March 14, 2015 by The Nation

THE NATION

NEWS 3

SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

•Former Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar during IBB's courtesy visit to the ex-Vice President in Abuja... yesterday

Confusion over alleged order to probe Atiku, Tinubu, Amaechi, Saraki

HE polity was gripped by fresh tension yesterday following the emergence of a curious watch list purportedly sent to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) by the Presidency. The EFCC dismissed the list as fake and said it did not emanate from it. The list alleged to be from the Chief of Staff to the President, Brigadier General Jones Arogbofa (rtd) directed the EFCC to probe key opposition figures in the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM). They are ex-Vice-President Atiku Abubakar; Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; Speaker Aminu Tambuwal; Sen. Bukola Saraki; Governors Rotimi Amaechi, Adams Oshiomhole, Aliyu

Yusuf ALLI, Managing Editor, Northern Wammako, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Abdulfatah Ahmed, and Sen. Danjuma Goje. Others are the Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress(APC) in Taraba State, Sen. Aisha Jummai Alhassan; the Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Movement(PDM) in Adamawa State, Dr. Ahmed Modibbo(Ex-Executive Secretary of UBEC); and a former Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufai; Executive Secretary, PPPRA, Farouk Ahmed; CBN Deputy Governor (Operations ), Suleiman Barau; Managing Director, NPA, Habib Abdullahi; DG, NCAA, Capt. Mukhtar Usman; MD of NDIC, Umaru

Ibahim; GED, Business Development of NNPC, Attahiru Yusuf; and the GED, Commerce and Investment of NNPC, Aisha Abdulrahman. The list which the social media quoted with relish yesterday has generated serious controversy despite the denial of the EFCC. Some political commentators and members of the opposition parties were of the view that nothing “ is beyond the presidency.” ” We have nothing to hide. Why have they waited till now if their motive is genuine ? Atiku and Tinubu left office in 2007 ,Goje and Saraki ceased to be governors in 2011, they have all been in the country and nobody has invited them for questioning as regards their time in office. We know the game they are up to, “ a lead-

ing opposition politician said yesterday. The purported memo directed EFCC to ”clandestinely investigate the personal and official finances of the following present and former government functionaries and report back by the 16th of March. But the EFCC disowned the said letter in circulation, and claimed that it did not emanate from it. The Head of Media and Publicity of EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, told reporters in Abuja that the memo was not only fake but was intended to ”create the impression that President Goodluck Jonathan wants to use the EFCC to witch-hunt opposition figures.” “The EFCC has not received such a letter from the presidency and it has not got •Continued on Page 6

APC: PDP plans to have Buhari try his party men

HE APC Presidential Campaign Organization says that the PDP-led Federal Government is working extra hours to raise malicious charges against the leaders and suspected financiers of the opposition All Progressives Congress ,using the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in order to force Gen. Muhammadu Buhari to “try his own men” in a test of his bid to fight corruption without fear or favor. In a statement ,the APCPCO Media Director, Garba Shehu said that the federal government planned

to take advantage of a vow by General Buhari that if elected, he will not investigate the past, but that all ongoing cases will be allowed to run their course without any hindrance. The campaign organization cited an alleged memo to EFCC from the Chief of Staff to the President,BrigGen Jones Arogbofa (rtd) which it described as a mischievous attempt to railroad the Presidential Candidate of the APC, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari to subject his own supporters to trial and conviction.It accused Arogbofa of recommending senior APC lead-

ers, businessmen and company CEOs for investigation and trial by the commission. On the list are former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, Gov. Rotimi Amaechi, Gov. Adams Oshiomhole, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal and Gov. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of Kano State. Others are Senator Danjuma Goje, Senator Bukola Saraki, Faruk Ahmed, Executive Director PPPRA; Sulaiman Barau, a Deputy Governor of the Central Bank; the MD of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Habib Abdullahi and the DG of the

NCAA, Captain Mukhtar Usman. The rest are the MD of NDIC, Umaru Ibrahim; Governor of Kwara State, Abdulfatah Ahmed; the Group Executive Director of the NNPC, Aisha Abdulraham; the Governorship candidate of the APC in Taraba State, Senator Aisha Alhassan; the PDM candidate for Adamawa Governorship election, who was formerly the Executive Secretary of UBEC, Ahmed Modibbo as well as the former Minister of Education, Professor Ruqqayyatu Ahmed Rufai.

WO weeks ago, we reported the story of Elder Dikam Garba Dabo'ok, a 107 -year-old who glamorously walked his 95-year-old wife, Madam Ka'an Nafung, down the aisle. The ceremony, which took place at the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN), Chizu village in Bwai, Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State, remains the talk of the town till date. The wedding, which was contracted 70 years after the couple have been living together and had children, was filled with a lot of excitement and fanfare as the aged couple overcame their frailty and danced frenetically to the melodious songs played by the vivacious musical band. They dressed in neatly made wedding suits and gowns with a long queue of grooms' men and bridal train behind them as they moved from one place to the other. They equally took photographs like young couple and fed each as if they were just doing so for the first time. Unfortunately, the fun that greeted the ceremony seems to have fizzled out. Just when many expected him to be savouring the joy of that widely publicised wedding ceremony and his ‘honeymoon’, he surprisingly

Yusufu Aminu IDEGU pulled the trigger and fired a damning shot, saying he is tired of life and wishes to die. Why is he tired of life wishes to die? You may want to ask. Elder Dikam says his desire to die is simply borne out of the frustrations and pains caused by his blindness and old age. He said: “I am fine as you can see, only that I can no longer see with my eyes. The eyes are gone. That is just the end of life, I am not somebody that likes staying in one place. I am a very active somebody right from my youthful age; even at this old age I am still active. I should have been going to my farm if not for the eyes, but now I can't go anywhere. I have to remain at home all days. So there is no life without the eyes. “I have been praying to God to take my life but God is still keeping me alive. Truly, I am not enjoying this old age but I can't take my own life; it is God that created me and it is God that can take my life at anytime he so wishes. I don't wish to live any longer, all my mates are gone, I don't know why God is still keeping me. I am no longer useful in this life, I should go to the world beyond, but God is not seeing it that way. •Continued on Page 13

Chibok girls’ fate ? Shettima will not be governor forever and when he is no longer in office, his role in the Chibok affair would be investigated and, if found wanting, he would be prosecuted

—Femi Fani-Kayode

Fani-Kayode that is seated in Abuja and issuing statement didn't have the patriotism to follow President Jonathan on his recent visit to liberated communities, at least to put on record that he was once in Borno State. He sits and speaks with so much arrogance and ignorance —Borno Governor Kashim Shettima

THE NATION, SATURDAY MARCH 14, 2015

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Fed Govt’s non-release of funds threatens election tribunal

•From left: Chief Executive Officer, National Mathematical Centre (NMC), Prof Adewale Solarin, presenting an award to the Group Managing Director, Nigerian Turkish International Colleges (NTIC), Mehmet Basturk, while the Chairman of the Governing Council of the WAEC, Barrister Daniel Uwazurike, watches with interest during the NMC 2014 Awards held at the Sheraton Hotels, Abuja.

HE President of the Court of Appeal (PCA), Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, has said the various election tribunals constituted to handle disputes from this month’s general elections are currently being handicapped owing to the nonrelease of funds by the Federal Government. She said the 77 tribunals, made up of 255 members, inaugurated since February 2 this year had to rely on the assistance of foreign agencies to function. She said their duties would be hampered with the continued delay in the release of funds for their operations. Also, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mahmud Mohammed, said the judiciary would resist any attempt by vested interests to manipulate it to attain selfish ends. He said the judiciary was ready to hear cases dispassionately and dispense justice without fear or

APC to Jonathan: Apologise to Nigerians over your phantom phone conversation with Moroccan King T

HE All Progressives Con gress (APC) has asked President Goodluck Jonathan to apologise to Nigerians for the embarrassment that he has caused them over his phantom phone conversation with the King of Morocco. ‘’In our earlier statement on the issue, we gave President Jonathan the benefit of the doubt by asking him to clarify what happened, just as the Moroccan King has done. Instead, a loquacious spokesman for the President decided to abuse us. That tells us that, indeed, these people have something to hide over the phoney

phone conversation,’’ the party said in a statement issued in Lagos yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed. It said based on the antecedents of the Jonathan administration which has little or no regard for the truth, it is safe to assume that the President did not hold any phone conversation with King Mohammed VI of Morocco, adding, however, that the party would be glad if President Jonathan can prove con-

clusively that he spoke with the King. ‘’Whereas Morocco was unequivocal in denying that its King had any phone conversation with President Jonathan, saying ‘Morocco is surprised at the incredible twist given by Nigeria to an alleged phone conversation that never took place between HM King Mohammed VI and Nigerian President’, the Nigerian presidency has been less forthcoming, instead opting to

...Jonathan admits he didn’t speak with King of Morocco

RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan yesterday ad mitted that he never spoke with King Mohammed VI of Morocco, contrary to earlier claims by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that he did. President Jonathan consequently ordered a probe into the controversy on whether or not he had a telephone conversation with the Moroccan king. His Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, called the controversy a regrettable furore and said it was brought about in the first instance by misinformation. Abati, giving the President’s side of the story, said: “It is true that President Jonathan has been speaking with some African leaders to seek their support for Nigeria’s candidate for the position of President of the African Development Bank (AfDB). “In continuation of his efforts in support of the candidacy of the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, for headship of the AfDB, President Jonathan indicated that he would like to speak with the King of Morocco, the President of Algeria and the President of Egypt. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was consequently directed to make necessary contacts with the embassies of the three countries and arrange for Presi-

...orders probe Augustine EHIKIOYA, Abuja dent Jonathan to speak with their leaders. “Since that directive was given, President Jonathan has spoken with the Prime Minister of Algeria and subsequently sent Vice President Namadi Sambo to Algiers as Special Envoy to follow up on his discussions with the Algerian Prime Minister on support for Nigeria’s candidate in the coming elections for the AfDB Presidency. “The President has, however, not yet spoken with King Mohammed VI and President Al-Sisi of Egypt as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must know. “President Jonathan has, therefore, ordered the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Aminu Wali, to urgently undertake a full investigation of the claim which emanated from the ministry that the President spoke with King Mohammed VI.” The investigation, the statement pointed out, was to identify all those who were responsible for ”the unacceptable act of official misinforma-

tion which has resulted in an unnecessary diplomatic row with another country and national embarrassment. “It is also expected to unveil the motives of the culprits. President Jonathan has also ordered that prompt and commensurate disciplinary action be taken against the culpable person or persons.” While awaiting the outcome of the investigations, President Jonathan also urged Nigerians to disregard “the vituperations of opposition elements who have, true to type, latched on to the regrettable faux pas as a fresh opportunity to unpatriotically denigrate the government of their country and advance their irresponsible quest for victory at any price in the coming elections.” Morocco’s Foreign Affairs Ministry last week said King Mohammed VI snubbed President Jonathan who had requested for a telephone conversation which he (Mohammed) suspected was to solicit his support ahead of this month’s presidential election against General Muhammadu Buhari of the APC. But in a swift reaction, the ministry’s counterpart in Nigeria insisted that President Jonathan indeed spoke with the king.

engage in shadow-chasing,’’ APC said. ‘’Because of this unnecessary controversy over a phone discussion, Nigerians have now been branded liars. This is very serious, considering Nigeria’s standing in Africa. We therefore expect that any serious administration would not have hesitated to come clean on what really transpired, instead of dissipating its energy on abuses,’’ the party added. APC said while its earlier, measured statement was borne out of patriotism, rather than partisanship, the President’s increasingly-rabid, leading attack dog frittered away the opportunity to convince Nigerians that his principal did not just conjure up the idea of speaking with the King. ‘’In the true tradition of the Jonathan administration to ignore the message and attack the messenger, those who should bury their heads in shame for dragging their nation to the realm of the abyss

simply engaged in their usual pastime. It is indeed those who have disgraced Nigeria locally and internationally that lack patriotism. The incompetent and clueless presidency has now further transformed to a lying presidency,’’ the party said. It said the global opprobrium which the Jonathan administration has brought on Nigeria can only be imagined, with the likes of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe firing darts at Nigeria - which played a frontline role in his country’s independence - and the militaries of less-endowed neighbouring countries belittling Nigeria’s military, despite its globally-acclaimed role in the maintenance of peace and security in the sub-region. ‘’It is now clear that the legendary cluelessness and incompetence of the Jonathan administration did not end with the mess they have made of running the country, but also extends to their ineptitude in international diplomacy. Nigerians who are tired of this do-nothing administration have been handed another reason to vote it out on March 28th,’’ APC said.

Eric IKHILAE, Abuja favour, affection or ill-will. The CJN and PCA spoke in Abuja when the Deputy Chief Observer, Ms Hannah Roberts, and the Legal Analyst, Ms Eirini-Marie Gounari of the European Union Election Observation Mission Nigeria 2015, paid Justice Mohammed a courtesy visit in his office. Media aide to the CJN, Ahurakah Isah, in a statement, quoted the PCA as saying that the Court of Appeal had been depending on some foreign donors such as the International Foundation for Electoral System (IFES) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to support the training activities, compilation of a digest of decided electoral cases since the money budgeted for the elections petition tribunal activities is yet to be released. She said the panel chairmen and members had undergone training and would be posted to their respective states next week where they are expected to serve. ‘’Apart from the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal panel, there will be at least two panels per state and one for the Federal Capital Territory, while some will be put on reserve in case there is need to add more in some states. Governorship election will not hold in six states, namely: Kogi, Osun, Ekiti, Bayelsa, Ondo and Edo and, therefore, there will be no Governorship Election Petition Tribunal panels in those states. ‘’However, we are experiencing challenges in Rivers State where there is no Chief Judge at present to take responsibility of the panel posted to that state. Besides, the chief judges of Yobe, Adamawa and Borno states have said that they won’t be able to guarantee the safety of the panel members due to security challenges in their respective states and advised that the panels for their states be made to sit elsewhere,’’ the PCA said. The CJN said: “The judiciary, as an independent arbiter and interpreter of law has an immeasurable role to play under the 1999 Constitution (as amended) for the stability of democracy in Nigeria. I wish to assure the international community and indeed all Nigerians that the courts are not only ready to carry out these responsibilities, but will do so without being manipulated to compromise the elections.”

Turkish Colleges sweep Mathematics, Science awards

IGERIAN Turkish In ternational Colleges (NTIC) were on Tuesday honoured by the National Mathematical Centre (NMC) for winning no fewer than 12 awards in national and international Mathematics and Science Olympiads. The awards and other excellent performances churned out by students of the schools also prompted the NMC to declare the colleges as the best in Mathematics in Nigeria for 2014 as well as the best schools in Chemistry, Physics, Biology and Computer Science for 2013. Presenting the awards to the schools in Abuja on Tuesday, the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Viola Onwuliri, described the performance of NTIC students as wonderful and commended the schools

Gbade OGUNWALE, Assistant Editor, Abuja for its numerous achievements in Mathematics and Sciences. The minister, who was represented by the Director, Basic and Secondary Education in the ministry, Barrister Chike Uwazuoke, said the emergence of these schools among the best in Nigeria in the West Africa Examinations Council (WAEC) in the 2013 and 2014 showed that the schools’ excellent performance in Olympiads is not a fluke. In his words: “These are schools that have made so much mark in Mathematics and Sciences. I am the Chairman of the WAEC Board in Nigeria, last December at Minna. The usual practice whenever we have our annual meetings

is to reward schools that did very well in School Certificate examinations, NTIC was among the best three schools in Nigeria for WAEC in 2013 or 2014. Earlier, the Director and Chief Executive Officer of NMC , Prof Adewale Solarin expressed satisfaction with the system put in place in all NTIC schools, which has seen to Nigeria winning laurels in international Olympiads. “I am very impressed with the kind of system NTIC have in place, so I am not surprised that we have to celebrate their achievements,” the Director said. He commended the partnership between NMC and NTIC, saying that the symbiosis collaboration has led to enormous gains in stimulating students’ interest in Mathematics.

THE NATION, SATURDAY MARCH 14, 2015

TRONG indications emerged yesterday that the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) is banking on the court to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) and its chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, from going ahead with the use of Smart Card Readers(SCRs) for the March 28 and April 11 elections. The resolve of the party and the presidency is that a favourable judgment must be secured at all cost, if the INEC must be stopped from using the novel device for the polls. There are two cases before the Federal High Court in Abuja and Lagos. Sources said the presidency would not mind instituting a fresh case in another court just to have its way. In Abuja, four political parties—United Democratic Party (UDP), Action Alliance (AA),

Eid-El-Maulud

Card Readers: Presidency mounts pressure on court to stop INEC Yusuf ALLI, Managing Editor, Northern Operation Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN) and Alliance for Democracy (AD)— had approached Justice Ademola Adeniyi for an ex-parte order stopping the INEC from using SCRs. But the AA pulled out of the suit in Abuja on Thursday. A stalwart of the PDP, Waliu Taiwo, has also filed an application at the Federal High Court in Lagos to stop the use of Card Readers dur-

ing the general elections. In suit FHC/C/CS/296/ 15, Taiwo asked for a restraining order against the INEC from using the Card Readers during the elections. There was anxiety last night that the Federal High Court in Abuja may give its ruling on Monday to make the application before the Lagos court a fait accompli. PDP chiefs were boasting last night that the court will rule in its favour, thus stopping the INEC. Vice President Namadi Sambo was quoted recently as saying that the INEC would have no choice, but comply

once a court rules against the use of Card Readers for the elections. Investigation revealed that there were concerns in civil society organisations that the PDP was desperate to use the court to stall the deployment of Card Readers by the INEC in the party's bid to make it difficult for the electoral body to detect fake Permanent Voter Cards, either cloned or purchased from authentic owners. It was gathered that the presidency had received legal advice that the Card Readers do not violate Section 52(1) (2) the Elec-

Outrage over pipeline contracts to Tompolo, Gani Adams, others

IDE criticisms are trail ing President Goodluck Jonathan’s approval of contracts for securing the waterways and oil pipelines to companies owned by ex-militants and factional leaders of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC). The Presidency is understood to have directed the Police and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to quit the job for the companies which have been signed on by the government. Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Niyi Akintola, described the plan as an act of corruption which has no precedent anywhere in the world. “Why must we encourage the establishment and operation of ex-militants in securing our oil pipelines? What is the responsibility of the Police and the Navy if the ex-militants are to be saddled with the responsibility? It is an act of corruption in itself and I don’t think the intention has any precedent anywhere in the world. I don’t know when tribal militias have the right to carry out security surveillance in the country. “When given the contracts, would they not be interested in having their own national cake? It appears all you need to become a millionaire and command respect in the country is to be a militant. I don’t think a decent society would encourage this because it emboldens other militants to ask for a similar advantage and this is why we are in this quagmire.” He feared that the plan could lead to another form of insurgency “and that will amount to endangering the society the more. The financiers of Boko Haram are certainly regretting their actions today. So the Federal Government should think twice and al-

Innocent DURU low the Navy and the Police to do their jobs. “In Dubai, there is always constant air force patrol in the sky. After the 9/11 attack in America, their air force patrols the city all the time. That is what nations that are serious about their internal security do. They don’t entrust their security to militants.” Lagos lawyer, Festus Keyamo blasted the Federal Government for conceiving the idea in the first place, saying: “It is irresponsible of the Federal Government to give up part of its security to individuals. The money that would be given to such people should be used to equip the Police and the Navy. If this is done, they will perform better. The plan is simply a political patronage. Those people will not guide anything. It is all part of corruption on the part of the Federal Government.” Retired Police Commissioner, Abubarkar Tsav, blamed the plan on the desperation of President Jonathan to win the forthcoming presidential election at all costs. His words: “It is wrong to do such. Jonathan is too desperate. It may be that he wants to use them against Nigerians. We have the Police and the Navy to do that. Why is he bringing in the ex-militants and OPC people to do their job? He has possibly done that because of this election. Jonathan has lost focus and I don’t know what our security chiefs are doing. The security of the country appears

not to mean anything to them.” He warned that: “If we abandon the Police and the Navy that are trained and engage ex-militants who have at one time or the other attacked the country to secure our water ways and oil pipelines, it will spell doom for the country. I was really very sad when I read the story.” Dr Junaid Mohammed, Second Republic lawmaker, said: “This latest reckless move by Jonathan and the PDP with their collaborators in the Senate and the House of Representatives is an indication of the desperate stand with which the party and the government are prepared to endorse Jonathan at all costs. “You can’t hire out the functions of the government to an individual no matter how connected they are. If they do that, it means they don’t mind to do anything illegal to win the election. I don’t know the values that ex-militants, Gani, Fasheun and others have to improve the security in our water ways and oil pipelines.” Barrister Collins Dike, Secretary General of Rivers Lawyers Network, said they are free to get contracts from the Federal Government, but was quick to point out that the matter goes beyond the law. “From the security perspective, giving the security of the oil pipelines and the water ways to the likes of Tompolo is a serious matter. He was given a similar contract before and with all the money that was given to him by the Federal Government, the security situation became worse. This simply means that they don’t have

Why jailbreaks are rampant, by NPS

HE Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS) has attributed the in creasing cases of jailbreaks in recent time to the location of prisons in residential areas. The location of prisons within towns and other residential areas allows easy access to such facilities, a senior prison official, Patrick Ani, said in Abuja. Ani, who represented the NPS at a stakeholders’ meeting put together by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on how to address growing congestion and insecurity in prisons, said measures aimed at addressing the problem of incessant jailbreaks should consider the location of prisons. "When prisons are located within towns or cities, inmates are bound to have frequent and unwarranted visitors who can

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infiltrate the prisons with substances that could aid jailbreaks," he said. NHRC's Executive Secretary, Professor Bem Angwe, expressed concern over the recurring incidents of attacks on prison and jailbreaks, which he said, have attendant implications on national security and citizens' confidence in justice administration in the country. Angwe cautioned that the incessant strikes by court workers which has negative effect on the preservation of citizens' human rights was capable of eroding the people's confidence in the judicial process, as it currently inhibits access to justice. He said the meeting was

part of his commission's consultation with stakeholders with a view to finding solutions to these national challenges. "The outcome of the consultation will be to convene a summit where relevant stakeholders will brainstorm and agree on concrete measures that must be undertaken to address the issue of security," he said. Former Ekiti State Attorney General and member, Governing Council of the NHRC, Olawale Fapohunda, said the planned summit will address ways of reversing the current infrastructural decay in the prisons; inadequacies of the legal framework, with negative impact on the prisons; institutional reform of the prisons, condition of service of prison officers, among others.

the capacity to provide such security. What security qualification do they have to even do that?” he said. Wilson Esangbedo, a security expert, advised the government to remove politics from security issues because the plan could push the country into a crisis. He said: “The government should know what is right and they should it. The militants can turn the ships meant for securing the waterways against us. They are not professionals and have no professional ethics. Militants are used to taking things by force and if the government refuses to meet their demands, it may have grave consequence. “

toral Act 2010(as amended). A leading human rights / pro- democracy activist, who spoke in confidence, said: “There is a fresh plan by the PDP to scuttle the general election on March 28 by securing an order to restrain the INEC from using Smart Card Readers. “The initial plan was to use the registration of the Young Democratic Party(YDP) to force the INEC to start planning afresh following the new party’s claim that Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court had ordered that it should be included in the ballot papers. “But the PDP and some forces in the presidency got a big shock when Justice Mohammed denied issuing such order and summoned YDP leaders for misinforming the INEC and Nigerians. “They have now resorted to Plan B by taking advantage of the suits on Card Readers to frustrate the INEC and Jega. “The main fear of the PDP is that the use of Card Readers will not enable the party to rig and secure jumbo votes like the case in some geo-political zones in 2011." Another source said: “The PDP and 15 minor parties made the last botched move against Card Readers on Thursday when political parties met with Jega and the INEC management.

