candidate, President Goodluck Jonathan

THE zone has remained the strongest base of the PDP in Edo State and the party has produced all the federal lawmakers from the zone since 1999 being the zone of the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PDP, Chief Tony Anenih.

It is also the base of the minister of works, Architect Mike Onolememen and Chief Tom Ikimi who recently defected back to the party.

But as Vanguard observed, the emergence of Chief Francis Inegbeneki as the senatorial candidate of the APC in Edo Central may pose a problem for the PDP. Inegbeneki will slug it out with the PDP senatorial candidate, Engr. Clifford Ordia.

The war against third term in the zone led to the exit of the incumbent senator, Senator Odion Ugbesia, Friday Itulah and Patrick Ikhariele, both of them PDP House of Reps members from that zone.

Whether these PDP lawmakers who lost the tickets to the new ones will give total support to their party ahead the elections is still unknown.

Inegbeneki used to be the political son of Chief Anenih before he defected to the APC, and he may have the key to unlocking the PDP hold on the area. His threat could pose a serious challenge to the governorship aspiration of

Continues on page 40

40—Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015

SOLUDO, FAYEMI AND FANI-KAYODE: My takeaway

By Iyabo Obasanjo

P

ROFESSOR Soludo’s article on the elections in Nigeria is the best writing I have read recently on the real situation politically and economically in Nigeria.

The well-articulated response from Dr. Fayemi compared to the abuse infused response from Femi Fani-Kayode on the PDP side is a great example of the contrast of the status-quo compared to the alternative.

Whatever the case and I don’t expect miracles form APC but right now they have more thinking people than the PDP. As a Yoruba person, Dr. Fayemi’s response is how we expect our educated elite to take up issues and not the mad ranting’s of Fani-Kayode.

I agree with most of his premise but I do not think they

EMEKA WOGU:

I

T has been 50 golden years since January 29, 1965 when Umuahia in Abia State witnessed the birth of a bundle of joy, a baby boy whom the parents, Elder Joseph Wogu and Mrs. Nnennaya Wogu, both of blessed memory, significantly named “Chukwuemeka”, meaning “God has done marvels”, and indicative of their depth of gratitude to the Almighty.

Today, the commemoration of the Golden Jubilee of Chief Emeka Wogu, FNIM, CON, former Minister of Labour and Productivity, transcends the precincts of a worthy indigene of Abia State to the celebration of an illustrious Nigerian of no mean national accomplishments, a patriot per excellence and a cosmopolitan citizen of enviable stature.

His track-record is as colourful as it is expansive, not only as a seasoned lawyer but a technocrat and an astute politician with an array of academic feats worthy of emulation.

Having served creditably in various national capacities, particularly as the immediate past Honourable Minister of Labour and Productivity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from April 2010 to October 2014 when he honourably resigned to contest for the gubernatorial candidacy of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Abia State, his statesmanship has distinguished him in many respects and it has more recently earned him a pride of place on the Presidential Campaign Organisation (PCO) 2015 for the

(APC) can take up a massive public works program in a period of “famine” i.e. low oil prices.

During the great depression when Roosevelt used public works to help provide jobs, it was the stock market that failed i.e. Government revenue was affected from tax income but income from exportation which was then mainly agricultural goods was not affected.

The government could use money from its coffers to create jobs and provide skills and training, which people could then use in the private sector.

The best part of Dr. Fayemi’s response is that it is not elite focused.

Nigerian governance as I saw it was not a democracy but an elitocracy.

Govt of the elite by the elite for the elite and even if you grew up in near death poverty once

you left those circumstances you forgot where you came from and concentrated on your immediate family and matters affecting the wellbeing of the elite.

Changing this perspective to make the elite understand that their wellbeing was in fact dependent on the wellbeing of the masses will be APC’s challenge.

They are sourcing from the same pool of elite talent that every Nigerian government has to source from and it is this pool that essentially has to be different or we will find ourselves again at precipice as usual.

• Iyabo Obasanjo DVM, Ph.D, a former Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria wrote from the United States of America.

•Obasanjo: Applauds Soludo's piece

The golden years of a patriot reelection of the incumbent President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Nnamdi Jonathan, GCFR, on the platform of the ruling PDP. It is instructive to note that at a point, he was deemed competent to hold two ministerial posts at the same time, when in addition to being the Labour Minister, he was appointed as the Supervising Minister of Interior between April and May 2011.

Currently pursuing a Doctorate Degree in Political Science on part-time basis at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in his bid to reach the peak of academic excellence; Emeka Wogu kick-

•Wogu: Former minister started his formal learning with primary education that ended in

1975. He moved to secondary level and graduated with Division One from Ngwa High School, Abayi in Aba, Abia State in 1980.

Following his post-secondary education at the Federal School of Arts and Science, Aba from 1981 to 1982, he studied Law at the Imo State University, bagged LLB (Hons.) in 1986 and attended the Nigerian Law School, Lagos, 1986/1987. In his quest for more knowledge, he engaged in post-graduate studies which earned him the Master of Public Administration (2004) from University of Calabar and Master of Science in Political Science-Public Analysis (2011) from Nassarawa State University.

He capped these with a Certificate in Benchmarking Emerging Markets obtained in 2008 from S. P. Jain Institute of Management, Singapore.

His contributions to scholarship include numerous academic

lectures such as guest lecturer at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka; University of Ibadan (UI); Nigerian Defence College (NDC); Nigerian Institute Of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru; and other institutions in the country. Emeka Wogu’s impressive academic profile groomed him for impactful exploits in various fields of endeavours while his professional and academic feats earned him many meritorious awards and recognitions in law and related fields, among which are: ·Member of Nigerian Bar Association (MNBA); Member of Nigeria Institute of Management (MNIM);· Member of International Bar Association (MIBA); ·Member of the Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution (MADR); ·Fellow of Nigeria Institute of Management (FNIM); ·Paul Harris Fellow.

Showdown in Edo! His track-record is as colourful as it is expansive, not only as a seasoned lawyer but a technocrat and an astute politician

Continues from page 39 Onolememen.

In Edo North senatorial district, this is the home of Governor Adams Oshiomhole and the state chairman of the PDP, Chief Dan Orbih. The PDP senatorial candidate here is Barr. Paschal Ugbome while Chief Francis Alimekhena is

the APC senatorial candidate.

But some members of the PDP led BY Alhaji Usman Shagadi broke out to form SDP. As a result, the incumbent member representing Etsako Federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Abubakar Momoh picked the SDP senatorial ticket for Edo

North. Incidentally, the trio are from the Etsako clan where Oshiomhole hails from.

The only hope Alimekhena has is Oshiomhole’s influence in that area if not he would have been a write off in the contest. However it will be a strong contest between Ugbome and Alimekhena.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015—41

Re: The ugly side of Buhari and Jonathan

By Atedo Peterside, CON

O

PINION polls commis sioned by ANAP Foundation and conducted by NOI Polls (using Gallup methodology) show that President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GEJ) and his main challenger, Major-General Mohammadu Buhari (Buhari) are currently running neckto-neck in the 2015 Presidential race.

The difference between them in terms of potential votes nation wide is statistically insignificant because it is dwarfed considerably by the much larger percentage of voters who remain "Undecided" - and so the race is truly too close to call.

This election will therefore not be decided by the loyalists. It will be called by the large number of undecided voters (these are the swing voters) and they have one thing in common - they do not like GEJ, but then they do not like Buhari either (they want change but see Buhari as the type of change that is both alarming and worrisome).

In such circumstances, efforts by both candidates to sell themselves forcefully to their core constituencies may simultaneously alienate the swing voters. When Hausa/Fulani elders and/or retired Generals and Muslim leaders shout forcefully that Buhari must have it, the rest of the nation recoils in horror.

The same thing happens when misguided elements from the South-South zone and Christian leaders insist that their zone (or a Christian) must have two full terms in Aso Rock. The truth is that the Presidency is not anyone's birthright and so it is naive

ATEDO PETERSIDE and downright foolish to go down that route. Indeed some of these bold declarations by core supporters are akin to a kiss of death with swing voters.

Buhari publicly declared in 2011 that he will not contest again. Jonathan is said to have privately declared in 2011 that he would only stay for a single term.

Let us therefore assume that they have both broken their word by contesting in 2015 and so there

is little to be gained with the swing voters by dwelling on this.

Swing voters are moved more by what they do not like about either candidate.

At the end of the day therefore they will vote "against" the candidate that they dislike more and their collecive actions will determine who wins. That is why this article focuses on the ugly side of Buhari and GEJ and not on their strengths.

Many of the swing voters are upset. They feel that our two major political parties have "cheated" them by forcing them to choose between the devil and the deep blue sea.

During the course of the 2014 National Conference, where I was a delegate, I made a contribution to the effect that past military rulers, who toppled democratically elected governments, should still be tried for treason so as to serve as a permanent detterent to young and ambitious military officers who will then understand that the long arm of the law may get them even in their old age and even after they claim to have repented.

Benevolent dictator Buhari dethroned a democratically elected government in order to become a military head of state at the end of 1983. Many of the swing voters are true democrats who abhor authoritarianism. Buhari was not a benevolent dictator either. He was a vicious and wicked one who used retroactive decrees to sentence youths to death and to jail journalists who dared to publish the whole truth. Can the leopard shed it's spots overnight as some would have us believe?

Wickedness and callousness are not matters of style and/or fashion they are a reflection of a real personae. Buhari's unguarded utterances about him supporting the institution of sharia nationwide and his "famous" statement that Muslims should only vote for Muslims and his threat that the baboon and the dog will be soaked in blood if elections were rigged are all consistent with his unelectable personae, hence his persistent search for devout Christians (with little or no political clout) as Vice Presidential candidates while he is on the capaign trail. Is he simply hanging on to political lightweights that he knows he can devour the day after he gets elected?

On the economy, Buhari was a disaster first time around. He was

President Goodluck Jonathan and Gen. Muhammadu Buhari clearly an economic illiterate and thought he could run the complex Nigerian economy by controlling rations as was done in a military cantonment. He placed everything under import licence and empowered some individuals under him to prescribe what quantity of every good Nigeria needed and also sought to prescribe which individuals would import the item and in what quantity. Ignorance was on display all around and it was exploited through massive racketeering by persons in his government who called the shots. That he was deemed to be personally honest became irrelevant and so many of us cheered when ?soldiers (not known for honesty) put him out of his misery by kicking him out of office in less than 18 months and before he could torture the nation any further.

GEJ is unliked by many because he is seen as being weak and unable to control the excesses of some of his close aides and party chieftains. ?YES, he eventually stood up to ex-President Obasanjo (who tries to dictate to every serving President), but then who wouldn't? All future Presidents (including those un-

GEJ needs to convince the electorate that he can continue with his bold agricultural sector reforms

born) now know to avoid Obasanjo like a plague. What manner of ex-President will divulge details of his one-on-one meeting with a serving President to the general public ( in a book), without getting the latter's prior consent?

No, GEJ's vulnerabilities are from the party chieftains and a few dodgy aides that he accommodates and/or tolerates. He also believed too much in assurances from our Security Agencies, Defence Ministers, Chiefs of Defence Staff, National Security Advisers etc. This entire group have lost credibility in the fight against Boko Haram. His most recent utterances suggest that he has realised now, how deadly Boko Haram are, but it is rather late in the day as the elections are a little more than a couple of weeks away.

