83 Senators back Saraki Ekweremadu

...towards a better life for the people

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VOL. 25: NO. 62504

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

N150

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

ROWDY SESSION AS SENATE RESUMES:

83 Senators back Saraki, Ekweremadu •Mark, 48 PDP, 35 APC senators pass vote of confidence •Senate pledges thorough screening of ministerial nominees •Marafa goes gaga, removes babaringa, threatens to fight •Senate problems influenced by people outside NASS— Saraki •Tread softly on Saraki's trial, Dogara cautions FG

Tete-a-tete

By Henry Umoru, Emman Ovuakporie & Joseph Erunke

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BUJA—EIGHTYthree senators, yesterday, passed a vote of confidence on the Senate President, Bukola Saraki; Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu; and the entire leadership of the Senate.

The move, at least in the interim, ended speculations that Saraki was losing the support of his colleagues on account of the alleged false assets declaration suit he is facing at the Code of Conduct of

Continues on Page 5

SUMMIT—President Buhari and US President Obama, yesterday, in New York.

Late Onosode

Boardroom guru, Gamaliel Onosode dies at 82 •P.8, 15, 50, 51

COLUMNISTS:

Nigeria in the year Hubby made 2030: A new me have an affair •P.33 narrative •P.17 C M Y K

How fuel tanker inferno ruined us — Victims of Aba fuel explosion See Inside

PDP Reps halt motion to probe Jonathan 9

Hajj tragedy: 240 Nigerians still missing, 64 dead 12 Mr & Mrs

2—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 , 2015

C M Y K

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4—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

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POCKET CARTOON he would always defend the independence of the legislature and invite his colleagues "to stand with me to defend this Senate and preserve its sanctity."

Ministerial screening

BUHARI AT THE UN— From left: Nigeria's Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Amb. Usman Sarki; President Muhammadu Buhari and Nigeria's Permanent Representative to the U.N, Prof. Joy Ogwu, after President Buhari's address at the 70th U.N General Assembly in New York on Monday. Photo: NAN.

83 Senators back Saraki, arraignment of the Ekweremadu President of the Senate.

Continues from Page1 the Tribunal (CCT) and might be asked to step aside as Senate President.

Boosted by the confidence vote, a reenergized Senate leadership, yesterday, said it would protect the interest of Nigerians by ensuring thorough screening of President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministerial nominees.

The list of the nominees will be presented to the senators today.

This came as Saraki insisted that his trial by the CCT was being influenced by people outside the National Assembly, who were not comfortable with his emergence as Senate President, adding that

‘intruders’ are fighting a lost battle because they cannot effect their desired leadership in the Red Chamber as they are not National Assembly members.

Meanwhile, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has called for caution over the ongoing trial of Saraki.

In his welcome address to members of the House of Representatives upon resumption from a sixweek recess, he saluted Saraki for submitting himself to the jurisdiction of the CCT. “The barometer of the polity has been on the rise of late because of certain developments concerning the

IT'S UP TO YOU

BY AYO ADIO OTHING worthwhile is ever achieved in the absence of strong discipline. Discipline is what gets you to do what you should do rather than what you want to do. It is the assertion of will power over your basic desires. It’s up to you.

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TAKE HEART

BY ELLA RANDLE

Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate —C.G. Jung

H

OW do we find a place in the Sun? With the promise of the rainbow to keep ones inner light aglow. To discover new confidence and courage, to do whatever we want positively and to make a difference in life. Just look within your heart this very moment and surrender to the beauty of love and truth that has carried you this far. And you will find the rainbow of laughter and joy is within your reach.

SAYINGS OF OUR PEOPLE

I

F you dress anyhow to your mother-inlaw’s house, she will ask you to help pound yam.

While commending the President of the Senate for submitting himself to the jurisdiction of the Code of Conduct Tribunal in the recognition that no person is above the law, I wish to caution that there is need for great circumspection in times such as this in order to maintain proper focus in pursuit of the common good,” he said.

Senate problems influenced by intruders —Saraki In his welcome remarks to senators, Saraki, insisted that his travails in the hands of the anti-graft agency were the handiwork of those he referred to as “powerful individuals outside” the legislature.

“I wish to reiterate my remarks before the Tribunal, that I have no iota of doubt that I am on trial today because I am President of the Nigerian Senate, against the wishes of some powerful individuals outside this chambers.

And to yield ground on this note, is to be complicit in the subversion of democracy and its core principles of separation of powers as enshrined in our constitution. This, in your wisdom, is what you have done by electing me to be the first among all of you who are my equals,” he told his colleagues.

He said the activities of the powerful individuals outside the legislature would not deter him. He vowed that

“On this note, I want to urge you my colleagues to ensure that what is uppermost in our minds as we begin the constitutional task of screening the ministerial nominees is the overall interest of our country, informed by the enormity and the urgency of the challenges before us.

“Once the list is submitted, let us ensure that we treat it with dispatch and thoroughness. We must not be held down by unnecessary politicking.

The enormity of our national challenges at this time does not give room for pettiness or politics of vendetta,” he charged senators.

The Senate President added: "This is an auspicious moment for us to rededicate ourselves to all that will advance our nation, move us closer to the dreams of our founding fathers and to attain our destiny as the greatest nation of the black race on the planet.

“All that we seek for our country is achievable in our lifetime if we all play our part and forsake our old ways. But the least we must do is to ensure that while we are here, we are able to lay the necessary foundation for our children and their children to live a more prosperous life.”

Saraki charged senators to sit up to their constitutional responsibilities, vowing that the Senate under his watch will exercise its functions without fear or favour.

"As we resume today, we must demonstrate clearly to Nigerians that we are prepared to fulfill our mandates and put Nigeria first in all that we do, no matter how we feel about anything else," he said.

Addressing newsmen, after the plenar y, Chairman, Senate Adhoc Committee on Media and Publicity, Dino Melaye, said the Senate was not distracted by actions of some powerful individuals outside the National Assembly.

He said some politicians with selfish ambitions were bent on destroying the

institutions of the legislature, urging senators at yesterday’s plenary to resolve to remain united.

Melaye, who represents Kogi West Senatorial Zone, on the platform of the ruling APC, added that the vote of confidence re-affirmed by 83 of the 108 senators was a confirmation that the Saraki-led leadership of the Senate was firm.

He warned that the Senate would no longer tolerate any action capable of undermining its authority from some senators acting the script of people outside the chamber.

Senator Melaye said the Senate had resolved to do away with its usual tradition of bow-and-go, always being accorded some presidential nominees during screening exercises. He said the screening of ministerial nominees being awaited would be stringent and thorough.

“I wish to use this opportunity to say that the screening of ministers will not be business as usual,the era of bow and go is over,” he added.

Vote of Confidence The vote was sequel to a motion by Senator David Umaru (APC, Niger East), who raised the point of order calling for a vote of confidence on the Senate leadership.

It was the second time in two months that Saraki was getting confidence vote. The motion was seconded by Senator Ahmed Sani Yerima (APC, Zamfara State) and co-sponsored by 81 other senators.

The vote of confidence, which was pursuant to Orders 42 and 52 of the Senate Standing Order 2015 was signed by 48 senators elected on the platform of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and 35 senators elected on the plank of the ruling All Progressives

Congress, APC. Umaru said the Senate would not entertain u n w a r r a n t e d embarrassment that was being served on the senate leadership and would not succumb to cheap blackmail.

Moving the vote of confidence, Senator Umaru said: “Senate notes that the provisions of the 1999 Constitution as amended guarantees the separation of powers and the independence of the legislative arm of government.

“Further notes that the legislative arm of Government remains the mainstay of democratic governance, liberty, freedom, fair hearing, checks and balances and above all the protection of human rights of the citizenry.

“Determined to focus on matters of national interest and importance to the ordinary people of Nigeria and other issues that will enhance their safety, livelihood, social and political well being.

“Further determined to continue to perform its constitutional duties and responsibilities in defence of democracy and the rule of law for the betterment and development of our nation, Nigeria.

“Notes with dismay, the attempt and continued interference in the internal affairs of the Senate by detractors and media propaganda against senators, the Senate and its leadership by selfish politicians.

“Considering the ongoing unwarranted embarrassment and aspersions being cast on the senate and its leadership.

“Determined that the Senate shall not allow itself to be distracted, deterred or succumb to cheap blackmail in the course of carrying out its constitutional responsibilities by any individual or group of people under any

Continues on page 47

6—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

Cleric freed in Rivers, another still in kidnappers den

By Davies Iheamnachor & Jennifer Emengo

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ORT HARCOURT—THE Church of Africa, Rivers State has confirmed the release of Reverend Father, JB Lawson, the clergyman, abducted last Sunday, alongside Reverend Dokubo at Emohua-Kalabari, link road, on their way back from a church function in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The church said the preacher has since reunited with his family.

It did not disclose if any ransom was paid to the abductors to secure his release.

Vanguard gathered that the clergyman was recovered around 7pm, Monday, wandering about along Emohua-Kalabari road, where he was kidnapped, having been dropped off by his abductors.

Vanguard also gathered that it was only Lawson that was released, Monday.

At the time of this report there were no new developments on Rev’d Dokubo.

NSCDC arrests 5 suspected oil thieves in Edo

By Simon Ebegbulem

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ENIN CITY—THE Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, NSCDC, has arrested five suspected vandals with two tankers containing 66,000 litres of crude oil in Benin City.

The Edo State Commandant of the NSCDC, Mr. Chuka Akubuiroh, who disclosed this to newsmen in Benin City, said the suspects were arrested around by-pass area of Benin/Warri highway following a tip-off.

He said the suspects, currently in NSCDC’s custody, would be charged to court as soon as investigations were concluded.

Akubuiroh said the investigation would determine how and where the suspects got the products.

According to the Commandant, the two tankers with number plate ABH 264 XA and ABS 186 XA respectively have been impounded by the NSCDC.

ONE FIRE TOO MANY: Scenes of the early morning inferno that destroyed 90 makeshift buildings in the densely populated Ijora Badia area of Lagos, rendering over 20 families homeless, yesterday.

20 families homeless as fire razes makeshift buildings in Lagos We received over 35 distress calls on fire in one week—LSFS boss

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By Lucky Nwanekwu

AGOS—AN early morning fire yesterday, razed several makeshift buildings in the densely populated Ijora Badia area of Lagos, rendering over 20 families homeless.

The incident brings to 45 the number of fire that had occurred in Lagos in the last one week.

Though, no life was lost in yesterday ’s inferno, said to have been caused by a high tension wire which snapped and fell on one of the buildings, two children of ages six and eight sustained burns.

Report said occupants of the makeshift buildings were jolted from sleep at about 3am, following an alarm raised by one of them.

But initial effort to prevent the fire from spreading to other buildings proved abortive, because of absence of water in the community.

Desperate youths reportedly rushed to a canal close to the community, from where they fetched water to douse the fire.

But before their arrival, the fire had reportedly spread to other buildings, making their mission impossible.

However, when Vanguard arrived the scene, this reporter was greeted by hostility from the affected occupants, who claimed they had been abandoned by government.

The affected occupants further prevented this reporter from taking shots of the scene and even threatened to beat him up should he flout their directive.

It took the intervention of the

community leader, simply identified as Abimbola and three other elders in the community, to calm the agitated occupants.

Vanguard, however, gathered that men of the Lagos State Fire Service, arrived the community when they received the distress call. But they were said to have been unable to gain access there, owing to the deplorable state of the road.

The community leader said: “We do not have water in this

community. A company had to demolish some buildings to erect a borehole. But when this incident happened, there was no water in the tank. The canal from which we got water was supposed to be drainage. But it has not been cleared for four years. Most times, our children fall inside. Two of my children have fallen inside. We are using this opportunity to call on government to pay attention to this community” Efforts to speak to the affected

occupants were met with brick wall as they hurled insults at journalists that came to cover the incident.

However, Lagos State Fire Service Director, Rasaq Fadipe, told Vanguard that the affected makeshift buildings were 90, noting that no life was lost.

Fadipe disclosed that over 35 distress calls were attended to in the last one week, where properties worth several millions of naira were destroyed.

Driver crushes friend after sharing ogogoro in Benin B

By Simon Ebegbulem

ENIN CITY—TRAGEDY struck in Benin City on Monday, as a driver attached to a private firm in Edo State, crushed his friend, Pa Egbe Eghobawaye, to death, after sharing a local gin, popularly known as Ogogoro, together.

The tragedy started when the driver was said to have visited Pa Eghobawaye, who was the Odionwere (oldest man) of Nekpenekpen Street, off First East Circular road in Benin City, and requested for the local gin from the wife of the deceased, who deals in the local gin.

After sharing the Ogogoro with Pa Eghobawaye, said to be in his 80s, he decided to go back to his office, but lost

control of the vehicle and crushed his friend to death, to the surprise of residents of the area.

Angry residents were said to have descended on the driver, but he was rescued by some youths, who handed him over to the Police.

The Odionwere was said to be having a shave in front of his house after the drink with his friend, when the truck driver lost control, and hit him.

Wife of the deceased who witnessed the incident, was said to have fainted, and was rushed to the hospital where she was revived.

Brother to the deceased, Mr. Solomon Omoregie, who spoke to newsmen, lamented that “for a company driver to

kill my brother like this, is very callous. We will not take the law into our hands and we have told our family members not to take any action by burning the vehicle or by killing the man. We want the police to take up the case and do what is necessary” At the time of this report, it was gathered that the Odionwere was buried Monday night following his instruction to his children that his corpse should not be deposited in the mortuary.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Stephen Onwuche, said the driver had been arrested and that investigations were ongoing to ascertain the real cause of the incident.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015—7

Gunmen kill policeman, civilian, cart away LG money in Rivers

By Davies Iheamnachor & Jennifer Emengo

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ORT HARCOURT— GUNMEN yesterday shot dead a police escort and his driver at Waterlines axis of Aba-Port Harcourt Expressway and made away with an undisclosed sums of money suspected to be owned by Oyibo Local Government Area.

The duo were conveying the money contained in a Ghana Must Go bag to the council headquarters when they were ambushed by the gunmen who killed them instantly and made away with the money.

Vanguard gathered that the suspected robbers traced the police van escorting a civilian in possession of the undisclosed amount of money, double-crossed it at a traffic jam along Olu Obasanjo Waterlines link road and killed occupants of the van, before transferring the money into their own car, after which they zoomed off. An eye witness who do not want his name in print, told Vanguard that the armed men were mistaken for Man O War officials, as they were dressed in the group’s camouflage and pretended to be clearing traffic congestion along Olu

Obasanjo-Waterline axis.

According to the witness, the gunmen soon got to the van escorting the money conveyed in a Toyota Camry Salon car and opened fire on the occupants. A source disclosed that the police officer who was taken unawares by the attack could not fire back

in defence.

The source also disclosed that the gunmen targeted the people inside the van before collecting the undisclosed amount of money.

The two dead victims were taken away by the Police. The Police Public Relations Officers of Rivers State police

command, DSP Ahmed Mohammed, who confirmed the incident, said: “We are aware of the incident along the waterlines area. We lost one of our men in the incident. ”The vehicle was conveying some money belonging to Oyibo Local Government Area of Rivers State.”

BREAKDOWN: A falling high tension pole along Ogba-Ijaiye road before Caterpiller bus stop, Ogba, Lagos, yesterday. Photo: Akeem Salau.

FALAE: Police not privy to ransom payment, says IG Adds ransom payment rewards crime

By Kingsley Omonobi & Charles Kumolu

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BUJA—THE Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, said yesterday that the police authorities were not privy to the fact that the family of former Secretary to Government of the Federation, SGF, Chief Olu Falae, who was freed by his kidnappers at Owo, Ondo State last week, paid ransom, saying such payment amounted to encouraging crime.

The IGP also advised families who might find themselves in such situation in the future to desist from paying ransom since it was not a guarantee that the victim would come out alive.

In a statement issued directly by his office, titled ‘RE-RANSOM PAYMENT BY FAMILY OF CHIEF OLU FALAE’ IGP Arase said: “The office of the Inspector General of Police has been inundated with enquiries on claims by Chief Olu Falae and his family that a ransom was paid to his abductors following the kidnapping incident involving him on September 21 and 24, 2015. ”As a law enforcement agency guided by the rule of law and

professional ethics, we do not under any circumstances encourage the payment of ransom to kidnappers or other criminals as it is tantamount to rewarding crime and motivating other criminals to follow that part. ”As such, the police was not in any way privy to any arrangement that would have led to payment of ransom by the elder statesman or his family. For the respected Chief to declare that he paid a ransom is therefore demotivating news. ”Our approach was a professional response to what we saw as a crime against a respected national personality known to embrace peace and who has dedicated his valuable life to selfless service of our nation. ”The Police under the leadership of the Inspector General of Police deployed our unique intelligence and operational capabilities, including Police helicopters on aerial surveillance. ”Our intelligence and operational teams comprising Intelligence response teams (Special Anti-Kidnapping Unit), Conventional and Mobile Policemen were deployed for

rescue operation. ”They followed the path from the point of kidnap at his farm at Ilodo, along Igbatoro road in Akure, and trailed the hoodlums through bushes to Owo in Ondo State. In the process, we were able to identify the major actors and currently, high level Police activities are being emplaced to apprehend and bring them to justice. ”As professionals, it is our conviction that the unprecedented massive deployment of Police resources and men to support search and rescue operation put pressure on the criminals to release the elder statesman. ”This is much so, that history has shown that even when ransom is proven to have been paid, the life or safe return of a kidnap victim may not be guaranteed. The primary interest of the Police in this instance and granted the circumstance of this incident was the safe rescue of Chief Olu Falae which was achieved. ”Whatever the family did as regards the payment of ransom was outside the knowledge and consent of the Police and at this point, we wish to advise that in

future that families who fall victims of such acts should rather work closely with the police component of the rescue initiatives so that we can achieve the primary purpose of rescuing the victim alive instead of wittingly or unwittingly giving the impression of encouraging criminal activity by rewarding criminals with payment of ransom."

Policeman detained for shooting AKTC driver over bribe

By Chioma Onuegbu,

U

YO—THE Nigeria Police, Akwa Ibom State Command, has arrested a policeman who shot a commercial driver working for Akwa Ibom Transport Company, AKTC, for refusing to part with bribe.

The policeman was said to have shot at the driver at a road block along Iwukem road in Etim Ekpo Local Government Area.

The State Police Commissioner, Murtala Mani, who said this during an interview with journalists in Uyo on Monday, disclosed that the command had launched a full-scale investigation into the matter.

Mani, who assured that the policeman would face justice if found culpable, declared that state command would not tolerate any form of indiscipline from the officers, adding that police officers in the command would be accountable for their actions.

The CP, however, revealed that the wounded driver was recuperating from the gunshot injury and was in a stable condition.

He said: “The cases of homicide which was on the rise in Akwa Ibom State has reduced because of the proper synergy between the Police Homicide Department and state anti-robbery squad.

"I urge the people of the state not to worry about the increased presence of Police patrol vehicles on the streets. It is part of the strategy to show the populace of Policereadinesstoensurecrimefree Yuletide."

Funsho Williams: Judge adjourns

further hearing to Oct 24

By Onozure Dania

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AGOS—JUSTICE Rita OfiliAjumogobia of a Federal High Court in Lagos, yesterday, fixed November 24 for further hearing in a suit instituted by one Bashir Junaid, a detainee, over the murder of a former governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Lagos State, Funsho Williams.

The suit is seeking an order to compel the InspectorGeneral of Police to reopen investigations into the murder of the politician.

Listed as defendants in the suit are the Inspector-General of Police, Commissioner of

Police, Lagos State, Mr. Sunday Ehindero, former IGP & IPO to Funsho Williams’ murder case, AttorneyGeneral of the Federation, Mrs Modupe Shasore and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Others are Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Dr. Muiz Banire, Mr. Babatunde Edu, Mr Dele Alake, and Henry Oladele Ajomale.

At the resumed hearing of the matter yesterday, the plaintiff’s lawyer, Tunji Adesheye, urged the court to regularise his client’s counter-affidavit to the preliminary objection of the 3rd defendant in the suit, Sunday Ehindero.

8—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

Boardroom guru, Gamaliel Onosode dies at 82

By Clifford Ndujihe, Dapo Akinrefon, Charles Kumolu, Festus Ahon, Gbenga Oke & Ochuko Akuopha

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FTER battling with bone cancer for almost 24 months, erudite technocrat, administrator and former presidential candidate, Mr. Gamaliel Oforitsenere Onosode, died yesterday in Lagos. He was 82 years.

Confirming the demise of the boardroom guru, fondly called Mr. Corporate Nigeria by admirers, his son, Ese Onosode, told Vanguard on phone: “He passed on this morning (yesterday).”

Asked if the octogenarian had been ill, he said: “Yes, he has been battling with bone cancer for almost two years.”

According to Ese, who said that the Onosode family was yet to reconcile itself with the reality of losing its patriarch, “we are still digesting the information.

I am just trying to get used to the news that my father is no more.”

Anyaoku, Okowa, Adebanjo, Etiebet, others mourn a visionary leader with the knack He battled bone cancer for 2 years—SON for identifying talents. As head then NAL Merchant Bank Nigeria needs more people like him—KOKORI ofof the Nigeria, he brought together dues in this country and we all saw that. God rewarded him with age to cap the unblemished life he led. The last time I was with him at the palace of the king of Ughelli, I never knew it would be our last time together.

“I have regard for him because he was a man of impeccable pedigree. All the times our paths crossed, whether in politics or other areas, his conduct was exemplary. Nigerians should borrow a leaf from the life of integrity he led. I have no doubt that his soul will rest in peace.’’

Gov Okowa’s reaction

Ughelli mourns

Ughelli, the headquarters of Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State, was thrown into mourning when the news of Onosode’s death filtered in at about 9a.m.

Onosode, who hailed from Ekuigbo-Ughelli, succumbed to the protracted illness at about 8.15a.m. in a Lagos hospital.

Vanguard gathered that the one-time Presidential Adviser to former President Shehu Shagari on Budget Affairs and Director of Budget was, on Monday, flown into the country from London, where he was receiving treatment.

Born on May 22, 1933, Onosode was educated at Government College, Ughelli, and the University of Ibadan.

Mr. Corporate Nigeria

He was Chairman, Dunlop Nigeria Plc from 1984 to 2007; Chairman, Cadbury Nigeria Plc from 1977 to 1993; Chairman, Presidential Commission on Parastatals in 1981; Chairman, Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, LNG, Working Committee and Nigeria LNG Limited from 1985 to 1990 and the Niger Delta Environmental Survey in 1983.

He was also Chairman of the GSM telco, Zain Nigeria.

Onosode’s death elicited a torrent of tributes yesterday from various quarters, especially from his Ughelli community in Delta State.

Among those who poured eulogies on him is Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State; former Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku; Afenifere leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo; former Minister of Petroleum, Chief Don Etiebet;

Mr. Gamaliel Oforitsenere Onosode. former Minister of State for Education, Kenneth Gbagi; Speaker, Delta State House of Assembly, Hon. Ovwigho Igbuya; and Chairman of Sadiq Oil, Chief Peter Okocha.

Corporate world Iroko has fallen— ANYAOKU

Reacting to the sad news, Anyaoku said in a statement: “An Iroko in the corporate world has fallen. Mr. Onosode was a true symbol of integrity in the boardroom. He was an outstanding patriot and an icon of the best of Nigeria’s national values. Gam, as he was called by his contemporaries, was also a man of God who deployed a significant part of his righteously acquired resources to supporting the church in his home town of Ughelli and in Lagos, where he lived an exemplary modest life.

“He will be missed by the very many people whose lives he touched in beneficial ways.

Gamaliel was my best man at our wedding almost 53 years ago; my entire family, which enjoys close relationship with his family, joins his wife, Susan, and their children in mourning this virtuous man.

“We thank God for his remarkable and fulfilled life, and pray that his soul will rest in perfect peace.’’

Adebanjo, Aguariavwodo, Etiebet

In like manner, Adebanjo said: “It is a great loss. He was

one of the great minds in Nigeria; a perfect gentleman.

He is one of those that Nigeria needs at this point in time, particularly with the reconstruction of our economy and others.”

Reacting to the sudden passage of the Urhobo-born politician cum-technocrat, Senator Emmanuel Aguariavwodo said the death of Onosode was a colossal loss to the Urhobo nation, Delta State and Nigeria as a whole.

Aguariavwodo remarked: “Nigeria has lost a colossus,” adding that Onosode’s exemplary life style is worthy of emulation.

In his reaction, Chief Etiebet said: “It is very sad to hear that Sir Gamaliel Onosode is dead.

Nigeria has lost a rare gem.

He epitomized, in all respects, what Nigeria wanted to be as a nation.

“We will surely miss him and may his gentle soul rest in peace as we ask for God’s grace to abide with the family to bear the irreparable loss with fortitude.”

Okocha, Gbagi

Also speaking, Chairman of Sadiq Oil, Chief Peter Okocha, said Nigeria has lost a first class intellectual.

His words: “A great Nigerian and Deltan, a wonderful Nigerian and first class intellectual has passed to the great beyond. May his gentle soul rest in peace.”

Gbagi said: ‘’He has paid his

Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, expressed deep shock and sadness over Onosode’s demise.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, the governor described Onosode’s death as a great loss to Deltans and Nigerians in general.

He said the late Onosode was a great Nigerian technocrat, administrator, astute and disciplined politician who had engraved his indelible footprints on the sands of time, having served his fatherland meritoriously in different capacities.

Condoling the people of Urhobo extraction, Okowa pointed out that Onosode’s death came at a time when his service, contribution and ideas are most needed in the present socio-economic and political uncertainties in the country.

He prayed God to grant Deltans and his immediate family the fortitude to bear the loss.

Delta Speaker mourns

Speaker of Delta State House of Assembly, Mr. Ovwigho Igbuya, said the death of Deacon Onosode had deprived Nigerians, particularly the people of Delta State, of the services of one of the most consistent administrators of this age.

A statement by Igbuya’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Henry Ebireri, urged the younger generation of Nigerians to take a cue from the ideals that Onosode lived for, adding “Onosode was a family man that radiated the best of family values.

“In Nigeria, Onosode stood out. He was a rare gem and

bright young men and women, some of whom are today in top banking positions in the country and abroad.

“As a presidential adviser to President Shagari and a former President of the Nigerian Institute of Management, he demonstrated exceptional administrative prowess.’’

Igbuya urged Onosode’s immediate family and the Urhobo people at home and abroad to take solace in the belief that God’s will is unquestionable and must always prevail.”

Emerhor, Ekpoko

On his part, Delta State All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate in the 2015 governorship election, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor, described Onosode’s death as a national loss.

Emerhor, speaking to Vanguard in Warri, Delta State, said anyone mourning Onosode as a loss to Urhobo was limiting history, because Onosode’s positive impact transcended Nigeria’s boundaries.

Emerhor said: “Onosode became an institution in corporate Nigeria by the marks he set in various boardroom capacities and I can proudly say he mentored most of us who came up in the corporate world.

“He tried to come into politics in some sort of way without really hitting the bull’s eye, obviously not for incompetence but because his persona contrasted with the oddities of the murky Nigerian political terrain. We will miss him as a national loss.”

Edward Ekpoko, Chairman, War ri Study Group and Secretary, Itsekiri Leaders of Thought, said of Onosode: “He was somebody Nigeria always resorted to when you need technocrats. I think he was one of the cleanest at his height. His personality exudes transparency.

He is irreplaceable.”

He was naive in politics—KOKORI

For former labour leader, Chief Frank Kokori, Onosode “ was one of those Nigerians who made their marks in business, but were naive in politics. I remember that in the Fourth Republic they used him and he did not really know what was happening.

“He is one of the best Nigeria has produced because it is rare to see people like that. These are people who have integrity. They have honesty and you take them for their words; Nigeria needs such people now.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015—9

PDP Reps halt motion to probe Jonathan

By Emman Ovuakporie

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BUJA—PEOPLES Democratic Party, PDP, members in the House of Representatives, yesterday, frustrated a motion seeking to investigate the administration of former President, Goodluck Jonathan, over alleged nonremittance of about $10 million into the Federation Account by some ministries, agencies and parastatals.

In a motion, Chike Okafor (APC, Imo) alleged that some Federal Government agencies under the Jonathan administration were involved in underhand dealings in tax remittances and unapproved spending of money meant for the Federation Account.

He was, however, cut short in his presentation into the motion by two PDP members, who raised points of order to halt him, hinging their arguments on the technical flaws in his motion as listed on the Order Paper.

‘Infractions’

Okafor, in the motion, alleged that $4 billion paid as taxes and dividends by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited, NLNGL, between 2009 and 2014 did not reflect in government’s account while Jonathan was President.

He also listed in the motion allegations that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, spent $3.8 trillion in three years under the same administration without parliamentary appropriation.

Also, he noted that there were allegations that $2.1 billion was disbursed from the excess crude account without the approval of the National Economic Council, NEC, which were infractions.

He had barely finished reading the first paragraph of his motion when another member, Edward Pwajok (PDP, Plateau), shouted: “Point

of Order ” at the top of his voice to draw the attention of the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara.

In accordance with the laid down rules of the House, which prescribed that Points of Order must be taken at all times when raised, the Speaker yielded the floor to Pwajok to make his contribution while Okafor took his seat.

Point of Order

Quoting several sections of the Constitution and the Establishing Act of the NEC, Pwajok faulted the basis of the motion moved by Okafor, as he insisted that there was no solid foundation to believe what Okafor was raising in his motion as there was nothing tangible before the House on such.

He sought the leave of the House to have the motion stopped from being read and debated on the floor of parliament.

His position was re-echoed by the Minority Leader of the House, Leo Ogor (PDP Isoko, Delta), who was called by the Speaker, as he also raised his voice seeking permission to raise a point of order immediately after Pwajok.

He condemned the motion, arguing that the motion was defective on all sides.

As debate on the motion was going on, some PDP members gathered and discussed in groups, even while the House was in session.

The Chief Whip, Ado Doguwa, drew the attention of the Speaker to the development and asked the PDP members to end the meeting.

The massive opposition from PDP members cowed Okafor to openly withdraw the motion when Speaker Dogara called on him to respond to the points raised

by Pwajok and Ogor.

PRO-SARAKI: Supporters of Senate President, Bukola Saraki, protesting at the National Assembly Gate in Abuja, yesterday. PHOTO: Gbemiga Olamikan.

FAILED BANKS: NDIC pays depositors N102bn

By Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief

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HE Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, NDIC, has paid N101.568 billion to depositors of failed banks in the country.

Managing Director of the corporation, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim, disclosed this yesterday at the ongoing 10th Abuja International Trade Fair in an address delivered by the Deputy Director, Strategy Development Department, Mr. Stanley Balogun.

According to him, the amount represented insured deposits, which stood at N 6.831 billion and uninsured deposits of N94.737 billion, as at the end of December 2014.

His words: “NDIC recorded great achievements in its mandate of deposit guarantee and supervision. As at December 31, 2014, it had paid out a cumulative sum of N6.831 billion insured deposits to

528,277 depositors of 49 closed deposit money banks, DMBs. “The Corporation had paid a cumulative liquidation dividend of N94.737 billion to 250,592 uninsured depositors of 49 closed DMBs as at December 31, 2014.

“Also, the Corporation had

declared in full a final liquidation dividend of 100 percent of total deposits in 14 failed banks out of the 49 closed Deposit Money Banks, DMBs, while payments are ongoing for the depositors of failed micro finance banks, MFBs, and primary mortgage

banks, PMBs. “In the event of any bank failure, each depositor is entitled to a maximum claim of N500,000 per depositor of DMBs and non-interest/ Islamic banks, while N200,000 per depositor of MFBs and PMBs.”

PSC reinstates 15 police officers, dismisses 2

By Kingsley Omonobi

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BUJA—THE Police Service Commission, PSC, has reinstated 15 police officers, while another nine were recalled and retired after the board of the commission considered petitions and appeals from 65 officers, who felt their rights were trampled upon.

Forty-one of the petitions were, however, rejected by the commission for lack of merit.

Regarding disciplinary cases, PSC considered 37 pending cases and approved the dismissal of two senior police officers, retired two others compulsorily and reduced the ranks of another three.

The commission also approved letters of severe reprimand for 11 senior officers, letters of reprimand for eight, letters of warning for three and letters of advice for four, while also exonerating four police officers.

A statement by Ikechukwu Ani, Head, Information and Public Relations, PSC, said: “These decisions were part of the highlights of the 13th plenary meeting of the commission held in Abuja and presided over by its Chairman, Dr. Mike Okiro, former Inspector General of Police.

“The commission’s decisions have since been communicated to the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, for implementation.”

JP Morgan removes half its Nigerian bonds today

By Jonah Nwokpoku, with agency reports

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NITED States’ lender, JP Morgan, will today remove half the Nigerian bonds listed on its emerging markets bond index, the bank stated yesterday, adding that the rest will be removed next month.

The decision, which means investment funds tracking the index will sell Nigerian bonds, adds to upward pressure on national

borrowing costs from a sharp drop in oil revenues.

Recall that JP Morgan said this month it would drop Nigeria from its index, citing lack of liquidity and currency restrictions.

The bank said in a statement that 50 percent of bonds will be removed today as part of its month-end index rebalancing, cutting Nigeria’s weight to 0.79 percent.

The weight of Brazil and South Africa will increase by

0.80 percent and 0.20 percent, respectively.

In 2012, Nigeria became the second African country after South Africa to be listed in the index with a weight of 1.8 percent.

The estimated yield for Nigeria's bonds on the index was quoted at 14.83 percent as of September 25, marking the second highest yield after Brazil at 15.75 percent, the bank said.

Analysts said they expected bond yields to

trade flat after the removal, because domestic buyers have stepped in since foreigners left the market.

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, trying to stop the Naira’s slide, has pegged its rate against the dollar, turning inter-bank trading into a oneway quote market which lack of transparency has upset investors.

JP Morgan said Nigeria would not be eligible for reinclusion in the index for a minimum of 12 months.

10 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

Women in oil firm launch varsities outreach

Assembly dashes Ambode’s hope over commissioners Adjourns without screening nominees

By Ebun Sessou & Amarachi Chukwudi

By Amaka Abayomi

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E M A L E professionals in ExxonMobil Upstream companies in Nigeria, under the aegis of Women’s Interest Network, WIN, have launched a university outreach programme to nurture interest in Engineering and Geosciences careers among female undergraduates.

The Women Interest Network is an organization of female professionals working in ExxonMobil and are present in various locations of ExxonMobil across the globe. Their mission is to facilitate the professional advancement and personal growth of all women at ExxonMobil.

Speaking at the launch at the University of Ibadan, the President, ExxonMobil WIN in Nigeria, Mrs. Toyin Sarumi, said 16 varsities will benefit from the programme which will involve female professionals from ExxonMobil holding lecture sessions with female Geosciences and Engineering students in these varsities.

Benefiting institutions are University of Ibadan, Akwa Ibom State University, Rivers State University of Science & Technology, Federal University of Technology, Effurun, University of Lagos, Federal University of Technology, Owerri and ten others.

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AGOS—GOVERNOR Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State’s hope to swear in members of his cabinet next Monday was dashed yesterday as the members of the Lagos State House of Assembly adjourned sitting till October 13 without screening the nominees.

Ambode last Monday sent a list of commissioner and special adviser-nominees to the House for screening.

However, against the norm, the house set up a 15-man committee that will screen the nominees.

A statement from the governor’s office when the list was sent to the Assembly said the governor was expected to swear in the new commissioners and special advisers on October 5, with the anticipation that the nominees would have been screened immediately after the Sallah holidays.

“The screening of the list is expected to commence immediately after the Sallah holidays while cleared cabinet members would be sworn-in to resume the task of

T

HE Chief Executive Officer of Gem WOMAN magazine, Pastor Bolanle Olawale has called on Nigerian women to be more securityconscious as they are more vulnerable to security threats in the society.

Speaking on the forthcoming Gem WOMAN Body, Soul and Spirit 2015 Conference themed: “A New Song” scheduled to hold tomorrow in Lagos, Olawale said women needed to take notice of their environment and be vigilant to be able to detect the presence of strangers within their environment and avoid falling victims to criminals.

Also, Lagos/West Public Affairs

gover nance by Monday, October 5, 2015,” the statement said.

But on the floor of the Assembly yesterday, the House simply set up a 15-man ad-hoc committee to secretly screen the nominees and make recommendations to the general house.

Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa, immediately after setting up the committee, explained to shocked guests and

NACCIMA says economy sluggish, protests ban of Nigerian products

By Daud Olatunji & Naomi Uzor

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B E O K U TA — T H E Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), yesterday, said, the state of the economy as at the end of middle of September 2015 revealed that the economic

Cleric advises women to be security-conscious Manager of Nigerian Bottling

By Richard Udofia

VISIT: Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (middle) flanked by the Assistant Director, Office of Executive Secretary, Nigeria Christian Pilgrims Commission, Dr. (Mrs.) Ifeoma Unachukwu; Executive Secretary of the Commission, Mr. John Kennedy Opara and others, during the Commission’s courtesy visit to the Governor, at the Lagos House, Ikeja, yesterday.

Company limited, Mrs. Ifeoma Okoye declared its company’s commitment to partner with Gem WOMAN magazine in order to empower women in the country.

