November 22, 2014

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THE NATION

NEWS

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

ATTACK ON NASS

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fresh stand- off is brewing between the House of Representatives and the Police.

The House Committee on Police Affairs yesterday stopped Deputy Inspector general (DIG) S.L.Wakama from representing Inspector General Abba Suleiman at a hearing over Thursday’s invasion of the National Assembly by armed policemen.

The Committee members were angry at the IGP for his action which they saw as disrespectiful,coming so soon after Thursday’s attack during which Speaker Aminu Tambuwal was prevented from gaining access to the Chamber and was tear gassed along with other Reps by policemen.

The Police claimed they acted on intelligence that some people planned to unleash thugs on the NASS. Had he turned up yesterday,IGP Suleiman would have been asked to throw more light on the Thursday incident.

But he was at the Aso Rock Villa for a meeting with Vice President Namadi Sambo on the NASS invasion.

A Presidency source said the Police boss was ‘summoned’ to explain what happed on that day.

He only sent a letter to the Committee explaining his absence and requested that DIG Wakaba be allowed to stand in for him at the hearing.

A Principal Staff Officer at the Force Headquarters, Commissioner of Police Austin Iwar in the November 21,2014 letter with reference number CB:3380/ IGP.SEC/ABJ/VOL 8/806 and addressed to the Chairman of the Committee said : “ I am directed to inform you that due to exigencies of

Jonathan due for impeachment -Lagos Assembly

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AGOS State House of Assembly yesterday condemned the sealing of the Federal House of Representatives complex and use of teargas against All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmakers who were at the Assembly to attend an emergency plenary to discuss President Goodluck Jonathan’s request for extension of state of emergency in the three worst affected states by BokoHaram insurgency in the North East.

The condemnation followed the ugly scenario that followed Speaker Aminu Tambuwal and other lawmakers’ attempt to enter the Assembly complex for the emergency sitting and the refusal of the police to allow them into the premises.

The Police did not only forcefully prevent them from entering the Assembly complex but also fired canisters of teargas at the lawmakers as they resorted to scaling defence to enter the premises.

The spokesperson of Lagos Assembly Hon. Segun Olulade said: “What we are witnessing is nothing but pure anarchy. The Federal Government controls the police and I can tell that such weighty order to bar Mr Speaker of House of Representatives and Honourable members is a joke beyond a divisional police head or a commissioner”.

IGP snubs Reps' invitation

•Committee turns back DIG •Abba at Aso Rock to meet VP Sambo Victor OLUWASEGUN, Dele ANOFI and Augustine EHIKIOYA, Abuja duty, the IGP will not be able to appear before the House.

“Meanwhile, he has directed the DIG Operations to represent him”.

DIG Wakama was accompanied by two senior officers.

In turning back Wakama,the Committee was said the House is empowered by the 1999 Cconstitution to invite any individual or organization to aid its investigations.

Chairman of the Committee, Usman Kumo after reading the letter out said the gravity of the issue would not allow any officer lower than the IGP to shed light on the issue at stake.

He insisted the IGP must appear in person and asked him to do so on November 26, 2014.

Senate President David Mark had ,in the aftermath of the Thursday incident,ordered the immediate closure of the National Assembly until Tuesday, 25, November, 2014.

The Speaker and a host of lawmakers were also shot at with tear gas canister severally within and outside the main parliament building (White House).

Suleiman met with Vice President Sambo for about one hour yesterday on the matter.

As he left the meeting re-

porters confronted him with questions which went as follows: Reporter:Did you authorise the invasion by your men at the National Assembly?

IGP: “Who did what and who didn’t do what will be disclosed to you later. You

know we work with investigations.Investigations are going on and the press officer will address you.”

Are you saying you were not aware of this operation?

IGP: “I still repeat who did what, who didn’t do what you will hear later, it is subject to investigations. We

just don’t talk anyhow.”

A separate interview conducted in Hausa ran thus: Reporter:Is it true that some of your police officers were injured?

IGP: “Everybody has seen that somebody was even beating somebody, somebody was pushing a police-

man from the car.”Somebody was removing road blocks mounted by police, Wwe have never seen this kind of thing in the whole world. So we will talk to you later.”

What action are you going to take?

IGP: “Just wait, our findings will reveal that .”

•President Goodluck Jonathan (second right) being received by ministers (from left) of transport, Sen. Idris Umar; aviation, Chief Osita Chidoka; and trade and investment, Mr Olusegun Aganga, on arrival for the Honorary International Investor Council (HIIC) meeting in London on Thursday night. With him is Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the UK, Dr Sarki Tafida.

Impeachment plot against Jonathan thickens

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HAT started in the House of Representatives as a plot to initiate impeachment proceedings against President Goodluck Jonathan has spread to the Senate, according to indications yesterday.

A growing number of Senators are said to be enthusiastic to team up with the Reps to get the President impeached.

One hundred and thirty Reps were known to have signed up to support the plot on Thursday, but by yesterday, the figure had risen up to 148, sources close to the bid said.

The plot was sparked by alleged growing impunity by the Federal Government, the latest being Thursday’s attack on the National Assembly by armed policemen who tear-gassed

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•Reps’ signatures rise to 148 • Senators join fray Onyedi OJIABOR, Assistant Editor and Sanni ONOGU, Abuja Reps and denied Speaker Aminu Tambuwal access to the Chamber.

Senate sources said yesterday that some senators were inclined to get President Jonathan impeached.

The arrow heads of the plot in the Senate are from the Northeast where the President proposes to extend the emergency rule in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States.

The arrow heads, one source said, “have been meeting to plan how to convince and win other senators to buy into and support the pro-impeachment lawmakers.”

The source said “things will get clearer by Tuesday 25 when the Senate will resume plenary.”

But the source could not confirm if a register is already in place for interested senators to indicate their willingness to join the plot.

“I know of a fact that there have been series of clandestine meetings where the plot was mooted,” he said.

The senators say Jonathan must go to “save the country from unbridled impunity” by President Jonathan.”

The source described Thursday’s invasion of the National Assembly as “the height of impunity that must not be condoned by right thinking Nigerians.”

The Senate leadership is said

to be labouring to calm frayed nerves.

A South West Senator who spoke on the plot noted that it is obvious “things will no longer be the same in the National Assembly.”

He said: “At this stage, it is still a matter of wait and see.

Things can no longer be what they used to be. Even the most conservative in the Senate were agitated by the action of the police yesterday (Thursday).

The police could not have acted without order from above.”

In the House of Representatives, more members are said to be considering joining the 148 that have already indicated their willingness to be part of the impeachment process Many Reps are still aggrieved

by the Thursday action of the Police which they cite as one of the several impunities of the Jonathan administration.

“Since 1999, this is the first time in the history of democracy that such a thing has happened,” a Rep said of the attack The motion for impeachment may be moved as early as the 3rd of December, it was learnt.

It was also gathered that the legal team of the Speaker may head to the court on Monday to file a contempt of court case against the President and the Police over the invasion of the National Assembly.

According to a source, the Speaker is hinging his action on the fact that a court ruling exists •Continued on Page 4

Check yourself or resign humbly, NLC tells IG

HE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday asked the Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba, to check his excesses or humbly resign his appointment.

It described as disgusting, barbaric and shameful the stopping of the the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, from entering the National Assembly.

In a statement made available to The Nation and signed by the President of the Congress, Abdulwaheec Omar, the NLC said that the action of the police was unlawful and an act of impunity in furtherance of partisan consideration.

The statement entitled

•CNPP demands sack of IGP Abba over National Assembly crisis Tony AKOWE, and Gbenga OMOKHUNU, Abuja “This Evil Must Not Stand”, reads: “The barricading and preventing of the Honourable Speaker, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal and members of the House of Representatives from gaining access to the premises of the National Assembly for a lawful duty, their harassment, intimidation, molestation and tear gassing by the members of the Nigeria Police Force was disgusting, barbaric and shameful.

“We at the Nigeria Labour Congress believe the conduct of the police is unlawful and an act of impunity in further-

ance of partisan consideration. It is worrisome already that the government has done little to mitigate the damage done by its previous acts adjudged to be unconstitutional.

“Yet every government that seeks legitimacy must demonstrate a certain level of sophistication even in violation. We find the explanation by the police for their conduct, spurious and puerile and not worthy of response.

“We however, do admit we have a major problem on our hands when the police lend themselves to doing private jobs instead of their pre-

scribed duties. The Inspector General of Police must check himself or do the next honourable thing, resign.

“We believe Honourable Aminu Tambuwal about whom this Gestapo operation was, holds a constitutional office and deserves all the respect and privileges befitting that office. It was bad enough that the IGP unlawfully withdrew his security detail.

“While we await the next scene after this messy attempt at denying him access to the National Assembly, we find it necessary to quote a popular Chinese proverb: “ Those who seek vengeance must dig

two graves”.

“We similarly find it urgent and necessary to warn that we cannot continue like this. We shall resist with every lawful means available to us any further attempt to put in jeopardy this democracy.

“Nigerians will resist any further brazen and naked use of power or any conduct capable of truncating this democracy. The National Assembly is a critical institution in our democracy and should be accorded all the respect it deserves”.

Also, the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties •Continued on Page 59

THE NATION

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

NEWS 3

ATTACK ON NASS

Tambuwal, others scaled fence to avert impeachment

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RESH facts emerged yesterday that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, and members of the chamber scaled the fence to enter the National Assembly to abort a plot to impeach the Speaker.

The Representatives were also said to have jumped the fence to avoid mass arrest by the police which had called for reinforcement.

The lawmakers said it was more ‘sacred’ being within the Assembly complex than being outside.

But the pro-Tambuwal lawmakers and the Presidency yesterday returned to the drawing board ahead of December 3 resumption date of the House.

Investigation by our correspondent revealed that anti-Tambuwal forces had hatched a plot on Wednesday night to stop the Speaker from gaining entry to the National Assembly Complex for Thursday session.

It was gathered that once there was blockade against the Speaker and some of his core loyalists, the PDP members in the House would then impeach Tambuwal and leave his fate to the courts.

A member of the House, who was one of those who jumped over the Assembly gate, said: “The picture was bigger than what Nigerians are saying on why we scaled the fence. We got wind of a plot to impeach the Speaker in a Kangaroo manner on

Yusuf ALLI, Managing Editor, Northern Operation and Barnabas MANYAM, Yola

Thursday and we had to take our destiny in our hands.

“Some principal officers of the National Assembly on Wednesday night met with certain forces in the Presidency where the plot was perfected.

“Sensing that the police force was acting the script, which we obtained from intelligence source, we decided to force our way into the chamber.

“The defiance of barricade and tear-gas foiled the impeachment plot against the Speaker. If we had turned back from the gate, Tambuwal would have been removed by now.”

A principal officer said: “They wanted to remove the Speaker and force the 36 Representatives who defected from PDP to APC to vacate their seats.

“So, you can see that a desperate situation deserves a desperate solution. We all refused to take things for granted.”

The chairman of one of the choice committees in the House said: “Lawmakers forced their way to the precinct of the Assembly complex to avoid giving the police any excuse for the clampdown on Tambuwal and others.

The scaling of the wall assisted the Representatives to be within the Assembly complex which is legislatively a ‘sacred’ area for anybody to encroach on.

“When they initially

Why I went to Green Chamber, by Mark

•How pepper spray was used on Reps stopped Tambuwal, it was outside the Assembly gate.

If anything untoward had happened, the police would have said it was outside the Assembly complex.

“While Tambuwal and others were outside the gate, the police called for reinforcement to stop them from entering the National Assembly.

Another lawmaker however explained that before members jumped over the gate, they were attacked with pepper-stray.

The source added: “We have heard that the

Inspector-General of Police, Suleiman Abba, has said the police force is investigating the invasion of the National Assembly by his officers and men. We want him to also probe why pepper-spray was used on some of us.

“It is such a sad development. After the pepper-spray, we were also tear-gassed.”

Meanwhile, the proTambuwal lawmakers and forces in the presidency yesterday returned to the drawing board ahead of the resumption of the House on December 3.

A principal officer in the House said: “Though the Speaker travelled to Sokoto to obtain governorship nomination form, we have all been meeting to restrategise on how to prevent a repeat of this episode on December 3.

“We learnt that they are insisting that Tambuwal must go. We will resist this because the executive cannot dictate to us how we should manage the legislature.

“The anti-Tambuwal forces in the Presidency are also thinking of judicial ambush by seeking frivolous

injunctions from court but we are watching our back too.

“You can see that after the fracas in the National Assembly, Vice President Namadi Sambo met with some principal officers elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

“Some of us are also consulting our parties for advice on the next line of action. So, the battle is not yet over. We are only happy that the plot they hatched on Thursday backfired.”

•Seated from left: Former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar; the new Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mamoud Mohammed and President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, at a dinner in honour of Mukhtar in Abuja on Thursday.

PHOTO: NAN

Jonathan’s govt has run amok —Tinubu

•Tambuwal, Babangida Aliyu appeal over alleged assault •Says it’s devious, brigandage masquerading as governance

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ENATE President David Mark said yesterday that his mission to the Green Chamber of the House of Representatives in the heat of the commotion in the National Assembly on Thursday was to ascertain the safety of Speaker Aminu Tambuwal.

He said he took the action after receiving reports that Reps were being teargassed.

Mark’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Senate President, Kola Ologbondiyan, says Speaker Tambuwal and Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger state have appealed to the President of the Senate to ‘forgive’ Hon. Abdul Malik Usman Cheche (PDP Niger) who allegedly assaulted him on the floor of the House on Thursday.

Ologbondiyan quoted Mark as saying that “I also went to confer with Mr. Speaker on the need to suspend plenary in both Chambers in order to restore sanity to an environment that had turned restive and becoming uncontrollable.

“My intention was to safeguard the sanctity of the hallowed Chamber and to guarantee the respect of the legislature.

“I consider the unwarranted and needless attack on my person by Hon. Abdulmalik Usman Cheche

Onyedi OJIABOR, Assistant Editor and Sanni ONOGU, Abuja

as a price and sacrifice for leadership. It is a sacrifice I am prepared to accept.

“I was physically stopped at the gate and blocked from accessing the National Assembly complex for about an hour. I was also tear gassed at the lobby of the White House as I made my return from the Green Chamber.

“In all these, I bear no ill feeling. Abdulmalik is my colleague. I have forgiven him. I believe we can continue to work together in the interest of peace and sustenance of democracy.

“Like I have repeatedly said, I will do anything necessary to keep the sanctity of the parliament as an institution and safeguard the respect of every legislator.

“I therefore urge all political actors to always remember that we must first have a nation before we can achieve our various individual ambitions.

“We must at all times restrain ourselves from actions that cannot add value to our hard earned democracy.

“We should remain guided by the rules no matter how strongly we perceive our positions to be the most appropriate.”

•’Nigerians must hold him responsible’

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HURSDAY’S invasion of the National Assembly by armed policemen yesterday drew the ire of the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC),Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

He accused President Goodluck Jonathan of masterminding the attack, and described the action as nothing short of brigandage masquerading as governance.

He said the Jonathan government has lost its head and run amok. “ By deploying hundreds of policemen to prevent the Speaker of the House from entering the National Assembly, the President has revealed his hand to be a devious one,” Tinubu said in a statement.

“Having asked the Speaker to convene the House to consider extending the state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, the Jonathan government then deployed the nation’s Police to stop the fourth ranking citizen of the nation from entering his place of work.

“The President and his men have their hand written all over the invasion of the National Assembly. No Commissioner of Police will ever embark on such an action without the clearance of the

Inspector General of Police and no IGP will order his men out here without approval by the Presidency.

“Nigerians know where the buck stops. The Jonathan Presidency must take full responsibility for the attack on the leadership of the National Assembly.”

Tinubu said the federal government cannot claim to be unaware of what the Police would do as “his gangster’s antic occurred almost at their doorstep. The Jonathan presidency can no longer play ignorant regarding the noxious things done for partisan ends.”

Tinubu said that rather than give the Boko Haram’s continous threat to national security the priority attention it deserves, “the President’s men decided to turn the event into a partisan and embarrassing circus. Perhaps they saw this as a birthday present to Mr. President.

“But it is nothing but brigandage masquerading as governance. What this Presidency does not realise is how terribly it has exposed its pettiness and dictatorial penchant for elevating narrow political interests above the fate of the nation.

“There is little wonder the nation is losing ground to Boko Haram. This govern-

ment has allowed and even welcomed the downward slide.

“The priorities of the Jonathan Presidency are as wrong as wrong can get.

Their actions are devoid of national purpose. They reek of pungent ambition. A weakness of character now permeates national leadership.

“This Presidency leaves the nation’s grave problems unattended yet have the rashness to create new ones by trashing the nation’s democratic institutions and mocking constitutional checks and balances. The most notable achievement of the Jonathan government has been to bring democracy to its knees. This is not the hallmark of a President but the work of a potentate.

“While enjoying the taste of this cheap tactical victory, it is hoped Nigerians and the international community are sampling the bigger picture.

In trying to quash the opposition by all means necessary, this government unleash forces they do not even recognize let alone be able to control them.”

On the Boko Haram menace, Tinubu said that the situation got to this level after the government snubbed the hand of cooperation extended

to it by the opposition.

“We have provided suggestions on fighting the group and winning the hearts and minds of the people. Had the Jonathan government taken these suggestions, things would not be as they are today. This government scoffed at our help,” he said.

He added: “The Jonathan Presidency is a government that has lost its head. This government has run amok and has jettisoned all sense of proportion.

“The nation now faces two threats. One is Boko Haram’s attack on the people. The other is the Presidency’s attack on the people’s democracy. As such, a state of emergency now exists in Abuja, in Aso Villa itself because of this breakdown of democratic governance.

“Jonathan and his men are the reason for the state of emergency. It seems that the only way this emergency shall be lifted is for this government to perpetuate itself in office. The removal of this government from office shall not be done with military power, armed might or police brutality. Their ouster will come from a nobler source: the power of the people and their want for democratic good governance.”

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THE NATION

NEWS

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ARELY a few hours after unfolding plans to probe Thursday’s fracas in the House of Representatives, the InspectorGeneral of Police, Suleiman Abba, has directed that the Speaker of the House, Aminu Tambuwal, be invited for questioning.

He also said the Speaker be arrested if he fails to honour police summons.

Also, there were indications that some members of the House who scaled the fence on Thursday to gain entry into the National Assembly might be quizzed also.

According to findings, the Presidency was angry that the police condoned alleged “lawlessness” of Tambuwal and other members of the House by allowing them to force their way into the National Assembly.

It was learnt that there was disquiet in the Presidency that the alleged mishandling of the situation by the police aborted the impeachment of Tambuwal, who was to be given what was called “Ekiti treatment”.

It was gathered that the Presidency insisted that a thorough investigation into the incident at the National Assembly must be conducted with the Speaker and others quizzed by the police.

Based on the directive of the Presidency, the IG was said to have given the order for Tambuwal’s invitation after a meeting with Vice President Namadi Sambo and top security chiefs.

In the directive, it was also expressly stated that if Tambuwal does not honour police invitation, he should be arrested.

As at press time, both the FCT Commissioner of Po-

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

ATTACK ON NASS

Police set to quiz Tambuwal, other Reps •Presidency angry with IG over Speaker’s entry into chamber

Yusuf ALLI, Managing Editor, Northern Operation lice, Mr. Wilson Inalegwu and his counterpart in Sokoto State, Shaibu Gambo had been put on the alert to serve invitation notice on Tambuwal or effect his arrest.

One of the sources at the Force Headquarters said: “I can confirm to you that the order for his arrest has been given today (Friday). The signal from the IG’s office specifically directed the FCT and Sokoto State Commissioners of Police to serve Tambuwal with notice of invitation to the force headquarters and if he resists, he should be arrested immediately.

“The involvement of Sokoto CP was because the Speaker was sighted in Sokoto on Friday where he picked the APC’s governorship form for the coming election.

“It was assumed that he was out of Abuja as such other police divisions were involved in the matter.”

A second source at the Force Headquarters said: “Other lawmakers involved in scaling the gate at the National Assembly might be grilled too.

“The Speaker is expected to appear any moment in Abuja or honour invitation in Sokoto before being moved to Abuja.”

Meanwhile there were indications last night that the VP and some security chiefs prevailed on IGP to probe the incident at the National Assembly on

Thursday after a review session at the Presidential Villa.

It was not immediately clear the security chiefs at the Villa session but some loyalists of Tambuwal alleged that they were led to the review meeting by the National Security Adviser, Mr. Sambo Dasuki.

It could not be ascertained at press time if Dasuki was in the country or not.

A source indicated that at a meeting in the Villa, the VP and a top security chief

sinister and illegal. They perfected the plot to stop the Speaker and the opposition leader from gaining entry. “ My members were already in chambers waiting for me to come in so as to provide leadership and direction. Most of them had gone over the gate too. I had to do the needful to save our democracy. We thank God we foiled their evil machinations. We will continue to be vigilant”.

Meanwhile, The Nation learnt that PDP members in the House are under fire from the Party and the Presidency for not delivering on the plan to remove Tambuwal on Thursday.

According to a source, the strategy was to hijack the plenary after the Speaker might have been prevented from gaining access into the National Assembly by the Police who were deployed by the Inspector General of Police for that purpose.

Trusted lawmakers from the PDP, with no allegiance to the Speaker, would then seize the House, and impeach the Speaker. The police would provide them cover and the Presidency would grant immediate recognition to the new Speaker, who naturally would have been the Deputy Speaker.

However, the plan was thwarted by the vigilance of the opposition lawmakers, who smuggled Tambuwal into the Chamber, where he took charge of proceedings before the PDP lawmakers could act.

“The Security chief then made it clear that the police authorities must rectify the anomalies or they will face the consequences. The IG then said Tambuwal will be arrested for questioning.”

It was learnt that the top security brass from the North had been saying that APC should not be allowed to win election in the Sultanate.

The said security chief was said to be interested in returning PDP to power in Sokoto

State.

The source added: “You cannot discount the fact that he is a PDP man and wants to use his position to help his party against the ruling APC. He has said in different meetings that the PDP must return to power in Sokoto.

Now that he has seen Tambuwal as the most popular candidate in Sokoto, he wants to use his position to scuttle the Speaker’s chances.”

•Lagos State Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola, SAN (second left); Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Ade Ipaye (second right); Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji (left) and his Ekiti State counterpart, Hon. Adewale Omirin (right) during a joint peaceful protest by Lagos and Ekiti Hous of Assembly members on the purported removal of the Ekiti State House of Assembly Speaker at the Lagos House, Ikeja, yesterday.

Impeachment plot against Jonathan thickens •Continued from Page 2 that asks all parties to maintain the status quo over the issue of defection.

The legal team would look at the possibility of getting the court to declare that the action of the Presidency/Police is subjudice.

Also yesterday, the Minority Leader of the House and the leader of the APC Caucus in then Green Chamber, Femi Gbajabiamila, vowed that the opposition will not go to sleep in the House.

In a statement entitled: “We Will Continue to be Vigilant Against Unlawful Tactics of Jonathan, Gbajamiamila expressed sadness over the events that led himself and other members into scaling over the National Assembly gate before gaining entrance into the National Assembly on Thursday.

He said: “What happened in the National Assembly yesterday (Thursday) will forever live in infamy. Never thought I would see the day when I would be forced to go over the assembly gates where I work to gain access into the chambers. But then our democracy has to be saved.”

Gbajabiamila expressed surprise that the Presidency, through its agents, could undermine a court injunction restraining them from acting against the Speaker, “It was pretty clear the Presidency in spite of a court injunction wanted to do something

scolded the IGP for not prevailing on his men to stop Tambuwal and the defiant lawmakers who broke police barricade by scaling the gate of the National Assembly.

The source said: “The security chief was particularly angry and told the IG in clear terms that he doesn’t know his job. He said how did the Speaker and the members break a cordon organised by the FCT Police Commissioner.

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Police justify N/Assembly invasion, blame lawmakers

HE police authorities on Friday, justified the invasion of the National Assembly complex by armed policemen and other security personnel.

The Force added that it was satisfied with the actions of its men.

Force Public Relations Officer, Emmanuel Ojukwu, who briefed journalists in Abuja yesterday, said the policemen acted “according to their discretion”.

Ojukwu stated: “The purpose of this conference is to acquaint the press and Nigerians of the incident that took place yesterday.

“We are all aware that following the INEC timetable, electioneering campaigns and other things have kicked off in earnest, so we expect political gladiators to conduct their businesses in line with the rules.

“On Wednesday, there was a mini-conference by the APC at the Eagle Square and police were not informed about it but as soon as we heard, the police mobilised it’s men appropriately to provide safety and security to all the participants and members of the public.

“A fallout from that convention, APC top officers, led by their chairman, Oyegun and His Excellency, Rotimi Amaechi led a number of APC followers, supporters and so many others

Gbade OGUNWALE and Faith YAHAYA, Abuja

to the premises of the Nigerians Police quarters. They blocked our gate, they came with ambulances expecting a showdown with the police so that they carry their death but we avoided them and after about two hours, they left our premises.

“We continued monitoring their actions and utterances and in the course of it, we heard Governor Amaechi say that if they don’t win the 2015 elections, they will form a parallel government, we also heard that their storming the Force Headquarters was just the first step that subsequently they will evade INEC, National Assembly and lastly the Presidential Villa.

“Following that intelligence information, the Police began to monitor the activities of these political actors.

“So, yesterday 20th November, we heard intelligence that there will be mayhem at the premises of the National Assembly and it is our duty to protect lives and property ans so, the Police mobilized to check entrance and exit at the National Assembly.

