More trouble for dana

...towards a better life for the people VOL. 25: NO. 61638

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

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DANA CRASH—Relations of the DANA air crash visit Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) Ikeja, to identify bodies of lost ones. Top left: Government begins demolition of structures at crash site. More pictures on pages 8&9.

PLANE CRASH LATEST:

More trouble for DANA •FG suspends airline's operating licence

DEAR BUNMI:

•150 bodies now recovered; 29 identified at LASUTH •Reps probe air worthiness of all aircraft in Nigeria •Lagos commences demolition of affected buildings •P.49

•Senate asks Demuren to step aside Lagos suspends —P.48 activities for one week

Saving President Jonathan •P.17

Lagos doctors resume work, condole with crash victims' families Pg.6

BY HENRY UMORU, INALEGWU SHAIBU, LAWANI MIKAIRU, CHIOMA OBINNA & DANIEL ETEGHE

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AGOS—THE F e d e r a l Government, yesterday, grounded Dana Airline following last Sunday’s crash of its Lagos-bound aircraft at Iju-Ishaga area killing all the 154 passengers and crew on board as well as 16 others

Continues on Page 5

Could my ex be the father? •P.38 Mr & Mrs

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Vanguard, WEDNESD AY, JUNE 6, 2012—5 WEDNESDA

More trouble for DANA Airline Continues from Page 1 on ground when it landed on a two-storey building.

Special Adviser (Media) to the Minister of Aviation, Mr Joe Obi who confirmed the withdrawal of the airline’s operational licence said it was “suspended for safety operational reasons”. This is to allow authorities carry out a thorough investigation into its operations as well as the circumstances that led to Sunday’s plane crash.

Senate asks Demuren to step aside The Senate had earlier advised the Federal Government to ground Dana Airlines just as it directed the Director General, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, Mr. Harold Demuren to step down to allow for full scale investigation of airline operators in Nigeria.

The upper chamber in a sombre mood, yesterday, also demanded the release of previous investigative reports of air crashes in Nigeria from the Federal Government to prevent further air

mishaps.

Adopting a motion entitled: ‘The Crash of Dana and Allied Airlines Aircraft’, sponsored by Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Hope Uzodinma and 29 others, the Senate stressed that Aviation regulatory agencies must be blamed for the ill-fated Dana crash which threw the nation into mourning and wailing on Sunday.

Senator Uzodinma while moving the motion said: “The latest crash is a clear indication of failure and or negligence of relevant regulatory functions in the aviation industry which if unchecked could lead to more devastating air mishaps in the future.

Uzodinma who also addressed journalists on the crash after the plenary said the Senate will ensure that those behind the mishap were brought to book and adequately punished, adding, “if this matter is as a result of negligence on the part of any of the parties, we will ensure that the people are adequately punished.”

In their various contributions to the motion, the lawmakers concluded that regulatory

LIFEWORDS

BY PASTOR ITUAH

You are the direct product of your actions or inactions. The things you do today are seeds sown to be harvested in later years leading to a blissful life or a life full of pain, regret and sorrow for you and generations to come.

The apparent actions or in-actions of the last generation is the direct effect of the experiences this generation is going through. What this generation is doing will determine what. Be careful how you act so the incoming generation does not describe you as an harbinger or pain and regret.

TAKE HEART

BY ELLA RANDLE

We are like water. Water cannot become any wetter, because being wet is not something apart from water. In the same way, love and kindness are not attributes that we can add to our being. Our true self is loving and kind at its core —Mary Jacsch.

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ACSCH expresses a deeper understanding by her writings on what motivates our desire for change. You may find these insights pleasant or uncomfortable discovery but whatever you choose to accept often most of life’s challenges stem from a lack of self-love, self-acceptance and awareness. This much I have come to know to be true.

How can we find ways to cultivate loving-kindness toward ourselves and others? Each one of us has the capacity for boundless love and kindness.