Economic reform My own position on Boko Haram (BH) has remained consistent. The entire Nigerian elite continue to under-estimate BH at our peril. I would love to wish them away, but history and my head tell me that, like Colombia's Farc Rebels, BH will still be around in some form or the other for decades.

Presidents who aspire to have a second term in Nigeria face this paradox; ?if they stand up to all the party Chieftains, over-bearing Governors and Security Chiefs, they will not get re-elected because the Party will throw up a Challenger. If they succumb to this motley/unholy lot, they will slow down economic reform, secure their Party nomination but alienate swing voters nationwide.

The only reason for the swing voters to vote for GEJ therefore is if he can convince them that he will be able to free himself from this motley crowd next time around. Afterall, a second Presidential term is a final term and nobody (except Obasanjo) will ever dream about a third term. ?In effect, GEJ must convince swing voters that, if they give him a second term, he will be man enough to bite many of the grubby hands that lurk around the

higher echelons of his party.

Further complexities in the Presidential race arise because some of the ambitious and highly ?educated politicians from the North East (in particular) do not want an ageing and not so capable Buhari to ascend a throne which they aspire to occupy in 2019. Buhari was rejected consistently by some of his newer supporters when he was younger and more capable.

Ironically, the older and less capable he becomes, the more he appeals to them because they hope to usurp his authority. He has agreed to be dressed up in sheep's clothing now, but they should beware of the wolf in sheep's clothing. They might be shut out of Aso Rock if he wins.

Ironically, if these power brokers (who are not known for honesty) come out now to publicly affirm that they will have continuing relevance if Buhari wins, then again the swing voters get turned off because they see corrupt persons surrounding an old and infirm "honest" man who is driven by a blind ambition to reoccupy a seat from which he was booted out prematurely in 1985, even though he recognises that he is not clever enough to understand 21st Century economic and financial transactions through which some of his new and unscrupulous friends hope to loot and/or corner the national treasury under his lazy and ineffective watch.

Strange bedfellows GEJ has also gathered all sorts of renegades unto his campaign ship. The enemies of his enemy have all become his friends overnight. They are strange bedfellows. In his second term (if he wins) he will need to cut off many of these hangers-on. If he does that they will try to resist, but a second term President is hard to bully.

GEJ needs to convince the electorate that he can continue with his bold agricultural sector reforms, his power sector roadmap, overhaul and reform of the transportation sector (beyond the celebration of token and/or paltry Continues on page 57

42—Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015

BEYOND BELIEF:

Soludo’s self-serving article deficit in facts, logic and honour Being response to Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond the Election, by Charles Soludo

By Paul Nwabuikwu

F

OR anyone who has not read Professor Charles Soludo’s article in the Vanguard (online version) on January 25, 2015, I would encourage them to do so. It is littered with abusive and unbecoming language.

It shows how an embittered loser in the Nigerian political space can get so derailed that they commit intellectual harakiri by deliberately misquoting economic facts and maliciously turning statistics on their head to justify a hatchet job. We hope all the intellectuals in the international circles in which Professor Soludo has told us he flies around in will read what a Professor of Economics has chosen to do with his intellect.

In this one article Soludo has shamelessly pandered to so many past leaders that Nigerians are asking one more time – what position is Soludo gunning for now? He claims in his article that he has had his own share of public service, yet he has failed twice in his attempts to be Governor of Anambra State and Vice Presidential candidate of various parties.

There is definitely an issue of character with Prof. Charles Soludo and his desperate search for power and relevance in Nigeria.

Nigerians should therefore beware of so-called intellectuals without character and wisdom because this combination is fa-

NGOZI OKONJO-IWEALA tal. But let us turn to the main subject of Soludo’s discourse. So much of what is written is selfseeking aggrandizement that need not be dignified with a response. It is totally remarkable that Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, the man who presided over the worst mismanagement of Nigeria’s banking sector as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria between May 2004 and May 2009, can write about

the mismanagement of the economy.

Nigerians must be reminded of his antecedents as CBN Governor, and even prior to that, as the Chief Economic Adviser to the President. The consolidation of the banking sector was a good policy idea of the Obasanjo Administration but Soludo went on to thoroughly mismanage its implementation leading to the worst financial crisis in Nigeria’s history. So what did Soludo do?

After consolidation, the regulatory functions of the Soludo-led CBN were very poorly exercised.

As Governor, he failed to adequately supervise and regulate the now larger banks – an anomaly in Financial Sector Supervision. In fact as every Nigerian knows, in his time there was very little separation between the regulators and the regulated which is a violation of a key requirement of Central Banking success.

Corporate governance This led to infractions in corporate governance in many banks as loans and other credit instruments running to hundreds of billions of naira were extended to clients without following due process, and several of these loans could not be paid back. This massive accumulation of bad debts or non-performing loans as they are called in the banking sector meant that our banks were ill-positioned to deal with the global financial crisis when it hit.

In fact, the banking sector was brought to its knees and required a massive bailout by Nigerian tax payers. This bailout was done by his successor (now Emir of Kano) who cleaned up all the bad debts and transferred them to the newly-established AMCON, from where they are managed today.

So let it be noted for the record books that Soludo’s single-handed mismanagement of the banking sector led to an incredible accumulation of liabilities that will cost tax payers about N5.67 trillion (being the total face value of AMCON-issued bonds) to clean up. Let it be noted also that this amount, which is more than the entire Federal Government 2015 Budget, constitutes the bulk of

President Goodluck Jonathan Nigeria’s “contingent liabilities” mentioned in Soludo’s article. It is only in Nigeria where someone who perpetrated such a colossal economic atrocity would have the temerity to make assertions on public debt and the management of the economy.

Let us now look at some of the points he makes. Luckily, Soludo has told us that he has been busy travelling internationally, hobnobbing with his global partners. It is obvious from this article that from the rarefied heights at which he is flying he is completely out of touch with what is happening with the management of this economy. Take his comments on the mismanagement of the economy and the imposition of the austerity measures. The present fall in oil prices, a global phenomenon over which Nigeria has no control, has given every charlatan the opportunity to attack the economy, and by extension the managers of the economy It is true that the economy grew well during the second-term of former President Obasanjo as a result of the reforms supported by the President and implemented by the Economic Management Team. Please note that the Finance Minister under whose leadership that good perform-

Is Soludo now ignoring the right economic statistics to wilfully manipulate information?

ance took place, including massive unprecedented debt relief, is still Finance Minister today.

But thorough examination of the facts on performance under the Jonathan Administration will also reveal that at a time when global economic performance was mediocre, with GDP growth averaging about 3 percent per annum, Nigeria’s GDP growth – averaging about 6 percent per annum – is indeed remarkable.

Even more interesting is the fact that the oil sector did not drive this economic performance but the non-oil sector (Agriculture, Manufacturing, Telecommunications, the Creative Economy, and so on), which shows that the current Administration’s diversification objective under the Transformation Agenda is working. Transformation equals diversification

Control of inflation This current government managed to control inflation, which he Soludo, was not able to do during his time at the helm of monetary policy in Nigeria.

When he left the Central Bank in 2009, inflation – which hurts the poor and vulnerable in the society the most – was above 13 percent per annum. Now, inflation is at single-digit, at 8 percent per annum.

What about exchange rates?

Well this administration again managed to stabilize the naira exchange rates, such that between May 2011 and the end of 2014, official exchange rates against the dollar rarely moved out of the N153 to N156 band. It is only with the recent dramatic fall in oil prices and the consequent impact on our foreign reserves that the exchange rate has become quite volatile.

The drop in oil price has been heavy and rapid impacting all oil producing nations significantly.

Nigeria is no exception and appropriate fiscal and monetary policy measures are being put in place to manage this situation.

In fact, history will recall that careless remarks by Prof. Soludo (then Chief Economic Adviser to the President) hypothesizing a possible naira devaluation, condemned the naira to a free fall towards the end of 2003. Ray Echebiri, in his 2004 article in the Financial Standard, wrote that not even the assurances given by

the then CBN Governor, Mr. Joseph Sanusi or President Obasanjo that any plans to devalue the naira existed only in the head of Professor Soludo could halt the fall of the naira from N128 to the dollar in the official market to about N140 between September and December 2003.

It is true that our foreign reserve accumulation is less than what it should be but the reason for this has been fully given, not as excuses but simply as fact: lower oil production and crude oil theft along with the refusal to save in the Excess Crude Account (ECA) are the reasons.

Contrary to what Soludo said, oil production under President Obasanjo was higher than current levels. Quantities produced averaged 2.4 million bdp, 2.22 million bpd, and 2.21 million bpd in 2005, 2006, and 2007 respectively but has declined now to between 1.95 and 2.21 million bdp due to vandalism of the pipelines and the resulting “shut-ins” to fix the problem.

Willingness to save It is true that had production been at the previous levels and had there been willingness to save we would have had more money in the ECA and also in the reserves. But the overriding setback to savings is that the State Governors felt it was their constitutional right to share the money. Please recall that even as we speak the States have taken the Federal Government to the Supreme Court on this issue Soludo’s claim that 71 percent of Nigerians live below the poverty line is misleading and disingenuous. He uses 2011 statistics on poverty by the NBS to support his argument while ignoring more recent figures. But as stated in the Nigeria Economic Report 2014 by the World Bank, poverty rate in Nigeria has dropped from 35.2 percent of population in 2010/2011 to 33.1 percent in 2012/2013. By the way, the reason why our poverty numbers have been so wrong is that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), under Soludo’s supervision as CEA and Vice-Chair of the National Planning Commission, departed from the international standard method of poverty measurement. Is he now ignoring the right economic statistics to wilfully manipulate information?

No doubt we have a problem with unemployment in this country and we must deal with it. Indeed this Administration is dealing with it and stands proud of what it has accomplished so far and is pushing hard to accomplish much more. As a first step, the Administration, through the office of the Chief Economic Adviser to the President and the NBS, worked hard to determine how many jobs we need to create in a year.

What you don’t measure you cannot make progress on. Why didn’t Soludo do this when he was CEA? We need to create about 1.8 million jobs a year in this country to cater for the new entrants into the labour market,

Continues on page 43

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015—

Soludo’s self-serving article deficit in facts, logic and honour—Okonjo-Iweala Continues from page 42 but we also need to deal with the backlog of the unemployed and the underemployed, e.g. those selling on the streets. Dealing with this global challenge of unemployment is not an easy task for any country, as can be seen from the experiences of developed countries particularly in the euro area. But the Jonathan Administration is making good progress, creating an average of about 1.4 million jobs per year by driving quality growth in key sectors like Agriculture, where the bulk of new jobs are being created, Housing, Manufacturing, Financial Services, and the Creative Industries like Nollywood.

In addition we have special programs to promote job creation among the youth and these include: •Promoting entrepreneurship among the youth through the “Nagropreneurs” program to support 750,000 youth farmers with grants and training, and the YOUWIN program that is directly supporting up to 5,400 young entrepreneurs with grants, training, and mentorship and so far beneficiaries are creating an average of 9 jobs each, for themselves and others. About 22,000 jobs have been created by the first 2,400 youwinners.