“Both members were cordoned and police and logistics were deployed to protect lives and properties. We all

know the National Assembly is our National Heritage and we won’t allow hoodlums that tried to attack the Force Headquarters the day before to have access to such priceless edifice and so the Police were fully on ground.

“Our intention and mission was to screen everybody that entered the premises. From the Senate angle, all the Senators were checked and they entered, including the Senate President.

“On the House of Reps, a good number of them came and were screened and they entered but as the Speaker was coming, he came with so many thugs, those that confirmed our intelligence that there may be trouble in the National Assembly.

They refused to be checked and screened.

“They were even shaking the gate and destroying government property, destroying the gate will amount to vandalism. And as if that was not enough, we saw many of them climbing the gate and I don’t know what that means.

“In the course of it also, six of them attacked a police man in uniform and that led to the tear gas that dropped and sprayed some of them.

“They still forced their way into the National Assembly and we are witnesses to the riotous conduct in which the

Senate President was attacked.

As I speak now, his ADC is hospitalised because they broke his leg in the process but I want to say that Police is determined and resolute to make sure that in the build up to the election in 2015, every political actor is made to play the game according to the rules.

“That matter is currently under investigations and anybody who is found to have played a role in that misconduct and inappropriate conduct will be brought to book.

“All that we did on Thursday was to forestall an occurrence. Even if we put the check at the door of the Chamber, what happened would have still happened because decency requires that you submit yourself to be checked by appropriate authority.

“They attacked the police and that is an attack on the nation, it’s an attack on law and order and that should not be allowed.

They ought to have obeyed just as the Senators did. The way the Speaker came did not give room for proper screening, because they were riotous right from the onset.

Intelligence is built from information. You analyse the information and if it becomes intelligence, you act on it. “ •Continued on 59

THE NATION

NEWS 5

SATURDAY,NOVEMBER 22, 2014

We’ll not recognise outcome of any rigged election, APC insists T HE All Progressives Congress (APC) yester day slammed the Presidency for what it called Aso Rock’s agitated response to the warning that that party will not recognize the outcome of any rigged election in 2015 and will go ahead to form a parallel government.

According to the APC National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, what Gov. Rotimi Amaechi said at the party’s Salvation Rally, “which has now rankled the Presidency into a state of delirium, was simply to reiterate the stand taken by the party before the last Osun State governorship election. ‘’Those who are fretting about this statement are those who are planning to rig the election and they should be warned that Nigerians will no longer accept the outcome of any fraudulent polls.

Those who incite the people are those who steal their mandate. ‘’What we made is a conditional statement. If A happens, then B will follow. That means if elections are not rigged, there will be no problem. It is, therefore, laughable that anyone will call

•Slams Presidency for ‘agitated response’

that statement treasonable, ”Alhaji Mohammed.

The party argued that there is no higher treason than the subversion of the people’s will, adding that it is common knowledge that anywhere in the world where elections have been rigged, the consequences have been dire, and Nigeria will not be an exception. ‘’Let us remind the Presidency, in case it has forgotten, that election fraud triggered a civil war in Algeria in the early 1990s, led to the killing of over 1,000 people in post-election riots in Kenya in 2007/2008 and fired a near revolution in Iran in 2009/2010. Electoral frauds also corrupt democracy and breed dictatorship and risks making the people to lose confidence in democracy.

Why then would any government react violently, if warned against election rigging?’’ the party queried.

It said that instead of is-

suing threats and engaging in name calling, the Presidency should simply brace up to ensure that the forthcoming elections are not only free, fair and credible, but are seen to be so by Nigerians and the international community.

APC said: “ It is necessary to constantly warn the PDP and the Federal Government not to tamper with the 2015 polls because of their penchant for electoral desperation which manifests in the intimidation of the opposition and the militarization of election, disposition to anarchy and propensity for impunity.”

The party said already, the process leading to the 2015 polls are flawed, with moves to disenfranchise millions of Nigerians by making it impossible for them to either register or get their Permanent Voters Cards and the plot to depopulate the strongholds of the opposi-

tion. ‘’PDP and the governments it sired, especially at the centre, are lawless and anarchic. That’s why they can unleash the police against federal legislators in an attempt to force a removal of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

That’s why a state under the control of the PDP will use seven lawmakers to remove the Speaker in a 26-member House of Assembly. ‘’Because it is said that eternal vigilance is the price of freedom, we will constantly warn the PDP and the Federal Government not

to tamper with the 2015 elections. We will constantly chide them for trying to institutionalize impunity. We cannot and will not be intimidated by an uptight presidency,’’ it said. ‘’The PDP and the Jonathan Administration are the masters of impunity, and they will not hesitate to exploit any sign of docility in the face of their evil intentions on the part of the opposition. The lessons are there: Had the members of the House of Representatives been docile on Thursday when remote-controlled security agents invaded their

premises and barred them from entering, Tambuwal would have ceased to be the Speaker by now. ‘’For us, the gloves are off.

We will no longer engage in any nicety as long as some people are bent on thwarting the will of the people through electoral fraud. All we are demanding is a free, fair and credible election. All we are saying is that no one should incite the people by stealing their mandate. How these demands can be construed to mean treason is as baffling as the do-or-die disposition of the ruling PDP to elections,’’ the party said.

PDP cancels ward congresses in Lagos, Cross River, Oyo

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HE leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has cancelled the ward congresses in Lagos, Cross River and Oyo states.

Repeat ward congresses in the three states will hold on Monday, November 24, 2014, the party added.

The ruling party also lifted all suspension orders placed on members by the state chapter. The affected members have been directed to freely participate in all party activities, including congresses.

A statement yesterday by the party's spokesman, Chief Olisa Metuh, similarly took firm decisions on the crisis in the Adamawa and Ebonyi states’ chapters.

The statement said: "In the light of the appeals and interventions of critical stake-

Gbade OGUNWALE, Assistant Editor, Abuja holders together with remorse demonstrated by the executives,the party commutes the dissolution of the Adamawa and Ebonyi states’ executive committees to the one-month suspension of the authors of the offensive publications, in particular Chief Joel Madaki, State Chairman, and Barrister A. T. Shehu, Secretary of the party in Adamawa State; Uche Ali Ega, State Secretary, and Amaechi Oken, State Organizing Secretary of the party in Ebonyi State and one Mr. Ben Akpa.

"Accordingly, the caretaker committees earlier set up for the party in Adamawa and Ebonyi states are recalled.

Foreign exchange: CBN accuses authorised dealers of round tripping

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HE Central Bank of Ni geria (CBN) has cau tioned all authorized dealers in foreign exchange to desist from selling forex for items not supported with necessary shipping documents.

CBN Director, Trade & Exchange, Olakanmi Gbadamosi said in circular released yesterday with title: Sale of Foreign Exchange without adequate documentation- Particularly Shipping Documents’ that any dealer who violate its policy on foreign exchange sales will be sanctioned.

He said that only imports which are backed with evidence of shipment and other relevant documents are eligible for foreign exchange.

“This is to inform all

Collins NWEZE authorised dealers and General public that we have observed that some authorised dealers have been indulging in the sale of foreign exchange for items not supported with necessary shipping documents, particularly on open account basis. It is therefore important to note that only imports which are backed with evidence of shipment and other relevant documents are eligible for foreign exchange,” he said.

For the avoidance of doubt, only transactions for which letters of Credit are cash-backed, or with matured Clean Lines or matured Bills for Collection are eligible for the foreign exchange in the forex market.

"The Deputy State Chairman of the party in Adamawa State, Jingi Rufai, is to serve as Acting Chairman, while Fatai Ornah will be Acting Secretary.

"In Ebonyi State, Onwe Joseph Onwe is to serve as Acting Chairman and Simon Anyigor is to serve as Acting Secretary".

Hon. Tambuwal displaying his forms in Sokoto...yesterday.

Tambuwal picks APC guber forms

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MIDST the uneasy calm still surrounding Thursday's scenario in the National Assembly, embattled Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambawal yesterday worked in to pick his expression of interest and governorship nomination forms at the Sokoto State office of the All Progressives Congress(APC) with a resolve that, if given the mandate, he will continue from where Wamakko stops.

Tambuwal, along with other lawmakers, were on Thursday locked out by the police on the directive of the IGP from reconvening on the extension of state of emergency rule requested by the President.

Tambawal, decked in his usual complete white attire, stormed the party office accompanied by lawmakers and associates to formally pick the form.

Looking untroubled, the number four citizen, while speaking during the presentation of the forms, said he would ensure collectivity and team work for the development of the state.

His words: "My presence here today is in response to call by the good people of Sokoto State to come back home and serve them in the capacity of governor and I formally present myself as an aspirant and to purchase an expression of interest form for governorship.

"I also assure that if given the

Adamu SULEIMAN, Sokoto mandate, we shall carry everyone along and in tune with the value system by ensuring the peace and stability of Sokoto State", he pointed out.

He further described Wamakko's spirit of political resilience and cohession for the North and Nigerian progressives as one of a true and competent leader who has done commendably well by

offerring himself for service to the people of the state," we and the entire north are proud of you,"he added.

According to Tambuwal," we only hope to demonstrate his determination and abilities", describing the qualities as a great challenge to him and others in the state. " And I wish to state that all we are doing is with the strength of his patriotic support", he concluded.

Presenting the form after

confirming the payment of N5.5m by Tambuwal, the state APC chairman, Alhaji Bala Hassan Abubakar III, urged party members and supporters in the state to throw their weight behind Tambuwal.

According to him" Only God gives power to whom he pleases and Tambuwal's aspiration is one destined to become.

"Therefore, we should all move in one direction. And rally support for him", he concluded.

...he’s no threat, says Dahiru APC governorship aspirant in Sokoto State, Senator Umaru Dahiru, does not see the entry of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, into the race as a threat.

Dahiru is confident of picking the party’s ticket ahead of Tambuwal.

Senator Dahiru, who submitted his nomination form at the APC national secretariat, Abuja, told newsmen that he was in the race to improve on the achievements of the current government in the state.

"He is welcome,” he said of Tambuwal’s entry,adding: “All we want is a free and fair election. There is nothing to be worried about, and I believe he will concede, if he gets defeated at the primaries and equally I will do the same, and it is not only

Tambuwal and me, but we are now eight in number".

While dismissing the idea of an anointed candidate, he said: "Anybody can claim that, anybody can say it, but the people of Sokoto will determine and not anybody and I keep on saying it nobody can determine my political aspiration, if the people want it I am going to do it".

"I can never be threatened by anybody. He is not and can never be a threat to me. I believe that nobody can play God. It is for God to decide who becomes the flagbearer of the party."

He promised to improve on the achievements of the current governor because “he has done perfectly well . I believe Sokoto needs more to be done and I believe I have the capac-

ity to do much more than what is already on the ground.

"I want to improve on areas like education, health care, infrastructure and so many other areas. We need to do a lot, and, of course, you know that youth unemployment is there as a big challenge nationwide and in Sokoto in particular, it is a real challenge. The issue of women empowerment is also there, but I believe if I am given the mantle of leadership, I will improve on what is now on the ground."

On why he decided to contest for the governorship position, he said: "You know if people want to be wherever they want you to be, you have to respond and people are calling me to come and respond in that capacity and I believe I have to answer to their call.

THE NATION

6 NEWS

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

Supreme Court sacks Taraba's Acting Governor •Orders reinstatement of former Deputy Governor I

T is all over for Alhaji Garba Umar, whether as acting governor or deputy governor of Taraba State.

The Supreme Court terminated his tenure yesterday after declaring that the process leading to the impeachment of his predecessor, Sani Abubakar Danladi, was unconstitutional.

The court, in a unanimous judgment, voided Danladi's impeachment and ordered that he be reinstated.

Umar had been acting as governor since the October 25,2012 plane crash that took Governor Danbaba Suntai out of circulation.

Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, who read the lead judgment of the apex court seven-man panel, upheld Danladi’s appeal that he was not accorded fair hearing by the panel that investigated the allegation against him and found him guilty of gross misconduct.

Danladi, in the appeal marked: SC 418/2013, had prayed the court to set aside the earlier decisions by the Court of Appeal, Yola and the Taraba State High Court, which affirmed his impeachment.

Danladi was impeached by the state's House of Assembly on October 4, 2012 on grounds of gross misconduct. He had accused the now ailing Governor Danbaba Suntai of influencing the legislators' action.

He challenged the impeachment at the state's High Court which in its ruling on March 19, 2013 upheld the impeachment.

He went before the Court of Appeal, Yola, which equally upheld the impeachment in its judgment of July 19, 2013, prompting Danladi to approach the Supreme Court.

Other Justices in the sevenman panel that heard Danladi's appeal at the Supreme Court - Justices Samuel Onnoghen, Bode RhodesVivour, Kumayi Aka'ahs, Kudirat Kekere-Ekun and John Okoro - agreed with Justice Ngwuta.

Justice Ngwuta held that "in effect, at all material times, the appellant remained and still remains the deputy governor of Taraba State and he

Eric IKHILAE, Abuja

is to resume his interrupted duties of his office forthwith."

He noted that from the composition of the impeachment panel, Danladi was denied fair hearing. He found as illegal the sitting of the 19 members of the state House of Assembly at a guest house belonging to the majority leader to prepare the impeachment notice.

Justice Ngwuta held that the panel ought to sit and conduct its business in the chambers of the House. He also held that the Taraba House of Assembly members acted in violation of section 188 of the constitution.

Justice Ngwuta described the impeachment panel as kangaroo panel which merely acted out a written script handed to it. He noted that there was a conspiracy between the impeachment panel and the lawmakers.

He held that Danladi was denied the opportunity to prepare his defence or present his case before the panel.

"My noble Lords, the impact of what happened in the panel on the country's impeachment jurisprudence is too alarming to contemplate.

"Here is a panel that had three months to investigate the serious allegations of gross misconduct against the appellant, a deputy governor of the state.

"For no apparent reasons for the indecent haste, the panel completed its sitting and prepared and submitted its report to the Taraba State House of Assembly between September 28, 2012 and 3rd October 2012, a period of six days inclusive of the first and last dates.

"From the undisputed facts of this case, one has the inevitable, but disturbing impression that the panel composed of the respondents was a mere sham and that the removal of the appellant from office was a done deal as it were.

"In my view, the respondents, in their purported investigation of the allegation made against the appellant

...Danladi nullifies all appointments made by Umar, pledges loyalty to Suntai

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HE reinstated Taraba State Deputy Governor of Taraba State, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Danladi last night nullified all political appointees made by the sacked acting Governor, Alhaji Garba Umar .

He directed the affected persons to hand over government property in their possession within 24 hours.

Danladi spoke at the Executive Chambers of Government House,Jalingo shortly on his arrival from Abuja to resume work.

The deputy governor pledged “total loyalty” to ailing Governor Danbaba Suntai,saying: “I will continue to be loyal to my boss, Governor Danbaba Suntai throughout the remaining period of his tenure.

"I met with Suntai and we agreed that all political appointments made as from Oct 14, 2012 stand nullified because

Fanen IHYONGO, Jalingo they were illegal,” he said.

He commended the Supreme Court for the verdict that restored him to office.

He vowed to live up to the expectation of the people.

Danladi also pledged to uphold the rule of law in discharging his duties.

A huge crowd had earlier turned out in Jalingo –the Taraba state capital to receive him from Abuja.

His chartered plane marked M-ARSL, landed at 5:48pm .

Four other chartered planes carrying his advance team had preceded his.

Former Governor the Rev. Jolly Nyame and many other party members were present at the airport.

But Speaker Josiah Sabo Kente was not seen.

Danladi was later driven in a VXR Land Cruiser to Government House where he addressed the people.

merely played out a script previously prepared and handed over to the panel.

"The most disturbing aspect of the kangaroo panel is that it was headed by a man described in the processes before this court as a barrister- one Barrister Nasiru Audu Dangiri. The third member of the panel was also described as a banister- one Barrister R.J. Ikitausai.

"If these two men are actually members of the noble profession to which your lordships and my humble self, by the grace of God, have the honour to belong and not people who,

for self-aggrandisement adopted the nomenclature 'barrister,' the harm they have deliberately perpetrated in this matter is so serious that the attention of the Disciplinary Committee of the Bar ought to be drawn to it.

"Impeachment of elected politicians is a very serious matter and should not be conducted as a matter of course. The purpose is to step aside the will of the electorate as expressed at the polls. It has implications for the impeached as well as the electorate who bestowed the mandate on him.

"Whether it takes one day or the three months prescribed by

law, the rules of due process must be strictly followed. If the matter is left at the whims and caprices of politicians and their panels, a state or even the entire country could be reduced to a status of banana republic.

“In conclusion, based on the undisputed facts in the affidavit of the appellant, I’m of the view that the court below ought to have resolved the issue of fair hearing against the respondent and in favour of the appellant.

“The court below ought to have declared the entire proceedings of the impeachment panel as null and void and of

no legal effect.

“I allow the appeal and vacate the judgment of the Court of Appeal. I hereby set aside the entire proceedings of the panel that purported, at the instance of the state House of Assembly, to investigate the allegations of misconduct against the appellant, the Deputy Governor of Taraba State.

“I declare the entire proceedings null and void. In effect, Alhaji (Sanni) Abubakar Danladi remains and still remains the Deputy Governor of Taraba State and he is to resume his interrupted duties forthwith.”

•A crowd welcoming Alhaji Danladi at the Jalingo Airport... yesterday.

Every validly registered voter will get PVC — INEC Chair T HE Independent Na tional Electoral Commis sion (INEC) says it will spare no effort to ensure that every validly registered voter gets his Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to be able to vote next year.

The commission,according to its Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, has reached a comfort level to boldly say that the 2015 elections will be free, fair, credible and transparent, and will be of far higher standard than what was achieved in 2011.

Prof.Jega spoke on Thursday when he played host at the commission’s head office to Special Representative of the United Nations SecretaryGeneral for West and Central Africa, Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas.

Professor Jega said the challenges experienced during the third phase of the PVC distribution and Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) in some states were transient and will,in no way, threaten the commission’s readiness to deliver superlative elections in 2015.

His words: “Since the 2011 elections, the commission has devoted a lot of time and energy to keep on improving the processes and setting up policies and mechanisms that can help us have remarkably better elections in 2015. We’ve done quite a lot.

“Of course, there are challenges; and we have to acknowledge these challenges.

One of the key things we have done is that we have updated the register, we have cleaned it up and we have been working very hard to produce and distribute what the law says we should – Permanent Voter Cards.

“We have gone very far with this. So far, we have produced PVCs and distributed them in 24 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and we have also done an update of the register in those states.

“The last phase of the distribution of PVCs and updating the register was to cover the remaining 12 states. I must say with regret that we experienced some challenges in the production of those cards within our defined time schedules, and this has necessitated adjustment of the timeline for distribution of the cards. “ He pledged that before the February elections, “every validly registered Nigerian will have his / her PVC s to be able to exercise their voting right.

And we are doing everything possible to ensure that happens.”

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On the readiness of the INEC to deliver superlative elections, Professor Jega said: “We have reached a comfort level to say categorically that we will deliver credible, free, fair and transparent elections in 2015 that will be much better than what we did in 2011.

“Our hope is that in those areas where there are security challenges, the challenges will be minimised and sufficient normalcy and stability restored for us to be able to conduct elections; so that at the end of it all, we will be satisfied as Nigerians that we’ve conducted the best elections in the history of our country.”

The visiting Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General stressed Nigeria’s place as a strategic

member of the global community. He said the country “must set the standard for others to follow because Nigeria has a special place in West Africa and, indeed, Africa.”

Dr. Chambas, who is also a former President of ECOWAS, added: “2015 will be a year in which we will witness some very significant elections in West Africa. In addition to Nigeria, we have elections in Togo, Cote d’ivoire, Guinea, Burkina Faso. These are all countries that, within the ECOWAS context, are very significant. Some of them, for example, Cote d’ivoire, Guinea and even now Burkina Faso, will be conducting election post-conflict. So, we expect to face some challenges there. It is in that context that we hope that Nigerian elections will be standard setting.”

ICPC charts new course for anti-corruption fight

HE Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Re lated Offences Commission (ICPC), has chatted a new course in the fight against corruption. This time, the focus is on the local government areas.

To carry out this mandate are 70 civil society organizations duely registered with the ICPC and in collaboration with the commission. They work under the umbrella of ICPC National Anti Corruption Coalition (NACC).

While addressing the coalition members in a meeting yesterday in Abuja, Chairman of ICPC, Mr Ekpo Nta suggested ways by which local government officials could be held accountable in the discharge of

services to the public.

Nta charged the CSOs to organise local people to meetings where they could agree on the projects needed in the community. "Once you have the community needs collated, you take it to the councellor of the ward who presents it at the legislative meeting.

Once it is approved, put it on the community notice board for all to see".

"When the whole community is aware that this project has been approved, they begin to mount pressure on their counsellors and chairmen who will then have no choice

than to implement the projects", he said.

According to Nta, though 298 CSOs were registered with the commission,' only 70 are active and those who are not will be delisted as the meeting also revises the memorandum of understanding that enables the collaboration, for better efficiency.'

He noted that the collaboration was primarily empowered by section 6 sub-sections a-f of the ICPC Act which empowers the commission to enlist the support of active participation of the public in the fight against corruption.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

NEWS

7

Council boss kidnapped in Osun n Adesoji ADENIYI, Osogbo n HE chairman Ataku- attempting to escape from mosa Local Govern- the scene with his boss. ment, Osu, Osun State, The rear wind shied of Mr. Kunle Falode, has been the official car was smashed kidnapped. in the process by the gun He was said to have been men. kidnapped around 7.00 pm The council boss was later on Wednesday night by un- whisked away to an unknown gunmen at the en- known destination in a red trance of his house, located Honda Acc�ord driven by behind the old governor's of- the gunmen. The vandalized fice, Osogbo. vehicle was taken to the A family source disclosed Ataoja Police Station after the that he was about entering his incident. compound when four fierceIt was gathered that the looking� men swooped on gun men had contacted the him and forced him out of his victim's family twice after the official Honda Accord car. incident. They were said to The gunmen were said to have initially demanded for have attacked his driver, who N50 million ransom and subwas identified as Tunde, for sequently for N11 million.

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Ajimobi attributes Accord Party’s criticisms to naivety •L-R: State Women Leader, Lagos State chapter of APC, Chief (Mrs) Kemi Nelson; Chairman, Lagos APC, Chief Henry Ajomale; Senator Gbenga Ashafa and the Assistant Legal Adviser of APC in Lagos, Barrister Toke Benson; during the senator's presentation of a 14-seater bus to the executive council members, APC Lagos, at the party secretariat, ACME road, Lagos, yesterday.

PHOTO: Muyiwa HASSAN

Ekiti APC elders condemn impeachment of Speaker T HE elders' forum of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has condemned the impeachment of the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Dr. Adewale Omirin, by seven Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) legislators on Thursday.

The action, the group said is capable of pushing the state to the precipice of collapse.

It advised that Honourable Dele Olugbemi, who was allegedly elected in

Odunayo OGUNMOLA, Ado-Ekiti a controversial situation by the minority members of the House, to vacate the seat, saying: “ It was shameful and obnoxious for seven out of 26 lawmakers to claim to have impeached the Speaker.

In an exclusive chat with The Nation, the spokesman of the group, Dr. Bayo Orire regretted that the peace enjoyed by the people of the state in the last four years of former Governor Kayode Fayemi’s administration is gradually

giving way to self-inflicted crisis.

“We want peace at all costs in Ekiti State because this state belongs to all of us and nobody should be allowed to plunge it into chaos no matter how power-drunk he is.

"In a situation where the Judiciary is insulted and assaulted, the Legislature held hostage and the Executive put under the prostrate of a singular individual, then we are going to be worse off,” he said.

CISLAC demands unconditional restoration of Ekiti Assembly Speaker HE Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has condemned what it called the unwarranted and undemocratic action of the seven lawmakers of Ekiti State House of Assembly in removing Speaker Adewale Omirin.

CISLAC expressed deep concern by alleged attempt by Governor Ayodele Fayose to

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Ikuforiji urges INEC to extend PVC exercise n Oziegbe OKOEKI n PEAKER of the Lagos state House of Assembly, Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to extend the period for the collection of Permanent Voters Cards (PVC) and registration of voters to the end of the year.

He made the call at the 8th edition of the annual Hijrah organised by the House at the Assembly complex.

The topic for this year’s lecture was, 'Religion, Politics and Good Governance' delivered

by Barrister Abdullahi Adam Al-Ilory, principal partner Abdullahi Adam Abdullahi and co, and Dr. Abdurrazzaq Abdulmajid Alaro, Senior Lecturer, Department of Islamic Law, University of Ilorin, Kwara state.

Delivering his speech, Ikuforiji said: " An ample time should be given at least from now till the end of the year so that appreciable number of the population can obtain the card.”

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hijack and control the constitutionally independent House of Assembly, primary for unpatriotic political ambition.

“It is worrisome that some State legislators have become insensitive to constitutional provisions and intentional breaking the law for political gain. Unconstitutional removal of the House of Assembly exposes the level of immaturity and poor under-

standing constitutional provisions in part of some members of State House of Assembly where a group of seven members unseat Speaker of the House,” CISLAC said.

It said it was also worried that the unconstitutional impeachment process predominantly targeted at members of opposition party might pose a threat to the na-

tion’s democracy and sow seeds of crisis in an already violence-charged Nigerian polity as recently.

“They abandon their constitutional mandates and succumb to all manner of external interference into their activities clearly positioned them as ‘use any means and break any rules in the quest for power and wealth,” the group said.

Bloody violence in Ibadan •Policeman, two others shot dead •APC blames violence on opposition parties HE Oyo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has condemned the violence that broke out yesterday during the last leg of Governor Abiola Ajimobi’s tour of the local government areas, blaming the violence on members of opposition parties, who it claimed infiltrated its ranks.