That’s why it can’t be given or acquired. There is a saying that “If you are busy thinking you should be kind, you might miss the reality that kindness is already present. In you. You might want to ask – “if that’s the case, why am I often grumpy and struggle to feel kindness in my heart?” The answer is simple: Our capacity for boundless love and kindness lies deep within. So do unto others as you will want for yourself and try to be helpful when life presents the opportunity.

agencies responsible for failing to do their work.

In his contribution, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu who warned that regulatory agencies must wake up to their responsibilities, said: “I can see young people, children whose dreams and aspirations were dashed. Those whose contributions would have helped in national development were cut short. This is a very trying moment for us and it is very pathetic. We must draw lessons from this and confront the situation to ensure it does not happen again, my worry is that when this thing happens, information start coming of warnings about this.”

Disaster avoidable — Makarfi Senator Ahmed Makarfi who noted that the disaster was avoidable if only the management of the airline and regulatory agencies were alive to their responsibilities, said: “It was an avoidable disaster in my view and the view of almost all Nigerians. The warning signals were there to indicate how delicate the aircraft was but somebody must have certified it airworthy.

It is condemnable to lose these lives. It is sad and must stop in this country.”

The Senate President David Mark who presided, joined Nigerians in mourning the crash, while asking that Dana should stop operating immediately, just as he stressed that grounding Dana would show the seriousness of government in tackling air mishaps, adding, “ we want this report on time and those in charge of these operations must step aside honourably. He said the need to ground Dana Airline should be communicated to the executive before tomorrow as a test of whether the executive will implement further reports.”

Lagos State govt insists on autopsy Meanwhile, the Management of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH has released a list of 29 victims that have been identified by their relatives even as relations of victims who thronged Hospital

POCKET CARTOON

mortuary for possible collection of the bodies may not claim their corpses until autopsy is carried out on them according to Lagos State coroner law.

Identified bodies at LASUTH Some of the identified bodies at LASUTH as released by the hospital management include Martin Alade (M), Sonny Ehioghae (M), Temitope Ariyibi (F), Okocha Christopher (M), Stanford Obstrute (M), Ikpoki Obiola (M), Patrick Eze Okonji (M), Bassey Eyo (M), Kanguyi (Chinese (M)), Charles Ntoko (M), Dr Abiodun Jonathan (M), Ifeanwaka Jones (M) Obot Emmanuel (M), Prof C.O. Onwuluri, Chinwe Uzoamaka Obi (F), Olabinjo Awodogbin (M), Anibaba Tosin (F), Obinna Akubueze (M) Nagidi Ibrahim (M), Mahmud Ahmed Dukawa (M), Ibrahim Jangana (M), George Moses (M), Femi Shobowale (M), Ailende Ehi Joel (M), John Ahmadu Hamza (D.I.G)(M), Kim Edger Norris (M), One female, two babies.

Vanguard gathered that 14 out of the 43 bodies at the hospital’s mortuary were yet to be identified by their relatives.

Unfortunately, though the relations of the victims who have identified their dead relations corpses are becoming impatient asking authorities of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, when they will eventually take the corpses of their dead, the answer has been that they should exercise patience.

As the clamour to take away identified corpses continued yesterday at LASUTH morgue, Chief Medical Director, LASUTH, Prof Wale Oke told impatient relations of the dead, “already we have started doing the autopsy today, and we are going to do at least 12 autopsies per day”.

As at 2 pm yesterday, Prof. John Obafunwa, consultant Pathologist and Forensic Medicine and Vice Chancellor, Lagos State University, LASU, led seven other pathologists to commence authopsy on the corpses.

Oke explained,”every corpse leaving our mortuaries will leave with a death certificate. And we cannot issue death

certificates without authopsy,” he said.

Calmed a bit by the CMD’S explanation that the corpses need to be taken away with death certificates, the waiting continued by victims' relations.

For many of the relations of the victims, the waitng game to collect their relations corpses has turned into indignation.

Victims' relations besiege LASUTH Earlier in the day, those who have not identified the corpses of their loved ones were anxious to do that. Two family members of the deceased were allowed into the morgue at a time to identify the corpses of their family members.