Okoye explained that the partnership is made possible because the company identifies with any programme that empowers women, while taking into consideration their security.

“Several statistics in the security world globally has shown that women are most times seen as the weaker gender and a programme coming at a time like this is geared towards empowering women on measures and activities that will go a long way in living a quality life at all times,” she said.

growth of the country has not performed as well as expected and has been sluggish.

In a parley with the media, on review of the state of the economy and the association’s perspective on some trending socio-economic issues, the President of NACCIMA, Chief Bassey Edem, said realistically, contrary to wide expectations, the economy has been sluggish and this is due to the fact that the major policy thrusts of the government, which are expected to drive the economy are yet to be put in place to meet the utmost expectations of the business community/private sector operators.

According to him, one major factor for the sluggishness of the economy could be attributed to the electioneering activities that took the better part of the year and the settling down into office by the new administration.

Meantime, Chief Edem in a speech read by first deputy national President, Iyalode Alaba Lawson at a training programme organised for private sector in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital protested the banning of Nigerian products by European Union.

While speaking with newsmen after the training, Lawson, described the banning of the Nigerian products as untidy.

newsmen at the gallery that the decision to set up the committee, which is not the norm, was collectively taken by the lawmakers during parliamentary meeting.

While the ad-hoc committee to screen the nominees is headed by the Deputy Speaker of the House, Wasiu Eshilokun-Sanni, other members include Deputy Majority Leader, Olumuyiwa Jimoh, Chief Whip, Rotimi Abiru, Deputy Chief Whip, Omotayo Oduntan, Minority Leader, Akeem Bello.

Others are Victor Akande, Lanre Ogunyemi, Rotimi Olowo, Yinka Ogundimu, Mohammed Folajimi, Bisi Yusuf, Oladele Adekanye, Ibrahim Layode, Segun Olulade, and Dayo Fafunmi.

Obasa said the committee would first screen the nominees before presenting its report to the House when it reconvenes on October 13.

The Speaker said the decision to first screen the nominees before they would face another screening by the general House was because the House rules permit the lawmakers to work at their convenience.

However, some lawmakers, who confided in Vanguard even before the sitting said the screening would not take place because the members had some grudges against the governor especially as it seemed the governor was dictating the pace at which they should work.

One of the lawmakers, who pleaded anonymity said the screening would be delayed to send a signal to the governor to stop giving the impression that the House is a rubber stamp.

When contacted, Olulade, who served the seventh Assembly as chairman of the Committee on Information and Publicity, said the screening committee was to ensure proper screening of the nominees.

LEGAL YEAR: Lagos CJ reads riot act to judges, magistrates

By Bartholomew Madukwe

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AGOS State Chief Judge, Justice Funmilayo Atilade, yesterday told judges and magistrates in the state to ensure they sit on time and carry out their duties effectively.

Speaking at a one-day symposium organised by the Human Right Committee of Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Lagos, Justice Atilade also called for co-operation between lawyers and judges in the new legal year.

The Chief Judge was represented at the symposium by Justice Gani Safari.

Chairman of the event, Justice Ibrahim Buba, urged the law enforcement agencies to effect arrest of suspect only after robust investigation.

According to him, with an effective police there is no need for establishment of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC and Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC. Speaking on embarrassment lawyers usually face while visiting police stations, Justice Buba called on counsels to ‘’take back the value of the legal profession’’.

Mrs O. Salami, who represented the Director, Office of Public Defender, Mrs Omotola Rotimi, on her part, noted that some of the challenges they get is financing complainants to a police station.

One of the speakers, Prof. Lanre Fagbohun, pointed out that some causes of violation on human rights is as a result of conflict of law, morals and religion.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 — 11

Ekiti Tribunal affirms Sen Olujimi’s victory

CONDOLENCE VISIT: Fromleft; Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, All Progressives Congress, APC national leader; Rev Tola Oyediran and Prince Rotimi Olatunde Paseda, Unity Party of Nigeria, UPN governorship candidate for Ogun State in the last general elections, during a condolence visit to the Late HID Awolowo's family in Ikenne, Ogun State, yesterday.

By Rotimi Olaleye

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DO-EKITI—THE All Progressives Congress Party’s, APC, bid to take over Ekiti South Senatorial district suffered a setback yesterday, as the Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Ado Ekiti affirmed the victory of Senator Biodun Olujimi of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. The petition filed by the APC candidate, Chief Tony Adeniyi was thrown out by the Tribunal for lack of merit.

The 1st Petitioner (Adeniyi) had based his petition on the claim that Olujimi did not resign from office as board member of the Nigeria Communications Commission, NCC, within the time allowed by law before the conduct of the election.

But in the judgement delivered by a member of the three-man panel led by Justice P.A. Obayi, the tribunal held that Olujimi was not a public officer in the employ of the Federal government as claimed by Adeniyi.

The tribunal said evidence before it showed that Olujimi as a non-executive member of the NCC board on part-time basis was not employed in the public service of the federation as claimed by the 1st petitioner.

Having resolved the first issue for determination, the tribunal said the second question of whether the 1st respondent resigned her appointment as a NCC board member did not arise.

Soyinka is Amosun’s SSA, Media Ibikunle GOVERNOR Amosun of Ogun

State has approved the appointment of a multiple award-winning journalist, Mr. Adejuwon Soyinka as his Senior Special Assistant, Media. The appointment takes immediate effect.

Mr. Adejuwon was until the appointment the Deputy General Editor and member of the Editorial Board of the TELL Magazine, Lagos.

The new SSA Media, whose experience spans over 16 years in the media industry holds a Bachelor of Arts (B.A) in History and International Relations and Diploma in Law from the Lagos State University, LASU, in 2005 and 2000 respectively.

He bagged an Ordinary National Diploma in Journalism and Certificate in Basic News Writing and Reporting from the Nigeria Institute of Journalism in 1999.

How ISIL, Boko Haram can be defeated—BUHARI

By Levinus Nwabughiogu

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EW YORK— P R E S I D E N T Muhammad Buhari has called for more military actions, effective border security, intelligence collection and vigorous policing amongst the countries of the world, saying they were solutions to violent extremism and terrorism currently challenging the world.

He also called for more alertness on the part of governments to prevent further recruitments of young blood in terrorist cells even as he advocated for good governance and adherence to rule of law as specific ways of discouraging people from joining the deadly organizations around the world.

President Buhari’s admonition was contained in a paper titled “Countering ISIL and Violent Extremism” he delivered yesterday at the ongoing 70th General Assembly meeting of the United Nations in New York, United States if America.

The President, who noted that UN and US efforts at containing the rampaging ISIL in the Middle East, stated that the group was posing a threat to international peace and security, opting for more stringent ways of arresting them.

He said: “Nigeria notes with satisfaction the efforts of the United Nations and the rest of the international community to contain ISIL. We certainly need to do more. We need to take military action combined with effective border security, intelligence collection and sharing, and vigorous policing

action.”These alone may not suffice, but they can certainly stem the tide and reverse the process of recruitment, movement and effective operation of foreign terrorist fighters and their associated radical extremists. In order to put in place the critical components of an effective approach to countering ISIL and eventually defeating it, we must address the threat from the source.

“We must find a way to prevent young people from turning to terror in the first place. And the young people that turn to violent extremism do not exist in a vacuum.''

By Daud Olatunji

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BEOKUTA—OGUN State Police Command yesterday, arraigned a blogger, Emmanuel Ojo before an Ogun State magistrate court for allegedly writing a false report against the wife of Ogun State governor, Mrs Olufunso Amosun.

Ojo was arrested last Saturday at Ibara area of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

The accused during the arraignment pleaded not guilty to the eight count charge brought against him in case number MA/430C/2015 .

He was however granted bail in the sum of One Million Naira with two sureties in the like sum.

Chief Magistrate Anthony Araba who presided over the case while granting the bail ruled that the two sureties must be residents within the jurisdiction of the court with landed properties.

The judge also ruled that the sureties should submit the documents of the landed properties with the court.

FG to tackle unemployment through agric, tech – OSINBAJO

By Gbenga Olarinoye

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SOGBO—THE Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, has said that the Federal Government will improve technology and agricultural developments towards providing job opportunities for the teeming youths.

He also said the administration is committed to solving the power problem and encourage small scale businesses as a way of reducing graduate unemployment.

He spoke yesterday at the 10th anniversary, 7th convocation and Honorary Award ceremony of Redeemer ’s University, RUN, Ede, Osun State, where he

Ondo moves to pay July, August salaries

By Dayo Johnson

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Police arraign blogger over Amosun's wife story

KURE—ONDO State government has ordered the payment of July and August outstanding salaries of its workforce out of the over N14 billion received as bailout from the Federal Government.

Consequently, the civil servants in the state have been told to expect payment alerts as from 2pm yesterday.

With the directive of the governor, the 24hour ultimatum given to government to

pay Akure that the state governor ordered the payment following the conclusion of the verification of workers in the government payroll.

Akinmade spoke with newsmen after the State Executive Council meeting (EXCO) held on Monday, which lasted till 7pm.

Meantime, the state government has said that three of the 312 members of the state continent to this year’s Hajj died in the unfortunate accident in Saudi Arabia while seven others are still missing.

admonished the graduating students to imbibe the spirit of truthfulness, credibility and openness, adding that in as much as these qualities are embedded in them, they would succeed and triumph in life.

Osinbajo, who described education as light that illuminates, stated that the road to fulfilment in life is characterized by the ability to strive for quality education.

12—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

A-Ibom House okays N10bn loan for state govt

By Chioma Onuegbu

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YO—AKWA Ibom State House of Assembly has given Governor Udom Emmanuel approval to borrow N10 billion Federal government Excess Crude Account, ECA, backed loan.

According to a statement, yesterday, in Uyo by the Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker, Mr. Mbosowo Essien, the House gave the approval during its plenary on Monday.

The statement said Governor Emmanuel had, in a letter titled, Approval for Akwa Ibom State to Partake in the Federal Government Excess Crude Account, ECA, Backed Loan, sought the approval of the House to obtain a loan of N10 billion to enable him carry out his development plans.

In the letter the governor explained that the Excess Crude Account backed loan offers a single digit interest rate of 9% per annum.

Chairman, House Committee on Finance and Appropriation, Dr. Uso Akpaniusoh, while

moving the motion for the approval, said the N10 billion loan facility would assist the government to embark on industrialisation of the state since the governor had already put in place programmes in that direction.

He explained that the loan was not an ordinary commercial bank loan but a Federal Government

initiative. “The governor knows what is good for the state because of his experience in the financial world. Therefore, I urge this honourable House to give the governor the necessary backing since it is for the benefit of the state,” he said.

Other members who spoke on the loan also expressed confidence in the ability of the governor to manage the

fund well as a financial expert.

In his remarks, the Speaker, Aniekan Uko, appreciated the members for their support and urged the governor to ensure that the fund was used judiciously in developing the state which was indicated in the letter as the main purpose of obtaining it.

DINNER: From left: Prof. Tony Arinze, President-General ICDU; Dr Austin Izagbo, Chairman, Think Tank Committee; his wife, Mrs C. Izagbo; Amb. Ignatius Olisemeka, Chairman of the occassion and his wife, Regina, during a special dinner by Ibusa Think Tank Committe for Community Advancement for Ibusa sons and daugthers in Lagos.

Photo: Shola Oyelese.

EDO 2016: 7 APC gov aspirants battle to succeed Oshiomhole

By Simon Ebegbulem

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ENIN—AHEAD of the 2016 governorship election in Edo State, there are indications that Mr Godwin Obaseki, the chairman of the economic team of Edo State government may have joined the race for the 2016 governorship election on the platform of All Progressives Congress, APC. His entrance in the race will take the number of APC aspirants to seven, five from Edo South senatorial district and two from Edo Central.

Those in the race to succeed Governor Adams Oshiomhole on the platform of APC include the incumbent Deputy Governor, Dr Pius Odubu, Commissioner for Works, Osarodion Ogie, former Minister of State (Works), Dr Chris Ogienwonyi.

Others are former governor of the state, Professor Osarhiemen Osunbor, Mr Kenneth Imasuagbon and General Charles Airhiavbere, (retd).

Obaseki was appointed as Chairman of the Economic Team of the state government

by Governor Oshiomhole, when he assumed office in 2009.

Obaseki is not a known politician in the state, but it was learned that he is being backed by the popular business mogul, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who is a

close friend of Oshiomhole.

Oshiomhole had in May warned the governorship aspirants in the APC to suspend campaigns in order not to disrupt his developmental projects.

But Vanguard gathered that the governor may soon lift the 'curfew' to allow the aspirants commence political activities ahead of the primaries which is expected to hold in March 2016.

NIGERIA AT 55: Nation undergoing rebirth —PETERSIDE

By Gbenga Oke

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IVERS State governorship candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, in the April elections, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has said Nigeria was undergoing a rebirth as the nation marks its 55th independence anniversary, saying President Muhammadu Buhari is

providing leadership, rekindling hope and selfassurance in Nigerians.

In his anniversary message, Peterside said: “As we mark this day, it is important to remember that our journey towards full restoration of our country continues and Nigerians must, therefore, join hands with the Buhari-led government to tackle

corruption, impunity, i n c o m p e t e n c e , unemployment and all the vices that remind us of the sorry story of our recent history. Birthdays are seasons for stock-taking and as we mark our independence anniversary, we must give gratitude to God for creating and sustaining this unique edifice called Nigeria."

Delta youths demand recall of Uvwie LG boss

By Egufe Yafugborhi

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ARRI—YOUTH leaders across four communities in Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State have given the state government seven days to reverse the suspension of the council chairman, Mr. Henry Baro, or be prepared to deal with carnage in the area.

Since August 4 when Delta

State House of Assembly declared Baro suspended over yet unclear wrongdoings, Uvwie council has been under siege by security operatives who restrict movement in and around the council's secretariat, crippling daily administration and creating panic among residents.

The youths' threat to resort to mayhem over the matter was contained in a September 24 letter addressed to HRM, Abe

I, the Ovie of Uvwie and signed by Samson Agboire and others.

The youth leaders who termed Baro's suspension unlawful, accused the Uvwie monarch and his traditional council of indifference to the situation, presuming that such disposition accounted for why the state government had not yielded to calls to rescind the suspension of the council boss.

HAJJ TRAGEDY: 64 Nigerians dead, 240 missing —NAHCON

By Victoria Ojeme

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BUJA—THE National Hajj Commission, has confirmed that Nigerian casualties at the September 24 Muna stampede has risen to 64.

Similarly, as many as 240 Nigerian pilgrims are still missing at the time of filing this story.

In a telephone interview, Mr Uba Mana, the Public Relations Officer of the Commission, said the injured were receiving prompt medical attention.

According to him, a report containing the identities of the victims is on its way to Abuja, in line with the directive from the Presidency to the National Hajj Commission.

He said: “As soon as our medical team finishes treating the injured, we will start airlifting them back to Nigeria."

Gov aspirant vows to liberate Bayelsa

By Dapo Akinrefon

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governorship aspirant in Bayelsa State, Moses Siasia, has pledged to liberate the state from the shackles of oppression, debt and inept leadership.

Siasia, who submitted his nomination form as the candidate of Peoples Democratic Movement, PDM, said his candidature was a movement driven by the people of the state who sought genuine change.

He promised to create thousands of jobs for youths in the state and also make education attractive.

Siasia stated this in Abuja after submitting his Expression of Interest and Nomination Form to the leadership of PDM and was received by the party ’s National Secretary Dr. Ifeanyi Igwe.

Siasia reiterated his commitment to pursue the implementation of policies that would create the enabling environment for employment generation, wealth creation, as well as giving impetus to education, health care delivery, urban renewal, agriculture and industrial development.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015—13

14—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 , 2015

C M Y K

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015—15

CONDOLENCE VISITS TO LATE ONOSODE'S FAMILY

From Left, Mr. Mike Itegboje, Deacon Andrew Onosode, younger brother to late Onosode, and Mr. Gamaliel Ese Onosode, late Onosode's first son, during the condolence visits to late Chief Gamaliel Onosode's family residence, From left, Deaconcess Agnes Onosode, sister in law; Mrs. Henrieta Aganbi, 42, Adelabu Street, Surulere, Lagos. Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi immediate younger sister to late Onosode, and Mrs. Stella Porbeni, niece.

Deacon Onosode, younger brother to late Onosode (left), and Chief Joseph Akpieyi.

From left, Deacon Onosode, Mr. Olutola Mobolurin, Mr. Henry Olayemi, and Mr. Oladipo Aina.

16—Vanguard, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

UWAZURUIKE TO UN: It’s time to carve out

Aisha Buhari speaks at African First Ladies summit

Biafra from Nigeria

By Nwabueze Okonkwo

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A

NITSHA—LEADER of the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, yesterday, gave what he termed as genuine

FRICAN FIRST ladies across the world are in New York to assess and modify effective means of contributing to the Millenium Development Goals and new perspectives on HIV & AIDS. Wife of Nigeria’s President, Aisha Buhari, represented by the wife of the Senate President, Toyin Saraki, at the event, said that in the eye of the current insurgency and the lack of adequate health care for women and children that had been affected by the insurgency and had to live in Internally Displaced Persons' camps, the need for health care became paramount.

She affirmed the need to continually do more, especially in the areas of maternal health and child mortality.

reasons the United Nations should allow Biafra to be separated from Nigeria.

One of the reasons, he stated, was that the population of the former Eastern state, now South East and part of South South that make up Biafra land can currently boast of over 10 million

people, adding that the Biafran people naturally do not share similar culture and tradition with Hausa-Fulani of the North and Yoruba of the South West as to continue to remain together under one country called Nigeria.

According to Uwazuruike, another reason was that

MEETING: Ex-Governor Orji Uzor Kalu (second right), with Chairman, Blue Diamond Group, Mr. Festus Mbisiogu, CRACG, Deputy, Jiang Kaicia, Feng Baixi, and Xu Donsheng, at a meeting in Abuja, on industrialisation and agriculture.

Unemployed graduates threaten oil firms in Abia

By Anayo Okoli

area if the six oil companies operating in the area refused to implement resolutions they claimed to have reached in a memorandum of understanding, MOU, with the oil communities.

Giving October 1, 2015 as their deadline, the unemployed graduates under the aegis of Owaza Graduates Association, said that a seven-point

U

MUAHIA—OVER 200 unemployed graduates from Owaza, the oil producing community of Ukwa We s t Local council, Abia State, have threatened to stop further exploration of crude oil in the

resolution was reached after a meeting with the Department of State Security Service, DSS, and other stakeholders in the community on the 19th of September 2015.

According to Obioma Asonye and Ishmael Nwuju, President and Secretary of the association, respectively, the essence of the resolution was for indigenes of the community to be given

employment opportunities in the various oil companies operating in the area.

They lamented that for over 58 years of oil exploration in the community, no graduate indigene has been given full employment. They claimed that they were being used as casual workers and were dropped at will without any reasonable remuneration.

MASSOB, as a separatist group, had all it takes to run a sovereign state of Biafra, having had enough instruments, structures, flag, currency, coat of arms and defence to assume a status of an existing government.

Uwazuruike, who spoke to newsmen, yesterday in Onitsha, Anambra State, through MASSOB’s Deputy National Director of Information, Mazi Chris Mocha, ahead of the ongoing UN General Assembly, renewed his call on the world body to accord a recognition to Biafra as a sovereign state, just as it did to South Sudan which had been accorded a sovereign status since July 9, 2011.

He recalled that US had classified Nigeria, Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan as failed states which needed to be divided between 2011 and 2015, adding that it was only from Sudan that South Sudan was carved out on July 9, 2011, remaining Nigeria, Ethiopia and Somalia.

He cited examples of carving out of East-Timor with only a population of about 821,000 from Indonesia on May 22, 2002; carving out of Serbia with a population of about 10 million from Montenegro on July 2006; carving out of South Ossertia from Georgia and carving out of Kosovo from Serbia on February 17, 2008.

He wondered why the UN had not been proactive in tackling the knotty problems of the oppressed in Nigeria and asked rhetorically: “is UN waiting till things degenerate into full blown war again or to continue as genocide before they will act?”

Chief OkomayinAkiko is dead NEW CAPITAL BASE: SEC releases list of compliant market

operators

By Nkiruka Nnorom

T

Late Chief OkomayinAkiko

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H I E F ENDURANCE Okomayin-Akiko (nee Ukhanah Jatto-Agu, Igarra, Igarraland, Edo State), is dead, aged 85.

Late Chief Okomayin – Akiko, a community leader, died in Ilorin on August 6, 2015.

She is survived by children, grand children and great-grand children.Final burial ceremony, holds from October 2-4, 2015, at her residence in Igarra.

HE SECURITIES and Exchange Commission, SEC, yesterday, released the list of capital market operators that have complied with the new capital base requirement.

Also released was the list of operators that have applied to reclassify or reduce their functions, as well as those that have opted for merger.

The SEC had set August 31, 2015 deadline for reclassification/reduction of function or mergers and acquisitions by operators that failed to meet up with the new capital base requirement as stated last year, while October 2, 2015 had been set as deadline to de-register operators that

failed to reclassify.

The circular posted on the SEC’s website showed that 384 operators had so far complied with the new capital base requirement.

A total of 36 operators had also applied to reclassify or reduce their function in line with the

SEC’s requirement, while a total of 12 operators have opted to merge with stronger firms.

A total of 144 operators out of the 384 that met the new capital requirement to function as broker/dealers; 85 scaled the deadline and have met the

requirement to operate as corporate investment advisers, 13 succeeded in beefing up their capital to continue to function as registrars, while two operators met the capital requirement to operate as individual sub-brokers.

Also, 61 operators

complied with the requirement to operate as either portfolio manager, fund manager or a combination of both; 58 succeeded in beefing up their capital to function as issuing houses, while 16 were receiving bankers, among others.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 — 17

O

UR obsession with the drama and intrigue of politics has relegated discourse on policy and national development to the background. We all know what Saraki is accused of but how many of us can detail his agenda as Senate president?

What were his plans to reform a body which in the eyes of the average Nigerian, is merely a retirement home for former governors or for privileged, would-be influential Nigerians, all barely present (or awake when they are physically present)?

Yet commentators on social media can list all of the countries where Saraki is rumoured to have a home.

They have, in fact, already begun lists of other senators who they suspect of falsifying their asset declaration forms: if their suspicions are true, we really don’t have a Senate or a House of Assembly for that matter, merely a pack of wolves and co-conspirators.

No wonder, according to some, Buhari believes he is the only non-corrupt member of the political class.

You might say corruption kills Nigerians so discussing corruption cases is a way for citizens to join in tackling the problem. But the sort of discourse we indulge in, in Nigeria, means that we muddle everything up so that, rather than a real discussion to solve a national problem, what we have is voyeurism, making ourselves into mere observers of the scandals of the rich and famous.

Politically connected persons I have often mentioned the attack on education and critical thinking which is at hand in this country: many of us remain incapable of logical thinking and basing our opinions on fact rather than on what pastors, emirs or politically connected persons say.

Allegations of fraud and sleaze make them unreliable narrators, not the sort of characters to be admired.

Furthermore, nothing prepares the average Nigerian to be a responsible citizen, so, should he be elected to public office one day, his behaviour is guided by those before him and he ends up with the same opinions as them, which he never learnt to question or examine.

Instead of this bleak, infuriating picture, I want to imagine Nigeria in the year 2030, just fifteen years on, after the sheriff ’s passage has enabled a new generation of young principled and astute leaders or disciples (they are out there) to emerge.

We live in a country whose founding principles and identity we have remade. We decided to work with our

tprincewill@yahoo.co.uk

Nigeria in the year 2030: A new narrative legacy of greed, inequality and ethno-religious hatred to change the Nigerian narrative of oppression, to finally see, like a post-apartheid SouthAfrica, that ignoring our history cannot make it work for us. We refuse to assert some facts and ignore others: wrong is wrong no matter who does it, we no longer believe there is a statute of limitation on corruption or that getting away with a bad deed in the past, means that it will forever be ignored.

We are educated and intelligent enough to know that a witch-hunt can only exist if indeed plaintiffs are guilty of unlawfulness, so if we want to believe that they are being hunted, it is done for a reason, because they must pay for their crime.

So, no matter who is charged first, charges will eventually extend to all who have broken the law because we now have a society of law and order. We no longer claim to love our youths yet damage their future or to like openness when what we appreciate is the darkness of lies and an uneven playing field.

We are now happy to live together and to go beyond blaming each other for shared wrongs. We accept what we were, a deeply flawed, broken and divided nation because it is key to understanding what we can become.

Not only is the world now aware of the essential part we have to play (and have played), we are so accepting of our ethnically motivated, violence fraught past that this

experience has brought us lessons, contributing to who we are by liberating us from the very conditions which enabled all this.

Nigerians now trust each other because there is nothing to gain from using our resourcefulness for evil, beyond jail time (the sheriff ’s manner of governance was effective in restoring order and sanity).

Our worship (and those who conduct it) no longer teach us to be afraid of our shadows or to impoverish ourselves so that members of any self-appointed clergy

Governor

can live in luxury. We have real values. Not just religious ones, but a real code of conduct, an inner moral system that dictates the same rules of behaviour for everyone and not just those who can afford to sit in the front row at church.

Every citizen lives a decent and humane life with all the basics modernity has to offer: a toilet, water, food, sleeping without fear. We pay taxes: public hospitals and schools function. We can buy Nigerian, from our food to our clothing because it is affordable and worth our

while. It is possible to work and achieve the most incredible dreams. We are both rigorous and ethical because it now pays to care about your fellow man. Our restructured institutions now fight dehumanising actions rather than protect them. It is a crime to marry a child.

Most of all, those with the privilege of being called to serve, do so, not at our expense but to our benefit.

Living wage By 2030, all the thieves might not be in jail, but we are educated and enlightened enough not to defend their illegally obtained luxuries. In fact, they are publicity shy and forgotten because journalists now earn a living wage. The few we couldn’t catch or shame into oblivion have reinvested their money into legitimate businesses so that it now serves to employ and empower Nigerians. This is Nigeria in 2030. None of this is impossible if we allow the courts to do their job and refrain from defending those whose actions have been to our detriment. Then, we will have a country again.

Mimiko

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NLIKE his Ekiti state counterpart, Ayo Fayose, he is more restrained in his discourse and is yet to compare any past president to Jesus Christ. However, his utterances at the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) founder, Dr. Fasehun’s birthday celebration were puzzling. He reportedly said that the Yoruba felt safer being protected by the OPC (an organization outside state control) than the police.

If the OPC is about protecting Yoruba people then what about other ethnic groups? Are they less worthy of protection? Is there a reason why the police, there to serve all Nigerians, can’t be supported and empowered to do its job, to protect every citizen irrespective of ethnic origin?

Nigerian public office holders often don’t realize the danger or lack of logic behind some

•Governor Mimiko of their statements. Governor Mimiko described Fasehun, the founder of an ethnic militia as “detribalized”.

Why do we need ethnic militias in the first place, if not to wreak havoc, much like the OPC did in Mushin and other Lagos areas by warring with Hausa communities in the early 2000s? But in a

gathering that also comprised of Maj. Hamzat Al-Mustapha (retd), former Chief Security Officer (CSO) to Sanni Abacha, one can hardly be surprised that the celebration’s objective, to build bridges between ethnic groups, was both missed and woefully misunderstood.

Disqualification of judges By 2030, all the thieves might not be in jail, but we are educated and enlightened enough not to defend their illegally obtained luxuries

T

HE EFCC is a p p a r e n t l y seeking the disqualification of a judge (even if it’s just from handling all its future cases) that granted Stella Oduah the equivalent of perpetual immunity from all investigation.

A thief in a village market is stoned to death before regular courts or before the police can even get involved.

Such barbaric actions are condemnable (yet nothing is

done about them). Instead, some other persons are

EFCC chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde

placed above the law.

In the Nigeria of 2030, all politicians know it is better to clear one’s name in court than to leave a shadow of doubt as to one’s good intentions.

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

18 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 FOLLOWING the invasion of the den of the Boko Haram terrorist group by the Nigerian armed forces and the steady recovery of territories illegally occupied by them, we had called attention to the need for greater vigilance, not only by the military and security agencies but also by the entire citizenry.

We had warned that the terrorists were likely to resort, once again, more increasingly to asymmetrical warfare, such as suicide bombings, invasion or infiltration of internally-displaced persons camps and staging coordinated gun attacks on crowds of innocent Nigerians, especially in markets, motor parks and places of worship.

The recent gun attack on the office of the Department of State Services by gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram fighters in Lokoja, Kogi State, was hardly surprising.

Kogi has always been a place of interest for Boko Haram. In that encounter, a policeman was shot dead while official reports had it that three terror suspects were killed. There were also unconfirmed reports that some detainees were set free by the hoodlums.

Tighter Security For Detention Centres What happened in Kogi was regrettable though predictable. With reports of terrorists losing territories, their fighters “surrendering” in large numbers and logistic supply lines being cut off by the troops, they would naturally come into the populace and attempt to stage jailbreaks to replenish their dwindling store of fighters. This is a wake-up call on our military and security agencies to be on the red alert and battle-ready to respond to threats that may arise around the holding facilities.

It will not be out of place for the federal government and the military to replicate the

civilian joint task force (Civilian JTF) experiment in the North East in other parts of the country, especially in areas where Boko Haram suspects are being held. The task of keeping the enemy at bay and apprehending them before they cause havoc is a collective responsibility and should never be abandoned to the military alone. But the civil populace can only key into it when the government provides the platform and strategy for its actualisation.

It is surprising that years into our war on terror, very little is being heard about efforts to bring captured Boko Haram fighters to book. Chad, which only started experiencing Boko Haram attacks a year ago has already convicted and brought many of the terrorists in their custody to book through public executions. It is important to set a similar example here in Nigeria and make it clear that we have zero tolerance for those who seek to destabilise the nation and reduce its innocent people to refugees in their own country.

We must be more vigilant and decisive in the war on terror.

OPINION Saraki: Igbokwe's ramblings

By Nwobodo Chidiebere “It is well known that in political war, the first casualty is the truth—that during any war, truth is forsaken for propaganda.” Harry Browne HEN the news of Senate President Bukola Saraki’s summon by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) first hit the airwaves, many unsuspecting and gullible Nigerians celebrated it as strident anti-corruption war.

Yet some discerning minds saw it as a witch hunt given the Senate president’s well-known disagreement with his party, the All progressives Congress (APC) over the office he occupies and the constitution of the Majority of principal Officers of the Senate. While the party gave a long list of Senators that must be named Principal Officers of the majority party in the Senate, Saraki chose to go along with the tradition where the party only zones offices to geopolitical zones, but allow Senators and Reps from those zones to elect their preferred candidates. The preponderant opinion today, therefore, is that Saraki became the ‘most corrupt Nigerian ever’ the day he went against the whims of a club of overbearing club leaders who felt that Nigeria belongs to them.

The presidency’s denial through Garba Shehu has failed to impress Nigerians because this is a typical case of the witch crying at night and the child found dead

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in the morning. For instance, the President has not met with the Saraki-led Senate leadership months after their election. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is also after Mrs. Toyin Saraki and another head of one of the Sarakis’ business concerns.

As Nigerians were still pondering over the persecution of Senator Saraki by those who are bent on annexing the National Assembly to enlarge their political empires from Lagos and Kaduna to Abuja, entered the APC State Publicity Secretary in Lagos, Joe Igbokwe, into the fray with a piece “No Tears for Saraki”.

Although his obvious mission was to protect his political servitude to the dynasty of the CEO of Lagos State Incorporated, he inadvertently exposed the hypocrisy of the so-called ongoing antigraft war. Igbokwe is the spokesperson of the Lagos State Chapter of the APC, a principal partner in the already ill-fated

How much of the APC's so-called ‘Master Plan’ went into the lopsided appointments by Buhari into key offices?

Saraki-must-go campaign, yet many Nigerians would easily adjudge his State branch of the APC as the unofficial Headquarters of corruption where two boreholes cost a whooping N139 million, Governor’s website costs a mindless N78 million.

But even more important, Joe Igbokwe confirmed the widely-held witch-hunt theory in the Saraki saga. Igbokwe wrote in his venom-filled, hate-driven, crude language piece: “APC does not want Bukola Saraki as the Senate President and neither does APC want Ekweremadu as the Deputy Senate President. Saraki has caused enough implosions within the party…. He has slowed down the Party’s machinery from taking off smoothly, and he has portrayed us as a weak party. Now is the time for him to go. Saraki has no choice than to go otherwise he will have himself to blame. Again if Bukola Saraki feels his hands are tightly glued to the exalted seat of the Senate Presidency and therefore cannot be removed, APC may be compelled to tear or cut his hands off, so that the National Assembly can move forward”.

Hmmm! What other evidence do we need? This fully confirms Saraki’s remarks in the witness box that his party docked him because he became Senate President against their wish, but in line with the wish of overwhelming majority of the Senators who elected him. Has the PDP not been absolutely that full, anarchy had been unleashed on the land, and that the independence of the legislature, not Saraki

was on trial?

Igbokwe also wrote: “Saraki and his gang of forty thieves devastated the master plan of our great party to choose the right people to serve as the Principal Officers in the National Assembly”.

Could Igbokwe tell us how a political party with a slim majority in the Senate impose its so-called ‘Master Plan’ on the National Assembly that comprise of Senators elected from other parties? Does this Igbokwe and his co-travellers know the difference between a National Assembly of Nigeria and National Assembly of APC? How much of the APC's so-called ‘Master Plan’ went into the lopsided appointments by Buhari into key offices?

In continuation of his vituperations and exposure of his ignorance of the Law, he said: “What Senator Saraki did is unheard of in the history of Party politics. Saraki made the world to believe that APC leaders are unprepared for the task of governing this country. Saraki’s inordinate ambition at once put a question mark on the capacity of leaders of APC to drive leadership in Nigeria. Saraki tried to prove to the whole world that he is smarter than all the leaders of APC put together. Saraki ignored 51 APC Senators who were in a meeting and went to do business with 49 PDP Senators, a party APC just defeated after sixteen years of bloody struggle.

Continues tomorrow on pg 18 •Mr. Chidiebere, a political analyst, wrote from Lagos.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015—19 —19 Send Opinions & Letters to: opinions1234@yahoo.com

Buhari’s dilemma: Nigerians’ anxiety

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RESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari seems in a dilemma.

Perhaps by the time you are reading this the ministerial list would have been released. But less than 48 hours to the September deadline he gave himself to name his ministers, Buhari appears to be in a fix naming the men and women, who as ministers, would assist him in the process of governance. It is not customary for an elected executive in Nigeria to ‘go slow ’ about making appointments, especially the appointment of ministers, commissioners and other paid hands. It is often one of the ways through which pork is shared out to those whose support ensured the success of the person making the appointment. In other words, appointing people into offices after an election is a way to ‘settle’ members of a political family and their supportersgodfathers, royal fathers, business people and even heads of brigand groups whose management of violence ensured oga’s victory. This process can many times be dogged by controversy, but this is mostly about who deserves to be rewarded and to what extent.

It is never the case that the one who makes the appointment

behaves in a way that suggests that he is either unwilling or reluctant to do so.

Aside giving the executive making the appointment the clout of a big man and power to play God for a moment over other people’s future, making appointments like these is often like a walk through a park. It is one of the easiest and sweetest ways to exercise executive powers by Nigerian politicians.

And there are literally thousands of such appointments to be made by a president. But here is a President Buhari seemingly making so much ceremony out of the process, or simply hard put releasing a list of just about forty Nigerians to occupy the office of ministers. If what we hear is correct, the number of ministerial appointments might even be considerably lower.

Could this be the reason Buhari is hard put to name his men and women of ‘timber and calibre’?

The constitution demands that the president names at least one minister from each state of the federation. But since ministerial appointments and indeed persons so appointed have been positively identified as one of the means through which public officers abuse the powers invested in their office, it has

become imperative to find a way to redefine the nature and number of these appointments.

This Buhari has promised to do.

At least so Nigerians have been told by some of his handlers.

The number of ministers is to be reduced, we hear, to probably less than thirty in a country with 36 states.

To take care of the shortfall in number of ministers, some states will have to make do with ‘ministers of state’. This category of ministers in previous dispensation were seen as of inferior status to others without the ‘of state’ tag. They were therefore sometimes called junior ministers, an idea that was lent credence by the fact that many ministries with named ministers of substantive status still had ministers of state whose job description is nowhere different from that of their so-called senior colleague.

It was a foolish way to waste resources and Buhari would have none of it. He has therefore proposed to erase the ‘senior ’ and ‘junior ’ minister dichotomy. A minister is a minister simple. But why does

But whatever are his reasons, with Buhari the beautiful ones are not yet born

Beyond the new terminals

By Francis Ewherido

I

AM not an aviation or tourism expert; I am just a concerned Nigerian. So excuse my ignorance. The sights of new terminals coming up at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos; Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja and three other international airports gladden my heart and I guess the hearts of other concerned Nigerians. The government of President Muhammadu Buhari is also desirous of establishing a new national carrier. It will be wonderful to see planes with our national emblem nestling in airports across the world just as we see those of other African airlines - South Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt, Morocco, Kenya and even Rwanda. But while planning or working on those major projects, there are currently some minor details begging for attention.

One, the Lagos International Airport is not user-friendly. Getting to the airport is war.