Speaking yesterday, the party’s Publicity Secretary, Wale Shadare, said the opposition parties, apparently overwhelmed by the success of the governor's meet-thepeople tour and distribution of letters of appointment to teachers, embarked on the violence to embarrass the governor and take the shine off the "successive tour".

"Why was it that this happened on the last day of the tour? Why did they choose the governor's local government to inflict the mayhem?," the party asked.

Stating that the party had eliminated violence from the state in the last three and half

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n Oseheye OKWUOFU, n Ibadan years and abhors thuggery and violence, the APC said its party-led government would not leave any stone unturned in bringing the perpetrators to justice.

The violence, which led to the death of a policeman and two other people, in the OkeAdo area of Ibadan, the Oyo State, also left more than 25 people wounded.

Among the injured was a pregnant woman who was caught in the bloody violence, which caused panic and paralysed social and commercial activities in the area.

Speaking last night, the state police command said it has arrested 18 suspects in connection with the mayhem.

According to sources, trouble started at about 2.40pm when some thugs, numbering about 50 stormed the area in buses and started shooting indiscriminately into the air.

The action, which the police

attempted to curtail, led into a shoot-out between the armed thugs and the few policemen on ground.

Shortly before the bloody violence, supporters and members of the APC had gathered at the Oke-Ado market to receive Governor Abiola Ajimobi who was expected to visit the Ibadan South West Local Government.

The visit, it was learnt, was part of Ajimobi's tour of the 33 local government areas of the state.

The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mrs Olabisi Clet-Ilobanafor, described the incident as very unfortunate, adding the all those involved in the violence would not go unpunished.

She warned political thugs and their merchants to desist from causing unrest or face the full wrath of the law.

According to her, the Oyo state Police Command has drawn a battle line between it and merchants of political thugs and they must be ready to face the anger of the command.

YO State governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi has described the criticism of his tour of the 33 local governments in the state by former governor Rashidi Ladoja’s Accord Party as a total naivety of the way governments all over the world works .

The Accord Party had described the tour during which the governor met with the people and distributed letters of appointments to the 5,300 teachers employed by his administration as ‘executive joblessness’.

Ajimobi, while speaking with elders and traditional chiefs in Iddo Local Government on Friday, said that it was the unique way of the opposition in the state to disparage any good government policy that did not come from them.

“I was told that they said it was joblessness that I am going round the state meeting my people and distributing letters of appointment to 5,300 teachers. Isn’t that ridiculous? How can you have a Commander -in- Chief who is going round to inspect his troops and you still accuse him of looking after the welfare of his people? What job did the people elect me to do if not going round to look after my people’s welfare? No doubt, it is the usual idle talk of the opposition,” Ajimobi said.

He told the mammoth crowd that had come to receive him that in the history of governance in the state, no administration had employed as much people as his government had done in the last three and half years.

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Omisore's witness goes comical at tribunal R. Adesina Teniola Akangbe, a witness of the Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate in the August 9 election in Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore, yesterday turned himself into a laughing stock at the election petition tribunal.

He displayed lack of understanding of his witness statement while giving evidence before the tribunal chairman, Justice Elizabeth Ikpejime Members of the tribunal as well as lawyers for the petitioners and respondents could not hold their emotion when the witness said the

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n Adesoji ADENIYI, Osogbo n meaning of 'mutilation' as stated in his witness statement was "forcing someone to do something". His explanation made the counsel to burst into laughter.

Under cross-examination, the Independent National Electoral Commission's counsel asked the witness: "What do you mean by mutilation as stated in your deposition?"

The witness responded: "Forcing someone to do something."

Jokingly, Justice Ikpejime while still laughing asked the lawyers to "add the statement of the witness to their dictionary."

Fashola, Abdulsalami, others to bag meritorious award AGOS State governor, Ban Innocent DURU n batunde Fashola, former head of state, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, (Rtd) and other eminent personalities in the country will on November 23rd receive a meritorious award for their contributions to the growth and development of the country.

The annual award ceremony organized by HOG magazine will take place at Memory Gathering Event Centre, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.

President of Nigerian Guild of Editors and Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief, The Sun newspapers, Mr. Femi Adesina, All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential aspirant, Sam NdaIsaiah, among others will also be honoured.

Explaining the rationale for choosing the inductees, the publisher, Rupert Ojenuwa said: “Those to be inducted into the HOG's Hall of Fame were selected based on the fact that their contributions to development of their respective fields have remained consistent and changing the lives of the people around them.

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ANCO president loses mum HE President of the Association of Couriers Operators in Nigeria (ANCO) and the Group Managing Director/CEO of Bowill Group, Mr. Siyanbola Oladapo has lost his mum, Abike Mobolanle Oladapo.

The late Mrs Oladapo died on Saturday November 8 at the age of 86 years. Until her death, she was a community leader.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

Ndoma-Egba campaign organization rejects cancellation of ward congresses

Edo renames varsity after Tayo Akpata n Osemwengie BEN OGBEMUDIA n and Osagie OTABOR DO State Government has immortalized onetime Executive Secretary of the defunct Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) and Commissioner for Education in the defunct Bendel State, Chief Tayo Akpata, by naming the state-owned university of education after him.

At a funeral service in honour of the late Chief Akpata, Governor Adams Oshiomhole, who made the announcement, said the College of Education, Ekiadolor which was recently upgraded to a university status, will now be known as Tayo Akpata University of Education, Ekiadolor.

Oshiomhole said, “We feel the pain of the loss of our elder statesman, a man whose life symbolised the fighting spirit, the resourcefulness, the intellectual capacity of the Edo people. One who has shown that the average Edo person is not contented at looking after himself alone, but often is willing to carry the burden of others.

“Oftentimes, Nigerians talk of immortalizing people who are rich in naira. But the greatest wealth in my view is what contribution one has made to the development of his community. And there is no question that Chief Tayo Akpata was a shining example of what we all can do individually to make a difference in our community.

“We have reflected and we arrived at a conclusion that the University of Education, Ekiadolor will now be renamed as Tayo Akpata University of Education, Ekiadolor. That way, our young ones will recognize that people are immortalized not because they feature in the list of Nigeria’s richest men or women but on account of their rich contributions and the role they play in the lives of very ordinary people”.

n Nicholas KALU, Calabar n

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•(L-R) Former President of Ghana, Jerry Rawlings; his wife, Nana Konadu Ajiman-Rawlings; Speaker of the Ghana National Parliament, Hon. Joe Adjajo and Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State, at the funeral service for renowned African Scouts Commissioner, Late Isaac Newton Addy in Accra, Ghana...yesterday

Army shuts Kokori market, schools over kidnap of ljaw monarch OKORI community in Ethiope East local government Area of Delta State was deserted yesterday following the closure of the community market, shops and schools by military personnel over the threat by Ijaw groups to attack the community if the kidnapped monarch was not released by Friday.

A source had earlier revealed that members of the group had visited the community two days ago to issue the ultimatum for release their traditional ruler, threatening to close down the community if the traditional ruler was not released.

According to sources, the Ijaw monarch was on his way to see his herbalist

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Ex-Niger Delta militants condemn impeachment threat against Jonathan n Bisi OLANIYI, Port Harcourt n ORMER Niger Delta militants have condemned the threats by some members of the House of Representatives to impeach President Goodluck Jonathan.

The former warlords, who spoke in Port Harcourt yesterday, stated that the impeachment of the president would amount to a direct attack on the marginalised people of the Niger Delta area of the country.

Speaking through Pastor Reuben Wilson, a former warlord, who also is the President of the Leadership, Peace and Cultural Development Initiative, a body of former leaders of militant camps in the Niger Delta, the former militants alleged that the members of the House of Representatives had no moral right to commence impeachment proceedings against President Jonathan.

The ex-militants, who embraced the 2009 amnesty offer of the Federal Government, stressed that most people of the Niger Delta are behind the president and would take all legitimate steps to resist attempts to embarrass him.

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Auchi poly rector bags award HE Rector of Auchi Polytechnic, Dr. Mrs. Philipa Idogho, has been selected among the recipients of ‘Most Respected CEO in the Educational Sector in Nigeria’.

According to a statement by the organizers of the event, CEO Nigeria Platform Magazine, Dr. Idogho was selected based on her dedication to public service, concrete programme of action, leadership qualities, achievement so far, and positive comments on her institution by stakeholders in the sector.

“Her stand against examination malpractices, continued convocation of graduating students since her assumption of office in 2008 and the infrastructural improvement of the school, are some of the landmarks to her credit,” the statement said.

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HE Director-General of the Victor Ndoma-Egba Campaign Organization, Mr Ernest Irek, yesterday rejected the reported cancelation of the November 1, 2014, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ward congresses to elect adhoc delegates in Cross River State.

Reacting to newspaper reports which quoted that the national publicity secretary of the party, Olisa Metuh, as saying that the congresses in Cross River and two other states had been cancelled and rescheduled for next Monday, Irek said, “I want to state very clearly on the side of the Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba campaign organization that whatever has been ascribed to the cancellation is vehemently rejected by us.”

He said the group was not happy with the development because they had prepared themselves for the next stage of the contest.

His words, “Nobody has communicated to us what has happened. And as far as we are concerned, our position is still the same as it was after we won the first November 1, 2014 ad hoc elections. If you recall, this matter is in the court and the court has reserved ruling. I don’t know why the party is in such a hurry to circumvent what the court would do.

n Polycarp OROSEVWOTU, Ughelli n when he was kidnapped.

The source disclosed that the monarch has a longterm relationship with the herbalist.

The Secretary of the Kokori Progress Union KPU, Dr. Festus Arunaye, who spoke to newsmen on the incident, expressed worry over the state of security in the town.

Arunaye explained that

the situation has deteriorated, adding that the soldiers searching for the missing monarch arrested a suspect with sophisticated weapons, boots and masks.

Arunaye said, “How could the soldiers punish the entire community because of one suspect. As we speak, the town is deserted.

All our mothers, fathers and children have fled into the

bush because of a miscreant and nobody seems to be talking or responding on the issues.”

A close source to the army, who spoke on the ground of anonymity, confirmed that a suspect who is presently in the custody of the 222 battalion, Agbarha Otor, was arrested with some military kits, saying that the presence of the military in Kokori community was to maintain peace.

Court remands five persons over attack on policewomen n Osemwengie BEN OGBEMUDIA and Osagie OTABOR n Benin Magistrate Court, presided over by Magistrate Jonathan Ogbeide, has remanded five accused persons who allegedly attacked three policewomen at the Ikpoba-Hill axis of the state capital.

The accused persons, who are now facing an attempted murder charge, are: Izinabor Julius; Agela Ovabor; Promise Ovabor; Dele Joy and Happy Charles, who were said to have committed the offence on 17th November, 2014, at No. 8 Obaseki lane, opposite Western Boys High School, Ikpoba-Hill, Benin City.

The accused persons were arraigned on four and seven-count charges, were said to have conspired among themselves to commit felony to wit attempted murder, an offence punishable under Section 516 of the Criminal Code.

The five accused persons, who pleaded not guilty to any of the charge, were also alleged to have fiercely attacked the police officers, Sgt.

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Evbakoe Idemudia, Sgt. Edith Mokobia and Cpl. Ihensekhien Cordilia, attached to Ikpoba Hill Police Station in Benin City, with bottles and planks, thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 320 (1) of the Criminal Code.

In count four, the accused persons were said to have committed an assault occasioning harm against the three police officers after resisting arrest, having showed them police identity cards, an offence contrary to Section 356 (1) of the Criminal Code.

They were also alleged to have beaten the officers, as well as conducted themselves in a manner likely to cause the breach of peace by behaving in disorderly manner before stripping them naked in a public place, an offence punishable under Section 355, 249 (a)(d) of the Criminal Code.

The accused persons were remanded in prison custody.

Uduaghan challenges doctors on maternal healthcare ELTA State governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan, has challenged gynaecologists and obstetricians to strive towards improving the health conditions of pregnant women and their new born babies in the country.

Dr Uduaghan gave the charge on Thursday while declaring open the 48th Annual General Meeting (AGM) and scientific conference of the Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics of Nigeria (SOGON) in Asaba.

The conference, which was well attended, had as its theme, ‘Human Resources Development in Improving Maternal and Child Health in Nigeria: Looking Beyond MDGs.

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Governor Uduaghan charged the medical experts to assist in the national efforts to improve maternal and child healthcare across the country, stating, “I wish to encourage you not to relent in your efforts towards our concerted quest for great ideals in the healthcare of our women and new-born.”

The governor disclosed that his administration introduced free maternal health care programme in November 2007 to reduce maternal mortality rate and scored his administration high in the feat it has so far recorded in that direction.

“Prior to the introduction of the programme, maternal mortality rate stood at an alarming 456 per 100, 000 live births – which was unacceptable to us,

however, today even with more women availing themselves of the opportunities of the programme, the maternal mortality rate has reduced to 188 per 100, 000 live births in 2013 and we are still working hard to reduce these figures,” he said.

Uduaghan stated that from the inception of his administration, it “embarked on critical programmes in the health sector, implementing the free maternal and under five healthcare programme with the aim of effecting a sustainable reduction in maternal and newborn deaths in the state, the horizon of this extends to tackling gynaecological malignancies in our rural communities.

Group calls for dissolution of C/River PDP exco n Nicholas KALU, Calabar n S the crisis rocking the Cross River State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) continues, a group, the Central Cross River Youth Caucus, has called for the dissolution of the executive council of the party in the state.

Spokesperson for the group, Mr Tony Ndoma, said going by recent developments, they have no confidence in the ability of the present Ntufam John Okon led executive council to conduct a free, fair and credible election.

They also supported the representative of the Central Senatorial District in the Senate, Victor Ndoma-Egba, to continue in office in 2015.

Addressing reporters in Calabar, the youths said NdomaEgba, who is also the Senate Leader, is the best they have at the moment.

Ndoma said the senator’s efforts have given birth to a very stable polity.

According to them, the stability of the Nigerian senate and the nation at large is borne out of the maturity of the leadership of the senate and her members.

“He is our very own. A son of the soil, the golden voice of the Nigerian Senate, the pride of the south-south people, a man who today is today considered by all Cross River people to be a necessity. The myriads of projects he has attracted to the people of the state and his constituency projects are speaking loudly for him.

“This is precisely why the youths and students of Cross River origin say his return to the Senate is a must whether he likes it or not. It is against this background that we pass a vote of confidence on our dear President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and our own Victor Ndoma-Egba.”

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THE NATION,

COMMENTARY 9

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

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It is only those who can guarantee the safety of life and property of Nigerians who deserve to be elected and re elected as President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces

’ Emergency, insurgency and presidency I

saw a picture of local hunters armed with dane guns on a truck going to fight Boko Haram in a town in Adamawa state alongside a report in the news media saying that Nigeria is one of the five nations with the highest fatalities in the world for terrorism and I felt real pity for both the hunters and the Nigerian army in the fight against Boko Haram here in Nigeria. This was the same week that the Nigerian President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces sent a bill to the National Assembly seeking extension of the State of Emergency in three states in the North East of Nigera where Boko Haram has been conquering and losing our towns and cities with bloody fanfare and impunity whilst joint task forces with local hunters and dane guns have become heroes in towns where well armed soldiers took to their heels before. Really it is difficult to know when to cry or when to laugh on getting news from the War front in this carnage of insurgency by Boko Haram which has made the Commander in Chief to ask for another six month extension because the security challenges in these areas are far from over, contained or ameliorated in any way. Remarkably the legislators in the House of Representatives have rejected the renewal after they themselves were subjected to some insurgency by the Police who tear gassed them and almost prevented them from sitting to debate the matter.

In line with the spirit and perhaps the humour of hunters with dane guns facing a Boko Haram well armed with sophisticated weapons and winning, the Emir of Kano His Royal Highness Lamido Sanusi reportedly waded into the foray by asking the people of Kano not to run away from terrorists but to take whatever steps were necessary to protect their lives and property. Which really is the attitude or spirit I want to discuss today and that is the spirit of survival , self defence , and protection of life and property at a period when State of Emergency seems inevitable but ineffective, against a festering insurgency that has turned our vast North East into killing fields . This is happening even as our President prepares for the security of his presidency by seeking legitimacy in his quest to contest the coming 2015 Presidential elections. Ominously and tragically again AFP reports on the internet on Thursday revealed that Boko Haram raided the town of Azaya Kura 40 kilometres from Maiduguri and left 45 people dead after the raid.

Surely the Emir’s call is bold, timely and relevant and is indeed in tune with the mood in Kano where the Governor of the state Engineer Rabiu Kwankwanso is one of

the Presidential candidates for the APC Presidential primaries due on December 10. Both the Emir of Kano and the state governor have become a morale boosting arrow head in the entire North to confront the terror of Boko Haram in spite of a bombing this last Sunday in Kano . It is such courage , such boldness, that confronts bastardisation of religion with violence and destruction and takes that on with steely defiance and the formation of a force of resistance that fuses modernity with tradition, that I want to draw the attention of other leaders in the North and indeed Nigeria to today in confronting the terror of Boko Haram, conquering it and moving our nation far beyond it.

Even on the global scene we had examples this week to show that even well respected leaders and their nations can be called to order if they misbehave. Russia’s President Vladmir Putin was this week given a cold shoulder and isolated by the leaders of the G20 Meeting in Brisbane Australia and when he could not bear the ostracism, he left the Meeting abruptly and unexpectedly. But he got the message – You can not violate international law by invading Ukraine a sovereign nation and support rebellion there and expect diplomatic rapport with fellow leaders of the leading nations of the world.

Similarly US President Barak Obama first threatened to by pass the US Congress if it did not consider his pet project on Immigration granting full citizenship to about 5m immigrants who have been in the US for some time with ad hoc papers. Obama went on this week to use executive powers to pass the law thus bypassing Congress This of course will tax the check and balance of power inherent in the US presidential system of separation of powers especially as the Republicans have gained control of the Senate from the last Mid term elections results. But it is Obama’s way of saying that desperate diseases require desperate cures and that while the Republicans are putting spanner in the works against his pet project, he can find his way through to show them that his mandate was from the entire US and he will not allow a project that he feels is in the public good to be castrated on the altar of blind partisanship and stubborn brinksmanship from the Republicans.

It is in this light that one should see the call to arms against terrorism by the Emir of Kano and the elaborate women and girls education programme of the APC government of Governor Rabiu Kwankwanso in Kano. Someone once said if you educate a boy you educate a person , but if you educate a girl you educate a nation .This is what Boko Haram is fighting against by opposing western education and rubbing salt into our insurgency wounds by seizing over 200 Chibok girls and taunting our sense of decency by declaring that they

have been married off. The Emir of Kano’s call for massive self defence is one that should be copied by other rulers in the entire North East if not the entire North. Such a move will suffocate Boko Haram and show it that even though it had killed Emirs in places like Gwoza before, it can not be business as usual as it cannot find refuge in the North where, now, even local hunters with dane guns are prepared to take them on with their sophisticated machine guns.

It was this spirit of constructive and salutary defiance that saw people like APC presidential candidate and former Head of State ex-General Muhammadu Buhari, APC Chairman John Oyegun and Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi take to the streets in Abuja in a Salvation March demanding to know why the Presidency in Abuja must be enjoying in the capital while Nigerians are being killed by the Boko Haram insurgency with impunity. Of course ex General Buhari knew he was taking a personal risk in Abuja as his entourage was bombed in Kaduna recently. But that showed his bravery and commitment to the Nigerian nation and should galvanize his presidential candidacy in the APC Presidential primaries. To me that Salvation March is a bold statement against Boko Haram and against the incumbent in the Nigerian presidency that Buhari and of course Rabiu Kwankwanso of Kano seek to unseat in the coming 2015 presidential elections. Those who must lead Nigeria must be those bold enough to say and do what has to be done to put fear into Boko Haram in word and deed. Indeed the Presidency itself and the President must know that the coming 2015 elections are about the defeat of the Boko Haram insurgency and the security of life and property in Nigeria.

It is only those who can guarantee the safety of life and property of Nigerians who deserve to be elected and re elected as President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. These are people who can tell off and kill off Boko Haram with a clear conscience, a loud voice and effective, efficient use of the executive powers inherent in our presidency and President, as the Commander in Chief of our armed forces. That is the sure sign of a successful president in these days of bloody insurgency and proposed extended state of emergencies. Not tear gassing lawmakers as they meet to debate renewal of the state of emergency which they have rejected anyway while the presidency spokesman bizarrely claimed that the police was just maintaining law and order. Again it is difficult to know whether to laugh or cry. But really one can point out to the presidency spokesman that on some occasions such as the spectacle of law makers turning to emergency high jumpers just to enter the legislature to do their work because police had locked the gate, silence can be golden.

THE NATION,

10 COMMENTARY

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ERIOUSLY, when it comes to the situation with the insurgency in Nigeria, ‘enough is not enough,’ ‘enough was enough’ a long flipping time ago. Are you kidding me? Are we seriously waking up in a country everyday to disastrous news of bombs going off here, bombs going off there, towns being overrun here, children being kidnapped there, people being slaughtered in this corner, communities being murdered over there? Are we serious…?

I mean, the worsening security situation in the country, particularly in the North-eastern part of the country is getting more and more worrisome by the day. We awake virtually every morning to gloomy and dispiriting news of senseless killings and destructions by insurgents in the region. More demoralizing is the recent insurgents attack via a suicide bomber at a secondary school in Yobe state, killing innocent children who were having morning assemblies before going to their classrooms, as is customary in Nigerian schools. Further reports stated that the parents and guardians of the children thronged to Potiskum general hospital in search of the bodies of their children and those that were injured by the blast. As a parent and mother, I can only imagine the nightmare the parents of those children are going through.

The times we are living in and the terror we are witnessing in Nigeria can only be described as crazy. For God’s sakes, when will this madness, brutality and savagery end? The pain and agony fellow Nigerians are going through daily is devastating. It is unacceptable and it cannot be allowed to go on any further. While majority of us politicize the situation, engage in blame game and conspiracy theories, sentimental and bigoted and sometimes preposterous opinions about the cause of the escalating security deterioration in the country, the insurgents are utilizing and exploiting the lack of unity within us, the lack of cohesion within us, the lack of oneness among us, and the lack of speaking with one voice, by capturing and amassing more territories under their supposed caliphate.

As at the last count, the insurgents had captured about 9-LGAs in Borno State, 5-LGAs in Adamawa State and 2-LGAs in Yobe state. For a sovereign nation like Nigeria, this is preposter-

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

Enough is flipping enough…! ous and deplorable! While we engage in the “assumed” narrative that the present insurgency is a Northern agenda to destabilize the Jonathan government, or a Southern agenda to extirpate the North, or a Muslim agenda to Islamize Nigeria, or the insurgents are being sponsored by the opposition or the ruling party, the reality on ground is that, as the insurgents attack increases, death toll rises exponentially.

Reports have it that between July 2009 and June 2014, the insurgents have killed more than 5,000 civilians and still counting, including at least 2,000 in the first half of this year. More than 1000 women and children have been abducted by them, including the infamous kidnapping of 276 teenage school girls from Chibok in April this year.

Over 650,000 people have fled the conflict zone/ region by August and an unprecedented increase of 200,000 since May this year. A report by ”Global Overview 2014: people internally displaced by conflict and violence” in May, by the Internal Displaced Monitoring Centre and the Norwegian Refugee Council stated that the number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Nigeria is approximately a third of the IDPs in Africa and 10% of IDPs in the world, making Nigeria with 3.3 million IDPs, the largest population of persons displaced by conflict in Africa.

While the government is preoccupied with posturing itself in a positive light, in anticipation for 2015, giving us the impression that all is well despite the “all of a sudden” increased attacks by the insurgents, while the military consistently tell us they are winning the war against the insurgents and “on top of the situation”, despite the situation on ground which exposes and entirely different story. While all the political parties continue capitalizing on the situation, never missing any opportunity to throw daggers, accusations and ‘shade’ at one another, this cancer of

blood thirsty, callous, evil men continues to spread. While outgoing governors bicker over senatorial seats come 2015 and party aspirants fight to the death for the right to represent their parties, these group of murderers are fast expanding the areas where they hoist their flag. While in certain quarters it is said in vociferous tones that the insurgency is being perpetuated in only the states controlled by the opposition parties choosing to forget that government controlled parties such as Bauchi and Gombe states have also been attacked, the terrorists are detonating their bombs and launching their offensive with no mind to party affiliation. While politicians are busy cross-carpeting from one political party to another and embracing the lack of definitive political ideologies of political parties in the country, insurgents stealthily crossing closer to the core of Nigeria from the North east all the way down and are literally 2 states away from the Capital Abuja. While some political leaders continue to exhibit an insatiable avarice, egocentricity, inconsideration and inordinate ambition for political offices, the insurgents continue to show footage of how its members are currently controlling towns and villages under the supposed “Islamic Caliphate”.

If there was ever a time Nigeria needed to call “CodeRed” and declare an all out war and assault on the insurgents, I think that time is now.

Enough with the kid-glove handling of the insurgency issue. Enough with the “olive branch” offer by the government, it is obvious that the insurgents do not want to negotiate and lay down their arms in the interest of peace, especially after the recent cease fire deal went sour. It is unacceptable continuing to allow these dastard insurgents run amok, causing violence, mayhem, destruction and murder in theirwake. The full weight of our military might needs to be deployed if it would annihilate the insurgents and bring peace to the

affected towns and villages in the Northeastern region.

The authorities need to act fast and decisively, by putting a stop to the violence once and forall and reclaiming our lost territories. As Nigerians, this is the time we need to rise up in a single voice and say no to the insurgents, regardless of political affiliation, ethnicity, religion, class or position.

