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Okada riders vs Lagos task force:

Plea bargain or stage-managed rivalry?

Atolagbe Tawakalitu and Babalola Mujeeb

ÏÏÏThe administration of former Lagos State

Governor Babatunde Fashola, SAN, it was that restricted commercial motorcycle riders (okada) from plying major highways in Lagos State. The state Ministry of Transportation at the time had cited incessant occurrences of road accidents leading to loss of lives and properties as well as causing traffic gridlock on the highways as necessitating the enact-

ment of the law.

The major highways, as published, include Lagos Ibadan Expressway, Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, Oworoshoki Oshodi Expressway, Lagos Ikorodu Expressway, Lagos Abeokuta Expressway, Babangida Boulevard, Eti-Osa-Lekki-Epe Expressway, Lagos Badagry Expressway, Funsho Williams Avenue, Agege Motor Road and Eti-Osa Lekki Coastal Road, as well a s some Continued on page 6

Meet 15 Nollywood sexy mothers L2 & L3

South East Govs meet in Enugu, proscribe 7 activities of IPOB

Defence Hqrts to IPOB: You are a terrorist group ÏM è ƓƆ ƏƆ Ɛè ƓƆ Ɨ Ɛ ƅ ƏƏƕ Əƌ é LƆƌƄƆƏ 6 Opening ceremony holds on Sunday, September 17, 2017

Venue: International Conference Centre, Abuja Time: 5.00pm

2

Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, September 16, 2017

Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, September 16, 2017

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Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, September 16, 2017

Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, September 16, 2017

Kanu: NLC/TUC condemns show of force Idu Jude Abuja

ÏÏÏThe Nigeria labour congress NLC and the sister organization in the trade union congress TUC jointly has condemned the military show of force being exhibited in Abia state as the last resort to the inherent danger awaiting every Nigeria.

The NLC and TUC were reacting in respect to the military invasion of Abia state and the home of the leader of the indigenous people of Biafra Mister Nnamdi kanu.

The two bodies in joint press briefing Friday in Abuja titled ‘state of the nation’ stated that Nigerians must rise to condemn this style of conflict resolution in the country stressing that the use of force have never been an option in any

where in the world.

“People must continue to put resistant that dialogue is and should remain the only way to solve any problem. We will continue to use the best method which is dialogue in solving any situation. It has been proving globally that it is the best solution”.

Speaking on the threat of planed strike action by an emerging faction body in the name of United Labour congress ULC led by Mr. Igwe Achezie and the impasse with the Federal ministry of labour and employment, the two bodies dissociates itself from all the brouhaha stating that the named ULC and its leaders, should not drag the Nigeria labour congress and its affiliates to its problem with the parent minis-

try.

According to the joint body of NLC and the TUC during Friday briefing, “We have called this press conference to address the subject of an alleged seven days final strike notice, issued recently by our erstwhile colleagues, who are parading themselves as a trade union centre, going by the name of “United Labour Congress of Nigeria”.

“Our initial reaction was to ignore the purported ultimatum issued via a press statement on 11th September, 2017, as a mere attention seeking gimmick. However, since the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment has entered into correspondence with these individuals, and they have in turn resorted to an exercise intent on blackmail with

the ultimate goal of using this weapon to obtain registration, we feel constrained to making the following comments on the unfolding situation.

Despite listing twelve (12) demands in their 11th September press statement, we have no doubt that those behind the ultimatum were only hoping to blackmail the Federal Government and the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment to register their association as a central labour organisation, as they stated in their demand numbers 9-12”.

The Nigeria labour congres said that it have no doubt that the officials of the Federal Ministry of Labour would deal with the situation as the laws of the country governing labour

relations are very clear on the procedure guiding registrations of Trade Unions and trade union centres.

Against the background of persistent mischief and dragging the names of our two centres to the mud by the promoters of the United Labour Congress, the NLC and its sister body the TUC notified that it has become pertinent to once again recall the events leading to their current desperation.

“Since their failure in the March 2015, 10th delegates conference of the NLC, these individuals have tried to use every tac-

NDDC pledges support for institutions in N’Delta Amaka Agbu, Port Harcourt

ÏÏÏThe

Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) on Friday restated its resolve to support the development of infrastructure in universities and polytechnics across the Niger Delta region.

The Chairman of the NDDC Governing Board, Sen. Victor Ndoma-Egba, stated this during a courtesy visit by the Vice-Chancellor of Cross River State University (UNICAL), Prof.

Zana Akpagu, at the Commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt.

Ndoma-Egba said that the main resource of any

society could be found in its youths and not the natural resources or minerals. For this reason, he said, the youths must be skilled, motivated, educated and empowered.

“If the youths are not properly educated, skilled or motivated, rather than be a blessing to the society, they become a curse.

“We are concerned that our youths must remain a resource and not a curse to our region. That is why we are partnering with universities and higher institutions in the Niger Delta region to educate and produce some of the best minds the country will have to offer,” he said.

Ndom-Egba said that the NDDC was making efforts to ensure that all ongoing projects in the universities in the nine oil producing Niger states were completed, especially in the University of Calabar being one of the oldest universities in the South-South.

The NDDC Chairman assured the VC that the Faculty of Law building which was ongoing, would not only be completed, but would also be furnished, and would stand out to be one of the best Faculties in the country.

Earlier in his remarks, the VC of UNICAL, Akpagu, thanked the Commission for all its interventions

in the University and all other universities in the Niger Delta.

He appealed to the Commission to intervene in its building of an Ultra Modem Medical Centre.

Akpagu noted that since the inception of the university in 1975, the Centre had operated from a 4-room apartment, but with the current population of 46,000 students, the facility had become grossly inadequate.

He also pleaded with the Commission for a massive expansion, stating that UNICAL was the only Second Generation University without an Engineering Faculty.

tic to destabilise the industrial relations scene in the country. First they tried to factionalise the NLC, and for almost two years were parading themselves as factional leaders of the NLC. When they realised that they were largely ignored by Nigerian workers and the Nigerian people, at the beginning of this year, they dusted up the name of one of the four trade union centres that in December 1975 voluntarily merged to form the NLC, and now purports to have become a new Labour Centre in the country, called the United Labour Congress”.

DHQ to IPOB: You are a militant terrorist group Myke Uzendu, Abuja

ÏÏÏFollowing

Head of Operations, Oyo State Sector of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Zango Mathew (left), at the scene of two inter-state commercial buses that crashed, killing 30 passengers and injuring 10 others, at Elebolo village on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway… on Friday.

5 News

increased activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and skirmishes with security agencies, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) on Friday tagged the group a “militant terrorist organisation”.

But the group has faulted the claim of the Defence headquarters, saying that its members are neither militants nor terrorists as they don’t carry arms.

The Daily Times recalls that over the past few days, there has been renewed confrontation between IPOB members and the military leading to the death of some IPOB members as well as the burning of the police station attached to Ariaria market in Aba and the attack on the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) secretariat in Umuahia.

In a statement signed by the Director of Defence Information, Major Gen. Paul Enenche, on Friday in Abuja, he said that the Nigerian military has no option than to brand IPOB as a terrorist group.

He alleged that the group has a secret service, attempted on several occasions to snatch guns from armed military personnel, insisting that the group has become violent and now terrorising the people.

The statement reads in part: “The Armed Forces of Nigeria wishes to confirm to the general public that IPOB from all intent, plan and purpose as anal-

ysed, is a militant terrorist organisation.

“The Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) group which has posed to be a security challenge in the country has been metamorphosing from one stage to the other.

“After due professional analysis and recent developments, it has become expedient, to notify the general public that the claim

by IPOB actors that the organisation is non-violent is not true. Hence, the need to bring to public awareness the true and current state of IPOB”.

He stressed that some of the clandestine activities of the group include “The formation of a Biafra Secret Service, claimed formation of Biafra National Guard, unauthorised blocking of public access roads”.

Other allegations were “Extortion of money from innocent civilians at illegal road blocks, Militant possession and use of weapons (stones, molotov cocktails, machetes and broken bottles among others) on a military patrol on 10 September 2017”.

Other nefarious activities of the group include “Physical confrontation of troops by Nnamdi Kanu and other IPOB actors at a check point on 11 September 2017 and also attempts to snatch their rifles. Attack by IPOB members, on a military check point on 12 September 2017, at Isialangwa, where one IPOB actors attempted to snatch a female soldier’s rifle”.

News 6

Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, September 16, 2017

Okada riders vs Lagos task force: Plea bargain or stage-managed rivalry?

Continued from page 1 bridges, all made the list of the restriction order.

Lately, however, most of these major highways have been observed to accommodate these motorcycles and this has continued to be a serious source of concern to citizens of Lagos State because accidents resulting from motorcycles are still very much evident every passing day.

Citizens now wonder whether or not the ban has been lifted unannounced or, as is being suspected by motorists, the appropriate officials have just decided to neglect their duties and watch the Okada riders ply the roads – for a daily income fee?

In a sharp defence by an official at the Ministry of Transportation, Alausa, Ikeja, “It is wrong for citizens to think that the task force is not doing their job. The operation of arresting and confiscating offenders’ motorcycles is still ongoing, only that it is not possible to apprehend them all in a short period of time.”

The official, who spoke in confidence, declared that Lagos State Government maintains five dump sites where the seized motorcycles are usually kept.

“The major site is at Olusosun where all seized motorcycles are eventually destroyed,” she said.

Operators speak In a series of interviews with commercial motorcycle operators in Lagos State, 35-year-old Kabiru Adedeji, who plies selected routes in Agege area, confirmed that the task force operatives still apprehend them, “Even though they are doing it the wrong way.

“It is only the major roads in Agege that we are restricted from plying, but police officers target riders in the inroads and

minor lanes in Agege to arrest and seize our motorbikes. After they seize motorcycles, they then demand for bribes to release the motorbikes.”

Another Okada rider, Augustine Clement, a father of four children, said he has to feed his family and the motorcycle is the only source of livelihood for him.

“Motorcycle is the easiest way to survive in this Lagos.

Without capital, your brain is useless,” he told our correspondents. “If you have handwork and you don’t have the capital to establish yourself, it is nothing. I’m doing this Okada business to get capital in order to establish a better business for myself.”

Clement further stated that the motorcycle business has its own troubles and the taskforce men make big business from seizing their motorbikes anywhere they see them.

His words: “Most times, task force men will disguise themselves by hiding inside danfo buses; then raid Okada riders inside streets that are not restricted.

“Other times, they will send touts to corner Okada riders; the touts will serve as a distraction, then the police will swoop down on the riders and arrest them with false or irrelevant charges.”

Clement further narrated his experience in the hands of a Divisional Police Officer who demanded a N10,000 bribe before his motorcycle was released.

Imaginary dump sites Clement also disclosed that the task force only created imaginary dump sites to fool the public. “Seized motorcycles are usually resold either to the owner at rock bottom price or to any interested buyer. They do not destroy the motorcycles as they claim,” he said.

He therefore appealed to task force officials to stop being biased in their arrests of Okada riders and seizures of motorcycles because “places like Oshodi expressway and some others are still being plied by Okada riders and the operators are usually allowed to operate on arrangement with the police.”

Unskilled migrants, an issue - Police One other area of note, our reporters found out, is the rise of unskilled migrants into Lagos State who go into commercial motorcycle business as soon as they arrive in Lagos.

A top female official at the Ministry of Transportation in Lagos told The Daily Times that people migrate to Lagos everyday with the sole aim of making money without any skill whatsoever.

“Immediately they arrive, the first business they venture

into is Okada riding since it is the fastest way to generate daily cash, and they do this without bothering to learn the stipulated regulations guiding the use of motorcycles as a business.

“This makes them breach traffic laws and yet they complain that the road managers are cheating them, whereas most of the faults lie with them,” she added.

She concluded that motorcycle riders should endeavour to have knowledge of the restricted roads and bridges in order to avoid accidents, false accusations of robbery, embarrassment and eventual seizure of their motorcycles.

An elderly motorcycle operator, Mallam Bashiru, who conducts his business activities around Lagos Ikorodu Expressway, said Okada riders are still being arrested by the police and task force officials.

“When they cannot catch us legally on the restricted roads, they come after us wherever we are operating lawfully,” he said and gave graphic details of a day in the life of a commercial motorcycle operator in Lagos: “Because of the way they harass and extort us every day, some of the Okada riders are no longer afraid to ply even the restricted roads, because they know that it will only cost them some amount of money when they are caught by the appropriate authorities.”

Bashiru further revealed a culture that has become a tradition in every day dealings with law enforcement officers.

He told The Daily Times that if their motorbikes are seized by some task force officials, the victims may not be able to “negotiate” and claim it back (alContinued on page 7

L-R: President of the Republic of Uganda H.E. Yoweri Kaguta Musveni; Wife of Nigerian President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari; First Lady of Uganda H.E. Mrs Janet Museveni and President Muhammadu Buhari, during a courtesy visit on President Buhari at the State House Abuja... on Friday.

IPOB: We will not tolerate attacks on other Nigerians, Wike warns Amaka Agbu, Port Harcourt

ÏÏÏThe

Rivers State Governor, Barrister Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, has declared that the state government would not tolerate any attack on other Nigerians living in the state by members of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) or any other group.

In a state broadcast on the state security situation on Friday, Governor Wike announced that Rivers State belonged to all those living in it, saying that the state heartily welcomed any Nigerian who decided to reside in it and engage in their lawful businesses.

“The Rivers State Government is seriously concerned with the recent activities of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB),

particularly the attack on Nigerian citizens living in Rivers State.

“Rivers people fully subscribe to Nigeria’s corporate existence and its indivisibility. As a people we shall continue to support the unity and peaceful co-existence of all ethnic nationalities and work towards actualizing our collective aspirations for a just, inclusive and progressive nation.

“Rivers State belongs to all those who live in it. We heartily welcome any Nigerian who wishes to reside here and go about with his or her lawful businesses.

Therefore, we shall not tolerate any attack by any group on other Nigerians living in Oyigbo or any other part of the State. We warn troublemakers and those who are bent on causing vio-

lence on others to steer clear of Rivers territory.

“Nobody should take our hospitality and peaceful disposition for weakness, as we are capable of dealing decisively with any situation that threatens peace and serenity in the State,” Governor Wike warned.

The governor added: “We call on Rivers people to be vigilant and not to allow themselves to be used by anybody to foment trouble in our State. Do not hesitate to report any suspicious character or movements around your vicinity to the law enforcement agencies for immediate action.

“In as much as we may share common concerns about the structural problems of the country, we believe that dialogue, not violence, remains the best way to resolve contending political

issues. We therefore pray the Federal Government to initiate meaningful national dialogue to peacefully resolve the structural challenges that are threatening Nigeria’s stability and progress.

“In the same vein, we urge the security agencies to exercise maximum restraint and conform to international rules of engagement and best practice while responding to provocative acts from ill-advised groups,” he said.

Governor Wike further condemned what he described as the deliberate sabotage of the state’s security architecture by the alleged direct criminal activities of the Rivers State Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS).

Governor Wike alleged that for several months the state government had been receiving reports

from traumatised victims who had been allegedly robbed of their valuables by SARS Operatives under the guise of conducting searches.

According to Governor Wike: “They employ several malevolent methods, including planting illicit drugs on their unsuspecting victims as bargaining chip or forcefully taking them to ATM boots to collect specified amount of money as ransom for their freedom.

“Furthermore, while the noticeable increase of kidnapping incidents along the East – West road and the Owerre – Port Harcourt road are worrisome, some of the rescued victims have reportedly pointed SARS operatives as the ones that are responsible for most of kidnappings along those roads.

Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, September 16, 2017

7

News

Lagos and Okada riders: Plea bargain or rivalry Continued from page 6 though that depends on the task force officials on duty). But if motorbikes are seized by police officers, it is a matter of bargaining to take your motorbike back.

“On our side, our own responsibility is to recognise the police officer or officers that we fall victim into his hands and we claim it as soon as possible. On a lucky day, the police men themselves don’t want you to waste time in reclaiming your bike back, but if, peradventure you

delay and they take the seized bikes into their custody at Alausa, the victim is required to pay higher bribe for the release. Yet if you cannot pay the higher bribe, they sometimes sell off the new motorcycles out. This is the cat and mouse game we have to live with if we must operate our business within or outside the so-called restricted roads,” he said.

Every policeman has a price On the price tag (though negotiable) they reportedly pay to recover their seized motorcycles, Bashiru said the least

amount they allegedly pay to police officers as bribe to claim their motorbikes ranges from N3,000 to N5,000.

“But it depends largely on the police station and officer Okada riders fall victim to, because if they (the police) are the very hardened and greedy ones, they could demand N10, 000 for each motorcycle.”

On a parting note, Bashiru said: “Every police officer has his price, adding, “Okada business is good; it helps many families to survive in these hard times. At least, one can always

meet his family’s daily needs and pay some school and electricity bills, even with all these harassment and extortions.”

Meanwhile, a traffic policeman along Lagos Badagry Expressway has faulted the claims of the motorcycle riders. The policeman, who insisted his name be left out, accused Okada riders as being the greatest law breakers.

“When Okada riders are caught on this expressway, they try to bribe us with money and other material things which some of us refuse. We are not

the ones demanding for bribes, they are the ones begging us to take bribe.

“Also, we truly have dumping sites for the seized bikes; you can go there for confirmation if you are in doubt,” he said.

Confirming the development, a LASTMA official, who spoke in confidence, told our correspondents that throughout his working years, “Okada riders have been responsible for most of the atrocities in our present society, which include robbery, fraud, kidnapping and the ever increasing road accidents.”

South East Govs meet in Enugu, proscribe activities of IPOB Moses Oyediran, Enugu

ÏÏÏThe South-East Governors’

Forum on Friday proscribed all the activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

The decision was taken at an emergency meeting held at the Enugu Government House.

The meeting was attended

by Governors Dave Umahi of Ebonyi; Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu; Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia; Willie Obiano of Anambra and the Deputy Governor of Imo State.

The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu and President of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Nnia Nwodo, were also in attendance.

Umahi, who read the communique after the meeting, said: “All activities of IPOB are hereby proscribed. IPOB and all other aggrieved groups are to articulate their positions on all National issues and submit to the committee of Governors, Ohaneze Ndigbo and National Assembly members from South East Zone through the chairman of South East Governors Forum. ”We also reinforce our desire for the restructuring of Nigeria where all National issues will be discussed and amicably settled to achieve justice and fairness to every Nigerian.

“We reiterate our earlier position that the November 18, 2017 governorship election in Anambra State must hold.

“Accordingly, we appeal to the President and Commanderin-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, to please withdraw the military in the South East zone, while police perform their traditional role of maintaining law and order.

“South East Governors have taken concrete steps to protect lives and property of nonviolent indigenes in the South East.

“We are in touch with the

Northern Governors Forum, they have assured us of the safety of all our people living in the north and we have also planned for exchange of visits between the Governors and to reinforce the confidence of Nigerians in this respect.

“In keeping with our earlier position, we wish to assure Nigerians that full investigation is ongoing on all allegations of killings, maiming and other unlawful conduct in the South East Zone within this period.

The Governors and the security agencies are in agreement that appropriate action will be taken against anyone found culpable”.

The governors restated their commitment towards protecting all and sundry and advised people to go about their businesses and be law abiding.

Meanwhile, former President Olusegun Obasanjo has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to meet with the leader of IPOB, Mr Nnamdi Kanu before the ongoing crisis between IPOB and the military gets out of hand.

Speaking on the issue on Friday, Obasanjo said: “I don’t see anything wrong in Buharmeeting with Kanu. I would not object to that; if anything, I would encourage it”.

Obasanjo, who as president met with Niger Delta militant leaders in 2006 to stop attacks on oil installations, said: “I would want to meet Kanu myself and talk to people like him, people of his age, and ask, ‘What are your worries?’ Not only from the south east but from all parts of Nigeria.”

Obasanjo said the army’s “heavy boot” response to proBiafra sentiment is “not the solution” but adds that the secession craved by IPOB is not the way forward either.

He said, “We need to satisfy the youth in job creation, in wealth creation, in giving them a better, fulfilled life, in giving them hope for the future.

Edo State Deputy Governor, Rt. Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu (right), receives a souvenir from the chairperson, Edo State Chapter, International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Mrs. Maria Edeko, during a courtesy visit to the Government House, Benin... on Thursday.

Buhari departs to New York on Sunday for UN General Assembly Myke Uzendu, Abuja

ÏÏÏPresident

Muhammadu Buhari will depart Nigeria to New York on Sunday for the 72nd Ordinary Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 72).

Buhari who will join other world leaders at the meeting will also have a lunch meeting with President Donald Trump, of the United States of America.

According to a statement by Femi Adesina, the special adviser on media and publicity, the high point of the President’s visit will be his participation in the General Debate during which he will deliver the country’s National Statement.

The theme for this year’s Debate is: “Focusing on People: Striving for Peace and a Decent Life for All on a Sustainable Planet.”

The welcoming reception to be hosted by the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, will be graced by President Buhari with other world leaders, and he will use the opportunity to hold a bilateral meeting with the UN scribe.

The Nigerian leader will also hold a lunch meeting with President Donald Trump of the United States of America, along with other world leaders.

During the General Assembly, Ni-

geria will participate in high level meetings on ‘Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse: Building Momentum for Change,’ the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, a High Level Event organized by the African Union under its Theme of the Year: ‘Roadmap on the Demographic Dividend: from Commitment to Action,’ among others.

At the UNGA, President Buhari and members of his delegation will strive to project Nigeria as a strong moral force and responsible member of the international community.

Nigeria’s commitment to global peace, security and development will also be reaffirmed and where necessary, the need for increased international cooperation in the fight against corruption.

Other priorities for the Nigerian delegation at UNGA 72 include strengthening human rights institutions; the rule of law; support for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) as a result of terrorist acts and recent flooding, and mitigating the effects of Climate Change.

The Nigerian delegation will also canvass the support of UN member states for the Buhari Administration’s efforts towards combatting illicit financial flows in order to fos-

ter sustainable development.

In his earlier address to the press, the Minister of foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama stated that the Federal government will also make case for the repatriation of all stolen funds from the country stashed in some banks in Europe, America and Asia.

He further stated that the “fight against terrorism, human rights protection, repatriating illicit financial assets to countries of origin”, among other global issues would top Nigeria’s agenda at the meeting.

Onyeama pointed out that the government is facing challenges of repatriating stolen funds stashed in foreign countries and would solicit the support of UN to ensure that country’s have access to all illegal funds taken away from nations as it will go a long way to quench corruption.

He said, “The country would push to actualize the UN resolution on ‘Promotion of International Cooperation to Combat Illicit Financial Flows’ so that all the countries of the world would be fully engaged in repatriating stolen funds to countries of origin.”

“For Nigeria, it is a developmental issue, it impacts directly on the developmental trajectory of Nigeria and other developing countries that

8 News

Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, September 16, 2017

APC chieftain, makinde Araoye empowers Chibok girls mark senior citizens with N5m cash third anniversary at AUN ÏÏÏ Joy Ekeke, Lagos

A Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State, Mr. Makinde Araoye (MKD) has empowered about 500 indigent senior citizens of the state with N5million cash at N10,000 each.

Also distributed by Araoye to the indigent citizens were food stuff such as 100 bags of rice, 50 bags of wheat, 25 bags of semovita amongst others.

Speaking at the event which took place at EmureEkiti, the headquarters of Emure Local Government Area of the state, the vibrant Araoye said he had started the initiative codenamed Makinde Araoye (MKD) Social Security

Scheme in his Ilawe-Ekiti country home since 2011 but decided to extend the tentacle to the six local government areas in his senatorial district now as a way of ameliorating the sufferings of the underprivileged senior citizens in his area.

The six local government areas are Ekiti South West, Ekiti East, Ikere, IseOrun, Emure and Gbonyin.