•Graduate Internship Scheme: that is reducing the vulnerability of unemployed graduates by enhancing their employability.

The Scheme targets up to 50,000 unemployed graduates in the 36 states of the Federation and FCT and about 22,000 graduates have so far been placed by the programme.

Domestic borrowing •Community Services Scheme under SURE-P: developed to empower young unskilled Nigerians, women and people with disabilities. About 120,000 mostly young workers have been engaged across the country On the issue of debt, Nigerians deserve to know the truth and we have said it before. The truth is that the government borrowed in 2010 to pay an unprecedented 53.7 percent wage increase to all categories of federal employees as demanded by labour unions.

The total wage bill rose from N857 billion in 2009 to about N1.4 trillion in 2010, and as a result, domestic borrowing increased from N200 billion in 2007 to about N1.1 trillion in 2010 to meet the wage payments. Where was Soludo at the time? Why did he not react to the borrowing then? Was it because he wanted to pander to labour in preparation for his political career?

It is noteworthy that since 2011, the Administration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has

Prof. Chukwuma Soludo

Map of Nigeria been prudent with the issue of debt and borrowing. The Economic Management Team not only looks at debt to GDP ratio, where Nigeria has one of the lowest numbers in the world at 12.51 percent but it looks at debt service to revenues. That is why in spite of the rebasing and a larger GDP, the administration has taken a prudent approach to borrowing. The prudent approach helped to drive down domestic borrowing from N1.1 trillion in 2010 to N642 billion in 2014. In fact for the first time in our nation’s borrowing history we even managed to retire N75 billion of domestic bonds outright in 2013.

Despite the present tough situation, we do not plan to go on a borrowing spree but to keep borrowing modest at a level sufficient to help us weather the present situation. We have already ramped up efforts to generate more non-oil revenues for the government while cutting costs of governance. Therefore, Soludo’s claim that this Administration is reckless with debt does not hold true.

Since Soludo seems so ignorant to what has been achieved by the Jonathan Administration, let us present just a few examples of them here again. This

It is a sad day for Nigeria and the economics profession that someone like Soludo, a former CBN governor should write such an article

information is easily verified. We are improving infrastructure across the country. For example, 22 airport terminals are being refurbished, and five new international airport terminals under construction in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kano, Abuja, and Enugu.

Soludo’s kinsmen in the South East now have an international airport in Enugu, and for the first time in Nigeria’s history can fly direct from Enugu to anywhere in world for which they are very grateful to this Administration.

But with Soludo being up in the air with his international travels, he has not touched ground in the Southeast to observe this development for himself.

Road and bridge projects Various road and bridge projects have either been completed or are under construction.

Those completed include the Enugu – Abakiliki road in Enugu/Ebonyi States, the Oturkpo – Oweto road in Benue State, the Benin – Ore – Shagamu highway, and the Abuja – Abaji – Lokoja dualization, and the Kano – Maiduguri dualization. The Lagos – Ibadan expressway and the Second Niger Bridge are under construction.

Rail from Lagos to Kano is now functional, as is parts of the rail link between Port Harcourt and Maiduguri. All these have brought transport costs down. We recognise that more needs to be done in the power sector, but bold steps (like the privatisation of the GENCOs and DISCOs) have been taken, and our gas infrastructure is being developed to power electricity generation In Agriculture, over six million farmers now have access to inputs like fertilizers and seeds through an e-wallet system, which is more than the 403,222 that had access in 2011. Rice paddy production took off for the first time in our history, adding about seven million MT to rice supply. An additional 1.3 million MT of Cassava has also been produced and as a result, the rate

of food price increase has slowed considerably, according to the NBS. In Housing, we have put in place a new wholesale mortgage provider – the Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Corporation (NMRC) – to provide affordable mortgages to ordinary Nigerians, starting with those in the low-middle income bracket. This sector will help the economy grow as we tap it as an economic driver for the first time. Mortgage applications from 66,000 people are currently being processed and 23,000 have already received mortgage offers Our Manufacturing sector is reviving with new automobile plants by Nissan, Toyota, etc.

This is in addition to the backward integration policy in key sectors like petrochemical, sugar, textiles, agro processing and cement, which Nigeria is now producing 39,000 MT and exporting to the region. The Creative sector is now a factor in our GDP, with Nollywood alone accounting for 1.4 percent, creating over 200,000 direct jobs and nearly 1 million indirect jobs. This is the first Administration to recognise its importance and support its further development with a grant program.

A new bank – the Development Bank of Nigeria – will soon be operational and this bank will help bridge the access to finance gap, which is a major constraint for the private sector especially SMEs. The bank will provide long-term (5 – 10 years) financing at affordable rates for the first time in our nation’s history.

Economic shock This is the path that the government has been on before this fall in oil prices. The response to the economic shock has been spelled out to the Nigerian public over and over again, and the Administration intends to focus on managing this crisis appropriately. This year will be difficult.

To say anything less to Nigerians will be untruthful. It would have been better if there had been a bigger cushion of the Excess Crude Account to manage this situation but despite this the nation can rise to the challenge.

More importantly, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and the Economic Management Team are seeing this as an opportunity to diversify the revenue sources of an already diver-

43

sifying economy. In fact let me at this juncture use this opportunity to comment on Soludo’s appalling statement that rebasing brings no policy value. Rebasing has enabled us to better grasp the new diversified nature of our economy. This provides the basis for our present drive to support different sectors with appropriate policy instruments to enhance their development. Rebasing has also enabled the Administration to create the platform from which to drive our work on increasing non-oil revenues. These are areas of critical policy value.

Soludo mentioned the issue of the Economic Partnership Agreement with the EU, noting that this Administration has not been vocal or clear on its direction with this agreement. On the contrary, the Administration, particularly the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment, has been clear on this issue but since Soludo has been in the air he probably has not been aware of this. Just recently, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment reiterated again to the corporate sector that Nigeria has not signed and does not propose to sign the EPA in its present form.

Economic management The point is that this government has been pursuing the right economic policies, and its efforts have been acknowledged nationally and internationally. Let me say that there are objective ways to measure performance.

There are international institutions globally accepted to do this.

They have acknowledged this Administration’s good economic management up to the recent crisis and even now.

We cannot go by someone’s subjective view, driven by bitterness and bile. We need to look to the truth and to professionalism.

This is where Professor Soludo totally fails. For the other gratuitous, political, and personal attacks, we are sure that those mentioned will respond appropriately. It is a sad day for Nigeria and the economics profession that someone like Soludo, a former CBN governor should write such an article. If Soludo wants to regain respect, he should return to the path of professionalism.

He certainly needs something to improve his image from that of someone whose sojourn into National Economic Management ended in disaster for the banking sector, his sojourn in politics, ended in overwhelming rejection by the electorate, and more recently, his sojourn abroad, has put him out of touch with the reality of the Nigerian economy.

•Nwabuikwu is Special Adviser to the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance

44—Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015

Hospitals advocate more awareness on glaucoma

By Chioma Obinna

W

ORRIED about the rising incidence of blindness caused by glaucoma in Nigeria, eye experts at the Apollo Hospitals in collaboration with Diamond Helix Hospitals, Lagos, have advocated increased awareness and effective medical management to stem the disease.

Following the intriguing statistics, the experts emphasised the need to rally the international community in creating awareness about the disease.

In commemoration of the month long campaign to raise awareness on glaucoma, Apollo Hospitals is uniting with the international community to bring to attention the causes and effects of the disease while urging the public to take action before the fatal disease takes full effect.

This fatal disease comes with no symptoms, slow to takeover and once vision is lost, it becomes permanent

They noted that the nature of the disease has resulted in it being referred to as “the sneak thief of sight”, this fatal disease comes with no symptoms, slow to takeover and once vision is lost, it becomes permanent.

Already, Nigeria has identified a number of problems in the detection and treatment of primary open angle glaucoma in the country, a trend which is believed to be common to all countries and sometimes largely restricted to less developed countries.

Glaucoma is the second leading cause of irreversible blindness, around the world affecting

4.5 in every 100 people, and accounts for eight per cent of blindness among 50 million people who are blind world-wide.

Founder and Chairman of Apollo Hospitals Dr. Prathap C.

Reddy stated that “glaucoma can steal vision so quietly that the patient can be unaware of the dangers until the optic nerve is badly damaged. Because no symptoms occur, the best way is to diagnose

this disease through periodic medical eye examinations. In most situations, glaucoma cannot be cured. Treatment is given to preserve the existing vision.

Free medical treatment for Ogijo residents

By Gabriel Olawale

T

O keep alive, the vision of late Dr. Marius Unchenna Ashibuogwu who died at the age of 28 shortly after his graduation from medical school, MUA foundation an organisation set up in his remembrance has provide free

• MUA Foundation medical team conducting free check-up for the paramount ruler of the Ogijoland, Oba Abdulganiu Dosunmu during the 3rd edition of the exercise recently.

medical treatment for the residence of Ogijo in Ogun State.

The exercise that have over 2,000 beneficiary in attendance was third of its kind. The outreach feature free eyes screening, cervical and breast cancer test, HIV/ AIDs test, hypertension, diabetes, treatment of malaria and diarrhea.

Speaking during the exercise, Director of the foundation who is also the mother of the deceased, Mrs. Mareena Samuel said that assist less privileged and free medical care is what his late son enjoying doing when he was alive.

"My son is dead but we did not want his vision to die and since the beginning of this foundation in 2013, we have been able to touch over 5,000 lives. Our first outing is at Agalata in Ogun state, Epe in Lagos and now ojigo in Ogun State."

"Aside free care, the missionary

partnership that we enjoyed has helped us to be able to give out free cloth, food to those who are in need. We seek for government and individual support to be able to extend our service to communities where they cannot avoid going school as to train them on skill acquisition so as to be useful for themselves and the country," She added.

On his part, the head of medical team, Dr. Godwin Kudi who was excited with the turn out lamented over the level of hypertension prevalence among the young adult and elderly once.

"Majority of children that test positive to malaria are given drugs while those tested positive to HIV are referral to hospital. What we noticed is that the strike by health workers did not help their situation as majority of them complained of being on medication before the strike."

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Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015—45

PDP alleges Edo govt plan to sell Army barracks

By Gabriel Enogholase

B

ENIN—THE Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Edo State has raised alarm over what it described as the alleged plot by the state government to sell the Nigerian Army Barracks in Ikpoba Hill, Benin City, due to alleged lack of funds for capital development.

State Chairman of the party, Chief Dan Orbih, also described the approval of the 27.5 percent allowance for teachers and other actions of Governor Adams Oshiomhole as panic measures to deceive eligible voters in the state to cast their votes for All Progressives Congress, APC, in next month's elections.

He said: “As I talk to you, the state government is planning to sell the land presently being occupied by the Nigerian Army barracks at Ikpoba Hill and all these are efforts by the state government to raise money at all costs to remain afloat and I want to assure Edo people that all that will be reverted through legal means as soon as the PDP government takes over power in 2016.

“When I criticized the state government for its inability to commence all the projects

earmarked for execution as a result of lack of funds due to its insolvency, they came up the next day to say that the state was not broke and that I was lying, only to come up few weeks later to say the state was applying for World Bank loan for erosion project in the state.”