This is a Nigerian problem and we should all rise up to the occasion by speaking out againstinsurgency and terrorism with one collective voice. We must all be united in this battle against the insurgents and terrorist, including refusing to let anyone politicize it. Nigeria, by virtue of the leadership of a very organized Lagos government did it during the Ebola saga and succeeded in halting its spread. We conscientiously adhered to the warnings from our government on the way the virus was spread, even avoiding handshakes and hugs with lovedones and close friends. Even the revered Catholic Church suspended the traditional administration of Holy Communion on the tongue of the recipient. Instead, they opted to administer the Holy Communion on the palm of the recipient in an attempt to check the spread of Ebola. The common enemy then was Ebola; the common enemy now is the insurgents. We did it then, and we can do it now.

No matter how anyone cuts it, there is just no ifs, buts or how’s on this insurgency issue. The situation cannot be allowed to continue in this manner. These good for nothing, low life, dementing colon turd, nonsense, vomit stain, murdering ingrates with wicked intention parading as insurgents have got to be stopped, they have got to be destroyed for good. The video of these irredeemable food trough-kidnapping plonkers taking over Nigerian towns and terrorizing people is just heartbreaking. There are just no words to describe the pain, anger and frustration of every peace loving person at the actions of these savages. Enough is flipping enough and it has got to stop. But that can only effectively be done when peace loving Nigerians stand on one side leaving insurgents on the other. When Nigerians stand on one side and speak loudly and clearly with one voice. Fellow Nigerians, united we stand, divided we fall!

So, where is the audacity of hope?

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UR politicians have gone mad again. As the make-ormar February 2015 general elections draw closer, every nitwit on the political tuft seems to be fixated to one thing— change! However, the reality is that, in nearly 16 years of Nigeria’s democratic experiment, the only indisputable, visible change is perched on the collars of the men inpower. It is evident in the extravagant lifestyles of the politicians.And so, when they vomit change as a political mantra, you can’t help but wonder if it’s not a joke carried too far. Change from what to what, you ask.

The other day at the Eagles Square in Abuja, President Goodluck Jonathan, nudged on by the usually fawning but cantankerous bands of rented crowd, joined the fray. He promised a continuity laden with change! I chuckled.

Do not get it twisted. Change is desirable especially in a country that is in dire need of an inspiring leadership. When President Barrack Obama employed it to woo the American electorates, he spoke of change that the target audience ‘can believe in.’

It was, in the main, an inspirational call borne out of the selfconviction of one who was out to make history. He wowed and wooed the crowd and rode on the crest of the positive expectations of the American voters to become the first black American President. Of course, one could argue that things did not really turn out the way it should as Obama’s popularity rating continues its downward slide in recent months. What is important here is that Obama’s conviction was good enough to earn him a re-election to the White House in a keenly contested election some years back. Now, fast forward to the Nigerian political terrain and what confronts you is the babel of voices latching on to the use of change as the magical wand for electoral victory.

In 16 harrowing years of Nigeria’s political trajectory, the conversation has never changed to developmental issues. It is all motion without movement as the country sinks deeper into chaos.

Here, institutions that should strengthen the system grow weaker while governance is run at the whim of executive, legislative and, sometimes, judicial rascality. That explains why confirmed failures spread across different government houses crave a return to power.That is why state chief executives, presently rounding off their tenures, are battling to retire to the Senate. That is why, for now, nothing else matters if it is not the crazy cravings for party tickets. That is the pathetic story of our political development.

Every politician promises change but they hardly know its meaning other than using it as a jingle. What really has changed that would ignite that fire of hope among the populace? How many politicians out there are prepared to live by the timeworn ethos of democratic governance? How many of them truly drop their hats in the ring out ofa genuine desire to serve selflessly?

What exactly is the percentage of those who are ready to tell truth to power, standing firmly on the side of the people? I bet that figure is insignificantly low. Everyone, well almost everyone, is simply looking for a sunny side up corner in the political arena, with some chance to lubricate their pockets.

If we were to go by the sickening mass hysteria with which these characters have taken over our space, you would think that the deadly Boko Haram insurgents have been chased out of the country and the abducted Chibok girls have been reunited with their families. Sadly, nothing of sort has happened. As you

are reading this, the missing girls have spent 222 days outside their homes. The painful reality, which many are scared to admit, is that they have become another sad tale of our tragic history. While top security chiefs converged on the Presidential Villa few days ago, to rub minds with President Jonathan on how to liberate areas seized by the insurgents, the spate of bombings by female suicide bombers continues to increase. The insurgents have become more brazen, conquering territories after territories as reports indicate that local hunters now lead the herd of liberators who seek to reclaim their territories from the invaders. Unfortunately, what should be sobering moment for whoever is in charge of this house is being exploited to gain cheap political mileage. From Maiduguri, Borno State to Lafia in Nasarawa State, hundreds of people are hacked to death daily in an unending ogre of unmitigated violence. Yet, we carry on as if all that matters is a return to status quo in the 2015 elections. So, after that, what next?

In the last two weeks after the President officially announced his interest to continue with his’giant strides’ in government, certain events have left a distasteful taste in the mouth. It’s not just about the suicide bombing in a science school in Potiskum, Yobe State which left over 40 students dead and scores injured. It’s not even about how the opposition has been playing politics with the callous killings and poking fingers at the President for his frustrating inability to walk his talk in the ‘war’ against terrorism in the country. It’s more about the seeming lethargy and outright incompetence being displayed by those saddled with the responsibility of keeping the citizens of this country out from the deadly activities of blood thirsty bigots like the Boko Haram insurgents. I shudder each time I come across images of the nation’s security chiefs giving themselves a pat on the back and exchanging banters whenever they go for the routine parley with the President. It appears they do not know the enormity of the crisis on their plates. It is, to say the least, depressing that local hunters are becoming more effective in the battle than a morally deflated professional band of warriors who gives the insurgents a reason to mock us.

How do they want us to believe that things would change for the better when they are fixated to doing things the same way? Those who make a song and dance of transforming Nigeria should understand that transformation, like change, is not static. It is not progress forward through backward regression either. You cannot lay claim to winning the war against a rag-tag band of Islamic militants when they have seized more towns under emergency rule than when the states were under a civilian control. You cannot claim success in the power sector when the billions of dollars pumped into that sector in the last four years in addition to its privatisation have only generated megawatts of darkness across the federation. If former President Olusegun Obasanjo left 4000MW generating capacity and Nigeria presently boasts of a power distribution capacity of between 3500MW and 4200MW, then there is clearly a problem with the transformation train. If over 10 million children are still out of school with an increasing number being hacked to death in their classrooms, then we have a fundamental problem on our hands. How does the increasing rate of the unemployed and the unemployable help the transformation campaign. Does that equate a positive change? How does anyone hope to inspire a nation when all he does each time terror mocks us is to either resort to wringing the hands in confusion or blaming a murderous opposition he has failed

Knucklehead With

Yomi Odunuga E-mail:yomi.odunuga @thenationonlineng.net SMS only: 07028006913 to drag into a court of competent jurisdiction for sabotaging his efforts?

What exactly has changed that should inspire in us an audacity to hope for a better tomorrow? Is it that the rag-tag insurrectionists have been flushed out of their strongholds in the North-East like Gamboru, Mafa, Kala Balge, Dikwa, Bama, Gwoza, Madagali, Michika, Mubi, Guba and Gulan? Could it be that the appropriate agents have begun the process of naming and shaming sponsors of these criminals, who brim with exceeding joy whenever they perpetrate undiluted evil? Has there been a drastic reduction in corruption and corruptive practices in the polity? Have they cut the oil cabals and oil thieves to size? Have they weaned the exmilitants and warlords in the creeks of the grave danger they pose to the rest of us? If that were true, then who was the character that ordered the abduction of 14 journalists who were on a lawful duty in Delta the other day? Where did he get the guns that he used to frame them for gun-running? How come no one in The Presidency, including the presidential town crier, has deemed it fit to call the now-powerful and influential ‘ex-militant’ to order? Anyway, why should anyone be bothered when his alter ego in Ekiti State has taken a cue from the shameless impunity by turning all democratic principles on its head? By the way, didn’t Ayo Fayose confess to being transformed into a new due to a whirlwind of change that engulfed him?It is not his fault that anyway. In the haste to get their own share of stomach infrastructure, his supporters did not remember to take him to task on the manner of change he encountered. Now, they have to live with that queer transformation for four excruciating years. It is called democracy!

I am sure Fayose’s reign of impunity would be boosted by the brazen invasion of the National Assembly by security agents in Abuja on Thursday in which the attempted to stop the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, from performing his constitutional responsibility. Having witnessed the dance of shame and the laud silence that greeted it from Aso Rock, Fayose can as well instruct his seven-member State House of Assembly to take charge of legislative proceedings in perpetuity!

Shame.

Anyway, now that every yamhead shouts change as the magical wand for political relevance, shouldn’t we demand that they show us a reason to have the audacity to hope before they fool us again with this madness? Or are we in the era of change for change sake?

THE NATION,

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

2015: INEC sets up 15 standing committees

HEAD of the 2015 gen eral elections, the Inde pendent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday announced the setting up of 15 standing committees to superintend over the affairs of the commission.

The commission, had in 2010, barely one month after it was inaugurated (on June 30, 2010), set up 14 standing committees to oversee the affairs of the commission.

According to a memo dated November 13 and signed by the Secretary to the commission, Mrs Augusta C. Ogakwu, the 15 committees came into effect on Monday, November 17, precisely 89 days to the 2015 general elections.

The standing committees are: Appointments, Promotion and Discipline Committee (APD); Board of Survey and Technical Equipment Acquisi-

tion Committee (BOSTEAC); Board of Electoral Institute (TEI); Election Observation and Party Monitoring Committee (EPMC); Estate, Works and Transport Committee; Finance and General Purpose Committee); Health and Welfare Committee (HWC); Information Technology and Voter Registration Committee (ITVRC); Information and Voter Registration Committee (IVEC); Legal Services, Clearance and Complaints Committee (LSC); Electoral Operations and Logistics Committee (EOLC); Outreach and Partnerships Committee (OPC); Planning, Monitoring and Strategy Committee (PMSC); Security Committee; Tenders Board).

Members of the standing committees are: Appointments, Promotion and Discipline Committee (APDC): Amb. L. Nwuruku (SE), Chairman; Dr.

(Engr.) Nuru Yakubu (NE), other members are Dr. Chris Iyimoga (NC); Mrs. Amina B. Zakari (NW); Prof. Lai Olurode (SW), and Mrs. Thelma Iremiren (SS).

Board of Survey and Technical Equipment Acquisi-tion Committee (BOSTEAC) has as members: Amb. L. Nwuruku (SE), Ag. Chairman; Mrs. Gladys N. Nwafor (SE); Dr. (Engr.) Nuru Yakubu (NE); Vacant (SW); Amb. Ahmed Wali (NW); and Dr. Ishmael Igbani (SS), Board of Electoral Institute (TEI) Dr. Ishmael J. Igbani (SS), Chairman; no name yet for South West; Mrs. Amina B. Zakari (NW); Amb. L. Nwuruku (SE); Dr. (Engr.)

Nuru Yakubu (NE); and (vi.)

Dr. A.S. Oniyangi (NC); Election Observation and Party Monitoring Committee (EPMC); Prof. Lai Olurode

(SW), Chairman; Col. M.K. Hammanga (rtd) (NE); Amb. A.M. Wali (NW); Mrs. Gladys N. Nwafor (SE); Mrs. Thelma Iremiren (SS); and Dr. Chris O. Iyimoga (NC).

Estate, Works and Transport Committee (EWTC): Col. M.K. Hammanga (rtd) NE), Chairman; Dr. A.S. Oniyangi (NC); Vacant (SW); Mrs. Amina B. Zakari (NW); Mrs. Thelma Iremiren (SS); and Mrs. Gladys N. Nwafor (SE).

Finance and General Purpose Committee (FGPC): Prof.

Attahiru M. Jega (NW), Chairman; Dr. Ishmael J. Igbani (SS); Prof. Lai Olurode (SW); Mrs. Gladys N. Nwafor (SE); Dr. (Engr.) Nuru Yakubu (NE); Dr. A.S. Oniyangi (NC);Mrs. Aminu B. Zakari (NW).

Health and Welfare Committee (HWC): Dr. A.S. Oniyangi (NC), Chairman; Dr. Ishmael J. Igbani (SS); Amb. L.

Nwuruku (SE);Vacant (SW); Col. M.K. Hammanga (rtd) (NE); and Amb. Ahmed Wali (NW).

Information Technology and Voter Registration Committee (ITVRC): INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru M. Jega (NW) is the Chairman; Dr. (Engr.) Nuru Yakubu (NE); Mrs. Thelma Iremiren (SS); Amb. L. Nwuruku (SE); Prof.

Lai Olurode (SW); Dr. Chris Iyimoga (NC); and Amb. A.M. Wali (NW).

Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC):Dr. Chris Iyimoga (NC), Chairman; (Amb. A.M. Wali (NW), Mrs. Gladys N. Nwafor (SE); Dr. Ishmael J. Igbani (SS); Dr. (Engr.)

Nuru Yakubu (NE);and Vacant (SW).

Legal Services, Clearance and Complaints Committee (LSC): Mrs. Thelma Iremiren (SS), Chairperson; Amb. L.

Nwuruku (SE); Col. M.K. Hammanga (rtd) (NE); Amb. A.M. Wali (NW); Dr. A. Oniyangi (NC); and Vacant (SW).

Electoral Operations and Logistics Committee (OLC): Dr. (Engr.) Nuru Yakubu (NE), Chairman; Mrs. Amina B. Zakari (NW) Vacant (SW), Mrs. Gladys N. Nwafor (SE); Dr. Chris O. Iyimoga (NC); and Mrs. Thelma Iremiren (SS).

Outreach and Partnerships Committee (OPC): Mrs Gladys Nwafor (SE), Chairperson; Prof. Lai Olurode (SW); Amb. A.M. Wali (NW); Dr. Chris O. Iyimoga (NC); Col M.K. Hammanga (rtd) (NE); and Mrs. Thelma Iremiren (SS).

Planning, Monitoring and Strategy Committee (PMSC): Mrs. Amina B. Zakari (NW), Chairperson; Mrs Thelma Iremiren (SS); Dr. Chris Iyimoga (NC); Dr. (Engr.)

Nuru Yakubu (NE); Vacant (SW); and Mrs. Gladys N. Nwafor (SE).

Security Committee (SC): Prof. Attahiru M. Jega (NW), Chairman; Dr. Ishmael J. Igbani (SS); Mrs. Gladys N. Nwafor (SE); Prof. Lai Olurode (SW); Col. M.K. Hammanga (rtd) (NE); Dr. A.S. Oniyangi (NC), and Mrs Amina B. Zakari (NW).

Tenders Board (TB): Amb. Ahmed Wali (NW), Chairman; Col. M.K. Hammanga (rtd) (NE); Prof. Lai Olurode (SW); Dr. Ishmael J. Igbani (SS) and Dr. A.S. Oniyangi (NC).

233 senior police officers promoted Gbade OGUNWALE, Abuja HE Police Service Commission (PSC) yesterday approved the promotion of 233 senior police officers. The exercise, the PSC said, was one of the decisions taken at its 9th plenary, held in Abuja.

A statement yesterday by the commission's spokesman, Ikechukwu Ani, gave a breakdown of the ranks involved.

"55 of the officers were promoted from the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) to the next rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), 177 promoted from the rank of Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) to that of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) and one Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) promoted to a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP).

"The commission took cognizance of merit, availability of vacancy and satisfactory appraisal of performance (APER) grading in considering and approving the promotion of the officers".

Ani quoted the Chairman of the commission, Sir Mike Okiro, to have enjoined the officers to reciprocate the commission’s gesture by rededicating themselves to the service of their fatherland, especially during this crucial period in the nation’s life.

The statement stressed the commission's commitment to the advancement of the ideals and progress of the force and the personnel.

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PEOPLE SOCIETY ROMANCE ENTERTAINMENT SPORTS

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THE NATION SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

THE NATION SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

'Hook UP'…

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

•The late Eguke (right) and Ogbe.

Mysterious death of lovers few days to marriage stirs anxiety in Delta community HIS ought to be a joyous day for residents of Ughelli community, particularly members of Saint Michael Catholic Church, Otovwodo, Ughelli North Local Government Area, Delta State. But it is one in which the people are still mourning the mysterious death of two lovers whose marriage had been slated for today.

While speculations rage that the would-be couple might have died of poison or spiritual attack, where and how they were poisoned or attacked remains an illusion. The lifeless and swollen bodies of the young lovers were found in their own

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n Polycarp OROSEVWOTU, Ughelli n vomits at the staircase of their apartment.

Until their death, Mr Udoji Eguke and Miss Carol Akpevwe Ogbe were said to be committed members of Saint Michael’s Catholic Church, Otovwodo, Ughelli. Eguke was said to be the treasurer of the church’s branch of Catholic Youth Organisation of Nigeria (CYON) and a non-academic staff of Ughelli Government College, Ughelli, Delta State.

Ogbe was said to have hailed from Okpara Inland, Ethiope East, while Eguke hailed from Agadama-Uwheru in Ughelli North Local Gov-

ernment Area.They were said to have fulfilled the first step towards their marriage on September 28, 2014 when the man’s family visited that of the woman to hint them of their intention to have their daughter’s hand in marriage. The two families were said to have agreed that the marriage should hold today.

Speaking to newsmen on the mysterious deaths, the landlord, Chief Alfred Onavwa, who shared the upper floor of the storey building with Eguke, said his attention had earlier been drawn by neighbours to Eguke’s absence from the com-

Continued on page 20

,

•Members of Saint Michael Catholic Church during the funeral. Inset: The Very Rev. Fr. Eyayomo with the corpses of the deceased

What has happened to the wouldbe couple is beyond human comprehension.

They might have been poisoned by unknown persons, and that must have caused them to vomit the way they did

A widow’s unending agony HERE is no end in sight to Tawakalitu Alabi’s agony. First, her hardworking husband, Rashidi Alabi, allegedly died on February 2, 2012, during an encounter with an official of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), at the Toll Gate area of Ketu.

Next, his body that was taken to the Ikorodu General Hospital by police has not been released for burial till date because the family could not pay the hospital for taking custody of it.

Third, the heart-broken widow is about being thrown out in the cold following a rent default. She said her landlord had asked her to vacate their one room apartment in Ogijo, Ogun State.

Amid sobs, she said:” It has really been tough coping with life since the death of my husband who was pushed off a moving bus by a LASTMA official about two years ago. I will be thrown out of our rented one room apartment any moment from now because I have not been able to pay for the outgoing year’s rent, hence, my landlord has threatened to eject me by the end of the

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n Kunle AKINRINADE n month. “ I am a professional photographer but I don’t have money to buy equipment to work. In order to earn a living, I have resorted to hawking sachet and packaged water in Ikorodu market but the proceeds of the business cannot even comfortably take care of me and my children not to talk of accommodation. I will be glad if people can come to my aid.”

What could have been an additional burden is the tuition of her three children but it has since been taken care of by a church, His Master’s Voice Ministry (HMVM), Ejigbo, Isolo, Lagos State.

“But for the church, my children would have been out of school now.

HMVM has been paying my children’s school fees shortly after my plight was published in the paper but we might become homeless soon if help eludes us. I don’t even know who to run to for assistance because my husband’s siblings are also battling with economic survival.”

Speaking with The Nation, counsel to the family, Barrister Omobolaji

Adejumo, urged the Lagos State government to assist his client with means of livelihood.

“Her husband was allegedly pushed to death by a LASTMA operative; yet, his body has not been released for burial by authorities of Ikorodu General Hospital, because the family cannot pay for the release of his body deposited in the hospital’s morgue by police. She is a trained photographer but lacks the equipment and financial capacity to set up a photo business.”

The Nation had published on Saturday September 21, 2013, how the 30year-old bus conductor met his untimely death after his bus was flagged down by some LASTMA officials at Toll Gate area of Ketu. The errant officials were said to have dragged him down from the moving vehicle, leading to his death.

His body was taken to Ikorodu General Hospital and has not been released for burial in spite of protests by his lawyer and family members.

Recalling the incident, Tawakalitu said: “I was at home the day the incident occurred. My husband’s elder

Continued on page 20

•Mrs Alabi and her children

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

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CRIME

&

Mysterious death of lovers few days to marriage Continued from page 19 pound for some days.

Onavwa said: “After they had informed me about Mr. Udoji Eguke’s absence in the compound, l immediately picked my phone and started making calls to his number to know where he was. l found out that the phone was ringing upstairs but there was no response.

“As l noticed that the phone was ringing upstairs, l moved closer to the door and found that it was locked from inside. Flies were hovering round the door and a very offensive odour was oozing out. l had to immediately intimate the police.

“When the police came, we requested for a welder and on the instruction of the security agents, we opened the door and found both of them dead and swollen with vomits.”

It was learnt that the Divisional Police Officer, Ughelli A Division, CSP Samuel Musa, personally visited the scene before the deceased persons were taken to the mortuary on the instruction of the police chief.

Family members of the deceased lovers were inconsolable as tears rolled down their cheeks.

Some of them asked if the death of the lovers was the marriage they had been planning, asking what they would tell the people they had already invited for the wedding.

At the residence of Eguke on Makolomi Street, Ughelli and at the mortuary where the bodies were deposited, members of the Catholic Church wept profusely after confirming their death.

Some sympathisers, who spoke with our correspondent, suspected that the lovers could have died from poison. “What has happened to the would-be couple is beyond human comprehension. They might have been poisoned by unknown persons, and that must have caused them to vomit the way they did,” the sympathiser said.

A lawyer, who asked not to be named, said their death couldn’t have been ordinary. He said their phones could help in the investigation, adding that there is no smoke without fire. “There is no way two lovers preparing for marriage would just vomit to death without a trace. He opined that if the police were given free hand to investigate the issue, they would no doubt get to the bottom of it through the calls they might have made or received.’’

The lawyer said that police investigation could trace their movements prior to the incident, the party or personal outings they made, who was with them or who they drank or ate with.

The parents of the deceased lovers could not be reached for comments. Close sources said concerned sympathisers were still finding the best means to break the news to the parents to avoid another set of deaths because of the shock the news might generate.

At the funeral mass, the Parish priest of Saint Michael’s Catholic Church, Otovwodo, Ughelli, Rev. Fr. Col. Patrick Eyayomo, advised parishioners not to accuse anybody on the death of the deceased persons, saying that God gives and God takes. He said that God knows why it happened.

The church was said to have implored members to observe three days prayers for the souls of the deceased persons.

It was learnt that everyone in the neighbourhood was invited for interrogation by the police.

A neighbour was said to have claimed that he saw an ex-lover of Eguke entering his apartment in his absence, as she was in possession of the keys.

The Divisional Police Officer, A Division, Ughelli, CSP Samuel Musa, confirmed the incident, but he denied the arrest of any suspect. He directed our correspondent to the Public Relation Officer of the Delta State Police Command for comments, saying he was not authorised to speak on the issue.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

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OTHER STORIES

olukunle87@yahoo.com

I’m a victim of frustration, says politician’s son arrested for robbery C

Community policing effective weapon to fight crimes, say police chiefs

robbery suspect arrested by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Lagos State Police Command has said that his prison experience and the assassination of his father, who was a governorship aspirant, was responsible for his descent into crime.

Abel Ubada, a 27-year-old indigene of Delta State, said he would not have had anything to do with crime, particularly robbery, if his father, Charles Ubada, had not been murdered and he had not been detained at the Kirikiri maximum prison.

A police source told our correspondent that the suspect was arrested at Ojota, Lagos, on July 23 this year as “a notorious burglar and armed robber.” He was said to have been to prison more than five times in Ikoyi and Kirikiri, hence hos description as a jail bird.

Police record of his criminal exploits showed that he specialised in tearing window nets and cutting burglary proofs, as well as snatching phones and stealing expensive clothes, shoes, jewellery and other valuable items.

His criminal record also portrays him as a notorious one-man robbery gang who operated with the aid charms that could make him to vanish or cause his victims to fall asleep during a robbery operation.

He was said to be in possession of sleep inducing chemicals which he allegedly sprayed in any house he intended to rob so that his victims would fall into deep sleep while he looted their money and valuable items.

He was also said to operate with a magic ring with which he could gain entry into any house he desired. He, however, said the police had seized the ring from him.

Items Ubada was said to have looted from the homes of his victims included Plasma TV, laptop computers and expensive phones. He had no fixed address other than a hotel

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n Ebele BONIFACE n called The Don Hotel in Agege, Lagos State.

The hotel manager was said to have been shocked to see him with SARS operatives the day he was arrested. He was said to have been deceiving many of his friends that he he was working as a marketer at the Computer Village in Ikeja, Lagos.

Ubada, who spoke with our correspondent, said: “My father was shot dead by assassins when he wanted to contest for governorship election. They shot him in the tummy and nobody was around to rush him to the hospital. He died after a few minutes.

“It was his sudden death that pushed me into armed robbery. I was frustrated as there was nobody to sponsor my education. To even feed became a problem.

“It may interest you to know that my father, Charles, had a hotel named J and J Hotel at Umutu village in Kwale, Delta State.

He also had a filling station before he died.

These properties were in the hands of some people my father entrusted them to, and when I tried to retrieve them, they refused.

“I stopped school abruptly and became a tout at motor parks. From the little money I made daily, I started drinking and smoking cigarettes and Indian hemp.

“I could not save a dime from the about N3,000 I made daily because of my reckless lifestyle. Most of my friends were criminals, ex-convicts and other irresponsible people who never engaged in any useful discussion.