“The tentacle of the Social Security scheme which I flagged off in 2011 with just 15 senior citizens from my Ilawe-Ekiti country home in Ekiti South West Local Government as beneficiaries has now been extended to cover senior citizens from all the towns and villages in Ekiti

South Senatorial district of our dear state” “The second edition of the now expanded Makinde Araoye (MKD) Social Security Scheme for the indigent aged that is being flagged off today has about 500 beneficiaries being paid N10,000 each” he said.

Araoye who is a staunch supporter of the immediate past governor of the State and current Minister of Mines and Steels Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi said the empowerment scheme which he emulated from the past government of Fayemi shall be done quarterly till his last breath on this surface of earth.

Speaking at His Palace, the Elemure of Emure-

Ekiti, His Royal Majesty, Oba Emmanuel Adebowale Adebayo praised Araoye for using his personal resources to help the indigent people.

The first class traditional ruler charged other privileged citizens of the state to emulate Araoye, saying that “it’s not only when politicians are looking for votes that they should remember the needs of the people”.

The monarch also used the occasion to urge young Nigerians to show interest in governance, stressing that it was time young people take over the affairs of the country from those he said had been ruling for decades with little or nothing to show as achievements.

L-R: Chaplain Aso Villa Chapel, Rev. OluseyiMalomo; Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), FCT chapter, Rev. Samson Jonah; Minister in charge of music, the Citizen Church Abuja, Akikuade Chichi and Chore minister, Aso Villa Chapel, Emmanuel Dekolo, during a press conference on the forthcoming 400 hours non-stop praise in Abuja… on Thursday.

Tom Garba, Yola

ÏÏÏ

The Chibok Girls Education Initiative at the American University of Nigeria (AUN) celebrated its third anniversary on August 25 with an award ceremony. The occasion recognized outstanding achievements among the first group of 24, all of whom are on fully funded scholarships. Having escaped Boko Haram captivity, they were brought to AUN in 2014.

AUN President Dr. Dawn Dekle and Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari, Ms. Maryam Uwais, were among the special guests of honor at the ceremony.

Also called New Foundation School (NFS), the initiative was created in 2014 to cater specially for the kidnapped Chibok girls who braved an escape from the captivity of Boko Haram. Eight of the initial intake have graduated from the NFS and are enrolled in AUN to pursue their university education. Among them three are in the University’s pre-med program, Natural and Environmental Science, and two in Accounting. The rest are studying Law, Computer Science, and Journalism.

There were awards for a wide array of activities and achievements, among them the most punctual, best behaved, the most outgoing, and the best public speaker. For athlet-

Anambra election: Group condemns violent move John Ndu Awka

ÏÏÏ

A group known as Vote Not Fight Campaign has condemned any purported arrangements by some political parties to boycott or inflict violence during the November 18th gubernatorial election in Anambra state.

Among the team was a Nigerian Music Artiste, Innocent Idibia popularly known as 2face and other members of the Vote Not Fight Campaign train who paid a courtesy visit to the governor, at the Governor’s Lodge, Amawbia.

Welcoming the group, Governor Obiano ex-

plained that Anambra had been a peaceful state since he assumed office, which had resulted in the influx of development in the state.

He, however, harped on the need for the group to take the campaign to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and the Security agencies to emphasize the need to be neutral in their role during the election.

According to him, “the only reason why there will be crisis, is when anybody will want to thwart the people’s collective mandate, but aside that, the upcoming election will be

peaceful.”

Governor Obiano while commending the group for the initiative, maintained that APGA, the party in power in the state is a peaceful one, with a slogan that encourages brotherliness and has a tradition of winning elections fair and square.

Tu-face who is the Project Ambassador /icon in his remarks, commended Governor Obiano for his peaceful stance on the election which aligns with their ultimate objective, adding that they are focusing mainly on youths because of their vulnerability to violence occasioned by the high

rate of unemployment in the society.

Earlier, the Executive Director, Youngsters Development Initiative, Abuja, Mr Kingsley Bangwell, opined that they were in Anambra with the “Vote not fight’ campaign team and other partners, as part of efforts to mobilize Anambra Youths to participate actively in the upcoming governorship election and to shun pre and post election violence.

Mr Bangwell described peace as a pre-condition for meaningful development of any kind to ensue in any human society and said what they bring is a message of peace to the

youths in response to the ugly trend where they are usually manipulated and used as tools for election violence.

In a vote of thanks, one of the coordinators of the programme in the state, Mr Nonso Orakwe, promised that with the assurance given by the Governor, they would partner his administration to get the message to all nooks and crannies of the state to meet the target of the campaign.

Governor Obiano was later presented with sensitization materials of the group after which he presented Tu-face with the State souvenir.

ics, there were awards for students in specific skills, as well as the overall best athletic participant. In the academics category, there was an award for the best student in every subject in both the intermediate and the advanced classes.

“I took special care looking at everything you have done, and I couldn’t be more proud,” said President Dekle in her opening remarks. “You really do live out our virtues of excellence, integrity, and service.”

The President said also that she would continue to work with the girls and to make the word “Chibok” become synonymous with positive virtues--with courage, integrity and knowledge. “This year, I want you to work with me and everyone in this room to make Chibok the latest word in the Oxford English Dictionary. Do you remember when I said we are going to make it something else besides a village? C-Character, HHonesty, I-Intelligence, BBravery, O-Openness, and K-Kindness.”

Ms. Maryam Uwais, Special Advisor to President Muhammadu Buhari’s Special Adviser, Ms. Uwais noted that her invitation was an opportunity to really get to know how AUN is transforming the girls. “I am delighted to be here. Moreover, I am very inspired by what I have seen….This is just an awesome experience for me….This is really a worthwhile endeavor and I am very hopeful that this is just the beginning for all of you….You have come this far and you are going to go much farther because you all have some steel in you.”

Ms. Uwais said through the empowerment that they receive at AUN the students would go on to do great things in life. She charged the young women to remain focused in their studies.

“Even though what happened to you should not have happened to anybody, I am a firm believer in ‘everything-happensfor-a-purpose’…

What has happened is that a vast opportunity has been created for you all here. I expect that you will take advantage of it and be true to yourself and your faith. And just reach out for the stars.”

Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, September 16, 2017

Politics

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Dickson is working towards a Bayelsa without oil, sustained solely by IGR – Obuebite ≥≥Pgs 10 & 11

9

Ambode treating us well, says Arewa community ≥≥≥P12

At book launch, Ikuforiji, monarch, others x-ray relevance of legislature in nation building Patrick Okohue The raging controversy over the relevance or otherwise of the legislature among other arms of government in Nigeria has been attributed to the lack of understanding of how the arm is constitutionally built to function.

Former Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji who said this at a book launch in Ikeja area of Lagos, noted that the friction observed in the political space of the country is born out of inexperience on the part of the lawmakers on one hand and also a clear attempt to muzzle a constitutionally empowered arm of government.

Speaking as Chairman of the launch of the book titled:”The Legislature and the Path to Democratic Consolidation” written by Mr. Remi Durojaiye, the former lawmaker said, “We are still very far away from the level of enlightenment required, the people that legislature is supposed to serve know very little about the roles and functions assigned by the constitution to the legislature and it is a pity that even members of the legislature too probably are not well equipped enough as at now.

“It is a question of looking at it from the angle of the nation’s history, you will realise that the Nigeria legislature today is barely 17 or 18 years old, the executive and judiciary have been there since 1914 amalgamation, it is the legislature that is so young yet it is saddled with the responsibility of over sighting these older arms of government.

“The older arms have lots of experience which the legislature does not have and off course, no matter what education is given experience matters a lot, but then education helps to bridge the gap faster so we should continually educate the legislative arm so that it can catch up faster than it is doing.

“A lot of the troubles that we have in the polity now is due to misinformation and not having required knowledge of the roles that the legislature are supposed to play.

“On the part of even the citizenry, everyone loves to condemn, criticize and almost mow down the legislature for whatever reasons, you see today everybody still keeps shouting how much goes to the legislature what does this and that.

“You look at the percentage of the budget that goes to who and then you can understand some of these troubles and of course because the legislature is not even playing its role the way it

OBA AKANBI

should, perhaps due to this lack of adequate knowledge is part of the problem and we must address it for the benefit of the nation,” he said.

Also speaking at the launch, His Imperial Majesty, Oluwo of Iwo Kingdom, King AbdulRasheed Adewale Akanbi (Ilufemiloye Telugu 1), bemoaned the level of corruption in the country, stating that the importance of waging war against corrupt tendencies in the society cannot be overlooked, stressing that it has been the bane of Nigeria.

Oba AbdulRasheed who is the Deputy Chairman of Osun State Council of Obas and President Iwo Traditional Council, who also graced the book launch along with his queen, lament the greed and avarice in the political circles, charging all Nigerians not to vote into power any politician without a well mapped out strategy of fighting corruption.

The monarch, who commend-

IKUFORIJI

ed the author of the book, stated that awareness is key in making people change their perception about anything.

“Consolidation of democracy and changing peoples’ perception about the polity is fundamental and enlightenment act is also afforded in the book written by Remi. It is targeted at taking our people out of poverty of the mind about all this myths and superstition that is bringing us back.

“These are the change that we need and also we need to kill corruption in Nigeria, it is the only deadly disease killing us in droves, it is genocidal, we need to eradicate corruption, if it doesn’t go it would kill us all and it is killing us every day.

“We need to tell our politicians, anyone who needs our votes should give us his structured agenda to fighting corruption, we should not vote into power anyone without the agenda to fight corruption, that is my message to

KASUNMU

Nigerians.”

A member of the Lagos State House of Assembly representing Ikeja Constituency 1, Hon. Adedamola Kasunmu charged the people, especially the younger generation to show more spirit of patriotism towards the nation, arguing that without patriotic citizens, no nation can make progress.

The author who was elated by the turn out at the event also mirrored his piece as a feat that gives him a knack to aspire higher.

“The legislature is very germane in our day to day politics in that the arm has a very big role to play in our nascent democracy.

“This is just the beginning of my own contribution to this country and come 2019, I am going to aspire for the House of Assembly in Ijebu Igbo North constituency of Ogun State as a member, just watch out.

“This is a public unveiling of the book, I am still going to have a

tour of all the local governments in Lagos State in particular, this will start upper week Monday, from my experience we have the best legislature in this country and there is hope us,” Durojaiye said.

The book reviewer, Dr. Mudashiru Suraj, an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Sciences of the Lagos State University did a deep critique of the book with 10 chapters, citing the need for a wider scope that will take an holistic view of the democratic structures across Africa relating the three arms and their roles.

The chief launcher, Engineer Afolabi Lawan, CEO Cubitec Engineering and Services Limited, Former LAWMA boss Dr. Ola Oresanya, Mr. Leland Abdul, GMD, Cleanserve Energy Solutions Integrated, Opebi-Ikeja, Lagos and many other dignitaries were part of the official launch of the book.

Buhari working to fulfill his campaign promises–APC chieftain Iniobong Iwok A chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC), in Kosofe Local Government Area of Lagos State, Samuel Adeleke, has urged Nigerians to be patient with the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration, noting that the administration was working assiduously to fulfill its campaign promises.

Adeleke added that it was challenging for the administration because it met virtually all sectors of the country in a comatose state, while public treasury was looted by the pre-

vious administration.

Adeleke, who is the chairman of the APC in Kosofe, stated this in an interview with The Daily Times, stressing that the party was aware of its campaign promises to Nigerians and that he was optimistic that within the shortest possible period Nigerian’s would begin to feel the impact of the administration’s policies.

On allegations that the APC, rigged the recent local government election in the state, as made by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the party chieftain denounced such insinuations, noting that the

PDP was dead in Lagos and that it was the party who was the master in rigging elections, judging from the outcome of the last Ekiti State governorship election.

He said “APC is trying to put the country back in its right footing, we have not failed yet, what you should know is that the country was messed up in virtually all sectors, that was the problem we inherited and we cannot solve that over night, they should be patient with us.

“They messed up the country, look at the way they are treating Nigerians abroad, it is really bad.

“The PDP has no rational for saying that we rigged the local government election, the PDP that has no bearing, it is them that are the masters of rigging, when they rigged the Ekiti election did we say anything? We won the election and in Kosofe here that I know, people voted for our party. Can’t you can see what the governor is doing here in Lagos?

Adeleke also expressed his agreement with the decision of the National Assembly to grant local government autonomy, noting that it would help improve governance at the grassroots level.

10

Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, September 16, 2017

Dickson is working towards a Bayelsa without oil, sustained solely by IGR – Obuebite He is one of the core supporters of the Dickson led administration and the Commissioner of Information and Orientation in Bayelsa State.

Hon. Jonathan Obuebite is known for doggedness and integrity in always speaking for his boss. In this interview with AKAM JAMES, Obuebite bares his mind on the various achievements of the current governor of the state, among other current issues.

It’s been six years of the Seriake Dickson led administration which you are part of, what can Bayelsans say they have benefited so far?

I always love to talk about the achievements of the Restoration Government, whenever this question is asked. When the governor was sworn into office, during his oath of office, he told the people that he has come as a governor to concentrate on some certain areas, and prominent of it is the issue of education; which we are aware the governor declared a state of emergency, and moving forward he introduced a bill that he said he wanted to embark on the rehabilitation of all educational infrastructure in the state.

What has he done on education?

He immediately marched his words with action with the process of renovation and construction of several projects in the primary and secondary schools where so many headmaster’s quarters, classrooms, laboratories, principal quarters were built, that was how it all started and today I am proud to say that the government has just not fulfilled his promise, but has taken it beyond the expectations of Bayelsans.

Today, we have modern day and functional boarding schools in all the eight Local government areas of the state, the Ijaw National Academy has started with over 1000 students, no tuition fee, books and uniforms are given with free feeding to make them a comfortable learning environment.

The governor also knew that there was need to establish tertiary institution to take up the students who will want to further their education, he started the foundation class with over 500 students in the University of Africa, which is not like other public universities. It is operated as a private driven institution. The school will sustain itself and will not affiliate with unions in order to avoid disrupting the academic calendar, and also will be affiliated with other universities around the world. Lecturers will also come from all parts of the world to run the school so that it will not be controlled by industrial dictate that is witnessed in universities in Nigeria. We want a situation where when you are admitted on a 4 years programme, you’ll use the 4 years except for students who can’t meet up. I must say from the point he made those declaration till date we have achieved a lot.

What about sports?

The governor in his wisdom also felt it will be better to bring sports into the education system, that was the reason for the sport Academy at Asuzuama and by the

OBUEBITE

end of this month over 400 students would have been registered, which is a major feat in the education and sport sector of the state which is first of its kind, it will also be on record that after 20 years of creation of the state, government is building boarding schools for the people. Another aspect is the issue where the governor said it will not be business as usual concerning the fund management, where funds come into the state and the people don’t see what the monies are used for, that was why he promised a transparent government under his watch.

How transparent has he been?

In furtherance to that he initiated a bill and sent to the state House of Assembly titled “Transparency briefing bill” which was passed between two months and signed into law with the clause stating that after 3 months if the transparency briefing is not done the governor should be impeached, and the government since then has been informing the people every month on the income and expenditure of the state and that is the trust we owe the people. The governor didn’t stop at that but he also initiated the compulsory saving bill for the state to save for rainy days. The government has institutionalised transparency in the running of government; we are accountable and open to the people, that is why Federal Government institutions like ICPC and EFCC have always recognised our government for being one of the most financially prudent and transparent government of the people. We have also ensured that people in the state that hold government positions do not abuse their offices, we set up a mechanism for everyone to see that prudence and accountability is the watch word. We have also closed almost all the loopholes so people don’t divert public funds for their personal use as it use to be in the past, every kobo now counts in governance because monies are

given to the people on due process, where we have check and balances for monies to be released, the e What about health?

The government also said it will put a stop to capital flight where people travel abroad for medical attention and put in the process of building medical facilities. We built and have put to use the first diagnosis and forensic centre here in Bayelsa State.

People are now travelling from Lagos, Abuja and other cities to have good medical services in the state, and we didn’t stop at that, we have also renovated the general hospitals in all the local government areas, built five referral hospitals in 5 LGAs, 60 bed hospital initiated, conceived and built by the government. We also built a drug mart so that pharmacies and hospitals can go and buy good drugs because we discovered that most of our people are given fake and adulterated drugs. The government also built government specialist hospital well equipped for both public and private use which is functional, with a theatre that is one of the best in the country. The government also feels if the people can’t access it the gains won’t be felt so he initiated the health scheme for civil servants, political office holders and all other Bayelsans can key into and benefit from it and have the best medical attention. Today, Bayelsa has become a state where people travel for the best medical attention which is part of the cardinal promises he made.

And infrastructure?

He also said we’ll change the infrastructure of our state and make Bayelsa the Dubai of Nigeria, now people are saying Dubai is a fat dream, but Dubai is a process and the most important thing is to lay the foundation and start the process of building. The quality of road infrastructure in the state can’t be compared with the road in other states or what we had in the past

administrations. We have built so many road infrastructure with drainage facilities, dualised the Isaac Boro road, Road Safety Road completed and in use, hospital, stadium, Ekeki-Azikoro, hospital bye pass all completed. The people can now drive to Ofoni because the government is building road from Sagbama to Ekeremor because sand filling is almost at Ekeremor. For the first time this government built and put to use a Flyover. Are you not surprised that 20 years after the creation of the state and there are still so many projects that are ongoing which we are sure of completing before the end of this current administration. The flood of 2012 in the state opened our eyes to see that the state is locked out, because it was impossible for us to move to Rivers State or Delta State, and that made the governor to set motion in place to build an airport which is currently 80 percent completed, while the terminal building which would have been built by the Federal Government is abandoned.

The airport will be a major entry and exit point into the state which is called the Bayelsa State International Airport, because of the cargo elements in it, Bayelsa is the hub of gas and oil Industry and we want the oil companies to ship their equipment direct without landing in Lagos. We are also building warehouses around the place for purposes of stocking equipments before moving to construction sites. Infrastructure upgrading in terms of offices has also been great, this office today is also part of the achievement of the current government, four new secretariat annex building added to the old one which are all functional and I hear people say all these projects are not commissioned and I say they should wait because we are going into era of festivals of commissioning, we already started with the commissioning of the best government office in Nigeria CONTINUED ON PAGE 11

Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, September 16, 2017

Politics 11

Masari vows to return Katsina education to place of glory Kwasu Joseph Alhamdu

The Katsina State governor, Aminu Bello Masari has said that his administration has spent about N10 billion so far on education in the state.

The governor who stated this at the maiden matriculation ceremony of Katsina State Institute of Technology and Management on Thursday, 2017, added that his passion is to improve the standard of education in the state.

“That is why I have given an undivid-

…says state spent N10bn on sector under him

ed attention to anything that would advance the boundaries of the education sector in the state. For years, Katsina is known to be the torch bearer of education in the Northern part of Nigeria.

“The evidence of this truism is the fact that most of the first, second and, even third generation leaders from the North had their secondary education in Katsina. Several of them were at the

famous Katsina Teachers College, now known as Barewa College in Zaria,” Masari said.

According to the governor, bringing back Katsina’s lost glory in education is not impossible adding that his administration has pulled out all the stops to ensure that nothing but 100 percent attention is given to the sector, especially at the foundation level.

“This is why we have to spent no less than N10 billion and counting, in the repair, rehabilitation and expansion of over 1,000 primary and secondary schools. We did not include the amount expended on the payment of teachers salary as and when due, prompt payment of pension and gratuity of retired teachers, promotion of teachers and recruitment of more teachers to bridge the acute deficit in teaching staff faced in the state,” the governor added.

‘Dickson is working towards a Bayelsa without oil, sustained solely by IGR’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

government doing on the new tariff billing?

On the issue of electricity tariff, you know the PHEDC is a private company working directly with the Federal Government because of the law backing it, we don’t have direct supervision over them, but what we do is to interface with them, as a government we issued a statement condemning the increment and the Commissioner for Power also interacted with them. We know that there is a court order and a superior court hasn’t over ruled the order, so anything about the new tariff is illegal and Bayelsans should know that it’s illegal, when they bring the bill nobody should pay. As a government we are duty bound to protect our people, if that judgement was set aside it would have been a different case, but coming from the back door to increase tariff by 200 percent is bad and unacceptable, we also support the peaceful protest by the consumers.

which was done by ‘Let’s talk about tourism’ The ox-bow pavilion was initiated and built by the government, which is a centre where tourism activities will take place every time to keep our people and investors busy when they visit the state. We also have a tourism institute to train our people on tourism and hospitality to develop and equip them, because they will be the first contact that tourist meet when they visit, and we have commended the governor for the vision of building that institution. In addition, there is the government driving school with simulating machines to train people that will drive tourist around when they visit the state.

How about agriculture?

As a government we have decided to diversify our economy using agriculture and tourism with the building and completion of the largest aqua farm in Nigeria and Africa, which is a village of its own, with restaurant, packaging factory and the feed processing section with capacity to employ about 1000 youths and we speak of those qualified and ready for training. We are building about 100 pounds in each local government and our general target is to get 1,500 functional fish farms because we want to be major exporter of fish product taking advantage of the airport which is a futuristic development plan.

We didn’t stop at that, we are cultivating about 200 hectares of cassava farm, the factory for the milling is ready and we are also working to be major exporter of starch to earn foreign exchange. We also have functional 15,000 poultry birds, before now you see trucks from other states coming into the states to sell poultry eggs, but we have taken charge of that market by producing 8000-10,000 eggs to the market.

We will also partner with the Federal Government to invest in the anchor borrowers’ project that is on; where plantain and other products are the key area we want to invest in. We are also working on reviving the rice farm, resuscitate it to also employ a greater number of youths, with all these I can say the government has surpassed the bench mark the people gave, it’s good to have a leader that is committed, visionary, purposeful and has financial discipline to the people. The deliberate steps the governor has taken is making us think of a Bayelsa State beyond oil and gas, a state that will depend solely on IGR, tourism, agriculture and not going every month begging for allocation in Abuja.

The Local government workers have been on strike for over a month, what is the government doing about it?

Since the inception of this government, Dickson made it clear that he will never interfere into the affairs of the finances of the LGA, yet the law allows the Joint Local

OBUEBITE

Government Account which is a federal law, outside that we don’t involve in their finance, but rather we assist by intervention in terms of paying teachers salaries.

The government started by taking over 83 percent of their salaries and moved further to 60 percent between 2005 and 2006, from which we all saw what happened because of the shortfall in the resources of the state due to recession that is still on.

I heard they said Nigeria is out of recession, but the dollar rate is still high compared to our naira, the rice we use to buy at 7,000 is still for 21,000 which means we are not out of recession, because our people are dying, the truth must be told, if as a government we deceive ourselves it is bad, we have to accept the problem and face it to solve it and not media gimmick.

Our people are suffering, we must not be deceived.

I still say as a government we don’t interfere with the operation of the LGA, we have been calling on them to go and clean up their records by way of staff verification before now because the burden was much on the state government and that the intervention may not be there forever and they thought we were joking, but now

the obvious has happened. The governor called on the stakeholders to help see that the LG is sanitise so that the ghost workers and duplication of workforce can be addressed, today we have an issue but I will rather advice that the union partner with the local government administrators to weed out the baggage of ghost workers and streamline the workforce to sizeable number that they maintain and also play the constitutional role they are expected to play. It’s something we must do together, so as a government we are trying to see how to bring all the stakeholders together and lay the issue to rest, but the truth must be told. They must do the needful, they can’t carry on like this because the worst is yet to come and except we look inward and call a spade a spade. Like last month we intervened and added monies for them to pay salaries, also when the bailout issue came, the state took bailout of N1.3 billion, which we are still paying, we got the Paris/ London refund and gave to them to offset outstanding bills. Whenever the monies are not enough we as a government add up to augment their payment.

The issue of electricity in the state has become worrisome, what is

I can say the government has surpassed the bench mark the people gave, it’s good to have a leader that is committed, visionary, purposeful and has financial discipline to the people. The deliberate steps the governor has taken is making us think of a Bayelsa State beyond oil and gas, a state that will depend solely on IGR, tourism, agriculture and not going every month begging for allocation in Abuja.