The major road leading to the airport is an eyesore and a national embarrassment. It is dirty, in a poor state and the traffic jam at certain times of the day is unbearable. We were taught in our Public Relations, PR, class long ago that PR means putting your best foot forward. This road is anything but putting our best foot forward. There is enough space for expansion. So as a matter of urgency, the road should be expanded to 10 lanes, five lanes each way. Let at least two lanes each go to and from the airport while the remaining lanes are for traffic going to the local airport and those going to Ajao and its environs. Flyovers should be

built at the intersections where vehicles currently turn. The proposed road should be well beautified and should be of international standard.

Second, in well-organised climes there are designated areas where you get a train, rent a car or get transportation out of the airport. The cacophony and large crowd you see after jumping the hurdle of customs at arrival is enough to scare the life out of travelers, Nigerians and foreigners alike. In fact, you see fear and anxiety boldly written on the faces of travelers who did not make prior transportation arrangements. It should not be so if we want to make our airports regional hubs or Nigeria a tourism destina-

The Lagos International Airport is not user-friendly; getting to the airport is war; the major road leading to the airport is an eyesore and a national embarrassment

Buhari continue to dither on announcing his ministers?

Buhari’s failure to follow tradition by setting up his cabinet within days or a couple of weeks after inauguration is perhaps the major reason he is derisively called Baba-go-slow.

Many (by no means all his critics) have argued that his failure to name ministers shows he lacks policy direction and is unprepared for office. It sends wrong signals to investors who have no sense of where his government is headed. Rather than ‘hit the ground running’, they say, Buhari appears overwhelmed and is unable to respond to the demands of his office. The presidency has told us Buhari met so much rot in place that he needed to take one step at a time to move forward.

He promised to name his ministers not later than September. Many apparently didn’t expect that September date to come at the tail end of the month. They were therefore anxious to know what the delay was about. Many also appear genuinely worried that the president might want to renege on his promise to name his ministers in September.

Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, has told anxious Nigerians what we all know: that September does not end until midnight of the 30th day.

Which should satisfy all for now, I hope. But the impression the presidential delay gives one is that the president must, for whatever reason, truly have found it difficult to name his ministers.

After much controversy, accusations and outright insults thrown at this administration on the matter, the decision to name ministers didn’t have to come to the wires as it has. Or how long does it take to compile a list of names and have security checks conducted on them? Are the

tion. The transportation system around the Lagos airport needs overhauling.

Third, the Lagos International Airport terminal is better than it used to be, but it is still a far cry from international standard.

The place is stuffy; the air conditioning is poor. You do not need the toilet signs to know the location of some of the toilet, the stench coming out does. Some of the toilet components are broken down; there is scarcely tissue paper to use or serviette to dry your hands after washing them. The electronic hand dryers that were installed a few years ago are not functioning. Meanwhile, the workers saddled with the responsibility of cleaning these toilets are sitting nearby, idling and chatting away. And you wonder, what about their supervisors or the people the supervisors report to? Shouldn’t somebody be moving around checking to ensure things are being properly done?

Fourth, I do not know if any escalator is working at the Lagos International Airport.

Using the airport is a nightmare for those who come in wheelchair or are physically or health-challenged. I had a taste of it three years ago and nothing has changed. What exactly does it take to fix an escalator?

Fifth, the airport seems to suffer from absence of maintenance culture. You notice it as the plane is landing. The Murtala Mohammed International Airport sign looks dirty and poorly maintained. The spark you saw in the airport you departed from is not there. This is not just about quality, there is a monumental lack of maintenance and attention to details. There are broken down facilities, dirty walls and the atmosphere is not welcoming.

Sixth, our Immigration personnel have

potential appointees, definitely party packs and supporters- are these people in Buhari’s view unfit for public office?

It seems that Buhari is satisfied to work without ministers which, aside being odd in the extreme, some claim is a sign of the dictator in him. He has already made some curious appointments (of persons he thinks would get the job done), like appointing an ex-military man, Hameed Ali, into the career position of Comptroller of Customs. Perhaps, he is concerned about the controversy that might throw up, otherwise Buhari probably would have wanted to govern with persons other than such political appointees designated ministers. Perhaps, he would rather have his ministers serve on a part time basis? Have them subordinated to permanent secretaries with whom he appears to have enjoyed working these past months? Or be able to sack them and appoint others without having to go through the long process of seeking legislative approval?

As our president is as tightlipped and inscrutable as he chooses to be, one could speculate on and on. But whatever are the reasons for the delay, it appears Buhari needs more time to name his ministers or he would rather not appoint them at all. As to why that should be so, only Heaven knows. May be those available for the position have either been morally encumbered by their past or are simply not of the right temperament for him. Yet, he should remember these appointments are not ‘once and for all’. He can always make changes along the line.

Perhaps, it’s these changes that he wants to avoid. But whatever are his reasons, with Buhari the beautiful ones are not yet born.

improved. Arrival formalities are swift and I have not noticed any extortion of money from travelers recently. But the carousels (conveyor belts) are a different matter.

Sometimes it takes up to an hour to get your entire luggage after immigration formalities.

This is not good enough. In other airports, by the time you are done with immigration formalities, your luggage is out. The whole process of getting luggage from the aircraft to the carousels needs to be automated.

Not only Immigration, but other airport personnel have improved. They are more courteous. It is also now possible to pass through (departing or arriving) the Lagos airport without greasing palms. Anybody with a contrary experience is either a mugu or is a possible suspect. But we are not there yet. I still suspect a suppressed desire to extort. The new orientation must continue until airport personnel do their work professionally without expecting or demanding gratification.

Seventh, the system of opening travelers’ luggage by Immigration, NDLEA and Customs during check-in formalities must also stop. In airports abroad, luggage is scanned and it is only those with suspicious items that are physically inspected.

By and large, I will say we are making progress. But things can be a lot better. The situation at the nearby local wing, MM2, which is privately run, is a pointer. At MM2, virtually everything, including toilets, parking lot and escalators, works. Some people just need to sit up and do their work at the international wing.

Mr Ewherido, a public commentator, wrote from Lagos

20 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY,

SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

SCOURGE OF TEENAGE PREGNANCY:

A first lady’s shining light in a dark tunnel

By Chioma Onuegbu, Uyo

T

EENAGE or adolescent preg nancy is one of the social issues rampant in most parts of Akwa Ibom State. In fact, the incidence has degenerated to a level where people no longer see it as a problem but rather have come to accept it as a way of life.

In other words, little or no regard is given to its attendant negative effect on the development and well-being of the adolescent girl such as dropping out of school, abandonment, exposure to prostitution and other forms of delinquency/ anti-social behaviours.

Accordingly the high prevalence rate in the state has been blamed on the mindset of the people towards the incidence coupled with some other factors such as lack of parental care, neglect, poverty as well as the ‘wanna-be factor’ on the part of most vulnerable teenagers.

Vanguard Metro, VM, gathered that teenage pregnancy rate is usually on the increase in the months of May after the Easter celebration and January after the Christmas celebration when most vulnerable girls are lured to bed by rich men in exchange for huge sums of money and expensive material gifts.

Unenviable development According to the recent Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, NDHS report, the adolescent pregnancy rate in Akwa Ibom State is estimated at 17 per cent, which means that nearly one in five adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 in the state is either pregnant or has had a child.

The good news at the moment is that the unenviable development which recently assumed a disturbing dimension is currently attracting the attention of the state government which has vowed to stem the ugly trend. It is in this regard that the first lady, Mrs. Martha Udom Emmanuel, recently launched a pet project to frontally tackle those acts and offenses that have contributed and sustained the lingering incidence in the state.

Speaking during the formal inauguration of the Family Empowerment and Youth Reorientation Programme, FEYReP, last week in Uyo, Mrs Emmanuel expressed her readiness to conC M Y K

sult and to seek the support of the state legislators to tackle all forms of gender-based violence and acts meted on the girl-child.

Citing the adage, prevention is better than cure, she informed thus: “One of the major focuses of FEYReP will be on how to prevent teenage pregnancy.

Some of these girls are victims of rape and other forms of gender-based violence. According to the 2012 Gender in Nigeria Report, one in every three girls aged 15 to 24 experience violence.

“This is one challenge that I am ready to consult and discuss with our legislators at the state level. We cannot go on to condone the stigma and culture of silence that allows such acts to go unabated and the perpetrators go unpunished.

“At the Beijing World Conference for Women, the US first lady Hilary Clinton summarised the matter in these words: ‘These abuses have continued because for too long the history of women has been a history of silence’”.

Continuing she revealed that her project team has already embarked on a random baseline survey of the incidence, causes and nature of the problem in all the 31 local government areas with the findings well documented that will inform a rigorous intervention effort in the days ahead She, however, solicited for partnership to enable her actualise the objectives of her project saying: “The challenges before us

The adolescent pregnancy rate in Akwa Ibom State is estimated at 17 per cent, which means that nearly one in five adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 in the state is either pregnant or has had a child

*Mrs. Emmanuel presenting an item to a beneficiary of her programme

*Some of the equipment presented to empower some youths are enormous. We cannot do this alone. This, therefore, calls for partnership and whenever you contribute to programmes targeted at the weaker and more vulnerable groups the benefit goes beyond the direct target of your support.

“The Bible says ‘Give and it shall be given unto you’; such giving goes beyond money and material things. You can give your time, energy, knowledge, skills and prayers.

“We will approach our interventions as an investment in the society for which we expect to reap Social Returns on Investment in the form of reduced incidence of adolescent pregnancy, lowyouth related violence, cultism, reduced rates of drug and alcohol abuse, improved educational achievements, reduced maternal infant/child mortality and morbidity.

“Our youths represent an immense reservoir of social, political and economic energy, and the longer we leave that potential untapped the harder it will be for us to achieve our bigger goals as families and as a state”.

The objectives of FEYReP, according to her, include to create a platform to showcase successful families, to empower women to provide economic and emotional support to their families, to advocate for the prevention o

teenage pregnancy and education of the girl-child, create platform for promoting moral values in youths and support government effort towards sustainable development.

In her remark, the Chairman of the occasion, Dorothy Ufot (SAN), described the project objectives as life-touching and commended the vision of the first lady to nip in the bud the worrisome girl-child issue which has remained a serious social challenge in the state over the decades.

Some of the prominent present and past leaders in the state, including the former deputy governor, Lady Valerie Ebe, in their goodwill messages, expressed the conviction that the project would realise the set objectives for the benefit of the targeted groups.

Targetted groups The immediate past first lady, Mrs. Unoma Akpabio, lauded her successor for the vision and stressed the need for the project to be sustained throughout the tenure of the administration.

Taking his turn to speak, Governor Mr. Udom Emmanuel described the programme as well thought out, timely and appropriate. He added thus: “The Pro-

gramme ably situates in our overall blueprint of supporting people across ages, gender and traits. To live a happy and productive life, this pet project... has come as a soothing balm and as a stitch to the patches of different homes. I, therefore, implore you to work like Florence Nightingale and shine your lamps to the appropriate homes. Whether it is health matters, charity or spiritual needs, we should meet all at the point of their needs and that is the main thrust of this government”.

However, Mr. Saviour Akpan, Executive Director Community Policing Partners for Justice, Security & Democratic Reforms, COMPPART, expressed worry that government always lack the political will and policy direction to effectively implement such programmes and policies.

Succeeding in the project “She has to work on changing the mindset of the opposite sex (men) towards protective sex, like the use of condom. Past efforts by government to address this issue failed because of lack of political will. Unfortunately in Akwa Ibom State, politicians are the ones who often lure these young girls to their hotels rooms, spoil them with money and gifts. So the governor’s wife must be ready to tackle these issues if she must succeed in this project,” he stressed.

The inauguration which formed part of the week-long activities that marked the 28th anniversary celebration of the state’s creation also featured the presentation of various empowerment items ranging from hair dressing equipment, sewing machines, barbing salon kits, KVA generators worth millions of naira to over 40 Akwa Ibom youths.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2015

— 21

keynote address emphasized the imperative of adopting effective risk management by MFB operators to drive growth in the sector, sustain profitability and boost access to finance especially to Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises, MSMEs. Represented by the Director, Asset Management, NDIC, Alhaji B. D Umar, he said: “MFBs must be aware that risk management is a continuous process which should have its own champions within the organization. The Board of Directors and Management must play active part in the process. The advantages of an effective enterprise risk management framework include: Eligibility factor to access the MSMEs Fund of N220 billion for on- lending and provision of financial advisory services to MSMEs.

Financial advisory services

WORKSHOP - From left: The Executive Director, Institutional Banking of First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Mr. Femi Bakre; the Divisional Head, Human Resources and Change Management, Felicia Obozuwa; UK’s Most Prestigious Television Media Award Winner/Guest Speaker, Mr. Inigo Gilmore and the Bank’s Group Head, Corporate Communications, Uchenna Mojekwu, during a media parley/workshop organised for Online Journalists by FCMB in Lagos.

‘Undercapitalisation threatening Microfinance Banks’

By Jonah Nwokpoku

D

IRECTOR, Other Financial Institution Supervision Department, OFISD Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Alhaji Ahmed Abdullahi, has identified undercapitalisation as the greatest impediment to the growth of microfinance banks in Nigeria.

He stated this yesterday in Lagos at a one day sensitization workshop themed: ‘Deepening the practice of microfinance

banking through effective enterprise risk management’ organised by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, NDIC for operators of microfinance banks in Lagos.

He said, “Microfinance banks are facing a lot of challenges. They are generally undercapitalised and this hampers effective risk management. At the moment, their non performing loans are growing beyond regulatory requirements. This has implications on their capital assets and liquidity as banks. The industry in general

is making losses and no business can survive without being profitable.”

According to him, one of the greatest challenges is the overheads (of most of the microfinance banks) because they are mimicking commercial banks.

He said MFBs should therefore reexamine their business models because they do not have the kind of opportunities that commercial banks have.

Also speaking, the Managing Director of NDIC, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim in a

Effective risk management implementation assists MFBs to respond to risks; Guarantees lenders, depositors and other stakeholders’ peace of mind in the period of rapid changes. It promotes profitability and supports corporate governance and objective decision making.”

He added: “MFBs should be interested in enhanced risk management standards because their loan portfolios are on a variable rate and therefore sensitive to Monetary Policy Rate fluctuations. For instance, an increase in. the interest rate could make micro-loan repayment difficult.

Furthermore, new loans could become less attractive for small borrowers due to affordability pressures. Therefore, MFBs should be able to assess borrowers’ capacity and willingness to continue with loan repayments in the case of an interest rate rise. A lack of thorough and effective assessment of market risk could have devastating impact on banks.”

IMF advocates regulation to protect banks from corporate failures

By Babajide Komolafe

T

HE International Monetary Fund yesterday called for stronger financial

122.25

3.10

$3,173.00

-69.00

$12.00

0.25

48.36

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

BUYING 196 297.6456 218.932 200.1225 1.6322 0.314 274.0086 30.7732 52.2597 274.8312 29.3453

0.02

0.95

CENTRAL 196.5 298.4049 219.4905 200.633 1.6364 0.324 274.7076 30.8521 52.393 275.5323 29.4201

197 299.1642 220.049 201.1436 1.6406 0.334 275.4066 30.9311 52.5263 276.2334 29.495

CBN Exchange Rate as at 29/ 09 /15

C M Y K

regulation to protect banks from corporate failure.

This was one of the recommendations made by the Fund in its Global Financial Stability Report issued yesterday.

The report warned that emerging markets should brace for a rise in corporate failures as a debt-bloated firms struggle with souring growth and climbing borrowing costs.

It noted that the easy money policy pursued by central banks around the world in response to the global financial crisis has occasioned a huge rise in corporate debts in emerging economies.

Then, emerging markets were the drivers of global growth. Developing-country firms quadrupled their borrowing from around $4 trillion in 2004 to well over $18 trillion last year, with China accounting for a major share.

Now, prospects in industrialising economies are weakening fast even as the U.S. Federal Reserve is getting set to raise interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade, a move that will raise borrowing costs around the world. The burden of 26% larger average corporate debt ratios and higher interest rates come as commodity

prices plummet, a staple export for many emerging-market economies.

Compounding problems, many firms borrowed heavily in dollars. As the greenback surges against the value of local currency revenues, it makes repaying those loans increasingly difficult.

That massive debt build-up means it is “vital” for authorities to be increasingly vigilant, especially to threats to systemically important companies and the firms they have links to, including banks and other

Where needed, insolvency regimes should be reformed to enable rapid resolution of both failed and salvageable firms

financial firms, the IMF said.

“Emerging markets should also be prepared for the eventuality of corporate failures,” the fund said. “Where needed, insolvency regimes should be reformed to enable rapid resolution of both failed and salvageable firms.”

Besides the petroleum sector, where borrowing didn’t anticipate the nosedive in prices, the construction industry is particularly exposed to the changing business climate, the IMF said.

Worried about the building risks, investors have been selling out of many emerging markets, pushing down equity and exchange-rate prices, and pushing up borrowing costs. That market turmoil is exacerbating their economic woes.

In Latin America’s six largest economies, for example, the average growth rate has fallen from 6% in 2010 to around 1% this year. Brazil’s central bank last week said the country’s recession is far worse than expected.

To help guard against building risks, the IMF said policy makers should introduce stronger financial regulations such as higher cash buffers for exchange-rate exposures and conduct stress tests to weed out problem firms.

22 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 We have shown seriousness and commitment to paying claims which is the essence why we are in business because we believe that any insurance company that is worth its salt should be seen to be paying claims

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Insurance sector to institute own committee

T

HERE are indications that the National Insurance Commission, NAICOM, is putting modalities in place to institute an Insurance Committee for the sector just like the Bankers Committee of the banking sector.

According to Vanguard investigations, the Insurance Committee when instituted is expected to serve as a platform for regular interaction between the regulator and operators and any decision emanating from such interaction is deemed binding on insurance practitioners.

The Bankers’ Committee is a regular and compulsory meeting between the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and all the managing directors of commercial banks operating in Nigeria.

An insurance operator who spoke on the condition of anonymity said, “For the first time, the Commissioner for Insurance will institute an insurance committee similar to the Bankers Committee. With such in place we expect to see more positive engagement and change in the industry because we will have a platform where our regulator sits with us the operators and we take decisions together and everyone ensures that all agreements are implemented. The Bankers Committee is what gives bankers the edge over other sectors because they sit with and engage the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.

Positive engagement At such meetings, ideas are analysed, sometimes they are giving to committees to go and study and report back and where decisions are taken, the CBN then ensures that they are implemented for the overall interest of the banking sector.

“So I believe that with positive engagement with the regulator through the insurance committee, the insurance industry will witness significant change,” the operator stated.

Recall that in 2013 the Insurance Industry Consultative Committee, IICC, was inaugurated by Mr. Fola Daniel, Commissioner for Insurance then. However, the objectives of the IICC is to represent the industry’s voice in national and global discourse; guarantee a collective medium for dialoguing; provide a clearing house for vital industry policies; engender a firm anchorage for insurance industry growth agendas; constitute a powerful lobby group for governmental relations, and act as veritable tool for conflict resolution.

Membership of the IICC consists of representatives of NAICOM, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, CIIN, Nigeria Insurers Association, NIA, Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers NCRIB, Institute of Loss Adjusters of Nigeria, ILAN, as well as distinguished elders and leaders of the insurance industry.

The IICC meets quarterly to deliberate on emergent issues and to foster its objectives. The committee is chaired by the sitting President of CIIN.

C M Y K

INSURAN

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Any insurance company worth its salt should pay claims — Akinboye

By Rosemary Onuoha Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Standard Alliance Insurance Plc Mr. Bode Akinboye, in this interview elucidates on the giant strides the company is taking to deliver superior services to customers

Strategic investment

sector.

To what extent has your partnership with strategic investors impacted on your operation?

I am a professional and the company needed to inject some money into its operations. Of course I don’t have all the money, so I have to bring people together and created a vehicle through which the investment was done.

It is strategic because we want to be able to influence the direction of the company both at the board and management level so that the company can be well positioned for growth and to attract even more investors.

Usually, it gets to a point in the history of an institution where you need to have strategic investors that can influence direction of the company. So for us, it is left for the market to judge the impact our strategic investors is having on our operations. We are trying our best as we have brought stability, new focus to the company even the Board has been restructured. We have almost a brand new Board of

So much has happened in the insurance industry with the advent of international players in the sector from Europe, South Africa, as well as Asia. More groups are still looking at investing in Nigeria if they have not already done so.

Again, the no premium no cover rule has taken root effectively and the impact is already been felt positively in the industry. Beyond that is the change in the political governance of the country and as we all know everybody is expectant of positive change.

As such, that should also transform to improvement in the wellbeing of the insurance sector and the companies that are playing in the

For the claims we inherited, we have settled over N700 million from January till date on the general insurance portfolio and on the life portfolio we have paid almost N800 million for this year

W

HAT is your vision for Standard Alliance Insurance following your return to the insurance industry?

Having worked in the insurance industry for thirteen years, I needed to take a break and reappraise my carrier. While away, I also tried one or two things and went back to school briefly to refresh myself, of course having bigger vision for the sector.

The need to work in the company where I can play more role not just as a manager but as an investor. That is what brought me back.

The opportunity came up whereby this company needed to re-jig its management and also infuse some new set of investors into the system.

Because of my understanding of the company before and the value I placed on the brand, I was able to key into that opportunity and put together a team of like minds that have taken position in the company as strategic investors on the understanding that we are back to head the management.

Directors with only two members retained from the old board. Also, there is a new management team even though the management team is not 100 per cent new because I have been here before and I had to also call up on some of my old colleagues that worked with me in the past. Others have gone far to a point where you can’t easily bring them back as some are also heading other institutions and they are doing very well there.

Financial result But those that we believe can still come back and add value, we had been able to attract which is an added advantage because I am not the only one that believe in this brand, they also believe in the brand and that collectively we can turn things around. Our financial result so far is tending towards that and we are beginning to see positive change in both our top-line and bottomline results.

How were you able to achieve this stability within a short time?

Well this company is a growing concern. This is a very strong company up till some few years ago when things went a bit low for the company. So what do we need to do? We needed to look at our customers first. If this was a company that ran nonstop for almost 13 years, declaring profit and paying dividend and bonus to shareholders, it means we had the customer base. So, we are not a new company, therefore we have customers who are loyal to the brand, and understand what we stand for. so what we did was to go back to them and apologise to them in areas where we had

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

not lived up to their expectations and recommitting to them that we are fully ready to restore our service culture which they are used to and we backed this up by paying claims that we inherited. For the claims we inherited, we have settled over N700 million from January till date on the general insurance portfolio and on the life portfolio we have paid almost N800 million for this year. The customers believe us, because they have tested us before, they know that when we say things, we act accordingly, which is the essence of any relationship anyway. Whatever you can give, offer, but don’t over promise.

Message to the market So what we have done was to go back to them to say, ‘look, we have been together before, you are used to us and you know what we can do. So we are ready to give you exactly that and even improve on it.’ We backed that up by commencing payment of claims. We still have some few claims to pay but there is no doubt whatsoever that for us to have frontally cleared over N700 million claims, we can clear all.

It sends the message to the market and the market has positively responded to that by patronising us in return. So we have tried to use that to stabilise our sales and income. Also, we looked at our process, and streamlined it to make sure that there are no loopholes or gaps in the system. Every slack has been tightened and we eliminated any area of waste in the system. So when you do that you minimise your cost and you have tried to stabilise your income or at least keep it going and what you will have eventually is profit. So it is just simple management logic

that we have applied that has brought us to this modest result that we are beginning to experience now. We are paying all outstanding claims now, though it is a process. If you have inherited something due to some few years of delay here and there, you need time to clean it up and we are doing that. By the special grace of God before the year runs out all those claims will be settled.

What assurance are you giving to stakeholders that this positive trend will be maintained?

For us, we believe we have a platform to further express ourselves and we are coming back with renewed commitment to reposition the company and render better service delivery going forward and make it a delight to all our stakeholders. We have shown seriousness and commitment to paying claims which is the essence why we are in business because we believe that any insurance company that is worth its salt should be seen to be paying claims. If you are not, then there is no need for you to be in the business at all. We have also restored positive engagement with our customers to understand what we are doing and how best we can service them. We are working on our processes to streamline our ability

We still have some few claims to pay but there is no doubt whatsoever that for us to have frontally cleared over N700 million claims, we can clear all

to service customer quickly in a very fast and agile manner. We have strengthened our technology that will empower us to be able to interact with all our customers and we are working on new products to create more value for clients.

Value for clients We have been able to submit our financial result on time after defaulting for some years now because first and foremost we are a public company and the post listing requirement of all public companies is prompt rendition of accounts as well as holding annual general meetings.

Between 2002 and 2009 when the company was listed we were one of the major companies in the insurance sector and also one of the listed companies that led in that compliance.

We have won the president merit award of the Nigerian stock exchange while on another occasion we were nominee for the award, which means as a management we were focused on compliance. So in the last six years, for one reason or the other, the company was not able to adhere to this. But once we came in, our focus was to get the company back to that situation. So we have tried to address that and for the first time in the last four years, we are going to have our AGM in September.

We are hoping that by next year we will have our AGM in April or May. So, we motivated our staff, organise our record keeping properly to be able to give stewardship right on time and increase more value for the business. It is even in our interest to release our financials on time because we are focused on growing our bottom-line.

PRESENTATION: L-R: General Manager, Corporate Service and Marketing, The Sun newspaper, Lady Neta Nwosu; CSR Manager, Airtel Nigeria, Chinda Manjor with the Life VP, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mrs. Adetutu Adeleke during the presentation of the CSR Award of Excellence to Airtel Nigeria at the 15th PR Forum and CSR Awards/Brand Exhibition organised by AS & A Communications in Lagos.

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CE & YOU

— 23

The model that is succeeding well in Nigeria today is composite. If you look at good companies in the insurance sector today, they are composite companies

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Custodian Life gets A- rating C

USTODIAN Life Assurance Limited CLA has been assigned an A- rating by Global Credit Rating Co, a leading emerging markets focused ratings Agency.

In a statement, the company said that an A- rating is indicative of strong financial security.

In assigning the A- rating to the company, GCR disclosed that “Custodian Life Assurance Limited has evidenced robust capital growth over the review period, underpinned by strong internal capital generation capacity”. This is immediately given credence with CLA’s shareholders’ funds growth of 36% to N4.3bn at FYE 2014, corresponding to an improved shareholders’ funds / NWP ratio of 156% (FYE13: 139%).

Furthermore, GCR explained that ‘Cognisance is taken of the sound operating performance reflected by the company, with net surpluses recorded throughout the review period. Earnings capacity has benefitted from the favourable commission recovery rates recorded over the past two years, while increasing cost efficiencies are expected to preserve margin strength over the rating horizon’. According to Global Credit Rating Co, “the rating is supported by Custodian Life’s established position in the emerging domestic life assurance market. Further, the insurer (CLA) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Custodian and Allied Plc, a well-established brand in the Nigerian insurance industry”.

Reacting to the news on the GCR Rating, Mr. Larry Ademeso, the Managing Director of Custodian Life Assurance Limited expressed satisfaction that ‘the vision, contributions and commitment running through the Board to the staff and service delivery at CLA is beginning to receive deserved recognition from reputed agencies’.

Lawal commends government for meeting cravings of the people

M

ANAGING Director of NPF Microfinance Bank, Mr. Akin Lawal has commended government for the foresight in establishing the Microfinance bank which he said is meeting the cravings of the people.

According to Lawal “The micro-subsector of the economy and micro finance are there to provide the necessary financial assistance to small companies and basically that is where they can get support.”

Lawal said that the bank today is now seeking to broaden its services stretching beyond its current coverage of 17 branches. The bank is eyeing to be present at the 36 states of the federation.

The banks Chairman Azubuko Udah, said that the bank plans to establish 12 more additional branches after raising funds through its rights issue. “We want to cover the whole federation, though we have 2 branches in Abuja but we want to satisfy the public and in particular our teeming customers. As you observe we are doing pretty well and I am happy with the price of our shares in the market giving the prevailing economic situation but we wish it goes up.

We will also sustain the dividend we pay and soon shareholders will begin to get bonus shares depending on the way we are going and the expansion drive we are pursuing’ Udah said.

Continuing, he said the bank is sustaining loan offer to artisans and other people including the police and the general public that are in the agro-allied business, poultry and animal husbandry.

Udah also said the bank benefitted from the N2 billion which government earmarked for microfinance banks. ‘We got about N500 million and we have been doing well with it, we have been supporting micro businesses in the country’.

Send comments & enquiries to insuranceandyou@yahoo.com

24 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

Change and its consequences (5) T

UNVEILING: From left: Managing Director, NPF Microfinance Bank Plc, Mr. Akin Lawal; Group Managing Director, Centre for Microenterprise Development, Mrs. Edna Ishaya; guest of honour, Justice Musa Kurya of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi and Chairperson, Association of Professional Women Bankers of Nigeria, Mrs. Tinuola Thompson-Ajayi, during the unveiling of a report on National Youth Survey carried out by Centre for Microentreprise Development in Lagos.

Ministerial list: Lukewarm attitude to pervade equities market

By Nkiruka Nnorom

A

S the nation awaits the announcement of the ministerial list by President Muhammadu Buhari today, analysts at United Capital Plc have said that investors will assume lukewarm attitude towards equities during the week.

The company, however, noted in a research report reviewing activities in the capital market that reduction of cash reserve ratio by six basis points to 25 per cent by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) would result in moderate re-pricing of shares of Tier 1 banks.

“Easing the stance of the MPC is expected to bode well for banks’ earnings going into H2-15.

Therefore, we will likely see a moderate re-pricing in banking stocks, especially the Tier 1 banks this week. However, we expect a tepid market as investors await the ministerial list by the presidency on Wednesday. On this note, we think the positives in the market will slightly offset expected profit booking. Thus, we look to see a marginally positive return for the week,” United Capital said in the report.

According to the firm, the roboff effect of monetary easing by the MPC supported by attractive valuation on stocks pushed allocation increase in equities last week, thereby driving the Exchange marginally northwards.

The firm added that all sectors closed green except the banking sector which lost 66bps w/w.

Reviewing activities in the fixed income market, the firm said: “This week, we expect yields to trend lower though marginally.

Liquidity boost and relatively attractive yields will be sustained C M Y K

buy bias towards FI instruments.

On the other hand, some level of profit booking is expected as investors may thin out exposures to ‘overpriced’ instruments. Also, an aggressive mop-up by the CBN via OMO auction may reverse the strong buy bias.

Activities in the FX market remained relatively calm in the past week, even with the MPC’s

decision to boost market liquidity. The naira traded flat on a w/w basis, closing the week at N199.0.

We expect to see some pressure on the naira on foreign portfolio outflows as we enter into the JP Morgan phase out week although impact will likely be doused by ancillary dollar supply by the Apex bank,” it added.

SEC directs registrars to commence use of e-dividend portal

By Bisola Ologunde & Nnenna Joseph

T

HE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has directed the registrars to immediately commence the use of the e-Dividend Mandate Management System (e-DMMS) Portal recently introducedbytheCommission to curb the growth of unpaid dividend in the capital market.

The Commission made this known in a notice posted on its website, advising the registrars to exercise caution while validating names generated by the system to avoid dissimilarity with the physical forms.

The Commission stated that directives will soon be issued to banks to discontinue the verification of paper mandates presented to bank branches by investors.

It further explained that 'all registrars' offices/ accredited outlets shall be points of upload of completed e-Dividend Mandate forms by investors who may alternatively approach their banker to process their completed e-Dividend Mandate Form(s)'.

Explaining the modality for the use of the portal, the SEC said: 'Every registrar shall validate investor's shareholder account number,

name, signature and Clearing House Number (CHN). This shall be followed with upload of scanned copy of completed e-Dividend Mandate Form(s) on to the portal for immediate access by the investor's nominated bank for the verification of his/her bank account details. Registrars shall exercise caution when validating names generated by the system for the clearing house n/*umber, shareholder account number and bank account number against the physical form to ensure there is a reasonable level of congruence before the document is accepted and saved on the portal'.

'The receiving bank may reject the mandate uploaded by presenting registrars if the signature on the mandate does not tally with the specimen signature of the account holder in the bank'.

The statement also advised that for seamless integration and use of the portal, investors can contact the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) for the required integration requirements, access rights to the portal and any further clarifications required towards a smooth operation of the new system."

HE Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, during June 2015 issued a list of imported goods and services that would be excluded from the official Nigerian foreign exchange markets.

The list includes but is not limited to rice, cement, margarine, vegetable oils, meat and processed meat products, vegetables, poultry, security and razor wire, wood particle/fibre boards, plywood boards, wooden doors, furnitures, toothpicks, glass and glassware, kitchen utensils, tableware, vitrified and ceramic tiles, textiles, woven fabrics, clothes, plastic products, soap and cosmetics, tomatoes/tomato pastes, eurobond/foreign currency bond/ share purchases. The CBN indicated that the order was made in order to encourage local production of items on the list, to conserve foreign reserves as well as facilitate the resuscitation of domestic industries and improve employment generation.

Employment generation There are very good reasons for stating that one item that is not on the list and that should be on the list is wheat. The Kebbi State Government invited the media, the CBN and rice millers to the state a few months ago. During the visit, there were reports that the Kebbi State Government had purchased more than 200,000 metric tons of paddy rice from the farmers.

The rice millers found the rice to be of very good quality and we should therefore expect the rice millers would purchase paddy rice from Kebbi State now and in the future. Significantly, the Kebbi State Governor indicated his intentions of expanding rice and wheat production with about 250,000 young people.

One would expect that the other nine leading rice producing states, Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Niger and Kogi would follow the lead of Kebbi State.

We must move beyond the idea that the construction and utilization of strategic grain silos and storage facilities represents food security. We must utilize our people and resources to grow enough food for our needs. Japan has limited land for agricultural purposes but there are restrictions to rice imports into Japan.

Saudi Arabia and Sweden are examples of what food security should mean to us. More than 25 years ago, Saudi Arabia sank deep wells with irrigation systems and transformed desert land into

wheat fields. Of course the traditional wheat growing countries expressed their displeasure at the Saudi policy of producing wheat at much higher costs than the others while excluding cheaper imports. Saudi Arabia maintained its policy and over time its wheat production was adequate for its needs and the surplus was exported.

Sweden in northern Europe has a colder climate in contrast to Greece, Italy and Spain who traditionally are the largest European producers and exporters of tomatoes. However, Sweden has a policy of growing tomatoes in green houses to ensure supplies if deliveries from other countries fail. The interesting thing is that another country, the Netherlands, has developed high-tech green houses to the extent that its tomatoes compete

We must utilize our people and resources to grow enough food for our needs. Japan has limited land for agricultural purposes but there are restrictions to rice imports into Japan

favourably with tomatoes from Greece, Italy and Spain.

The opposition to the CBN’s restriction on foreign exchange utilization has come in the form of a statement from JP Morgan indicating it would soon exclude Nigerian government bonds from its bonds index.

JP Morgan cited CBN’s foreign currency controls as making transactions too complicated. It is estimated that there would be a capital outflow of US $3billion from Nigeria when foreign holders of Nigerian government bonds dispose of their holdings.

These funds would largely have been applied to import goods into Nigeria on capital inflow. Nigeria has had a number of opportunities to release the energies of its people into profitable productive activities.

We should seize this present opportunity.

TO BE CONTINUED

VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015—25

DIARY Cyber Security in Banking Conference, 2015 Indaba Hotel, Johannesburg October 21 – 22, 2015

Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2015 Cape Town, South Africa November 8-12, 2015

Preview DIGITAL GLASS CLEANER

New Leadership of CTO What Nigeria stands to gain •What Danbatta, Taylor must do

By Prince Osuagwu

E

Now you can clean your windows, glass doors, mirrors and more with just the touch of a button.

“This small, like a beetle robot was developed for washing windows without human assistance. Winbot created by Ecovacs Robotics. Winbot consists of two motors that transmit signals to each other.

To wash the window, first robot scans the surface, developing a plan, and then selects the most efficient route. The entire process takes only a few minutes. And although the use of the robot in the home looks strange, such robots are perfect for window cleaning in offices or multi-storey buildings.

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•Taylor

•Danbatta

VER since Nigeria came from behind to pip many other emerging markets as the most vibrant, growing mobile economy, the trajectory of growth has never witnessed a downward trend.

Rather, the attention of the world towards the sub Saharan Africa has seen many prestigious positions either ceded or allotted to Nigeria and Nigerians.

When the International Telecommunications Union, ITU, in July 2013, declared wife of former President, Dame Patience Jonathan as Ambassador/ Champion online child protection, it added to the profile of the country.

The position which meant that Mrs Jonathan would work towards creating safe environment for children online, partly stemmed from the massive internet activity from Nigeria, especially with a sizeable population being youths and children who do so through their mobile phones.

For what it’s worth, that position has seen to a new wave of online education which has discovered many youth innovators and an army of online

savvy children only seen in countries like Sweden where an average 4 year old is computer savvy.

History Again, pennultimate week, Nigeria made another history, emerging both the Chairman and Secretary of the

With over 150 million active telephone lines, mobile Internet user base of over 90 million and over $32 billion local and foreign direct investment (FDIs), Nigeria’s telecoms sector has become a reference point in the global telecoms landscape

C o m m o n w e a l t h Te l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n Organisation, CTO, when the 54member nations of the CTO rose from its yearly Forum and Council meeting recently in Nairobi, Kenya to elect Prof.

