Why Rev. Paul Emeka must go - Church C'ttee by Advocate Nigeria

Vol. 1 No. 39, Wednesday, June 25 - Tuesday, July 1, 2014

N150 Page 16

Ekweremadu battles adult illiteracy in Enugu THE RAGING WAR IN ASSEMBLIES OF GOD NIGERIA

Why Rev. Paul Emeka must go – Church C'ttee * ‘He operates like Sole Administrator' * The church now in stormy weather * Says Dr Osueke remains an icon, a revered father of the church

Rev. Dr Charles Osueke

Rev. Prof, Paul Emeka

Rev. Dr Chidi Okoroafor

Assemblies of God leaders at war 2015:

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Chime moves to reconcile with Enugu NASS members

‘Magun’ kills Umeh remains APGA National Chairman, banker, A’Court rules lover in Imo Page 18

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War in Ojukwu's family over Lagos property

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Ndigbo insist 2015: Chime moves to reconcile on proper restructuring with Enugu NASS members of Nigeria by the PDP stakeholders in the *Moves to United States for annual vacation state could be sustained if both gbos have restated their stand

on the need for the restructuring of the country along the six geopolitical zones saying it was the best way to achieve the devolution of power from the central government to the federating units. That was part of the resolutions reached at a special summit involving Igbo Elders and Civil Society leaders under the auspices of Ndigbo Consultative Assembly held in Enugu, Friday June 20, 2014. Some of the eminent dignitaries that attended the summit include the Obi of Onitsha, His Royal M a j e s t y, A g b o g i d i , I g w e Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe, who served as the chairman of the occasion; second republic Vice President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme; Rear Admiral, Ndubuisi Kanu retd; former Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State, Prof. Chigozie Ogbu, President General of Ohanaeze, Chief Enwo Gary Igariwey; Deputy Leader of South East delegation to the confab, Prof. Monsignor Obiora Ike. Others include former Senate Chairman on Aviation, Senator Anyim Ude; former Military Administrator of Imo State, Capt. James Aneke; former Finance Minister, Dr. Chu S. P. C. Okongwu; Prof. Ben Obumselu, Dr. Uma Elieazu, Secretary General, Ohanaeze, Dr. Joe Nwaorgu, Amb. Uma Nwachukwu, Dr. Obi Onubogu, Igwe Amb. Lawrence AgubuzoProf. Barth Nnaji, Chief Maria Okwor and Chief (Mrs.) Ezeofor, among others. The summit commended the delegates for finding time to update the summit on their activities at the national conference stressing that they deserve the support of all stakeholders so as to encourage them “to serve us in the best possible way”. The meeting observed that there were still many issues left to be trashed at the confab, it behooves Ndigbo to be more careful in their utterances and actions since according to them “the strength of a man lies in what he does”. “We also resolved to commend the delegates for their unity of purpose in whatever they have achieved so far; the road is very challenging and exciting. A lot more work is expected to be done,” the communique stated in part. There was a mild drama when one of the conveners, Prof. Obumselu, started reading the position of the conveners which the summit found disagreeable based on their position that nothing good may likely come out of the conference stressing that while north extracted some concessions from President Goodluck Jonathan, Ndigbo did not.

By Ted Peters

ORRIED by the heat being generated in the political arena in Enugu State on account of his decision to stop members of the National Assembly from the state from seeking re-election, Governor Sullivan Chime has made peace overtures with a view to restoring peace within the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. The peace move, The Advocate learnt was part of the governor's efforts to forestall mass exodus of the PDP members to the All Progressives Congress, APC which is said to have made serious incursions into the ruling party. The APC and All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA are the major opposition parties waiting to receive aggrieved PDP members, who might seek alternative political platform on which they will contest the 2015 elections, if the warring PDP stakeholders fail to reconcile before nominations for the poll. Insider sources said that said that Chime had earlier in May send a three-man delegation to met with the Federal lawmakers at Abuja, adding that the the trio of Igwe Chris Ogakwu, Mr. Tony Eze, Chairman, Channels Engineering and one Eze Nwaga were was said to have appealed to the aggrieved lawmakers to sheath their swords. It was agreed that a peace meeting should be convened between the Governor and the NASS members

Gov. Chime at a neutral venue in Enugu where both parties would feel free to express themselves. Accordint to the source, the meeting was convened at the residence of Tony Eze at Amokwe in Udi local government area on June 5. with all the NASS members including the three Senators from the state in attendance. During the meeting the Governor reportedly explained why he wanted the lawmakers who had served up to two terms to give way to fresh aspirants and told them that the decision was not meant to

truncate their political career as erroneously viewed by some of them. He was said to have stressed the need for the PDP to remain united ahead of the 2015 elections and urged them to bury the hatchet and join hands with the party to retain power after the next general election. The federal lawmakers, the source further said, voiced out their anger over t h e unnecessary squabbles in the party on account of the govenor's comment that he would retire them from politics. They, h o w e v e r, w e l c o m e d t h e governor's peace move and agreed to seek ways of resolving their differences to restore peace to the party without delay. The governor thereafter hosted them to a mini party on June 6 and agreed to hold an enlarged meeting with the state party executives after the governor might have returned from his vacation in July. However, the peace process which is seen as a welcome development

parties agree to reach a consensus on sharing of political offices in the coming election. The Advocate was informed that some of the governor's aides who are interested in contesting elections to replace the National Assembly members in 2015 are said to be uncomfortable with the governor's peace overtures as they feared that the. reconciliation could jeopardize their chances. Meanwhile, Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State last Wednesday, June 18, commenced his annual vacation which he is expected to spend in United States. The State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Chuks Ugwoke who announced this at the end of the State Executive Council meeting chaired by the Governor, said that the state Deputy Governor, Mr. Sunday Onyebuchi would act as governor during the governor's absence. He was however silent on how long the governor's vacation would last. “The Governor of Enugu State, M r. S u l l i v a n C h i m e h a s commenced his annual vacation with effect from today the 18th day of June 2014,” the commissioner said. He said that Chime announced his vacation to the people of Enugu State and members of the council during the council's meeting. The vacation, according Ugwoke, will take the Governor and members of his extended family to Miami in the United States of America.

Man,35, kills mother in Imo By Our Reporter

he peaceful community of Amaukwu Okorommiri, Amagbor Ihitte , Ezinihitte Local Government Area of Imo State was thrown into serious confusion penultimate Wednesday when a young man brutally killed his mother with a knife. Mr. Uzoma Emeka,35, who trained as a motor-mechanic was with his mother, Mrs. Annah Emeka in their family house when they reportedly had a fight over a domestic matter during which Uzoma allegedly used a knife and killed his mother, a reliable source in the palace of the traditional ruler of the community revealed. “It was very shocking seeing the woman with several knife cuts lying stone dead in the pool of her blood,” the source said. According to the source, it was the alarm raised by the dying woman that attracted the husband, Uzoma's father, Mr. Emeka Anyanwu, and villagers to the

scene. Upon sighting the villagers, Uzoma was said to have taken to her heels, attempting to escape into the bush but the youths in the area mobilized, gave him a hot chase and apprehended him. “The angry youths stripped him completely naked and gave him thorough beating; they also gave him machete cuts and were about killing him before the noise by the huge crowd attracted the traditional ruler, Eze Myke Ndudirim, who quickly intervened,” said the source. Our reporter learnt that the Eze ordered that the suspect be brought into his compound where he gave him a pair of trousers to wear before he quickly telephoned the DPO, Mr. Greg Onuh who personally drove his men to the scene and rescued the suspect. “The only remedy was that the Eze was at home. If the Eze had gone for a meeting, say, in Owerri or Abuja, the angry youths would have killed him, and now we would be talking of two persons

dead,” our reporter was told. It was gathered that Mrs. Annah Emeka, in her 60s, was a native of Ogbe community in Ahiazu Mbaise Local Government Area of the state but got married to Mr. Emeka Anyanwu, who hails from Amagbor Ihitte in Ezinihitte Mbaise Local Government Area. The source emphasized that it would have been an uphill task to convince the people of Ogbe Community to believe that their sister and her son were not victims of village witch-hunting. “That is if the youths had killed Uzoma. The Ogbe people would have assumed that the villagers killed both mother and son,” according to the source. It was learnt that Mrs. Annah was a trader while Mr. Uzoma, her first son trained as a motor mechanic and driver when the family members were still residing in Benin, capital of Edo State. “The father opened a workshop and equipped Uzoma with tools after his apprenticeship, and also bought a bus for him to start his life. Shortly after, Uzoma began to

misbehave with different ladies without even marrying any of them but his immediate younger brother is married with children,” according to the source. The traditional ruler of the community, Eze Myke Ndudirim confirmed the incident, saying that the peace in the community was almost severed by the incident. “If I wasn't around, the angry youths, may be, would have lynched the boy. But that's the way God used me to rescue him,” said Eze Ndudirim, who added: “We are from a peaceful community. What happened has happened and tragedy is not peculiar to our community alone. What they have told you is what happened.” The police at Divisional Police Station at Itu, near the Ezinihitte Council secretariat confirmed the incident and said the matter would soon be transferred to the state homicide department of the state C.I.D. for further investigations. The corpse of Mrs. Annah has been deposited in a mortuary while Uzoma is in police cell.

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Wednesday, June 25 - Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Why Rev Paul Emeka must go – Church C'ttee ‘He operates like Sole Administrator' The church now in stormy weather Says Dr Osueke remains an icon, a revered father of the church As the crisis in Assemblies of God Nigeria deepens, the key actors are enmeshed in war of words, claims and counter claims about who is corrupt or not; what is the due process and all that, which obviously revolves around money or better put, 'who controls who and what'. The group of 15 who called themselves the members of the Executive Committee of Assemblies God Nigeria led by their appointee Acting General Superintendent, Rev. Dr Chidi Okoroafor spoke through a prominent member of the church committee, Rev. Dr. Ejikeme Ejim on the controversial suspension of the General Superintendent of the church, Professor Paul Emeka. They told The Advocate that prominent among their reasons for summarily suspending and dismissing their General Superintendent, Rev Prof Emeka, was not only because he was running Assemblies of God Church like a sole administrator but that he also dragged members of the church to court. Excerpts upon and which they have There's this allegation that Rev. Dr Paul Emeka, the General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God Nigeria is being attacked by the executive committee because he is fighting corruption in the church, please react. Well, we are not aware that he is fighting corruption in the first place. There's no evidence from our meetings, from all the agenda we've had in our meetings that he was fighting corruption not to talk of our fighting him for fighting corruption. It is a very cheap propaganda. This is the church of Jesus Christ, we are the children of God, we stand for the truth, we are men of integrity, we stand for uprightness and righteousness and we teach and preach and help our people to understand how they should live a holy and righteous life. It is therefore unthinkable that anybody in his wildest

imagination should even begin remotely to accuse us of standing against any fight for corruption that is completely out of order. There's absolutely nothing like that. What we had in our relationship with Dr Emeka, was his attempt at scuttling the administrative system that has been put to place. You need to know that the Assemblies of God is 80 years old this year, we've never had such experience in our history, we've never had any General Superintendent who wanted to metamorphose into the owner of the church or who wanted to become the proprietor of the church, who would refuse to work in tandem with the members of the committee. That was the real matter on ground. Rev. Emeka's refusal to follow well known and well tested leadership principles especially the Assemblies of God jury, it may interest you to know that every member of the executive committee, apart from the four

apply these principles to keep the word going. We are children of G o d . T h a t allegation is a blatant lie, we stand for the truth, and we stand for uprightness. We will never fight against anyone who is fighting against corruption and Dr Emeka was not fighting corruption

Rev. Prof, Paul Emeka general officers is a district superintendent, he oversees a whole district, sits as chairman of presbytery in his district and we

Tambuwal's car frisked by Soldiers in Kaduna

here was a near clash between security details attached to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, and soldiers at the entrance to the Hotel 17 in Kaduna on Monday. The hotel served a venue for the international conference on security and development challenges of pastorialism in West and Central Africa. The conference had as its theme 'The role of pastoralists in preventing insurgency and conflicts for sustainable peace and national security', and organised by the office of the National Security Adviser in the Presidency. In spite of the visibility of the flag and the coat of arms on the official car conveying the Speaker, the soldiers insisted they had to search the Speaker's car at the gate. At this point, the Speaker, who

arrived at the venue at about 9.20am ahead of other dignitaries, was subjected to thorough search, forcing the security details of the speaker to protest. But the protest fell on deaf ears as the soldiers stood their grounds. The development forced the Speaker, who was visibly angry, out of the car and walked for about 50 meters into the conference hall, leaving behind his official car. A security official, who witnessed the incident and craved for anonymity, described the scene as unbelievable. He noted that as one that had put in reasonable numbers years in service, he had yet to witness such an embarrassing situation. “We never knew it was the Speaker coming but on getting closer, I discovered that it was the Speaker. I overheard one of the soldiers saying they must search the car. But the security officials attached to the Speaker protested.

They were rebuffed by the soldiers. I saw the Speaker came down and walked away,” he said. When contacted, Special Adviser to the Speaker on Media, Imam Imam, who confirmed the incident, said it was highly unusual for security operatives to search an official car of the Speaker. Describing the incident as unfortunate, the speaker's spokesman noted that the action of the soldiers could undermine the nation's democracy. He said, “What they are doing is undermining the legislature as a whole. It is not about the Speaker but the institution. “We are just urging them (security) to be mindful of the fact that the institution must be protected at all times. “The constitution provides that the integrity and sanctity of both the legislature and the executive arms of government must be protected at all times. If it cannot be protected, then it is unfortunate.”

What have you to say about the Easter Retreat fund which Rev. Dr Emeka alleged was mismanaged?

Easter retreat is an organ of Assemblies of God Nigeria. We have our Easter retreats every year. This started under the tenure of our retired General Superintendent, Rev. Dr Charles Ogbonnaya Osueke and there's a chairman and others that work along with him. We are not aware of any problem with Easter retreat fund. It is true there's a time when the last chairman, who is now a retired minister and his group were called upon to give account. There was no report of any part of Easter retreat fund missing or misused. The records are there with us, we never went hunting anybody said to have mismanaged, stolen or misapplied our fund. We didn't have such experience. The Easter retreat people raised funds and to the best of our knowledge, they used them to run the Easter retreat. Now what happened was that the new executive of Easter retreat decided to do a little shift in their approach to Easter retreat. And the reverend gentleman who is now the chairman of Easter retreat decided to carry out a project on behalf of Easter retreat for the general council of Assembles of God Nigeria where he added a fund raising system that will bring in more funds to enable them do the project they have decided

presented to the executive committee and received clearance to go ahead with. What we really have now is an additional emphasis. The former Easter retreat executive concentrated squarely on the spiritual benefits of the retreat, which was what the Assemblies of God had in mind from the onset but the executive decided they could just go ahead with some projects and while emphasizing the spirituality, these projects will be of great benefit to the church. So they have raised more and they have more money to utilize especially for their projects.

You said that there's nothing like corruption in the church, but we are aware that the EFCC is currently investigating your finances… (cuts in) I said, there's nothing like Emeka fighting corruption and we being against him for that and there's nothing like that.

But is there corruption in Assemblies of God Church? Well to the best of my knowledge, I will say no. We have over one hundred administrative units, we have well over twelve thousand local churches and so you discover that each pastor will speak for his church, each unit head will speak for the unit to the best of his ability. If, like you said, the EFCC decides to investigate the church, we will be very much surprised; knowing what we stand for, knowing what we teach and knowing what we believe the Assemblies of God to be. It will be a great surprise to us. The EFCC is not investigating the Executive Committee of the church for corruption; the EFCC wants to know the structure of the church. The investigation is in respect of the purchase of a property for and on behalf of the church in Germany by Rev Paul Emeka. He claims he bought a property for us in Germany and we are asking where the property is and the papers, that's what led to the

Continues on page 5

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War in Ojukwu's family over Lagos property * Family may sue Lagos Govt, demands N240m damage, rent from Clear Essence Spa

among other services in the said building even though the original lease granted OTL was for residential purposes. OTL in the suit is demanding possession of the property,N100 million damages, N140 million as back rent, setting aside of “unauthorized tenancy agreement” as well as an injunction restraining Clear Essence from interfering with OTL's possession of the property. The court documents indicated that the disputed lease was entered into on behalf of OTL by the late Ikemba Nnewi with the 'Diplomat Investment Limited' which claimed that the Clear Essence Spa is their business, in 2004 for a period of 20 years. The lease was amended in 2005 at N5 million per annum and the company paid allegedly paid Ikemba N50 million upfront. The OTL directors claimed that Ojukwu was not a director of the company when he leased the property to Diplomat Investment Limited as his letter of acceptance as Director of OTL obtained from the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, Abuja was written in 2010. The threat by Ojukwu's family to sue the Lagos State Government, The Advocate learnt, is as a result of the discovery in the lease agreement that an unnamed Lagos State Commissioner of Science and Technology signed the document approving the lease between Ojukwu (OTL) and Diplomat Investment Limited on behalf of the state governor. “The purported approval in 2008 by the Lagos State Commissioner of Sci.& Tech on behalf of the Governor is being scrutinized and legal action is being considered,” said a member of Ojukwu's family, who explained that 13 Ojora Rd, Ikoyi which is also 13 Alexander and the location of Clear Essence Spa, was the last residence Late Sir Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu in Lagos. The directors said the property never Several cases had been instituted in court belonged to the late Ikemba and was not by the directors over the controversial willed to him by their late father, stressing leasing of the properties by the late Ikemba that the N5 million rent per annum on the Nnewi with a view to recovering them or property was a big joke as “the going rate have the rent reviewed. for the location and size of such property is Besides, the directors claimed that rents N60m to N100m or more.” running into millions of naira from the One of the Directors of the Company, Dr properties in Lagos were being collected Patrick Ike Ojukwu, told The Advocate by Ojukwu's widow who is currently when contacted that the Late Dim Nigeria's Ambassador to Spain, Mrs. Ojukwu's eldest son, Chief Emeka Bianca Ojukwu through an Estate Odumegwu-Ojukwu Jnr had been Management firm engaged by her late appointed a Director and as the rightful spouse without remitting same to the person to secure his father's share, had company. been joined in some of the suits. Ambassador Mrs. Ojukwu is party to most He said that some fraudulent activities of the cases now pending in court over the were allegedly revealed in the recent landed properties. documents submitted to the courts in the One of these cases was instituted recently course of the legal battle over the by the Ojukwus who are directors of OTL company's properties. against Clear Essence Spa over illegal Ojukwu cited the signing of the lease occupation of their 13 Alexander Ave, agreement as secretary by a former Ikoyi, Lagos property. personal staff of the late Ikemba Nnewi The massive former JAMB office location who, he said, was never a secretary of is one of the properties the company wants OTL, adding that the usage of the to reclaim from Bianca. Clear Essence, company's seal on the document was not according to papers filed/cited by OTL authorized. operates hotel, 'fine dining', spa, events

he legal battle over the landed properties belonging to Ojukwu Transport Limited, OTL, in Lagos State has taken another dimension as the directors of the company have threatened to drag the Lagos State Government to court over its role in the lease of one of the properties in Ikoyi, Lagos which is now a subject of a major dispute among members of Ojukwu's family. The OTL was founded by late Sir LP Odumegwu Ojukwu, father of the former Biafran warlord, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, to manage numerous assets he acquired in Lagos State and other parts of the country. Current directors of the company are Prof. Joseph Ojukwu (Chairman), Engr. Emmanuel Ojukwu, Mr. Lotanna Ojukwu, Dr. Patrick Ike Ojukwu, Arc. Eze Ojukwu, Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Jr. and Mr. Akajiora Lotanna Ojukwu. The late Ikemba Nnewi, Dim Ojukwu was among the directors of the company.

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The church now in stormy weather Continued from page 3

EFCC; we reported to the EFCC.

Rev Emeka alleged that the Assemblies of God Ministers Benefit Fund was misappropriated, is it true? It is extremely unfortunate for him to say that, we will let you know that the Assemblies of God Ministers benefit scheme is a scheme that was put in place by the Executive committee under the retired general superintendent, Rev. Dr. Charles Osueke and that scheme has an executive body that's responsible for it and that scheme was on-going, the ministers were contributing to it and the counterpart funding was coming in from the churches. As a matter of fact, some panels had earlier been set, like auditing panel to check the AGMBS funds. You will also be interested to know that AGMS has external auditors who audit AGMBS funds on a yearly basis and the audit reports are very much available in the AGMBS office. At no time did the auditor indicate in any of their reports that the AGMBS funds were not being well managed. By the grace of God I was privileged to have been appointed AGMBS board chairman after Prof Emeka as you may like to call him, came on board. We took over the management and some members of the board are here present. And no point in time in the handover or takeover was there any mention of any form of corruption or misapplication of funds. There's nothing like that in our record books. When we took over we handled the funds judiciously. The AGMBS funds are funds purely set aside for ministers' retirements. Ministers are supposed to receive gratuity from their districts and they will receive a lump sum from AGMBS. The processes for working out what will be due for each retired minister are there. These processes have never failed, they have never been compromised in any way, I have had the privilege of signing hundreds of applications for retirement funds and at no time did we have any problem whatsoever. But a time came when Dr Emeka made himself to believe that the AGMBS fund did not actually belong to anybody and that he was free to make request for funds; collect money and begin to use. Now of course there are accounting principles involved. And he was being told, you don't just come to AGMBS fund to collect money, the general council does not have funds there. AGMBS started with a kick off grant of N500.000 by the general council. The fund has grown over

the years because the ministers are not retiring every day. We have more ministers in service than those who have retired. But as they are in service they continue to contribute. And he wanted N200 million from AGMBS funds and that caused a lot of disagreement between him and the chairman of AGMBS board which I happened to be at that time. I was making him to understand that the General council does not have any money there. We don't have any account that we will debit to give him the money. I advised him to instead take a loan just like his predecessor. I actually discussed this on phone and also in his house, trying to convince him on what will be the most appropriate method or system of receiving money from the AGMBS fund which was through taking a loan with interest element attached because we are supposed to be trading with the fund and making profit, that caused a lot of disagreement between him and me as the then chairman of AGMBS board. Under Rev. Dr. C. O. Osueke the EC took a loan from the fund with interest. The principal has been paid but the interest on that loan is still hanging. We appealed to the Rev. Emeka leadership to pay up this interest but he refused given the fact that he was the Assistant

General Superintendent then and joined in signing for the loan. He said it would tantamount to paying money back to himself. He refused to acknowledge the fact that AGM fund belongs to the ministers, who are contributing into it and not into Assemblies of God Nigeria; directly speaking. So he did not only refuse but he equally refused an interest free loan. He insisted that he wanted N200 million from the fund. It was almost becoming a personal matter; the AGMS board is like at one end and General Superintendent at the other end.