What is your view of the Federal Government intervention in the Niger-Delta region in terms of development, have they been fair to the people?

The issue of whether the Federal Government has been fair with the Niger Delta region is not an issue that we hold this current government responsible for, it is something that has been there for a long time. The Federal Government since inception has never been fair to us, with the resources coming out from here we expect that Federal Government would have declared this area a special development area, which is what is done all over the world.

Look at what is happening to the East West Road, two years of this current government nothing has happened, but will I blame them, no because there was a government before now. That road is a major point from the South-South to other parts of the world, but today the road is impassable and our people are dying on that road on daily basis. Large number of goods and properties are lost on that road every day, because of the bad road; it shows the Federal Government is not fair at all. We need development, we want to have a road from Yenagoa to Brass and the government should do that because of their terminal. The Federal Government has a terminal in Bonny and Delta State, but you can’t even drive to that point, the government has been truly unfair to our people. Niger-Delta is the goose that lays the golden egg and should be treated as such in order to maintain the needed peace so that the oil companies can thrive.

If you look at the agitations it is as a result of the neglect, two years after the government took over no project in Bayelsa, two Federal budgets has passed, but not a single project is in the state.

12 Politics

Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, September 16, 2017

Ambode treating us well, says Arewa community Kwasu Joseph Alhamdu The Arewa Community in Lagos State has debunk allegations by one Alhaji Mohammed Bambado, who claimed and addressed himself as the Sarkin Fulani of Lagos that the Northern people has been side-lined in the affairs of the state.

In a statement signed by the secretary general of the Arewa Community in Lagos and signed by Alhaji Musa Saleh, the group said Alhaji Mohammed Bambado is not in position to speak for the Arewa Community.

“The statements credited to him are his personal opinion which we unequivocally submit are practically lies from the figment of his imagination.

Categorically, the Arewa people have not been in any way sidelined in the socio-economic and political affairs of Lagos State by the present administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode.

“Economically, we have been in control of our various markets in Alaba Rago, Iddo Market, Mile-12 Market, Okeodo Market, Gatankowa Market, Lagos State Abattoir, Sabo Ikorodu to mention a few.

“We also requested for the development of an ultra modern

market for food products and the state governor approved it and is presently working assiduously on the development of this multi-million market in Imota where the already choked Mile-12 Market will be relocated to.

“Politically, we have representatives in various positions in the ruling party, APC and even in the Lagos State government cabinet. Arc. Ahmed Kabiru Abdullahi is presently serving as the Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission.

He was appointed by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode. Alhaji Musa Saleh is also serving as EA in the same Commission,” the statement said.

The statement added: “Our own Hon. Gambo Manzo is also serving as the SA to the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. During the last local government elections, we also got three principal officers as Majority Leaders of Apapa Local Government Council and Ikoyi/ Obalende Local Council Development Area, Ishaq Ali Danbaba and Sulainman Jibrin respectively. Sani Yau Bichi is also the Chief Whip in Apapa L. G., while Mrs. Sulaiman K. A. is also a Counsellor in Ifelodun Development Area of Lagos State.

AMBODE

“We are equally awaiting various appointments across the 57 local governments for those who contested and lost but aided our great party to victory. As you all know, we had representatives who served as Supervisory Councilors and Special Advisers in 37 Local Governments and LCDAs in Lagos State,” the statement added.

The Arewa community called

Anambra 2017: No candidate or godfather can unseat Obiano – Prince Tabansi

on the general public, the Lagos State government and the people of Lagos State to ignore what it described as the fallacious press statement by Mohammed Bambado as they are not in tune with the reality on ground, but a bunkum and a very cheap attempt to create disharmony between the Arewa Community and the Lagos State government.

“It is a blackmail to gain

Enugu LG poll: APC applauds conduct of successful primaries

Alphonsus Nweze, Awka

Moses Oyediran, Enugu

A prominent politician and business man in Anambra State has predicted the victory of Governor Willie Obiano of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) in the November 18, 2017 governorship election.

Tabansi who spoke to newsmen in his country home, Nri, Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra State declared that no candidate from other political parties could afford to unseat the incumbent governor in the forthcoming governorship election due to his excellent performance since he took over the governance in the state in March 2014.

Tabansi noted that Obiano had an edge over other governorship candidates because there were visible things he had done to show to the people.

He said: “I don’t see any of the other candidates or even by the intrigues of godfatherism to unseat him. He is doing his best and his best is good for Anambra people. That is why I am personally working for him.

“He is constructing roads, especially in the major food producing areas of the state, which has helped for easy evacuation of agricultural proceeds. He has also constructed one of the longest bridges leading to the agricultural belt of the state and the people are happy with him and would therefore want him to be re-elected.”

Tabansi also enumerated some of the achievements of the governor to include provision of security, attracting foreign investors to the state and placing Anambra State among the fastest growing state economies in the country. He contended it was

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu State has applauded the outcome of its primary elections for the Nov. 4 local government polls in the state.

The chairman of the APC Local Government Election Committee, Hon. Eugene Odoh, however, said that the party would cancel the outcome in centres that did not comply with party regulations.

Odoh, who is the immediate past Speaker of the State House of Assembly, said that the party had directed that all candidates must emerge through direct primaries.

“What this means is that every member with party cards must come out to vote individuals of their choice where there are no consensus candidates.

“I was in my local government area for the exercise and it came out fine.

We are also getting similar reports from most centres.

“However, the primaries in centres that did not comply with the rule will be cancelled,” he said.

Odoh said that the party decided to participate in the poll after weighing its options, adding that the state governor had assured of a free and fair polls.

“We believe that the governor is a democrat and will not like to occasion breakdown of law and order in the state.

OBIANO

improper for former Governor Peter Obi to dump Obiano after bringing him to be the governor, adding that since he had proved himself capable of governing the state, he should be supported to complete two terms.

“Though, initially I hesitated to support Gov. Obiano because Peter Obi was bringing him out without consultation but later I decided to change my decision because he was my senior in CKC, Onitsha and the same time my brother by Eri tie of consanguinity.

“So, for Peter Obi to turn around now and say that he is going to replace him (Obiano), who is he to say that he can replace Obiano in this state?

“People say that Obiano was not a politician before he became the governor, Peter Obi was also not a politician before but people helped him and those people that helped him, he kicked their ass and was shouting there is nothing like godfather in Anambra politics.”

Tabansi continued, “He vowed that nobody will be a godfather in this state and suddenly turns around to works to be a godfather,” insisting “ Obi cannot be a godfather.”

political relevance through the backdoor. The administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode have been carrying the Arewa community along, we have been having meaningful interactions with the government of Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode and we are very happy with the outstanding performance of his government.

“We are calling on our action governor to continue with the cordial relationship we have developed over time and not get distracted by the antics of hate propagators from rendering good governance to us as we strongly believe more and more benefits are coming our way.

“Lagos State Government and Kaduna State Government remain the only truly Nationalistic State Governments in Nigeria and we commend them.

Thank you Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode. Lets emulate them to make Nigeria work.

“The Arewa Community is solidly in support of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s administration as partners in progress, we know how the government is managing the state resources in achieving the massive infrastructural development in the state as Lagosians are witnessing now.

And we thank you so much,” the statement added.

“He has charged all involved in the exercise to be fair to all parties and the APC has taken him in his words,” he said.

He said that the party had been so proactive and had set up a security committee that would give pre-action notices to security agencies before, during and after the polls.

He said that heads of security agencies in the state including the commissioner of police, the military and the SSS had been notified of the development.

“The whole essence is to give a pre-action notice of an impending breakdown of law and order within the period.

“The posture of the Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission (ENSIEC) is taking at the moment appears as if the election is going to be rigged.

“All the indices that surround a free and fair election are yet to be seen.

Notwithstanding, we are still going to participate believing that ENSIEC will be fair to all,” he said.

Odoh said that the APC would do all within the law to protect its vote, adding that the party would not contest the outcome of the election where it lost fairly.

“I can assure our supporters that wherever we win we are going to protect our victory,” Odoh said.

Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, September 16, 2017

IPOB: FG, Lalong, committed to Nigeria unity, mourn two lives lost in recent face-off

Kingsley Chukwuka, Jos

ÏÏÏThe

Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau has said that the unity of Nigeria remain sunshakable in the face of the lingering tension witnessed in the country in recent times.

Dambazau stated this Friday in Jos, during an assessment visit on the resent face off between some members of the Hausa Community and the Igbo, which led to the lost of two lives and many injured.

Speaking with newsmen, the Minister said, “The unity of Nigeria remain unshakable in the face of the recent agitation and tension hitherto being witnessed in the country: I am in Jos to get a

first hand information on the crisis situation reported on Thursday between the Igbo and the Hausa as a result of the agitation going on in the Southeast.

“I call on Nigerians to remain steadfast in keeping the country together as it is our collective responsibility to do so”, he said.

In his part, the Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, regretted the unfortunate incident that claimed the lives of two calling on community leaders to call their subjects together.

He said that the state remains home for all, irrespective of religion, ethnic extraction or political persuasion, assuring citizens that his administration is commit-

ment to peace and stability in the state, adding that all nonindigenes in Plateau state were safe and urged them to go about their legitimate businesses without fear or intimidation.

“The tension took us by surprise, I call on community and religious leaders to caution their wards at home as any culprit arrested would not go free as nobody is above the law .”

“I want to assure all citizens that their security and welfare as the primary concern of Government is assured by the Rescue Administration.

“I am therefore enjoining all citizens to go about their business with the assurance that their safety is guaranteed”.

Lalong further appealed to all religious and community leaders, neighbourhood vigilantes as well as all law abiding citizens to ensure nobody is allowed to take advantage of this unfortunate situation to engage in criminality.

“We wish to restate that Plateau State remains home to all citizens of Nigeria irrespective of religion, ethnic extraction or political persuasion.

“I therefore enjoins all peace loving citizens to ensure that nothing is allowed to upset the hard earned peace in the State”, he added.

Our correspondent reports that Jos remain under an indefinite dust to down curfew 6pm-6am imposed by the state government on Thursday.

Former Abia State Commissioner of Police, Adeleye Oyebade; Abia State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu and new Commissioner, Anthony Ogbizi, after the handing over at the State Police Headquarters, Umuahia, Abia State… recently.

YLAN calls for national unity against hate speeches

Tom Garba

ÏÏÏThe

leadership of Young Leadership Association of Nigeria (YLAN) calls on Nigerians to embrace peace and be more united at this time that the unity of the country is being threatens by all sort of challenges using hate speeches to grow up hatred among the six geo-political zones in the country President of the Association, Comrade Kabiru Duhu made the call during a close door meeting with officials of the organization in Abuja and issued a Press statement to news men asserting that Nigerian Youths should vanguards and instruments of propagating unity despite our unique identities.

The statement read that “ we have added our voice to

millions of stakeholders to condemn recent unrest and hate speeches by some disgruntled Nigerians to brew enmity against ourselves.”

“The recent development on the national disunity, which is as result of heightened tension on hate speeches and disintegration being promoted by some individuals across the country, has drawn the attentions of the Young Leadership Association of Nigeria YLAN to calling on all the parties involved to exercise extreme caution to avoid putting the situation out of control. It is obviously noted that the Nigerian youths are the tools in the hands of some individuals who are determined to disrupting the peace and tranquillity of Nigeria to protect their selfish interest .YLAN as an organisation that is poised

to promote youth participation in peace and nation building has condemned this inimical act of indecency and hereby implore the Nigerian youths to aloof themselves from being used by unscrupulous politicians to perpetrate evil in our nation which our founding fathers laboured to keep in unity. Nigeria is one of the greatest nations in the world and making her strength obvious, depends on our contributions to ensuring unity among us irrespective of our religious and ethnic inclination.” The statement reads According to the statement that no nation or society will be developed in an atmosphere of rancour.

This should be understood for the youths to refrain from any form of violence in the interest of peace and

national development as well as channelling their energy towards Building a prosperous Nigeria where everyone will be pleased to dwell. We can only achieve this in presence of love, peace and unity as call for disintegration, destruction of lives and properties will not be helpful to anybody.

“Unarguably, we are better in unity than disunity.

Let the killings and hate speeches cease. Young Leadership Association of Nigeria YLAN equally wants to employ this opportunity to advise the Government at all levels to include the Youths in their Peace Building efforts as well as making them part of the decision-making in Nigeria ,if our nation’s drive towards sustainable peace and national unity will be possible.

News 13

We don’t know you ULC -FG tells Igwe Achezie Idu Jude, Abuja

ÏÏÏMinistry

of Labour and Employment has denied knowledge of a breakaway labour union United Labour COngress led, comprising the union of electricity workers and the union of oil workers.

Daily Times, recalled that the body emerged during the Nigerian Labour Congress NLC demand of Minimum wage for Nigerian workers.

Briefing the press Thursday in Abuja, the minister of labour and employment Senator Chris Ngige, announced that the attention of the Federal Minister of Labour and Employment, has been drawn to several media publications and statements signed by Mr. Didi Adodo on behalf of the Association – the United Labour Congress (ULC) - as its Secretary General.

According to Dr. Ngige,the statements gave the false impression that this Association is a Government recognized Federation of Trade Unions.

That the statement and letters issued in the last few weeks include those that gave the Federal Government a 14 - day ultimatum stating that some Trade Unions it “claims” as affiliates will go on strike over some issues which are of national importance.

Again, that the issues include that the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment should set up a task force immediately to carry out factory inspection; that Government should review the privatization of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), and that the Army and Police should withdraw their men in different work places where they

are currently stationed as they intimidate and harass workers in such establishment.

Also the ULC demands the immediate release of her “Registration Certificate”.

The Minister said that “Our immediate reaction is to remind the promoters of this Association that they are NOT yet a Federal Government recognized Federation of Trade Unions and hence cannot speak on behalf of any Trade Union.

The Trade Unions Act, CAP T14, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN) 2004, is explicitly clear on how a group of Trade Unions can coalesce to form a Federation of Trade Unions.

Section 35(1)(b) states inter alia “A Federation of Trade Unions may be registered by the Registrarif … it is made up of 12 or more Trade Unions none of which SHALL have been a member of another registered Federation of Trade Unions.”

The promoters of ULC should fulfil this requirement to qualify to be registered. To call out workers on “Essential Services” for a national strike without any major trade dispute with their direct employers will be tantamount to blatant violation of our extant Labour Laws and International Labour Standards.

Dr Ngige further, noted that every Nigerians know that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) – the oldest Federation of Trade Unions in Nigeria – has been factionalised since after her elections in 2014 and the Government through the Ministry of Labour and Employment had been making efforts to resolve the controversies that arose from the disputed elections.

Anambra election: U.S Consul General urges credible poll John Ndu Awka

ÏÏÏThe

United States Consul General to Nigeria, His Excellency, John Bray has assured that his country will partner key stakeholders in the state to ensure a credible poll during the November 18th governorship election in Anambra State.

Mr Bray disclosed this when his team paid a courtesy visit to the state governor, at the Governor’s Lodge, Amawbia.

Bray noted that the essence of the visit to the state was to have a critical study on the level of preparedness towards the November 18 election.

According to him “We are here for proper reconnaissance ahead of November 18 gubernatorial election in the state. It is something we do in every state in all circle elections to ensure a free, fair and

credible election during the process.”

We will be participating with national observers’ communities and will be working closely with INEC, political parties, civil society and security services to ensure there is credible process.....”. Bray added.

While stating that Anambra and the rest of Nigeria was pulling out of recession, Mr Bray observed that the present administration of Obiano had transformed the state and attracted night life and other government presence in the state.

Welcoming the delegation, the State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano assured of credibility and free election come November 18th election.

Obiano urged other political parties to eschew any form of violence and embrace fairness in the election.

News 14

Daily Times Nigeria

Saturday, September 16, 2017

22 injured in London underground carriage bombing Oluchi Okoroafor, Abuja

ÏÏÏ The metropolitan city of London,

on Friday witnessed another tragedy as 22 people were injured after a bomb detonated on a packed London Underground train, setting off a “wall of fire” that burned commuters in Britain’s fifth terror attack in six months.

According to AFP, passengers were seen with facial burns and hair coming off at the Parsons Green station in west London after the explosion on the train during the morning rush hour.

According to police counter-terror chief, Mark Rowley, “In west London after the explosion on the train during the morning rush hour at 8:20 yesterday at Parsons Green station there was an explosion on a Tube train. Witnesses saw passengers with facial burns and hair coming off at the station, now assess that this was a detonation of an impro-

vised explosive device.”

Rowley said most of the injuries were due to “flash burns”, while others were wounded by the stampede as passengers ran out of the station in panic.

Charlie Craven, One local resident in his report said that he was on his way to the station, and heard a “massive bang”.

“I saw an orange sort of fireball encompassing the whole Tube coming towards you.”

Another eye witness Lauren Hubbard described it as “a wall of fire”.

Reacting through his Twitter, @Rrigs, another witness wrote: “Explosion on Parsons Green District Line train. Fireball flew down carriage and we just jumped out open door.”

Police sources cited by British media said the device had a timer but had failed to detonate fully.

Condemning the act, the United States President Donald Trump, in his tweets

PUBLIC NOTICE

CONFIRMATION THIS IS TO CONFIRM THAT, EKE CHIMA NWAFOR, EKE CHIMA AND EKEH CHIMA REFERS TO ONE AND SAME PERSON.ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS BEARING EITHER OF THE NAMES REMAIN VALID.GENERAL PUBLIC TAKE NOTE .

MRS MADUNAGU GRACE CHIBUEZE

I formerly known and addressed as MISS AKANU GRACE CHIBUEZE now wish to be known and addressed as MRS MADUNAGU GRACE CHIBUEZE All former documents remain valid. General public to please take note.

OISAMAIYE LINDA BOLADE

I formerly known and addressed as LAWRENCE LINDA BOLADE now wish to be known and addressed as OISAMAIYE LINDA BOLADE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

MR. IYANDA ADEWALE NUREENI

wrote, “loser terrorists” were behind the attack, adding that they were already “in the sights” of British police.

London’s Metropolitan Police dismissed the tweet as “unhelpful speculation”, and Trump was also rebuked by Prime Minister Theresa May. “I never think it’s helpful for anybody to speculate on what is an ongoing investigation,” she said, speaking after an emergency cabinet meeting.

May also said the device was “clearly intended to cause significant harm,” condemning it as a “cowardly attack”.

Another eye witness, Daniel Leal-Olivia who made comments on the intervention of emergency management agencies said, “Armed police on patrol were quickly on the scene at Parsons Green station in west London. The National Health Service said 18 people were taken by ambulance to hospital, while four others made their own way to hospitals.

PUBLIC NOTICE

LUKE EMMANUEL OBUTO

CORRECTION OF NAME/DATE OF BIRTH

I, formerly known and addressed as Mr. Adewale Iyanda Nureeni now wish to be known ande addressed as MR. IYANDA ADEWALE NUREENI. All formerly documents remain valid and general public take note

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This is to notify the public that my name was wrongly written as OMOYAKE VIVIAN ESE instead of ONOYAKE VIVIAN ESE. My correct name is ONOYAKE VIVIAN ESE and my correct date of birth is May 13./05/1979 and NOT May 13/05/1976. All former documents remains valid the general public please take note.

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MRS JOSEPHINE ADERONKE SOWEMIMO

AKINDE BAMIDELE TEMITOPE EMMANUEL

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FADIYA KUKU KUDIRATU MORENIKE

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TEMIDAYO OYESANMI

EKE JOSEPHINE CHIATOGU

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ADEBAYO HAPPINESS ABIODUN

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GAMBO EMMANUEL

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General public take note.

Winners in Chemistry Challenge applaud PZ Cussons Azubike Nnadozie

ÏÏÏ

After a successful hosting of the 2016/2017 edition of Nigeria’s leading pure science competition - PZ Cussons Chemistry Challenge, the winners of the competition who were recently taken on a tour of the corporate head office and factory of PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc, applauded its commitment to revive interest in Chemistry as a subject.

The visit was supported by two of PZ Cussons top brands – Premier Cool and Nunu Milk, to appreciate the organization for building a glowing future for Nigerian students, and to set the stage for its next edition. The winners were received by Mr Christos Giannopoulos Chief Executive Officer, Ms Joyce Coker, the Human Resources Director, Mr Kalyan Bandyopadhyay, the Marketing Director and other members of the top management team. he winners were taken round various departments of the organisation to better understand the operational flow employed by the company in its manufacturing process.

Speaking while receiving

the winners, Mr. Christos Giannopoulos, congratulated both the students and the representatives of their chools for their exceptional performance. He revealed that the Chemistry challenge was borne out of the company’s commitment to promote the importance of chemistry in everyday life.

He explained that PZ Cussons designed the challenge to help spur interest in chemistry as a subject and develop a credible succession pipeline for the industry by encouraging secondary school students to explore the career opportunities that abound in chemistry as a science subject. He admonished the winners to be focused in life so as not to be carried away by distractions and peer pressure.

The regional Marketing Director, Kalyan Bandyopadhyay in his speech advised parents and teachers to plant the seed of greatness in the minds of pupils to ensure a brighter future for the country in our social, economic and political sphere.

Responding on behalf of the winners, the overall champion,Master Ogunmola Dara, an SS II Student of New Hall International School,

OLX, LASTMA educate Nigerians on vehicle

Azubike Nnadozie

ÏÏÏ

As part of its commitments to ensuring accident free and smooth road transit, OLX, one of the leading online trading platforms, has collaborated with the Lagos State Traffic Maintenance Agency (LASTMA) to educate Nigerians on five very important precautions to take to ensure they are safe when driving during the rainy season.

The leading online classifieds site OLX.com.ng provides a platform for Nigerians to buy and sell vehicles quickly and conveniently.

In addition to facilitating trade, OLX partners with government agencies and corporate organisations that are relevant and offer value to vehicle users.

Olawale Musa, General Manager of LASTMA at an event held held in Lagos recently advised road users that the following precautions should be taken when driving during the rainy season.

Musa said: “Road users are

advised to be patient while driving in bad weather. To avoid major accidents, we advise that you limit your speed to a maximum of 60km/hr or even less as the case may be.

Driving slowly also prevents the car from being damaged by hidden potholes. Road users should also use their hazard lights to alert other road users who have poor visibility.

“Getting stranded in the rain with a dead battery is not fun, and can easily be avoided.

The typical lifespan of a battery is between 3-5 years. Wet weather can stress your battery, and humidity can cause terminal corrosion and minor electrical grounds that can drain it overnight. If your battery is over three years old, it is advisable you have it checked especially during the rainy season. A good indicator that the battery is getting weak is when it starts to sound sluggish during start up. Any mechanic can perform a simple test for battery strength. Buying a new battery is a whole lot better than getting stranded in the rain.

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Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, September 16, 2017

Art Review

s

Footprints of David: Stormy, phenomenal God’s Covenant Snr They are the bustling energetic theatrical phenomenon that tears away the musical, poetic and intellectual ordinariness of every concert they perform; a signature that affirms that the theatre tomorrow is secured in the hands of these children.

After an awesome performance at Iju Hills recently, legendary international Nigerian actress, Taiwo Ajayi-Licett (TAL), exclaimed, “We have raised a wonderful generation to succeed us! We have left a great heritage in these children!”

Footprints of David Art Academy is a specialised drama, music, poetry and drum ensembles troupe situated at 8, Arobadade Street, Bariga, Lagos.

Groomed and directed by artistic Director, Seun Awobajo, the children were picked up from different streets and given opportunity to become quality human beings, the director told our correspondent.

“I struggle to keep them in school to give them the op-

Julia catwalking in a Nigerian outfit at the show

portunity to grow and become really outstanding human beings in different fields of endeavour, like engineers, playwrites, remarkable people, etc.”

Seun recalled the small beginning with some nostalgia.