Umar Garba Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC as the new Chairman of the commonwealth body.

Chairmanship of the CTO, by its rules, is usually countryspecific and the position is held by that country’s chief telecoms regulator. Nigeria won the position in 2014 and ended the tenure just before the election.

But by this new election, the country has also started another.

Opening of CTO Forum “Danbatta’s election coincided with the resumption of another Nigerian, Engr Shola Taylor as the Secretary General and Chief Executive of the same body.“Taylor was named Secretary General on June 16, 2015 in London, United Kingdom and subsequently took oath of office during the opening of the CTO Forum 2015 mid September in Nairobi, Kenya.“

The Commonwealth Te l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s Organisation is the oldest and largest Commonwealth membership organisation in the field of Information and Communication Technologies, ICTs. It has created six strategic plans and priority areas for 2012/ 13 and 2015/16 on which it is concentrating its contribution to the use of ICTs for development across the Commonwealth during the plan period. They include: Youth and ICT: This proposes to help young people have a voice through innovative use of ICTs - a key theme for the Commonwealth Regulatory: Regulatory environments play a crucial role in helping to ensure that markets operate as effectively as possible and CTO wants a proper focus on it.

Skills development: CTO believes that ICTs can transform education and help play a critical role in skills development and entrepreneurship ICTs and disability: In the view of CTO, people with greater disabilities have much more to gain from ICTs than those with

Continues on page 27

26—VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

DEMO Africa: Scaling up African innovations for global market

By Emeka Aginam

D

ESPITE funding, mentorship , marketing, partnership and other challenging factors limiting African start-ups for global competitiveness, participants at the just concluded 2015 edition of DEMO Africa held in Lagos, Nigeria at the weekend urged young innovators to achieve scale in the local market with global vision.

The start-ups were selected from over 600 applicants with four earning direct nominations during DEMO Africa pre-pitch events.

Meanwhile, after two days of vigorous contest the start-ups presenting their products on the DEMO Africa stage, top five entrepreneurs including Simbapay, Zuvaa, InsureAfrika.com, CarPartsNigeria.com, and BambaPOS were selected to pitch in Silicon Valley.

The event is one of the flagship initiatives of LIONS@frica aimed to connect African startups to the global ecosystem.

It is a launchpad for emerging technology and trend where the most innovative companies from African countries get a platform to launch their products and announce to Africa and the world what they have developed.

With real startups being created in Africa to develop real-world solutions, worthy of investment and global attention, the U.S.

•African Tech-start-ups Department of State, in collaboration with Microsoft, DEMO, USAID, and Startup Weekend, launched the liberalizing innovation opportunity nations (LIONS@FRICA) Partnership.

This was in recognition of Africa’s economic emergence enhancing and deepening the startup and innovation ecosystems of targeted fast- growing African economies.

For one thing, the event allows start-ups from all over Africa to meet investors, tech acquisition specialists, IT buyers and media from across the region and around the globe.

With sponsorship by Microsoft, Bank of Industry, World Bank Group, MainOne, among others, the thirty finalists before their final

pitch at the 2015 DEMO Africa had gone through two rigorous screening processes with the final vetting and adjudication done by a pan-African panel of judges comprised of entrepreneurs, VCs and academia.

Speaking during the opening ceremony, the Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency, Dr. Peter Jack urged the tech start-ups to see as their market and not to confine themselves to the local communities as local champions.

“The continent of Africa with 54 countries, 1.2 billion people and a normal Gross Domestic Product, GDP, of over $2.39 trillion should be your target to achieve the scale that makes you a dominant local player with global vision”

‘Domesticate Science & Tech for comparative advantage’

By Emmanuel Elebeke

S

TAKEHOLDERS in the Science and technology sector have called for a holistic approach to adoption of science, technology and innovation in the Nigeria’s quest to emerge among top 20 economies of the world by 2020.

They also advocated for a holistic review of intellectual property and accord it the necessary security in the country so as to encourage upcoming technology start-ups across the country.

This position was made known on Monday during the commemoration of African Day for

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Technology and Intellectual Property organized by National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) in Abuja.

They asserted that the future and emancipation of African people from underdevelopment will largely depend on how much they utilize science, technology and innovation in concert with the protection of intellectual property.

In view of the recent advancements and innovations driving the world’s economy in the 21st century, the stakeholders at the event were of the view that Nigeria should lead the rest of Africa in pushing for better

technology adoption and protection of patent rights of the people innovations and invention of novel technologies.

The Permanent Secretary in the ministry of Science and Technology, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita in her briefing said the commemoration of African Day for technology and Intellectual Property is to ensure advocacy towards stimulating the latent innovative capacity of Nigerians, while emphasizing the role of IP rights in fascinating technology development and improving Foreign Direct Investment value in African nations.

The 13th September of every year is commemorated in all African States as African Day for Technology and Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) in compliance with the resolution made by the then Organization of African Unity (OAU) now AU Council of Ministers and Assembly of Heads of States and Governments at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 1999.

In that resolution, all African nations were enjoined to arouse the latent inventive, creative and innovative spirit of Africans, in order to facilitate the acceleration of technological development in the continent.

VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015—27

‘Nigeria’s stringent power problem needs innovative tech solutions’

W

HY we would excel in Nigeria Nigeria is a huge economy with a very wide market that can accommodate many players. As a company we are technology focused. We look for solutions to solve problems and wherever the problem is more extreme, the solution need to be more innovative, this is where we shine and where we can do better than anybody else in this field. Traditionally we were focused on largest data centers you can think of and in Africa, there is a huge problem in terms of the technicalities of the technological limitations that large web or data centres experience. But for us it’s a challenge and we have a team that is technologically savvy enough to tackle challenges.

The problem with Nigeria Environmental condition here, particularly when it comes to power, is more stringent than in other environments. But we have solutions that can back up or build networks. The solutions are entrenched with high volubility indicators. We also have a power solution which comes with a solid battery backup for any data centre switch. This solution can sustain the switch for several hours in case of erratic power outage which is prevalent in this environment. Besides, with the Consol partnership, we are now more confident that we have a solid team back up, technologically, for even other challenges we may discover as we operate here in Nigeria Green data centre solution Green starts from power consumption and ends at power consumption. Over the last 15 years, Mellanox as a company has been dealing with high performance computing and this where high power consumption

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is a very strict requirement.

There is always a very strict power budget to meet. This drove us to design our solution with the lowest power consumption. So from building a device, network and a complete database centre, we reduce the base line power consumption by over 50 percent.

This will do Nigeria a lot of good.

Cloud infrastructure needed here Although we have not come here to replace the existing cloud based and big data analytics providers, we will not only complement and help them provide a better solution that would enable them increase their Return on Investment, ROI, we can also help them improve on their own cloud infrastructure investment, so that it becomes a better one. Again, some companies prefer to keep their resources In-house and not put them in the cloud, so they will go in the direction of a private cloud. So we can provide solutions to help them design and build their own private clouds. We can take them through the levels, from service levels to technology levels to knowledge transfer levels.

Obviously we promote the use of Mellanox equipments in the cloud, meaning that we don't

We are serious about investing in Nigeria and we are having good reason to do so.

By Richard Udofia

W

IRELESS backhaul services provider, Ceragon Networks Limited, has announced preparedness to fully participate in the broadband revolution expected in Nigeria soon as government takes its national broadband plan more seriously.

The company in apparent show of readiness has just declared open, a modern office facility in Lagos to ensure a solid base for its activities in Nigeria.

According to the Company, investing in the Nigerian IT space shows its desire to ensure mobile and fixed-line carriers, as well as private network operators, have the cost-effective transmission capacity to deliver the voice and premium data services.“Speaking

The reason why technology enthusiasts are celebrating the partnership deal between one of Nigeria’s contact centre operators, Consol and American based end to end infiniband and Ethernet solutions provider, Mellanox may not just be that the country has increased its Foreign Direct Investment base but the technology transfer potential the deal is poised to usher is a delight to experience.

The deal allows Consol to integrate Mellanox’s solutions into its own architecture to ensure a technology handshake that would benefit both countries.

Apparently with this in mind, Mellanox may have studied the Nigerian environment to be able to get the right solutions to solve specific problems because when Hi-Tech spoke to the company’s Director Project management ,Mr Ran Almog, the analysis he gave of the problems with Nigerian technology sector, particularly the power problem, did not reflect one who has only operated in the country for just a few months.

By Prince Osuagwu

Ceragon opens Lagos office in readiness for broadband revolution at the official launch, president and chief executive officer of the company, Mr. Ira Palti, said that in today’s interconnected world, from telecommunications operators to mobile service providers, public safety to offshore operations, energy to distance learning, everyone needs network capacity to provide the latest services, expand into new markets and to meet the growing communication demands of people and devices.“He promised that his company will provide affordable, high-capacity networks solutions, designed to eliminate bottlenecks with cost-effective, high-capacity and future-proof hauling connectivity while boosting network performance and services.““We have the best equipment in the microwave transmission.

What Danbatta, Taylor, must do with CTO leadership Continues from page 25 build cloud or provide cloud based services but the interconnect which allows them maximum usability of the cloud service to maximize ROI.“The less storage, computer and all that equipment that a company needs to stay profitable in the cloud is what we provide, we don't compete with cloud services providers, not here or in any part of the world.

Nigerian data system are in silos, but no problem our solution addresses this kind of situation specifically. It’s a pin point precision type of solution. In order to have the data aggregated in one place, you need an infrastructure and this is exactly what we’ve been doing for over ten years now since big data was first stated.

Our solution enables big data analysts have different data grouped into one place for proper reading an analysis.

Attraction for Consol Even when comparing Consol to other partners we are working with worldwide, we see professionalism and the desire to add value. That, also matched our attribute as a company because our major aspiration is to excel and do what we do to the best of standards.

Investment projections in Nigeria We just started here a few months back but our realisation now is that this is what we should have started long time ago. The prospects here are so encouraging and the business seems to be enjoying good patronage. Just like the way we started small in Europe and consistently built a large network of technological workforce, we think same thing will happen in this region. We are serious about investing in Nigeria and we are having good reason to do so.

fewer disabilities Cybersecurity: In the technological world, no data are completely secure; how can governments and citizens most effectively manage this, is a question CTO wants to answer Mobile broadband: This strategy is meant to create the infrastructure so that broadband connectivity can be anywhere throughout the commonwealth.

Incidentally, all of these strategies are so paramount in continued sustenance of the quantum leap Nigeria has made in telecoms landscapeDouble honours: These double honours may also have not been, without the enviable telecom growth record Nigeria boasts of, as a leading player in the African telecoms ecosystem.

With over 150 million active telephone lines, mobile Internet user base of over 90 million and over $32 billion local and foreign direct investment (FDIs), Nigeria’s telecoms sector has become a reference point in the global telecoms landscape.“A techbased research institution, Pyramid Research, even recently reaffirmed that Nigeria is one of the fastest telecoms economies of the world at an annual growth rate of 30 per cent.“ Although the country has grown its teledensity from less than one per cent in 2001, to about 107 per cent now, the desire for sustenance saw the formation of a broadband policy which is expected to be an enabler of faster economic development.

“In the National Broadband Plan, the country has set an auspicious 30 per cent broadband penetration target by 2018 from the six per cent penetration recorded in 2013 and 10 per cent at the moment.

“All these may have benefitted from an arguable conducive

telecom regulatory regime which has become a template for other African countries which at one time or the other come to understudy from the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC. Afro-centric regulatory strategy“However, with the election of Nigeria to the Chairmanship and Secretary General positions, the country would be expected to be a major force in championing further telecoms development, not only at home but also in developing an Afro-centric regulatory strategy as a sign of having fully maximized the potential of the positions.“ Telecom advocacy groups Although several Nigerian Information and Communications Technology professionals including leaders of telecom advocacy groups, Association of Telecom companies of Nigeria, ATCON, Engr Lanre Ajayi and Association of Licensed Telecom operators in Nigeria, ALTON, Engr Gbenga Adebayo and others, have lauded the impact of the NCC in actualisation of these laudable honours, having played noticeable role in the development of Africa’s telecoms market, they also challenged the duo of Danbatta and Taylor to ensure Nigeria maximises these current positions to not only reinforce prominent roles in robust Nigerian telecoms regulation but also call the shots in propelling needed growth in the commonwealth nations.

“Most particularly, they expect that the Danbatta/Taylor CTO leadership must explore ideas to get the Commonwealth region to effectively drive the use of broadband and other ICT tools for socio-economic transformation.

28 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

BY SOLOMON NWOKE

N

igerian wrestlers at the recently concluded 2015 African Games in Congo Brazzaville dominated the event as they won Nine gold, five silver and four bronze medals to help the country to a second place behind Egypt and by far ahead of South Africa and Algeria in the overall medals table.

It was an amazing result which the president of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation (NWF), Dr Daniel Igali, an Olympic Gold medalist believes could see the country winning her first elusive Olympic medal in Rio 2016.

After the Games, Igali addressed the wrestlers as he reviewed their performances at the Games, which was the best outing

by Nigeria’s matsmen in an international event.

“For the past couple of months, no minute passed without me worrying myself sick about how many medals we could possibly win at the 11th African Games (AG). Now my mind shifts automatically to the Olympic qualifiers next year and how best we can get you prepared to qualify first before we go after the elusive Olympic medal.

Nine gold, five silver and four bronze medals was by all standards a fantastic result’, Igali recounted.

Continuing, he gave kudos to his lieutenants for their tireless efforts towards achieving the result.

“Victor Kodei, Purity Akuh, Joe Oziti, Happiness Burutu, Godswill Tiebiri, Damian Ohaike, Oyeins Tangi, Segun Oguntade, you were at the centre of the magnificent results. For the effort and time you invested in these athletes, I salute you.

We can’t forget Alhassan Yakmut, the DG National Sport Commission and his team for providing an enabling environment to prepare for these games. When a mat was needed, DG approved for it to be bought within 48 hours!!! That’s how critical and decisive matters of sports are handled.

I must tell you I am incredibly proud of your performances at the 11th AG. A nervous wreck I was especially for all three days of the competition and weeks leading to it. You really impressed me all around.

Parting each of the wrestlers on the back after their splendid performance, he said:

GRECO ROMAN WRESTLING

ITURU OKE 66kg: I was really worried about your weight. I knew that if you made weight, you would win a medal. But I also worried about your versatility. In Greco Roman, mobility and careful aggression is key to winning matches these days. A silver Medal in your second senior African Tournament is a good result. We need to look over video tapes and correct those flaws in your paterre wrestling. You have the size and power for that weight class, but we may need more than that to win it all in Africa.

EMMANUEL NWORIE 71kg: What else can I say about your performance? The first gold

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•Talaram Maman

•Boltic

•Adeniyi •Igali

We’ll wrestle gold in Rio, Igali assures Team Nigeria

•Adekuroye medal in Greco roman wrestling in 16 years!!! People now realize why I insisted on your trip to the African championships in April, even after being told of your purported loss at the trials. I knew you had to be exposed to the Egyptians, Morroccans, and Algerians before the Games. I like your guts. You have big lungs and you are not afraid to mix it up and take appropriate risks. That said, big decisions yet to be made about the weight class for the Olympic qualifiers and lots of work yet to be done to concretise your position in Africa.

ABRAHAM: I still chuckle when I remember your complaints about the burning chest and the general weakness you felt over after your loss to Egypt. It was caused by the energy drink the doctor had given you before your bout, you had opined. Actually, It’s what happens to even the best, when you face superior opposition, especially with a different skin Colour for the first time in your career. Am glad you pulled off a bronze medal. To progress in this sport, you need to make a gamut of changes to your style of wrestling.

NATHANIEL SAMUEL 85kg: At all, at all, na him bad, they say.

You are going home with a bronze. Since you won a bronze medal at the African

•Dissects Wrestler’s performances in Congo I must tell you I am incredibly proud of your performances at the 11th AG. A nervous wreck I was especially for all three days of the competition and weeks leading to it. You really impressed me all around. championships in April this year too, there is need for us to upgrade the medal. You Must have some reliable technics that we can bank on. You have the height for the weight class, what is missing we must find and fix before the African championships next April.

TALARAM MAMMAN 120kg: I expected you to win a medal. I feel bad for you that you came

back home without a medal. I was, however worried about your balance and proclivity to get entangled in full body throws. We may need to rely more on outhustling our opponents to win matches in Greco Roman with the new rules in place. We may need to lift and squat in a programmed environment to get slightly stronger for that weight class.

FREESTYLE MALE

SINIVIE BOLTIC125kg: You had one of the calmest tournaments I have ever seen you compete at. You were very composed and strategic. I never felt you were in any threat of losing any of your bouts, even when you were down 2-1 against the Tunisian in the finals with 30 seconds to go, I felt you had one last trick in your bag that could fetch us two points and wrap up the win. Not sure why you did not take a chance for that gold medal.

With a silver medal, you had a good tournament and should be very proud of what you have achieved in your career so far.

SOSO TAMARA 97kg: I have been hard on you over the past few months. Am happy you got the message that you need to re-enact

the form of 2013 that brought the African Title. You needed to weed out the distractions and recover quicker from your training sessions. In Brazzaville, you were conservative but got the job done.

Hard work ahead to get a spot on the Olympic team next year.

ADIBO DICK 86kg: I still think you are and can be the best in your weight class in Africa. A bronze medal does you no justice in your weight class. You were too cautious and only opened up after you were down to the Algerian. A bit more of scrambling and pushing from the first minute will get it done next year. I would like to see you become an African champion again before you retire. It’s been a long time since you won a Gold medal in Africa - 2013.

MELVIN BIBO 74kg: You took no prisoner and showed dominance throughout the tournament. I worried about your gaunt look and feared you may not have fully recovered from your weight loss. I was however reassured as soon as you stepped on the mats and scored those quick four points in your first match. When you had that quick take down against Egypt in the semi finals and controlled from start to finish, you cleared all doubts in my mind. I like your confidence and approach to matches.

With the Guinea Bissau former four-time African champion likely coming for the Olympic qualifiers next year, we need to work really hard.

BOAZ ISAAC 70kg: I was perplexed at

We deal on fabrics, not hard drugs, Onitsha traders insist VOL. 1 NO 45

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

Crowd gather as the fire rages

-PAGE 6

Men of Abia State fire service, Aba at work at the scene of the incident

Abia State Deputy governor, Rt. Hon. Ude Okochukwu (middle) at the scene of the inferno with Dr. Eme Okoro, SSG and other top government officials

One of the affected buildings

How fuel tanker inferno ruined us — Victims of Aba fuel explosion

By Anayo Okoli

U

MUAHIA — FOR property owners and residents of buildings on AbaOwerri road that was recently gutted by fire sparked by fuel tanker explosion, life will never be the same, at least for now as some of them lost their lives' savings during the incident.

At least few residential buildings, 14 shops and about seven vehicles, as well as four tricycles, among other things, were destroyed by the inferno, leaving the owners devastated.

Altogether, the fire consumed property, goods and other valuables worth several millions of Naira.

The ugly fate befell them when a tanker laden with diesel, fell and caught fire. The C M Y K

truck, which also got burnt beyond repair, was said to be entering a fuel station on the busy Aba-Owerri road to discharge the diesel when the tank of the truck pulled off and fell on the median of the road, discharging its contents which consequently caught fire on the road.

“We made efforts to stop oncoming vehicles to avert the impending danger. But a

Cause of the inferno South East Voice gathered that the actual crisis set in when a commercial driver ignored warnings by onlookers and residents of the area not to pass through the spilled inflammable contents. As he was driving through the spilled liquid, the hot smoky exhaust pipe of the commercial bus ignited the fire which caused the havoc.

Few residential buildings, 14 shops and about seven vehicles, as well as four tricycles were destroyed by the inferno, leaving the owners devastated

commercial driver refused to stop and tried to drive through the spill. We suspected that the heat from the exhaust pipe ignited the fire and before we knew what was happening, everywhere was in flame. The rage of the fire was so fierce that some of us had to run for safety until the Abia State fire service men arrived the scene,” an eye witness lamented.

No life was lost A resident of one of the affected buildings, Emmanuel Kingsley thanked God for sparing the lives of his brothers and other members of his family. He described the fire incident as one of the horrific experiences he had had in recent times.

A man who lost his car to the inferno, Rev. Alfred Okeke, said he parked it by the roadside to buy feed for his

livestock shortly before the incident.

Efforts by fire service, FRSC: Eye-witness accounts said that the efforts of men of the Abia State Fire Service who battled to put off the fire and personnel of the Aba State command of the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, prevented the fire from escalating . Again, the situation would have been worse if the spilled content was petrol.

Victims of the inferno Abia State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, who was outside the country when the incident happened, dispatched his deputy, Ude Oko Chukwu and Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Eme Okoro, to the scene .

And on his return last week, he invited some the victims of the inferno to Government House, Umuahia, where he lamented the unfortunate incident even as he thanked God that no life was lost.

He, however, directed his Chief of Staff, Chijioke Nwakodo to take stock of the damages to enable him extend some financial assistance to the victims.

2 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

Enugu ALGON gets new secretariat •Ugwuanyi donates vehicles to security agencies •100 civil servants benefit from housing scheme

By Francis Igata Governor Ifeanyi E Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, has commissioned an ultra NUGU—

modern secretariat built by the state chapter of Association of Local Government of Nigeria

chairmen, ALGON, for the 17 council chairmen in the state.

Fitted with a 500-capacity conference hall, the secretariat will serve as an administrative rallying point for the South East geopolitical zone’s local government administration.

South-East Voice learnt this

came on a day the governor also at Okpara Square, handed over keys to 100 civil servants of Enugu State on grade levels 01 – 10 who won one bedroom flat each worth N3,150,000 each, of the 100 flats purchased from a private developer, Elim Estate by state government under its housing equity share contribution scheme for public servants.

The beneficiaries from the 17 local government areas of the state won their houses in an open and transparent balloting witnessed by Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, top government officials and civil servants in the state at Michael Okpara Square, Enugu.

Seventy-five beneficiaries won their houses under local government balloting while 25 of them won theirs under zonal balloting.

Eighteen Hillux vehicles were also handed over to security agencies in the state, the army, the police, civil defence, state security services and the Airforce. One vehicle was also handed over to Nigeria Television Authority, NTA. It would be recalled that the state government had earlier paid her 30 per cent equity share of the cost of the house while each beneficiary is expected to pay 70 per cent contribution to be spread for 20 years.

While commissioning the

Handing over of keys of Hilux vans donated by Ugwuanyi

Commissioning of ALGON secretariat

Hand-over of keys of 100 two-bed room flats to a civil servant

Widows in Atani to smile soon, as community initiates move to improve their lot

By Chimaobi Nwaiwu

N

NEWI—THE traditional ruler of Atani in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State, Igwe Augustine Ngoddy has said that the community has initiated moves aimed at improving the lot of widows in his community.

Ngoddy spoke at Atani in an interview with South East Voice, saying that the suffering of widows would soon stop in the area as they would no longer be maltreated.

“In August, we invited all the women, over 600 of them, that came to the August Meeting, they were from different denominations of churches. ‘’We entertained them in the palace here and everyone of them said what they had in mind and the changes they want to see here in Atani. ‘’They spoke about the condition of the widows and we took it into the discussion with the council of elders and the Igwe in council.

“I have already told you about the issue of the widows, it is bad for a community to disown a woman and take all her property she acquired with her husband and leave her to C M Y K

suffer with her children. We are looking into it and by the end of the our discussions the widows will smile, we know that there are traditions that almost treat women like property.

"A community that has intellectuals like we have, should be able to make some strong changes to make sure that the lives of the widows are better than it is now. We had almost a whole day with the women who were here for their August Meeting, it was very successful and everybody left here very happy,” he said.

Ngoddy, however, lamented that promises made by the

Federal Government in 2012 when flood ravaged the

It is bad for a community to disown a widow and take all her property she acquired with her husband and leave her to suffer with her children

His Royal Highness, Igwe Augustine Ngoddy, the Traditional ruler of Atani in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State.

community about three years ago were yet to be fulfilled.

Atani was among some communities which were flooded across the country when the River Niger overflowed its banks following the release of dam water from Cameroon.

During the disaster, farmlands and house-hold property were destroyed with the Federal Government announcing the release of money to help Nigerians who lost their property to the flood disaster.

However, speaking in an interview with South East Voice, Ngoddy, who ascended the throne barely 12 months ago, lamented that the Federal Government was yet to fulfil its promises to the Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, in the area.

He, however, said that despite the tragedy, the people of the area had made some achievements and thus had every cause to be happy and give glory to God. Atani is also the hometown of the one- time Secretary General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Prof. Ben Nwabueze.

Ngoddy said that “having come from one of the toughest communities in Anambra State, we started by organizing our community to come together

ALGON edifice, Governor Ugwuanyi eulogized efforts of the ALGON Chairman, Mr. Cornelius Nnaji, Enugu-East council area, noting that the secretariat will serve as peer review platform that will advance the course of paying democratic dividends at the grass roots where majority of the people domicile.

He, however, revealed that government will continue to partner with the third tier of government even as he maintained that allocation accruable to council areas will not be tampered in order not to hamstring development strides at the rural areas.

The ALGON chairman, Nnaji, had earlier revealed that the secretariat was conceived to chart a unified development path for the council areas in the state, adding that the periodic meetings among all the chairmen will enable them share ideas, challenges and proffer solutions which will largely impact positively on the people.

Commissioner for Local Matters, Mr. Chijoke Edoga, assured of government’s support to the council areas, noting that Ugwuanyi’s administration will maintain an all-inclusive government to move the state to greater heights.

having been in disunity for some time before I ascended the throne. Yes, there is no place or community that does not have one type of crisis or the other, the most important thing is what are you doing to create a very conducive atmosphere that our people can thrive in.

“We started by working very hard to get the age grades organised, we have made a lot of progress in that area and people have started registering, because we believe that when the age grades are fully organized, that is one of the easiest ways to integrate a community and the youths, the leaders of tomorrow.

“The women also complained about the incessant accidents that occur in the town which had claimed the lives of about three of our youths in one week; people drive very recklessly because there are no Zebra crossings with bumps that can slow them down. ‘’We have already written a very powerful letter to the governor and copied our daughter , Senator Princess Stella Oduah, Hon. Chinwe Nwaebili, Hon. Chu Chu Onyema and other prominent sons and daughters of our community to help us in this journey to stop excessive speeding on our roads, as requested by the women. So, we hope that these speed limit devices will be here very soon”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 — 3

Umunze inaugurates village vigilante ...gives criminals one week to leave the town or be apprehended

By Chimaobi Nwaiwu

A

NAMBA STATE Commissioner of Police, Mr. Hassan Karma, immediate past Deputy Governor of Anambra State, Chief Emeka Sibudu and the traditional ruler of Umunze, Igwe Promise Eze have warned the newly inaugurated Umunze Vigilante Service operators to beware of engaging in nefarious activities or they will have themselves to blame.

They spoke, weekend, at Mbaraizo Square, Umunze during the inauguration of Umunze Village Vigilante Service. They also warned armed robbers, kidnappers and those involved in other criminal activities in the town and its environs to leave the town within one week or be arrested and be made to face the full weight of the law.

The Commissioner of Police, who was represented by the Divisional Police Officer in

charge of Umunze Police Division, Mr. Sunday Kayode said the Commissioner was behind the people of Umunze in their effort to maintain security in the community.

He said security is every body’s business and not government's alone, adding that “security should be extended to the interiors, that is what we call community policing. We are going to support them in any way they will need our assistance, we are going to work with them.

“The vigilante cannot perform without support, information is very important to them, they should not derail from their job, or connive with criminals to terrorize the people they are expected to protect. The police will not take it lightly with anyone of them caught doing that, the fact that you are a member of the vigilante should not be a reason to shield your brother or relation who is a criminal,” he said.

Former Deputy Governor of Anambra State Chief Emeka Sibudu said “nobody believed in

From left, the Chairman of Caretaker Committee of Umunze Progressive Union, Dr Donald Okoli, Igwe Promise Eze and DPO Sunday Kayode.

The Abilikete of Umunze, Igwe Promise Eze with the Chairman of Caretaker Committee of Umunzu Progressives Union, Dr Donald Okoli during the inauguration.

The vigilante cannot perform without support, information is very important to them, they should not connive with criminals to terrorize the people they are expected to protect

the last 15 years that Umunze will be like what it is today. I plead that if you are part of the vigilante, please, behave well, you should not get involved in criminal activities, you will regret it if you do.

“Why it is important for government to be here today is that an unchecked activity in Umunze will trigger off violence which will affect the image of the state, I want to encourage every vigilante volunteer that is here today, that Umunze, the local government and the state are

Former Deputy Governor of Anambra State and Vice Chairman of Ananbra State Vigilante Supervisory Committee, Chief Emeka Sibudu.

behind you.

“The only hitch we have is the sabotage that may come, from you, no amount of money can buy you, as long as you are on the right path, we are with you, you cannot be bought over, we believe that before any visitor comes here to rob, there must be an accomplice from Umunze,” he said.

He further warned the community will not tolerate the act of accusing people falsely of being criminals because of personal differences, and when told to come and give evidence, you start running because you have lied against the person, and if he is left off the hook, they start accusing police of leaving a criminal, remember there is punishment for misleading the police and false information to the police.

“Sometimes when criminals are caught they 'settle' the police or vigilante and they get released, that is not this type we are inaugurating today. It was on this ground in 2007 that we told all the criminals disturbing Umunze to leave within one week and they left.

“That is the same thing we want to repeat here, we have come back here again and why we are doing it on this ground is because this is our ancestral home because the Nze man that has seven sons, this is where he lived and that is the deity so whatever we say on this ground is real and active, we gave one week for criminals to leave and those that did not leave we do not know what happened to them and Umunze must be crime free” he said.

Akpu kicks against exclusion from old Orumba North

By Chimaobi Nwaiwu WENTY-FOUR N years after the creation of Orumba North and Orumba NEWI—T

South local governments from old Orumba Local Government, the people of Akpu in Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra State are still kicking against their alleged malicious exclusion from Orumba North LGA, where they said “they not only rightly belong, but should also be the rightful headquarters of the local government area.”

The community had, therefore, appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to come to its aid by helping to take it back

to Orumba North as they are currently in exile from their land by being in Orumba South Council Area.

The community had been protesting, calling on successive Federal and state governments to correct the alleged injustice done to them since 1991 when the new councils were created by reversing its alleged “malicious removal from Orumba North Local Government Area,” which was about 10 kilometres away from Akpu.

The people of the area last week started fasting and praying to God to answer their age-long prayers for reversing their exclusion from Orumba North by touching the minds of the appropriate authorities in the

present administration to revisit the creation of the LGA with a view of including them in Orumba North.

Addressing newsmen after their prayer session, Prince Anthony Nwafor called on President Muhammadu Buhari to revisit the circumstances that led to their removal from Orumba North, with a view to reversing it.

Nwafor said that “no son or daughter of Akpu community is happy and will ever be happy in their current local government, not because they are maltreated, but because they have been indirectly sent on exile from their land while making their alleged tenant their landlord and therefore, want to go home.”

He said that to worsen their pathetic situation, they had not

been allowed to put any sign board in any Akpu village because it is embarrassing to those behind their exclusion, since visitors will ask questions on the rationale behind the action.

“The reason the new administration should address this ugly treatment is that anticorruption war should not be restricted to financial issues, our shabby treatment has pushed Nigeria to the dark ages, where human rights were abused unabated, and should not be allowed to continue.

“Akpu and Ajalli communities live on one geographical land mass and are so mixed up that one cannot delineate their boundaries, so one of the

Chief Alex Okoli, an Akpu community leader with the traditional Members of Igwe in Council of Akpu Community while talking with Prime Minister (right), and an elder of Akpu (left), while addressing newsmen newsmen.

C M Y K

communities should not be in a different local government area.

He listed St. Dominic’s Saviour Seminary, Akpu owned by the Catholic Diocese of Awka, Community Primary School Akpu, Lawmacco Investments, Agba Ventures as popular institutions and business places that have not been allowed to mount their sign-boards so that they would not bear Akpu, although in the community, those who were removing their signboards were afraid of answering some embarrassing questions .

Also, in his contribution, the former Special Adviser to former Anambra State governor, Dr. Chinweoke Mbadinuju on Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Chief Alex Okoli appealed to the President Buhari to investigate the circumstances leading to the merging of Akpu with the Orumba South council area, instead of Orumba North where they rightly belonged.

Okoli said “corruption is not only stealing, embezzling and siphoning money entrusted to one's care, using one's position to get an undue favour against the interest of others is also corruption and must not be accepted.''

4 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

Ugwuanyi’s wife donates wheelchairs to physically-challenged persons

By Francis Igata

D

ETERMINED TO lift the physically challenged persons in Enugu State out of the shackles of despondency, wife of state governor, Mrs. Monica Ugwuanyi has distributed 50 wheelchairs to disabled persons drawn from its 17 local government areas.

She charged them to be brave and activate their God-given potentials to attain greater heights irrespective of their situation.

The event, which held at the state Ministry of Gender Affairs and Social Development, witnessed an out-pouring of encomiums from the beneficiaries, who could not hold back their tears of joy in appreciation of the largesse from the first lady.

Mrs. Ugwuanyi speaks According to Mrs. Ugwuanyi, so many people have distinguished themselves in many fields and professions despite their physical predicaments, adding that the beneficiaries of her gesture should lift themselves out of despair, stigma and discrimination.

Her words: “Why is the lion addressed as the king of the

One of the beneficiaries appealed to the government to assist them with entrepreneurial training, soft loans that will equip them with skills to establish small-scale businesses of their own rather than resort to begging for alms jungle and the savannah? It is because the lion has a mentality of domination, you have to imbibe that mentality and the time is now. You don’t have to resort to a begging mentality.”

Commissioners remark In a remark, the Commissioner for Gender and Social Development, Princess Peace Nnaji, praised Mrs. Ugwuanyi for her kind gesture towards the physicallychallenged in the state, describing it as the first of its

Beneficiaries receiving wheel chairs from Mrs. Ugwuanyi

More beneficiaries receiving from governor’s wife kind in the recent past.

Princess Nnaji noted that Enugu State is privileged to have a mother like Mrs. Ugwuanyi who has a compassionate heart towards the welfare of the less privileged in the state, adding that she had indeed written her

name in the sands of time.

Beneficiaries elated Speaking to one of the beneficiaries, Mr. Anthony Beluonwu thanked the first lady for bringing succour to the disabled persons in the state, promising that they would

reciprocate by living up to the expectations of the government.

He, however, appealed to the government to assist them with entrepreneurial training and soft loans that will equip them with skills to establish smallscale businesses of their own rather than resort to begging for alms.

PZ employees donate 20 mattresses, deep freezer, food items to prison inmates

By Ugochukwu Alaribe

A

BA—EMPLOYEES of PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc, Aba, Abia State under the aegis of Inner Heart Foundation, have donated a giant deep freezer, food items and toiletries to the inmates of Nigerian Prisons in the city.

The food items donated included 100 tubers of yam, 20 mattresses, 10 pillows, five bags of rice, five cartons of detergent, one carton of vegetable oil, nine cartons of soap, 20 bags of tissue paper, two bags of garri, one bag of beans, 20 mosquito nets, five bags of salt, a bag of C M Y K

sugar, two containers of palm oil, one sewing machine and an undisclosed amount of cash.

Speaking while handing over the items to the prisons’ authorities, General Manager, PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc, Aba, Mr. Ifeanyichukwu Abadom, said the items, which were procured through the contribution of workers, were meant to boost the morale of the inmates as well as assure them that they had not been forgotten by the society.

Abadom explained that the donations were made by all PZ Cussons workers throughout the country who had tried to reach out to the communities and stakeholders around their areas of operation.

Every year, we look for a corporate project that we can use to touch the heart of communities. We look at it as a humanitarian gesture to assist the less privileged

According to him: “Every year, we look for a corporate project that we can use to touch the heart of communities and people around us. We look at it as a humanitarian gesture to assist the less privileged around our community. We believe that in helping the communities, the larger society can be better.

“Last year, we visited some schools and we made some donations to them. This year, we have decided to visit the prisons and also to contribute some of the things which you see around here for the welfare of the prisoners to ensure that the reformation process goes on smoothly.”

Earlier in his address,

Administration/ Operations Manager of the Company, Emma Ofordu, had described the Inner Heart Foundation as a humanitarian group interested in the welfare of the needy and less privileged in the society.

Receiving the items, the Deputy Comptroller in charge of the prison, Stephen Ugba, commended the PZ employees for their kind gesture, adding that the gifts would go a long way in helping the inmates.

He assured that the items donated would be distributed to the inmates and called on other corporate organizations and public spirited individuals to render assistance to the inmates.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 — 5

Crisis over 1910 land donation by Anambra community to govt

By Vincent Ujumadu

A

WKA— THE over 40

hectares of land donated by the people of Umuezeotutu village, Ihiala in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State 115 years ago has started causing disquiet in the area, as the new generation of the villagers are uncomfortable with the decision of their older generation, who they accused of dashing out their commonwealth without recourse to the feeling of those coming behind them.