“Jega stood his ground and the anti-Card Readers lobbyists left the INEC headquarters in Abuja dejected. “This is why they have seen the court matters as the last hope to call Jega’s bluff.” A third source said: “Some forces in the PDP in Abuja are already bragging that the Federal High Court, Abuja will give a ruling on Monday to put paid to the use of Card Readers. “They are celebrating as if the court had ruled in a case that they are not parties to. “It is left to the Judiciary to save the nation’s democracy and avoid a repeat of June 12, 1993 general elections when there were conflicting court orders.” Justice Ademola Adeniyi is expected to determine the following prayers of the plaintiffs. They are: •Seeking an interim order restraining the INEC from proceeding with arrangement and plan to use the CRM for the impending elections. •An order of interim injunction restraining the defendant, its agents, servants, privies or assigns, by whatever name, from implementing or commencing or further implementing or further commencing or directing or further directing the use and preparation of the Card Reader machine or any name of like nature, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice. •Deployment of Card Readers for the elections is a violation of the provision of Section 52(1) (2) which prohibits the use of any electronic method of voting in the country.

55.9m PVCs collected so far , says INEC

HE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday said that 55.90 million Permanent Voter Cards PVCs) have been collected as at March 12. The commission’s register has 68.833,476 million on its list for the forthcoming general elections rescheduled for March 28 and April 11 for national and states elections.

Vincent IKUOMOLA, Abuja According to the INEC latest update, which was made available to journalists yesterday in Abuja, the commission stated that its collection rate has reached 81.22 per cent. The commission, which announced an extension of the collection date till March 22,

has 12.93 million PVCs for collection. Though it might not be possible for the commission to have hundred per cent collection rate for obvious reasons. According to the latest updates, most states have reached between 60 % and above collection rate apart from Ogun State which recorded 49.45%. Gombe and Zamfara recorded over 95%.

DISTRIBUTION OF PERMANENT VOTER CARDS AS AT MARCH 12, 2015 States Number of Registered Number of Cards Remarks Voters Collected by Voters % (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) 1 ABIA 1,396,162 1,177,520 84.34 2 ADAMAWA 1,559,012 1,381,571 88.62 3 AKWA-IBOM 1,680,759 1,587,566 94.46 4 ANAMBRA 1,963,173 1,658,967 84.50 5 BAUCHI 2,054,125 1,778,380 86.58 6 BAYELSA 610,373 546,372 89.51 7 BENUE 2,015,452 1,607,800 79.77 8 BORNO 1,934,079 1,407,777 72.79 9 CROSS RIVER 1,175,623 963,929 81.99 10 DELTA 2,275,264 1,921,627 84.46 11 EBONYI 1,074,273 848,392 78.97 12 EDO 1,779,738 1,218,734 68.48 13 EKITI 732,021 511,790 69.91 14 ENUGU 1,429,221 1,223,606 85.61 15 FCT 881,472 569,109 64.56 16 GOMBE 1,120,023 1,069,635 95.50 17 IMO 1,803,030 1,707,449 94.70 18 JIGAWA 1,831,276 1,756,320 95.91 19 KADUNA 3,407,222 3,174,519 93.17 20 KANO 4,975,701 4,112,039 82.64 21 KATSINA 2,827,943 2,620,096 92.65 22 KEBBI 1,470,648 1,372,630 93.34 23 KOGI 1,350,883 926,013 68.55 24 KWARA 1,142,267 884,996 77.48 25 LAGOS 5,822,207 3,767,647 64.71 26 NASARAWA 1,242,667 1,048,053 84.34 27 NIGER 2,014,317 1,682,058 83.51 28 OGUN 1,829,534 904,647 49.45 29 ONDO 1,524,655 1,110,844 72.86 30 OSUN 1,407,107 1,030,051 73.20 31 OYO 2,415,566 1,639,967 67.89 32 PLATEAU 2,001,825 1,508,585 75.36 33 RIVERS 2,537,590 2,127,837 83.85 34 SOKOTO 1,611,929 1,527,004 94.73 35 TARABA 1,340,652 1,270,889 94.80 36 YOBE 1,099,970 824,401 74.95 37 ZAMFARA 1,495,717 1,435,452 95.97 Total 68,833,476 55,904,272 81.22 S/N

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NEWS

SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

Troops discover Boko Haram bomb factory in Yobe—DHQ

The Defence Headquarters yesterday announced the discovery ,by troops ,of a Boko Haram bomb-making factory in Buni Yadi , Yobe State. Also, military sources said the alleged foreign mercenaries in the North-East are technical advisers providing trainingand instructions on the use of new armaments recently procured by the Nigerian military. The Director of Defence Information, Maj-Gen. Chris Olukolade, said improvised explosive devices (IEDs) uncovered in Yobe State were those commonly used by suicide bombers. “The ongoing cordon and search by troops in Buni Yadi, Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State has led to the discovery of a Bomb Making factory, where improvised explosive devices (IEDs) used by terrorists were being produced,”he said in a statement. “Large quantities of IEDs including those commonly used by suicide bombers were recovered from the site. “The factory, which was located in a fertilizer company, has also converted some of the materials therein for production of all types of IEDs. “Troops are still evacuating the materials which include a large quantity of suicide bomber vests from the facility to their base. It is believed that the heavy calibre bomb used in blowing up the bridge between Damaturu and Buni Yadi was produced in the factory. “The terrorists were sacked from Buni Yadi after a military assault that was conducted last Saturday. “The troops advance was delayed by the series of IEDs planted on the highway leading to Buni Yadi. Four soldiers died from such IEDs in the course of the operation to clear terrorists from the town. “This discovery is expected to degrade the capability of terrorists in the production of explosives, which they have been using lavishly in the area until

Yusuf ALLI, Managing Editor, Northern they were dislodged from their stronghold.” Also yesterday,military sources said the foreign mercenaries in the North-East are technical advisers providing trainings and instructions on the use of new armaments recently procured by the Nigerian military. The military commanders said the stories in major international media and culled by local newspapers reporting that Nigeria was deploying hundreds of mercenaries against Boko Haram terrorists amounted to “a joke taken too far.” According to a source: “The foreigners are technical advisers that are providing training and instructions on the use of new armaments recently procured by the Nigerian military in the war on terror. “ Sources said it was part of the propaganda to paint Nigerian military as incompetent to deal with the insurgency by desperately ascribing recent spate of successes to ‘others’ rather than the gallant troops’ efforts. They said only recently, some news agencies ascribed such successes to Cameroonian, Nigerien and “battle hardened” Chadian forces but when it became obvious that the forces of those countries were mainly fighting along their own border areas blocking free movement of terrorists, “it became necessary to look for others” who are helping Nigerians to fight. Sources also cited the “particular example of the maintenance technician, who died recently, that he was not even a combatant but a professional in fixing armoured vehicles. President Goodluck Jonathan said recently on Voice of America (VOA) that Nigeria was receiving training assistance to get troops well acquainted with the recently acquired weaponry. Jonathan said: “We now have this technical people who are trainers and technicians, who are to train our people on how to use them,

and technicians that help the maintenance, at the same time training our people how to maintain this equipment.” Sources recalled with regrets, the several years that Nigeria wasted while negotiating and appealing for equipment supply from the Western allies which were not only rebuffed but prevented other countries under

their direct influence from selling to Nigeria. “The fact that we have foreign experts outside the United States helping to train our troops is not a secret but it is not fair for them to embark on this blackmail simply because we got assistance from other places when they turned us down at a critical period”, the source stated.

When contacted the Director Defence Information, Maj-General Chris Olukolade said: “Sorry, I don’t have anything about that claim. I just know that Nigerian military and security forces are putting in all their resources, training and experience acquired over the years to address the security challenges.

“Our neighbours operating under the auspices of the Multinational Joint Task Force are also backing our efforts from all our borders with them “. We also have some offer of training and intelligence assistance from foreign countries. Some of these arrangements even predated the present operations.”

•From left: Director of Research and Policy, All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Kayode Fayemi; Lagos State governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola; Senator Hadi Sirika and the National Ex-official APC, Alhaji Nasri Danu , during a programme, 'An evening with Buhari and Osinbajo' in Lagos… yesterday

Fed Govt gives N75 million to families of immigration recruitment victims

HE Federal Government, yesterday gave a total of N75 million to 15 families of those who lost their lives in last year’s immigration recruitment exercise. Besides the N5 million cheque for each family, at least three members from each family also got letters of automatic employment. A total of 35 out of 45 persons qualified for the automatic employment having

Augustine EHIKIOYA, Abuja successfully scaled through the immigration employment criteria. They were employed as Assistant Inspectors, Assistant Superintendents and Officers cadre . The remaining 10 failed the immigration text and the families were expected to present fresh hands. Presenting the letters of

employment and the cheques at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, President. Jonathan said the recruitment day was a sad one. Describing death as a necessary end for everyone, President Jonathan noted that the circumstance of the deaths of the victims was a bad one which was not due to their fault. He said that the incident was caused by lapses in the

recruitment process. He however pledged that government would not allow such incident to happen again. According to him, the token sums given to the families and the employment given to three of each of the families were not enough to compensate for the death of the deceased applicants. He apologised for the de•Continued on Page 7

Confusion over alleged order to probe Atiku, Tinubu, Amaechi, Saraki •Continued from Page 3 any directive to witch-hunt any person and this commission under the leadership of Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde does not engage in vendetta. We do a professional job; we are not tele-guided by anyone or group.” Uwujaren showed reporters a memo from the Presidency,pointing out the difference between the features on the ‘genuine’ and ‘fake’ letterheads. The APC had, on February 28, raised the alarm that its leaders were “being targeted by the Presidency and the PDP in a planned security clampdown ahead of the forthcoming elections.” It said at the time that the clampdown would be carried out by the Department of State Security (DSS). The aim was to scuttle or rig the elections in favour of the ruling party,it said,adding that under the alleged plan, the DSS had “directed its state commands

to compile and submit a list of stake holders and key communicators of the opposition party in all the local government areas across the country. “The state commands were also directed to identify polling units and wards that are dominated by the opposition party’s supporters,especially in the units they scored above 60 per cent during the 2011 general elections. “Three thousand and eight officers and men of the DSS have been shortlisted to undergo intensive training in shooting and weapon handling in preparation for the operation.” The APC also said warrants of arrest may have been procured in respect of those to be taken into custody ,and detention facilities prepared for them. It was gathered that security agencies have been directed to start digging deep into the past records and activities of those for arrest with a view to “uncovering

•Atiku

•Tinubu

their negative antecedents that could be used against them.” Also on Thursday,Asiwaju Tinubu alleged plans by the Presidency and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to eliminate or frame him up in a murder case before the coming elections. His Media Office said in Lagos that the motive was to halt the momentum the APC presidential standard bearer, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, is gathering, ahead of the March 28 and April 11 elections. It said the Presidency and the PDP were out to impli-

•Tambuwal

cate the eminent politician and remove him from circulation with a view to weakening his political influence nationwide and undermine his leadership in the politics of Southwest geo-political zone, which is perceived as the deciding factor during the presidential election. “ This part of the plot has two options. The first is to employ trained snipers to attack Tinubu or assassinate him out right. This plan is consistent with the warning made by former President Obasanjo in his now famous 2014 letter to President Jonathan. Those within the

•Amaechi PDP favouring this approach argue that when Chief Bola Ige, a powerful politician, was murdered, heavens did not fall, although the former President, is a Yoruba man,” it said. “The second option is more crafty. The PDP will seek to resuscitate the case of the murder of Funso Williams, a former Lagos State governorship candidate, by blaming Tinubu for the killing. They are already coaching inmates and others. They are offering them the promise of early release and money, if they will make statements implicating Tinubu in the

Williams murder. The Presidency intends to rush through this process with the hope of putting Tinubu out of circulation by trapping him in a contrived criminal process, until the elections are over.” Chiding the PDP for desperation, the Tinubu media office said the ruling party resorted to the option of planning to liquidate Tinubu, following the failure of its design to fracture the APC. It added: “The PDP and Jonathan Presidency had recently tried to fracture the APC by offering Tinubu the position of the Vice President in an interim government, if he would agree to part company with the popular Buhari. Once Tinubu rebuffed the offer to participate in the interim scheme, the Presidency decided to change tactics. It would no longer try to entice Tinubu with sugar, but would now move to silence and, if necessary, neutralise him.” •Continued on Page 7

THE NATION

NEWS 7

SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

HERE was anger in Itsekiri land and other parts of Delta State yesterday following indications that President Goodluck Jonathan might have postponed afresh the groundbreaking of the $16 billion Delta Gas City and Deep Seaport projects slated for next Monday in Ogidigben, Warri South West Local Government Area of the state. The ceremony was rescheduled for Monday after several meetings between the President and stakeholders in the project during his visit to the state last month. Mr Edward Ekpokpo, Chairman, Warri Study Group and Secretary of the influential Itsekiri Leaders of Thought, said yesterday that the ceremony would not take place on Monday. He described the development as the clearest indication to Nigerians ahead of the president elections that President Jonathan cannot be trusted to keep his words. Ekpoko, a lawyer, said: “Considering that this is the third time in three months that the President is breaching his promise, it is very unfortunate and disturbing for the Itsekiri nation in particular and the entire Niger Delta and Nigeria in general. “This latest postponement is an affront on the collective sensibility and intelligence of the Itsekiri nation, especially after the last meeting with he held with the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse II and the Itsekiri Leaders of Thought on the27th of February in Asaba.”

Rage in Delta as Jonathan contemplates fresh postponement of Warri $16bn project Shola O’NEIL, S’South Redional Editor,Warri Ekpoko who spoke on phone last night alleged a game plan between the President and the Ijaw to scupper the project under any guise. He said: “I reiterate my earlier position that the president is pursuing an Ijaw agenda and all he is doing is in pursuit of that agenda. I believe strongly that all these false claims by Ijaws on ownership of the land are being stage managed to create an atmosphere of insecurity. “Let me borrow the words of the late reggae icon, Bob Marley here that ‘you can fool some people sometimes but you cannot fool all the people all of the time. We, the entire Itsekiri nation, have had enough of him and his antics. “This should also be a very important lesson for all Nigerians that the President has shown, not only the itsekiri and the entire Niger Delta, but all Nigerians that he cannot be trusted to keep any promise he makes.” Similarly, Ekpoko urged the Itsekiri people to rise up, wise up and “use their votes to expose their displeasure at the oppression being perpetrated by the Ijaw president and his kinsmen against the Itsekiri people” in the March 28 president election. Indication of the shift came

Fed Govt gives N75m to families of immigration recruitment victims •Continued from Page 6 lay in giving out the money and blamed it it on bureaucratic processes. Government, he said, would continue to do things that will encourage the younger generation of Nigerians. In a chat with journalists, the Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro noted that the President had shown great commitment to the fulfilment of the promises he made to the bereaved families. He said that the token was

the first phase of the fulfilment of the promise, adding that from May, the Government will begin to consider those who were injured during the recruitment. Speaking on behalf of the bereaved families, Yunusa Imam thanked President Jonathan for the cheques and letters of employment. “We thank you, Mr. President, for the promises that you have kept. We are profoundly grateful,’’ Imam, a guardian of one of the victims stated.

just 24 hours after former militant leader and the President’s confidant Chief Government Ekpemupolo (aka Tompolo) said that the President would be in Warri on Monday. “I can assure you that the President will come on Monday for the roundbreaking,” Tompolo, who was instrumental to the botched November 2014 event, told newsmen in Oporoza, Warri

South West Local Government Area . Sources at the Presidency, Ministry of Petroleum Resources and interest groups confirmed the fresh postponement. The ceremony was scuttled last November, following a threat by the Ijaws to unleash mayhem in the area should the ceremony be held without resolving the controversy over the

ownership of the project site Although what necessitated the latest shift was not i m m e d i a t e l y confirmed,there was a suggestion that it might not be unconnected with a threat by the Ogulagha Ijaw. Ekpomupolo at the Oporoza chat with newsmen, said a meeting was scheduled between the Ijaws of Gbaramatu (his home land), neighbouring

Ogulagha kingdom and the Itsekiri to resolved the issues at stake. He said, “There is a meeting (on Friday) between Gbaramatu, Itsekiri and Ogulagha. “By the grace of God, the President will come for the groundbreaking of the EPZ project. There is no problem between us and the Itsekiri. We are brothers. We want to develop the nation.”

•First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan (middle); Governor Godswill Akpabio and wife, Ekaette Unoma Akpabio (left); Wife of the Vice-President, Hajiya Amina Sambo (2nd right); Wife of the Senate President, Mrs. Helen Mark (right) at the PDP 2015 Presidential Women Rally in Akwa Ibom State... yesterday

Agwai: Burden of cuddling the ‘change' mantra •Continued from Page 2 this is also about what The Presidency sees as the political implications behind making such a statement at an event in which Obasanjo was the chief host. He did not only theorise of change and the leadership question, Agwai equally demanded a paradigm shift in the operations of the military and the need to insulate it from politics. Against the backdrop of recent events in the country in which the military has clearly dabbled into politics with its statement on the Buhari certificate saga, it was very clear that Agwai’s prognosis would

draw the ire of the authorities. Agwai’s description of Obasanjo, a former Army General and military Head of State, as an inspiration to a generation of military officers, including people like him who come from the minority groups in the country, is seen as an affront on a Presidency that would do everything to consign the former leader of the PDP to the backwater of the country’s history. The fact that chieftains of the opposition All Progressives Congress graced the occasion that was boycotted by leading members of the PDP made

matters worse for Agwai who had expressed his gratitude for the opportunity offered him by Obasanjo. As far as the wounded Commander-In-Chief is concerned, Agwai had overstayed his welcome at the SURE-P office and there could not have been a better time to cut him to size than now. And so, it suddenly dawned on his employers that that agency needs to be re-energised and repositioned for optimal service delivery which would also demand Agwai’s vacation of his seat with “immediate effect.” Question is: Did Agwai con-

sider the likely consequences of his action before accepting to deliver a lecture at Obasanjo’s 78th birthday? No one can really say for sure if he did as he is yet to speak on the matter. One thing that stands out is Agwai’s outspokenness on matters of leadership and integrity. For a man who says he should be held accountable for all his actions, it is not impossible that he had weighed the options and must have opted to voice out his frustrations even if he would end up as the latest victim of Nigeria’s deadly political intrigues and permutations.

Confusion over alleged order to probe Atiku, Tinubu, Amaechi, Saraki

•Continued from Page 6 Noting that the APC National Leader has caused President Jonathan’s team sleepless nights during the electioneering, it said the hostility against him peaked, following his rejection of the offer to participate in the proposed interim government. Tinubu, according to the media office, has asserted himself as a legitimate opposition leader through his prolific, robust and strident criticism of government’s socioeconomic and security policies. It stressed: “They blame him as the man who is most responsible for placing them in their current electoral quandary. They believe without Tinubu’s efforts, the suc-

cessful merger of the political parties into the APC would not have occurred and they would not be facing possible defeat at the hands of this new party. “The PDP faces its stiffest competition ever in 16 years and the person they blame the most is Tinubu, the major actor, who is seen as the strategic mind of the new party and one person who must be stopped at all cost. General Buhari has since been pencilled down for similar character assassination and vicious insults alongside other leaders of the APC.” The media office recalled previous plots to dent Tinubu’s image by dredging discredited claims of illicit

wealth to silence him. It said when the plot to disgrace the former governor at the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) collapsed, the Presidency and the PDP opted for new plots to throw the APC into disarray to brighten its prospects of winning the election. The media office said that Tinubu will not take these threats, plots and revelations lightly because of what it described as the government’s capacity for devilish acts. At his press conference yesterday,Uwujaren also denied allegations by the Director, Media and Publicity, of the Muhammadu Buhari Campaign Organization, Mallam Garba Shehu, that the leader-

ship of the EFCC was corrupt and insensitive to the welfare of staff. He said there was never any disagreement between the Chairman of EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde and the Secretary to the agency, Emmanuel Adegboyega Aremo. He said: “The EFCC is alarmed by this claim. The chairman of the Commission is respected in the law enforcement circles for his integrity and professionalism. He values his reputation which he built over the years and, it will be a great disservice to seek to rubbish him on the altar of politics. “There is no evidence of corruption, either in the past or present, against the

EFCC chair.” Uwujaren said the EFCC staff were not being owed salaries. The EFCC last night issued a statement asking the public to ignore what it called a fake letter from the Chief of Staff to President Goodluck Jonathan in circulation. The commission released an authentic letter from the Office of the Chief of Staff to draw attention to the difference between the ‘genuine’ letterhead of the Presidency and the ‘fake’ one purportedly from Aso Villa. The commission’s spokesman, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren,in a stamen said "The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC wishes to alert

the public about a letter supposedly from the office of the Chief of Staff to President Goodluck Jonathan, mandating the commission to initiate discreet investigation against some prominent political figures in the country. "The commission urges the public to discountenance the said letter as it is forged document, intended to mislead the people. "The features of the letter are markedly different from that on a genuine letter from the office of the Chief of Staff to the president. "As evidence that this is a clear forgery, we reproduce below the fake letter alongside a copy of an authentic letter from the same office."