“Most of the children came

Book Review

Title: Ceremony with the Dust Pages: 92 Author: Onuegbu na Chieze Publishers: Inkiestman Publishers Reviewer: Franca Sulem-Yong Through his poetry collection, Ceremony with the dust, Onuegbu na Chieze seeks to unravel the several elements that compound the earth life of man.

With remarkable style and dexterity, the author meticulously leads the reader to experience every stage of life as he pages through the three-parted book divided in accordance with the title thus, Part one: ceremony, Part two: With and Part three: the Dust.

This book is one masterpiece that can make you laugh and cry at the same time. Even as he succeeds to render each part of his poetry collection striking, profound and pregnant with African imagery while exploring themes like innocence, love, hatred, conflict, religion and death, he remains relevant to every human being.

The author pricks our emotions as he enjoins us to cel-

from very poor homes and are products of very challenging situations. In 2008, for example, parents of one of them had to leave Lagos to the village because their father had stroke after their house was raised down by fire. For a long time the children were made to

Onuegbu na Chieze

ebrate early life in part one, ceremony made up of 14 poems.

Yet, with the over powering sensation of nostalgia spilling through childhood poems like To the moon, Gone till December, Christmas, Nehemiah me, Little cousin and, with the overriding feel of romance as one savors teenage love poems like Annette, the author cautiously

injects moments of solemnity in this part.

By reminding us that this is the moment when our generative power sets in, when we begin to ask questions, when we become self-conscious and begin to assert our individuality and rise above the fold imposed on us by society through poems like Who am I, the author pre-

hawk things as petty as polybags, pure water and such like at market places; but with the help of good minded people who believed in our course, we rallied round to gather these children together and try to make them use their potentials for God’s purpose; and

pares us for the next part of the book.

Part two - With (made up of 9 poems), brings us to the inevitable point of decision everyone must face in life. Thus, with whom do we intend to continue the afore-mentioned ceremony. The author starts with the poem, Jesus and Lucifer wherein he makes biblical allusion to Mathew 4:1-11 in which the Lord Jesus was tempted by lucifer and compels everyone to decide if he would rather stand strong and uphold the will of God like Jesus did or lose his soul to the world as per lucifer’s temptation. Through other poems like Four little cobras, what, then? and Ogbanje, the author unravels the conflict that comes with deciding to follow either the light (Jesus) or the darkness (lucifer). While exploring themes such as karma, war and peace, he harps that it would take genuine womanhood to lift humanity back to the place the Lord ordained it to be.

The author continues to dangle the carrot at us in part

that is why we are called the Footprints of David; that we may give back to God regardless of our society or association.”

Born and raised in Bariga area of Shomolu in Lagos, Seun’s parents hail from Ogun State. A theatre artist fractioned by training, Seun majors in performance and dance.

“In 2005, I developed interest in children theatre and I decided to go into it fully after about five years as private instructor in some private schools where I teach dance and drama.

“Since I have been nursing the dream of children theatre, I thought of securing a government license for the purpose, giving children a platform to channel their energy into something creative because there are lots of talented children in my own ghetto.”

Seun is still in the business of identifying and picking up children with talents in his neighbourhood. “Every day, I see and smell talents in growing children on the streets of Bariga, so I’ll continue to harness these talents and poten-

tials,” he said.

three, the Dust. As he further pierces our hearts with the 13 poems which basically uncover the themes of death, heaven and hell, the author succeeds to reassure his readers with scenes of humour. He crowns part 3 with the title poem of the collection: Ceremony with the dust.

In this poem, a man reflects upon life on earth (dust). He speaks of people still celebrating, falling in love despite poor societal growth. He reflects on all the women and pleasures he has had, then declares that he is not dust but spirit - that these pleasures are mundane. Looking back, he is grateful that he was given the physical body to walk on earth and now, at death, he detaches himself from his flesh (dust), and considers his fulfilled life – a ceremony with the dust.

Onuegbu na Chieze (Onuegbu Michael Ovie Chieze) is an author, teacher and Journalist. In 2016, he wrote thirteen phonetics textbooks, seven of which were published. He is author of Cup of Uwalaka - a verse play and this collection, Ceremony with the Dust.

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Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, September 16, 2017

Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, September 16, 2017

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Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, September 16, 2017

Features

s

57-yr-old Nigerian found dead in trunk of own car in California, USA Ï Ɛ ƆƏ Ɠ ƌ Ƈ Ƒ Ɨ ƗƆ Ɨ ƈ nêdê ƐƆƋ ƇƏƆƆƖƆƏ

Tete picured in his studio shortly before his murder

Jenkins found dead inside a walk in freezer

Gods Covenant Snr, Lagos A Nigerian musician and music producer, Mr. Beddof Tete, better known as “Tete B”, has been found dead in the trunk of his car in California, United States, last month, a report from the Sheriff ’s office has revealed.

A detailed search for identification of the corpse led the US police to Tete’s elder brother in Lagos, a journalist who confirmed the diseased was his immediate younger brother.

Officer Cindy, of the California Sheriff ’s office who broke the news on phone, said police on patrol spotted a car parked off the roadside in the morning, but when the car remained unmoved towards the evening, they had a look over. A close check found a body, stripped naked in the trunk of the car.

“It looked like he was despondent,” Cindy said. “Upon investigation, we found he drove 200 miles away from where he was staying and apparently just parked here and took his life.

We actually took notice of it a few days later.”

Police report said they suspect Beddof probably took his life as there was no sign of foul play. “However we cannot be absolutely sure until after the doxology report is made available to us.” The report, when

it came three days later, confirmed the presence of opium and some alcohol.

But a Nigerian in the know who spoke to the family said he believes a crime took place, but it’s in the character of the US police to conclude circumstances like this as suicide.

“I told Officer Cindy that the Beddof I know, that I spoke to recently, would not be in that state of mind to take his own life. I can tell you that the reason Cindy and the California police jumped to that conclusion is not unusual in this country.

“If you don’t have money, if you don’t have people, even when you’re sick, they may take care of you at the hospital but not as good as they would if you had insurance. They will not go out of their way to investigate the death of a person who’s not a resident of the city.

They would first, this man is not even an American citizen, he may not even have papers so they will not even bother to waste their resources in investigating the death. So there was a crime; the person who did it knew what he was doing. They found his body in the trunk of his car without clothes; now, why would he do that? Beddof just bought the car about two weeks before he was found dead.”

Another close friend of Beddof, Edi Kritz Okri said the diseased worked with a Nigerian who owned a security outfit and was owed many months wages and they had disagreements over that. “I know he is behind the death of Beddof because he used Beddof ’s name to borrow money without Beddof ’s knowledge A funeral service was held for the late Beddof at Victoria Christian Intl Ministries on 27th August, 2017 in Sacramento CA95823.

Beddof Tete, a native of Erho-Abraka in Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State left for the United States about 23 years ago and was not communicating with his family members. It is unclear if he had children as he was not attached to any woman all his time in the United States. Efforts are ongoing to unlock his cellphone in the hope of tracing his contacts in Port Harcourt where he played in a popular hotel in the early 1990s.

Jenkins found dead inside a walk-in freezer Back in Chicago, also in the U.S, the body of 19-year-old Kenneka Jenkins, was discovered Sunday morning in the freezer at Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare Hotel and Conference Center in Rosemont, 17

miles southeast of Chicago.

Chicago police said on Wednesday that they are investigating a Facebook Live video of a woman was discovered dead inside a walk-in freezer in a Chicago hotel in the U.S. According to Fox News, Jenkins was last seen attending a party at the hotel, and her mother, Tereasa Martin, said her daughter was intoxicated before stumbling into the freezer.

Few details have emerged about the night, but police has said they were investigating a Facebook Live video, which has been viewed more than three million times, that showed Jenkins in a ninth-floor hotel room.

“Yes, they’ve looked at it and continue to look at it and all the other social media videos and posts,” Gary Mack, village of Rosemont spokesman, told the Chicago Tribune on Monday.

“I don’t think anything has been ruled in or ruled out at this point,” Mack said. “It’s just considered a death investigation at this point.”

A toxicology test is being conducted after an autopsy failed to determine Jenkins’ cause of death. Martin previously said she was “horrified” by her daughter’s death, saying it was “something that no one could ever imagine.” She recalled not

knowing about the hotel party until Jenkins’ friends called her early Saturday morning. Her friends’ accounts of what happened changed within hours, Martin said.

Martin questioned police’s explanation of how Jenkins ended up in the freezer while she was drunk. “[Police] said she stumbled her way into the freezer,” Martin said on Sunday. “Those were double steel doors, she didn’t just pop them open.”

Martin also slammed the hotel for not taking immediate action when she approached them about her missing daughter.

She said the hotel only began reviewing surveillance video around 3 p.m. – by which time Jenkins had already been missing for hours.

The freezer was discovered in a section of the hotel that was under construction. Police did not disclose who found Jenkins’ body because of the ongoing investigation. The freezer was empty, but it’s unclear if it was on at the time, despite initial reports saying the appliance was on.

“If it was unused, I don’t know. Sometimes people keep refrigerators on all the time even if they’re unused,” he told the Chicago Tribune.

Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, September 16, 2017

Health 19

Foundation urges support for children living with cancer Stories by Angela Onwuzoo To reduce the plight of children suffering from cancer in Nigeria, a non-profit organisation, The Dorcas Cancer Foundation(TDCF), has called for urgent intervention and support for these children to enable them access quality treatment.

Every year, millions of children are said to be diagnosed with cancer worldwide; with more than 80 per cent of living in low and middle income countries such as Nigeria.

In Nigeria, about four children die of cancer daily - according to research and statistics - and this calls for urgent

intervention.

According to the Founder of TDCF, Dr. Adedayo Joseph, many Nigerian children are today dying in their numbers due to cancer.

Joseph who is an Oncologist explained: “These children are lost due to a number of reasons such as: late presentation as a result of ignorance, high cost of Cancer treatment, superstitious beliefs, financial constraints and lack of access and inadequate treatment facilities.

“In the presence of these inadequacies, the child is left alone as all the decisions are made by the parents”.

Based on the above challenges, Jo-

seph said his non-profit organisation is advocating support for children suffering from cancer in Nigeria and therefore, would be launching a Cancer Handbook Series to further provide assistance to them.

“TDCF is providing help to children coping with cancer in Nigeria and we at TDCF are task-ready to lead the pack towards Childhood Cancer Awareness.” At least four children die of Cancer every day in developing countries such as Nigeria. We are determined to create awareness as well as procure, fund or directly provide treatment and social support to children made vulnerable by limited resources”, he stated.

Fruit, vegetable consumption boost mental health

Fruit and vegetable consumption may not only be good for your physical health, it could also boost your mental wellbeing, a new study suggests.

A research by the University of Warwick’s Medical School, using data from the Health Survey for England, focused on mental wellbeing and found that high and low mental wellbeing were consistently associated with an individual’s fruit and vegetable consumption. As many as 33.5% of respondents with high mental wellbeing ate five or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day, compared with only 6.8% who ate less than one portion.

“The data suggest that the higher an individual’s fruit and vegetable intake the lower

Okada riders on restricted major road in Lagos Fruits and vegetables

the chance of their having low mental wellbeing,” Dr Saverio Stranges, the research paper’s lead author, said.

As many as 31.4% of those with high mental wellbeing ate three-four portions and 28.4% ate one-two, researchers said.

Other health-related behaviours were found to be associated with mental wellbeing, but along with smoking, only fruit and vegetable consumption was consistently associated in both men and women. Alcohol intake and obesity were not associated with high mental wellbeing, researchers said.

“Along with smoking, fruit and vegetable consumption was the health-related behaviour most consistently associated with both low and high mental wellbeing. These novel

findings suggest that fruit and vegetable intake may play a potential role as a driver, not just of physical, but also of mental wellbeing in the general population,” said Dr Saverio Stranges.

“Low mental wellbeing is strongly linked to mental illness and mental health problems, but high mental wellbeing is more than the absence of symptoms or illness; it is a state in which people feel good and function well.

“Optimism, happiness, selfesteem, resilience and good relationships with others are all part of this state. Mental wellbeing is important not just to protect people from mental illness but because it protects people against common and serious physical diseases”, the researchers said.

He went on: “We are dedicated to improving early cancer detection, ensuring accurate diagnosis and enabling prompt and proper treatment of childhood cancer. We also carry out childhood cancer awareness programs to educate the public and reduce the stigmatization and superstition associated with cancer”.

He however noted that the good news about childhood cancer was that it could be treated and the result could be seen in the number of survivors as a result of early presentation and subsequent treatments.

“Like most cancers, the sooner childhood cancers are found and treated, the better”, he affirmed.

Researchers identify garlic as weapon against urinary tract infections

Garlic

Garlic extract may be an effective weapon against multidrug resistant strains of pathogenic bacteria associated with urinary tract infections (UTI), according to a recent study published in the Pertanika Journal of Tropical Agricultural Science.

Conducted by researchers at the Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences in India, the study found that “even crude extracts of [garlic] showed good activity against multidrug resistant strains where antibiotic therapy had limited or no effect. This provides hope for developing alternative drugs which may be of help in fighting the menace of growing antibacterial resistance,” the team states.

Urinary tract infection is the second most common infectious diseases encountered in community practice. Worldwide, about 150 million people are diagnosed each year with UTI, at a total treatment cost in the billions of dollars. Although UTI is usually treated with antibiotics, “emerging antimicrobial resistance compels

us to look back into traditional medicines or herbal products, which may provide appropriate/acceptable alternative solutions,” the authors argue.

Garlic (Allium sativum) has been traditionally used for the treatment of diseases since ancient times. A wide range of microorganisms - including bacteria, fungi, protozoa and viruses - are known to be sensitive to garlic preparations.

Allicin and other sulphur compounds are thought to be the major antimicrobial factors in garlic.

In this study, the team found that 56% of 166 bacteria strains isolated from the urine of people with UTI showed a high degree of resistance to antibiotics.

However, about 82% of the antibiotic resistant bacteria were susceptible to a crude aqueous extract of Allium sativum. According to the researchers, “ours is the first study to report the antibacterial activity of aqueous garlic extract against multidrug resistant bacterial isolates from infected urine samples leading to UTI.”

20 News

Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, September 16, 2017

Bindow has delivered as a state governor says Malami Tom Garba, Yola

ÏÏÏThe Attorney General of the Federation,Mallam Abubakar Malami has said Governor Muhammadu Umaru Jibrilla Bindow of Adamawa state has delivered in terms of security, physical infrastructures and the state’s Health System.

He made the assertion during a courtesy call in Government House Yola .

Malami said his coming to Adamawa has made him to witness tremendous successes in all areas and is proud to see the State becoming a dream land for everyone under the leadership of the Governor.

He responded after watching a documentary slice of the state steady progress since inception of Bindow as a Governor,asserted that the Governor much concern for the state is gearing him up to achieve all he was able to achieve in two years.

“Your contribution to the development of Adamawa is worth appreciating because of your gallant efforts, I encourage you to do more and to also extend your vision of

developing Adamawa to neighbouring states where they can also learn.”

According to him he knew Bindow level of humility will make him to achieve much more for the state in terms of Security, Health and Education.

He explained that by right Bindow would never want to spend more than four years in office, but because of how is committed in fulfilling promises he made to the people of the state they will certainly compel him to go for the second term.

Abubakar who led a delegation of State’s Attorney Generals and Commissioners of Justice for a two days meeting in Yola said Lawyers are responsible for enforcing of law and order,and they are in Yola to chart a better way for the country’s judicial system.

Gov. Bindow

IPOB /Hausa clash: Security on high alert in Kano Yakubu Salisu, Kano

ÏÏÏ

As a result of the clash which erupted between the Igbos and Hausa’s in the East tension continues to mount in some Northern states Kano inclusive.

Non Indigenes Residing in the state woke up this Friday apprehensive as a result of rumours

of reprisal attacks in the state.

Commercial Activities at the Popular Sabon Gari Market is paralyzed as many Igbos’ shops remain closed.

However, security personnel heavily armed could be seen on patrol while others are deployed to strategical locations in the state.

Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (left) acknowledging Cheers from the crowd after the Jumat, service marking the end of Islamic Calendar (Hijiral 1438), at Osogbo Central Mosque… on Friday.

Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede wins entrepreneur of the year award

Silvia Lambiase

ÏÏÏ

The Business Year (TBY) has awarded Nigerian entrepreneur, investor, philanthropist, and Chairman of Coronation Capital, Mr. Aigboje AigImoukhuede with its Entrepreneur of the Year 2017 award in recognition of his entrepreneurial drive and visionary leadership in Nigeria’s business scene.

In particular, special consideration was given to the exceptional results achieved IN 2017 by Wapic Insurance PLC, in which he is a core investor and Chairman. The award ceremony was held in Coronation Capital’s offices in Ikoyi, Lagos.

Despite the challenging climate, in 1Q2017 Wapic Insurance reported a 135% in-

crease in Profit Before Tax (PBT) compared to the same period the year before. The performance is a clear sign of the insurer’s consolidating position as the leading firm in Nigeria’s insurance industry and of its commitment to international standards, financial strength, and excellent risk rating.

A qualified lawyer, AigImoukhuede earned a reputation as a highly respected financial professional during his three decades as a banker, when, together with his deputy and business partner Herbert Wigwe, he managed to transform the-then failing Access Bank into one of the top-five banks in the country, before stepping down as CEO in 2013 and founding Coronation Capital, a successful Nigerian

private equity investment management and advisory firm. Aig-Imoukhuede is also the President of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the founder of the Africa Initiative for Governance (“AIG”), a non-profit organisation established to be a catalyst for high public sector performance and to inspire and support future leaders of the publ co-chairman of the UK-Nigeria Capital Market Task Force, while also sitting on the board of other management companies in Nigeria and abroad. Besides his activity in the financial sector, Aig-Imoukhuede is also actively engaged in many social and philanthropic initiatives.

Aig-Imoukhuede expressed his appreciation and stated his admiration

for international companies such as TBY that decide to enter the Nigerian market and commit to the country for the long term, showcasing the opportunities it offers to the investor community.

TBY a leading research firm and publisher of annual economic resources on national economies, is currently conducting interviews for its fourth annual edition on the country, The Business Year: Nigeria 2018.

Produced in partnership with the President’s office and the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, this issue will include face-to-faceinterviews with over 120 of Nigeria’s leading figures on the business,

politics, and economy scenes.

Epe landowners call for implementation of panel’s report Tawakalitu Atolagbe

ÏÏÏ

A group of landowners in Epe comprising of 120 families, the Eyin-Osa United Kingdom Development Association, (EUKDA) have appealed to Governor of Lagos state, Akinwunmi Ambode to implement the reports of the tribunal of inquiry on the causes of civil disturbances at the Lekki Free Trade Zone According to the President of EUKDA, Alhaji Muftau Shittu, Governor Ambode on 22nd October, 2015 inaugurated a 6-man panel of inquiry chaired by Hon. Justice Adesuyi Olateru-Olagbegi to investigate the causes of civil disturbances in Okunraye, Epe,

Lagos following the state government’s acquisition and excision of lands in Eyin-Osa, Epe, Lagos state and between then and now nothing has been done to remedy the situation.

While speaking recently with newsmen, Alhaji Shittu informed that members of Eyin-Osa residents who are largely farmers and fishermen have been deprived of their means of livelihood and are on the verge of being denied the lands bequeath to them by their forefathers without adequate compensation by the state government.

He added that “for the preservation of Eyin-Osa ancestral land, the land enumeration exercise which is to be embarked upon by Lagos government

to identify land owners and the level of development on such lands for payment should consider the actual lands being acquired by the state government while certificate of occupancy should thereafter be granted to the association to cover the 45per cent of the land excised.”

Commenting further on how government acquisition of lands in Epe have deprived indigenes of land possession and means of livelihood, Alhaji Shittu said “Between 1970 and 1973, Eyin-Osa lands were acquired for agricultural purpose by the Lagos state government but unfortunately these lands ended up being given to top government functionaries in the state. Meanwhile, these al-

lottees had no special project on farming other than what the indigenes had practiced. Secondly, in 1993, Lagos state government had removed the right of occupancy from land owners through the revocation in the official gazette no 20, volume 26 of 13th May 1993 while in the name of global acquisition, it has acquired the entire Lekki axis from Ajah up to Epe boundaries without due process of land use decree of 1978.

However, after various acts of acquisitions by the government, members of the association comprising 120 law abiding families are hoping and praying that Gov. Ambode will redress these injustices by ensuring that our ancestral lands are given back to us”.

Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, September 16, 2017

UN probing sex abuse complaints in Central African Republic

ÏÏÏ The United Nations

has commenced investigation of sex abuse allegations leveled against its troops in war ravaged Central African Republic.

According to Agency report, the United Nations confirmed on Thursday it was looking into allegations of mishandled or unreported complaints of sexual abuse and exploitation made against its peacekeepers in the conflict-torn Central African Republic.

The U.N.’s 10,000-strong mission in Central African Republic (MINUSCA) has been dogged by accusations of sex abuse since it deployed in 2014 to curb fighting between mainly Muslim Seleka rebels, who had ousted the president, and Christian militias.

The report further revealed that Internal U.N. case files handed to Code Blue, a campaign by a nongovernmental organization seeking greater accountability for U.N. troops, detailed 14 initial fact-finding inquiries into complaints made against

The Islamic State has claimed an attack on a police convoy which killed at least 18 soldiers on Monday.

According to agency report, medical and security sources say, the attackers managed to destroy three armoured vehicles and a signal-jamming vehicle near Arish, the capital of North Sinai province.

The attack turned into a gunfight and the militants also opened fire on ambulance workers, injuring four.

At least 18 policemen, two of them officers, died

N.Korea intensifies global security threat, fires missile over Japan Bonny Amadi with Agency Report

ÏÏÏ

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.

MINUSCA peacekeepers from nine nations.

Under U.N. rules, peacekeepers are under the exclusive jurisdiction of the countries that sent them to serve abroad.

Yet the files was alleged to have revealed that 10 of the 14 cases were handled only by U.N. personnel, without involvement of investigators from the accused soldiers’ home countries, and that in eight of the 14 cases, the alleged victims were not interviewed, Code Blue said.

“These 14 cases demonstrate that the U.N. filters

reports of complaints, usually tossing them out before the matters ever reach the competent authorities from troop-contributing countries,” said Sharanya Kanikkannan, a lawyer with Code Blue.

“This filtering ensures that there is no access to justice for the vast majority of victims since they cannot gain access to law enforcement authorities without first convincing U.N. staff to believe them,” Kanikkannan added in a statement.

18 Egyptian policemen killed by ISIS during attack on convoy ÏÏÏ

21 Foreign News

in the violence, and a brigadier general lost a leg in the blast.

Militants have killed hundreds of soldiers and police there since 2013,

North Korean President Kim Jong Un

more leadership role in the region.

China in turn favours an international response to the problem. The United States and South Korea are technically still at war with North Korea because the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended with a truce and not a peace treaty.

Meanwhile, Agency report said that North Korea fired a missile on Friday that flew over Japan’s northern Hokkaido far out into the Pacific Ocean, South Korean and Japanese officials said, further heightening tensions after Pyongyang’s recent test of a powerful nuclear bomb.

According to the report, Japan Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters in a hastily organised media conference that the missile flew over Japan, landing in the Pacific about 2,000 km (1,240 miles) east of Hokkaido.

Global outrage forces Nigerian army to probe ‘humiliating’ mistreatment of pro-Biafran activists ÏÏÏ Mass killings by Ni-

when the military, led President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, ousted Egypt’s Islamist president Mohamed Mursi after mass protests against his rule.

Egypt Isis

Raising concern over global security, North Korea early Friday fired missiles over Japan which landed far out in the Pacific. This followed recent test of nuclear weapon by the country.

The North’s launch comes a day after the North threatened to sink Japan and reduce the United States to “ashes and darkness” for supporting a U.N. Security Council resolu-

tion imposing new sanctions against it for its Sept.

3 nuclear test, its most powerful by far.

North Korea accuses the United States, which has 28,500 troops in South Korea, of planning to invade and regularly threatens to destroy it and its Asian allies.