Dr Emeka said, I don't want to hear about debit, I don't want to hear about credit, I don't want to hear about Central Bank, I don't want to hear about anything, all I want is two hundred million naira. Now when it became very difficult, we asked him to do us a letter officially asking for the money. When we asked what he want the money for, he said it had to do with the Evangel University. The Evangel University was floating, we have spent a lot on it and by the grace of God we have secured all the necessary approvals to run. So we knew that the University needed some fund. So when he said it has to do with University, it became a very delicate matter and we felt it was necessary to release the money to him on the receipt of an official letter of request, so that we'll later tackle other accounting issues or processes associated with it. We said let's save our University. So the moment the official letter was handed over to us the money was released, but unfortunately, in spite of demand to that effect, no account was given to the Executive Committee on how that money was used. From the time he took the money he refused to give any account. He finally brought an account on October 8 Tuesday â&#x20AC;Ś. An account he never presented to the EC and an account that was not vetted by the General Treasurer, an account that could not be questioned because he just presented it to the body and went home with his papers. Now while we were still struggling with the N200 million and no one penny of the money went to any minister contrary to all the propaganda he has been passing around that he was trying to get money to help ministers to better the lot of ministers. No minister got one kobo from that money. Now after he had taken the money which he did not give us any account; of course that was not surprising, because that was part of his style. He came again and said that the AGMBS should be supporting the general council with some amount of money. We discussed that very extensively in our board meeting. We looked at our income and expenditure and our balances. We even looked at reserves in our effort at trying to know whether it will be expedient for us to redeem that monthly support system for pension of our ministers. We gave all the advice

on how we thought pension matter should be handled and of course not surprising, he rejected the advice. The board went into thinking and decided on an amount which we believed that our profit will be able to accommodate every month until the end of the year. And he came again asking for N150 million from the same AGMBS. He has now created the impression that he has his eyes on the AGMBS money and the fund has become an extension of the general council budgetary

put in my resignation because I was completely convinced that he was trying to run down the AGMBS funds and create a problem for ministers who will be retiring in future. If he is thus allowed to run down the funds the way he was planning and scheduling them; coming from time asking for millions when he has the General council funds to work on, we will soon run into trouble and we won't be able to handle the lump sum to give to our retiring ministers. And since I was an appointee and whenever an appointee disagreed with his principal, if he is a man of honour and integrity, he won't stay to argue every day. He gives in his resignation letter as a way to say I don't agree with the stand of my principal, as a way of ruling his principal out of order. This is because it was very unhelpful to the AGMBS funds. So in all, I tendered my letter of resignation and left. So there was no time he used the money as it should. The AGMBS was running as it should run, doing its work as it should do it. I am not aware of anything Rev. Emeka has contributed by his incessant demands to make things better for our ministers allocation, but we had to let him through the AGMBS fund. know very bluntly that AGMBS funds are not part of General Did he collect the last N150 Council Assemblies of God million he demanded? budgetary allocation; that they are Thank you very much. When I put different funds to themselves, they in my resignation, after I have nothing to do with the explained to the officers for well General Council direct income over an hour on why I resisted and expenditure. And the General every effort by Dr Emeka to Council should go back and sort collect that money, he (Rev themselves out and know how Emeka) said well, that he has they will balance their income and decided to let it go but later when expenditure; remove their eyes the matter came to Executive from the AGMBS funds so that Committee which has authority they don't begin to think that the over these issues, it was their AGMBS is a reserve where they opinion that I withdraw my can come at any time, ask for resignation letter but I was no money, collect it and walk away. longer ready to work with him That the money belongs to because I have a Banking and ministers and if for example, Accounting background, so I hypothetically, if all the ministers knew where I was coming from should come for their money, we and he too knew that before he will all run into trouble. We know appointed me. Unfortunately that we have some fixed assets; after using my background to some properties here and there, we advise him on how the money was have our bank and cash balances to be handled, he bluntly rejected and so on but we will still run into all the advice. So as a result of my trouble. insistence not to release that When he bluntly refused to listen money and my preference not to and insisted that he will receive sign any cheque for N150 million N150 million, which when added and resign, as I saw that he has to the N200 million he earlier come to make nonsense of received under the guise of AGMBS funds, he then said that helping the University to stand he has decided not to take it and added to another N60 million anymore. Whether he later took he was to receive for supporting the money, since there was a pension, all summed to N410 successor put in place, I don't million that he asked for under know. twelve months. I as the chairman What about the property of the board said no, we can't run that Rev. Dr. Emeka this thing like this. When every effort was made to c l a i m e d t h e c h u r c h help him to see that he was trying purchased in Germany? to break away from the purpose of It is a pity and it is very painful for setting the AGMBS funds failed, I Continues on page 6

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ASSEMBLIES OF GOD CRISIS

‘He operates like Sole Administrator’ Continued from page 5

us to be addressing the press on this issue. If Dr. Emeka ever told anybody that he discussed the purchase of that property with this very Executive committee, it is unsurprisingly a blatant lie. The Executive Committee under Rev. Dr. Emeka never discussed the German property. There was no time Rev. Dr. Emeka included this German property for us to discuss and take a decision. This German property was supposed to have cost millions. The Executive committee has oversight over financial life of General Council, Assemblies of God Church Nigeria. We neither discussed nor did we approve the purchase of the property. We don't know any details about the purchase of the p r o p e r t y. T h e E x e c u t i v e committee Assemblies of God Nigeria never approved any loan to the tune of N220 million for the purchase of a property about which we knew absolutely nothing. We want to keep the records very straight. Now you talk about the documents for the property. It is interesting to let you know that this matter of German property was one of the issues raised by the body of Ambassador and National Consultative Assembly in their write-up against Rev. Paul Emeka and you also need to know for the sake of emphasis; we did not discuss and so couldn't have approved anything about the property. After the body of Ambassadors and the National Consultative Assembly raised up their issues, it was in the dying moments; just before he was suspended, that he presented a document to the Executive Committee through a lady, who is the General Council Legal Officer. We started looking at them. It was also at that point that a copy of that document was made available to the General Council Legal adviser who by the way should have been in the know from the onset. There were other irregularities like who were the trustees of the German Assemblies of God. It was under much pressure that he did otherwise. Dr. Emeka never present any documents to the Executive Committee whether before, during or in the months immediately after the purchase of the property. And since we didn't have the benefit of legal advice, we don't know the value of the document he brought in the dying moments of his administration.

You claim not to know anything about the property but Rev. Emeka said the process of buying the property was actually started by his predecessor and that the payment was

made through the office of the General Treasurer and that the Acting General Superintendent, the General Secretary have all gone to and seen the property in Germany and therefore confirmed that Assemblies of Church has bought that property. Your stand please… Now let me repeat what I said for the purpose of emphasis. This Executive Committee under which the loan was taken from the bank did not grant any approval. Now if the former Executive Committee had some discussions and if they had actually started the process of buying the property and if such process was not completed during the tenure of the former Executive, you will agree with me that common sense simply says that it is now a matter that we should have inherited and any further process along that line should have been presented to the

today. What I am telling you is that there's no time in the regular meeting of the Executive committee, did we see any document for a property in Germany, did we go through such documents, and he didn't seek professional advice to buy a property worth N220 million. Even if the former administration had started it we will not be satisfied even if we are the people who were supposed to make the payment. Nobody should go and make payment for us; things are not done that way. It was after a loan had been taken and payment made that Dr. Emeka came to tell us at the Executive Committee. Every member of the committee expressed total disapproval on that thing that has been done. How do you go to spend General Council money to the tune of N220 million without approval, only to come and give us mere information? So, if you want to know if the officers you alleged are in the know about the transactions, they are here and will answer for themselves. We've not really had opportunity to investigate or verify the documents before we ran into the present situation. I believe that it will still be done to know whether the papers presented were genuine and truly reflected any such transaction and any other thing because the amount of money involve is quite awesome.

What about the names mentioned who the General Superintendent alleged had visited the said property in Germany, please can they be given opportunity to respond? ( A c t i n g G e n e r a l Superintendent, Rev Chidi Okoroafor took over) I want to say that when I travelled to Germany on a programme that was not an Assemblies of God programme, this property has not been bought. I was privileged to be taken to a Roman Catholic facility by somebody. And he told me that the Roman Catholic facility has been given out by the owners. In line with what the media director said he also took me to another property and showed. He is a Pastor called Monca. He showed me somewhere, the language is that they were looking for a place. So what I want to say is that as at the time I went there the property has not been bought. That was in 2011.

present Executive committee. You do not come and say that it was discussed by the former Executive Committee, which a down payment has been made and then you move into our coffers and just take our money and go. Things are not done like that anywhere in any reasonable and responsible administration. You bring matter forward. You say this is what my predecessor was handling, this is where he got to before he retired, this is where we are now, how do we handle it? That's what I am telling you we never did. And then if you want to know more about how the former Executive Committee discussed and what their decision was on German property, we are happy to let you know that Rev. Dr. Charles O. Is the document presented Osueke (rtd) is very much alive, to the Executive Committee healthy and around. He will tell bearing Assemblies of God you how far the Executive on it? Committee of his time went. I (Rev. Ejike Ejim returns) It was thank God that the officials you th 4 March (this year) the Executive mentioned are very much with us

Committee started asking several questions about the property. Number one, something bought two years ago, why are we seeing for the first time the documents now. Has the legal adviser seen this document? We said we were laymen in terms of property issues, so we asked who signed these documents, are they Trustees? And of course no Trustee of the Assemblies of God Nigeria signed that particular document. So, we said okay, we should wait till verification is done. There's an issue you have to take note in this, if this property was bought by the Assemblies of God Nigeria from what we know as laymen, it should be signed by the registered Trustees. Then if it is otherwise, we still await the advice of the legal men to let us know. That is the issue on ground. Please may I add something of interest here, this is very instructive. It's actually something you will want to think about. The letter written by Rev. Sam Onwuka at the directive of Rev. Dr. Paul Emeka dated 30th of August, 2013. The Ambassadors of the kingdom made their reply very early September like I've said earlier and one thing led to another. The allegation was dated September 24th, Gentlemen of the Press after Prof. Emeka had received his own copy of the allegations, September went by, then in October, he did a write-up but every effort we made to make him see with us that we needed to invite the Ambassadors for a face to face discuss on all the issues raised but he stamped his feet firmly against those efforts. That's how October went, that's how November, December, January, February, March; that's how all the months crawled by. It was only after we had released our document to convene a special session of the General Committee that he was forced by our action to go and look for a document of a property which perhaps was allegedly purchase sometime around 2011 or thereabout. And for the document he brought to us on March 4, please somebody should ask him….. , because it is these issues that are behind the whole thing, look if a husband and wife have a problem they sit and talk, even the Arabs and the Israelis, they sit and talk. In Syria they sit and talk, whether the magistrate, customary, in the villages, church or between communities or in the High Court or Court of Appeal and even Supreme Court, there's always a plaintiff and defendant and they will appear together. Dr. Emeka for reasons known to him consistently rejected and refused our advice that matters are best settled when whoever made an allegation against you is brought face to face with you. He fought against this from March to

September, he kept his stand. Now listen, this same man who is fighting against to stand face to face with his accusers, and if you read in Bible, Acts of the Apostles; one of the Roman leaders said, you wait until you accusers come and they put Paul somewhere until his accusers came. This same man has published a rejoinder, this same man has gone round the zones telling his own story to Pastors, this same man later decided to go to the press and even went to court. What was his problem that stopped him from coming to Assemblies of God where we have time tested and proven procedure for handling our matters; sit down, let the Ambassadors sit down and you talk and Executive committee members will listen and we would have settled this matter in September or October and nobody would have heard our voice. The point was, we had a stumbling block that refused to move. Dr. Emeka's insistence that he will never sit with those who made the allegations which is contrary to the provision of our constitution and by-laws, contrary and even more annoyingly to biblical concepts. He preferred to go to court to tell a story than to allow the church to handle the matter. You wouldn't have been here today if he had respected the Bible and respected the time tested mechanism that has been put in place in our constitution and bylaws with our eighty years of our experience behind us. Somebody should ask him' what was the problem that from September when the allegations were made till March, you refused to submit the documents.

Prof Emeka alleged that some Executive Committee members connived with some sacked staff of Evangel University to blackmail him. How true is this? Alright let me now say something about Evangel University. Please whenever you see Dr. Emeka, ask him, when did the Executive Committee agree with him to sack the Principal Officers of Evangel University? When? You will discover that there was a newspaper publication in which the offices of the principal officers of the University were advertised. This may tell you something about person we are talking about. And a name was put as the advertiser and what name was that? Rev. Dr. J. O. Ikoni , General Secretary Assemblies of God Nigeria. And when we saw that advert as members of the Executive committee, knowing that we were not party to that decision, we were all surprised. Later when Dr. Ikoni came back from his trip

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No official position on zoning of Akwa Ibom guber seat, says Etiebet Christopher Okon, Uyo organizations on Thursday.

ermanent Member Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atuekong Don Etiebet, has rubbished the decision of the Akwa Ibom State Chapter of the party to zone the governorship seat of Eket Senatorial District. The former petroleum minister said as a founding member of the PDP he was aware that the party has no official position on zoning hence the purported zoning of the governorship seat to Eket Senatorial District has not received the official endorsement of the PDP. Etiebet made the remarks while speaking to newsmen shortly after being welcomed into the state at the Ibom International Airport by teeming crowd of PDP stakeholders, women and youth

He also faulted the state chapter of the party for holding its state executives council meeting at the government house, saying that party meetings where sensitive decisions are taken are not usually held at the government house. According to him, the PDP as a party cannot take a resolution on how to zone the governorship seat to a particular senatorial district while barring other aspirants from contesting, adding that the action was undemocratic as it excludes aspirants from other areas from contesting. His words: “All what I am saying is that there is no PDP official position on zoning. Zoning arises as a result of consensus. The party

Don Etiebet as I know cannot take a resolution to say that we zone the governorship to so and so

constituency and barred other people from expressing their interest. That doesn't hold water.” “But we leaders in the process of electing a gubernatorial candidate can say that let us support so and so person but that is in our mind and that we shall express that during voting. Everybody should be allowed to express their intentions and aspirations and then go to the people to receive this voting. “What I talked about is the party sitting down and saying that only aspirants from a certain part of the state should be the only one to go. That is not proper.” He, however, explained that a candidate may emerge through a consensus based on the agreement of all other aspirants in the race but not

for the party to decide for the aspirants. Hear him: “I told all the aspirants to step down for Obong Victor Attah in 1998. That was my action addressed only to the aspirants and not to the party and all the aspirants agreed and made statement which were recorded that they had surrendered to the candidature of Obong Victor Attah. “Therefore Obong Victor Attah became a consensus candidate agreed upon by all the aspirants. Consensus is not determined by the party, it is determined by the aspirants. If we allow all the aspirants to come out from wherever they come from and then we elders talk to them that for this, for that, step down, that this is the person whom we want to go but if all the aspirants do not agree, we ask them to go to the ballot box.

Obiano reads riot act as another building collapses in Onitsha By Uche Chukwu, Awka lost in the latest incident adding flouts the directive would have his because of lack of professional the quality building materials

he collapse of two buildings within the same locality in Onitsha, commercial nerve centre of Anambra State is a thing of worry to well-meaning citizens that the State governor, Chief Willie Obiano has read a riot act, ordering that all building projects above bungalow level in the commercial centre and environs should stop immediately until recertified by the Council of Registered Engineers in Nigeria (COREN). Speaking after a swift visit to the site of another collapsed fivestorey building at Udi Street, Fegge, Onitsha South Local Government Area of the State, late Friday, governor Obiano said approval from COREN must be pasted in front of the site before any work would recommence on the project. The latest incident which claimed no life came less than two weeks after a school building inside a church premises collapsed allegedly killing about four persons and wounding many others. The governor who spoke after his visit weekend expressed worry about the collapsed of two buildings within same locality in Onitsha in less than three weeks said it is a strong indication that there are fundamental defects in the building modalities and approach which according to him, was unacceptable. He thanked God that no life was

that COREN would among other things, re-examine and evaluate the design of the structure, content and quality of materials being used, warning that anybody who

house pulled down by the State government. According to him, government would not compromise the lives and property of the citizenry

details and competence, stressing that certain engineering formalities must be followed in building a house. Governor Obiano reassured that

laboratory in Awka would soon be commissioned for testing of all materials before being used for construction to minimize incidence of building collapse.

Group extol the appointment of Dr, Chikwuelu as Anambra women affairs commissioner By Our Reporter

cross section of the citizens of the South East geo political zone has described the appointment of Dr.Victoria Chikwuelu as the Anambra State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development as a blessing to Ndi Anambra. The citizens, especially the youths, are of the opinion that the appointment will bring succor to the people of Anambra State particularly the aged women, the widows, the orphans and the less privileged and described the appointment as a square peg in a square hole. Rising from their one-day meeting in Enugu, the youths under the aegis of the South East Youths Movement of Nigeria ( S . E . Y. M . N ) , r e c a l l e d t h e commissioner's antecedents, her past service to the state and the nation, particularly her sterling contributions when she served at the Nwafor Orizu college of Education, (NOCEN), Nsugbe, and described her as a women of pedigree, sound administrative

where, throughout her career as a Lecturer, Dr. ability and uncommon Chikwuelu exhibited commitment to the well those noble qualities of being of her fellow citizens uncommon dedication as well as one who has a and discipline, and with a strong passion for the c o m bination of an sustenance of the less exceptionally motherly privileged in the society. care and her lectures, While describing the worked assiduously and commissioner as one that contributed her quota to possesses those core values entrench peace in the of integrity, honesty, college, attributes, the selflessness and hard work youths observed won her and a passion for the admiration of many excellence, the youths including students and observed that there has staff who still vouche for been manifest positive her ebullience and strong transformation of the character, and left an Ministry of Women Affairs e nduring legacy of since she assumed duty, dedicated service and and that her efforts have professional excellence impacted positively on the which inspired pride, lives of the less privileged p a t r i otism and in the society citing her selflessness among the Dr. Victoria Chikwuelu ministry's first raid on management and staff of Hon Commissioner for Women Affairs street beggars and hawkers the institution. And Social Development as a positive direction. The meeting commended According to the meeting, knowledge, depth and experience Governor Willie Obiano for her Dr.Victoria Chikwuelu has those unique and rare attributes of the to lead successfully and pilot the appointment to the position, just as it called on the entire Ndi servant leader model, exceptional affairs of the ministry creditably. It cited the case of the Nwafor Anambra to give her maximum management and leadership skills Orizu College of Education support. and the right combination of

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‘Dr Osueke remains an icon, a revered father of the church’ Continued from page 6

outside the shores of Nigeria, he said that he had absolutely nothing to do with that advert. This is Assemblies of God. You can see how shocking it is. If Dr. Emeka found it convenient to place an advert in a newspaper and put Dr. Ikoni's name without him having any knowledge whatsoever of that advert, it tells you the type of person we are talking about. It was later discovered that one of his c r o n i e s n a m e d R e v. Samuel Onwuka carried out, what in Nigeria political parlance they will call dastardly act. The Executive Committee did not at any time approve that the offices of the principal officers of the university should be declared vacant. Dr. Emeka, I better say again know what really happened. I want to tell you that the University's principal officers can be heard from, for you to get everything balanced. When you talk about officers conniving with the Ambassadors of the kingdom, I want to tell you that this is very disrespectful; extreme too. These Ambassadors to the kingdom are key members of the Assemblies of God. They are people whose Christian integrity is proven over times. Assemblies of God is not a church where you bring money and we start singing your praise; no. It is not just about money or whatever; it is about their Christian lives, leadership role over the years; the way they have supported the work of God and supported the church. The Executive committee under the retired General Superintendent was of the opinion that it was proper to show some recognition to these men as in other churches which have their knights and others. This was done and these are very distinguished members of Assemblies of God. Our General Officers are people of integrity, we are happy they are here. If anybody ever tells you that the issue we are handling is an issue of connivance; the word connivance is a great insult to Assemblies of God. How on earth would anybody say that the General Officers were conniving with the Ambassadors of the Kingdom? That does not exist, it never did and we challenge Dr. Emeka wherever he is to bring evidence of connivance. Let him present evidence of connivance; he cannot because it doesn't exist.

Is it true that Prof. Emeka held meetings almost every day with the officers to run

under Emeka look like. He knows the world of a difference between them. You cannot compare those meetings and they were few and far between; they did not serve the purpose.

Are you saying that Rev. Prof. Emeka ran the Assemblies of God Church Nigeria like a sole Administrator?

the church? (General laughter) Now, because he was my General Superintendent at a time, we have to be very charitable. If he was not General Superintendent; if he had been a Nigerian politician or businessman, I would have described what he did with very apt words but let's avoid that because we are children of God, we are spiritual people. I am happy that the officers are here. In fact I will prefer that the officers will let you know that for a very long time, Dr. Emeka refused to call for meetings with his officers but you know we are ordinary people and when certain things come up in the general meeting it became clear to us and we made our inquiry, we asked and we were not surprised when the officers made it plain to us that meetings were not going. He was supposed to be having regular meetings with the officers. He did not call for those meetings; he had no time for them because his administrative system which he had imbibed was such that he does not meet with officers. He preferred a 'one man show' than to work with a committee. And that's why like I said earlier when 13 members from the Executive Committee went to him and presented him with our well thought wise counsel, he alone was on the other side with the exception of my brother who was absent from the meeting, he rejected all we said. So when he refused to meet with his officers nobody was surprised about that. There had been a brief exchange of words with officers but if you ask them, they will tell you and we thank God we have an officer who worked with retired General Superintendent, he knows what the officers' meeting looked under retired Rev. Dr. Osueke. He also knows the caricature of meetings

I have said earlier that he's running it as if we don't have a General Superintendent. A General Superintendent is supposed to move with committee. Some churches have General Overseer and that's why some churches have owner/founder. That's why it is difficult to understand our system. They have an owner/founder who dictates all that goes on; who is not questioned or queried; whose word is law. He does whatever seems right in his eyes. Assemblies of God is not like that. If you become the G e n e r a l Superintendent of Assemblies of God, Nigeria tomorrow, you are still under the control of the Church. The church is free to call you to question for anything but from all we have known about Emeka, he did not like that system. He detested it. He was going the way of a sole Administrator and singleh a n d e d l y dissolved boards of departments, took decisions t h a t t h e Executive Committee should have taken in spite of every effort to call him back to our cherished and well established system. Let me tell you something, at a time in Executive Committee, things began to get rowdy. If we had not been children of God you would have heard a different story all together but the Holy Spirit thought us to control ourselves and continue to give words of advice and counsel and he continued to spun our counsel and thought it was best to continue to operate without caring about the cherished guidelines

that has been put down in our constitution and bye laws. He wanted to operate like a General Overseer; we don't have such room and terminology in Assemblies of God. Let me tell you something, at a time in Executive Committee, things began to get rowdy. If we had not been children of God you would have heard a different story all together but the Holy Spirit thought us to control ourselves and continue to give words of advice and counsel and he continued to spun our counsel and thought it was best to continue to operate without caring about the cherished guidelines that has been put down in our constitution and bye laws

Emeka alleged that retired Rev. Osueke is the brain behind the problem because he (Osueke) didn't back him from the onset. Please let me say something about Rev. Dr. Osueke. I can say it in a simple way. We want you to understand that Rev. Dr. Osueke is much respected; much revered. This is the absolute truth, it is the gospel truth. There's no regret

“stand up lets introduce our General Superintendent”, you don't need to say that. Once he comes in, we all stand. He is a man that God used for 22 years to give us leadership as our General Superintendent and he did marvelously well. He has left a good name for himself, we know him as a man of integrity. Today we call him the grandfather of the work and we mean it. We respect him with every due respect. So to bring his name into this thing at all, Nigerian politician will say “it is an exercise in futility”. There is no way anybody in Dr. Emeke's camp will try to drag in Dr. Osueke's name and succeed in disparaging him; there is absolutely no way. So far as Assemblies of God's people are concerned, Rev. Dr. Osueke remains an icon, he remains a revered father of Assemblies of God Nigeria. And the whole Assemblies of God, all church organization that have had dealings with him over his 22 years, and even before then, because he featured greatly as an evangelist all over the place, they have continued to respect him today. The respect Rev. Dr. Osueke enjoys, no other leader in Assemblies of God today, serving or retired comes near it. And you should take our word for that. That's the absolute truth.

So you are saying that, Rev. Osueke is not behind the issue? Oh forget that completely. That is exactly childish propaganda.

In some of the write ups, the General Superintendent said he did not go to court, later he said the case was vacated and later that the human right activists that did not like what the church executive committee did went to court. What do you have to say about that?

whatsoever. Do you know that as we are seated here now, if Rev. Dr. Osueke steps into this place everybody would of his own freewill stand. If he goes to any conference of Assemblies of God; any gathering of the people and Rev. Dr. Osueke steps in, they will all stand. If he is to be introduced, before he will be introduced, he is given a standing ovation, till tomorrow, till next year, for as long as he lives, by Assemblies of God people all over the General Council. You don't need to say

First of all, let me tell you what concerns me most, this Executive Committee is not illegal. In November 2010, we had the general council of Assemblies of God meeting in our evangel camp at Okpoto, elections were duly carried out as we do in Assemblies of God family and Dr. Emeka was voted in with other three general officers and 12 other members were voted in, one representing each geographical zones. We divided Assemblies of God Nigeria into geographical zones, for purposes of representation and the executive committee to give us a national leadership. We were all voted in, there is no illegality. We served together as one body until the former general superintendent was suspended. It may interest you to know that we were 17, voted in on November

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2010, and one of us departed to be with the Lord in January 2012 and the remaining 16 have been serving. God has kept us alive and he will continue to keep us. And since Rev. Emeka was suspended, the other 15, we have been holding our meetings. What is illegal about it? Was it the general council that brought us into office that was illegal? If it was, if that election was and it wasn't, then he too was illegal but it wasn't. We all were voted in, in a clearly legal election. And there was no protest whatsoever as there's never been in Assemblies of God family. This executive committee now comprises all the 15. We are here on one page. When Rev. Habilakim departed to be with the Lord, and we remained 16, we continued, his departure did not make us illegal. When Emeka was suspended, the rest of us continued, his suspension does not in any way describe us as illegal. The General Council Assemblies of God knows that this is Executive Committee. We meet, we have our minutes, we take decisions, we send out our decisions which are complied with in all other general council. Is that the picture of illegality?

Committee that notice is placed in the minutes by the general secretary. In the September Executive Committee minutes notice is placed again in the minutes by the general secretary. This general committee is a meeting of all the unit heads in Assemblies of God Nigeria. We have districts, we have areas, we have missionary areas, we have bible schools and our general council Directors; they all come for this meeting. Each district superintendent comes with one other ordained minister and two members of the laity. This whole body comprises the General Committee Assemblies of God Nigeria. It is the duty of the Executive committee to convene a meeting of the general committee. We do that under the General Superintendent. It is also the constitutional privilege of the General Superintendent to serve as the Chairman of the regular session of the general committee.