THE NATION,

News

SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

Four feared dead, scores injured as N fire guts Mile 12 market O fewer than four people were feared killed, yesterday, in an early morning fire incident that gutted Mile 12 Market, in Kosofe Local Government Area of Lagos State. Not a few people also sustained various degrees of injuries in the fire incident which consumed about 168 shops in the market. Eye witnesses said the popular foodstuffs and fruits market went up in flames around 4am causing panic among the traders and commuters in the area. When The Nation visited the scene of the inferno, traders

Paul UKPABIO and Innocent DURU whose shops had been burnt to ashes were seen mourning their losses, while thick smoke billowed from the debris. The affected traders claimed that they have lost about a billion naira all together adding that “the incident was unfortunate.” One of the traders, Paul Simeon, lamented the loss of his N400, 000 worth of goods

and a large sum of money which he had left behind in the shop. He said: “My shop has been razed and all my goods have been destroyed. I have lost goods worth N400, 000 and several thousands of naira. I don’t know where to start from now and I don’t know who to approach for help.” Some officials of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), whose office inside the market

was razed by the inferno, were also seen counting their losses. Three buses, two trucks and numerous official documents belonging to members of the transport union were burnt beyond recognition. Some of the traders said the fire was triggered by a power surge following the restoration of electricity supply to the area in the wee hours of the day. However, another source

who asked not to be named linked the fire incident to the activities of illegal sale of fuel in the market. A chieftain of NURTW in the area, Alhaji Umaru Isah, told our correspondent that four bodies have been evacuated from the scene. It was gathered that those injured had also been rushed to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, Ikeja, for treatment. The media consultant to the Perishable Foodstuff Association, Mr Femi Odusanya, however said only three people died in the incident. Odusanya said: “ Three people not four died. The incident occurred at the vegetable oil line attached to Yam sellers’ section. I am calling on the state government to come to the aid of the traders and the victims.”

Lagos governor commends education support group

A •Scene of fire incident at Mile 12 Market, Lagos... yesterday

PHOTO: NAN

PDP is irresponsible for opposing Card Reader – Osinbajo

T IS irresponsible for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to oppose the use of card readers for the coming general election, Prof Yemi Osinbajo said yesterday.. The vice presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) wondered why the ruling is afraid to support the use of electronic device that would give credibility to the electoral process, saying the PDP was jittery of its imminent loss. Osinbajo spoke at the presentation of a book entitled: For The Love of Their Nation: Lawyers as Agents of Change in Nigeria, written by former Judiciary Editor of the Guardian, Kunle Ogunsakin, at the Lagos Airport Hotel, Ikeja. He said: “It is a big surprise to everybody watching political events that the PDP that ap-

Wale AJETUNMOBI and Earnest NWOKOLO proved the card reader for the election suddenly finds something seriously wrong with the device. The card reader is to ensure that Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) are not fake. It would be irresponsible for any political party to oppose the use of gadgets that would give credibility to electoral process. It sounds strange when the main political party says don’t let us authenticate the PVCs.” He added: “There is a lot of impunity in the country. Many people are losing faith in the ability of administration of justice system and indeed, the government to observe the tenet of the rule of law. We must return to observance of the rule of law and to holding government and its officials accountable for what

they do. That can only come from exemplary leadership.” Osinbajo said lack of accountability explained why the Federal Government could not account for billions lost when oil price was at $130. He noted that Saudi Arabia saved $750 billion in the period of increased oil sale, adding that Nigeria’s foreign reserve did not rise. He said corruption must be stopped for the nation to make meaningful progress, noting that the book asked thoughtprovoking question about engendering accountability and justice in the country. The book reviewer, Mr Dele Adesina, SAN, described the book as a “literary work of great significance”, noting the author’s knowledge of justice system made him an authority even though he is not a lawyer. In a similar vein, Osinbajo,

has called on christian community to support all genuine efforts towards checking corruption in the country. Osinbajo who bemoaned the deep and widespread corruption in Nigeria, said his nomination to pair with Buhari for March 28 Presidential race was parts of God’s plan to salvage the country. The former Attorney - General and Commissioner of Justice, Lagos state, made the call on yesterdayat Idiroko area of Ogun State while addressing a monthly meeting of the state state chapter of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN). According to him, he had notified the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian. Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye as well as his wife before accepting the nomination to run for vice presidential race.

APC elders slam AIT, NTA over documentary against Tinubu

HE Ekiti State All Progressives Congress (APC) Elders’ Forum has condemned the Africa Independent Television (AIT) and the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) for what it called “offensive documentary” against the person of the party’s National Leader Asiwaju BolaTinubu. The documentary which was entitled: The Lion of Bourdillon alleged that Tinubu was corrupt and treating Yorubaland as his personal estate, among other allegations. The Publicity Secretary of Ekiti APC Elders’ Forum, Dr. Bayo Orire, described the documentary as a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) evil propaganda against the person of Tinubu whom he said the ruling party is afraid of.

Odunayo OGUNMOLA, Ado-Ekiti Orire in a chat with The Nation in Ado-Ekiti criticized the two television stations for allowing themselves to be used to carry out a hatchet job against a prominent Nigerian who risked his life to ensure the entrenchment of democracy being enjoyed in the country. He urged the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to launch an investigation into the documentary and mete out appropriate sanctions against the two television stations for being used to spread hate campaign. Orire maintained that the documentary violates the NBC code urging the broadcast regulatory agency to take appropriate action to prevent a

reoccurrence. He said the documentary has portrayed the two stations in bad light among many discerning television viewers in Nigeria. The APC Elders’ spokesman said the Abuja Peace Accord signed by presidential candidates which was replicated in other states of the federation aimed at curbing hate campaign which he accused the PDP of using the documentary to spread. He said the Forum fully supports Tinubu’s resolve to take a legal action against the erring television house. Orire said: “The attack on the person of Tinubu attest to the greatness of this man. He is

worthy of his title as the leader of the Yoruba race and the emerging national leader. “We cannot take it from him that he is the foremost politician in Yorubaland and Nigeria and he has done lots of good for these country in the struggle to enthrone and sustain democracy. “Every sane PDP leader because of his antecedent is afraid of the Buhari and Tinubu front. They are justified in being fearful because he who has nothing to hide would not be afraid of judgment. “The fear of Buhari and Tinubu is the wisdom of the PDP and the joy of the APC and the future good of Nigeria.”

•See more stories on Pages 62, 63, and 64

ULDON Limited, manufacturers of Unity Girl dolls, Nigeria’s first theme dolls, targeted at uniting Nigerians has been called “an Upstanding Corporate Citizen.” The commendation was made by the Lagos Governor, Babatunde Fashola during a breakfast meeting, in recognition of the company’s exemplary support of Education in the state. At the ceremony which was held at the Banquet Hall, City Hall, in Lagos Island, Fashola lauded the Unity Dolls and other awardees for pulling their weight behind education and contributing their quota in moving the wheel of progress in Lagos State as it concerns education. “The support of education as shown by this good people is no doubt worthy of commendation and should be encouraged in its entirety. When citizens pull their weight behind education, it only goes to show that indeed they appreciate the values of education and are passionate about seeing our nation become better for the good of all,” Fashola said. Receiving the ‘Support our schools initiative award,’ Chief Executive Officer, Auldon Nigeria Limited, Paul Orajiaka, said this award is indeed a validation of Unity Dolls passion and its unwavering commitment to the growth of education in the state and Nigeria as a whole. “For us, this is the first in a long line of CSR initiatives which will cut across the six geopolitical zones of the country as it is one way we show our good faith in a greater Nigeria and of course, contribute our quota to the economic uplifting of society. And really, life and business is about give-and-take in the final analysis. “Unity Dolls is very passionate about its promise of supporting the growth of education through social works and that is why a portion of the sales proceeds on each doll is set aside to actualize this cause. Without a doubt, investing in the future of the Nigerian child is key to ensuring a better society and by extension better Nigeria for the good of all.”

Lagos Assembly tackles Mark over Obanikoro’s confirmation Oziegbe OKOEKI

AGOS State House of Assembly has berated Senate President, David Mark, over the confirmation of Senator Musiliu Obanikoro for ministerial appointment. Condemning the confirmation which it said was done in a very controversial circumstance over the credibility of the embattled former Senator and former Minister of State for Defence, the spokesperson of the House and Chairman of the House Committee on Information and Security, Hon Segun Olulade, in a press release said what Mark did is an attempt to show “disgraceful loyalty to President Jonathan and his party the PDP which negates his honour as President of the senior chamber of nation’s legislative arm of government. “By his display of undue and dishonourable loyalty, the Senate President has dragged his esteemed status in the mud by stage-managing the passage for the ministerial nominee even when it is obvious that the nominee is battling with serious integrity issue laden with insecurity, rigging and fraudulent acts. “The crime committed by David Mark in that unholy and damaging confirmation is more than tearing of the national flag. It is less criminal to take Nigerian flag to the public and tear it off than a Senate President confirming somebody alleged to have committed a crime to serve as senator especially when such person is being designated to take security portfolio like Minister of State for Defence with the plan to return him to do more serious damages against the nation during the forth-coming general election by supervising rigging using the Army”, Olulade said. He stressed further that, “I am sure neither the American Senate President nor head of the British Parliament could take such awful and criminal decision against the ethics of their respected offices and against the nation’s overall interest”. The lawmaker said confirmation of Obanikoro under the present circumstance is no less than threatening the nation’s security, murdering justice and setting agenda for President Jonathan and the PDP to use devil advocate for their obnoxious interest. Olulade also reminded Senator Mark that the Senate had in the past refused confirmation of non-credible nominees with lesser controversial records than Obanikoro. He wondered why President Jonathan’s administration is constantly in short supply of credible personalities that can serve in his government, stating that as same reason why the nation is rejecting his second term bid as his habitual romance with Nigerians who lack integrity and are corrupt as the only people that can work with him. “I want to sincerely commend the APC lawmakers in the upper chamber for their doggedness and steadfastness against injustice by refusing to endorse Senate’s confirmation of Obanikoro as Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria under present circumstance.”

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THE NATION SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

34 S the spokesman of the major opposition party in Nigeria, how do you feel with the present state of the nation? Well, I feel very worried. I feel very concerned that some forces are bent on not letting us have a free, fair and credible election. The hallmark of democracy is not necessarily the provision of infrastructure, free education, affordable health care and a buoyant economy. We have many governments in the world that have been able to deliver in terms of infrastructure, a better way of life and general development of the citizens but the irony of it all is that, some of these governments are not even democracies. A very good example that comes to mind is Saudi Arabia. The real hallmark of democracy is that, power resides with the people; they have the right to use that power not just to elect a leader of their choice but if that leader also fails to perform, to show him the way out. I think this is one area we have been unable to achieve so far in Nigeria and until that happens, we do not have a democracy. That is because if democracy is really about the people choosing their own leader or leaders to direct their affairs, then the people should also have the right to show their displeasure when things are not favorable to them. What is particularly instructive about these 2015 elections is that it is probably about the first time in the history of Nigeria that the people will come out openly to express their dissatisfaction with a ruling government. In the history of this country, no ruling government has gone into elections so thoroughly unpopular, so thoroughly discredited like the PDP. This is why I am worried. I am worried that this government is not ready to respect the wishes of the people. What is your candid opinion about the postponement of the election? The postponement was primarily to give them more time to perfect their rigging machineries, give them more time to throw more money into the campaign; give them more time to continue to intensify their smear campaigns against our leaders as we are seeing today. To give them more time whether they can get General Buhari (rtd) disqualified. As I am speaking to you, there are 10 cases against him, which they are trying to use to try to disqualify him. It is to give them time to buy more PVCs, it is to give them more time to see how they can compromise the Card Reader, to give them more time to see how they can sack Prof. Attahiru Jega. All these unfortunately will not put Nigeria in a good light in the comity of nations. They (PDP) are behaving as if it is a matter of life and death; politics should not be done that way. If a government has been in power for these past years like they have been, their records should speak for them. They should campaign on their records. On the contrary, they can’t campaign on their records. There are three issues that have singled out this government as not being qualified for election. One is insecurity, two is corruption, while the third centres on the economy. As I am speaking to you today, a dollar is exchanging for N228, the implication of that is that any small business man who used to bring in goods at N160 to a dollar in the past, will need 50% more to bring in the same goods. And of course it is going to affect me and you as well. Now, it means that many contractors will be unable to meet their targets; it means many small businesses will be wiped out. This government has failed in the area of economic development. There is

Endorsing Jonathan is now the biggest money spinner —APC spokesman Lai Mohammed Alhaji Lai Mohammed is the formidable spokesman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the major opposition party in the country. But that is in his work. The real Lai Mohammed is calm, soft-spoken and careful with words. Between 1978 and 1986, he was the Head of Public Relations of the then Nigerian Airport Authority (NAA), a job that well prepared him for the work he is doing now. He was also the Chief of Staff during the first term of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as governor of Lagos State. In this interview with PAUL UKPABIO, the APC’s spokesman takes on the issue of the postponement of the February 14th election, the President’s desperate move to placate the people of the South West and why APC is opposed to the use of the military for polls, among others. Excerpts: rampant unemployment everywhere. There is hardship. This government has also failed in the area of insecurity. They want us to forget that as we are speaking today, there are over 200 and something of our girls still missing. We must ask this question, ‘What has happened to them?’ They have tried in the last few days to see if they can manipulate all these. It is too late. If he has acted faster than now, probably we would not have had the number of casualties we have had. There is nothing you can do now that can bring back those who are dead. Then on the issue of corruption, corruption used to walk with its two feet in the corridor of power but right now, it lives in the villa. And when we talk about corruption, we are not talking about small corruption, we are talking about humongous corruption. Over N2.6 trillion was uncovered in subsidy scam; as I speaking to you, not one single person has been convicted. And who are those that have been implicated in the fuel subsidy scam? They are the sons and relations of PDP chieftains. One of the reasons today you have fuel scarcity is caused by the same corruption because there is this $12 billion domestic gas project which has been looted by this administration. Do you believe that President Jonathan government is as corrupt as speculated, and can you shed more light on the gas project? This project was to encourage Nigerians to use gas for their cooking, for generators so that our dependence on kerosene, diesel and premium motor spirit (PMS) will be less. The money was looted. They have been unable to pay the (oil) marketers’ bill, the outstanding N2.6 billion because of corruption. Those people are now saying they cannot bring in new products, they are saying they are now going to pay them hundred percent of N2.6 billion. That might not even solve the problem. So, these are the issues that we want to discuss and we have

•Lai Mohammed

brought to the public domain. This is why the people of Nigeria don’t want this government again. But the PDP said it is APC that is behind the petrol scarcity across the country, so why do you think the PDP said so? You see, when a government is on the throes of death, like this particular government, it is so punch-drunk that it cannot even coordinate its responses. Look at the responses and the actions of PDP in the last couple of months; one would think that the opposition is already in power. You will think we are already in power. How can you come out and blame opposition for the scarcity of fuel? Who approves those that bring in the products? Who pays them? Who appoints them? Who is in charge of NNPC? If you are a serious government and you are able to discover that somebody is sabotaging you, what do you do? You punish the person. But they are so confused that today, even if their wives have a miscarriage, they will say it is APC. This clearly shows that this government has vacated its responsibilities and they will look for any excuse to blame everybody but themselves. The PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation spokesman, Femi Fani-Kayode few days back threatened to sue you for N5billion for telling him to examine his head over his reckless comments on you and your party? (Cuts in) I will rather we don’t dwell on the issue of Femi Fani Kayode, there are more national issues to discuss. If he wants to go to court, we will meet in court. PDP campaign posters seem to have taken over all Abuja, leaving no space for those of other parties, what do you think is responsible for this? If posters will win elections, this election would have been determined long ago. But posters don’t win elections. The preponderance of Jonathan’s posters in Abuja is clearly the product of their illegality. Way before INEC gave the

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You will think we are already in power. How can you come out and blame opposition for the scarcity of fuel? Who approves those that bring in the products? Who pays them? Who appoints them? Who is in charge of NNPC? If you are a serious government and you are able to discover that somebody is sabotaging you, what do you do? You punish the person. But they are so confused that today, even if their wives have a miscarriage, they will say it is APC

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015 go ahead for political parties to campaign, they (PDP) have been using TAN (Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria) to buy over all the spaces which made it impossible for us (APC) to be there. You know they have a war chest, which is the product of their corruption. It is a combination of profiting from doing illegality. And when they came to Lagos here, they used the federal might to take some strategic spaces because they say that they control the Third Mainland Bridge, they removed every other billboard, including commercial billboards, and placed Jonathan’s billboards there. This is part of the impunity of this government. I will tell you this for free; the love of people for change cannot be defeated by the presence of posters and billboards. Let them erect billboards, billboards don’t vote. Human beings do; and from the calls of Nigerians today, whether in the market place, whether in buses, whether in the local bars or cafeterias, they want change. Before the postponement of the elections, the tempo was very high in support of your party APC, but since the postponement and like you said earlier, the use of federal might by President Jonathan to upturn the popularity of your party, it seems the tempo has gone down. Do you think this is the real perception? You see, unfortunately for the President, I think the PDP and the President lost more supporters due to the postponement. That is the honest truth; many people who were undecided decided in the favour of Buhari the moment the postponement came because they asked, ‘What are you afraid of?’ Also, I agree with you, like I have said before, they realised that they were going to lose the election if it took place on the 14th of February. But you see, you can only postpone the funeral, you can’t wake up the dead person! PDP is dead in the minds of Nigerians. Yes, he (Jonathan) •Lai Mohammed has been going round the South West and everywhere but people are just taking his money, they are not changing their minds. I have absolutely no quarrel with anybody but when they say some people are the Yoruba leaders, I ask, ‘would they tell me who I am going to vote for? Would they tell you who you are going to vote for?’ So, let them go and collect their terminal benefits from Jonathan. That is what they are doing. What was Chatham House matter about? We went to Chartam House in the UK to raise awareness because this election, yes, it will be decided by Nigerians but will be largely influenced by international opinion. I think the outing of General Buhari was very successful both internationally and locally. Now, we are going to resume our campaign at the end of this week but even at that, we have been busy holding town hall meetings, we have been busy, sensitising our people because at the end of the day, all politics is local and rallies are just to sensitise. The real work is going from house to house and we have not relented in this. Recently, Ondo State Governor, Dr. Segun Mimiko convened a meeting of Yoruba elders where names like Ayo Adebanjo, Federick Fasheun, Olu Falae, Gani Adams and the rest endorsed President Goodluck Jonathan for a second time after passing a vote of confidence on him. What do you feel about this? Unfortunately in this country, we attach a lot of importance to label and not content. I have asked many cerebral Yoruba people, ‘Are they speaking for you?’ and they laughed. Well, these endorsements don’t come cheap either. Let them enjoy themselves. When it comes to election, they will all vote in their polling booths and I will like to see the results from their polling booths. The issue of using the army to conduct the election is on the front burner, what is the position of your party on this, considering the atmosphere of election in Nigeria? There are two reasons why we said the military should not be part of elections. One, the Court of Appeal has upheld the decision of a Federal High Court, saying that the deployment of soldiers for elections is illegal. What we expect the government to do is to appeal that decision. But if that decision is not appealed, then that is our law today. I think this is a government that prides itself as being a government of rule of law, they cannot bring out soldiers. After all, the same Court of Appeal dismissed a petition challenging the eligibility of the president to contest election and they celebrated it. So, you can’t pick one ruling to obey and disobey another one from the same source of law. So, for a president and a government that is predicated on the rule of law, unless that decision is appealed, they cannot use soldiers. Two, our experience with the secret tape of Captain Koli

35 in Ekiti has shown that it is not even in the best interest of the soldiers themselves to be exposed to election duties because they were used there to rig election and in the process, they were humiliated; a whole General was being rubbished and being insulted. So, these are the reasons why we won’t expect the soldiers to be used for the election and we have cried out to the international community. That one, our laws will not allow it; two, that the soldiers by the definition of their role in national service are not to pilot elections. Ekiti State Governor, Peter Ayodele Fayose seems to be the lone voice in the PDP wilderness shooting heavy missiles on your candidate and by extension your party. How do you tag such a political one man riot squad? It is very clear; he knows his government is standing on a very weak feet, especially in the aftermath of the disclosure and exposure of the tape of the rigging of Ekiti election and the interview granted Sahara Reporters by Captain Koli. So, he is battling for his life and he is trying to divert

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Look, the biggest scam and the fastest way to make money today in Nigeria is endorsing Goodluck Jonathan. It is the biggest business in town. So many people are falling over themselves. If there are six million OPCs in Nigeria, that must be the biggest organisation in Nigeria. But like I said, the biggest way to make money in Nigeria right now is to endorse Jonathan

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attention from the real issue which unfortunately will not allow him, to seek the truth. So, his actions are diversionary. But we equally learnt that the real objective of the PDP government was to employ Chief Femi Fani Kayode to counter most of your activities in the APC. How do you feel with the way he is doing it? I think I will rather leave that to the public to decide but the only thing I can say is this, ‘show me your friends and I will know who you are. This same Fani Kayode has on several occasions lambasted the president; on several occasions he has said that the man is unfit to be re-elected, now, he is the same person who is at the forefront of his campaign. Well, we take solace in what General Obasanjo wrote about him (Fani Kayode) that ‘He is my boy, give him food and he will do whatever you want him to do’. It seems there have been a sense of sustained advocacy from your party and majority of Nigerians to keep INEC chairman, Professor Atahiru Jega in office despite that PDP seems to want him out. What is the cost of this action on the part of the opposition? Let me makes it clear to you today, there is absolutely no relationship between us and Jega. We have no contact with Jega except the contact that all political parties have with

him, officially. However, we stand by the law. The Senate, which is the highest executive body in Nigeria, invited Jega to demonstrate the use of the card readers and he did, they were convinced. Two, we suspect strongly that if you refuse Jega today and you bring another person there, that person might say, ‘I am not ready to conduct election because of xyz reasons’. So, we are saying don’t remove Jega not because we are interested in Jega as a person but because we don’t want any excuses for elections to be postponed. Thirdly, it has never happened before in the history of this country that you are going to remove the chairman of the electoral commission on the eve of an election; that will not bring credibility to our elections. These are the reasons, they are not personal. But of course people have been saying all sorts of things; they said we have met him in Dubai and up till now, he has not been able to tell us who met him and where. And the week we were supposed to have met him, Jega was also in Abuja. So these are our reasons, it is not personal about Jega. And by the way, is it not the same Jega that has been the real poster boy of this government? A man they commended for handling all elections? So what are they afraid of now? They are afraid to convince him not to use the PVC and the Card Reader. Two, they are afraid that as long as Jega is there, he will insist on Card Reader being used. But this is the law, why are they suddenly afraid? I have never seen a government afraid of election like this one, looking for every reason to postpone elections. Still on the endorsement of President Jonathan issue, do you believe OPC has up to six million members as it alleged? You know there is a Yoruba adage which says, “Eeyan meji o ki n padanu iro; ti eni ti o ba n paa fun ko ba mo, eni ti o n paa mo”. In order words, ‘Two people cannot be casualties of a lie. If the person who is being told the lie does not know, then the person telling the lie knows’. Look, the biggest scam and the fastest way to make money today in Nigeria is endorsing Goodluck Jonathan. It is the biggest business in town. So many people are falling over themselves. If there are six million OPCs in Nigeria, that must be the biggest organisation in Nigeria. But like I said, the biggest way to make money in Nigeria right now is to endorse Jonathan. Can you tell us about your style? What does style mean to you? I am very conservative, I guess. I like to be decent, that is me. I am a very conservative person when it comes to style. That is what I am. What shapes your perception? Tell us more about yourself. My first degree is in French before I went to read Law. And my very first job between 1978 and 1986 was as the Head of Public Relations of the Nigerian Airport Authority. So, I have been doing this for long. It is a fairly familiar territory and my legal background has also helped a lot in my work and having been a public figure in terms of being a public servant; having been a Chief of Staff to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and having been involved in party administration for quite a while, I think this also helps because it gives me easy access to the party, media and society. So, I think I have been extremely fortunate. Nigeria has given me a lot; the country has given me an opportunity to be able to realise my potentials and one of the things that motivate some of us is that we believe that the country has given us so much and we must give back to the country. Today, we want to return Nigeria to that part of glory. That is the motivation for many of us and that is why we believe that we need this change. We need a more purposeful, a more dedicated patriotic leadership. Your message to Nigerians on behalf of APC? We insist elections must hold on the 28th. They must not listen to any policeman who says they must go home after casting their votes. The law permits them to stay there until results are announced. We insist that the Card Reader be used and we insist that the military must not participate in this election. If these conditions are met, we will accept the outcome of the elections. Meanwhile, we want to assure all our PDP opponents that they should not take this matter personal. That if truly, they are democrats, that they should abide by the wish of the people; that if truly they are democrats and they were brought in by the same Nigerians and if the same Nigerian people say they don’t want them, they should respect their wish. After all, this same South West voted massively for Jonathan in 2011 without any coercion. How many groups endorsed him in 2011? He didn’t run around. But unfortunately because he has failed to do what he promised between 2011 and today, people are saying no. It is purely democratic for people to show red card to a leader who has not listened to them. If Jonathan has performed, believe me, he would have been riding on the crest of his achievements. Even what he is doing now is a bit too late.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