U.S. President Donald Trump has vowed that North Korea will never be allowed to threaten the United States with a nuclear-tipped missile, but has also solicited, China to play

gerian troops drafted to the country’s South Eastern states, strong hold for agitation of the independent state of Biafra, has drawn the ire of the army.

Agency reports, on the evolving incident said that the Nigerian Army said it has opened investigations into what it said were excesses by some of its officers against pro-Biafra activists in the southern Eastern part of the country.

According to the report, the Army labelled a video containing graphic allegations of abuse and killings of Biafra agitators as humiliating and promised to ensure that military personnel responsible for such act

are brought to book.

A viral social media video clip showed soldiers ostensibly forcing protesters to swim in and drink muddy water at a check point in Abia State. The gun-wielding officers had the activists lie face down in the water bare chested, at a point they are seen whipping their victims with canes.

Any claim of rights violation would be investigated and when confirmed, appropriate disciplinary action would be taken against the erring personnel.

“The issue is being investigated with the view to ascertain the source and the actors in the clip. Our Code of Conduct and Rules of Engagement are quite

clear and any officer or soldier that infringed on any of such directive if found guilty, will face full wrath of the military justice system,” the statement said.

They, however, cautioned against what they described as planned misinformation and propaganda arrangements by the activists aimed at discrediting and creating disaffection for the Army and its work in the region.

The ensuing clashes led to the imposition of a threeday state of emergency by the state government.

Ahead of an announcement of the lifting of the curfew or otherwise, reports indicate that the agitators have burnt down a police station in the state.

Malawi erupts in protest over rising gender-based violence ÏÏÏ

Increasing gender- based violence in Malawi, has forced thousands of women to the streets of Lilongwe, protesting death of over seven women from domestic violence.

Women’s rights activists in Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe, braved hot weather Thursday to protest recent domestic violence in which seven women were slain or disfigured by their partners. The used the oppor-

tunity to create more awareness for women as well as demand for protection of women.

According to Agency reports, the protesters, many of them women, wore black attire, and at one point they lay in the street to symbolize mourning, chanting for support for their fellow women and solidiarity.

They carried banners and placards that read: “Violence against women is an offense, not a private issue,” “Ending gender violence starts

with me, I stand against it;” and “Don’t be silent, speak up against intimate partners’ violence.”

Incidents that triggered the protests included the death of a young mother who was killed by her husband in southern Malawi for refusing to open the door for him when he returned from a night of drinking; and deep cuts on the face a police officer’s wife in Lilongwe, who was beaten by her husband because he suspected her of dating another man.

Malawi-president-Peter-Muthalika-1

22

Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, September 16, 2017

Crime

s

Insecurity: Adeyemi College Ondo bans male entry into female hostel ‘Tosin Ajuwon, Akure.

The Adeyemi College of Education (ACE) in Ondo state has banned all entries into the female students hostel on campus.

Olaniyi Olaluwoye, Dean Students Affairs of the institution convey the message in a circular obtained on Thursday.

Olaluwoye said the ban was necessary for the safety and privacy of the female students residing in the hall of residence on campus.

He stated that the ban also covers both the visiting and non visiting hours on the institution’s campus.

“This is to inform visitors (with-

in and outside the college that it is no allowed for a male visitor to go inside the room of female students in the hall of residence”.

“Visitors are to meet with the porters on duty and make enquires about whoever they want to meet and such female student should come to the porter’s lodge to meet her visitors” he said.

The Daily Times gathered that the new decision was taken by the management of the school following the prevalence cases of kidnap of its female students.

Our correspondent reported that no fewer than four female students of the Adeyemi College had been kidnapped in different occa-

sions in the past two months from the campus.

Two of the students, Oladapo Blessing and Mary Oluwasemilore were later found dead in a tick bush by the police with their body already decomposed.

Investigation by the police showed that the duo were killed for ritual purposes while about four suspects were arrested in connection to the crime.

Another female student, Oluwaseun Mary Olaniyan, who had been declared missing narrowly escaped from the den of the kidnappers on Tuesday.

Miss Olaniyan, an history department student said she was

Suspects tell how he graduated from pickpocket to armed robbery Stories by Joy Anyim , Lagos A suspected pick pocket turned armed robber Ifeanyi Samuel 30 and his gang members are telling policemen in Lagos state police command how they rob residents in the state.

The 30 year old Samuel and other suspected members of his armed gang identified as Chidi Okafor and Ifeanyi Ohanuka were arrested by policemen attached to the Morogbo Division after they allegedly ran into a swamp during a robbery operation in the Morogbo Badagry area of Lagos.

According to investigation , the suspects had allegedly broken into an apartment and were attacking a woman but luck ran out on them when the woman raised alarm .

It was gathered that the woman ‘s cry for help attracted her neighbours as sensing that their operation had failed, Ifeanyi and his gang members left the woman and fled from the apartment.

However in their bid to escape,

they ran into a swamp and the residents who were chasing them caught them and alerted the police at the Morogbo Division.

It was gathered that one of the gang members escaped while the police recovered a locally made gun, three planks,a blade and one torch from the the crime scene.

The case was transferred to the Federal Special Anti- Robbery Squad Ikeja.

Samuel who claimed to be the leader of the gang said he started picking pockets and snatching hand bags.

He said “ I am from Abia State. I attended Okafor Secondary school in Abia State. “ My parents gave me N50,000 to start a phone accessory business after I graduated but I got more money and travelled to South Africa. I was in South Africa for about six months and to survive there, I got my self involved in selling hard drugs. “ I was arrested and sent to jail.

After serving the jail terms, I was released and deported to Nigeria last

The suspects, Ifeanyi Ohanuka, Ifeanyi Samuel and Chidi Okafor

year. I could not fend for myself so I started picking lockets and snatching bags at the Alaba area of Lagos.

“I was working alone but on one fateful day, I went to smoke Indian hemp at a joint called Abuja Joint along TV line in Alaba. I met Ohunuka and Okafor at the joint. We left together and I told them about armed robbery. I started the gang and recruited others. “ I was the one that pointed the house we went to rob. We used a blade to cut the mosquito net and we entered through the window. We used planks to climb the fence and entered the apartment before we cut the net. The woman we were about to rob started shouting “ thief , thief “ and that was how her neighbours came out and started chasing us. “ In our bid to escape , we ran into a swamp and that was how they caught us “.

According to the police, a member of the gang is still at large and the arrested suspects were charged to court on Friday by the the police led by the Investigating Police Officer Ademorele Toyin .

abducted by four heavily grown up men inside an Ondo state taxi service.

The young lady narrated how she also became unconscious after she boarded the taxi and woke up inside a tick forest.

According to her, the abductors fed her with stream water for eleven days while in captivity.

The female student also disclosed that she saw wealthy men driving into the tick bush to collect human flesh which was concealed in a cellophane bag.

She described her escape from the den of the kidnappers as “miraculous” noting that no fewer than five victims were still being

trapped in the forest.

Already, the Education Right Campaign (ERC) has called on the management of the institution to build up security to avoid incessant kidnap of students.

The group said the issue of security within and outside the campus mostly for the female students needs serious attention.

Owoyomi Damilola Owot, Coordinator of ERC in Ondo state who made the call in a statement, threatened that they would mobilize against the management of the school if a lasting solution is not found to the case of insecurity on the campus.

Eight arrested for fraud in Lagos

The suspect

The suspect

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Lagos Zonal office has arrested eight persons for Internet fraud.

The suspected fraudsters were arrested around the Egbeda and Agege areas of Lagos, after they had defrauded their victims whom they had connected with on some online dating sites.

The suspects, Samsonre Olujobi; 28, Abraham Sunday; 32, Gabriel Ayo; 25, Omotayo Raphael; 25, Semiu Olawale; 23, Dafe Onosigho; 27, Ewiolo Elvis; 32, and Usiaka Louis; 22, had used different social media platforms, claimed to be Americans and used different pseudo names to defraud their victims of huge sums of money in different currencies.

They were however arrested after information had filtered to

the Agency, who acted swiftly, monitored their alleged criminal activities and subsequently arrested them.

Evidence gotten from their emails contain account user names and passwords of their victims who are mainly Americans.

They had used names such Mau Rice, Melinda McGinnis, Abraham Raymond Dodson, Robert Mcintosh, Donald Great, Michael Black, J. Crabtree, Johna Kurz , Morgan Moore, Anthony Parker, David Smart and Alfred Norman.

The scammers who are experts at stealing domain names of persons and organizations also used their victims as money moles to transfer monies between countries.

The Agency said investigations is still ongoing and that suspects will be charged to court.

Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, September 16, 2017

Crime

23

Stories by Joy Anyim The Lagos State Police Command has arrested five armed robbery suspects who are alleged to have been terrorising residents of the Egbeda and Ikotun areas of Lagos.

The suspects - Rasheed Adekunle (61), Ayodele Ojo (50), Musibau Badamosi (60), Ayomide Ibile (32) and 42-years-old Kehinde Jimoh - were arrested after the police responded to a distress call in the aforementioned areas in the early hours of Wednesday.

The Commissioner of Police, Ag/CP Imohimi Edgal who paraded the suspects at the Police Officer’s Mess, GRA in Ikeja, stated that the suspects were arrested by a team of officers from Special Anti-Robbery Squad led

by Supol Alegbe Olumide.

Items recovered from the suspects includes one pump action riffle, four single barrel guns, 22 live cartridges and two expended cartridges.

“On September 6th, 2017,” he said, “We received information and a team of SARS personnel led by Supol Alegbe Olumide were dispatched to Egbeda Lagos. They raided and successfully arrested five armed robbery suspects.

Upon interrogation, they claimed to be members of a vigilante group but they could not verify their claim. Also, they were found to be in unlawful possession of firearms and reasonably suspected to be planning a robbery attack.

The suspects at the police parade

Grandfather, 4 others arrested for robbery in Lagos ÏWe are innocent, say suspects

On their part, the suspects denied any involvement in the alleged robbery incident.

Jimoh said he is a filling station security guard and was wrongly accused.

“That morning at about 2 am, Ojo who is a community guard came to the filling station where I guard around Ikotun area. He said he wanted to buy fuel and I told him we had closed and don’t run 24 hours services.

Farmer arrested for vandalising solar energy system in Lagos Men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps have arrested one Usman Jubril, a farmer, for allegedly vandalising a solar energy system installed in Badagry, Lagos State.

The suspect, who, at the time of his arrest was drunk, was apprehended after he slept off at the scene of the crime.

The suspect, a father of two named Jubril, claimed he acted under the influence of alcohol. He had gone to have fun at the school premises on September 2, while returning from his farm.

His confession: “I bought three bottles of gin and took them to the school to watch a football match. I drank everything and took 500ml tramodol. In that

drunken state, I threw a stone at the glass housing the solar system and it broke.

“I went inside the facility and slept off. I also smoked Indian hemp, took some alcoholic drink. It was the drink that affected my faculty. I didn’t even know how I got into NSCDC custody.”

The NSCDC Commandant in Lagos State, Tajudeen Balogun, said men of the Command had received several complaints about the vandalism of solar energy facilities in some public schools in the state.

He maintained that the arrest and possible prosecution of the suspect will serve as a deterrent to others in the same illegal act.

“When I came out to further talk to him, some men just came out of the dark and held me.

They said they are police men and that I was under arrest.

They requested for m my gun. I told them the gun was given to me by my boss.

“They said I belonged to a robbery gang and protested that it wasn’t true. I asked to get my identity card from my room and also call the filling station ManA suspect identified as Ahuja Sylvester was on Friday picked up at 911 Hotel, Warri, Delta State by the operatives of the Response Squad of the Lagos State Police Command.

The 30-year-old hotel cleaner was alleged to have defrauded a company of N2 million and attempting to collect another N500 million after hacking into the company’s e-mail address.

The suspect was arrested The suspect had sometime in April, 2017, hacked into the e - mail of a Lagos based company, posing as the Managing Director and instructing the firm’s accountant to disburse the sum of N2 million into the Access Bank account of the suspect.

The suspect, using the same approach in June 2017, again requested the payment of N500 million into a Zenith Bank account. The company detected this and quickly alerted the police.

The RRS Decoy team in their investigations discovered that the initial N2 million was withdrawn with a debit card belonging to Ahuja Sylvester.

Ahuja, in his statement to the police, denied hacking into the account of any company; he pointed to one Emmanuel, a friend of his, to be the culprit.

He stated that he met Emmanu-

ger but they refused and took me away. Since then, I have not been allowed to reach anyone. I know nothing about what they are saying and I am innocent,” he lamented.

Similarly, Adekunle, who is the oldest of the team said he belongs to O’odua People’s Congress (OPC). He said he had been guarding the Egbeda area for the past four years and that his gun was given to him by the

former Landlord Association Chairman, who is now late.

“I know nothing about the allegation and I am innocent. I was only doing my job as a security guard before I was arrested.

I am too old for such act. What I did not do in my youth, is it now that I am old that I will engage in it?,” he quarried.

The case is still under investigation.

How cleaner was arrested for N500m fraud

el, a National Youth Service Corper at his work place in April, 2017.

According to him, “Emmanuel, a Youth Service Corp member serving in Warri told me around April, 2017, that he was stranded and that somebody was going to send money to him.

He requested that I allow him use my ATM card because he couldn’t locate his own. I released it to him with my PIN. He told me that I should alert him whenever I received credit alert on my phone and I did.

I expected these transactions to have been completed after two days. After almost a week, I saw him and I requested for my ATM, he told me he was still using it. When I asked him again, he claimed he had misplaced it and that was how he never returned the card to me.

“When my salary came and I I approached the bank, I was told my account was having issues.

This was the moment I got to know my Account was used for fraudulent transactions,” he said.

Ahuja said since the episode, he could not trace Emmanuel again.

“I was informed he had left Warri

The suspect

when I started haunting for him,” he added.

Confirming the arrest, Lagos State Police PRO, ASP Olarinde Famous-Cole, stated that investigations was on going and that the suspect has been transferred to SCID, Panti for further investigations.

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All stories by Frank Jumbo with Agency reports rganisers of the Nigeria Professional Football League – the League Management Company (LMC) – has announced that the abandoned NPFL Match day 38 game between Gombe United and Wikki Tourists be completed on Saturday (tomorrow) at the El-Kanemi Sports

O

F

LMC hammer falls on Gombe Utd Centre in Maiduguri.

The match last weekend, had to be stopped abruptly by the officials when Gombe United fans began protesting after their player Maurice Chigozie prodded in an own goal. It will be continued from its discontinuation point behind closed doors at the neu-

alconets head coach, Christopher Danjuma has said his side are in a perfect competitive mood ahead of the 2018 Fifa U20 Women’s World Cup qualifier against their Tanzanian counterparts.

The nation’s U20 side are hosts of their East African opposite in Saturday’s preliminary clash at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City.

The reverse fixture clash of the qualifier is expected to hold in fortnight in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Danjuma said his side match plan is to win convincingly so as to make the reverse fixture in Dar es Salaam a mere formality.

“The girls are in a competitive mood heading into Saturday’s crucial clash against Tanzania right here in Benin City.

“The girls want to establish themselves firmly in the qualifying campaign by going all out to beat Tanzania with wide goal margin so as to make the reverse fixture in Dar es Salaam a lot cheaper and easier.

“We have been able to build a strong cohe-

tral ground in Maiduguri.

According to the LMC, Gombe United’s home ground, the Pantami Stadium, has been banned two years, will forfeit three points from the ones to be accrued in the NNL next season and a fine of N7m for failing to control their aggrieved fans who

encroached the pitch and hurled missiles onto the field of play during the game.

Victory for Gombe United will see Wikki Tourists currently on 50 points, join the Gombe-based team, ABS and Remo Stars in the Nigeria National League (NNL).

Also, defeat for Wikki will mean Shooting Stars also on 50 points, will avoid relegation. A win for Wikki will save them from relegation.

Wikki Tourists led 1-0 before the game was abandoned after 27 minutes.

WCQ: Falconets ready for Tanzania - Coach

sion among the players and I can tell you that this present crop of players will go places in their chosen career.

“I’m lucky to have some key players from the past U17 and U20 in the squad and their wealth of experience has proved quite helpful among the rookies in their midst.

“I think we are good to go and with the prayers and supports of Nigerians we will be able to earn

a landmark result.

“That’s not to say we are underrating the Tanzanians, no, this is an African qualifier there is no cheap nuts we respect every team.

“We know that even the supposedly weak teams once Nigeria is involved it has a way of charging them to action.

“That reality has always helps us to be on our toes to come out with our very best performance.

“I’m confident we will not disappoint Nigerians

Ndidi voted top tackler in premier league

in the qualifying clash on Saturday in Benin City,” said the head coach of Nigeria Women Premier League (NWPL) side, Nasarawa Amazons to supersport.com.

The aggregate winners of the two-legged qualifying encounter between Nigeria and Tanzania will face the winners of the clash involving Morocco and Senegal in the second stage of Africa’s qualifying series for the world championship coming up in France in 2018.

L

eicester City Young Player of the Year Wilfred Ndidi is the joint-top tackler in the English Premier League after the opening four matches, according to the official website of the Premier League.

The Nigeria international has clocked up more tackles than Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante and Nemanja Matic, who is Manchester United’s top tackler.

Ndidi has made 17 tackles, level with West Ham United’s Pedro Obiang, 4.25 tackles on average since the start of the season.

Cédric Soares (Southampton), Idrissa Gueye (Everton), N’Golo Kante (Chelsea) and Christopher Schindler (Huddersfield Town) round of the top six tacklers in the English top-flight.

Despite Ndidi’s all-action style, the Super Eagle is very disciplined as he has received only one yellow card, which he was shown in the 84th minute of Leicester’s 2-1 loss to Chelsea last weekend.

Ekpo

Ekpo Urges Eagles to ignore FIFA rankings

A

former Super Eagles player, Friday Ekpo, says the six-point drop of the country in the latest FIFA ranking was insignificant and urged the team to remain focused in their future outings.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Super Eagles dropped six places in the latest FIFA-Coca Cola world rankings in spite of impressive outings against Cameroon in the World Cup qualifiers The ranking released on Sept. 14 by FIFA revealed that the Eagles dropped from the 38th to 44th position with 695 points. Ekpo told NAN on Friday in Lagos that the team should be consistent, adding that the ranking was just a number.

“A lot of people have always questioned FIFA monthly ranking; but as far as I am concerned, we should not be bothered about that, rather we should continue to up our game. “The fact that we had a good outing against Cameroon in the World Cup qualifier doesn’t mean we will gain more points in the rankings. “But that notwithstanding, the Eagles should always be consistent in delivering good performances in every match they play,’’ he said.

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ENGLISH PREMIERSHIP… ENGLISH PREMIERSHIP… ENGLISH PREMIERSHIP…

25

Iheanacho

I’m not happy until I score - Iheanacho

K

elechi Iheanacho reckons that he is now in tip-top condition after playing for Leicester City U23s in their 3-1 win over West Ham in the Premier League 2 on Monday, September 11.

The Nigeria international will be hoping to make the match day squad when the first team make the trip to the John Smith’s Stadium, where they face Huddersfield Town in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon. ‘’I’m great and feeling good. It’s always good to be back. I had a long game – 80 minutes – and it was great to get that,’’ Iheanacho told Leicester City’s official website. ‘’It was a great game and I enjoyed it. It will help me get my confidence back. They really work hard and when I watched them, they’re like machines.’’

Iheanacho opened the scoring for the Foxes Development squad against the Hammers, and got on the score-sheet against tomorrow’s opponents in last season’s Emirates FA Cup while defending the colours of Manchester City. ‘’It’s always good to score. As a striker, I love scoring and when we’re not, we’re not that happy. ‘’It’s a great thing to score and I’m happy to get a goal and to help the team to get three points.,’’ Iheanacho added.

No retreat, no surrender with Super Eagles - Zambia Captain

C Eagles line up against Mali

WAFU: We did not play well against Mali- Coach Salisu

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igeria coach Salisu Yusuf admitted that his side disappointed the nation and didn’t perform well at all, but he urged his boys to man up and redeem themselves.

Super Eagles will play Guinea in next Group A match of 2017 WAFU Cup of Nations on Saturday September 16 in a must win encounter to remain in the competition.

Speaking to Fox Sports after a goalless draw aganist Mali,the local Super Eagles coach says he was dissapointed with the result and that they will now need to work hard to beat Guinea. “’We couldn’t play up to our standard although the team defended very well,” said Yusuf.

“We will work hard to win our next game because to qualify you need to beat the other teams. That’s the mindset – to be able to win our next game and the last game.

Nigeria will go into the match knowing well that their opponents are a wounded side after 2-0 loss to Ghana in another Group A match played in Cape Coast Stadium on Thursday.

hipolopolo of Zambia’s captain, Kennedy Mweene said camping in Europe will enable the team concentrate on the FIFA 2018 World Cup qualifiers against the Super Eagles on October 7 in Uyo. Mweene added that the Chipolopolo will enter the pitch and show the group B leaders, they meant business in their quest to earn a ticket to their first ever World Cup. A win for the Super Eagles will dash all hopes for the Zambians, while a win for the Chipolopolos will stretch the battle for the ticket to the last games. Nigeria will be away to Algeria and Zambia home to Cameroon.

The Zambians buoyed by their back-to-back wins against Algeria, will train in Europe and Ghana ahead of the game against the Eagles.

“We need this camp because we want to enter the pitch in Nigeria with unity and we need to show that we mean business “It is a very good idea. They did it with the U-20 and so for us to camp that side, especially the national team, we will be away from the pressures of the media and other things for us to focus,” Mweene said. “It will also help us further bond more as a team away from home especially with the new guys and the Under-20 players.”

Gero

Gero delighted with Europa goal

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Kennedy

ormer Flying Eagles striker Alhaji Gero has spoken of his happiness after he became the first Nigerian player to score in the group stage of this season’s Europa League and Champions League.

Gero struck in the fourth minute of stoppage time in Oestersunds FK’s 2-0 win over Zorya at Arena L’viv in Ukraine on Thursday after coming off the bench with ten minutes left on the clock. ‘’It is an amazing feeling coming up here and get

three points, great to score my first Europa League goal,’’ said Alhaji Gero to allnigeriasoccer.com. ‘’Of course, we have the chance of qualifying for the knock out rounds, we will see where we end up. ‘’I think we all believe on what we are doing and we all know that we are giving everything.’’

Oestersunds FK knocked out Turkish powerhouse Galatasaray, Fola Esch (Luxembourg) and PAOK Saloniki (Greece) to qualify for the group stage of the Europa League.

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EURO…EURO…EURO… EURO…EURO…EURO… EURO…EURO…EURO… EURO…EURO…EURO…

Zidane

Isco hails Zidane following contract renewal

I

sco paid tribute to Zinedine Zidane for his role in developing his talents after signing a new fiveyear Real Madrid contract.

The Spain international joined Madrid from Malaga in 2013 and has enjoyed an immensely successful time at the Santiago Bernabeu, winning 11 trophies with the club.

It was announced on Thursday the 25-year-old had agreed a new deal which will tie him to the club until 2022, rewarding him for becoming a key player in Zidane’s squad.

Isco has not always had everything his own way at Madrid, however, with James Rodriguez’s arrival in 2014 providing him with competition and forcing the Spaniard to accept a squad role.

But with James’ loan move to Bayern Munich in the close-season, Isco’s success in their duel was apparent and the Valencia youth product praised Zidane for his guidance during those more difficult periods.

“I’ve grown as a footballer,” Isco told reporters at a media conference. “I’ve improved, and perhaps I score now as I play closer to the area.

“Zizou [Zidane] has been very important. He’s put me there [in a more advanced role]. I’ve also had

to have patience when I didn’t have as many opportunities. But it has always been my idea to stay here and hopefully I do for many years.

“The truth is I’m very happy and proud to be able to keep playing for the best team in the world. Eleven trophies in four years is unbelievable – I couldn’t have hoped for more.”