“When I became tired of working as a motor park tout, I became a bus conductor.

But when I started stealing the passengers’ phones, the driver drove me away.

“After staying for some weeks without a bus to follow, I started burglary.

I formed one-man gang, armed with a blade with which I cut window nets. I also stole laptops, i-pads, generators and cash.

“Most of the receivers of the things I stole

•Ubada had no permanent address or phone numbers. I did not know why they did not want to give or disclose their business or residential address until I was arrested by the police and they asked me to show them the receivers of the goods I have been stealing.

“All attempts to trace them failed. They all abandoned me and the police charged me to court and I was sent to jail.”

Asked why he could not stop stealing after making reasonable money from burglary and armed robbery, he said he was further badly influenced by some inmates he met at Ikoyi and Kirikiri prisons.

A widow’s unending agony Continued from page 19 brother, Fatai, called me on the phone and said that my husband had died while his vehicle was being stopped.

“He was said to have been dragged down while the vehicle was in motion and he fell on the pavement and died. We reported the incident at the Ketu Police Station but we

•The late Alabi

have not got any response.

“I was carrying a three-month pregnancy when he died. I have since been delivered of a baby boy named Waris on August 8, 2012.

We have appealed to the authorities of the hospital to release his body to us but our appeal has been turned down.

“I feel it is high time we called on the relevant authorities to release the body to us so that we can point to his tomb when the four children I had for him grow up.”

Tawakalit said that life had become a nightmare since the tragic death of her husband and she now lives on charity.

Back then, attempt by our correspondent to get the response of spokesperson of LASTMA, Mrs. Bola Ajao, was fruitless. She did not acknowledge the first text message sent to her phone by our correspondent asking him to resend it. She also failed to answer her calls when our correspondent again called to know if she got the second text message.

A letter written to LASTMA by the counsel to the family, Mr. Omobolaji Adejumo, reads in part: “We hold brief for Mrs. Tawakalitu Rashidi Alabi and Rukayat Alabi, the wives of Rashidi Alabi, the bus conductor dragged down from a moving bus by LASTMA officials, resulting in his untimely death.

“Our brief further revealed that it was on February 5, 2012 that Alabi was killed when he was going about his lawful duty at the Toll Gate end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway at Ketu.

“The most painful aspect of this scenario is refusing the family the right to bury their dead, which has compounded their sorrow.”

The refusal by authorities of Ikorodu Gen-

eral Hospital to release Alabi’s body to his family and the the notice that abandoned bodies in the hospital would be given mass burial prompted the Nigerian Bar Association, Ikeja Branch, to step into the matter last year.

In a letter written by the NBA to the Chief Medical Director of the hospital, dated August 24, 2012, it said: “The attention of the Nigerian Bar Association, Ikeja Branch (Human Rights Committee), has been drawn to a newspaper advertisement of August 19, 2012 by the Ikorodu General Hospital mortuary to the effect that it would give mass burial to bodies in its morgue unclaimed within seven days of the publication.

“We respectfully bring to your notice that the body of one Rashidi Alabi, an alleged victim of a fatal attack by a LASTMA official earlier in the year, precisely sometime in February, lies in the morgue of the Ikorodu General Hospital.

“Please, be further informed that there is an ongoing police investigation into the cause of death of the said Rashidi Alabi, with a view to prosecuting those found culpable of causing his unlawful death.

“Of course, the Coroners Laws of Lagos State prescribe a mandatory coroner’s inquiry into the death of any citizen of Lagos State whose death occurred in questionable circumstances.

“In the light of the above, we hereby humbly request the exception of the body of the said Rashidi Alabi from the intended mass burial.”

Tawakalitu can be reached on her GSM phone line: 08185503700 or via her lawyer’s 08023582873.

He said: “Even while I was in Ikoyi prison, the DPO that sent me to jail came and gave me N1,500 for food. He asked me to come to his office when I completed my jail term so that he would rehabilitate me. But the friends I made in prison made me to become hardened. That is why I said it was the work of the devil.

“It was the devil that made me to go back to robbery again but I did not operate with gun. I still operated with razor blade and charms that made my victims to fall sleep to enable me to loot their homes.

“I came out of Ikoyi Prison in July this year. Four days after I came out of prison, I trekked to the new garage at Ojota and continued my conductor work, getting between N1,500 and N2,000 daily.

“Unfortunately, I engaged in burglary again and the police started looking for me. I wanted to just do only that operation and stop, but I did not know that the police were trailing me.Unfortunatley, I only got N200 and one useless phone from the operation.

“I actually thought that I had done the job without anyone noticing. Surprisingly, as I was trekking home, a police van suddenly crossed me and one of the officers asked whether I had finished my term at Ikoyi Prison and why I refused to turn a new leaf.

“They asked me why I refused to see DPO that promised to help rehabilitate me and chose to go back into crime. They called DPO and he ordered them to bring me to him.

They took me to him at the Ojota Police Station and he vowed to take me to SARS for going back to crime after coming out of prison. That was how I came back to SARS.” Explaining how he became a prison inmate, he said he had sold some pounds and dollars he stole from the house of a woman in Ojota to another woman last year.

He said: “I stole the money from the house of one woman in Ojota, on a street before Olatunji Street in August last year. I stole the money after cutting the window net. Unfortunately I was arrested and sent to Ikoyi Prison. I spent 11 months in the prison.

“I did not count the money but it was about four bundles of 100 dollars.”

OMMUNITY policing has been recommended as an effective weapon to fight both minor and major crimes in developing countries.

This recommendation, among others, was made by participants at the 121st Annual International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference (IACP) which came up at the Orange Country Convention Centre, Orlando, Florida, USA from October 24 to 29.

The chiefs of police, serving and retired, spoke extensively on the importance of community policing and police-community relations, drawing instances from experiences in their various countries.

In his keynote address at the conference, titled “Strengthening Police-Community Relations,” the IACP President, Mr. Yousry Zakhary , stated that over the past two decades, many communities throughout the United States had witnessed a decline in the rate of crime, because of years of “effective, productive and progressive policing efforts by US federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies which have transformed localities into safer and more secured communities”.

He pointed out that as police leaders saddled with the utmost responsibilities of policing their respective countries, they should recognize that no single factor has been more crucial to reducing crime levels than the partnership between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve.

The IACP boss said the global practice for the police is that in order to be truly effective, police agencies cannot operate alone, as they must have the active support and assistance of the communities in which they operate.

He said that the allegations of police misconduct can drive a wedge between law enforcement officers and the citizens they had sworn to protect, adding that the police, as an •Oni (left) and Zakhary institution, and policemen, as individuals, should eschew corruption in

order to bring about a safe and peaceful community and make concerted efforts to work together which, according to him, is the hallmark of police community relations.

He expressed satisfaction that the summit had brought together a wide range of law enforcement officials, community leaders, academic researchers and policy experts from the United State and the entire world to discuss various issues that shape and impact the relationship between police departments and the communities they all serve.

In a group discussion, the Director-General of the Police Assistance Committee of Nigeria (PAC), Dr. Martins John Oni, spoke of the experience and impact of police- community relations in Nigeria and how the practice had helped extensively to assist the Nigeria Police Force in the area of crime control and combating.

Dr. Oni told the gathering that “the advantages of police-community relations in the control of crime in any society cannot be overemphasized, as it has proved to be very effective globally, making Nigeria a reference point where the cordiality between the communities and the law enforcement agencies had improved the rate of crime control and detection.

The PAC helmsman said their members in Nigeria “are mainly tradesmen and artisans who are assisting law-enforcement agencies through information/ intelligence gathering and dissemination to help in their operations to prevent and combat crime”.

Another speaker, Mr. James McLaughlin, a parliamentarian from Texas, USA, called on governments worldwide to encourage police-community relations through legislation that can make it mandatory for both communities and law enforcement agencies to form collaboration in the prevention and combating of crime in their various countries.

Utomi, others tackle child trafficking, sexual abuse O address growing cases of sexual abuse and trafficking of children, renowned public affairs analyst, Prof. Pat Utomi and wife of Lagos State governor, Dame Abimbola Fashola, will be guest speakers at a seminar tagged “Child Sexual Abuse and Trafficking: The Implication on Our Society”, organized by Harmony Life family magazine.

Speaking on the scope of the event, the editor of the publication, Mercy Ighofose, said the seminar will focus on creating

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n Kunle AKINRINADE n awareness about the high incidence of child sexual abuse and trafficking in the society, and how to reduce the problem.

She said: “Every day, children are being sexually abused in the society and the issue is not getting enough attention from policy makers and enforcement agents.

The media lately is awash with reports of child sexual abuse and trafficking. It is important that awareness be created on the

dangers such abuse pose to the development of children and society at large, hence the need for this seminar in conjunction with stakeholders at the Institute of International affairs Victoria Island and will hold on November 24, 2014.

Experts who will also present papers at the seminar include Mrs. Bose Ironsi of Women's Right and Health Project; Mr. Chino Obiagwu of Legal Defense & Assistance Project (LEDAP) and Mrs. Josephine Chukwuma of Project Alert.

Why we went into car snatching ‘business’ –Suspects T 20 years of age, he had already become deadly in snatching people’s cars at gun point in Anambra State.

Chizoba, popularly known and addressed as Malife by his peers, hails from Abba in Dunukofia local government area of the state.

He was arrested alongside his alleged cohorts in the car snatching business in the state by the Department of State Service (DSS), led by Mr. Alex Okeiyi, the state Director.

Chizoba, who was sober after being arrested, told The Nation that he joined the business in April, 2014, adding that he allowed himself to be deceived by bad friends.

According to him, “I was in Okada business and when my friends saw how I was suffering, they approached me and told me about the car snatching business and I quickly bought the idea.

“Since I joined it, I have already made N200,000 which is better than what I was making in motor cycle business.

“But the difference is that no matter the amount you sold a car, the money must be shared among the group. We sold Honda End of Discussion for N230,000; Toyota Si-

A

n Nwanosike ONU, Awka n enna, N250,000 and Toyota Camry N300,000, among others and what I told you was my own share.”

Kingsley (aka Method), who is 23 years old, and hails from Ezinihite in Mbaitolu

Imo State, said he embraced the business when he came back from Togo while residing in Abuja.

Kingsley, who claimed he did his pre-science at the Federal Polytechnic Oko in Anambra State, said his friend Arinze introduced him into the deal.

•Arinze middle with his cohorts

“We were together in Togo where we were selling used clothes known as Okirika and when the business was no longer doing well, we relocated back home and in the process of facing hard times, he told me that his brother was into such business and that was how it started.”

He admitted that the gang had snatched four cars and they made some money before they were trailed and arrested by the DSS. But Arinze, who was accused of introducing Chizoba into the business told The Nation that he only joined the syndicate on August 27, 2014 and had only done one business with the group.

He denied introducing his friend into the fold; he said rather, they both discussed the issue and joined at the same time, but he agreed that they were in Togo together.

The State Director of DSS, Mr. Okeiyi, told The Nation that the security outfit would not stop until Anambra State is safe once again.

He commended the assistance of sister state commands in the investigation and warned other criminal elements still engaged in snatching of cars in the state to desist from it in their own interest.

24

THE NATION SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

ENTERTAINMENT Continued from Page 21

‘I can

sacrifice acting for love if…’

•Chinonsom Young

THE NATION SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

27

STORY ON PAGES 38&39

28

THE NATION SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

THE NATION SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

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THE NATION SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

38

‘I was at my son’s

Kenny St. Best

THE NATION SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

39

40

THE NATION SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

with KAYODE ALFRED

E-mail:kayflex2@yahoo.com Tel:08116759807, 08035733605

THE NATION SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

41 with KAYODE ALFRED

E-mail:kayflex2@yahoo.com TEL:08116759807

THE NATION, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

44

Governor Aregbesola

Governor Fashola

We want your help at Ajao Estate

Reduce Osun varsity fees

Help me finance my education

Governor Amosun Give us police station in Ijoko-Ota

INEC Chairman

Don’t disenfranchise me

Governor Mimiko Akokoland needs amenities

THE NATION SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

48

The indigenes of Ijeshaland held a summit last Tuesday at the Ibis Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, reports NNEKA NWANERI

Making Ijesha their pride I

JESHALAND lies in the rainforest of North East Osun State, a very beautiful landscape surrounded by rivers like Owena to the East bordering Ondo • From right: Oba Aromolaran; Falobi and Chief Falomo •Prof Fatubarin State. It is also the home place of the governor of the state, Ogbeni Rauf Aregebsola.

At an epoch-making ceremony, sons and daughters of the Ijesha community converged on one of the halls of the Ibis Hotel in Ikeja.

They had an aim - to move their community forward via industrialisation.

The event was put together by the Ijeshaland Development Foundation (IDF). It was an interactive programme for Ijesha and nonIjesha investors for the exploration of opportunities.

On arrival, the venue was packed full of vehicles. The scenario was busy. Guests were led up through •High Chief Olu Akerele (left) and Olura Ijejile of Ijeshaland Oba Julius Fatanmi an elevator to the first floor of the • Hon Jaiyeola (left) and Mr Awobiyi hotel where the event held.

There was a lecture delivered by Prof Before he was pronounced patron, he In attendance were: Chairman of Many a royalty and entrepre- ment was divine and borne out of stoAyo Fatubarin. It was entitled: made some remarks, where he the Governing Council of Osun State neurs were present at the occasion. ries he heard from his childhood.

Chairman on the occasion, Mr Tunde Industrialisation of Ijeshaland: Prospects thanked Falobi for taking the bulls University Dr Adeniyi Adedeji; They were led by their paramount Awobiyi, lauded the association for the and Opportunities. by the horn and lauded him for the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the Uniruler, the Owa Obokun of Governor Aresgbesola was repre- idea conceptualised 20 years ago versity of Lagos, Prof Duro Oni; Ijeshaland, Oba Gabriel Adekunle initiative, adding that Ijesha is abundant in natural resources and food such as sented by his Commissioner for Com- while still in the university. He also Chairman of the Iwu Day CommitAromolaran.

Guests were received by IDF presi- cocoa, palm oil and fruits, waiting to merce and Industry, Hon Kunle Jaiyeola. described Falobi as a patriotic Ni- tee, Chief Olu Falomo; Managing Jaiyeola said the governor has prom- gerian whose dream has come to Director of Venus Human Capita, dent, Dideolu Falobi, who in an ad- be tapped by investors.

“The development and progress in ised to partner with the foundation to fruition with the transformation of Ronke Banjo; Prof Jide Alo; Chairdress said the gathering was to foster unity for Ijeshas around the world and the land is better than what was seen in provide them with the needed infra- Ijeshaland through the foundation. man of Vitafoam, Dr Dele The monarch urged his subjects to Makanjuola; Principal of Methodist giving back to their community, the last 50 years. Let’s do what we can structure.

Oba Aromolaran was decorated as know the reality of the situation High School Yaba Mrs Seye Aworin, where many of them were born. He so that Ijesha can take its place in the the grand patron of the foundation. back home and assist the governor. among others. said his passion for Ijesha develop- world,” Awobiyi said.

A lawyer, Omotola Adeloye, was joined in holy matrimony with Igbekele Anthony Ologun, a broadcaster in Akure, the Ondo State capital, writes DAMISI OJO

T

HE sun shone brightly out of the azure sky. Dignitaries savoured the cool breeze to calm their frayed nerves scorched by the intensity of the sun.

The event was the marriage ceremony between Omotola Adeloye, a lawyer and Igbekele Anthony Ologun, a broadcaster with Orange FM. The event took place at the Blessed Michael Tansi Catholic Church, Aule, Akure, the state capital.

The church’s auditorium was ornately decorated. Melodious classic songs rendered by the choir reverberated and sent both worshippers and visitors to jubilation.

For the bride and his heartthrob, there may never be another colourful day.

Members of the couple’s family, relations and well-wishers were ecstatic as the lovebirds finally quit singlehood after nine years of courtship.

Earlier before the church ceremony, the engagement took place at the brides’s family house in Akure.

The event provided an opportu-

• The couple, Omotola and Igbekele and their parents

Lawyer ‘drags’ journalist to the altar nity for the Ologun’s family from Oka-Akoko, Ondo State to unite with the family of the bride from Akure.

Ologun’s family came with numerous gift items as tradition demands and Igbekele, who was decked in fitted Aso Oke outfit with cap, thrilled the audience with superlative dance steps.

The bride, who was dressed in a dazzling manner, ambled into the waiting arms of the groom as she was officially handed over to her husband.

Incidentally, it was a double celebration as the day also coincided with the bride’s birth date.

The church auditorium was filled after the engagement.

After the clerics had taken the

bride and groom through the marital vows, they signed the marriage register after which they were pronounced man and wife.

In his homily, Rev. Fr. Vincent Anadi said: “You the couple should not reason together but to think alike. Marriage was primarily instituted for companionship. Do not allow a third party to intrude into your affairs. Nothing should come in-between you which could cause a stir in your union.”

Rev. Fr Anadi enjoined them to be best of friends, stressing that “you should build your home on God who is the solid foundation of every home.”

The reception held at the United CAC High School field was another

exciting moment.

The crowd was huge. The setting was classical and there was no dull moment.

Expectedly, members of the Orange FM family, the employers of the groom, and journalists from media houses within and outside Ondo State were on ground to rejoice with the couple.

In attendance were the state’s Commissioner for Health, Dr Dayo Adeyanju; Permanent Secretary, Government House and Protocol, Rev Soji Gbadebo; Chief Executive Officer/General Manager of Orange FM, Tokunbo Jegede; sponsors, Manager, News and Current Affairs, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Ado Ekiti, Kehinde

Lamidi, to mention a few.

Rev. Gbadebo, who chaired the ceremony, enjoined the couple not to involve third party in their marital journey. This, he said, would enable them to overcome any form of crisis in the union.

Guests were treated to local and continental dishes with a lot to drink.

After cutting the wedding cake, the young couple fed each other.

Speaking on their relationship, the couple said it was God’s grace that made them to be together, as many relationships crashed before two years, let alone nine years.

“God is the foundation of our home and He will make our marriage a shining example for others,” Igbekele said.

50

THE NATION SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

52

God designed your home for success (4) Email: counselling@faithoyedepo.org

Water requirements of the human body

shows the Registrar,Tai Solarin University of Education,Dr Femi Kayode(in academic gown)flanked by Associate Prof Ben Emunemu,Dr Akinwumi,Dr(Mrs) Adewale during the award of Phd in Educational Management on him at the University of Ibadan recently

THE NATION SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

53

Anthropogenic polutants from the excessive use of power generators in Nigeria:

Adults may die young and suddenly too, while babies and children grow up with weak hearts and lungs

To be continued

h

it

The newly wedded couple, Dr. and Mrs. Temitope Ogungbe being flanked by the prants of the bride during their wedding at Isolo, Lagos

Coping with Diseases W

Impotence

Professor Dayo Oyekole,

Ph.D. (Ibadan), NMD, FNCP.

Tel: 0803-330-3897 Website: www.holisticlifecare.com E-mail: kolemetric@yahoo.com

THE NATION

54 NEWS

D

OES life actually worth anything in Nigeria? The confession of two robbery suspects on how their three-man gang killed the Administrative Secretary, Bayelsa State Independent Electoral Commission (BYSIEC), Chief Simeon Akpane, betrays the sanctity of life and sacredness of human blood.

The suspects, Freedom Allen, 26 and Clarkson Okilo, 27 (aka Oyoyo), spared no emotion, while narrating their devilish action which sent Akpane, a husband, father and breadwinner to his untimely grave. There was foreboding among their listeners that there are many Allens and Okilos parading the streets and waiting for opportunities to strike.

Contrary to insinuations that Akpane was assassinated for political reasons, his killers who were arrested by the Department of State Security (DSS) said Akpane was not a victim of dirty politics. He was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time.

But he was not to be blamed since the place he felled to the bullets of the miscreants was in front of his house. Akpane was killed by Allen, Oyoyo and Ebi, on October 10 while he was about entering his house at Bethel Church Close, off Otitio Road, Yenezuegene Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

He was shot in the head at close range at 9pm by the gunmen who immediately escaped from the scene. His outcry and the sound of the gunshot attracted his wife who came out to behold her husband in the pool of his blood and the escaping shadows of his killers.

But the DSS unravelled the mystery behind the gruesome murder and exposed the identities of the killers. At the DSS state office in Yenagoa, Allen, Oyoyo and four other accomplices were paraded on Wednesday. Ebi (aka Omega) was said to be on the run.

The suspects admitted killing the BYSIEC ranking official. Their reason: “We were hungry, jobless and broke.

We needed money by all means.”

They said on the fateful day, they hatched a plot to rob with nobody on mind, but that Akpane was unfortunate to have driven his flashy Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) through their path. They said the car gave him away as a rich man.

Allen confessed to have pulled the trigger that re-

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

'We killed Bayelsa INEC official because we were broke, hungry' Mike ODIEGWU, Yenagoa leased the killer bullet. He said he pulled the trigger out of fear that Akpane, who was shouting and resisting them during the operation, could expose them to danger.

Allen said: “My friend, Oyoyo, on the fateful day said we should go for an operation. He told me he knew somebody who had about N1.5million that we should go and rob. That very day, we both went out together.

“We (Oyoyo, Ebi and I) went to the place and saw the man. On getting close to the man, Oyoyo and Ebi accosted him, seized him and collected mobile set from the man (Akpane). The next thing we realized was that the man started shouting and held Ebi who was with the gun.

“Our thought was that since Ebi was with the gun and the man had held him, he might shoot any of us. So, I quickly went and collected the gun from Ebi. I did not know that Ebi had already put the gun on trigger and in the process of the incident, I mistakenly touched the trigger and the gun fired and hit the man. The man fell down. We had to run away as fear gripped us. So, we could not accomplish our mission of robbing him. We went in our different directions.”

Oyoyo also gave account of his role. He said on the fateful day, he had no money and needed some cash badly. The suspect claimed to be a professional driver.

He said: “On the fateful day, I was not having money. I went to a place in Biogbolo area where I went to smoke and take some alcohol. After that, I went to Yenezue-gene.

“As I was walking, I heard a voice calling me by the corner. When I turned back, I saw this Allen and Ebi. Allen said they were just standing there, looking for how to get money.

“As for me, that was the kind of story I wanted to hear then because I have been financially messed around all this while. There is no work. I am a driver but no job. He told me he had a local pistol. To prove it, he showed me the

•Continued on Page 4

‘

•The suspects

Honestly, I must confess that before we set out for the operation, we did not have any place in mind. We were just roving about.

Our intention was to look for people with fine cars to rob and get money, irrespective of who the person was.

’

pistol.

“Allen said we should use the gun to go and fetch some money. We all agreed to go, honestly. We boarded a tricycle (keke) to Biogbolo. On getting there, we saw a man coming in his flashy Jeep. We believed the man should have money.

“Honestly, I must confess that before we set out for the operation, we did not have any place in mind. We were just roving about. Our intention was to look for people with fine cars to rob and get money, irrespective of who the person was.”

Oyoyo said as they were perambulating, they sighted the BYSIEC secretary. He, however, claimed that they did not know his identity then.

He narrated: “The BYSIEC official (deceased) parked his car and came out. He was about to enter his house when we accosted him. We pointed the gun at him. The man was holding a mobile phone. I collected the handset from him.

“To my surprise, the man was not willing to obey us.

But we were still prevailing on him to cooperate. But before we knew it, Allen came from the back and dragged

the gun from Ebi’s hand. Without wasting time, he pulled the trigger and shot the man.

“I was outraged. I asked him why he shot him. I guessed Allen did not know what he did because he had stuffed his brain with much alcohol and smoke. At that point, fear consumed us and we took to our heels. Thereafter, we boarded a tricycle and alighted at PDP Junction.”

Oyoyo said he had the man’s phone with him and later sold it within an hour to get some money. He said he sold the expensive phone for N5,000 to one Ibrahim at Yenezuegene, who in turn sold it N6,000 to one Halladu.

Baba said on the day of the dastardly act, Allen, Okilo and one Ebi, popularly known as Omega who is still a large, conspired to carry out robbery activities to get money for their personal needs.

He said the suspects hatched the plot at Biogbolo Commu-

nity School between 6 to 7pm.

He said at about 8pm, they boarded a commercial tricycle known as Keke from their location to Otiotio Road to find a victim to rob.

He said the suspects confessed that they chose Otiotio because the area is perceived to be inhabited by rich persons.

“As they walked into Bethel Church Close, they saw a flashy car driving into the close and followed the vehicle as they believed that the occupant must have money on him.

“As their victim parked in front of his house, they blocked him, searched and collected his GSM phone. At this juncture, their victim grabbed Omega a member of the gang who was holding a pistol and began to struggle with him.

“This prompted Allen to collect the locally-made revolver pistol popularly known as ‘awka made’ from Omega and shot their victim on the head. As heir victim fell on the ground, they took to their heels with the victim’s phone”, he said.

The DSS director said Clarkson who collected the victim’s phone sold it N5000 that night at about 9.30pm to Ibrahim at Yenezue-gene, who in turn sold it N6000 to Halladu.

Halladu, according to Baba disposed of the phone to Sallau whom the command recovered it from.

He said: “Further investigation led to the arrest of Simeon Macaulay who has been in the business of buying and selling stolen GSM handsets.

“The command in collaboration with all security agencies and other relevant stakeholders in the state has declared total war on kidnappers, assassins and other criminal elements in the state.

“Members of the public are advised to desist from patronising dealers of fairlyused mobile phones as such phones may have been stolen.”

He thanked members of the public that cooperated with the command to arrest the suspects and urged them to keep assisting security agencies with information.