Ogun community comes alive as Methodist Church honours ex-Lagos perm sec

•A cross section of the ministers officiating at the event. •The Remo Diocesan Bishop, Methodist Church Nigeria, Bishop Michael Olusegun Akinwale delivering a message

•The newly presented Lay President, Diocese of Remo Methodist Church Nigeria, Sir Engr. Adelana Oluwaseun Odutola (4th right); his wife, Lady Oluwaranti Odutola, Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy (4th left), flanked by the Council of Knights Members (MCN) at Revd Mellor’s Methodist Church Nigeria, Sagamu... recently AGAMU town However, the purpose in Ogun State of the gathering was not came alive relost on the people. The cently, as digniBishop, Diocese of Remo, taries from all walks Methodist Church Nigeof life stormed the ria, Rt. Revd Michael ancient town for the Olusegun Agbolahan Akpresentation of reinwale, seized the opportired Permanent Sectunity to admonish the retary, Lagos State people. Ministry of Works In his sermon, the and Infrastructures Bishop charged the peoand the CEO, Laraple to serve the Lord with nod Ventures Ltd Sir their treasures and talents Engr. Adelana for the genuine expansion Oluwaseun Odutola, of evangelism. Bishop as the 5th Lay PresiAkinwale said the coundent, Diocese of try will experience a Remo, Methodist strong and virile econChurch Nigeria. omy if the leaders submit The event, which themselves to the service held at the Revd Melof God. lor Memorial, Describing the new Methodist Church Diocesan Lay President as Cathedral, Sagamu, a product of the efficacy was another opportuof prayers, Bishop Akinnity for the congrega- •From left: former Diocese of Lagos Central, Methodist Church Nigeria Sir Emmanuel Ak- wale enjoined others to intan, with his Diocese of Lagos Mainland counterpart, Sir Ola Tunde Okesola and former dutifully emulate his stertion to turn out in Lagos Archdiocesan Lay President, Elder Ayo Oni and other guests at the event. dresses of different ling qualities and the zeal shapes and colours. to improve the church, And the people did the society and the nanot disappoint. While the clerics turned out in their crisp clergy outfits, tion. the male guests turned out in their flowing resplendent agbada attire. Highlight of the event was the swearing in of Engr. Adelana The women too refused to be outdone, as they competed for attenOluwaseun Odutola as the Lay President of the Diocese. tion in their stunning native attire, complemented with beautiful head Other activities included the Chief Ladega Odutola’s family harvest gears. thanksgiving and the general thanksgiving service to mark the event.

S •Bishop, Diocese or Remo, Methodist Church Nigeria, Rt. Revd Michael Olusegun Akinwale Ministering his signature to the approval of Sir Engr. Lana Odutola as the newly presented Lay President, Remo Diocese, Methodist Church Nigeria

•Mr and Mrs Dayo Odutola

•Archbishop, Most Revd. Luke Odubanjo delivering his sermonvent

•From right: Lady Ebun Somorin; Sister Bola Awosika and Sister Stella Ogundimu.

•Mrs Modupeola Akinwale

•From right: Sister Yinka Olurin; Barr. Mrs. Mojisola Sodipo; Mrs. Grace Ajayi and Mrs. Mojisola Osiyemi.

THE NATION SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

with Email: bineharriet@gmail.com

THE NATION SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

Escapades of fun-loving city ladies Co-ordinated by Patience Saduwa 08023201831 (sms only) psaduwa@yahoo.com

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THE NATION SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

Family

Forum

with Pastor Faith Oyedepo

Tel: 01-7341546-8 Email: counselling@faithoyedepo.org

Foundation for a stable family (2)

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In essence, God is saying that a man shall leave his father and mother, and be committed to his wife as well as the institution of marriage. Then by virtue of that commitment, they become one flesh. The same goes for the wife

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FOR

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THE NATION SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 31

The protesters

PAGE 45

SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

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NATION S P O RT

s l i a v a r t My —Cecilia Otu-Akpan

THE NATION SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

The late Gimba

Ijeamaka WOKO

THE NATION SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

Why supply of pre-paid metres is delayed — Minister of Power Nebo

ENERALLY, how would you describe the state of power in terms of generation, distribution and transmission? Well, I think we should not forget where we are coming from. What we inherited was about 2, 800MW. Today, we can easily do 4,500MW if the vandals will give us a reprieve. We have all the infrastructure; gas connectivity to the power plants, the transmission infrastructure are all in place. And we are ready to pull out 5,500MW. In fact, if those hoodlums will give us reprieve, we now have the capacity to deliver nearly 5, 500MW. I am not talking of installed capacity. I am talking of available capacity. That is where we are today. But unfortunately when the ELPS line was blown up about three weeks ago shutting the power plants down for nearly three weeks, the repairs of the lines were completed on Saturday six days ago actually seven, eight days ago. And then the gas pipelines were now fed with gas for tests and the tests were all fine, everything went very well. But unfortunately, as gas was now coming to power stations to bring us up to 4,400 or 4,300MW on Monday barely 40 hours after the repairs of the previous damage, these hoodlums went again and blew up these pipelines. You can see the depth, you can see how deep the crater that they created within two days of the repairs. In other words, these people waited for us to complete all the repairs , when the repairs were completed, they now went again at another place and blew these things with bombs. So that is our problem. These people don't want anything good for our country. And it is a very painful thing. So, that has shut us down to below 4,000MW, to as low as 3,500. In fact, on a particular day, we did as low as 3,200 MW. But the gas is now available and if the infrastructure is left alone, our generation plants will be able to give us over 5,000 MW easily and that will be a massive reprieve for Nigerians. That us where we are. Is the government in any way handicapped such that it could not do anything to stop the activities of the vandals you claim to be sabotaging the power sector? Besides, what are these hoodlums doing with the gas? Is it just sabotage or they are extracting the gas for something else? They are not extracting the gas for anything. This is pure sabotage. When they go to vandalise oil pipelines, that is because they want to steal oil. But then because of the associated gas with some of these oil delivery mechanisms, it affects gas. But in these cases where they just go and blow up gas pipelines, there is no percuniary incentive. They are not looking for anything other than to give Nigerians the impression that government is not doing anything about electricity. It is so painful. You finished the repairs on Saturday, tested and start delivering the gas to the pipeline and, within two days, they went and bombed the thing again. So, you asked is government doing something? Government is doing something but within the communities involved some people are being paid to do this level of damage because you can't get one molecule of gas. It is not possible, it is not possible at all. So, at the end of the day what government is trying to do is to digitalise the entire length, and of course, you know that costs money. With oil price very low now, with budgetary demand not being met and with Nigerians complaining not having enough money to flow around and stuff like that, now you have to go and look for ways of curbing the excesses of people, who don't love their motherland. So, it is going to be a very expensive process because you have to digitalise the entire length, put surveillance mechanism that is built in, then put tracers also so that you will be able to trace the point where the action is with regards to vandalism. And then we also want to put some retardants that would warn the would-be intruders because what they do is that they put the bomb, connect their bomb, then go to a distant place and detonate and then up goes everything in flame. And even if you finish repairing this thing, it take days to ramp up the pressure. Gas doesn't just flow like that easily, you must building up the pressure, you must test the entire system, use gas like Nitrogen to test the thing. These things are expensive. And sometimes they go under the swamp, horrible terrain to go mad cause this damage so that it becomes even more difficult to fix these things. So that is where we are. In as much as people would want to understand this, what the average man out there wants to see is regular supply of electricity to his home. And so, would you say the government has the capacity ensure that the 5,000MW you spoke about can go round to, at least, justify an improvement in terms of what

In the last few months, the power situation in the country has not only dipped but electricity supply even at the city centres in many states of the federation has been epileptic. In an interview with The Nation crew of YOMI ODUNUGA, AUGUSTINE EHIKIOYA and JOHN OFIKHENUA, the Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, says a number of reasons, including the incessant attacks on the gas pipelines, frustrate efforts being made to stabilise the sector. He also speaks on how he has been able to balance his calling as a priest with the arduous task of ensuring that Nigerians enjoy uninterrupted power supply in a privatised economy. Excerpts:

•Nebo

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You know in the days of President Obasanjo, there was a contract awarded to supply millions of meters. By the time a few thousands were supplied, that contract was abandoned. It is this problem of continuity of government. President Umaru Yar'Adua came and by then, the contract was dead on arrival... But unfortunately the old NEPA and PHCN were asking people to pay for meters. Some paid one year, two years, three years, five years and eight years back. Some paid and have even forgotten they paid as they are still not delivered till date

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you get in your house? Let me tell you one thing to make this come home closer to the typical person in the street or in their homes. There was a time in Abuja here, in my own residence and they didn't know the minister lives there, I was getting about 22 hours of power supply. Today, I barely get 18 hours. Some people have come low. But part of the problems at the time was that I live near the Apo station that was blown up by lightening about a year ago. Thankfully, just last week, a sub-station has been delivered to Apo. So, it is going to be replaced so that we can have some

reprieve in that area. So part of the problem could also be transmission difficulty. But then we were not getting 4,000MW when I was getting 22 or 23hours, you can then imagine if we get 5,000MW, more and more people will get many hours. Those getting 10 now will get 15, those getting eight now will get 12 and so on and so forth. So most Nigerians will begin to see the benefits of this if we are able to deliver this power to our people. So you can see the level of frustration. We have the capacity, everything is in place, the moment we hit 4,500MW, they go and blow up these things. I don't understand it. Don't you think there is pecuniary interest in this act of sabotage, especially in this country where citizens spend so much on power generators? Is there a possibility that those involved in the sales of these power generators could be part of the saboteurs? Well, that is a possibility. Nobody can rule that out because if Nigerians get power 24/7, there will be no need for generators which would mean that the generator people would be out of business, the mechanics who work on them would be out of business, those who service them would be out of business. And that is why we have been pleading with them ahead of time to start looking for better business to do because one day they will be out of business in Nigeria. That I can guarantee. They will be out of business in Nigeria unless for remote areas that are not covered by the national grid. But for most city folks, sub-urban areas, they will be out of business. So if they are part of this only God knows. Many people have been arrested and are being prosecuted but they haven't been able to tell us who is sending them. We need to know who sent you to go and do this thing. The damage- can you imagine imagine the kind of bomb that will create this amount of crater? And of course, you know once it bursts this open, it catches fire, so the next moment it causes more damage all over the place. And people don't realise the extent could be very wide. Let's assume we are generating to maximum capacity, what is the state of our transmission network? Transmission for now can do 5,500MW. We are expanding that and, by the end of the year, we should be able to do much more than that. But whatever we can generate now, we have the availability to transmit. This is not just installed capacity because installed capacity is much more than that. But we are ready to deliver 5,500MW and transmission has that capacity to deliver that 5,500MW. There is this power statistics the ministry posts on its website. There has never been a time that power generated is equal to power transmitted . What is always responsible for this record of stranded energy? The problem is losses along the line. That is actually the reason we have transformers, substations and so on. It goes through

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015 electro circuitry that makes it easier for power that was coming in that was losing amperage and voltage to be ramped up again as it passes through the sub-station to the lines, gets to the transformers and the smaller transformers and the smaller lines and so on. So these are the things. So actually they call them technical losses. These technical losses are essentially there just like water pressure. If you will have to let water travel a very long distance via booster pumps, you encounter the same problem. There will not be enough force to make the water come to your place. So that is the reason we have to include technical measures to make sure that, at least, a substantial amount of the power that is produced is delivered to the people. And technical losses must be there because you have resistance, you have all kinds of things that are happening and these things don't just occur like that. It is like a car. When you are driving a car and if you want to keep a car at 100 kilometers per hour , you don't get to 100 kilometers and remove your leg from the throttle. You must keep pressing the throttle so that more gas is coming in, and as more gas is coming, firing the engine causing the combustion in the engine propelling the car to move forward. So it is essentially the same thing. There must be losses. In the case of a car, you have to worry about the gravity. And, in some cases, you have to worry about air resistance, then you have to worry about frictional forces between the tire and the road. That is why we use object to minimise the surface of contact as opposed to flat object or things like that. So it is technical losses that cause this thing to happen. What is your assessment of the operation of the Transition Electricity Market? Well, I think so far so good. I was talking about technical losses and you mention Transition Electricity Market. That should bring us now to the commercial losses. The commercial losses you know, you don't get all the money for the power that is generated and given to the people. Some of it is lost due to people not paying, while other people are under-charged, and others are simply pure fraud. Electricity theft is very high in Nigeria. So these are the things that TEM is trying to look into; to make sure that we find a balancing mechanism so that when we now get to the medium term, and then the mature market term should have been taken care of. The reason for the increase in tariff is often because of the losses. People are not paying or are not paying correctly. Electricity is being connected and stolen at random. The investors are not going to be the ones to bear the losses, otherwise they wouldn't be in business. So that is the reason. And that is why metering is so critical. We must make sure that every electricity consumer in Nigeria is metered to drastically reduce commercial losses. And so with the Transition Electricity Market, things are just beginning to advance. It is because of these losses and the fact that the companies did not foresee the level of losses that they are now encountering problems. The Central Bank had to come up with funding to stabilise the market so that we will be able to pay for gasses supply to generate power, pay the generation companies that generate the power and then pay some dues to transmission companies that transmit to the distribution companies. If the Federal Government privatised the companies, why are you releasing money to the privatised companies again? Why can't they go and source money from banks to meet operational challenges? And, what is being done to ensure that people do not bypass the pre-paid meters? That is what we are saying. Let me address the first question. You know if you have a private business all over and something drastic happens making it impossible for them to upgrade, and if they don't upgrade there are national security issues involved, will you say because they are private firms you won't do anything about it? No! Look at the way the US bailed out the banks recently. While I was a PhD student, US bailed out corporations, 100% private companies because they knew if they went under it was going to cause hundreds of thousands workers of jobs. Apart from this technical challenge with gas to power, do we still have problem with the tariff since you increased the gas price? And how is the present decline in the prices of oil and gas affecting gas to power? Thank you very much for that question. The relationship between the cost of gas and power generation and eventual tariff is not linear. It is like petrol, if you double the price of petrol today it doesn't mean all the cost will be doubled because when each passenger pays at the end of the day just doubling the price of petrol, you might find out that you increased transport fare by 15 to 20%. The same thing goes for power. So it is not a linear relationship. This increase in the price of gas only changed this by very little insignificant amount of money. There are so many other components that are taken care of in calculating what is equitable, just and cost reflective tariff ought to be. At a recent event, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria called for a reduction of electricity tariff as the present tariff regime is affecting the industry. What do you say to this? The President has given the Chairman of National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) a directive to review the tariff downward. By what percentage? They are working it out. But I want to reassure you that the more power you get, the lower the tariff. The more power we generate, the more power vandals allow us generate, the lower the tariff. It is like printing- you print 500 pages per unit it is almost double. If you go to a thousand you reduce the price, and by the time you go to 5,000 you find out that the difference between 5,000 and 500 very little. The more power we generate the lower the tariff because by the time it goes round a lot of other costs for generating, transmitting and distribution will be taken care of. That is what happens with telecommunications. The first sim card I bought was N20,000 plus. Today, sim cards are N200. Some are free of charge. In fact they will load some credit for you. So it is going to be the same with power, it will happen. For instance, if Nigeria were to all of a sudden generate 6,000 to 7,000MW on a daily basis, tariff will come down very much that everybody will notice it. And that is why NERC is there. NERC is there to moderate this price so that the power sector investors will make profit but not make obscene profit. But it is just allowing a margin of profit but not to milk the rest of us dry in order to

â&#x20AC;˘Nebo make a huge profit. So once we generate much larger quantity of electricity, the tariff will go down. Many Nigerians are suffering because of pre-paid meters. They pay for it several months without getting it, what is going on? You know in the days of President Obasanjo, there was a contract awarded to supply millions of meters. By the time a few thousands were supplied, that contract was abandoned. It is this problem of continuity of government. President Umaru Yar'Adua came and by then, the contract was dead on arrival. So the contractors sued the government and President Yar'Adua now asked his Vice President Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to look into it. When President Jonathan became president, he asked his own Vice to look into it and make sure it is solved and that is being resolved now. But unfortunately the old NEPA and PHCN were asking people to pay for meters. Some paid one year, two years, three years, five years and eight years back. Some paid and have even forgotten they paid as they are still not delivered till date. That is why I gave that response when I went to the National Assembly for budget defence and I was asked why is government now beginning to providing meters for the Discos and so on. I said, well if it is a sin that that the president has committed by trying to solve the problems of Nigerians, then he has committed a brand new sin, which is not in the dictionary. And I call it the sin of compassion because we know of sin of omission, sin of commission, and the president has now committed sin of compassion for trying to bring reprieve to Nigerians. Many people are suffering. People have paid and they are not getting these meters. The debt is piling up for NELMCO, and if you go to NELMCO, they will say we have no money, sorry we have no money we can't refund this. So government is just finding a way of solving that problem. But metering is a must. Without that, it is just like you drink water and so on if it is not metered you don't know how much you consume, how are you going to know how much you are supposed to pay? There is this electricity subsidy that the Federal Government has not released, although it has now released N213billion

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If you are Minister of Power, there is no rest for the righteous. The Bible says no rest for the wicked but even the righteous can't rest if you are in this kind of portfolio that I have found myself. It hasn't been easy but the Lord has been gracious . I do spend time trying to overcome some of the pains that we have when you think of the nonsensical things some people are doing that is hurting this country. At the end of the day, so if you abandon God, where do we go to?

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which is not its money. So when will the Federal Government release the electricity subsidy? The N213 billion is not Federal Government's money. It is banks that are providing that as an incentive for Discos, Gencos, and Transmission companies to keep doing their work. It is not easy for all this money to be released. Things are really tough right now. When the price of oil goes from $170 down to $50 even though it has gradually hit up to $60, you know that the revenue accruable to the country is woefully low. If the resources are not there, we can't keep pressing for them. That is the situation now. The government is still subsidising for the lowest people who use electricity in the country. How much has this administration spent on NIPPs? I can't quite give you a figure. But I will be glad to look into the archives and give you a figure. What are the average commercial losses we record in the electricity market at the moment? They are huge. It depends on Discos . The one of Lagos is much lesser than the ones of Yola and Enugu. Some are recording over 50 per cent losses. They are very huge. That is why the tariffs are not very palatable. You once lamented that bureaucracy is affecting the system. And you said you were trying to work round it so that the bureaucracy does not affect the privatisation process. Have you been able to work on it? Yes, we are working hard in that regard. Unfortunately people think once government is in business, it is like everybody's business which is nobody's business. They don't want to take care of it. My people used to say that a goat that is owned by the entire community often dies of hunger. But if it is owned by an individual, the individual will make sure that its goat doesn't die. So that is the sense of privatisation. It was not given a chance to survive, God has made it possible, Kudos to Mr. President and Mr. Vice President, they worked very hard to make sure that this happened. With regard to transmission we are trying to get a model. Like for privatisation of Gencos and Discos, government swallowed so much in one fell swoop. We don't want to jump into that without studying all the possible models- look at the Brazil's, and other South American countries, look at India, look at China, look at Malaysia, you know and so on. All those countries that have the same kind of demographics we have over here, study how they went through their own problem, study the results. Are they having very positive feedback from the measures they took? When we have now studied all this, we will now model a system that will be economically sound, on a very sound legal framework and then scientifically acceptable with regards to best practices all over the world. So we are not in a hurry to rush into selling Transmission Company of Nigeria. Are we going to concession TCN in regions? Are we going to have the Gencos and the Discos even play a significant role with regard to ownership? Are we going to ask government to sell them block by block? Are we going to be sequential in the order of concessioning? Or are we going to be simultaneous like what we did for Gencos and Discos? One of our international development partners described it as simultaneous sequentiality. It sounds like oxymoronic but that is what it is. Things you are supposed to be doing one by one, you just do them once in one fell swoop. Government needed boldness and courage on the part of Mr. President to have done that. So we want to be a little more conscious with regards to Transmission Company of Nigeria. When you are in this kind of ministry, some say 24 hours is not even enough. It is even more challenging when you are a minister in the Lord---an Anglican priest, how do you cope? Do you still do that or you have abandoned the Ministry of The Lord for the Ministry of Power for now? No, God forbid, I cannot abandon the gospel of my Lord and personal saviour Jesus Christ. In fact, last Sunday, I preached in two services of the church. This coming Sunday, I will be conducting the Holy Communion service and I still go about spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ whenever I have the opportunity to do that. But not like I used to do before I became ViceChancellor and before I became Minister of Power. I am still doing a lot of teaching and discipleship, mentoring of young people of Christ. How about relaxation? I am not too good in sports. I have a wonderful family and a wonderful woman that God gave to me for a wife. We got married while I was an undergraduate and my first daughter was actually born eight days before I got my Bachelors Degree. So any free time we have, we spend it together. We do walking. If you are Minister of Power, there is no rest for the righteous. The Bible says no rest for the wicked but even the righteous can't rest if you are in this kind of portfolio that I have found myself. It hasn't been easy but the Lord has been gracious . I do spend time trying to overcome some of the pains that we have when you think of the nonsensical things some people are doing that is hurting this country. At the end of the day, so if you abandon God, where do we go to? What is your philosophy of life? I don't know if I have formulated one. But it is just to bring maximum glory to God in my life, bring maximum glory to my Lord and personal saviour Jesus Christ by being His servant in every ramification of the word. In other words, wherever I find myself, I want to do a whole lot more than I think. I want to be sure that I exceed expectation in every portfolio I find myself. Your favourite Bible verse? Well! Of course, John 3:16 is a favourite Bible verse for each and everyone of us -" For God so love the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. That a sinner like me will have favour in the sight of God to be a member of His family. There is nothing greater than that. Your last word to Nigerians on the expectation for power? My last word to the compatriots is let nobody deceive you, we are working for you. We are working hard for you and we are working hard enough that we have come so close to delivery our promises. But we pray that all of us will join together in condemning all acts of sabotage and vandalism so that we will actually see that power utopia that Nigerians have been calling for.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