Orbih who spoke in Benin, while receiving a defector from the APC to PDP from Ovia

South-West Local Government Area, Charles Amadasu, said: “We had earlier stopped them from selling Edo House in Lagos through court injunction and that case is still on and it will not be disposed off in the next three years and I can assure you with all confidence that Edo House will not be sold by the state government.”

But reacting to the alleged

plan to sell the Army Barracks land at Ikpoba Hill by the state government, the state Publicity Secretary of APC, Godwin Erhahon, said: “First, I am not in a position to confirm that but if the government has any reason to put the land into proper use for the benefit of the people and decides to allocate it to individuals, what is the business of the PDP?”

RALLY: From left: Works Minister, Mr. Mike Onolememen, PDP chieftain; Chief Tony Omoaghe; Chief Tom Ikimi and PDP Board of Trustees Chairman, Chief Tony Anenih, during the PDP rally in Uromi, Edo State.

FEB POLL: Benin River Vanguard warns against violence

By Charles Adingupu

B

ARELY one week after President Goodluck Jonathan visited Warri, Delta State, to seek Itsekiri’s support on his re-election bid, the National Coordinator of the Benin River Vanguard, BRV, Mr. Anthony Okotie, has cautioned politicians against violence and campaign of calumny.

Okotie, who sounded the warning in an interview with Vanguard, said that feelers have shown that candidates of opposition parties who are hell bent in clinching victory at the poll seemed to have thrown caution to the wind as they engaged in campaign of calumny in order to gain advantage over their opponents.

He advised politicians to ensure a violence free election by focusing on issue-based campaigns that would enlighten the electorate on their cardinal programmes.

To this end, he enjoined some faceless group of persons who are currently working against the candidature of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, flagbearer in Warri North, Mr. Michael Diden, in the forthcoming election to desist forthwith.

He assured that Ejele, as a grassroots man, appreciates the current realities of the people in Warri North.

According to him, Ejele is

C M Y K

sellable material and like Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, victory was already assured for these two PDP flagbearers in the state.

He enjoined people of Delta State, particularly residents in Warri North Local Government Area, to jettison sentiments but to make a wise choice by electing someone who can deliver the democracy which over the past

years had eluded the people.

The BRV National Coordinator who, however, hailed the composition of the governorship aspirant of PDP, Dr. Okowa’s campaign team, disclosed that the group was already working assiduously in ensuring victory at the polls.

He extolled the virtues of the Director General of Okowa’s

campaign team, Dr. Joseph Otumara for bringing his vast experience to bear on the campaign team.

“With Otumara leading Okowa’s campaign team, PDP will focus on issues rather than throwing tantrums at opponents and engaging in frivolities that would be inimical to the democratic process,” he said.

Crisis looms in Bayelsa over gas project

By Samuel Oyadongha

Y

ENAGOA—WORK at the multi-billion naira Epu Cluster Gas Gathering project in Opokuma Kingdom, in Kolokuma-Opokuma Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, may be disrupted following an alleged disagreement between communities in the clan and Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC. Indigenes of the kingdom alleged that Shell reneged on an earlier agreement reached with them bordering on the Nigerian Content Act 2010, which stipulates the reservation of certain jobs for host communities to enable them participate in the oil and gas industry.

In a petition to Bayelsa State Government, the Ibedaowei of Opokuma clan, King Opoitari Diongoli (Opu-Okun IV), on behalf of his people, urged the

government to wade into the matter and called SPDC, Morpol and Daewoo to order to avert breakdown of relations between the companies and the host communities The communities in the petition, alleged lack of transparency on

the part of the companies in their dealing, poor community relations by SPDC staff, imposition of local contractors on them, imposition of community liaison officers and community relations as well as disrespect to the traditional leadership in the communities.

Monarch endorses Okpamen for Edo Assembly royal family contesting the

By Simon Adewale

H

RH Anselm Eidenojie II, Onojie of Uromi, has given his blessings to Prince Henry Okpamen, who will fly the All Progressives Congress, APC, flag to contest for the Edo State House of Assembly polls in February.

The monarch urged the electorate to vote for Okpamen due to his impressive track record and being the only member of the

election.

The monarch called on all Uromi sons and daughters both at home and in the diaspora to rally round Prince Okpamen and ensure he comes out victorious at the poll.

Okpamen, who is also Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs to Governor Adams Oshiomhole, was accompanied to the palace by the APC, Chairman of the Council, Mr Sam Oboh, APC, State Vice Chairman, Chief H. Okoror, and other chieftains.

Deltans urged to vote for Okowa

By Onozure Dania

L

AGOS—A NonGovernmental Organisation, Centre for the Promotion of Arbitration, CPA, has urged all indigenes of Delta State to forget their grievances and vote for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa and his deputy, Mr Kingsley Otuaro, to move the state to greater heights.

Briefing newsmen in Lagos, President of the group, Mr. Jitobo Akanike, appealed to all groups in the state to desist from dragging the Urhobo Progress Union, UPU, into partisan politics.

He said that since prominent Urhobo sons and daughters were PDP members, it will serve their interest to join hands to ensure that Okowa wins the forth coming election, so that Urhobo can continue to be in the mainstream politics.

Delta SUBEB boss tasks HPM on improved standard

By Festus Ahon

A

S A B A — CHAIRMAN of Delta State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB, Mr Elijah Ologe, has charged Heads of Personnel Management of the Local Government Education Authorities, LEA, across the state to mobilize their workforce to meet up with the activities of the education sector at the primary school level.

He also warned against the sale of food items on schools premises, so as not to encourage pupils who do not have money to purchase the items to take to stealing.

Ologe, who spoke during his visit to Patani Local Government Education Authority, LGEA, said the board was putting machineries in place to monitor the activities of the HPMs and Accountants of the LGEAs.

46—Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015

NLC ELECTION: Ajaero vows to improve workers' welfare, accountability

Urhobo forum tasks PDP on zoning

By Victor AhiumaYoung

T

HE Tarakiri Political Leaders Forum, TPLF, in Patani Local Government Area of Delta State has called on the leadership of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to implement the principle of zoning in the council.

It alleged that appointments in Patani were skewed in favour of Kalowei and Kundowei.

The Urhobo pro-PDP group said since 1991, when Patani council was created, nobody of Tarakiri clan, made up of Odorubu, Uduophori and Adobu, had been commissioner, House of Assembly member or council chairman.

It said Urhobo had always voted en mass for PDP, adding “over the years we have nothing to show for our continued loyalty and support.”

The group called for total support for President Goodluck Jonathan’s reelection and other PDP candidates at all levels.

A

Deputy President of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and a candidate for the presidency of the Congress, Mr. Joe Ajaero, has promised that workers’ welfare will be the main thrust of his administration if elected in next month’s NLC election.

Ajaero, who is also the General Secretary of National Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE, while unfolding his manifesto at a briefing in Lagos, entitled Restoration Struggle 2015, stressed that workers and their unions would be central in decision-making process.

According to him, “labour is not about work and wages. It also deals with issues that have socio-economic and political impacts on the citizens. Obnoxious policies of the state that inhibit industrial and labour relations would be challenged for the emancipation of the society.

“Therefore, our administration shall espouse the course

Salvation Army gets new leader

T

HE new Territorial Commander of the Salvation Army, Nigeria Territory, Colonel Victor Leslie, has said Nigeria has the resources to be giant of Africa.

Leslie spoke during his installation, alongside his wife, Colonel Rose-Marie Leslie, as Territorial Commander and Territorial President of Women’s Ministries, Nigeria Territory, respectively, in Lagos.

The former territorial commander, Commissioner

Mfon Akpan retired last year.

On the forthcoming elections, Colonel Leslie said God was in charge of the nation and not the politicians, urging the leaders to work for the unity of the country, before, during and after the elections.

Also speaking, his wife, Colonel Rose-Marie, said: “Nothing is bad about Nigeria.

There are evils in every part of the world. Nigeria’s case is not an exception. Evil exists in every other country.”

of liberating the down-trodden through strategic alliances with the civil society, students, the clergy and other progressive allies in ensuring that we achieve these aims.”

On accountability

Ajaero also assured that financial undertakings of NLC would be guided by an annual budget with a view to ensuring prudence, accountability and transparency in line with international best practices.

He said: “It is unacceptable that a responsible organization such as NLC would not have annual budget to define her operations. We are leaders and most times we are involved in the critique of government and employers in their unguided expenses.

We should, therefore, purge ourselves of such anomalies.”

He insisted that every income and expenditure, during his tenure, would be properly defined in the budget.

Unionization

On unionization, he said his administration would work vigorously to ensure that 500,000 potential members are unionized annually.

He said potential members abound in the formal and informal sectors, adding that people needed to be emancipated because they were enmeshed in labour slavery without a voice.

He said: “Every Nigerian worker has the right to be liberated from uncanny, treacherous and inhuman labour. It becomes our responsibility to liberate these people from such evil situation by organizing them into trade unions.”

Ajaero also pledged that the labour movement would fight casualization policy in public and private establishments to a logical conclusion, contending that extant labour laws pertaining to casualization must be

observed.

“We must as a matter of necessity, vigorously engage in anti-casualization drive until every worker enjoys regular appointment and begins to exhibit the much-desired dignity in labour,” he added.

Ugwuanyi canvasses for Jonathan's re-election

By Francis Igata

E

NUGU—THE Enugu State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate, Mr. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, has said it will be a disservice to deny the nation another four years of the great vision of President Goodluck Jonathan, if he is not re-elected.

Ugwuanyi claimed the numerous achievements President Jonathan’s administration recorded in the last four years were unprecedented.

The governorship hopeful,

who addressed supporters at the PDP campaign rally in Oji-River Local Government Area of the state, expressed optimism in the President’s re-election, contending that his good works and transformation agenda had endeared him to the electorate.

He also commended Governor Sullivan Chime for making governance easy in Enugu State through his performance in office, noting that it was the reason he and his running mate, Mrs. Cecilia Ezeilo, had accepted to continue and consolidate on the gains of the four-point agenda of Chime’s administration in the state.

APGA, APC accused of defacing PDP posters in Anambra

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EOPLES Democratic Party, PDP, has accused members of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, and All Progressives Congress, APC of vandalizing, defacing and destroying campaign posters, billboards and other materials of party ’s candidates in parts of the state.

The party, through Prince Ken Emeakayi, the leader of PDP Contact and Mobilization Committee of the

Presidential campaign council in the state, said it had already petitioned the security agencies including the Police, Department of State Services, Army, Navy and the state governor, among others, over the matter.

He said: “We have received complaints from our candidates that members of APGA and APC have been destroying, defacing and vandalizing PDP billboards, posters and handbills and other campaign materials in parts of the state.”

By Bartholomew Madukwe (08102479985) nwamad@yahoo.com

PEOPLE SPEAK

On Buhari's WAEC certificate

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VEN though I don’t know much about Buhari's primary school certificate, I believe NDA certification is equivalent to university and polytechnic qualification. I also believe that he does not need a primary school certificate as WAEC is higher.—Miss Ukogu Chinasa, Musician.