THE NATION

NEWS 55

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

A

LTHOUGH each of them performed a feat that any right thinking person will consider as heroic, they did so without their eyes on a prize. Fifteenyear- old Aniema Udokang, an indigene of Cross River State, saved an accident victim on IBB Way, Calabar.

Fourteen -year -old Semiya Modashiru confronted a kidnapper who wanted to abduct two babies at a bus garage in Ogijo, Lagos State while 10year- old Bassey Itam helped a boy bitten by a snake.

But reward came their way when Dufil Prima Foods Plc, makers of the popular Indomie brand of noodles decided to celebrate them at a colourful ceremony in Lagos.

The ceremony was the seventh edition of the event. The ceremony has become an annual event to celebrate the heroic feats of children who chose to do the unusual by contributing to the educational uplifting of these 'heroes'.

The event was well attended by captains of Industry, politicians and technocrats.

Explaining the rationale for the annual event, Dufil Prima Foods Plc said it is part of the company's efforts to help secure the Nigerian children's future through its corporate social responsibility.

Since its first edition seven years ago, effort of the company in identifying and celebrating the unique acts of bravery in children from age 15 years and below has over the years created a new generation of role models in the winners who other children now aspire to emulate.

According to Dufil Prima

Heroic feats win three children scholarships Foods, encouraging the acts of heroism in children is a passion for the firm. While speaking during the event tagged Independence Award, the Group Managing Director, Mr. Deepak Singhal, expressed delight at the success of the event. According to him, "Our motivation rests firmly on the fact that a lot of kids are out there who do the extraordinary day by day; unsung heroes who have never been celebrated. That is why we have resolved that every year we would not relent in our search all around Nigeria for unique acts of bravery worthy of celebration."

Singh said the future of every nation and by extension the world is largely dependent on the youth, many of whom are children. Hence "it is pertinent for a nation that indeed wants to grow makes conscious efforts to provide a better future for them as the nation's destiny lies in their hands.

"Our motivation rests firmly on the fact that a lot of kids are out there who do the

We therefore must rise up to our responsibility as parents, guardians, schools and government to ensure that the right values are inculcated in the children."

Addressing the winners as "the salvation for the nation's future and the economy," she charged m o r e organisations to toe the line of Dufil extraordinary Prima Foods by day by day, yet also doing a simiare unsung helar thing which is roes who have bound to ensure a never been cel•Bassey more secured and •Semiya ebrated.

Itam Modashiru blissful future for "That is why Nigerian chilDufil has resolved dren. that every year, we A 15-year- old would not relent in Aniema Udokang our search all around from Cross River, Nigeria for children who helped save an who have performed •Aniema accident victim on unique acts of brav- Udokang IBB Way in Calabar, ery/ heroism worthy emerged the winner; of celebration." while 14-year-old The event witSemiyaModashiru, who nessed a large turnout helped save the lives of two of dignitaries, includbabies by confronting a kiding the Lagos State napper at a bus garage in governor who was repreOgijo was the first runner-up winners with N2.25 milsented by a Permanent Secand the third prize went to 10lion, N500,000 and N1 million retary, Ministry of Industry year-old Bassey Itam, who respectively in their personal Affairs, Wale Raji; the Group helped a boy bitten by a snake. capacity.

Managing Director, First The winners in the first, secDelivering the keynote adBank, Bisi Onasanya; Senator ond and third categories went dress at the event, the ExecuGbenga Ashafa; Chairman home with N1million, tive Director Corona Schools, Masandola Group, Chief N750,000 and N500,000 worth Mrs. OlufuntoIgun said: "The Bode Akindele, among others. of scholarship respectively. future of any nation or entity Aside the financial reward The Public Relations & lies heavily on the children. doled out to the winners by Event Manager, Dufil Prima Whatever legacy we pass on, the company, the trio of Foods Plc, Mr. Tope Ashiwaju whether good or bad could Onasanya, Ashafa and congratulated the winners of make or mar us as a nation.

Akindele also supported the

this year's IIDA awards and reiterated the company's commitment to never relenting in its firm support of the development growth of the Nigerian child.

According to Ashiwaju, "Indomie believes that in every child lies what it takes to become great. However, many brave children today live an extraordinary life without ever being recognised or celebrated. Spurred by this fact and the remarkable successes coupled with the lives we have touched, who have continued to be role models to other kids, Dufil is now more than motivated to make the coming editions bigger, better and even more memorable".

Since the commencement of the Indomie Independence Day awards (IIDA) six years ago, the IIDA has now witnessed the emergence of 21 winners who performed exceptional acts worthy of celebration.

In 2013, Devine Touremi was the first place winner with prize money of N1 million for saving the life of a copassenger in a capsized boat that claimed many lives.

She is an art student, currently in SS3 and hopes to study Law. She said the money was deposited into an educational trust fund for her where she withdraws from for schooling expenses.

Mohammed Kenubu was second at the 2013 edition. He was rewarded with of N750,000.00 for saving a helpless baby who fell off from the mum's back from being trampled upon during the major bomb blast incident in Sabon Gari.

56

THE NATION,

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

THE NATION, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

NEWS 57

Obiano under pressure to join PDP •Not true –Aguleri community leader n Nwanosike ONU, Awka n

NAMBRA State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, is under serious pressure to dump the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), it is learnt.

The nation gathered yesterday that his Aguleri community met recently to advise him on the implication of remaining in APGA, especially, when there are forces against him in the party.

However, the Vice President of Aguleri, Chief Emmanuel Ikem, has described the allegation as untrue, saying it is the work of mischief makers.

Speaking with The Nation, yesterday in Awka, Ikem said that his people were planning to build an APGA House in their community, adding that Obiano was an unrepentant believer in APGA. “I want to further tell you that the greatest son of Aguleri in the (PDP) is Chief Chriscato Ameke who has just defected to APGA. So, whoever is peddling the rumour is not serious.”

Meanwhile, a source who spoke with The Nation on condition of anonymity, said the leaders in the PDP want Obiano to leave APGA because of the seeming intractable problem in the party.

A

Community seeks assistance on N50m civic centre n Emmanuel UDODINMA n NDIGENES of Mgbidi community, Imo State, have solicited the assistance of prominent Nigerians towards the completion of their civic centre project.

Immediate past president of Mgbidi Peoples Union (MPU), Lagos branch, Mr Innocent Nwafor, spoke at the 2014 Mgbidi Day celebration, held in Lagos.

Nwafor lamented that the project had lingered for 17 years and urged the people of the area to rally round the present leadership and ensure its completion.

He promised that the center, estimated to cost N50 million, would be equipped with necessary facilities that would be a source of pride to Mgbidi indigenes, as well as revenue for them.

Nwafor , whose six year reign will end this month, thanked members for their unalloyed support in the past six years and charged members to extend same to his successor.

He commended the new president, Mr Ifechukwu Ukwuegbu, for his landmark contributions to the upliftment of the area and charged the people to support him to move the association forward.

Responding, Ukwuegbu reiterated the resolve of the new leadership to pursue peace and the unification of Mgbidi.

Underscoring the need for peace amongst members, he said: “We appeal to our brothers and sisters that we all sheathe our swords for us to be one.

This is the time to build bridges and tear down the wall of disunity amongst us.

I

•Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State (middle), Dr. Fred Achem, President of the Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of Nigeria (Left) and Dr. Chris Agbaghoroma (right) during the 48th Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference (Sogon Asaba 2014)

Kidnapped Nation reporter relives harrowing experience in the hands of kidnappers T

HE Umuahia, Abia State correspondent of The Nation newspaper, Mr. Ugochukwu Ugorji-Eke, who regained freedom on Thursday after spending five days in the den of kidnappers, on Friday, relieved his harrowing experience in the hands of his abductors.

Speaking from his home, Eke said that he walked barefoot for hours in a forest in the outskirts of the commercial city under the watchful eyes of heavily armed men and was fed with bread and water for two days.

“I was coming back with my wife’s car on Sunday after buying diapers and other essentials for my kids, not knowing that the boys

n Sunny NWANKWO, Aba n

were trailing me. I noticed a car was following me, but it didn’t occur to me that they were after me.

“While I was trying to alert my wife to come and open the gate for me, some boys, numbering four, emerged from the car and started hitting my car glass with their AK47 riffle nozzle. It was at that point that I opened the car and they dragged me out from the car and tied my two hands and drove off.

“We got to a point where they handed me over to another group, who after stripping me of my foot wears, led me into the forest blinded folded and barefoot.

“We walked for about 5hrs before and we eventually came to a point where they tied my hands and legs to a tree. It rained from the day we arrived the place till Thursday and I was left in the open throughout the period. It will rain, I will get soaked.

The sun will shine and also dry me up. In fact, it is an experience one should not plan to have. They only fed me with bread and water on two occasions. I was very weak and my body swollen.

“On Thursday evening around 7pm, they untied and led me blindfolded to a point where they removed what they used to cover my eyes and asked me to continue walking along a path which I did

until I hit the main road along Ukpakiri, where luckily for me, I saw a bus which I boarded to the junction leading to my house. I got to my house around 10pm Thursday.”

On whether the family paid any ransom, he said, “I am yet to be briefed on how the whole thing went. The most important thing for me is my health and getting back to work. Maybe when I am settled, I can ask my wife how they managed to get me out.“I don’t know whether it was political motivated or otherwise. They told me that they have been trialing me for a while and it just happened that they succeeded in their evil plans, but thank God that I am now with my family.”

Nollywood star Stephen Okereke's brother arrested for rape of UNILAG undergraduate relative of popular Nollywood act, Stephen Okereke has been arrested for alleged rape and assault of a 22 year old University of Lagos undergraduate.

The suspect, Daniel Okereke (37), was said to have met the undergraduate in one of the halls in the university while attending a function last month.

Police sources said Okereke had approached her at the event and they exchanged telephone numbers.

It was gathered that after they had met and exchanged , Okereke was always calling and sending text messages to the victim, begging her for a relationship but she turned him down.

However, on November 6, Okereke called the victim and she informed him that she was ill. He went to her hostel in the university and offered to take her to a pharmacy and an eatery to get some drugs and food for her.

It was learnt that he took her to his house from there and after the lady had taken the drugs and food, he allegedly tried to forcefully have sex with her but she resisted.

Police said when Okereke could not subdue her, he called the security guards in the compound to come and assist him.

The guards held her down while Okereke went into a room, picked a condom and forcefully had carnal knowledge of her.

Sources said the lady who was enraged, destroyed all the electronic and lightings in the house.

The matter was reported at Ikeja Police Station, but the suspect allegedly wriggled his way out.

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n Jude ISIGUZO n The victim's family who were not satisfied with the way the case was handled, reported the matter to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba, following which the suspect was rearrested.

Police sources told The Nation that Stephen Okereke who was visibly angry with the suspect when she visited him at the SCID expressed disappointment at his action.

On Wednesday when The Nation visited the SCID, Okereke who is a prince was seen in a white traditional

attire, begging the police to save him from shame and embarrassment, adding that it was a mistake.

Okereke and one of the security guards in his compound, Idris Abubakar were arraigned before a Yaba Chief Magistrate's Court on Thursday, over alleged assault, rape and threat to life.

They were docked before Magistrate Y. O Aje-Afunwa.

They are facing a five count charge bordering on conspiracy, assault, rape and threat to life preferred against them by the police.

The police prosecutor, Superin-

tendent Godwin Anyanwu, told the court that the defendants committed the alleged offence on November 6, 2014.

He said that the incident took place at Mende Maryland in Ikeja area of Lagos State.

He said that the first defendant allegedly raped and assaulted one lady names withheld.

Anyanwu also claimed that the defendant unlawfully had canal knowledge of the victim without her consent, adding that he beat her up with a brown belt and also threatened her with a knife.

Nigerian firm manufactures orthopaedic aids United States-based orthopedic outfit, the Delta Orthopedic Laboratory Centre, is set to give Nigerians seeking prosthetics or orthotics aid a new lease of

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life.

The outfit, which recently came into the country, is promising advanced bionic technology and affordable prosthetics services for all levels of amputations.

Founded by a Nigerian Prosthetist and Orthotist, Gbolahan Ayodele Sasona, the centre, located at In Ibadan, Oyo State, is first of its kind in the country.

According to Sasona, the centre was established out of the need to give hope, comfort and help change lives of amputees with prosthetics/orthotics, spinal braces, and fracture bracing at all levels.

Data from Nigeria estimate that lower limbs are more often involved in amputations requiring prosthetics.

Sasona described prosthetics and orthotics as the science of fabricating various orthopedic devices or appliances to substitute or replace a missing body part.

According to him, “Orthotics is so wide that it comprises virtually the entire body segments. Nigeria currently boasts of three National Orthopedic Hospitals located in the Northern, Western and Eastern part of the country with functional prosthetic/orthotic services, yet the country has

less than 10 trained professionals.

“One of the advantages here is that patients don’t have to travel to South Africa, United Kingdom, India or United States to be able to get the kind of effective treatment and care they desire. Whatever we do in the Nigerian office is of the same standard with that of the United States. We deal with all levels of amputations starting from the hip disarticulation, above the knee amputation, knee disarticulation, below the knee amputation, and amputation across the ankle, both at the upper and the lower extremities.

“For instance, if someone is involved in a road traffic accident and loses an arm or leg, we have all levels of prosthetic devices that can replace that function adequately. And with the advent of technology, we have some computerbased application known as bionics,” Sasona explained.

Special Assistant to Oyo State Governor on People with Disability, Prince Paul Ayodele Adelabu, acknowledged the essence of the new centre.

He said: “This is the first time in Nigeria I would encounter a fully functioning prosthetics/orthotics laboratory.

If you have been to the National Orthopedics Hospital in Lagos, then you would appreciate the cutting edge and advanced prosthetics and orthotics designs available here in Ibadan.”

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NEWS

THE NATION, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

PVC: Kano govt threatens legal action he Kano State government may head to court to challenge alleged inconsistencies in the ongoing Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) Deputy Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje said yesterday.

Alhaji Ganduje asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to urgently address the inconsistencies otherwise the state government will approach the court for redress.

He told reporters in Kano that the issue of voters registration

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n Kolade ADEYEMI Kano n deserves more attention than it is currently being accorded by those charged with the responsibility.

He insisted that under no circumstance should anyone be disenfranchised.

He declared that should INEC fail to do the correct thing by extending the registration by seven days to accommodate those who have been left out, the state government will go to court. ''I do not want to believe that

this is sabotage. I am not part of the people that believe that it is a sabotage, but to me, it's an indication of incapacity on the part of INEC and its staff. We don't want people to be disenfranchised,” he said.

“It will not be good for democracy and the forthcoming elections, if adequate measures are not taken to correct the mistakes of INEC. Most of the computers used for the registration are obsolete.

The batteries run down quickly and there is no alternative to

power them. Our people are on the queue for several hours but could not be registered because of INEC's inadequacies.

“In some Local Governments, where you have 11 centres, you only find out that only three centres are operating and in those centres, the INEC ad-hoc staff report to work very late and close early. ''We may be forced to take appropriate legal action against INEC if all these anomalies are not corrected as INEC recruited computer illiterates as ad-hoc staff.

Ganduje said an extension would be an opportunity for everyone to be registered, adding that, the state government has successfully mobilised the electorate in the state to understand that they have a role to play in making the nascent democratic system in the country feasible.

The deputy governor said that the centres designated for the exercise are inadequate, creating the impression that the hopes of the electorate were completely dashed.

Two Kogi wards miss out in voters' registration n James AZANIA, Lokoja n wo wards in Kogi State, Odolu in Igalamela Local Government Area and Ogia ward in Ibaji LGA have been completely left out from the voters' registration exercise.

The Kogi State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Segun Agbaje has however assured that the exercise will be concluded in both wards.

Agbaje during a meeting he held yesterday in Lokoja with political parties on how to achieve a credible election in the state disclosed that about 433,579 Permanent Voters Cards (PVC) were yet to be collected by the electorates in Kogi State.

"Out of the 1, 189,356 permanent voters cards received in the state, only 755,777 have been distributed, representing 63.54 per cent. 433,500, representing 36.46 per cent are yet to be collected by electorates. The PVCs are with the commission's office in all the 21 local government in the state," he said.

According to him, 130, 602 voters were registered during the continuous voters registration exercise in the state between May and June this year.

He added that the commission received 524 inter- state and 274 intra-state voters card transfer which he said are receiving attention.

He said INEC is committed to conducting credible elections in the forthcoming 2015 election but the attitude of political parties and their contestants could make or mar the process, calling on the parties to inform the commission prior to meetings, conventions or congresses, to be able to monitor the process.

The Resident Commissioner, said a total number of 1, 364, 674 voters registered in the state, while it has a total of 2,548 poling units.

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Karu General Hospital now specialist n Gbenga OMOKHUNU, Abuja n ESPITE has come the way of residents of Karu in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and its environs as the much awaited take-off of Karu General Hospital has come to pass.

The development will save persons seeking health care the stress of having to travel to places like Nyanya, Asokoro, Maitama and Wuse to access services.

The Secretary, Health and Human Services Secretariat, Dr. Demola Onakomaiya made this known when he paid a visit to the Hospital.

Onakomaiya said that the hospital took off on the 2nd October, 2014 with the commencement of clinical services at Hospital’s Behavioral Medicine Unit.

He noted that the development marked the commencement of services to patients with psychological and behavioral challenges and to date, a total of 69 patients have been for diagnoses and treatment.

The Secretary further added that the era of referring patients with psychological and behavioral challenges to Kaduna Psychiatric Hospital was over as the Karu Specialist Hospital has both human and material resources to diagnose and treat different forms of psychological and behavioral challenges.

According to a statement issued by Head, Public Relations Unit, HHSS, Badaru

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Yakasai, Onakomaiya said the Hospital has a dedicated building for behavioral medicine and is the only one of its kind in the whole of the Middle Belt of Nigeria.

He added that the Behavioral Medicine Unit of the Hospital is equipped with the state of the art equipment including Electro Encephalon Grain (EEG) Machine, Electro Convulsive Therapy (ECT) Machine and Laboratory Equipment in addition to good satellite Pharmacy that is stocked with specialized drugs and has a number of specialists including four Consultants, One Senior Registrar, senior Medical Officers and other support staff.

Onakomaiya further added that behavioral services in FCT Administration’s hospitals have now been centralized as the Units formerly rendering such services in Asokoro, Kubwa and Wuse Hospitals have been closed down, except that Wuse still provides out-patient clinics two days in a week.

This, according to him, will create more room for other services in those sister hospitals.

The Secretary assured residents of the FCT that the FCT Administration under the leadership of Sen. Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed will do everything possible to ensure that other Departments of the Hospital commence Clinical services soon.

•From left: Former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar; new Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mamoud Mohammed and president of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa at a dinner in honour of Mukhtar in Abuja.

Zamfara guber: I’ll step down for consensus candidate, says aspirant A N Aspirant for the forthcoming Governorship election in Zamfara state, Alhaji Saghir Hamidu has said he will not hesitate to step down if any concensus candidate emerges in the forthcoming election in the state.

Hamidu who spoke with newsmen yesterday in Abuja said since consensus candidacy remains part of democracy, he will shelve his ambition for any candidate that he deems fit and able to do the job.

He also said religion will not be an issue to be considered while considering the person that will emerge as the next Governor of the state.

n Bukola AMUSAN, Abuja n

While speaking on his priority areas if finally elected as the Governor, Hamidu said Education, Agriculture and youth development will be his focal area as he cannot continue to watch the growing rate of out of school children roaming the streets of Zamfara.

"Out of the 10.5million children out of school in Nigeria, Zamfara state has 1million, we can't continue to watch, something has to be done before the figure escalates. I will work to establish functional vocational

training centres to support youths with viable ideas, something must be done,"he said.

Speaking on the dwindling Internally Generated Revenue of the state, Hamidu said states must start to look beyond federal allocation to succeed.

"States can't continue to rely on dwindling federal allocation, we must start to look inwards, the IGR is too small to breach the shortfall from federal allocations, we must explore the gold resources available in the state to develop our citizens,"he said.

He said he will make the construction of an Airport a priority in the state as the absence of an airport in the state is driving away investors which accounted for the slow pace of development in the state.

"Zamfara state does not encourage investors, the absence of airport in the state is driving investors away. We need to work on creating one,"he said.

On his chances of emerging victorious at the polls, Hamidu said with his wealth of experience after working in the civil service in the FCTA for twenty-eight years, he said he has the experience and all what it takes to manage a city effectively.

Removal of Joel Madaki: Adamawa PDP now in two factions faction has been created in the Peoples Democratic Party PDP with the sudden removal of the state party Chairman Chief Joel Hammanjoda Madaki and the entire party state working Committee.

The decision to remove the entire State Working Committee [SWC] came suddenly by the National Working Committee [NWC] led by the embattled National Chairman Alh. Adam,u Muazu over the conduct of the state congresses which was supervised by Senator Abdullahi Baba Adamu from Taraba state, who led four other members to conduct the congresses which was later doctored with 15 Local Governments strange names brought into the register.

The dissolution of Adamawa state PDP officials by the National working committee of the party (NCW) was announced by the party publicity secretary Mr Olisa Metuh after a brief meeting with the Deputy National Chairman of the party with Chief Madaki.

Major stakeholders of the PDP in Adamawa state have denounced the purported dissolution of former exco and have warned the Abuja PDP to rescind sacking of Joel Madaki or the party will split into two camps but Abuja responded by sealing off the Adamawa

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n Barnabas MANYAM, Yola n PDP office with heavy police present to prevent Joel Madaki and his former executive to enter the PDP office.

The Adamawa state House of Assembly said if Madaki is not returned as the party chairman the 23 members of the House who are PDP member will decamp to the All Progressive Congress APC. The state Governor Barrister Bala James Nggilari and the state House of Assembly are in the Chief Joel Madaki faction along with 10 out of the 14 gubernatorial aspirants, while all senatorial aspirants under the PDP have teamed

up with Joel Madaki to form the Chief Joel Madaki faction of the PDP. The remaining 4 PDP gubernatorial aspirants led by Mallam Nuhu Ribadu are on the other faction been propped by the Abuja PDP Rising from a stakeholders meeting which was called by the Joel Madaki, led oformer exco to fashion out ways to handle the matter speakers after speakers condemned Alh. Adamu Muazu and Mallam Nuhu Ribadu who are bent on destabilizing the Adamawa state PDP by the unwarranted removal of Joel Madaki and his entire executives so that they will have their way during the elections.

Lagos to get two diabetes clinics ORLD Diabetes Foundation, a Non Government Organisation(NGO), based in Lagos State has expressed plans to set up at least two diabetes clinics in the state.

Speaking during the global diabetes walk in Lagos, the executive director, Peter Ojomo, said: “Recently we tried to find out what is the current diabetes state in Lagos.

We discovered that the health facilities in the state are more or less general purpose health facilities where people go to.

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“Lagos has done very well in this regard but we want a situation where we can work with one or two health facilities for which they have given us go ahead. Therefore we need to carry out research on where to set up a modest clinic for diabetes care across the state.”

He added that the organization will provide the necessary equipment and also support the staff materially in the two health centres they are currently planning to setup the clinics.

THE NATION

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

ACF, Ango Abdullahi, Junaid lambast IG Abba over invasion

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HE mouthpiece of North ern Nigerian, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and other leading voices from the region have condemned last Thursday’s invasion of the National Assembly by the police, saying that, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Suleiman Abba has dragged Nigeria’s reputation into the mud.

In their separate reactions, ACF Chairman, IGP Ibrahim Ahmadu Coommasie (Rtd), spokesman of the Northern Elders’ Forum, Professor Ango Abdullahi and former federal legislator, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, said the IGP must be summoned before the National Assembly to explain his action.

According to Junaid, “First of all, I condemn the intrusion of the police into the politics of this country. We are not a dictatorship, we area democracy.

“The Inspector General of Police has no business interpreting the law, interfering with the parliamentary pro-

Abdulgafar ALABELEWE, Kaduna cess. He has no business asking the police to go into the premises of the National Assembly. So, he has no business to identify who is a member of the National Assembly and who occupies what position in the assembly.

“This is an indication that this man, who is the Inspector General of Police was appointed for a purpose. And as he goes into doing the job which he was hired to do, we might as well say, goodbye to Nigeria’s democracy or we stay and fight for it to finish.

“Absolutely, one does not need to be a genius to know that. That is the reason while he got the job and he is acting the script written for him by the President and the PDP”, he said.

He, however, called on the National Assembly, particularly the Senate to pass a vote of no confidence on the IGP. Dr. Junaid equally con-

demned IGP Abba for advising politicians on how to garner votes in election, saying, that “the man (IGP) himself cannot win a ward in Kano, if he decide, to contest elections”.

In his own reaction, ACF Chairman, Coommasie, said the invasion of the Police into the National Assembly is a national shame.

He said: “It is a national shame and I must say I am dis-

appointed in both the IGP Suleiman Abba and members of the House themselves for scaling through the fence to gain access into the assembly premises”.

Coommasie further described the situation as an indication that Nigeria is drafting into anarchy.

He said the Police boss must have acted on superior instruction, otherwise, why would he

have deployed police to the assembly?

“There is more that meet the eyes. But the fact will surely come out. I read in the paper that he said that they had gone there to maintain law and order. What necessitated that?”

Professor Ango Abdullahi said: “It is unfortunate that we now have a man who doesn’t know his job, or if he knows

his job, he has ignored the constitution of this country. He is no longer the Inspector General of Police for all Nigerians and the Nigerian state. He is Inspector General of a particular political party and IG of particular Nigerians by virtue of the positions they hold.

“If he is the IG of the Nigerian state, he certainly will not behave the way he has behaved within the last two weeks.”