58 T's known as the silent killer for a reason. Most times, people who have it have no clue that they have the ailment. "It does not give any clue," affirmed Dr. Matthew Ashikeni, the Consultant Community Physician, Director Disease Control, FCT Primary Health Care Board, Abuja. As he noted, when the hypertension gets bad, "something bad happens. The person can slump, have a stroke or heart failure. If someone has hypertension, if he is not lucky he gets a stroke and if that is not treated properly, he dies. In that context, it is a silent killer." Continuing speaking, he said: "Hypertension is no respecter of age or sex. It can affect men, women, children, youths, single women or married and even pregnant women too." To him, causes of hypertension are varied and can include kidney disease, can be inherited, being obese among others. "It could be due to kidney disease or in•Foods that lower BP herited. When you are open to stress, sedentary lifestyle, no exercise, no movement, you are already on your way to hypertension. There are many factors that can lead to it. Even obesity too. You can have plenty of money and have a fabulous lifestyle as a socialite but if your parents had it, you are likely to have it too," the doctor said. Speaking in the same vein, Dr. A. D Gadzama noted that there are two types of hypertension- there are secondary and essential types of hypertension. The risk factor for the latter is majorly lifestyle and hereditary aspects. For instance, when hypertension runs in the family, in a situation where a mother or father or grandmother has or had hypertension. The secondary one is usually due to a disease in the body, especially when the kidney has a problem, it can manifest as hypertension. "The symptoms of hypertension is that it has no symptom. That is why it is called a silent killer. One can simply go for a medical check-up for something else only to reach there and find out that the BP is on the higher side. If you are 35 and above, you have to regularly check your bp because in most cases, the first incident could be stroke! That is a situation whereby the heart is pumping blood against so much presn Patience SADUWA and Paul UKPABIO n sure, against narrow vessels. After a while, it gets overwhelmed and something else to like like red meat, oily soups, stews and happens. It bloats until it is weak and canothers, I have to give them up. You know a not pump blood anymore. It leads to heart lot of our local dishes like egusi soup with failure or stroke. However, not all cases of vegetable are made with red palm oil which hypertension lead to stroke. The kidney is gives them a nice taste but I can't eat much the major target of hypertension. Early manifestation of kidney disease is hyperten- of these soups anymore. The worst thing is the doctor has told me I may have to take sion." the drugs for the rest of Madam Juliet Okpoyi, my life if my BP does not a 67 year old grandcome down to a managemother and retired There is a lot of able level." teacher was first diagunemployment in Raymond (surname nosed with hypertenwithheld on request) a 41 the country which is sion in 2007 and since year old ex-banker is in then, she has been on worsening the the same situation as treatment for it. "I take Okpoyi. "I have been takpoverty rate in the drugs regularly to maning drugs for my high age it. I have been doing society. A jobless blood pressure for nearly that for many years now. four years now. It all man will definitely Whenever, I get tired of started about four years popping pills and stop have a lot of worries, ago when I lost my job. taking the drugs, my There was a restructuring especially if he has a blood pressure shoots in the bank where I up and I have to start all family to take care worked and some of us over," she stated, revealwere retrenched. Maybe of. Even many of ing that she nearly had a it was the shock of losing mini-stroke once when those that are workmy job after over ten she missed her drugs for years of meritorious serving can barely make some days. The ailment ice that affected my seems to run in her famends meet due to health- all the thinking ily as her younger sister poor wages and with and worrying about how and one of her sons who my family and I would is just 36 years old are so many bills like survive must have afhypertensive as well. school fees and fected me as my blood "My dear, it's not easy pressure shot up," he at all," she confessed house rents to pay. said. when asked on the imAll these contribute Besides the drugs pact of the ailment on which he confessed 'are her lifestyle. "I have to to worries about surnot easy to take on a regwatch what I eat. I used vival which can trigular basis' he has to to like my food well seawatch what he eats. "My ger the blood soned with plenty of diet has definitely been salt. Now I eat little or pressure to shoot affected by this ailment. I no salt and no fatty take very little salt now up, resulting in hyfoods too to reduce my and plenty of vegetables cholesterol level which pertension as they contain no salt. I the doctor said is also also do exercises to mainhigh. All the food I used

Hypertension

•’How to prevent and control it through healthy lifestyle, diet’

tain my weight. I jog three times a week and exercise on the treadmill. All these keep me in shape at my age and also bring the blood pressure down," he stated. A walking time bomb The rising trend in the prevalence of hypertension in the country in recent times has been a source of worry to health care practitioners in the country. Prevalence rates vary between urban and rural areas with a higher prevalence in urban and semi urban centres, a situation experts attribute to lifestyles. "City dwellers tend to live a more sedentary life style than those in the rural areas due to cars, computers and other modern machines and appliances. And you know that a lack of exercise and eating of junk food could lead to obesity which is a risk factor for hypertension," said Mercy Oki, a health, nutrition and lifestyle expert. Prevalence rate in the country from studies carried out on hypertension show that about 22.7 % of Nigerians or an estimated 56 million people are hypertensive. The implication of this on the health care sector is frightening considering the fact that many people are unaware that they are hypertensive until attendant complications such as stroke, heart attack, blindness and kidney failure strike. And by then, it might be too late as death could occur. Dr Ashikeni attributed the high prevalence rate in the country to lifestyle and diet. "The rate is high in Nigeria because of our lifestyle. There are some communities that you go to, among ten people, you will get three or four who are hypertensive. In communities where salt intake is high for instance, hypertension is likely to be high there too. The risk of a lot of people having hypertension in a community is that a lot of them will end up having complications. They may have kidney problem, kidney failure and a host of other ailments. Also, at a political period like this, when politicians are going about campaigning with no rest, it is advisable for them to do a lot of medical check-ups during this period so that any one of them who may have diseases or health issues can identify it and

manage it properly. That is because this time for them, is a period of stress," he stated. Throwing more light on the disease, the medical practitioner noted: "There are many problems that the kidney can have that could manifest as hypertension. For instance, renal failure either chronic or acute, can manifest as hypertension. And then diabetes can lead to hypertension. There is also the situation when one has excess adrenaline in the body, when there is tumor in the gland that produces adrenaline, it could lead to hypertension. All these are secondary but the primary one is sedentary lifestyle, which could lead to obesity. A combination of fatty diet and refined food, take away foods, tobacco smoking are not causes but risk factors. Alcohol consumption may lead to hypertension. When we say risk factors, it may not be one thing that causes it, but a combination of many things. Alcohol per se, cannot be directly linked to hypertension. Essentially hypertension in most cases starts at the age of forty and forty five. But secondary hypertension can start at any time because there is something causing it in the body like a disease. And that is the one commonly found in children. If you find a young adult with hypertension, it is very likely to be secondary. It is not common with children. Where a child has it, it is likely to be a fundamental heart disease, or renal disease or acquired renal disease. These are what cause hypertension in children. Also drugs can cause hypertension. Some drugs that affect the adrenaline system can lead to hypertension." For Callistus Ibe, a businessman, stress occasioned by business failure brought on his hypertension. Speaking to The Nation, he disclosed: "I have had for hypertension five years now. I was just 42 when I started having it. I did not know what it was. I just knew that after I lost millions of naira worth of goods to fire in a Lagos market, life for me was never the same again. People said that I was thinking too much. Why was I

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

not going to think too much? My whole life and my family depended on the trading which I was doing. I had the children’s school fees to take care of; besides taking care of my own family, I was also looking after my late brother’s children and wife. Everything collapsed in front of me. I had to send the two families home to the village. I am here struggling all alone. Since it came, it (hypertension) has refused to go. I am daily on medications. Anytime I miss my medications, my body changes and I start shaking. It is important that I take my medications every day. Though they are not all that expensive but sometimes it is difficult for me to buy. I am managing now. I have sold my car, sold my personal valuable properties; I have just succeeded in starting all over again, almost from scratch. But thank God because where there is life, there is hope." Another case is that of Mrs Comfort Asuquo a Civil Servant. "I did not know I had hypertension until I was treated for diabetes, that was when I was told that I also had hypertension. But I am not a young woman either. I will be retiring soon. My personal doctor helps me to manage the hypertension. All I do is to avoid certain food such as fatty foods, oil, meat and salt. I eat sparingly but drink lots of water and fruits. I eat lots of vegetables too. I watch so many things about my body and I try to stretch a lot at home. I create work for myself around the

house. Thank God that we have a big compound to ourselves, so I lock the gate and do work around the garden. It helps me to exercise," she said. Prevention, control "Funny enough, hypertension is one of the easiest diseases to manage," declared Ashikeni noting that with regular medical check ups and tests, the disease can be well managed. "With a blood pressure machine, you can know your health state. And then, chest x-ray, urine test can be done and the patient’s health can be managed. Once this is done, the patient can live well, live a long and happy normal life. It is one of the easiest diseases to diagnose and to manage. But you have to cultivate the habit of regular medical check-up." For Oki, a radical lifestyle and diet change is essential for anyone diagnosed with hypertension. "If you are the type who loves fat-filled, salty, high calorie food like most •Regular fast foods and you are exercise can prone to hypertension, help control then you obviously high BP need to make a change in your diet. Eat little or no salt, take lots of fresh foods especially vegetables as these contain little or no sodium. We are lucky in this part of the world to have access to farm-fresh foods that are not overly processed and packed with all kinds of chemicals that are dangerous to the body. We need to take advantage of this and eat right and well. "And people should be doing more exercises too. Many Nigerians have become lazy in terms of physical activity. They move from car to the office, sit down for

many hours in front of the computer, drive home and go straight to bed. The body is not worked out. This sedentary lifestyle, which is a modern phenomenon, after a while takes a toll on the body through weight gain, cardiovascular diseases, back pain, arthritis even diabetes. You have only this body, take good care of it with the right food, exercises and a moderate lifestyle and it will last you a long time," she advised. She attributed the high hypertensive rate in the country to many issues including socio-economic ones. As she noted: "There is a lot of unemployment in the country which is worsening the poverty rate in the society. A jobless man will definitely have a lot of worries, especially if he has a family to take care of. Even many of those that are working can barely make ends meet due to poor wages and with so many bills like school fees and house rents to pay. All these contribute to worries about survival which can trigger the blood pressure to shoot up, resulting in hypertension. "Then there's this Jone's syndrome which is very common these days- this overly competitive tendency to outdo one's neighbour, colleague or friend in how much money one can make or the material possessions like cars, houses one can acquire. It pushes people to overstrain themselves to try to meet up with the Joneses and this can lead to being hypertensive besides pushing some into crime. My parents brought me up to be contented and not envy what others have. Many people need to imbibe this attribute which even the Bible preaches if they want to live long, healthy lives." On the treatment and control of hypertension, Gadzama has this to say: "The treatment for those at the border line is lifestyle modification, this alone can bring it down. Don't take salt, take a lot of vegetables, stop smoking and reduce alcohol intake. Exercise is very important. Just adopting these lifestyle will reduce the BP. If it is stage two however, you have to treat with medications that is, you will have to take it for life! That is because there is no cure for it. Once you start taking the drugs, you have to continue and keep seeing your doctor who will modify it for you from time to time. By the time the person is consistent, it will be reduced from time to time."

Foods that lower blood pressure F you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, you obviously need to have an eating plan that will help you control it. This is where The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) comes in. DASH places emphasis on eating whole grains, vegetables, fruit, nuts and low-fat dairy products, while limiting or avoiding salt, fat, and sugar overall. A high BP diet should be high in vitamins, antioxidants, potassium and magnesium and these are found mostly in vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains and others. Suitable foods for controlling high BP include tiger nuts (which are rich in potassium and magnesium and help in lowering high BP), guavas, bananas, beans and cabbage. Guavas are beneficial in regulating blood pressure due to its high potassium content which reverses the effects of sodium, thereby regulating the balance of blood pressure. Also, it reduces choles-

terol levels in the blood by preventing it from thickening. Beans are high in fibre, magnesium and potassium. Other foods include African yam, sweet potato, garlic, onions, tilapia, olive oil, beetroot. These foods play an important role in lowering blood pressure as they are good sources of vitamin B-6. This vitamin is important in protecting blood vessels from damage. Vitamin B-6 also breaks down a material known as homocysteine, which increases the risk of medical conditions such as heart attacks and strokes. -Food items that patients suffering from high BP should avoid include salt and sodium, fats, red meat, sugar, alcohol and processed and packaged foods (most of which are high in salt, fats and preservatives and do not contain essential nutrients) among others.

Natural ways to beat stress, anxiety (1) AVING some level of stress comes with daily living especially in today's modern, fast paced world. But when it reaches a level where you become over stressed and anxious all the time, then you need to do something about it before it affects the body adversely. Too much stress can lead to high blood pressure, irregular heart beat and other symptoms of hypertension which can be harmful to health. While there are some medications that help reduce stress and depression (especially antidepressants), natural remedies are advisable as they are less addictive and with few or no side effects unlike drugs. Some of the keys to good stress management include having a positive outlook on life, building emotional strength, having a good social network, being in control of your situation as well as eating right and being active.

Have a positive outlook Look for the positives in life, things for which you're grateful. Granted, you can't always get everything you desire in life, but what about what you already have? Be grateful for that and look forward to better times ahead instead of worrying about what you lack and feeling sorry for yourself all the time. "If you are the naturally pessimistic type, you need to have a change of perspective, look at the glass as half full instead of glass half empty,” says Mercy Oki, a lifestyle and nutrition expert. By adopting a positive frame of mind and a positive view of life, you will be able to cope with whatever challenges that comes your way without being too anxious or stressed. Be active If you have a stress-related problem, physical activity can get you in the right state of mind to be able to identify the causes of your stress and find a solution. Exercise won’t make your stress disappear, but it will reduce some •A stressed man of the emotional intensity that you’re feeling, clearing your thoughts and enabling you to deal with your problems more calmly. A little regular exercise can have a profound effect on all aspects of your emotional wellbeing. It can relieve stress, ease depression and anxiety, improve your memory, help you sleep better, and boost your overall mood. No matter your age or fitness level, you can use enjoyable physical activities to improve your emotional health and change your life for the better. When you exercise, your body releases chemicals called endorphins. These endorphins interact with the receptors in your brain that reduce your perception of pain. Endorphins also trigger a positive feeling in the body, similar to that of morphine. For example, the feeling that follows a run or workout is often described as euphoric. That feeling, known as a runner's high, can be accompanied by a positive and energizing outlook on life.

By Professor Dayo Oyekole Ph.D. (Ibadan), NMD, FNCP Tel: 0803-330-3897 Website: www.holisticlifecare.com E-mail: kolemetric@yahoo.com

NEWS

Group endorses Buhari/Osibanjo group, Rivers Youths for Democratic Vanguard, (RYDV), one of the socio-political organisations in Rivers State, has endorsed the candidature of Gen. Mohammadu Buhari of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and his running mate, Yemi Osnibajo, for the presidential election. Arising from an emergency meeting yesterday in Port Harcourt, the group said their decision was on the premise of the critical condition of the nation’s economy, which it says needs someone like Buhari for urgent rescue The leader of the group, Rev’d Fred Woke, who chaired the meeting, said as much as Governor Chibuike Amaechi is leading the change movement, there is no going back on their support for Buhari/Osinbajo ticket. He accused the Rivers State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of defacing the campaign posters of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, describing it as a campaign strategy to misinform the people of the state that Buhari has no supporters in the state.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

Ex-militant leaders, police clash over oil pipeline contracts T HE recently approved waterways security and oil pipelines protection contracts for exNiger-Delta war lords by President Goodluck Jonathan has sparked a row between the ex-militants and Governor Dickson Seriake. The former war lords are accusing the governor of meddling in the pipeline surveillance contracts, and yesterday took to the streets of Yenagoa,the State capital, to protest the alleged meddling. Led by by a former commander of the Movement for Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), Eris Paul, popularly known as Ogunboss,the protests stormed the streets as early as 6am and took over the Tombia roundabout area of the road, chanting war songs. A detachment of armed policemen raced to the spot and pushed to disperse the protesters. The ex-militants resisted the police action>Some of them allegedly shot at the policemen. What followed were warning shots and firing of tear gas canisters. The protesters responded by hauling stones at the police and their vehicles.Some of the vehicles were vandalized in the process. Both sides soon got locked in a hit and run encounter with the policemen beating the protesters with batons and gun butts. The drama sparked a traffic gridlock and panic in adjoining roads.

•Alegations not true, says gov’s ally n Mike ODIEGWU, Yenagoa n Several private and shops were also vandalized in the melee . As the clash rage ,motorists and commuters fled the scene to avoid being hit by stray bullets. The clash later subsided.No fewer than 20 police patrol vans were sighted at the scene last night. An unconfirmed report said an exmilitant was killed and eight others injured in the fracas . Some of the protesters were said to have been arrested and taken to the headquarters of the police command in the state. Armed policemen frisked pedestrians who passed by the area last night. Speaking on the protest, the National Chairman, 6166 Presidential Amnesty Phase II, 'General' Aso Tambo, blamed the development onGovernor Dickson. He said the ex-militants were angry with the governor for allegedly encroaching on the pipeline security contract awarded to them by the Federal Government through the Ministry of Petroleum Resources. He said:"Other states like Delta,

Edo, Cross River, Rivers and Akwa Ibom are also involved because they have ex-militants like us. The governors of these states did not encroach into these contracts. "In the case of Bayelsa, we don't know why the governor wants to share the security contracts with the ex-militant leaders. He wants to take 50 per cent while the ex-militants will be given 50 per cent. "As at the time this contract was awarded, Dickson was not even a governor. These contracts were awarded as a result of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) we signed with the federal government that if we accepted the amnesty offer, pipeline security jobs would be given to us. That was why the jobs were given to us.” He added: "If the governor has people he wants to empower, the state has many resources through internally generated revenues and statutory allocations. Bayelsa is a room and parlour state. "We are even surprised that the state till tomorrow has not been developing our state with all the trillions accruing to the state. The governor should not interfere in our contracts.

"If he does so, we will continue to keep him restless. We will continue to suffocate him until the next election and we will definitely not give him any room to come back." Also speaking, Ogunboss, said the angry ex-militants were against plot by Dickson to hijack their contracts. He said:"Apart from the show of incompetence by the present administration, Dickson is trying to hijack the job meant for the oil-bearing communities in the state.’’ "Most of the Southsouth states have signed the allocation of the surveillance contract but Dickson is insisting that the job be awarded to a self-styled company known as Izon Ibe, a security outfit that we don’t know. “Dickson should concentrate on the use of state allocation and internally generated revenue to advance the good of the State rather than hijacking jobs coming to communities.” CA government House source dismissed the ex-militants’ allegations as “parochial”. The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Asinim Buswatt, said the police did not clash with the ex-militants. He said the police only employed civil means to disperse the protesters adding that nobody died during the protest. "The police only shot tear gas canisters to disperse them.The police did not shoot live cartridges", he said.

Apologise to APC guber candidate, group tells A/Ibom first lady

Cross River security adviser charges military to stay off politics

n Uyoatta ESHIET, Uyo n

n Nicholas KALU, Calabar n

group, the Essien Udim Council on Political Affairs has advised the Akwa Ibom State First Lady, Mrs Ekaette Unoma Akpabio, to tender an apology to Mr Umana Okon Umana, the All Progressive Congress (APC) Governorship candidate in Akwa Ibom State. The First Lady was reported to have used insulting words on the APC governorship candidate while canvassing for votes for PDP candidates during a rally at Ika and Etim Ekpo Local Government Areas. The group, in a press statement made available to The Nation and signed by its President, Ambassador Aniefiok Brownson, said, “We in the Essien Udim Council on Political Affairs have read the comment credited to Her Excellency, Mrs Unoma Akpabio against the former Secretary to the Akwa Ibom State Government, Mr. Umana Okon Umana, during a PDP governorship rally in the state. The Council views the statement as not only being derogatory, but unprintable.” The statement said the elders and custodians of Annang customs and tradition, hereby cautions Mrs Unoma Akpabio not to allow her political differences with Mr Umana to degenerate to a level where she would violate the agelong tradition of the Annang people and set a bad influence among the young people. “In Annang tradition, women don’t raise their voices while talking with men, let alone insult men in public,” the elders warned.

HE Cross River State Security Adviser, Mr Rekpene Bassey, has charged the military to remain apolitical as the general elections loom. Speaking while receiving the new Commandant of the Amphibious Training School in Calabar, Brig General TOB Ademola, he urged the army, as a foremost military institution, to avoid the temptation of being drawn into politics. His words, “I have tremendous respect for the military, especially the army. I admire their discipline. You have to do all it takes to sustain that discipline. “I advise the military to remain as professional as possible to stay apolitical in the coming election. You should resist all temptations to be drawn into politics. “Recently there have been all sorts of talk about the military and politics and this is not too good. In terms of partisanship you should do all to resist so that your professionalism and respect for the military would be sustained. “I hope this doctrine will be sustained in the army so that the army will remain the foremost military institution in Nigeria. I will advise the army to remain completely apolitical, neutral and very professional. These are very challenging times in our nation’s political clime. The top brass of the Nigerian army must do everything possible to resist the temptation of being drawn into political matters, no matter the form and nature such temptation take.” He thanked the commandant for his role in helping the state to remain one of the safest states in the country and asked for continued support.

•Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan (right) dancingwith Daddy Showkey at the Thank You Concert, organised by entertainers of Delta State origin in honour of the governor in Asaba.

Fashola blames Lekki robbery on deployment of policemen for Jonathan’s visit OVERNOR Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State believes the robbers who struck at a bank in Lekki,Lagos on Thursday would not have succeeded if sufficient policemen had been available to secure the area. He said at an interactive session with supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential candidate,General Muhammadu Buhari and his running mate,Professor Yemi Osinbajo in Lagos a few hours after the robbery that many of the policemen and vehicles that should ordinarily be deployed for public protection on that day were diverted for the President’s security. “Perhaps what would be would have been, but it’s sad to see all our security personnel, all our security vehicles deployed to protect one man,” the governor said,adding: “All the vehicles we bought for the police were stationed to receive the President in Lagos. Those

•Presidency replies gov n Augustine EHIKIOYA, Abuja n policemen have children and tonight their mothers will have to explain to them why daddy is not coming home.” Gov. Fashola requested a minute of silence for the three policemen who died during the robbery which happened as President Jonathan visited the Nigerian Stock Exchange to launch a new online mobile platform, X-Gen, to increase global investment. The governor’s statement did not go down well with the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, who branded it as ‘’grossly and utterly irresponsible.’’ Abati also said that the claim by the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu that he was offered by President

Jonathan to be Vice President in an interim government was ‘’absolutely ridiculous.’’ Abati, speaking to State House correspondents in Abuja said he expected a man of Fashola’s status to “ speak more responsibly." It does not make any sense,he said, to say that the entire police formation in Lagos State was deployed to protect the President of Nigeria. He said: "The visit of the president to Lagos or any part of the country does not necessitate the depletion of the police force active in that particular state of environment. "Again, President Jonathan does not need the entire police force in Lagos State to protect him, in a state where he is loved by the people and where as we have seen, he enjoys overwhelming support in the lead up to the 2015 presidential elections.’’