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AEC is for both GCE and SSCE, so you do not need to register in any school for the former. I know of people that come from the village with no primary school certificate because of their age. However, they went to coaching centres and wrote GCE.— Miss Chika Dike, Graduate.

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HERE is a flaw some where. You had to be enrolled in a secondary school to write WAEC. To be enrolled in secondary school, you had to graduate from a primary school.

To graduate from a primary school, you needed to have the First School Leaving Certificate.— Miss Mebel Ogechi, Businesswoman.

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HY can’t Buhari just present one of the certificates or apply to whoever is holding them to release them to him? Why must he be treating Nigerians with disrespect? At Oputa Panel where every Nigerian that was invited, he refused to appear.—Miss Sandy Faith, Self-Employed.

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HIS is a school of thought; I don’t mind to be corrected if something is missing here. If the minimum requirement to contest presidential election is WAEC and he has NDA, which is equivalent to higher qualification, is he is not qualified?— Mr. Jaiyeola Timmy, Freight Forwarder.

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ITH the way Buhari is handling the WAEC certificate thing, he is making the issue appear more suspicious than it should be. I personally believe that Buhari may have these certificates with him, but simply wanted to show Nigeria his arrogance.— Miss Chioma Ani, Model.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015 — 47

FG inaugurates 2 c'ttees on national policy for food safety

By Demola Akinyemi with

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agency reports

BUJA—DR Khaliru AlHassan, the Minister of State for Health, yesterday, inaugurated the Inter-ministerial Committee on Food Safety, IMCFS, and the National Food Safety Management Committee, NFSMC. The two committees were inaugurated to tackle the menace of food-borne diseases in the country.

He said the production of National Policy on Food Safety and its implementation strategy were commendable and would tackle food-borne and other related diseases.

“A man is what he eats and a healthy nation would be judged by the safety of its food consumption,” he said.

He said the contribution of the stakeholders in the review of the policy made it acceptable and comparable with the international standards.

“Nigeria has a lot of ground to cover before getting to envisaged land where it will benefit fully from this policy.

“These benefits, briefly stated,

include the curbing and drastic reduction of the incidences of food poisoning or food borne illness in Nigeria.

“The long term benefit of it will be the increase of our foreign exchange earnings for the

country through export of well packaged food items,” he said.

He urged the committees and stakeholders to discharge their duties accordingly as Nigerians would like to see the dividends of implementing the policy in a short time.

Dr Patrick Kormawa, United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, UNIDO, Country ’s Representative, said the importance of food safety would be highlighted as public health and trade issue.

PRESENTATION: From left: Kelly Willis, Snr, VP, Global Public Health,USP, Michael Harvey,USAID Mission Director, Nigeria, Dr Paul Orhii, DG, NAFDAC, Patrick Lukulay,VP, Global Health Inpact Programmes, USP, and Mrs Stella Denloye, Director, Laboratory Services, NAFDAC, at the presentation of United State Pharmacopeial Leadership Award to Dr. Paul Orhii and the official announcement of the accreditation of the NAFDAC Laboratory in Lagos, yesterday. Photo: Biodun Ogunleye.

1,250 staff of Plateau tertiary institutions depart for greener pastures

By Marie-Therese

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Nanlong.

OS—OVER 1,250 academic and non-academic staff of Plateau State owned institutions have left the services of their institutions for greener pasture in the last three years as the result of poor working conditions and frustrating academic environment.

However, in a bid to remedy the situation, the Joint Union of Plateau State-owned Tertiary Institutions, JUPTI has given the state government two weeks ultimatum to address issues confronting such institutions or face mass resignation.

The unions said it was worrisome that government had stopped giving subventions to the institutions as well as turned them into an arm of the Ministry of Education.

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despite repeated pleas by workers.

According to Dawurung; “We were 3,800 in number but in the past three years, over 1,250 have left; our members are suffering frombeingoverworked,frustrationand low morale which could lead to untimely death.

Kogi PDP threatens to sue Police over arrest Vanguard will like to use this of members members in the state. medium to draw the attention

By Boluwaji Obahapo

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O K O J A — T H E Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has threatened to take the police to court over the indiscriminate arrest of its

Delta PDP leaders laud Jonathan's support group Adigwe noted that since the SABA—DELTA State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, stakeholders have commended the state coordinator of Goodluck Support Group, Dr. Austin Izagbo and his team for creating an enabling environment that will aid President Goodluck Jonathan, Vice President Namadi Sambo, and the governorship candidate in the state, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa and other PDP candidates emerge victorious in next months election.

Speaking in an interview on the research conducted by journalists led by a media consultant, Mr. Emma Fejokwu, a chieftian of the party in the area, Chief John

At a news conference yesterday in Jos, the Chairman of JUPTI, Victor Dawurung appealed for the understanding of the public within the period the strike would last as government had remained adamant on the challenges facing the state- owned institutions in the past 20 months

formal inauguration of the Goodluck Support Group in the state, President Jonathan’s reelection campaign has intensified in the state.

Adigwe also described the state coordinator, Dr. Izagbo as an experienced political strategist, whose contributions has made meaningful impact to the socio-economic development of the state.

A director of the group, Mr. Alex Ofuonyeadi said it has compiled a list of contact and telephone numbers of over 20,000 members in the state, pointing out that the few vehicles currently in use by the group are personal donation of the coordinator and some members who also put their cars for use.

The PDP Youth Vanguard who stated this yesterday in Lokoja while addressing newsmen said the indiscriminate arrest of its members in Ajaokuta Local Government area of the state, was political as it emanated from a petition written by Muhamed Sadiq who lost the party’s House of Representatives ticket in the November primary election.

“The PDP national Youth

of the Inspector General, Suleiman Abba and the state Commissioner of Police to the indiscriminate arrest of some PDP members in Ajaokuta Local Government on the strength of a petition said to have been written by one Muhammed Sadiq, House of Reps member representing Ajaokuta Federal Constituency, alleging the kidnap of his mother."

Odeli distances self from Delta APC gov campaign c'ttee

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ARRI—A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State, Mr. Mike Odeli yesterday distanced himself from a publication which included his name as a member of the Delta State APC campaign committee.

He asserted that the “publication embarrassed me a lot because I am aware that I am a member of the APC in the state but I was never consulted by anybody before my name was included in the campaign committee of the state APC governorship candidate. “ I only want to clarify that I am not a member of the committee and should not be addressed as such.

Because I want to concentrate in campaigning for candidates of our choice in my local government and don’t want to be distracted with issues which are untrue,” he said.

Indorama spokesman bags PhD in Marketing

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EAD OF Corporate Communications/ Special Adviser to the Managing Director of Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals, Port Harcourt, Sir Jossy Nkwocha, was formally conferred with the Doctorate (PhD) Degree of the University of Nigeria Nsukka, UNN, at the 44th Convocation of the University on Saturday, January 24, 2015. The university had announced in February 2014 that Nkwocha and Benedict Odigbo had emerged the first PhD holders in Marketing (Public Relations) of the UNN. Nkwocha’s doctoral dissertation was titled: “A Comparative Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Corporate Reputation Management Strategies Employed in Selected Oil & Gas Companies in Nigeria.”

Northern activists want Buhari tried over Buhari to the 2011 post-election violence dragged International Criminal Court (ICC)

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By Clifford Ndujihe

BUJA—A GROUP of Northern Pro-democracy activists, the Northern Coalition for Democracy and Justice, NCDJ, has called on government of the United States of America to facilitate the trial of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Candidate, MajorGeneral Muhammadu Buhari (retd) for his role in the postelection violence of 2011.

In a letter to United States

Secretary of State, Senator John Kerry, which was copied to the US Ambassador to Nigeria, the activists said US assistance is necessary to help Nigeria ensure violence-free elections next month.

Signed by Dr. Ibrahim Baba (Secretary Research and Documentation), Mr. Yunana Shubkau (Publicity Secretary) and Umar Farouk (Secretary General) and dated January 25, the activists said they had

but needed U.S support to get Buhari appear before the court.

Entitled: “The role of General Muhammadu Buhari in the 2011 post election violence in Nigeria,” the letter read in part: “Conducts of political actors particularly statements credited to General Buhari and others in the year 2012, 2013 and 2014 during the build up to the 2015 elections is in the context of politically motivated sectarian violence.

And a threat to the conduct of peaceful, free, fair and transparent elections in Nigeria."

48—Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015

Arise News launch on MultiChoice platform

From left, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, Delta State Governor; Tony Elumelu, Chairman, Heirs Holdings; Jim Ovia, Chairman, Zenith Bank Plc, and Nduka Obaigbena,Publisher, Thisday Mr Gbenga Adefaye,GM/Editor-in-Chief, Vanguard (left), Newspapers, during the launch of Arise News on the Multichoice platforms of DSTV Channel and Mr. Feyi Smith, Executive Secretary, Newspaper 416 and GOtv Channel 44, at Sky Lounge Penthouse, Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Proprietors Association of Nigeria, NPAN. Lagos.Photos: Akeem Salau

Herbert Wigwe,Group Managing Director/CEO From left, Femi Otedola,Chief Executive Officer Forte Oil Plc; Nduka Obaigbena, Kehinde Durosinmi Etti, Access Bank Plc (left), and Senator Daisy Danjuma. former Managing Director/CEO, Skye Bank Plc, and Alhaji Aliko Dangote,Chiarman, Dangote Group.

Phillips Oduoza,Group Managing Director/CEO, UBA Bank Plc, and Nduka Obaigbena.

From left, May Mbu,Editor, Thisday Lawyer; Bene Uche, and Dehab Ghebread.

PDP presidential campaign in Ondo

From left, Vice President Namadi Sambo, President Goodluck Jonathan, Adamu A cross section of supporters.

Mu’azu, National Chairman of PDP, and Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, during the PDP presidential campaign in Akure.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015—49

Family of slain politician demands justice

By Esther Onyegbula

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AMILY, friends and residents of Agege in Lagos are demanding justice in the case of Mr. Peter Eyitayo, alias Abuna, a politician, who was shot dead last Friday by unknown persons.

Vanguard gathered that Eyitayo was killed during a clash between supporters of All Progressives Congress, APC, and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. His 69-year-old mother, Alice Eyitayo, said: “All we want is justice. I do not want my son to die in vain. The police should investigate the killing

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and bring those involved to book.

“I had a dream about him the night before he was killed.

And so I tried to call him all through that morning, but we were unable to reach him.

Later his wife called to say that she heard that he was stabbed.

“When I got the news I began to call his phone. Later, someone who claimed to be his friend picked his phone and told us that he had been shot at Agege and that his corpse was lying on the ground at the Police station.

“When my sister and I got to Elere Divisional Police Station, around Agege area they said

the DPO was having a meeting with some All Progressives Party, APC, chieftains. After the meeting, we told him we had come in respect of the man who was shot.

“In a very rude and impolite manner, he said we should go to the council.

“Fortunately, we met with the Commissioner for Transport at the police station, who spoke politely to us. He told us that my son’s corpse had been deposited in the mortuary.”

She alleged that police authorities know his son’s killer.

One of the wives of the deceased, Kafayat, said: “My

husband was at home when somebody called him, saying there was problem where Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, officials were distributing the permanent voter’s cards.