•CNPP demands sack of IGP Abba over National Assembly crisis Continued from Page 2 (CNPP) yesterday demanded the sack of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) over Thursday’s fracas at the National Assembly.

President Goodluck Jonathan, it said, should immediately effect the removal.

Reacting to the development, CNPP National Publicly Secretary, Osita Okechukwu, through a telephone conversation said: “Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) condemns in no uncertain terms the brigandage and rascality of the Nigeria Police Force as evidenced with the desecration of the National Assembly.

“NPP is yet to understand the motive behind the violence unleashed by the Nigeria Police Force, to Honorable Members of the House of Representatives, in utter violation of the

core mandate of the Police to protect and defend the people and the laws of the land.

“We wish to warn those who wittingly and unwittingly discredit and abuse our hard won democracy, to desist forthwith from such ignoble act. ”For we had witnessed voter apathy in election after election showing clearly that there is voter unhappiness and voter disquiet; an ominous sign-post of anarchy, the unintended consequences which are better imagined than welcome.

“Consequently, His Excellency, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, in the collective interest of our dear country and fledgling democracy; should sack the Inspector General of the Police (IGP), Mr. Suleiman Abba, so as to absolve himself from the insinuations gaining ground that the new IGP is his attack-dog.”

Today’s bomb I am going down the street to pick a piece of bread The crowded street will only stall my steps and hunger, my morning companion, has a few minutes to say goodbye.

Boom, boom, I heard amidst cries Was that a bomb?

Yes, screamed a scurrying back I am in no mood for the body count Some people scampered about in fear I stood still and saw in the distance a bloodied face and another man lifting a child limp of limbs in hurried alarm for a car to take the dying to the hospital If, that is, the car does not bear a hooded omen Of unexplored men and shrapnel I looked at myself, crown to toe, I am as new as the morning dew I have nothing to worry about, and I move on To pick my piece of bread and wish the morning companion goodbye Today has had its bomb

By Sam Omatseye

•From left: Justice Iyabo Olumide Akinkugbe, Justice Serifat Iyabode Sonaike, Justice Abdulfattah Lawal and Justice Abisoye Jubril Bashua during their swearing-in as judges of Lagos State in Alausa, Lagos... yesterday PHOTO: Omosehin MOSES

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Ecobank may sell stake in Nigerian unit

COBANK Transnational Inc. is considering selling a stake in its Nigerian subsidiary as part of a plan to raise about $500 million of equity for the unit.

“It’s possible that could happen,” Chief Executive Officer Albert Essien said about selling part of Ecobank Nigeria.

He spoke by phone yesterday from Abidjan, Ivory Coast’s commercial capital. “There’s a board policy that we could, if we wanted, sell down and hold 75 percent in our subsidiaries.”

ETI, which operates in 36 African countries, needs to increase the capital of Ecobank Nigeria, its biggest subsidiary, by March next year to meet new rules from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

A $500 million boost would

Collins NWEZE take its capital-adequacy ratio to about 18 percent, above the minimum requirement of 16 percent, Jibril Aku, the managing director of Ecobank Nigeria Ltd., said Bloomberg said ETI has transferred to Ecobank Nigeria the “larger portion” of the $206 million in cash it received in October when South Africa’s Nedbank Group Ltd. bought a 20 per cent stake in ETI, Essien said. The rest of Ecobank Nigeria’s capital needs will come from retained earnings and a “private placement” of equity, he said.

Nedbank and Qatar National Bank SAQ, the secondbiggest owner of ETI with a 17 per cent stake, haven’t been

approached about buying a stake in Ecobank Nigeria, said Essien. Nedbank parent Old Mutual Plc said it earmarked 4.3 billion rand ($393 million) for African acquisitions. The Johannesburg-based insurer has identified Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana as key markets.

Ecobank Nigeria, which had $9.6 billion of assets at the end of September, is the country’s seventh-biggest lender. It made a $157 million post-tax profit in the first nine months, up 79 percent from a year earlier, according to a presentation posted on ETI’s website. The rest of the money from Nedbank’s acquisition has been put toward other subsidiaries, including Ecobank Kenya, Essien said.

“We know that some might

need capital down the line,” he said in a separate interview in Abidjan yesterday. “They do for regulatory purposes and sometimes for business purposes.”

ETI’s rules prevent any institution from buying more than 24.99 percent of its shares and it prefers none to hold more than 20 percent to ensure a broad shareholder base, said Essien. “The policy of keeping everybody at 20 percent is for diversification of shareholding,” he said by phone.

ETI has a $23 billion balance sheet and its stock trades in Ghana, Ivory Coast and Nigeria. Its shares fell 1.2 percent to 17 naira yesterday, giving it a market capitalization of N384 billion ($2.2 billion).

Police justify N/Assembly invasion, blame lawmakers Continued from Page 4 When asked if he notified the N/Assembly management before deploying the men, he said: “It depends on the kind of intelligence we have. We share intelligence with those who need to know. If they needed to know, we would have told them. We acted in line with the best interest of this nation” He continued: “I will not tell you all that we are doing but the matter is still under investigation and those found guilty will face the music no matter how highly placed. When the House reconvenes on Tuesday, we will do what is needful”.

The spokesman announced that seven persons were being held in connection with the incident and that they were undergoing investigation. “You will find them in court when the time comes”, Ojukwu added.

Condemning the legislators actions of the lawmakers, Ojukwu: “Honourable men don’t

climb gates, they don’t fight.

Do lawmakers climb fences?

Tear gas is an instrument given to the police to disperse riotous situation, it’s a legal weapon by law.

“The tear gas is used as a means of control. In this instance, the lawmakers, the hoodlums as the case may be and that was why there was that tear gas and if you watch the scene, you will discover that it was not fired at anybody.

“I am satisfied with their actions except you tell me anywhere that we are faulty.

The Policemen on ground acted according to their discretion and to the best of their ability.

“I am satisfied with what the Policemen did yesterday, they needed to maintain law and order at all cost, otherwise,, this nation will be in turmoil. Let everybody obey the law of the land and do things in line with the law. You cannot make a law and break it, it is impossible in a normal situation and circumstances.

“Decency requires that you submit yourself to a search, we did not get the uniform on our own, it was given to us by the

law and we are duty bound to enforce and maintain law and order in this country. The police must be respected”

Zimbabwe stadium church service stampede kills 11 —Police

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LEVEN people were killed and dozens injured in a stampede at a stadium in Zimbabwe, as thousands of people at a church service tried to leave through the same exit, police said yesterday.

Around 30,000 people packed into a stadium in Kwekwe, 213 km west of Harare, on Thursday evening to listen to Walter Magaya, a pastor who draws huge crowds, Senior Assistant Commissioner Shadreck Mubaiwa, Reuters reported.

When the service ended the congregation rushed towards a single exit, in a stampede that killed four people on the spot.

Another seven were pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

“Police tried to rescue people but they were overwhelmed by the crowds. It is unfortunate that people wanted to rush out, which made it difficult to contain the situation,” Mubaiwa said.

Mubaiwa said police were still investigating the cause of the stampede. Some people who said they had been at the service took to social media to accuse police and local government officials of opening only one exit.

Magaya was quoted by the online version of the state-owned Herald newspaper as saying that although the incident occurred after he left, he would take responsibility.

“This was our event and as a church we have to take the blame for the tragedy,” he was quoted as saying.

THE NATION SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

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SPORT EXTRA Emordi ready to prop Pillars challenge for CL honours

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HE CAF Champions League has become the Holy Grail for Glo Premier League champions, Kano Pillars and to get hold of this very valuable diadem, they have a man in Okey Emordi, who has been there and conquered Africa at club level with Enyimba a decade ago.

In the past five years, the Kano-based club have made four attempts at Africa's biggest club competition with the last three in 2011, 2013 and 2014 ending in disappointments.

Their participation in 2009 remains their best when they reached the semi-finals of the Champions League on the back of edging out Egypt's Al-Ahly over two legs in the second round.

That year Kano Pillars finished top of their group in the Champions League that had Al-Hilal of Sudan, ZESCO United of Zambia and Al-Merreikh of Sudan to set up a semi-final clash with Heartland. But Heartland stopped them 5-0 on aggregate including a 4-0 win in Kano where Emeka Nwanna and Uchenna Agba scored two goals each.

Current Kano Pillars coach, Emordi, believes that the cham-

pions have had enough experience taking part in the CAF Champions League after four failed attempts. Emordi, who helped Enyimba retain their African title in 2004 and won the African Coach of the Year at the same time, however will not be committed to making promises.

"I am sure the Champions League is something Kano Pillars, their fans and everyone in Kano including the government will hope we can win. Every team that takes part in the competition wants to win. The Champions League is a different competition entirely from the domestic league.

"When I won the Champions League with Enyimba, we were the defending champions then and it was difficult because everyone on the continent knew the team. But because we had a large number of those who played in the previous year when Enyimba won, it was good for the team especially experience-wise.

"For Kano Pillars, we just have to work hard so that we can have a chance, create our own luck on the pitch and ride on it too. We just need to keep the set of players we have and may be strengthen a bit here and there.”

200 golfers vie for honour at First Bank Open C’ship

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VER 200 golfers from different club across the country will this weekend battle for honours at the 53th edition of the Lagos Open Golf Championship at the Ikoyi Golf Club.

According to the organisers, the event, which is being bankrolled by First Bank Nigeria Plc, this year’s edition will surpass previous editions in terms of organization and competitiveness.

Captain of the Ikoyi Golf Club, Ted Iwere, said the historic strength of the competition as the longest running the event at the club for 53 years suggested that the programme was big enough to enjoy the corporate backing of First Bank.

“We have enjoyed adequate support from First Bank over the years and I think it is only normal that we reciprocate by going the extra mile to make this event grand,” Iwere noted.

Head, Marketing and Corporate Communications, First Bank, Folake Ani-Mumuney, said the sponsor would draw inspiration from the competition’s longevity to ensure its sustenance in the years

By Adeyinka Adedipe ahead.

“We have not stopped to think of innovation with regard to uplifting the championship yearin and year-out and we believe the latest renewal will reflect this year in terms of quality play and rewards,” Ani-Mumuney said.

She said it was good to that the bank has partnered with a great institution for 52 years and was proud to have maintained this tradition as well as contribute to the growth of the nation by ensuring that people stay healthy by playing golf.

Ani-Mumuney said that that apart from playing golf, the competition also afford the Ikoyi Golf Club, First Bank and the players the opportunity to network, while assuring that they would continue to sponsor the tournament. She also promised that the bank would continue to support Polo, football and basketball.

Also, participants would have the opportunity to plays against professional golfers, Ian Keenan from Royal Liverpool Golf Club and Alex Rowland from the Hawarden Golf club, in the Beat the Pro Challenge.

Siasia set to screen players for Olympic team F

ORMER Super Eagles’ Captain and Coach, Samson Siasia, will begin screening players for the team to compete at next year's All – Africa Games.

Siasia will also be screening players for the CAF U-23 Championship (taking place in DR Congo, also next year), and also qualify for the Men’s Football Tournament of the 2016 Olympic Games through the CAF U-23 Championship.

There will be three batches of players, 39 for Sunday in in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja on Sunday, another 39 and then a further 38 to follow.

According to a statement from the NFF, Siasia has explained that each batch will spend only three days in camp before the other, with the selected ones among the lot to convene a proper camp late December. All the players are to report at FIFA Technical Centre, Abuja.

FIRST BATCH (23 – 25 NOVEMBER) GOALKEEPERS: Emmanuel Daniel (Enugu Rangers); Kasim Yekini (Bayelsa United)

DEFENDERS: Semiu Liadi (Enyimba FC); Stanley Okorom (36 Lions); Erhun Obanor (Insurance FC); Mohammed Gidado (Wikki Tourists); Etim Mathew (Enugu Rangers); Wasiu Kadiri (Akwa Starlets); Chinedy Okuotu (Insurance FC); Chris Madaki (Giwa FC) MIDFIELDERS: Harrison Madu (Wikki Tourists); Abbas Hussein (Wikki Tourists); Samuel Adegbenro (Kwara United); Ifeanyi Mathew (ElKanemi Warriors); Nafiu Ibrahim (Kano Pillars); Tiongli Tonbara (Bayelsa United); Paul Onobi (Sunshine Stars); Itchu (Warri Wolves); Emmanuel Obinna (Stationery Stores) Forwards: Samson Adeleye (Niger Tornadoes); Samuel Agba (Enugu Rangers); Idris Mohammed (Wikki Tourists); Junior Ajayi (3SC); Nuru Adebayor (Stationery Stores); Godwin Obaje (Mighty Jets); Barnabas Imenger (Lobi Stars); Idris Ahmed (Mighty Jets); Uche Ihearulam (Lobi Stars) OTHERS: Chigozie obi (Calabar Rovers); Ahmed Sani (Unattached); Victor Yakubu (Wikki

• Siasia

Tourists); Tunde Afolabi (Spotlight FC); Chukweh Samuel (Bayelsa United); Chinedu Obino (COD FC); Umunna Emmanuel (Zamfara United); Friday Enejoh Jacob (Supreme

EX-INTERNATIONAL TELLS NFF

Develop young football players

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OME ex-internationals urged Nigeria Football Federation and policy makers in sports to go back to the drawing board and develop a new structure that would train young football players at the grassroots.

The ex-international were reacting to the Super Eagles inabil-

From , Osemwengie Ben Ogbemudia , Benin ity to qualify for 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea.

While decrying the poor performance of the team, the exinternationals said that the Eagles played below the expectation of Nigerians.

The Eagles, who needed a victory to scale through to the continental showpiece, played a 22 draw with the Bafana Bafana of South Africa.

Eagles ended their group A matches with eight points from six games, and placed third behind the qualifying teams— South Africa with 12 points, and

6th Kidsport Charity Games holds Nov. 30

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HE 6th edition of Kidsport Charity Games will hold on Sunday, 30 November, 2014 at the Campos Mini Stadium, Lagos Island.

According to the organiser, this year’s edition will go beyond soccer, as athletics has been introduced to one day tournament which starts from 1p.m.

Kidsport has been promoting the idea of no kid being left out to the sidelines and deprived of the opportunity to experience the benefits of organised sports.

The organiser, an interactive kids community using sports and entertainment as a uniting thread for athlete, kids and families. Kidsport, is putting more emphasis and effort in bringing the opportunities first to the less privileged.

The teams taking part in this

year’s tournament are SOS Children's Home Isolo, Arrows Of God Orphanage, SOS Children's Home, Owu, Street Child Care and Welfare Homes, Habitation of Hope, Citadel of Grace Homes and Project Friendship Initiative.

The competition is proudly supported by Airtel, Flour Mills of Nigeria, PZ Cussons, Newbreeze Productions and Lagos State Government.

It would be recalled that SOS Children’s Home won the first edition of Kidsports Charity Cup. The second edition was won by Ajike Ayisat Afolabi Foundation.

Third edition’s winner was Jakande Project. Project Friendship Initiative won the fourth edition held at the Campos Mini Stadium, while the 2013 edition was won by Citadel of Grace Homes.

Court); Ajibola Otegbeye (3SC); Wasiu Alalade (First Bank); Mohammed Wekasiu (ElKanemi Warriors); Nura Abubakar (Kaduna United); Israel Daniel (Prime FC).

• Dejected Eagles players leave the pitch after 2-2 draw against South Africa last Wednesday PHOTO: BOLA OMILABU

Congo with 10 points.

Adokie Amesimaka said that the team did not exhibit sufficient skills in the match and that the defence played as if they were playing with so much pressure hanging on their necks. ‘’They did not approach the game with flair, confidence and good football skills that had been the hallmark of a Super Eagles team. ‘’We need to learn from this and resurrect our football through the youth ranks— where young players can be well managed and groomed to quality players,’’ Amesika said.

Former captain of the Green Eagles, Henry Nwosu, said that the team had not played well enough to qualify. ‘’It is sad the way we ended the qualifying series after doing so well on Nov. 15 against Congo in their country. ‘’The team should be disappointed in themselves for not getting the necessary result at home soil when it mattered most,’’ Nwosu said.

Another ex-international, Edema Fuludu, said that the team had no business playing a draw and failing the nation. ‘’Eagles could not rise to the occasion; they played as if they could get an easy result, hence, they were shocked by a more determined South Africa team. ‘’The team lacked team work, they were not professional about their approach,’’ Fuludu said.

Keshi sabotaged not to qualify for AFCON —Igbokwe

‘T

ORCHLIGHT of Nigerian football’ Iyke Igbokwe has alleged that Stephen Keshi was sabotaged by his employers not to qualify for next year’s AFCON. On Wednesday, defending champions Nigeria sensationally failed to qualify for the 2015 AFCON in Equatorial Guinea after they could only draw 2-2 with group leaders South Africa in Uyo.

Igbokwe, who contested the recent NFF executive committee polls and has since appealed against the conduct of the elections, said it was planned from the onset for Keshi to fail.

“The NFF board saddled to oversee the game are to blame for this failure because we all know there is no love lost between Keshi and the board of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF),” he argued.

“The NFF board sacked Keshi, but the presidency in its wisdom reinstated the coach because he started the qualifiers and with two matches to go, he should finish it.

“His replacement would have had a ready-made excuse had he being failed to qualify.

“Also, the team’s morale was low. Their daily allowances in Congo were not paid,

but instead the NFF took 100 journeymen on a chartered plane to Congo for sightseeing paid for by tax payers.

No NFF board member was there to visit the team before the match this has never been done in the history “The animosity between employer and employee played out in full glare in Uyo. “This is certainly not a proper way to run football in Nigeria.”

THE NATION SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

61

SPORT EXTRA

Keshi: Sacking me won't solve the problem S

UPER Eagles head coach, Stephen Keshi, still wants to continue in his role despite missing out on qualification for next year's Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

Keshi believes sacking him will do nothing to reverse the downward trend the Eagles are currently experiencing, insisting the problems goes beyond him.

"If a team fails, sacking the coach won't solve the problem. The authority should look beyond the coach to find solutions to the problem," Keshi said.

Keshi, who has been working without a contract since the expiration of his last deal after the World Cup, admitted that failure to qualify for next year’s AFCON is failure

• Keshi

on his part.

"I can't deny it is a shame that we failed to qualify,on my part I failed the nation but my players took South Africa for granted,a match they had to win."

His agent Emma Addo was, however, silent on his client’s future but echoed Keshi's sentiment that the problem of the team goes beyond the coach.

"No explanation will be acceptable now by Nigerians but Super Eagles problems goes beyond coaching,if some issues are not resolved no one can succeed for long with the team," Ammo added.

"We shouldn't forget where Keshi picked this team from in 2012, almost same place like they are now but nobody cared about how they got there, that is why it happened again."

Ikhana, Anyansi confident of Federation Cup glory

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NYIMBA top officials, Kadiri Ikhana and Felix Anyansi Agwu have both exuded confidence that the Peoples Elephant would retain the Federation Cup crown they won last year when they face Dolphins in the 2014 final to-

From Tunde Liadi,Owerri morrow.

The Aba Millionaires defeated Warri Wolves to lift their third Federation Cup title last year after a nail-biting challenge in the final at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos and the two

FIFA gives Ashdod 30 days to pay Efe Ambrose’s fee

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SRAELI side MS Ashdod have been given 30 days by FIFA to pay Kaduna United the agreed transfer fee of $70,000 for Celtic and Super Eagles defender Efe Ambrose.

In a judgment reached by the World soccer governing body dispute resolution committee Ashdod were also fined 15,000 Swiss francs in violation of art 64 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.

Efe Ambrose played for Kaduna United for four years before joining MS Ashdod in the winter of 2010.

After two and a half years he was sold by the club for £1.5m but the club refused to pay Kaduna United an agreed 20 % sell on clause aside their refusal to pay up the transfer fee.

Former Kaduna United chairman, Sabo Babayaro said Ashdod renegaded on their promise to pay up the agreed fee and sold Efe Ambrose to Celtic totally ignoring a 20% sell on clause included in the deal.

Babayaro revealed he resorted to report the case to FIFA when it became clear Ashdod were trying to play smart by ignoring all reminders and mails sent to them to redeem the fee.

"I kept quiet for four years because any move I make might lead to the banning of my son, Efe Ambrose, untill the club pay up the fee,"he told NationSport.

"Unfortunately Ashdod took it for granted and some people

are presently using it to stain my hard earned reputation with spurious claims" "Some claim it was $500,000 that I’am currently under investigation over it,how can it be when we all have a copy of the judgment reached by FIFA?" A copy of the judgment made available to NationSport and signed by the FIFA disciplinary committee deputy secretary Bernado Palmeiro also directed the Israeli side to pay the cost of 2,000 Swiss Franc for the cost of proceedings.

It further directed Kaduna United and Ashdod to inform the committee when the payments are made.

Enyimba officials have told NationSport that the club would be eyeing the fourth title tomorrow.

Ikhana revealed that Enyimba are set for the defence of the title they won last year.

The nomadic tactician hinted that with all his players almost injury free it would be difficult for any club to halt their march in the final of the 2014 Federation Cup. "We are ready for the final and we are fine-tuning arrangement in Abeokuta. We shall be ready for Dolphins.

All my players are eager to roll," Ikhana told NationSport.

The chairman of the club, Felix Anyansi Agwu also told NationSport in a recent interview that Enyimba won't have problem with putting an end to Dolphins' Federation Cup final record where they are yet to lose out of four encounters.

Anyansi praised Enyimba's players doggedness till the end of the season adding that revenge won't be in their mind when they tackle Dolphins on Sunday in Lagos.

Echiejile set to be a regular

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ONACO defender, Elderson Echiejile, is set to be given a regular run in the team after Layvin Kurzawa picked up a thigh injury.

The 22-year-old was substituted with 12 minutes left to play in France’s 1-1 draw with Sweden on Tuesday and scans by Monaco revealed he will miss up to six weeks of competitive football.

Kurzawa started ahead of Echiejile and he has made 10 starts in comparison to four made by the Nigerian in the French Ligue 1.

His injury forced absence provides the Nigerian an opportunity to force his way into man-

ager Leonardo Jardim starting line up starting with the game against Caen.

A part of the Nigeria team which failed to qualify for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations, he is expected to be thrown into the deep end in today's game against Caen despite arriving France on Thursday.

Last season Kurzawa limited him to just five appearances in the league from a possible 18 after the Nigerian joined the team in January from Portuguese side Sporting Braga.

Monaco, last season's runnersup, are enduring an indifferent start to the season as they are presently eighth on the log with 19 points after 13 games.

Corporate Challenge Cup begins

A • Ambrose

LL is set for the commencement of the second edition of the Corporate Soccer Championship kicking off today at the Campos Mini Stadium, as the organisers have promised very competitive events.

Six corporate bodies will participate in the two-day

championship with the champion representing the country in an international match against Samsung on December 14 in Ghana.

Speaking yesterday at the media parley and draws held at the conference room of Campos Mini Stadium, the chief executive officer,

• Ikhana

MLS AWARD

Martins shortlisted

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ORGOTTEN Nigeria international, Obafemi Martins, has been listed among three nominees for the 2014 Major League Soccer (MLS) Player of the Year Award.

The fast and mobile player, who has been linked with moves back to Europe in the past, has enjoyed a fruitful season with the high flying side.

Martins, who defends the colours of Seattle Sounders, has been joined by Robbie Keane and New England Revolution forward Lee Nguyen in the race for the award.

The former Inter Milan, Newcastle United, VFL Wolfsburg, Rubin Kazan and Levante forward has bagged 17 goals and accounted for 13 assists in the season so far.

Rookie of the Year title will go to one of FC Dallas’ Tesho Akindele, D.C. United’s Steve Birnbaum or, the favourite, Harrison Shipp of the Chicago Fire.

The 2014 Volkswagen MLS Most Valuable Player award will be presented on December 3.

Corporate Soccer Nigeria, Onome Obruthe said that the decision to have six teams was to organise a hitch-free and competitive championship.

The participating companies are Exxon Mobil, Kings Pride Group and Etisalat in Group A, while Chevron EMTS and MTN vie for the semi final tickets in Group B.

Now … the future • Continued from back page in Africa and 42nd in the world. We did not see anything wrong with this euphoria in a group that had Congo, South Africa and Sudan.

Imagine Sudan beating Nigeria! Just imagine. Sudan is the last team in the group table.

We couldn’t grab all the six points allocated to this fixture.

South Africa (our former wives, they say in soccer parlance) did. They won two of their three away games. Is there any reason for us to celebrate? Shouldn’t this period be for sober reflection, if we are truly the African champions? When would we stop this hail ‘him today, crucify him tomorrow’ style of running our football?

It did not matter that South Africa beat Sudan and Congo at home to top the group. We were pleased with the fact that we beat Congo. But, did we take the pains to find out why we tottered all through the qualifiers? Indeed, we started the competition by losing 3-2 at home to Congo, though many have ascribed the loss to the impasse at the NFF. What a weak excuse, especially as the Falconets emerged runners-up at the FIFA U-20 World Cup held in Canada. It is important to stress here that the Falconets barely made the trip because Nigeria was cleared for the competition by FIFA, less than five days to the tournament.

Eagles’ campaign in the qualifiers was shambolic, unworthy of true champions.

Swept under the carpet were the coaches’ poor tactics, their refusal to subject their players’ invitation list to scrutiny and the continuous inclusion of half-fit and recuperating stars in their squads. Is it not laughable that we invited Kenneth Omeruo for the two games against Congo and South Africa, in spite of the fact that he had not played a game for four consecutive weeks for his English Championship side Middleborough? Shouldn’t the coaches have asked Omeruo’s manager what the problem was? Omeruo was the worst culprit in the game against Bafana. He knew he wasn’t fit, yet he couldn’t tell the coaches to leave him out of the game. Today, his rating has fallen and it could affect his place at Middleborough.

