Police hand over Ese to parents today

...towards a better life for the people

**

VOL. 25: NO. 62705

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

N150

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016

Police hand over Ese to parents today

By Kingsley Omonobi, Samuel Oyadongha, Emman Ovuakporie, Johnbosco Agbakwuru & Festus Ahon

A

I fear she's hypnotised, I'm taking her to TB Joshua, says Dad Gov Dickson pledges rehabilitation, Okowa condemns saga

BUJA—POLICE authorities in Abuja, yesterday night, said Ese Oruru, freed Monday, will now be officially handed over to her mother, Mrs. Oruru, today.

14-year-old Ese Rita Oruru was brought to Police headquarters at Louis Edet House at about 12. 55pm amid tight police protection.

Her dad, Mr Charles Oruru, however, disclosed that he has concluded plans to seek spiritual assistance from Lagos cleric, Pastor T.B. Joshua,

Continues on Page 5

Dangote remains Africa's richest man; Adenuga, Otedola make 43 list Kidnappers invade Lagos school, abduct three female students, demand N300m 6 ransom

ABDUCTED GIRL — Freed Ese Oruru and an escort at Police Headquarters, Abuja, yesterday. RIGHT: Ese in full profile. Photos: Olugbemiga Olamikan.

50 Anambra communities in total blackout See Inside C M Y K

COLUMNISTS:

 Ayodele

How I made perfect score,

by Ayodele, UNILAG's all-time best student 45 P.17

TABIA PRINCEWILL

Before we #BuyNaija, let’s educate ourselves

P.51

DEAR BUNMI

He gave me pubic lice

Mr & Mrs

Obasanjo, Yar'Adua, Jonathan must account for all recovered loot— Court 5

2 —Vanguard, WEDNES DAY WEDNESDAY DAY, MARCH 2, 2016

C M Y K

Vanguard, WEDNES DAY WEDNESDAY DAY, MARCH 2, 2016 — 3

C M Y K

4 —Vanguard, WEDNES DAY WEDNESDAY DAY, MARCH 2, 2016

C M Y K

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016—5

POCKET CARTOON

after themselves at the expense of the wellbeing of majority of Nigerians, and development of the country.

“This is a crucial precedent that vindicates the right to a transparent and accountable government and affirms the human rights of the Nigerian people to live a life free from want and fear.

We will do everything within our power to secure the full and effective enforcement

GIVING TUESDAY—From left: Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo

(SAN); Dr. Christopher Kolade, Mrs Omotayo Omotoso and Mrs Margaret Rose Adetutu Adeleke during 'Giving Tuesday' centurions luncheon at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, yesterday. Photo: State House.

Obasanjo, Yar'Adua, Jonathan must account for all recovered loot— Court

By Innocent Anaba

L

A G O S — A FEDERAL High Court sitting in Lagos has, in a landmark judgment, ordered the Federal Government to disclose the total amount of money recovered from stolen public assets since 1999 by past and present governments till date, as well as details of the spending of such funds.

The court noted that successive governments, since the return of democracy in 1999, “breached the fundamental principles of transparency and accountability for failing to disclose details of spending of recovered stolen public funds, including on a dedicated website.”

The court subsequently ordered the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to “ensure that his government and that of the governments of former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru

Yar’Adua, and President Goodluck Jonathan account fully for all recovered loot.”

Trial judge, Justice Mohammed Idris, in his judgment in a Freedom of Information suit by SocioEconomic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, on Friday, which copy Vanguard obtained, yesterday, also ordered the Federal Government to disclose information on the total amount of recovered stolen public assets by each government; the amount of recovered stolen public assets spent by each government as well as the objects of such spending and the projects on which such funds were spent.”

The judge dismissed all objections raised by the Federal Government and upheld SERAP’s arguments.

The court's declaration

Consequently, the court entered judgment in favour of SERAP against

IT'S UP TO YOU

BY AYO ADIO

W

ITH faith, discipline and selfless devotion to duty, there is nothing worthwhile you cannot achieve. It's up to you.

TAKE HEART

BY ELLA RANDLE

Love is born through the giving of kindness Singh Rajpal

Y

OU are a compilation of all your thoughts, deeds and intentions. Being kind and loving is creating a better you. And remember too, when one asks in sincerity, ‘ what is love?’; and opens the heart to the possibility of receiving love, life brings the gift that is there all along. The more valuable asset is not a head full of knowledge but a heart full of love. The more love you give, the more love you receive.

SAYINGS OF OUR PEOPLE We know a good day from the morning.

the Federal Government as follows: “A declaration

is hereby made that the failure and/or refusal of the respondents to individually and/or collectively disclose detailed information about the spending of recovered stolen public funds since the return of civil rule in 1999, and to publish widely such information, including on a dedicated website, amounts to a breach of the fundamental principles of transparency and accountability and violates Articles 9, 21 and 22 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act. “A declaration is hereby made that by virtue of the provisions of Section 4 (a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2011, the 1st defendant/respondent is under a binding legal obligation to provide the plaintiff/applicant with up to date information on the spending of recovered stolen funds, including: (a) detailed information on the total amount of recovered stolen public assets that have so far been recovered

by Nigeria; (b) the amount that has been spent from the recovered stolen public assets and the objects of such spending; (c) details of projects on which recovered stolen public assets were spent Reacting to the judgment, SERAP’s Deputy Executive Director, Mr Olukayode Majekodunmi, said: “This judgment confirms the persistent failure of successive governments starting from the Obasanjo government, to respect Nigerians’ rights to a corruption-free society and to uphold constitutional and international commitments on transparency and accountability.

"The judgment is an important step towards reversing a culture of secrecy and corruption that has meant that highranking government officials continue to look

of this judgment.”

During the trial of the matter, the Federal Government, through its counsel, Sheba Olugbenga, had in preliminary objection, argued that SERAP lacked the locus standi to institute the action, adding that the action was statute barred and that SERAP’s affidavit evidence offended the provisions of the Evidence Act. On May, 2012 the Federal Government filed additional written address in support of its preliminary objection, arguing on the retroactive nature of SERAP’s request, contending that the Freedom of Information Act, having been enacted in 2011, does not apply to spending by governments since 1999.

In response, SERAP argued that the FOI Act was a special specie of legislation to liberalize and expand access to information for all Nigerians, adding that the FOI Act did not impose any requirement of locus standi on applicants and that the only relevant limitation period in the case was that which required filing of suit within 30 days if information is not given.

It's right of public to information — SERAP SERAP further argued that the right which the FOI Act sought to protect w as the right of the public to have access to information which is in custody of a public official or institution, adding that the information sought by SERAP was not caught by the law against retroactivity, but that the right in question was expropriatory in nature, which justified the granting of access to the requested information on the ground of overriding public interest.

SERAP also argued in its pleadings that “By virtue of Section 1 (1) of the FOI Act 2011, it is entitled as of right, to

WAY WHERE ARE

request for or gain access to information which is in the custody or possession of any public official, agency or institution. By the provisions of Section 2(7) and 31 of the FOI Act 2011, the Accountant General of the Federation is a public official. By virtue of Section 4 (a) of the FOI Act when a person makes a request for information from a public official, institution or agency, the public official, institution or agency to whom the application is directed is under a binding legal obligation to provide the applicant with the information requested for, except as otherwise provided by the Act, within seven days after the application is received.”

It had further argued that “the information requested relates to the spending of recovered stolen funds since the return of civilian rule in 1999.

By Sections 2(3)(d)(V) & (4) of the FOI Act, a public official is under a binding legal duty to ensure that documents containing information relating to the receipt or expenditure of recovered stolen funds are widely disseminated and made readily available to members of the public through various means.”

According to SERAP, "the information requested does not come within the purview of the types of information exempted from disclosure by the provisions of the FOI Act. The government has no reason whatsoever to deny SERAP access to the information sought.

The requested information, apart from not being exempted from disclosure under the FOI Act, bothers on an issue of national interest, public concern, social justice, good governance, transparency and accountability.

“The power or discretion to refuse to give access to information requested for cannot be exercised in vacuum. Such a power or discretion must be provided for by the FOI Act itself. This means, therefore, that a request for information can only be denied or turned down if the information requested is one which is exempted

from disclosure under the provisions of the FOI Act."

Police hand over Ese to parents today Continues from Page 1 founder of The Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN).

Ese would have been handed over to her mother yesterday, but for inability of the woman to arrive Abuja by 8.00p.m. last night as she traveled from Yenagoa, Bayelsa State by road.

She was immediately ushered into the office of the Force Public Relations Officer, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Olabisi Kolawole, for what sources said was a debriefing exercise.

Also arrested and brought to Abuja by a Special Police team from Zone 1 headquarters, Kano, led by an Assistant Commissioner of Police, was the abductor of Ese, Yunusa, alias Yellow.

Both the abductor and the abductee were escorted by three representatives of the Emir of Kano to brief the police authorities about the roles the Emir and Kano Emirate Council played in getting Ese released.

At exactly 1.25pm, the Force Public Relations Officer was seen leading the freed Ese Oruru to the office of the Inspector General of Police for further briefing.

Attempts by newsmen to talk with Ese were rebuffed as the FPRO assured that as soon as Ese’s mother, who was being expected from Bayelsa arrived, the Police will brief the media on the matter by 4 pm.

Recall that Ese was abducted by one Yunusa, from her mother’s shop in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State on August 12, 2015, and whisked away to Kano State without the consent of her parents.

She was rescued Monday night, following a directive by the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, to the Commissioner of Police, Kano State, Mohammed Katsina, to liaise with the state’s Emirate Council and relevant persons in the state.

Continues on Page 11

6 —Vanguard, WEDNESDAY MARCH 2 , 2016

NCC resumes auction of 2.6GHz spectrum licenses

By Laju Iren

T

HE Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC has resumed the auction of licenses for the 2.6GHz band.

According to a statement signed by the Executive Vice Chairman, EVC, of the commission, Prof. Umar Danbatta, and released to Vanguard: “The NCC on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria, hereby informs parties interested in participating in the Auction of Frequency Spectrum Licences in the 2.6GHz Band that the process of the auction has resumed.

Further details will be published in due course in print and electronic media, as well as on the commission’s website: www.ncc.gov.ng.

Interested participants are advised to be on a watch out.”

After multiple postponements, the commencement of the auction will no doubt bring a breath of fresh air to investors. Originally scheduled to hold in December 2014 while the commission was still under the reins of former EVC, Dr. Eugene Juwah, the auction was postponed to May 2015 but was again met with another postponement, this one indefinite.

However, in November last year, the new EVC said that the NCC would issue new Telecom spectrum licences in 2016, to create robust internet infrastructure in all the 36 states in the country.

Danbatta had in an earlier interview said that this was necessitated by the commission’s commitment to providing a level playing field for all Telecom companies and investors to maximise their investments in the sector.

Danbatta had said this would increase investments, expand broadband services and drive economic growth and development in the country.

Kidnappers invade Lagos school, abduct three female students ...Demand N100m ransom for each

By Evelyn Usman & Bose Adelaja

I

KORODU—ARMED kidnappers numbering over 10, Monday night stormed Babington Macualay Junior Seminary, a model private missionary secondary school located in Ikorodu area of Lagos, abducting three female Senior Secondary School students.

Vanguard gathered that a similar incident happened on January 22, but the operation was foiled by the school internal security.

The abducted girls were of the Science department.

The gunmen, reportedly stormed the premises of the boarding school located at Agunfoye-Lugbusi village at about 8pm.

N100m ransom

Vanguard reliably gathered that the kidnappers demanded N100 million ransom for the release of each student. As at 4pm yesterday, they were still in contact with the school.

The kidnappers reportedly scaled the school’s perimeter fence and announced their presence with sporadic gunshots while the students were having their night prep in their classes.

L

AGOS—FORMER Deputy National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Olabode George has attributed the party’s dismal performance in the 2015 elections to the camp of a former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro.

He also reassured PDP

Identities of the abducted students which Vanguard confirmed at press time, are being kept secret by security agents and the school authority.

Parents besiege school

Distraught parents were said to have besieged the school when news of the invasion reached them. As at 4pm yesterday, some of them who lived outside Lagos were sighted driving into the massive school premises.

A parent who spoke to Vanguard on condition of anonymity said “I arrived the school at about 8am yesterday. Luckily, my three children who are in JSS 1 to 3, are safe. They said they thought the gun shots was fire crackers .

It was not until they sighted one of the gunmen that they attempted to run into their dormitory for safety. ‘’One of my children sustained injury. My eldest son said he hid under his bed but later left in search of his siblings. He said he ran back when he saw one of the gunmen dragging a student outside. He could not state whether the student was a male or female. ‘’When the dust settled, she said they were all crying . My last child even said I should take her out of the school but I assured her a thing like that would not happen again.”

‘Things under control'

UNDER SIEGE: The Babington Macaulay School, Ikorodu, where the students were grabbed.

N2.6BN FRAUD: NIMASA director puts CEO’s approval ceiling at N5m

By Innocent Anaba

L

AGOS—AN Assistant Director in the International Finance Services Department (Revenue and Debt Recovery) of Nigerian Maritime Safety and Administration Agency, NIMASA, Mrs. Olamide Odusanya, yesterday, gave evidence at the trial of a former Managing Director of the agency, Patrick Akpolobokemi,

before a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos.

Akpobolokemi and five others are being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, before trial judge, Justice Ibrahim Buba on 22 counts charge of conversion and theft in the tune of N2.6 billion.

Charged with Akpobolokemi are Ezekiel Agaba, Ekene Nwakuche, Governor Juan, and three companies, namely Blockz and Stonz Limited, Kenzo Logistics

2015 POLLS: Bode George blames Obanikoro’s camp over PDP’s defeat

By Dapo Akinrefon

This caused pandemonium as the fear stricken students who did not know where the shots were coming from, scampered in different directions for safety.

In the process, one of the gunmen said to have been hooded, held one of the female students,immediately she ran out of her classroom. Another female student as gathered, ran into three of the gunmen whom she thought were her teachers, while the third student was also caught by another abductor.

They thereafter, took the students into their vehicle that was parked along a bush path and zoomed off.

members that the party will bounce back in the 2019 presidential and governorship elections.

He said this yesterday, during a stakeholders’ meeting of party members at the party’s secretariat in Lagos.

The general assembly, attracted chieftains including the PDP state chairman, Tunji Shelle; the party’s governorship candidate in the 2015 poll, Mr. Jimi Agbaje; former ministers, Adeseye Ogunlewe

and Abimbola Ogunkelu and lawmakers elected on the platform of the party at the state and federal level.

Sensitising members of the party ahead of the party ’s congresses and national convention, he said: “We were defeated by the agent provocateurs within our ranks.

We were defeated by political renegades who merely invested in their own greedy and selfish interests.

Ltd and Al-Kenzo Logistic Ltd. The witness, who is the 9th prosecution witness, at the resumed hearing in the matter, told the court that the chief executive officer of the agency has power to approve a threshold between N2.5million and N5million in award of contracts.

According to her, contracts between N5 million to N50 million is approved by Parastatal Tender Board, PTB. She explained that the Ministerial Tender Board, MTB, approvals between N50 million to N100 million contract while the Federal Executive Council, FEC and presidency approved contract of N100 million and above.

According to her, the sum of N318 million which was paid to a firm, Extreme Bethel Nigeria Limited on November 6, 2014, was under the threshold of FEC, adding that she was not in position to know where the International Shipping and Ports Security, ISPS, committee got the approval for the payment.

Odusanya told the court the third accused person (Nwakuche) submitted vouchers used in effecting the transfers to her office.

The school authority as gathered began a prayer session immediately the gunmen left .

The prayer session which centred on the safety of the abducted children was still on at about 4pm yesterday.

They also sent text messages to all parents assuring them that the situation was under control.

The text message sent to parents read: “Dearly beloved parents, the unfortunate incident reported is under control and the three parents have been contacted.

Please continue to pray with us and we assure you that all will be well . Kindly keep calm , your children are safe.”

As at yesterday, activities in the school were on hold. The test earlier billed for the day was cancelled as the students were asked to remain in their hostels.

When contacted on phone, the school’s principal, Venerable, Ola Oluwa, picked the call but could not say a word.

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr Fatai Owoseni and some senior police officers, visited the school at about 4am.

Contacted, spokesperson for the command, Dolapo Badmus, a Superintendent of Police said; “Yes, three students were taken away by some criminals on Monday night. ''Investigations are on to track them. At this moment we can not give you more information but you will be briefed as events unfold.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016 — 7

Police escorts shoot at Olu Falae at Ile-Oluji

By Gbenga Olarinoye

O

SOGBO –A leader of pan Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, Chief Olu Falae, yesterday escaped death by the whiskers when a mobile policeman along Akure-Ilesha Express way fired a gunshot at his car.

Falae, according to reports was on his way to Ile-Ife to join other members of the pan Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere on a courtesy visit to Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi when the incident happened.

A visibly disturbed former Secretary to the Federal Government, SFG, who narrated his ordeal to newsmen in Ile-Ife before the Afenifere’s meeting with Oba Ogunwusi said he narrowly escaped death in the hands of the policemen.

He explained that his car was shot at at Ile-Oluji junction.

Falae was recently kidnapped in his Akure home by Fulani herdsmen before he was rescued by the security agents.

He expressed shock over the shooting at his car by the policemen, asking; “When was I kidnapped that they want to kill me now?’’

He added: “I was coming from Akure approaching Ilesa and I saw some vehicles ahead of me.

There was a bullion van in front.

The vehicles ahead of us were overtaking the bullion van so we too followed.

“I nearly passed them when I heard a shot and subsequent bang on my car. We stopped and we saw that they actually fired at the car. “They didn’t stop. We stopped at Erin-Ijesa and complained to the police at the check-point that we were fired at by some policemen escorting a bullion van at Ile-Oluji junction.

Chief Falae who expressed fear over continuous attack on him said; “I don’t know why I was kidnapped recently, why I was arrested in 1997 and locked up for two years and now shot.”

When contacted, the Osun state command of the Police image maker, Mrs Folashade Odoro said the command was yet to

receive official report on the issue.

The Personal Assistant to Chief Falae, Captain Moshood Raji confirmed the incident saying; “Yes it is true, they shot at the car as we drove pass them between Ikeji Arakeji and Ipetu in Osun State as others did . ‘’There were three vehicles including an Hilux van which was carrying the policemen, the bullion van and the pilot vehicle.

“Chief Falae’s Sports Utility Vehicle, SUV, drove pass the pilot car, so one of the policemen fired a shot at our car . Nobody was injured. Chief Falae and everybody is fine. “ He added that Chief Falae reported the matter to police authority in Akure.

Also reacting, Afenifere’s spokesman, Mr Yinka Odumakin, described the situation as: “Tragic and symptomatic of the lawlessness and depravity in our society”.

“Good that Papa's security details have the clues that will be useful in tracking the fellows in the bullion van.

They must be made

Fayose, Kashamu disagree over Buhari Buhari, APC duped Nigerians — GOV ‘President's critics must shun destructive criticism'

By Dapo Akinrefon, Daud Olatunji & Rotimi Ojomoyela

E

KITI State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose and the lawmaker representing Ogun East Senatorial District, Senator Buruji Kashamu, yesterday, disagreed over the best way to criticise President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

Both Fayose and Kashamu are chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. While Governor Fayose accused the president and the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, of duping Nigerians by obtaining their votes by trick, Kashamu urged the Buhari’s critics to shun destructive criticism.

Buhari, APC duped Nigerians – Fayose

Speaking through his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, the governor said; “Everything Buhari and his party promised Nigerians when they were looking for votes, they have denied and it won’t be a surprise if one day, Buhari also deny that he was elected on the platform of APC.” He, however, described the president’s renunciation of the N5, 000

stipend promised unemployed youths and Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed’s claim that creation of three million jobs per year was not promised by the APC as the “peak of political 419 that the President and his party represent.”

Fayose said: “They have not fulfilled any of the promises they made to Nigerians. In fact, they have even told us that they never made any promise.

It is close to one year that Buhari assumed office; no single job has been created.

Instead of the three million jobs per year that they promised, what we have been witnessing is job losses, economic hardship and budget padding” The Ekiti governor also faulted President Buhari’s declaration of support for Palestine and description of Palestinians as his brothers and sisters accusing the President of making Nigeria a full Islamic State.

According to him, “Even though I am a lover of Muslims, I relate with them as I do with Christians in the State and across the country, but Nigeria must remain secular and a free nation where its citizens proclaim the name of Jesus Christ and Allah freely.”

The governor said the moment President Buhari

disowned his own campaign document he knew that Nigerians had been duped.

Kashamu disagrees with Buhari critics

Meantime, Kashamu, also a chieftain of the PDP, said rather than aiming at destroying Buhari’s administration, his government should be criticised constructively and without any malice.

The lawmaker stated this in Ijebu-Igbo during an empowerment programme.

He said, “President Muhammadu Buhari is on course. Why it looks as if there are some dislocations is because of the blockage of lose funds and sources of financial leakages in the system. I am persuaded that in a short while things will pick up. ‘’Nigerians should not allow politicians to deceive them. We tend to play politics with everything. We forget that the elections or campaigns are over. Now, we have a government in place. We should rise above selfish and narrow partisan interest and join hands to build our country by offering constructive advice just as some senior citizens like Prof.

Wole Soyinka and Chief Emeka Anyaoku have done. We have no other country than Nigeria.’’

accountable.”

Ooni charges Afenifere to work for Yoruba unity

During the meeting, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, charged the leadership of the pan Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere to give priority to the progress of Yoruba land irrespective of their individual political differences.

Speaking in Ile-Ife, yesterday, Oba Ogunwusi who expressed dissatisfaction over disunity among Yoruba, urged the group to put the interest of Yoruba first in all their activities.

His words, “Despite how powerful and influential we are in Yoruba land, we have allowed politicians to cause disunity among us.

In his address, the leader of Afenifere, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, assured the monarch of the group’s readiness to support any course that can promote unity in Yoruba land.

Fasoranti whose speech was titled “A Gift to the Yoruba Race”, described the recent visit by Oba Ogunwusi to prominent monarchs across Yorubaland as a challenge to the group.

He said; “In the last few weeks,

you have stepped out of your throne to pay epoch making visits to your brother Obas and in the process put an end to historical animosities, age-long rivalries, petty disputes and perennial conflicts.

“Kabiesi, we want to prepare you for some of the challenges you may confront in the good task you have set for yourself as the enemies of our nation who have been happy in our disunity would not fold their hands and see us come together. They will want to put all manners of strictures on our way and spanners in the work.’’

Monarch, Ashafa make case for Yoruba language

Meantime, the Ooni Ogunwusi and Senator Olugbenga Ashafa representing Lagos East have called on the Federal Government to revisit the country’s education policy to prevent extinction of indigenous languages in Nigeria.

Specifically, Ooni said indigenous language is the beauty of culture and moral values and promised to convene a stakeholders conference on the status of Yoruba language in Nigeria.

Ogunwusi, and Ashafa made case for the promotion of Yoruba language during the International Mother Tongue Day organised at Ife city, Hall Ile- Ife Osun State.

8—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016

NUPENG, NUEE, SSAEAC threaten to shut Egbin, other power plants As Ikeja DISCO sacks 400 union members

BY Victor AhiumaYoung & Ediri Ejoh

L

AGOS — NATIONAL Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE; Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies, SSAEAC, and Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, have threatened to shut down Egbin power station and other power plants across the country following last Friday’s sack of 400 members of NUEE, including its deputy president by management of Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company, IKEDC. NUEE, SSAEAC and NUPENG have already handed down a seven-day ultimatum to the management of IKEDC to recall the affected workers unconditionally or risk unprecedented industrial action, with NUPENG saying it had already directed members at the Nigeria Gas Company, NGC to commence a shutdown of supplies of gas to the thermal stations and plants, if the 400 workers were not called back to work when the ultimatum expired.

Vanguard learned that the management of IKEDC, as part of its alleged anti-union posture and victimization of union members in favour of casualisation of workers, last Friday sacked 400 union members, including Mr. Christian Omemeh, a deputy president of NUEE, without reason.

But the management of IKEDC said it was embarking on strategic steps aimed at repositioning its business for better performance.

While expressing shock over the sack, NUEE and SSAEAC, in the ultimatum to the IKEDC, lamented that since the takeover of the company on November 1, 2013, the management had refused to put in a place a mechanism to draw-up credible conditions of service that would enjoy joint authorship of labour and employer for the benefit of both staff and management.

They catalogued the alleged sins of IKEDC to include the sack of the 400 union members even though the management had claimed nothing of such was coming.

“Union then demanded to know the parameters being used, and management agreed to invite the headship of the union to confidentially show them the parameters being used and how the assessment is being done. Unfortunately, up till today, when management has gone ahead to disengage another batch of about 400 of our

members, no invitation has been extended to the union.

This is an exhibition of disrespect to the unions, contrary to best labour practices.

“Arising from the above enumerated anti-labour behaviours therefore, the union hereby issues you seven days to address all these demands or we will be left with no alternative than to take legitimate means of defending the interests of our members and this shall be without further notice," the unions said.

Reacting to the sack, NUPENG in a statement by its President, Mr. Igwe Achese, said: “The union has put its

members on notice in NGC to commence a shutdown of supplies of gas to the thermal stations and plants if the 400 workers are not called back to work when the seven-day ultimatum expires."

IKEDC defends sack

Defending the sack, the management of the company, through its Head, Corporate Communications, Ikeja Electric, Felix Ofulue, said: “The key objectives of the company is to create a high performing organization, which satisfies the needs of all of our stakeholders, especially our customers, as we reposition for growth. In the last few months, the electricity

distribution company has scaled up the metering programme in order to meet the expectations of our customers and further reduce the agitation on estimated billing. It has also achieved significant strides in human capital development, which is critical to the repositioning programme.

“As part of the strategic initiative, the company also embarked on a reengineering exercise focused on aligning the company’s structure with its operating model and optimizing human capital capacity for better efficiency. We wish to assure all our customers that the organization has put in place processes to ensure excellent delivery of quality service to our customers in 2016 and beyond.”

PARTNERSHIP: From left, Uzoma Dozien, GMD, Diamond Bank Plc; Mary Elen Iskenderian, President/CEO, Womens World Banking; Ferdi Moolman, CEO, MTN Nigeria and Elizabeth Kalison, Deputy Director, Strategy, Planning & Management, Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation during a partnership of Diamond Bank with Womens World Banking and MTN Nigeria, to develop global model for digital financial services in Lagos, yesterday.

Alleged false declaration of assets: CCT shifts Saraki’s trial to March 11

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

A

BUJA —THE Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, sitting in Abuja, has shifted the trial of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, on the 13-count corruption charge filed against him by the Federal Government till March 11.

The Justice Danladi Umarled tribunal, which initially gave Federal Government the nod to open its case against Saraki on March 10, deferred the proceeding by a day, following a letter from his new lawyer, Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN.

A statement by the Head of Press and Public Relations at the CCT, Mr. Ibraheem AlHassan, revealed that Agabi had in a letter dated February 26, pleaded for an adjournment on the ground that he had other cases fixed for March 10.

Al-Hassan quoted Agabi’s letter as stating: “I write as lead counsel to the above defendant to apply that the matter which is now scheduled to come up on the 10th day of March 2016, subject to the convenience of the honourable tribunal and learned counsel for the prosecution, be taken on the 11th day of March, 2016, due

to my earlier and urgent commitments in other courts on the 10th.

“I will sincerely appreciate the indulgence of the tribunal to accommodate me in this way.”

The Supreme Court had on February 5 okayed Saraki for trial over allegations that he falsely declared his assets.’’

In a unanimous judgment, a seven-man panel of Justices of the apex court headed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, held that the Senate President had a case to answer before the CCT.

Keystone Bank alleged N285m scam case: You are frustrated, EFCC operative tells SAN

By Bartholomew Madukwe

L

AGOS— A mild drama ensued, yesterday, at the Lagos High Court in Ikeja as an operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Usman Zakari, told a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Mr Obi Vincent, that he was frustrated.

During cross-examination of the witness in the ongoing trial of top officials of Bank PHB (now Keystone Bank), Vincent, who is counsel to three defendants, noted that the witness was getting frustrated.

“No, I am not. It is you who are frustrated here,” the witness responded.

This was as counsel on both sides exchanged words before the trial judge, Justice Kudirat Jose, when a counsel holding brief for the complainant, Mr Ugwuzor Adindu, accused the defendants of talking from the dock and disrupting proceedings.

The defendants are NULEC Industries Limited and Bank PHB/Keystone Bank, Anayo Nwosu, Ashok Isran, Olajide Oshodi, Sunny Obazee, both managers of the bank.

They are standing trial over conspiracy to publish false statement contrary to Section 436 (b) of the Criminal Code, CAP C17, Vol. 2, Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2003.

According to the 12-count charge brought against the defendants, they deceived one Mr. Daniel Chukwudozie, Managing Director of Dozzy Oil and Gas Limited, to part with N855 million under a spurious private share placement deal.

“Anayo Nwosu, Ashok Irani, Olajide Oshodi, Sunny Obazee, Bank PHB/Keystone Bank Ltd, being promoters of NULEC Industries Limited, shares subscription by private placement between June and September 2008 within the jurisdiction of this honourable hourt conspired to publish a written statement to wit: a private placement memorandum with intent to induce Dozzy Oil & Gas Ltd, to buy shares of NULEC Industries Limited which to your knowledge is false,” count one states.

The case was adjourned to March 27 and May 4 for continuation of trial.

However, the defendants pleaded not guilty to the twocount charge of conspiracy and fraud.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016—9

Experts propose amendment of 54 laws to make Nigeria investors’ friendly Our economic challenges blessing in disguise —Saraki

A

BUJA — PRESIDENT of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, and his colleagues in both chambers of the the National Assembly were, yesterday, informed by a team of consultants under the auspices of the Department for International Development, DFID, that 54 of the country’s existing laws have to be either amended or repealed, if the country must make progress in its quest to attract investors and become business friendly.

The experts spoke while presenting a 168-page report entitled “Comprehensive Review of the Institutional Regulatory, Legislative and Associated Instruments Affecting Businesses in Nigeria.”