Did court say the suspension is illegal? Now, there is a court paper. Like I said, he filed a court process in Enugu high court and on Thursday, 6th of March, when the general committee was in session, somebody who got wind of that writ of summons, somebody who has sympathy for Assemblies of God was kind enough to bring the writ of summons to us, in the general committee meeting; that document has a stamp of the Chief Registrar of Enugu State High Court, it's a genuine document and the Plaintiff in the document is as he called himself Rev. Ozokwoani Emeka. The defendants were divided into 2 segments; with 11 members of executive committee and 11 other Ambassadors of the kingdom, making a total of 22. Now let me talk about the general committee. We have two types of general committee in Assemblies of God. They are in our constitution and bylaws. We have the regular general committee that meets every June and every December and the system for summoning that meeting is that in the March meetings of the Executive

It is also his privilege to also serve as chairman of any special session of the general committee. Like I said, Rev. Dr. Emeka has stamped his foot at every effort made to invite the Ambassadors to talk with him. He preferred to go round telling his story rather than facing his accusers. That was not acceptable to us. We have made efforts in December meeting to work out a road map. And point number one in the road map, I don't want to border you with it; we had an agreement; the whole Executive Committee point number 2 We had an agreement but when we got to

point number 3, our agreement broke down. That is actually where he used the word deadlock. When eleven people were saying one thing and he was saying something with the other three. Nobody does that in parliamentary order but Emeka would do it. Now we found it difficult to get him to shift his foot and the church had run into a lot of stormy weather; people were on the internet, on the social media, some sending text messages, everybody was saying what he/she wanted to say. Everybody who loved Assemblies of God and everybody who is committed to the life of the church were feeling extremely uncomfortable. So the members of the Executive Committee kept doing all it could to get Emeka to sit with his accusers, but he kept rebuffing our efforts by virtue of his being chairman. By the grace of God we looked into the constitution and bylaws and we discovered that if 33% of the membership of the general committee could sign a document, they were free to convene a special session of the general committee. We decided to follow that because it was the only option left. There's nothing else that was left. If we didn't make use of that option, it's either Emeka will continue refusing to let us make progress until perhaps one d a y, i f w e r e m o v e ourselves from the control of Holy Spirit, we will behave like ordinary men and then you, press people will come again and say that we are behaving like ordinary men but helped that our father made had made these provisions. By the grace of God in spite of all his efforts to dissuade people from signing our documents but people signed our documents and we got the right percentage and the general committee was convened and he was invited to that general committee. Now it was clear to us at the general committee, that neither Dr Emeka nor any member of the Executive Committee will serve as chairman. This was because the first letter written by the ambassadors indicted both him and the members of the executive committee. So there's no way he could serve as chairman. There may be a lawyer in your midst, the journalists, and you know that nobody sits as a judge in his own case. So there's no way he could expect by any stroke of imagination to come to chairman

this special session. Other special sessions, he could have served as chairman but this one concerned allegation made against him. There's nowhere in the world he will sit as chairman. So what we did, realizing that he couldn't sit as chairman and then in our elementary knowledge, everybody has it, the general committee now properly convened decided to shop for the chairman. And by the grace of God, since we had Retd. Rev. Dr. C.O Osueke, who had served as our General Superintendent in a distinguished manner for 22 years there, somebody moved a motion that he was the person most qualified to serve as chairman of that special session. It was seconded and the whole house unanimously said “yes”. There was no voice of decent and that is how Baba Osueke came to be the chairman. While he was giving the Chairman's opening remarks, this court papers were brought into the house. I have a copy of the agenda of that general committee meeting, there's absolutely nothing about suspension in that agenda. What we had was setting up a panel so that everybody will go to the panel and express themselves. There had been earlier attempts and suggestions to set up a panel in the E.C. and Prof. Emeka said he was bigger than appearing before a panel. And like I said that will work in some churches but it doesn't work in Assemblies of God. Whether the General or district Superintendent, when something has gone wrong, you have to appear to speak and you have to be sure that all is well. This is a spiritual body and not a political organization and we are interested that whoever is at the head anywhere whether at the local church or wherever should have a good testimony before the people he leads. If your testimony is brought into question by anybody you have to clear your name because we do not give theoretical preaching and theoretical Christianity, we are practical Christians with our testimonies. When that court paper came and because we said earlier, we have a constitutional position that says 'don't take the church to court for any reason', we have enough or more than enough in-house mechanisms to settle matters; when that court papers arrived, somebody who love the Assemblies of God, who knew his scriptures, who knew the position of the constitution said “we don't accept this” and he moved the motion for the suspension of Emeka and dismissal from the ministry on the basis of both bible and the constitution. That motion was seconded and was unanimously carried when it was put to vote. And so he remained suspended as

a member and dismissed from the ministry of Assemblies of God Nigeria.

Who suspended him from the ministry? The general committee did.

Was Emeka's suspension and summary dismissal done following due process as provided in your constitution or because your group saw a court s u m m o n s ? Wa s t h e suspension done on the fact of what agenda? This is Assemblies of God. We have the bible, we have the constitution. Rev. Emeka in his capacity as General Superintendent at that time was supposed to be the chief custodian of this document and he didn't show much respect it; he did not. Someone said earlier that the officers of the University took Assemblies of God to court. But of course I tend to have the understanding that the Evangel University board sued Paul Emeka and not Assemblies of God. I also know that at the point in time you are speaking about, he was still on the seat of General Superintendent. If he believed as the chief custodian of our constitution and bylaws, if indeed they sued Assemblies of God to court, he knew what he should have done as the General superintendent to pay attention to it if was unhappy with that situation as he should have been if it existed, being the chief operation officer of Assemblies of God Nigeria. He would have called attention to it and that matter would be pursued by the Executive Committee. When you talk about the General committee, perhaps I will explain myself again. I have said that the General Superintendent Assemblies of God Nigeria is not only chairman of the Executive Committee, he is also chairman of the General committee, and he is even Chairman of the board of trustees and all that. It is in our constitution and bylaws. I said that in any regular meeting of the General committee and two such meetings every year, the General Superintendent serves as chairman. In any special meeting of the general committee the General Superintendent also serves as chairman. But in the case we are discussing about, it was a special session of the general committee and the General Superintendent at that time was an accused. I do not know any journalist who will then say even if it is not contained here, that a man against whom allegations has been brought should sit as chairman over his own case. None, nobody says so

Continues on page 11

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Shell is unfair to the Iriebe people – Queen Eleto An entry into Nigeria's Garden City and you would not miss a signpost indicating the Iriebe Community which is said to host the major oil exploring companies in the country. Last weekend, Royalty and Splendour spotted and pinned down the pretty lady behind the king of the community. In this interview, the cheerful-looking sweet sixteen of a queen tells us her community deserves better as she passionately decries the sins of Shell Petroleum in the kingdom. Excerpts: Servicing Company ,Terrawood Real Estate Company as well as Tom and Brim etc. Using this medium, I employ Shell Petroleum Development Company to wake up and provide the community roads, schools, portable water and electricity. Our husbands are learned, our sons are graduates, we too (the women) are schooled, let them offer us contracts and employment. Why should we suffer in the midst of 14 0il wells?

By Mary Chinda May we meet you ma? My name is Francisca Eleto. I am the 36-year old queen {Achacha} of Iriebe community in Nigeria's treasure base Rivers State. I am a wife, mother of four and a business woman.

Tell us about the Iriebe community? This kingdom is one of the oilrich communities in the state, in fact, we boast of having the largest number of oil wells summing up to 14 oil wells being explored by big names like Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and others. Generally, the Iriebe community is a peaceful one comprising only two villagesRumuoda and Okorusi. Aside the crude, arable land is another endowment given to us by God so we are largely a farming population. This explains why Iriebe is named the biggest okra market within Rivers. While our men are both loving and industrious, our women take to the hoe and to trading, the people are collectively enterprising as they take delight in opening up their own businesses spanning from oil-servicing firms to real estate agencies, boutiques, bars etc. Personally, I run a hotel, manage an outdoor catering service and even management firm, as well as own a boutique. I typify the saying that the Iriebe woman is an Ikwerre woman on the move; hardworking.

Is kingship hereditary or rotational in Iriebe?

What is education like in the community? We have good but expensive private schools which only a few parents can afford. The state government schools which usually offer free education are located in far away Oyibo Local Government Area which makes it cumbersome to enroll our wards. We are all the same hopeful that the government would soon erect schools within the kingdom.

We hear you have a pet project for women. Tell us about it? Queen Francisca Eleto, {Achacha} of Iriebe community dwarfed when we have Abraham as father in our land ?All they do is sponsor strife among us by paying off a few million to a faction of the kingdom in order to get us busy fighting with each

other and ignoring their insensitivity towards their corporate social responsibility .However, we have other companies that are good to us, companies like Wefri-well Oil

{laughs hysterically} Shell? Shell is not fair to us. They don't offer the community any assistance. I suppose they don't know what corporate social responsibility is. They forget they are to provide us with bore-hole water, electricity and schools. THAT is not asking for too much, is it? Why should we stay infrastructurally

What about the major festivals in this community? (a satisfactory smiles plays through her lips) The Iriebe man is by default a festival person. Our most elaborate festival is the egelege festival. It is a 3-day wrestling festival often witnessed by prominent men and women within the state. It holds in October.

What's your advice for your youths? I urge them to join forces with our king, Eze Dr. Micheal Eleto in bringing about the best for us. I truly desire that these youths' slams the “sell- land-to-become rich” doors and get more education.

What's your advice to the king who seems to be doing well in the face of stiff opposition within the community? I advise him to pay a deaf ear to criticism and continue to bring the people together for development. You would agree with me that a leader is like a dustbin where everybody dumps their trash and walks away. I am glad that the Eze is a patient man and resolute in his decisions.

'Nigerians own most houses on London's expensive street’

Talking about leadership, we maintain a rotational leadership style between the two villages .Now, my husband is Eze because the kingship rotated to our village after the last king.

Wow! Yours seems to be an enviable tale of comfort. Tell us how much you have benefited from an oil giant as Shell Petroleum in your community?

Yes. Women empowerment is my passion. With the support of my husband, I am building a center for the indigents of Iriebe where they will acquire vocational skills. Meanwhile, my husband and I usually put together various business seminars for farmers and traders after which we empower them financially to the

tune of N100, 000 and above. This is to ensure that agriculture which is a major player in our economy remains vibrant.

bout 70 per cent of the most expensive buildings in London are owned by Nigerians, the Chairman, New Nation, an empowerment-oriented group, Mr. Charles Dukwe, has said. He added that citizens of the United Kingdom avoided buying houses in the area due to their expensive prices.

The philanthropist spoke with newsmen in Port Harcourt shortly after unveiling the Queen of Compassion and Kill the Killers Initiative, a grass roots campaign against diabetes and high blood pressure. Present at the event as brand ambassadors were Nollywood stars such as Ini Edo, Uche Jombo, Monalisa Chinda and

Desmond Elliot. Dukwe lamented that some Nigerians were investing funds from the country in Europe and other Western countries, leaving the people at home jobless. He observed that Nigeria was going through a lot of challenges as a result of corruption that had brought rot to the system. He, therefore, called on Nigerians to embrace compassion and show love to each other. Dukwe said, “There is a street in London; it is called Edgerton Crescent. Edgerton Crescent is the most expensive street in the world. Houses there are worth £3m to £4m. “British celebrities that have money don't buy houses on that street. They will tell you it is too expensive. But 70 per cent of the houses there are owned by Nigerians. “The thing that is missing in Nigeria is compassion. We want

to use compassion as a value and drive it through people so that people can help each other in the society. Our aim is to make compassion a core value in the society.” He noted that the 'Kill the Killers Initiative' was established to attack the major diseases that cut short the lives of people in Nigeria and across Africa. According to him, diabetes and high blood pressure form over 60 per cent of the cause of deaths among adults in Nigeria, just as malaria forms 70 per cent of the deaths among children in the country. “In Nigeria and across Africa, we have failed immeasurably by paying little or no attention to principal diseases that cut the lives of our people short and thus leaving our life expectancy to numbers way below all the advanced nations,” he said.

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ASSEMBLIES OF GOD CRISIS

Rev. Dr. Emeka wanted to reap from where he did not sow Continued from page 9

anywhere in the world. When he goes about shouting that he's supposed to be the chairman of the general committee, he should have let you know that he was invited to that general committee; he should have let you know that we have obtained and satisfied the constitutional requirement for the convening of that general committee. He should have let you know that we had written him officially and invited him to that general committee. What error he keeps making is to arrogate to himself the authority to convene the general committee. The General Superintendent does not have the authority to convene the general committee by this document; not even the regular general committee. It is the General Superintendent with the Executive committee that convenes the general committee. He as GS does not have such authority. Sometime people step beyond their boundaries and other people keep quiet in the interest of fellowship and peace. And those who keep quiet are thought to be fools; we are no fools, we children of God and genuine one wherever you see them are no fools. We can keep quiet in the interest of peace. We can let go but when we do that, it is not necessarily because we do not know our rights. That was why Apostle Paul when they threw him into prison as a roman citizen and wanted to bring him out through the back door, he said you people are not going to do that, go and call whoever put me in jail to come and bring me out, I am a Roman citizen. He had suffered much for Christ, flogged etc. he was ready to go to prison but that day he wanted to make a point. I think that part of the problem is when you respect your leaders, when you allow them to get away with certain infringements in the constitution; they begin to think it is a right. They do not know it is a privilege, they do not know you are allowing them to set themselves in order and come back to do the correct thing. That general committee was properly constituted. The voting of Rev. Dr. Osueke retd. was properly done by the entire general committee that was on seat that day. There were other candidates that could have been voted in as chairman just for this special session many other candidates: some retired members of EC were there but as I said neither Emeka nor any member of EC could have been voted in. The house unanimously with joy voted in Dr. Osueke; he didn't ask for it. Let me even tell you

something else, when the motion was moved for the suspension of Emeka and seconded, Rev. Dr. Osueke did everything in his power to see how he could wriggle out of it because it looked to us like he too was uncomfortable with it. But no matter how he tried to do what we know he normally does very well the house will not allow him on that day. That document that my friend said flew into our meeting that day did not fly into the meeting. It was not a bird and didn't have wings. There's no metaphor you are going to use to justify the expression because it didn't fly into the meeting. It was brought into the meeting. It was a genuine document. It had the official stamp of the chief registrar. It was signed by the chief registrar. What's the problem? It had Emeka's name on it. Not only that particular one, there are some other court processes and he was solidly

themselves if you sue 11 members of the Executive Committee you have sued all our leaders; you have sued the church. If you also have added the distinguished 11 Ambassadors, you have made the matter worse. While he may have thought it is a 'one, one' business, Assemblies of God people saw it as you have sue the church because you have collected all our leaders and have dragged them to court. That was why the motion was raised. The moment the document was read in the meeting, the tempo changed drastically and Assemblies of God did what it could do in keeping with the constitution and bylaws.

You said that Dr. Emeka has been suspended as a member and dismissed as a minister but he is still sitting tight in his office. Please react.

Assemblies of God Headquarters

behind them to such an extent that when an injunction was given in respect of one of the court processes about which he was not visibly plaintiff, he wanted to benefit from an injunction that did not concern him. How would a man who said he didn't take us to court â&#x20AC;Śassuming he didn't pursue the first case, he was indirectly â&#x20AC;Ś., we are not children, I don't look like neither of my brethren. He was indirectly showing interest and promoting that other case thinking that he has removed his name. Let me tell you what happened gentlemen of the press. Somebody must have advised Dr. Emeka to sue people in their individual capacities. He sued 11 members of the EC and mentioned their names individually. What happened was that when this document was brought into the general committee and all the names were read, members of Assemblies of God said to

Thank you very much for your question but let me quickly add something that I didn't add earlier. There was a letter written to him by the General Committee, we normally write letters, when taking such action as suspension. The letters make the whole thing official. In that letter three reasons were given for his suspension. One was for his contempt of the general committee, which is refusing to attend the meeting of the general committee of which he was invited. Two was for the several breaches of our constitution and bylaws of Assemblies of God Nigeria. And like I said when you overstep your bounds, we continue to endure and believe that you'll come back to do what is proper and not abuse privileges when you are allowed. Number three, for taking members of the Executive Committee and Ambassadors of the Kingdom and National Consultative Assembly to court which is

tantamount to taking the church to court. I just remembered this to let you know.

You said he is suspended and dismissed, if he refuses to go what will you people do? Alright let me answer that one. He has been suspended as a GS and dismissed as a minister and his response is now that he has decided to fight the church, he is using every apparatus he can lay hands on to fight the church. He has an understanding with certain powers that be within the state and he is using them to fight the church. He has an understanding with certain people in uniform and he is using them to fight the church. Let me give you an instance, we sat in one of our meetings; a peaceful meeting in the conference room in our headquarters and Dr. Emeka had arranged the Special AntiRobbery Squad (SARS) to come and stop us from sitting apparently because of his understanding with them. He goes about brandishing a court paper that has nothing to do with him. He goes about brandishing an i n t e r i m injunction about a summons to court which he claims he is not part of. An i n t e r i m injunction that is expired he will brandish it. He gets the Special AntiRobbery Squad not the regular police; I want you to take note of this, to come and harass the members of the Executive Committee while we were holding our meeting in the usually peaceful and beautiful atmosphere without disturbing anybody. They came the first time, came the second time and came the third time all in one day. He has used the police to go to our Evangel Television, saw through the lock of the TV house and made a forceful entry into Evangel TV. He has used the police to support him to break the doors of the TV and effected a change of the locks. He has used police support to break the doors of the TV and effected a change of the locks. He has used the police to force our members who are staff in our headquarters to shake hands with him. In Assemblies of God, in keeping with biblical injunction when you are suspended from membership we don't eat, drink or shake hands with you until you are reinstated

to membership; it is biblical. He got the police to round up the head office staff and under the threat of police that were with their guns, forced them to shake hands with him as a way of showing that he did not accept the suspension. We had our Easter retreat, when the first batch of Easter retreat material were brought to the National headquarters, Prof. Emeka with the aid of the police confiscated a truck load of material costing so much money, went away with them, believing that by so doing we will be incapacitated and will no longer hold the retreat. But of course those mere posters and handbills, we went ahead to hold a very successful retreat in spite of that. So he's been doing all sorts of things with the police. What is he looking for? (The recent one) Just on Monday we went to hold our meeting, the police was there again to say no you can't hold your meeting here, we have a court paper, so you should go away from here. We made contact with commissioner of Police of Enugu State, and the commissioner instructed them to leave us to hold our meeting. On Tuesday, one of the Emeka boys who was actually instrumental to the suit that Emeka want to get some benefit from, came into the conference hall with a group of thugs and started singing and clapping. He said that they had come to pray; that Emeka sent them. He said, 'my GS sent us to come and pray'. Where the Executive of Assemblies of God was meeting, he came in and started clapping hands and one of his thugs came and started pushing, trying to seize people's handset, file etc. and of course he succeeded in walking away with some handsets and files. When one gentleman came in to help his master collect his files, he gave him a head butt just above the eye and blood spilled. This happened on Tuesday; people fighting for Emeka. Let me tell you something, as soon as those people came into that meeting it was clear to us that police were with them. Just about five minutes after they had come in and tried to cause that scenario the police came into the hall. We know the game plan. We refused to fall into that game plan. People have been looking for opportunity to say that there is fracas. People have been looking for opportunity to say that there's breakdown of law and order. Emeka has been using any tactic he can remember. On 4th of April for instance we scheduled a meeting at our headquarters, he also went and scheduled his own meeting; same date, same time, same venue, so that there will be a

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Group warns against attack on Monarch A

cross section of Ihiala Community, particularly the youths have warned against any attempt by any person or group to insult, abuse or castigate the Traditional Ruler and Oluoha of the town, Igwe Dr. Cosmas Okechukwu. They have also warned against casting aspersions on him or disparaging his noble efforts and achievement in Ihiala town. At their one day emergency meeting at Odoata Ihiala, the group noted with dismay clandestine efforts by some “disgruntled elements” of the town to foment trouble and their move to negate the enviable role the Traditional Ruler of the town has been playing to ensure peace, stability and progress of the community. According to the meeting the Oluoha and Royal Father of Ihiala has, since his installation years ago, worked relentlessly, assiduously and selflessly in promoting and projecting the cultural heritage of the town and ensuring that peace and tranquility prevails among all the villages of the town. The meeting regretted that some people in Ihiala could form themselves into cliques just to pull down the monarch of the ancient kingdom or make him restless out of their “sheer greed”, “jealousy” and “over ambition”. It therefore warned

those formenting troubles in the town to desist forthwith and give peace a chance or face their wrath. In the words of the youths at the meeting: “we shall not fold our hands and watch a few undesirable elements from our town conspire to fan the ember of disunity in a hitherto peace loving and progressive community; “enough is enough, any further act of distraction by these individuals will be stiffly opposed.” The meeting recalled how prominent citizens of Ihiala Community approached the Tradition Ruler who was then a university don to take over the mantle of leadership as the Traditional Ruler of Ihiala and he, after accepting their request, was immediately faced with series of litigations to deny him recognition as the Oluoha of the town and how the case went to the Supreme Court, the highest court of the land where he finally won his case and was crowned the Oluoha of the town, and swore that he must be given the chance to perform his duty. The youths in the meeting also commended the effort of Ihiala Vigilante for their noble achievement in combating crime in the town. They also commended the Obiano Administration for establishing the Office of the Chieftaincy and

the Town Union Matters and urged his Special Assistant Barr. Reuben Udemgba not to be deterred by few mischief makers who want to soil the good image of the town in order to blackmail the revered traditional ruler. Meanwhile a meeting of Ihiala clan with the state members of Oluoha-in-council (the true legal representatives of the people of Ihiala clan) and the security committee has reviewed the activities of the Ihiala Vigilante service and gave kudos to the chairman (Mr. Christian kennedy Ohazurume) and members of the Vigilante Service for the excellent work they have been doing to combat crime in Ihiala. In a 12-point resolution the meeting outlined some of the achievements of the Vigilante group which include the capture of 6 kidnappers and recovery of 4 AK 47 assault rifles at the Azia junction on Oct 13,2013 together with members of SARS and

Oluoha of Ihiala Ihiala DPO, the rescue of one Mrs. Magrette Nwawulu from kidnappers on 12th Dec 2013 in a combined operation of the Vigilante Service, the SARS team from Ihiala and security detail of a prominent person in Umunnamehi Village, and a joint operation of the Vigilante group and the DPO team Ihiala Division on March 9th 2014 in which kidnappers hide out at Ndezike village was stormed and the 80 year-old mother of the VC of a University in the S.E (names

Immortalise Akunyili, FG told

ELEGATES at the National Confab have called the Federal Government to immortalise former Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and Minister of I n f o r m a t i o n a n d Communications, Prof. Dora Akunyili, who died on Saturday. Until her death, Akunyili, a delegate to the National Conference on the platform of Anambra State, had a seat on the front roll, sitting in front of Chief Gbadegesin Adedeji and second to former Minister of State, Defence, Erelu Olusola Obada. She was a member of Iyom Josephine Anenih-led Committee on Social Sector. In mournful mood, yesterday, delegates also paid tributes to the late Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero. The request for Akunyili's immortalization was sequel to a motion by Abubakar Jijiwa, the director general, Voice of Nigeria (VON) and delegate to the conference representing Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria. Describing Akunyili as a “very uncompromising” woman who

Late Prof. Dora Akunyili equally had passion for service to her country, Jijiwa recommended that a formal letter of condolence be written to her family, government and people of Anambra State and delivered by a delegation of the conference. Contributing to the motion, another delegate from Ebonyi State representing the SouthEast, Professor Nnenna Oti, whose tribute evoked emotions, said the late Akunyili “was so

many things to many people, adding that “she was a comet and an epitome of a complete woman”. Aisha Ismail, a Kano State delegate, while recalling the deceased's days at NAFDAC described Akunyili as a great Nigerian, saying anything done to immortalize her would be worthwhile. “I am sad and miserable for losing that woman. She proved to everybody that if

g i v e n t h e opportunity, women could do more. She will be remembered at all times. Other women should strive to be like Dora. Anything done in her name will be worthwhile.” Mrs. Felicia Sani, representing the market association said that Dora “did quite a lot for this country. She fought doggedly and stuck her neck. A lot of women and children will be encouraged by her attitude.” Others who spoke were Mrs. Amana Lawan Ali, a retired civil servant from Borno state who described Akunyili as a sister and boss having served under Akunyili as a permanent secretary; Chief Mike Ozekhome, a federal government delegate who also described Akunyili as a woman of an impeccable character and Barrister Dan Nwanyanwu, a Labour Party delegate who said that late Akunyili was a “straight, sincere and honest woman who hated injustice”.

withheld) was rescued. The resolution jointly signed by the Oluoha and Traditional Ruler of Ihiala, Igwe Dr.Cosmas Okechukwu, the Palace Secretary Chief Willie Obikanyi (Ichie Nnamuzie) and a political stalwart and former representative of Ihiala federal constituency at the National Assembly and member Ihiala security committee Chief Chuma Nzeribe (Akuluouno) among others gave a brief history of Ihiala Vigilante Service since its inception in 2011 and enumerated some of its prospects, challenges and successes with 22 active members all fully documented by the DPO Ihiala Division, and a net work of informants. According to the resolution the Ihiala Vigilante has actively provided security across the villages in Ihiala town and reduced incident of violent crime. It condemned the attitude of some of Ihiala indigenes whose stock in trade is to destabilize the effective operation of Ihiala Vigilante Service and adopted a motion to retain the chairman and members of the Vigilante Service in view of their excellent performance. The meeting also condemned the attitude of some people particularly Lagos based who are bent on writing frivorious petitions to the Anambra State commissioner of Police, particularly when these baseless petitions are against the Oluoha, Hon Chuma Nzeribe and the chairman of Ihiala Vigilante, Christ Kennedy Ohazurume. The resolution also stressed the need to insulate the Ihiala vigilante against any undue interference from any quarter. During the meeting Hon. Nzeribe briefed members on the contribution of the security committee in bridging the “funding gap” in the running of Ihiala Vigilante Service through the operation of a safe fraud free collection of security levy as approved by the Oluoha, the Security Committee, and various market associations, as well as the progress so far made on the 17 KM Uzoakwa-UbahuekwemOseakwa road by Horizon Construction Limited which attracted commendations from all the members. As if in a simultaneous reaction, youths from the other 8 towns of Ihiala LGA converged at Azia to condemn those who attack the Traditional Ruler of Ihiala. According to them, by virtue of his position as the Clan Head of Ihiala LGA any attack or insult on the Traditional Ruler Igwe, Dr. Cosmas Okechukwu is an attack on them. The youths therefore appealed to members of this notorious clique to desist.