Before Zidane’s arrival at Madrid, Isco was often deployed in a deeper role, a position which failed to make the most of his craft in the final third.

But Zidane refused to follow a similar path to some of his predecessors, another thing Isco believes Frenchman deserves credit for.

“The boss has been very important for me,” Isco added. “He has given me a lot of confidence in difficult moments, and I’ve responded to that’.

Isco signed off by explaining what Real Madrid means to him, and he was unequivocal about the stature he believes the club has.

“It’s hard to explain [what Madrid means] in words,” he said. “It’s the biggest club in history.

“Everyone wants to be a Real Madrid player. I’m lucky to here with the best players in the world.

Madrid has helped me achieve many of my dreams since I was little.”

Villa

Emery hails Neymar, Mbappe.

Carrico renews Sevilla contract

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Neymar

P

aris Saint-Germain boss Unai Emery believes his squad’s “good tactical understanding” has helped star signings Neymar and Kylian Mbappe to make a dazzling early impact.

The marquee arrivals found the net in the 5-0 Champions League thrashing of Celtic in midweek to continue their free-scoring starts to life at the six-time Ligue 1 champions.

Neymar’s opener at Celtic Park improved his tally to five goals in as many competitive appearances, while Mbappe boasts two in two following his debut strike in last week’s 5-1 league win over Metz.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s

home match against Lyon, Emery praised the attacking duo’s injection of class.

“They possess and add tremendous technique. They are progressing every single day,” Emery said at his pre-match press conference.

“For them, it is easier coming into a squad with good tactical understanding.” While midfielder Adrien Rabiot is likely to join Angel Di Maria and Javier Pastore on the sidelines this weekend, Emery hinted at the possible return of outcast playmaker Hatem Ben Arfa.

The former Lyon midfielder was restored to senior training on Friday after being banished to the reserves at the start of the campaign.

Carrico

evilla defender Daniel Carrico has signed a twoyear contract extension, tying him to the club until the end of June 2020.

The centre-back initially joined the club on a season-long loan from Championship side Reading in July 2013, before signing on a permanent basis the following year.

A Portugal international, Carrico was a vital member of Sevilla’s squad for all three of their Europa League triumphs in 2014, 2015 and 2016, playing in each final.

The 29-year-old was more of a peripheral figure last season under coach Jorge Sampaoli, making just six LaLiga appearances due to numerous injury problems.

But with those issues seemingly a thing of the past, new coach Eduardo Berizzo has tied his vice-captain down for another two years.

A club statement read: “Sevilla FC and Daniel Carrico have reached an agreement for the extension of the contract of the Portuguese centre-back, whose attachment to the club was due to expire this season, until June 2020.

Koeman

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ENGLISH PREMIERSHIP… ENGLISH PREMIERSHIP… ENGLISH PREMIERSHIP…

Madrid will be patient with Bale – Balague

R

eal Madrid will remain patient with Gareth Bale, and the Wales international will regain his previous good form, says Guillem Balague.

Bale has been jeered by Real Madrid fans at the Bernabeu in their last three home games for some under-par performances, but with five years left on his deal, Balague says the club will wait for his best form.

Balague told Sky Sports: “Bale has been booed in the last three games at home. Time to go? He has five more years left in his contract and Florentino Perez wants to wait for his best version.

“Firstly, he got injured in November last year and has not fully recovered his best form yet as it takes a while and also because he tried to come back too early.

Messi playing under new contract, says Bartomeu

B

arcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu revealed five-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi is already playing under the terms of his new contract.

While Messi agreed to a contract extension until 2021 in July, the Barca star is yet to put pen to paper on the contract with the LaLiga giants.

It has raised doubts over Messi’s future at Camp Nou following Neymar’s world-record transfer to Paris Saint-Germain.

Barca have continually reiterated that the 30-year-old will sign his contract and Bartomeu provided another update on Thursday.

“We will take the photo with Messi’s signature, hopefully before the end of the year, but the contract has been signed by his father, who has the power of his image rights,” Bartomeu told 8TV. “This contract is signed until 2021 and he is already playing under it.”

Messi has hit the ground running under new head coach Ernesto Valverde, scoring eight goals in all competitions.

He scored twice in the 3-0 Champions League win over Juventus on Tuesday, having netted a hattrick against Espanyol in LaLiga.

One player’s future who appears less certain is veteran Andres Iniesta.

Iniesta, 33, is out of contract at the end of the season and the Spaniard is still to agree to a new deal.

However, Bartomeu said Iniesta is set to stay, adding: “The agreement with Iniesta will be special, it will be different just because it is him, I won’t reveal exactly what because it is part of private negotiations, but with Ramon Sostres, we have been talking for a long time.u following Neymar’s worldrecord transfer to Paris Saint-Germain.

Barca have continually reiterated that the 30-year-old will sign his contract and Bartomeu provided another update on Thursday.

Coutinho

I need Toure, Guardiola admits

Poor form: Koeman to discuss with key players

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R

onald Koeman concedes he is “worried” by Everton’s recent form and will consult his senior players in a bid to find a solution.

The Toffees have failed to win any of their last five games in all competitions, not scoring in their last three, and were hammered 3-0 by Atalanta in the Europa League on Thursday.

Next up is a trip to table-topping Manchester United on Sunday and Koeman is hoping a meeting with certain members of his squad on Friday will provide answers on how they can turn their slump around.

He told reporters: “I’m worried after what I saw yesterday.

“I wasn’t worried after Chelsea [a 2-0 defeat on August 27]. The reaction should have started in the second half against Tottenham [last weekend].

“But that and the first half against Atalanta is enough reason to be worried.

“We had a bad run for a time last season, and I have confidence we can get out of it. We have one point less from last season from the same games v Chelsea, Man City and Tottenham.

“But yesterday was a wake-up call.

Guardiola

aya Toure’s chances of breaking back into Manchester City’s first-team have been given a boost after coach Pep Guardiola said the team “needs him”.

The 34-year-old has occasionally endured a rocky time at City since Guardiola’s arrival just over a year ago, with Toure initially caught at the centre of a feud between his agent Dimitri Seluk and the Catalan coach.

Toure then became an important figure for the remainder of the campaign when Guardiola restored him to the first-team squad in November.

However, he is yet to feature so far this season, as he was named on the bench for their first three matches before then missing out entirely against Liverpool last time out, reportedly due to coaching staff being concerned with a perceived lack of fitness - claims rebuffed by his agent.

Guardiola does not appear intent on freezing the Ivorian out this time, declaring him “exceptional”, but he would not be drawn on whether or not the midfielder will be in the squad for Saturday’s trip to Watford.

“We need him,” Guardiola told reporters at his prematch media conference. “I need him, the team needs him.

“He was so important last season. I admire him for what he has done in his career.

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REMEMBERING OUR FALLEN EAGLES

Remembering our fallen Eagles Ogedegbe

Yekini

Frank Jumbo

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ome died young; some passed away in their middle ages and quite a handful are still struggling today. There is no doubt that these Eagles, alive or dead gave us some wonderful moments in Nigerian football. From the 70s and 80s which many football followers believe to be the golden age of Nigerian soccer , to the present day, our dear beloved Super Eagles continue, against all odds, to bring pride, honour and happiness to our people.

This article is intended to honour those who have fallen and who will forever remain in our hearts.

Lawal

only 3 weeks and he thereafter separated from his wife. He claimed his wife was fetish and after their arrival from their short honeymoon abroad, he sent her packing. He went on to have children from other women, but none ever stayed with him. He was a very generous man to the end as he was always assisting his friend and neighbors in their time of need, He started playing at he age of 17 and he first club was UNTL of Kaduna. He left and joined Shooting Stars of Ibadan After a taste of continental football, he joined Victoria Sebutal and there he scored a totol of 90 goals in 108 appearances. He also scored Nigeria’s first ever goal in the world cup against Bulgaria in USA 94. His last club was Gateway FC and he thereafter retired to Ibadan where he passed away.

He was 48.

RASHIDI YEKINI Widely regarded as the finest striker to ever wear the Eagles Jersey, Rashidi Yekini was born on the 23rd of October 1963 in the northern city of Kaduna. He was the highest all-time goal scorer in Nigerian soccer history. Before he died on the 4th of May 2012, at he age of 48, he had played for many clubs at home and abroad, namely, the Shooting Stars of Ibadan, Africa Sports of Cote D’ voire, Spanish team Sporting Gijon, Olympiakos of Greece , Victoria Sebutal of Portugal and Julius Berger of Nigeria. It was to his credit that he bagged the highest goal scorer award with Victoria sebutal.

He died in controversial circumstances as he reportedly suffered from acute depression and other

Ilerika

mentally related issues. His neighbors at his Ring road residence however claimed he was a man that preferred to be left alone. He had dismissed his security guard some months before his death and not one single member of his immediate and extended family members lived with him. His marriage lasted

Emetole

Sam

STEPHEN “BIG BOSS” KESHI Stephen Okechukwu Keshi, popularly known as the Big Boss was born on the 23rd of January 1964 in the northern city of Azare in Bauchi state. His career as a footballer started in 1979 and was to span the next 19 years as a defender for both club and country.

A certified coach, he led the Super Eagle to the 2013 Africa cup of Nations in which Nigeria emerged victorious. This was undoubtedly the highest point of his career as a player and a coach. Apart from the Eagles, he also coached the National teams of Togo and Mali. He began coaching the Super Eagles in 2011.

Keshi went on to set a record as the only coach to qualify 2 African nations (Togo and Nigeria) to the world cup finals. He was one of the only two living men to win the prestigious Cup of Nations as a player and a coach. On the evening of 7th June 2016, in Benin City, Keshi suffered a heart attack and died on the way to the hospital. He was buried in his hometown Illah in Delta State. He was 54.

SAMUEL SOCHUKWUMA OKWARAJI Of all deaths of our late Super Eagles heroes, none was more tragic than that of Samuel Okwaraji, a midfielder with the Super Eagles. For one thing, he was tragically young and the nature of his death traumatized the nation for many years. He slumped at the National Stadium Surulere on the 12th of August 1989 in a world cup qualifying match against Angola with just 13 minutes of play left. He was later confirmed to have died of cardiac arrest. Autopsy reports confirmed that he was hypertensive and had an enlarged heart.

Okwaraji was luckier than most of his late colleague, 26 years after his death his bust still stands at the same stadium where he died. This was the nation’s way of paying tribute to a true hero who gave his life in he service of his country.

Apart from this, his portraits were displayed at the 8 venues of the 2015 Confederations Cup quar-

Saturday, September 16, 2017

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REMEMBERING OUR FALLEN EAGLES

Keshi

ter finals in Benin, Enugu, Lokoja, Abuja, Illorin and Makurdi. He was born on the 19th of May at Orlu in Imo State. He played for the following clubs- Dinamo Zagreb, Austria Klagenfurt, VFB Stuttgart and SSV Ulm. He had 8 paying appearances for the Super Eagled between 1988 – 1989 and scored one of the fastest goals in the history of Nations Cup against the indomitable lions of Cameroun.

HARUNA ILERIKA Haruna Ilerika was born in October 1949 and until his death on the 2nd of December 2008, he was the Lagos State Football Association Vice Chairman. He apparently died of natural causes having exhibited no outward signs of illness according to family members. He was however rushed to the General hospital in the early hours of that day and died shortly after.

Rumors had it that he had liver problems.

In 1970, Ilerika came into limelight when he led the underdogs Zumratu College to left the Lagos State Principals cup. Thereafter Coach George Penar of the then Green Eagles invited him to camp. He broke into the main team in 1972 when he played in the game Against Senegal just before the All Africa Games.

His exploits and dribbling skills contributed to Nigeria winning the Gold medal as hosts. He was also a member of the bronze winning Super eagles team in Ethiopia in 1976.

He was to go on to play out his remaining career at the Stationery Stores till his retirement in the mid 80s, MUDA LAWAL Mudashiru Lawal was born on the 5th of June 1954 in Abeokuta Nigeria and had no formal education. He trained as a mechanic and started playing soccer at an early age. Lawal made his debut into the National team in 1975.

Lawal was the Captain of the old Green Eagles that won the Nations Cup on home soil in 1980. He was to feature in 86 games for his country and only Nwankwo Kanu matched this record in the history of Nigerian football. He was the only player in Africs to appear in five consecutive Nations Cup finals between 1976 to 1984.

He was a member of The Eagles for more than ten years as Captain. He also played for the Shooting Stars of Ibadan, Stationery Stores and Abiola Babes.

He scored 12 goals in 86 appearances for the Eagles.

He reportedly slumped and died on the morning of July 6th 1991. He was 37.

ALOYSIUS “BLOCK BUSTER” ATUEGBU Aloysius “Blockbuster” Atuegbu was born on the 29th of April 1953 in the northern city of Jos. He was the youngest member of the famous Atuegbu

brothers – Mathew, Andrew, Nicholas and himself.

All of them were to have illustrious football careers.

He was one of the best forwards ever to play for the Super Eagles and was nicknamed “Blockbuster” for his ferocious shots at goal.

He played for the Eagles as a striker from 1975 -1981 and made 60 appearances scoring 7 goals. He was a member of the famous Nations Cup winning Eagles of 1980.

He was a stalwart for Enugu Rangers – in fact he was instrumental to the successes of the team in the 70s and 80s. He also played for the Mighty Jets of Jos where his exploits earned him a call-up to the national team..

After his retirement from active soccer, he pursued a coaching career and was a one-time coach of the Eaglets National U-17 ream. He also coached Keffi United until his death on the 25th of May 2008. After his death he was described by the former Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola as a prolific football ambassador. He reportedly died on his way to illorin to watch a match between Kwara United and Bayelsa United.

BEST OGEDEBGBE Best Ogdengbe was born on the 3rd of September 1954 in Lagos. He was one of the famous team of Eagles that won the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations.

Best Ogedengbe passed away while undergoing eye surgery at the University College Hospital Ibadan. He failed to come out of post-surgery coma and died a week later.

He played for 2 notable teams in Nigeria namely Abiola Babes and Shooting Stars FC of Ibadan. He was an extraordinarily gifted goalkeeper who man-

John Ene

aged to displace Nigeria’s first choice goalkeeper Emmanuel Okalla. His service in the national team spanned 3 years from 1980 to 1882.

After an illustrious career, he graduated into coaching and was Assistant Coach to Wikki Tourists FC and also Dolphin FC. He was also Assistant Coach to the 2008 National Football team to the Olympics where they won Silver. He died on the 28th September 2009. He was 55.

Atuegbo

KELECHI “CATERPILLAR” EMETEOLE Popularly referred to as Caterpillar in his playing days, Kelechi Emeteole was born in 1957 and succumbed to cancer of the throat while undergoing treatment in India.

He played for various clubs in Nigeria and was known for his rugged style of defense which earned him the nickname “caterpillar”. He was a member of the Eagles team to the 1976 Africa Cup of Nations in Ethiopia. He played a total of 17 matches for Nigeria and scored 4 goals between 1975 to 1977.

After his playing career, he took up coaching and he excelled with many clubs in the Nigeria league including the Super Eagles where he was Assistant Coach. He was also head coach of Heartland FC, Enugu Rangers, El-Kanemi Warriors and the National Beach Soccer team, the Beach Eagles.

Emeteole started complaining of voice problems in 2015 but was not particularly concerned because the problem had occurred before. Things went from bad to worse and he was finally diagnosed with throat cancer at the Lagos University Teaching hospital in 2016. He was flown to India in 2017 but died shortly before undergoing surgery which could have saved his life. He died on the 21st of June 2017. He was 66.

29

Balogun

JOHN ENE OKON John Ene Okon, a former Nigerian international was born on the 15th of march 1969.

He was a master dribbler who endeared himself to many with his skills. Tragically, Okon died on his birthday 15th March 2016 at the age of 47. He was a member of the Chile 87 squad and also part of the Super Eagles team to the 1992 African Cup of Nations in Senegal where they won the Bronze medal.

He played for various local clubs including Acada United FC, Calabar Rovers FC, BCC Lions FC and Akwa United FC. He also at one time played in the National U-20 team.

Before he died, he was the Head Coach of Calabar Rovers. Okon scored Nigeria’s first goal in the World Youth Championship in Chile 1987. He reportedly died of liver problems at the Universsity of Calabar Teaching hospital. He was 47.

WILFRED AGBONAVBARE Wilfred Agbonavbare was born on the 5ht of October 1966 in Lagos Nigeria. Before he succumbed to the deadly disease of cancer in 2015, he had played for various local and foreign clubs and was a goalkeeper for the Super Eagles between 1983 to 1999, He made a total of 15 appearances for the senior national team.

At the local level, he played for New Nigeria Bank FC and BCC Lions FC between 1983 to 1990. His foreign career began and ended in Spain with Rayo Vallecano FC and Ecija Balompe FC all in the Spanish 2nd division. He was always a reliable back-up to the then first choice goalkeeper, Peter Rufai.

After his retirement, he stayed behind in Spain with his family and got a job as a delivery man and also as a goalkeeping coach. Sadly in 2015, he was diagnosed with cancer and underwent treatment in Spain but lost the fight to the disease on the 27th of January 2015. He was 48.

TESLIM “THUNDER” OLAWALE BALOGUN Teslim Balogun was born in Lagos in 1927 and played as a striker throughout his playing career from 1947 to 1961. He attended St Mary’s Catholic school in Portharcourt.

He was nicknamed “thunder” because of his extremely powerful shots at goal. He played for local clubs like Apapa Bombers, Marine Athletics, UAC X1, Railway X1, Jos X1, Pan Bank Team, Dynamos Club and SCOA X1.

He played for the National team from 1948 to 1960 and eventually became the National Coach in 1968. During his playing days, Balogun won the Challenge Cup five times in seven finals with various clubs. He coached the Nigerian team to the 1968 Olympics where they drew 3-3 with Brazil.

He also played for the English team Queens Park Rangers and scored 3 goals in 13 appearances during the 1966 to 1967 season. He died peacefully in his sleep on the 30th of July 1972. He was 45.

The Lagos state Government built the Teslim Balogun stadium in Surulere in his honour.

ENGLISH PREMIERSHIP… ENGLISH PRE-

Saturday, September 16 2017

EXTRATIME

30

Llorente: Pochettino call swayed me from Blues!

Llorente

Stories by Andrew Ekejiuba with Agency Reports

F

ernando Llorente revealed a last-minute telephone call from Mauricio Pochettino convinced him to snub Premier League champions Chelsea in favour of a move to Tottenham.

The former Spain international made the switch from Swansea City for a reported £12million on deadline day and will provide competition for star striker Harry Kane.

Llorente, who scored 15 league goals last season, had been widely expected to reunite with his former Juventus coach Antonio Conte at Chelsea.

But the 32-year-old said his decision was influenced by a late pitch from Spurs boss Pochettino.

Mane unperturbed over Ederson incident

I’m focused on football than contract —Alderweireld

L

T

oby Alderweireld just wants to help Tottenham win trophies as he leaves negotiations over a new contract in the hands of his representatives.

The Belgian defender’s current deal with the Premier League club expires in 2019 and although Spurs can trigger a one-year extension, such a move would reportedly allow one of their key men to leave for just €25million.

Stijn Francis, the player’s agent, stated at the start of September that his client deserves “a correct contract” or a move away from the club.

A relaxed Alderweireld, however, won’t allow any uncertainty over his long-term future in London to affect his performances on the field.

“I am trying to focus on the pitch, trying to help the team, give my quality on the field – that’s important and the rest will come,” he said.

“I have my father and my agent who are sorting out that kind of thing.

“Me, I am here to play football, to win things with Spurs and to give my best for the team.

“I did that from day one and I will do it now as well.”

“At the very last minute, Pochettino called me and convinced me to join Tottenham,” Llorente told reporters.

“The truth is that Chelsea have been after me for a long time but at the end you know how this works.

“I am very happy because at the end everything came out perfect. Tottenham are an amazing club with a wonderful project and I think I fit in very well.

“It is clear that Pochettino played a very important role in the decision.”

Llorente debuted for his new club in Wednesday’s 3-1 defeat of Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, replacing Kane off the bench at Wembley.

The appearance marked the start of another chapter in the forward’s relationship with Pochettino, which began on his LaLiga bow in 2005.

Morata

Morata vows to lift Chelsea

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helsea striker Alvaro Morata sees no reason why he will not be able to reach the Champions League final with a third different club this season having done so with Juventus and Real Madrid in recent years.

Morata has enjoyed a strong start to life in the Premier League, scoring three times and setting up another two goals in his four appearances, suggesting he is likely to be a key player for the club this term.

Chelsea are back in the Champions League after failing to secure a place in Europe for 2016-17, a campaign in which Morata won the continent’s premier competition, appearing as a late substitute for eventual winners Madrid in the 4-1 final victory over Juve.

He also played and scored in the final of the 2014-15 edition when he was on

the losing side for Juve against Barcelona, and he is hoping for Chelsea to be in contention for the title in Kiev next May. “It’s an incredible competition,” Morata said.

“With all the teams I’ve played for in the Champions League, I have reached the final and I hope to do so this year too.

“It’s very difficult to win the Champions League, but I think we have a good team, and with a good mentality we can do good things.”

In all five of the goals Morata has been involved in, the Spaniard has used his head.

Now he is hoping to show off the finishing skills he possesses with his feet, while he also discussed how defences in the Premier League compare to those in Serie A and LaLiga ahead of Sunday’s clash with Arsenal.

iverpool star Sadio Mane is not going to let his collision with Ederson in last weekend’s Premier League defeat to Manchester City change his style of play despite leaving the Brazilian with several facial wounds.

The incident occurred when Mane chased a ball behind the City defence in the 37th minute and raised his foot in an attempt to nudge it past Ederson, but the goalkeeper got there first to head clear.

Mane’s studs impacted on the side of the 24-year-old’s face, drawing blood and forcing him to receive lengthy medical treatment before eventually leaving the pitch on a stretcher.

Referee Jon Moss produced a straight red card resulting in a threematch ban, for which the FA rejected Liverpool’s subsequent appeal, though Mane did express regret over the incident.

“I was going for the ball,” he said. “I didn’t have intention to hurt him because I am

not that kind of player, so I wish him a quick recovery.“I was focusing more on the goalkeeper than the card after the collision so when I saw the red card I was surprised because I was expecting maybe a yellow card.

I will accept it and try to forget.

“I think the next time I will get the ball before him, I will do my best. My intention was not to hurt the goalkeeper.

“It was bad and I wish him the recovery to come back healthy. I am happy for him that he could play again for City at Feyenoord on Wednesday and help his team.”

Mane

Saturday, September 16, 2017

EXTRATIME

31

FOREIGN SPORTS NEWS… FOREIGN SPORTS NEWS… BMW Ch/ship: Leishman leads as Mcilroy struggles!

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ory McIlroy’s defence of his FedEx Cup title took a blow with a one over par round as Marc Leishman shot nine under in round one of the BMW Championship.

McIlroy is 51st in the FedEx Cup standings and needs to be in the top 30 to reach next week’s Tour Championship, where the winner gets a $10m bonus.

But six dropped shots led to a round of 72 at Illinois’ Conway Farms Golf Club.

Australia’s Leishman hit 10 birdies to lead compatriot Jason Day and American Charley Hoffman by two shots.

Leishman dropped just one shot and looked in fine touch all day, hitting 79% of fairways and 89% of greens. He was five under after his

opening nine holes and picked up four more birdies on a bogey-free back nine.It was a continuation of fine form this year which has seen him win the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March and make the cut in all four majors. As the season draws to a close, the 33-year-old has six top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour.

That form sees him seventh in the FedEx Cup rankings prior to this week’s event, where players seek points to make it to the final Tour event of the season, next week’s Tour Championship in Atlanta.

McIlroy won the Tour Championship last year to scoop the lucrative FedEx Cup bonus but he has a lot of work to do over the final three rounds at Conway Farms if he is to qualify.

Diouf signs new Stoke contract

S

Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (left) will fight Gennady Golovkin (right) tonight in Las Vegas.