Umuezeotutu village, bounded

by Okija in the north, Azia in the east, Umumeri in the west and Mbarapkaka in the south, lies along the Onitsha-Owerri expressway. When the colonial masters came to the area, they found the location suitable for locating government offices and subsequently approached the elders of the community who willingly donated the land to them. But it could not be ascertained how much compensation the then government paid to the people.

Virtually all government institutions in the local government area, including the local government headquarters, Magistrate and High Courts, Police, Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, Health Centre and Federal Road Maintenance Agency, FERMA, are located on the controversial land.

Following lack of land for their current farming activities, the villagers went into the area and started farming on the undeveloped portions. However, no sooner did this happen, than government bulldozers went in and uprooted the crops on the allegation that the people were encroaching on government land.

With many sons and daughters of the village now well educated, they looked into the books and found out that the colonial masters did not pay the community any compensation for acquiring the land.

After several deliberations, they began to mount pressure on government, complaining that the acquisition had denied their teeming youths available land spaces to build their own homes in their native community.

Besides, they argued that despite the fact that they were denied making use of their land, their people were not given preferential treatment in employment in the institutions located in the area.

What particularly irked them C M Y K

was the Anambra State Judiciary’s claim that the large parcel of land belongs to it, asking, what will the judiciary be doing with over 1,000 plots of land in a village that is not close to the state capital? To them, some members of the state Judiciary want to forcefully acquire their land for their personal gains.

As part of efforts to mount pressure on the state government to rescind the decision, the aggrieved people of Umuezeotutu recently staged a protest at the site where Judges’ Quarters are currently being constructed and expressed disgust over the manner bulldozers were allegedly deployed to their farms by the contractor handling the construction of the Judges’ building project and destroyed their crops without prior notice to them.

Though the people said they were not opposed to government acquisition of any part of their land for development purposes, they, however, insisted that the cause of their anguish was that due process was not followed in the acquisition of their land.

“The state government neither consulted our elders on the matter, nor paid any compensation for our economic trees being destroyed. ''Besides, over 40 hectares of

•Chief Judge of Anambra State, Justice Peter Umeadi

land totaling over 1,000 plots, just to accommodate Courts and Judges Quarters and other recreational facilities, are indeed too much,” they said.

A youth leader in the area, Mr. Offor Nnajiofor recalled that some time ago, a group of judiciary staff came to the village and said they were looking for their elders.

“At the meeting, they showed our people a survey plan that was done in 1975 and said that our forefathers gave them this land in 1910. The local government is on our land, Achala health centre is on our land, Magistrate Courts

I am very angry.

My cassava farm has been destroyed by the government and up till now, no compensation has been paid to me

• Obiano

1, 2 and 3 are on our land, customary court is on our land,” he said.

Mr. Festus Okwundu, aged 89 said: “My father died in 1946.

He was farming here. Our anger is that no compensation has been paid to us and nobody has ever called us to a meeting to tell us that government wants to take over our land.”

Mary Offodum, a widow aged 60 and Virginia Onyejemeni were among those whose crops were destroyed. Offodum said:”They came and destroyed our farmland and all our crops. I have four children but I am staying with only one now and I don’t know where I am going to get the money to pay her school fees because they have destroyed everything I have in my farm.”

On her part, Onyejemeni said: “I am very angry. My cassava farm has been destroyed by the government and up till now, no compensation has been paid to me. They should pay me because I suffered to plant the cassava.

They said that it is the Judge that told them to do it, but I don’t believe that any Judge will have the mind to tell them to destroy our farmland like that.”

But contrary to the claims by the natives, the state Judiciary insisted that the land in question belongs to it. Deputy Chief Registrar in charge of Planning, Research, Statistics and Stores in the High Court of Anambra State, Mr. Michael Mbanefo said the entire land known as “Ana Court Oduga” was donated to the state Judiciary in 1910 by the then traditional ruler of Ihiala, Oluoha Odimegwu Igwegbe.

According to him, the land was donated to the then colonial administration through Captain Dermot O’Conner for establishment of a provincial court, other court complexes and government stations, adding that the entire land was later captured and delineated in a survey plan No. OAC (A015) in 1975.

He said that Oluoha, as the custodian of Ihiala customs, tradition and lands, reserved overriding powers over any other clan or person in Ihiala over land in the area.

Mbanefo, however, described the allegation by the villagers that they were not given notice before bulldozers were deployed to clear the land for the construction of the Judges’ Quarters as false, saying that before the commencement of clearing of the site, a delegation of the state Judiciary management met with the natives and informed them about the plan to commence the construction of the Judges Quarters in the area.

“As I speak, we have not received any list from any of the villagers and we took it that everybody harvested his crops and that nobody’s crops were destroyed,” Mbanefo stated.

Besides, he expressed surprise that the natives were complaining against the sitting of the Judiciary in their area, saying that there are communities who even lobby for it to be located in their area because it brings development to their town.

DMGS, the oldest secondary school in Igbo land marks 90th anniversary

By Vincent Ujumadu

A

WKA—ALL roads will lead to the famous Dennis Memorial Grammar School, DMGS, Onitsha from Friday, October 2, 2015 for the three day 90th anniversary celebration of the school.

DMGS, Onitsha, the oldest secondary school in Igbo land, was established in 1925 by the Church Missionary Society.

Over the years, DMGS had built a reputation based on high standards of teaching and discipline as exemplified by the products of the school.

Indeed, the establishment of the school served as a beacon of light in educational development in lgbo land by the Anglican Church. The first intake consisted of 19 boarders and 46 day students. Ten years later in 1935, its yearly intake grew to 180 and it had been growing ever since.

Any child, who gained admission to DMGS in those days was considered a pride of his family because it was virtually obvious that such a person was sure of passing the School Certificate in flying colours. Passing through DMGS assured a child high moral upbringing, which every parent looked forward to.

The school was noted for churning out many young men who went to teach in other mission schools established by the church. Their assistance led

•Main Brick Building of DMGS

to the growth of new secondary schools such as Okrika Grammar School in Rivers State, St. Augustine’s Grammar School, Nkwerre in Imo State, Oraukwu Grammar School in Anambra State, Ngwa High School in Aba, Abia State and Agulu Grammar School, also in Anambra State.

DMGS is easily one of the leading institutions that have contributed to manpower development in Nigeria. In fact, many distinguished medical and legal practitioners,

educationists, administrators, army officers, engineers and other professionals, trace their career to DMGS. In many parts of the world, old boys of DMGS are holding notable positions of responsibility and leadership in universities and colleges, in church and state, in foreign embassies and mercantile firms, in state boards and statutory corporations, in the civil service and private businesses. Nigeria’s first indigenous vice chancellor of the University of Ibadan, the late Professor Kenneth Dike, was an old boy of DMGS. Many traditional rulers, including Igwe Professor Chukwuka Okonjo of Ogwashi Ukwu in Delta State, Igwe Dr. Nelson Esimai of Ohita in Ogbaru, Igwe Dr. Robert Eze of Ukpo, Igwe Dr. Daniel Udoji of Oraifite, Igwe Dr. Alex Ilouno of Ifitedunu and Igwe Chidubem Iweka of Obosi, are all old boys of DMGS.

6 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

We deal on fabrics, not hard drugs, Onitsha traders insist ...as crippled member dies of expired swallowed substance

BY NWABUEZE OKONKWO

O

NITSHA—FOLLOWING the recent sudden death of a crippled member ofMillennium Merchant and Importers Association, Sokoto Road, Onitsha, Anambra state, over an expired quantity of cocaine which was allegedly stocked in his bowels in a bid to escape detection by security agents in far away, Cote D’Ivoire, leaders of the association have vehemently denied involvement

of their members in drug trafficking. The traders had been shocked to the marrow by the news of the death of their member (names withheld), over his alleged involvement in trafficking of illicit and prohibited drugs as cocaine and heroin.

Chairman and Secretary of the association, Chief Valentine Ezechukwu andIkenna Igboamaeze who expressed shock at the news of the cause of the sudden death of their registered member, however, stated that the discovery that their

•Chief Valentine Ezechukwu, chairman; Millennium Merchant and Importers Association deceased member died as a result of hard drug which he was attempting to smuggle into a foreign land by road, does not mean that all the traders in the market are involved in drug trafficking.

According to Ezechukwu and

Igboamaeze, “we deal on fabrics mainly imported from China likewise our departed colleague.

That he was allegedly caught in the act does not justify that all the traders here are all drug traffickers”, they stated.

“We’re law-abiding citizens who import and sell fabrics. We also knew the deceased who we fondly called ‘ngworo’ as a hardworking trader, but we didn’t know he was allegedly involved in the trafficking of hard drugs.

How would we know? All that we knew about him was that he was a gentle and hard-working trader”, they further stated.

They also recalled that the deceased was a man who enjoyed some privileges from the market executive because of his physical condition, regretting howeverhis alleged action which they admitted has portrayed the traders in a bad light and advised other traders in the market not to engage themselves in any business that may further tarnish the good image of the market union.

Some other traders who spoke to newsmen, also described the deceased who hailed from Ukpor,

Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State and was said to be married with two children, as a gentle and easygoing man whose outward look and behaviour betrayed his inner character.

They said they usually sight him either in his shop discussing business deals with friends on the latest fabrics to be imported from China or in front of his shop at Millennium Merchant Market, Sokoto Road scouting for potential customers.

The said it was unbelievable that the disabled who could not walk on his two legs except with the support of the wheel chair could engage in the business of exporting prohibited drugs which has now attracted international attention, adding that he was said to have enjoyed enormous social support and privileges from fellow traders because of his physical condition.

They contended that when the news of the cause of his death was linked to drug trafficking, instead of engaging in importation of fabric materials from China, the entire market was hit with a wave of shock.

Mother of two gives birth to quadruplets looking for a girl

BY CHIMAOBI NWAIWU

N

NEWI—MRS. Gladys Ejide, 30, and a mother of two boys, from Uruagu in Nnewi, in Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra state, had wished to have a baby girl at least to be her companion, like every other woman would wish and decided to take in for her third baby who she expected would be a girl.

However, as the saying goes, ‘’man proposes but God disposes as Mrs Ejide was blessed with a quadruplets all male, delivered at Rush Green Hospital Onitsha Anambra state on Wednesday September 9, 2015.

Speaking with South East Voice, the now mother of six said, “I am a civil servant with the Anambra State Post Primary Schools Service Commission. I knew that I was pregnant but I never had in mind that they would be four. We were expecting twins as the scan result showed but miraculously, they came out four. I had waist pain and all that but eventually, this is what has happened,” she said.

A visibly happy Mrs. Ejide, said that like the other babies she had she kept all the appointments for her antenatal, and whenever there was any problem, she did not fail to see her doctors who assured that whatever the case was, the babies will come out alive but I was never told they were quadruplets.

“It was the severe waist pain that even made me to start suspecting that they may be more than two, I have never carried twins, before but I know that my previous pregnancies were different from this last one.

There was a clear difference and that was why I met the doctors and did Ultra Sound test where it was discovered that they were C M Y K

•Mr and Mrs Ejide, in Rush Green Hospital Onitsha twins,” she said.

Asked how she was able to move about to her work and other house hold chores, she said, “actually it was not easy for me at all, but I had to manage. I did the household chores without any assistance from outsiders except my husband, but I know that the challenges were there because every little thing I did, I got tired.

“The weight and other associated problems that came with pregnancy, were much, so I was making out time to take some rest at intervals, but I kept managing until when I eventually had rupture of membrane, so I came to the hospital and got admitted until the babies came,” she said.

Asked if she was conscious of her situation while delivery, she said, “I was not unconscious, I knew the intervals at which they all came out, I was not unconscious, I know that after the first baby came out, it took about an hour, five minutes before the second one came. That second one took some time, we were even thinking it was just two but after that the doctor confirmed that there were more babies, and after that the remaining two took intervals of about 30 minutes to come.

“It was just the second one that took much time to come out, I was observing everything, I was

•Quadruplets

not also afraid, I had the courage, I know that the God that put them there would take care of them. I give God the glory,” she added.

Mrs. Ejide, however, said that she was not surprised about her quadruplets, as her family members had the history of delivering multiple babies.

“My eldest sister had triplets in her second pregnancy; my elder brother had twins, so when I discovered I was having babies I was not really surprised because I knew that in my linage,

My eldest sister had triplets in her second pregnancy; my elder brother had twins, so when I discovered I was having babies I was not really surprised because I knew that in my linage, it is not a surprising thing to have more than one baby.

it is not a surprising thing to have more than one baby. What surprised me was that, mine was not just twins but quadruplets, which is a blessing from God. “I am however, appealing for financial assistance or scholarships from the South East governors, particularly the Anambra and Imo State governments and other good spirited individuals, organizations, churches for these ‘special children.’

They are unique in that sense that the four boys which is not always the case for quadruplets, two identical on each side, they need to be provided for at this critical time of their lives, they should not lack anything at least for now.

On whether she still had plans to look for a baby girl, she said “well, I do not think we want more babies. I think we are okay with these ones, even though we always wanted a baby girl. Of course, variety is spice of life, we had two boys before, we went for this one, we were hoping this will be a girl but eventually, it happened that four boys came in place of a baby girl.

“Children are gifts from God, so we will train them properly so that they will grow up and become useful to the society."

Her husband, Mr. Victor Ejide , a young legal practitioner on his

part described the quadruplets as ‘’embarrassing blessing and gift of God,” for which he would always remain grateful. “it is a miracle to us, usually this kind of gift from God is not common, we thank God. “Usually it is not common to deliver four babies without going through the hurdles of Caesarean operation, this is a record, we have a reason to thank God, I believe that having given us such blessing, we still expect support from Him. “We believe that God will bring help through individuals, organizations and governments, and we will appreciate same. I believe His support can take any form, I am trusting him strongly, I am neither discouraged nor downcast,” he added.

Also speaking, the Medical Director of Rush Green Hospital, Dr. Davey Osoka, a Chief Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, said: “Mrs. Ejide became pregnant and we continued monitoring her, at a stage we did Ultra Sound and discovered she had multiple pregnancy. At that stage we were not quite sure, I thought it was only two from what we saw, but subsequently we saw they were more, we just kept managing them until she came into labour on September 9, 2015, at 31 weeks pregnancy period.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 — 7

Dangerous valleys of death dotting South East geopolitical zone

BY FRANCIS IGATA Indications from E the Chartered Institute of Management of Nigeria puts the NUGU —

south-east geopolitical zone at the receiving end topping other fives zones in the quantum of abandoned projects nationwide worth over N12 trillion.

Abandoned roads gulp greater percentage in the chunk of funds dispensed even as the masses perennially grapple with the unending deplorable conditions as they move from one destination to the other.

The airwaves was awash last week of news from the DirectorGeneral of Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, ICRC, Aminu Diko, adducing reasons for the abandonment of the 2nd Niger Bridge to range from the actual cost of the bridge, non- issuance of the Certificate of Compliance, non-compensation of the host community and non- adherence to due process in the award of the contract as responsible for the stoppage of the contract.

The ever-busy Enugu-Port Harcourt express-way has always been a death trap for commuters as the window dressing measures applied to rehabilitate the road by ex-president Goodluck Jonathan has proven to be a mere bargaining chip to curry votes from unsuspecting people of the south-east during electioneering campaigns.

It was gathered that, the main contract to rehabilitate the road from Enugu end, awarded to the CCC, has since been abandoned, with no sign of the company in the area.

THE TEAM

Editor: Emeka Mamah - Enugu (08033218645; email: emekemamah@yahoo.com) Anayo Okoli, Umuahia Vincent Ujumadu, Awka Austin Ogwuda, Awka Chidi Nkwopara, Owerri Peter Okutu , Abakaliki Chimaobi Nwaiwu, Nnewi

Francis Igata, Enugu Nwabueze Okonkwo, Onitsha

Ugochukwu Alaribe, Aba Enyim Enyim, Onitsha Chinoso Alozie, Owerri Obialunamma Nwadiogbu, Amawbia Eric Ugbor, Aba C M Y K

Ndigbo are routinely being put at risk everyday as a result of the failure of the state to provide adequate amenities for its citizens which has hamstrung socioeconomic activities of the people.

Enugu-Onitsha death trap The Enugu-Onitsha axis was the economic stronghold of the old Eastern Region. The road is now a shadow of its old self;no thanks to the deplorable state of the highway linking Enugu, Awka and Onitsha.

Travelling on the road EnuguOnitsha expressway built in the 70s by the Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo has become a nightmare, with motorists often abandoning the highway to reroute their trips through the old road from Udi to Awka. The contractors hired to fix the road abandoned it. They have since withdrawn their equipment and barricaded some sections of the road.

Nobody can say exactly the content of the memorandum of the contract. The contractors – Messrs CCC Construction Company, ascribe their non performance to the non release of funds by the government.

Sources say the project was abandoned out of frustration.

Old 9th Mile-Nsukka road A journey of 20 minutes from 9th Mile to Opi,Nsukka junction, yawning craters dotting the road has prolonged travel hours to a harrowing two hours.

Evacuation of farm produce has become a herculean task along the corridor predominantly known for their farming activities.

Right in front of former Minister

•Motorists meandering through terrible portions of 9th Mile road, Enugu of Aviation’s residence,Akuabata Njeze, portions of the road has carved in, threatening to completely cut off motorists from plying the road.

PENOK end, Enugu-Onitsha express-way Few weeks to the last March 28 Presidential election, earth moving machines were mobilized to the Penocks axis of

the Enugu-Onitsha express-way with Enugu metropolis ostensibly to effect rehabilitation work but immediately disappeared the result of the election was announced in favour of the All Progressives Congress,APC. Implications A cloud of discontent is gathering among the Igbo

community over the deplorable situation of roads in region. Part of the discontent emanates on the pedestal of self belongingness on the entity called Nigeria.

South-East Voice checks revealed that a mounting disconnect looms,occasioned by the deplorable conditions of the roads in the region which is said to be the worst among the six geopolitical zones.

Dean laments drug abuse across Nigeria HE DEAN Faculty of T Pharmaceutical Science, University of Nigeria, Nsuuka,

UNN, Professor Emmanuel Ibezim has decried the high rate of counterfeit and unwholesome drug abuse in the country, saying it was high time pharmacists asserted their professional relevance by curbing the menace.

Ibezim spoke at the opening ceremony of the 40th National Convention of the Pharmaceutical Association of Nigeria Students, PANS, held at the Nsukka Campus of the university.

The don noted that the problems of ill- regulated and chaotic drug distribution network in the country appeared to have defied human solution,adding that ‘’the lip service currently being paid by the powers that be to the nation’s numerous drug related issues was disturbing.’’

According to him,the

convention should be able to make significant inputs that would help to address the menace.

“The emerging field of pharmaceutical biotechnology and how best it can be integrated and actualize in our pharmaceutical experience in Nigeria goes without saying,” he added.

Also speaking, the Chairman of the Convention Planning Committee, Ewelum Patrick Chisom, described the theme of this year’s convention entitled: Preparing the Nigerian Pharmacy Students for Global Future,” was timely, pointing out that it would enable the students work together, build team spirit as well as among others, learn from pharmacists.

“We strongly believe that these will help us in our foray into diverse pharmacy careers: hospital, community, industry, academics and research, journalism, administration,

marketing and sales, quality control, just to mention a few “he further said.

The Registrar, Pharmacists Council of Nigeria, Elijah Muhammed noted that the future of Nigeria pharmacy depended on the ability of the students to uphold the ethics of the profession.

Muhammed drew the students’ attention to the theme of the convention, calling for a synergy between the students and pharmacists. Earlier in his speech, the President Pharmaceutical Association of Nigeria students, Raymond Okokoh described the week long 40th convention as an opportunity for the students to interact.

Okokoh explained that the activities outlined in the convention made it possible for inter-ethnic relationship making reference to the participating students who were drawn from schools across the country.

Fire disaster averted in Abia community

BY ANAYO OKOLI

U

MUAHIA—DISASTER was averted last week at Amaibo and Amiyiuhu autonomous communities of Isuikwuato Local Government Area of Abia State following the discovery of leakage of NNPC pipeline that pass through the rural communities.

No fewer than 100 people were consumed by pipeline explosion in the same communities in 2003 when the villagers were scooping petrol from burst NNPC pipeline. The disaster threw the communities into years of mourning.

The timely detection and intervention of the community

leaders in the area has perhaps saved what could have been another disaster.The pipeline said to have been exposed by erosion which is adversely threatening the community. The exposed pipeline broke and spilled petroleum products into the communities’ farm lands.

The oil spillage, which the communities said has already polluted their only source of drinking water and damaged many farm lands in the area, was said to have been detected on August 30, prompting them to alert engineers from the NNPC of the looming danger and urged them to come and repair the damage before it was too late.

According to a youth leader in the area who doubles as the head of guards securing the pipelines

in the area, Mr. Aloysius Agu, the matter was quickly reported to NNPC when the spillage was noticed.

Agu blamed the spillage on weak pipelines which, according to him were due for replacement as they have aged over time. To avoid frequent bursting, the pipelines needed to be changed, he opined.

He however disclosed that a technical team from NNPC had visited the leaking site called for urgent intervention to save the people from the impending disaster normally associated with bust oil pipeline in the rural areas.

The member representing Isuikwuato at the Abia State House of Assembly, Mrs. Uloma Onuoha, also appealed to the

Federal Government and management of the NNPC to quickly repair the leakage to avoid fire disaster like what they experienced in 2003 when such leakage caused fire outbreak while the people were scooping oil from the leaked pipelines.

The traditional rulers of the communities, Eze Barnabas Okoronkwo and Eze Ifeanyichukwu Ugoagha, lamented that their farmlands and only source water had been polluted by the spillage.

Calling for urgent action to rectify the problem, the traditional rulers lamented the 2003 fire explosion in which no fewer than 100 people in the communities lost their lives while scooping petroleum products burst pipelines.

8 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

Abbattoir blights joy of beautiful home-owner

BY CHIMAOBI NWAIWU The joy of every N youth married or unmarried man is to leave his NEWI-

father’s house and move into his own building once there is an opportunity to do so. This was even as parents who live to see their children do that, also feel happy that they have come of age and are able to fend for themselves while they were alive.

However, for Mr. Chinedu Ekwugha, a native of Umunya, and an Onitsha based building materials dealer, who had travelled out of the country for greener pasture and later returned to settle in his country home to start his thriving business which had sustained him and his lovely family, building a mansion besides his late father’s house was a thing of joy.

Ekwugha’s late parents, unfortunately, did not live to see the imposing one storey building which their son erected.

His gigantic building, which is directly opposite the Umunya Junction, near the scene of a terrible trailer accident that consumed over 80 lives in Anambra State about six years ago, has now now become a source of sorrow and gnashing of teeth, following the citing of

an abattoir beside the house by the state government.

Ekwgha had met everybody that needed to be met to help relocate the abattoir, including Mr. Peter Obi the former governor of Anambra State, the traditional ruler of Umunya, Igwe Chris Onyekwuluje and members of Anambra State House of Assembly, but all efforts proved abortive.

Speaking with South East Voice, Ekwugha said he had not set his foot into any of the two compounds for the past three years due to the offensive odour from the abattoir, as water mixed with animal blood sipped into the two compounds.

He said he did not know whom he offended in Umunya that warranted the citing of the Abattoir beside his building when there were over 50 plots of land donated by Ezi Umunya village for that purpose.

“My fore-fathers had been living here happily since 1945 but our joy turned sour immediately they started operating a slaughter house here.

“They started this business in May 2012, and I made several efforts to make them relocate it to where it should be but was frustrated, all the ministries I went to could not cause its relocation. The former Chairman

Chinedu in his new house submerged by flood mixed with cow blood polluted water from slaughter littered all over the compounds, they channeled every liquid waste to our buildings.”

Efforts to speak with the relevant officials over the issue proved abortive.

Chinedu Ekwugha and his cousin in his late fathers compound littered with cow blood. of Oyi Local Government, Uchenna Okafor, was here on two occasions and promised to do something about the matter but that was all,” he said.

According to him, ‘’when I took the matter to the immediate past Anambra State House of Assembly, it set up a committee comprising of Ministries of Agriculture, Environment, Health and the local government to look into the matter but the committee said that elections were around the corner, and could not do anything.

“The present Commissioner for

Environment, Chinwe Nwaebili was the immediate past Speaker of the State House of Assembly, when I reported the matter.

“I cannot quantify the loss we have incurred in the two compounds, what we are asking for is total relocation of this slaughter.

“My father’s house is falling apart, the wall has been pulled own, my house has been submerged, all the electronics there have been destroyed because of the cow blood that flows into our compounds. You can see patches of cow blood

My fore-fathers had been living here happily since 1945 but our joy turned sour immediately they started operating a slaughter house here.

CWO fetes 83 at Golden Jubilee anniversary celebration

BY NWABUEZE OKONKWO

Activities O marking the 50th Golden Jubilee Anniversary NITSHA -

C M Y K

Celebrations of the National Council of Catholic Women Organization, NCCWO was performed, weekend, with distinguished honorary awards bestowed on no fewer than 83 distinguished personalities from the old Onitsha Catholic Archdiocesan Ecclesiatical Region now split into three Provinces, namely Onitsha, Owerri and Calabar provinces.

Onitsha Province has Onitsha Archdiocese, Enugu, Abakaliki, Awka, Nsukka, Nnewi and Awgu Dioceses, while Owerri Province has Owerri Archdiocese, Umuahia, Orlu, Okigwe, Ahiara and Aba Dioceses, just as Calabar Province has Calabar Archdiocese, Uyo, Ogoja, Port Harcourt and Ikot Ekpene Dioceses.

Among the prominent award recepients included the mother founder of NCCWO, Chief V.V.I Okoye who was honoured as

Legend of CWO in Nigeria, while the Anambra State Commissioner for Education, Prof. Kate Omenugha from Onitsha Ecclesiastical Province was honoured as a distinguished personality. Omenugha was also

chairman of the occasion.

Other award recepients were Oscar Ogbu, former Economic Adviser to former President Olusegun Obasanjo; Chief Chris Ekiyor, former President of Ijaw Youths Council; IYC, Lady Dr. P.

C. Agommuoh from Owerri Province and a lecturer in the Department of Science Education, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Umuahia and Dr. Eno Ebong from Calabar Province

Some of the prominent women honouring one of the awards recipients

and Deputy Director, Akwa Ibom State University, Obiokpa Campus.

In his homily during a concelebrated high mass to mark the occasion, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Onitsha Ecclesiatical province, His Grace, Most Rev. Dr. Valerian Maduka Okeke, noted that 50 years of CWO in Nigeria should mark a new generation where cultures, groups and individuals would reconcile for a fresh start.

Archbishop Okeke who further noted that the strength of CWO is based on love, selflessness and sacrifice, paid a glowing tribute to founding mothers of the organization, pointing out that only a good leader can change our generation from bad to good, good to better and better to best.

In her remarks, President of CWO, Chief Agnes Erogunaye commended the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, CBCN for approving the establishment of CWO in Nigeria and pledged their determination to continue to propagate the ideals of christian family.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 — 29

the take downs from the Egyptian. Was more bothered that you seemed to fold without putting up a fight. That the knee prevented you from even taking a single shot was clear after the referee declared the winner. We will get that knee fixed.

Nigeria owes you that much.

SAMPSON CLARKSON 65kg: I thought we had the Tunisian in the bag after the first period. A bronze medal performance was not bad, considering that we could have left without a medal with that pinfall scare against the Mozambican. Get back to the grind and stake your claim in that class. You have to belong to the class of African champions before your best days are over.

AMAS DANIEL 61kg: You give me pure joy when you are in your element. The way you dispatched Algeria, and later Tunis in the finals gave me peace of mind.

I particularly like the fact that you wrestle freestyle wrestling, flowing from attack to defence to counterattack even on paterre position. I expected you to win and you did not disappoint. You are good enough to qualify for the Olympics and hunt for a medal in Rio. You are poetry in motion on a good day. Worthy champion!

As I have mentioned to you many times over, we need to put more meat and muscles on that body. We need to get stronger and meaner before the Olympic qualifiers next year.

EBIKEWENIMO: Am really gutted that you did not win a medal in Brazzaville. I had you down for a gold medal. I knew your silver medal at the African championships in April was down to a tactical error. I was confident you would put yourself together and re enact your 2013 form that gave you the African title. To qualify for the Olympics next year, you need to be a lot more mobile and less predictable as you were in Brazzaville.

That calls for a lot of hard work and dedication.

FEMALE WRESTLING

MERCY GENESIS 48kg: For a junior wrestler in her first senior African tournament, you showed a lot of maturity, poise and decision making throughout this tournament. It’s because of the effort you put into all your matches that made me almost destroy the computer when that wrong call was made to terminate your match against the Tunisian. Worthy champion you are. Lots of work ahead to maintain and surpass set targets next year.

You have the potential to go very far in the sport with a bit more strategic fine tuning and lots of time on the mats.

ADEKUOROYE ODUNAYO 53kg: You are a star! You are mean spirited in a good way when you are out there riding roughshod over opponents. That you sing and clap hands when coming out to wrestle had them calling you the SINGING NIGERIAN. To think that just last year you lost for the second time against the Senegalese and that this year, you have already beaten her twice and in such dominant fashion speaks volumes about the progress you have made in the last year. Do you still have the autograph from 2011? I remember saying something about “AN OLYMPIC CHAMPION IN 2016”. Your first match against Russia at the World Championships in Vegas, and the subsequent one against Ukraine, tells me, we will be in for a treat in Rio. A bronze medal at the World championships the year before the Olympics is a good Omen!!!

PATIENCE OPUENE 55kg: You put it together at the right time in every match.

I worried about the LOST look you presented during your semi finals against Egypt. Now I realize you may have wrestled with a concussion in the finals. A worthy gold medallist you were. A true

IJAW warrior. You will need time off to recuperate before we start the push for the qualification for RIO. I salute you.

AMINAT ADENIYI 58kg: Why did you almost give me a heart attack against Tunis? Was the loss to her at the African championships in April constantly on your mind? Good retaliation this time around though. You were the aggressor in all your matches. Worthy Champion. We really need to stay away from putting ourselves in those dangerous positions and make life A lot easier by making smart attacks and being in control of what should otherwise be dominant positions. Lots of work ahead to put ourselves together for Olympic qualification next year.

EBI JAMES 60khg: I realize this was your first international tournament, but how could we be winning 9-1 in the second period and stills age to lose a match?

How did that gold medal slip away from us? Yours was a silver medal, but it’s worth a gold to me.

You wrestled like I never expected.

Even while leading by so many points, I could sense your eagerness and ruthlessness to finish things off. You sense blood and you go for the kill. Remember to keep at it on the Mats and pound the pavements. We need bigger lungs and some mat sense and you be fine.

BLESSING OBORUDUDU 63kg: Many who have wrestled against you told me that you are a BEAST, and I agreed. You only need to realize the enormous power and force you possess to realize that a medal in RIO is within your reach. You were dominant. You dispatched everyone 10-0 in the first period.

I knew you would win. I also know that if and when your performances match your abilities, you have bright chances at the Olympics. My heart never skipped a bit all through the tournament concerning you, for that, I salute you.

HANNAH REUBEN 69kg: You may have won a silver medal, but you now know that you could have won the gold medal. You know that you can beat Egypt and Cameroun. The calamity against the Egyptian in the finals was regrettable, because after the second minute, I was confident you would win. This is the best I have ever seen you wrestle, and it gives me lots of positive vibes concerning your chances of being an African Champion next year.

BLESSING ONYEBUCHI 75kg: You battled with injuries all year. You were written off even before the tournament. You have guts. You wrestled with trepidation against Egypt and even Cameroun in the finals. But I know that you now know that the 75kg class is yours for the taking next year. We just have to get you using those long arms effectively and using the enormous strength in that 5:11" frame that will disturb most in the world. You wrestled well. I am looking forward to seeing you rule Africa next year. Enjoy the next two weeks, you deserve it. But there is a lot of work ahead of we are to make any headway in Rio. See you all in another two weeks.

CSKA Moscow v PSV:

Cocu’s side looking to make history P

SV have history in their sights when they travel to take on CSKA Moscow in the Champions League today.

The Eredivisie champions, who shocked Manchester United on matchday one, have never before won their opening two group games in the competition, though they have fond memories of facing the Russian Premier League leaders.

PSV won home and away at this stage of the 2007-08 tournament against CSKA and got back to winning ways in the domestic top flight with a 2-1 victory at home to NEC on Saturday, leaving coach Phillip Cocu proud of his team’s character.

“We could not create enough chances because we slowed down the tempo of the game,” he said after the match. “Then

•Musa we responded well and managed to move up a gear.

“But at the end of the day we should be glad to have bagged the three points. We fought well and showed character to earn a hard-fought victory.”

Llorente fears Juventus backlash

S

evilla forward Fernando Llorente fears a Juventus backlash in the Champions League tonight.

Llorente misses the game against his former club due to injury, but has delivered a warning to his team-mates that the Bianconeri’s current league form only makes them even more dangerous at Juventus Stadium.

Juve are currently 15th in Serie A, with only five points from their first six games of the season.

They did, however, beat Manchester City 2-1 in their opening Champions League fixture and Llorente, who played the final five minutes of last June’s ill-fated final for Juve, is expecting them to show their true colours today.

Van Gaal: We must win our home games L

OUIS VAN GAAL is banking on home comforts to keep Manchester United’s Champions League dream alive. United host Wolfsburg in Group B tonight looking to get their first points of this season’s competition.

Van Gaal’s men were left reeling after losing their opening clash at PSV Eindhoven earlier this month.

The pressure is on United to get their campaign up and running and Van Gaal admits winning home games is what matters most.

Van Gaal, who will be without injured stars Michael Carrick, Luke Shaw, Marcos Rojo and Ander Herrera, said: “In the Champions League you need to win all your home matches.

“Otherwise it will be very difficult (to reach the knockout

stages).

“It’s still possible, of course, but it’s important that we win (home games).”

Van Gaal reckons United have matured into a force this season that can make an impact in club football’s biggest competition.

Kompany misses out of City clash with Borussia Monchengladbach

M

•Van Gaal

Benítez focuses on derby R

•Benitez

•Llorente

afa Benítezis fully focused on this weekend’s derby, and even though Real Madrid’s next match today against Malmo, the Spaniard can’t stop thinking about Sunday’s clash withAtlético Madrid.

That much is reflected in his squad for the trip to Sweden. None of his injured players are in it.Ramos, James, Bale, Pepe and Daniloall stayed behind in Madrid to work on their respective recoveries.

Of these players, only three have any chance of featuring against Atlético, and even if they do they won’t be in tip-top condition. Benítez and the three players in question (Ramos, James and Bale) will have to assess whether playing them is worth the risk. Pepe and Danilo have both been ruled out of the trip to the Calderón.

anchester City captain Vincent Kompany has been ruled out of today ’s Champions League trip to Borussia Monchengladbach.

The defender has missed City’s last three games with a calf injury and will not travel to Germany with the rest of the squad. Fellow centre-back Eliaquim Mangala (groin) also remains on the sidelines.

However, there was better news for manager Manuel Pellegrini as goalkeeper Joe Hart, David Silva and Yaya Toure were all included in the travelling party for a game City will feel they have to win if they are to progress to the knockout stages.

•Kompany C M Y K

30 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 15 30,, 20 2015

•Cross section of attendees of the women's conference

Women, e-commerce and the attainment of work, life balance PROFILES

M

ICHAEL Umogun is Head, Business Development at Millward Brown Nigeria . He is involved in Brand Development & Strategic Marketing of the company's products and services. He is a fellow of the Institutes of Direct Marketing of Nigeria (IDMN) and the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria.

Ibironke Ojesebholo works at Ceroms Media Productions Limited, as a Creative Director and Producer where she uses her training as a family advisor and entrepreneur in the production of family oriented dramas for television.She started a costume and clothing accessories business, Fabrique Afrique, which she still runs as an online store.

Olayinka Thomas Ogboja is a business woman and the executive director of Thomas .O. Women Network. She is currently writing her Ph.d thesis on e-commerce.

Agbolade Omowole: He is a social media expert and technology futurist. He works with the Institute of Ethics and Emerging Technology, IEET, USA, a "technoprogressive C M Y K

think tank" that seeks to contribute to understanding of the likely impact of emerging technologies on individuals and societies by"promoting and publicizing the work of thinkers who examine the social implications of scientific and technological advance" Juliet Esiri: She is the CEO of Arewa Beauty Centre. She is a beauty therapist and aspiring e-commerce practitioner who was based in the UK..

Adaora Ezeji is a Petroleum engineer. She is presently working as a Technical Sales Engineer with Ofserv Nigeria, a technical services company to the oil and gas industry. Her interests are in counseling, and groomimg great minds for a better society. She is an easy

I am an engineer and I really want to practice — Adaora Ezeji

going individual with the hope for raising a family soon.

Barrister Kola Alapinni He is a partner of Business and Human Right Attorneys.

He masters in International Human Rights with experience in corporate delivery.

Morin Obaweya: She is a business woman and an arts curator. She is also the Managing Director of Health Access Management and supplies Ltd a healthcare management and consulting company.

Consulting company She founded Lifestrokes Gallery and has since been committed to the promotion, enhancement and growth of Nigerian and African Arts and Crafts.

Morin Obaweya has spearheaded the planning of numerous exhibitions for both individuals and groups of artists and crafts people and collaborated with several organisations, including UNICEF in an exhibition together with Nimbus Gallery held at the Transcorp Hilton towards raising awareness of its activities and projects in Nigeria.