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Wednesday, June 25 - Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Twelve indigent students get Rotary scholarship in Enugu

Rotary club, Enugu officials with the benefiting students By Ted Peters

EPRIEVE has come the way of twelve indigent students of Enugu state as the Rotary Club of Enugu has awarded them scholarship to complete their secondary school education. To these students who have had difficulty funding their education, the gesture by the Rotary Club is

like a dream come true as many of them have lost their parents and on the verge of dropping out of school. The beneficiaries were drawn from those classified as the poorest of the poor. The scholarship, courtesy of the Rotary Club Enugu Educational Foundation was introduced to assist brilliant but indigent

studentsfor three years from senior secondary one to senior secondary three. The scholarship is N720,000 per year with each of the benefiting students receiving a sum of N60,000 a year. They include students drawn from the Queen Secondary School, Uwani Secondary School, Union Secondary School, National Grammar School, Nike, New Layout Secondary School, City

Girls Secondary School and Urban Secondary School, all located in Enugu metropolis. One of the benefitting students had been living with his uncle and family in a two room apartment in Enugu in the last four years after losing his father. The student, who is the fourth in a family of seven has a mother whose occupation is farming in their rural village. The benefiting students include Nnadi Anastasia (Queens School), Ezenwoke Francisca (Queens school), Ede Peter (Union Secondary School), Chibuzo Solomon (Uwani secondary school), Onyemobi John (Newlayout secondary school), Umeh Amarachi (City Girls), Uba Onyedikachukwu (Union Secondary), Ifoh Kingsley (National Grammar School), Ibeto Daniel (Uwani Secondary School), Animalu Chinecherem (City Girls) Okonkwo Ezinne ( Queens School) and Precious Nweke (Urban girls). Presenting the awards to the students at a ceremony held at the Modotel, Enugu, Chairman of the Rotary Club, Enugu Educational

Kidnapping: Mass police transfer in Anambra ·ASP Slumps Over Transfer to Borno By Uche Chukwu, Awka (name withheld) who is said to Tuesday slumped and entered into spoke to newsmen on condition of

have one more year to serve, upon coma before he was rushed to a receiving his transfer to Borno at nearby hospital. o fewer than 150 police the Central Police Station, Some of the affected officers, who officers in Anambra state have been transferred out of the state in what is seen as a renewed move by the State government to block all loopholes in its crime fighting measures in the State. By Our Reporter On assumption of office, Obiano had declared war against all forms LL Progressives of criminality in the state, Congress, APC, in necessitating him to launch Rivers State, has "operation kpochapu" (wipe out). described an alleged plot by Our correspondent reliably six lawmakers opposed to gathered that government of the state governor, Mr. Obiano was advised by a top Rotimi Amaechi to impeach security agency to seek the him, as ridiculous and transfer of such police officers undemocratic. following their incriminating link Media aide to the state with most hi-tech crimes in the Chairman of the party, Chief state. Chukwu Eze, said the party According to a source, the had uncovered an alleged incumbent governor of the state, plot by the six lawmakers to Willie Obiano, had petitioned the initiate impeachment police authorities demanding the proceedings against the transfer of certain category of governor at a private hotel, police officer out of the state adding that it would not following their alleged complicity hesitate to commit Mr. in criminal activities, especially Evans Bipi, a factional kidnapping. Speaker of the Assembly, to Some of the affected police jail over the alleged plot. officers, it was gathered were Gov. Amaechi transferred to Northern states of He said: “A plot to use six renegade members of the Rivers Borno, Sokoto, Nassarawa, Amaechi, the governor of Rivers Bauchi, Plateau, Yobe and State House of Assembly to State and Chairman of the Nigeria embark upon an impeachment Governors' Forum, NGF, has Adamawa State. According to the source, an ASP procedure against Governor been brought to our notice. To us,

anonymity, said the transfer was targeted at Southern officers in the force, especially the Igbo.

Alleged plot to impeach Amaechi the highest form laughable – Rivers APC this is ridiculous, o f i m p u n i t y, a n

invitation to anarchy and a booby trap which could truncate our nascent democracy. “Sadly for them, we c a n n o t accommodate or accept six confused lawmakers whose leader, Evans Bipi, representing O g u / B o l o constituency, was cautioned by a state High Court to stop parading himself as a Speaker. Bipi is obviously playing with fire as he has been barred from parading himself as Speaker by a court of c o m p e t e n t jurisdiction. He should also note that none of his undemocratic sponsors will come to his aid when he is committed to prison.”

Endowment Fund, Prof Jonathan Azubuike, said it was borne out of the desire of the club to touch the lives of the needy in the society. He stated that the committee that screened the benefiting students went extra mile to ensure that only the “indigent but brilliant” ones were selected after an examination that took place at the Queens school, Enugu. He stated that one of the students that wrote the exam was disqualified after it was verified that his parents were capable of seeing him through his education, adding that the club's four-way test philosophy was fully used in determining the beneficiaries of the scholarship awards. “These students are indeed indigent as some of them have no parents or are in the custody of their relations while they go to school. The committee has done a good job in fishing them out and they have proved by their performance that they are indeed brilliant. We will not sit and watch their dreams of acquiring good education be thwarted by lack of funds and that is why we are today awarding them scholarship to finish their secondary education”, he said. Azubuike said that the scholarship scheme was the brain child of the former president of the club, Dr Benson Aghazu, who in 2010, after receiving the Gold Service Award of the club, in appreciation invited his friends, who raised money which he gave to the club to be used as scholarship endowments for indigent students. Dr Agbazu who was present at the occasion, expressed gratitude to God that the scheme had continued even after he had left office. He said that he decided to introduce the scheme following his experience while in the secondary school where he almost dropped out as aresult of lack of funds, adding that, it was a scholarship that came his way from an unknown foreigner that saw him through. He called on Nigerians to continue to show support to the less privilege din the society. It would be recalled that the club had last year awarded scholarships to four indigent students of secondary schools in Enugu. The students who reacted to the awards, expressed gratitude to Rotary for the gesture, while promising to do their best so as to see whether such opportunity could come when they were done with secondary education. The occasion also featured presentation of award of honour on Dr Aghazu for his continued support to the club.

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Wednesday, June 25 - Tuesday, July 1, 2014

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Appeal Court affirms Umeh as APGA National Chairman

*Umeh sues for peace, vows to capture S-East for APGA

HE Court of Appeal in Abuja Wednesday set aside the judgement of justice Abdul Kafarati of the Federal High Court, which had earlier sacked the Victor Umeh led National Executive Committee of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), affirming Chief Victor Umeh and Alhaji Sani Abdulahi Shinkafi as the National Chairman and National Secretary of the party respectively. The Court held that the 1st respondent to the case, Maxi Okwu has no locus standi to have instituted the suit having been expelled from the party, while berating Justice Abdul Kafarati of the Federal High Court for assuming jurisdiction in the matter when he lacks the jurisdiction to have gone into the it in the first place. In allowing the 12 grounds raised by Umeh and Shinkafi, the appellate court in a unanimous decision held that the respondent (Maxi Okwu) does not have the locus standi to institute the action having ceased to be a member of APGA after he was expelled by the party.

According to Justice T.Y Hassan who read the lead judgment “The appeal is against a Federal High Court delivered on January 15th which had dissolved the entire leadership of APGA elected in 2011 the party. On whether the appellants complied with the provisions of the APGA constitution I hold that they substantially complied with the said constitution. “I also Uphold all the 12 grounds of appeal brought by the appellants. The trial judge Justice Abdul Kafarati should not have assumed jurisdiction to entertain the suit when there is a subsisting judgment of the Court of Appeal Enugu Division” he added. The court also upheld the APGA convention conducted in February 10th 2011 as having

Chief Victor Umeh complied with the provisions of the APGA constitution, adding that Justice Kafarati had no jurisdiction on the matter as there was a subsisting judgment of the

Court of Appeal Enugu Division which had nullified the decision of the Enugu State High Court presided over by the Chief of Enugu State Justice Innocent Umezurike. Reacting to the judgement, Umeh who expressed his gratitude to God for his infinite mercy noted that the judgment was very emphatic that the February 10th, 2011 convention of the party was conducted in consonance with the APGA Constitution, so this has reinforced our belief in the judiciary. Chief Victor Umeh who visited the final resting place of the former leader of the p a r t y , D i m Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu at Nnewi on Friday, asked all those who had deployed themselves against the wheel of the progress of the party to reflect over their actions and

I can’t go back to my county, says UK-based Nigerian gay

he Daily Independent, UK, has reported that a Nigerian seeking asylum, Aderonke Apata, felt she had tried everything to persuade the Home Office she was gay. She'd sent letters from former girlfriends both in Britain and Nigeria and supporting statements from friends. But once her claim that she could be killed because of her sexuality if sent back to Nigeria was rejected, she felt there was only one way of providing a judge with irrefutable evidence that she was gay: by sending a very personal home video. On Monday Ms Apata was expected to hand in a petition to Theresa May, the Home Secretary, demanding that the deportation of all LGBT asylum-seekers be halted until a review of their treatment is concluded. The Daily Independent, UK, reported on Sunday. Sitting with her girlfriend, Happiness Agboro, in a bar on Manchester's Canal Street, Ms Apata, 47, reveals the traumatic ordeal she has experienced: “I was asked to bring my supporting documents for my judicial review

for the court to look at. What evidence do we have to compile apart from letters from people? I knew we had a home video of ourselves, so I thought why not just put it in? I cannot afford to go back to my county where I will be tortured, so if I have to prove it with a sexual video, then I have to do it.” Her experience is echoed by many LGBT asylum-seekers in Britain who are having to go to extreme lengths to persuade skeptical immigration officers of their sexuality. She still feels distraught at having shared such an intimate record of her personal life. “I feel so bad it's got to this stage. It's such a desperate and precarious situation to be in, very dangerous, because anything could happen to those pictures, those videos.” The Home Secretary ordered a review of how border officials handle gay asylum claims in March after leaked documents revealed that inappropriate interrogation techniques were being used to make people “prove” they were homosexual. Ms Apata will present her petition

at a meeting with the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, attended by asylumseekers and activists in Manchester. When she came to Britain from Nigeria in 2004, her asylum claim was on religious grounds. She came from a Christian family, but had married a Muslim man in what she says was a sham arrangement to cover up her long-term relationship with another woman. According to Ms Apata, her husband's family turned against her as they suspected she was gay. They took her to a sharia court, where she was sentenced to death for adultery. She says her brother and three-year-old son were killed in related vigilante incidents. Ms Apata ran away and went into hiding after two appeals for asylum were rejected, living on the streets in Manchester to make sure she would not be deported. In 2012, after being caught working as a care manager with a false visa, she tried again to apply for asylum saying she feared returning to Nigeria and being persecuted for her sexuality.

This latest asylum claim was also rejected, despite the fact that Ms Apata gave testimony that her exgirlfriend in Nigeria was killed in a vigilante attack in 2012 and the country's law now punishes homosexuality with up to 14 years' imprisonment. Ms Apata's story has rapidly garnered mass support, with one petition demanding Theresa May halt her deportation already attracting more than 230,000 signatures. A judicial review has now been granted in her case and she is hopeful she will finally have the right to live freely in Britain with her girlfriend. A Home Office spokeswoman said: “We do not remove anyone at risk of persecution because of their sexuality. We provide dedicated guidance and training to those dealing with such asylum claims, and all applications are carefully considered in line with our international obligations.” For Ms Apata, the threat of deportation has proved too much and she has recently been hospitalised with complex posttraumatic stress disorder. “I want sanctuary,” she says. “I just want to be protected. I want to be who I am.”

sheath their swords because the party was ready to accommodate everyone in its march to greatness. Umeh who spoke yesterday at the graveside of the Ikemba Nnewi, where he said he had come to draw strength after his victory at the court of Appeal, Abuja D i v i s i o n l a s t We d n e s d a y, reiterated the need for the Igbos to come together under the party because such would give them a platform with which to advance in Nigeria politically. He noted that though the reasons for which some people waged court battles against him were unfounded, that he won all, first at the Enugu Division of the court of Appeal and later at the Abuja Division, adding that with these victories and the strength he had drawn from the party's late leader, Ojukwu, its leadership was now set to structure the party on the part of electoral victory. Consequently, he said part of the challenges facing the party at the moment was winning the five South-East states in the 2015 general elections and make inroads into a state like Lagos where it hoped to win some legislative seats in both the National and state Assembly elections. “It is also part of the reasons I will be contesting for the Senate. I have come here (Ojukwu's mausoleum) to recharge my a u t h o r i t y. A t O j u w k u ' s mausoleum, I spoke to him and he heard me and said go on and get the victory my son”, he said amidst laughter. The party he said was there for everybody and that his leadership will encourage whoever intended to realise his ambition on its platform while guaranteeing fairness, adding that he was a w a r e o f t h e d i ff i c u l t i e s associated with party administration. “I know the job is not easy. I know the sacrifices I have made and the challenges I have faced. Whoever is preparing to take over from me should be resilient,” he said. Umeh also said that the Anambra State government would within the next three months arrange to give all Igbos who died during the Nigerian Civil war proper burial so that their spirits will permanently rest in peace. This he said was predicated on the belief that whoever that went to war on behalf of Biafra and has not been seen after the war ended 44 years ago was presumed to have died.

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Wednesday, June 25 - Tuesday, July 1, 2014

The Nigerian Nationalist Adegoke Adelabu politician from Ibadan in the middle part of the 20th century. He was a self made man born into a humble family, but b e c a m e a n influential figure in Nigerian politics. He attended Government College, Ibadan and eventually became a business m a n . H i s successful political career was cut short when he was killed in a car crash, not long before Nigeria g a i n e d Adegoke Adelabu independence from badamosi Adegoke Adelabu Britain. He has been described as a (September 3, 1915-March particularly charismatic, intelligent 20, 1958) was an important and hard-working man.

Early life He was the first beneficiary of a scholarship given by the United Africa Company Nigeria (UAC) for outstanding ability, the first Nigerian to occupy the position of manager at UAC and the first chairman of the Ibadan District Council. He was also a member of the Western Region House of Assembly and served as the federal Minister of Social Services and Mineral Resources. He was also a salesman, merchant, writer and journalist.

Political strongman Chief Adegoke "Penkelemesi" Adelabu was a fiercely independentminded man who refused to be swayed by the herd mentality, and the politics of tribe and personality which governed politics in the Yorùbádominated Western Region of Nigeria in the 1950s; centered in Ibadan. As one of the leading Ibadan politician of his time, he championed the cause of the NCNC led by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe.

He co-founded Ibadan Peoples Party (IPP) with Chief Adisa Akinloye who later became his rival till death and was instrumental in the formation of the Ibadan Taxpayers Association. Adegoke Adelabu, described as the colossal figure in Ibadan between 1951 and 1958, became the leader of opposition in the Western region House of Assembly. At the time of his death he had already married 12 times and had 15 children.

Peculiar mess Adegoke Adelabu is often mentioned in Yorùbá and Nigerian history, almost nearly in parentheses as the author of that expression: "penkelemesi", a Yorubanisation of the phrase, "peculiar mess" which Adelabu, known for his deep knowledge of English, had used on an occasion to describe the opposition in the Western Region House of Assembly. Not understanding what he meant, the nonliterate section of his audience translated the phrase into vernacular as "penkelemesi".

ASSEMBLIES OF GOD CRISIS

We will give Emeka credit where he deserves mean that there's nothing good about him. How did clash between those who came for So what has Assemblies of the church elect him GS? Firstly, has any GS ever been our meeting and those who came removed, the answer is 'NO'. for his. We ignored him and God been doing? Continued from page 11

will come in and people will lose their lives.

shifted our meeting because we wanted peace. We don't want anybody's blood to be shed. We don't want anybody to be shot through accidental discharge as you very well know. We are doing our best to protect our people. Even before then, there had been text messages sent by Emeka supporters they threatened blood, which was before the general committee of Thursday 6th March, they threatened fire and brimstone. They threatened so much; all over the place they were on the e-mail and on the internet. We had to make special security arrangement to ensure that nobody will have the privilege of creating any problem for us. That was on our attempt to maintain peace. So we know that Emeka has refused to humble himself to accept the suspension that was duly meted out to him by the general committee which is the highest appellate body of Assemblies of God Nigeria. We also know that in this his refusal to accept this suspension he has been trying to see what he could do; either to provoke a breakdown of law and order so that some other people

We have been praying; we are a church. We believe in the power of prayer. We have been calling God into a situation that was rightly handled to the glory of God. We have been asking for divine intervention; discussing with people. When some people come to us, we say it's fine. We are open for discussions. We are people of peace. But peace must be discussed and achieved on platform that will not do damage to our cherished system. This is because there are things that must be put in place for a conducive atmosphere which must be created for peace to reign. We are a church.

There was a report that the Executive Committee has refused both CAN and PFN's appeal to come in and settle the matter. Secondly since the 80 years history of Assemblies of God has there been any time a GS was suspended? Again everything you have said here about Emeka is on the negative; bad, does it

Reason? No GS has behaved in a way that is incompatible with his status as GS. This is the first time in the history of Assemblies of God Nigeria when we unfortunately had a General Superintendent who consistently behaves in a way that is incompatible with our accepted best practices. Listen my brother; you said everything being said about Emeka was bad. NO! What we are trying to do is to trace the genesis of the problem that resulted to his suspension and dismissal and very unacceptable behavior he put up since then till now. We didn't come here to do a total résumé of Dr. Emeka Superintendence; if we do that, we will definitely give him credit where he deserves. We are not saying that he is totally bad. We are tracing this incident and while we are doing that there's been brushes in the past about his administrative style which I said does not quite fall in. He has quite some other ideas about administration, not the general superintendent type we have always known and cherished but that of a General Overseer. In fact

some people have described it with a terminology; they said, he has created the impression that not only was he the General Superintendent but that he was either the owner and proprietor of Assemblies of God. These were the things that made him do what he did as owner, or as proprietor. He needs to have reminded himself he was not owner or the proprietor but the General Superintendent. This is controlled by the bible, the Holy Spirit and this beautiful book. His emergence: well, it is very unfortunate and it's a great disservice to Assemblies of God for anybody anywhere to say and Emeka is quoted to have said this; it is part of what he has been spreading everywhere. He has not been able to give this a tribal colouration. So he looked for something else. If he is a Yoruba man maybe he would have tried to give it a tribal coulouration; he would have said, the Igbos doesn't want me. If he had been a Hausa man maybe he would have tried. So since he is an Igbo man, he moves away from tribal. He goes to ethnic or rather clannish, he makes it a state matter; the Abia people and Imo people do not want me to be General Superintendent. Now let's reason together. In the general council of Assemblies of God Nigeria, Emeka was not voted in as General Superintendent by Enugu people. If you take a census of Assemblies

of God membership, you are going to discover that Enugu people are a very small minority when we talk about Assemblies of God membership population in Nigeria. In Enugu state we have three districts Nsukka, Enugu, and Enugu South. But in Assemblies of God Nigeria we have about 108 units so when Emeka begins to say, they don't want me because I am an Enugu man, it is seen to be funny. Even if he got all the votes of Nsukka, Enugu and Enugu South delegates alone, and others rejected him, he would never have come near being General Superintendent. People voted for him from over the country to be General Superintendent. But for one reason they believed in him. God allowed him to get there and now for so many reasons God is no longer allowing him to complete his tenure. Listen, I am now on a spiritual ground. Some people see this as a person to person thing; one man to another man, but we who are spiritual knows God is in this thing. And actually it is God who allowed him to get there for whatever reasons and it is God who is using him as an example to any other persons who may have the privilege of being allowed to be in spiritual leadership that God raises up a man and brings down that man. This has become an object lesson for every other person who is interested in having dealings with God.

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Wednesday, June 25 - Tuesday, July 1, 2014

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Wednesday, June 25 - Tuesday, July 1, 2014

& Ekweremadu battles adult illiteracy in Enugu Event

personalities

* 5,000 adults get First School Leaving Certificates under Ikeoha Foundation Adult Literacy Programme By Ted Peters and Rex Arum

“

Hon Tobby Okechukwu, Senator and Lady Nwanneka Ekweremadu, and Chief Peter Ezeh watching literacy displays and recitations by p

Trustee of Ikeoha Foundation BOT, Lady Nwanneka Ekweremadu handing cheque to one of beneficiaries of the Ikeoha Scholarship Scheme

I lost an opportunity to go to school early in life due to early marriage. I dropped out of Primary 4 when my parents gave me out for marriage and since then I have been lamenting my illiteracy until another opportunity was created for us by Senator Ike Ekweremadu. Through his Adult Literacy programme many of us in the villages can now read and write and I am very grateful to Ikeoha for restoring my hope, now I can read and write,” elated 40 year-old Mrs. Maria Nwaroh from Aninri Local Government Area of Enugu State told newsmen during the graduation ceremony for the first and second batches of the Ikeoha Foundation Adult Literacy programme held at Oji River, Enugu West Senatorial Zone recently. It was a colourful ceremony that drew emotions as the aged men and women from the five local government areas in Enugu West senatorial zone namely Aninri, Awgu, Oji River, Udi and Ezeagu marched past singing old school songs which conveyed the message that even at old age one could be educated if the opportunity is provided. Sponsor of the programme and founder of Ikeoha Foundation, Senator Ekweremadu stood for almost an hour taking salute from the graduands some of who received a warm handshake as they decorated him with several colourful garlands. It was indeed a convivial atmosphere as the beneficiaries of the Adult Literacy Programme displayed cultural dances among other presentations that made the dignitaries laugh uncontrollably. Mrs. Nwaroh, a mother of six children the first of who is 25 year-old Apprentice Trader, who escorted her to the ceremony, showered praises on Senator Ekweremadu for his interest in uplifting the downtrodden in the society. “This senator is a blessing to us. Apart from providing infrastructures in our local communities especially road, water and electricity, he has extended his good gestures to educating those of us who have lost hope of being educated from our childhood either due to the inability of our parents

to train us or as a result of early marriage. May God bless him,” said Mrs. Nwaroh, who promised to continue his education to secondary school level. The ancient town of Oji River came alive on the day of this historic event, as many personalities both from Enugu state and beyond converged to witness the senator's resolve to wage war against illiteracy, with a view to placing his constituents in a vantage position to compete favourably with others in the 21st century. Although an SMS, suspected to have originated from the Enugu State Government circles, had directed teachers, government functionaries, and other employees of government, to stay away from the Ikeoha Foundation Adult Literacy Day/Exhibition and Scholarship and Bursary Award Ceremony, the event turned out to be a huge success. One of such text messages, sent out, with the sole aim of marring the occasion, had read: “From the Local Government Education Authority Secretary: No Learner, Instructor, Supervisor or Coordinator should participate in the Ikeoha Literacy Day Celebration tomorrow at Oji River. It is an Order from the LGA Chairman- Udi”. But, just as in the case of the civic reception and conferment of chieftaincy title on Ekeremadu by the Oduma community in April this year, the SMS appeared to be all the people needed to come out en-masse to expansive field of Saint Paul's College, Oji River, Enugu, to celebrate the uncommon efforts by the Deputy President of the Senate to eradicate poverty through mass literacy. The opening remarks by the Executive Director of Ikeoha Foundation, Mrs. Cindy Ezeugwu, captured the essence of the event. She said the Ikeoha Foundation Adult Literacy Day event, which she noted was the first of its kind in the entire South East geopolitical zone, was being hosted to showcase the achievements recorded by the Ikeoha Foundation in mass Literacy and to distribute the First School Leaving Certificates and Testimonials to deserving batch one and two sets of learners that sat for First School Leaving Certificate