NEWS

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

Anambra indigenes in Abia endorse Otti for governor HE Association of Anambra State Development Unions, an umbrella organisation of the 177 town unions of Anambra indigenes in Abia State, has declared its support for the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Abia, Dr. Alex Otti. Thousands of the people, led by the president, Dr. Simeon Okolo, thronged the union secretariat in Aba on Thursday to welcome Otti, who held a town hall meeting with them. Addressing the people on his agenda for transforming the commercial city and Abia State in general, Otti said that ‘’anybody who failed to appreciate the role of Anambra indigenes in the development of Abia did so out of foolishness.’’ He described as insensitive, the sack of non-indigenes working in government establishments in Abia by the present administration, saying that ‘’there is no non-indigene in our lexicon.’’ ‘’We are all brothers and sisters in the old Anambra State before Imo was created and today we are in Abia.’’ He asked, ‘’So, how can one describe anybody from the defunct eastern region as a non-indigene in Abia?’’ The APGA candidate said that the measure was adopted ‘’when the government ran out of ideas’’ on how to move the state forward, describing it as counter-productive. He promised to ensure that all those who were laid off would be recalled, if elected into office. He also promised to introduce free and compulsory education for all Abia residents ‘’without any discrimination.’’ He said that the infrastructure deficit, especially the failed roads and lack of basic social amenities in Abia and other towns in the state, would be addressed. Otti said that he was already consulting with international development and financial institutions for financial grants for the construction of industrial parks in Aba and its environs.

•Abia State Governor, Theodore Orji, cutting the tape to commission the ABSUTH Mother and Child Care Ward in Aba. With him are: Chief Emma Nwabuko, state Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs (left); Dr. Okechukwu Ogah, state Commissioner for Health (2nd right) and Dr. Uwah Iweha, Medical Director ABSUTH Aba (right) in Umuahia...yesterday

MASSOB shuts down Enugu, Anambra, Ebonyi EMBERS of the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) on Friday marched round major streets in states in the South-East and South-South of the country, calling for the removal of INEC's chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega. In Enugu, MASSOB members, displaying placards bearing various inscriptions and clad in navy blue uniform with the Biafran rising sun insignia, assembled at Edinburgh Road, New Layout, from where they �trooped to other major streets of the capital city. Some of the placards read: ‘Jega must go’; ‘Jega has compromised’; ‘No election with Jega on seat; ‘Jega is not impartial’ etc. The protesters were led by their Enugu zonal chairmen, Mrs. Augustina Ugwuoke, Ben Ekwunugo and E. Ilogu. In Ebonyi State, the police used tear gas to disperse MASSOB members who were on a peaceful protest in the state capital Abakaliki. Thousands of MASSOB members gathered at the Spera-in-Deo Junction Abakaliki and embarked on peaceful protest to call for Jega’s removal. Earlier, the Ebonyi North Zonal leader of the group, Gideon Iloke, said they were protesting against

•Says Jega must go •Faction disowns protesters n Chris OJI, Enugu, Nwanosike ONU, Awka, Ogochukwu ANIOKE, n Abakaliki, Rosemary NWISI and Precious DIKEWOHA, Port Harcourt Prof. Jega, accusing him of having a MASSOB members, some of them Northern agenda and attending se- wearing uniforms bearing the phocrete meetings to install a Northern tograph of President Goodluck president. Jonathan, sang solidarity songs to He, however, said MASSOB does register their protest. not belong to any political party but Speaking with newsmen, the was interested in the welfare of the zonal leader of MASSOB, Prince Igbo race and the country in gen- Jawey Okosi, described the INEC eral. boss as a saboteur. ‘’We are not members of PDP, He said MASSOB does not see APC, APGA or any other political Jega as an umpire that would be fair party. But we believe in equity and during the elections, having postjustice and that is why we are poned the February 14th, date. protesting. Jonathan has done well Members of the group resident in and should be allowed to rule Nige- Rivers State were not left out of the ria again, especially if we consider protest, threatening to boycott the the number of years the North has election if Prof. Jega is not removed. govern this country.” The protesting members of the The protesters carried placards group marched round parts of the with various inscriptions during the state, especially Oyibo and Port protest which disrupted human Harcourt City Local Government and vehicular movements. Areas (LGAs). The story was the same on the They accused Prof. Jega of plans streets of Awka, Anambra State, to support irregularity in the elecwhere MASSOB members trooped tions. out in large numbers to demand for The protesters, numbering over the removal of the INEC boss. 500, walked from Mbano Camp in Activities around major streets in Oyibo through Oyibo Market the capital city were grounded, as /Afam junction, displaying plac-

ards and chanting solidarity songs. The march was orderly and peaceful, while men of the police force and SSS were on hand to maintain peace. Speaking to newsmen during the march at Oyibo South-East Zonal, the Administrator, Sunday Kalu expressed lack of confidence on the INEC boss, alleging plans by Jega to disenfranchise Ndigbo during the elections. MASSOB leader, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike in a telephone chat told our correspondent accused the INEC of bias. He said: "We are organising the protest against Jega because he is biased and cannot conduct a credible election for Nigerians. “We know that he is in favour of APC and if allowed to conduct the elections, he will definitely favour the party, and when that happens, there will be crisis and people will die. The crisis will and can even lead to a war and we don't want bloodshed. We are not hiding the fact that we are supporting Jonathan because of the burial he gave to our leader, Ojukwu, and therefore we are sure that if the election is free and fair, that Jonathan will win. But a twist was introduced into the story, with another group, claiming to be authentic members

of MASSOB, describing the protesters as hirelings, who were allegedly assembled by Chief Ralph Uwazuruike to please his pay masters at Abuja. MASSOB national Director of Information, Uchenna Madu, also dissociated his group from yesterday's protest march. In a terse statement he issued yesterday, Madu said: �"Today’s rally is against the interest of MASSOB, and as such diminishes the image and status of the organization. “Uwazuruike has so commercialized himself with his shameful and uncontrolled romance with the politician that he has suddenly become the political errand boy of Abuja. “Public protest for the removal of Jega is for civil right groups, nongovernmental organizations and some sponsored groups, not MASSOB as a Biafran agitation group. “How can Uwazurike be so insensitive, callous and wicked against the relatives of members who died in active service while serving MASSOB. He does not console or sympathize with their family members, but has the money to hire people for this shameful protest rally. Uwazurike paid N500, 000 to each LGA to hire people for today’s rally with a communiqué written by him for submission to the press."

Bloodshed averted as Imo, Abia resolve boundary dispute Police nab three brothers for kidnapping HE lingering boundary dispute between the Umuoma-Umudibia community in Ihitte-Uboma Local Government Area of Imo State and Umudiawa-Ofeiyi community in Abia State has been resolved following the intervention of the Imo State Deputy Governor, Eze Madumere and his Abia State counterpart, Chief Emeka Ananaba. The two communities have been locked in dispute over the actual delineation of the boundary between the two sister states, leading to endless legal battles, which have further threatened the peaceful coexistence between the two communities. The hostility deepened recently following alleged renewed threat by the Abia community to attack UmuomaUmudibia community and reclaim the disputed plot of land. But responding to a ‘Save Our Soul’ massage sent to the state government by the Imo community over repeated violent clashes between the communities, the Imo deputy governor led the Boundary Commission to the troubled communities and subsequently resolved the age-long dispute.

n Okodili NDIDI, Owerri n The traditional ruler of Ihitte-Uboma in Imo State, Eze M. O Onyenukwuru and the Transition Committee Chairman of Ihitte-Uboma Council Area, Hon Emma Ejiogu, told the delegation about the continuous provocations against the community. According to them, all efforts made by the community to bring a lasting peace to the disputed area had been rebuffed by their neighbor. The deputy governor and members of the delegation who paid an unscheduled visit to the disputed area were shocked that the Abia community was already building a police station on the disputed land. But the armed youths stationed by the Abia community to watch over the land allegedly attacked members of the delegation. The stage was set for war, as youths from the two communities engaged themselves in fisticuffs and shouting match. Sensing danger, the Imo deputy governor was said to have sent a message to

his Abia state counterpart, Chief Emeka Ananaba, who was said to have rushed to the scene and prevailed on the warring youths to sheath their swords and embrace peace. The two deputy governors then went into a closed door meeting, after which a truce was brokered between the warring communities. Addressing the people after the meeting, the Abia State deputy governor noted that they were constitutionally empowered to mediate in boundary disputes affecting their respective states, adding that they have finally resolved to maintain the relative peace in the affected area and end further hostilities. Responding, Madumere re-echoed the earlier call for peace by his Abia State counterpart, adding that it was only when there is peace that the issue of meaningful reconciliation could be achieved. He further announced that it was agreed that the building of the police post in the area would be a combined effort of the two communities for the effective security of lives and property in the area.

HREE brothers of the same parents have been arrested by men of the Edo State Police Command for engaging in kidnappings. The suspects, including a set of twins, are Odion, Akhere and Nicholas Stephens. They are said to hail from Ugbegun in Esan Central Local Government Area. They were reportedly nabbed after a kidnapped victim escaped from their den. Police sources said the brothers have carried out five

different kidnappings and collected huge sums of money as ransom. Among their victims was a member of the Jehovah witness faith who was shot in the leg and kept in captivity for six days without treatment. The suspects were said to have kidnapped a retired Assistant Commissioner of Police who later escaped from their den. Speaking to newsmen while parading the suspects, the three brothers expressed regrets over their actions.

Orumba North union holds meeting HE annual general meeting of the Association of Orumba North Town Peoples Union will hold tomorrow, Sunday 15, 2015, at Rotary Club Hall, Isolo by SOS Orphanage Home, Isolo, Lagos. The time is 3pm. According to Ichie Nwankwo and Rev. (Dr) N.U. Fidelis, President and Vice President of the association respectively, those expected at the AGM are chairmen and secretaries of all the towns of Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra State in Lagos.

THE NATION SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

NEWS

Three Chinese nationals kidnapped in Kogi James AZANIA, Lokoja ARELY one week after two expatriate Chinese workers were kidnapped in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, three other Chinese citizens were yesterday abducted in the

state. It was gathered that the three Chinese nationals were kidnapped at the crusher area, a suburb of Lokoja metropolis in the early hours of Thursday. It was further gathered that the gunmen numbering about 12 stormed the company premises in the area where the victims reside between the hours of 4am and 5am and engaged the five police officers attached to the company in a gun battle. A policeman was killed in the process while another one sustained injuries. The Kogi State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Adeyemi Ogunjemilusi said the kidnappers escaped with their victims through the bush. He confirmed that one policeman was killed and another one was injured, saying that the police are on the trail of the gunmen. The commissioner who noted that the incidence of kidnapping is becoming rampart in the state, said that the police will soon arrest the kidnap cartel in the state.

•Troops guiding local and international media on tour of Mubi, after it was recovered from insurgents in Adamawa.

Borno governor meets 200,000 fleeing citizens in Niger Republic OVERNOR Kashim Shettima is currently in Niger Republic to meet with about 200,000 Nigerians who fled from Boko Haram attacks in Abadam, Mobbar, Kukawa and Monguno local government areas of Borno State. The governor drove to Niger on Thursday accompanied by chairmen of the affected local government areas and other stakeholders from the areas. The convoy drove through Damaturu, Banbangida, Bayamari and Gaidam into Mainosoruwa in Diffa province of Niger Republic

•Car stuck in desert sand dunes where he was received by the Governor of Diffa, Yacuba Usmana Gawo . The delegation visited the refugees at their camps in Gagamari and Sayam where he announced the setting up of a task force on Evaluation, Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Re-integration of Insurgency Victims to assess safety and damage in all liberated territories. It will also restore basic necessities like water, healthcare facilities and access to food and shelter.

Shettima thanked the Government of Niger especially the Governor of Diffa for opening doors for Borno citizens to take refuge at a desperate time. Shettima said the government and people of Borno State would forever remain indebted to the Government of Niger for offering protection and support to citizens of Borno. The Governor announced that the four local government areas have now been liberated by the joint multi

national forces of Nigeria,Niger,Chad and Cameroun. The Governor announced a special welfare package for the displaced persons in cash that wasn’t disclosed by camp officials. Meanwhile ,the governor’s official car, a Lexus Four Wheel Drive and several other cars in his convoy got stuck yesterday in the desert sand dunes in his return from Sayam to Diffa, Niger Republic.

Supreme Court upholds Kogi gov's election HE Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal which had sought the nullification of the 2011 governorship election from which Captain Idris Wada (retired) emerged as the governor of Kogi State. Idris contested the election as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The appeal was initiated by the governorship candidate of the now defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), James Ocholi (SAN). Ocholi, amomg others, urged the court to nullify Wada's election and declare him the validly elected governor. Ocholi had contended that Wada was not qualified to contest in the December 3, 2011 governorship election because he (Wada) was not a candidate for the election earlier scheduled for April 26 of the same year. He argued that the election earlier scheduled for April 26, 2011 was not cancelled but only postponed to December 3, 2011, on the account of a court order. Ocholi argued that the submission of nomination forms by candidates having closed on February 28, 2011 for the rescheduled April 26 election, Wada, who later became a candidate in the election held on December 3, 2011 was not qualified to participate in the election. In a unanimous judgment yesterday, the Supreme Court held that Ocholi’s appeal lacked merit. Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun read the lead judgment.

Eric IKHILAE, Abuja The Court affirmed the concurrent judgments of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal and the Federal High Court in Lokoja, which had both dismissed the appellant's case. It held that the Federal High Court, Lokoja had in its judgment delivered on July 10, 2013, rightly dismissed Ocholi's suit for lack of jurisdiction. It further held that the prayers sought by Ocholi, in substance and in nature, was a matter that could be entertained by the election petition tribunal. "The aim of the appellant's suit was the nullification of the victory of Wada at the election

held on December 3, 2011 and a declaration that he is the lawful winner of the election and the person validly entitled to be sworn in as the governor of Kogi state. "The Federal High Court had no jurisdiction to entertain his claims. The concurrent decisions of the two lower courts in this regard cannot be faulted. The appellant has not advanced any cogent reasons to warrant interference by this court." The court held that Ocholi waited for more than three months after the conduct of the election that produced Wada as governor before raising the issue of qualification of the candidates who participated in the election. "It had become a post-elec-

tion matter that could only be determined by an election tribunal. I agree with the learned senior counsel for the respondent (Wada) that having regard to the facts and circumstances of this case, the appellant had every opportunity to institute his action before the conduct of the election. "Not only did he fail to challenge any of the steps taken by the Independent National Electoral Commission such as the publication of a new timetable for the conduct of primaries, the new election date and the list of qualified candidates for the December 3rd 2011 election, he fully participated in the new primaries and contested the election,." The court said.

Group backs Audu, says EFCC is desperate HE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been accused of deliberate attempt to scuttle due process in the prosecution of former governor of Kogi State, Prince Abubakar Audu in an alleged embezzlement charge. The group cited an alleged refusal of EFCC witnesses to appear in court to testify against Audu, said to have been a a victim of serial attacks and arraignments by the antigraft agency since 2006. The group, known as Prince Audu Support Group (PASU) said the unwarranted snapshot saga involving the former government and EFCC staff 10 days ago in an Abuja court room was a vindication of its

Dele ANOFI, Abuja assertion. It however expressed belief that Audu would be victorious from all the politically motivated attacks. The statement reads: "It was a dramatic irony that unfolded during last week’s re-opened hearing in the law suit instituted against Prince Abubakar Audu by the Nigerian antigraft agency, the EFCC when the so called principal prosecution witnesses declined appearance in the court to substantiate their interstellar supposed earlier submissions. "It will be recalled that Prince Audu a former Governor of Kogi state was alleged to have embezzled

over N10b of state funds and has since 2006 been a victim of serial attacks and arraignments by the EFCC. "The EFCC case against Audu is indeed a practical demonstration of forum-shopping for a guilty as charged verdict that must be had. "In the case believed to be set against the background of political motivation, prosecution has acted out its vested interest in a desperate back and forth forum-shopping, ridiculous production of witnesses and irresponsible provocation of the person of Prince Audu as typified in an EFCC operative attempt to take an unwarranted shot of the man during the court session.

Ortom, three other guber candidates debate OVERNORSHIP candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Benue State, Chief Dr Samuel Ortom today debated with three other candidates of different political parties at the Smile View, Hotel, in Makurdi. The others were Barrister Boniface Oheme of All Congress Party of Nigeria, ACPN, Dr Iyorwuese Ligom, Labor Party, and Rev Samuel Gar, Social Democratic Party, SDP. The event was organized by the Benue Coalition of Business and Professional Associations in conjunction with the Center for International Private Enterprises and Nigeria Elections Debate Group. It was held at the Smile View Hotel in Makurdi. A panel of four journalists asked the candidates questions on why each was contesting, how they would address internally generated revenue, multiple taxation, how to stem corruption, power generation, herdsmen and farmers' violence, addressing decay in the education sector and how to boost the low morale of civil servants. The candidates shared similar views on most of the issues stating for instance that they would address the power challenge by exploiting solar, wind, hydro and coal resources of the state by providing an enabling environment for private investors to invest in the sector. Chief Dr Ortom promised to anchor his administration on the fear of God which he said would promote core values including transparency, accountability, integrity, truthfulness, selflessness, justice, forgiveness, reconciliation, peace and unity which he said would make development inevitable. He said he would implement free and compulsory primary and secondary education which he would fund by generating revenue from the boost he would give to the private sector by providing it with an enabling environment for industrialization, small and medium scale enterprises as well as commercial and trading activities in addition to attracting investment into the state.on He said the initiatives would be targeted at generating massive jobs, wealth and opportunities.

Book on Jakande for launch AGOS will witness the gathering of Juggernauts at the launch of a new book written by the Founder of Healthcare Magazine Dr Bola Olaosebikan on Leadership, the book is is entitled JAKANDE: LEADESRHIP IS ACTION. The 200 page book is a comprehensive book which reveals many secrets for successful leadership, insights into the outstanding leadership qualities of Jakande as first civilian Governor of Lagos State. The book reveals strategies for starting and completing projects, education for all, and what really stopped Metroline project in Lagos State in 1983. The book also reveals many techniques for good governance, purposeful leadership, infrastructural development, and solutions to unemployment problems in Nigeria and celebrated why Lagos is always having good governors. The book also reveals authoritatively why and how Jakande followed his leader Chief Obafemi Awolowo to prison at the age of 33 and the benefits of loyalty. The book JAKANDE: LEADERSHIP IS ACTION is a rich source of reference for political actors in Nigeria, researchers, students and administrators from this Dr. Bola Olaosebikan, is the founder of the first health magazine in Nigeria and author of many books on development. The launching of this book comes up in Lagos on Tuesday 17th March 2015. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is expected as Chairman of the occasion, the Governor of Lagos State Mr Babatubde Raji Fashola is the Chief host. Mr Akinwunmi Ambode is the Guest Speaker and Reviewer of the book. The Governor of Rivers State Rt. Hon Rotimi Amaechi is the Chief Launcher. The Oba of Lagos Oba Rilwanu Akiolu is the Royal Father of the day. The launching of this book JAKANDE: LEADERSHIP IS ACTION on 17th of March 2015 in Lagos promises to be a major forum for great minds and leaders in Nigeria

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

Politics, elections and stability ET me start on the premise that politics when played by the rules and done legitimately facilitates good and fair elections which ultimately lead to political stability and a peaceful environment. It follows therefore that in talking about Nigeria’s 2015 elections and the state of tension and friction bothering on hysteria that we are in right now this premise does not hold water in our nation. Which means my assignment on this score today is to highlight events and issues that give cause for concern in our polity or indeed any nation, and constitute serious threat to an environment’s, collective existence, security and peace of mind. The first cause of concern was the challenge purportedly given by Femi Fani Kayode, the Goebbels of the ruling PDP to APC flagbearer retired General Muhammadu Buhari on his role in the July 29 1966 countercoup in which several Ibo military officers including former Head of state then General Aguiyi Ironsi and the former governor of the West Colonel Kunle Fajuyi were killed . The second was the advice given to the incumbent president by his host the Awujale of Ijebuland when he visited the Oba to canvass for his support. The third is the CNN interview of Prince Charles the Prince of Wales and his wife Camilla, the Duchess and my interpretation of that in terms of political stability of British democracy which is robust but is still tied to the apron string of the British monarchy. The PDP Director of Communications spoke in Umuahia the heart land of Igbo land and he was quoted as saying that the APC presidential candidate had his hand full with Ibo blood during the coup. So Fani Kayode’s speech was well timed in terms of context and location for maximum effect. His goal was to invoke painful memories of the coup against the North which Buhari represents and provoke the Ibos to vote against Buhari and the APC. This is an act of incitement with no respect for the history and stability of Nigeria . It shows clearly that the ruling party is ready to do anything to retain power. Since the PDP has not renounced the speech and published statement, it shows that the party has endorsed it and that is dangerous for the security and political stability of Nigeria. This is because coups, military interventions and countercoups and civil wars are not just ordinary politics and once over should not be politicized or made the contents of political campaigns as Fani Kayode has done so recklessly and brazenly in Umuahia. Such episodes in the life of a nation are like revolutions which Mao said was politics carried on by other means principally violence. It is crass ignorance on the part of the PDP Campaign spokesman not to know how to draw a line on what constitute a campaign issue. A coup such as the July 29 1966 coup is certainly not one and the PDP should rein in its Director of

Communications before he sets the nation ablaze again on issues that the costly civil war we fought have put behind us. As things stand we have enough on our plate with Boko Haram and the conduct of a free and fair 2015a election without the costly distraction of the recall of a bitter past by a desperate and overzealous politician with no sense of history and patriotism, who is just eager to get public attention, no matter how the way he does it affects the stability and peace of our political system and polity. The second issue was the advice given by the Awujale to President Goodluck Jonathan when he went to his palace to campaign. The Ijebu monarch told his visitor that it is not the duty of an Oba to tell his people who to vote for. This he said is the right thing not only in Ijebuland but in Yorubaland generally. The Oba said the duty of an Oba is to guide his people to make a choice so that they don’t vote in those he called looters. He said he has called in people from all walks of life in his domain to listen to the visitor and make a choice and the visitor then catalogued his achievements as usual. What the Awujale has done is to set the enabling