Murna Danmadami is a mass communicator and has worked with NTA Kaduna, NTA2 Channel 5 and The Bisi Olatilo Show. She is the former Projects Director of Kiddies Talent Show.

Morenike Taire (Moderator) When you are juggling full time work and family responsibilities, it’s something that nobody can replace. We would like to start this discussion by having us define what work balance is.

Ibironke Ojesebholo Work/ life balance is a successful integration of our work life and our family life. This has been a difficult thing, especially in our environment here in Lagos because we have so many factors that play against us having a work /life balance, considering our environment, roads and others; especially considering our work situations. Usually you would have to travel a long distance to get to work.

(Moderator) I am trying to match that with the reality. Miss Ezeji, when you start a family, what do you expect to find?

Adaora Ezeji. My work routine is I wake up 4.30, and need to leave the house by 5:30 to beat all the Lagos traffic. I get to work and start by 8:00 and

leave the office between 5-7p.m. and have to face two hours traffic. I get home on the average of 8-9 p.m. If I intend to get married in a few months from now I am going to have to organize my home and when the kids start coming how am I going to manage the situation?

An ideal situation would be working somewhere close to my home.

I am beginning to prepare my mind for marriage, or when pregnant looking for ways to manage the situation with the way nannies are acting-- you guys heard about the nanny who kidnapped the Orekoya's three kids, I am sure that woman is probably at home now. I am an engineer and I really want to practice.

Practice of engineering That is why I found this topic very interesting, and I told my boss that please, I need to be here to understand what women are really facing because I am not married yet, but I am hoping to do so in the near future.

Sometimes my fiancée is like I don't want a nanny in my house, and I am like how are we going to do this, and he is like you can't trust your kids in the hands of another person except you have to bring your mother.

Are you going to pay her for that? These are some of the things on my mind that I am beginning to prepare my mind for. Really I want to learn from people who are doing it and are successfully doing it. I know

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 15 —31 30,, 20 2015

Women, e-commerce and the attainment of work,life balance there are a lot of people who are working who are planning their homes and they still tell you that it is not easy. Many of them don’t see their kids dress up; many of them don't see their kids when they get back home.

How then do we inculcate morals and values in these children?

I mean a lot of these women leave their kids in the hands of house helps, it is only what the house help teaches them that they learn and it is really sad. I am here to learn as a lot of the participants are women, mothers, and career people and you leave your house everyday in the morning, you don't have that flexibility of time, so I am basically here to understand what is your own experience so that it can help shape my own path.

Yinka Thomas-Ogboja We have to think carefully about our situation and decide what is most important and what is best to concentrate on. What I was taught is that having a successful family life is being able to marry these two to actually integrate our work life and our family life. If you have children, you have to think of them very well.

Security guards As much as you need to provide for them, you have to try to be available for them because you do not want them to take their first examples from nannies, drivers, security guards and gardeners, you want to be there to teach them what you learnt and what you experienced for them not to make mistakes, for them to be ready for life and so many other things. It is to evaluate points, what is most important, how can I make things work out to the advantage of everybody around me.

Michael Umogun We are just being our natural self allowing the people that are most affected by the scenario to talk, but if you want us to talk about work life balance here we go. To a good number of men, it is a concerted attempt or effort by the women folk to balance their work/ professional life with their responsibility on the home front.

The society is challenged by the fact that women want to develop a career and at the same time we have expectations from them as mothers and good family planners. It is a big task for them to achieve under the circumstance.

From an African perspective, it is heavily theoretical and at times could be very difficult to bring to light because balancing the two could be a challenge. It may be an issue of semantics.

It works easier when you’re sleeping with the boss — Ehizojie Ojesebholo One definitely will have priority over the other and the reality of our society has shown that where the person involved is pushing one too far, the other definitely suffers. The feminine gender in our society are faced with the decision of making a difficult task work. I would say 'tough call' because to get the two well balanced is difficult.

The question we ask ourselves is: do we really expect the women to have a balanced work and life? Isn’t the society asking for too much in expecting the balance to occur under the circumstance? The reality is you can't balance the two. I may be wrong because I am not a key player.

Under the circumstances women should make the best of the situation.

Yinka Thomas-Ogboja Buttressing on what Michael has said, the focus should be on trying because there will be days that you would be a bad mother. I am doing something related to this in my doctoral study. There was a woman who told us she doesn’t even attempt to perfect both. When

The society is challenged by the fact that women want to develop a career and at the same time we have expectations from them as mothers and good family planners

It’s a tall course — Mike Umogun

she knows she has fallen short in an area, when she has the time she tries to make up in other areas. Our lives are peculiar; it is important for women to be able to know what works for them at every point in time.

Achieving balance What is the priority now and how can I go about it? If you wake up in the morning and you are thinking, how do I achieve this balance, the pressure it puts on you even reduces your productivity.You really have to tell yourself what is the reality. It is the life you have that you can balance. It is not balancing it really because it might not be feasible.

Ibironke Ojesebholo: When you think of balance, it’s like one or the other and the two have to be separated and you have to put them on a scale and they have to stay on the same weight. It does not happen that way. Which is why modern terminology is now moving towards, integration, instead of saying work life balance, we say work/life integration.

It is more of an integration. It is knowing when you are falling short and having to make adequate cover up for that area. It is not easy for a mother who works outside the home to say I have a 3- year old that I need to take care of and be around for. At some point, you have to decide how much time do I have for this child, how much time do I make for even the older ones because at different stages they have different needs.

Usually the children who are younger are easier to leave with people because they tend to forgive you when you come back. That is the mistake we make. If we leave them for too long when they are younger, by the time they get to the adolescent/ teenage years, they are used to being left alone and they don’t want to talk to you.

We have to make time for them and make the time count.

If I have two hours to spend with my kids, let me spend it with them; not by just being in the house. We should actually have some interactions with them. I think that is what really counts.

You can be in the house for the whole day but there is no interaction or communication.

Maybe one is watching Africa Magic and the kids are watching Cartoon Network and we are not actually talking.

Murna Danmadami: How about we move from calling it work life balance to calling it work/ life fit, since you cannot create a balance between the two. Whatever you do, you have to try and make a life out of your career or work.

So there would be time for work, which is never ending, and there is also going to be family time. And when you know that this is family time, make sure that work does not encroach into family time. For me I am trying to imbibe that mindset when I am at work 85. While I am home, I am home.

Work continues the next day except it is urgent, and really important and I can't exempt myself from it at that time.

Bolade Omowole It is said that the best time to plant a seed is ten years ago- the next best time is now. Young women who

intend to get married need some kind of orientation. if someone is working before he or she gets married, then she has to really plan. That means how am I going to share my time with my boss in the office, my husband and kids and that can be really challenging. It has to do with self discovery like she said work life harmony. You have to find what you love doing in life.

Five year plan When you are working and it doesn't look like you are working because you are doing what you like. Once you discover yourself you discover what you are good at then you can start up something from the comfort of your own room.

If you are doing what you really love you won't be talking about work life balance, you will be talking about harmonizing both.

Wherever you work you still have access to attend to your kids and go back to work. So everything boils down to planning and that planning has to be comprehensive, not guessing. Ladies before they get married should have a five year plan, save up something and if you are really doing what you like, I don't think you are really working, you are just doing what you like.

Morin Obaweya: I tend to also agree with him. A woman's life can be very, very multifaceted and that balance is key.

Being able to have that balance involves you having that balance in every stage in your life.

To be continued C M Y K

32 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY,

C M Y K

SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

VANGU ARD, WEDNESD A Y, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 —33 ANGUARD, WEDNESDA

My friends want me to get a prettier girl Dear Bunmi, HEN I met my current girlfriend, I already had a relationship going. But this other girl just left and went with one of my friends, leaving me with this new one who isn’t a match on my ex, as beauty goes.

But she is kind, is a good cook and the sex with her is better than with my ex. She washes my clothes and even my car!

The problem with her is her plain looks. My ex always has a sneer on her face whenever we run into her and my friends say I could do better.

This girl has grown on me.

She has a good job and comes from a good background. Should I just ignore what others think of her and settle down with

W

Hubby made me have an affair Dear Bunmi, ’VE BEEN married to my husband for over 20 years and we have four lovely children. He’s always had series of affairs that I’ve lost count of.

I’ve stopped talking to him about them and when friends did, he told them smugly that he must be doing something right or I would have left.

He says his affairs are really for the sex and he would never leave me for another woman. Big deal!

I’m quite an attractive woman myself and still wear a size 14 dress. I have a good job and dress well and recently I started looking at other men the way my husband might look at other women and wondered what it would be like to have sex with them.

You know what? My husband was right, you can have good sex without getting emotionally involved as I’ve since found out. I don’t know if he suspects anything, but lately he’s been showing signs of being jealous, why should he have all the fun?

I

Halimat, by e-mail.

Dear Halimat, Are you really happy sleeping with another man who is probably also married? You

To a woman, who had always been faithful to her husband, you’re playing with fire by suddenly sleeping with another man in your middle age

tolerated your husband’s affairs because he assured you the women with whom he had his casual, uncaring sex meant nothing to him.

Rather, he used them for sexual variety and to maintain his self-image as a stud who could pull the girls despite having a wife and four kids. Because you must have felt sure of your husband’s love, his affairs didn’t seem to be a threat to your marriage.

To a woman, who had always been faithful to her husband, you’re playing with fire by suddenly sleeping with another man in your middle age - you’re putting your pride, your self confidence and your commitment to the future of your marriage at stake.

Your husband might suspect your infidelity, but what happens if any of your children finds out? Continue being the supportive wife and mother you’ve always been. Talk to your husband to slow down.

Don’t worry; age would soon do that for him!

Will he ever make me pregnant?

Dear Bunmi, TURNED 40 a few weeks ago and would very much like to have a child before it’s too late. I got married to my husband less than three years ago, and initially sex with him was great but in the last one year, he hasn’t been performing properly.

He gets an erection, but will lose it before we have sex or will come so quickly he doesn’t have time to get inside.

I’ve tried to get him to seek. medical help, but he says he’s too embarrassed. I’m

I

worried that unless he seeks help, I’ll never get pregnant and my dream of being a mother would be lost. What can I do to help?

Anita, by e-mail.

Dear Anita, It can be very difficult to admit that you’re having problems with sex though it’s obvious all is not well in your bedroom! Erectile problem can be due to physical or psychological stresses, and often a mix of both.

Assure your husband that his doctor will be able to ex-

Do I have one ovary?

Dear Bunmi, N THE middle of each cycle, I get pain in my right ovary. My right breast is bigger than my left, and I have more hair in my right armpit. Do you think I only have one ovary, and could this affect my getting pregnant when I eventually marry? I am 18.

Kanyin, by e-mail.

I

Dear Kanyi,

It is an interesting theory, but unlikely to be true. Although it is possible to have one ovary - and this could explain the pain when you ovulate - you could also have two, but be ovulating from only one. Having one ovary wouldn’t explain your uneven breasts or extra armpit hair.

In fact, none of us is completely symmetrical and I believe you are totally normal.

So stop worrying.

amine him and reassure him physically, but you must need professional help yourself in order to tackle the emotional problems that affect his performance.

At 40, it is obvious why you’re desperate to have a baby. A woman’s natural fertility begins to decrease after 35 years and the success rates of fertility treatment fall as you grow older too.

Do you think you might be putting so much pressure on your husband that he’s finding it difficult to perform?

Imagine the stress of knowing your body can’t deliver what you both want so direly. The first step is to realize that as a couple, you need help.

See your doctor as soon as you can - as tablets like Viagra, Cialis and Levitra can improve his erection and help him last longer during sex too.

Then seek help to explore how you can move forward together. In the meantime, you need to relax and hope for the best.

her?

Chima, by e-mail.

Dear Chima, You should really listen to your argument against your settling with this girl and see how vain you are. With all these attributes, you should be rushing her to the altar.

What happened to the beauty you once dated - she ran off with your friend at the slightest opportunity!

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, and at the end of the day, you’ll be the one living with your future wife - not your friends.

You’r e cur r ently impressed by her attributes and in case you want to know, there is nothing like ugly. Even in the beast, says the adage, there is some beauty.

Does this adulterer care more for me than he shows?

Dear Bunmi, STARTED an affair with a married man who used to be my next-door neighbour. He moved away shortly after he got married, so I don’t really know his wife. We meet up about twice a week and the sex is mindblowing.

I’m completely in love with him but he tells me he’ll never leave his wife and their two young children. The thing is, he’s always happy to see me whenever we meet and buys me lovely presents.

The looks he gives tell me he has feelings for me. Do you think he loves me without realizing it yet?

Bukky, by e-mail.

I

Dear Bukky, I’m sure you know in your heart of hearts that you’re kidding yourself believing this adulterer could be in love with you.

This man has been completely up-front with you from the start. He’s told you he won’t leave his wife, but because you’ve fallen for him, you’re hoping that he’s fallen for you.

Unfortunately, he hasn’t, he may like you, like the sex he has with you, but the look is in anticipation of the free no-strings attached sex he craves from you. If you want something more than he’s offering at the moment, then dump him and look for a man who doesn’t want to eat his cake and still have it.

This man has been completely up-front with you from the start. He’s told you he won’t leave his wife, but because you’ve fallen for him, you’re hoping that he’s fallen for you. Unfortunately, he hasn’t, he may like you, like the sex he has with you, but the look is in anticipation of the free no-strings attached sex he craves from you

Share your problems and release your burden. Write now to Dear Bunmi, Vanguard Newspapers, P.M.B 1007, Apapa, Lagos, or bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk

34 — VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

Why Wada will win again — Awoniyi KOGI State Deputy Governor, Mr Yomi Awoniyi, says Governor Idris Wada’s performance will earn him victory in the November governorship election. Besides, he says among others in this encounter that the impartiality of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Police and relevant agencies will guarantee a free and fair election in Kogi on November 21.

By Dapo Akinrefon

2015: KOGI DECIDES

T

HE conditions that will guarantee free and fair election in Kogi.

The impartiality of all the institutions and agencies involved, including the INEC, the police, and the support facilities. I know the Federal Government is on that track of honesty, truthfulness and anticorruption.

Election manipulation is the height of corruption. It corrupts the democratic process. If we can ensure that the democratic process is not corrupted, there will be free and fair election and we stand to benefit from that type of arrangement.

Why is Governor Idris Wada seeking a second term?

He is desirous of a second term to complete the projects he started in his first term and also to do more. When this administration came on board, the first priority was to complete all the on-going projects. These include the Secretariat building, the waterworks in Lokoja, various road projects, the diagnostic centre, the vocational centre and other projects.

With the completion of those projects, the governor embarked on new projects, which he was able to do by accessing the bond market.

Accessing the bond market Many of the on-going projects include bus motor park in Lokoja, the College of Medicine, Akaragba, various water schemes, the construction of township road in Lokoja, the bypass road. We are striving to complete these projects and initiate new ones.

What are the issues that will shape the next governorship election in Kogi State?

There are many issues confronting our state at the moment. But Governor Wada is always on top of every situation.

He has not defaulted in the payment of salaries. Thus, there is no industrial dispute in the state. Owing to the importance attached to the welfare of workers, the NLC has also been showing understanding and giving cooperation to our government.

Another issue is that of power rotation in Kogi State.

There is so much agitation by the people of West and Central senatorial districts for power shift.

We in the PDP are committed to power rotation. The PDP is committed to power rotation in 2019 to either the West or Central.

Other things that will shape the election will be the personality of the candidates. Our people are aware of the antecedents of the candidates. At the end of the day,

•Awoniyi: Governor Wada is always on top of every situation they will make the right choices.

Some people have described Audu as the builder and father of Kogi, what is your reaction?

He was the first civilian governor of Kogi. He was also the first governor in this dispensation in 1999. Prince Audu had the benefit of being the pioneer governor. But, some of the things he had done, we are re-doing them again.

May be, because they were done over 20 years ago. They are decaying. For example, the

Lokoja Township Road, for the first time, we are trying to do proper drainage. After the completion of the drainage, the road will last much longer.

Development is a continuous process.

Alhaji Ibrahim Idris was there for about nine years. He did a lot of things-roads, schools, clinics.

Within the limit of resources we have today, Captain Idris Wada has done well. So, that title also fits Captain Wada.

Is the second term ambition of Captain Wada not being

threatened by the intimidating profile of the APC, which now wields the power of incumbency at the centre?

The PDP still remains the party to beat in Kogi State. During the election that ushered in the APC Federal Government, there were a lot of issues. The APC won the presidential and National Assembly elections. Two weeks after, the PDP won the House of Assembly elections in Kogi State.

The House of Assembly election is a local election. The issues are more local. They are issues dear to the people. The candidates are very close to the local people.

With the strength of the PDP in the House of Assembly, it is evident that the PDP is on ground. So, I am not worried by the national profile of the APC. It is not an issue. But, this Federal Government is for change. A level playing field will be provided for all parties to contest for the governorship of Kogi State. And I am sure the PDP will win.

With the strength of the PDP in the House of Assembly, it is evident that the PDP is on ground.

So, I am not worried by the national profile of the APC

On PDP primary It was a free and fair governorship primary. I am happy that the governor won overwhelmingly.

The most remarkable event of that day was that, just like President Goodluck Jonathan did, while the counting of votes was still on, Alhaji Jubril Isah Echocho stood up, walked over to my boss and shook him and they hugged. I joined them. The three of us hugged.

He pledged there that he will work for the party to ensure victory at the December polls.

The media is full of rumour mongering and all sorts of things.

Rumour mongering But, Alhaji Echocho is a man of his words. He will be part of the campaign train.

How is the government tackling insecurity in Kogi State, particularly the onslaught of Fulani herdsmen against farmers and kidnapping?

Kogi State has a peculiar problem. It is located in the centre of the country and we are surrounded by nine states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). This creates a lot of entries and exits. More than other states, we have more boundary disputes. The herdsmen are nomads who move around the country. The rift between Fulani herdsmen and farmers is a national problem.

Faleke faults Yagba Union over his candidacy

T

By Boluwaji Obahopo

HE Audu/Faleke Media Team has frowned at the statement of Yagba Union, which described the choice of Hon. James Faleke as the running mate to the All Progressives Congress, APC Governorship Candidate, Prince Abubakar Audu as an attempt to shut Yagba Federal Constituency out of the ‘political equation’ of the state in the next dispensation.

The media Team in a statement

by Stanley Ajileye titled, “How Yagba Union Got it Wrong,” said the union’s statement is malicious and borne out of ignorance.

The statement read, “Our reaction would have been to ignore the malicious statement as being borne out of ignorance, but we consider it expedient to disabuse the minds of the good people of Yagba land, which the group seeks to poison against their party, APC...There is no iota

of truth in the insinuations that Hon Faleke’s choice was aimed at shutting out any group at all.

Hon James Abiodun Faleke was nominated by Prince Audu based on his desire at fostering greater unity within the fold of the party.

Neutral person After the primary, Prince Audu felt the party will be divided if he chooses any of the aspirants who contested or stepped down as running mate. He therefore reached out for a neutral person to run with him.

“It is pertinent to also note that, Prince Audu also presented Hon Faleke to all leaders of the party in Kogi West and he was accepted by all and they all have been working hand-in- hand with him as evident in the official tour of Okun land by Hon Faleke and other leaders and contestants from Okun land.

“It might interest people that those who addressed themselves as ‘Yagba Union’, appear not to be in touch with happening in there home base, since they were not aware that prominent leaders of our people in Yagba, like Rt. Hon. Clarence Olafemi, Hon Abdulganiyu Salaudeen, and several others led Faleke’s tour of Okunland and all the Obas in Okun land converged to welcome him with open arms and gave him royal blessings.

The statement also said the stand of the union on senate representation as contained in the said publication was false, as the party has never occupied the senatorial seat before now. “It will be unfair for anyone or group to force a ‘PDP arrangement’ on APC, when the party that allegedly formulated the policy refused to uphold it.

“Besides, it is amazing that Yagba Union did not consider the fact that, in 1989, Chief Sunday

Awoniyi from Yagba was the Senator representing the area while Chief Sam Akande, his brother was the Deputy Governor in this state, yet, the Ijumu people or BIK Federal constituency did not protest.

“Ironically also, Yagba Federal Constituency is the only constituency in Okun land that has had the privilege of producing an Acting Governor.

Yagba, between 2007 and 2011 produced the Speaker of the State Assembly and His Excellency, Arc. Yomi Awoniyi, the present Deputy Governor is from the Yagba Federal Constituency. As a matter of fact, since the first republic, major political offices that have been zoned to Okun land were mostly monopolised by Yagba, and the rest of Okun communities have cooperated with them in the spirit of Okun brotherhood.’’

VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 — 35

Buhari has done well but could've done better — DURU FORMER member of the House of Representatives, Nze Chidi Duru, in this chat assesses the performance of President Muhammadu Buhari in the last four months and scores him high marks. However, he says that Buhari’s failure to appoint any body from the South-East into his government so far reinforces the perception that he is more of a northern president than a Nigerian president.

By Ben Agande

H

IS take on President Buhari’s performance so

far In terms of achievements, I think what one could credit to this government is in stemming the drift that this country has witnessed particularly in the last months of the Jonathan era, in particular the issue of the insurgency in the North-East.

There has been a lot more structure and much more strategic thrust in bringing to a closure in a believable manner the spate of unrest in that part of Nigeria.

Arrangement has been made between Nigeria and our neighbouring countries like Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Benin Republic. And of course the G7 has come to a clearer understanding that the impact of the insurgency of the Boko Haram in the North is not just a Nigerian question but also an international question.

So, that in a sense has also been internalized to the point that we are now beginning to receive sympathy and support from the international community. That for me is a major achievement that would rob off on Nigeria in the coming months and years ahead.

Measure of attention And on the mantra of corruption, whereas we cannot say that a strategy around it has evolved or has developed but one can begin to see some measures of attention in that area.

And I want to believe that soon there will be some government policy of what needs to be done.

It is glad to hear that the president has made a pronouncement that he would strengthen the law enforcement agencies. He will also streamline the way they work and my wish is to see a strategic, coordinated platform for combating corruption and law enforcement in Nigeria to see how he would bring that trust that would bring the police, the EFCC, the ICPC in a manner that they work in a coordinated platform.

It is also glad to hear and also to see the attempt to streamline the various MDA’s in Nigeria; the ministries, the department and agencies of government. If it does happen, I believe that this government would have in a way

achieved something that is very vital for the development of our country.

We’ve had so many MDA’s and various ministries duplicating its functions, not being able to coordinate, not being able to take responsibility on who does what, when and how. So with this streamlining it would serve the best interest of Nigeria.

I am also happy to see the Treasury Single Account that has also been implemented. Of course the credit goes down the line in the time of Obasanjo’s government and then of course Goodluck Jonathan fully evolved a policy around it. But the full impact or the implementation of that TSA was fully implemented by the Buhari’s administration.

There are hiccups, there are challenges around it, and that I have always said is the immediate term. When people get used to it, and the ministries, the department and the agencies of government get used to it, then the impact, the benefit of that will begin to cascade down.

And the difficulties that are being experienced as a result of that policy implementation will begin to be seen over a period. I know that difficulties have also evolved to such an •Duru extent that a number of the banks had began those loose funds or cash flow in to lend money at a very exorbitant their banking system. I think that rate because they are not seeing it is something, that I believe government should be able to impact on that.

In terms of So in a nutshell, has he done achievements, I think very well in the last 100 days in what one could credit office. I would want to give him pass mark. Could he have done to this government is abetter?

I believe so. I believed in in stemming the drift the sense that if he had a full compliment of his government in that this country has place, I think that the measure witnessed of achievement would have been particularly in the last far greater than what we are currently experiencing. months of the The recent appointment of some critical office holders has Jonathan era elicited a cry of marginalization especially from the south east, which does not seem to have

APPOINTMENTS: No in-fighting APC — BANKOLE-HAMMED

in S-West

Mr Shehu Bankole-Hameed is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC. Bankole-Hameed, a member of the Lagos Forum in this interview refutes insinuations that there is infighting within the APC over appointments into the Muhammadu Buhari cabinet.

By Dapo Akinrefon

T

HERE seems to be infighting among chieftains of the APC over appointments into the Buhari cabinet especially in the South West, how true is this?

There is nothing like that. So far most party executives and members are in consonant with the Buhari administration, yet there are those that will complain.

In the whole, while the SouthWest APC awaits full version download of the cabinet members, people hope to be given the opportunity to make their contributions without the cacophony of PDP. While there may exist differences in objectives within the top hierarchy of South-West leaders be it in the APC or without, the acceptable consensus of the Yoruba is that Nigerians should have a good course to be proud of being citizens. It has

come to our collective realisation that be it Ekiti, Osun, Oyo, Ondo, Ogun or Lagos, the watch word is change for success and progress. Our focus as a people is to work with the President and his administration as partners in progress.

The anti-graft war by the president is perceived to be selective. What is your take on this?

The government of President Buhari, to my mind has not even started to make the changes intended, what people see are cases that were pending during Dr Goodluck Jonathan administration, but were almost becoming cold cases as it were, if not for the body language of the President. Now, to anticipate the perceived swing of the pendulum of justice when the war on corruption and prosecution of suspects actually starts; a trend may easily be notice depending on what

representation. What do you think of such allegations against this government?

I am not one that debate in the context of where one comes from, or in terms of ethnic agenda. I have always been minded that we need to get the right person to man a particular office. I believe the president has the right to appoint who he wants to appoint to man the offices that he has so far appointed. My only point of intervention is that, to the extent that there has been a perception before now that Mr President is in cast of a particular philosophy that people mirror him from the point of view that he is north and an Islamic irredentist.

•Bankole-Hameed sectors are on trial, political or civil service.

Let me explain ; as long as I know, politicians on both sides of the aisle have cases to answer - so if they were to be on trial many will cry witch hunt, largely because the heavier sums of mismanagement may be noticed within the circle of former Governors and top hierarchy of the last federal government. Now PDP had the highest number of governors, while the southeast has the unusual luck of the highest number of highly placed

political appointees of GEJ administration.

The civil service and it’s top hierarchy is also from figures available to us at Lagos Forum, populated by the folks from the southeastern part of the country at a disproportionate level. You will hear cries of ‘ selective ‘ application of justice, but the truth is that someone has got to answer to the people as to their stewardship. I forsee lots of hue and cry from the opposition and the people who have the highest representatives in top federal government offices and official structures.

What are the changes you think the country needs?

This is an excellent question, which requires multidimensional response. In governance, I expect committed hands dedicated to ensuring good governance with zero tolerance for corruption. Sensible wages for workers should be paid timely to reduce tendencies for corruption. In the private sector, accountability should be encouraged to reduce the corruption, while our school system should be tailored to produce educated graduates.

36 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY,

C M Y K

SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 , 2015—37

GHOST WORKERS' SCAM: Labour wants Okowa

to punish culprits A

By Victor AhiumaYoung

SABA—DELTA State Council of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has called on Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, of the state, to ensure that all those directly or indirectly involved in the criminal act of inflating the number of workers in the state to collect the salaries of non-existing workers to the detriment of the state, must be brought to book.

NLC factional chairman, Mr. Williams Akporeha, expressed shock about the disclosure by the state governor that he had just set up a committee to investigate why the state wage bill was higher than other states in the Niger Delta region that had more revenue resources, including higher federal allocation.

Answering questions from newsmen after the Christian inter-denomination thanksgiving service in Asaba, to commemorate Nigeria’s 55th independence anniversary, Akporeha, while responding to Governor Okowa’s disclosure the committee on ghost workers pleaded with the governor to make the finding of the committee public when it finished its work.

According to him, “my take on

that is to urge Governor Okowa to let the committee make its findings public to expose the evil doers while the state government must ensure that it prosecutes all those found to be part of the cartel promoting ghost workers’ syndrome in the state to serve as a deterrent. We disapprove of a situation where some individuals

are receiving monthly salaries without working for it while others work in one place but receive salaries in two other places. This is callous, wicked and inhuman.

“Congress is ready to support government in this fight and the time to act is now. Labour cannot continue to fold its hands while funds that are supposed to have

been channelled by government to enhance workers welfare are being diverted by criminal elements within the system for their selfish purposes. We in NLC want to urge the state government not to hesitate to seek partnership with Congress in its effort to purge the system and rescue the resources from ghost workers.”

WORKSHOP: Akwa Ibom State governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel (right), exchanging pleasantries with the President, Medical Elders Group, Dr. E. J. Esenowo, and others, during a workshop on Stroke and Sudden Death, at the Le Meridien Ibom Hotel and Golf Resort, Uyo.

N17.BN GAS FLARE: Our position, by NDPR

A

SABA—THE Niger Delta Petroleum Resources, NDPR, has said its inclusion among the companies that flare gas, as reported in the Vanguard of Tuesday, September 15, 2015, is unfair.

Vanguard had reported that NDPR flared 99 per cent,

Felix Ekele for burial

M

R. FELIX Ekele of Igbe Ogume, Ndokwa West LGA, Delta State is dead.

The service of songs will hold at his residence on Atiti street, off Amai Road, Obiaruku, Ukwuani LGA, Delta State on Friday, October 2. The funeral service and entertainment of guests will hold the following day at his home town, Igbe Ogume.

He is survived by many relations

Late Felix Ekele C M Y K

about 1.259 billion SCF of its total gas production of 1.271 billion SCF in April.

However, the company said that from 2012 to date, it had continually reduced its gas flare foot print to the point where between the months of January and July, 2015, its historical monthly average quantities of gas flared amounted to less than one percent of its total gas production. This flare, according to NDPR. It was known in industry circles as a technical flare.

The company explained that in the month of April, it’s total gas flare amounted to 0.005Bscf or 0.036 percent of its total gas production. It further stated that in recognition of the significant gas flaring reduction milestones attained

by NDPR, from its Ogbele field, The Global Gas Flaring Reduction, GGFR, Forum, a public private partnership, in which the World Bank plays a leading role, awarded NDPR an award at its 4th GGFR Forum held in KhantyMansiysk, Russia from 9th to

11th of September, 2015.

The company explained "it owns and operates a gas processing plant which was commissioned on November 24, 2012, whereas it signed a gas sale and purchase agreement in 2010 with the SPDCJV for the supply of gas to the NLNG." According to NDPR, it commenced meeting those supply obligations (up to 35 MMscf) in November 2012 and to date, remained the only indigenous oil and gas company supplying gas to NLNG train.

ASSBIFI settles intra-union dispute

L

AGOS—ASSOCIATION of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions, ASSBIFI, and its unit in Union Bank and United Bank for Africa, UBA, have settled their 11 years intraunion crisis that factionalised the body.

At a briefing yesterday, Sunday Salako, President of ASSBIFI, announced that all conflicting issues were finally resolved on August 1, 2015, and all parties had decided to return to the national body as one.

It would be recalled that the 11-year old dispute started in

2004 after ASSBIFI’s delegates’ conference in Benin.

Union Bank and UBA units of the association felt aggrieved over the outcome of the conference among others, which could not be resolved until August 1, 2015.

Salako said among others, the disposition of the current leadership of the two units made the reconciliation possible as they agreed that it was unwise to continue the litigation.

He said: “The case has been in court and in 2007 both parties signed an agreement

for out of court settlement. In spite of this move, the dispute remained unresolved.

“But the current leaders in the two units discovered that the crisis is at the detriment of members who have been on the receiving end since 2004. As a united body, the workers will no longer allow the recklessness of the past in the financial system to continue to affect them. In the past loans were given without collateral and later the workers will bear the burden.

Corporate greed in the system has been the cause of problems in the sector and it has to stop.”

Contestant denies involvement in installation of Pere of Ogbe-Ijoh

W

ARRI—ONE of the contestants to the throne of Pere (traditional ruler) of the Ogbe Ijoh community, in Warri Kingdom of Delta State, Chief David Pere, has denied involvement in the publicised installation of a new ruler, saying he never congratulated anyone over the new choice as being insinuated.

In a statement, David Pere, stated the publication was false and contained no truth.

He said: “I hereby debunk the publication stating that I scored two votes out of 12 votes in a purported Kingship election.

I never congratulated anyone over any purported election result; therefore they should count me out of that said publication.

“As a matter of fact I was the only Chief Adviser to the immediate past Pere, king, of Ogbe-Ijoh, Warri kingdom and remain the only Chief Adviser to the traditional council and the kingdom presently until a proper king will be crowned through a legal process."

Ugborodos ask Delta govt to wade into community crisis

By Godfrey Bivbre

W

ARRI—INDIGENES of Ugborodo in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State, have called on the state government to intervene in the looming crisis in the community to prevent it from degenerating.

Acting on the platform of Concerned Indigenes of Ugborodo Community, CIUC, the indigenes in a statement by their chairman, Prince Toju Omagbemi-Igban, said some indigenesofthecommunitywere threatening Chevron Nigeria Limitedfrommeetingupwiththe Memorandum of Understand, MoU,thecommunitysignedwith the company back in 2009.

CIUC said the community wouldnotcontinuetofolditsarms andallowafewopportuniststake advantage of their commonwealth by not allowing Chevron Nigeria Limited implementitssocialresponsibility to them.

38—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

Ebonyi House recalls suspended Minority leader

Banks return govt salary cheques in Imo

By Chidi Nkwopara

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WERRI—THE last may not have been heard about the disbursement of the Federal Government bailout fund in Imo State, as cheques issued to scores of workers employed under the state government’s

By Peter Okutu

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BAKALIKI— EBONYI State House of Assembly yesterday lifted the suspension of its Minority leader, Mrs. Maria Ude Nwachi representing Afikpo North East state constituency.

The suspension that lasted for one month was lifted through in a motion moved on the floor of the House by Hon. Victor Chukwu representing Ezza North West constituency and seconded

by Hon. Onu Nnoye representing Ohaozara West constituency.

Recall that the suspension followed an alleged involvement of the minority leader in the violence protest and breach of peace that took in her constituency.

During the ugly episode, some vehicles belonging to Enugu Electricity distribution company, EEDC and its offices were vandalized by irate youths.

Hon. Chukwu noted that the suspended minority leader, Ude Nwachi had shown enough remorse and that she had as well served the duration of her suspension.

The Speaker, Rt. Hon. Francis Nwifuru put the motion to vote and it was unanimously adopted.

However, the House also passed into law the committee report on a bill for a law to amend Joint State and Local government projects and related matters, law of 2015.

Youths Must Work Programme allegedly bounced.

Some of the youths that spoke to Vanguard yesterday in Owerri, claimed that the cheques they collected last Wednesday, could not be cleared.

“We were obviously happy

when we were handed the cheques for our unpaid stipends. Our happiness was however short-lived as our respective banks returned the cheques as uncleared effects”, one of the aggrieved youths said.

While the affected youths

APGA seeking to distract us —Ikpeazu

By Ugochukwu Alaribe

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BA—ABIA State governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu has accused the state chapter of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, of seeking to distract his administration’s focus to deliver democracy dividends to the people.

In a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Godwin Adindu, the governor who vowed not to be distracted, added that his administration views APGA’s position on issues of the state as a misguided and ill-conceived aggression against a government genuinely serving the people of Abia even under a very tight situation.

“Having lost out on all fronts and with the imminent disaster that awaits it in the tribunal, APGA is just clutching on any available straw to stay afloat. It creates distractions to attract attention. But, the doomsday is just around the corner,” the statement read in part.

He noted that the people of the state appreciate the sacrifice being made by the government to rehabilitate the badly dilapidated infrastructure of Aba and other parts of the state, wondering why APGA chose to antagonize the genuine efforts to better the lot of the citizenry.

“So far, the effort of the government in rebuilding Aba has received widespread endorsement and

commendation from residents and visitors alike. People come out to cheer and rejoice as the illegal structures fall to the caterpillars. They are happy that a Daniel has come to judgment, that Aba will be better again. This effort is being applauded by all and sundry except the few infinitesimal group that call themselves APGA. “The demolition of illegal shops, kiosks, fences and buildings that encroach into the service lane and on the roads is being carried out only on the roads where the construction work is going on. There is no

selective pattern in the demolition exercise. Nobody is being spared but the contractors on site might exercise their discretion to delay demolition for technical purposes or to allow time for people to evacuate their belongings.

“As far as the government of Abia State is concerned, any structure that contravenes the town planning regulation as regards the appropriate location of buildings and structures is an illegal structure and such buildings must be pulled down."

Ugwuanyi charges State Security Council against resurgence of crimes in Enugu Police beef up security ahead of Independence celebration

By Francis Igata

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NUGU—GOVERNOR Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State,yesterday,swore in four new members of the State Security Council, charging the council to address without delay the resurgence of violent crimes in the state.

The new members of the council include: Col. Osa Omoregbe, the Garrison Commander 82 Division Nigerian Army; Air Commodore Emmanuel Festus Golit, the Commander 337 Base Services Group, Nigerian Airforce, Enugu; Mr. Abdul Malik, the Director of

Security, State Security Services, Enugu; and Mr. Lar Stephen Zwali, the State Commander, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Enugu.

The governor, while underscoring the need to beef up security in the state, noted that recent media reports have shown that the incidence of violent crimes has been on the increase in both the rural and urban areas of the state.