Examinations in 2012 and 2013 respectively. She further said that at the last count, the Foundation has established and was operating 24 Adult Literacy Centres, providing basic education to over 5, 000 adult learners, saying that the last two centres, were added recently. According to her, “the Adult Literacy Programme is one of our cardinal approaches through which Ikeoha Foundation fulfills its mission of Building People and Empowering Communities by reintegrating adult women and men who before now did not have the opportunity of formal education into mainstream social and political activities of their communities by providing them the platform for formal education and prepared a 3rd batch of adult learners to sit for the July 2014 FSLC exams.” On the Ikeoha Foundation Scholarship/Bursary Scheme, Mrs. Ezeugwu, again observed that it was designed as a lifeline, by way of cash and material awards to brilliant, well behaved indigent students in Enugu West Senatorial Zone as well as Igboeze North and Enugu north LGAs, to enable them graduate in their chosen courses of study. The Ikeoha Scholarship and Award, according to the Executive Director, had also gone a step higher in 2014 by commencing full scholarship, starting from 2012/2013 academic session, in addition to its annual bursary awards of 30,000 each. She observed that while some State Governments were offering their qualified students scholarship in the range of 60,000 each, Ikeoha Foundation awards deserving students the whooping sum of 500,000 each to help see them through in their educational pursuits, and that while others demand for application fee of between N1, 000 and N1, 500, to obtain and have their application forms processed, the Bursary and Scholarship at Ikeoha Foundation were entirely free. A breakdown of the N22.350 million, as scholarship and bursary grants to 525 students from the five LGAs that make up the Enugu West Senatorial District as well as Igboeze North and Enugu North LGAs, shows that 25 students got

N500,000 as Scholarship awards, while 83 students each from the five LGA's in Enugu West Senatorial District as well as 80 students from Enugu North and Igboeze North got N30.000 each as bursary awards. Speaking on the occasion, the Deputy President of the Senate said the celebration was a renewal of the contract between his family and mankind as well as their resolve to fight illiteracy in Enugu West, Enugu State, and Nigeria in general, saying that “with this effort, I am certain we will conquer illiteracy. We will conquer poverty; and we will conquer ignorance.” To the beneficiaries of both the scholarship and bursary awards programme, Chief Ekweremadu, whom his admirers prefer to call Ikeoha, did not fail to remind them that 'to who much is given, much is also expected.’ To this end, he admonished to know that what the Foundation was doing today does not signify the fact that “we are wealthy. It does not signify the fact that we are powerful. It is only an opportunity to demonstrate that it is important that if you have a privilege, you should be able to give back to the society that contributed so much to your growth. That is exactly what we are doing. It is just a symbol of appreciation of God's kindness and mercy in our lives. “I would only like to beg of you that the only thing that we demand of you is to be dedicated, to be responsible and continue to realize that this can only come from God. We want a situation where this commitment will be multiplied in you so that someday you will be an instrument for others to benefit from. So, we are sowing a seed in you and we believe that this seed must germinate and you will able to give to others,” he added. Chief Ekweremadu also emphasized that adult literacy was the only way that the society could be transformed, noting that literacy was highly essential in coping with the 21st century challenge, adding that the efforts of the Foundation were to

Alhaji Musa Guzo, rep. the Exc. Secretary National Commission for Mass Literacy presenting Certificate of partnership to Sen. Ike Ekweremadu

Continues on page 24

Trustee of Ikeoha Foundation BOT, Lady Nwanneka Ekweremadu handing cheque a beneficiary of the Ikeoha Scholarship Scheme

Lady Nwanneka Ekweremadu presenting prize to 1st position winners of the match past by 24 Adult Literacy Centres of the Ikeoha

Sen Ike and Lady Nwanneka Ekweremadu admiring exbitions some products of the Agro- Value Chain Training by Ikeoha Foundation

Sen. Ike Ekweremadu laying foundation for the Faculty of Social Science Building at the UNN, Nsukka sponsored Tet-Fund through

BOT Chairman, Ikeoha Foundation mingles with appreciative graduants of Ikeoha Adult Literacy Scheme

Adult Literacy Women showing their joy with the Chairman, Board of Trustees Ikeoha Foundation, Sen. Ike Ekweremadu

Sen. Ike and Lady Nwanneka Ekweremadu admiring exbitions some products of the Agro- Value Chain Training by Ikeoha Foundation

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Wednesday, June 25 - Tuesday, July 1, 2014

ADVOCATE

APOSTASY: Woman sentenced to death, forced to give birth 'with her legs chained

Meriam Ibrahim with her husband Daniel Wani. Miriam has been sentenced to death by a Sudanese court for apostasy

Sudanese woman who was sentenced to death for apostasy was forced to give birth in prison with her legs chained, her husband has claimed. Daniel Wani said his wife Meriam Yahya Ibrahim gave

birth to a girl in the early hours of Tuesday morning in the hospital wing of Omdurman Women's Prison. “They kept a chain on her legs," he toldThe Telegraph. "She is very unhappy about that." Amnesty International said Ms

Ibrahim has been shackled in heavy chains since being sentenced to death, a customary practice for prisoners facing execution. The 27-year-old doctor, whose father was Muslim but was raised

as a Christian by her mother, was convicted of apostasy and adultery and sentenced to death by a court in Khartoum after refusing to renounce her Christian faith during a four day 'grace period' while she was eight months pregnant. Mr Wani said he was refused permission to see his wife immediately after the birth and was only able to visit her the next day with his lawyer. Authorities finally removed the chains once he was inside her cell. Ms Ibrahim has named their daughter Maya, he said, adding: "The baby is very beautiful." Mr Wani, an American citizen and biochemist suffering from muscular dystrophy, married his wife in 2011. The couple have a 20-month-old baby together, Martin, who is also in prison with Ms Ibrahim. "Martin is fine actually," said Mr Wani. "I don't think he really knows what is going on but he is happy. A woman is helping take care of him." Sudanese Parliament speaker Fatih Izz Al-Deen said her brother, a Muslim, filed the

charges against her, according to CNN, but Mr Wani refused to comment on or confirm this claim. The court in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum also ordered that Ms Ibrahim be given 100 lashes for committing zena meaning illegitimate sex in Arabic for having sexual relations with a non-Muslim man. Mr Wani said he has been charged with adultery because the Sudanese courts do not recognise their Christian marriage. Lawyers for the couple have filed an appeal to overturn the charges and the appeal courts are expected to make a ruling on the case next week. "She is not going to renounce her religion, though," he added. "She told me that." Amnesty International are currently heading a petition demanding her immediate release and her execution, which is expected to take place in two years, be halted. Amnesty said: "Meriam has committed no crime. She is a prisoner of conscience and should be released immediately." The campaign has already garnered over 600,000 signatures.

‘Magun’ kills banker, lover in Imo ·No, smoke from generating set killed them, says Hospital By Our Reporter, who was at Mbaise

ragedy struck at Eziudo Autonomous Community in Ezinihitte Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State when a female banker, Mrs. Adejoke Ayeola of Iperu Remo in Ogun State and her lover-boy, Mr. Wilson Ugwunna perished during love-making. Wilson,42, had two kids while his lover was 44 years old and also a mother of two children, who was married to a traditional ruler in Ogun State. It is generally believed in the community that the deceased lovers may have been killed by a Yoruba juju called Magun, which is used as a trap to catch an unfaithful partner. But the Medical Director of Obizie People Medical Centre, Obizi which works in collaboration with German Health Alliance, where Wilson was rushed to, Dr. Ohanyere Alex Chibuike said the real cause of death was carbon monoxide from the generating set inhaled by the lovers all through the night. THE ADVOCATE learnt that the “Romeo and Juliet” returned late on 26th April, 2014 Saturday night from Lagos and went to bed at Eziudo but were not sighted again outside throughout the following day, Sunday, 27th April. But a curious and anxious relation of Wilson's thought that the lovebirds had slept for too long and

suspected that something must have gone awry, particularly when he heard heavy snoring from inside of the room where the lovers slept. Sadly, on Monday, 28th April, 2014 when the door was forced open, the natives discovered that Mrs. Adejoke's body had started decomposing while her lover-boy was “in deep coma.” Indigenes of Eziudo community, who expressed surprise about the tragic incident, said they strongly believed that it was caused by magun, the Yoruba, juju which is usually set against a house wife whose husband suspected to be a flirt. 'Magun' simply means don't climb, and is more common in Yoruba land than elsewhere in Nigeria, they said. The traditional ruler of Eziudo Community, His Royal Majesty, Eze Desmond Oguguo, who confirmed the incident during an exclusive interview with our reporter inside his palace, also gave a graphic account of the ugly development. Eze Oguguo recalled that trouble started when on Saturday, 26th of April, Wilson, who claimed to have returned from Malaysia, brought home from Lagos a Yoruba lady he introduced as his future wife. This was despite the fact that he already had a wife and two children who, he reportedly abandoned since three years now, according to Eze Oguguo, who also described

Deceased Mrs. Adejoke Ayeola and her lover-boy, Mr. Wilson Ugwunna in bed Wilson's conduct as “nothing to write home about.” The royal father said: “Last week, one of the chairmen of the Aladimma of a village called Umuchekwa Eziudo came and reported to me that one Wilson Ugwunna, who lives in Malaysia, came home with a lady he said he is going to marry. They returned late on Saturday night; I was told they returned about 12-midnight; they went to bed and people did not see them on Sunday. Then on Monday morning people around heard a noise of somebody snoring heavily

inside the room; they knocked on the door, nobody opened; they forced themselves in and saw that the woman was dead, and the man in deep coma.” The traditional ruler said he asked the people to quickly go to the Police Station at Itu near Ezinihitte Council Secretariat and report the case. The police later came and removed the corpse of the woman, which was deposited in the hospital mortuary while the boy (Wilson) who was still not completely dead was rushed to the Obizie People's Medical Centre, Obokwu, Obizi in

the Ezinihitte Local Council where he kicked the bucket on Friday, 9th May,2014, according to Eze Oguguo. “Then while the police started to investigate, I am told that the woman is a married lady from Yorubaland; the husband came and identified the body and removed the body back to Yorubaland, and the boy died two days ago (Friday, 9th May, 2014),” he said. Wilson was in coma for over one week before he finally passed on. “Her two eyes were bulging out

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Wednesday, June 25 - Tuesday, July 1, 2014

‘I never expected to suffer like this in my life’, says Chibok Girl

heartbreaking new video of the Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by Islamic extremists shows them bravely speaking out about their ordeal for the first time. The footage, not released publicly but seen by The Mail on Sunday, was taken in a jungle clearing a month after their abduction. More than 250 girls were taken in a raid on their school in Chibok, in Nigeria's north-east, on April 14 by Boko Haram terrorists, who want to impose Sharia law on the country. The girls in the video look healthy, but it is understood that fraught negotiations are under way to broker the release of several pupils who have fallen ill, including one with a broken wrist. In the video, eight girls, dressed in their home-made school uniforms of pale blue gingham, plead for release as they stand courageously in front of the camera. They are clearly scared, upset and trying to be brave. Each of them walks in turn to a spot in front of a white sheet fixed to a crude frame between the trees. Four of them can be heard clearly, in their Hausa language, stating that they were taken by force and that they are hungry. A tall girl, aged about 18, says tearfully: 'My family will be so worried.' Another, speaking softly, says: 'I never expected to suffer like this in my life.' A third says: 'They have taken us away by force.' The fourth girl complains: 'We are not getting enough food.' The video, taken by an intermediary on May 19, has been shown to President Goodluck Jonathan. It was intended to serve as 'proof of life' for the girls and to encourage the President to accede to the terrorists' demands. Two earlier videos showed the girls seated on the ground, dressed in hijabs, reciting the Koran, and Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau declaring he would sell them into slavery, or marry them off to their kidnappers, if members of his sect were not released from prison. Pressure from the international community and criticism of the President's slow response to the kidnapping have led to a series of contradictory pronouncements from his government. Ministers have declared they will not negotiate with Boko Haram, or consider the release of prisoners, while official spokesmen have said 'the window is always open for dialogue'. Scathing condemnations of Nigeria's failure to address the menace of Boko Haram, ever since a proposed peace deal failed last August leading to the extension of a state of emergency in three northern states continued worldwide last week. US Senator Robert Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Nigeria had been 'tragically and unacceptably slow' to begin a search.

Chibok school girls Others say the clock really being watched by Nigerian politicians is not the six weeks and counting since the kidnap but the 11 months to the country's elections. Opposition politician Nuhu Ribadu has accused the government of 'total failure'. He described how fraught the negotiation process has been.

'One of that small group of girls is ill and we had hoped we might convince the commander of the group holding her that she should be released so we could give her medical treatment,' Dr Davis said. 'There are other girls who are not well and we have come close to having them released but their captors fear a trap in which they will

be captured in the handover process. 'One girl has what I assume is a broken wrist as they demonstrate to me how she holds her hand. I have been told that others are sick and in need of medical attention.' A military source said: 'This has been a race against time from the minute they were captured. As soon

as the girls left Nigerian soil it was always going to be more difficult. 'The government made no attempt at a rescue until a month after they were taken. Now the situation gets more serious by the day. 'Any sort of attempt to get to them would have to be cleared by the governments of the other nations.' Sources said Mr Badeh's announcement may have been the result of government officials seeing the new, unpublished video. They may have been able to persuade Boko Haram's intermediary to provide details of the location. It is believed the hostages have been split into at least four groups. Dr Stephen Davis, an Australian who has advised three Nigerian presidents on how to negotiate with the country's militant groups, has spent the past month trying to help free the girls. 'The vast majority of the Chibok girls are not being held in Nigeria,' he said. 'They are in camps across the Nigerian border in Cameroon, Chad and Niger. I say the “vast majority” as I know a small group was confirmed to me to be in Nigeria last week when we sought to have them released.’

No, smoke from generating set killed them, says Hospital Continued from page 18 from the sockets; her face was swollen, her tongue was gushing out and she looked like a dragon,” said a native who added that he could not bear the sight of the lady when the body was being removed. Earlier, when the husband of the woman arrived at the community to identify and collect his wife's corpse, he reportedly told the natives that the only condition Wilson (who was still in coma then) could survive was “if only he could rise on his feet and set his eyes on the corpse of the woman in the mortuary.” But the indigenes saw such condition as an uphill task or a real impossibility for someone in coma. And whereas he could not do such, it was unfortunate there was no other way out for him to survive, Mr. Adejoke was quoted to have said, a reliable source revealed to our reporter. It was gathered that the Yoruba lady, who worked with a new generation bank had lied to the husband that she was attending a meeting at Ibadan in Oyo State but she ended up in the bed of her boy friend at a remote community of Mbaise, Imo State. “Then the meeting turned to a boy friend that took her over four hundred miles away; is a pity,” remarked the royal father. Eze Oguguo used the opportunity to warn boys of nowadays to behave well rather than engage in antisocial activities that could ruin them forever. “The way they (young people of these days) are living is uncalled for. Unfortunately, these days the boys don't respect themselves, they don't respect anybody, and they don't have fear of

God; they do whatever they like. They should be honest to themselves and live an honest life. “ I s q u i t e unfortunate, that boy, I learnt had two children, and then abandoned the wife and children and said that he is living in Malasia, which I'm not sure of; what he went there to do, nobody knows. Is unfortunate and this is what I know about the matter.” It was learnt that Wilson's children are HRH, Eze Des Oguguo currently staying with his mother at Owerri, Imo state coming out of the generating set. capital where she went to look after They didn't want disturbance, so her nursing daughter. they locked themselves up, not Eze Oguguo also said: “Such boy is realizing that the smoke was uncontrollable. Even the mother gradually entering the room and who is in Owerri has not visited their entire body system,” he told home since the incident; if the boy our reporter inside his office at is a good boy, the mother could have Obizi. He said Wilson was rushed rushed home; I don't think the boy is to the hospital on April, 28th in anything to write home about.” coma but after giving him all The Imo State Commissioner of necessary treatment, he showed Police, Mr. Abdulmaheed Ali sign of regaining consciousness confirmed the incident. However, only for his condition to deteriorate Dr. Ohanyere debunked the rumour a day after his lover's husband about “Magun” as the cause of visited. The doctor said the rumour death of the lovers. about Wilson's penis being rigid He explained that from the permanently was baseless because preliminary tests and examinations when he was brought to the carried out at the hospital, the real hospital his sexual organ was not cause of death was the carbon seen in “rigid condition.” monoxide from the generating set According to Dr. Ohanyere, the which the lovers put on closer to the husband of the woman is a room where they slept. traditional ruler in Yoruba land, “There was evidence of them adding that, from findings, she told having inhaled the fume (smoke) the royal father that the car he

bought for her was stolen by armed robbers whereas she actually parked the vehicle at Wilson's place. “I learnt that the husband came with the police, so after that day, his condition changed, honestly. I'm not saying they are related but that's what happened. “So, Wilson's level of response started reducing. We repeated the tests, and there was nothing significant. And from the fourth to the fifth day, he started developing some nexotic patch effects; some parts of the skin looked like they were dead and decaying.” According to the medical director, “Then the left leg started swelling. On the seventh day, we gave some anti-inflammatory drugs. After a week, we transferred him to a regular, private ward. On the eight day, the patient's condition worsened and then I knew something was wrong.” He added: “I repeated the tests and there was nothing suggesting that any other damage was done to his body. Around the twelfth day, very early in the morning, the friend that was taking care of him in the hospital called and said that his breathing was not responding at all. So when we checked, we realized that he had stop breathing.” He further explained: “Following the normal protocol of somebody who stopped breathing, we started making efforts to see if we could revive the heart, unfortunately, he didn't come out of the condition again.” He said members of the family of the deceased were yet to pay the hospital bill and collect the corpse for burial. “I have the mortuary tally without which nobody can collect the corpse. So when they pay, they collect the corpse,” he said.

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Wednesday, June 25 - Tuesday, July 1, 2014

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2015: Senator Nnaji declares ambition to return to Senate By Our Reporter

enator Gilbert Nnaji has finally declared his interest to contest for a second term in office after long period of silence. According to the lawmaker who is also the chairman, Senate Committee on Communications, ”since the people that I represent are obviously satisfied with my performance and as a result have been clamouring for me to serve them again, I have since graciously accepted to offer myself for their mandate renewal. “Do not forget that all the political leadership positions I have held before now were through elections including even the one I am currently occupying. So in the same tradition I have offered myself to the party and the people for re-assessment of my stewardship which by the grace of God and sincere judgement of

Senator Gilbert Nnaji humanity is quite impressive and enough to take me further. “But for now, I am still exercising the mandate already given to me to the best of my ability and to the

glory of God. And you know that governance and politics are different things that should not be combined if our democracy must g r o w. T h e r e i s t i m e f o r

everything.” N n a j i a l s o debunked the insinuation that there is an agreement peculiar to Enugu-East Senatorial Zone that any elected senator shall do just a single term irrespective of performance. He said: “It is not true… There is no reasonable person t h a t c a n contemplate such backward ideas. What then is the essence of calling democracy the government of the people by the people whereas it is only one person or a few individuals that determine the fate of the people. But I think it is the figment of the

Enugu lawmakers demand restoration of 621 deleted polling units, threaten legal action

he Enugu State House of Assembly has condemned in strong terms the deregistration of over 40 percent of voters in the state by the Independent National Electoral Commissioner, INEC, demanding immediate restoration of the 621 polling units deleted from the voters' register or risk a legal action. Tempers, however, rose among the lawmakers as the motion on the issue was deliberated upon yesterday with most of the members accusing the INEC of trying to disenfranchise the people of the state in the next general elections. The lawmakers resolved that if by May 27 the 621 polling units tagged zero registration units were not reinstated, they would drag the electoral body to court for a redress. The house also asked INEC to discard the issue of asking rural dwellers to tender proper identity cards before they could be reregistered. In a motion of urgent importance sponsored by the member representing Igboetiti West constituency, Okechukwu Nwoke and six others, the house resolved that INEC should endevour to have recourse to its backup/hardcopy resource pool, or request her sister agencies, that is the State Independent Electoral Commission, to assist her retrieve their data if lost in the databank. The lawmakers also asked the

commission to revert to the existing voters' register used in the 2011 general elections in Enugu state as it concerns the affected local government areas. Asking INEC to tender unmitigated apology to the affected local government areas for the unwarranted sociopolitical and psychological trauma caused the affected people, the lawmakers also said that INEC should take full responsibility of the financial implications of the exercise and

pay damages in terms of money. The House also resolved that as a mater of exigency, INEC should extend the duration for revision of the voters register from five days to a period not shorter than one month to enable majority of the persons affected to re-register. The lawmakers urged Governor Sullivan Chime to constitute a high-powered delegation to the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, to formerly complain of the disfranchisement of more that 40 percent of electorate in the state

and explore avenues to arrive at possible solutions. Speaker of the House, Eugene Odoh, lamented that the anomaly has created room for suspicion, adding that INEC's reason for the error was flimsy. He said: "Some private organizations have already documented all the voters register and I saw my name there on the internet but now INEC said my name is missing. INEC should be sincere, we won't mock INEC but it should give better reason.”

APGA chairman urges wealthy Nigerians to invest in Education By Ted Peters

he National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Chief Victor Umeh,, yesterday, urged wealthy individuals to invest in education. Umeh spoke during inauguration of a building donated to the General Studies Department of Enugu State University of Science and Technology by a renowned industrialist, Chief Innocent Chukwuma, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Innoson Group of Companies. The APGA chieftain urged other wealthy individuals in the society, particularly in the South

East, to emulate Chukwuma. "There are so many rich men in Igboland who are building mansions and plazas, they should emulate Innoson (Chukwuma) by donating some of them to educational institutions,. This will go a long way in ensuring the development of the nation's education sector" he said. The Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Cyprian Onyeji, who expressed gratitude to Chief Chukwuma for donating the multi-million naira building to the institution, noted that the government cannot effectively fund education alone. Onyeji added that the building

was the first donation received by the university from an individual since the university moved to its permanent site at Agbani. He explained that Chukwuma was an alumnus of ESUT, having received an honorary doctorate degree from the institution in 2011. In an address at the event, Dr Chukwuma explained that the donation of the 'General Studies Complex' was a fulfillment of a promise he made to the institution in 2011. He promised that he would do more for the university, saying, "This is the beginning of what I intend to do for the university."

imagination of people who are afraid to face the court of public opinion and also who have made up their mind to fail the people if given opportunity to serve. “For instance if such an agreement exists, then once one is elected he or she should not even bother to deliver since he or she must vacate office whether or not he or she performs. But because such is non-existing, I have deployed all efforts in making sure that my constituency, EnuguEast, is not left out in the dividends of democracy both in terms of representation and attraction of federal presence.” Considering that Enugu State government has been resisting Chimaroke Nnamani's return to PDP senator Nnaji condemned such moves and describes Nnamani's readmission as both “welcome development” and “home coming”. Hear him: “First and foremost it is a welcome development. You used the word “readmission” which means that he has come back to where he originally belonged. It can also be described as a home-coming. PDP's umbrella is too big and wide to accommodate both returning and new members in addition to the existing members of-which I am one. Again, it shows that PDP is truly repositioning to continue as the ruling party all over the country and Enugu State cannot be an exception. So the door of the party is wide open for anybody that cares to enter. Therefore Chimaroke's re-entry is an asset to the party because as a former governor and a former senator he has a lot to offer in ensuring that PDP is victorious come 2015. Nobody can take that away from him.” On whether Chimaroke Nnamani is coming to contest for senate under PDP, Senator Nnaji stated that he “cannot speak for him. It is his right to contest for any position of his choice. But it is also the party that decides who goes for what. So if party nominates him, automatically he becomes the party candidate. And if the party decides otherwise, as a good party man, he abides by the party's decision. There are no two ways about that. “But I think the very first thing to do is to build the party into a one big united family before deciding on who is contesting and who is not. So like I always say, when we get to the bridge we cross it. But for now, all hands have to be on deck in the on-going membership drive and also support for the successful implementation of the Transformation Agenda of the Federal Government.”

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Wednesday, June 25 - Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Corruption has subverted good governance in Nigeria â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Okechukwu Osita Okechukwu, politician, Social commentator speaks on various segments of Nigeria's 15 years of uninterrupted democracy. He said the bane of socio-economic development is the high level of corruption in the country adding that it may be difficult for the Igbos to produce the president of Nigeria. Excerpts. You have been involved in the activities of the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC for some time now, why do you choose to be in an opposition party? Thank you very much for your question; let me start by saying that I was a foundation member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Enugu State in 1998. It was when the PDP leadership at all levels resolved to construct one party state in Nigeria and rule for over 60 years uninterrupted that some of us defected to the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). The then president chief Olusegun Obasanjo and the then governor of Enugu State, Dr Chimaroke Nnamani and some other governors personalized power, made a mockery of democracy. I remember vividly how Dr Chuba Okadigbo, Oyi of Oyi, of blessed memory called us to a meeting one night, after an exhaustive deliberation we resolved to quit the PDP because of its dictatorial tendencies. If Oyi was alive, he could have been in APC, for he believes in broadening democratic frontiers and popular participation.