This came as Saraki said the present economic challenges facing the country presented an

opportunity for its leaders to show leadership, courage and ingenuity.

The Senate President said the nation should use the present economic situation to set the stage for a post-oil era in which the private sector will steer the ship of the economy, while government provides the enabling environment.

He said: “The National Assembly, through our legislative agenda, seized on the moment to chart a new course for the nation’s economy.

The legislative agenda we have adopted is one framed largely around good governance, accountability, opening up of the economy for greater investment, ease of doing business and security of lives and property.”

He added that the 8th

National Assembly would give priority to the amendment of obsolete laws, adding that since some of the affected laws required constitution amendment, the planned process would be expedited to ensure that all stakeholders concerned made the changes happen as soon as possible.

Saraki said the collaboration with the private sectors, development partners, professional groups as Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) as well as the academia in the on-going process to review laws affecting doing business, will give birth to a new business environment that will boost the economy, solve the problem of unemployment, curb social vices and restore our national values and pride.

He stressed that the Senate and the House of

Representatives were on the same page with President Muhammadu Buhari’s policy on diversification of economy.

He said: “Our President has laid out a vision to fully diversify the economy beyond oil and has been committed to the actualization of the project.

“The overarching objective of the agenda targets private sector investment and business development as a major plank of the plan. This is because of our belief in the ingenuity, creativity, entrepreneurship of our people and that in order to create jobs, give our people better opportunities, the private sector remains our best option."

The leader of the team of experts sponsored by DFID, Prof. Paul Idornigie, said apart from 54 laws reviewed, they also did a comprehensive analysis of 50 other bills pending before the two chambers of the National Assembly.

GES scheme: We’ll not probe ex-agric minister — Ogbe

By Gabriel Ewepu

A

BUJA— THE Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbe, said, yesterday, that the Federal Government would not probe the Growth Enhancement Scheme, GES, under former Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina.

Ogbe, who disclosed this during his maiden media briefing at the ministry ’s conference, said government would not only continue with the scheme but also expand it for more efficiency and effectiveness.

He said: “We are not probing the former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina as some dailies reported, rather we are making verification of payment issues raised by agro-dealers who supplied agro-allied products under the scheme before paying them.

“We never said we want to probe him (Adesina) but verification will continue for payment issues. We are proud of his work and achievement in the sector, and we don’t intend to engage in policy somersault, and we support him at the African Development Bank.”

However, the minister presented a variety of wheat developed in the country by two leading research institutes, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, IITA, and Lake Chad Research Institute, LCRI.

BRIEFING: From left, Executive Director, Purple Premium, Mr. Richard Obahor; Senior Consultant, Dukes Education UK, Ms. Alicia Luba; Director, Mr. John Lng; and Operations Manager, Purple Premium, Mr. Stanley Ezeokoye during a press conference on the potentials of school placement in the UK, in Lagos. Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi

British Council offers to train 500,000 teachers

By Emmanuel Elebeke

A

BUJA — THE British Council has offered to assist Nigeria in the training of the 500,000 teachers to be employed by the Federal Government.

Chief Executive of the Council, Claran Devane, disclosed this, yesterday, at a dinner organised in his honour in Abuja.

He said the training would revolve around technical support and building the capacity of the teachers, based on their wealth of experience in the education sector.

He noted that the council was particularly interested in exploring every possible area of

collaboration to assist her in matching the growing out of school population in the country.

He said: “I am leading a delegation to Nigeria from the British Council and UK parliament involving journalists as well and vice chancellors of leading UK universities. We are here in Nigeria to look at collaborations British Council has with Nigeria in culture, education and security.

“We want to see what is going on and what we can learn from, which we can carry to other parts of the world. But going forward, we need to think of what is good for modern Nigeria in some ways. We need to think through how we can work through the education system which is

growing rapidly and training the 500,000 teachers the government plans to hire. We will be doing more, making new things like Lagos festival.

“We have a lot of experience from other countries and we work with teachers who become trainers. But then, a lot can be done digitally like in Pakistan, where teachers learn from different cities. In Europe and America, we have programmes with supporting class rooms and training methodology will be another input.

“With the number of young people joining the school system in Nigeria, whatever we can do to support the school system we will do.”

Court orders EFCC to release Jonathan’s ex-ADC on bail

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

A

BUJA — JUSTICE Yusuf Halilu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, sitting at Jabi, has ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to release the detained former Aide de Camp to exPresident Goodluck Jonathan, Col. Ojogbane Adegbe, on bail.

The court directed that Col. Adegbe, who had been in detention since February 11, should be granted bail on “ ver y liberal terms” pending when a charge was filed against him.

The order followed a fundamental rights enforcement application the detainee, through his team of lawyers, led by Mr. Ogwu Onoja, SAN, filed before the court.

However, Justice Halilu declined to order the antigraft agency to pay N100 million to the applicant as compensation for his “unlawful detention,” as well as to tender a written apology to him.

The judge said it was “unconstitutional and illegal” for the EFCC to keep the applicant in its custody without a valid charge pending against him before a court of competent jurisdiction.

He berated the commission, saying it has reduced itself “to the police station or detention centre of the Nigerian Army.”

Besides, the court noted that the agency contradicted itself when it claimed that the applicant was being investigated over his alleged involvement in arms procurement fraud, and yet claimed that he was detained on the instruction of the army.

“While the respondent is dancing makossa in one side, it is singing another song on the other side,” Justice Yusuf stated.

However, Adegbe’s lawyer informed the court that in anticipation of the ruling, the EFCC quickly transferred his client from its custody to that of the army.

10—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016

Retired DSS director kidnapped in Taraba

By John Mkom

J

ALINGO—A retired Director in the Department of State Services, DSS, in Taraba State, Mr. Hosea Danjuma, was kidnapped at his residence in Baisa town, headquarters of Kurmi Local Government Area of Taraba State.

A family member, Miss Adama Danjuma, said the gunmen invaded the family house of Mr. Hosea Danjuma at about 1:47a.m. in their numbers with sophisticated weapons.

She said the gunmen destroyed the back gate of the house through which they gained entrance into the compound, adding that they threatened to shoot anybody who resisted.

She also said that the unknown gunmen came on motorcycles with which they whisked Danjuma away.

State Police Public Relation Officer, ASP Joseph Kwaji, confirmed the kidnap.

Court remands son over assault on father

A

Kado Grade 1 Area Court, Abuja, yesterday remanded a 27-year-old man, Victor Bamidele, in prison custody for alleged mischief and assault on his father.

Victor, who resides at Airport Road, FCT, Abuja, was arraigned on a twocount charge of mischief and assault.

The prosecutor, Khalid Sanusi, told the court that the matter was reported by Jimoh Bamidele of Wuse Zone 6, Abuja, to the Utako Police Station, February 16.

Sanusi said that the defendant broke into the complainant's house and started fighting him and that he also broke the back glass of his car.

The prosecutor said when police came to arrest the defendant, he slapped the policeman.

Victor pleaded not guilty to the charge, which contravened Sections 326 and 267 of the Penal Code.

The judge, Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq, remanded the defendant in prison custody, and adjourned the matter till April 4 for hearing, to allow the police conclude investigation on the matter.

STRANDED: Commuters stranded at Pen Cinema Bus Stop, Agege, as fuel scarcity worsens in Lagos State, yesterday. PHOTO: Bunmi Azeez.

‘My wife brought her boyfriend home’ He's a distant cousin who bought food for me, hungry children—WIFE

By Onozure Dania, with agency reports

A

middle-aged man, Dare Falana, yesterday, told an Igando Customary Court that he caught his wife, Ganiyat, eating with her boyfriend in his living room.

Dare had urged the court to dissolve his marriage, blessed with three children, because of his wife’s infidelity, sex starvation and frequent fighting.

He said: “Usually, I come home late at night. But on this fateful day, I decided to come home early, only for me to meet her with her boyfriend eating in our home.

“I was too shocked to say anything; I left them there and went out. By the time I came back, the man had left.

“There was a time I went to Abuja. Before I came back, she got into a fight and was arrested. I spent the N40,000 I brought from Abuja on that case.

“My wife also starves me of sex. I have to beg my wife for sex as if she is still my girlfriend. She plays all sorts of unimaginable pranks to escape having sex with me.

“She only comes to me for sex when she feels like it.

When I complained to her sister, she told her that she has a disease, which was why she stopped having sex with me.

“I am fed up; I cannot continue this way.”

He married me a virgin—WIFE

His wife, Ganiyat, denied the allegation of infidelity, but admitted that she usually starved her husband of sex.

She said: “He married me a virgin. How can I be so bold and bring my supposed boyfriend to my husband’s house? The supposed boyfriend is my distant relative.

“I called my distant cousin and told him I was hungry and that my children do not have food to eat when they return from school.

“I specifically told him to get food for me and my children from an eatery. My husband’s ways are questionable. He acts and talks desperately about making money at all cost. He keeps comparing me to his friend’s wife.

“My husband told me that his friend’s wife is an ogbanje and uses that to bring good

luck to her husband; that I should be doing same for him, which I refused. He beats me, but I still love my husband.”

The court President, Adegboyega Omilola, ordered the couple to attend an Alternative Dispute Resolution, ADR, on March 17 and adjourned the case till March 29 for hearing.

Fuel-laden bus explodes, kills 3 suspected pipeline vandals

By Esther Onyegbula

T

HREE people, allegedly involved in oil bunkering, died yesterday morning when their bus, laden with jerry cans of fuel, ran into a stationary truck and caught fire.

It was learned that the accident occurred when the driver of the bus, with number plates ATU418XK, lost control.

The lone survivor, who was badly burnt, is receiving treatment at Isolo General Hospital.

An eyewitness said the bus caught fire at Nusuratu Azeez Street, Isolo, at about 4.30a.m.

The eyewitness said: “The bus was coming from Ikorodu, but had brake failure along James Oni Street. The driver tried to swerve to the other side and the vehicle ran into the gutter, spilling the contents of the jerry cans which resulted in the fire.”

A resident, one Musiratu Lasisi, said: “I was sleeping at the top of the building because of heat when I heard a very loud noise like bomb explosion.

Burnt remains of the bus and victims (covered).

So I looked down and saw fire.

“I woke up others and told them that something was wrong and that there was fire. I then went down and removed my motorcycle and that was when I saw one man sitting by the pavement of Kembos School.

“He was screaming for help, but no one could near him because the fire was much. He came out from the passenger seat and eventually died.

“The driver also came out of the bus from the other side. He was rescued by worshippers from a Celestial Church of

Christ close by and taken to Isolo General Hospital.

“The bus had about 15 jerry cans 50 litres and all of them contained petrol. It is likely they were involved in petroleum bunkering in Ikorodu area, because there were very few seats in the bus.”

Another eyewitness, Deji Ogunleye, said: “It was one of my church members, Kayode, who rescued the driver of the bus,” adding that it was the rescued driver that told them that they were coming from Imota area of Ikorodu.

Suspected electricity vandal electrocuted in Akwa Ibom

By Davies Iheamnachor

A

middle-aged man, suspected to be a power transformer vandal, was yesterday morning electrocuted in Eket, Akwa Ibom State.

The man, who is simply identified as Mr. Addady, was reportedly stealing cable from

an electricity transformer.

According to Manager, Corporate Communications, Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company, PHED, Mr. Jonah Iboma, the vandal met his death inside Grace Bill 500KVA sub-station, under Qua River 11kv feeder.

He stated that Addady died

as a result of an explosion which occurred when he (Addady) was trying to cut 300mm single core armoured cable.

Iboma, who bemoaned the activities of vandals within PHED network, said such activities normally plunged the company ’s customers into

unwarranted darkness, adding that the electricity provider had lost millions of naira to vandalism.

He said PHED had recently lost over 150 transformers and other accessories, urging the public to report anybody with suspicious movement around PHED installations.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016—11

Why I'll take my daughter to T. B. Joshua, by Ese's dad

By Sam Oyadongha

Y

ENAGOA — Mr. Charles Oruru, father of abducted Ese, who regained freedom yesterday at his Opolo residence in Yenagoa, said he will seek spiritual help from Lagos cleric, Pastor T. B. Joshua of the Synagogue Church of All Nations.

The decision to seek spiritual help, Oruru said, was informed by claims that his daughter,14 years old Ese, had declined to come home after being released into the custody of the Police, fearing she may have been hypnotised.

According to him, the traumatic experience and release of their daughter was the Lord’s doing, adding that it would take prayers before she can return to normal.

He said: “We have decided to visit the T. B. Joshua for prayers and thanksgiving. When I heard that she is declining to come home, I see this as a spiritual problem that can only be countered by prayer.”

The mother of the teenager, it was gathered, was yesterday morning flown to Abuja to received the freed daughter in the custody of the Nigerian Police.

‘Why she'll now be handed over today’

By Kingsley Omonobi

A

Ese arrives Force Hqtrs amid tight security Abductor, Yunusa, arrested, detained in Abuja

By Kingsley Omonobi

A

BUJA — Ese Rita Oruru, who was freed Monday night, following the intervention of the Nigerian Police Force yesterday arrived Force headquarters at Luis Edet House at about 12. 55pm amid tight police protection.

She was immediately ushered into the office of the Force Public Relations Officer, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Olabisi Kolawole, for what sources said was a debriefing exercise.

Also arrested and brought to Abuja by a Special Police team from Zone 1 headquarters, Kano, led by an Assistant Commissioner of Police, was

the abductor of Ese, Yunusa, alias Yellow.

Both the abductor and the abductee were escorted by three representatives of the Emir of Kano to brief the police authorities about the roles the Emir and Kano Emirate Council played in getting Ese released.

At exactly 1.25pm, the Force Public Relations Officer was seen leading the freed Ese Oruru to the office of the Inspector General of Police for further briefing.

Attempts by newsmen to talk with Ese were rebuffed as the FPRO assured that as soon as Ese’s mother, who was being expected from Bayelsa arrived, the Police will brief the media on the matter by 4p.m.

Gov Dickson pledges rehabilitation Abdullahi Ganduje, for his

By Sam Oyadongha

Y

ENAGOA —BAYELSA State Governor, Seriake Dickson, yesterday said the state government would support the proper rehabilitation and reintegration of Miss Ese Oruru to resume her normal life.

Dickson, who expressed regret over the abduction of the teenager called on parents and guardians “to be extremely vigilant, in monitoring the activities of their children, with a view to ensuring that, they do not fall victim to the antics of mischief makers.”

The governor in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson while condemning the entire saga however expressed satisfaction with the various individuals, nongovernmental and civil society groups for bringing the matter to national and international focus.

Dickson also commended the Governor of Kano State,

role in ensuring the release of the victim as well as the security agencies for the swiftness and professionalism with which the matter was handled.

He thanked the Emir of Kano, Mallam Muhammadu Sanusi II, for ensuring the safety of Ese and eventual handing over to the Police in Kano adding “the government and people of Bayelsa State will remain eternally grateful to all those, who contributed in one way or the other in giving the issue the desired attention.”

Ese: Before abduction

Ese: After abduction

Our role in her release, by lawmakers her family.

By Emman Ovuakporie & Johnbosco Agbakwuru

A

BUJA — The member representing Ughelli North/Ughelli South/Udu Federal Constituency of Delta State, Solomon Ahwinawhi, yesterday, said his collaboration with his colleague from Kano State, Nasiru Garo, helped in the release of Ese. The lawmaker, who also commended the efforts of security agencies and the media for their efforts in ensuring the release of the girl, in an interview with journalists in Abuja, explained that he was pressed upon not to raise the matter on the floor of the House by his colleague who promised to take it up with the Emir.

Ahwinawhi said Garo travelled to Kano immediately to discuss with the Emir of Kano, HH Muhammadu Sanusi, who later explained that he had earlier directed that the abducted girl be released to

Ahwinawi, who represents the girl’s federal constituency, thanked Nigerians for their support in ensuring the release of Ese, who was kidnapped by Yinusa, a.k.a. Yellow, a commercial tricycle operator in Yenagoa.

He said he had to contact Garo after the parents of the abducted girl petitioned him.

He said based on the intervention of Garo, it was discovered that the abducted girl was being held somewhere at Tofa, adding that the lawmaker ’s intervention resulted in the Emir directing the district head of Tofa to ensure that Yinusa was charged before a Sharia court for kidnapping a minor.

While commending the Police and Department of State Service, DSS, for doing a good job, Ahwinawhi also thanked his constituents for their perseverance and maintaining peace throughout the duration of the abduction saga.

Kano disowns abduction, wants Yunusa prosecuted

K

ANO — The Kano State Government has dissociated itself from the abduction, forced marriage and conversion to Islam of a teenager, Ese Oruru, since Aug. 2015.

A statement signed by the state Commissioner for Information, Youths and Sports, Muhammed Garba, condemned the episode, and decried security agencies’ poor

handling of the matter.

It added that although the state government was not aware of the incident, the directive of Emir of Kano Muhammadu Sanusi, for the release of the girl should have been acted on.

It, therefore, ordered that the abductor be brought to book since the Constitution and Islamic teaching abhor abduction and forced marriage.

The statement further

condemned any statement by anyone or group, linking the government with the matter in the social media, adding that the act was meant to tarnish the image of the state.

It stressed that the abductor was responsible for his action and should solely take responsibility for it, noting that the state has cordial relation with Bayelsa indigenes and the state.

BUJA — Police authorities at the Force headquarters, Abuja yesterday night asked journalists who had laid siege waiting for the mother of abducted 14 year old Ese Oruru, to go to their offices and report back by 10 am today for the official handing over of the freed Ese to her mother, Mrs. Oruru.

The decision to disperse journalists, followed the inability of Mrs. Oruru to arrive Abuja from Yenegoa as at 8 pm last night resulting in the IGP, Solomon Arase, who had other official engagements, to leave force headquarters.

Vanguard, however, observed that some senior Police officers were delegated to remain at Force headquarters to receive Mrs. Oruru whenever she arrived and ensure she was adequately catered for.

Mrs. Oruru who is said to be coming to Abuja by road, may have encountered some traffic difficulty on the way hence her inability to get to Abuja on time to take custody of her daughter.

I'm shocked, says Gov Okowa

By Festus Ahon

A

SABA — DELTA State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, yesterday also condemned the abduction of the 14-year-old Ese Oruru.

Expressing shock at the news of abduction of Ese Oruru, Okowa in a statement said; “the action is an-unheard-of incident in the state; given the age of the girl and the lack of consent by her parents”.

The governor, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, said: “Not until yesterday (Monday), I did not hear of this saga; not even the fact that the girl is an indigene of Delta state.

“I am very much interested in this case and I want the police to take it to its logical conclusion, nothing short of diligent prosecution of the abductors would be satisfactory”.

While expressing disappointment on the length of time it took to unravel the incident, Okowa told members of the public to always speak up whenever they are victims of undesirable social vices and pledged that the state is taking steps to reach out to the parents for necessary post-traumatic intervention.

12—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016

UNILAG CONVOCATION: Pro-Chancellor, Professor Jerry Gana (3rd left); Vice Chancellor, Professor Rahamon Bello (4th left) and other members of the Governing Council, all of University of Lagos, UNILAG, during the institution's 2014/2015 convocation ceremonies at the Multipurpose Hall, Akoka, Lagos, yesterday. PHOTOS: Lamidi Bamidele.

From left— Professor Gana; Mr. Ayodele Dada, overall best graduating student of the institution; Professor Bello and Professor Duro Oni, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Management Services, at the ceremonies.

Wike alleges plot to rig elections with Returning Officers

By Jimitota Onoyume

P

ORT HARCOURT— PREPARATIONS for the March 19 re-run elections for the National Assembly and some House of Assembly seats in Rivers State have reached feverish pitch with Governor Nyesom Wike alleging that he had

Burial

uncovered a list of Returning Officers drawn by some chieftains of All Progressives Congress, APC, for the elections.

Governor Wike, who spoke at Government House, Port Harcourt, when he played host to the Vice Chancellor of University of Port Harcourt, Professor Ndowa Lale, and other top officers of the school, said he had already notified the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, of the alleged move.

He said the intention behind the list was to see how the names on the list could help manipulate the result of the elections against his party, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. The governor warned that anyone with intention to rig the re-run election in the state will be treated as an armed robber, stressing that they will not be allowed to go free.

Wike also promised to visit the school to see areas the government can support the university.

EDO 2016: Alimikhena is a political weapon—OBASEKI

M

RS Grace Wilkey, alias Tede (nee Omagbemi-Jacdonmi), aged 83, is dead. She died January 17.

The renowned trader, caterer, community leader and the mother in Israel of the Eternal Sacred Order of Cherubim and Seraphim Church Worldwide will be buried on April 19 at 17, Upper Erejuwa Road, Warri, Delta State.

She is survived by nine children, grand-, greatgrandchildren and many relatives.

A

S the battle to succeed Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State continues, a front line governorship aspirant in the state, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has describe the Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate and Senator representing Edo North, Francis Alimikhena, as a powerful political weapon in the hands of All Progressives Congress, APC. He said: “As a weapon in the hands of a mighty man, so is Alimikhena at the national and the

state levels of our party.”

According to him, the formation of the 8th National Assembly would not have been complete without Senator Alimikhena, who broke record to emerge as the only APC senator in the SouthSouth and South-East senatorial zone.

As a team player and a performer, the governorship aspirant described the position of Senator Alimikhena as a B. O. T. member of APC and the only APC senator in Edo State as strategic.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016—13

Why we lost some communities to Delta —Oshiomhole •To commission ongoing 87-kilometre road in Orhionmwon, April

By Simon Ebegbulem

B

ENIN CITY— GOVERNOR Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, has said that the on-going construction work on the 87kilometre road in Orhionmwon Local Government Area will be completed and ready for commissioning in April, 2016, noting that the road will open up several communities in the council for rapid development.

Speaking while inspecting the Evboeghae-Ugo-Urhonigbe Road project with a bridge at Uromehe, linking about 80 communities in the council, yesterday, Governor Oshiomhole said: “The important thing about this road is that before now, our people in Orhionmwon who had to pass through Delta State before accessing their communities now have direct road to their communities.

“Due to the old conditions, we lost some of our communities to Delta State. People coming from Benin City had to go through Delta to come to their communities in Edo State. One implication of that was that Delta people began to claim some of our communities by reason of the

fact that you had to go through Delta.

“So, now, this road is going to end up at Abraka Road and run to Agbor. Even people from Delta who also go home now from Benin will find it easier to go through this Urhonigbe Road all the way to Delta. It is a much better road, and it is much shorter for them. This is

the longest single road in one local government that we are doing, it is 87 kilometres altogether. It has been designed in a way that it connects several communities and as you can see, it is a very standard road.

“This is much better than a lot of our federal roads. The same width, it is not a rural road, you have all the features of a modern

and standard road and you can see for yourselves, the standard of the road. There are a lot of communities that would have been cut off, but the road has been designed to connect all those communities that are off the road and that is why, you see, you come one way, branch off another way, and all of that."

VISIT: From left— Mr. Brian Jolomi Hammond (DESG member), Mr. Ken Odogwu (member), Mr. Ese Onosode (Chairman), Mr. Chukwuka Monye (DESG D-G), Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, Mr. Chuka Mordi (member) and others, during the visit of the DESG members to the governor in Asaba.

Delta ESG visits Okowa, plans to drive SMART agenda

A

SABA—MEMBERS of Delta Economic Summit Group, a private sector driven economic think-tank and advocacy group, have paid a courtesy call on Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of the state.

Welcoming members of the group, Governor Okowa, said that he was impressed that professionals with varied backgrounds from Delta State had come together on their own accord, to form a policy driven think-tank, which plans to help the state government achieve it’s

SMART agenda, and generally improve the lives of the citizens of Delta State.

He said that the state government needed the help of the private sector to achieve its plans, which DESG can help achieve.

Established in 2015 to promote business and investment in Delta

State, DESG aspires to be a nonpartisan, trusted intermediary for meaningful discourse between the public and the private sector in Delta State through a number of sector and Delta-specific trade missions, advocacy programmes, member services, working groups, conferences and an annual economic summit.

A'Ibom community threatens oil firm over alleged breach of MoU

By Chioma Onuegbu

U

YO—UNYENGE community in Mbo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, has given Universal Energy Resources Limited a 14day ultimatum to quit its land or risk the wrath of the community.

The community said that the ultimatum became necessary following the company’s breach of Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, bordering on neglect, marginalisation, violation of the rights and privileges of the community in terms of employment and youths empowerment.

According to the community, the company’s refusal to reply many letters sent them in respect of the above listed issues could only be construed as C M Y K

UERL daring its host community to do their worst.

A representative of the Council of Chiefs, Mr. Edet Edietteh, yesterday, said that in order for the company to remain in Unyenge, it must as a matter of urgency implement the 2014/

2015 community development projects that were due since March 2015.

He listed some of the development projects to include youth empowerment, students’ bursary, women empowerment and construction of principal

quarters at Unyenge Community Comprehensive Secondary School.

Responding, the Project Manager of UERL, Mr Steve Okoko, said, that the company will look into the issues raised by the community with a view to resolving them amicably.

Delta community leader lauds Okowa on wealth creation initiatives

A

By Festus Ahon

SABA—PRESIDENT General of OtovwodoUghelli community, Ughelli North Local Government Area, Delta State, Mr Umuago Akpubi, has applauded the job and wealth creation initiatives of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of the state.

Akpubi in a statement, said the initiatives were taking

unemployed youths of the state off the streets.

He described the Supreme Court ruling which upheld the victory of Governor Okowa in the April 11 gubernatorial election in the state as victory for all Deltans.

Describing Okowa as a very focused and visionary leader who is abreast of the yearnings and aspirations of all Deltans, he said the governor was equipped

with the requisite experience and all that was needed to govern the state and make it a model for other states in the country.

He commended Okowa for ensuring the on-going construction works on the Ughelli/ Asaba Road, the rehabilitation of the failed portion of the UghelliAgbarha-Otor Road and the various appointments he had given to some indigenes of the Ughelli Kingdom.

FG urged to revive moribund industries with recovered loot

By Samuel Oyadongha

Y

ENAGOA—A Niger Delta activist, Sherrif Mulade has called on the Federal Government to plough funds recovered from corrupt politicians and public office holders into resuscitating moribund industries across the country.

Mulade, who is also the coordinator, Centre for Peace and Environmental Justice, CEPEJ, in a statement, said that reviving the industries would provide employment for the army of jobless youths in the country.

Some of the comatose industries, he said, include textile, steel rolling mills, coal and car assembly plants, among others.

He lauded the government for recovering looted funds stashed in offshore accounts, especially Switzerland, as well as the Swiss government for cooperating with the Nigerian government to return the toxic funds.

He said: “We understand that Nigeria is also in talks with the United Kingdom, United States and others to recover looted funds. This is indeed a welcome development and interesting time for Nigeria."

Pa Alfred Otto Tunkarimu dies @ 86

P

A ALFRED Otto Tunkarimu, one of the first settlers in Anthony village, Lagos passed on a fortnight ago, aged 86. He was born in Agoloma town, Patani in Delta State.

Pa Tunkarimu studied Agriculture in Leeds in the UK and in Denmark. When he returned back home, he set up a big poultry farm in Anthony village which he operated for a long time before venturing into other businesses.

He is survived by wife, children and grand children.

Late Alfred Tunkarimu

14—VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016

C M Y K

VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016—15

C M Y K

16—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016

C M Y K

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016 —17 to build a national identity (which in Nigeria resulted, ironically in a more fractured society with such measures as “federal character”), we must ally forging a national character (based for example on an anti-corruption consensus) to developing individual potential.

There are serious governability issues in the education sector today: from power sharing between permanent secretaries in state ministries, commissioners and special advisers who often perform the same tasks, to individual school administration, we must get it right in terms of deciding who really takes responsibility for teacher certification, evaluation and salary decisions for example.

We must empower (and incentivise) educators to figure out what works to improve learning and outcomes so resources aren’t wasted.

N

IGERIANS, we love trends and the bandwagon effect, anything to make one seem intelligent or to arouse attention and curiosity from others. Social media in Nigeria is used mostly for this purpose and birthed many half-baked ideas which are pleasing to some politicians because they make them appear intellectual or knowledgeable although, upon analysis, some thoughts are revealed to be nothing more than sentimental drivel.

The #BuyNaija movement is an emotional plea encouraging Nigerians to purchase made in Nigeria goods without either examining or correcting the reasons why many have chosen not to. NAFDAC and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria have much to do with this as over the years, the “made in Nigeria” brand identity has unfortunately become synonymous with poor quality.

tprincewill@yahoo.co.uk

Before we #BuyNaija, let’s educate ourselves

Dishonesty and cheating

Structural issues It is also not enough for a few to kid themselves into thinking that buying Innoson’s made in Nigeria cars is enough to revolutionise our economy if we do not change certain structural issues which make most made in Nigeria goods either expensive, poor quality or both.

Even if Senator Ben MurrayBruce were to buy every pair of shoes in Aba, if he doesn’t find the voice to tell his colleagues in the Senate to stop opposing the power tariff hike so that Nigerians can have electricity and produce goods more cheaply, then all we are doing is appealing to tender, populist feelings rather than going deeper into the issues with a view to resolving them.

On that note, if we do not breed the kind of graduates, school leavers and future entrepreneurs who can tell the difference between political manipulation for elite gain and real action or policy making, if our system does not raise the sort of creative individuals who can move past the Nigerian copycat syndrome to fashion innovative products which we can consume internally and export (beyond raw materials), therein lies our true problem.

The focus in the last few years when it comes to education has been on opening

Students aren’t taught to take initiative, to question the world around them or to empathise with their fellow man, so brutal intra-community killings remain the order of the day

more universities where students are taught from an obsolete curriculum which isn’t in tune with global successes. Instead, we need better primary schools. We have congratulated ourselves on primary school enrolment rising while conveniently ignoring that our pupils’ learning has consistently stayed behind international levels.

We do not measure learning outcomes beyond abysmal examination results and fail to see the correlation between a moribund educational system, which prioritises memorising skills over problem-solving and the lack of products, services or industry beyond dealing with government.