A fair complexioned, middle-aged woman whose husband was a member of Dana plane cabin crew cried to whoever cared to listen, ”let me see my husband’s body first.” Amidst the barrage of consolation by sympathisers, she continued,”I have heard, I just want to see his body.” Another middleaged man kept asking authorities of LASUTH, ”when can we have our relation's body? Let's just have it and take it away.”

Mr Izu Okafor, brother of a victim who died while sleeping in his bedroom in one the buildings the plane crashed into, late Nwabuwa Okafor, lamented the delay in taking away his brother's corpse. ”I came on Monday to see my brother ’s corpse,but couldn’t, I was told today by 2pm, I am still waiting,”he said.

Intermittently, officials of LASUTH try to calm relations of the dead by explaining to them that despite the grievious and unfortunate incident that

occurred, due process needed to be followed in handling matters arisng.

Answering a question on how long it will take to hand over identified corpses to family members, CMD LASUTH, told newsmen that ”in the next three days, all identified corpses must have been handed over to their families. Our team of pathologists have started work today. We are being careful not to hand over a corpse to the wrong family” Meanwhile, the stench grew stronger yesterday from the LASUTH mortuary. Oke explained: “We have 43 dead bodies from the plane crash inside the mortuary plus the bodies that were there before. I don’t think this mortuary has been stretched like this before.”

Earlier, 29 bodies at LASUTH morgue were identified by family members, after which the family members were given forms to fill for identification process which also included taking passport photographs of family representatives and photocopies of their international passports.

Around 2pm, the remaining 14 corpses were brought to the back of the mortuary for identification. Relations, which included expatriates, milled around the corpses trying to identify them.

Face-masks given to people to use in the mortuary eased the pungent odour from the dead bodies.

A group of Chinese nationals who work with a popular construction company in Lagos seemed to be the most desparate among waiting relatives of the deceased.

Reason: The lost six colleagues in the crash.

6—VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

Recalled Lagos doctors resume work today

BY CHIOMA OBINNA

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Former governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel during his arraignment in Abeokuta, yesterda y.

AGOS — FOLLOW ING Sunday’s directive by the national body of the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, doctors under the auspices of the Medical Guild, return to work today following suspension of the indefinite strike called to press for full implementation of the Consolidated Medical Salary Scale, CONMESS. At a press conference in Lagos, after a congress held at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, Chairman

ALLEGED N6.5BN FRAUD:

Sylva docked, remanded in EFCC custody zAs court rules on his bail application tomorrow

BY IKECHUKWU NNOCHIRI

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BUJA — TRIAL of the former governor of Bayelsa State, Mr Timipre Sylva, who is facing corruption charges preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, kicked off on a dramatic note, yesterday, as a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered his remand in prison custody.

However, the order was reversed barely two minutes after it was made yesterday, with presiding Justice Adamu Bello directing the EFCC to keep the accused person in its custody till tomorrow when the merit of his application for bail would be determined.

Shortly after, Sylva who was docked at exactly 11:20 a.m, pleaded not guilty to the six-count criminal charge entered against him by the anti-graft agency, his counsel, Chief Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, begged the court to either grant him bail on self recognition or on liberal terms.

Bail application Moving the bail application dated May 27, Fagbemi pleaded the court to take cognizance of the fact that the accused appeared for trial yesterday on his own volition.

He said: “My lord, I wish to stress the point that the offences for which the accused is standing trial are bailable offences. Secondly, the accused person, on his own volition, came to court to answer to the charge preferred against him. He has never been declared

wanted, at least, there is no such evidence before this court.

“The main purpose of bail is to ensure the attendance of the accused person at the trial. My lord, enough facts and reasons have been adduced to warrant your lordship to grant the application for bail.