Some political analysts said it will be difficult for the Southeast to produce the President of Nigeria, do you share the same view and what in your opinion is the problem of the Southeast? Mr Okechukwu - yes it will be very difficult for the South East to produce president of Igbo extraction, especially from the ranks of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and easier from the ranks of APC. In the PDP it will be very difficult because other geo-political groups take it for granted that President Goodluck Jonathan slot is that of Ndigbo, contrary to the propaganda being dished out by some. In fact it was Prince Arthur Eze that captured it vividly, when he said that after Jonathan the North. For us in APC, a president of Igbo extraction will materialize on or before 2023.

Could you give your overview about governance in Nigeria, particularly with reference to Enugu state in the past seven years? My overview is simple,

corruption has subverted good governance across the length and breadth of the country. There is nowhere in the country where the region or state had implemented needful critical infrastructure commensurate to the monies that accrued to the state or the region. What a lot of analysts resort to is the time worn out past comparison of Governor A is better than Governor B. If you look closely, you notice that very few take the pain to use the monthly allocations that stream into the coffers of federal, state and local councils through the unprecedented Oil and Gas revenue. Unprecedented revenue in the sense that Nigerians are very lucky folks, because in the 90's a barrel of oil hovered between $1520 per barrel and from the early 2000's it rose to $145 per barrel and has remained on the margin of $100. It is great fortune.

Yo u c r i e d f o u l when Enugu state government demolished the old secretariat for a new one, do you think the project is wasteful or worthwhile? I cried foul and still hold the view that the old secretariat is a legacy and edifice which should be preserved rather than demolished. Secondly and most importantly is that Enugu State has competing demands, among which is the revamping of Enugu Coal Mines, a project that one could have invested the billions budgeted for the secretariat for. Don't forget that my one point agenda is Job Creation. I bemoan the gross unemployment in the land, especially in my home state, a factory which manufactures young graduates without capacity to employ 1% of its products.

What do mean by a factory? Enugu State has five universities if not more, three polytechnics, colleges of education et al, and they all migrate after graduation for we have no concise plan to employ them. What is the outcome - 80% may never come back to Igboland. One has argued that any strategic thinking must include how to

retain our youths in our communities, for those who found their way out of our shores and those who migrate to other Nigerian cities find little or nothing to do back home.

Democratic Party, PDP has been in power in Enugu state, do you think that the party will still win come 2015 elections?

In Enugu state, some people believe that the

Definitely, APC will win, because there will be regime change in Enugu State. PDP is in a state of decline nationwide, what we read in primary school is rise and fall of empires. And in Enugu, PDP is facing the greatest intra-party feud since its inception, the center cannot hold any more.

How will APC achieve this historic feat?

Osita Okechukwu Governor play a nominal role in the administration while the Chief of staff is the 'defacto' Chief Executive Officer, do you agree with this line of thought? I don't know about that, for I was thought in Political Science class that the best evaluation of a government is its overall performance good and not whether it is the wife or concubines or the assistants of the governor that is more powerful and influential. There is always power behind the throne throughout history, whether in dictatorship or democracy. The valid question is the de facto personae pushing governance to the next level or is she only a SheGoat - amassing wealth for herself?

What is She-Goat? What one dubs She-GoatSyndrome are those who selfishly behave like She-Goat. Have you ever seen a She-Goat in your neighborhood that dishes food to other goat's kids no matter the quantum? This is a measure of humanity.

Since 1999 Peoples

Let me start by saying that over 200,000 people registered as members of APC in our first registration, while less than 20,000 registered with me in the defunct CPC. Therefore if 90% of our members with their families and friends vote for us what do you think will be the outcome? As I said earlier, we re going to harvest our brothers and sisters who have been under bondage in the PDP waiting for a broad based platform.

Leaders of PDP have continued to boast that the party will retain power in Enugu state for many years to come as no other party can upstage it. How do you react to this?

Boasting and propaganda are major ingredients of party politics, so one does not expect PDP to accept its state of decline. People seem to have forgotten why there was jubilation nationwide on 31 July 2013 when APC was registered. It was because from the controversial national convention of PDP in November 1999 when late icon, Chief Sunday Awoniyi was rigged out as national chairman, malcontents and discontents have mutated in the PDP fold and had nowhere to pitch tent. APC provided this golden opportunity.

The Opposition seems to be docile in Enugu state, yet you talk tough about taking over leadership through the APC, how do you intend to achieve this? We ' r e n o t d o c i l e ; w e ' r e constructing a solid base, through mobilization and enlightenment. Do we need to shout in this exercise, methinks mobilization involves persuasion and enlightenment not noise making.

Some people had been grumbling that corruption has eaten deep into governance in Nigeria. How transparent is your state government? Yes corruption is the bane of our development, it has crippled our economy, atrophied our human integrity, dilapidated our social services, decayed our infrastructure and gave rise to gross unemployment and pervasive poverty. That's why APC made War Against Corruption the 1st Cardinal Program of our Manifesto. We reasoned that without strident war against corruption and national reorientation all our programs like that of PDP in the last decade will collapse.

What is your assessment of the state government in terms of human empowerment and poverty alleviation among the citizenry? It's below average, if as I said before you reason that each of the 17 local government receives a minimum of N100 million monthly in the last decade, plus the internal generated revenue and state allocation. But if you are the one that wants to compare Governor Sullivan Chime's achievement with our neighbors, it is above average. Corruption run more riot in some of them.

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Wednesday, June 25 - Tuesday, July 1, 2014

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Threatened by erosion, Imo community school cries out for help

By Our Reporter

he Oboama Secondary School, owned by the Oboama Autonomous Community in Ezinihitte Local Government Area of Imo State is at the risk of being completely cut off from the rest of the world if the devastating erosion ravaging the rural roads leading to the school and its environs is not controlled adequately. Aside the erosion problem, the school is also facing the serious dilapidation of the Senior Secondary (SS1) and laboratory blocks, lack of science equipments, broke laboratory tables and stools, lack of modern toilet facility for both staff and students, lack of portable water as well as electricity and perimeter fence, insufficient classrooms, among other daunting problems. This is despite the much talked about spirited effort of the Governor Rochas Okorocha-led administration to operate a free education policy and the rebuilding of dilapidated school blocks in the state as well as erecting new ones. On the occasion of its Founders' Day and Launching of her maiden magazine, “The Light,” held recently (at the school, the Principal of the school, Mrs. Carol C. Nwabugwu decried the negative impact of erosion on the school, students and even the natives of the community. “The school is faced with some teething problems that really need to be addressed urgently,” the principal said. “There are a lot of challenges; especially the access road to the school is in a very terrible shape. During the rains, you hardly can drive in here. In fact, teachers here should be paid extra money for finding way to teach the children here. “The whole water that comes from the Aboh Mbaise Headquarters run into this school, washing off the school field, and even the farms and farmlands; and if you are here when it rains, you must wait for the rain to stop and dry off, possibly you have to park your car and trek out for you to get out, otherwise, is so slippery that you can fall; even the students

remove their shoes to enable them walk out to their various homes,” Mrs. Nwabugwu told our reporter inside her office. She explained that since September 2011 she was posted to the school as the principal, the ecological problem of the school has remained the same, except that at times, to make up, both staff and students will have to turn to “emergency road workers.” “We will now turn to be road makers because we will now use sand bags to put on pot holes and to have a water break to reduce the water flowing into the school,” she said. Mrs. Nwabugwu also gave a vivid description of the volume of water that flows like a river into the school whenever it rains, thereby making the entire place water-logged and inaccessible. “The field in front of the administrative block is always submerged; in fact, the volume of water can be very well for a rice farm and that is why the grass there is always ever green, no matter how you cut it, during the rainy season, it must stand up again,” according to the principal, who said that the school authority has severely cried out for assistance in terms of government intervention to rehabilitate the deplorable roads and control the erosion. She bemoaned the fact that the erosion has done terrible damage to the psyche of students, staff and natives of the community. “It affects the psyche of every person that is around here when it rains; even the teachers. It affects them because you don't know if you will slip off and get dirtied or the teachers will park their vehicles along the road so that you don't get stuck because of the rains. It affects the productivity of both the teachers and students, and even the members of the community that use these roads,” she said pitiably. Our reporter was reliably informed that the construction of a block of six classrooms in the school by the Oboama community in collaboration with Local Empowerment and Environmental Management Project (LEEMP), Wo r l d B a n k A s s i s t e d , w a s eventually frustrated and grounded

by the alleged selfishness, corruption and greed of the some title holders in the area. “On each work day, most title holders would gather at the project site to demand money from the contractor just as the labourers were placed on daily pay, the title holders in the community would demand their payment for 'performing oversight function' or 'project inspection.' “The nonsense went on like that unchecked and until the funds for

the project got exhausted and today the building is still uncompleted. This is the handwork of unpatriotic elements who don't want the community to progress,” said an angry student in the school, who didn't want to be named. Recalling her impression of the school when she came in as the principal, about three years now, she said: “The school was nothing to write home about. A village school! This gave me a lot of challenges when I came here. That time, students were behaving wildly, lacking of respect, noise everywhere, they didn't know how to assemble and take permission from God. But I am happy that today, the culture of morning and afternoon assembly has been imbibed by 90 percent of the students.” In spite of the challenges, she said the school established in 1993 has since produced Engineers, Medical Doctors, Nurses, Lawyers, Rev. Fathers and Teachers. “The dream of the institution is not in vain,” she remarked with pride. However, the state commissioner for education, Dr. Uche Ejiogu advised the students to always shun cultism and other vices that could ruin their future. She also enjoined other schools in the state to emulate Oboama Secondary School by observing their founders' day. She added that the students should

allow the “Light” of their school magazine “The Light” to always reflect in their personal lives by being of good conduct. But the commissioner for Public Utilities, Dr. Ifeanyi Nwachukwu pledged government determination to put in place modern laboratory equipments and also connect the school to public electricity. On the erosion-devastated OboamaAmumara road that leads to the school, he said the road has been captured in the state government scheme of things, stressing that work will start on it without further delay. The traditional ruler of Oboama Autonomous Community, Eze Julius Amaefule recalled the history of the school which was founded to carter for the huge number of Oboama students seeking admission into secondary schools. He said the community, however, led by the Oboama Development Union (ODU) met up with the specific conditions in seeking government approval for the school, and added that the state ministry of education was impressed after inspecting the existing structure then. Eze Amaefule said the ministry of education wrote to the ODU on 18th May, 1993 conveying its approval for the school with effect from 1993/94 academic year and “which will have an initial intake in JSS 1 and thereafter develop progressively to JSS 111.”

We have a lot of challenges here– Principal Can you describe the water flowing into the school.

The Principal of the school, Mrs. Carol Nwabugwu volume of water that flows into the school when it bares her mind in this chat with THE ADVOCATE rains?

Yes, the field in front of the administrative block is always submerged; in fact, the volume of water can be very well for a rice farm and that is why the grass there is always ever green, no matter how you cut it, during the rainy season, it must stand up again.

I am the Principal of the School. I am Mrs. Carol Nwabugwu. I came in here since September 2011.

How has it been piloting the affairs of a school in a rural area like yours? It has not been very easy. There are a lot of challenges; especially the access road to the school is in a very terrible shape. During the rains, you hardly can drive in here. In fact, teachers here should be paid extra money for finding way to teach the children here. The whole water that comes from the A b o h M b a i s e Headquarters run into this school, washing off the school field, and even the farms and farmlands; it has not just been easy at all. And if you are here when it rains, you must wait for the rain to stop and dry off, possibly you have to park your car and trek out for you to get out, otherwise, is so slippery that you can fall; even the students remove their shoes to enable them walk out to their

Has the school authority cried out for assistance in terms of government intervention to rehabilitate the roadsand control the erosion?

Mrs. Carol Nwabugwu various homes.

Has the situation been like this over the years? Yes, since 2011 I came here it has been like that; at times, to make up, we will now turn to be road makers because we will now use sand bags to put on pot holes and to have a water break to reduce the

Yes, to an extent we've cried to the community; this is a community school, and the Eze is at the helm of affairs. But each time, they give us the impression that government is coming in to do something; even the gutters, they help to scoop up the sand there to allow the water flow; we've reported to the Eze, His Royal Highness, Eze Julious Amaefule, the Aladimma 11 of Oboama and with the CGC

Continues on page 27

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Wednesday, June 25 - Tuesday, July 1, 2014

SEYM extols appointment of Prof. Uzoezie as Provost, College of Education, Nsugbe

he appointment of Dr. Mrs. Ego Uzoezie as the Provost Nwafor Orizu College of Education, Nsugbe, has been described as one that will positively transform the college, enhance academic activities and instill discipline among staff and students of the institution. Making the remark at their one day meeting in Enugu, Nigerian youths under the auspices of the South East Youths movement of Nigeria, (SEYMN) also described the appointment as a square peg in a square hole and one that will contribute immensely in boosting the nation's standard of education. Delegates to the meeting recalled Dr. Mrs. Uzoezie's enviable role as the Anambra State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, her giant strides in raising the quality of service of the ministry to the people and her consistent support to Anambra State citizenry particularly the women during her tenure as a

commissioner, providing succor to the widows, the less privileged, and orphans, and ensuring that this class of people had hope and confidence in government. While describing her as a woman of integrity and one that possesses those rare attributes of ebullience, dedication, selflessness in service and uncommon commitment to d u t y, d e l e g a t e s e x p r e s s e d optimism that she will deliver, and

transformation of the Ministry of W omen affairs where she left a legacy of dedicated service and professional excellence. Delegates noted that her track record of strategic leadership in the ministry, combined with her open minded approach to issues earned her the respect of many, and contributed in no small measure to the success the Ministry recorded during her

tenure, just as they remarked that she impacted courage, honesty and total commitment in the minds of many. They pledged their total support to the new provost and called on staff and students of the college to remain supportive of her administration to enable her succeed in the onerous task of piloting the affairs of the institution.

New VC: ASUU UniZik makes U-turn, support Ahaneku By Uche Chukwu

he Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Nnamdi Azikiwe University chapter, has made a uturn and singing a new song on the emergence of the new Vice Chancellor of the institution. Less than 48 hours after the union threatened fire and brimstone to

NUT protests abduction of Chibok school girls igerian Union of Teachers, Akwa Ibom State Branch has condemned in totality the barbaric, uncivilized and wicked activities of terrorists group known as Boko Haram in the country. The state Chairman of the Union, Akwa Ibom branch, Mr. Etim Ukpong stated this while addressing a mammoth crowd of teachers, stakeholders in the education industry, concerned citizens of the state and government functionaries during their demonstration and peaceful protest against the abduction of Chibok school girls in Uyo. With different placard inscriptions, “bring back our girls, support government to crush insurgent, our girls must go to school, you have killed 173 teachers but have not killed our patriotism.” The chairman said the union has come to join the world in the call on insurgents and their collaborators to “bring back our girls, safe and alive. According to him, “imagine the tears of the parents, lamentations by civil society organizations against child abuse and denial of right by international communities which is the expression of inhuman, callous and bestial treatment on the innocent girls. He said the most painful was the elimination of 173 teachers by Boko Haram but called on both the federal and respective states government to exhibit true concern to the families of the teachers from Borno, Yobe who

give the Nwafor Orizu College of Education the much desired lift if given the necessary support. The meeting remarked that her good performance as a commissioner together with her uncommon courage and unbending will to render dedicated service to the people attest to her strong character, discipline and hard work as manifested in her uncommon

lost their lives to the uncivilzed Boko Haram group activities by paying them adequate compensation to assist in soothing their misery as they commensurate with the families. The union secretary, Comrade (Dr.) Mike Ike-Ene (KSJ) said the peaceful protest is to showcase union annoyance, saying enough is enough over these barbaric, uncivilized acts by Boko Haram and why the nation can no longer accommodate the killing of innocent citizens and especially 173 teachers eliminated by Boko Haram. He said “the protest is a signal for teachers to think about who may be next victim of Boko Haram, what is the faith and future of the nation when all these are happening”, expressing belief that government would soon be on top of the situation. Earlier, the deputy governor of Akwa Ibom State, Noble (Mrs.) Valerie Ebe commended them for their peaceful protest against that bad omen, saying government is surely on top of the situation and is working tirelessly to make sure the girls come back safely and alive, Assuring them government cannot leave any stone unturned to get back the girls, she said government always care for her citizens and cannot afford to lose these girls who are bonafide citizens of the nation who are future mothers that will make the country proud. Our correspondent reports that the teachers matched from Ikot Ekpene Road to Government House.

society would be doomed and we have to be conscious that God selected us to play the role of express its dismay over the alleged imparting knowledge without fear irregularities that characterize the or favour. procedures adopted by the “Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe was Governing Council of the number one in Nigeria and since university for election of the new this university bears his name, it Vice Chancellor, the chairman of should also be number one in the ASUU, NAU chapter, Professor country and our administration Ike Odimegwu hailed the process will be determined to achieve it. that threw up Prof Joseph “We thank God that the university Ebelendu Ahaneku as the new VC, is highly endowed to achieve its saying they conformed with the objectives and the earlier we close laid down procedures and law. ranks, the better for all of us. Our Speaking when he led the ASUU concern should be where the NAU Executive on a courtesy call, university would be in the five the Chairman of the union, years and this is what will guide Professor Harris Odimegwu our actions, Ahaneku said. recalled that ASUU strongly He said that the university was deplored the process, committed to training the characterized by critical masses for irregularities which nearly production of the marred its stands for manpower for nation quality university b uilding, and social education for Nigerians, change, calling on his warning that his union rivals to close ranks in the would not hesitate to fight new team's bid to move the if the new administration university to the next level. derailed. Professor Ahaneku, a He said the visit was to Professor of Chemical thank God and Pathology and a Fellow of congratulate Prof. Academy of Science from Ahaneku on his successful Imo State, emerged new emergence as the new Vice Vice-Chancellor following Chancellor, adding that the an exhaustive meeting held Council headed by Air Vice by the Council, which gave Marshal Larry Koinyan him eight votes while three (Rtd), fulfilled its statutory members voted for his role. rival, Professor Greg Odimegwu who recalled Nwakoby and nil vote for that the turbulence that Prof. Ben Osisioma. greeted the journey was He took over June 4, 2014 significant for all, noting from the out gone Vice that the destroyed core Prof Joseph Ebelendu Ahaneku Chancellor, Professor values which the new Vice Chancellor inherited should be governing council, ASUU NAU Boniface Egboka from Anambra turned around for good at the end a n d t h e e n t i r e u n i v e r s i t y State. community for conducting In another development, the of his tenure in five years time. themselves peacefully and orderly Director of Information and He charged the new Vice Chancellor to rise to the occasion during the trying journey, he sued Public Relations (NAU) Emma Ojukwu debunked the allegations and put the name of the university for calm. on the map of global ranking He said: “I want to congratulate credited to one of the defeated through resuscitating and making the governing council for finding candidates in the contest that the institution flower “so that we me worthy. When this journey money exchange hands during the will have a society of strong began, we prayed for due process exercise, saying the team led by to be followed and I am happy that Koinyan comprised people of institution.” due process was followed. integrity. According to him, ASUU NAU “I want to ask those who competed Ojukwu said, “The allegations are would support and cooperate with the new leadership of the with me to join me in moving the baseless, unfounded and lack institution as long as it works with university to the next level merit whoever is challenging the the ideals of the union which is because as stakeholders in the selection process is not sincere. committed to improving quality ivory tower, our duty is to improve .Full council voted including the humanity through imparting of seating vice chancellor, offer education in the institution. knowledge. which Prof. Joseph Ahaneku Odimegwu disclosed that ASUU NAU would keep on with the “If we do not do the right thing, emerged the new Vice Chancellor struggle and even fight the new university administration if it works against the union's goal which he said was for the oppressed and down trodden people. Responding, the Vice Chancellorelect, Professor Aheneku thanked the leadership of ASUU NAU for the timely visit, describing the union as a group that drives academic excellence and self reliance in the institution. Prof. Ahaneku said the university followed all due procedures to conclude its assignment which culminated in his election as the new Vice Chancellor, urging for prayer for the time being. Thanking the university senate,

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Ekweremadu battles adult illiteracy in Enugu Continued from page 17 make sure that nobody was left behind. He did not however fail to allude to the massive turn out and the success of the event despite efforts by “some powers that be” to scuttle it. In thanking the mammoth crowd, which included teachers, students, town union leaders, the UNESCO, and royal fathers led by the Chairman of Enugu West Council of Traditional Rulers, HRH Igwe Harford Agana, Ekweremadu said that their support, prayers, and solidarity at all times, have also spurred him to go the extra mile, to serve them better, just as he declared that the Ikeoha Foundation was not for politics and should not be dragged into it. Decrying the perilous political times in Enugu, the Senate Number Two man remarked that “I know the time we have found ourselves in. We know all the intimidation and harassment going on, but I would like to assure you that as it is written in the book of Psalm, 'a thousand

Deputy President of the Senate, Sen. Ike Ekweremadu (at the right end of the cheque) with some of the 2013-2014 scholarship will fall by your left and ten thousand at your right hand, but they will never come near you. Only with your eyes will you see the fall of the wicked.' As I keep saying, in matters of right and wrong, good will never be neutral. So, God is with us in this journey.”

Another highpoint of the event was the presentation of Certificate of Partnership to the Foundation by the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education, NCME. In his goodwill message, the Executive Secretary of the

NCME, Alhaji Jibrin Paiko, who was represented by Alhaji Musa Gusau, said that the achievements recorded by the Ikeoha Foundation in mass adult education was “unprecedented in the history of adult literacy programme in Nigeria” and as such was worthy of emulation by

A'Ibom State inaugurates petroleum monitoring Committee By Christopher Okon, Uyo

kwa Ibom Government has advised newly inaugurated petroleum monitoring team not relent over their responsibility, despite challenges, to achieve their primary goal of restoring back the normal pump price of petrol in the state. The State Secretary to the State G o v e r n m e n t , M r. U d o m Emmanuel gave the advice shortly after the inauguration exercise in government house

Uyo saying since government has given them ability to checkmate petroleum pump price they should work had to ensure integrity and uprightness in the discharge of their duty. He stated that the people should understand government has concerned and care for her citizen as they would facilitate all apparatus to carry out their functions effectively. “The only solution is to work as a team despite the fact that the task ahead is not easy but with courage, your committee would

surely achieve success without any disappointment. He commended them for their willingness to serve where citizens would witness petroleum product pump price to normal again which will thereby bring all their sufferings to an end. The Chairman Petroleum Monitoring Team Akwa Ibom, Mr. Essien Esema commended the government for having trust in them for the responsibility and assured that disappointment would not be found in their

dictionary, as they would pull their wealth of experience to achieve their goal. He said that his committee would work as a team, and move round the entire state especially rural areas day and night to get reports on the activities of petroleum dealers, as he believed in team work. He advised those involved in illegal petroleum business to desist from it in their own interest as they would be committed to duty towards restoring back pump price to normal in the state without any hitch.

others. Alhaji Paiko , further said “I must formally commend the Ikeoha foundation for its zeal and tenacity towards the cause of Non-Formal Education in Enugu State. As an NGO, you have distinguished yourself and championed this cause by lending a voice to the voiceless, not for profit-making purposes but because of your passion, enthusiasm and drive to see that illiteracy in Enugu State is greatly reduced. You have empowered women and youths with life and vocational skills and increased their access to education, health and recreational services, thereby promoting good and inclusive governance for less-privileged Enugu citizens. One of your organization's core beliefs is the equal rights of men and women to societal developments and this has helped to emancipate the cause of the girl-child and women generally. NMEC commends this onerous effort.” To the audience, the various competitions among adult learners such as spelling bee, dance, drama, recitation, arithmetic, march past, and craft exhibitions were true proves to prove that it was never too late to learn. A youth leader, Steve Ezeh said he was happy that his hitherto illiterate mother could now manipulate her phones, communicate with loved ones in basic grammar and perform simple arithmetical operations that have enhanced her business and vocational operations. Indeed, for a State that is second from the bottom in the most recent Estimated Literacy Rate for the five South East states for 2011, Senator Ekweremadu's Ikeoha Foundation gives hope for the realization of the World Declaration of Education for All, another participant, observed.

Non-adherence to codes, major cause of building collapse – Kogi Deputy Gov

on-adherence to building codes, poor supervision, and conflict among professionals have been identified as some principal causes of building collapse. The Kogi State Deputy Governor, Yomi Awoniyi, made this known at a Seminar organised by the Kogi State chapter of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), held in Lokoja, with the Theme; “Infrastructural Development in Nigeria: avoiding collapse in Kogi State”. The Deputy Governor described

the present administration in the State as quality driven, urged COREN to set standards that will guarantee compliance and reliability in the construction of private and public structures in the State. The present administration, Awoniyi explained, is concerned about delivering projects that are not only structurally sound, but efficiently delivered in time and prudent manner. The Deputy Governor noted that building collapse due to poorly delivered engineering works, blamed it on professionals and contractors, which he maintained

usually lead to loss of lives and property. Awoniyi, suggested a partnership between professionals in conceptualising design, to construction delivery by ensuring that all rules are observed. Earlier in his opening remarks, E n g r. A d e y e m i A d e n u g a , Managing Director/CEO of Geregu Power Plc, who was the Chairman at the occasion, said the nation cannot afford to fold its arms and watch as human and material losses are recorded daily for avoidable factors. Engr. Adenuga disclosed that building collapse syndrome

being expressed nationwide is a very worrisome phenomenon which requires concerted efforts and political will to contain. He disclosed that the seminar will help reduce the incidences of building collapse, as well as reexamine regulatory standards to ensure compliance to building ethics and codes. In his presentation, Engr. Michael Adebola, Chief Inspector (ERM), Lokoja Zone, identified quackery, poor construction practice and poor quality cement as partly responsible for incessant collapse of buildings. Engr. Adebola praised the

introduction of 42.5 grade cement by Dangote into the Nigerian Market and called for the restriction of 32.5 mpa grade cement only to be meant for plastering and block making. He called for the use of 52.5 grade cement for heavier concrete, columns and decks and other load bearing structures. In his welcome remarks, Engr. Emmanuel Adeniyi Stephen, NSE, Chairman, Lokoja branch, called for a strong campaign against actions that lead to building collapse, which he noted leads to death and loss of properties.