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The Ijebu monarch told his visitor that it is not the duty of an Oba to tell his people who to vote for... He has taught his august visitor and his powerful entourage the political virtues of fairness, choice, accountability and transparency just with a single campaign visit from the president of the nation on his busy campaign schedule

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environment for a jus political participation in a modern democracy even though he is a traditional ruler. He has induced the spirit of merit and impartiality in both his subjects and his visitor in one swoop. He has killed two birds with one stone in the process. He has fused innovation with tradition and turned it into modernity. He has taught his august visitor and his powerful entourage the political virtues of fairness, choice, accountability and transparency just with a single campaign visit from the president of the nation on his busy campaign schedule. The Awujale’s contribution and advice should strengthen our political system and our collective security. Other traditional rulers in this nation should emulate his sense of fairness and state building from the conduct of elections and social mobilization. The third and last issue may sound strange and far fetched but it is relevant and apposite in terms of our topic of today. I have seen the interview of Prince Charles and his wife Camilla on CNN this week and I just could not resist hazarding a guess as to why the sudden publicity for this virtually forgotten royal couple especially as the Jubilee Celebrations and Royal wedding have fuelled rumours that the couple or Charles in particular will not ascend the British throne because they were tainted with divorce. I personally have never agreed with such thinking and look forward to seeing the day the present Prince of Wales will succeed his mother as King of England and Camilla as his Queen according to the British Constitution. This is because of my colonial experience as a youth impressed by the royal family early in life. Indeed it is what is commonly called Colonial mentality which I really am not bothered about. But I am impressed with the way the wily British are preparing the public mind for an abdication by the Queen paving the way for his ageing son to succeed her. It is the fashion nowadays as recently done by the monarchs in Spain and Sweden recently. Again, I must end with my favorite quotation on British political stability when ever I discuss the British political system. It is that – ‘With the Queen in Buckingham Palace every Briton sleeps well in his bed. ‘With the Charles and Camilla interview shown globally this week you must prepare to substitute King for Queen in that quotation very soon as I believe that was the purpose of all that brouhaha on Charles and Camilla on CNN this week.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

COMMENTARY

Innocence harassed PPARENTLY, the fact that you may be a law abiding citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, does not excuse you from being abruptly and randomly stopped whilst driving on the road by the gentlemen and women of the Federal Road Safety Corps. Even with your authentic up to date vehicle documentation, fire extinguisher and original driver’s license; you may be found guilty as charged by some the unforgiving Officers of the government agency. The Officers are certainly there for our own protection; but in recent times; many of us law abiding citizens have felt increasingly persecuted, wronged and subjected to unnecessary harassment from these .men and women in burgundy and fawn. The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) was founded in 1988 and is responsible for general road safety administration in the Federal Capital Territory and all of the thirty- six States of Nigeria. Their major functions are ensuring the safety of motorists and other road users on highways, recommending improved infrastructure in order to minimize accidents and mishaps and sensitizing motorists and the general public on the significance of obeying traffic laws on roads and highways. Prior to the emergence of FRSC, there was no significant government body that oversaw traffic rules and regulation were abided by. Between 1960- 1965; Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), made big strides towards a road safety program. The Nigerian Army trained its officers efficiently on road safety in the early 1970’s and these formed a foundation to the inception of rules and regulations that were to follow years later. An annual Road Safety Week was established by the Nigerian Army in 1972. The military junta of 1974 released a policy on road safety called the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC); sadly this organization was not sustained. Then in 1977, Oyo State took the lead by establishing the Oyo State Road Safety Corps as by then the number of fatal road accidents in Nigeria had risen to an alarming level. In those days especially it was hard to meet someone that had not been directly affected by tragedy that had befallen a loved one on our dangerous roads. The Oyo State Road Safety Corps was disbanded by the federal government in 1983. The accidents in Nigeria at that time were at an all-time high and according statistics Nigeria was placed as the second highest prone road traffic accident (RTA) in the world, only slightly better than Ethiopia. In 1988, the World Health Organization ranked Nigeria one of the countries with the highest road fatalities in the world as well. Finally, the federal government had to address the growing senseless carnage on Nigerian roads, especially the highways; hence the inception of the FRSC. Road crashes are the second leading cause of death between the ages of 5 to 44 in African countries; most probably due to poor roads and blatant disregard for rules and regulations on the road. For the most part, the functions of the FRSC are credible and legitimate for the safety of the motorists. Their presence on our roads were aimed at sanitizing what would otherwise have been a lawless and pathetic state of affairs. One of the most commendable achievements of the FRSC is that majority of Nigerian drivers now use their seatbelts and this has significantly reduced fatalities on the road. Infact prior to 1988; it was common for (especially) commercial drivers to cut out the seatbelts from their vehicles (because of the strong course nature of the belt) to tie luggage and load to the roofs of their cars. This practice has now totally desisted and it’s a strange sight to

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The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria should be first and foremost the document by which all Nigerians are bound. So going by that premise, the Nigerian citizen also cannot have his human rights violated. Blatant disruptive behavior by an officer towards a motorist infringes on these rights; no Nigerian should be unduly disrespected victimized

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see a motorist not securely fastened to his/her seatbelt. The most significant aspect of character when associating with the public is approach in terms of professional decorum. The Officers of the FRSC should focus their exuberant energy towards maintaining a professional rapport with motorists while discharging their job schedule. A reasonable tone should be adopted while interacting with the public. The fact that one is flagged down in the first place is disconcerting especially because many checks are done randomly; so one is made to feel like a victim of very bad luck even before any exchange has taken place. The FRSC should empathize with a flustered motorist before proceeding to throw the book at whoever happens to be the unfortunate victim of circumstance. Many a time, inappropriate exchanges have taken place between Officers and motorists. These days the new trend in road harassment seems to be the forgery of producing “fraudulent driver’s license”. Who issues the license in the first place? Many bewildered and innocent motorists have been charged with this grossly unfair offense. One applies for a driver’s license by filling a form that they collected from the FRSC or VOA and attaching a passport photograph, then submitting it to the FRSC office and awaiting to be contacted for biometrics and capturing. He/she is then given a temporary driver’s license valid for

two (2) months before being contacted to correct the final license. It is whilst collecting the final license that many unsuspecting victims are given the “fake one”. Instead of using the image captured in the system; an invisible force, it seems, within the FRSC miraculously produces an “original driver’s license” for the motorist with the attached passport picture on the application form. The legal implication of punishing and brandishing a victim of a fake driver’s license with “forgery” is a practice that has to desist. This is more so given the fact that FRSC isn’t a court and cannot come to the conclusion that a person has committed ‘forgery’ and entering it into their database. Forgery is a criminal offence and the negative consequence of labeling a person as such could be detrimental and farreaching. Instead of punishing and charging the said “perpetrator”, why not enlighten motorists on recognizing fake licenses on the spot so that even at the point of collection one can protest and ensure they are given an authentic one. Honestly, the tiresome process of even being captured and getting a license is painstakingly tiresome and many Nigerians can ill afford the endless waiting and tolerance of a computerized system of data capturing that is anything but efficient. If an on-the-spot awareness scheme is not adequate enough to correct the fake license anomaly that has currently flooded our roads and highway users, a national awareness campaign on T.V, radio, print and social media should be launched by FRSC, informing the unsuspecting public of the fake license; urging everyone in the possession of a drivers license to go into an FRSC office to verify its authenticity and process a new license, should it be necessary. It would be so refreshing if FRSC Officers would maintain and uphold that example of professional decorum while approaching motorists in a friendly, obedient and respectful manner. They should endeavor to take the time to explain, educate and enlighten drivers on the perils of not following our traffic laws. The practice of judging motorists as offenders on sight and exercising the power of being judge and jury and doling out a harsh sentence before one is given fair hearing is compounding to the problem of road mishaps. In the federal capital, many a commercial vehicle is seen in driving stunts either quickly reversing or performing a hair raising 360 degree turn trying to avoid the FRSC officers; hence putting other motorists and pedestrians on the road at grave danger. The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria should be first and foremost the document by which all Nigerians are bound. So going by that premise, the Nigerian citizen also cannot have his human rights violated. Blatant disruptive behavior by an officer towards a motorist infringes on these rights; no Nigerian should be unduly disrespected or victimized. Once these basic rights are not infringed upon; the FRSC officer can execute his duty without acrimony or bias. Until that happens unfortunately many innocent motorists would have fallen victims of an unjust system and classified as innocence harassed. FRSC is supposed to be one of the most professional and wellmanaged Parastatals in Nigeria. But on this issue of ‘fake licenses issued to unsuspecting drivers by FRSC… Law abiding driver stopped, harassed and labeled a forgery criminal by the same FRSC which issued the drivers license in the first place.., The Federal Road Safety Corps has got to do better!

Buhari and the First Lady syndrome have read with bated breath the outrage that greeted General Muhammadu Buhari, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate’s remark that he would scrap the position of the First Lady if he wins the forthcoming presidential election. It is worrisome to read the sentimental and deplorable arguments marshaled by some so called rights groups in support of the office of the First Lady which has remained a conduit pipe for draining the resources of the country. It was shocking to read a statement credited to one Mrs. Nkechi Mba, the National President of the National Council of Women Societies (NCWS), in which she condemned Gen Buhari’s statement. Without any statistical proof, she said that Nigerian women are not happy about Buhari’s planto scrap the office of the First Lady. because since inception of the President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, many women have been empowered, and the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan has been advocating for more women in both elective and appointive positions. Another Canada-based gender rights activist, Chioma Ikejiani, leading a protest, called on Nigerian women to rise against former the military Head of State, arguing that if he succeeds, the action would put an end to the development of women through his resolve to make the Office of the First Lady extinct. Riding on their lame argument, the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, who has been feasting on the controversial office emphasized the importance of the office of the First Lady in the Nigerian politics, saying that the office has been an avenue for mobilizing women for mass participation in politics. What a myopic and jejune argument in support of naked illegality. The office, in the first place is unconstitutional. Despite of the fact that there is no constitutional backing for the office of the First Lady, huge financial resources of the state are usually deployed to service it with impunity. The allocation is often not within the annual budget and is never accounted for. Do we really need the office of a First Lady to mobilize and empower women in the country? The answer to this is simply no. Since 1957, when Nigerian delegates sat to deliberate at the 1957 Constitutional Conference, there has always been the presence of women. Although Nigerian politics have been dominated by men, women have somehow found their ways to holding public offices. The concept of having a First Lady in Nigeria could be rightly traced to the period of Flora Lugard, the wife of , the first colonial GovernorGeneral of Nigeria, Lord Frederick Lugard . It is to her credit that the country got her name, Nigeria. With the present structure of 36 states, the Federal Capital Territory and 774 local government areas, Nigeria is believed to have over 800 women who enjoy this position of eminence as 'first among equals'. At Nigeria's independence, Mrs. Flora Azikiwe became the country’s First Lady and she frequently attended state functions with her husband. After her were a few other First Ladies like Victoria Aguyi-Ironsi and Victoria Gowon that were prominent despite the relative short time they spent in ‘office’ (State house). They merely played ceremo-

Sam EDEYE nial role of hosting dignitaries from within and outside the country dinners and chatting with their wives while the husbands hold formal meetings. The office of the First Lady took a new dimension during the era of Gen Ibrahim Babangida when the late wife, Maryam started her pet project called Better Life for Rural women. After Maryam Babangida came Mrs. Mariam Abacha. She also launched her pet project known as the Family Support Programme and an offshoot known as Family Economic Advancement Programme. In 1999 when Abubakar assumed office after the demise of Gen. Abacha, his wife Hon. Justice Fati Abubakar established a NonGovernmental Organisation known as Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative. The trend continued when democracy returned in 1999. Stella Obasanjo the First Lady of Nigeria’s former President Olusegun Obasanjo also set up her own project known as Child Care Trust. By the time former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua assumed power in 2007, his wife, Turai, also toed the line of previous First Ladies by setting up the Women and Youth Empowerment Foundation. Mrs. Patience Jonathan inaugurated the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme Maternal and Child Health otherwise known as MAMA Project with a declaration that she should no longer be called Patience but ‘Mama Peace’. Unlike others before her, she has continued to wield excessive powers and influence to the extent of being alleged of exercising some political powers by endorsing political candidates for election which usually do not allow for a level playing ground among contestants. This has resulted into some kind of crisis and interparty brouhaha. In fact the latest trend is for First Ladies to want to combine their unconstitutional role with elective offices or control the apparatus of

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The big question therefore is, when and who will interpret the constitution to our politicians that there is no constitutional role for the office of the First Lady. It is an aberration, a misuse of power and a waste of tax payers’ money. The earlier this is resolved the better for the country as it will save the country several millions of naira being allocated to the unconstitutional office

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political parties. A point in case, is that of the first lady of Kogi State Mrs. Farida Ijeoma Wada, the wife of the current governor of Kogi State who tried to use the position of her husband as a seating governor to grab a seat at the Federal House of Representative in Abia State where she hails from under the People Democratic Party. She tried everything within her power to grab the ticket of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to represent Ikwuano Umuahia Federal Consitutency at the House Representatives. Even when it was obvious that she could not win the primary election as she was not popular. She refused to step down like some other contestants and she was floored at the polls. Recently, some Nigerian women under the aegis of Women Arise marched in protest against a proposed wasteful allocation of N4billion to building a ‘Mission House’ for Mrs. Patience Faka Jonathan. Apart from their argument that the proposed N4billion would create numerous jobs for women and youths, the women offered that only one-tenth of the proposed N4billion for building ‘Mission House’ for Mrs. Jonathan could restore the abandoned Women Development Center (WDC) for Mrs. Jonathan to use as "Mission House" in the interest of all women and in place of an extravagant building to be constructed as a personal building. To show the sufferings of the majority Nigerian women in the country where only one woman amasses wealth for herself, widow of late Dr. Beko Kuti, Mrs. Abosede Ransome Kuti showed to Governor Fashola, some boxes of matches, a sachet of ‘pure water’ and a piece of onion which she said she bought from women she encountered on her way at Oshodi. The big question therefore is, when and who will interpret the constitution to our politicians that there is no constitutional role for the office of the First Lady . It is an aberration, a misuse of power and a waste of tax payers’ money. The earlier this is resolved the better for the country as it will save the country several millions of naira being allocated to the unconstitutional office. If this is done, the resources can be redirected to more useful ventures that will benefit the citizenry and also help to make politics less attractive to politicians. It is in this light that the critics of Buhari’s statement should re-direct their thinking and not in the shallow and deceptive belief that the office of the First Lady helps to mobilize and empower women. If the Ministry of Women Affairs is allowed to do its job very well, the would be no need to create an unconstitutional office of a First Lady which benefits just a few at the detriment of the majority. Instead of the flamboyant First Ladies that they country has been having all these years, Buhari has said that his wife will act as one who provides moral support for the government as a mother to all Nigerians without necessarily wearing the garb as a first lady or live a flamboyant lifestyle that first ladies are known for in Nigeria. It remains to be seen whether Buhari’s pledge to scrap the office would achieve positive strides for the womenfolk if he is elected as president in the coming election. • Edeye, a public commentator and analyst writes from Lagos.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

COMMENTARY

Evenings with ‘Sango’ and ‘Oya’ I co-host, pro bono, two weekly programmes, on one of Nigeria’s brightest and fast-rising new independent radio stations, Space 90.1 FM, located in Ibadan, Oyo State and founded by a veteran broadcaster-turned entrepreneur, Otunba ’Deji Osibogun, with some of his friends. I derive great pleasure in the duty, like the five other volunteer presenters like me, because I share Deji and his station’s ethos of professionalism, creativity, independence, commensurate pay and provision of adequate tools for staff in the broadcasting profession. Little wonder, listeners have dubbed Space FM, the “people’s secretariat” and give the station a 98% listeners participation. The two programmes that I co-present on are, ‘Je Nwi Temi’, a Yoruba language newspapers review on Thursdays from 9.00am to 11.00am and ‘Down Memory Lane’, on Fridays from 4pm – 6pm. The programme features achievers in all areas of human endeavours who must be above 70 years and of impeccable character. Our past guests included Mrs. Anike Agbaje – Williams, the first woman to appear on television in Africa and widow of a late Chief Judge of the old Oyo State (that is present Oyo and Osun States) Honourable Justice Agbaje- Williams; a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Emeritus Professor Ayo Banjo; Juju music (Apola system) maestro-turned, preacher, Evangelist Idowu Animasawun; veteran photographer, Pa. David Ositelu, popularly known and called ‘Born Photo’, whose studio is located at my axis of ascendancy in IbadanIsale ’Jebu – Isale Osi, Oritamerin –Oja’Ba and veteran footballer/coach Niyi Akande, former captain of Shooting Stars FC of Ibadan, star player in the national soccer team, the former Green Eagles (now Super Eagles) and the first coach of Nigeria’s female soccer team, the Falcons. Last Sunday was the International Women’s Day and Space FM did justice to the United Nation’s mandate that female achievers in the world be celebrated, by hosting a veteran actress singer-dancer, Mrs. Abiodun Duro-Ladipo, popularly called “Oya”, widow of a great Nigerian playwright, actor and musicologist of world fame, Duro Ladipo, M.O.N who died on 11th March, 1978, aged 45 years. The late Duro Ladipo belonged to the talented group of pioneers/doyens of Nigerian theatre such as, Hubert Ogunde, ’Wole Soyinka, Segun Olusola, Sam Akpabot, Sonny Oti, Kola Ogunmola and Akin Euba. The interview session with “Oya" was nostalgic and a throw-back to Nigeria’s pre and post –independence eras of deep, rich and wellresearched stage dramas, musical and cultural fiestas in which our talented guest was a star participant. Listeners, especially those who made telephone call-ins appreciated her era and the great epics she and her husband turned out like “Oba Koso”, “Oba Moro”, “Sango”, “Aare Akogun”, “Moremi” etc which won international awards on stages/theatres in Germany, United Kingdom, Brazil, France, Austria etc. In coining the title of this piece, I decided to marry (mark this word please) “Oyas” appearance on Space FM last Sunday with the evening of tributes to “Sango”, her late husband, Duro Ladipo, on 11th March, 2002, which I attended, at their Bode Wasinmi, Basorun, Ibadan home, I reviewed that evening programme in my article, published in major national dailies, titled “An Evening With “Sango”. (please see the Guardian on Sunday issue of March 24, 2002) By the way, Duro Ladipo died 37 years ago. Memorial prayers were held for him on Wednesday 11th March this year. We have since that 2002 evening of tributes established the Duro Ladipo Foundation, with ‘Oya’ as the president and my humbleself, her deputy. In celebrating the 30th anniversary of the passage, (I almost wrote ascension since the original Alaafin Sango is believed to have ascended into heaven) of Duro Ladipo in 2008, we published his biography co-authored by ‘Oya’ and two of Nigeria’s star authors, academicians, poets and playwrights based at the University of Ibadan, Professor Remi Raji-Oyelade, president of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) and Professor Dapo Olorunyomi, and staged ‘Oba Koso’ in Oyo and Osun States. Our intention to put three of Duro Ladipo’s epic plays on celluloid is

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“The Creative Man” where Sango threatened to hang himself, the generator spluttered to a stop!. All efforts to restart it failed thereby making it impossible for the audience, to see whether Sango carried out his threat to hang himself or not. Someone in the audience described the generator failure as a confirmation of the long-held belief that Alaafin Sango did not commit suicide, but ascended to heaven (Oba ko so) Oloye ’Lekan ALABI

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stalled by lack of funds/sponsorship. I pray this piece gingers philanthropists and endowed theatre lovers to rise up and lend their hands. The ‘marriage’ I talked about earlier in this piece between Duro Ladipo (Sango) and his widow, Abiodun (Oya) is hereby ‘consummated’ with the recall of my 2002 tribute to ‘Sango’ .Please savour it. “True to predictions and expectations, it not only rained, but thundered as well that Monday this March (11th to be precise) when relations, admirers, media and theatre arts practitioners gathered at Bode Wasinmi, Ibadan to celebrate the 24th anniversary of the passage of Duro Ladipo, MON, the world-renowned actor, playwright and folkore exponent, who, in character and acts, proved that he was no fluke reincarnation of Sango, the Yoruba god of thunder, who was an Alaafin (king) in the old Oyo Empire “Sango, was a very powerful king. He had an equally strong wife called Oya. She was a loyal ally of her husband. In the heat of a revolt by his subjects due largely to Sango-induced duels between two of his generals, Timi and Gbonnka, Sango abdicated to his mother’s town in Nupeland from where he “ascended” to heaven. He became a diety and is worshipped as the god of thunder till today in Yorubaland, Brazil, Cuba, USA, and parts of Africa. “The Monday March 11th rain and thunderstorms were repeats of the March 11, 1978 scenario when an unusually heavy rain with equally heavy thunderstorms heralded the transition of Duro Ladipo, at 45, confirming Sango’s welcome of his ‘alter ego` to heaven and before the Owner of heaven and earth, Olodumare(God). There were three `takes` of rains on the evening of tributes, which failed to deter one’s resolve to attend the ceremony, moreso as the matriarch of the Duro Ladipo dynasty, Madam Abiodun, alias ‘Oya’, had personally delivered the kind invitation and had admonished that the evening was going to be the forerunner to the silver jubilee celebration of her late husband ascendancy to heaven, come March 11, 2003. Arriving at Duro Ladipo’s Bode Wasinmi expansive, but modest home , the name which the well-populated area of Basorun area in Ibadan now proudly shares, one transited into the pure, cool, natural village atmosphere. What with theatre and broadcast media greats like Alagba Adebayo Faleti (Baruwa to Duro Ladipo, his chum) “Baba Sala”, alias Moses Olaiya (wait a minute!) Tunbosun Oladapo (Odidere Ayekooto) Dr Larinde Akinleye, Moses Omilani, Olowomojuore, Ayobami Olabiyi among others, in attendance. On hand to welcome guests, like a good hostess which she has always been, was ‘Oya’. She seems to grow more radiant in beauty, sonorous in voice and glossy in skin as seasons fall on themselves. Her constant pleas to her guests to please pardon Bode Wasinmi’s simplicity were drowned by our choruses of “we are not here to lap up gaudiness or stinking riches but rather to pay homage to a true star actor and reformist”. I noticed that ‘Oya’ eventually relaxed when the genuiness of our feelings and expressions as sincere friends and admirers of her late husband sank home. That’s the beauty of life with ordinary folks and natural people. No pretentions, no fusses.