Opportunity isn’t democratised in Nigeria, we still operate a feudal system where

Uche Secondus

Rickey Tarfa E initially admitted strued as bribery? SubseH to giving N225,000 quently a member of Tarfa’s to a judge but specified the staff stated the account money wasn’t a bribe (unlike what was alleged by the EFCC). He claimed the “donation” was made to enable the burial of the judge’s father-in-law.

One would think that a SAN would know better than to give any sort of “gift”, in cash or kind, to a judge and not just any judge, the one who happened to be the deciding factor in a case he was working on!

Is it possible that a SAN would not be clear on what constitutes bribery or on how certain acts can be misconC M Y K

number the EFCC quoted belongs to him and not to the judge who goes by a similar name. This is easy to prove or disprove given that everyone now has a unique BVN number.

But one wonders why Tarfa would have made his initial statement if that were the case. Mistaken identity is a plot found in films or novels. In Nigeria, unlike any other organised society, there is always an excuse and nothing is ever clear-cut.

To add to the riddle, the EFCC alleges Tarfa continu-

clientelism decides success rates but the saddest thing is that education isn’t the average Nigerians’ way out of poverty: students are not taught to think independently precisely why politicians can play with notions of ethnicity and religion, diverting our attention from the real issues.

Students aren’t taught to take initiative, to question the world around them or to empathise with their fellow man; so brutal intra-communal killings remain the order of the day. So what is there to “buy” in Nigeria, other than conformity to a system that tells young people they are wrong to challenge it?

We must go back to the origins of education in Nigeria and most developing countries: from unity schools and the search for a cohesive system

Most of all, I believe we must reassess the fundamental competencies we believe Nigerian children and youth must master in order to succeed at school and in life, regardless of who they are or where they live.

In a system where dishonesty and cheating have proven to yield more fruits than the opposite, we must reconsider pupils’ readiness to learn especially in early childhood by going over the values they have been exposed to.

Education in Nigeria has so far been about learning by rote rather than inquiry, or acquiring new attitudes, behaviours and the development of self.

Furthermore, our local governments are not centres where public school children can access dance, music and sports, very simple ways of teaching civics and peaceful coexistence, as well as boosting academic outcomes.

For us to create and properly sell products and services that are useful to society, we must become the sort of country where learning approaches don’t just promote literacy (Nigeria has still too many “educated illiterates”) but real reasoning, understanding and awareness of the world.

T

•Rickey Tarfa

ously stated he was 43 whereas documents claim he is 54. There aren’t many countries out there where a lawyer would be accused of all this, then not only turn his court appearance into a carnival, but into something straight out of a bad film.

HAT there are still some witch-hunt propagandists point to the state of our educational system which doesn’talways encourage impartial reasoning. The former acting chairman of the PDP, Uche Secondus, was arrested by the EFCC for allegedly receiving 23 luxury vehicles from an embattled businessman, Jide Omokore, who is also allegedly a business associate of Diezani AllisonMadueke. If the PDP believes the EFCC is more interested in “humiliating the opposition than fight-

•Uche Secondus

ing corruption” they should mirror former French President Sarkozy and his party leaders (they are currently embroiled in a corruption scandal pertaining to the financing of his 2012 presidential cam-

paign), that is, show up to interrogations or to court and clear their names.

Although Sarkozy lost the election and is now in opposition, out of respect for the French and the rule of law, he doesn’t incessantly cry “witch-hunt”, he knows it won’t help to win back public trust or save him, for that matter, if he is proven guilty. *Tabia Princewill is a strategic communications consultant and public policy analyst.

She is also the co-host and executive producer of a talk show, WALK THE TALK which airs on Channels TV.

18 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016 Perhaps, for the first time since President Muhammadu Buhari assumed power nine months ago, a senior official of the Federal Government has come out to promise action against the threat posed by the so-called “Fulani herdsmen”, who have been invading farmlands and creating sorrows in their host communities.

According to the Minister of the Interior, retired Lt General Adbulrahman Danbazzau, the ministry, which he acknowledged as the “hub of public safety in Nigeria” will ramp up activities aimed at curbing the menace through capacity building and equiping security officers operating under the umbrella of the Ministry. It will be recalled that agencies in charge of the internal security of the nation, such as the Nigerian Police Force, NPF, the Nigerian Security and Defence Commission,NSCDC, The Nigerian Prisons Service and the Nigerian Immigration Service, are under the Ministry.

Danbazzau’s pledge to tackle herdsmen’s menace We make bold to assert that the Federal Government has failed in its duty to protect hapless and defenceless innocent citizens, especially in rural communities all over the country. They stood by while criminals wielding dangerous weapons such as AK 47 assault rifles and automatic pistols not only lead their cattle to destroy farmlands, but also invade, sack and seize lands belonging to communities. They also kill, rob and kidnap both the high and low with

impunity. In the far North, this takes the form of cattle rustling.

The most celebrated case was the abduction of Afenifere chieftain and elder statesman, Chief Olu Falae, an act that created an unpleasant face-off between Nigerians of Yoruba and Fulani ethnic stocks. Even after that, no day passes without such ugly incidents being reported.

The danger in the Federal Government’s continued failure to act and protect the people from these armed bandits is that communities

might resort to taking up arms and organising reprisals to protect their land, communities and people from these invaders, with pregnant consequences for the security and stability of the nation.

It is irresponsible for the government to look the other way while an invasive section of the populace, armed with dangerous weapons, force the rest of their country men and women to live in fear of their lives and properties in their native communities. It is failure of government and leadership, which should no longer be tolerated.

Whether the attackers are native Nigerians or foreigners is not the issue. What we want is for the Federal Government to close ranks with the various state governments and the leadership of the various local communities to eliminate this menace in a decisive manner.

General Danbazzua has spoken.

We are waiting impatiently to see him match his words with action and secure Nigerians from these rampaging armed bandits.

OPINION

By Bright Aidenojie

O

NE of the cardinal virtues that Pastor (Barrister) Osagie Ize-Iyamu will be bringing into the Edo State guber race this year, 2016, is his redemptive Pan-Edo Vision and outlook that has put him in pole position to wrest the governorship diadem with a fair election process and triumph overwhelmingly. He possesses that leadership qualities which would deploy the state’s available and scarce resources to areas of utmost need in the 18 local government areas.

It is not sheer coincidence that all the contenders for the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2016 guber race are from Edo South Senatorial District which played a pivotal role in the initial installation of the outgoing Oshiomhole/ APC administration. This senatorial district is also expected to use its prime position to determine who will unlock the suffocating tenterhooks of Adams Oshiomhole’s pseudo-welfarist pretensions in the past seven years. It is also expected that Ize-Iyamu, considering his pedigree, political and social sagacity and visible acceptance across the political divide, will lead this liberation exercise that will usher in a new lease of socio-economic existence and development.

Ize-Iyamu will be following in the tradition of many of his eminent Edo South kinsmen and women who have provided leadership and inspiration in the past and present without flaunting the tag of being Local champions. That Ize-Iyamu is of Bini

Edo

2016:

Ize-Iyamu’s

stock and with no baggage hanging on his neck like an albatross, is an indication that the era of the repressive and dictatorial APC administration will end on November 12, 2016.

No discerning practitioner or candid observer of Edo politics will deliberately discount the primacy of the core Bini ethnic stock in any state power matrix or organogram. Not even now that the two major parties in State’s politics, the All Progressive Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are subtly, ceding the governorship candidature to aspirants from Oredo, Egor, Ikpoba Okha, Ovia South West, Ovia North East, Orhionmwon, and Uhunmwode Local Government Areas that make up Edo South Senatorial District, as some will say, for political survivalist reasons.

Many factors account for this: (a) A population figure that accounts for over 50% of the state’s official population tally (b) An early encounter with both British and Portuguese explorers, missionaries and merchants. This encounter jump started and developed a flourishing economy, the advent of European religious practices and exposure to and practice of

Ize-Iyamu’s game plan tallys with the expectations of the average Edolite

Pan-Edo

Western education (c) With a historical link dating back to many centuries, the Benin Kingdom is the source and the political and cultural entrepot of the Bini stock from which ironically, the Afenmai (Edo North) and the Esan (Edo Central) draw their natal roots from and (d) from the pre-colonial days to the present era, the Binis, in conjunction with other brother-tribes, have played a leading role in the political development and politics of the old Western Region, Midwest Region, Midwestern State, Bendel State and now Edo State through adroit and focused politicians like Chief Humphery OmoOsagie, Mr. Vincent I. Amadasun, Mr. H. O. Uwaifo, Chief S. O. Ighodaro, Mr. D.E.Y. Aghahowa, Chief D. N. Oronsaye, Senator Dalton Asemota, Mr. Gabriel I. Oviasu, Chief Abdul Y. Eke, Mr. E. C. Imafidon, Dr. S. O. Ogbemudia, Chief Gabriel O. Igbinedion, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, Chief Lucky Igbinedion, Pastor (Barrister) Osagie Ize-Iyamu, a former Chief of Staff to Edo State Governor, ex-Secretary to Edo State Government, a proud scion of the Chief Robert Osayande Izevbizua-Iyamu family and the front-running aspirant in the PDP quest to regain the governorship of Edo State and hundreds of others too numerous to be listed here.

As a result of Benin City being the cultural, commercial and political capital of the geographical area now known as Edo State, the core Bini ethnic stock (Edo South) plays a crucial role in determining where power swings in the state.

Ize-Iyamu’s game plan tallys with the

vision

expectations of the average Edolite that a post-November 12, 2016 Governor of Edo State should not be one that has been soaked in and weaned on Oshiomhole’s shopworn and empty “revolutionary” acapellas that are mainly designed for the garrulity and rabble-rousing antics of labour rostrums than actual peoplefocused good governance and advancement of Edo people who are desirous and famished for a government (and a governor) with a human face. One that will actualise his set vision of enabling the economic and entrepreneurial advancement of the state and its teeming population of jobless youth, not the cosmetic “beautification” exercise that has not raised their living standard for the better since November 12, 2008.

Ize-Iyamu, as a focused servant of his people has the welare and uplift of the larger mass of Edolites as the cornerstone of his vision and mission in seeking the seat of governance in Edo State in order to adapt or adopt those policies, programmes and projects that are in the interest of the people of the state.

As one who has been opportuned to operate at the highest echelon of governance, he has the requisite with intellectual savvy to power good governance as he is conversant with the Rules of Engagement in the management of men, ideas, finances and materials, equitably.

•Mr. Aidenojie, a political analyst, wrote from Benin City, Edo State.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016—19 —19 Send Opinions & Letters to: opinions1234@yahoo.com

Religion, Kano Emirate Council and child slavery

T

HIS space was slated for an issue entirely different from what you have before you now. I had been mulling over what to write about for two days and had yet to finally resolve on a particular topic by Friday last week. But by Saturday morning, I’d come to the conclusion that the topic I had chosen to write on was the right one for the week.

But I still had not put anything down in writing by the time I saw the front page report of Sunday Punch on the fourteen year old Bayelsa girl, Ese Oruru. Ese was allegedly abducted from her mother’s trading stall in Bayelsa State and taken to Kano where she was coerced into marriage by one Yinusa, a wood seller turned commercial tricycle rider. Ese, her abductors (and that’s what we must continue to call Yinusa and others supporting him who didn’t see anything wrong in suborning a minor into marriage without the knowledge of her parents) reportedly claimed, had converted to Islam and is now known as Aisha. The abduction took place last August, which means that as we speak the young girl has been away from

home for six months!

The Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, is said to be very much in the know of this case.

He is even said to have ordered the release of the child to her parents after they lodged a complaint with the Kano Emirate Council. Why the Emir’s order had not been effected is one of the mysteries that investigators must now explain.

But it would appear from the Sunday Punch report that the Emirate Council sees Ese Oruru as a prized convert to Islam who must be married to Yinusa irrespective of her age or the disapproval of her parents. Their own take of the matter is that once young Ese has converted to Islam of her own volition she could no more change her mind than her parents could be allowed to have a say in her alleged conversion.

Viewed at as it is, the report makes one’s blood boil at the kind of impunity that would make an individual or groups of individuals take a girl away from her parents without their consent. It would not matter that this girl could have of her own

volition eloped with her presumed lover and chosen not just to change religion but also to be delinquent and irresponsible. The important point remains that she is but a minor under the guidance of her parents. To the extent that her parents have not given up their parental claims over the child and they have not been adjudged to constitute any danger to her, to that extent do they have the right to insist on the return of their daughter. In any case, it is not the responsibility of the Kano Emirate Council or any other such body to assume responsibility over issues concerning a child of a different faith.

Nigerians must not condone this, not when as individuals, groups and as a nation, we continue to campaign for the return of the Chibok girls. By April this year it would have been two full years since nearly three hundred school girls were

The claim that Ese has converted to Islam and must remain in a forced marriage is an insult that must not be allowed to stick.No, Ese Oruru must be returned home now. Not later

An apple a day keeps our dollars away

C

AN'T recall now when the apple became the official fruit of Nigeria, announcing its newly begotten status along every main road and at every street corner, stacked one on top of the other in green or red pyramids in trays or on the importation cartons, taking the pride of place in the produce section of every supermarket. The apple has also staked its claim to our appetite in the more traditional open markets, as I learnt the other day driving past and seeing an apple stand somewhere, it seemed, between the meat and fish stalls at Utako Market in Abuja! A reminder, I suppose, to shoppers not to forget to get their natural vitamins and anti-oxidants which, presumably, only the apple can supply, along with their proteins.

When the apple, a temperate region fruit, began to rule our tropical palates?

My guess is the late eighties. Shortly after the Gospel of No-Alternative-to-SAP according to military dictator General Ibrahim Babangida and his finance minister, Olu Falae, had led to capitulation to the IMF/World Bank. The result was that trade liberalisation and the removal of tariffs, not to mention devaluation of the naira (we are still talking about that today) and cessation of social or human capital spending—in other words, all commonsense measures to protect the domestic economy and the people—came to govern, like an implacable god, every national economic policy. The goal was clear enough to the imperialist designers of those “conditionalities” and to anyone not wilfully blinded to the truth: to make dependent economies, the postcolonial

ones especially, facing acute shortage of foreign exchange to service their debts, become even more dependent by being forced to import just about everything when their national currencies become so weakened they render local industries comatose and unable to compete with the manufacturing giants of Europe, North America and Asia.

The dual devaluation of currency/trade liberalisation condition is a well-laid neocolonialist trap, set with the bait of the seductive lie of making imports more expensive and exports more competitive, thereby encouraging local industry.

Never ever letting out what happens when there is really no local manufacturing capacity worth its name, or that even where it exists in some creaky and inchoate form, it relies almost wholesale on the importation of raw materials, machinery and spare parts, and

How long before we understand that an apple a day converts our naira to dollars and keeps our money, not the doctor, away?

Time to repeat to ourselves everyday: an orange a day keeps the doctor away and our money at home

abducted from their dormitories

by Boko-haram insurgents. The Nigerian state has more or less given up on them even when we continue to hear news of unverified sighting of the girls.

Former President Obasanjo recently poured cold water on any hope that the girls could still be found while President Buhari appears ambivalent about it all.

One moment he appears to be hopeful of a happy resolution of the matter, the next moment he is said not to be too hopeful in spite of contradictory statements by his field commanders that the girls could still be found. Nigeria has failed the Chibok girls and by implication failed itself. Until those girls are found and returned to their homes we cannot confidently say that Nigeria is worth dying for. The future of this country is in jeopardy for as long as human life, especially the life of the helpless and vulnerable, remains worthless.

The claim that Ese has converted to Islam and must remain in a forced marriage is an insult that must not be allowed to stick. As a minor her parents bear responsibility for her and it’s their wish that should be respected here. Not until somebody is able to show that they are a danger to their own daughter. And even at that the solution couldn’t possibly be to marry her off to a scoundrel who stole her from under the watch of her parents. All kinds of strange things from unprecedented corruption to outrageous cases of ritual murders and religious extremism are everyday occurrences in Nigeria today.

The bizarre is now normal and right before us our values are being upended by people who would be better off living in the

quite often expatriates too!

All of which means even more pressure on the devalued c u r r e n c y needing more and more bagfuls to exchange for a dollar, the first choice currency of international trade.

Causing instant death to many local industries and a slow, painful extinction of the few intrepid ones, as witness the many factories and warehouses that are the primary tithe-collection and miraclevending acquisition targets for pastorpreneurs (businessmen masquerading as pastors or, according to Christ, wolves in sheep’s clothing).

The metallic or artificial counterpart to the apple as the sign of the capitulation of our economy to neoliberal economics is used or Tokunbo cars. We see them arrayed along every main road and street, and often right in front of the neighbour’s house turned overnight into a used car sale depot. Since brand new vehicles are out of the reach of ordinary citizens, we rejoice to be able to buy a 1015-year-old tokunbo, and would even go to dedicate it to God with praise and thanksgiving and merriment. But as with the ubiquitous but harmless looking — indeed, healthful apple — every purchase takes away dollars unseen. Yes, we pay for the apple and the tokunbo car in naira, but the importers do so in dollars. Hence our current value-of-the-naira tragedy.

Which would not be the case if only there were an equal exchange of produce, say for every imported red delicious apple we also exported a golden sweet orange.

When the only thing we do substantially export, crude oil, was selling for over one hundred dollars a barrel, and there were

wilds. There is no compulsion in religion is what followers of Islam say. Therefore there should be no way violence against a minor or her parents by way of forced marriage can be a peaceful act.

Just three years ago, it was the case of Charity Uzoechina and the Bida Emirate Council.

Against the wish of her parents she was alleged to have converted to Islam and contracted a marriage. While her parents struggled to have her returned home, she was held in the palace of the Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar under the pretext that she would be harmed by her father, a pastor of the Redeemed Church of God. Like Ese she was renamed Aisha and her parents were told she could not return with them. I do not know now how that episode ended but it is a measure of how frightened we have become of religious and ethnic issues that we are no longer able to be truthful. We would rather remain silent and die in the face of gross violation of other people’s rights and values than be seen to be speaking against criminal acts perpetrated in the guise of religion.

If Charity Uzoechina’s case could be overlooked on grounds that she was at twenty four years of age an adult, how does anybody in their right senses justify the case of a fourteen year old who was abducted when she was thirteen? What kind of values are we condoning when any miscreant can in the name of religion commit any kind of outrage? Why has it taken both the Bayelsa and Kano States command of the Nigeria Police this long to conduct their socalled investigation without any resolution of the matter? No, Ese Oruru must be returned home now. Not later.

enough green-backs to service our acquired tastes, there appeared to be no problem. At any rate, the national economic logic says, import or die!

Without a rail-based mass transit programme — not to be confused with transport by minibuses — and with our minds now trained to believe that an imported temperate fruit trumps all of our tropical offerings, what are we to do?

After all, didn’t we learn it in school that an apple a day keeps the doctor away?

Was it ever said that an orange or a mango a day does the same wonderful thing? And did anyone tell us that the choice of the apple was arbitrary, being metaphorical, since it could well have been any other temperate fruit: pear, peach, apricot, plum, cherry, blackberry, etc? That the point really was to urge the eating of a fruit a day, and that some would even swear that the kiwi or Chinese gooseberry, not the apple, is the wonder-fruit?

Not to forget the point. We are not keeping the doctor away by importing apples in shiploads. On the contrary, the apple has come to symbolise our complete dependency syndrome, our incurable appetite for what we do not produce. How long before we understand that an apple a day converts our naira to dollars and keeps our money, not the doctor, away?

Time to repeat to ourselves everyday: an orange a day keeps the doctor away and our money at home.

20—Vanguard, WEDNES DAY WEDNESDAY DAY, MARCH 2, 2016

A’Ibom communities sheathe sword over land ownership tussle

By Chioma Onuegbu, Uyo

R

ECENT move by the Akwa Ibom State government to settle the agelong tussle among the four communities of Aka Offot Industrial Estate/ Banking LayoutAkaOffot,ItiamIkotEbia, Nung Oku and Afaha Ikot Obio Nkan in Uyo and Ibesikpo Asutan Local government areas over which of the communities should be regarded as host community of Champion Breweries Plc seem to have yielded the desired result.

Vanguard Metro, VM, Community leaders and stakeholders signing peace accord recently gathered that the tussle had lasted over 30 years and ment of their readiness and commitclaimed so many lives. It was also gath- nities.

It did not stop there: “The sharing ment to maintain the peace and to ered that government was prompted to wade into the matter following last ratio for the benefits and responsibilities ensure that government succeeded December protest staged by youths accruing to host communities from com- in its industrialisation agenda.

Responding, Dr Elijah Akpan of the four communities during which panies/banks located in the Industrial/ while commending the youth leadtheybarricadedtheentranceintoCham- Banking Layout is that 40% shall go to pion Breweries Company over allega- the primary host community, while oth- ers for their decision, however, retions that they were not being carried erthreeneighbouringcommunitiesshall minded them of the unique role be entitled to benefit of 20 percent each. youths are expected to play in proalong by the company.

According to investigation, the area This shall apply to all companies and moting and maintaining peace and known as Industrial/Banking Layout banks located within these four commu- stability in their communities and the society as a whole. According to him, which houses so many banks along nities.

“The communities have agreed to co- only a peaceful atmosphere in the Udo Udoma Avenue and the Champion Breweries Plc along Aka Offot exist peacefully and to ensure that they state would encourage investors to Road lands were first acquired in 1973 maintain cordial relationship with the come to the state, and by so doing under the then Cross River State, even companies and banks operating in their speedy the actualisation of the inas the lands were not acquired at the areas, and that they will always com- dustrialisation agenda of the present municate any problem affecting them to administration as no investor would same time.

A statement by the Akwa Ibom the AKICORP Executive Chairman in want to operate within any hostile Investment Corporation, AKICORP,in writing without resorting to protest ac- and unsafe environment.

Uyo chaired by Dr Elijah Akpan indi- tions in the interest of peace.

“The peace accord shall be operation- Development of cated that the peace treaty aimed at bringing a lasting solution among the al with effect from January 1, 2016 there- any society warring communities was signed on by ending the age-long tussle, youth resAkpan stressed: “What drives Friday January 8, 2016 at the confer- tiveness, antagonism, barricade/placement of traditional injunction at the industrialisation, progress and develence hall of the investment office. entrance of the company’s entrance and opment of any society is peaceful cobitterness that have surrounded the host existence of investors and their host Primary host communities. I therefore appeal to communities of Champion Breweries”. community AdministrationManagerofChampion youth leaders not only in the IndusAccording to the statement, the Breweries Company, Okon Ekong, who trial/Banking Layout but in the enExecutive Chairman of AKICORP, Dr. spoke on behalf of the Managing Di- tire state to help government by enElijah Akpan, signed the rector of the company, Mr. Sharm Kulka- suring a peaceful atmosphere that Memorandum of Understanding, mi, lauded the development, saying: would encourage industries/investMoU, onbehalfofthestategovernment, “With the signing of the vital document, ments to spring up in the state.”

Responding to an appeal for siting while Eteidung Francis Morgan, vil- a landslide victory has been recorded in of more industries within their areas, lage head and Christian John, youth settling the age-long tussle”.

Meanwhile, theyouthleadersfromthe Akpan pointed out that such could President (Aka offot community); Eteidung Clement Ekeng, village head four communities under the aegis of only be realised if they embrace and Akaninyene Edem, youth presi- CoalitionofYouthLeadersForumrecent- peace and shun all acts capable of dent (Nung Oku); Eteidung Okon ly paid a courtesy visit to AKICORP scaring away investors.

The youth leaders had in an Umoren, village head and Anietie Chairman, reassuring the state governaddress presented earlier by the Obot youth president (Afaha Ikot Obio youth President of Nung Oku AkanNkan); Eteidung Essien Timothy, vilinyene Edem and signed by three lage head and Andikan Ekpenyong, other youth presidents, pledged their youth president( Itiam Ikot Ebia), all total loyalty to the Udom Emmansigned on behalf of their respective uel’s administration to ensure susWith the signing communities. tained peace in their areas.

The MoU stated that henceforth the of the vital docuOther demands they made during Aka Offot Industrial estate/banking ment, a landslide the visit to the AKICORP boss layout is to be treated as one entity for included employment of indigenes the benefit of the four communities. It victory has been ofthehostcommunitiesinChampion also stated that any village from the recorded in setBreweries Company, creation of four communities on whose land is sitCommunity Relations Unit/Departuated a company or bank shall be the tling the age-long ment and appointment of Commuprimary host community while the othtussle nity Relations Officers from each of erthreebecomeneighbouringcommuthe four communities.

C M Y K

Ride on PMB

By Ebele Orakpo

D

ESPITE the hardship we are all experiencing now, I believe things will definitely get better in Nigeria.

Thank God for the ban on imports,” said Peter in the CMS-bound commuter bus.

“Bros, you be proper killjoy. How could you say such a thing? People are suffering if you don’t know,” said Rita.

“I am not a killjoy, we should face facts. The hour before daybreak is always the darkest. We are going through the pangs of childbirth. We should support our president.

I know we will overcome,” counselled Peter.

“Hmm, after we don die finish bah? Are the ogas at the top feeling the pains? Na so dem say we should tighten our belts during Structural Adjustment Programme, SAP and the masses adjusted until there was no more waist to tie the belt; meanwhile our leaders were getting fatter and fatter sotey they outgrew their belts,” said Chris.

Replied Rita: “God bless you my brother for telling the truth. If I can get a quarter of the President’s estacode whenever he travels, I will not complain.”

“The point is that since we are no longer allowed to import frivolities, it will force us to look inwards and develop our local materials. We are really blessed but have refused to see it. The grass, as they say, is always greener on the other side,” said Dan. Continuing, he said: “After all, who benefits from the imports? Is it not the rich? Wetin concern Agbero with overload or vulture with the hairdresser?” asked Buchi. “The poor masses receive absolutely no benefits from importation. Rather, they bear the brunt. The poor local woman will suffer to produce garri or local black soap, but will get so little for all her labour while more inferior and unhealthy goods are brought in here and sold at exorbitant prices. So, I think we will all smile at the end of the day.”

Conspiracy of the West “What we need to do is for our researchers to put on their thinking caps, look for how to add value to our local products. Government should engage us positively to come up with policies that will benefit the masses. That is the way to go,” said Peter.

“We do not encourage our own. Period! Our people invent things here and instead of the relevant agencies encouraging them, they demonise and demoralise them so they give up. They believe that nothing good can ever come out of Black Africa. It is all conspiracy of the West,” said Buchi, to which Rita replied: “Here we go again with una conspiracy theory. Let’s assume for a moment that it is true, a total stranger cannot just come into your home and do you harm without help from an insider. The Igbo say that it is the rat in the house that told the rat in the bush that there is fish in the kitchen.

So we have helped the West to conspire against us.”

Noted Chris: “Our people get so frustrated by the system and fellow country men and women that they opt to take their inventions, knowledge and skills elsewhere. Why do you think the US embarked on the Green Card immigration programme? You think it’s because they love your face? Hell no! They are looking for the best brains from around the world to come to their country and help to build it and make it the number one that it is. But in Africa, especially Nigeria, the reverse is the case. We drive away our best brains through frustration.

Imagine small scale businesses being asked to cough out N150,000 for NAFDAC to test their products? So if you have two products, you pay N300,000 or die a natural death. How is the system and government agencies helping such people, seeing they are the greatest job creators?”

“That is what PMB and his team should be doing apart from fighting corruption. They should sit up, enough of the blame game. The honeymoon is over oo.

People are hungry and a hungry man does not reason well; so even though uneasy lies the head that wears the crown, they signed up for the job knowing what it entails. In fact, they begged to apply, so let them gird their loins and get to work. Their story don dey too long abeg!” said Rita.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016

— 21

Economic crimes highest among S-African organizations — PwC REPORT 69% report being victims of economic crime 32% experienced cybercrime

S

economic crime is a global issue and one that affects developed markets as much as it does emerging ones,” adds Strydom.

According to the survey findings, South Africans also exhibited significantly low levels of confidence in local law enforcement agencies, with 70% of organisations believing agencies are inadequately resourced and trained to investigate and fight economic crime. This is almost twice the global rate of 44%.

The 2016 Global Economic Crime Survey interviewed 6,337 participants in 115 countries. In South Africa, 232 organisations from a broad spectrum of industries took part in the survey.

OUTH African organisations reported a considerably higher frequency in the incidence of economic crime in comparison to their African and global peers, with more than two in three organisations (69%) indicating that they had been victim to economic crime in the last 24 months, according to PwC’s biennial Global Economic Crime Survey released yesterday.

Louis Strydom, Forensic Services Leader for PwC Africa, says: “Economic crime remains a serious challenge to business leaders, government officials and private individuals in South Africa.

In this survey, we have found that the trend has remained unchanged from 2014, with 69% of South African respondents reporting that they had experienced economic crime in the last two years.

“When compared to the global statistic of 36%, we are faced with the stark reality that economic crime is at a pandemic level in South Africa. No sector or region is immune from economic crime.”

Sixty-eight percent of French and 55% of UK respondents also reported high increases in the rate of economic crime in the past 24 months, both up 25% when compared to 2014. Sixty-one percent of Zambian respondents reported economic crime, up 31% over 2014.

“The fact that developed countries are included in the list of the top ten countries reporting the highest rates of economic crime brings home a clear message –

$113.35

Changing landscape The survey found that asset misappropriation remains the most prevalent form of economic crime reported by 68% of respondents.

It is followed by procurement fraud (41%), and bribery and corruption (37%). Cybercrime has risen to the fourth most reported type of economic crime in South Africa (up two places from 2014), with 32% of organisations affected, on par with the global average.

Globally, the overall rate of economic crime reported has fallen for the first year since the financial crisis, but only marginally – to 36% from 37% in 2014. Regionally, lower levels of economic crime are reported in North

-1.30

$2,878.00 -61.00 $14. 26

0. 35

$35. 71

0.61

$33. 14

0.36

CURRENCY BUYING SELLING

When compared to the global statistic of 36%, we are faced with the stark reality that economic crime is at a pandemic level in South

America (37% vs 41%), Eastern Europe (33% vs 39%), Asia Pacific (30% vs 32%)) and Latin America 217.