Boxing: Canelo, GGG set to light up Las Vegas

G

ennady Golovkin says his bout with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in Las Vegas today is the “biggest of this era”.

Golovkin holds the WBA, WBC and IBF middleweight titles, although if Alvarez wins he will not take the WBC belt, so that would become vacant.

Golovkin, 35, is looking to extend his undefeated professional record to 38 fights against Mexican Canelo, 27.

“It’s the biggest day for boxing, for this era - this huge history fight,” said Kazakh fighter Golovkin.

Alvarez is a three-time world champion in two classes, and his only defeat in 51 fights came against Floyd Mayweather in 2013.

His promoter, Oscar de la Hoya, says the bout at the T-Mobile Arena,

where Mayweather beat UFC’s Conor McGregor three weeks ago, will be “hell”.

“I don’t like to talk a lot. I’m prepared,” said Alvarez.

“I know what it’s going to be: a tough fight. That’s what I’m ready for. I want you to all enjoy it like I’m going to enjoy it.”

Mayweather won his 50th consecutive professional fight with a 10thround stoppage of UFC star Conor McGregor in August, in one of the most lucrative fights in boxing history.

“Right now is a true boxing fight,” Golovkin said. “I did not watch fight between Mayweather and McGregor because it is not of serious interest to me.

“If this fight was a charity fight, of course I would have watched, but be-

cause it was a business fight or a funny project it is not interesting to me.

“This is a totally different situation.”

Golovkin missed the birth of his daughter while preparing for the Alvarez fight.

He said: “My wife feels good and my baby is good. She understands my situation and that this is business.

“The last three months I have just stayed in the gym and right now I just 100% want to win and I give everything for this fight.

“I feel different, more true, right now my focus is 100% on boxing. I am very ready and very excited.”

Alvarez dismissed suggestions that the fight will be “overshadowed” by the Mayweather-McGregor bout.

Diouf

enegal forward Mame Diouf has signed a new three-year contract at Premier League side Stoke City.

Diouf has made 99 appearances scoring 19 goals - since arriving at Stoke from Bundesliga side Hannover in 2014.

He helped Stoke to three consecutive ninth-place Premier League finishes before they came 13th last season.

“Another top-10 finish is the immediate ambition but we should be targeting an even higher finish and success in one of the cup competitions,” he said.

“It’s a long time since Stoke City won a trophy and I’d love to be part of the team that did so again. There’s no reason why we can’t win a cup.”

Although a proven forward, the Senegalese has been used in various positions

by Stoke boss Mark Hughes.

This season, he has been filling an unfamiliar role as a full-back.

“I want to play as a striker but I’m a football player and will play wherever the manager asks me to and try and do my best,” said the former Manchester United player.

“I’ve been here for three years now and feel really part of the club. My family are settled as well and that’s really important to me.”

Sharapova blasts critics, denies drug cheating Stories by Andrew Ekejiuba with Agency Reports

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Sharapova

ennis star Maria Sharapova, who served a 15-month suspension for doping, has hit back at her critics, saying they “don’t have the facts”.

The former world number one was suspended last year after she admitted taking the banned substance meldonium.

She has been widely criticised. Fellow player Eugenie Bouchard said she should not have been allowed to return.

But Sharapova denied cheating and said she had put the scandal behind her.

In April, Bouchard had said: “She’s a cheater and I don’t think a cheater in any sport should be allowed to play again.”

But Sharapova replied: “I think those are comments not based on facts, and therefore I don’t take them into consideration.”

The Russian player, who has just released her memoir Unstoppable, My Life So Far, also took aim at Andy Murray. The

British player has previously said he finds it strange that there is a prescription drug meldonium - used to treat a heart condition commonly shared by many athletes at the top of their sport.

Sharapova said: “I don’t think it’s for them to really have an opinion, because they don’t have the facts. So, you know, I think that those are the types of words that make headlines and they will be used as headlines.

“But ultimately, this is my career, and I faced it head on, and I admitted my mistake, and I went about it and I served my suspension and now I’m back.”

She admitted making “a big mistake” by taking the drug, which she says she has been taking since 2006 for health issues. It became a banned substance on January 1, 2016.

However, she questioned whether it should be banned, saying there is “no proof” of its performance-enhancing effects.

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Business & Economy

Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, September 16, 2017

Promoting Made in Nigeria products as way to sustain economy Page B2

2 weeks in Dubai does not replace 20 months in Nigeria – Expert Page B3

Morocco’s admittance into ECOWAS’ll kill productive sector –MAN Azubike Nnadozie The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has opposed the admission of Morocco into the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The Association warned the Federal Government against supporting such a notion at its 45th Annual General Meeting (AGM), held on Thursday in Lagos, revealing that it will have a disastrous effect on the nation’s manufacturers.

Speaking through its President Frank Udemba Jacobs at the AGM,

MAN, said admission of Morocco into ECOWAS will be equivalent to signing the EPA through the back door. “We therefore urge the Federal government to vehemently oppose the move as it would spell doom to the productive sector of the economy” He further explained that: “We are aware that Morocco and European Union (EU) have trade agreement, which means if they become part of ECOWAS, products that come into Morocco from EU will end up in Nigeria, after all Nigeria is the biggest market among all these countries in the

ECOWAS, so we are vehemently oppose to Morocco being admitted into ECOWAS, it will really affect us badly, so we are telling our Government not to allow them become part of ECOWAS because it will badly affect the productive sector of our economy…come to think of it, why should they be part of ECOWAS? They are too far, ECOWAS is Economic States of West Africa, Morocco is not part of West Africa and they shouldn’t be part of ECOWAS” While lauding the FG for the introduction of some policies which have stimulated the economy, MAN

appealed that there are still three key challenges that have to be adequately addressed for the nation’s productive sector to boom.

The three major challenges, according to him are inadequate and unstable power, non-availability of foreign exchange for the importation of essential manufacturing inputs and the unrestrained high interest rates. He said with the prevailing double-digit interest rates, the Nigerian economy will continue to suffer decline. “Therefore we recommend, as the Association has done in the past and always, a single-digit interest rate.”

R-L: Head, Sustainability Banking, Chioma Obiakor, representative of the MD/CEO of Heritage Bank, Ifie Sekibo; Chairman, Cross River State Carnival Calabar, Gabe Onah; Deputy governor of Cross River State, Professor Ivara Esu and Senator Florence Ita Giwa, Leader of Seagull Band, at a symposium, put together by Seagull Band, one of the five bands of the Carnival Calabar, titled “An evening of lecture and stage presentation of the Seagull winning theme of the 2016 Carnival Calabar,” which Heritage Bank was one of the led sponsors on Thursday.

Relief for airlines as Aero set to commence C-Check maintenance

Chukwuemeke Iwelunmo

A huge relief is underway for airlines in Nigeria and some parts of Africa as

BUSINESS TIMES Business Editor Ganiyu Obaaro

Deputy Business Editor Azubike Nnadozie Asst. Business Editor Simon Ugwu Capital Market Editor Bonny Amadi

the country’s oldest carrier, Aero Contractors has been granted permission to commence C-Checks maintenance on some model of Boeing, the aircraft type that dominate the continent’s skies.

The series includes Boeing 737-300, B737-400 and the B737-500, airline operators has close to 30 of such aircraft in their fleet in Nigeria excluding the West Africa sub-region.

The certification is a major feat for the airline and the first by a Nigerian flag carrier haven received an Aircraft Maintenance Organisation (AMO) certificate from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Agency (NCAA), the same agency that granted the latest certification.

C-Checks are performed approximately every 20–24 months or a specific amount of actual flight hours (FH) or as defined by the manufacturer.

The maintenance check is much more extensive than a B check, requiring a large majority of the aircraft’s components to be inspected.

The check puts the aircraft out of service, and the aircraft must not leave the maintenance site until it is completed. It also requires more space than A and B checks. It is, therefore, usually carried out in a hangar at a maintenance base. The time needed to complete such a check is at least 1–2 weeks and the effort involved can require up to 6,000 man-hours.

Understanding different investment types, rewards Page B7

Unions threaten to ground local, foreign flights Sept 18

êÏ M L ƏƑƋƆ ƑƐ airspace closure

Chukwuemeke Iwelunmo Two aviation labour unions and affiliates of the United Labour Congress (ULC): National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) and the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP) have notified the Federal Government through the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) that they would ground the Nigeria’s airspace if their demands are not met before that date.

The unions gave the warning yesterday in a joint press statement on the strike action called by the United Labour Congress (ULC), stating that the unions will embark on a strike action starting from 6am on Monday being September 18, 2017.

In the letter addressed to the Director General NCAA, Capt. Murtah Usman, the unions lamented that government workers at all levels are owed months and years of salaries, pensions and various allowances stating that such situation will not continue in that manner.

The unions in the document jointly signed by the Secretary General of NAAPE, Comrade Ocheme Aba and Secretary General of ANAP, Comrade Abdul Rasaq Saidu decried withholding of the registration of ULC as a labour federation despite fulfilling all conditions stipulated by the law.

While complaining that the government has been neglecting the review of minimum wage, the aviation unions added “The factories in Nigeria and most other workplace have been manufacturing depots for fatalities and various unimaginable incapabilities.

RCCG moves to reduce youth unemployment Esther Taiwo Towards promoting the spirit of entrepreneurship among youth and arrest youth restiveness, the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), has announced that its forthcoming annual National Youth and Adult convention tagged Agents of Transformation would address unemployment.

Addressing journalists at the Youth Centre, Redemption Camp along Lagos/Ibadan expressway, the Assistant General Overseer on Young Adults and Youths Affairs, Pastor Peter Amenkhienan said the event slated for September 18 to October 2, 2017 will feature

national Youths Sports festival, Transformation Challenge and the Redeemed Initiative Skill and Empowerment (RISE).

According to him, speakers are drawn from across various fields of endeavours based on their achievements anchored on the seven mountains of the society which are religion, economic, education, politics, family and media.

Amenkhienan who spoke through the national Young and Adult Youth pastor, Precious Akingbade said RCCG is targeting raising leaders with character and integrity who will do their country proud anywhere in the world.

Business Review B2

Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, September 16, 2017

Promoting Made in Nigeria products as way to sustain economy Esther Taiwo The call for Made in Nigeria Products was again brought to the front burner recently at the 18th Mike Okonkwo Annual Lecture where stakeholders stressed the need to encourage the purchase of locally made products in order to sustain the nation’s economy.

A country’s development index can be measured by what it buys and borrows from other countries and by how it benefits its own people as well as how it impacts on other countries and world around it.

Nigeria is one of the developing countries ranked 169th out of 180 developing countries that largely depends on imported goods thus being in a state of trade deficit, rated the biggest tomato paste importer in the world with over $1 billion per annum.

History has shown that no country has ever become rich by exporting raw materials without also having an industrial sector because the more a country specializes in the production of raw materials only, the poorer it becomes.

It is also a known fact that an increase in the making and buying of locally made products would lower trade deficit and in turn have a positive effect in Nigeria’s balance of trade as this would reduce the need for imports because more products would be nationally sourced while there would be less money leaving the country.

According to the winner of this year’s essay of Mike Okonkwo annual National Essay for secondary schools, Miss Alexandra Nwigwe of Vivian Fowler Memorial College, on the topic, Made in Nigeria products: The Only Vehicle for Sustainable Development, investing in Nigeria made products would help the country out of financial crisis and boost foreign investment.

She noted that as of today, Nigeria is importing many products that it could easily make and if this continues, trade deficit is inevitable as a rise in locally made products would cause business expansion and an increase in both GDP and employment.

Corroborating her point, special guest at the annual lecture, Chief Executive Officer of Erisco Foods Limited, Eric Umeofia categorized Made in Nigeria products into two

Nike Akande sections which are: Nigerian products manufactured by companies owned by indigenous Nigerian citizens and Nigerian products manufactured by foreign owned companies.

According to him, obstacles towards sustainable development through developing Made in Nigeria

products include lack of access to enough foreign exchange which he said the Central Bank of Nigeria still operates a foreign exchange regime that largely favours importers to the detriment of indigenous manufacturers.

Other bane of promoting made in Nigeria products also

include lack of appropriate policy against dumping and importation of substandard and cheap products from countries like India and China among other Asian countries while bribery and corruption also hinders promotion of made in Nigeria products.

Other hindrances include multiple taxation by the three tiers of government which increases the cost of products and further makes the products uncompetitive compar5ed to the prices of products imported from Asia and some other countries.

Also, lack of infrastructure, lack of practical policy by government to deliberately encourage the growth of indigenous manufacturers the way it is done in other countries as well as policy inconsistency and policy somersaults.

On the way benefits of promoting made in Nigeria products, Umeofia highlighted increase in the level of employment generation, foreign exchange earnings through the policy of import substitution and leading industrial revolution as well as indigenous companies growing to become multinationals.

In her own submission, President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and former Minister of Industry, Chief (Mrs) Nike Akande who was the guest speaker at the event said Nigeria has always beenj dependent on oil as a major source of foreign exchange over the years.

She however noted that the latest experience which was

the sustained decline in global oil prices since 2014 that led to various fiscal and economic challenges such as the drop in foreign earnings, decline in foreign exchange reserves, huge financial bailout for some States in the Federation, unstable business environment and economic recession, has resulted to the need to change Nigeria’s development focus.

She advised that promoting Made in Nigeria should continue to be a priority for the government in response to the prevailing economic conditions adding that with more patronage, Nigerian manufacturers will be encouraged to improve the quality of their products.

“As the quality of our goods and services improve, local and international demand for them will increase. There is no doubt that the fastest route to grow our economy and to create jobs for our teeming population is by promoting non-oil export.

Export led growth will add to our foreign reserves and stabilize the local currency”, she added.

Mrs Akande also highlighted importance of patronage of Nigeria made products to include business success which in turn translates to higher tax revenues for government programmes, reducing carbon footprint, promotion of beauty and culture, helping local economy and economic growth and enhancing the velocity of money or circulation speed.

“Sustainable development that would guarantee jobs vary the economy, advance the standard of living, security of lives and property depends on the existence of a robust economic development agenda that encourages production and sustenance of local goods”, she said.

On his own part, the convener, Bishop Mike Okonkwo, Presiding Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM) said the need for the topic is to help Nigeria get out of its present economic downturn so that the call by the Federal Government to diversify the economy can be sustained through promotion of Made in Nigeria products.

The event also witnessed a cash flow as winners from the essay competition were awarded with cash prizes, laptops, computer sets, awards plagues and trophies.

Tours&Travels

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B3

Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, September 16 , 2017

2 weeks in Dubai does not replace 20 months in Nigeria – Expert …Seeks partnership with Tinapa, Obudu Ranch Resort

FACTS BOX

* Ejiogu has warned that except Nigeria imbibes the culture of maintenance. *Ejiogu has observed that two weeks in Dubai cannot replace 20 months spent in Nigeria. *Ejiogu disclosed, AGE can help boost tourism in Nigeria through facility management. *Ejiogu is planning to go into talks with major tourists’ destinations such as Tinapa, Obudu Cattle Ranch amongst others *Ejiogu said, the local tourists sites will begin to mirror the ones in Dubai and other advanced countries. *Ejiogu noted, Nigerian is one of those countries that don’t seem to have maintenance culture and Nigerians travel quite a lot. *Ejiogu pointed out that, “We should however, have it at the back of our mind that the bedrock of those prestigious building in Dubai, US, UK is maintenance.”

Ejiogu A Stakeholder in the Nigerian’s tourism sector has warned that except Nigeria imbibes the culture of maintenance, the country will not compete effectively with advanced countries like US, UK, Dubai amongst others CONTINUES ON PAGE B4

2 weeks in Dubai does not replace 20 months in Nigeria – Expert

Page B4

Lai Mohadmmed of Nigria elected UNWTO VicePresident till 2019

Page B6

4 Amazingly Good Nigerian Festivals Near You Page B4

B4

Tours & Travels

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, September 16, 2017

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, September 16, 2017

B5

Tours & Travels

2 weeks in Dubai does not replace 20 months in Nigeria – Expert Continued from Page B3 A Stakeholder in the Nigerian’s tourism sector has warned that except Nigeria imbibes the culture of maintenance, the country will not compete effectively with advanced countries like US, UK, Dubai amongst others Stories: Ebere Chibuzor Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of AGE Facility Management, Mr. Alex Ejiogu has observed that two weeks in Dubai cannot replace 20 months spent in Nigeria due to the fact that both environments differ in terms of comfort and relaxation.

Ejiougu who attributed maintenance culture to the disparity in tourism experience between Dubai and Nigeria advised that going to overseas to spent time in a nice environment only to come back home in a less attractive environment is not the best.

He therefore, advised Nigerians to imbibe the culture of maintaining their environments just as he advised that a partnership with major tourism destinations in the country would also help boost tourism and turn the destinations to international choice areas.

Mr Ejiogu who disclosed this in Lagos during a chat with The Daily Times recently pointed out that his companyAGE can help boost tourism in Nigeria through facility

…Seeks partnership with Tinapa, Obudu Ranch Resort tries.

He said Let them understand those things that are been done in those countries are paid for; there is a budget for it. They should understand that life is too short, if your environment is not sound, there is no point having a luxurious outside and having a poor condition in your bed room. So the quality of life is the subject of what one makes out of his or her environment. So environmental concern and ability to live right is something we can always see as a priority. Forget about spending money on things like that. Two weeks in Dubai does not replace 20 months in Nigeria. So it is better to look at where one spends much of your time and think on how you make it comfortable.

“So it is important that professional companies like AGE are

EJIOGU management. To achieve this, he disclosed that his firm is already seeking for services in Nigeria and that he is planning to go into talks with ma-

jor tourists’ destinations such as Tinapa, Obudu Cattle Ranch amongst others to find out ways to enhance their environments.

He said that AGE has the ca-

pacity to module their module their environment in such a way that the local tourists sites will begin to mirror the ones in Dubai and other advanced coun-

4 Amazingly Good Nigerian Festivals Near You

“Two weeks in Dubai does not replace 20 months in Nigeria. So it is better to look at where one spends much of your time and think on how you make it comfortable”.

Obudu cattle ranch taken to such places to make sure that they mirror the service levels that are being offered there; come back here and offer it to places like Tinapa. With such moves, everything will be available in Nigeria, not just because of the location, not because of the cleanliness but just because of the services. That is how tourism can only be improved.

However, that can only be achievable if companies like AGE are engaged by these numerous

tourists sites. We focus our attention on to detail that drives a mirror to international standard in services provision”.

AGE can demonstrate that what is achievable in Dubai, achievable in UK and US will also be achievable in Nigeria.

Therefore AGE has the right kind of skills to make sure that they get the best of their facility right.

We have references on what AGE has done at the interna-

facilities.

Advising those who develop buildings without proper maintenance, facility manager said Nigerian is one of those countries that don’t seem to have maintenance culture and Nigerians travel quite a lot. They go all these prestigious countries like UK, Dubai, US and stay in a very hotels. However, when they come back they learn that their own country’s similar projects may have spent about

the same money to do them, develop them but they are not being maintained.

It is like saying to them that we spend all these money in developing similar structures but we don’t have the strategy of maintaining them. We should however, have it at the back of our mind that the bedrock of those prestigious building in Dubai, US, UK is maintenance and that is why they remain what they are, why they remain five star, six star and 7 star.

Christmas is not far away and Nigeria has become a travel destination to watch out for! Apparently diversification of Nigeria’s economy “through tourism” remains the way to survive the current environment of global economic uncertainty. The influx of tourists have reasonably increased as governments at both the federal and state level in Nigeria begin recognizing the strategic importance of tourism and with this development, there has been an appreciable rise in the number of festivals organised in different parts of the country.

Calabar Carnival Tagged Africa’s biggest street party, the Calabar carnival is indeed one to look forward to every December.

This is because Calabar is a choice tourist destination in Nigeria and Africa at large. The Calabar carnival

Ugwudolo festival This remains the youngest and outstanding festival for the Evuazu people. Evuazu is one among the 10 villages embedded in Obeleagu Umana, Ezeagu local government area, Enugu State. The festival however, has been able to attracts huge number of tourists from every nook and cranny of the world. It is exclusive for the men. While these men are involved in masquerade, their wives remain at home, preparing food for their husbands throughout the Ugwudolo Okochi festival.

tional levels. So it is a question of getting the right people that get the right type of priorities, that got the type of passion of what they want to do in their country and AGE will help them in alliance partnership to achieve that.

Ejiogu who is also the Managing Director, Clarion Logistics Limited advised Nigerians that they can equally get what they are getting in Dubai, US and UK if only they can maintain their

train converges at the U.J. Esuene stadium after revellers have walked for 12 kilometres from the starting point at the Millennium Park each year. Participants adorn gorgeous attires to outshine other teams and gyrate to vibrant music all day long.

Ofala festival Ojude Oba Festival On the last day of the Eid El Fitri celebrations, sons and daughters of Ijebu heritage as well as visitors from far and near troop into Ijebu Ode in Ogun state to

mark the Ojude Oba festival. The pomp and pageantry that trails this festival are simply amazing. The activities list includes skilful horse riding, gunshots, parade by different age grades (regbe regbe), food and music.

The Ofala festival is held across South-East Nigeria but most celebrated in Onitsha, Anambra state.

The aim of the festival is to preserve the culture and traditions of the Igbos.

The event takes place at the palace of the Obi of Onitsha – Igwe Nnayelugo Nnaemeka Achebe for two days as rites cleansing the land are performed amidst music and dance.

Interestingly, this is the only time of the year the people can mingle with their Igwe.

Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, September 16, 2017

Stories by Ebere Chibuzor The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has been elected Vice President of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) General Assembly.

Mohammed, who represents Nigeria, was elected by acclamation to speak for Africa, alongside Cape Verde, at the 22nd General Assembly of the UNWTO, which opened in Chengdu, China, on Wednesday.

His election followed the country’s unopposed nomination by the UNWTO Commission on Africa (CAF), which met a day earlier. China was elected President of the Assembly.

Reacting to the election, the Minister said: ”To be called upon to serve as a Vice President of the General Assembly of the UNWTO is a very big honour to Nigeria. ”It has proven one thing, that in the last two years, we have succeeded in pushing tourism

B6 Tourism

Lai Mohadmmed of Nigria elected UNWTO Vice- President till 2019

Lai Mohammed

and the Creative Industry as a whole from the back burner to the front burner from a side is-

sue to the main issue. This has also been noticed by the global community and I feel highly

gratified by it.”

Nigeria, which will serve on the UNWTO General Assembly

until 2019, will host the 61st edition of the UNWTO CAF Meeting in Abuja 4th-6th June 2018.

iSimangaliso Wetland Park: South Africa’s coastal jewel The iSimangaliso Wetland Park is one of the jewels of South Africa’s coastline, with a unique mosaic of ecosystems – swamps, lakes, beaches, coral reefs, wetlands, woodlands, coastal forests and grasslands – supporting an astounding diversity of animal, bird and marine life.

Dawn over Lake St Lucia seen from Fanies Island in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, South Africa’s first Unesco World Heritage site. (Image: South African Tourism) Formerly known as the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, iSimangaliso was renamed in the early millennium to better reflect its African identity – and to avoid confusion with the Caribbean island country St Lucia.

Lying on the northeastern coast of KwaZulu-Natal, stretching from Kozi Bay in the north to Cape St Lucia in the south, the iSimangaliso Wetland Park was the first site in South Africa to be inscribed on the World Heritage List by Unesco, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.

Remarkable diversity iSimangaliso’s uniqueness lies in its remarkable diversity, particularly its combination of a subtropical coastline and a clas-

sic African game park.

It is South Africa’s third-largest national park. It runs along 280 kilometres of coastline, from the Mozambican border in the north to Mapelane south of the St Lucia estuary. The park is home to some 328 000 hectares of pristine natural ecosystems – including swamps, lake systems, beaches, coral reefs, wetlands, woodlands and coastal forests.