“We further urge your lordship to take into consideration the exaltation of the Supreme Court on the issue of bail and presumption of the accused persons’ constitutional right to innocence until his culpability is proved no matter the insinuation outside or the blackmail. My lord should consider the Supreme Court ruling in the case of Saidu Vs State, 1982, 13 NNSC, page 70, particularly at page 82, delivered

by Justice Obaseki, JSC. “Until proved guilty under appropriate laws of the land, the accused has right to walk the street, breathe Nigerian air and walk free like every other innocent man. This is why I urge my lord to make the condition for his bail liberal.

“He should be released on self recognition as former governor of Bayelsa State and the fact that he willingly submitted himself for trial.”

The said bail application was supported by an affidavit of 12 paragraphs sworn to by one Akeem Umoru.

EFCC opposes bail application However, the EFCC, in a 16-paragraph counter-affidavit deposed to by one Seyi Bakare on May 25, op-

posed the bail request, saying it previously found it very difficult to trace the whereabouts of the accused person who it said vanished into thin air immediately the charge was filed.

According to EFCC lawyer, Mr Festus Keyamo, “this court has absolute discretion to either grant or refuse bail, but we urge the court to consider in this particular case, the efforts we expended to bring the accused person to court. This court has judicial notice of that fact.

“An accused person who has shown propensity to bolt away at the slightest threat of the long arms of the law around him cannot be trusted to present himself for trial.

“That the offence is bailable is not sufficient reason to grant bail, it is the availability of the accused person to face his trial that is more important. My lord, if evidence is strong and direct, the Supreme Court said trial courts should be very weary in granting bail.

“We ask the court to deny the bail application and remand the accused person.

We are ready to commence trial.”

The prosecuting counsel further maintained that the only reason it did not charge Sylva to court while he was still in office was owing to the immunity clause, stressing that the same High Court had earlier okayed three of his former principal aides for prosecution over the same charge upon which he was docked yesterday.

Contending that the case against the accused person is weighty, EFCC prayed

the trial court to allow him to remain in custody pending the determination of the substantive suit.

After listening to arguments from both sides, trial Justice Bello ordered that the accused be remanded in Prison custody.

Before the judge could land on his ruling, Sylva’s lawyer, Fagbemi, sprang to his feet and implored the court to vary the order and allow his client to be kept in the custody of the EFCC. Sequel to a no objection stance by EFCC lawyer, Justice Adamu conceded to the request, adding that Sylva should be granted access to his lawyers.

Vanguard gathered that aside bank officials and Bureau de Change operators that allegedly helped the accused to launder funds from the Bayelsa State treasury, eight of his former aides had already volunteered to testify in court as prosecution witnesses.

EFCC had in a charge it

filed on February 24, alleged that the erstwhile governor pilfered about N6.5 billion from the Bayelsa State treasury while he was in power.

The anti-graft agency maintained that the said fraud was perfected between October 2009 and February 2010.

EFCC alleged that the accused person looted public funds under false pretence of using the monies to augment salaries of the Bayelsa State government, just as it identified three persons whose Bank accounts it said was used as conduits pipes for transfer of the illicit funds.

Names of the said accomplices were given as Habibu Sani Maigidia, a Bureau De Change Operator with Account No. 221433478108, in Fin Bank, Plc, Enson Benmer Limited with Account No. 6152030001946, in First Bank, Plc and one John Daukoru with Account No. 04800250000418, in United Bank for Africa Plc.

of the Medical Guild, Dr. Olumuyiwa Odusote said: “Tomorrow (today) by 8.00am, all doctors working with the state government are resuming work in their various hospitals having received the unconditional letters of recall.”

Odusote, however, noted that of the 788 dismissed doctors, three were yet to obtain their letters, adding: “The management has admitted that it was an omission that will be corrected immediately.”

On Dana Air crash On behalf of the Medical Guild, he called on the Federal Government to thoroughly investigate the circumstances which led to Sunday’s plane crash in Lagos.

Odusote urged the Federal, state and local governments to be more proactive in putting in place effective, coordinated emergency and disaster response mechanisms to deal with man-made or natural disasters to reduce the number of injuries and deaths in future.