(28% vs 35%). The rate of 198. economic crime rose in Africa (57% vs 50%), West1.7465 ern Europe (40% vs 35%) 0. 3303 and the Middle East (25% 272. vs 21%).

Economic crime is costCBN Exchange rate as at 01/03/2016 ing businesses billions of

US DOLLAR POUNDS EURO FRANC YEN CFA WAUA RENMINBI RIYAL KRONA

C M Y K

196 196.5 273. 7924 274. 4909 1893 216. 1488 216. 7002 2516 197. 7202 198. 2246 7289 1.7376 1.742 0.3103 0.3203 271. 6019 272. 2947 9876

197 275.

VISIT: From left, Temitayo Olutoye, Head Products & Market Support, Keystone Bank; Innocent Ike, Executive Director, Keystone Bank; Irish Amabassador to Nigeria, Sean Hoy; Thessa Brongers Bagu, Enterprise Ireland; Michael Agamah, General Counsel/Secretary to the board, Keystone Bank, and Omobolanle Osotule, Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications, Keystone Bank, during a courtesy visit by the Irish Ambassador to the bank head office, in Lagos. dollars. While more than half of the global organisations surveyed reported having lost less than $100 000 to economic crime over the last 24 months, only 43% of South African organisations could make that claim. Almost a fifth of local respondents experi-

enced losses of between $100 000 and $1 million, and one in four respondents indicated having suffered losses of more than $1 million.

For the first time since 2009, external actors exceeded internal actors as the dominant profile of

fraudsters acting against an organisation (46% external versus 45% internal). South African organisations were reported to be more than twice as likely to be defrauded by vendors compared to the rest of the world.

UBA Board appoints Uzoka as new GMD

By Peter Egwuatu

T

he Board of United Bank for Africa, UBA Plc yesterday approved the appointment of Kennedy Uzoka as the new Group Managing Director, with effect from August 1st, 2016 and subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN. According to a statement from the bank, Mr. Uzoka succeeds Phillips Oduoza, who retires on July 31, 2016, after two terms of leading the UBA Group.

Kennedy Uzoka has most recently been leading the transformation agenda of the Bank, after returning from completing the Advanced Management Programme of Harvard Business School. Mr Uzoka has over two and half decades of experience in commercial banking, strategy and business transformation.

Prior to his sabbatical at Harvard, Mr Uzoka served as Deputy Managing Director, UBA group and was also the

CEO of UBA Africa, responsible for the Group’s operations in 18 countries across Africa.

Uzoka is a graduate of Mechanical Engineering from University of Benin and holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration from University of Lagos.

The statemtent further stated that the Board also appointed Victor Osadolor as the Deputy Managing Director, UBA Group. Mr Osadolor brings a strong finance and risk background, having previously served as the Executive Director, Risk and Finance at UBA. Mr Osadolor also held the position of Chief Strategy Officer at Ecobank Transnational Incorporation. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Accountants of Nigeria. He also holds the Advanced Management Programme Certificate from the Harvard Business School.

The Chairman of UBA Group Mr. Tony Elumelu said of both appointments: “Kennedy brings an extremely strong skill set and is ideally positioned to lead UBA in its next phase of growth. His most recent experience of managing the Group’s increasingly important African business, is particularly relevant, as we all work to build one of the leading financial services franchises in Africa. I have no doubt that both he and Victor with their expertise and depth of business experience will ensure that the Bank is best positioned to deliver on its strategic ambition.

I would also like to take the opportunity to thank Phillips, for all that he has done for the Bank in guiding UBA through a particularly challenging period. The Board feels that the strong foundations created during Mr Oduoza’s term provide an excellent basis for our further success.”

22 — VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016

The Pension Reform Act, 2014 does not consider retirees suffering from life-threatening physical and medical conditions

,

,

G7 insurance markets account for 65% of world premium

By Favour Nnabugwu

T

HE Group of Seven (G7) countries cover just over 10% of the world’s population in spite of accounting for 65 percent of the world’s insurance premiums.

The Group of Seven (G7) is an informal bloc of industrialised democracies-the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom that meets annually to discuss issues such as global economic governance, international security, and energy policy.

Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) CEO, in Africa, Mrs. Delphine Maïdou at a Risk Management Conference in London on Friday said what the region needs to do to close the insurance gap as well as the role of risk management and insurance in infrastructure and economic development.

Citing the total premiums in Africa for both life and non-life insurance amounted to US$71.9 billion in 2012, which she says translates into a penetration rate of 3.65% well below the global average, which is 6.5%, though it is above the average for emerging markets of 2.65%

Emerging markets Maïdou who is also president of the Insurance Institute of South Africa (IISA) said, “With growing economies, Sub-Saharan Africa presents a huge potential for business insurance. Insurers and brokers need to work very closely with risk managers, regulators and stakeholders within the region to create awareness about the purpose and value of insurance so more companies, projects and stakeholders can be adequately protected,” said Maïdou.

Despite lower commodity prices and the strains in some large emerging economies, SubSaharan Africa economy is expected to grow by 4% in 2016, the IISA president regrets that higher borrowing costs are weighing heavily on some of the region’s largest economies such as Angola, Nigeria, and South Africa, the zone presents significant potential for infrastructure and economic development through foreign direct investment and publicprivate partnerships.

Maïdou points out that local and global brokers and insurers

operating in countries that have high insurance penetration such as South Africa, Namibia and Mauritius need to work with their counterparts in other African countries to foster the use of modern insurance and risk management for businesses within those areas.

She believes that Nigeria has the great potentials in her population to further grow her insurance market.

According to her, “Nigeria is a case in point. Africa’s largest country by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has a mere 0.6% insurance penetration. However the country has all the ingredients for a thriving insurance industry because of its vast population of 170 million and an active economy.”

Transformational initiative Lending his voice in an interview with Vanguard Insurance, the Managing Director of Staco Insurance Plc, Mr Sakiru Oyefeso said in spite of the challenges the Nigerian insurance industry has been through, the sector has recorded growth over the past seven years with asset values doubling to N711.4bilion in 2014 from N347.1 billion in 2007, which he added represented an increase of 104 percent.

Oyefeso added that the transformational initiative in the industry has not only encouraged market development, but has also increased consumer confidence, adding, “Nigeria currently has the second largest insurance industry in Africa following South Africa. The industry is expected to continue to gain further growth and the rate of insurance penetration is projected to also increase.”

Oyefeso said that how this growth will be achieved is through the insurance of motor vehicles. “Even though there are over seven million vehicles in the country, less than 14 percent of these are insured. The Regulator, NAICOM is hoping to attain coverage of 25 percent in the near future. This would represent growth of 11 percent for this particular segment of the industry,” he said.

“Nigeria’s insurance sector still has plenty of opportunities to explore within its traditional target market in the organised business environment.

Send comments & enquiries to insuranceandyou@yahoo.com C M Y K

INSURAN CPS: Before more retirees are sent to early graves Denying a man in coma, one suffering from stroke, a permanently disabled person, a one that is terminally or critically ill access to money, which he could use to save his life just because the law said so is the height of man’s inhumanity to man. This underscores the urgent need to amend the Pension Reform Act, 2014 to enable operators pay endangered retirees the balance in their Retirement Savings Accounts in full writes Onyekwere Iwuagwu.

N

ARRATING his ordeal, a 63 year old retiree under the Contributory Pension Scheme (name withheld) said “When I retired from one of the Federal Ministries three years ago after 35 years in service, I was advised to approach my Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) (name withheld) for my retirement benefits. My PFA said the balance in my Retirement Savings Account (RSA) as at that time was a little over N8 million and that I can only take about N2.5 million as lump sum.

The rest will be paid to me as monthly pension. Last year, I developed a life threatening illness, heart problem. My Doctor said I will need about N5 million for surgery abroad to save my life.

I returned to my PFA to ask for the balance in my RSA to enable me pay for treatment abroad and I was told that I can’t take my money. They said it is what the National Pension Commission (PenCom) approved for me and there is nothing they can do about it. I went to PenCom but they said their hands are tied, that it is what the law said.

I contributed into the RSA so that I can take care of my needs in retirement. Unfortunately, now that it matters most, when my life is hanging on a balance;

they are telling me that I cannot take my own money to save my life. They are telling me to leave my money for them and go and die so that they can steal my money like they have been stealing pension fund all along.

“What type of law is this?

PenCom and the PFAs are using the so called pension law to defraud workers and retirees. They deceived us into saving for comfort in retirement and now that we have retired they are devising ways to hold onto our money until we die and so they can steal it. They said if I die, my family will

Denying a man in coma or woman who has stroke access to his/her money when he/she needs it most because the law said so is the height of man’s inhumanity to man

collect the balance in my RSA, but who is more important, me that worked and saved the money or my children who are meant to inherit my assets when I die? When we joined the scheme they said it will secure our future but now that I am retired and need my money the story has changed.

This is pure deceit,” the retiree lamented.

The frustration of this retiree sums up the predicament of many retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), particularly those that are critically and terminally ill and those living with temporary and permanent disabilities.

Permanent disabilities They are very sick, they need bulk money to remain alive but their retirement savings which is enough to take care of their health needs is locked away by pension fund managers who prefer releasing the money for their funerals instead of allowing them to use it to save their lives.

The Contributory Pension Scheme originally holds out great prospects for Nigerian workers, in it lay their hope for comfort in retirement. But those prospects may have turned to nightmares for some retirees, particularly those suffering from temporary and permanent disabilities as well as those suffering from critical and terminal illnesses.

No pension fund manager or life insurer will deny the fact that retirees suffering any form of permanent disabilities,

SEMINAR: From left, Deputy Governor of Kaduna State, Barnabas Bala; Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Ameachi and Director of Maritime Services, Alhaji Sani Galadanchi, at a one-day sensitisation seminar of the Nigerian Shippers Council, in Kaduna.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016—23

VOL. 1 NO 58 Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JANUARYWEDNESDAY, 20, 2016 Vanguard, MARCH 2, 2016

Politician threatens father with law suit, deities over paternity —Page 25

50 Anambra communities in total blackout

By Chimaobi Nwaiwu

N

Mr. Babátúndé Rájí Fásholá, Minister of Power, Works and Housing.

Epidemic looms, as Umuahia stinks

By Anayo Okoli

U

MUAHIA—UNLESS something is done urgently, epidemic looms large in Umuahia, the capital of Abia State, due to abandoned waste materials that litter many parts of the city.

Simply put, Umuahia, the capital of Abia State, is stinking.

Virtually all parts of the streets are littered with overflowing waste bins that stink, which poses a serious danger to residents.

The situation has been like this in recent months with residents wondering if the State environmental agency, ASEPA, charged with keeping the environment clean still exists.

On the busy Umuwaya Road, at the

C M Y K

centre of the city, over seven heaps of waste bins were noticed, weekend.

There were others scattered on Okpara Avenue, near Ojukwu Bunker; World Bank Road (Upstairs Line); House of Assembly Road; Bende Road; close to High Court complex and many other parts of the city.

In some cases, the wastes were seen burning inside the receptacles. South East Voice learned that they were set on fire by angry and disappointed residents, especially those whose homes are close to the abandoned waste bins for fear of contacting diseases.

Ironically, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu’s last place of work was ASEPA, where he served as the Deputy General Manager before he was picked as PDP governorship candidate, making it to understand why how he now presides

over a stinking capital city since he assumed office.

The government seems not to bother as they have not cared to either address the situation or tell the residents why the once clean city has turned into a very dirty one in the last couple of months.

When South East Voice visited the headquarters of ASEPA, the workers expressed disappointment over the situation, which they blamed on the Governor who they accused of not funding the agency as well as their General Manager, Prince Ikechukwu Apugo, who they said no longer comes to the office.

One of them (names withheld) told South East Voice: “Maybe because the

Continued on Page 25

NEWI—FIFTY out of the 177 towns in Anambra State have been experiencing total blackout in the last few weeks.

This was made known at a town hall meeting organised by Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, EEDC, at Nnewi, prompting spontaneous condemnation by electricity consumers who attended the meeting.

The traditional ruler of Enugu-Ukwu in Njikoka Local Government Area of the state, Igwe Ralph Ekpeh, was the first to reveal the inefficiency of the power distribution company at the occasion attended by the company’s expatriate Managing Director, Robert Dickeman, last weekend.

Ekpeh said that the EEDC had earlier set up a power sub-station in EnuguUkwu with the communities in the area rejoicing that the era of power outage was over, only to notice that four days after the commissioning of the substation, the 50 communities that got electricity supply from there had been thrown into total darkness.

According to Igwe Ekpe, all efforts made to enable the officials of EEDC see reason and effect necessary repairs fell on deaf ears as nothing was done to rectify the problem, even as many factories in the area had shut up shop as a result of the blackout since the proprietors could not afford to run their factories with power generating sets.

The monarch expressed worry that EEDC was always asking the communities to protect their facilities, which they had been doing to the best of their abilities, adding, however, that it was incumbent on EEDC with its wide connections to partner with security agencies to properly police such facilities.

Contributing, the Oduma-Obosi community, represented by Pastor Chizoba Nnaduoju, said the people were tired of paying estimated electricity bills which the EEDC had allegedly used to defraud them.

Nnaduoju noted that the community was always made to cough out huge sums of money for the power they did not consume, pointing out that the introduction of pre-paid meters would permanently solve such man-made problems.

A Nnewi-based businessman and President-General of Azia community, Chief Kenneth Maduako, noted that there was no difference between the defunct National Electric Power Authority, NEPA, Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, and the present EEDC because they were all exploitative in their operations.

Maduako alleged that all the communities in Ihiala were always in darkness due to the alleged inefficiency of EEDC, pointing out that they

Continued on Page 25

24— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016

50 Anambra communities in total blackout

6 years after, railway employees benefit from monetisation

By Francis Igata

E

NUGU—THOUSANDS of Nigeria Railway Corporation workers thronged the eastern district secretariat to join in the celebration of an Industrial Court judgment that ordered the management to offer for sale all residential quarters/accomodation occupied by its staff, who are legal sitting tenants, in compliance with the Federal Government's monetisation policy.

The railways management had, at the advent of the monetisation policy during former President Olusegun Obasanjo regime in 20032004, restrained its employees from benefiting, hinging its stance on a circular that it was meant for only core ministries and not parastatals.

Dissatisfied, the workers had approached the Industrial Court in Suit No. NICN/LA/ 11/2011 brought before Justice B. A. Adejumo to compel Railways management to comply with the monetisation policy, which therein, offers them right of first refusal for bid to purchase their quarters/ accommodation.

The trial judge, Justice Adejumo granted their prayers, which conferred the quarters/accommodation to the staff in line with the monetisation policy.

When South East Voice visited the eastern district last Friday, the workers trooped out in their numbers to celebrate the judgment, having waited with baited breath for six years.

President General, Africa Railwaymen Workers Union, Ralph Okoro, said: “The circular, since 2003/2004, made it clear that government can no longer maintain the quarters/accommodation hence should be sold. All other government agencies abided with the circular and their workers benefited.

“Railways did not benefit from the policy. On March 15, 2011, we took railway management to court to enforce compliance. All our prayers were answered in the suit.

“Railway management is yet to give us paper of authorisation. We may have to go back to court to enforce the judgment.”

An elated Saidu Garba, President Railway Workers Union, revealed that with the judgment, every worker will have a house of his or her own.

(Top and above), railway employees celebrating the court judgment.

Campaign for Igbo language, culture shifts to Canada

By Vincent Ujumadu

A

WKA—A GROUP of Anambra indigenes residing in Canada have begun a campaign aimed at popularising Igbo language and culture.

The group, led by the President of Anambra State Association in Canada, ASA – Canada, Sir Charles Obiorah, paid a courtesy call on the President General of Otu Suwakwa Igbo, Professor Pita Ejiofor in Awka, during which details of the group’s programme for the realisation of the project was made public.

Obiorah explained that his group had concluded plans to build an Anambra Community Centre in Toronto, Canada, adding that on completion, the centre would have lodging accommodation to assist Nigerians coming to Canada, a conference hall and arts and heritage centre that will be equipped with Anambra identities.

He said that the groundbreaking ceremony of the

centre was performed in 2014, adding that there is already an Igbo-speaking school in Canada where Igbo go to learn their language.

He said: “The whole idea is to promote Igbo language and culture and we want to do this by building Obu Anambra in Canada as our contribution towards improving the culture of our people in the Diaspora.

“All the plans have been articulated and the next stage is the implementation and that is why we are in Nigeria to let our people know what we are doing.”

In his speech, Professor Ejiofor commended their efforts, advising them not to be discouraged, especially when it is realised that most of the projects would be funded through their efforts.

He reminded them that it was not just enough to build an Igbo-speaking school in Canada, but to ensure that Igbo people in that country were encouraged to study in such a school.

Obiorah announced that a special convention for the

launching of the project would be held in August and urged Nigerians to endeavour to attend.

Other members of the group who visited Ejiofor include Chief Nwannechigo Ibida, a patron of ASA-Canada and Bishop Don Ifepe, the Vice Chairman.

Continued from Page 23 were badlyhit during festivities like Christmas and Easter among others, as the communities would still be billed for those periods they were in darkness.

He wondered why towns like Oraifite, Oba and Obosi would be getting constant power supply at the expense of Ihiala and environs.

The former Chairman of Nzuko-Ora Nnewi, Chief Bennett Ngonadi, in his own contribution urged the EEDC to provide pre-paid meters for their customers as it is done in other communities.

Ngonadi expressed worry that EEDC was now telling customers to replace the meters they paid for less than two years ago.

The electricity consumers generally discussed the issues of poor and epileptic power supply, over billing and the need for metering.

In his response, the EEDC Principal Manager, Operations, Mr. Kingsley Ajah, said that Ihiala communities experienced blackouts because many of their sons and daughters outside the locality normally returned home at festive periods, which according to him, explained the pressure on their facilities.

Also, Managing Director of the company, Mr. Robert Dickerman, said that all the issues raised by the customers would be addressed, pointing out that any community that was billed when there was no power supply would be refunded.

Dickerman educated the customers on the new electricity tariff and the need for all customers to avoid wastage of electricity.

Epidemic looms, as Umuahia stinks Continued from Page 23 Governor Okezie Ikpeazu operates from Aba, he does not care what happens in Umuahia. Aba is clean. ASEPA is effective in Aba, so why not in Umuahia?

“Remember that Governor Ikpeazu was Deputy General Manager under the present ASEPA General Manager before he became the governor. Who knows how cordial or otherwise their relationship was? Maybe it is payback time to the General Manager.

“However, is their problem; he should take care of Umuahia: that is our concern. The city is now stinking. Note that Umuahia remains the capital of Abia State and must not be abandoned and turned to garbage.

“We also appreciate the need to take care of other cities, particularly, Aba,” a civil servant who complained of the proximity of the waste bins to his house, said.

Efforts to talk to Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Gabe Iboko failed. A call put across to his phone line was not picked and a text message sent to him was not replied to at press time.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016—25

Politician threatens father with law suit, deities over paternity

By Anayo Okoli

*You’re not one of us—FAMILY

U

MUAHIA—A 46-year-old man, Prince Kelechi Apugo, has threatened to plant shrines and deities in the home and other properties of his father, elder statesman, Prince Benjamin Apugo, for disowning him.

According to Kelechi, the essence of the ritual, considered very deadly in parts of Igboland, was to make his alleged father to accept him as not only his son, but his first son, vowing to fight for his right even with the last blood in him.

Apugo, who is a chieftain of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, and who contested the Umuahia East state constituency in the April 2015 election against his two other half brothers, in PDP and APC, said he was no longer ready to face the disgrace from his alleged father.

He lamented that the embarrassment got to a peak when his alleged father went ahead to disown him through a sworn affidavit, a document which one of his half brothers used against him during the electioneering campaigns.

He said: “I am Kelechi Apugo, the first son of B. B. Apugo. I want the whole world to know that since I was born that my father refused to recognise me as his first son. I have made effort to meet him several times, but he denied me access.

“He completely abandoned me when I was seven years old.

I do not know why he does not have value for his children. My mother took me to him and he refused to listen to her.

THE TEAM Supervising Editor: Chioma Gabriel, Lagos (08052201257) Editor: Emeka Mamah, Enugu email: emekemamah@yahoo.com) Anayo Okoli, Umuahia Vincent Ujumadu, Awka Austin Ogwuda, Awka Chidi Nkwopara, Owerri Peter Okutu, Abakaliki Chimaobi Nwaiwu, Nnewi

Francis Igata, Enugu Nwabueze Okonkwo, Onitsha

Ugochukwu Alaribe, Aba Enyim Enyim, Onitsha Chinoso Alozie, Owerri Chinenye Ozor, Nsukka Eric Ugbor, Aba

Mr. Kelechi Apugo “But I want him to know that I am now a man. I have a family of my own with children and I must get my right as his first son. I will not go to court.

“I will throw deities into his compound and his other properties and he knows the implication.

“Why must my father swear

affidavit against me? I am the carbon copy of my father.”

Apugo said that he has made all efforts to reach his said father to accept him, but lamented that he was blocked on every occasion, saying that he has decided to get his “rights by all means.”

He has, however, vowed to take his position as the son of the millionaire. To this end, he said that he has reported the action of the father to Ibeku traditional rulers, the powerful Okonko group, his kindred and others that have affinity with his father, saying that all of them support his action to secure his alleged birthright.

He disclosed that some of the groups had decided to meet the senior Apugo on the issue, but vowed that if “my father refuses to change his position and accept me as his first son, I will throw deities into all his properties, and he knows the dangerous implication.”

When contacted, Prince B. B. Apugo said he would not

change his mind or his position on the issue.

However, one of the children of Chief Apugo, a lawmaker representing Umuahia East in Abia State House of Assembly, Mr. Chukwudi Apugo, dismissed Kelechi as a man who has lost his way, saying that he is not one of them.

According to him, their father has never told them about the said Kelechi, accusing him (Kelechi) of impersonating their family name. He said that the said Kelechi’s attempt to impersonate their family name almost marred his wedding some years back as their father, Ochiagha B. B. Apugo, detained him and stopped the wedding until he signed an undertaking not to do it again, prompting him to print another invitation card.

He said after that their father officially and publicly disowned Kelechi through an affidavit and made it available to the entire community, he wondered why Kelechi still parades himself as the son of Prince B. B. Apugo.

He said: ““Maybe he is referring to another Apugo, because there other Apugos in Umuahia. I know my father cannot disown a son he is sure he fathered. So please tell the young man to go and look for his father elsewhere; he is not one of us.

“But if he so loves Apugo name and family, he can come and consult all of us and if we agree we can adopt him.”

Traditional ruler, ICDU quell land dispute in Ebonyi community

By Peter Okutu

A

BAKALIKI—THE Agu III of Ishiagu kingdom in Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, HRH Eze Moses Okafor Ngele, and the President of Ishiagu Community Development Union, ICDU, Chief Stanley Anyim, last weekend quelled the lingering controversy surrounding a land dispute in Ogwor community through diplomacy and extensive consultations with the people.

It was alleged that a core investor (names withheld) through his elder brother came into Ogwor community in Ishiagu with the intention of acquiring a large expanse of land for developmental projects, but did not follow the right procedure as laid down by the stakeholders of the community.

This development, South East Voice gathered, led to a protest by a section of the community and series of meetings by the leadership of ICDU at the palace of the Agu III on the way forward to resolve the lingering land dispute.

In a chat with South East Voice, the monarch, who explained that he was ready to ensure that investors come into Ishiagu community, stated that

Agu III of Ishiagu Kingdom, Eze Moses Okafor Ngele when the matter became a threat to peace, he decided to step in.

He said: “When I discovered that the matter was becoming too controversial, I had to step in and ruled that the parties involved in giving land to the core investor should stay action and stay way to allow the Agu III handle the matter effectively.

“This is the subsisting resolution in the matter that came from me. We want the core investor to appear before us in person and not his elder brother.”

In his remarks, the President

of ICDU, Chief Stanley Anyim stated that his union was completely against the sales of community lands to any investor, adding that anybody wishing to invest in Ogwor or Ishiagu as a whole would be given lands on lease as the development of Ishiagu was a key priority of the ICDU. He said no investor should come into Ishiagu through a second or third person in the community, but rather he or she should appear in person before key stakeholders in the area to avoid cases bribery, maltreatment and betrayal.

Students urged to shun prostitution, cultism

By Anayo Okoli

U

M UA H I A — UMUNZE students have been admonished to shun anti-social ills such as cultism, prostitution and other criminal activities that would affect their academics and to focus on activities useful to the community and the nation at large.

A philanthropist from the community, Princess Chinwe Nnabuife, who gave the admonition at the 2016 Ada Umunze Talent Hunt pageant held at Umunze, said they need to take their studies seriously because “youths are the future of the nation.”

The pageant was organised by the Umunze Students Association, USA. She urged the students to “rise and shine” and to showcase their talents whenever they have the opportunity to do so, saying that they should also always exhibit positive attitude in anything they do.

Princess Nnabuife, who also sponsored the talent hunt, commended the students for initiating the event and promised to ensure that it holds annually.

She charged the panel of judges to ensure that whoever emerged Ada Umunze must be intelligent to be able initiate and embark on projects that enhance the development of Umunze.

While calling for support for the event, Nnabuife urged all Umunze people to close ranks and ensure that peace reigns in the community, which would invariably usher more development to the fastdeveloping community.

In his remarks, a notable Umunze son, Chief George Ekemezie, also commended the students for the useful programme rather than while away their time in frivolous activities and urged them to ensure that it was sustained.

President of the Students Union, Chukwuma Eze, in his address, thanked Princess Nnabuife for sponsoring the event and assured her that Umunze students would never let the people down.

Eze also called on well meaning Umunze sons and daughters to invest in the education sector and sponsoring events and programmes that would enhance the education.

26—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016

Photoreel

The former Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, with students of St. Mulumba Secondary School, Ogbede, Enugu State, shortly after he presented a cheque of one million naira for the school facilities' upgrade.

From left—Igwe Ngoddy of Atani; Special Guest of Honour, Dubem Obaze, and immediate past member representing Ogbaru Federal Constituency in the National Assembly, Mr. Victor Ogene, during the handing over of the N30 million town hall initiated by Ogene as a constituency project to Atani community in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State.

LEFT: Miss Njideka Okoli being crowned as winner at the 2016 Ada Umunze talent hunt pageant held at Umunze

BELOW: Students at Ada Umunze talent hunt.

Mrs Christiana Okoye, Executive Director, Excellent Woman International, Abuja, addressing the women at a skills acquisition training in Nnewi, with over 700 beneficiaries.

Heap of waste at Umuwaya Road, Umuahia.

Waste abandoned at World Bank (Upstair Area), Umuahia.

C M Y K

Heap of waste at Umuwaya Road, Umuahia.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016 —

,

CE & YOU

27

The selling point for any pension scheme is ‘maximising retirees’ comfort,’ as such senior citizens suffering life threatening physical and medical conditions should be able to use their retirement savings to maximise their comfort and elongate their life spans

,

Small businesses to benefit from more lending opportunities

T

INTERACTION: Director General, National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu,(m); flanked by Head of Surveillance Department, PenCom, Mr. Muhammad Bello Umar; and Head of Benefits and Insurance Department, Mr. Olulana Loyinmi, at an interactive session with the Labour, Pension and Insurance Editors and Correspondents, in Lagos. terminal and critical illnesses need all the money they can lay their hands on to treat themselves and live comfortably till death comes. Unfortunately, this is not the situation with the Contributory Pension Scheme today, particularly for retirees living with critical illnesses.

Lacuna in Pension Reform Act, 2014 Unfortunately, the law that made provisions for missing, critically ill and permanently disabled workers did not envisage that a retiree could suffer a similar if not worse fate.

The Pension Reform Act, 2014 does not consider retirees suffering from life-threatening physical and medical conditions. Some of these group of retirees may be in need of foreign treatment, which they may not be able to pay for from their monthly or quarterly pension.

Some retirees are suffering from chronic diseases requiring specialised treatments (including medical trips abroad, chemotherapy, etc.) which they need to pay for in bulk to extend their lives. Some retirees are suffering from terminal illness including leukemia with a very short time to live going by the medical advice and as such they need to sort their estates and share their wealth among their children and other beneficiaries while they are still alive.

These endangered groups of retirees cannot rely on monthly and quarterly pension. They need all their life savings to be able to extend their lives or sort out their finances to meet some of their needs in death, including ensuring that their off-springs and family members do not kill themselves over their estate when they are gone. This may not apply to all retirees but it is essentially what some retirees need desperately to ensure that peace reigns in their families when they are no more.

Need for Amendment of Pension Law The greatest challenge facing retirees has to do with health.

This flows from old age, over work during their active years, untreated ailments when they were still young and agile and illnesses induced by sedentary lifestyles of retirees.

The selling point for any pension scheme is ‘maximising retirees’ comfort,’ as such senior citizens suffering life threatening physical and medical conditions should be able to use their retirement savings to maximise their comfort and elongate their life spans.

Denying a man in coma or woman who has stroke access to his/her money when he/she needs it most because the law said so is the height of man’s

TOP INSURANCE GAINERS & LOSERS

inhumanity to man. This is tantamount to sending the retiree to early grave because the thought of having money in a safe somewhere and being denied the use of the money to save one’s life will worsen the retiree’s health condition and make him die faster than he ordinarily would. Anything short of allow critically ill, terminally ill and permanently disabled retiree access to their money in full will amount to shortchanging them and killing them in cold blood.

During the making of the Pension Reform Act, 2014, life insurers kicked against the continued payment of group life insurance benefit into the RSA of a deceased worker. They pushed for and got an amendment which enables them to pay the next of kin of deceased worker.

Endangered retirees While this was going on, PFAs hid under the cover of PenCom and did nothing special to protect endangered retirees.

Meanwhile, the learning period for the Contributory Pension Scheme is now at a critical stage, as such government and pension stakeholders, particularly PFAs that have been passing the buck and referring these groups of retirees to PenCom instead of taking steps to address the issue; should as a matter of urgency sponsor a Bill in the National Assembly to amend relevant aspects of the Pension Reform Act, 2014 to ensure that retirees suffering from permanent disabilities, terminal and critical illnesses are paid the balance in their RSAs in full to enable them elongate their life spans and or enjoy life while they are still alive.