A satellite view of Lake St Lucia, a 60-kilometre estuary lying just inland of KwaZulu-Natal’s Indian Ocean coast, and the wider iSimangaliso Wetland Park. (Image: Nasa Earth Observatory) iSimangaliso Wetland Park includes a river mouth, 60 kilometres wide, that creates a huge

estuary. This is Lake St Lucia, which runs parallel to the coast and is separated from the sea by the world’s highest forested sand dunes. The lake is part of the St Lucia estuarine system, the largest estuarine system in Africa.

The park incorporates the whole of Lake St Lucia, the St Lucia and Maputaland Marine Reserves, the Coastal Forest Reserve and the Kosi Bay Natural Reserve.

The 40 000-hectare Mkuzi Game Reserve is also in the process of being incorporated into the park.

Variety of ecosystems iSimangaliso’s wide variety of ecosystems and natural habitats provides for an astounding diversity of species in the area.

With its lakes, lagoons, fresh-

water swamps and grasslands, iSimangaliso supports more species of animal than the betterknown and much larger Kruger National Park and Okavango Delta. It is home to South Africa’s largest population of hippos and crocodiles. It also harbours giant leatherback turtles, black rhino, leopards, and a vast array of bird and marine life.

A baby hippo in the iSimangaliso wetlands. The park is home to South Africa’s largest population of hippos. (Image: South African Tourism) According to the Global Nature Fund’s Living Lakes project, more than 530 species of birds use the wetland and other areas of the Lake St Lucia region. “These

waters also are graced by 20 000 greater flamingos, 40 000 lesser flamingoes, as well as thousands of ducks. With 36 species, this area has the highest diversity of amphibians in South Africa.

“Here, and nowhere else in the world, can one find hippopotamuses, crocodiles and sharks sharing the same waters.”

In proclaiming the iSimangaliso Wetland Park a World Heritage Site in 1999, Unesco said: “The interplay of the park’s environmental heterogeneity with major floods and coastal storms, and a transitional geographic location between sub-tropical and tropical Africa, has resulted in exceptional species diversity and ongoing speciation.

Business Interview B7

Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, September 16, 2017

How bank directors’ dismal stakes deter local investors Afolabi Adesola A company’s director is an appointed or elected member of the board of directors who, with other directors, has the responsibility for determining and implementing the company’s policy.

He/she does not have to be a stockholder (shareholder) or an employee of the firm, and may only hold the office of director. Directors act on the basis of resolutions made at directors’ meetings, and derive their powers from the corporate legislation and from the company’s articles of association.

There is a popular saying which goes thus, “Put your money where your mouth is”.

This saying typically means, show by your actions and not just your words that you support or believe in something.

An investigation into how much belief or confidence some of Nigerian Bank directors repose on their organizations has revealed that quite a number of them have surprisingly dismal stakes in the banks they head, leaving investors to wonder how ready, they truly are in improving the fortunes of these organizations.

In analyzing the financial positions of six of Nigeria’s bank chairmen, namely Access Bank, Fidelity Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, Sterling Bank, United Bank for Africa and Zenith Bank, for the period ended 30th June 2017, DAILY TIMES gathered that none of the chairmen of each of the bank had more than 6 per cent stake in their respective companies except for two.

Guaranty Trust Bank’s Osaretin A Demuren had the lowest stake of all the Chairmen of the board of directors with less than 0.001 per cent. Her direct and indirect shareholding as at 30thJune 2017 amounted to 356,581 units worth about N13.7million, given GTB’s 7th September’s share price of N38.54 per share.

Following her closely, was Access Bank’s Belo Olusoga with 0.013 per cent in the company.

Total holdings amounted to 3.6m units valued at N34.6m, with Access’ share price of N9.6 as at 7thSeptember 2017.

Although, the choice of investment is altogether

Osaretin personal. The only regulatory inhibition for owning shares in listed companies dictated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is that one person (single individual) may not own more than 10 per cent stake in any given listed company.

Meanwhile, further, checks revealed that Fidelity Bank’s Chairman, Ernest Ebi has an investment in Fidelity worth about N10m. His stake in the company as at 30 June 2017 stood

Jim-Ovia at 0.03 per cent and Sterling Bank’s Asue Ighodalo owned 0.2 per cent stake with his investment worth N56.8m.

Speaking with our capital market correspondent, a financial analyst and capital market expert wondered why the investment by directors in their respective firms were so low.

According to him, the level of investment a director has in a company shows you the level of interest he/she has in that

organization.

“When you see a director buying a lot of shares about a company, it says a lot about the company. It shows that they are ready to work and give their best to the organization.”

“In this part, we don’t take this kind of things of seriously, but it will be advisable if the regulatory authorities can encourage the directors to invest more in their companies.

It will send the right signals to especially local investors and

further strengthen Nigeria’s capital market.” He said The DAILY TIMES findings, however, revealed that United Bank for Africa’s (UBA) Tony Elumelu is one of the top two directors who has a significant measure of investment in the bank at 5.7 percent. Elumelu’s combined direct and indirect holdings as at 30th June 2017 stood at 2.1bn units valued at N18.3bn as at 7th September 2017.

The top bank director with the highest stake in his business is Zenith Bank’s Jim Ovia with a whopping 9.4 per cent equity stake. Ovia’s total holdings stand at 2.95bn units valued at almost N70bn as at 7th September as well.

A more deep seated saying suggests that passion is easily identified in situations with high stakes involved and issues with high stakes are also more likely to involve powerful emotions and strong impulses to action.

Even though most stocks have been analysed by market experts as trading below their intrinsic values, a welcome step towards further boosting investor confidence could be at the fingertips of these companies, if actions by their directors point investors towards a brighter path for corporate, economic and national development.

v

Personal Finance B8 Bonny Amadi Though resources are scarce and economic environment continues to bite harder, yet people focused on safeguarding their future, ensure that irrespective of what they earn, a portion of it is kept aside for future use, in a form of investment.

For one to make any form of investment, money must be involved, exchange hands for instrument/s expected to produce future income. Investment, as the dictionary defines it, is something that is purchased with money that is expected to produce income or profit. Investments can be broken into three basic groups: ownership, lending and cash equivalents.

Meanwhile, it should be internalized that making money through investing requires researching and evaluating different investments, not simply knowing what is and is not an investment. However, being able to differentiate between an investment and a purchase is an essential first step.

There are three main classes of investments, which however have sub divisions, Andrew Beattie among other experts in their various writings, defined the three types of Investments, as enumerated by the Daily Times Nigeria.

Possession, ownership Investments This type of investments are investments calls for mind anytime investment is mentioned, yet they are the most volatile and profitable class of investment.

Examples of ownership investments are stocks, business, real estate, and precious objects.

Stocks Stocks are certificates that gives the owners, right to portion of a company. All traded securities, from futures to currency swaps, are ownership investments, even though all you may own is a contract. When one buys one of these investments, he person secures right to a portion of a company’s value. Loss, gain or a right to carry out a certain action in the case of a futures contract.

The stock holders’ expectation of profit is realized or not attained, is based on how the market values the asset.

For instance, if you own shares in GTBank and the bank posts a high profit, other investors will want GTBank shares too and their demand, increasing demand for shares drives up the price, increasing your share price and the profit you will make if you choose to sell your GTBank shares..

Business (Entrepreneurship)

Daily Times Nigeria Saturday, September 16, 2017

Understanding different investment types, rewards

Otherwise called entrepreneurship, the money you deploys into starting and running your own business is an investment. Entrepreneurship as your own boss remains one of the hardest investments to make since it requires more than just money.

It is also an ownership investment with extremely large potential returns. By creating a product or service and selling it to people who want it, entrepreneurs can make huge personal fortunes. Aliko Dangote, president of Dangote group is a key example of successful entrepreneur.

Real Estate Houses, apartments or other dwellings that one buys to rent out or repair and resell are investments. The house you live in, however, is a different matter because it is filling a basic need.

The house you live in fills your need for shelter and, although it may appreciate over time, it shouldn’t be purchased with an expectation of profit. The mortgage meltdown of 2008 and the underwater mortgages it produced are a good illustration of the dangers in considering your primary residence an investment.

Precious Objects Precious objects investments include Gold, Da Vinci paintings and a signed LeBron James jersey can all be considered an ownership investment, so far the objects are bought with the

intention of reselling them for a profit.

Precious metals and collectibles are however, not necessarily a good investment for a number of reasons, but they can be classified as an investment nonetheless. Like a house, they have a risk of physical depreciation (damage) and require upkeep and storage costs that eats into eventual profits.

Lending Investments Lending investments are the type of savings that allow you to be the bank. They tend to be of lower risk than ownership investments and also gives less returns as a result.

A bond issued by a company will pay a set amount over a certain period, while during the same period the stock of a company can double or triple in value, paying far more than a bond - or it can lose heavily and go bankrupt, in which case bond holders usually still get their money and the stockholder often gets nothing.

Savings Account Having a savings accounts falls under personal finance investment. Even if you have nothing but a regular savings account, you can as well assume the status of investor.

By saving in a bank, you are basically lending money to the bank, which it will dole out in the form of loans. The return is pitiful, but the risk is also next to nothing because of the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation

(NDIC) that guarantees a portion of your savings in the bank.

Bonds Bond is a wide-ranging category for a variety of investments in bonds. This form of investment cut across Treasuries, federal government savings bonds, municipal bonds, corporate bonds and international debt issues to corporate junk bonds and credit default swaps (CDS).

The risks and returns from investment in bonds vary widely between the different types of bonds, but overall, lending investments pose a lower risk and provide a lower return than ownership investments.

Cash Equivalents This is the type of investment that are “as good as cash,” which means they’ are freely reconverted back into cash. Examples of such investments are enumerated below.

Money Market Funds With money market funds in Nigeria guarantee fixed higher returns which is not so in many advanced economies.

Money market funds are also more liquid than other investments, meaning you can write checks out of money market accounts just as you would with a checking account.

(For more on black swan events, see Black Swan Events and Investing.)

Close, but Not Quite Your education is called an

investment and many times, it does help you earn a higher income. A case could be made for you “selling” your education like a small business service in return for income like an ownership investment.

The reason it’s not technically an investment is a practical one. Andrew Beattie, assessment of this said “while For the sake of clarity, we need to avoid the ad absurdity of having everything be classified as an investment. We’d be “investing” every time we bought an item that could potentially make us more productive, such as investing in a stress ball to squeeze or a cup of coffee to wake you up.

It is the attempt to stretch the meaning of investment to purchases, rather than education, which has obscured the meaning” None Investments Consumer purchases - beds, cars, TVs and anything that naturally depreciates with use and time- are not considered as investments. For instance, one does not invest in a good night’s sleep by buying a pillow.

Unless one is very famous for such personal belongings to be auctioned for huge sums, it is invariably not rewarding to brand personal effects as investments.

Conclusion There are three types of investments: ownership, lending and cash equivalents. There is no fourth category of consumer purchases.

Life&

TIMES Saturday, September 16, 2017

Meet 15 Nollywood sexy mothers L2

P

L2

Daily Times Nigeria

Saturday, September 16, 2017

Meet 15 Nollywood sexy mothers

Genevieve Nnaji

Liz Anjorin

Iyabo Ojo Bukky Wright

Biodun Okeowo Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde

Uche Elendu-Igweanyinba Grace Amah

Omoni Oboli

Monalisa Chinda

Mercy Johnson-Okojie

Mercy Aigbe

Bimbo Oshin

Oge Okoye

Stella Damascus

Life&

Daily Times Nigeria

Saturday, September 16, 2017

Mixed Grill L3

Mutiat Alli

BUCKWYLD ‘n’ BREATHLESS: Flavour joins 2Baba as co headliner Afro pop Legend Innocent Idibia better known as 2baba has revealed that Flavour edition

of

the

Buckwyld

Dream concert.

The announcement was

of comments and likes by his followers on the social media platform in anticipation of

alongside 2baba and Tiwa Savage.

The ground breaking concert series that has wowed its massive audience since its debut will be packed with world class live performances and looks set The

concert

themed

at the Convention Centre,

Somkele Iyamah-Idhalama is new face of DSTV Explora 2

Leading video entertainment company, MultiChoice Nigeria, has unveiled Nollywood actress, Somkele Iyamah-Idhalama, as the latest brand

Falz, Bez, Toke Makinwa, others attend #Simisolathealbum launch

The Nollywood IT girl will play the lead roles in soon to be released DStv

and press adverts. As ambassador, Somkele will further promote the exciting features of the all new, sleek and cool decoder such as the Box-

MultiChoice Nigeria. “She is a talented actress and we have watched her career take a tremendous leap! Her uniqueness and creativity as an

It was a night of ecstasy, soulful music and fun for Simi at her album launch

cludes 12 heart-serenading tracks such as Remind Me, Angelina, Aimasiko, Gone

took place at The Lekki Coliseum.

In attendance were Falz, Bez, Dare Art Alade, VJ Adams, Ade Bantu, Bolanle liams, Toke Makinwa Valen-

Me Back which was the only song that had Adekunle Gold featured, Complete Me which was inspired by a true-life event, with 3 bonus

Multichoice Nigeria), Bizzle the night was IllRhymz.

This is the sophomore album of the Afro-pop singer and her debut album since joining her record label X3M Music 3 years ago, before now she has released a plethora of singles such as

The album ranked No.1 on iTunes within six minutes, Simi gave a heart-felt gratitude to all of those who graced the album launch party with their presence ate her long-time producer Group, Steve Babaeko.

Production credits go to Vtek. All songs were mixed

by Simi herself. Vtek mastered all the tracks on the album.

Winner of the Trailblazer award

he said.

Speaking on the features of the

has warmed her way into the hearts of Nigerians and Africans in general with her brilliant interpretations of various roles in both movies and TV series. A Nigerian born actress, she came into prominence as a supporting

will experience every picture-perfect moment in crystal clear HD. “With the fast forward, rewind, instant replay and gives you a whole new way to control your entertainment”, he enthused.

Customers can also rent and enjoy Nollywood and other blockbuster their favourite movies, sports, kiddies and general entertainment shows

Yvonne, the Fashion Designer. But it was not until 2016 that her roles in 93 Days, The Wedding Party and, The Arbitration made her a name to be reckoned with as she became the the 2016 Toronto International Film

currently up for grabs at an offer for a limited time only.

RMD to produce 1st TV series For over 20 years, Richard Mofe Damijo has effortlessly remained a movie god with his acting prowess and show of professionalism.

He is one of the greatest Nollywood actors, one who has made an indelible mark on Nigerian cinema with an array of successful movies to his name.

After approximately 5 years of dreaming, strategizing and his 1st TV series.

“It has been an uphill journey as I am as challenged if not even more so than most people who have taken up similar ventures,” he wrote. of the TV series, he announced

My Head of which were well received and enjoyed massive of airplay.

-

actress coupled with her passion for

on Monday, September 11, 2017.

He announced this feat via his

never easy. From conception to of challenges and emotional roller coaster. Here am not now even talking money or the resources.

Just dealing with the moments of self-doubt, nay-sayers, criticisms some constructive, others condemning, some destructive many reassuring. Sometimes it is a battle to keep the negatives down and stay in prayer and trust God to be God. You would think that after all these years in the business me wanting to do a TV series of my own would not be a big deal right? Lie. It has been an uphill journey as I am as challenged if not even more so than most people who have taken up similar ventures.

I am my own worst critic and I set standards for myself that sometimes my partners call

RMD

unfair but hey, it is what it is. Anyways, long story short, after approximately 5 years of dreaming, strategizing and

done it without people like my baby of life Jumobi Mofe-Damijo

L4

Daily Times Nigeria

Saturday, September 16, 2017

Daily Times Nigeria

Saturday, September 16, 2017

L5

Society Circle L6

Daily Times Nigeria

Saturday, September 16, 2017

Isaac Oguntoye

Olanike Disu laid to rest amidst tears Sadness they whelming when expectedly. This described what

Fisolak Boss, Princess Toyin Kolade’s best kept secret revealed

say can be oversomeone dies unnotion is what best has been happen-

cannot be comprehends. That Iyalaje

-

strides in her chosen career and still waxing stronger is no longer news. One

are not in good mood at the moment.

The gruesome death that shook the

anything she touches turns gold with her hands in many businesses. The busi-

Madam Tax as Olanike was usually Elkanah Olatunji Kobnah Williams; she lost her husband who reportedly

one secret thing about this ever-radiant

Olanike Disu was buried on 11th

will be surplus as she moved around with her special cooler and chillers according to inside sources.

This we learnt has endeared her to many both on the social and corporate arena.

the adorable dame was said to have

the surgery

when it comes to attending parties.

CP, Imohinmi Edgar meets community leaders

Toyin Kolade

Fine coat Paint Boss, Aderemi Awode raises staff pay by 20% to celebrate 54th birthday

hinmi called on community leaders to join hand with the combat crime within their neighbourhoods.

He made this clarion call during a Town Hall Meeting

ship: Ready to Serve Indeed at the prestigious Excellence - the relevant vigilante groups mi Edgal roll-outs his agenwill have wider strength. With why every community leaders must be ready to work at police pace.

In his words “My policing -

large numbers and secondly groups who are residence in the neighbourhood know the neighbourhood more than

phone number to the entire attendees to report any police o lacking in ability or capacity directly to him.

The town hall meeting had top dignitaries which

-

you will notice high in securi- able to direct them right.� the public are enjoined to represence. It will serve as port any suspicious activity to mini police station with pa- the nearest police station or I know that my policemen cannot cover all the nook and

-

dles on that day was by sheer grace and a tradition he has been doing religiously

where companies are shutting down operations and some cutting down their

has nothing to do with being an icon but touching lives and putting smiles on the

changed their tradition.

lagb

-

Oba Elijah Olanire Ogun-

-

The commissioner how-

come their way.

caring and always looking at the bright

about his people and never relents to

Daily Times Nigeria

Saturday, September 16, 2017

Isaac Oguntoye

Charles Aigbe’s giant stride Mention his name, Charles Aigbe to a media practitioner and what you and renowned banker whose ability to transform United Bank for Africa has opened doors for him in ing sector, Fidelity Bank PLC. Call him an industrialist and a very dynamic brilliant public relation of-

Society Circle L7

Kiki steps out from the shell ber 2 family is in a happy mood is like stating the obvious. The good news however is that, Vice President, Professor Yemi Osin-

daughter who have venture into beauty business.

Meanwhile, not many people knew that, the 24 years old Kiki is a Business Management graduate from Aston University.

Africa, a beauty company, is a woman with a determined spirit and a clear vision for what she wants to achieve as a budding entrepreneur.

She opened her beauty enter-

far from the truth as the humble personality believes in teamwork. Ever

September 9, 2017 in Abuja and one of her reasons according to her is to support young people wanting to get into the beauty industry by offering free training

as the corporate head, Fidelity Bank, the softspoken young sharp we scooped as recorded sigCharles Aigbe

young people wanting to become beauty practitioners.

has helped the company in so many ways.

Nollywood actor, Mr. Ibu, plans film on xenophobia Popular Nollywood actor, Mr. John Okafor, says he is planning to shoot a movie highlighting the evils of xenophobia.

Okafor, popularly known as Mr. Ibu, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Friday, that majority of the actors would be South Africans while others would be drawn from Nigeria, Liberia, Kenya, Ghana and Botswana.

He said that the script of the movie was being written by some gifted writers while planning and pre-production had commenced.

“I have plans to shoot a mainly South African actors who will work with others from Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Kenya and Botswana.

“What I want to achieve in the movie is to turn the table around and help in promothe said.

Okafor also said that the tions in South Africa, Kenya and Botswana.

“The pre-production is on now. The scripting is also on.

When I return to Nigeria, we will meet with the directors and technical crew to discuss

the effects of the plot.

“When the plot impacts on our thinking, then we would have achieved something,” he said.

The actor said the next phase would be to visit the concerned countries for auditions to determine those eliOkafor said that Nollywood movie industry was still growing and would achieve set targets.

He also said he had done more than 300

movies since his debut in December, 1978.

President, Nigeria Union in South Africa, Mr. Adetola Olubajo, said the body would partner with Okafor on a social cohesion programme.

“We are planning a programme aimed at creating synergy and social cohesion between Nigeria and South Africa.

“It will take place next year and we want Okafor to be part of it,” he said.

one-stop venue for all beauty related clothing, accessories, skincare, hair products, makeup and a nail salon.

Kiki

After resigning from Etisalat, Hakeem Belo-Osagie has cause to celebrate

Hakeem Belo-Osagie

Belo-Osagie the former chairman of Etisalat, now 9Mobile is presently in a joyful mood after he encountered challenges in the business world recently.

Now, the boardroom guru is leaving his past experience with one of the telecommunication giant behind him as his daughter got married.

Hakeem and his wife, Myma were looking attractive and impressive penultimate weekend as proud parents when their beautiful daughter, Adesuwa, got married in the traditional way

to her heartthrob, Temitope Adesegun Adekoya, the grandchild of founder of famous Adebowale Electronics.

The wedding ceremony which held at a popular event centre in Lekki, Lagos was nothing short of a soiree worthy of a personality like Hakeem Belo-Osagie as everything one could notice indicatThe roll call of attendees had the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osibajo, Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai to mention a few, as guests that spiced up the glamourous event.

Living & Decor L8

Daily Times Nigeria

Saturday, September 16, 2017

Mutiat Alli

Spice up your home with loveable curtains Do you know that curtains are the very vital details in the room; whether it is bedroom, kitchen or living room? dramatic focal point when you enter a room or home; there are nearly twenty different styles of curtains, draperies and blinds which can be used in window treatment. A curtain usually makes room look warm and creates a pleasant atmosphere and on the other side they are incredible room décor.

What then do you want for window coverings?

Most people think of shades or blinds for household curtains? This is another fun way to make your home feel a lot less like an ordinary apartment and more like a lounge. This may come in different designs ranging from the pleated blind to vertical blind and Venetian as the case may be depending on your taste.

Usage of window covers and Blinds · To manage sunlight · To ensure privacy · For purely decorative purposes · For security Types of window blind · Vertical Blind: Unlike horizontal blinds, vertical blinds are less likely to collect dust because they stand vertically. Since they draw to the side rather than lifting and lowering, they operate better on doors and windows that also slide from side to side.

Generally they require less muscle strength, and are faster to operate. · Persian or slat Blind: which consist of many horizontal slats, usually of metal or vinyl, connected with string such that they can be rotated to allow light to pass between the slats, rotated up to about 170 degrees to hide the light, or pulled up so that the entire window is clear · Venetian Blind: Venetian blind has horizontal slats, one above another. Venetian blinds are basic slatted blinds made of metal or plastic · Roller Solar Blind: Solar shades offer light-dimming options great for open living spaces and also help protect the room from harmful UV rays. Thee styles usually roll up instead of using a rope to pull them up.

Some roller shades are on rollers and move from side to side instead of up and down.

However, Blinds can be made in a variety of materials, some expensive, and some less so.

Cheaper blinds are usually made in vinyl, polyester, aluminium, or PVC. These are inexpensive materials that are all easily accessible and durable at the same time.

Types of curtain · Flat panel curtains: This are the easiest and the versatile curtains, where just pieces of fabric are boarded on all four edges and hung from the decorating curtains poles with a clip-on rings. · Tab Top curtains are made with narrow straps that loop or tie at the top edge, which are threaded through poles for curtains. This curtain style is often designed as two stationary panels at the sides of a window. · Grommet Curtains are the type of curtains where

the rings are inserted into a hole- hem which hangs from the curtain poles. These curtains can be made with small grommet as well as large grommets. · Sash curtains are mostly sheer fabric material used to cover the lower sash of the windows Rod Pocket are the stylish and easy to sew curtains, where stitched pocket at the top of the curtain is shirred onto a curtain rod. · Thermal or Blackout curtains: use very tightly woven fabric, usually in multiple layers. They not only block the lights, but also serve as an acoustic controller Hence, fabrics used make the difference to the curtains style. When working with any of these types of curtain styles, ensure to measure the windows dimension and determine the length of the curtain.