He said: ”Following unconfirmed reports in the media questioning the airworthiness of the affected aircraft, we implore the Federal Government and its agencies to use this as an opportunity to carry out a comprehensive review of the transport system in general and aviation system in particular and speed up reforms earlier planned especially reassessment of all airlines and airplanes in the country, deployment of total radar and coverage of Nigeria and rehabilitation of airports in the country.

“While the nation mourns this tragedy, we wish to add our voice to the growing number of those who want a thorough investigation into the circumstances that led to the plane crash."

Air Nigeria debunks report on airworthiness

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AGOS — THE man agement of Air Nigeria, yesterday, debunked the stories allegedly circulated by its former Finance Director, John Nnorom, to the extent that the airline was not airworthy.

A statement by the airline said contrary to alleged “rumour being circulated by the ex-finance director, our safety record was unbeatable.”

The airline advised the public to disregard the publication, either in the print, electronic or

online media.

The statement reads in part: “The management of Air Nigeria wishes to draw the attention of the general public to the false and negative stories being spread by one of its ex-Finance Directors, John Nnorom.

“Mr. Nnorom only worked in the finance department of the airline before he was dismissed.

The general public is advised to disregard any such negative stories and false information by Nnorom (either in the

print, electronic or online media) “Air Nigeria has been flying the air space in the last 10 years with first class record of safety, without any accidents or even emergency landings.

“This record remains the integrity of our existence which cannot be compromised. The airline is also a proud member of the IATA and the oldest member in West Africa and one of the oldest in Africa."

VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012—7

Budget implementation: Reps to meet Finance Minister today

BY OKEY NDIRIBE & EMMAN OVUAKPORIE

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Vice President Namadi Sambo (left) signing a condolence register while during a condolence visit to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Viola Onwuliri who lost her husband to the ill-fated DANA airline plane crash. With them are her children and the Publisher of Champion newspapers, Chief Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu (right), in Abuja, Monday.

Oshiomhole alleges plot by PDP to rig Edo guber poll zOshiomhole is paranoid—Edo PDP zCourt halts use of procured ballot boxes

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM & IKECHUKWU NNOCHIRI

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ENIN CITY — GOV ERNOR Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has raised an alarm over alleged plans by the opposition party to manipulate July 14 governorship election in the state through the use of federal employees to conduct the election.

But the state PDP, however, dismissed the governor’s claim, describing it as spurious alarm.

This came as the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, from making further use of Electronic Collapsible Transparent Ballot Boxes, ECTBB. The governor who spoke at an interactive session with members of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, in the state at the Police Officers’ Mess, Benin City, argued that the pronouncement of the Director-General of National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, to stop the use of Youth Corps members for the election would only cause confusion in the state.

Oshiomhole who said the PDP at a meeting in Abuja protested the use of Youth Corps members for the conduct of the election because they were anticiC M Y K

pating violence, said it was a reflection of what they have in mind.

He said: “They protested that they do not want Corps members to conduct the elections because they saw some youth corps members at the venue of our campaigns even when it was obvious that the rallies were held in schools and students were in session. They claimed the decision was due to the violence in the state.

Where is the violence in the state? They can bring the youth corps members from anywhere, from Sokoto, from Maiduguri, but we do not want federal employees. This election must be won or lost at the polling booth.”

Oshiomhole urged the NBA to prevail on the NYSC Director General not to allow anybody to manipulate them and if they allow federal civil servants to be used to conduct the election, they would bring people that would manipulate the election.

Account of his stewardship The governor who gave an account of his stewardship said he was propelled into politics because of the poor state of affairs in the state which had so much promise and to demonstrate that the

state was viable and that led to the administration doing some things differently.

He said: “We have focussed on areas completely abandoned by previous administrations and succeeded in delivering the greatest good to the greatest number of people around Benin City and across the state. We have made a bold statement on roads, connecting the rural communities with semi urban areas.”

Edo PDP replies However, reacting, the Edo PDP said the governor was paranoid about the July 14 elections, hence he had been raising “spurious alarm” over phantom plans by the opposition to manipulate the outcome of the election.