HE NPF Microfinance bank said it is willing to offer more lending opportunities to Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s) in the country at a single interest rate to boost their operations.

The bank said it is currently working out modalities to spread its services across the country with the aim to accommodate many of the SME’s that requires funding.

To achieve this, the bank has formally applied to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for approval to open more branches in line with its penetration plan.

Speaking at the opening of its ultra modern branch in Kaduna, the Inspector General of Police Solomon Arase said the bank already has 19 branches connected online real time nationwide and has applied for CBN approval of additional 18 branches.

Arase who was represented by D’ Azumi Doma Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) in-charge of Finance and Administration Police Force Headquarters Abuja assured of the bank’s commitment to support governments efforts to promote financial inclusion.

The IGP also noted that branch network spread of the bank aims towards reaching the various police men and women working at different states of the country as well as the civilian population.

“The turnout at the commissioning is very impressive and a very good indication of the acceptance the bank has gained over its 23 years of service to the active poor and the men and officers of the Police Force” Arase remarked.

Also, the bank’s Chairman of

board of Directors Mr. Azubuko Joel Udah (DIG Rtd) in his address promised that the bank will continue to increase the frontiers of Microfinance banking in Nigeria and assured that the bank is a safe haven for the money of the officers and men of the Force and the general public.

He said the bank is manned by a strong board that is alive to its responsibilities with diverse experience in various fields of endeavour. He solicited for more patronage from the Police and the public as the bank maintains various accounts suitable for different purposes.

Conducive environment According to him, the bank has secured various intervention funds from CBN and Bank of Industry (BoI) which it lends at a single interest rate to the public and has also played active role in sustaining a lot of SMEs. The Emir of Zazzau who was represented by Alhaji Yusufu Ladan, Dan Iyan Zazzau,District head Kabala area, Kaduna promised to ensure that the bank is provided with a conducive environment to render services to the people of his emirate and the Kaduna as a hub of business activity in the North. Managing Director of the bank, Mr. Akin Lawal urged all Policemen to transfer their salary accounts to the bank so that they can benefit from their cheap loans.

The NPF Microfinance Bank Plc has continued to be a good flagship of all Police investment outfits with very well trained staff and bespoke service delivery to their various customers, he said.

From left, Communications Manager, Airtel, Erhumu Bayagbon; Assistant Manager, E-commerce & Digital Services, Airtel, Adedeji Ayobola; blogger, Olori Supergal and Wura Alake of Airtel's PR team at the media lounge where the telecoms company hosted bloggers during the 2016 Social Media Week Lagos.

28 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016

We’ll soon get it right, Efugh begs Heartland fans

H

eartland captain Chinedu Efugh has urged the fans of ‘The Naze Millionaires’ to be patient with the team after they failed to win a game in the first three games of the season.

Heartland have since fired coach Berthel Orji and replaced him with Alphonsus Dike.

The Jos-born player said the Owerri club will get it right soon.

“We were so unlucky to lose to Abia Warriors. We wasted many scoring chances while they utilised the only chance they had,” said Efugh, who called off a transfer to neigbours Enyimba to stay put at Heartland for another season. “I am calling on our fans to bear with us and be patient as we will soon get it right.”

Toro condemns Oliseh’s resignation

BY SOLOMON NWOKE

F

ORMER Secretary General of the Nigeria Football Association, Sani Ahmed Toro has condemned Sunday Oliseh’s resignation saying ‘time was bad for his resignation’.

Oliseh resigned as Super Eagles coach last Friday after he claimed that he did not enjoy the right support from the Nigeria Football Federation.

“Time was bad for Oliseh’s resignation. I’m surprised that Oliseh took that decision. My only regret was the ‘timing’. I thought that since the crises were

*Hails NFF on Siasia, Amuneke over, he would have now response in drafting of the Under concentrated on his job to save -23 coach, Samson Siasia and the country from Emmanuel Amuneke embarrassment. of the Flying Eagles to If Nigeria fails to replace Oliseh. He qualify for next year’s however, expressed African Cup of worries over Siasia’s Nations, it ‘ll be a big ability to combine disaster. When we coaching of the Super crashed out of CHAN, Eagles and the that would have been Olympic team at the the right time for him same time. to resign, but he didn’t.

He said, “I’m happy It’s so bad. the NFF quickly He commended the drafted coach Siasia Ahmed Toro NFF for their quick to replace Oliseh

along side Amuneke because time is not on our side regarding the crucial match against Egypt which is less than a month. The problem we have is that at the moment we don’t have any other coach better than Siasia. He also has the Olympics preparation around the corner, so you can see that the man is going to divide himself.”

As for the match against Egypt, Toro said the Eagles can beat them here. He added that it however, depends on the goal margin saying that if the goal margin here is not much, the Egyptians would mobilize total support for the Pharaohs in Cairo to turn the table.

Amaefule backs Abia Warriors to fight for League title

N

igeria U-23 international Chizoba Amaefule has backed league leaders Abia Warriors to contend for this season’s championship. Abia Warriors lead the standings with seven points from three matches.

Former Al Markhiya of Qatar defender Amaefule said the Umuahia club have the quality on the bench and on the pitch to challenge for the league crown this season.

“I signed a year’s deal with Abia Warriors, I had offers from other teams, but I chose Abia Warriors because they are a team that have quality and are capable of winning their first league crown.

Enyimba nightmare over — Anyansi

C

hairman of Enyimba FC, Felix Anyansi Agwu has stressed that the People’s Elephants’ 2-0 win over Vipers

SC which confirmed their place in the first round of the CAF Champions League has opened the way for more impressive results in the NPFL and subsequent matches in the continental competition.

Enyimba have found goals scoring difficult since the beginning of the season having lost three games out of the four competitive matches played this season thus far but they found their magic wand at Ugandan outfit with Mfon Udoh’s brace sending them to the first round 2-1 of the competition.

And Anyansi pointed out that the victory in the CAF Champions League has ushered a new lease of life and that they are hosting Ikorodu United today in the Nigeria topflight with a renewed vigour and expectation that they are commencing the successful defence of the league title with a win.

C M Y K

•Super Eagles

‘Eagles are 100% focused on Egypt clash’ N

FF technical committee head, Barr Chris Green has said the body has outlived the Sunday Oliseh saga and is 100% focused on the 2017 AFCON double header qualifier against the Pharaohs of Egypt on March 25 and 29 respectively.

Oliseh quit his job as Super Eagles manager in an unsavoury manner barely a month to the side’s crucial Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) ties against group’s leaders, Egypt.

Although NFF has filled the gap with the recall of former manager, Samson Siasia, Emmanuel Amuneke, Salisu Yusuf and Alloy Agu to charge of the matches, Green said the committee will not allow itself to be distracted further from the fallout of Oliseh’s resignation but work hard to put every act

right towards winning both matches.

“Our focus right now is on the immediate two AFCON matches against Egypt as Sunday Oliseh is no more a distraction.

“At least, the people in the office can continue to take care of any issues concerning coach Sunday Oliseh.

“The technical committee has put behind us the Oliseh case,

ours is to put things right to ensure we get the desired results in the two matches.

“I must tell you we are wiser right now and I believe we have learnt our lesson from Oliseh’s tenure.

“I’m not making excuses for myself though I was not the chairman of technical then but we jointly agreed to hire him so we take responsibility.

“I think it’s just fair and proper

for people to allow the technical committee do what is right in their work.

“First and foremost, Oliseh is the coach of the federation and cannot afford to insult or paint the body in bad light.

“Oliseh was praised to high heaven upon appointment in good fate and equally nicknamed the ‘Pep Guardiola’ of Africa to challenge him achieve the feat of the coach.

Pharaohs to arrive Nigeria March 22 T

HE Pharaohs of Egypt will be arri ving Nigeria on Tuesday, March 22 for thei r 2017 African Cup of Nations clas h against the Super Eagles. Egypt will arri ve three days before they face the Super Eagles at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium which will give them two days to acclimatise to the turf.

According to fillers from the cam p of the

Pharaohs, the Egyptian delegation will on March 19 before flying to Kad arrive Cairo una on March 22. The Egyptian football author ities are also waiting for landing permit from the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). Egy pt are on top of the group with maximum six poin ts after beating Tanzania at home and Chad away whi are second with four points after a win le Nigeria and a draw.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016 — 29

NOGIG 2016: Chevron, NCDMB in titanic battle

Wenger says Arsenal will ‘fight for the title’ A

RSENAL won’t give up in the race for the Premier League title, according to Arsene Wenger.

The Gunners are now five points adrift of leaders Leicester and three behind arch-rivals Tottenham following their 3-2 loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.

With eleven matches left in the league, Wenger is hoping a positive atmosphere will give his side every chance of lifting the Premier League title come the end of the season. “We want to transform negatives into positives to create more

L

IVERPOOL midfielder Lucas Leiva will miss the Premier League game against Manchester City after sustaining a muscular injury in Sunday’s League Cup final defeat by the same opponents, manager Jurgen Klopp said yesterday.

Liverpool lost in a shootout at Wembley with the match ending 1-1 after extra time and Klopp wants his players to move on quickly.

“We can’t change what happened on Sunday by winning on Wednesday (today) but we have to show that we are ready again,” the German told reporters ahead of the game at Anfield on Wednesday.

•Appoints Paul Bassey Interim boss

BY TOM MOSES

F

OLLOWING the ouster of Federation Cup title holders, Akwa United from the CAF Confederation Cup by Vita Club of the Republic of Congo, Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom has sacked the board and management of the club.

The defeat of Akwa United last weekend at the Nest of Champions, Uyo, it was gathered, did not go down well with Governor Emmanuel hence, the sack of the former board and management which was headed by Mr. Nse Ube. A statement endorsed by the state’s Information Commissioner, Mr Aniekan Umana made available to Sports Vanguard in Uyo yesterday also indicated that Governor Emmanuel has appointed veteran Sports journalist and FIFA/ CAF Match Commissioner, Mr. Paul Bassey as the head of the three months interim board.

It commended the previous board for its efforts that led to the club winning its first major domestic trophy and qualifying to represent the country in the continent.

EPL MATCHES TODAY v v v v v

•Lucas

T

•Rashford

Swansea Newcastle Tottenham Man City Watford

8:45pm 8:45pm 8:45pm 9:00pm 9:00pm

•Danny Rose

OTTENHAM Hotspur left back Danny Rose is hoping his winner in Sunday’s 2-1 win over Swansea City can be a “pivotal moment” in the North London side’s bid to end their 55-year wait for the league title.

Rose’s 77th-minute strike completed the comeback, after Nacer Chadli cancelled out Alberto Paloschi’s opener, keeping Spurs two points behind leaders Leicester City with 11 games remaining.

“Come the end of the season I hope me scoring against Swansea can be a pivotal moment for Tottenham,” Rose told British media.

StarTimes to sponsor 3 subscribers to NBA games

A

s the NBA All-Access tour 2016 begins, StarTimes says it will sponsor three subscribers to the United States of America, USA to watch the NBA games.

The program tagged; 2016 StarTimes NBA All - Access Tour 2016 an annual program which started off with an online competition beginning from 25th February through March, 2016 will produce three lucky StarTimes subscribers as winners of the allexpense-paid one-week trips to Los Angeles, California, USA to watch and experience American basketball superstars live in action.

While announcing the annual flagoff, Marketing Director, Mr. Oludare Kafar, said the All-Access Tour was designed in collaboration with the

CTION continues today at both Chevron Recreation Centre, Gbagada and Ikoyi Club 1938 venues of events of the 2016 Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry Games with teams squaring up for the basketball event.

After a blistering start to the games, Chevron Basketball team that defeated Shell 25-20 in their opening match will today take on their NCDMB counterparts in a decisive encounter.

Total will square up against Shell while NNPC and ExxonMobil will test their might in the last game of the day.

All the matches will hold at the Chevrom Recreation Centre, Gbagada.

In the opening matches, Total defeated NCDMB 26-17, while ExxonMobil defeated NLNG 29-25.

Other events taking place at the Gbagada centre include chess and scrabble. Events at Ikoyi Club 1938 include squash, table tennis, tennis among others. The games rounds off on Saturday at the Teslim Balogun stadium, Surulere.

GTBank Lagos Principals Cup 2016:

Swansea winner can be pivotal – Rose

Gov. Emmanuel sacks Akwa United FC Board

Arsenal Stoke City West Ham Liverpool Man Utd

Wenger

Injury rules Lucas out of City tie

Mata urges Rashford to stay grounded M anchester United star Juan Mata has urged teenage sensation Marcus Rashford to keep his feet on the ground after taking the football world by storm last week.

Rashford scored a brace as a depleted United side stunned Premier League title hopefuls Arsenal 3-2 at Old Trafford on Sunday.

The 18-year-old’s exploits came just days after announcing himself with a double against Midtjylland in the Europa League.

Comparisons to past greats have since followed and Mata has told the talented striker to stay grounded.

A

solidarity. We play to fight for the title,” the Frenchman told reporters.

“This club is built on values and what we want to do is respect them. We want to build solidarity every day.

“We want to give our best until the end of the season.”

The Gunners boss thinks the highintensity clash against Barcelona had a bearing on the result against Louis van Gaal’s side. “We gave a lot against Barcelona and that certainly had an impact on our belief against Manchester United,” said the 66-year-old.

NBA TV to reward basketball-loving StarTimes subscribers with a most coveted opportunity to meet their heroes and superstars in person and fulfill their dreams of experiencing basketball in its full glamour at the world’s biggest platform.

“This basketball trivia game is our response to the demand of our subscribers for more exciting sporting initiatives and everyone can participate in the program; To be a winner, get a StarTimes decoder if you don’t have it already. Like StarTimes facebook page, post your pictures and link to uploaded personal Youtube video showing some basketball skills on StarTimes website and get your friends and families to like the video. Top 10 finalists will be selected and 3 winners will emerge based on superior skills and highest likes.”

Birrel Avenue College get tough draw

D

EFENDING champions of the GTBank Lagos Principals Cup (boys category), Birrel Avenue College, Sabo were yesterday drawn in Group A, along side Okemagba High School, Muslim Senior College and Oduduwa Senior Secondary School.

The draw for the 7th edition of the GTBank sponsored tournament held yesterday at the corporate headquarters of the bank in Victoria Island Lagos.

In Group B, Keke High School will battle it out with King Ado Grammar School, Cardoso Senior Secondary School and Ikotun High School.

Group C has Dairy Farm Secondary School, Iba Housing Estate Secondary School, Keme Balogun Secondary School and State Senior High School, Oyewole while Group D will feature the likes of Oshodi Senior Secondary School, Ejigbo Senior Secondary School, Jubilee Senior Grammar and Fasil Oba Secondary School Iwaya.

In the girls category, defending champions, Ikotun Senior High School is in Group D alongside CMS Girls Secondary School, Bariga, Ikorodu Senior High School and Isolo Senior Secondary Secondary School.

Group A has Alakoto Senior Secondary School, Oriwu Senior Model, Euba Senior Secondary School and Isale Eko Secondary School. Government Senior College, Agege, Randle Senior High School, Ajeromi Ifelodun Senior Secondary School and Tin Can Island Secondary School are in Group B while Kuje Senior High School, Okemagba High School, Keke Senior High School and Sanya Senior Grammar School make up Group C. Dates for the commencement of the competition will be announced later.

C M Y K

30—VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016

SOCIAL MEDIA WEEK:

Digital investment, key to Nigeria’s economy — Accenture Boss

Be responsible citizens online, Panel tasks new media professionals

PAGE 31

PAGE 31

•Senate President, Bukola Saraki

•ISPON President, Pius Okigbo Jr

Software practitioners carpet Senate on termination of TSA contract • Say indigenous software, alternative to oil

By Emeka Aginam

N

IGERIAN Information, IT, practitioners have

carpeted the Senate over its recommendation for the termination of Treasury Single Account, TSA contract, saying it will kill local efforts and capacity.

According to them, the termination of the contract will derail the TSA operation, undermine the anticorruption stance of the current administration, discourage local IT innovation and kill local content initiative of the Federal Government.

President of the Information Technology Systems and Security Professionals, ITSSP, Mr. Rogba Adeoye said that calling for the termination of the contract at this period is C M Y K

not right, as it will derail several government operations.

ITSSP is a security group of the Nigeria Computer Society, NCS. According to Adeoye, the local software, Remita which powers the TSA operation should be encouraged and promoted to other countries to earn Nigeria foreign exchange.

He said that “the review as related to the chargeable cost should not be in retrospect as this discourages local IT innovation and empowerment since the contract offers future renegotiations.

He equally berated the senate on review of the cost of the software and charges, saying that “the professional charges derived through CPN Acts of 1993 as gazetted was never considered in arriving at the Committee’s

costing and review of charges of Remita per transaction."

“This is our stand as regards indigenous software product; that the contract should not be terminated but be allowed to stay as one of IT Products to enhance good

The Senate had asked the apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to immediately terminate the 2013 contract with Systemspecs on TSA

Governance, service delivery and transparency” he added.

Also, ISPON President, Pius Okigbo, Jr, said that termination of TSA contract will not in any way promote or encourage local capacity, adding that “Systemspecs did not do anything wrong. I do not see the reason why the government will terminate the contract. Software industry represents a sector of immense opportunity, massive employment potential, an industry endowed with creativity and technological innovation, wealth creation, talent development and much more."

Recall that the Senate at the weekend had asked the apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to immediately terminate the 2013 contract with Systemspecs on

Treasury Single Account (TSA).

It also directed that the Treasury Single Account (TSA) transaction fee of one percent for e- collection/ transfer be disregarded.

The development has irked many local software makers who reacted at the weekend during the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria, ISPON, President Dinner 2016.

Besides the senate recommendation, the group also looked at other national issues including local content, indigenous software among others.

They were unanimous in their conclusion that to overcome the negative impact of declining Nigerian crude oil prices at the international market, Indigenous software could provide a better alternative.

Indigenous knowledge Former president of ISPON, Mr Chris Uwaje, said that Oil and Gas sector has failed to deliver the required value to develop the nation in the last 50 years, and so challenged the government to resort to indigenous knowledge and software and see if the economy would not stand strong as the mainstay of African continent. “ If we must recover lost grounds of our national development and surmount the challenges of the emerging information society, then indigenous Software is the reliable answer and ultimate solution”, Uwaje noted.

Earlier in his remarks, the Acting Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, Dr. Vincent Olatunji admitted that the country cannot continue to rely on oil for foreign earning.

Olatunji believed that indigenous software development is the good choice for Nigeria, but noted that there was need for partnerships between the government and the private sector.

VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016—31

Nigeria, Ireland to strengthen ties via technology transfer

By Emmanuel Elebeke

T

HE Republic of Ireland has joined hands with the Nigerian Government to use technology transfer actualize speedy development in Nigeria.

The two countries struck the deal when the Minister of Science and Technology, Mr. Ogbonnaya Onu hosted the Irish ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Sean Hoy, in his Abuja office recently.

Hoy said the deal was possible considering the cordial relationship that has existed between both countries since the

The panel in session

SOCIAL MEDIA WEEK:

Be responsible citizens online, panel tasks new media professionals

By Prince Osuagwu

T

HE Nigerian communications Commission, Ncc, last week, assembled a group of technocrats and professionals from the media, legal, public relations disciplines to X-ray and highlight very important aspects of the newly promulgated Cybercrime Act, in order to guide the teeming population of youths and other citizens who literarily live on the net, on how to live a purposeful life online.

The commission made a perfect hit of that attempt, riding on the back of fast growing gathering of the net citizens in Lagos, tagged Social Media Week, which ended last week.

The group of technocrats, including Messrs.

Nnamdi Nwokike, Director, Corporate Planning and Strategy, NCC; Mr Taiwo Obe, Founder and Director, Journalism Clinic; Mr Mideno Bayagbon, Editor, Vanguard Newspapers; Basorun Adetunji, New Media and Information Security, NCC; Folorunso Mesele, Information Technology, NCC; and Mrs. Afure Iloka, Legal and Regulatory, NCC, raised some fears that the principle of press freedom and free speech were almost being abused in the cyberspace where they are sometimes being extremely applied to inflict injury to others.

However, the discussants challenged the netizens to acquaint themselves with the contents of the Act in order to be properly guided in their cyber operations. The event began with a presentation from the Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Prof .Umar Danbatta, bordering on “what has the new media got to do with the Cybercrime Act”.

Freedom of expression The EVC, represented by Director Public Affairs, Mr Tony Ojobo, observed that “the Cybercrime Act has become law since May last year; it was therefore imperative for New Media professionals to familiarise themselves with the contents of the law as it affects their practice.

Pointing to various sections of the Act, he explained that the Act does not encumber freedom of expression as erroneously believed but instead it seeks to protect those whose freedom may be damaged by the freedom freely expressed by others.

For instance, Section 24 of the Act, Danbatta pointed out, deals with Cyber stalking and prescribes punishment for “Any person who knowingly or intentionally sends a message or other matter by means of computer system or network “ which, among others, “he knows to be false, for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation , enmity, hatred, ill will or needless anxiety to another or cause such C M Y K

message to be sent: Commits an offence under this Act and shall be liable on conviction to a fine of not more than N7, 000, 000. 00 or imprisonment for a term of not more than 3 years or to both such fine and imprisonment.”

Discussing Danbatta’s presentation, panel agreed on the following: That although there is press freedom, such freedom must be exercised with responsibility; that the things new media practitioners should understand that in carrying out their profession others can very badly get hurt and distressed in life, hence the need to apply caution; that media practitioners should desist from racist and xenophobic practices which include tribal and religious profiling; that there is the need to be informed that computer has gone beyond that mainframe in the office, the desktop or the laptop which can send messages, to include the small handheld devices that are quite pervasive nowadays; that the understanding of the fact that the Act deals copiously with child pornography and quite explicit on the fact that you do not need to be the originator of content before committing an infraction is paramount; that there is the need to study the

Act to know what constitutes financial crimes in electronic transactions.

The high point of this conclusion was when one blogger who revealed he was one of the first victims of the Act indicted even lawyers of ignorance to the Act. The blogger who said he spent some weeks in Ikoyi prisons while waiting to perfect his bail, threw the gathering into uncontrollable laughter when he revealed that his lawyers were still arguing over the existence of the Act even as he was being whisked away to detention.

Although the NCC could enjoy some satisfaction and a sense of fulfilment from the confessions of some of the key participants that they had never heard or seen the Act before the NCC Session at the Social Media Week, there were quite a few people like Omoyole Sowore of Sahara Reporters and Gbenga Sesan of Paradigm Initiative Nigeria who were unhappy with the content as it could affect new media practice, while some saw it as the handwork of some politicians who do not want their corrupt lifestyle to be reported.

Digital investment, key to Nigeria’s economy — Accenture Boss

By Laju Iren

C

OUNTRY Manager for Accenture Nigeria, Mr. Niyi Yusuf, has said that raising digital investments is key to making the Nigerian economy more productive.

Yusuf said this while highlighting the results of the recent Accenture Strategy research, which indicated that high-performing economies could realize better returns from the optimal combination of investments in digital skills, digital technologies and digital accelerators Findings showed that the smarter use of digital skills, technologies and other assets could boost productivity and generate US$2 trillion of additional economic output by 2020. According to the research, digital investments can act as a growth multiplier in the coming years.

“Take the United States where adjustments in investments in digital skills, digital technologies and digital accelerators in line with our calculations could see the nation increase its gross domestic product by 2.1 percent—which equates to US$421 billion in 2020,” it noted.

Findings also showed how adjusting three levers—digital skills, digital technologies and digital accelerators—can enhance overall digital intensity and act as a growth multiplier.

In his explanation of the three levers, which consist of a collection of broad and specific indicators, Mr. Yusuf said: “Digi-

tal skills measures elements such as the information, communications and technology expertise in the work force or the use of digital to facilitate remote working. Digital technologies include mobile connectivity and the economy’s capacity to make use of the industrial Internet. Finally, digital accelerators include wide-ranging parameters such as making use of the cloud or access to finance or the economy’s regulatory burden.”

pre-independence era. “The trade figure between Nigeria and Ireland last year was about 270million Euro, but we are hoping that it is going to increase by the end of this year. In the trade mission we had in December, over 50m Euro contract was signed in that mission. So the relationship is going positively all the time.’’

Hoy, who emphasized the importance of technology to Nigeria’s development said Ireland had developed a very good online education and has teachers with good online certificates who can train people here in Nigeria. “The relationship between the ministry and Ireland is that we have to look for the opportunity to use tech for the development of Nigeria.

Technology transfer ‘‘We are able to say that we are the only English speaking country in Euro with largest concentration of ICT companies in Euro,’’ he added. On his part, the Minister said Nigeria would partner with Ireland on technology transfer to ensure actualization of President Buhari’s Change agenda. He called on the Irish envoy to strength their relationship Nigeria, adding that the ministry is working very hard to close technology gaps in the country and urged Irish companies to come into Nigeria. ‘‘We commend Irish missionaries who came to Nigeria to establish schools where many of our leaders here benefitted from. It is good that we should talk about emphasis you place on education with good technology which helped you fight and defeat poverty. ‘‘This is exactly what we want to do here. The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is poised at creating jobs and grow the economy, in addition to securing the nation and making sure that the rule of law is observed,’’ he added.

Expert cautions telecoms engineers on site safety

By Laju Iren

S

TATISTICS show that about 100 people die every day as a result of falls from elevated positions. About one-third of work hazards in Lagos are related to ladder accidents, many of which are connected to the telecommunications sector.

It is as a result of this startling statistics that Business Development Manager, West Africa Height Safety Ltd , Mr Andre Van Dyk, has hammered on telecommunications giants on the need to enforce safety in the work place.

He also called on organisations to train their workers consistently on how

to avoid such hazards. His words: “Too often, body recoveries are being done at various sites because of falls that could have been avoided if such organisations had paid attention to training and retraining of staff in the skill of mounting elevated positions.”

Van Dyk further stated that the although the concept of Heightsafety is relatively new, the company has trained over 20,000 people in the last five years in line with global standards.

The company is a member of Institute of Safety Professionals of Nigeria, Services Education Training Authority, SETA, Institute of Working for Heights , IWHS, among others.

32— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016 YOUR LUCK TODAY

LEISURE

By Joshua Adeyemo Phone 08056180139

VIRGO: Romantic attractions through your career/business lines may become a little stronger than before. But your best bet now is to utilize your closeness to influential people to better your career line.

LIBRA: Although others may try to oppose your brilliant ideas it indicated that you will laugh last today, especially if you refuse to be intimidated. Love and listen to your spouse.

SCORPIO: The language that will appeal to you more today is hard work, and whoever is coming with idea of joining the band wagon of merry making may be talking to the wrong channel. Watch your health.

SAGITTARIUS: Young-at-heart among you are in for an exciting day when both excitement and satisfaction can go together. Enterprising business personalities among you will smile. Take your health seriously.

CAPRICORN: Naturally you are the ambitious type and good opportunity to exhibit your innate ability will come your way. Please try not to neglect your domestic responsibilities; be more family minded.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Limiting Your Expectation

By Richard Eromosele

Rsted

ECENTLY, a journalist acme and co wanted to know from me what my expectation is concerning the new government. My answer simply is:

I expect nothing special. Before you crucify me, let me ask you. Haven’t we been having new governments

TERROR MUDA

in Nigeria? Government come and go but our problems don’t just remain, they get bigger and bigger.

in “Scavenger Elite”

Over the years, I have learned not to expect much from government as well as individuals. My policy is: blessed is he that expects nothing for he shall not be disappointed.

By Lanre Kehinde

AQUARIUS: Opportunity to consolidate on progress made yesterday will come. This is a good day to make practical your new ideas at work. Lovers will smile. New attractions while on the move indicated.

PISCES: Although tomorrow will prove more successful for you, here is a day you can enhance your financial prospects through practical and ambitious approach from you.

Be more family minded.

ARIES: If you are already committed emotionally, it is better you discourage new romantic attractions while on the move or else you find yourself at cross roads sooner than you can imagine.

TAURUS: Whatever happens success will crown your efforts today. Yet you will need to keep both yours and other people secrets because of another day. Utilize your new ideas and take good advice.

KAPTAIN AFRIKA

in “HEY’

By Andy Akman

GEMINI: Your close friends and other influential personalities are willing to assist you to make it a successful day.

You are becoming more irresistible to the members of your opposite sex. Be more loving.

CANCER: Conjunction between the Sun and Mercury in your Star Sign will enhance your brilliance to the betterment of your cause. Back your hopes and wishes along your career line with practical approach.

LEO: This is a good day to seek good advice from professionals, especially if what at hand is legal related. Both your present and immediate future should be taken more seriously.

ASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLING Send yyour our dat tr ological datee and place of bir th ttoo the As Astr trological Counselling, PP.M.B .M.B 1100 00 7, Apapa, Lagos 007, BASIC CHARACTERISTICS OF CAPRICORN RULER = AMBITIOUS SATURN-THE LAW. QUALITY = CARDINAL. ELEMENT = EARTH. SYMBOL = THE GLORIOUS MONTAIN GOAT. GROUP = FEMININE. ZODIACAL POSITION = THE 10TH. Because they rarely day dream, Capricorns are set of practical people. This is because Capricorn is ruled by Saturn - the planet of Career, material things and sceptics. Although, the spirit of pessimism often times tempt the Capricorns, to succeed they will need to develop strong will that is indispensable to achievements of higher order because, series of challenges will come his/her way before he/she finally makes it to the top. Most Capricorns are forced to shoulder many responsibilities early in life.

Career building comes first in Capricorn’s priority lists which often leads to enviable Career achievements that guarantee recognition. And another name for Capricorn is PATIENCE. Yet, Capricorn can appear mean in the business circle. And He/She will tell you that seriousness and business are synonymous. Above all, Capricorn is endowed with leadership capacity.

Capricorn ‘s quality is Cardinal, element is the Earth.