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Akpabio reiterates commitment to Akwa Ibom child’s well-being

By Christopher Okon, Uyo

overnor Godswill Akpabio has reiterated his continued commitment to ensuring the wellbeing of every Akwa Ibom child through formal education. Governor Akpabio who stated this Tuesday during a low-key National Children's Day Celebration at the Uyo Township S t a d i u m , r e m a r k e d , " We congratulate and celebrate with our children today and to let you all know that we love and we are ensuring the protection of your future by improving facilities in schools and in the health sector. "We would continue to provide textbooks, pay fees for the registration of NECO, WAEC and other SSCE examinations. We would also provide equipment for laboratories in higher schools and also increase the number of boarding schools in our state, among others. And I believe that you all would be a pride to the nation". He then called on Akwa Ibom children to be discipline-oriented, studious and for them to know that they are not going to school

Gov. Akpabio f o r th eir p ar en ts b u t f o r themselves and for them to know that the greatest thing a child can get from his or her parents is education. Governor Akpabio was then presented with the 'most child

friendly governor' award by Akwa Ibom children. In an address during the occasion and read by Governor Akpabio, P r e s i d e n t Goodluck Jonathan congratulated all Nigerian children, stressing that the Nigerian child is precious and angelic, and every Nigerian child is the first priority of his administration. Jonathan who paid tribute to the Chibok girls who were abducted by the Boko Haram group, sympathized with the parents of the Chibok girls, pledging that the Federal Government would protect them from violence and bring this insurgency to an end. The President condoled with Nigerians who lost their families to Boko Haram attacks, stressing that the act was a heart rending

moment for him and the entire nation, adding that Federal Government has put in adequate machinery for a secure environment and would not rest till the girls are found. He urged Nigerians to unite for peace and for the children, calling on all security agencies and indeed Nigerians to work together to ensure security in the society, disclosing that terrorism attacks are now targeted at schools thereby trying to thwart the plans of the future leaders. The number one citizen disclosed that the Federal Government has recently inaugurated a national joint task force for the prevention and fight against sexual abuse on children. President Jonathan called on parents not to be discouraged or deterred by the Boko Haram insurgency but endeavor to send their girl-child to school for a sustainable future, calling on all Nigerians to embrace the culture of peace, patriotism and to see themselves as one Nigeria without ethnic sentiments. Also speaking, the state Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs. Glory Edet, stated

that children represent the future of the country and that the children of the state have benefited from many friendly policies of Governor Akpabio administration. Edet, who said that it was disheartening to note that most children are abused by adults who are supposed to protect them, lauded the Governor's wise decision and that of the Akwa Ibom House of Assembly for domesticating the Child Rights Act, calling on all Nigerians to contribute their quota to the advancement of the children's rights and the protection of the Nigerian child. The Speaker of Akwa Ibom State Children's Parliament, Miss Roshah Anietie Idok, said the entire children of the state would have been happier if the Chibok girls were released, but prayed that God would facilitate their release. She also thanked the State Governor for the free and compulsory education, health care and the Child Rights law and also thanked the Governor's wife, Unoma for the care given to all Akwa Ibom children.

Boko Haram kills Sanusi Lamido Sanusi is the wrong 40 in fresh attack Emir of Kano on Borno villages Continued from back page

o fewer than 40 people, including teenagers, were killed, weekend, when suspected Boko Haram insurgents attacked three villages of Chuha A, Chuha B, and Korongilim in Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State. The attackers, according to sources, destroyed houses, shops and vehicles after carting away foodstuff and livestock. A community youth leader in Chibok, Mallam Yakubu Joshua, who confirmed the incident on phone Sunday, said: “Some suspected Boko Haram terrorists invaded Chuha A, Chuha B and Korongilim villages of Chibok council of Borno State and killed over 40 persons. “The terrorists injured many other villagers, burnt many houses and made away with our foodstuff. The attack, which commenced at 7a.m. yesterday lasted over five hours before military intervened.

“I and some other residents of Chibok had made several telephone calls to the military, unfortunately they (military) only started bombing the surrounding area of the attack after over 40 members of our community had been killed. “The lifeless bodies of our people are still littered in the three villages as I speak, but our present fear is that many innocent villagers may be hit by the ongoing bombings by the military.” Chairman Sector 5 of the local vigilante group in Borno State, Abba Aji Khalil, also confirmed the attack, saying his group was “already in hot pursuit of the suspected terrorists. Our members in Chibok and neighbouring local government areas are already in hot pursuit of the suspected terrorists.” Efforts to speak to Borno State P o l i c e C o m m i s s i o n e r, Mr.Lawal Tanko, and his spokesperson, Mr Gideon Jubrin, proved abortive, but a senior police officer, who said he was not authorised to speak to the media, confirmed the incident.

Governor Kwankwaso who made this appointment is a rebel PDP Governor who recently defected to the APC. He would not have made the appointment as a PDP governor. This appointment was made to spite the government of Goodluck Jonathan. But what people like Kwankwaso don't seem to understand is that when they undermine the government of the Goodluck Jonathan, they are undermining the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Unworthy governor One of the allegations against Sanusi by the federal government is that he is suspected to be one of the financiers of Boko Haram. The fact that the man is now appointed as Emir, without these allegations being ironed out, is further evidence that some Northerners are not ready to confront the issue of terrorism in the North. If they were, a man facing terrorism-related charges by the federal government would not be the preferred choice as Emir of Kano, a city that has been attacked severally by the Boko Haram. By this act, Kwankwaso has made himself an unworthy governor of Kano. Only an unworthy governor would turn such a revered institution as the emirate

of Kano into political football. Kwankwaso has made the people of Kano into a laughing-stock. Revered institutions like that of the Emir of Kano should be beyond the shenanigans of this type of political manipulation. I have said it before and I say it again: there is nothing progressive about the APC. This appointment of Sanusi as the new Emir of Kano is further proof. What the APC bring to Nigeria is the same tired old-time corrupt politics that has been the bane of the country for the longest time. The APC is one big con.

Unfortunately for Kwankwaso, he chose the wrong state to do this prank. Kano is a highly volatile city. The people are not going to take this appointment lightly. Already, there have been a number of violent skirmishes since the appointment. Kwankwaso has lighted a bushfire whose consequences may be more than he bargained for. You can never tell how far Kano citizens who have been brazenly disrespected by the governor will go in registering their protest. In any case, Kwankwaso's act is sure to backfire against the APC in Kano. This means we have not yet heard the last of Kwankwaso's treachery.

Questionable future If Lamido Sanusi were wise, he should spend some time reading the tea-leaves. Some people are

already concluding that Sanusi is the new Emir by divine providence. However, appointments as Emir or even as Sultan are no longer sacrosanct. Mustapha Jokolo was removed as the Emir of Gwandu in 1995 and replaced by Mohammed Jega. Ibrahim Dasuki was removed as the Sultan of Sokoto in 1996 and replaced by Muhammadu Maccido. Therefore, this is a piece of advice for the new Emir of Kano. Don't bother to move your belongings into the Emir's palace just yet. Don't even bother to change the curtains or the carpets for now. You may not be on your throne for long. Thanks to Kwankwaso, the Kano Emirate has been politicized to all effects and purposes. Today, it is clearly in the APC camp. But if the APC lose the governorship election in Kano in February next year, it is not improbable that the Emirate will immediately be declared as a PDP terrzin. In that case, His Royal Highness, the new Emir of Kano, might end up with the same fate that befell him as CBN Governor. He might be summarily dismissed.

Culled from Daily Post Dr. Femi Aribisala is the preacher and coordinator of Healing Wings, a Pentecostal Christian fellowship.

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Wednesday, June 25 - Tuesday, July 1, 2014

The Advocate Gospel This Week

JESUS IS GREATER TEXT: Matthew 12:41-42 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here. The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here. (NIVUK)

Unemployment responsible for proliferation of churches – By Mary Chinda – Marshall Edidem His Lordship Marshall Edidem Bassey, the Custodian Lord of the Spiritual Kingdom Church of Christ here speaks on the proliferation of churches in Nigeria. The church leader stated that unemployment is key to the formation of numerous churches in all the nooks and crannies of the country, adding that white-garment churches are seen with some form of skeptism by non-members just because a few of them have not done the right thing in the past. Excerpts blend the Old Testament with the New Testament? {Smiles broadly} We in the kingdom that is this church believe passionately that Jesus shed his blood on a Friday to redeem us to God. Hence, we hallow each Friday to remember the price that he paid for us. We do this by engaging in an 8-hour fast each Friday (6:00am-2:00pm) in our stations. Also, we don't shed the blood of animals on Fridays as a mark of reverence to the Lord. For us, every Friday is a Good Friday.

NARRATION Jonah and Solomon both achieved much. Although their historical legacy was a source of pride for Israel, they also had significant faults. Jonah preached judgement to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria which had given much grief to God's people. Despite Jonah's early disobedience in running away (and later discontent when God showed mercy), God used a great fish to transport Jonah back to his mission field, Nineveh (which means 'House of Fish') and the king and people all repented. Solomon started his reign well. He was humble and asked for God's help; so God gave him great wisdom and great wealth too. His fame spread widely and the world's rulers were attracted to learn from him, including the Queen of Sheba who could only speak well of him. But later, he progressively disobeyed God's Word especially by taking women who did not worship the Lord. Solomon lost his wisdom and his kingdom was divided: it never recovered the greatness God had given in David's reign. But Jesus was a contrast to both of those leaders, although He was both a Prophet (speaking out the Word of God) and King (the appointed ruler of all God's people). Jesus was never disobedient, in His youth or approaching the cross. He never ran away from the purpose which Father God had set before Him. And He was determined to stick to His Father's timetable in reaching the cross. Jesus is greater than Jonah and Solomon in every other way too: but the religious leaders preferred tarnished heroes rather than accepting the sinless Son of God. Our sin makes us embarrassed by having perfection too close to us. It shows us up for what we are. So we are more comfortable with imperfect heroes and soiled saints. But Jesus is different. We can neither morally bargain with Him nor feel superior to Him. The right thing to do is to submit to Him: we ignore Him or reject Him at our peril. He is not just greater than Jonah and Solomon but the greatest ever, and for all time. So we need to alert our spiritually-sleeping friends and colleagues that Jesus is totally unlike anybody they have ever met or heard about. His wisdom is perfect and His call to repentance is eternally life-saving. To reduce Jesus to anything less is blasphemy, and the greatest folly; to welcome Him is the greatest wisdom.

Prayer: Holy Father. Thank You for Your love in sending Jesus so that we might see Your holiness displayed, repent of our sins and ask You for wisdom. I repent of my tendency to think of Jesus as less than He is, and for ignoring my responsibility to tell the people around me about Him. Please help me to honour Jesus by worshipping Him, submitting to Him, and by exalting Him with my family, friends and colleagues. In His Name. Amen.

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Tell us more about Edidem Bassey? His Holiness Edidem Bassey, the Spiritual King as his spiritual title goes is my father and the founder of this church. He was born in 1916 and is the greatest of all who ever lived. In the 80s, many including the media dubbed him Jesus of Ikot Ekpene due to the massive miracles God did at Ifieyong, Oron etc through him. Although when The Sunday Chronicle interviewed him in 1989 he declared “I am not Jesus Christ but I am the greatest”. His Holiness has in the last eight decades persistently explained to his followers that prosperity, healing and all other His Lordship Marshall Edidem Bassey accompanying paraphernalia of luxurious life is not the reason Jesus died. According to him, May we meet you sir? man gaining the crown of salvation is more nd I was born on the 2 of February 1955 as the fifth paramount. son of my father, His Holiness Edidem Bassey, What's your take on the testimonies the founder of this church.

What is the Spiritual Kingdom Church of Christ? Jesus Christ founded this church in 1945 when he called Edidem Bassey out of the Apostolic Church with a mandate of building a holy nation. The church has over 50 branches world over. We are populated. Our core values are holiness, consecration of the body and dogged adherence to the Bible. Also, we don't engage in publicity or crusades for membership as this was the directive from God Almighty to my father.

My Lord Sir, how would you react to the reality that the white-garment denominations have been given a bad name over the years? {Nods affirmatively}Yes, they abuse it ignorantly because few of the white-garment churches have not done the right thing and as such have incurred insults. However, we, at the Spiritual Kingdom Church of Christ are unique and dress differently. The difference between us (kingdomites) and others is in our dress code and style of worship.

Still on the hatred of the white-garment denominations .It is commonly believed all of you practice Old Testament doctrines. Is yours an exception? If you don't believe in the Old Testament you are not a Christian! How can you learn what your predecessors in the race had experienced in their quest to know God? How would you know where giants like Moses, David, among others failed?

How then has your church been able to

from Nigerians who claim to have died and resurrected with a message from Jesus Christ himself?

Yes, it is true that one can resurrect to testify about the existence of a heaven and hell but I am sure that it is not Jesus they saw! Never! {sits up, sounding more vehement}.If Jesus is reduced to an errand boy who takes them here and there, how about the angels? What then is their duty in heaven if Jesus is delegated to take people by the hand as claimed by some, to show them around heaven and hell rather than sit in the right hand of the Father as the Bible says.{sits up again, tightening his looks} Honestly, I think they had trances, not death because scientifically death occurs when the brain is literally dead as such nothing can bring the fellow back to life except the Holy Spirit. I, too, have had such a trance.

What do you think about the daily increase in the number of churches visà-vis the rise in immorality across the country? I don't criticise any church. I know churches are helping to change the lives of the people to an extent by discouraging sin. Only God has the exclusive preserve to judge. However, unemployment with its attendant frustration is a major reason churches are scattered everywhere as handsome and eloquent graduates are venturing into pastoring to escape poverty.

What is your message to Christians? Don't run after miracles because salvationnot miracles is the goal of Christianity. Above all else, love one another as Jesus loves you. The gospel of prosperity is not the good news.

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Wednesday, June 25 - Tuesday, July 1, 2014

IPMAN accuses PPMC of diverting petroleum products

n d e p e n d e n t Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has raised an alarm over the diversion of petroleum products meant for the association by the Pipeline Products Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC). The association urged President Goodluck Jonathan to urgently intervene to prevent looming fuel scarcity, which would further aggravate the fragile socio-economic and security situation in the country. IPMAN offered to assist the federal government to expose shady deals and the oil cabals both within and outside NNPC/PPMC that make the nation lose billions of naira monthly in the name of petroleum subsidy, even as the products remain diverted and scarce. Addressing a press conference in Enugu, the National Publicity Secretary of IPMAN, Chief Austin Ndigwe also raised the alarm over what he called “black market injunctions” purporting to have stopped the caretaker committee appointed by IPMAN national executive to run the affairs of Enugu Depot of IPMAN pending when substantive elections would be held, from operating. Ndigwe reiterated that there is no faction of IPMAN either at the national level or Enugu branch of the association, insisting that Chief Lawson Obasi remains the national chairman, while Ikechukwu Nwankwo remains the caretaker committee chairman of Enugu IPMAN Depot. He specifically called on President Jonathan to call the Managing Director of PPMC, Haruna Momoh to order and to restrain him from further allocation of petroleum products meant for IPMAN to unknown groups. Ndigwe said that for avoidance of doubt, a Federal High Court in Port-Harcourt had about four months ago given judgment in favour of Chief Lawson Obasi's group as the authentic leadership of IPMAN, but that even when nobody had appealed the judgment, Momoh had continued to allocate petroleum products meant for IPMAN to the Nigeria Independent Petroleum Company (NIPCO), which he alleged was being illegally controlled by former IPMAN

Chief Austin Ndigwe chairman, Alhaji Aminu Adulkadir and other cabals. “We are ready to assist the NNPC, Federal Government, and Ministry of Finance to expose the kind of fraud they are committing with subsidy, yet using the name of IPMAN to defraud the government in billions of naira, Federal Government is losing a

lot of money through this fraud,” the IPMAN spokesman alleged. He also called on the leadership of the judiciary to monitor some bad judges who are ready to trade with injunctions, including exparte injunctions at the wave of wads of notes, without following due process. The caretaker committee

chairman of Enugu Depot, Mr. Ikechukwu Nwankwo said that he resumed office last week and preparing to conduct elections, “but today I heard that someone went to court to get court order stopping me to parade myself as caretaker chairman, but we are yet to be officially served, if any and I don't think they will succeed because the judgment of the federal high court in Port Harcourt had supersedes what they claimed to have been obtained from Enugu court.” The Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice Innocent Umezulike had on Monday made an exparte order restraining the interim executive of the association from functioning. The order followed a motion ex parte filed by Barrister Okey Ozor on behalf of Azubuike Nwankwo in the suite E/214/2014 praying for an order of the court restraining Ifeanyichukwu Nwankwo and his group from gaining access into the IPMAN secretariat which they allegedly invaded by force. The plaintiffs further prayed the court for an order compelling the respondents to vacate the IPMAN secretariat at kilometer 12 Enugu- Abakaliki expressway,

Onuogba-Nike, Emene, Enugu and hand over the secretariat and other documents to the plaintiffs/applicants. ranting the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs, Justice Umezulike enjoined the parties to maintain the status quo ante bellum pending the determination of the motion on notice even as he adjourned hearing to Monday May 26, 2014. “The respondents, their agents or privies are hereby restrained from further gaining access to the IPMAN office or interfering with or disturbing the operations or activities of the plaintiffs as the constituted and appointed caretaker committee of IPMAN Enugu depot, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice already filed along with this application or any other orders the court may deem fit to make in the interest of injustice,” the court ruled. Commenting on the court ruling, Zonal Chairman of IPMAN, Ozoigbondu Chukwuma Ezinwa, said it rekindles the belief that the rule of law was superior to show of brute force stressing that the care taker committee would now be free to run its activities without hindrance.

MAN asks FG to reject EU's trade proposal T

he Manufacturers Association of Nigeria has urged the Federal Government not to throw the nation's market open to all manner of goods through a blanket economic agreement with the European Union. MAN stated this in a communiqué issued at the end of its 10th Annual General Meeting held in Calabar last weekend where it warned that rushing to seal the Economic Partnership Agreement with the EU could lead to a total collapse of existing industries in the country. The communique was signed by the Chairman of MAN in the state, Mr. Iniobong Jackson, and the Executive Secretary, Mr. Arikpo Arikpo. “There is a need for caution in signing the Economic Partnership Agreement, particularly agreements seeking total market access by the European Union. This is necessary in order not to collapse existing industries in Nigeria,” it said. MAN also called on the Central Bank of Nigeria to loosen its tight grip on the monetary policy and allow manufacturers to have access to finance at single digit

interest. It stressed the need for a robust synergy of ideas between the government and the organised private sector, and supported the practice of public-private partnership in policy formulation and implementation. MAN noted that with Nigerians' penchant for buying foreign made goods and the low patronage of made-in-Nigeria goods, manufacturers might not

be able to create jobs for the teeming youth who were resorting to crimes. “There is the need for the Federal Government to set up monitoring mechanism to ensure that its Ministries, Departments and Agencies patronise made-inNigeria goods,” it added. The association also lamented the inadequate provision of basic infrastructure that could support manufacturing.

It listed the inadequate supply of power as having a negative effect on industries and productivity, adding that there was the need for the government to provide constant electricity to industries. “There is a need for state governments to give palliative measures to federal roads in their states and ask for refunds in order to ease manufacturers' difficulties in moving products to consumers,” it added.

We have a lot of challenges here– Principal what would like him to do Continued from page 22 government in place, I think they are trying to place the roads, especially this major road to the school in the scheme of things for His Excellency; they were saying that they've marked it for development in the second stage, I don't know. But we've always been promised and we look forward to having a good access road.

Does the erosion problem affect the psyche of the students? Yes, it affects the psyche of every

person that is around here when it rains; even the teachers. It affects them because you don't know if you will slip off and get dirtied or the teachers will park their vehicles along the road so that you don't get stuck because of the rains. It affects the productivity of both the teachers and students,and even the members of the community that use these roads.

In a nutshell, what would you want the community to do in this matter now? Or if you see the Governor now,

about this road? The school is organizing her founders Day and launching of her maiden magazine, “The Light”. The access road to the school is one of the teething problems itemized; we are expecting the Commissioner for Education here; the Commissioner for Public Utilities; we are expecting all of them here so that they hear and drive through these roads and definitely, I know when they get back to Owerri, they will let His Excellency know about the state of the roads.

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Wednesday, June 25 - Tuesday, July 1, 2014

ADVOCATE

NAPPMED President declares A'Ibom NAFDAC–Compliant State By Christopher Okon, Uyo Ibom Branch, Mr. Akpan Udo

he Nigeria Association of Patent and Proprietary Medicine Dealers (NAPPMED) has declared Akwa Ibom State the best in terms of compliance with the National Agency for and Drug Administration and Control(NAFDAC) standard on safe and quality patent medicine in the country. NAPPMED President Akwa

Udoeno made the declaration last week during a one-day awareness seminar organized by NAFDAC in conjunction with Christabels Concept Services International members of NAPPMED and other stakeholders. The seminar which had as its theme “Fight against Fake and Substandard Regulated ProductsA Fight for All” was aimed at enlightening stakeholders on the menace of fake drugs and the war being waged against it.

Speaking on the performance of NAPPMED as regards the fight against fake patent medicine in the state, Udoeno said Akwa Ibom has the highest awareness on NAFDAC policy on consumer products, stating that patent medicine vendors in the state have been complying with the policy by not selling fake drugs. While thanking NAFDAC and Christabels Concept Services International for organizing the seminar, the State NAPPMED President said the association was

doing everything within its powers to ensure that patent medicine vendors purchased drugs from approved pharmacies in the country. “In Akwa Ibom State, we are very grateful to our unit head who continue to carry vendors along in the quest to sanitize the system. We can say without fear of contradiction that Akwa Ibom is rated among the best in terms of compliance with NAFDAC standard. “NAFDAC has since become a

household name in this state so much that businessmen who are not honest are no longer comfortable and have to relocate. “However, let me advise here that vendors should be honest and not greedy. Vendors must regard as a taboo fake and adulterated as well as expired drugs”, Udoeno said. Earlier, the Director-General of NAFDAC, Dr. Paul Orhii disclosed that the agency is collaborating with chairmen of the 774 local government areas in the country as well as the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to tackle the menace of fake drugs in the country.

Raspberry has multi antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits History

cientists aren't entirely sure about the origins of raspberries. Wild raspberries appear on at least five continents, and there is enormous species diversity for this fruit. Some arctic species of raspberry are native to Alaska, the Aleutian Islands, and northern Asia; other species are native to eastern Asia and the Hawaiian islands; still others are native to Europe or to North America. In terms of their first cultivation, we have evidence dating back about 2,000 years in Europe, making raspberries one of the earliest berry crops. Natural trading and traveling may have been important in the spread of raspberries, for example, into North American from eastern Asia across the Bering Strait. Interestingly, when cultivated raspberries are compared with wild raspberries, they turn out to be quite similar in terms of total phenols and total anthocyanin content. This similarity is especially true when the cultivated raspberries have also been organically grown. Although we might tend to think about a "wild" food as being more rich in nutrients than a cultivated food, this distinction does not hold true for raspberries when it comes to their phenol and anthocyanin antioxidants. Today, raspberries rank high on the list of the world's most popular berries. Among the 400,000 metric tons of raspberries produced worldwide, Russia, the United States, Serbia, Poland, and Chile rank among the top producers. In the United States, it's the West Coast that is most active in raspberry production, although commercial producers can be found across the country. Interestingly, well over 500 organic farms in the U.S. are now certified for organic raspberry production, and raspberries rank as the third most popular fresh-

Raspberry use berry in the U.S. following strawberries and blueberries. The U.S. also imports about 15,000 metric tons of raspberries from Mexico to meet consumer demand for this fruit.