Speaking through the party’s state Publicity Secretary, Mr. Matthew Uroghide, PDP said: “Edo people and, indeed, Nigerians are tired of Governor Oshiomhole’s paranoia and wish to tell him that if he is not ready for the elections, he should honourably withdraw.

“Again, this is one of those wild and misconceived accusations of Governor Oshiomhole and we are not surprised as it falls within the precinct of his usual blurred vision about

the preparations by all the stakeholders and the bodies superintending the conduct of the forthcoming elections in Edo State.

Court halts use of procured ballot boxes Meantime, the governorship election came under threat yesterday, as the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, from making further use of Electronic Collapsible Transparent Ballot Boxes, ECTBB. The high court, in a judgment it delivered, held that INEC had continuously violated the patent right of an indigenous company, Bedding Holdings Limited, by procuring and using the said ballot boxes to conduct elections without firstly securing the consent of the company.

Bedding Holdings which specialises in general fabrication and manufacture of steel metal products said the Collapsible Transparent Ballot Boxes were among many of its innovations duly registered with exclusive patent right issued to it by the Registrar of Patents in the Federal Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

BUJA — MEM BERS of the House of Representatives will today meet with Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Finance Minister, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on the implementation of the 2012 Appropriation Act. The meeting was rescheduled for today following a three-day mourning period declared by President Goodluck Jonathan in honour of over 190 Nigerians who died in the Dana airline last Sunday.

John Enoh, Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation while addressing Okonjo-Iweala and Bright Okongwu, Director General, Budget Office, asked them to provide detailed information on the budget implementation.

“Looking at the letter of invitation that we have extended to the Minister

of Finance, we have asked for all necessary data and information relating to releases and cash backings in terms of the implementation of the Act. "So let me request that the honourable minister will simply, or any of her officials that is here with her who is in position of these documents to just submit that to the committee secretariat.”

The Committee Chairman explained that the interactive session was in line with the committee’s mandate to monitor and supervise the implementation of the country ’s budget.

In her response, Okonjo-Iweala lauded the resolution of the committee and promised to appear before it today with requisite data.

She said: “I can tell you the summary of releases and the cash backings but I think we could give you a better detailed table that you can digest. Thank you for your kind permission to do that.”

Reps move to improve FG IGR

BY OKEY NDIRIBE

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BUJA — THE House of Representatives has set up an ad-hoc committee to urgently look into ways of improving Federal Government's Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, through the implementation of Back Duty Investigation.

The House Leader, Mulikat Adeola-Akande is the chairperson of the ad-hoc committee which is expected to look into the tax system in the

country and find ways and means to make it a world role model capable of being emulated by African countries.

The committee came to being through a resolution of the House.

Membership of the adhoc committee include: Francis Enekorogha, Aminu Hamman Ribadu, Bitrus Kaze, Femi Fakeye, Peter Ede, Babangida Ibrahim, Abdulmumin Jibrin and Solomon Adeola.

The Committee is expected to submit its report within three weeks.

Dana crash: Ashafa assures Nigerians of thorough probe

BY OLASUNKANMI AKONI

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AGOS — FOLLOW ING calls for a thorough probe into last Sunday’s crash, Senator Gbenga Ashafa, representing Lagos East Senatorial District, has described the Dana airline plane crash in IjuIshaga, Lagos, as unfortunate. He assured Ni-

gerians of a thorough probe into the incident with a view to forestalling future occurrence.

He also commiserated with the families of the victims and prayed God to grant the souls of the dead eternal rest.

Ashafa explained that the incident was of great concern to the lawmakers, hence the need to get to the root of the matter.

8—VANGU ARD, WEDNES DAY, JUNE 6, 2012 8—VANGUARD, WEDNESD

DAY 3: DANA AIRCRAFT CRASH IN LAGOS PHOTOS: Joe Akintola, Photo Editor, & Diran Oshe.

Onlookers at the scene.

Demolition of affected buildings at the site of the Dana aircraft crash began, yesterday.