Omeruo shed crocodile tears after the game. Too late!

Godfrey Oboabona’s inand-out appearance for the Eagles is worrisome. Is it not time we asked him to undergo a surgery to solve this recurring injury, if we think he is integral to the coaches’ permutations for the team?

Oboabona is our best defender. His absence due to suspension exposed the Eagles’ defence against South Africa on Wednesday.

Word was rife that the coaches wanted to move Efe to the central defence position. Is it now that they have realised that Efe functions better in the position? Is that not where Efe plays for Celtic in the Scottish Premier League?

So, why did the coaches settle for a rusty Omeruo? One of the sins of Nigerian coaches is the fixation about where players should and play and who does what. They are scared to take risks.

Looking at the Eagles today, it is apparent that Ambrose Efe has lost form.

The coaches must scout for

his replacements. And the immediate place to find them will be from the youth teams, especially those who are now in Europe, pending when they would have come of age to play the game there.

Credit must go to goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama for saving our blushes of not qualifying for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.

His timely penalty save changed the face of the game in Pointe Noire. No team can win laurels if its best performer is the goalkeeper. Our coaches need to evolve systems that would invigorate the Eagles’ midfield to produce the passes for the strikers to score goals.

The beauty of football rests with the goals. Only goals win matches.

My problem with the Eagles is that the coaches have refused to use their matches to tacitly rebuild the team by introducing younger players.

Hope Akpan is a wonderful addition to the Eagles but the coaches need to visit Arsenal to lure the Nigerian-born kids under Arsene Wenger’s tutelage. They also need to integrate some of our age-grade stars, such as Kelechi Ihenacho, into the team.

The coaches must begin the process of getting the Eagles’ squad to represent Nigeria at the 2018 World Cup competition in Russia. They need to watch how other countries are replacing their ageing stars with younger players, ahead of the World Cup qualifiers next year.

Enyeama’s heroics are heartwarming because goalkeepers get better as they age. But can we say the same for our strikers, defenders and midfielders?

I don’t think so. This is the puzzle that the coaches must fix immediately, instead of waiting to restart the rebuilding next year.

The coaches have no deals.

They can take a walk, but we must ensure that only players who play in the European and domestic league make the country’s squad. No coach should be given the freehand to pick Eagles players. Coaches’ players’ lists must be vetted by the relevant people, if we must avert what caused our ouster from the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. The reasons are the same when we also crashed out from the 2012 edition.

I’m a fan of foreign coaches.

We need one, but he must be prepared to live with us. He must have a culture for soccer academies to fish out talents in the grassroots. Such a foreign coach must be prepared to train and re-train our coaches.

The European coach should be allowed to come with his men.

They must work with our agegrade teams’ coaches as their Nigerian assistants. The reason for this change is that these Nigerian coaches (Samson Siasia, Manu Garba and Emmaneul Amunike) can take what they learnt back to their teams. This way, we can have a football culture and a playing style.

This arrangement will settle the problem of replacing ageing players. I look forward to seeing Kelechi Ihanacho playing for the Eagles against Brazil on March 25 in Uyo. Our coaches are not knowledgeable enough for the Super Eagles. The talk of getting our past stars who played in Europe to handle the Eagles has caused us more pain than glory. Eagles is definitely too big for Nigerian coaches, especially exinternationals.

THE NATION SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

62

Life bond

• From right: Pastor Tunde Bakare of Latter Rain Assembly, his wife, Bunmi with the couple, Sam and Tomi

•Bride's parents, Mr Oshokoya and wife, Philomena

Former Miss Oluwatomisin Oshokoya and her beau, Sam Akinseye have been joined in holy matrimony at the Summit Events Centre, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, reports JOKE KUJENYA

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LL smiles, Sam, the groom, could not hide his joy during his wedding to former Miss Oluwatomisin Oshokoya on Saturday, October 4, at the expansive hall of Summit Events Centre beside African Shrine on NERDC Road in Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.

Dressed in sparkle white fitting suit, Sam, 34, beamed and bowed as his visual radiated pleasure.

The bride, ‘Tomi, 29, was the first to speak as she said: “Well, it was worth it, said the bride.

Sam and I had known each other on ‘hello-hi levels’ since 2011 in Johannesburg. Things had gone on like that until 2012. It happened that we had some sort of semi-deep discussion on academic issues during which Sam was enquiring about coming to do his M.Sc. in the department where I worked at the School of Mining Engineering, Wits University in Johannesburg, South Africa.

“But somehow, we disappeared off each other’s radar till June 2013 when we began singing relationship tunes that eventually wrapped up in a courtship of about 15 months being sealed in a holy wedlock. Well, my husband is from Idanre, Ondo State while I am from IjebuIgbo in Ogun State.

“As for relationship, courtship and union, what I would say is that, literally from the first day we started talking about entering into a bond, I just felt peace, joy and a sigh of relief. I remember on the first evening that as Sam started to talk, I asked myself, ‘Where have you been all my life?...but I have seen you, that is, around, why only now?’ But then, I only smiled to myself.

“However, I kept praying about it because I didn’t want my guidance to be an emotional one. I needed to be sure it was one led by the Holy Spirit. Eventually, I felt completely sweetly content into agreeing to enter into courtship

with him. I could not fight it. And despite disagreements and challenges here-and-there, I knew I wanted to be with him. On the evening of October 19, 2013, while on vacation, with my dad at Phoenix, Arizona, the Lord led me to Isaiah 55 verse 4 in particular as my final word of confirmation and revelation of who Sam is to me.

“Really, what I love about Sam is his faith, striking confidence, fearlessness and optimism.

He is truly very loving, caring and a giver.”

Complementing his wife’s observations, Sam said: “Honestly, from the inception of the relationship, my life has been tremendously blessed.

I have had cause to thank God continually that I met Tomi and asked her to marry me. God keeps confirming that my decision was right.

And I love Tomi for her spirituality, modesty, and kind-heartedness. She is my reliable confidant and jewel of inestimable value. And these are not merely empty words. I say it from my heart.

Officiating at the wedding was the Senior Pastor, The Christian Brethren Church (TCBC), Ejigbo, Lagos, Pastor Afolabi Oladele, an engineer by profession, who encouraged the couple to hold on firmly to the tenets of true love, commitment, unity, praying and standing together with and for each other as they had been taught in the word of God. In his charge to the couple, Pastor Tunde Bakare of the Latter Rain Assembly, Ogba, Ikeja, Lagos, in his sermon, enjoined the husband to see to it that he really loves his wife.

Pastor Bakare told the couple that while marriage is indeed not the proverbial ‘bed of roses’, the young couple can make their union work if they stay true in the consciousness of their marital vows. He also charged the wife, just like every other woman that is sincere about making her marriage a true success, to descend off her career or status ‘camel’, on which she may be

•Groom’s father, Mr Akinseye

considering herself towering above her husband, and be submissive, not subservient, to her man.

The cleric said that his own marriage of about 28years was able to survive the turbulent marital waters because both him and his wife were able to hold on in prayers and as well manage their affairs without either exaggerating issues or bringing in external influence.

The bride’s father, Mr Tokunbo Oshokoya, an Engineer and Associate Pastor in TCBC, urged the bride to remember the values she was brought up with both by her biological and parents-inthe-faith. He counselled her to learn to sow into relationships both at convenient and inconvenient times and to as well, show appreciation for every favour shown to her by anyone.

The joyful bride’s mother, Mrs. Philomena Oshokoya, admonished her to recall and practice the values she learnt from her father and submit to her husband and continue being the virtuous woman raised to be.

Also, the groom’s father, Dr Ezekiel Morakinyo Akinseye, told Sam to take good care of his wife as he took care of the his mother, Mrs Oluwafunmilayo Akinseye. He said: “It was true love that kept me and your mother till today and that is why our joy knows no bounds to see you do today was we did almost 35years or so, ago.

In the events hall, lit with a blend of aqua green and red colour of attires adorned by guests, families, friends and well wishers, the couple also

•Groom’s mother Mrs Akinseye

retraced the story of how and where they met.

They noted that while they both do not work in the same institution, their related academic backgrounds and interests played a major role in making their paths to cross. “But on the long run, we linked up via connection of friends”, they said.

Sam the groom had a first degree in Geology from Ogun State University (OSU). He then carried out both Honours and Masters programmes at the Department of Geography, Environmental Management and Energy studies and obtained respective degrees at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa.

As for the bride, she acquired a first degree in Surveying and Geo-informatics at University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, Lagos. She also did a Graduate Diploma and Masters programme and specialised in Mineral Economics at School of Mining Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in South Africa.

To spice the wedding were an array of several public functionaries including: the senior pastor, the Christian Brethren Church (TCBC), Afolabi Oladele, a former Group Executive Director, NNPC and a fellow of NSE, NSCHE and Academy of Engineers, with his wife, Tina. Chief Ayo Adebanjo and his wife, Christiana; Mr. Yinka Odumakin; former UNILAG Political lecturer and public analyst, now with Covenant University, Ota, Prof Kayode Soremekun and his wife, Dr Rebecca, also of UNILAG, as well as Pastor Niyi Beecroft.

An Assistant Director of Nursing, Neuro Psychiatric Hospital, Oshodi, Lagos, Mrs Nike Ojo, has retired from service after hitting the statutory 35 years. To mark the event, her colleagues held a party in her honour on the hospital’s premises. JOSEPH ESHANOKPE reports.

A ‘passionate nurse’ retires

N this afternoon, the reception of the Neuro Psychiatric Hospital, Oshodi, Lagos became a venue not for patients but for the workers who were holding a retirement party for one of their own who was quitting service on attaining retirement age.

The workers, including the Chief Medical Director Dr Rahman Lawal, came from the hospital’s main office in Yaba , joining those in Oshodi to bid Mrs Nike Ojo, an Assistant Director, Nursing Services (ADNS), good bye. Some wore specially made dress to demonstrate their love for the outgoing nursing chief.

Though the event was billed for 1pm, the ceremony did not start until it was getting close to closing time, suggesting that the workers did not want it to eat into their working hours. That is why the musical instruments were kept away, making it look like the event would not hold.

But when the zero hour came, everything was put in place, with music blast-

O

ing away. The workers joined the chorus with some Christian songs. At this moment, the master of ceremony beckoned on them to bring in the celebrator, who had arrived and was waiting outside. With the song, “Mama o, mama o, Oluwada mama si funwa, mama o mama o ..., ‘’ they marched out. On their way back, with Mrs Ojo in the middle, they changed the song to, ‘’Egbega egba o..’’ and Ose o Jesu o…’’

To kick off, Mrs Modupe Owoyele, who was asked to pray, almost turned the ceremony into a Christian service as she rendered more songs amid ‘Praise the Lord’ ; I say praise the Lord’. This done, a medical doctor, Mrs O. C. Ogun, was asked to speak on behalf of the staff...

She said: “This is the day we have been waiting for. We are rejoicing in it. We thank God for it. Mrs Ojo started work 35 years ago; every one looks forward to seeing his last day in the workplace, but no can predict it. But Mrs Ojo is here today.

“I have known her for years – from

•Mrs Ojo cutting her retirement cake. With her (from left) are: Dr Eyamale, Unit Consultant, Psychiatric; Dr Kajoro(4th right), consultant,Neuro Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba Yaba Psychiatric Hospital. She is so passionate about her patients. Everyone who knows her would testify to this. I pray that God will look after her. I wish to commend you. You are a passionate worker. God will continue to answer your prayers. As you retire, you won’t retire into sickness and disability. I pray that all of us will celebrate like this.

“Amen’’, her colleagues responded loudly.

Also, Dr Lawal recalled his days with Mrs Ojo. He said: “We grew up together.

What we are doing today is good - to recognise Mrs Ojo. Mrs Ojo is a nice and

a kind person to all of us. We pray that our retirement will be like her own.’’

Mrs Ojo, the Librarian at Yaba, said: “She has been a loving and nice sister.

She puts on a smile always and when she does, you will see it.’’

Gifts were later presented to Mrs Ojo. In her citation, the celebrator was described thus: Born in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, she was a science pupil and active member of the science club. She studied agriculture, but veered off into nursing.

A notable researcher and presenter of academic papers, she reached the peak of her career, when she became a Fellow

of the West African College of Nursing.

Her hobbies are meeting people and helping the less privileged.

In his response, the celebrator’s brother Mr Abiodun Ayobanmi thanked the staff for the gesture. He prayed for his sister saying: “God will continue to uphold her. When she visits, she will meet you in joy.”

At the event were the celebrator’s son Dotun. Other staff were Mr. O. A. Talabi; a retiree, Mr Obijola (Baba Eto), a former ADNS; Mrs Ladapo, ADNS; a pharmacist, Mr Ajayi, a consultant in charge of Oshodi annex.

THE NATION SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

63

EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 21-11-14

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High-cap stocks rally equities to bullish close

FTER three days of s u c c e s s i v e depreciation, increased demand for leading companies in the cement and banking sectors helped the bulls to regain the momentum at the Nigerian stock market. Nigerian equities closed the last trading session with average gain of 1.49 per cent, driven largely by gains recorded by highly capitalised stocks that dominated the top 30 stocks’ list.

Aggregate market value of all quoted equities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) closed Friday at N11.241 trillion as against its opening value of N11.076 trillion, representing an increase of N165 billion. The benchmark index for the stock market, the All Share Index (ASI), also rose from its opening index of 33,428.76 points to close at 33,926.18 points, indicating an average percentage gain of 1.49 per cent.

With 24 decliners to 22 advancers, the performance of the market was boosted by gains recorded by large-cap stocks such as Dangote Cement, Lafarge Africa, Nigerian Breweries,

By Taofik Salako, Capital Market Editor

Guaranty Trust Bank, FBN Holdings and Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. Dangote Cement, the most capitalised stock with more than a quarter of total market capitalisation, led the rally with a gain of N9 to close at N189 per share. Okomu Oil Palm, the highest-priced agro stock, followed with a gain of N1.10 to close at N26.80. Ashaka Cement rose

by N1.04 to close at N22.89.

Lafarge Africa chalked up N1 to close at N78. Oando rose by 52 kobo to N20.39. Access Bank gained 37 kobo to close at N7.83. Nigerian Breweries gathered 36 kobo to close at N157.51. Guaranty Trust Bank rose by 28 kobo to N23.40. Union Bank of Nigeria rose by 23 kobo to N8.35 while FBN Holdings gained 22 kobo to close at N9.32 per share.

Transactions remained hugely concentrated in the financial services subsector.

Aiico Insurance was the most active stock with a turnover of 75.19 million shares worth N67.58 million in 25 deals. Sterling Bank was the second most active stock with a turnover of 73.27

million shares valued at N169.49 million in 106 deals.

United Bank for Africa (UBA) followed on the activity chart with 53.36 million shares worth N230.3 million in 215 deals. FBN Holdings placed fourth with a turnover of 47.98 million shares valued at N441.54 million in 482 deals.

Aggregate turnover was above recent average as investors staked N2.53 billion on 399.4 million shares in 4,015 deals.

On the other hand, Seplat Petroleum Development Company led the decliners with a loss of N15.99 to close at N426.01. Mobil Oil Nigeria followed with a drop of N7.83 to close at N148.92.

Flour Mills of Nigeria lost N4.47 to close at N41.51.

Forte Oil dropped by N3 to close at N199. Cadbury Nigeria lost N2.21 to close at N42.09. UAC of Nigeria dropped by N1.01 to close at N41.99. UACN Property Development Company declined by 51 kobo to close at N10.52. Dangote Sugar Refinery dropped by 29 kobo to N5.82. Eterna lost 15 kobo to close at N2.99 while Livestock Feeds dropped by 10 kobo to close at N2 per share.

DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 21-11-14

TOMORROWPUNCHLINE IN THE NATION

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM VOL.9, NO. 3040

It was under Obasanjo that former Plateau State Governor Joshua Dariye and one-time Oyo State Governor, Rasheed Ladoja, were ‘impeached’ by a minority of members of their respective houses of assembly. The then president sustained the illegality because he could order the police and soldiers around.

—Festus Eriye

T

HEY kill. They maim. They rape. They kid nap and forcefully marry off innocent school girls. They slaughter human beings in obeisance to an inexplicably blood thirsty deity. They explode bombs in church, mosque, market, Motor Park or entertainment spot with equal aplomb. These and other atrocities characterise the murderous Boko Haram sect.

But what is the defining element underlying the Boko Haram’s serial criminalities? It is certainly not the innocent blood they shed, the valuable lives they so brutally terminate or the pain and loss they inflict on thousands of families. No, their central crime is that they are children of impunity. They are denizens of Thomas Hobbes’ state of nature where life is short, nasty, brutish and solitary.

Boko Haram does not respect the boundaries set by the rule of law to protect the sanctity of human dignity and preserve the essence of civilised humanity. For them, might is right.

They do not recognise and thus wage unrelenting war against all institutions established to create order, discipline, restraint and humane conduct in society.

Does it not follow that a Nigerian state that purports to abhor Boko Haram’s antics and is fighting a fierce war against the sect should at least exhibit higher moral standards than the malevolent gang? But then, what do we have?

Yes, Boko Haram kills and rapes. But what do we say of a governor-elect, Mr Ayodele Fayose, whose thugs invade the premises of a court hearing a case of non-eligibility to contest an election filed against him, and allegedly right in his presence, beat up the judge, tear his suit to shreds and destroy the court records?

Is such conduct any different fundamentally from that of Boko Haram? Is that not a brazen kidnap of court processes and a rape of the judiciary? Can we blame the Boko Haram hierarchy if they conclude that they have a worthy comrade-in-impunity in the architect and founder of the philosophy of stomach infrastructure?

Under Fayose’s short watch thus far, a minority of seven members of the state House of Assembly (allegedly along with three nonmembers of the House) sat under heavy security cover to approve a list of commissioners and Special Advisers for the governor.

Emboldened by this ‘success’, the same minority has removed the speaker and other principal officers of the Ekiti House of Assembly from office and appointed new officers in brazen violation of the house rules, due process and the rule of law. Again, they had massive security cover to perpetrate their illegality.

Earlier, Fayose had sealed the petrol station of the Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Dr Adewale Omirin, for purported environmental purposes, sacked his aides, locked up his office, frozen the accounts of the legislature and reportedly demobilised the Speaker’s vehicles all in a bid to intimidate and cower the APC-dominated legislature into submission.

As all of these have happened to the utter embarrassment of the nation, it has been mum

Enter, the Boko Haram State?

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It is unfortunate that under President Jonathan’s watch, the murderous Boko Haram sect and the Nigerian state now operate on the same ethical frequency of impunity, lawlessness and disdain for the rule of law

from President Goodluck Jonathan’s Aso Rock even though he is the leader of Fayose’s party and supposedly the number one defender of the country’s constitution. Is it a case of birds of the same feather flocking together? I can only answer the question in the affirmative.

Or how do we explain the peremptory and arbitrary withdrawal of the security detail of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Aminu Tambuwal, by the Inspector General of Police, Mr Suleiman Abba, for decamping from the PDP to the APC? And this, despite the pendency in court of a suit to determine the status of legislators who defect from one party to another? This was a veritable terrorist attack on the judiciary. In the same vein, Thursday’s barricading of the National Assembly and firing of tear gas canisters into the hallowed legislative chambers by the Nigeria Police to prevent the House from sitting was akin to Boko Haram-type bombing of the National Assembly by the police.

The virus of impunity and lawlessness characteristic of Boko Haram has clearly become contagious and the Nigerian state seems to have

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succumbed to the ultimately self-destructive ailment. It is unfortunate that under President Jonathan’s watch, the murderous Boko Haram sect and the Nigerian state now operate on the same ethical frequency of impunity, lawlessness and disdain for the rule of law.

These thoughts came to my mind as I contemplated a paper titled ‘Development and Road Metaphor: An Extrapolative Theoretical Analysis of Nigeria’s Foreign Policy’, delivered

by Dr Dapo Thomas of the Lagos State University (LASU) at a just concluded conference on ‘One hundred years of Nigerian nationhood’ at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife. Dr Thomas’s objective in the paper is to interrogate the nexus between Nigeria’s foreign policy over time and her developmental aspirations as a nation.

Tracing the historical trajectory of Nigeria’s foreign policy, he alludes to the tentative conservatism of the Tafawa Balewa years, the cautious nationalism of the Yakubu Gowon years, the aggressive and patriotic pan-Africanism of the Murtala Mohammed era and the seeming cluelessness that has engulfed the country’s cur-

rent foreign policy. In this regard, Thomas laments the fact that Nigeria’s attributes such as huge territorial size, large population, rich natural and human resources as well as a sizable military capacity have not translated into a viable and vigorous foreign policy that can earn the country the respect she craves in the comity of nations.

He cites as an example the recent alleged humiliating treatment meted out to Nigeria by South Africa, when that country seized about $15 million allegedly taken into the country from Nigeria in violation of due process. Thomas is, however, quick to point out that Nigeria’s past contributions to the liberation of South Africa cannot be a justification for our violation of the country’s laws as regards foreign currency transactions. And this is precisely my point. A country that perpetrates impunity and disrespect for the rule of law at home will most likely do the same abroad as happened in South Africa thus devaluing its esteem in the eyes of the world.

But then, what is Dr Thomas’ solution to a problem he has so clinically diagnosed? His central contention is that the problem with Nigeria’s foreign policy is that it is not driven by a non-partisan national agenda as well as an overarching vision that transcends parties and ephemeral regimes. According to him, “What drives Nigeria’s foreign policy is uncharacteristically not a national vision but the individual desires of its leaders”. He thus advocates a foreign policy hinged on a non-partisan agenda “to be powered and driven by the vision of the state and the nation’s collective zeal for progress”. This vision, he avers, must be one of excellence “that is supported and embraced by all citizens”.

I consider Dr Thomas’ panacea for a vibrant foreign policy as being excessively idealistic. He offers no concrete methodology for getting from where we are to where he thinks we should be as regards foreign policy conceptualisation and implementation. A fractured political class cannot produce a coherent national vision. A political class consumed by the quest for power solely for material accumulation can neither mobilise the populace behind a national vision nor summon the discipline to implement one.

As the world observes Nigeria, it is my view that they see two competing impunities. One is that of a Boko Haram that bombs and kills innocent citizens. The other is of a Nigerian state that literarily bombs, decimates and devalues critical national institutions such as the judiciary, the national legislature and even the security agencies. The difference between the two is like that between six and half a dozen.

This may be the reason why the United States is reluctant to sell sophisticated military equipment to a Nigerian ruling class – military and civilian - it has every right to perceive as thoroughly irresponsible. Yet, Dr Thomas has raised fundamental issues that should spur the political parties to formulate concrete foreign policy options for the consideration of Nigerians in the countdown to the critical 2015 elections.

Ade Ojeikere on Saturday talk2adeojeikere@yahoo.com

Now … the future

H

OW can Nigeria be so big, yet so fool ish? Who do we tell that a country with over 170 million people cannot qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations from a group that had Congo, South Africa and Sudan? How are the mighty fallen?

Who can quantify how much would be lost

by Nigerians, firms and others in the business of sports now that Nigeria is out of the Africa Cup of Nations? When Nigeria has a soccer game, the streets are empty. If we win, the talk everywhere the next day is on the victory. Everyone becomes a pundit. Nigerians put aside their religious inclinations and creed to embrace one another when the Eagles score goals. For the 90-minute game, Nigerians are united in their quest for victory. The urchins and roughnecks leave their vices to watch the matches. What would all these people be doing next year when the

competition begins without the Eagles? How would the domestic league grow when our national teams are populated by Europe-based players? Who would watch the local games without our idols?

Women are excited anytime the Eagles are playing because they are sure that their husbands would come home to watch the match.

Kids look forward to watching the matches with their parents. Young boys and girls use the viewing centres to rake in cash. All these are gone – no thanks to this avoidable ouster from the 2015 edition.

So, Nigeria couldn’t beat Sudan and Congo home and away? Ah! Is it not a shame that we could garner only eight points from the designated 18? Is there any difference in the coaches’ World Cup matches where we secured four points from the possible 12?

Rather than sack the coaches then, we pampered them and hounded the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) men.

Countries have sacked their fumbling coaches and reconstituted their teams, midway into World Cup qualifiers and secured the ticket. Brazil used five coaches and 99 players during the qualifiers to the 2002 World Cup co-hosted by Korea and Japan.

They eventually won the trophy. So, what was that foolish talk about sacking ours with two matches left in the qualifiers? How has the reversal given us the ticket to defend the trophy we won in South Africa on February 10? The new NFF helmsmen wisely sacked these fumblers. Just when we were celebrating the soul-lifting change, the tide changed.

Look at what a reversal of decision has done to the psyche of Nigerians. Nigerians are now forced to watch the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations slated for Equitorial Guinea on television; so sad.

Sports, the only thing that unites us, is being used sadly to cause us pains because of our incompetent coaches and their players

who made us a laughing stock at the Brazil 2014 World Cup, when they shamelessly refused to train until they were paid their appearance fees. Luck, which has been the basic ingredient in the Eagles’ past feats, eluded the team after sharing our collective wealth ($3.85 million) till the wee hours on match day against France.

Super Eagles under these coaches have been living on the edge, a team bastardised by the inclusion of bench warmers, injuryhit players and recuperating ones. Indeed, the team has not been a platform to showcase our best. Rather it has become a rehabilitation centre.

There was so much hoopla about the Super Eagles’ “comeback” from the dead in terms of the country’s chances of qualifying for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations slated to hold in Equatorial Guinea, simply because we beat Congo in Pointe Noire. We forgot that the Eagles are the defending champions. We were celebrating a feat where we are ninth

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