“He rushed there only to be shot by unknown persons. I still cannot believe my husband is dead. When I first heard the news, I thought I was dreaming.”

Vanguard gathered that late Eyitayo, who is the only surviving child of six children, had two wives and four children, with the eldest being four years old and the youngest, about two.

Fulani man runs amok, Kills 7, injures 14

By Luka Binniyat

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ONKWA—A Fulani gunman, Tuesday night, opened fire on a crowd at the traditional funeral rites for an 87year-old woman, late Mama Hauwa Bello, at Yangal village, 200 kilometres South of Kaduna metropolis.

Yangal is in Yangal District, under Kamanton Chiefdom in Zangon Kataf Local Government Area, in the southern part of Kaduna State.

Governor Mukhtar Yero condemned the attack, describing it as an attempt to cause confusion and heighten tension.

Acting Chairman of Zangon Kataf council, Jonathan Asake, told newsmen, yesterday, that he had a distressed call around 11pm, informing him that an armed Fulani man and another unarmed accomplice attacked Yangal.

Asake said that when he got there, he helped in evacuating five corpses and 12 injured persons to St. Luis Hospital, Zonkwa, about 15 kilometre from Yangal village.

Asake said: “I reached Yangal village around 12am this morning, and met scores of angry, sticks and knives-wielding youths, who wanted to descend on me for coming late. I was told that an old woman had passed on and was buried.

“They said it was tradition for the grandchildren of the deceased to organize a celebra-tion in honour of any person that had passed the age of 80.

“According to the villagers, two Fulani men were sighted at 9pm on Tuesday night around the venue of the celebration— one with a gun and the other had nothing on him.

Not suspecting anything, the group went on with their cerebration.

“Then the armed man opened fire on the crowd with his AK-47 rifle. He killed five people on the spot and two later died in the hospital. I saw the corpse and the 12 that were injured.”

50 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015

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Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015—51

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54 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015

Soludo seeking attention — NGF

CRUDE PRICE FALL: Fuel subsidy drops to N1.12 per litre

By Henry Umoru

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By Michael Eboh

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BUJA—THE amount the Federal Government is paying as subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, yesterday, dropped to N1.12 per litre, from N3.64 per litre when the pump price per litre of the product was reduced by the Federal Government to N87.

This could be attributed to the continuous decline in the prices of crude in the international market.

Global oil prices weakened on Wednesday as dealers await the outcome of a Federal Reserve meeting and the release of a US supply report, analysts said.

New York’s West Texas Intermediate, WTI, for March delivery fell 72 cents to $45.51 a barrel.

European benchmark Brent North Sea crude for March declined 26 cents to stand at $49.34 a barrel in midday London deals compared with Tuesday’s close.

Crude futures had rebounded Tuesday from six-year lows as the dollar weakened following disappointing US economic data.

Furthermore, data obtained from the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, the Expected Open Market Price of PMS was put at N88.12 per litre.

The figure was based on the PPPRA’s updated PMS Pricing Template for January 28, 2015, and hinged on an average Platts price of PMS for January 27, 2015.

Also, the PPPRA put the Expected Open Market Price of Household Kerosene (HHK) at N102.20 per litre and the retail price of the product at N50 per litre, meaning that the Federal Government is paying N52.20 per litre as subsidy on Household Kerosene.

For PMS, the PPPRA puts the cost of PMS including freight charges (C+F) at $490.57 per metric tonnes.

Using a conversion rate of 1,341 litres to a metric tonne (MT) and an exchange rate of N171.36 to a dollar, this, according to the PPPRA translates to N62.69 per litre.

LAUNCH: From left: Mr. Adewale Arikawe, Sales director (General trade), Friesland Campina; Mr. Tarang Gupta, Marketing Director; Mr. Rahul Colaco, Managing Director; Mrs. Ore Famurewa, Corporate Affairs Director and Mr. Wilco Djiken, Sales Director (Modem trade) during the launching of Three Crowns Powder by Friesland Campina, in Ikeja, Lagos, yesterday. Photo by Joe Akintola.

GRAFT TRIAL: Ex-Kogi gov, Audu inflated contracts – WITNESS

By Soni Daniel, Regional Editor, North

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BUJA—THE trial of former governor of Kogi State, Abubakar Audu and Alfa Ibn Mustapha, former director general, Directorate of Rural Development in his administration continued, yesterday under Justice A.O Adeniyi of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, sitting in Apo, Abuja.

The accused persons are being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for offences bordering on criminal breach of trust and misappropriation of public funds to the tune of N10.9 billion At the resumed hearing of the case yesterday, the first prosecution witness, Lewechi Terry Ozoemenam, managing director of Leoflench Nigeria Limited, who was led in evidence by counsel to EFCC, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, told the court that his company executed most of the water projects of the Directorate of Rural Development from 19992003.

Ozoemenam stated that the contracts executed by his company were about seven and that none was above N18 million.

He listed the projects carried out by his firm to include: drilling of boreholes in Abjukolo Egwe and Odolo; Ogbonicha, Olla water borehole water; Ajanojo, Omabave Ajakwu and Olubojo Ojuwo Uferene; Oyidi School and Ogbonicha,

all valued at N53 million.

However when confronted with a document showing that he carried out many projects valued at about N50 million, the witnessed objected to the receipts, saying they were forged as he had never come across them.

He said he had neither executed the said projects nor collected the huge amount ascribed to his firm.

According to him, the receipt was forged as the signature was not his.

The witness said, “I have never handled any contract up to N18m let alone signing a project worth N49m “, Ozoemenam told the court.

The prosecution witness also denied having knowledge of four other vouchers for additional payment for water projects valued at N110 million.

“All these documents are forged, my lord”, Ozoemenam said.

The case has been adjourned to Thursday, January 29, 2015 for continuation of hearing.

BUJA—THE Governor Jonah Jang-led Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF, yesterday tongue-lashed the former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Professor Charles Soludo, over his comments on the economy, saying he was only seeking for attention.

In a statement in Abuja by the Secretary and Administrator of the Forum, Earl Osaro Onaiwu, the governors noted that they were at loss as to the motive behind Soludo’s article “As the half truths and falsehood contained in it (article) could not be a sincere attempt to contribute to the national discuss, but rather a failed attempt at self aggrandizement.”

The statement read in part, ‘’The NGF under the leadership of Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau state has described as illusionary and attention seeking, the description of the economy by former CBN governor, Dr. Charles Soludo in a recent article he published.

“Dr. Soludo’s analysis flies in the face of all the conclusions and projections of renowned international economic bodies that the Nigerian economy was not only the largest in Africa, but was bound to continue its growth.

“The governors marvelled at why a former CBN governor will be against a state governor saving money for the rainy day as even the present shortfall in allocations vindicates such policies.

US certifies NAFDAC central lab with ISO 17025 accreditation

By Chioma Obinna

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ISTORY was made yesterday when the United State Agency for International Development, USAID, and US Pharmacopeial Convention, USP, presented an international accreditation known as ISO/IEC 17025: 2005 to the Central Drug Control Laboratory of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, for quality monitoring of pharmaceutical products in Nigeria.

The NAFDAC Central Drug Control Lab is the first Government owned laboratory to attain such accreditation.

With the accreditation, the laboratory which handles about 8,300 samples in a year now has

capacity to test both locally manufactured and imported pharmaceutical products.

Speaking at the presentation of the certificate in Lagos, Mission Director, USAID Nigeria, Mr Michael Harvey who represented the US government noted that Nigeria is faced with high burden of preventable disease described the accreditation as one critical milestone that would re-establish Nigeria as an original super producers and distributors of pharmaceutical products.

Harvey who recalled that Nigeria in the 1980s was West Africa hub for pharmaceutical products said. that the Yaba Central Laboratory went through an arduous journey before qualifying for the ISO /IEC

17025 accreditation attributing the success to the quality of the staff and management of NAFDAC. He further expressed assurance that the accreditation will result in production of quality drugs that will in time result in reduction of the high maternal and infant mortality rate of the country.

Vice President Global Health Impact Programmes, USP, Patrick Lukulay commended NAFDAC for achieving this feat, saying that Nigeria is one of the very few Nations to have this accreditation.

According to him, “less than 10 percent of the 55 countries of the world have this accreditation. This is a victory, not just for Nigeria but for Africa. We believe that quality control is fore front in securing the life of the people”.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015 — 55

FAIR: Mrs Funke Egbemode, Special guest of the occasion cutting the tape to declare open the 7th Annual Continuing Education and Counseling Fair of Vivian Fowler Memorial College For Girls, while Mrs Funke Fowler Amba, Director of the school (2nd left) Miss Eniola Oladipo,Head Girl (3rd left) Mrs Chinyenre Uwadileke (2nd right); Dr Femi Ogunsanya, Executive Director, Oxbridge Tutorial College (right) and others look on at the school premises in Lagos. Photo: Biodun Ogunleye.

PARLEY: From left; Operations Manager, Mr Daniel Anim-Appiah; Public Relations Manager, Mrs Toyin Adepegba and Field Education Manager, Mr Daniel Komlan, all of Recare Limited, during a ''meet and greet'' session with the media at Natures Gentle Touch Hair Institute, Victoria Island, lagos.

CONGRESS: From left; Oba Ademola Ademiluyi, repesenting the Ooni of Ife; Chief Sally Mbanefo, DG, Nigerian Tourisim Development Coporation (NTDC); Otunba Gani Adams, National Co-ordinator Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), during the First Oodua Progressive Union Leadership Training and World Congress, with theme; Team Leadership and Role of Leadership in Effective service Delivery, organised

by Oodua Progressive Union, at Airport Hotel, Ikeja Lagos. Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi.

Buhari condoles with victims of Maiduguri, Konduga, Monguno attacks

By Levinus Nwabughiogu

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B U J A — PRESIDENTIAL candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, General Muhammadu Buhari has expressed shock over the latest attacks by Boko Haram on Maiduguri, Konduga and Monguno in Borno State.

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A statement by Mallam Garba Shehu, Director of Media & Publicity, Buhari campaign office quoted Buhari as expressing his condolences to all those, including Nigerian soldiers affected by the latest insurgent attacks.

Buhari, however, said the situation in the affected areas won’t last forever.

He said; “While I commiserate with the victims

of this despicable orgy of violence in Borno State, I equally implore them to bear in mind that this situation won’t last forever.

“In spite of the incompetent handling of this insurgency by the Federal Government, solution is in sight with the APC set to dislodge the PDP administration that has ruinously led this great country for nearly 16 years.”

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Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015—

Re: The ugly side of Buhari and Jonathan Continues from page 41 ebration of token and/or paltry railway services) etc.

GEJ's biggest failure on the economic front was his inability to introduce ?earth-shaking reforms to trim our recurrent expenditure budget at the Federal level by instituting the massive lay-off of idle civil servants. He did not confront the National Assembly either on this thorny issue. Ironically many of those who accuse him of guilt in this area are guilty of the exact same allegation in their respective States and Local Government Areas.

I am sad that GEJ did not simply go all out to ?transform our economy in his first term at the risk of being a single term President. Instead he slowed down on some economic reform because he was pandering to power brokers within his political party, who would have a say in helping him to secure a second term.