In his words, “I however hasten to say that much as the state’s rating in the area of security remains enviably and comparatively high, I am certain that from recent

igeria is mature enough to take responsibility of the pro and cons in the society. The journey has been comatose because we are still lagging behind in all ramifications. We are the leading light in corruption, among others. -Mr. Issa Adedokun, Lawyer

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media reports you would have observed that the incidences of such violent crimes as kidnapping, ritual killings, cultism and armed robbery have been on the increase in both the rural and urban areas of the state.”

Meantime,the state police command has assured members of the public on security before,during and after the independence celebration.

In a statement made available to newsmen,the Police Public Relations Officer,PPRO,Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, DSP, said, ”the command already has mobilized its security architecture and apparatus to ensure that no mayhem or disturbance is caused by any person or group of persons.

By Bartholomew Madukwe (08102479985) nwamad@yahoo.com

PEOPLE SPEAK

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expressed fears about what they called “the seriousness of government to clear their arrears of stipends”, Vanguard however gathered the cheques issued to a fraction of the angry, hungry youths, sailed through.

While cross-examining the complainants, they affirmed that they had properly informed their heads of department about their present predicament.

“We were only advised to continue listening to the radio, where any further instruction would be aired.

This is a sad day for us,” the youths chorused.

When Vanguard visited one of commercial banks for clarification, a staff that spoke on strict grounds of anonymity, confirmed that “there was a definite instruction from government to stop honouring the cheques”.

All efforts made to extract further information from the banker failed as he simply said: “That is the much you can hear from me. Just make sure that I will not read my name in your paper tomorrow.”

On Nigeria's 55th Independence anniversary

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igeria is still developing. Although the journey has not been smooth, there is light at the end of the tunnel as we look to the present administration to bring about the long-awaited change in our country. Mrs. Ronke Omorodion, Lawyer

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here Nigeria is today is as a result of our actions. Until we begin to take personal responsibility for our lives and nation, we would never experience development in this country. Buhari alone is going to do it. -Mr. Imhogiemhe Tosin, Writer

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ith our human and natural resources, it is obvious the country is not where it is supposed to be. The country has been tied down so long with tribal, political, ethnic and religious impediments. -Mr. Adedayo Adeyemo, Lawyer

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he journey of Nigeria till date has been very rough. However, there is great hope for the nation considering the fact that people are clamouring around our new President. There is a serious move to tackle corruption.

-Mr. Olakunle Olatunji, Lawyer

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igeria as a nation is progressing. It is a gradual process. I am very optimistic that we will reach that goal we have always sought. I like to be optimistic on this issue and that is all I have to say. -Mr. Ezekanachi Nnadozie, Lawyer

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 — 39

US business group to invest $700m in Kogi

By Boluwaji Obahopo

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OKOJA—KOGI State government has attracted investment benefit of $700 million from a US-based investment group, Anointed Holdings.

Governor Idris Wada revealed this yesterday after a meeting between the delegation of the investments Group and the state government at Government House, Lokoja.

The governor said there had been fruitful discussion between the state government and the company which presented its areas of interest to members of the State Executive Council and syndicate group of experts.

Wada said his determination to make the state attractive to local and foreign investors was in view of his determination to transform the state.

He commended the delegation of investors for their interest and commitment to invest in key sectors of the state’s economy, assuring that the state government would provide all necessary support required to facilitate the take-off of investment in their areas of interest.

He also urged members of the syndicate group and experts involved in exchange of ideas with Anointed Holding Group to set a clear path and assist with their expertise to enable the government and investors deliver on the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, in good time.

Leaders of the delegation, Mr. Nduka Duke, said Anointed Holdings, had plans to invest up to $700 million in Mining, Housing, Agriculture and Tourism development.

Duke, who commended the state governor for providing enabling environment for investment in the

By Kingsley Fanwo

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AWARD: From left; Executive Vice Chairman, SAPETRO, Senator Daisy Danjuma; Mr. Chester Odagwe; Mrs. Olayemi Anyanechi and Ms. Elohor Odukuye, all of Sefton Fross, at the ESQ Nigeria Legal Awards held recently in Lagos.

5 Bauchi pilgrims missing after Mina stampede

By Suzan Edeh

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AUCHI—DAYS after the completion of this year’s Hajj, the state Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board has said it was still searching for the whereabouts of five of its pilgrims.

The Executive Secretary of the board, Alhaji Aliyu Suleman, who disclosed this yesterday while fielding questions from newsmen in Bauchi, said officials of the board had visited hospitals in Mina and Mecca to search for the missing pilgrims in their mortuaries and hospital beds.

He said: “Only one pilgrim from

IGERIAN Breweries Plc, yesterday, established a 100 Billion Commercial Paper (“CP”) Programme with view to launching its inaugural Commercial Paper issue under the programme on or before Thursday, October 8, 2015.

The signing ceremony to mark the establishment of the Programme was held at the head office of Nigerian Breweries, Iganmu, Lagos, and witnessed by representatives of the transaction advisors, including (Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited and FBN Capital Limited, Banwo & Ighodalo as Legal Counsel, KPMG as Auditors to the Issuer.

Also in attendance were officials of the FMDQ OTC Exchange to witness the event.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Mr. Nicolaas Vervelde, the Managing Director of Nigerian Breweries, said: “This transaction underscores our continued commitment to C M Y K

Darazo local government area, one Alhaji Sule Ibrahim has been confirmed death in the Mina stampede from the state.

“All the state pilgrims are now in Mecca while those who sustained injuries have been taken to the hospital and have since been discharged.”

Suleiman used the medium to call on the people of the state, particularly those whose

relatives were currently in Saudi Arabia for this years’ pilgrimage to refrain from unconfirmed reports on the number of casualties from the state in the stampede.

He assured that as soon as investigation on the missing pilgrims was completed, it would be made known to the public.

Over about 800 pilgrims died as a result of the incident.

Ghanaian consulate gets facelift

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HE Ghana Consulate located at Oba Akinjobi Crescent Ikeja, GRA, Lagos, now has a facelift since the new Consul-General Mr. Kwabena O. Appiah (FBI) took over the affairs at the place.

Apart from having a new look, renovations of the winning with Nigeria and structures in the complex represents the largest ever have been a daily routine to Commercial Paper programme Appiah to make the consulate to be established by a (non- better, as the present site of financial institution) corporate the complex attracts other issuer following the 2009 nationals to do business with guidelines on commercial paper the Consulate.

Speaking at a press briefing from the Central Bank of Nigeria. ''In that regard, this effort clearly Appiah said “Ghana is known demonstrates our leadership for perfection, therefore I status in the industry and an have to make sure that this innovative approach towards consulate is up to Ghanaian executing our Company ’s standard.

“You can see that people financing strategy, in an increasingly competitive market now want to do business with us, it is not enough hosting environment.”

Also commenting, Mr. Mark our flag here, we must make Rutten, NB Plc Finance Director sure that the inside and said: “This programme is outside is up to Ghana's expected to complement our standard, just like the company’s other sources of services must be number one working capital, while too.”

Since the assumption of the diversifying our funding sources to include non-bank investors. new Consular-General, Additionally, this programme attention to the visitors in the are will improve our ability to Consular-General periodically access funding at quickly dispatched to the rates mirroring money market.'' satisfaction of every visitor in

Nigerian Breweries set to launch Commercial Paper programme

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Promote peace and unity, royal father urges Muslims

the place.

It will be recalled that since Ghana Embassy relocated to Abuja, the Consular-General attends to the needs of all travellers and other visitors.

The Consulate-General before now, was like an abandoned structure as many Ghanaians were ashamed to identify with it, but Appiah was around to give the place a rebirth.

traditional ruler in Kogi State and the Olukotun of Ife Olukotun, H.R.H. Alhaji Oba Mohammed Ayegbajeje Shuaib, has urged Muslims in the state to be agents of peace and unity, describing Islam as a religion that fostered peace among all in the society.

Speaking to Vanguard at Ife Olukotun, the royal father said Prophet Mohammed laid a solid foundation for anyone who had accepted Islam as a way of life.

“Those who see Islam as a religion of violence are ignorant. Islam is a religion of peace and any adherent of the religion must always strive to promote peace and unity in the various societies.

“Islam doesn’t teach violence.

It is an encompassing religion that deals with every aspect of our daily life, ranging from the economy to family values. ‘’It is a religion of justice and equality. It is a religion that teaches the vanity of life here. As Muslims, we are ambassadors of peace to the world. ‘’We must live an exemplary life that others would emulate in order to have an egalitarian society,” he said.

Oba Shuaib also commiserated with families that lost loved ones during the two tragedies that occurred this month during the Hajj operations in Saudi Arabia, praying God to grant victims eternal rest and their families the fortitude to bear the irreparable losses.

Fidau prayers for Madam Aremu hold tomorrow grand children and great grand

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IDAU prayers for Alhaja Hafsat Amoke Aremu, mother of Comrade Issa Aremu, General Secretary of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, NUTGTWN, come up tomorrow.

Taking place 9:00 am, at Ansarudeen Mosque, Taiwo Road Ilorin, Kwara State, Alhaja Hafsat Amoke Aremu, died Thursday September 24, 2015.

Age 91, Janaza prayers were earlier held on September 25, 2015 at Alapata Mosque, Ilorin, for Allah to grant her safe passage to Al-Jannah Firdaus.

She is survived by Children,

children, among who is Comrade Aremu, a foremost labour leader, political economist, author, motivational speaker, and commentator on both national and global issues.

Late Madam Aremu

40 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

OGUN NUJ:

PRAYER FOR LEGAL YEAR: From left (front row)— Justice Hakeem Olatunde Oshodi; Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr. Idiat Adebule; Chief Imam of Lagos State, Alhaji Mohammed Akinola; Justice Abdullah Oyekan and others, during a special prayer to commemorate the commencement of 2015 /16 Legal Year at Lagos Central Mosque.

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From left (front row)— Mr. Gbenga Opadotun, Chairman, Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ, Oyo State; Secretary to the State Government, Ogun State, Mr. Taiwo Adeoluwa, representing Governor Ibikunle Amosun; the building's donor, Engineer Adeniyi Oladeinde, and others, during the inauguration of NUJ's guest house by the Governor in Ibadan, yesterday.

FOR CLIMATE: From left—Gender and Food Security Officer, National Association of Professional Environments, Uganda, Mrs Shillar Kyomugisha; Regional Director, Coalition of African Women in the Extractive Industry Secretariat, South Africa, Samantha Hargreaves; Head of Media, Kebetkache Nigeria, Constance Mgin; Coordinator, Gender Action, USA, Elaine Zuckerman, and Coordinator, South Africa Green Revolutionary Council, Limpopo South Africa, Francinah Nkosi, during a regional exchange meeting on Fossil Fuel and Climate Change in Port Harcourt, Monday. NAN PHOTO.

UGHELLI OLD BOYS: From left— President, Lagos branch, Mr. Clement Djebah; President-General Worldwide, Professor Oritsegbemi Omatete, and Secretary-General, Roy Odoko, all of Government College Ughelli Old Boys Association, GCUOBA, at a briefing on the association's 70th anniversary and annual national fund raising dinner at GCUOBA Secretariat, Yaba, Lagos.

IN KADUNA: From left— Spiritual Director, Knights of St. John, Monsignor John Aniagwu; Archbishop of Lagos, Archbishop Alfred Adewale Martins; Director of Education, Lagos Archdiocese, Monsignor Jerome Odutan, and Noble Vice Grand Master of the Knights, Sir Kola Olowu, at the unveilling of Alfred Adewale Martins Catholic Faith Competition, sponsored and Anchored by the Knights, in Lagos.

CIPM: From left— Chairman, Membership Committee, Mr. Reginald Akujobi-Roberts; Treasurer, Mrs Ifeoma Patience Adeniyi; President/ Chairman of Council, Mr. Anthony Arabome, and Registrar/CEO, Mr. Sunday Adeyemi, all of Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria, CIPM, during the 20th induction ceremony of new members in Lagos. PHOTO: Diran Oshe.

TALENT HUNT: From left— Organizer/CEO, Dihoo Records, Mr. Morgan Uwadileke; winner, Ikharekhon Godspower, a visually-impaired, and Mr. Sergius Ogun, at the Dream Music Talent Hunt audition at St. Anthony Catholic Church, Uromi, Edo State.

IWA-JI IN KADUNA : From left— President-General, Igbo Community Welfare Association, ICWA Kaduna, Mr. Chris Nnoli; Director, Political Research & Strategy, Office of the Special Assistant, Political, to Governor Nasir El-rufai of Kaduna State, Mohammed Ibrahim; Eze-Igbo Kaduna, Engr. Sylvanus Aneke; his wife, Anike; Eze-Igbo Zaria, Dr. Ibe Unogu, and District Head Barnawa, Alhaji Kabir Subairu, at ICWA's Iwa-Ji (New Yam Festival) in Kaduna, yesterday. PHOTO: Olu Ajayi.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015—41

42—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 , 2015

Those moving against me ‘ll fail —EKWEREMADU

By Henry Umoru & Joseph Erunke

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AGM: From left—Mr Andrew Agbaga, Director, Mr Bolaji Oladipo,MD/C EO, Mr Bode Akinboye, Chairman, Ms Nwadiuto Onuoha, Company Secretary, all of Standard Alliance Life Assurance Limited, during the 2014 Annual General Meeting in Lagos, yesterday. Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi.

BUJA—DEPUTY Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, said yesterday that those working against him would surely fail, declaring that their efforts to use his service on Accounts and Committees of the Red Chamber to hound him out of office through blackmail had crumbled.

A statement by his Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, Uche Anichukwu, read: “ The office of the

deputy president of the Senate wishes to bring to the knowledge of the public some clandestine efforts by desperate political elements to publish false and defamatory information against the Office and person of the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu.

“These elements are currently making desperate efforts, including scavenging through all Senate accounts and Committees he has ever served on, with the sole aim of misrepresenting information, maligning, and running him out of office by hook or crook or forcing him to resign from office as the Deputy President of the Senate.

“The Deputy President of the Senate appreciates the principled stance of most media houses not to be used in this business of blackmail, falsehood, and cheap propaganda.

“Meanwhile, it will interest Nigerians to know that the Office has it on good authority that the elements behind this unscrupulous push are the same people whose recent staunch defence of bipartisan leadership in the legislature as rightly being consistent with the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the presidential system of government, and our history is in the public domain.

“The Deputy President of the Senate is ever committed to contributing his quota towards ensuring that the Federal Government of Nigeria provides good governance that caters for the wellbeing of the good people of Nigeria, for it remains the common and primary calling of all of those in government, irrespective of party affiliation.

“However, the Deputy President of the Senate also remains committed to the institution of the National Assembly and independence of the legislature, hence he will not allow himself to be intimidated or stampeded out of Office.

“While we advise patriotic Nigerians to be on the lookout for such misinformation and regard them as puerile propaganda that they are, we want to assure them that just like the phantom alleged forgery of Senate Standing Rules, this too will surely fail.”

In another development, yesterday, some protesters stormed the National Assembly complex, calling on the Presidency not to victimise the Senate leadership.

The two groups, Ohanaeze Ndi-Igbo Youth Movement and Coalition of Civil Society Media Executives, COCMEP, with placards of various inscriptions, asked the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, and his deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, not to resign.

Okowa's mandate intact for next 4 years —TIDI

By Tare Youdeowei

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SABA—MICHAEL Tidi, Special Assistant on News Media to Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, has asserted that the mandate of the Delta State Governor is secure for the next four years.

In a statement made available to newsmen yesterday in Asaba, Tidi urged Deltans to “ignore the trial by media of the wishful Delta opposition, whose chieftains, hatchet men, hirelings and noisemakers in the social, print and electronic media, have riotously declared victory on a matter still pending before the tribunal which is yet to be finally determined.”

He said: “Contrary to insinuations of the opposition in Delta, they have no capacity to win the governorship of Delta when pitted against a grassroots politician of legendary pedigree, with experience as Senator Okowa.

“Dr. Okowa’s primary concern is the betterment of the lives of the average Deltan in consonance with the obligations of his mandate for the next four years.

"Okowa’s commitment to the welfare of the entire state as his one and only constituency will turn out to be so profound and impressive that the good people of Delta who massively gave him their vote, will be clamouring for his return come 2019.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015—43

44—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 , 2015

Ban Ki-Moon tasks world leaders on priorities for succeeding generations

By Funmi Ajumobi, reporting from UN Headquarters, New York

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EW YORK— UNITED nations Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, has charged world leaders that succeeding generations depended on them to finally get their priorities right, saying suffering was at the level not seen in a generation.

According to him, one

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hundred million people require immediate humanitarian assistance, while at least 60 million people have been forced to flee their homes or their countries.

Ban Ki-Moon wondered why the world would continue to squander trillions in wasteful military spending, adding that reaching the s u s t a i n a b l e development goals

meant organizing better.

He said: ‘’Let there be no more walls or boxes; no more ministries or agencies working at crosspurposes.

“Let us move from silos to synergy, supported by data, long-term planning and a will to do things differently ‘’Facing a world where inequality is growing, trust is fading, and impatience with leadership can be seen and felt far and wide.

“Our aim is clear. Our mission is possible. And our destination is in our sights; an end to extreme poverty by 2030; a life of peace and dignity for all.

He noted that this session of the General Assembly had opened with a “towering achievement.’’ ‘’What counts now is

translating those promises on paper into real change. We owe this and much more to the vulnerable, the oppressed, the displaced and the forgotten people in our world. We owe this to succeeding generations,’’ the UN chief said.

Nigeria's gas supply to Ghana hits 140mscf per day

By Prince Okafor with Agency report

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CCRA—GHANA Gas Company, yesterday, said it has currently

recorded an improvement in its gas supply and the excess of over 140 million standard cubic feet of

gas per day, which makes it the country’s highest reserves since 2009.

The report, however, added that this development can be best attributed to the supply made from Nigeria.

This according to report is happening after a year breakdown on gas supply from Nigeria to Ghana, Togo and Benin, due to pipeline damages by a vessel in Togolese waters.

Even before then, gas supply was barely up to fifty per cent of the required expectation, and when supply recommenced after the pipeline was fixed, there was still no improvement for quite a while until lately, when the volumes been supplied to Ghana dropped to a record low level between the range of 30 million and 50 million standard cubic feet per day, making it knotty for the solely gasreliant Sunon-Asogli Power Plant at Kpone near Tema (200 megawatts) to continue.

At the inception when the West African Gas Pipeline started delivering gas, Volta River Authority, VRA, was unable to consume all the incoming gas, and, perhaps, now more than ever, the stretch of the pipeline between Tema and Takoradi is being utilized; gas from Nigeria has been quietly going to Takoradi due to increased volumes and due to challenges with Ghana’s own gas on the FPSO Kwame Nkrumah.

In a statement from Mr. Kofi Ellis, Business Development Manager of the VRA to business newspaper at Business & Financial Times on the sidelines of the Ghana Gas Forum in Accra recently, he said: “Currently, we are getting in excess of 140 million standard cubic feet per day of gas from Nigeria."

45—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 , 2015

Bayelsa APC gov primaries almost cost us our lives —C'TTEE MEMBERS

By Simon Ebegbulem

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ENIN CITY—MEMBERS of the Bayelsa State governorship primary election Committee, of the All Progressives Congress, APC, declared in the official report to the National Secretariat that what was done at the Samson Siasia Stadium on the 22nd of September, 2015, was not a primary election but an attempt on their lives.

In the report signed by Governor Adams Oshiomhole, who is the chairman of the committee, the secretary, Senator Ishaq Salman, and five other members of the committee, narrated the efforts by members to ensure a free and fair primaries, but lamented that their efforts were scuttled by thugs allegedly loyal to former Governor Timipre Sylva, when the committee insisted on accreditation of genuine delegates.

According to the report: “On our way to the stadium we encountered an army of youths wearing vests with the inscription, “APC Volunteer Force,” who barricaded the venue of the exercise. When we entered the venue, we were confronted by some aspirants complaining that the APC Volunteer Force was an outfit of one of the aspirants used to intimidate and deny entry to the opponents of the said aspirant.

They said many of our own supporters have been attacked and some have been hospitalized.

The Police told us that earlier that

day, two AK47 rifles with 146 rounds of ammunitions and Pump Action gun with several cartridges were recovered from some people who abandoned the guns and ran away. We held meeting with the security agencies present where it was decided that the Vounteer Force should be dispersed by the Police.”

The committee said it started accreditation with the statutory delegates and completed without hitch, until they started accreditation with Brass Local Government Area, where it

discovered that many of them did not have approved means of identification, adding that many of the PVCs were fake.

The committee said: “It was at this stage that the chairman (Oshiomhole) arrived and he called for a meeting to review the process so far in view of the several calls he had received and what he saw on his way to the venue.”

The report noted that after the meeting with all the aspirants and the Assistant Inspector General of Police, AIG, the Police was directed to secure the stadium and ensure that hoodlums were not allowed in,

but unfortunately, reverse was the case.

According to the report, “the crowd invaded the stadium and started raining abuses on us. Without waiting to be invited with other aspirants, Timipre Sylva, came and insisted that the election must be held. He repeated what he said at the meeting the previous day that the guideline was targeted at him and that the chairman of the committee was in Bayelsa to act out a script.”

VISIT: From left—Asuquo Iquoh, Staff Sergeant; Mr Onochie Anibeze, Saturday Editor Vanguard Newspaper; Col. Rabe Abubakar, Acting Director, Defence Information and Lieutenant Commander Way Olabisi; Acting Assitant Director (Navy)Defence Information, during the visit to Vanguard Newspaper in Lagos, yesterday. Photo: Akeem Salau.

....As rescheduled primary fails to hold Y

By Emem Idio

ENAGOA—THERE was confusion in Yenagoa, yesterday, as the rescheduled primaries by All Progressives Congress, APC, to pick a governorship candidate, for the December 5, governorship election did not hold.

As early as 8am, the Samson Siasia Sports Complex, Yenagoa, the announced venue, had been occupied by Igbo residents in Bayelsa State, who were celebrating the annual Igbo National Day, while there was no sign of APC officials.

However, there was heavy security presence at the Complex mounted by a combined team of soldiers, mobile policemen and men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC. An anti-bomb police vehicle was also stationed at the complex.

Some soldiers at the venue, who also expressed surprise over the development, told Vanguard that they came to provide security for the primaries, only to learn that the exercise might have been

shifted to today.

Although no official statement was issued for the sudden development by the party in Yenagoa.

However, there were conflicting reports by some members of the state executives of the party, with some claiming that the election would take place yesterday night,

while others said the election would be conducted today.

At the state party secretariat in Yenagoa, scores of delegates and some state party executives, were seen milling round while others were seen discussing in groups.

Meanwhile, the Timi Alaibe Campaign Organisation, has alleged of plans to use a fresh

delegates lists for the rescheduled primaries.

Spokesperson of the organisation, Mr Patterson Ogon, who disclosed this in Yenagoa, yesterday, claimed the plot was been masterminded by some powerful forces in the APC to subvert the will of the people for the rescheduled Bayelsa primaries.

Edo PDP condoles with Odubu over mother's death

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By Gabriel Enoghlase

ENIN—PARTY differences were yesterday, thrown to the wind, as leaders of the Edo State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, paid a condolence visit on the state deputy governor, Dr. Pius Odubu, to commiserate with him over the death of his mother, Mrs. Imuegbeyi Odubu, who died last week.

Edo State chairman of the PDP, Chief Dan Orbih, who led the team was joined by other party leaders, including state vice

chairman, Edo North, Mr. Henry Tenebe, the state Woman Leader, Mrs. Stella Evbomwan, PDP senatorial candidate in the Edo North zone, in the 2015 election, Mr. Pascal Ugbome, among others.

Orbih, at the occasion, said no one should be surprised by the visit to Dr. Odubu, because the latter started from the PDP, noting that the PDP family must continue to relate with the deputy governor.

He said: “It is on that note that I have come here with a team of PDP leaders in Edo State to show our admiration for your person and all

that you stand for. We urge you to take heart and be consoled by the fact that your mother lived a good life.”

Responding, Odubu said he was humbled by the visit, saying, “this is the way it should be, politics without boundaries, politics without bitterness because we all believe that we all have what it takes to serve our state no matter the platform.I want to thank you for exemplary politicking; for showing that politics should not constitute boundary to friendship."

‘C-River election tribunal chair, not High Court judge'

C

By Emma Una

ALABAR—THE was pandemonium, yesterday, at the Cross River Election Tribunal, over allegation that Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Christopher Waumbra, was a customary court judge, and not a High Court judge as required.

Supporters of litigants took advantage of the commotion to hold lawyers and others hostage. It took the additional security operatives from the Police and Department of State Security Service, DSS, to disperse them.

Justice Christopher Waumbra, was, however, said to have admitted that he was a customary court judge.

The pandemonium forced the tribunal to adjourn for one week after it had scheduled to deliver one judgment on the House of Representatives petition for Ikom/Boki federal constituency and also adopt written addresses from counsels for two senatorial petitioners, Calabar and Ogoja senatorial districts, and House of Representatives petition for Bakassi/ Calabar South federal constituency.

Paul Erokoro, SAN, counsel to Senator Gershom Bassey, Bassey Ewa, Dr Rose Oko, and Essien Ayi, had in a meeting with the tribunal members before commencement of business of the day, confronted Justice Waumbra of his alleged findings that he was a customary court judge, insisting that by the rules of the Electoral Act, the chairman of the tribunal should be a serving High Court Judge.

Following the development, the tribunal members went into the inner chambers, to confer with the President of Appeal Court, on phone on the next line of action.

At the end, the registrar of the tribunal, Mr. Innocent Akidi, told the lawyers and litigants that “all matters in this Tribunal have been adjourned to Monday, October 5, for further hearing.”

46—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

Stop attacks on Obiano, APGA warns opposition parties

By Vincent Ujumadu

secretariat, Tuesday, the APGA publicity secretary in the state, Mr. Chinedu Nkwonta said the two parties had recently WKA—THE ruling All Progressives constituted themselves into nuisance by Grand Alliance, APGA, in Anambra attacking the governor without any cause.

Nkwonta said that both PDP and LP, State yesterday, warned the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and Labour having realized they are jobless people, Party, LP, in the state to desist from what it have resorted to undue attacks on the state described as the unwarranted attacks on chief executive.

The two political parties recently asked the state governor, Chief Willie Obiano.

The state publicity secretary of APGA, Mr. Obiano to account for about N80 billion Chinedu Nkwonta said in Awka that further local government funds collected since he attacks on the governor was an invitation mounted the saddle and also accused him to anarchy, insisting that the party might of dropping from the standard set by the immediate past governor of the state, Mr. be forced to react in its own way.

Addressing newsmen at its state Peter Obi in terms of infrastructure development.

Describing the allegations as frivolous and concocted, Nkwonta said: “He that lives in a glass house should not be throwing stones. That “There is allowance of 20 APGA is a law-abiding

By Anayo Okoli per cent, part of the salary party does not give anyone which workers enjoy, but the impetus to ride our MUAHIA—THE surprisingly, on December, leader and BoT chairman. management of 2012, he (the Executive Any negative attack on National Root Crops Director) stopped it with the Obiano is an attack on Research Institute, NRCRI, reason that he had a APGA. It is an attack on the Umudike, Abia State, has directive from NRCN to general integrity of the faulted the strike action stop it,” a reason the union people of the state who are embarked upon by did not accept. predominantly APGA members of Non-academic But the management of members.

Staff Union, NASU, of the the institute had “Let me remind the institute, saying that the vehemently denied dreamers once more that union members were withholding any allowance PDP and LP do not exist in demanding for illegal of any staff and accused the Anambra. What they have allowances not approved by union members of working are bullies and intimidators the Federal Government. against the interest of the that had in the past taken NASU led by its Federal Government. advantage of their control chairperson, Mrs. Obi Meanwhile, members of of the centre to defraud us Nwakaego had, last week, the Senior Staff Association during elections. embarked on a strike, of the Institute had “APGA is fully awake now protesting alleged non- dissociated themselves and be rest assured that payment of allowances to from the strike, saying that such can never happen the tune of over N280 they were willing to again. Labour party has million. perform their lawful duties. also gone extinct.

According to Obi A statement by the “The essence of Nwakaego, who addressed chairman and secretary of opposition is to have a party the union before declaring the union, George Okoye that is consistently the strike action, their and Obioma Ogbonna, observant of the policies of grievances include the respectively, explained that government and to detect removal of 20 per cent from the headquarters of the any type of policy, project workers' salaries which, she union had asked them not or action that will be said, amounted to N280 to join the strike. inimical to the progress of million, among others. the state.”

A

STRIKE ACTION: NRCRI

management trade words with union

U

Old boys launch N500m endowment for oldest school in Igboland

By Vincent Ujumadu

A

WKA—AS part of activities to mark the 90th anniversary of Dennis Memorial Grammar School, DMGS, Onitsha, the old boys of the school have planned an endowment fund of N500 million for the upgrading of the school.

DMGS was founded by the Church Missionary Society in 1925 in memory of Archdeacon T.J. Dennis, one of the early missionaries who remarkably achieved the feat of translating the English Bible into Igbo language, but died before the work was completed.

It is the oldest secondary school in Igbo land and over the years, the old students of the school had been putting up structures, most of which will be commissioned this weekend when the old

boys gather for their convention in the school.

President-General of DMGS Old Boys Association, Chief Gibson Okeke , an Engineer, told reporters at a pre-convention briefing in Onitsha that over N400 million had been invested in the school in the past five years, with the old boys contributing over N300 million.

One of the projects to be commissioned during the convention this weekend is a hostel block that can accommodate 1000 students, which was singlehandedly funded by an old boy, Dr. Ernest AzudialuObiejesi.

Okeke commended the state government’s hand-over of schools to their original missionary owners, adding that it had helped to improve the standard of education and moral upbringing.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015—47

83 Senators back Saraki, Ekweremadu Continues from Page5 pretence or guise for personal political interest.

“The senate, hereby, resolves to pass a vote of confidence on the President of the Senate, Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki; the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu and the entire Senate leadership as presently constituted.

“To call on innocent Nigerians, groups and political associations not to allow themselves to be used by any person or persons to harass, or blackmail the Senate, Senators and its leadership."

Enraged Marafa protests Soon after the vote of confidence, Senator Kabiru Marafa (APC, Zamfara Central) for over 20 minutes became uncontrollable as he made efforts to raise a point of order challenging the vote of confidence on the Senate President.

Marafa, in protest, said he was unfairly treated

by Saraki, who he noted deliberately refused to identify him after having raised his hands several times to express his opinion on the matter, saying, “ I came under Point of Order before the Senate took the decision, but you refused me.”

But as Marafa continued to speak in anger against Saraki’s ruling, citing section 53(5) of the Standing Order which reads: “Reference shall not be made to any matter which a judicial decision is pending, in such a way as might in the opinion of the President of the Senate prejudice the interest of parties thereto.”

But Saraki insisted that Marafa should read 53(6) which reads: “It shall be out of order to attempt to reconsider any specific question upon which the Senate has come to a conclusion during the current session except upon a substantive motion for rescission.”

Out of order As Marafa was still shouting, the Senate President ruled him out of order but this did not stop him as he raised his voice, lampooning the Senate and before long a rowdy session ensued.

Another APC Senator, Isah Hamman Misau (Bauchi Central), who was among the sponsors of the motion, quickly rose to caution Marafa against disobeying the ruling of the Senate President.

This intervention further provoked Marafa, who removed his babaringa (top clothe) and attempted to move towards Misau, threatening to deal with him.

The effort was halted by many senators who blocked and prevented him from reaching his target.

Marafa walks out At the peak of his anger, Marafa walked out of the chamber, aided by senators who stopped him from attacking Misau.

At this point, Senators Olusola Adeyeye (APC, Osun Central), Gbenga Ashafa (APC, Lagos East) and Adeola Solomon Olamilekan (APC, Lagos West) took Marafa out of the chambers to Adeyeye’s office, just as Adeyeye cautioned him (Marafa) against talking to anyone when he saw (Journalists) following him and efforts to get the angered Marafa to talk proved abortive.

Ekweremadu begs for Marafa

Marafa was later asked by his friends to return to the Senate floor before it rose and he did.

To save Marafa from being sanctioned, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who apologised to senators, the Senate leadership and Nigerians on behalf of Marafa, said that he should be forgiven for the embarrassment he caused the Senate.

Senator Ekweremadu, who warned that the Senate can invoke its Order like it did to suspend Senator Arthur Nzeribe, said: ”It is high time we put behind all the previous issues. We were elected through different channels of political associations but we are all Senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I want to apologise to Nigerians on behalf of Marafa over his unruly behaviour, there is a provision for suspension of a senator.

It was once used on Arthur Nzeribe but I commend the Senate President for his maturity on this.”

Those moving against me will fail, says Ekweremadu

 As pro- Saraki, Ekweremadu groups storm NASS M e a n t i m e , Ekweremadu said, yesterday, that those working against him will fail. A statement by his Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, Uche Anichukwu, read: “The Office of the Deputy President of the Senate wishes to bring to the knowledge of the public some clandestine efforts by desperate political elements to publish false and defamatory information against the Office and person of the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu.

“These elements are currently making desperate efforts, including scavenging through Senate accounts and Committees he has ever served on, with the sole aim of misrepresenting information, maligning, and running him out of office by hook or crook or force him to resign from office as the Deputy President of the Senate."

In another development, some protesters stormed the National Assembly Complex, calling on the Presidency not to victimise the Senate leadership.

The two groups Ohaneze Ndi-Igbo Youth Movement and Coalition of Civil Society Media Executives (COCMEP) bearing placards of various inscriptions, asked the Senate President, Saraki and his deputy, Ekweremadu not to resign.

In a statement signed by their co-ordinator, Nnadi Uche , the group noted that it is an act of corruption to use the anti-corruption war for party politics and political benefits, adding, “ we condemn it in all its ramifications, but we will not sit down and allow anyone no matter how highly placed to derail the war.”

48—WEDNESDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

By Chinenyeh Ozor, Nsukka

arrested the eyewitness, Peter, and some members of his household as the first prime suspects, being the only one that saw the first suspect with bloodstained dress.

Visit to scene of incident: It was gathered that detectives that visited the scene of the incident revealed that the deceased was brutally hacked to death.

They also discovered that his killers had cut his hair and beard, while his testicles were also chopped off. The deceased who was known for his unkempt beard was said to be on his way to Adada farm where majority of his people go to farm when he met his untimely death.

His remains has been deposited at Attah Memorial Hospital mortuary by police men from IgboEtiti Division, while some arrests had been made. The suspects wer subsequently taken to the State Criminal Investigations Department, (CID), Enugu for further investigation. However, one of the suspected killers, said to be a popular transporter was said to be at large.

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GROUP of people sus pected to specialize in ritual killings at Umuezike-Aku community in Igbo-Etiti local government area, Enugu state, have allegedly hacked one Daniel Ezeagu to death in the community.

Crime Alert gathered that members of the killer-group that committed the crime, last week, were caught by detectives attached to Aku police station, assisted by members of the neighbourhood watch. The suspects were rounded up while trying to escape from the scene of the crime by securitymen on patrol.

Eyewitness account: An eye-witness, Peter Nwaizu, who caught one of the killers while fleeing from the scene shortly after the ritual killing said he was at alert on patrol around 5am when he saw one of his relations, Ugonna Nwazi (a.k.a Group), and he suspected danger after noticing his bloodstained cloth.

According to the witness, he confronted the suspect after raising alarm and insisted that he should Late Daniel Ezeagu explain how he got bloodstains on his dress.

“Shockingly, Ugonna disclosed to me confidentially that they killed one man from Umudiewa Ohemuje village in Aku community. He pleaded with me to cover them so that relations of the victim will not know they killed their kinsman for ritual. I shouted and more people came out including some some people were taking the reof his accomplices in the heinous mains of the slain Daniel to decrime. As I was making moves to posit at Ohemuje village around call my vigilante colleagues to 5 a.m. to cover the killing at Umuhand him over to the Police, one ezike but suddenly dropped the of the perpetrators of the killing, corpse immediately they sighted simply identified as Amadi Jude his motorcycle headlights and took (a.k.a Onwa), told me in front of to their heels. everyone that if anything happens According to him: “I saw when to the first suspect, his people will they carried his body, perhaps to bury me alive. dump at Ohemuje village which is just a stone's throw from where Ritual the man was murdered but when killing they saw light from my motorcycle, they took to their heels and I That was when it dawned on me was unable to recognise any of that it was a planned ritual killing them,” the tapper said. and the people behind it were influential people from that village,” he explained.

The witness noted that he had no option than to report to some Ugonna dispeople in Ohemuje village where the victim hailed from and also, closed to me informed colleagues in the neighbourhood watch of what has hap- confidentially.... pened.

He pleaded with “I also pointed out that the culprit, Ugonna, named his accom- me to cover them plices,” he stated. Crime Alert so that relations gathered that based on this deof the victim will velopment, the alleged killergroup immediately convened a not know they meeting to discuss how to save the killed their kinssuspects and cover their tracks. man for ritual Palm wine tapper’s account Meanwhile, a palm wine tapper who pleaded anonymity confided in Crime Alert that he saw when

Ritualists hack farmer to death in Enugu community First suspect, Peter Nwaizu arrested It was learnt that when relations of the deceased Daniel Ezeagu from Ohemuje community heard news of the killing of their kinsman, they made straight to the police who in turn

Community appeals to deceased's kinsmen: Meanwhile, people of Umudiewa Ohemuje community where the suspected killers hail from have appealed to the kinsmen of the slain farmer to sheathe their swords, admitting that their compatriots killed their

kinsman and must be fished out and handed over to the police for prosecution. Speaking through one Mr. Patrick Ugwu, the community also appealed to security agents to stop massive arrests of people in their community, assuring that they are making frantic efforts to fish out the fleeing suspects. In his words, “we are deeply sorry for what happened. It is true that our people killed Daniel Ezeagu and we are promising you people that we must fish them out and hand them over to the police for prosecution. We are begging you people to calm your anger and allow us follow the case to a logical conclusion with the perpetrators being brought to book to face the wrath of the law,” Ugwu said.