Charred remains of a car.

Onlookers.

Representatives of Oba Ishola Sogbolu Lemo, Olu of Agbado, Lemo I, at the scene.

Onlookers.

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Mr. Adesegun Ogunlewe, Lagos State Head of Service (middle) at the site of the crash.

A soldier controlling the crowd.

VANGU ARD, WEDNES DAY, JUNE 6, 2012—9 VANGUARD, WEDNESD

DANA PLANE CRASH VICTIMS' RELATIVES BESIEGE HOSPITAL Thousands of relatives of victims of the Dana plane crash, which killed no fewer than 153 people in Iju, Lagos, yesterday, stormed Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, Mortuary, Ikeja, for clarification on the dead. Pix:Bunmi Azeez.

Mrs. Joke Orelope-Adefulure, Lagos State Deputy Governor, and Dr. Femi Olugbile, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, at the hospital.

A Naval Officer, Joe Aikhomu, and others.

The Helpdesk and Counselling Centre for families of the victims, set up at the hospital.

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10—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

Obasanjo's aides lobbied for 3rd-term —Mamora

Ogun House threatens 11 ex-lawmakers over N250m

BY DAUD OLATUNJI

BY GBENGA ARIYIBI

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BEOKUTA—OGUN State House of Assembly, yesterday, ordered the 11 former lawmakers who ran the affairs of the assembly at the twilight of the immediate past administration to account for N250 million belonging to the legislature.

The Ogun Assembly, however, stated that until the former lawmakers explained how they spent the N250 million during the nine-month that the House was closed, when they ran its affairs, they would not be paid their severance allowance.

Speaker of the assembly, Mr. Suraj Adekunbi, said this at a briefing, to commemorate the first anniversary of the seventh legislature in Abeokuta.

It will be recalled that, the 11 former lawmakers had impeached 15 of their colleagues, nine months to the end of the administration and appointed Soyemi Coker as speaker.

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COURTESY VISIT: Commander Nseobong Akpabio, Sector Commander, Lagos State Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, presenting a highway code booklet to Mr. Mideno Bayagbon, Editor, Vanguard Newspaper, during a courtesy visit by a FRSC team to the Corporate Head office of Vanguard Media Limited, Lagos, yesterday. Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi.

Witness' absence stalls Daniel's trial zDefence accuses prosecution of threatening own witness

BY DAUD OLATUNJI

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BEOKUTA—THE trial of erstwhile governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, was stalled, yesterday, following the absence of a

PDP alleges plot to sack 10,000 Ekiti teachers zIt's not on card —govt

BY LEKE ADESERI, (South-West Regional Editor)

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BADAN—PEOPLES' Democratic Party,PDP, in the South-West has accused Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, government in Ekiti State of plans to sack more than 50 per cent of the over 18,000 primary and secondary teachers in the state, warning that, “Fayemi’s treatment of Ekiti State workers like slaves is a direct invitation to anarch.”

PDP's Zonal Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kayode Babade, who raised the alarm, yesterday, challenged Governor Kayode Fayemi to make public the amount budgeted for the controversial compulsory test for teachers under the Teachers Development Needs Assessment, TDNA, alleging that, “Over N200 million tax-payers' money has already been wasted on the controversial project, which has no direct bearing on the well-being of Ekiti people.”

However, reacting to the

allegation, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Yinka Oyebode, told Vanguard that the sack option was not on the card of the administration.

Oyebode said: “It is not true that government is planning to sack teachers.

The fact is that they were asked to write tests to determine the area where they need assistance and they refused.

“Nobody has said anything about the development. The tests were to determine their areas of strength and weakness towards assisting them to perform better.”

Teachers in the state had on Monday shunned the 39 designated centres for the examination in spite of an open threat to sanction them if they failed to turn up for the examination.

PDP also challenged the governor to tell the world what happened to school principals and vice-principals as well as Local Councils’ Treasurers and Directors of Administration who participated in such examinations last year.

prosecution witness, Mr. Babatunde Adeluola, on grounds of illness and alleged threat to life.