The Cardinal aspect makes a natural leader with strong ability for hard work. Natives of Cardinal signs crave for action and strongly desire prominence and often times make success of their love of action and desire for importance through relentless efforts.

The earthly connection with Capricorn further confirms innate ability for hard work and practicality in your nature. Saturn is the planet of hard task, delay, depression, frustration but reward after so much struggles.

Being a difficult teacher, Saturn usually takes its natives through many different tasks, challenges and delay.

All these are meant to teach Capricorn born person the virtues of patience and hard work. However, Saturn usually brings its natives recognition and reward. However, the cautious side of Saturn always manifest in all Capricorns and it is needless to say that they are usually cautious type of people but it is necessary for them to watch that side of their characteristics as they often push their cautious side too far and most of the time it results to black mood.

VIRGINIA

HOME & ABROAD

dadadekola@yahoo.com

By Lawrence Akapa

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016—33

Delta communities issue 30-day ultimatum to NPDC Threaten to withdraw workers from flow stations

By Ochuko Akuopha

O

L E H — H O S T communities to Nigeria Petroleum Development Company, NPDC, in Oil Mining Lease, OML 30, Delta State, have issued a 30-day ultimatum to the company to meet their demands or risk the withdrawal of their workers from the company’s flow stations in their domains.

Leadership of the communities, under the aegis of Forum of Communities’ Executives of Flow Stations in OML 30, in a letter addressed to NPDC’s Managing Director, said the company had reneged on its promise to execute legacy projects in all communities where its operations cover “even before the signing of the GMOU.” The letter by the forum’s Chairman, Dr. David Edegware, listed other grievances of the communities to include the non-renewal of expired servicing contracts, reversal of contractors mark up from 15 per cent to 20 per cent, unnecessary delay of contractors’ invoices for payments and loss of invoices by various departments of the company, non-payment of outstanding scholarship to beneficiaries and irregular payments to field workers.

Decrying what it described as the continuous deceptive attitude of the company towards oil bearing communities, the letter said: “Sequel to these painful catalogues of disservice to the host communities which was duly followed by formal demand correspondence but were ignored and remained unattended to even up till this moment.

“It was one of the reasons why we withdrew our workers sometime in October, 2015 and disrupted production to seek due attention. However, the intervention of the Commanding Officer of 222 Battalion,Nigerian Army, who signed surety on behalf of NPDC to address the various issues raised within a fortnight, was done in bad faith as such promises were never met.

“We are here again going back to the drawing board with another warning to meet these promises. For all intent and purposes, NPDC is not here to salvage oil production as it has not lived up to expectations of the host communities going by their performance so far.”

C M Y K

Mukoro Mowoe family in Sapele raises alarm over activities of land grabber

By Godwin Oghre

S

APELE —The family of late Chief Umukoro Oghenemowho, popularly called Chief Mukoro Mowoe, has raised alarm over what it described as forceful and unlawful seizing of its over five acres of land, situate at the Sapele toll gate, which is part of an expanse of land measuring 50.952 hectares, called Okufuoma, in OkirighwreSapele, Delta State.

The land was bequeathed to the family by their father, late Chief Mukoro Mowoe.

Raising the alarm through their lawyer, Mr Humphrey Mowoe, and spokesman, Pa Joseph Mowoe, they said: “On January 11, 2015, a member of Delta State House of Assembly trespassed on the said piece of land and completely broke down our late father’s camp (house) which he built in the 40s, and which was one of the existing legacies he bequeathed to us.

“From that moment, he had forcefully taken possession of the land and has since that time, sublet it to the Delta State Government, and the government is currently using it as a site in the ongoing dual road project in Sapele.”

Meanwhile, when this reporter visited the site to ascertain the position of things, he was given a hot chase by five persons suspected to be thugs, who positioned themselves in strategic positions on the land.

They chased this reporter with an ash colour Audi 80 car until he escaped through the Sapele police station.

Police decline to intervene

A septuagenarian member of the family, Pa Alfred Mowoe, who arrived earlier at the police station and had sought the intervention of the police in Sapele Divisional Police headquarters was told by the DPO, Mr M. Gado, to go back, saying that the matter was a civil one, urging the family to approach the law court for reprieve. When this reporter contacted the DPO, he maintained the same position.

Vanguard investigation revealed that the property is about five acres, and is part of 50.952 hecters, about 125.9 acres of land, all of which is covered by survey plan no. SA.C 74 dated 12/8/65 (Delta Province, Urhobo Division) and another recent survey plan number DD/ DT/029B/05, dated 6/2/2005 and two purchase agreements which formalized the two purchases made at two separate times, dated March 5, 1941 and February 7, 1942 respectively.

Meantime, Pa Alfred Mowoe has called on the current

NDE&P targets $400m for capacity expansion

By Nkiruka Nnorom

N

The land allegedly seized by the politician. leadership of the Urhobo Progress Union to prevail on the Itsekiri born billionaire politician to stop further assault on prominent members of the family.

Court processes

In the native court in 1939, the Amukpe community had laid claim to the Okufuoma land, the court ruled in favour of Nmasimone Akpoisi, saying: “Nmasimone is the absolute owner of the land of Okufuoma as against the plaintiff claim that it belonged to the Amukpe community.

"The lands in Amukpe belong to the community but individuals or family have absolute and inalienable right over the portion or village they occupy.”

Chief Mukoro Mowoe, who bought the land from the Akpoisi family, was then vindicated.

Again, in 1975, the Amukpe people took the Mowoes to court to reclaim the land in suit number S/44/75. The case was struck out in 1979, because all those who represented Amukpe in the case had died, and in 1984, when the Amukpe people again went to court against the Mowoe in suit number S/40/84, the court ruled that “Facts are overwhelmingly in favour of the defendants (Mowoes) and it is unnecessary to go further into legal technicalities. The plaintiffs (Amukpe people) case is and hereby dismissed.”

In 2004, when the Akpoisi family reportedly turned around and began to encroach on the same land they had sold to the Mowoes, the later dragged them to court. In the suit no. S/41/2004, the court ruled in favour of the plaintiffs (Mowoes) as follows: “The court hereby declares that the plaintiffs (Mowoes) are entitled to a Certificate of Occupancy (CofO) over that piece of land situate at Okufuoma, verged pink on plan number DD/DT/ 209B/05 and measuring 50.952 Hectares.”

Tenant commits suicide

The caretaker of the property, before it was broken down, Mr Joe Anuta, told this reporter that there were seven tenants in the property, adding: “When the politician started threatening,

Pa Alfred Mowoe one of us, the oldest tenant committed suicide on hearing that the building would soon be demolished. Now the building has actually been demolished. His corpse was taken to somewhere in Imo State where he hailed from and where he has since been buried by his family.”

IGER Delta Exploration and Production Plc, an indigenous oil and gas company, yesterday, unveiled plans to raise $400 million to support its operations and expand production capacity.

Managing Director/CEO, Dr. Layi Fatona, at analysts’ forum and conference in Lagos, said the company intended to raise the capital in tranches.

He noted that the company had already started raising the first tranche of $100 million from local institutional investors and would conclude the offer in the next couple weeks, while the remaining $300 million, which will be by way of public offer, will commence soon after the first tranche.

According to him, the fund raising will enable the company to reposition its operations by increasing its refining capacity from 1,000 barrel per day to 5,000 million barrels per day.

It will also enable the company acquire new assets and capitalize on its gas producing ability.

Reactions

Reacting to the incident, the septuagenarian spokesman of Sapele Okpe community, Dr Vincent Ekariko, who is not apparently happy with the development, said: “It is very unfortunate that some little boy, because they have money, think they can oppress the elders.

"Who does not know Mukoro Mowoe in the whole of the state?

Everyone knows that, that the land called Okufuoma belongs to him.

He has a camp there.”

A youth leader in the area, Felix Oborodowan, said: “Those who are grabbing land in Sapele and environs are not Sapele Okpe people or youths. We do not fight or wage war against ourselves or strangers. We are peaceful people.

We want development in Sapele and environs.”

The politician denies allegation

Contacted, the politician denied the allegation of forcefully seizing the said piece of land, saying: “That information (that he seized the land by force) is not true. I bought the land and I know who I bought it from. I have all my documents intact. I can present the documents anytime any day anywhere. If they (the Mukoro Mowoes) say they bought the land, then it means that I bought it before them, therefore, the land is mine.”

Delta lawmaker assures Aniocha North of quality representation

M

E M B E R representing Aniocha North state constituency in the Delta State House of Assembly, Emeka Nwaobi, has pledged to explore every available opportunity to ensure that he delivers quality representation to the people of Aniocha North.

Nwaobi made the pledge during a brief reception organized to celebrate his Court of Appeal victory, at the residence of Chief Nkem Okwuofu (AguNwanyi), by some eminent political statesmen and opinion leaders from Aniocha North and the state.

Expressing gratitude to the people of Aniocha North for steadfastly supporting him with prayers and goodwill, Nwaobi assured his constituents that the battle to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people will now be intensified.

34—Vanguard, WEDNSDAY, MARCH 2, 2016

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016 — 35

I'll resign if ... — KOGI SPEAKER

By Ben Agande

A

BUJA—THE embattled speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Momoh Jimoh Lawal, yesterday said he was ready to resign if the right thing was done and his purported impeachment by five members out of 20 member house reversed.

He spoke on a day the National Chairman of the Peoples' Democratic Party, PDP, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, faulted the impeachment, saying it was illegal and could not stand.

Addressing journalists after members of the state House of Assembly met with Ali Modu Sheriff, the speaker said he was aware of agitation that the speaker and the governor should not come from the same senatorial district.

The speaker’s position which was conveyed by the majority Leader of the House, Kolawole Olusola Mathew, noted that “what is paramount to the House is to resolve the crisis before the Speaker can resign to pave way for the Kogi West to assume the position. If for any reason the House wants the Speaker to resign, he will resign but we should sit down and resolve the crisis in the House. We want a unified House.”

The Kogi State House of Assembly has been embroiled in crisis following the alleged impeachment of Lawal by five members last month.

The Majority Leader, however, told newsmen that Ali Modu Sheriff had urged the PDP lawmakers from the state to allow the status quo ante to remain.

He also enjoined them to work

together as members of one party while calling on them to sign an undertaking indicating their allegiance to the embattled Speaker.

Meanwhile, National Chairman of PDP, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, has assured the embattled speaker and PDP members of the State House of Assembly that the Party will

stand by them.

In a statement by the Special Assistant to the chairman on Media, Inuwa Bwala, the National Chairman, said the purported impeachment of Lawal could not stand, saying it was absurd that five out of 25 assembly members could claim to impeach a Speaker in an informal sitting in a private residence without even forming a quorum as required by the rules of the House.

VISIT: From left; Mrs. Maryam Bayi, Director Human Capital and Infrastructure Group, Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC; Ms. Ayodeji Sofolahan, Director, Project NCC; Inspector General of Police (IGP) Solomon Arase; Prof. Umar. G. Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman, NCC and Mr. Tony Ojobo, Director, Public Affairs, NCC during a courtesy visit to the IGP, yesterday.

US, partners donate 800,000 malaria test kits to 5 northern states, others

By Victoria Ojeme

K

EFFI—THE Federal Ministry of Health has

taken delivery of 800,000 malaria rapid diagnostic test RDT, kits for distribution to nine states of Nasarawa State,

Sokoto, Zamfara, Ebonyi, Abia, Delta, Enugu, Plateau and Yobe.

The kits provided by US-

‘Appointment of Gov Bello's aides strategic'

By Boluwaji Pbahopo

L

OKOJA—CHIEF Press Secretary, CPS, to Kogi State Governor, Kingsley Fanwo, yesterday said the aides appointed by Governor Yaya Bello’ were better placed to drive the government change agenda.

Fanwo, who spoke to newsmen

in Lokoja, said the appointment of Mrs. Ayoade Folashade as the Secretary to the State government was strategic in meeting the criteria of competence, gender and ethnic balance and a clear focus on the task of repositioning the state.

“The Governor of Kogi State is determined to reposition the state

as reflected in his recent appointment of the Secretary to the State Government and other advisers and assistants. The choice of Dr. Folashade Ayoade as SSG is to assure the womenfolk in the state of the readiness of the Governor to give them the chance to contribute to the advancement of the state."

20-yr-old Nigerian claims to be Irish, defrauds American woman of $64k

By Bartholomew Madukwe

A

N operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Isa Mohammed, yesterday told a Lagos High Court in Ikeja, how a 20-year-old man, Osaze Akhigbe, obtained $64,000 from an American, Jolanta Kasza, by claiming to be an Irish who wanted to marry her in Nigeria.

Akhigbe, who was arraigned alongside Ndekwu Jindu, 24, is facing 11-count charge on obtaining money by false pretence and conspiracy to obtain goods by false pretences.

The witness told the court that the victim thought she was dealing with an Irish man not knowing she was dealing with a fraudster and paid the said money through Western Union money transfer.

Led-in-Evidence by EFCC prosecutor, Mr A.A. Akoja, the witness explained that the 2nd defendant (Jindu), in his statement, agreed to have introduced himself as Daniel Coffman to the victim and did not collect $64,000 from her but collected $30,000 and four I-Pad. “Osaze said he has collected $50,000 from the complainant.

Osaze gave the name of one Kinsgley who helped him collect

part of the money as it became much and suspicious. There is also one Iyke who is a secondin-command of the syndicate. $30,000 was refunded. Osaze paid most of this money,” Mohammed said.

According to the charge, the duo and Hyke Akukwe (at large) on October 11, 2012, with intent to defraud obtained a white IPAD WI-FI 32GB valued at $599 from Kasza under the pretence that it was a gift for marriage engagement processes between one of them and her in Nigeria.

After listening to the witness, the trial judge, Justice Lawal Akapo, adjourned to March 1 for continuation of trial.

based diagnostic device makers, Alere, and Malaria No More, is part of two million kits the US government promised to provide in the next two years on the platform of the US President’s Malaria Initiative.

Speaking at the handover of the kits at a primary health centre in Keffi, Nasarawa State, the Director of Mission at the US Agency for International Development, Michael Harvey said the kits would help states’ efforts in treating malaria the right way.

“Our commitment to this partnership is to support the distribution of the test kits to all health facilities across Nasarawa and eight other states, along with the life-saving medicines regularly donated by the American people for timely malaria treatment.”

RDT kits are recommended for easy testing for malaria before treatment.

The National Malaria Eradication Programme, which backs RDTs, said testing before treating malaria would reduce wastage of ArtemisininCombination Therapy, the standard drugs for treating malaria.

Also speaking, the Country Representative for Standard Diagnostics, producers of the kits, Abdulrahman Yusuf said “You have a situation where people are treated for diseases suspected to be malaria but not malaria.”

Man, 28, arraigned for killing fiancee in Benue

By Peter Duru

M

AKURDI—A 28 year man, Terhemba Ajom, was yesterday arraigned by the Police in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, for the alleged murder of his fiancée and her supposed lover in Vandeikya local government area of the state.

According to the First Information Report, FIR, filed by the Police at the Makurdi Chief Magistrate Court, Ajom alongside 19 year old Jennifer Ahangba, were charged with culpable homicide punishable with death.

According to the FIR, one Terzungwe Nehemen livingp beside Grade One Area Court in Vandeikya had few days ago reported to the police that while he was asleep in his room, his younger brother, Shimasaan (now deceased) was wailing and crying for help.

“He explained further that when he rushed out, he discovered that his brother’s house was on fire and he called out to his neighbours to help him put out the fire and rescue the victims. ''Unfortunately his brother and his girlfriend who were in the house had been burnt to death in the fire while property which value was not yet known was also destroyed in the fire, '' he said.

Prince Kazim Alao passes on

P

RINCE Kazim Abimbola Alao is dead, aged 55.

According to a statement by son, Maleek, Adeola Adeboye, Prince K. A. Alao of the Adeboye family, Ilie, Olorunda Local Government Area, Osun state, was committed to mother earth February 21, 2016, at his home town, Oba’s compound Ilie, Osun state, in accordance with Islamic rules.

He is survived by wife, children, brothers, sisters and a host of other relatives.

Further burial rites to be announced by family.

Late Prince Alao C M Y K

36—Vanguard, WEDNSDAY, MARCH 2, 2016

38—VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2015

EDO 2016:

Why I'm the best for Edo — IDUORIYEKEMWEN MR. Matthew Iduoriyekemwen, a two-term member of the Edo State House of Assembly before his subsequent emergence as the state representative on the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, is one of those aspiring to govern the state on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. In this interview, he asserts his belief that he is the best qualified person to succeed the outgoing governor of the state, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.

Excerpts:

By Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief

W

HY do you think you are the right candidate for Edo State Government House?

I have been part of the government since 1999 and I know the basic responsibilities of government. It is to be able to do things, the things that will ensure basic satisfaction to the people and generate happiness in the people.

My stay so far in government has given me the opportunity to know that things can be done differently from the way things are being done now. If you understand the geographical topography of Edo State, it is one state that is endowed with both human and natural resources.

It is a state where we have agricultural resources, flat land and solid minerals.

Betterment and growth All these can be transformed for the betterment and growth of that state. Edo state as we speak today, is a state that hasn’t been able to have a clear cut economic direction.

I think there has been no deliberate effort of government to create an economic policy geared towards eliminating poverty and strengthening infrastructure. Edo state is a state that is in clear need of an economic foundation which will lead to the engagement of the unemployed in our state, which will lead to the development of entrepreneurial skills of the people of the state, which will lead to the strengthening of Small and Medium Enterprises. I am in that state and I know that is one

•Iduoriyekemwen: I believe that Edo people deserve the best

thing the state is lacking, not minding the fact that the state is one of the states that you can say in terms of education is one of the foremost states in this country.

It is a state where we need to develop those basic things like education; we have to give the right quality of education back to our people like it was in the past.

Right now, what we have is infrastructure, you see school buildings but you visit those schools and the right capacity of staff are not there.

When you don’t have the right capacity of staff, what then will be the quality of students we are going to train in that school? So it is a time when we have to redefine a clear economic direction for the state.

Given the cry by many newly elected governors for bail-out, are you not concerned that if you win that you could be in a similar situation?

Yes we are in a country where almost every state depends on

allocation from the Federal Government but that is dwindling. Consequently, we must look at other ways to generate revenue and in doing that we must create enabling environment for entrepreneurial growth and development in the state. When that is done, yes it might not be quite easy at the beginning, but over time, it is something you build on.

So, you are not scared of the liabilities the new government will meet given the recent World Bank loan taken by the outgoing governor?

candidates have emerged and defeated incumbent governors.

There are states in this country where candidates emerged and defeated the incumbent party both at the state and federal. I give you an example of Nassarawa State.

Almakura became governor of the state under the umbrella of CPC and there was no CPC at the state and federal levels but the people saw him and they believed in him so they gave him their votes. When Rochas Okorocha won in Imo, the incumbent governor in Imo was in PDP and the PDP was in power at the federal government.

It is what policies and ideas you sell to your people against the background knowledge of your person by your own people that will make them vote for you.

Genuine feeling We have seen the best of the APC government and we believe that the state would have been better ran and managed if a PDP government led by someone who has the love of the people, someone who had the genuine feeling of the people were in government.

We have seen APC give their best shot in governance and we have seen the result of such governance as at today. All I want to tell the people of Edo State is that Edo State can be governed differently with more and better results achieved.

Therefore, it is time for Edo people to reappraise our past, our present with a view to telling ourselves what we want in the future and I believe that Edo people deserve the best and only the best is good enough for us.

Buhari has started WAI in another way — Eyiboh MR. Eseme Eyiboh, erstwhile spokesman of the House of Representatives, renowned for his sterling role as the Dean of the Initiatives, the intellectual driving force of the House between 2007 and 2011, has had opportunity of putting his philosophical ideas into practice as Chairman of the Akwa Ibom State Ethical and Attitudinal Reorientation Commission (EARCOM).

Eyiboh, who had for years been on the wrong side of the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in his native Akwa Ibom State, formally crossed over to the All Progressives Congress, APC last year.

In this question and answer session, he evokes the deeper implications of the change mantra of the APC administration saying that if carried out to the letter, it could stir up an ethical reorientation of the populace in a way that could lead to national rebirth reminiscent of the War Against Indiscipline, WAI campaign during Muhammadu Buhari’s first advent 30 years ago.

By Chioma Onuegbu

All I want to tell the people of Edo State is that Edo State can be governed differently with more and better results achieved

Well why should I be scared? It is the reason for the World Bank loan that he was taking I should be bothered about- whether those loans are actually applied for the purpose for which they were obtained.

I heard that before those loans were obtained some certain conditions were given them to meet. I am still not sure as to what amount has been released to Edo State.

So with the new government coming in place you have to do an appraisal, look at what is there, look at what amount and value of that loan has been released and what part of the loan released has been utilised.

What is your take on the proposal by the state governor to establish a new university in his home town?

I think the establishment of a new state university shouldn’t arise because the existing ones can be strengthened to provide opportunities for more candidates. If you think you need to create new departments or new faculties, the laws establishing that existing institution allow for multiple campuses You could take a particular campus out of the present place and move it to any part of the state that you deem fit, rather than establishing a new university in the state. I think the state government will be having too many responsibility managing two state universities.

Given that the APC now controls the Federal Government, do you think it would be an easy easing out the party from Edo State?

Elections are won when the people see the credibility of the candidate. There have been states in this country where

W

HAT are your thoughts on the changes in the polity being advanced by the APC administration?

Our democracy has thrown up the emergence of quasi ethnic sentiments, unbridled cultivation of poor national consciousness, weak institutions, poor public perception of government, deteriorating national values and insecurity.

The contextual implications of the present government’s change mantra is intended to

jumpstart a rebirth process with new thinking driven by the recruitment of vital crop of men and women with new lens to ignite our strength in diversity and trigger new opportunities founded on national consciousness and ethical value.

Corruption, insecurity and poor •Eyiboh ethical value are speedsters requiring a national the acceleration of these narrative to provide the speed tendencies. breakers to minimise or check Our prevalent national rebirth Continues on page 39

VANGU ARD, WEDNESD A Y, MARCH 2, 2016—37 ANGUARD, WEDNESDA

He gave me pubic lice

He was given the wrong diagnosis Dear Bunmi, My husband, who is in his early 50s, had just been through harrowing experience when he was treated for enlarged prostrate.

He is a health conscious man and had regular check-ups, which were all-clear. Now the doctors at the teaching hospitals have confirmed that some of these diagnostic centres give false results and they often have to correct these bogus results after symptoms have worsened.

Can’t these charlatans be brought to book?

I’m so angry that my husband had to go through

the humiliation of being fixed with a catheter while being treated. Thank goodness he’s alive!

Rita, By e-mail.

Dear Rita, It’s a fact that a lot of men are shy when it comes to seeing a doctor - they would rather go to these so-called ‘discreet clinics’ to have a quick test - the results could be catastrophic for both male and female. A fancy clinic doesn’t guarantee genuine diagnosis, and your best bet is to go to a teaching hospital, or seek a second opinion.

I can’t keep up with him Dear Bunmi, I recently met my boyfriend at a friend's party and we’ve been having a very passionate affair. We make love most nights and don’t get out of bed until late at the weekend.

Recently, I was given a challenging responsibility at work and needed my sleep more than sex. A few nights ago, I woke up early in the morning to find my boyfriend masturbating next to me in the bed.

I didn’t let on I was awake, but I was shocked. We’ve been having so much sex I feel insulted he couldn’t take a break for the four weeks my work-load would ease. Is he some sort of a sex maniac?

Lynda, By e-mail.

Dear Lynda, It’s often difficult for women to understand some aspects of male sexuality. For many men, masturbation is a regular and often daily thing, no matter how much sex they’re having.

This kind of self-satisfaction has little to do with emotion and is not meant to challenge your relationship. Some men see it as a way to satisfy an urge, like scratching an itch.

While men can become aroused easily, women need adequate stimulation as well as the emotional side. If a woman’s brain isn’t tuned in, then she won’t feel turned on, no matter how technically good her lover is. This is why romance and fantasy are important for women.

This makes it harder for women to understand how a man can simply pleasure himself without it meaning something.

You need not be threatened by his action. Research shows that men having lots of sex in satisfying relationships are more likely to masturbate than if they’re single.

Fantasies and thoughts of their lover fuel their sex drive so they have more pent-up sexual energy to work off. So feel flattered, not insulted.

Having said that, it seems that more men know about breast cancer than about prostrate cancer, in spite of the fact that the latter is on the increase. Here are essential facts given by the medics about two of the most common cancers in men: Prostrate Cancer: The prostrate gland lies at the base of the bladder and produces nutrient fluid for ejaculation. Cancer of the prostrate is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men. It gets more common over the age of 50 but men as young as 40 can be affected too.

Often, urine symptoms are the first signs that something is wrong. Sufferers find they go to the loo more frequently, and when they do, it’s harder to start and the urine stream isn’t as strong as usual. Other symptoms can be back pain or problem with erection. There are many treatments for prostrate cancer depending on how aggressive the cancer is and whether it has spread.

Caught early, there is a good chance the symptoms can be controlled or the cancer cured.

Testicular Cancer: It is the most common cancer to affect men between 15 and 45 years old. Cases of this cancer are on the rise but nobody knows why. The most common symptom of this cancer is a lump on a testicle. Most lumps in the scrotum turn out not to be cancer but if you feel a lump, get a check up. Some men get a dull ache in their lower abdomen .

If this cancer is caught early, there is a 99% cure rate. So, get familiar with the normal feel of your testicles, examine yourself regularly and see your doctor if you feel any changes.

My mum sides with her abusive step-son Dear Bunmi, I am 15 and the only child of my mother who remarried about three years ago. We moved into her new husband’s home and some time last year, my step-brother, who is now 18 forced me to have sex with him.

Whenever my mother and stepfather go to our home town, which is at least once a month, he forces himself on me. When it first happened, I threatened to tell my mum. I later told her that my step-brother was touching me, she said I was trying to break her marriage because I didn’t like my stepfather. My mum told me my C M Y K

step-brother merely had a crush on me and I was being silly. I am scared of what would happen if I told her that he was actually having sex with me.

Davida, By e-mail.

Dear Davida, The most loving of parents sometimes find it hard to accept that a member of the family or a family friend is abusing their daughter. Yet it is within family relationship that sexual abuse is most likely to occur. Among the most frequent victims of abuse are girls who fall prey to step-

fathers or step-brothers.

A young girl being abused within the family is terrified of the effect on those they love most if the truth is revealed so the secrecy, reinforced by threats the abuse often continues.

It is urgent that you tell someone who has access to your mother no matter what immediate distress this may cause.

Your happiness and peace of mind is important. There is also the danger of your getting pregnant. Speak out now and insist that your mother protect you.

Dear Bunmi, I have been going out with my current boyfriend since the beginning of this year.

Recently, I was horrified to discover that I had pubic lice.

When I told my boyfriend and insisted on checking his pubes, I discovered he had them too.

He swears he’s been faithful to me even though I’ve had my suspicion for a long time about his so-called faithfulness. He goes out a lot to nightclubs and comes home late.

I know there’s no other way he could have caught these disgusting bugs - or is there?

Eileen, By e-mail.

Dear Eileen, It’s true that your man could have caught these lice through sexual contact, but he could also have easily caught them through close contacts with sheets and blankets.

Remotely, he could catch them trying on other people’s clothes!

Having said that, you were suspicious of his behaviour even before you discovered the lice, so you need to confront your partner about your fears. Have a heart-toheart talk with him so you can find out what’s really happening and get those lice out of your pubes, and his!

I am so unhappy Dear Bunmi, I’m in my late 20s and a bit unhappy. My current relationship is stressful as my boyfriend doesn’t really want to commit to it. He’s the same age as I am but has one or two other girlfriends and no matter how hard I drop hints on marriage, he’s simply not interested.

As if I haven’t enough on my plate, my head of department in my place of work is really hostile. He’s always criticizing my work and running me down. I can’t leave because it took me a long time to get this job.

Please help.

Dora, By e-mail.

Dear Dora, One important fact you’ve faced about your relationship is that you’re not getting the emotional support you need from your current partner and you’re understandably upset.

It’s unhealthy to stick with anything that’s making you unhappy - and this also includes your relationship at

work. The stress that comes from ongoing conflict, resentment or being unhappy leaves you powerless - and it can take years off your life.

Medical findings show that if you’re in a stressful situation for longer than a few months, you’re setting yourself up for short term problems like headaches, hair loss, skin disorders and digestive problems, and, in the long term, increased risk of heart disease.

The psychological toll can range from insomnia to serious depression.

Now you’ve identified your problems, take stock of your feelings and take urgent decisions. If you want a stable relationship, your current partner is not the answer. You need to sit down with your man, have a heartto-heart talk.

Move on if he’s not serious.

As for your problem at work, is it possible to change departments? It may not be easy, but if you don’t want to sacrifice your health, it’s worth making changes.

It is urgent that you tell someone who has access to your mother no matter what immediate distress this may cause.

Your happiness and peace of mind is important; there is also the danger of your getting pregnant; speak out now and insist that your mother protect you

Share your problems and release your burden. Write now to Dear Bunmi, Vanguard Newspapers, P.M.B 1007, Apapa, Lagos, or bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk

38—VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2015

EDO 2016:

Why I'm the best for Edo — IDUORIYEKEMWEN MR. Matthew Iduoriyekemwen, a two-term member of the Edo State House of Assembly before his subsequent emergence as the state representative on the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, is one of those aspiring to govern the state on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. In this interview, he asserts his belief that he is the best qualified person to succeed the outgoing governor of the state, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.

Excerpts:

By Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief

W

HY do you think you are the right candidate for Edo State Government House?

I have been part of the government since 1999 and I know the basic responsibilities of government. It is to be able to do things, the things that will ensure basic satisfaction to the people and generate happiness in the people.

My stay so far in government has given me the opportunity to know that things can be done differently from the way things are being done now. If you understand the geographical topography of Edo State, it is one state that is endowed with both human and natural resources.

It is a state where we have agricultural resources, flat land and solid minerals.

Betterment and growth All these can be transformed for the betterment and growth of that state. Edo state as we speak today, is a state that hasn’t been able to have a clear cut economic direction.