Wrath of the law Attempts made to reach the traditional ruler of Ihekwuenu Autonomous Community, HRH, Igwe C.E.O. Okwor and Ihekwuenu Town Union President, Prof. GCE Mbah, where the incident occurred was futile as calls put across to them went unanswered.

Police reacts: However, the Divisional Police Officer (D.P.O) in charge of Igbo-Etiti Police division, Ogbede, Itam John, confirmed the incident and the arrest of some of the suspects. He also urged the public not to panic as the police operatives in the division will definitely catch the fleeing suspect and others connected with the barbaric killing in the area.”We have made some arrests and the people have been moved to State CID, Enugu.

Some of them have confessed killing the man in defence claiming he attacked them first while others are still accusing Peter, the first witness, as the person that killed him,” the D.P.O said.

P-H-O-T-O S-P-E-A-K Suspected criminals were recently paraded by the Oyo State Police Command.

The State Commissioner of Police, Mr Leye Oyebade, parades some suspects that specialized in snatching exotic cars with some of the vehicles recovered from them at the background.

PHOTO: Dare Fasube.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015—49

50—VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely…”, Lord Acton, 1834-1902. That strongly held belief saved his reputation in the middle to late 1990s when Nigeria experienced a major banking crisis. Onosode was on the board of one of the second generation banks. The bank, at the time, was headed by two former Presidents of the Chartered Institute of Bankers.

Onosode resigned when the board decided to appoint the Chairman as the Chief Executive Officer.

DR. GAMALIEL ONOSODE, OFR, 1933-2015

Mr Integrity-plus is gone

By Dele Sobowale “The activist is not the man who says the river is dirty. The activist is the man who cleans up the river.” Ross Perot. VBQ p 3.

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OST people don’t even recollect that late Gamaliel Onosode was a presidential aspirant in 1998/ 1999 as a member of the All Peoples Party, APP. In that role he came to VANGUARD to meet with the editors of the paper. Asked during the interaction if he would consider himself an activist since he had not championed any cause in Nigeria, Onosode replied with that statement by Perot.

Thinking it was original to him and wanting to include statements from Nigerians in my VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS, VBQ, I wrote it down and after the session told “Uncle” as I called him, that he had just entered into my upcoming book of quotations. He promptly replied. “Dele, I am not the originator; I read it somewhere; and it was credited to Perot.”

The man wouldn’t steal a quotation; even if most people would never have known he was not the “owner”.

Jumping the gun However, that is jumping the gun because my relationship with “Uncle” started much earlier. In the 1970s to 1990s Onosode’s name was the first which came to anybody ’s mind when selecting people for the board of any firm wanting to list on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Indeed, the common statement heard on the Exchange was “all that is needed for a stock to become blue chip is to have Onosode on the Board of Directors of the company”. It was honour most deserved as the reader will discover presently. ”Uncle” and I met formerly at the Nigerian Institute of Management in 1990, when he attended one of our functions.

As one of the Senior Lecturer/ Consultants, I ended up, at lunch, sitting next to the man who had already become my hero. Within minutes we were in deep discussion about President Babangida’s budget proposals for the year. For me,

it was a tutorial. As a director of several companies in virtually every important sector of the economy, Onosode knew how the budget would affect all the companies with which he was involved. Later, his observations proved prescient on every one of them. Then, I knew why those companies were doing so well. They had a sage on the board. Still something was puzzling. The man was not a professional accountant, not a certified financial expert or an economist. Yet, he had an amazing grasp of financial documents far above the professionals in those fields.

Let me provide an example. We became fairly close after the NIM meeting and I would occasionally call to discuss articles I was about to write. One day some

Indeed, the common statement heard on the Exchange was “all that is needed for a stock to become blue chip is to have Onosode on the Board of Directors of the company

Prescription for disaster

•The late Deacon Gamaliel Onosode

investors approached me at the NIM to help work on the Marketing Plan for their new venture. Along the way, I was informed that they were looking for somebody to introduce them to Onosode. Nothing could be simpler. I offered to do so; especially when they added that I was already penciled down to be the Marketing Director.

We eventually met with Uncle Onosode, who took only thirty minutes to read the Business Plan, which was prepared by financial experts over ten months, and turned down the offer to serve. As we were filing out disappointed, Onosode called me and said, “Dele don’t dare to leave NIM for that company; it will not last one year.” The company folded up nine months after.

However, if there is one legacy Onosode had left with corporate Nigeria, it was his position that no limited liability company or Public Limited Company, PLC, with several shareholders, should be headed by a Chairman/ Managing Director or CEO. To Onosode checks and balances should operate in business.

The Managing Director/CEO should be responsible to a board of independent individuals headed by the Chairman. The Chairman in turn should be constantly checked by other board members acting in the interest of all the stakeholders. The Chairman/CEO creates a situation in which the CEO is reporting to himself and has absolute power. He believed strongly in the maxim that

To him, it was a prescription for disaster. It was unheard of for anybody to voluntarily resign from the board of a bank – given the perquisites of that office. A call to Uncle to ask why, brought the answer, “Dele, that bank is heading for trouble; deep trouble.” I immediately placed the bank on watch and started advising everyone with an account to go and withdraw their deposits.

The bank was one of the biggest surprises among the failed banks of the Abacha era. The Chairman/CEO and his Deputy spent months in detention and ended otherwise glorious banking careers in disgrace.

After that calamity, several companies, quoted on the Stock Exchange learnt their lessons. Today, few companies merge the roles of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

Thanks to Onosode.

“Lives of great men remind us that we can make our lives sublime. And departing, leave behind us; footprints on the sands of time.” HW Longfellow, 1807-1882. Onosode left his own. Adieu Uncle.

Onosode•••fruitful like the tree by the waters of the riverside

By Ken Tadaferua

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AD news. Onosode is said to have gone with the Angels to the Lord. He was abundantly fruitful like the tree by the waters of the riverside.

Basking under the shinning blessings of the Almighty and Eternal God, he shone outstandingly in corporate Nigeria from banking and finance to being chairman of several blue chips including Cadbury, Dunlop and Zain.

In public service he was tireless. He led the Nigerian delegation in various investment, sale and purchase negotiations in setting up the NLNG. I recall his role as chairman of the Niger Delta Environmental Survey. We met in Jesse, Delta State, at the site

of the horrendous fuel pipeline fire that consumed hundreds.

As the bulldozer created the huge mass grave for the burnt bodies, we watched with sorrow. I was there to report the disaster for ThisWeek magazine. I have always been proud of him for his accomplishments. An Urhobo like me, we shared the pains of the horrendous devastation of our environment in the Niger Delta by ruthless and reckless oil exploitation.

He played many more roles in public service including as Presidential Adviser on Budget Affairs and Director of Budget in 1983. He made a foray into politics to run for president. But he was in strange waters filled with sharks. He was to realize that integrity and Nigerian

politicians put together in a sentence is an oxymoron. He may be the last of that special breed that studied Classics from the University of Ibadan in the 50s and 60s.

Rarified character Great men who were imbued with the aristocratic and rarified character and language of the greatest leaders and culture of their study of world’s imperious classic ages.

Onosode himself was an epitome of ice clean, biting diction for he was famous for his clipped Queen’s English in speech.

But his greatest contribution is his worship of God in humility and righteous

diligence. He pastored a church and did excellent work on the church organ rendering beautiful hymns in praise and worship of the Alpha and Omega who in divine wisdom has called the inimitable Onosode to rest in the spiritual realm at the ripe age of 82.

From the Holy Bible which he loved passionately, I honour him with this scripture: “The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness.” - Isaiah 57: 1-2

VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015—51

Onosode: Financial experts, Ibori, technocrats mourn

By Babajide Komolafe, Peter Egwuatu, Yinka Kolawole & Nkiruka Nnorom

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EACTIONS have trailed the passing away of Mr. Gamaliel Onosode who died, yesterday, in Lagos, at the age of 82 years.

Financial experts mourn Some financial experts also reacted to the death of the corporate icon, describing it as a big blow to the nation’s capital market, the banking industry and entire corporate Nigeria.

They noted that his death would create a vacuum in the country ’s business arena.

Mazi Okechukwu Unegbu, a former president of Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), said the country had lost a gem and an “epitome of moderation and simplicity”.

Unegbu noted that Onosode stood for truth, hated corruption and never accepted unethical conduct during his active years.

He said that the financial community would surely miss him and prayed for the repose of his soul.

Speaking on behalf of the stockbrokers, Mr. Emeka Madubuike, Chairman, Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria (ASHON), said his life would forever be remembered by the stockbroking community for his immense contribution to the growth of the market and his exemplary life as doyen of the stockbrokers.

Doyen of stockbrokers “Onosode was the doyen of stockbrokers having been there for several years. He was a pioneer stockbroker and led the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers for many years.

He was a council member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange; he was also a council member of Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers and Chairman, Board of Fellows, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers and recently, chairman of revitalised Investors Protection Fund.

He did quite a lot for the economy, the financial system in general and the stockbroking community in particular. What gives us hope is that we will continue to have his lifestyle as an example to emulate,” Madubuike said.

Mr. Oscar Onyema, CEO, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), said: “This is a great loss to the Nigerian capital market.

He was an

exceptional, forthright and inspirational leader whose life exemplifies all the values dear to the NSE. He was a man of integrity and the best we could find as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the NSE’s Investors’ Protection Fund, when we decided to reoperationalise the Fund in 2012. We will sorely miss him.

However, we take solace in his laudable achievements which will remain indelible in the annals of Nigeria’s history.”

Acting president, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), Mr. Oluwaseyi Abe, said: “He is the father of modern day investment banking, mister integrity and indeed, number one stockbroker. Africa has lost a gem.”

Number one stockbroker According to the CEO, Capital Bancorp Securities Ltd., Mr. Aigboje Higo, Onosode ''was a colossus of the capital market. The last of the originals, he was a consummate gentleman. He will be sorely missed. I feel privileged to have known him.”

Mr. David Adonri, CEO, Highcap Securities Ltd., noted that Onosode was the first stockbroker in Nigeria, noting “his contribution to capital formation in the economy is enormous.”

The former first vice president, CIS, Mr. Emmanuel Ohanwusi, said “Onosode was not just a capital market expert, but a grand craft-master of the few identifiable, viable and note worthy Nigerian economic blueprints and professional institutions that we have in the country. He was humble, God fearing and extremely intelligent; he was unrivalled

Onosode stood for truth, hated corruption and never accepted unethical conduct during his active years

in corporate boardroom chess game; adept in applying the word of God to all situations in life. He was a beauty to watch or listen to, particularly in his diction, choice of words, etc., of the English language.

A father and mentor to many.

The contribution of this patriot to our national identity and economic independence will be sorely missed by Nigerians.”

Malam Garba Kurfi, Managing Director, APT Securities and Funds Ltd., said that Onosode’s death was a great loss to the entire capital market community.

Kurfi said Onosode contributed his quota to the development of the NSE and the stability of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS).

He also said Onosode was instrumental to the transformation of the capital market through efficient policies. “We cannot forget him. Onosode is one of the

Dr. Uju Ogununka, former Registrar/Chief Executive, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), stated: “Words are not enough to describe him, Onosode was a thorough professional and renowned banker. It’s like a generation is passing by and Onosode belongs to that generation of those who built this country. You could call on him anytime, and he would tell you the truth no matter the issue.

Peak of industry He was very forthright. As a banker, he rose to the peak of industry and helped to salvage CIBN where he also served as council member, and as member of the board of fellows, which is a very respected body. He was one of the people that made the CIBN Board of Fellows what it is.

Onosode was a gentle man, a father in the banking industry, somebody whose shoes would be difficult to fill.

He was an epitome of thorough professional who

Ibori said that Onosode was not only all things to all people but he was the best among the decent, the upright, the virtuous, the worthy and the respectable. To the scholars, he was an incandescent brain, to the church, he was an uncommon preacher who not only built a church and ministered as a pastor, his greatest preaching is the exemplary way he led his entire life; for God and country.

Ibori said: “I will never forget the enthusiasm with which Onosode agreed to serve in a special Advisory Council I set up during my watch as Governor, or the passionate service he rendered to his beloved state.

At the same time he was extremely reluctant to seek personal glory or gain.

Onosode was a teacher who taught more by example than by precepts.

He was singular in his preeminence, loftiness of ideas, the broad expanse of avenues he had of meeting the challenge of the public good, the exciting lucidity of his conscience and the

L-r: Mr Mike Itegboje, Dr. Andrew Onosode, younger brother to Late Onosode, and Mr Gamaliel Ese, Onosode's first son, during the condolence visit to late Chief Gamaliel Onosode's family in Lagos, yesterday. Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi

greatest contributors to the market, the first doyen to be lost and we will surely miss him.''

On his part, Mr. Adebayo Adeleke, National Secretary, Independent Shareholders of Nigeria (ISAN), said Onosode was one of the pillars of industry in Nigeria. He said that Onosode was “a great influence on economic policies and development straddling over four decades.”

Dr. Eke Ubiji, DG, Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME), said: “His death is painful though he is over 80 years old. He will be remembered as a renowned corporate figure who made huge contributions to the economy. He is a very honest person, with no case of corruption attributed to him.''

served God and the nation. We would miss him dearly.

Ibori mourns: Former Governor of Delta State, Chief James Onanefe Ibori has described the death of Elder Gamaliel Onosode, as a loss to the Nigerian business firmament, the Urhobo nation, Delta State and Nigeria as a whole. A statement signed by Ibori’s Media Assistant, Tony Eluemunor, described Onosode as an authentic conscience of the nation.

“Though he was an extraordinary boardroom guru, he managed to remain Nigeria’s Mr. Clean. Though he once vied for the presidency on the platform of the defunct Nigerian Republican Convention (NRC), he was thoroughly above divisive politics as he remained a national figure.”

pinnacle of excellence on which he perched – like an eagle. He had no rivals. He had no equals. He was singular, so singular that his life was a veritable blessing to Nigeria.”

Gamaliel Onosode was a great technocrat – Yusuf Ali Alhaji Yusuf Ali, one time chairman of Nigeria Football Association and later the chairman of ANPP said nice things about Gamaliel Onosode and regretted that the man has passed on.

“He was a member of ANPP when I was chairman and we all knew him as a very fine and honest man,” Ali said, adding “He was a great technocrat who took business seriously. He was very friendly and brilliant on many issues. My condolences to his family and all his loved ones.''

52 — VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

Hajj disaster: Foreign officials question Saudi death toll

O

FFICIALS from several countries have said that more than 1,000 people died in last week’s stampede near Mecca during the annual Hajj pilgrimage.

A Nigerian official said 1,000 bodies of victims had been taken to morgues in the city of Jeddah.

Indian, Pakistani and Indonesian officials have also been quoted as saying they think more than 1,000 died.

The Saudi authorities say 769 died in the crush and insist the higher figure is for all deaths at this year’s Hajj.

Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted that Saudi authorities had released photos of 1,090 pilgrims who died. Paki-

•Say over 1,000 pilgrims died

•Afghan special forces arrive at Kunduz airport on September 29, 2015 as they launch a counteroffensive to retake the city from Taliban insurgents (AFP Photo/Nasir Waqif) stani and Indonesian officials have also indicated that they have been sent more than 1,000 such images.

Taliban vow to bring Sharia law, welcome defectors in captured city

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HE Taliban on Tuesday released a video hailing their takeover of the northern Afghan city of Kunduz with fighters showing off seized tanks and armoured cars, as they promised to enforce Islamic sharia law.

The militants stormed the northern provincial capital on Monday, effectively overrunning it in their biggest triumph since being ousted from national power in 2001.

Afghan troops backed

by US air support launched a counter-offensive Tuesday to retake the city, but the Taliban video suggested they could be looking to hold onto their gains. Some analysts had speculated they might melt away after scoring a symbolic victory.

The 10-minute clip

posted on Facebook opens with a shot of Kunduz main square where Taliban cadres cheer as they raise their white flag under the wary gaze of subduedlooking residents.

Migrant crisis: Germany tightens Balkan asylum laws

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ERMANY’S cabinet has approved a new asylum law aimed at reducing the number of migrants arriving from the Balkans.

The change, which will need parliamentary approval, would prevent people from Kosovo, Montenegro and Albania from seeking asylum in Germany.

Border controls were imposed by Germany to slow the influx of migrants and refugees earlier this month.

The UN refugee agency says more than 514,000

US slams sanctions on ISIS leaders •As Obama holds counter-terror summit

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HE US has said it is imposing new sanctions on Islamic State (IS) figures to cut off their sources of financing.

It also named individuals and groups as foreign terrorist fighters, including four British and three French citizens.

The announcement came on the day of a summit hosted by US President Barack Obama about tackling IS, on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Mr Obama said defeating the group in Syria would

A Saudi interior minister spokesman told AP that this number included 109 people who died at the Grand Mosque when a crane collapsed on 11 September and all other deaths at this year’s pilgrimage, some of them from natural causes.

A Nigerian Hajj official from Kano, Abba Yakubu, told the BBC’s Yusuf Ibrahim Yakasai that he had been to Jeddah, where the dead from Thursday ’s crush are being processed.

only be possible if President Bashar al-Assad stepped down.

The US imposed sanctions and penalties on 35 individuals and groups as foreign terrorist fighters - a designation that automatically incurs penalties.

The individuals targeted come from a wide range of countries - among them Russia, France, and the UK - in what is seen as an effort to highlight the global nature of the threat from Islamic State, says the BBC’s Barbara Plett Usher in New York.

people have crossed the Mediterranean into Europe this year.

The majority have come via Greece and almost 3,000 people have died on the journey or are missing, it says.

Germany alone expects between 800,000 and one million people to seek asylum in 2015, more than four times the number last year.

Snowden launches Twitter account

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UGITIVE US intelli gence contractor Edward Snowden has opened an account on the social network website Twitter.

His opening tweet was: “Can you hear me now?”

In his profile Mr Snowden says he “used to work for the government.

Now I work for the public”.

He quickly gathered thousands of followers.

So far, Mr Snowden, who is wanted in the US for leaking secrets, only follows one other Twitter user - the US National Security Agency (NSA).

He is believed to be living in Moscow where he is sheltering from US prosecutors.

Severe violence paralyses CAR capital Bangui

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HE last 72 hours have seen some of the worst levels of violence in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR), in over a year, according to Doctors without Borders (MSF), the medical charity.

The violence has overwhelmed medical facilities and crippled humanitarian work, the charity says.

Emmanuel Lampaert, head of operations at MSF in Bangui, told Al Jazeera over the phone on Tuesday that up to 150 people had been wounded in clashes between communities in the city since Saturday.

“This is the worst violence we have seen in a

•Jean-Pierre Bemba, a former vice president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, speaks at the opening of his trial in The Hague November 22, 2010. year, and this time the medical consequences are higher,” he said.

“Our teams are also find-

Former Congo VP Bemba, lawyer bribed witnesses — ICC

F

ORMER Congo vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba went on trial at the International Criminal Court for obstructing justice on Tuesday after allegedly trying to corrupt witnesses in his war crimes trial still underway.

Prosecutors say Bemba, whose trial for crimes against humanity opened at the Hague court in 2010, hoped flawed testimony would lead to his acquittal in that case. All the suspects in the second trial deny any wrongdoing.

“This is a case about shielding the integrity of the court’s proceedings,” Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in her opening remarks.

Some of the court’s highest-profile cases have collapsed due to witness tampering. Last year, prosecutors abandoned their case against Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, accused of fomenting pre-election violence, be-

cause of what they said was large-scale intimidation and bribing of witnesses.

“Mr. Bemba directed a plan to see his acquittal through corrupted means,” Bensouda told the court, adding that witness testimony, phone and money transfer records and logs from the court’s jail would prove her case.

The suspects deny the charges, saying that any payments made were intended to cover witnesses’ expenses and not to influence their testimony.

BURUNDI: EU to sanction Nkurunziza’s associates

T

HE EU is readying sanctions against four associates of Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza after he won a disputed third term, diplomatic sources said Tuesday.

The sources said the European Union had agreed in principle to hit the four with

African Union announces S/Sudan war crimes court

T

HE African Union (AU) says a special court will be set up to try war crimes suspects in South Sudan, which has been hit by a brutal conflict since 2013.

The move is aimed at promoting an “African solution” to the conflict in the world’s youngest state, which became independent in 2011, it said.

An inquiry has found that both government and rebel forces have commit-

ing it difficult to move to areas with needs as the barriers to assist have become far more visible.”

Lampaert’s comments come as reports emerged of a massive jail-break in Bangui.

About 500 prisoners, mostly anti-Balaka (antimachete) fighters, are said to have escaped in a move that is likely to destabilise the city further.

Bangui has seen a wave of violence since the reported murder of a Muslim taxi driver on Saturday.

The decapitated young man was found outside a mosque.

Members of the Muslim community then attacked a Christian neighbourhood in a set of clashes that left 42 people dead and destroyed entire districts, reports said.

ted atrocities, the AU added.

Despite the signing of a peace deal last month, conflict has continued.

The formation of the court is part of the deal President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar signed following intense diplomatic pressure from regional leaders, reports the BBC’s Emmanuel Igunza from the AU headquarters in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa.

travel bans and asset freezes, with a formal decision due Thursday.

Nkurunziza himself was not being targeted however “because Europe wants to give dialogue a chance with him,” one of the sources told AFP. Nkurunziza won a controversial third five-year term in July in polls boycotted by the opposition as unconstitutional for breaking a twoterm limit.

His re-election sparked an attempted coup by rebel generals and months of civil unrest in the small, impoverished central African country. Brussels warned at the time it would review cooperation with Burundi, including crucial trade and development links.

It also warned that sanctions could follow against those found responsible for “acts of violence and repression.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015—53

54 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

NPL: Anyansi-Agwu declares Enyimba champions C

HAIRMAN of Enyimba Felix Anyansi-Agwu has declared his team have clinched the Nigeria league championship with seven rounds of matches to be played.

Six-time champions Enyimba beat title chasers Wikki 2-0 in Aba on Sunday to consolidate their leadership of the table.

‘The People’s Elephant’ are now on 58 points, five points clear of closest rivals Sunshine Stars.

Anyansi, who has led Enyimba to all their six championship triumphs, was bullish about his club’s

position in a season with seven rounds of matches.

“This victory (2-0 at home against Wikki) that the league has been won today,” said the Enyimba chairman.

“We have seen the trophy and we cannot lose it now.

The players have motivated themselves because of the opportunities it will bring for not just the club but for themselves as well.

“You cannot underrate anybody and there was a lot of hype around this match and every club is fighting. And we didn’t want anyone to come and spoil our party.''

CAF fines Nigeria $5,000

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HE Confederation of African Football (CAF) has fined Nigeria 5,000 Dollars for fans misconduct during its first leg 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier match on June 13.

The decision of the continent’s football governing body was released on its website yesterday. It said that the decision was reached at its disciplinary board meeting on Sept. 20.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that fans rushed into the pitch to celebrate the Super Eagles’ second goal in the match played at the Kaduna Stadium, Kaduna.

The encounter ended 2-0 in favour of the Eagles. The victory placed Nigeria in the second position in Group G with four points behind Egypt which has six points.

Burkina Faso Continues from BP by the coup has now forced CAF to postpone the fixture until further notice, according to a Voice of America news bulletin.

This may now mean that a training camp for the CHAN Eagles scheduled to open on October 4 in Port Harcourt will no longer

go ahead on account of this postponement.

The overall winners of this match-up will qualify for next year ’s CHAN in Rwanda.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Football Federation said it was not aware of the development and that they would go ahead with plans for the match.

•Udoji, Enyimba captain

Warner

Continues from BP banned for life by FIFA’s ethics committee and described as a ‘key player ’ involved in illegal payments.

Warner, who is fighting extradiction from Trinidad to the USA on corruption charges, resigned from FIFA in 2011 following a bribery scandal and has not been involved since then.

FIFA’s ethics committee opened an investigation into Warner earlier this year and has now banned him for life from football-related activities.

A statement from the ethics committee said: ‘Mr Warner was found to have committed many and various acts of misconduct continuously and repeatedly during

Oliseh

Continues from BP

qualifying fixture against Burkina Faso next month.

Top joint-scorer in the on-going Nigeria Professional Football League season, Tunde Adeniji, is joined by Warri Wolves’ ace Gbolahan Salami, Solomon Kwambe, Idris Aloma, Usman Mohammed, Ezekiel Bassey and Bature Yaro.

There are also goalkeepers David Obiazor and Okemute Odah, defenders Kalu Orji and Jamiu Alimi, former junior C M Y K

international midfielder Ifeanyi Mathew and forwards Dayo Ojo and Godwin Obaje.

All the invited players are expected to report in Port Harcourt on Monday, 4th October, ahead of the first leg clash with the Etalons at the Adokiye Amiesieamaka Stadium on Sunday, 18th October. The return leg comes up in Ouagadougou on Sunday, 25th October.

All six home –based professionals who will be in Belgium with the

full senior squad for the two international friendlies against DR Congo and Cameroon, on 8th and 11th October respectively, will join the 19 players on their return to the country on Monday, 12th October.

These are goalkeepers Femi Thomas (Enyimba FC) and Ikechukwu Ezenwa (Sunshine Stars), defenders Chima Akas (Sharks FC) and Austin Oboroakpo (Abia Warriors), midfielder Paul Onobi (Sunshine Stars) and forward Prince Aggrey (Sunshine Stars).

his time as an official in different high-ranking and influential positions at FIFA and CONCACAF. ‘In his positions as a football official, he was a key player in schemes involving the offer, acceptance, and receipt of undisclosed and illegal payments, as well as other moneymaking schemes.’

The decision was taken on the basis of investigations carried out by the investigatory chamber of the ethics committee following its report on the inquiry into the 2018/2022 FIFA World Cup bidding process.

The chairman of the investigatory chamber of

AfroBasket women Continues from BP Phase. Algeria played an encouraging first-half, but could not avoid defeat against Nigeria.

Three Nigerians scored ten points or more, while Algeria’s Sarah Nemmouchi finished with a team-high 13 points.

After trailing for the entire opening quarter, Nemmouchi gave Algeria a 18-16 lead, but Nigeria’s Olayinka Sanni made sure to get her team back in front to close the half leading 3021.

There could not be a bigger indication of Nigeria’s dominance in the painted area than their 57-32 rebounding advantage as three Nigerian players grabbed ten or more boards.

Nigeria coach Scott Nnaji used all twelve players at his disposal as they head into the last eight with four-game winning streak Algeria’s Nemmouchi tried to swim against the tied for most of the contest, but the North Africans struggled to keep the moment going in the second quarter.

At some point of the game, Nigeria appeared to have control of the game, especially as Algeria made 15 points from beyond arc, exposing Nigeria’s fragile perimeter defense. But, Nigeria regrouped in time to clinch their fourth straight win.

On Monday, D’Tigress made a serious statement of their aims at the tournament, beating continental rivals Senegal 75-64.

the ethics committee, Dr Cornel Borbely, who took over the chairmanship from his predecessor in late December 2014, immediately opened the investigation into Warner ’s activities in January 2015.

The ban is effective from September 25, 2015, the date on which the present decision was notified.

Warner claims there is no coincidence that his ban has been announced at the same time that Blatter and Michel Platini are themselves under scrutiny from the ethics committee.

He said in an email to Press Association Sport on Tuesday: ‘I left the

FIFA in April 2011 and if in September 2015 the FIFA wants to ban me for life without even a hearing then so be it. I do not believe however that this will serve as the distraction to the FIFA’s present problems as the FIFA wishes it to be.

‘Given what is happening in Zurich with Blatter I wish to say that there is no such thing as coincidence.’

Meanwhile, Swiss authorities have approved a U.S. extradition request for ex-Costa Rican Football Federation President Eduardo Li, the fourth official due to be sent to the United States in connection with a corruption scandal that has engulfed FIFA.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 — 55

Bale,Rodriguez to miss Real Madrid’s clash

Odegbami's quest for FIFA presidency: A Nigeria project

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R

EAL Madrid boss Rafael Benitez has not included Gareth Bale, James Rodriguez, Sergio Ramos or Pepe in his 20man squad for the Spanish giants Champions League clash with Malmo today.

All four missed Madrid’s disappointing 0-0 draw at home to Malaga on Saturday due to injury. (Cristiano Ronaldo Eyes History at Malmo) Benitez said last week he was hopeful of having Bale, Rodriguez and Ramos fit at the latest for Sunday’s Madrid derby away to Atletico.

And with Real having won their opening encounter in Group A 4-0 against Shakhtar Donetsk, the former Liverpool and Chelsea boss has decided not to risk any of his star names in Sweden.

•Bale

•Rodriguez

Krychowiak: Sevilla ready for Juve

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REGORZ Krychow iak insists Sevilla “have more confidence and are 100 per cent ready” to face Juventus in the Champions League.

Like the Bianconeri, Sevilla have struggled so far this season domestically and aim to make up for it in the Champions League.

“We won the last game with Rayo Vallecano, so have more confidence in ourselves. We’ve come here to play our best game,” said the midfielder in a Press conference.

“The team has changed a great deal,

some important players left, so it’ll take a little time to become a real team again.

“The season didn’t start very well, but we are working very hard to get back to the level we were at before and win once more.

“We are 100 per cent ready for Juve. All the players in the squad are ready and we worked very hard to reach the Champions League, so we’ll certainly try to bring home results.

“Juventus are a great team with incredible players. I think they too will be ready for a great game.”

•Krychowiak

Y first direct encounter with Chief Segun Odeg bami was in March 2002, when my friend, Yinka Odunsi and I needed his help in our ‘controversial’ final year theses at the Nigeria’s foremost University, University of Ibadan. Yinka was a final year student of the Department of History and she was writing a thesis on the history of Shooting Star Sport Club of Ibadan. I was a final year student of the Department of Political Science and I was writing a thesis titled: ‘Sport as an instrument of foreign policy in Nigeria (1976-1996)’. We found out that we were encountering similar challenges in our theses. Yinka’s supervisor had continued to reject her thesis’ main chapter, insisting that she should conduct more direct interviews on her subject while I felt my own thesis lacked what I considered a local content. I had zeroed-in on Chief Segun Odegbami as the one that could help me in the missing part of my thesis even though I never met or have any dealings with him prior to that time. Chief Segun Odegbami was one of the best Africa’s footballers when Nigeria and some independent African countries boycotted the 1976 Olympic in Montreal Canada in protest against the tour of New Zealand Rugby team to the apartheid South Africa shortly before the Olympic. It later dawned on Yinka that Chief Segun Odegbami could also be the one who could solve her problem too. Odegbami was a prominent member of the Shooting Stars Football Club’s golden generation of 1970 and early 1980. We both decided to see him in Lagos and few days later, we set out to Lagos to meet Chief Segun Odegbami without prior notice or referral.

My encounter with Chief Odegbami on that trip remains indelible. He gained my respect forever. Not only did he attend to us immediately we got to his office at Fadeyi, he rescheduled all his engagements for the day and attended to us all day long. As if that was not enough, he told us that he would put his responses on tapes so that we could have documentary evidences to show our supervisors and he told us to come for them the following day. When he handed over the tapes to us the following day without collecting any money, Yinka and I were overwhelmed with emotions and we left for Ibadan rejoicing that we now have good supporting instruments that would help our theses. Since that day I began to see Chief Segun Odegbami in a new light - a man who is willing and ready to help anyone that comes across his path.

Since that time I have continued to follow his activities in the media, especially his relentless quest to lead the Nigeria Football Federation. His lack of success in that venture is not due to lack of popularity or technical knowhow, but can absolutely be attributed to his anti-corruption posture. Chief Odegbami will not bribe delegates to vote for him. He believes that the Nigerian Football needs him more than he needs Nigeria football and I believe he is very right on this. His anti-corruption posture is an important credential that Nigeria can showcase in his quest to be elected as the President of the corruption enmeshed global soccer body. Despite serving Nigeria in various capacities in parastatals like Nigeria Academicals Sports Committee (NASCOM) and National Institute for Sport (NIS), Odegbami has never been found wanting for financial corrupt enrichment, instead he has toiled to build a legacy for himself by founding The International (Sports) Academy (TIA), Wasimi Orile, Nigeria’s first secondary school that combines sport with academics. Many Alumni of the school have been chaperoned to American Universities.

Chief Segun Odegbami, is a detribalized Nigerian in a country where ethnicity is a major issue among the political elites. His support for Chioma Ajunwa, Nigeria’s first individual Olympic gold medalist is well documented. Odegbami stood with her when many Nigerians, including the officials of the Athletic Federation of Nigeria abandoned her following her drug ban debacle.

Odegbami’s name is his biggest brand and asset. He has one of the most untainted, recognizable names in Nigeria, Africa and beyond. Multinationals corporations including oil giants have coveted his brand through his popular Under-14 football competition for Secondary Schools in Nigeria. The competition has produced many players that have represented Nigeria in the FIFA competitions. Nigeria needs to make use of this brand by supporting his FIFA Presidential ambition. Chief Segun Odegbami has all the important attributes needed to lead the global football body. The Amaju Pinnick led Nigerian Football Federation and sport loving Nigerians need to support him. A support for him should be seen as a support for Nigeria rather than a support for an individual.

David Olugbile wrote from Lagos and can be reached through davidolugbile@yahoo.com

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

Banned for life!

D

ISGRACED former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner has been Continues on Page 54

Oliseh names 19 for CHAN qualifying fixture S

UPER Eagles’ Head Coach, Sunday Oliseh, has released a list of 19 h o m e – b a s e d professionals who will start a camp in Port Harcourt on Monday, ahead of a 4th African N a t i o n s Championship final

•Warner

AfroBasket Women 2015: Nigeria down Algeria

Continues on Page 54

•Oliseh

T

B/Faso Coup knocks off CHAN qualifier

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HE recent military coup in Burkina Faso has forced next month’s 2016 CHAN qualifier between Nigeria and Burkina Faso to be moved, according to media reports.

The final CHAN qualifier was slated for October 18 in Port Harcourt with the second leg in Ouagadougou a week later.

HE national w o m e n ’ s basketball team, D’Tigress continued their winning streak yesterday with a 79-49 victory over Algeria in the ongoing AfroBasket

However, the volatile security situation in Burkina Faso caused Continues on Page 54

Women 2015 championship in Cameroon.

After their opening loss to Angola they have won four in a row moving into the Final Continues on Page 54

Today’s Champions League Fixtures

CAF fines Nigeria $5,000 — Pg.54

AIRBORNE: D'Tigress Joyce Ekworomadu outjumps her Senegalese opponent as Nigeria beat Senegal 75-64 in the AfroBasket women championship in Yaounde

Astana Juvetus Malmo Shaktar Mib'gladbach Man United A/Madrid CSKA

v v v v v v v v

Galatasaray Sevukka Real Madrid Paris SG Man City Wolsburg Benfica PSV

5pm 7:45pm 7:45pm 7:45pm 7:45pm 7:45pm 7:45pm 7:45pm

QUICK CROSSWORD

TODAY'S

PUZZLE

FRI DAY'S FRIDAY'S

ANSWERS

DOWN ACROSS 2 Chamber (4) 1 Poke (4) 3 Plunge (4) 4 Vase (3) 4 Displaced (8) 6 Divide (4) 5 Require (4) 9 Poem (3) 6 Vestibule (5) 10 Opposite (8) 11 Thoroughfare (4) 7 Fuss (3) 8 Kingdom (5) 14 Gained (3) 12 Seraglio (5) 16 Disgrace (5) 13 Dizzy (5) 19 Stirred (8) 14 Fighting (3) 21 Spree (5) 15 Not ever (5) 23 Deputy (8) 17 Soothe (5) 24 Perhaps (5) 18 Go in (5) 27 Free (3) 20 Speech (8) 31 Duct (4) 22 Guided (3) 33 Sham (8) 25 Sharp (5) 34 Beverage (3) 26 Shatter (5) 35 Stink (4) 28 Rushed (4) 36 Parched (3) 29 Appear (4) 37 Modest (4) 30 Pain (4) 32 Insect (3)

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS ACROSS: 1, Damage 5, Region 8, Ignorant 9, Lift 10, Asp 12, Stool 15, Art 17, Ire 18, Orb 19, Rut 20, Noted 21, Axe 22, Cos 23, Got 24, Ash 26, Eyrie 29, Eat 33, Undo 34, Untoward 35, Detach 36, Regent.

DOWN: 2, Aegis 3, Anon 4, Exact 5, Ratio 6, Gale 7, Offer 10, Aorta 11, Pitch 12, Sense 13, Outer 14, Lodge 15, Abate 16, Treat 25, Since 27, Youth 28, Inter 30, Apron 31, Rota 32, Twig.

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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C M Y K