I am sad that an ageing and incapable Buhari refused to play the role of a King-maker by identifying a single well educated and well meaning younger person 2 or 3 years ago (even if he narrowed his search to his own North West zone) whom he could have groomed and backed to challenge GEJ.

Massive disservice If I vote for GEJ in this election it is because his ugly side is less ugly than Buhari's known and well-documented uglier side and nothing more. If you disagree with me please note that there is no need for us to fight our only weapon should be the ballot paper and how we decide to cast it. Those who think they can intimidate swing voters, by threatening mayhem if their candidate does not win a close election, do their candidate a massive disservice because their careless utterances send the swing voters in the opposite direction in a race that is currently too close to call.

Before anybody dismisses ANAP Foundation's opinion polls again, let me add that similar polls commissioned concurrently by us (using the exact same methodology) show Nasir El-Rufai of the APC with a significant lead over the incumbent PDP Governor (Yero), while the PDP's Nyesom Wike currently leads APC's Dakuku Peterside in Rivers State, but there is a large "undecided" element in Rivers State.

ANAP Foundation will release more information on all the Polls we commissioned (including Lagos Governorship) over the course of the next few days, using a multitude of media channels.

Atedo N A Peterside, CON, is President & Founder, ANAP Foundation C M Y K

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EPZ groundbreaking: It’s false to say Itsekiri won’t vote Jonathan— Chief Thomas Ereyitomi BARELY 24 hours after President Goodluck Jonathan undertook a private visit to the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse II, weekend, in Warri, Delta State, some Itsekiri organizations, notably the Warri Study Group, WSG, the intellectual arm of the Itsekiri ethnic nationality, led by Mr. Edward Ekpoko, went to town with the position that the ethnic group would not vote for Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential standard-bearer, except he performed the groundbreaking ceremony of the $16 billion Delta Gas City, otherwise known as the Export Processing Zone, EPZ, project, Ogidigben-Ugborodo, Warri South-West Local Government Area, before the February 14 presidential election.

WSG’s stand, accentuated by a pressure group, Delta Coalition for Change, DCC, headed by Young Piero and other unnamed groups, bothered many Itsekiri and the state governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, himself an Itsekiri. In fact, the state government issued a statement, appealing to groups and individuals “to desist from politicizing the ground breaking ceremony.” The government explained that President Jonathan, indeed, mandated Governor Uduaghan, who accompanied him to the palace to network with relevant authorities in the Presidency and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to fix a new date for the ground breaking ceremony of the project.

Vanguard learnt that Uduaghan was particularly peeved because he knew what it took President Jonathan to personally come to explain to the monarch and Itsekiri people the issues surrounding the groundbreaking ceremony, which had been postponed on three different occasions.

Itsekiri leader and PDP chieftain, Chief Thomas Ereyitomi, who was one of the Itsekiri chiefs that was at the palace of the Olu of Warri to receive President Jonathan when he visited, last Friday, spoke to Vanguard, yesterday, in Warri, on what transpired at the meeting and the actual position of the Itsekiri ethnic nationality.

Excerpt. ducted and the president did mention to

By Emma Amaize, Regional the Olu a tentative date as to when the Editor, South South groundbreaking ceremony will be done considering the fact that their election is HAT is your reaction to statements coming up. In any case, the president also by some Itsekiri groups that the promised that during the presidential rally Itsekiri ethnic nationality would not vote in Delta state, he would find time to be in for President Goodluck Jonathan except Warri, of course even pass a night in Warhe performed the groundbreaking of the ri, to have all these matters discussed and Export Processing Zone, EPZ, Ogidigalso discuss with a lot of people with reben before next month’s presidential elecspect to all these issues and policies. tion?

So, it is surprising to me when I see a Their position that Itsekiri people will lot of things, a lot of write-ups by so many not vote for Jonathan is giving me and groups to say Itsekiri will not vote for other Itsekiri people a lot of concern beJonathan unless he performs the groundcause that is not the position of Itsekiri breaking ceremony. That is not correct. people and they are not representing what First and foremost, we want to put the happened when President Jonathan visrecord straight. These people can only ited the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse speak for themselves, they cannot speak II, correctly. for Itsekiri, I repeat, they cannot speak for The president came on a private visit to Itsekiri for the obvious reason that the custhe Olu and the Olu brought out the issue todian of Itsekiri people is the Olu of Warof the EPZ groundbreaking ceremony, ri, the Olu is the which the president explained the circumonly person that can stances that led to the postponement and speak the position of indeed, the Olu maintained that there Itsekiri or if he manshould be a firm date as to when the dated any other pergroundbreaking ceremony would be conson to speak on his behalf. And these people were not mandated the Olu, even myself as a chief in the palace, I cannot speak for Itsekiri except the Olu mandated me We need to to do that.

So to say an It- correct this sekiri person will not misleading do something… that is weighty declara- information tion, Itsekiri is a na- that Itsekiris tion, it is a tribe, what they are say- would not ing is not the posi- vote for the tion of the Itsekiri people. It is their president, own position, which that is not they are entitled to and which nobody the position can question. They of the Itsekiri Chief Thomas Ereyitomi

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are entitled to their own position, but it is not the position of the Itsekiri people, that is the point I want to correct.

You were in the palace when President Jonathan came, what exactly did the Olu tell him on the EPZ? The Olu asked him why the groundbreaking ceremony was postponed, the president explained and the Olu went further to say that the lands in that area are all his lands and if there is any land issue arising that purportedly led to the postponement of the groundbreaking, it is not correct because the land belong to him.

That is what the Olu said.

What was the president’s response?

The president explained that there were agitations and that if he had come to do the groundbreaking, definitely, nothing would happen to him, but he does not want a situation where he would come and do the groundbreaking and leaves, then ethnic problems would now come up. And when that one eventually happens, it would scare the investors. He said he did not want a situation where that kind of thing would happen and that was what led to the postponed and that in any case; he promised that he was going to do the groundbreaking.

March as tentative date It was at this stage that the Olu pressurized for a date and the president said tentatively around March because of the election that is coming up, meaning that the groundbreaking ceremony will take place.

So, that is the president’s explanation.

So, you are saying categorically that Itsekiri never said that it would not vote for Jonathan on February 14 without EPZ groundbreaking?

Itsekiri did not take that position. Now, let me tell you, 85 per cent of Itsekiri politicians are in PDP, those that are speaking, have they sought the consent of this 85 per cent of Itsekiris in PDP?

Consent of the Itsekiri Was their consent sought on this matter?

Itsekiri position can only be conveyed by the Olu or through a representative that he has approved to communicate such information and not every Tom, Dick, and Harry coming out to say we will not vote for the president, we will not vote for the president, they do not have the mandate.

Like I said, I, as chief in the palace do not have such mandate, and the only person that has such mandate is the Olu and has not said so.

And the conclusion was that the governor should liaise with other government officials and stakeholders for a feasible date, is that correct?

Yes, and mind you too that before the coming of Mr. President, the Olu of Warri had requested that he wants to see him on some of these issues, so when the president came on a private visit, the Olu took the advantage to express some of these issues that bother him and one of them is the EPZ matter, which he mentioned.

So we need to correct this misleading information that Itsekiris would not vote for the president, that is not the position of the Itsekiris, it their own personal decision, which nobody can query, but they cannot speak for Itsekiri.

58 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015

AFCON 2015: Ghana can take on anyone, says Gyan

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HANA captain Asamoah Gyan said his side would not fear anyone after reaching the quarterfinals of the Africa Cup of Nations.

Ghana went through after beating South Africa 2-1 and will meet the Group D runners-up in the quarter-finals on Sunday evening.

“With this team we can take on anyone in this competition,” he said.

Algeria qualified as Group C runners-up and coach Christian Gourcuff said: “It was not easy to get out of this group.”

Gyan scored Ghana’s late winner in their second game against Algeria which ultimately

helped them finish top of the table on head-tohead record.

He added: “I have played at five cups of nations, but this group was the hardest.

“We were very strong mentally, even after conceding the first goal.

We kept believing and fought to the end knowing that we could win.”

Ghana manager Avram Grant said: “We deserve it because South Africa were not better than us.

“We have finished first in the group of death, which is not bad. After losing the first match we showed great attitude in the second and continued along the same lines."

Our quality saw us through — Algeria coach

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OURCUFF said that Algeria’s 2-0 victory over Senegal had been hard-earned by his players.

“It was an excessively difficult game physically,” he said.

“The ball was almost always in the air, which is not an advantage for us.

“We needed lots of discipline tactically and our technique and speed on the break helped us win.

“We are two completely different teams in terms of our approach. We have lots of small technical players and Senegal are more direct and physical."

Aussie Open

TWINKLING... Black Stars of Ghana forward Asamoah Gyan (c) challenges South Africa’s defender Mulomowandau Eric Mathoho and South Africa’s midfielder Andile Jali (r) during the 2015 African Cup of Nations group C football match between South Africa and Ghana in Mongomo on January 27, 2015

Senegal defender laments ouster S

ENEGAL defender Cheikhou Kouyate has expressed his sadness at their elimination from the 2015 AFCON following the 2-0 loss to Algeria on Tuesday.

The Teranga Lions went into the match with 4 points and either a draw or a win would send them into the

picking a draw."

We simply did not come to win and we hesitated between attacking and defending. We conceded a goal very early in the match and that destabilised us.

After that, we had to chase the game. The disappointment is really huge,” said the player in an interview

with Radio France International on Tuesday.

His team-mate, Iddrisa Gueye, shared similar sentiments with the press.

“We are very disappointed. We really had a lot to do in this tournament. We started the competition with a win but we dropped our standards as we went along.”

Djokovic, Wawrinka set up S-final clash F OUR-TIME champion Novak Djokovic handled Milos Raonic, while Stan Wawrinka kept his hopes of a repeat Australian Open title alive by besting fifth-seeded Kei Nishikori in straight sets yesterday.

The world No. 1 Djokovic dismissed the eighth-seeded Canadian star Raonic 76 (7-5), 6-4, 6-2, while the fourth-seeded Wawrinka fired 20 aces and was broken just once in a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) quarterfinal victory over the U.S. Open run-

•Serena Williams

last 8 of the tournament but they failed to win and Kouyate said the team did not have the right mentality for the match. “ This evening, we return home with a lot of sadness. It hurts because we did not expect this. We started this match poorly and we thought too much about

ner-up Nishikori at Rod Laver Arena.

The 27-year-old Djokovic is bidding to become the second man in history to win the Australian Open for the fifth time, joining Aussie great Roy Emerson. The Belgrade native won his first major title in Melbourne in 2008 and followed with three successive victories in 2011-13. He has a 48-6 match record at Melbourne Park.

Djokovic still has yet to drop a set in his ruthless run

Serena advances, Venus crashes out

V

ENUS Williams lost her quarterfinal match against Madison Keys on Wednesday at the Australian Open.

Serena Williams, the other sister in a family that has won a combined 25 Grand Slam singles titles, will attempt to right the wrong in the semifinals today.