I think there has been no deliberate effort of government to create an economic policy geared towards eliminating poverty and strengthening infrastructure. Edo state is a state that is in clear need of an economic foundation which will lead to the engagement of the unemployed in our state, which will lead to the development of entrepreneurial skills of the people of the state, which will lead to the strengthening of Small and Medium Enterprises. I am in that state and I know that is one

•Iduoriyekemwen: I believe that Edo people deserve the best

thing the state is lacking, not minding the fact that the state is one of the states that you can say in terms of education is one of the foremost states in this country.

It is a state where we need to develop those basic things like education; we have to give the right quality of education back to our people like it was in the past.

Right now, what we have is infrastructure, you see school buildings but you visit those schools and the right capacity of staff are not there.

When you don’t have the right capacity of staff, what then will be the quality of students we are going to train in that school? So it is a time when we have to redefine a clear economic direction for the state.

Given the cry by many newly elected governors for bail-out, are you not concerned that if you win that you could be in a similar situation?

Yes we are in a country where almost every state depends on

allocation from the Federal Government but that is dwindling. Consequently, we must look at other ways to generate revenue and in doing that we must create enabling environment for entrepreneurial growth and development in the state. When that is done, yes it might not be quite easy at the beginning, but over time, it is something you build on.

So, you are not scared of the liabilities the new government will meet given the recent World Bank loan taken by the outgoing governor?

candidates have emerged and defeated incumbent governors.

There are states in this country where candidates emerged and defeated the incumbent party both at the state and federal. I give you an example of Nassarawa State.

Almakura became governor of the state under the umbrella of CPC and there was no CPC at the state and federal levels but the people saw him and they believed in him so they gave him their votes. When Rochas Okorocha won in Imo, the incumbent governor in Imo was in PDP and the PDP was in power at the federal government.

It is what policies and ideas you sell to your people against the background knowledge of your person by your own people that will make them vote for you.

Genuine feeling We have seen the best of the APC government and we believe that the state would have been better ran and managed if a PDP government led by someone who has the love of the people, someone who had the genuine feeling of the people were in government.

We have seen APC give their best shot in governance and we have seen the result of such governance as at today. All I want to tell the people of Edo State is that Edo State can be governed differently with more and better results achieved.

Therefore, it is time for Edo people to reappraise our past, our present with a view to telling ourselves what we want in the future and I believe that Edo people deserve the best and only the best is good enough for us.

Buhari has started WAI in another way — Eyiboh MR. Eseme Eyiboh, erstwhile spokesman of the House of Representatives, renowned for his sterling role as the Dean of the Initiatives, the intellectual driving force of the House between 2007 and 2011, has had opportunity of putting his philosophical ideas into practice as Chairman of the Akwa Ibom State Ethical and Attitudinal Reorientation Commission (EARCOM).

Eyiboh, who had for years been on the wrong side of the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in his native Akwa Ibom State, formally crossed over to the All Progressives Congress, APC last year.

In this question and answer session, he evokes the deeper implications of the change mantra of the APC administration saying that if carried out to the letter, it could stir up an ethical reorientation of the populace in a way that could lead to national rebirth reminiscent of the War Against Indiscipline, WAI campaign during Muhammadu Buhari’s first advent 30 years ago.

By Chioma Onuegbu

All I want to tell the people of Edo State is that Edo State can be governed differently with more and better results achieved

Well why should I be scared? It is the reason for the World Bank loan that he was taking I should be bothered about- whether those loans are actually applied for the purpose for which they were obtained.

I heard that before those loans were obtained some certain conditions were given them to meet. I am still not sure as to what amount has been released to Edo State.

So with the new government coming in place you have to do an appraisal, look at what is there, look at what amount and value of that loan has been released and what part of the loan released has been utilised.

What is your take on the proposal by the state governor to establish a new university in his home town?

I think the establishment of a new state university shouldn’t arise because the existing ones can be strengthened to provide opportunities for more candidates. If you think you need to create new departments or new faculties, the laws establishing that existing institution allow for multiple campuses You could take a particular campus out of the present place and move it to any part of the state that you deem fit, rather than establishing a new university in the state. I think the state government will be having too many responsibility managing two state universities.

Given that the APC now controls the Federal Government, do you think it would be an easy easing out the party from Edo State?

Elections are won when the people see the credibility of the candidate. There have been states in this country where

W

HAT are your thoughts on the changes in the polity being advanced by the APC administration?

Our democracy has thrown up the emergence of quasi ethnic sentiments, unbridled cultivation of poor national consciousness, weak institutions, poor public perception of government, deteriorating national values and insecurity.

The contextual implications of the present government’s change mantra is intended to

jumpstart a rebirth process with new thinking driven by the recruitment of vital crop of men and women with new lens to ignite our strength in diversity and trigger new opportunities founded on national consciousness and ethical value.

Corruption, insecurity and poor •Eyiboh ethical value are speedsters requiring a national the acceleration of these narrative to provide the speed tendencies. breakers to minimise or check Our prevalent national rebirth Continues on page 39

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2015—39

Anambra Central Senatorial contest:

The final test for Umeh Although the courts have ordered INEC to include PDP, the issue of PDP's flag bearer is still cloudy. And the APGA candidate in that election remains Umeh who is apparently on a roller coaster ride to the Senate.

That he would be the lone APGA voice is beside the point, as a lone voice is allowed in the Senate. The former APGA helmsman will simply join other voices in the Senate, including those from Labour Party and Accord.

He has said he is certainly prepared to work assiduously with all the progressive elements in the Senate to move the nation forward and fulfill the aspirations of the Igbo.

“Why I opted to contest for Senate is to make it easier for APGA to win a senatorial seat,”

By Innocent Anaba

T

HE re-run election ordered by the Court of Appeal sitting in Enugu for Anambra Central senatorial district to be conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, will hold on March 5.

The re-run follows the appellate court judgment in the appeal against Uche Ekwunife of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, election in which the court held she was not validly nominated.

The appeal followed the petition filed by Chief Victor Umeh, real estate practitioner and immediate past National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, the same party from which Ekwunife defected to the PDP in pursuit of her senatorial ambition.

Senatorial ambition

•Umeh: The only titian left in the race

Meanwhile, Umeh is taking part in the fresh election without any opponent from the credible parties.

INEC clarified that neither the PDP nor the All Progressives Congress, APC, would take part in the election because the PDP had already made the mistake of nominating a candidate without due process in the first election.

So, both the party and the candidate that was not properly nominated (Ekwunife) stand disqualified.

As for the APC, its participation in the Anambra Central election can only be if its candidate in the first election, Dr. Chris Ngige,

the current Minister for Labour and Employment, resigns his ministerial position to re-contest the seat. Ngige, as things look, cannot abandon certainty for uncertainty, especially as his ministerial position is not threatened, not even by the apprehension of a future cabinet reshuffle.

Ngige won the seat in 2011 by a difference of just 46 votes after a rerun election was conducted.

That was on the platform of the now defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN. One of the highlights of Ngige’s campaign message was that Akunyili’s resignation was ill-advised as it

left Anambra State without a representative in the federal cabinet. That consideration might also be the reason Ngige would not resign as a minister. The only other significant person in Anambra APC is the former governor of the state, Dr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju.

“I told them even when I came to Lagos that no party would be allowed to nominate fresh candidates. But they ignored my warnings,” said Umeh recently.

But today, INEC’s has clarified its position. Of the three major political parties, only APGA is eligible to contest election into the Senate in Anambra Central.

‘Buhari has started WAI in another way' Continues from page 38 process to the main, through institutional capacity, must take deliberate steps to travel the road less taken, the road that requires vision, creativity and courage to forge our strength in diversity to enhance salient answers to our many inherent weaknesses and threats.

How can the government achieve this salutary objective?

As a government, the public perception of its performance and action depends on the competencies of the ability of its agencies to galvanise public feedback loops, to collaborate and encourage honest behaviour of citizens and create a nexus between government and the governed in its public information and communication initiatives.

How will this translate into tangibles for the population?

Expectedly, democracy must bring about national development and general improvement in the standard of living of the people devoid of threats to public safety and

the state, in accordance with the constitutional provision thus “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government ...”.

What ingredients would be required for this change?

The intended and unintended consequences of this rebirth process (CHANGE) require reform mindsets, leading edge characters, design thinking and feedback loops.

Understanding the necessity of the change provides the basis for defining the best approach to manage this rebirth.

There must be deliberate narratives to facilitate adaptation of people’s mindsets, culture and attitude to the change mantra. Any perceived imposition of the change mantra may generate opposition towards this reform initiative.

Non-deliberate public information and communication strategies may increase uncertainty and distrust, occasioning misinformation and disruption

of the vision of the rebirth and resistance to its creation.

I will not be surprised that some critical Nigerians will see the ensuing modification of the national psyche as a rejuvenation of the War Against Indiscipline that was first marshalled by the same person many years ago.

While that may hold to some extent, I will proffer that the latest development is even more far reaching in content, capacity and consequence.

This is essentially based on the fact that whereas WAI was truncated by his removal from power, a national rebirth as I articulated cannot be easily truncated, being that once something or someone is reborn, the old is gone and the new has come and I know Nigerians will appreciate the new offerings on the table.

he told p a r t y supporters during h i s handover ceremony to the current A P G A National Chairman, Dr. Victor Oye, in Awka, recently.

T h e APGA he led was and still is pan-Igbo despite t h e National Secretary at the t i m e , Alhaji S a n i Shinkafi coming f r o m Zamfara State.

If the party ’s presidential candidate is not a proven I g b o leader as w a s Ojukwu, he has to

be the incumbent President, provided he has Igbo bias in his policies and appointments as was the case of Ijaw-born, former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Many say that he played a prominent role in putting roads in the South East, especially in Anambra State, in good shape for the hosting of international visitors and those from other parts of the country. The multiple carriage way between the Onitsha head-bridge and Upper Eweka now rechristened by the Federal Government the Ojukwu Gateway has been given as one such instance.Constitutional Conference despite his late entry.

He and Shinkafi represented APGA in the days in which the conference was at the point of reaching or fine-tuning resolutions on several national issues.

40—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016

From left: Chief Kudi Ogugua, cabinet Chief from Awka, Chief Rowland Omagbemi, member, Olu's cabinet, Senator Ben Obi, CON, the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Ikenwoli, Chief Emmanuel Jones, member, Olu's cabinet and Sir Tony Okechukwu, President General, Awka Development Union, Nigeria during a courtesy visit to the Olu, weekend.

Senator representing Uyo Senatorial District, Obong Bassey Albert Akpan with Senate Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio and Senator Sam Egwu at Plenary in the Senate Chambers on Tuesday.

DFID wants Nigeria to amend 54 laws for business

A

BUJA—AMIDST the current economic crunch in the country, a team of consultants, under the auspices of Department for International Development, DFID, told the Senate that if Nigeria must be an economic destination and attractive to investors, it must amend or repeal 54 of its existing laws.

According to the team of experts, they also did what they described as comprehensive analysis of 50 other bills pending before the two chambers of the National Assembly.

This came as Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, said the present economic challenge should be seen as a blessing in disguise, and that the situation

presented an opportunity for Nigeria's leaders to show leadership, courage and ingenuity.

They spoke while presenting the 168-page report entitled Compre-hensive Review of the Institutional Regulatory, Legislative and Associa-ted Instruments Affecting Businesses in Nigeria.

Leader of the DFID team, Pro-

fessor Paul Idonigie, stressed that the priority rating list would help the legislature to focus on some areas that required urgent intervention and recommended nine bills that if passed into law in the life of the 8th assembly, would have been deemed to have comprehensively reformed the business environment.

The bills recommended as requiring urgent attention include the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2015; Federal Roads Authority Bill 2015; National Inland Waterways Authority Bill 2015; National Roads Funds Bill 2015; National Transport Commission 2015; Nigerian Ports and Harbours Authority Bill 2015; Nigeria Postal Commission Bill 2015 and Nigeria Railway Authority Bill 2015.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY MARCH 2 , 2016 — 41

Aggrieved PDP, APGA members form new party

By Ben Agande

A

BUJA—THE disagreement within the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, came to a head yesterday as some members of the party teamed up with others in the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, and other parties to form a new party.

The group, which held its maiden meeting in Abuja yesterday, unanimously adopted Chief Perry Opara as the protem chairman of the proposed party, named Peoples Mega Party, PMP. Chief Opara was an aide to former political adviser to Goodluck Jonathan, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak, who recently filed a suit against the PDP and the then acting national chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, and secured a judgement ordering Secondus to vacate office as acting chairman on ground that his acting role had elapsed.

Addressing the meeting, Opara said the leadership crisis within the PDP which had impacted negatively on its chances, had necessitated the need for the Peoples Mega Party, PMP. He explained: “The major people who are in the party are former members of the PDP who are disenchanted by the high level of corruption, high level of impunity and highhandedness in the PDP. ‘’They have decided to form something very new and they are of the opinion that they should hand over the party to younger elements who are less corrupt and who can fight for the interest of the people.

“It does not mean that it is only people from the PDP, we have APGA chairmen from many states of Nigeria identifying with the new party, people from Labour Party, LP, and the Accord Party, AP. ‘’There are also disenchanted people from the APC that feel that they want a new place and that is what it is. Today marks the birth of this new party.”

The proposed party adopted the picture of a human being as its logo, while its slogan is: “Forward Nigeria.”

Chief Opara said the new organization would take the next step to approach the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for registration, adding that when registered, the party would focus more of its attention on recruiting the youths who constitute about 54% of the country ’s population into it’s fold.

FG blames pipeline vandals as power generation drops to 2,800MW •As NERC, DISCOs flout court order on tariff hike

By Chris Ochayi

A

BUJA—THE Federal Government, yesterday, lamented incidences of vandalism on the gas pipelines, which it said led to drastic reduction in peak power supply through the national grid from over 5,000 megawatts to less than 2,800 megawatts.

The acting Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, Dr. Anthony Akah, made the remarks during the signing of Memorandum of Understanding, MOU, with the Consumer

Protection Council, CPC, Akah solicited support of members of the public and the council to collaborate with the service providers and security agencies to ensure security of electrical installations.

He, however, said that the Commission will soon compel electricity distribution companies to publish their meter deployment schedules so as to ensure adherence to the meter roll out plan contained in the performance agreement signed with government by the utility firms.

According to him, “such publication will make unmetered

customers to be aware of the estimated period they have to wait before they can be metered.”

While declining comment on implementation of the tariff regime, in response to questions from newsmen, Akah said the commission “has issued a nontolerance statement on wrongful estimated bills, compelling customers to buy, install and repair transformers, poles, unsafe electrical connections and other unsafe practices by the electricity distribution companies.”

He reiterated the commission’s commitment to monitor the strict compliance

TOUR: From right; Dr Frank Jacobs; President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN); Mr Nnamdi Nnodebe,Group Managing Director/CEO, Sonia Foods Industries Ltd; Mr Segun AjayiKadri, Director,Field Services Department, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and Prince Chima Okere,AGM Operation & Head,Finance,Sonia Foods Industries Ltd.During the factory tour of MAN President to Sonia Foods Industries factory in Sagamu, Ogun State yesterday.

Reps urge FG to replace 23,000 ghost workers with unemployed youths

By Emman Ovuakporie & Johnbosco Agbakwuru

A

BUJA—THE House of Representatives yesterday told the Federal Government to replace the 23,000 ghost workers discovered recently with unemployed youths.

The House, presided over by the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, in its resolution on a motion on matter of urgent public importance, sponsored by Dickson Tarkighir (Benue APC), told the government to do everything possible to come to the aid of the teeming unemployed youths.

Tarkighir had in the motion, explained that since the government had demonstrated the financial capacity to withstand the pressure of catering for 23,000 and the none existing staff, there was need to engage 23,000 unemployed youths.

He said: “I am not in doubt of the many curriculum vitae my

colleagues have continue to collect from schooled but jobless constituents.

“This House has the identity of one commitment which is to ease the plight of Nigerians and of our youths especially.

“We will therefore, be living the essence of our stewardship if we once again show them that we care about their welfare and progress.

“There is no task more

honoring than that, when ghost workers were discovered, we spoke out vehemently asking that Nigerian youth, eager and willing to work are made to replace ghost workers.”

He further explained that with the unemployed youths from the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, it would be enough to take over from the 23,000 ghost workers.

of NERC’s regulations by operators in the sector.

He said the collaboration between NERC and CPC was part of “concerted efforts aimed at reducing the incidence of estimated billing and eliminate them completely.”

He lamented increasing spate of vandalism of electrical installation, electricity theft and other unwholesome acts by electricity consumers.

Commenting on past collaboration between the two organisations, Akah said that such partnership needed to be strengthened as NERC perfected plan to put electricity distribution companies under commitment to fulfil their service level agreements.

Speaking earlier, the Director General of CPC, Mrs. Modupe Atoki, commended the long standing relationship between the two agencies even as she encouraged others agencies to emulate collaboration between CPC and NERC. “It could be debilitating whenever any agency of government refuses to collaborate with the CPC on consumer issue.

It is the consumers that suffer at the end of the day,” she said.

She expressed the Council’s commendation on renewed effort of NERC to protect electricity consumers from abuse of their rights.

Meanwhile, The Nigerian electricity Regulation Commission, NERC and the Distributor Companies, DISCOs have commenced implementation of the new electricity tariff in contravention of subsisting court order restricting them from doing so.

Notwithstanding public outcry that trailed the new tariff regime, electricity consumers have already started paying the 40 percent increase for consumption of the product.A pre-paid electricity consumer.

Mr. Joel Ajayi, who confirmed the development, said he noticed the increase from the reduction of the units of the last card he purchased.

The NERC had in December, nnounced the take-off date of the new electricity tariff, MYTO 2015, for February 1, 2016, which would see consumers pay 40 percent above what they currently paid.

ECONOMIC CRISIS: Top NAFDAC official charges Nigerians to look inward Association of Animal Health and

A

SSISTANT Director, NAFDAC in charge of Veterinary Medicine Division, Dr. Sadiq Yunus, has charged Nigerians to look inward in solving the current dwindling economy by producing their requirements and shun foreign goods that have local substitutes.

“With our present depressing economy, Nigerians should not allow the country continue to be

a dumping ground for foreign finished products that have substitutes here,” he stressed.

Dr. Yunus, leading a team of NAFDAC top officials, was speaking yesterday at a one-day training/sensitization workshop on production and post production handling of antibiotics, vitamins and agrochemicals, organized by NAFDAC in conjunction with

Agrochemical Producers, held at Ijegun near Ikotun, Lagos.

The NAFDAC boss explained that the economic problem was an opportunity for Nigerians to brace up and develop their local industries and save the nation's hard-earned foreign exchange from depletion. He emphasized that their production must pass NAFDAC tests and regulations and meet international standards and practice.

42—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016

Planned boycott of banks flops

By Emeka Anaeto, Babajide Komolafe, Grace Udofia & Vivian Yiye

T

HE call by Consumer Advocacy Foundation of Nigeria, CAFON, and Coalition of Nigerian Consumer Protection Associations, CNCPA, for boycott of banks across the country over excess charges failed to live up to its promise yesterday.

Many bank branches visited

by Vanguard did not record any significant change in customer traffic, especially in the morning hours.

A staff of Diamond Bank on Ajose Adeogun Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, told Vanguard that although they were aware of the boycott threat, the branch did not record any shift from regular customer flow.

A similar report was received from bank staff at Guaranty Trust Bank, First Bank, Access Bank, United Bank for Africa and First City Monument Bank in Victoria Island, Lagos Island, Surulere and Apapa areas of Lagos visited by Vanguard yesterday.

In one of the bank branches, a customer told Vanguard that he

‘Nigeria spending 80% of revenue on debt servicing’

Nigerians too passive to participate—BANKER was aware of the boycott call, but could not stop his business because of that.

He also said he was in support of any action that would make the banks reverse or at least stop all the charges they had been collecting from his account.

At bank branches on Oba Akra Avenue, Ikeja, customers were seen conducting normal banking transactions.

This was also the same for banks on Allen Avenue, also in Ikeja area and the Akonwonjo Road, in Alimosho Local Government Area in Lagos State.

A female bank staff of First Bank, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Vanguard that there was no indication that most customers were even aware of the proposed campaign because customers that came to her branch carried out normal transaction without questions or complaints.

Commenting on the apathy of customers to the protest, a Zenith Bank staff told Vanguard: “Nigerians are too passive to participate in such protest; customers came as usual and conducted normal banking activities.”

A similar experience was recorded in Abuja as some of the bank branches visited by Vanguard yesterday afternoon, had the usual queues inside the banking halls of UBA, Zenith, Ecobank, FCMB, Diamond Bank and Union Bank with normal banking activities.

An official of one of the banks in Abuja told Vanguard that customers had been trooping into the bank since they opened for business at around 8a.m. up till when the banks closed.

Though Abuja residents did not obey the boycott, those that spoke to Vanguard expressed anger over the bank charges.

They argued that they had endured excessive charges, illegal fees and unfair contracts that only protect the banks but do not protect the consumers.

One of the customers said: “Banks debit our accounts at will for charges we never agreed to or were not aware of; they charge us for every little service and we pay for getting our statements, introduction letters and now, some banks are charging N200 for the use of deposit and transfer forms.”

By Henry Umoru & Joseph Erunke

A

BUJA—THE Senate was, yesterday, told by the Islamic Development Bank , IDB, that Nigeria was spending 80 percent of its total revenues to service debts.

It also ranked Nigeria as one of the countries in the world using the largest percentage of its revenues for debt payment.

According to IDB, this act explains why the nation bleeds economically and this requires urgent expansion.

Disclosing this yesterday when he visited the Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign and Local Debts, Senator Shehu Sani, APC Kaduna Central, resident representative of IDB in Nigeria, Abdallah Kiliaki, said though Nigeria’s debt Gross Domestic Product, GDP, ratio was low at 17 percent, resources being used to pay the debts were enormous, going by percentages taken on a yearly basis.

This was even as the Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign and Local Debts, Senator Shehu Sani, APC Kaduna Central, declared that Nigeria’s total debts owed by the states and Federal governments currently stood at $60 billion.

According to IDB’s representative, if Nigeria must save itself from getting suffocated by such huge debt servicing with limited resources, there is urgent need for Federal Government to expand the scope of its resources through diversification of the economy into other critical areas, especially agriculture, on the template of value addition from production, to processing and to export.

He said: “My visit is very crucial, because we need to look at the debt profile of a country before we give it new contractual sort of financing.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY MARCH 2 , 2016—43

Mike Adenuga

Aliko Dangote

Femi Otedola

Dangote, Adenuga, Otedola remain Africa's richest men Rainstorm

A

LIKO Dangote has retained his leading position as Africa's richest man in the Forbes list of billionaires released yesterday. In the new Forbes list Africa’s 50 Richest List is featured with African billionaires having a net worth of $74.5 billion. Mike Adenuga was ranked 10th in the Africa list with a net worth of $2.9 billion.

Even with a slight decline of $1.8 billion from last year’s Forbes Billionaire list, Microsoft’s co-founder Bill Gates retains his position as the world’s wealthiest man with a net worth of $77.4 billion. A th position he holds for the 17 time in the last 22 years. Gates is closely followed by Spaniard Amancio Ortega, who is the brains behind Inditex fashion group, which owns Zara clothing and accessories retail shops With $48.9 billion, Facebook’s co-founder Mark Zuckerberg has moved up ten spots making him among the ten wealthiest people in the world. Zuckerberg holds the sixth position with his net worth increasing by $15.5 billion from $33.4 billion in 2015.

Richest African With 22 African billionaires this year, the number on the list has dropped by seven, compared to 29 the previous year.

The list, which is available in the February issue of Forbes Africa, is dominated by Egyptians, who have a combined net worth of $14.1 billion, $2.3 billion shy of Nigerian billionaire, Aliko Dangote’s net worth. Dangote remains the richest African on the list with his net worth increasing by $700 million from 2015.

Africa’s richest have a combined $74.5 billion, a drop of $19.5 billion from $94 billion in 2015. The wealthiest group are South Africans with a combined net worth of $20.1 billion. From the 54 African countries, only seven are represented in the list, with only two women.

wreaks havoc in Imo

AFRICA BILLIONAIRE LIST Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

Name Net Worth $ Aliko Dangote 16.4bn Nicky Oppenheimer & family 6.5bn King Mohammed VI 5.8bn Christoffel Wiese 5.7bn Johann Rupert & family 5.4bn Nassef Sawiris 4.2bn Isabel dos Santos 3.5bn Issad Rebrab & family 3.1bn Naguib Sawiris 3bn Mike Adenuga 2.9bn Mohamed Mansour 2.5bn Othman Benjelloun 2bn Femi Otedola 1.8bn Youssef Mansour 1.7bn Folorunsho Alakija 1.6bn Koos Bekker 1.5bn Yasseen Mansour 1.4bn Onsi Sawiris 1.3bn Aziz Akhannouch & family 1.1bn Mohammed Dewji 1.1bn Stephen Saad 1bn Abdulsamad Rabiu 1bn

THE FORBES’ Rank Name 1 2 3.

4 5 6 7 8 9 9 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

TOP

Origin of Wealth Cement, Sugar, Flour Diamonds Diversified Retailing Luxury Goods Construction, Chemicals Investments Food Telecom Telcom, Oil Diversified Banking, Insurance Gas Stations Diversified Oil Media, Investments Diversified Construction, Telecom Petroleum, Diversified Diversified Pharmaceuticals Cement, Sugar, Flour

Citizenship Nigeria South Africa Morocco South Africa South Africa Egypt Angola Algeria Egypt Nigeria Egypt Morocco Nigeria Egypt Nigeria South Africa Egypt Egypt Morocco Tanzania South Africa Nigeria

Age 58 70 52 74 65 55 42 71 61 62 68 83 53 70 65 63 54 86 55 40 51 55

20

Net Worth

Up/Down From 2015 Origin Of Wealth Country (By Citizenship)

Bill Gates $75 bil Down Amancio Ortega $67 bil Up Warren Buffett $60.8 bil Down Carlos Slim Helú & family $50 bilDown Jeff Bezos $45.2 bil Up Mark Zuckerberg $44.6 bil Up Larry Ellison $43.6 bil Down Michael Bloomberg $40 bil Up Charles Koch $39.6 bil Down David Koch $39.6 bil Down Liliane Bettencourt $36.1 bil Down Larry Page $35.2 bil Up Sergey Brin $34.4 bil Up Bernard Arnault $34 bil Down Jim Walton $33.6 bil Down Alice Walton $32.3 bil Down S. Robson Walton $31.9 bil Down Wang Jianlin $28.7 bil Up Jorge Paulo Lemann $27.8 bil Up Li Ka-shing $27.1 bil Down

Microsoft Retail Berkshire Hathaway Telecom Amazon.com Facebook Oracle Bloomberg LP Diversified Diversified L’Oréal Google Google LVMH Wal-Mart Wal-Mart Wal-Mart Real Estate Food & Beverage Diversified

U.S. Spain U.S. Mexico U.S. U.S. U.S. U.S. U.S. U.S. France U.S. U.S. France U.S. U.S. U.S. China Brazil Hong Kong

INEC denies date for re-run election in Imo

O

By Chidi Nkwopara

WERRI—THE Imo State office of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has described the date being bandied about by some interest groups for the re-run elections in the state as “mere rumour.”

The Public Relations Officer,

PRO, of the electoral umpire, Mrs. Emmanuella Opara, who disclosed this to Vanguard in a telephone chat yesterday, also said that “there is no way the National Headquarters of INEC will fix a date for the re-run elections without informing it’s Owerri office.”

She expressed shock over the

way some media houses in Owerri not only bought into the rumour but also helped in disseminating false information on the new election date.

“INEC is shocked that some people fixed and started spreading March 5, 2016, as the supposed new date for the re-run election."

By Chidi Nkwopara

O

WERRI—PROPERTIES conservatively put at over N2billion were yesterday destroyed by a rainstorm that swept across parts of Imo State.

Reports from some local government areas of the state indicated that the storm, which was the first in the year, destroyed several buildings and cash crops in communities, even as Vanguard equally observed that within Owerri municipality, several private and public buildings fell to the superior force of the raging storm.

In Umuoyima village, Owerri municipal, the roof of a building on 145 Douglas Road belonging to Mazi Damian Nze suffered serious damage. He was seen trying to retrieve whatever he could when Vanguard visited the scene of the incident.

In other parts of the municipality, the Freedom Square, built by the Rochas Okorocha administration, suffered severe damage, while the roof of another government building situated behind the Customary Court of Appeal, CCA, Owerri, was completely blown off by the storm.

At the Customary Court of Appeal, CCA, Owerri, Judges Chambers, the Administrative Block and Accounts Department were blown off, as many vital documents were either soaked or destroyed beyond redemption.

Recounting their experience to Vanguard, the Deputy Chief Registrar, DCR, Mr. Linus Ekwonye said: “We came to work this morning (yesterday) only to behold the colossal damage done to the Customary Court of Appeal. Judges Chambers, the Accounts Department and Administrative Block suffered severe damages, while varying vital documents were destroyed”.

Continuing, the DCR recalled that part of the damage suffered by the CCA was occasioned by the roof of a building behind the court, which was completely blown off.

44—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016

ANAMBRA CENTRAL RE-RUN: INEC postpones

polls indefinitely •R ecalls dispatched materials •PDP pressuring Obi to join race

A

By Vincent Ujumadu

WKA—THE Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, yesterday postponed indefinitely the Anambra Central senatorial rerun election scheduled for Saturday, March 5, 2016.

Announcing the postponement at stakeholders’ meeting at the Professor Dora Akunyili Women Development Centre, Awka, the state Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Dr. Lawrence Azubuike said this followed a court order obtained by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, that it should be included in the exercise.

Though, the REC did not elaborate, Vanguard gathered that a Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja on Monday ordered INEC to include the PDP in the rerun election.

INEC bars PDP

INEC had barred the PDP from participating in the rerun poll following a Court of Appeal judgment of 7th December, 2015 nullifying the election of the party’s candidate, Mrs. Uche Ekwunife in the national assembly election held on March 28, 2015.