Health Benefits Antioxidant and Anti-

Inflammatory Benefits The diversity of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory phytonutrients in raspberries is truly remarkable, and few commonly eaten fruits are able to provide us with greater diversity. From a research perspective, here is a partial list of phytonutrients in raspberries that

provide us antioxidant and antiinflammatory benefits:  Anthocyanins  Cyanidins  Pelargonidins  Delphinidins  Malvidins  Flavonols  Quercetin  Kaempferol  Flavanols  Catechins  Epicatechins  Flavonoid Glycosides  Tiliroside  Tannins  Ellagitannins  Gallotannins  Proanthocyanidins  Hydroxybenzoic Acids  Ellagic Acid  Lambertianin  Sanguiin  Vanillic Acid  Gallic Acid  Chlorogenic Acid

 Hydroxycinnamic Acids  Caffeic Acid  Coumaric Acid  Ferulic Acid  Stilbenoids  Resveratrol The vast majority of these phytonutrients are not only provided by raspberries, but provided in amounts that are significant in terms of protecting us against the dangers of oxidative stress and the dangers of excessive inflammation. By helping to scavenge free radical molecules, and by helping to regulate the activity of enzymes that could trigger unwanted inflammation, the phytonutrients in raspberries help lower our risk of chronic diseases that are associated with chronic oxidative stress and chronic inflammation. These chronic diseases include o b e s i t y, t y p e 2 d i a b e t e s , hypertension, and atherosclerosis. The ellagic acid found in raspberries deserves special mention as an anti-inflammatory compound.

Transfuse blood and save life

lood transfusion can be life saving and provides great clinical benefits to many patients, but it is not without risks. Blood transfusion is used for various medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. It may be needed if a person loses too much blood through, injury or major surgery, as that destroys blood cells such as hemolytic anemia. A sick person whose bone marrow does not produce enough blood in what is generally referred to in medical parlance as a plastic anemia, may require blood transfusion. The four different blood types are A, B, AB and O, and each type is either Rh-positive or Rhnegative. However in an

emergency, if the required blood type is not known and there is not enough time to find out, a patient might be given group O negative blood which is why O negative is known as the universal blood type and in higher demand than any other blood type. Donating blood: A blood donor needs to be between ages 16 and 70 years, weigh at least 45kg, the donated blood must match the recipient's blood type or complications will occur. To donate blood you must answer a series of question about your current health history and behavior that increases your risk for getting certain diseases such as drug use or unprotected sex. Blood Testing: the volume of red blood cell in a blood sample (hematocrit) are checked, you may not be allowed to donate blood if any of these screening steps suggest a problem such as

potential exposure to an infectious disease or anemia. Every unit of blood is tested for certain diseases such as hepatitis B and C, HIV 1 & 2 and HTLV iii Virus. If any disease is detected, the blood is thrown away. Before a recipient receives a transfusion, compatibility testing between the donor and recipient blood must be done. The first step before a transfusion is given to type of recipient blood determines the ABO and RH status. Blood transfusion has a poor risk benefit ratio, there are many adverse outcome such as infection, immune suppression, transfusion related acute, lung injury, allergic reactions errors in administration and even death to name but a few. Many doctors and administrators are not aware of the problem of transfusion. Blood storage is 42day or 6 weeks for stored packed, in refrigerated

at 33.8 to 42.8 oF (1.0 to 6.0 oC) with maximum permitted storage periods of 35 and 42 days respectively. Early complications of transfusion are very occurring in less than 1 to 1000 transfusions but tend to be more severe. Anemia can develop as a result of severe blood loss for example as a complication during childbirth or as a result of injury or surgery. Anemia can also be caused by health conditions in which red blood cells are produced at a reduced rate due to lack of iron, vitamin B12 or Fesolater and some type of cancers, such as acute myeloid leukemia and lymphomia. The process of blood donation and the handling of donated blood in Nigeria is regulated by medical laboratory science council of Nigeria (MLSC). It is better to be save than sorry.

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Wednesday, June 25 - Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Entertainment plus ‘The New Masquerade’ to be back on air soon – 'Zebrudaya’ pressure of being a star?

Many decades have passed yet the comedy name 'Zebrudaya' comes with an air of smiles in many households in Nigeria across age boundaries. The Advocate recently spotted this distinguished comedy name, the man behind the mask Chika Okpala cruising a flashy car in Enugu and hooked up with him for a chat. Excerpts By Mary Chinda Can you tell us a little bit about your background? {Smiling broadly}Yes, I am 'Chief Zebrudaya' Chika Okpala. Others call me Chief Zebrudaya Okoroigwe Nwogbo alias 4.30, M.O.N without E.Y. and it has been so because with all these awards that litter my table, it is not able to put garri on my table. And my wife continues asking “when shall we convert all them to firewood to cook in the kitchen? I laugh at her because some people are dying to get one. When I look at these woods (awards) I feel nostalgia because I'm appreciated for my contribution in comedy in the country.

Take us down memory lane, how did your sojourn into the entertainment world begin? It started back from secondary school days just before the war. Then at Prince Memorial High School (now Dennis Memorial Grammar School), Onitsha where I studied, I used to read out our textbooks in class and my classmates would say I read in

the pads and Agbada to give me that elderly boy carriage making me come out big and robust like a real chief. T h a t dovetailed into my acting chief even in my TV drama. After the war my colleagues and I at the dramatic club formed a theatre group called Tw o C i t y Play House. All through the war we Chief Zebrudaya m e r e l y entertained the soldiers then since funny way so I was propelled to we were not up to the age of being join the school's dramatic society conscripted into the army. When .There, they took interest in the war ended, we migrated to having me play the role of a chief Enugu where I along with another but because I was a little boy at the colleague were lucky to join time, they had to style me with all another theatre groupHilltop Art

Theatre which was the favourite of the then military administrator Ukpaba Asika where I joined ranks with the workers of ECBS and soon produced Sons and Daughtersa play that furthered my interest in acting as the Military Administrator took us to perform at the army week in Kaduna. Upon our return, General Gowon the head of state in 1972 invited us to come perform at DODAN Barracks, Victoria Island in Lagos where we performed beautifully. That being the highpoint of my carreer I went back to my hotel room wondering how drama could revolutionise my life at such a young age. I resolved to sink my entire life into acting. In 1976 I got a job with NTA when the late James Iruoha (OON) created The Masquerade and I got auditioned to play Chief ZEBRUDAYA alias 4:30.

How did you handle the

Nadia Buari

hen actress Nadia Buari said she rejected a mouth watering endorsement deal because the cream contained bleaching chemicals, many praised her to high heavens for her patriotic deed but the company has come out to say she was telling lies. Ghanaian Nollywood actress, Nadia Buari has been branded a

big liar by the cosmetic company she reportedly refused to sign an endorsement deal for because, according to her, she found out that the cream she was meant to endorse, Avant Claire Grande, contained dangerous chemical used in bleaching. According to authoritative Ghanaian entertainment site, Ghanacelebrities.com, the

Did you have a challenge with female fans? {Laughs}Well, they knew…..I will always tell them I would come and I never came. Beside, I was already married by 1991 before The Masquerade began. Did you do any movies in 2013? Yes, I had done four movies last year including Cultures which was shot in New Jersey, Mirror OF the Day, which I produced.

What should fans expect from you this year? Well, all things being equal we hope that the New Masquerade would be back on air soon, in either pidgin or Igbo language. This will be financed by the Imo State Government who is giving us a lot of hope on this.

And lastly what words do you have for your fans? They should be hoping and trusting that the New Masquerade would be on air again with even fresher talents, notwithstanding the obvious odds.

Actresses, Aneke twins say they do not walk under the sun

Cosmetic Company calls Nadia Buari a liar

General Manager of Avant Claire Grande Afrique, Christopher Owen, has come out debunk Nadia's claims of rejecting the $75,000 deal due to chemical as lies. Instead, Owen said they company actually decided not to go ahead with the sexy actress since what they wanted to offer her was $60,000 but she insisted on $75,000. Christopher reportedly told a Ghanaian radio, “My company offered the actress they chose out of many, a total sum of $60,000 which she turned down after Avant declined a $15,000 raise she and her management requested for during negotiations.” So saying she turned down the deal due to a chemical is false. She was only being greedy and wanted more money, so we had to pull out of the deal. Does this mean that if Nadia had been given the $75,000, she would have signed the deal despite knowing the cream contained bleaching chemicals?

Initially, I was shy but later I started coping with all the paraphernalia that comes with stardom.

hidiebere and Chidinma Aneke are twin sisters who are doing very well in the movie industry. They believe they are so big that they do not walk under the sun. Double The Wishes! Glowing Birthday Photos From Nollywood's Aneke Twins Can You Spot The Difference? Nollywood twin actresses, Chidinma and Chidiebere Aneke, say contrary to what has been

making the rounds that they bleach their skins, the reason they glow is because they do walk under the sun no matter where they want to go. They were reacting to the hullabaloo that followed the release of their promo photos for their upcoming movie where they look lighter than they usually look. In an interview with the journalists to dispel t h e r u m o u r, t h e identical twin sisters say they do not patronise bleaching creams and cannot even advise any lady to do so. Chidiebere was the first to reacts, “I can't bleach. There was a white background where we took the pictures.” Apparently, they reflected on the pictures and sort of lightened our skin. Black is a beautiful colour. Chidinma also added her voice, “I have been using the same cream for the past eight years and it is not a bleaching cream. We hardly walk in the sun. Perhaps that is why our skin glows. I don't bleach and my sister doesn't bleach either.”

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Wednesday, June 25 - Tuesday, July 1, 2014

By Okey Anyichie

Ghana FA calls police over match-fixing reports

he Ghana Football Association (GFA) said on Sunday it had asked police to investigate reports in a British newspaper that the national team was set to play in a friendly organised by match fixers. The Daily Telegraph report claimed that GFA president Kwesi Nyantakyi had agreed a $170,000 (125,000 euros) contract for the national team to play in a match in which the officials had been selected by a bogus investment firm, against FIFA rules. Nyantakyi maintains he never read the contract. The GFA issued a statement stating that no contract had been signed and that it had asked police to investigate “two persons for misrepresenting the GFA with an attempt to defraud.” It named the two men as Christopher Forsythe, a registered FIFA agent, and Obed Nketiah, a senior figure in the GFA. Nketiah and Forsythe had previously met with undercover reporters from the Daily Telegraph and Channel 4′s Dispatches programme, believing them to be from an investment firm keen on “sponsoring” a friendly match, the paper reported. The two men, along with the reporters,

then met with Nyantakyi at a Miami hotel earlier this month to discuss the contract, according to the report. “We wish to state that the GFA did not sign the contract as we waited for the response from the Legal Committee,” said the GFA statement. “The GFA has also reported the matter to FIFA and CAF,” it added. “We wish to assure the public that we

will not tolerate such misrepresentations and we will seek strong sanctions against such individuals if such claims are found to be true.” Forsythe and Nketiah both deny plotting to fix matches. “These are false allegations and I will never in my life do such a thing,” said Nketiah. Forsythe said his claims to be able to arrange rigged matches was “a

President Jonathan and his aides celebrating Nigeria's 1-0 victory against Bosnia Herzegovina.

Nigeria and commonwealth games in Scotland this year

Eagles set to move into the second round of world cup

Nigerian Athletes at International sports meet

igeria team is now being assembled and prepared for the Commonwealth games. This regional games among the former British colonies started in 1930 in Canada. Nigeria participated in the first time in 1950 in Auckland_New Zealand and won a silver medal in high-jump. Josiah Majekodunmi was the athlete that did Nigeria proud in that first outing to the games in New Zealand. Since 1950, to present, Nigeria had had fluctuating fortunes in the games unlike other African countries like Kenya and Uganda. It was only once and that was in

figment of my own imagination because I am so naive that I don't even know how matches are done.” “They were promises just to be able to get something off you,” he added. The national team are currently playing in the World Cup in Brazil, and won plaudits for their performance in a pulsating 2-2 draw with Germany on Saturday.

1994 games in Victoria, Canada that Nigeria was in a very flying colours by coming in a third position after Australia and England Since that brilliant effort in 1994 in Canada, it had not been that very colourful performance. In the last edition in India in 2010, Nigeria bagged 11 gold medals and was in the 7th position. Now that the games this year will begin in July in Scotland, it is expected that much preparation would be effected to improve on the eleven gold medals won in India in 2010. If this happens then both time and financial inputs made for the games would raise Nigeria higher in the games’ history.

igerian Super Eagles last Saturday in the on-going world cup soccer fiesta in Brazil won their first match. In encounter that was make or mar their chances of survival in this ongoing global soccer battle, Super Eagles finally earned the three precious points after pipping Bosnia-Herzegovina by a lone goal. Thus the winning of this second match with this European team has set the eagles on course to fly into the next round. However this depends on the out-come of their encounter with Argentina, which had already qualified for the next round of the competition with six points. The South American country defeated both Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-1 and last Saturday earned a lone goal victory over Iran. Nigeria now has four points, having played a draw with Iran in their opening match. Thus this victory last Saturday had earned them four points while Iran is trailing

Argentina and Nigeria in a third position. And so Iran will do everything on Wednesday 25th June, 2014 to win the encounter with Bosnia-Herzegovina with a goal tally of 2 or 3. That equally depends on the encounter between Nigeria and Argentina, which is expected to be a clash of two soccer titans. It must be recalled that Argentina had beaten Nigeria in the two world cup encounters in South Korea in 2002 and South Africa in 2010. With this third encounter, Nigeria is expected to take the bull by the horns and overwhelm the South American country that had been the Nigerian obstacle to progress in the world cup. For Stephen Keshi boys, they ought to know the stakes involved and should play out their hearts. Hence if they allow the disaster to strike in this crucial encounter with the Argentina, then this year's world cup would continue to tale woeful story since 1998.

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Wednesday, June 25 - Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Xabi Alonso

abi Alonso is set to quit Spain after their World Cup exit and retire from international football. The 32-year-old reportedly made the decision before traveling to Brazil and it is not a reaction to Spain's collapse in this year's World Cup, where they have failed to play with the same aura that saw them conquer the tournament in 2010. But retiring internationally echoes comments made by Alonso on Thursday: 'In football, the end of an era is usually signalled by a defeat. Maybe now's the time to start thinking about making changes The former Liverpool midfielder, who spent five years at Anfield, hit the headlines after publicly criticising Spain's below par performances. 'We haven't been able to maintain our hunger and the conviction we needed to make a serious attempt at defending the trophy,' said Alonso. 'The happiness we experienced in the past and all of the successes are over, we made a lot of mistakes. We've lost our way, and the ability to be ourselves out on the pitch - that was what enabled us to win so many of our games in the past. 'The overall mood was different this time - not like it was in other tournaments. That's the saddest thing. 'Mentally, we were not fully prepared for this World Cup and physically, we were right at the very limit. Both of those things together meant that we weren't in better conditions. 'We weren't at the required level and

we deserve to have been knocked out.' It would signal the end of an impressive era, given Alonso's

ven before Nigeria had taken to the field, it was clear that Peter Odemwingie was amongst friends when facing Bosnia and Herzegovina. With a broad smile and an infectious laugh, the Stoke City striker is not only a popular figure within his own ranks, but a key part of the opposition defence seemed fond of him too or at least until his goal-scoring turn in Cuiaba sealed the Bosnians' elimination from the tournament. The figures in white embracing and chatting with the soon-to-be Man of the Match were club teammate Asmir Begovic and opposing captain Emir Spahic, who shared the pitch with the Nigerian at Lokomotiv Moscow. The fact that their interactions remained as warm after the final whistle, despite his solitary goal prematurely ending the Europeans' World Cup debut, provided a telling and touching reminder that, after all, football is just a game. But despite his inside knowledge on the man between the sticks he would be trying to beat, Odemwingie is dismissive when asked if he had the upper-hand over Begovic.. “[Laughs] No, I don't think so, as saving shots from close distance is one of the stronger sides of his game,” after slotting underneath the big Bosnian from seven yards in the first-half of the Super Eagles' eventual 1-0 win. “He is a great guy. He knows I have a good shot and I tried to shoot a few times today. I'm sure he is going to tell me off when I get back to Stoke [laughs],” said the nippy forward, born in what is involvement in three World Cups, now Uzbekistan, before taking a more sincere tone. two European Championships and a “I had to do it for my country but I was so happy to Confederations Cup during his 11- see him on this stage and I exchanged shirts with him at the end of the game.” year Spain career.

Algerian Team joins to rekindle Africa's hope in the world cup

lgeria have moved up to second in Group H with a convincing 4-2 win over Korea Republic at Porto Alegre's Estadio Beira-Rio. The Taeguk Warriors were blown away in a first half that ended with three goals in favour of their North African opponents and even a much-improved secondhalf showing could not prevent Hong Myungbo's team from slumping to a damaging defeat. There had been plenty of raised eyebrows on the decision by Algeria coach Vahid Halilhodzic to bench five of the players who had unluckily lost 2-1 to Belgium. That shuffling of Les Fennecs pack was quickly justified, though, as they established a firm stranglehold on the match. Slimani in the 26th minutes of play scored the goal that he and his team so richly deserved, bustling through on to a long ball, holding off two Korean pursuers and dinking a volley over the advancing Jung Sungryoung. The Taeguk Warriors seemed helpless in the face of this Algerian onslaught and two minutes later their deficit was doubled, Rafik Halliche bulleting home Nabil Bentaleb's corner with Jung caught in no man's land.

Algeria National team The surprise scoreline did not flatter the north Africans and nor could Korea Republic complain when their opponents went three up seven minutes before halftime. The ease with which they found the net was a source of embarrassment though, with Abdelmoumene Djabou popping up unmarked 12 yards from goal to sweep home left-footed from Slimani's clever pass. Some harsh words may have been uttered at half-time in the South Korean dressing room and, whatever was said, it

certainly seemed to have the desired impact. The Asians were certainly a different team altogether after the break and hauled themselves back into contention after just four minutes when Son Heungmin spun away from Madjid Bouguerra and smashed a left-foot shot through the legs of Rais Mbholi. It was as if the second half could be in the Korean side, and it would have been if Mbholi had not made a superb flying save to tip away Ki Sungyeung's sweetly struck long-range effort on the

hour-mark. Just a couple of minutes later, the Algerians moved out of sight when Brahimi worked a neat one-two with Slimani before nutmegging the hapless Jung. Halilhodzic's side duly became the first African side to score four times in a single FIFA World Cup match, although their lead was eroded with 18 minutes remaining when Lee Keunho crossed for Koo Jacheol to bundle the ball home from close range.

Vol. 1 No. 39, Wednesday, June 25 - Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Usain Bolt Back page comment

Sanusi Lamido Sanusi is the wrong O Emir of Kano

f all the cities in Northern Nigeria, Kano is perhaps the most important. Although it used to be subject to the Sokoto Caliphate, in many respects it has since become a far more important city in Nigeria than Sokoto. Kano was the administrative capital of the entire Northern Nigeria under British colonial rule. Today, it is by far the biggest metropolis in Northern Nigeria. It is not only the vibrant commercial capital of the region; it is a leading epicenter of economic activity in sub-Saharan Africa.

True progressives Kano is also in many respects the most truly progressive state in Nigeria. It has never been a follow-the-leader city. The people of Kano have a mind of their own. They specialize in bucking the national trend. Kano is the city of trail-blazing for Mallam Aminu Kano and the Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU), which later became the formidable People's Redemption Party (PRP). It is also the city of Maitama Sule, another one of Nigeria's former luminaries and perhaps the most distinguished orator ever in the history of Nigerian politics. For these reasons and more, the politics of Kano have far-reaching regional and national implications. It also goes without saying that the Emir of Kano is inevitably a very influential man, not only in Kano and the North, but in Nigeria as a whole. By virtue of his office, a lot of people look up to him. His views go a long way to shape public opinion in the Northern, part of the country and even beyond. This makes the choice of the Emir of Kano more than a local affair. It is a choice that must be made soberly and with great circumspection as befitting such a local office of national significance.

Lack of probity This makes the choice of Lamido Sanusi, the disgraced former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, as the new Emir of Kano most inappropriate. It is a choice that, wittingly or unwittingly, will bring the office of the Emir into disrepute. It is improper that a man who still has allegations of financial improprieties hanging over his head at the national level, to which he might have to answer in the court of law, should be appointed to such an important post. This is how Nigerian leaders show they have little or no understanding of the ethics of public office and good governance. Lamido Sanusi has just been fired as CBN governor on allegations of corrupt practices. How then can such a man be rewarded with the appointment of Emir of Kano before his innocence is established? This is the Nigerian way and it is the way

of ignoble and corrupt practices. Sanusi's appointment to such an important post could not have taken place in countries concerned about probity and transparency in public office. His appointment confirms the allegations of our gaggle of Western traducers that Nigeria is a citadel of corruption. It tells the world that Nigeria deserves to be one of the lowestranked countries on the corruption index of Transparency International; a global civil society organization that engages in comparative analysis of the levels of corruption in the countries of the world.

Case against Sanusi Sanusi is accused by the federal

condone corruption. Even the former prime minister of Israel was tried and sentenced to jail for corruption, which is what happens in those countries with zero tolerance for the improprieties of public officials. The question now is whether the Emir of Kano is beyond the law. Another question is whether Nigeria a real republic or no more than a banana republic? The Emir of Kano does not have any constitutional immunity from criminal prosecution. If Sanusi is prosecuted in spite of his appointment and found guilty, it would undoubtedly be demeaning to the office of the Emir of Kano when and if he is ignominiously sent to jail. Indeed, he would be the first Emir to be granted such distinction in Nigeria. While every Nigerian must be deemed innocent of all charges until proven guilty in a court of law, commonsense dictates that you do not appoint a man with criminal allegations hanging over his head into high office until he has cleared himself of those allegations in the court of law.

APC treachery This makes the appointment of Sanusi as Emir by Governor Kwankwaso of Kano an act of deliberate mischief. The Nigerian Senate recently declared Sanusi a liar and mischief-maker for making false allegations that a whopping 49 billion was missing from the federal accounts. A liar and mischief-maker is not suitable for the politically-sensitive post of Emir of Kano. Governor Kwankwaso himself was accused of being a fraudster by no less a person than Goodluck Jonathan, the President of Nigeria. What we now have is that an alleged fraudster has appointed another alleged fraudster into high office, undermining the reputation and integrity of the important city of

Usain St. Leo Bolt OJ CD born 21 August 1986) is a Jamaican sprinter widely regarded as the fastest person ever. He is the first man to hold both the 100 metres and 200 metres world records since fully automatic time measurements became mandatory in 1977. Along with his teammates, he also set the world record in the 4×100 metres relay. He is the reigning Olympic champion in these three events, the first man to win six Olympic gold medals in sprinting, and an eight-time World champion. He was the first to achieve a "double double" by winning 100 m and 200 m titles at consecutive Olympics (2008 and 2012), and topped this through the first "double triple" (including 4×100 m relays).

Early years Bolt was born on 21 August 1986 in Sherwood Content, a small town in Trelawny, Jamaica, and grew up with his parents, Wellesley and Jennifer Bolt, his brother Sadiki, and his sister Sherine. His parents ran the local grocery store in the rural area, and Bolt spent his time playing cricket and football in the street with his brother, later saying, "When I was young, I didn't really think about anything other than sports".

Early competitions

Performing for Jamaica in his first Caribbean regional event, Bolt clocked a personal best of 48.28 s in the 400 metres in the 2001 CARIFTA Games, winning a silver medal. The 200 m also yielded a silver as Bolt finished in 21.81 s. He made his first appearance on the world stage at the 2001 IAAF World Youth Championships in Debrecen, Hungary. government of running the accounts of Kano. Running in the 200 m event, he failed to the CBN like a bull in a china shop. It is Are there no protocols concerning the qualify for the finals, but he still set a new only in Nigeria that you can have a appointment of Emirs and Obas in personal best of 21.73 s. Bolt still did not take Central Bank governor spend government Nigeria? Certainly there must be. Even if athletics or himself too seriously, however, money as outrageously and as there is none, should propriety not tell and he took his mischievousness to new whimsically as Sanusi is alleged to have Kwankwaso that a man facing corruption heights by hiding in the back of a van when done. The government reveals that Sanusi charges is not be eligible for political he was supposed to be preparing for the 200 gave away nothing less than ₦ 163 billion appointment? Only in Nigeria does this m finals at the CARIFTA Trials. in 63 unauthorised “intervention kind of disregard for ethics and good projects” in different parts of the country. governance hold sway. Since this is World-record breaker This largesse is more than the entire coming from one of the new kingpins of The silver medals from the 2007 Osaka annual budget of a state like Edo. He is the APC, who is even being touted by World Championships boosted Bolt's desire also accused of being guilty of a number some as presidential- candidate material, to run, and he took a more serious, more of grave financial improprieties. what does it tell us about “fresh air” that mature stance towards his career. Will he now get away with these corrupt the APC claims it will bring to Nigerian Sponsorships and advertising practices simply because he has been politics? It tells us that the APC is one big work appointed an Emir, or will he be charade. Almost single-handedly, Bolt has helped prosecuted to the full extent of the law? Make no mistake about it: this is a track transform itself from a dying sport to Your guess is as good as mine. If the political appointment. Even more one with a singular, smiling, worldwide star. charges against him are dropped simply pointedly, it is an APC appointment. After winning the 200 m title in the 2002 because of his appointment, it will be World Junior Championships in Kingston, Continues on page 25 another example of Nigeria's tendency to Bolt signed a sponsorship deal with Puma.