The 19-year-old Keys overcame a left thigh injury to beat No. 18ranked Venus 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 and advance to the last four against topranked and 18-time major winner Serena, who had little trouble beating last year ’s finalist, Dominika Cibulkova, 6-2, 6-2.

at this 2015 fortnight. He is through to his 25th Grand Slam semifinal, one behind Andre Agassi for the fourth most in the Open Era. Djokovic improved to 5-0 against Raonic, as he doused the Canadian in two hours. The Serb was not

at his best in the first set, not quite finding his timing under the lights at Laver.

But a costly forehand unforced error from Raonic at 5-6 in the tiebreak — having just saved two set points — gifted the Serb the opener.

ITTF African Championship: Nigeria From there, Djokovic was dominates men’s doubles event

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TTF Africa Senior Championship: Nigeria dominates men’s doubles event Already claiming three gold medals in some of the events concluded so far, Egypt failed to clinch the fourth gold after their dominance in the ongoing International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Africa Senior Championship was halted on Tuesday night by Nigeria in the men’s doubles event.

In the semi-final stage of the Men’s Doubles event, El-Sayed Lashin

and Ahmed Ali Saleh, the top seeds, suffered defeat at the hands of Nigeria’s Makanjuola Kazeem and Quadri Aruna, the no.4 seeds (9-11, 11-8, 7-11, 911, 11-6, 12-10, 11-9); the reverse coming soon after another decision had gone the way of Nigeria.

Ojo Onaolapo and Jide Ogidiolu, the no.11 seeds, ousted Khalid and Omar Assar, the no.2 seeds (711, 11-9, 5-11, 11-9, 5-11, 12-10, 11-2).

“I think we communicated a great deal during the match and we did not allow them to attack”, said

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015 — 59

Uche unfazed by Campbell’s arrival V

ILLARREAL’s N i g e r i a international Ikechukwu Uche is unfazed by competition in the squad following the arrival of Joel Campbell on loan from Arsenal.

The Gunners higher ups have struck a deal with their Spanish counterparts for the Costa Rica international to remain at the Estadio El Madrigal until the end of the 2014 - 2015 seasons.

Joel Campbell will compete for a first team shirt in attack along with Ikechukwu Uche, Luciano Vietto and Giovanni dos Santos if the team’s recent lineups are anything to go by. ‘’Welcome to Villarreal @joel_campbell12. I wish you the best! Good luck!’’ Ikechukwu Uche said. Joel Campbell is familiar to the La Liga, having worn the jersey of Real Betis during the 2012 - 2013 seasons, before moving to Greece for another loan spell with Olympiakos last term.

Ikechukwu Uche has been named in the starting eleven 16 times this season, out of a possible 20, while he started 2 other games on the bench.

The former Getafe man will reach the 100-goal landmark since his arrival in Spain if he scores against Barcelona at the Nou Camp on Sunday.

T

•Ike Uche

Jonathan ‘ll re-unite Nigerian football family – Fashanu

BY JUDE OPARA, Abuja

T

HE Nigerian football fraternity has been assured that President Goodluck Jonathan will settle the lingering crisis rocking the nation’s football as soon as he gets re-elected into office in next month’s general elections.

Former board member of the then Nigeria Football Association (NFA), John Fashanu told journalists yesterday in Abuja that President Jonathan has demonstrated enough desire to enhance the fortunes

Victory Group of Schools holds Inter House Sports gets date

V

ICTORY Group of Schools Second Unified Inter House Sports will hold on Friday, February 62015atVictoryHighSchool, play ground, Ikeja.

The participating schools are victory Home School, Victory High School, Victory College, Victory Institute of Catering,VictoryHome,Ojota and Victory Grammar

School.

Proprietor of the Schools, Chief Christian Ipoola Olaniyan and director of sports, Mr. Vincent Somade said the Victory Group of Schools would be the first private Secondary School in Lagos State to organise such unified sports competition.

Dream Team

Continues from BP minute strike after good work in the midfield by Azubuike Okechukwu and Oghenekaro.

Oghenekaro played a penalty kick way over the bar in the 69th minute after Stanley Amuzie’s cross

NOC strategises for All African Games, 2016 Olympics

was handled by a Tunisia defender.

Godwin Saviour put the game beyond the Tunisians when he fired home a canon shot in the 88th minute after running down the opposing defenders.

of not just football but other sports hence he deserves a second term.

According to him, the numerous achievements of Nigerian football during his tenure represents the huge support he gives to football which he described as one sector that gives millions of Nigerians joy.

“I have been so proud and impressed with Mr. President’s achievements in sports. It is on record that the Super Eagles won the Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa under his administration for the first time since

left Cameroon bottom of the group - their worst finish at a Nations Cup finals - and it also means lots will need to be drawn today to decide whether Mali or Guinea, who played out the fifth 1-1 stalemate of Group D, take the other

S

•Fashanu 1994. The Golden Eaglets won the U-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates and the female U-20 team won the silver in their own World Cup.

quarter-finals place.

Ivory Coast will be relieved to have avoided the lottery, having gone out in 1988 by that method, as they did just enough to earn the win that guaranteed them passage to the knockout stage for the sixth successive time.

Mourinho Continues from BP after David Ginola declared his intention to run earlier in the month - although the former Newcastle and Tottenham winger is yet to secure the support of five federations.

Figo’s standing means

•Gumel Gumel said efforts were been made to ensure funds were released on time for the preparation of athletes for the various competitions. “We have the All African Games coming up this year as well as the 2016 Olympics Games in Rio de Janeiro Brazil.

Keshi, Shorunmu sad over Agbonavbare’s death

Ivory Coast Continues from BP

HE Nigeria O l y m p i c Committee (NOC) has disclosed that plans were under way to ensure the country excels at the 2015 All Africa Games and the 2016 Olympics.

Habu Gumel, President of the NOC said after the executive committee’s meeting on Tuesday.

He said that the various federations have been instructed on what to do. NAN reports that the 2015 All Africa Games is scheduled for Congo Brazzaville between Sept. 4 and Sept. 19.

Meanwhile the 2016 Olympics will take place in Rio de Janeiro Brazil from Aug. 5 to Aug. 21.

there should now be at least four candidates in the contest after nominations close on Friday. Figo’s standing means there should now be at least four candidates in the contest after nominations close on Friday.

UPER Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi and his assistant, Ike Shorunmu have expressed shock over the death of their former national teammate, Wilfried Agbonavbare, who succumbed to cancer on Tuesday in a Spanish hospital.

“Wilfred is dead? No! This is a bitter pill to swallow,” Keshi said, on hearing the sad news. “What do I say about him now? I still remember our time together as teammates while at NNB

many years back. Wilfred was one goalkeeper who was good at what he did.”

Keshi also recounted Agbonavbare’s role in helping Nigeria qualify for its maiden FIFA World Cup tournament in 1994.

And Shorunmu, who was a teammate to the ‘Flying Cat’, as Agbonavbare was fondly called, on several occasions for Nigeria, said, “it is still a shock to me that Willy is gone. I didn’t believe it when I first heard.'

Igbeka urges govt to support Agbonavbare’s children

F

ORMER youth international and team mate of late Nigeria goalkeeper Wilfred Agbonavbare, Micky Igbeka has called on the Federal government to take over the responsibility of training the children of the fallen football star.

Reacting to the death of the former New Nigeria Bank goalkeeper who died Tuesday in a Spanish hospital, Igbeka described him as “a hardworking person and a very good goalkeeper.

I spoke with him on

phone late last year while he was in Florida.

Another of our former team mates, Humphrey Edobor connected us.

“It is painful to know Wilfred is dead. But I feel government should take over his children’s education. That is the only thing that can wipe their tears,” Igbeka said.

He recalled their years in the Flying Eagles of Mexico ’83 fame.

“Agbonavbare was a very good goalkeeper who gave the team and the defenders in particular, a lot of hope. He was fantastic.”

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Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015—61

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62 —

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Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015

Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015—63

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Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015

Dream Team avenge Tunisia defeat T

HE coach Samson Siasia-led team lost the first game 5-3, but they avenged this defeat by beating their

Afcon 2015: I/Coast send Cameroon home

hosts 3-0 in the second match played yesterday.

The Nigeria lads opened scoring in the 31st minute, when Oghenekaro Etebor converted a spot kick after Peter Onyekachi was fouled in the 18yard box.

Onyekachi doubled Nigeria lead with a 56th

Continues on Page 59

•As Mali, Guinea know fate today

Mourinho backs Figo to replace Blatter

I

VORY Coast beat Cameroon 1-0 to earn a place in the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals as Group D winners.

Max Gradel scored the goal that gave the Elephants the only victory in the six matches in the group and saved them from the fate of drawing lots.

He smashed in a drive from 20 yards after taking advantage of a poor touch by Cameroon defender Jerome Guihoata.

Edgar Salli missed two good chances to equalise, hesitating when clean through and also blazing over from in the box.

Those glaring misses Continues on Page 59

TODAY'S

•Siasia

F

ORMER Portugal international Luis Figo has announced he is going to stand for FIFA presidency.

The 42-year-old has the support of five FIFA member federations - the minimum requirement needed for a candidate to enter May’s vote.

Figo is the second high-profile former player to enter the race Continues on Page 59

Results SKILL WORKSHOP: Ivorian defender Eric Bailly (L) challenges Cameroon's Edgar Salli during the 2015 Afcon group D match in Malabo yesterday. I/Coast beat Cameroon 1-0. PHOTO AFP.

PUZZLE

Guinea 1 Mali 1 Cameroon 0 I/Coast 1

QUICK CROSSWORD

FRI DAY'S FRIDAY'S

ANSWERS

ACROSS 3 Lawful (5) 9 Maltreated (6) 10 Chesspiece (6) 11 Weary (5) 12 Cicatrix (4) 15 Jot (4) 17 Skyline (7) 20 Timid (3) 21 Automaton (5) 23 Level (4) 25 Eagle (4) 26 Course (5) 28 Purge (3) 30 Manipulated (7) 33 Crowd (4) 35 Comfort (4) 36 Injury (5) 38 Intellectual (6) 39 Constructs (6) 40 Prompt (5)

DOWN 1 Severe (5) 2 Sweeten (5) 3 Allow (3) 4 Newspaperman (6) 5 Help (4) 6 Cover (3) 7 Confusion (5) 8 Bouquet (5) 13 Clique (7) 14 Stream (5) 16 Robbers (7) 18 Direction (5) 19 Tool (3) 22 Exchange (5) 24 Immediately (3) 27 Deserved (6) 28 Poem (5) 29 Intoxicated (5) 31 Tree (5) 32 Thick (5) 34 Cavity (4) 36 Conflict (3) 37 Arid (3)

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS ACROSS: 1, Dirndle 5, Source 9, Eider 10, Appeal 11, Walnut 12, Label 14, Fair 17, Car 18, Torn 20, Strap 22, Armed 23, Cottage 24, Dived 26, Enter 29, Acid 30, Arc 32, Dare 33, Style 35, Potato 36, Oldest 37, Units 38, Remedy 39, Heated.

DOWN: 1, Dwarfs 2, Repair 3, Deal 4, Lilac 5, Sewer 6, Oral 7, Random 8, Extend 13, Battery 15, Attic 16, Raced 18, Trend 19, Refer 21, Pod 22, Age 24, Dapper 25, Victim 27, Talent 28, Rested 30, Atony 31, Cloth 33, Stud 34, Else.

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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