“Perhaps, because of the rain and thunderstorms that evening , public power supply was cut off. As such, we had to watch a 1966 documentary on Duro Ladipo with power supply from a fairly-used portable generator whose havoc (actually a blessing in disguise), I shall recall in a short while in this piece “The evening of tributes, organized by the elders of the Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (ANTAP) was the first public appreciation of Duro Ladipo’s immense contributions to theatre arts in Nigeria by fellow artists , according to ‘Oya’. From Alagba Adebayo Faleti, Chairman, Oyo State Council of Arts & Culture to “Baba Sala” and Olufemi Dada, alias “Benja-Benja”, it was eulogies, songs, ewi (poems) and reminiscences galore in honour of the late son of a catechist who not only revolutionized church music with the introduction of native drums, but opened a fresh chapter in yuletide celebrations in Nigeria with the production of Christmas cantata at the Nigerian Museum, Onikan, Lagos in 1963, for which he was presented a trophy by Nigeria’s first president, the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe. Duro Ladipo then went on full-time play writing and stage production in collaboration with a German and former lecturer at the University of Ibadan, Prof Ulli Beier, who converted Duro Ladipo’s ‘Popular Bar’ in Osogbo to the famous Mbari Club. The genius in Duro Ladipo blossomed in no time resulting in his production of classical operas and plays such as “Oba Moro”, “Oba Koso”, “Ajagun Nla”; “Eda” etc “In the documentary titled, “The Creative Man” by the American Educational Television”, Duro Ladipo talks about his life as a youth who took early interest in drama while at school in Otan Ayegbaju in present day Osun State. From there, he graduated to producing school plays when he became a pupil teacher. “I introduced native drums to church music in order to change the monotomy. I shocked everybody”, he explains in the film. According to Duro Ladipo, his traveling theatre group in the 1960’s made do with gas lamps and hurricane lanterns for stage effects. With vigorous rehearsals, attention to details, researches, guts and sheer luck, he broke through the amateur ranks and emerged the notable dramatist whose group, the Duro Ladipo National Theatre, would win the first prize at the Berlin Arts Festival, in Germany in 1964 and at the first-ever Commonwealth Arts Festival in London UK the following year with his epic play, “Oba koso”, With this play and “Oluweri”, Duro and his group stamped their authority across the globe with capacity- filled presentations in France, Switzerland, Yugoslavia, Italy, Iran, USA, Brazil, Belgium, Austria and Holland. To his credit, Duro Ladipo wrote and produced 36 plays, published 10plays, produced 9 gramophone records, received two national and three international awards and acted in four films. “When earlier in this article, I referred to the blessing in disguise by the generator at the evening of tributes, what I meant was that on getting to the scene in the film, “The Creative Man” where Sango threatened to hang himself, the generator spluttered to a stop!. All efforts to restart it failed thereby making it impossible for the audience, to see whether Sango carried out his threat to hang himself or not. Someone in the audience described the generator failure as a confirmation of the long-held belief that Alaafin Sango did not commit suicide, but ascended to heaven (Oba ko so). “Describing the evening as a prelude to the silver jubilee of her husband’s passage come March 11, 2003, Mrs. Abiodun Duro-Ladipo thanked the audience for its kind response to her invitation. She praised the organizers for their thoughtfulness and prayed for the chairman of the occasion (guess who). Between now and March, 2003, the onus is on all lovers of arts and admirers of ‘Sango’ (Duro Ladipo) to gird our loins and actualize the dreams of ‘Oya’ to make the silver jubilee celebration a thunderous show”. As I stated in the earlier part of this piece, we have since established the Duro Ladipo Foundation, but government / corporate / individual support in all good forms will make us realize our noble dream of reviving Duro Ladipo’s epic plays records and books. • Lekan Alabi is the Aare Alaasa Olubadan of Ibadanland

That 20 per cent subscription hike by MultiChoice MOTIONS, very strong ones at that, has dominated public reaction to the 20 per cent hike in subscription rates of various bouquets announced by MultiChoice, the country's leading pay-TV provider. To say I was surprised by the public reaction to the announcement, made on 1 March and scheduled to take effect on 1 April, is to betray an Olympic standard lack of awareness of how people react to hikes in prices of goods and services they consider essential to how well they live. It is a fact that emotions are part of the human make-up and we should expect expressions of such. However, it is also a fact that emotion and reason have a history of estrangement. It is precisely because of the less than cordial relationship between emotion and reason that the reaction to the hike has been marked by affronted disbelief and the type of anger usually expressed towards those who have violated children. That anger has birthed what has been dressed up as an ideological movement to free Nigerians from the shackles of exploitation. A widely circulated Blackberry Messenger broadcast, heavy on demagogue vocabulary, calls for a boycott of MultiChoice's DStv and GOtv services from 1 April. "Enough is enough," it says in rousing activist language, before demanding a pay-as-you-watch regime as well as lower subscription tariffs as MultiChoice offers in South Africa. The broadcast message also claims that MultiChoice subscribers in Nigeria number two million, a figure for which it cites no evidence or source. On social media platforms and internet discussion forums, the reaction has not been different, with the same set of claims being recited like a religious mantra. In simple terms, a faith position has been taken. Faith, especially the variety accompanied by zealotry, and logic are not a mutual admiration society. But has MultiChoice really singled out Nigeria for exploitation, as being claimed? Is prevalent tidal wave of public anger the appropriate reaction to an organisation that has given much to Nigeria in the shape of technology, entertainment, information, employment and in other fields? I prefer to take a step back and reflect. Before presenting the outcome of my reflection, I need to say that I am in the category of those who want rock-bottom subscription rates. Left to me and me alone, I would pay nothing for the top class content that MultiChoice brings to my living room.

Funmi MOROHUNFOLU That said, I will now make a few submissions in the hope that a little more understanding will be achieved. First, it is untrue that Nigeria is the only country where subscription rates have been increased. It is done in South Africa yearly and the country happened to be the first the new rates were announced. The new rates have since been announced in other countries. That is that. The claim that MultiChoice has two million subscribers is unsubstantiated. I do not have their subscriber figures, but I do think what can be asserted without evidence could and should be dismissed, as speculation, without evidence. Pay-as-you-watch? That does not exist anywhere in the pay-TV world. Not in South Africa, as claimed by the author of the Blackberry Messenger broadcast; not in Ghana, UK, US or Papua New Guinea. What is available is pay-per-view, PPV, which is considerably more expensive because it demands that you pay for the broadcast of one-off events, notably sports or entertainment, in addition to paying for regular pay-TV service. Do Nigerians pay more for MultiChoice services than other African countries? No. Currently Zimbabweans paid the equivalent of $72, Zambians $81, Tanzanians $81.18, Kenyans $82, Mozambicans, $81 and Ghanaians $78.5 for the premium bouquet. Nigerians pay $72.46. Is there a monopoly, represented by MultiChoice, as claimed? Again, no. There is StarSat, which recently won the rights to broadcast games from the German Bundesliga. We also have Consat, ACTV, MyTV, Montage TV and many others. Many others have come and gone, including HiTV, whose bid for pre-eminence floundered on account of inability to renew the rights it won to broadcast premium sporting content. That DStv got to the party first is not in

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It is untrue that Nigeria is the only country where subscription rates have been increased. It is done in South Africa yearly and the country happened to be the first the new rates were announced

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doubt. That it tied up the most appealing content is similarly not in doubt. That is business, not crime. Therefore, calling on government to institute some price control measures in pay-TV, to me, is bizarre, given that this is democratic country that runs a free market economy. As yet, I haven't seen an agitation that the prices of toothpaste, beer, bread, suya, hotel rooms, mattresses, furniture and phones be reviewed downwards. There has been no campaign to get government to legislate the what carpenters, doctors, lawyers, engineers and other professionals charge for their services. The costs of these services are determined by prevailing situations in the market. Why should the government fix prices for MultiChoice which, until recently, has charged the same rates for two years despite the volatility of the national currency and the country's inclement business climate? MultiChoice, to my mind, is responding to the prevailing market situation. It sure rankles when prices of goods and services rise, but that should not make those who have not walked in the shoes of providers of such goods and services demand that they be crippled. The gap is the value of the naira to the dollar has developed into a chasm. MultiChoice, like other businesses, have no immunity against this development. What that implies is that it has to pay a lot more to retain its rights to the content it broadcasts. Television content, especially in the premium category, is notoriously expensive. Traditional advertising revenue is incapable of covering the cost of acquisition let alone leaving room for profit. A major driver of the pay-TV model is sporting content which, as we know, does not come cheap. For example, the broadcast deal for the Barclays Premier League, signed a few months ago, showed a 70 per cent jump in cost. If MultiChoice still wants to keep broadcasting that content when the deal kicks in next year, it must fork out more money. Sky Sports, which took a lion's share of the deal by paying over 4billion pounds, did not pay that amount to sell to vendors at loss. Sky has also hinted that its subscribers will have to pay more to keep watching and subscribers, understandably disappointed, have not called on the British Parliament to put a handbrake on Sky's plan to hike subscription. Television economics is a subject or reason, not emotion. •Morohunfolu, a financial analyst, lives in Port Harcourt.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

NEWS

Ambode intensifies campaign, visits more Lagos councils ELENTLESS and tenacious best describe the campaign strategy of the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, as he intensified his campaign rallies, town hall meetings and road shows across different areas of Lagos State during the week. Characteristic of his campaigns, tumultuous crowd, enthusiastic reception and a genuine interest to identify with the man who has come to embody the concept of continuity in the governance of Lagos State were evident throughout the week. Picking from the one million-man march of last Saturday in which he joined the National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the vice-presidential candidate of the party, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, among other party stalwarts on the walk from Maryland to the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surrulere, Ambode resumed his campaign to be governor with a town hall meeting and a rally at Festac Town on Monday. It was an exceptionally great day for the former AccountantGeneral to be so accepted among the Igbo and other different ethnic groups in the Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area. Not only was the Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha present at both the town hall meeting and rally to lend his support to Ambode’s candidacy, he was also being prophetic when he formally welcomed the candidate into the fold of the APC Governors’ Forum. “I am only announcing now what will become a reality in a matter of few months,” says Okorocha, adding that Ambode is the choice of the Igbo in Lagos State because “he will protect their interest once he becomes governor.” Tuesday was dedicated to Eti Osa with a grand rally that had Governor Babatunde Fashola SAN in attendance as well as the deputy governor, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, and the former deputy governor of the state, Mr. Femi Pedro, while Wednesday was at Obalende where a town hall meeting that addressed concerns of the residents were raised and thrashed before a grand roadshow that affirmed the popularity and acceptance of the APC candidate. Same template of mass appeal and focused presentation was adopted on Thursday when the campaign train moved to the Kosofe Local Government Area. The central message from the Epe-born candidate in the last three weeks that his campaign has regained momentum after the postponement of the election is clear and unequivocal: it is the need to use the next four years to consolidate on the remarkable progress being witnessed in Lagos State by retaining the state for APC in the governorship poll slated for Saturday, April 11. This week’s campaign had built on the talk-of-the-town rallies of last week which recorded a major success when the campaign train reached the Seme border/Badagry and Ibeju-Lekki respectively. Last week Wednesday’s roadshow, which mesmerized the whole stretch of the Mile 2–Badagry Expressway, was perhaps the first by any candidate to reach the border town of Seme. And what a spectacle it was! From the Topa Road and its environs, people —young, old and the physically-challenged—trooped out to welcome Ambode, who had worked for three years in the late 1990s at the Badagry

•A cross section of APC supporters during the campaign

Our REPORTER Local Government. Chants of “Sai Buhari, Sai Ambode” rent the air. And the APC standard-bearer did not disappoint them, promising that not only would his administration complete the multibillion naira Mile 2-Badagry Expressway and the light rail project, but will also ensure that the Badagry division, which is one of the five divisions that make up Lagos State, will be empowered to witness rapid development, especially in the areas of infrastructural development and job creation. “The future of tourism in Lagos State is here. This is also an important base for agro-economic development. Our administration will pay a lot of attention to these areas to ensure that the Badagry Local Government Area and every area around here experience a new layer in the type of development they are already witnessing,” Ambode told the crowd. And with people like Chief Sunny Ajose, a former Head of Service in the state, leading other party stalwarts to welcome and take Ambode’s train, which included his running mate, Dr. (Mrs) Oluranti Adebule, on a door-to-door campaign throughout the nooks and crannies of the local government area, it was not in doubt that this University of Lagos-trained accountant is the preferred candidate of the people. As if the Badagry/Seme border crowd was not enough, several thousands more welcomed the APC candidate the next day, Thursday, at Ibeju-Lekki where he had yet another opportunity to urge the people of Lagos State to allow the “progressive governance that the APC is known for” to continue in Lagos. For Ambode, who had a 27-year meritorious career as a civil servant in Lagos State before venturing into the private sector as an entrepreneur and public finance consultant, the reason why continuity is sought for the ruling party in Lagos State and change at the federal level is simple: “while the whole world acknowledges the giant strides of the last 16 years in Lagos, due to the people-oriented programmes and creating management of resources, which are succeeding in making Lagos a true mega city-state, the international community, like most Nigerians at home and abroad, are unanimous in rejecting the current maladministration that is going on in Abuja.” To this Fulbright scholar, therefore, while Lagos is working and deserves continuity, the government at the centre needs the type of change that a BuhariOsinbajo ticket promises in order to redirect the affairs of the nation that is rapidly falling apart. According to Ambode, with the freefall that the Nigerian economy is witnessing, Nigeria would be said to have failed, if it were a company. Lagos State, he stated, could not afford to let a candidate of the party that has failed Nigerians at the centre inflict the state with the same type of incompetence and inexperience. His good news for the people of Ibeju-Lekki was that his administration will provide a new airport and seaport in Epe in order to bring development and prosperity to more people in the state. Earlier that week, it was Surulere that had first welcomed this consummate technocrat and grassroot mobiliser, first with a

town hall meeting at Aguda, where Ambode reiterated his promise to establish an Office of Civic Engagement when elected. Born out of the conviction that artisans and people in the lower middle class constitute the majority in the state, the office, he explained, would serve as an effective liaison between the governor’s office and the people. He added that just the way indigent students are rewarded with scholarships when they display excellence, skilful artisans should also be able to benefit from the state government in the area of honing their skills, either at home or abroad, in addition to having access to the proposed N25bn Employment Trust Fund. The previous week had seen Ambode’s campaign train stopping at Ajeromi-Ifelodun, Apapa, Ifako-Ijaye and Epe. Each town-hall meeting entertained more than 20 questions because Ambode believes that it is the people’s needs that will shape his programmes and policies, when elected, hence the need to give as many people as possible the opportunity to air their views. And at the local government areas and towns visited, there were royal blessings in abundance for the Ambode-Adebule team that has demonstrated its firm belief in consultations and government of inclusion. Rather than slow down, Ambode’s campaign has regained momentum, totally refusing to lose steam, in spite of the sixweek postponement of the general elections from the original February 14 and 28 to March 28 and April 11 for the presidential and gubernatorial elections. “It is about the message and the method,” says Steve Ayorinde, the Director of Media and Communications for the Ambode Campaign Organisation. According to him, 24 hours is sometimes not enough to further push out the message of continuity and Ambode’s though-out plans that aim at empowering the 20 million citizens of the state in the next four years. The busy campaign schedule, he says, simply confirms the strength and popularity of the APC and the candidate and the team’s position not to take anything for granted. The renewed campaign, he explains, is an everyday affair that is broken down into mega rallies, town hall meetings, roadshows and door-to-door campaigns and strategic consultations. “Mr. Ambode is on a familiar ground. He was the only aspirant that toured every local government area in the run-up to the primary election last year. And his promise then was that he would knock on every door and campaign on every street. This is why the party’s rallies took him round all the five divisions and local government areas before the elections were postponed. “We are already one month into the six-weeks of the election postponement and the whole state has seen that Mr. Ambode wasted no time in hitting the road again, getting acquainted with the people all over and the massive turnout and acceptance confirm the obvious that this is the man of the people who is destined to serve,” Ayorinde said. He added that the rallies and town hall meetings, which will run till April 9, perfectly complement the world-class communications campaign by the APC candidate that is widely acknowledged as arguably the most impactful in this electioneering process.

A word on tactics • Continued from back page Those who have attended the course should also internalise what they learnt by organising seminars at home for those in the domestic league. The literature distributed during the course can serve as the curricula for the domestic coaches and administrators who need to be routinely refreshed with what operates in other climes. The commendable aspect of these training courses by the NFF is that they were outsourced by the federation, showing clearly that the corporate world are prepared to develop the game only, if the NFF can bring such noble aspects of the game to their notice. Coaches Samsson Siasia and Garba Manu have raised hopes about the future of the beautiful game, with the resounding victories recorded by the Dream Team VI and the Flying Eagles. We are encouraged by the fact that the NFF scrutinised the squad members to fish out age cheats. It simply means that we have a large pool of players from which we can pick the Super Eagles squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Siasia and Manu have not held the NFF hostage with needless demands. Even the things that are the rights of the coaches have been played down for the bigger picture- getting Nigeria’s flag hoisted at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janerio, Brazil and the New Zealand 2015 U-20 World Cup. Our Super Eagles players cannot benchmark our future in Russia in 2014. Most of them are benchwarmers in their clubs. Others get

cameo appearances, which wouldn’t translate into strength for the Eagles because their fitness will be questionable. Nigeria has three years to use the crop of players at the U-20 and U-23 levels to decide the future of our game. With coaches Siasia and Manu, all that the NFF needs to do is to scout for a competent foreign manager for the Eagles in Russia. Many a Nigerian laughed at Sports Minister Tammy Danagogo’s order to the NFF to immediately recruit either Chelsea FC of London’s loquacious manager Jose Mourinho or Bayern Munich of Germany’s tactician Pep Guardiola for the Eagles, if the yet-to-be employed coach Stephen Keshi must go. Danagogo’s order showed where the problem in the NFF/ Keshi saga laid. The minister showed again that he isn’t adept in sports news or doesn’t read newspapers. Otherwise, he should have known that Mourinho and Guardiola are not national team coaches for any price in the world. Mourinho and Guardiola signpost the new generation of coaches in the world today, eager to make their mark and raise the standard of the game. They enjoy the pressure of weekly football matches with the clubs, not the bit by bit national team assignments. Even if the duo want to handle national teams, certainly not Nigeria, where ministers run the show to suit their whims and caprices. Mourinho and Guardiola are used to working with organised people. They don’t bother themselves with players’ entitlements. Nor do they have to wait until the minister has shown that

he is the NFF’s boss before their salaries are paid. Attack on Kano Pillars Kano Pillars’ robbery experience at Abaji in Kogi State isn’t news. That five players received treatment for gunshot injuries isn’t news. The visit of the Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso is remarkable and his decision to foot the bills of those in the hospital explains why he has pumped cash into the club to make it the team to beat in Nigeria. I have read the concerns from the clubs in Nigeria over the dark event. I was excited about the visit of eggheads of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to the players and the deputy governor. Sadly, the first visitor to these players has not shown up. Ordinarily, the club’s insurers ought to have visited the players and coaches to commiserate with them and lay bare their package since no death was recorded. One begins to wonder how club proprietors expect the players to take risks during matches when their future in the event of injuries, permanent disabilities and death (God forbid) hasn’t been insured. The League Management Committee (LMC) must tell us what they have done to insure the lives of the players, besides what the clubs have. Little wonder these players languish in their homes when the toll of their injuries gets to them at old age. What are these players, especially those with injuries entitled to? NFF, LMC, we need an answer to this question.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

My 13 days of in kidnappers’ den, by monarch

horror n Mike ODIEGWU, Yenagoa n

HIEF Collins Adikoko, a 70-year-old Deputy Paramount Ruler of Ikeinghenbiri, a coastal community in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, got a shock of his life on February 19. In fact, the aged royal father got the most dehumanising. experience of his life. On that fateful day, youths young enough to be Adikoko's grandsons stormed his residence at an ugly hour of 2am. The hoodlums forced their way into the monarch's bedroom and meted out cruelty to him without any modicum of respect. After 13 days of harrowing experience in the mangroves, Adikoko regained his freedom. But he is still traumatised. He still lives in trepidation.

In his characteristic cheerfulness, the community leader recalled how he was bundled out of his house by the bandits. The kidnappers neither respected his royalty nor his age. They mishandled hm despite his ill-health. "That day being Friday, I slept early because of the medicine I took because I am on medication. So around 2am, some people came into my bedroom and jumped on me to wake me", he said. He recalled that he was woken up in the cruelest manner by his assailants. While he was sleeping with his face facing the ground, he said one of the hoodlums, jumped on his back, held his shoulders and then forcefully raised his face. "I kept shouting, 'what is happening?' Another person with a long rifle came in and shut my door. They immediately picked one of my shirts and tied my

•Chief Adikoko

mouth with it. They also blindfolded me with the shirt. They warned me not to shout. They said if I shout, that they would finish me and kill me", he said. He said the kidnappers took him outside his house and then removed the blindfold. He said immediately they threw him into their boat, they blindfolded him again. "I wanted to walk into the boat myself

but they said I was wasting their time, two of them held me and threw me into the boat. Inside the boat, my eyes were opened but they later closed it with a piece of cloth", he said. He said they were eight in number at first when they took him to the corner of the creeks. The monarch said he followed

Continued on page 70

Policeman shoots undergraduate, three others over N200 bribe •Unidentified victim

of the incident

•Seun on his hospital bed

policeman attached to Ejigbo Police Station, Lagos State, yesterday allegedly shot four passengers travelling in a commercial bus over the refusal of the driver to give him N200 bribe. The incident, which happened at Iyana Ejigbo area of Ejigbo Local Council Development Area, caused pandemonium as people scampered to safety. It was gathered that the incident happened around 5.30 am after the driver of the bus gave the policeman N100 instead of the N200 he demanded from the driver. One of the victims is a final year student of Madonna University, Okija, Anambra State, Seun Awoyera, whose left leg was hit by bullets. An impeccable source, who spoke in confidence, recalled: “ Seun was to travel to Ibadan, Oyo State, to pick a computer system sent to him from overseas by one of his brothers. He had boarded a bus around 5 am at Cele-Egbe Bus Stop and the journey was smooth until they got to Iyana Ejigbo Bus Stop where a policeman attached to Ejigbo Police Station, identified simply as Samuel, flagged down the bus and demanded for

n Kunle AKINRINADE n N200. “The driver explained to the policeman that it was his first trip of the day and instead offered the errant policeman N100.The policeman then got angry and shot at the bus; four passengers, including Seun, were hit by bullets. “Seun was hit by bullets on his left leg, while another victim had his arm and thigh shattered by bullets. An unidentified lady, whose brother is a police officer attached to Ejigbo Police Station, is also one of the victims. We took Seun to Westcare Hospital, Iyana Ejigbo, from where he was transferred to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH Ikeja.” It was gathered that other victims are now lying critically ill at LASUTH, while policemen from the Ejigbo Police Division, had visited some of the victims in hospital.” Although, the spokesman of Lagos Police Command, Mr Kenneth Nwosu, was contacted by our correspondent, he was, however, yet to comment on the matter as at press time in spite several calls to his ‘phone.

NEWS

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

CRIME