Curiously, March 5 will be the ninetieth- day as the Court of Appeal had on December 7, 2015 directed INEC to conduct the rerun within 90 days without PDP participating.

But the PDP approached the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, praying INEC to include it in the rerun. The PDP prayer was granted on Monday, thus necessitating the postponement of the poll indefinitely by INEC. Reacting to the judgment, the candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, in the rerun election, Chief Victor Umeh described the Federal High Court ruling as absurd.

According to him, the principle of law is that every decision of the court above should bind on all courts below, arguing that a Federal High Court could not assume jurisdiction in a matter already decided by the Court of Appeal.

He threatened to drag the Federal High Court judge that presided over the matter to the National Judicial Commission, NJC, for what he described as ‘brazen impunity and misapplication of the law’.

Umeh accused the former governor of the state, Mr. Peter Obi of being the mastermind in all the plots against him, insisting that “we shall crush him and all his evil plans.”

Though PDP has not officially announced its candidate for the re-run, it was gathered yesterday that former Governor,

Obi is being positioned as the PDP consensus candidate.

Former Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism during the Obi administration, Chief JoeMartins Uzodike told reporters in Awka that Obi would be persuaded to join the race.

He said: “Top PDP members have been mounting pressure on Obi to contest the senatorial election and the former governor has no option but to oblige. PDP is yet to submit the name of its candidate for the election and we are pleading with Obi to run.

“We know that once he is chosen as our candidate, he will win the election in view of his

popularity in the zone and in the entire Anambra State.”

But the national chairman of APGA, Chief Victor Oye described PDP’s plan to draft exgovernor Obi into the rerun poll as a wishful thinking, adding, “we are not afraid of any person in this election as we have the capacity to crush any candidate.”

He also argued that since Obi did not participate in any primary of PDP, he is therefore not even qualified to take part in the re-run election.

Coalition welcomes postponement

Meanwhile, a group which calls itself the Anambra Central People’s Coalition welcomed the

postponement, arguing that it was not the first time INEC would postpone election after fixing a date.

In a statement signed by the coordinator, Elder Emeka Anazulike, women leader, Mrs. Rosemary Okeke, among other people, the group wondered why INEC should rush the election when there were still some unresolved issues pertaining to the election.

“The postponement will give equal opportunity to parties that are in court to put their houses in order before the re-run,” the statement said.

Despite the postponement, the APGA candidate continued his campaign yesterday in parts of the senatorial zone, asking the electorate not to be deterred by the statement that came from INEC.

Recalling materials

In another development, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has recalled all the materials already being delivered to Anambra Central senatorial election earlier scheduled for Saturday back to its headquarters following the indefinite postponement of the exercise by the commission.

It was gathered in INEC that the materials being withdrawn had no PDP logo on them and following the Federal High Court ruling directing INEC to include the party in the election, the materials had to be recalled.

Meanwhile, it was gathered yesterday that INEC has already appealed against the ruling of the Federal High Court directing the postponement of the election and inclusion of PDP in the exercise.

Following the development yesterday,, many aspirants started putting up their posters in parts of the senatorial zone.

Some of the candidates who spoke on the matter expressed happiness that they would have more time to campaign.

BIAFRA: Pope Francis urges dialogue, negotiation •Cautions Nigerian government on repentance •As MASSOB accuses FG of plan to deport agitators

By By Clifford Ndujihe & Chimaobi Nwaiwu

N

NEWI—THE Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, yesterday, released the text of the Catholic Pontiff, Pope Francis address to thousands of IPOB members who gathered last Sunday at the Vatican City for the weekly Angelus, saying the Pope has cautioned their oppressors, the Nigerian government and its military and their agents to repent and stop killing Biafra agitators or face the wrath of God that will be catastrophic.

The text of the Catholic Pontiff address which was made available to Vanguard by the IPOB Media and Publicity Officer, Mr. Emma Powerful, disclosed that the Pope advised the Biafra agitators and the crowd that gathered at St Peter's Square from the balcony of the Apostolic Palace to be patient in all they are doing, that God’s patience towards their oppressors is without limit but the time to end their oppression is now.

IPOB quoted the Pontiff to have said that “it is never too late to convert an oppressor to change from his evil activities, including murderous activities, but it is urgent, it is now, let them begin today to change from their oppression and killing of innocent people through all sorts of violent means, including the jack boot of the military.”

According to the pro Biafra group, the Pope spoke on “invincible patience,” explaining how God’s “unyielding concern for sinners” should provoke patience in us, asking if we have thought of God’s patience.

Leader of Indigenous People of Biafra,IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu. “ Have you thought of His unyielding concern for sinners, how this should provoke patience among people, including governments, instead of killing people on slightest provocation or no provocation at all, let alone people who are protesting against unfair treatments or for something they feel is their right?”

IPOB said the Pope told them that God does not permit tragedies to punish sins but rather, that Jesus uses warnings that sinners will perish if they do not repent, adding that if the oppressors of peaceful agitators like the Biafra agitators in Nigeria fail to repent, the wrath of God will be catastrophic against them.

The Pontiff according to IPOB, welcomed the need to firmly and unreservedly focus on negotiations and dialogue between governments and agitators all over the world including Biafra agitators and the government of Nigeria, like it was done in Syria which has brought the current ceasefire in the country, involving

government and rebel forces.

“I invite all to pray so that this window of opportunity can give relief to the suffering people and agitators and encourage the necessary humanitarian aid, and open the way to dialogue and much desired peace” he said.

Planned deportation

In another development, the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, has condemned the plan by the Norwegian government to illegally deport Lotachukwu Okolie, the detained leader of pro Biafra agitators in Norway and his counterpart Onyedikachi Ani, also detained, who is married to a Norwegian and has a child with her, and other Biafra activists in the country.

According to a statement by the leader of MASSOB, Mr. Uchenna Madu, a plan is allegedly being hatched to deal with Biafra agitating groups.

The statement read: “Norway and Nigeria have already perfected plans of deporting them through chartered cargo airplane from Belgium, to transport them to Lagos

on March 9, 2016. The information we have is that the Norwegian government have struck a deal with Nigerian Immigrations Service, in Lagos to accept all the deportees and bypass the embassy which knows about their pro Biafra activities but cooked up lies against them and consider them threat to Nigeria security, which means they will be eliminated on arrival.

No to falsehood Worried by all the rumours making the rounds on the issue of Biafra, the umbrella body of Igbo Socio-Cultural organisations, Ohanaeze Ndigbo has denied meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on agitation for Republic of Biafra and warned proponents of Radio Biafra to desist from airing falsehood because ‘’he who goes to equity must come with clean hands.’’

The apex Igbo group gave the warning following Radio Biafra reports that Ohanaeze had aborted the actualisation of Biafra as a country, that some white people from America held a meeting with Ndigbo through Ohanaeze with the intent of delivering a United Nation’s Certificate of Recognition and Independence of the Republic of Biafra.

Describing the claims as a ruse, Ohanaeze Secretary General, Dr. Joe Nwaorgu, in a statement, said the reports were distortions of the visit of the new United States ConsulGeneral in Nigeria, John Bray and his team to the South-East, during which they had a meeting with Ohanaeze at Nike Lake Hotel, Enugu.

Noting that the visit was part of Bray’s familiarisation tour of the country, Nwaorgu said the consulgeneral ‘’had meetings with the governors in the various states and in Enugu, the headquarters of Ohanaeze, he had a meeting with us on Igbo perception of Nigeria."

Vanguard, WEDNSDAY, MARCH 2, 2016—45

How I made perfect score at UNILAG —Ayodele Dada •Says I don’t consider myself a genius

By Dayo Adesulu

T

HE audience including graduating students, their parents and well-wishers stood still, yesterday, listening with rapt attention, in the hope of learning one or two study skills from Mr. Ayodele Daniel Dada, the all time best student of the University of Lagos, UNILAG. Dada, the new academic kid on the block, graduated with a Cumulative Grade Point Average, CGPA, of 5.00, which is a 100 per cent record. In essence, he scored As in all the courses he took from the first year to the final year including his departmental and borrowed courses.

Asked how he accomplished the extraordinary academic feat and his advice to students, Dada said every student must discover his best reading and assimilation time and utilise it optimally.

“I do not believe a student has to read for hours before he can assimilate and emerge as the best student... Every student must find out his best way or time to read. On my part, I read anything, anywhere and everywhere and take note of striking words, which I immediately cross check in my dictionary. One thing with me is that I do not easily grasp when I read, but once I understand, I hardly forget,'' he said.

Best graduating student Dada made the disclosures in an interview with Vanguard and while delivering his valedictory speech as the best graduating student of the University of Lagos, at the 2014/2015 convocation ceremony, yesterday at the institution's Multi-purpose Hall, Akoka, Lagos.

Recalling his years of toiling as an under graduate of Psychology, Dada said that the graduation ceremony culminates the several days of sweat, tears and blood he put in, adding that sacrifices had been made and races had been run before the success. Dada 29, who hails from Efon-Alaye, Ekiti State, narrated how he sold GSM accessories and computers at the Computer Village, Ikeja to further his education.

He told Vanguard how he sat for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations, UTME, twice without gaining admission into the university because on both occasions, his results were canceled. ''Not because I did not pass but it was seized by JAMB for reasons best known to them,” he said.

According to him, when it was apparent that his parents, who wanted him to study Engineering were no longer supportive financially, he resolved to go into buying, selling and teaching to realize his dream..

The First Class graduate of

Psychology, who disclosed that it took him years to convince his parents to allow him study the course of his choice, said: ‘’It is better to be best in a course you have passion for than studying a course where you end up being a mediocre,’’and urged parents to allow their children study courses they are passionate about.

Delivering his valedictory speech at the 5,000 capacity Multipurpose Hall, Dada said: ‘’I have been labeled as a genius in the media. Let me assure you that I do not consider myself to be one.

I acknowledge that I may be highly intelligent but the label of genius may be a bit more than I deserve. This is because I may not be so excellent in any other domain outside psychology.

‘’Why do I say this? It means that you do not have to be a genius to get the best result. Augustus Caesar reminded all who cared to listen that Rome was once clay in his remark: Latericium Inveni, Marmoream Reliqui. (I meet it as clay, I leave it as marble).

Rome, which became the cynosure of all nations, was once mostly clay until the strategic and futuristic thinking of Augustus produced a city worthy of an empire. ‘’I strongly believe that every human being could be a genius in at least one thing no matter where they start out. Albert Einstein graduated from the College of Education in Zurich in the year 1900 at the bottom of his class, yet he is the benchmark for genius today.

‘’We love stories of genius because they resonate with something in us all. It is an archetype in our collective unconsciousness, which represents the hero/heroine and this hero(ine) is celebrated in folklore and modern movies. ‘’I implore us all to discover the hero(ine) within us since we were not made for mediocrity by the Creator. One of my lecturers in the Department of Psychology, Dr Ayenibiowo, once echoed the words of Martin Luther who said, “Excellence in your endeavor is the best way to serve God”.

For UNILAG, he said: “Facility upgrades are occurring on a university-wide scale, the lines of communication between the students and the leadership have experienced a marked overhaul

and the rewards for academic excellence are improving even as career fairs are hosted and organized by the university to grant eligible final year students the opportunity to secure gainful employment with the best organizations globally. I am currently a beneficiary of such career fairs as I was able to secure an internship with a global multinational consequently.’’

Dada, who believed that UNILAG is doing great said that the school has faced stiff competition from sister federal institutions as well as private institutions for an unrivaled status. According to him, although UNILAG can confidently say that it occupies an enviable academic position in the nation, he added, “Good enough is never good enough”.

He averred that the vision of the current university leadership has heralded a fresh epoch and the inspiration to rewrite the story on a new page.

UNILAG graduates can compete globally — V-C

V

ICE Chancellor, University of Lagos, UNILAG, Professor Rahamon Bello, has said that graduates of the institution could compete favourably with their counterparts all over the world.

Bello, who said this in Lagos, yesterday, during the institution's 2015 convocation ceremony added: “UNILAG continues to maintain the tradition of excellence and of producing quality graduates that do compete favourably with their counterparts all over the world.”

Buttressing his claims, he said that UNILAG is one of the six universities selected for the training of graduate students across West Africa under the ECOWAS postgraduate mobility scheme, run by the Association of African Universities (AAU).

Masters and Ph.D programmes He said:''As at today, 33 students from various countries across West Africa are currently enrolled in various Masters and Ph.D programmes in the university. As part of a consortium made up of the North Western University, Illinois, USA; University of Cape Town, South Africa; University of Ibadan and the University of Lagos, the Department of Biomedical Engineering was awarded a United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant for a project entitled “Developing Innovate Interdisciplinary Biomedical Engineering programs in Africa.”

Boasting of the academic prowess of his students, Bello said: “Mr Kareem Kazeem Abiodun, Department of Mathematics emerged the overall winner of the National Mathematics Competitions for university students for the 2014/ 2015 session, organised by the

National Mathematical Centre, Abuja.”

He added that 15 students from various faculties were awarded scholarships valued at N150,000 each by ''Impact Your World’’ organisation for their academic performances, stressing that a Ph.D graduate of Economics, Dr. Taiwo Victor Ojapinwa also won the Best Ph.D Thesis Award in Nigerian universities for the 2014/2015 session.

His words: “Our Geoscience students, in 2015, won two major inter varsity quiz competitions which was hosted by University of Ibadan and organised by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists/ Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorations and the other by the Nigerian Mining and Geoscience Society and hosted by the University of Ilorin.”

Meanwhile, speaking at the first phase of the graduation ceremony, the vice chancellor said that out of

the 2,585 graduating students from faculties of Arts, Education, Environmental Sciences, Science and Social Sciences, 66 graduating students finished in

the First Class Honours. Bello said that among this cohort of graduands, Mr. Ayodele Daniel Dada broke a record, graduating with a perfect score, having obtained a Cumulative GPA of 5.00.

46 —Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016

We’ll resist plot to scrap NSC HERE was a new twist over the weekend concerning the alleged plan by the Federal Government to scrap the National Sports Commission (NSC). The issue of scraping the commission gained momentum with the merging of the NSC with the Ministry of Youth as efforts by the federal government to reduce its spending.

Addressing the media over the weekend after a meeting of the National Executive Committee of the association, President of NAPHER.SD, Alhaji Yusuf Dauda said the planned scrapping of the NSC is ill-advised and a misplaced priority. He said that sports is a specialized area which

needs core professionals to preside over as against the practice where people who knew little or nothing about sports were given the sector to manage.

Dauda who vowed that the NAPHER.SD will use every arsenal within its reach to resist the move also appealed to the federal government to have a rethink because the NSC remains the most potent central agency for the development and management of sports in Nigeria as empowered by decree 34 of August 1971.

“People that have the pedigree in sports professionalism should equally be ministers of sports. A situation where

you bring somebody who has finance background to come and be permanent secretary in the ministry of sports; what does he know about sports?. Civil service is a different thing and when we are talking of professionalism.

Can anybody think of putting a health minister who is not a medical doctor or without health background, or a justice minister who is not a lawyer?

“If we have been very lenient and tolerated all this we will no longer accept it because this is part of the problem we are facing today and that is why anybody can wakeup and contemplate scrapping the NSC because he does not know what it entails.

NFF

against Egypt and ensure that Nigeria’s flag flutters at the Nations Cup in Gabon. ‘’We’ve made sure that they are comfortable and can tell you that we have given Siasia a car ’’, Green said. Then somebody asked if it was ‘’Oliseh’s car?’’. ‘’Car is car’’, Green replied but noted that the important thing was that the Technical crew were not leaving anything behind as they have been ‘’putting heads together with Technical Director, Amodu Shaibu. ‘’I can tell you that our

players who are based abroad have inundated us with calls to express their desire and willingness to come and play in the match against Egypt.

One player said that if it means shedding blood, they will shed it to ensure that they beat Egypt’’, Green said. He however, added that it was totally the work of the coaching crew to determine who gets invited and finally plays. ‘’For now, we’re focused on the match against Egypt. And that is our priority ’’, he emphasised.

By Jude Opara, Abuja

T

Continues from B/Page

Chad with six points from two matches, two points ahead of Nigeria.

Two executive members of the NFF, Barristers Seyi Akinwunmi and Chris Green, first Vice President and Chairman of Technical and Development Committee of the NFF respectively, said that they had banished the talks, or exchanges of words with former coach Sunday Oliseh as they face the all-important match against the Pharaohs of Egypt. ‘’There is nothing more to say regarding Oliseh.

Instead, there are many things for us to look up to as we prepare for the match against Egypt.

The distraction is over.

We are focused on our ‘’Operation beat Egypt and we are excited and positive that Siasia will lead Nigeria to see off the Egyptians’’, Akinwunmi said.

Collaborating, Green said that the NFF has empowered the new technical crew led by Samson Siasia with Salisu Yussuf, Emmanuel Amuneke and Alloy Agu to get the best result

—Napher SD

Nigerian coaches Continues from B/Page

Bewarang in a statement issued yesterday criticized the NFF boss over the statement which he noted was not fair to Nigerian Coaches who, according to him, have contributed immensely to the development of the game in the country.

Bewarang further criticized Pinnick for making the statement even when his NFF only turned to the same Nigerian coaches to salvage the national team in the

We’ll meet in court, NFF tells Oliseh Continues from B/Page

iseh.

This is a continuation of the war of words, which has trailed coach Oliseh’s sudden resignation from his post as Super Eagles coach.

The NFF had claimed that Oliseh collected his salary totalling N20m before he dropped the bombshell last weekend but Oliseh’s lawyers gave the NFF 48hours starting on Monday to retract the claims.

However, NFF’s head C M Y K

of communication department, Ademola Olajire said those were just empty threats as the Federation has proof of payments.

“The NFF is not bothered by such threats. He can go to court. Oliseh is not the only one who has lawyers. The NFF has a legal department and it is ready,”Olajire said.

It was gathered that money was paid on February 23 to the coach through a Sterling Bank account.

forthcoming twin 2017 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers against the Pharaohs of Egypt this month.

He also wondered why the same NFF who is crying of shortage of funds as well as having a bad reputation of not obeying the contractual agreement with the indigenous coaches will now be talking of hiring a foreign coach.

“The attention of the Nigeria Football Coaches Association has been drawn to a statement credited to the NFF President, Amaju Pinnick that enough is enough for Nigerian Coaches in the Super Eagles. We want to say as an Association that that statement from the NFF President was the most unfortunate in the present dispensation.

“This statement is coming at a time when the present administration is struggling to conserve the little foreign currencies that is available, that is when the NFF leadership is thinking of employing a foreign coach who may not be as competent as those that are based here at home.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016 — 47

Ronaldo forgiven by Real players — Zindane

World Cup with Super Eagles was a blast — Ameobi F

ORMER Newcastle United striker, Shola Ameobi has said his appearance with the Super Eagles at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil was a great moment in his life.

Ameobi who was speaking in an interview with chroniclelive.com revealed that it was almost as if he was going to miss out on the global soccer fiesta until coach Stephen Keshi, gave him an opportunity to prove himself with the Super Eagles.

“What a blast that was.

For me I never thought that would happen once I started moving into my late-20s, but now I’ve been to the World Cup. “As a player, as a young kid growing up in the streets of Newcastle, just a stone throw from St James’ Park, the World Cup is what you live for.

“I remember the 1990 World Cup, all the kids were running around the streets of Newcastle, (Salvatore) Schillaci, (Gary) Lineker and Gazza (Paul Gascoigne).

“I just thank God that I had the opportunity to do that because it’s the pinnacle of our game. It

was absolutely surreal, but my goodness what an experience.”

Speaking on his nomadic career of late, which has seen him land at league one outfit Fleetwood Town. Ameobi said he missed Newcastle.

“Listen, I’m a Geordie and every time I stepped on to that St James’ Park pitch it was a huge honour for me,” the 34year-old explains with a genuine glint in his eye.

“It was very tough to have to go, knowing that I wouldn’t play there in black and white again.

“I still feel part of it and not being able to go into the dressing room... I get emotional just thinking about it. It’s still extremely raw with me even close to two years on.”

R

EAL Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane insists he has put Cristiano Ronaldo’s outburst at his own teammates behind him as he attempts to turnaround a terrible season for the Spanish giants.

Madrid sit third in La Liga, 12 points adrift of runaway leaders Barcelona, after losing 10 to Atletico Madrid on Saturday.

However, after the game Ronaldo said Real would be top if his teammates matched his standards.

The three-time World Player of the Year later rectified his comments by claiming he was only referring to his colleagues level of fitness as Madrid have been ravaged by injuries this season.

“Cristiano has spoken

Delight... Ameobi reveals his World Cup joy

Eagles to storm Egypt on chartered aircraft

T

HE Nigeria Football Federation announced yesterday that the Super Eagles would storm Cairo, Egypt, on a chartered aircraft for the reverse match of the African Cup of Nations

qualifier four days after hosting the Pharaohs in Kaduna on March 25. ‘’We’re looking ahead and have concluded plans to go on a chartered aircraft. It’s in our system to do that’’, first

Vice President of the NFF, Seyi Akinwunmi said.

He also announced that the first leg match at the Ahamadu Bello stadium in Kaduna would kick-off by 4 p.m.

My decision to quit Eagles final — Emenike R ETIRED Super Eagls striker, Emmanuel Emenike has told football fans who still want to see him don the jersey of the senior national team to forget the idea as his decision to quit remains final Emenike who was recently put on loan to West Ham United in the English Premiership by his Greek team Fenerbahce said the sudden resignation of Sunday Oliseh from the Eagles will not change his decision to call it quits with the team.

“With due respect to the fans and every patriotic football lovers across the World who still wants to see me play for the Eagles, my decision is very simple in the sense that I want to give room for other players in the team,” he told mtnfootball.com.

“I don’t mean to hurt anybody especially my fans who want to see me back for Nigeria. I know the fans are always supportive whenever I played for the country. I can’t turn back on the Super Eagles even though I am not going to be there again.

“The players have

been wonderful, they are my friends and I always motivate some of them to get better and lift the team. I don’t want to look disrespectful to the fans, who have always believed in me and the team,” he stressed.

On the crucial Nations Cup qualifier against Egypt, Emenike said he was sure the Eagles could defeat the north

Zidane... Real coach with everyone. This subject is behind us,” Zidane said on Tuesday.

“We all know the importance Cristiano has and we are all with him.

“The issue has been fixed. The most important thing is what we have ahead and we will face that by all sticking together.”

Don’t distract Rashford, van Gaal warns journalists

L

OUIS van Gaal has asked the media to leave Marcus Rashford alone in order to allow the teenager to flourish at Manchester United.

The 18-year-old has gone from unknown quantity to household name in less than a week following his goalscoring exploits against FC Midtjylland and Arsenal.

The Manchester-born forward scored twice on

his United debut against Midtjylland in the Europa League last Thursday and followed that up with a three-minute brace against the Gunners on Sunday afternoon.

Rashford is now the name on everyone’s lips and the face on every newspaper back page, but Van Gaal wants reporters to keep their distance.

Africans without him “And even without me, Nigeria will beat Egypt with the talented stars from across the world in the team with the fans always there to ginger and support the team to victory. I believe Nigeria will beat Egypt and nothing will stop them from getting to the Nations Cup,” he said.

Siasia: We want Enyeama, Emenike back in Eagles

S

UPER Eagles stand in coach, Samson Siasia said the Nigeria Football Federation has opened a line of communication with retired goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama and striker Emmanuel Emenike.

Both players have ruled out returning to the national team after they were pushed into early retirement by coach Sunday Oliseh.

But Siasia said yesterday in Abuja that the Eagles need the best Nigerian players to face the campaigns ahead.

“We just finished talking with the NFF Tech-

nical Director, Shaibu Amadu; we are just putting the list of invited players together and after the NFF Technical Committee meeting on Thursday, the list should be released.

“The Super Eagles’ Secretary, Dayo Enebi, will be contacting the invited players and he is talking with Enyeama and Emenike; we will talk with them when they are ready to talk.

“We will be happy to see these players back in the team if they can help us to qualify for 2017 AFCON,” Siasia.

Working Man... Emenike running the lines for the Super Eagles at the 2014 World Cup

MFM keep faith with Ilechukwu OUNTAIN of Fire goal. His howler gifted the way forward for the M FC coach, Fidelis hat-trick hero Wasiu team,” coach Ilechukwu said.

Ilechukwu said he will Jimoh. not dump goalkeeper James Aiyeyemi following their fall to Shooting Stars 3-0 in Ibadan in a Week three game.

MFM goalkeeper Aiyeyemi was at fault for the first two goals particularly the opening

But the coach insisted his first team against 3SC are capable of winning against Sunshine Stars in Lagos on Wednesday.

“I believe in team cohesion and synergy, changing the players that prosecuted that game against 3SC for me is not

“We won’t allow our below-par performance against 3SC force us to ring changes against Sunshine Stars.

“The game against Sunshine will be our fourth league match, we mustn’t experiment with our team.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016

Today’s matches

Eagles to storm Egypt on chartered flight --P.47

NFF launches ‘Operation beat Egypt’ *Banishes talks on Oliseh

By Tony Ubani

T

HE Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, has finally put all talks of Sunday Oliseh’s resignation behind them and launched what it called, ‘’Operation beat Egypt’’ ahead of the double header African Cup

of Nations qualifier in Kaduna, in which their hope of qualifying for Gabon 2017 rests on obtaining a positive result.

Nigeria host Egypt on March 25 at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna, while the return leg in Cairo will be played four days later. Egypt are on top of the Group G that also has Tanzania and

*Siasia

NPFL Ifeanyi Uba v Shooting Stars 4pm Warri Wolves v Rangers 4pm MFM v Sunshine Stars 4pm Enyimba v Ikorodu Utd 4pm Lobi Stars v El Kanemi 4pm Akwa Utd v Heartland 4pm Tornadoes v Nasarawa 4pm Abia Warriors v Kano Pillars 4pm Wikki Tourist v Plateau Utd 4pm EPL Arsenal v Swansea 8:45pm Stoke v Newcastle 8:45pm West Ham v Tottenham 8:45pm Liverpool v Man City 9pm Man Utd v Watford 9pm LA LIGA Athletic Bilbao v Deportivo 8pm Celta Vigo v Villarreal 8pm Malaga v Valencia 8pm Sevilla v Eibar 8pm Levante v Real Madrid 9pm BUNDESLIGA Leverkusen v Werder Bremen 8pm Bayern Munich v Mainz 8pm M’gladbach v Stuttgart 8pm Hertha Berlin v Frankfurt 8pm Hoffenheim v FC Augsburg 8pm SV Darmstadt v Dortmund 8pm Schalke v Hamburg 8pm

Nigerian coaches We’ll meet in court, tackle Pinnick

By Jude Opara, Abuja NFF tells Oliseh P

By Ben Efe N Continues on page 46

RESIDENT of the Nigeria Football Coaches Association, Bitrus Bewarang has taken a swipe at the President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick over comments attributed to him that the era of indigenous coaches handling the Super Eagles is over.

IGERIA Football Federation officials have laughed off threats by legal representatives of coach Sunday Oliseh, to sue the football ruling house over claims concerning payments made to Ol Continues on page 46 *EMENIKE: No longer available for international duty

*Green

Continues on page 46

*Bewarang

My decision to quit Eagles final ---Emenike

-P.47

QUICK CROSSWORD

T OD AY'S PUZZLE ODA

FRI DAY'S ANS WERS FRID ANSWERS

ACROSS DOWN 3 Showy (5) 1 Fundamental (5) 9 Thoroughfare (6) 2 Number (5) 10 Consuming (6) 3 Coach (3) 11 Perfume (5) 4 Modern (6) 12 Thought (4) 5 Remit (4) 15 Sapient (4) 6 Headgear (3) 17 Permission (7) 7 Inflexible (5) 20 Expire (3) 8 Tally (5) 21 Shy (5) 13 Gave (7) 23 So be it (4) 14 Advantage (5) 25 Entrance (4) 16 Quiet (7) 26 Symbol (5) 18 Weary (5) 28 Fix (3) 19 Large (3) 30 Protection (7) 22 Old-fashioned (5) 33 Revise (4) 24 And not (3) 35 Caribou (4) 27 Irritate (6) 36 Nativity (5) 28 Calm (5) 38 Frank (6) 29 Titan (5) 39 Alighted (6) 31 Poor (5) 40 Drugged (5) 32 Wear (5) 34 Swimming-point (4) 36 Offer (3) 37 Owned (3)

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS ACROSS: 1, Detest 5, Rescue 9, Power 10, Forget 11, Ashore 12, Dance 14, Clad 17, Let 18, Cute 20, Tidal 22, Arson 23, Recline 24, Gaped 26, Tepid 29, Iced 30, Act 32, Diced 33, Cited 35, Totter 36, Native 37, Depot 38, Darted 39, Reined.

DOWN: 1, Defect 2, Thread 3, Sped 4, Total 5, React 6, Erse 7, Crocus 8, Eleven 13, Neglect 15, Lilac 16, Dared 18, Creed 19, Tonic 21, Led 22, Ant 24, Gifted 25, Pester 27, Pinion 28, Depend 30, Aired 31, Tenor 33, Cede 34, Date.

How to Play Sudoku

P

lace a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line can have two of the same number).

Each row (nine lines from left to right), column, (also nine lines from top to bottom) and 3 X 3 block within a bold block (nine blocks) contains number from 1 through 9. This means that no number can appear twice in any block, column or row.

No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction, division or multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination.

Printed and Published by VANGUARD MEDIA LIMITED, Vanguard Avenue, Kirikiri Canal, P.M.B.1007, Apapa. Phone: Newsroom: 018773962. Deputy Editor: 01-4548355. Advert Dept Hotline: 014544821. Abuja Advert Hotline: 09-2921024. E-mail: editor@vanguardngr.com, news@vanguardngr.com, letters@vanguardngr.com. Advert:advertproduction@yahoo.com Website: www.vanguardngr.com (ISSN 0794-652X) Editor: MIDENO BAYAGBON. Phone: 01-7742861, All correspondence to P.M.B. 1007, Apapa Lagos.

C M Y K