Lead counsel to Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, had tendered a medical report from a medical centre in Idi-Aba, Abeokuta, explaining that Adeluola was indisposed.

Meantime, lawyers to former governor have accused EFCC of threatening its own witnesses.

Mr. Tayo Oyetibo, SAN, one of the lead counsel to the former governor, made the allegation at the resumed hearing of the case preferred against Daniel

by EFCC at an Abeokuta High Court.

Judge EFCC

overrules

Oyetibo was reacting to allegation by Jacob, leading EFCC prosecution team, to the effect that its prosecution witness, who was to continue with the evidence, had stayed away due to threat to his life after the last hearing.

Jacob made the allegation after Justice Olanrewaju Mabekoje had thrown out his objection to the tendering of a bank statement from Skye Bank.

The judge, in the ruling, said EFCC's objection lacked merit. It was after the ruling when he was called upon to continue with the case that Jacob alleged that Adeluola, an official of Skye Bank, had refused all entreaties by the prosecution

to bring him to court to continue with his testimony.

However, Jacob produced a medical report brought to court by Adeluola’s counsel that he was unfit to come to court.

Oyetibo pointed out the contradictions in Jacob's position and alleged that the prosecution wanted to dispense with the witness because the team was uncomfortable with the testimony he had given so far.

“In the same breathe, the prosecution said there was a threat to kill the witness, the witness sent in medical report claiming he was unfit to attend the court, the witness was telephoned yesterday by the prosecution and he assured them that he would be in court. ''What are we to believe?

The contradictions in the position of EFCC are selfevident. In any case, we are ready to proceed since we don’t even have more

questions for the witness.”

Daniel's counsel tasks court

He said if there was any threat it was from the prosecution which did not want Adeluola to come to court any more as it was unsatisfied with his testimony.

He said the information they got was that EFCC was pressurising the witness not to come to court.

Oyetibo, however, urged the court not to treat the allegation with levity, saying the Investigating Police Officer, who told the prosecution about the alleged threat should be invited.

However, a twist was added to the drama when counsel to Adeluola confirmed that he got the medical report from the management of Skye Bank contrary to the position of the prosecution that the bank did not know anything about the action of Adeluola.

Oyinlola eulogises Olashore

BY GBENGA ARIYIBI

O

SOGBO—NA TIONAL Secretary of Peoples' Democratic Party,PDP, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, has described the death of Owaloko of Iloko-Ijesa, Oba Oladele Olashore, as a huge loss to Osun State and the nation.

Prince Oyinlola, in a statement, yesterday, by his media aide, Mr. Ayo Olaiya, noted the invaluable contributions of the late Oba to his community and to Osun State, saying

his death marked the end of an era in true patriotism.

The PDP secretary, who is the immediate past governor of the state, described the late Oba as a key pillar of support for his government in his seven and a half years in power.

He said: “The late Oba was a shining example of how the elite can motivate and engender development in their localities. He showed in practical terms how to lead by example in communal development.''

DO-EKITI—THE former Senate Minority Leader, Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora, has joined the crop of Nigerians calling for the convocation of a Sovereign National Conference, SNC,even as he admitted that some of the close allies of the former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, lobbied for his third-term ambition.

Mamora, also a former Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, condemned some state governments for refusing to conduct local government elections.

The former lawmaker, spoke in Ado-Ekiti, yesterday, while delivering a lecture, tagged, “Roles of Legislature in a Growing Democracy” in commemoration of the first anniversary of the fourth assembly in the state.

Mamora wants SNC now Mamora said the calls for SNC was becoming more vociferous and deafening, even from unusual quarters, saying no time ''is more appropriate than now for legislatures throughout the country to put machinery in motion for SNC as being demanded by all sections of Nigeria.

He said: “In doing so, there is need for an Act of the National Assembly to establish a Constituent Assembly that will fashion out the peoples’ constitution. It is the product of such an exercise that can firmly and appropriately begin with the words, 'We, the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.''

Mamora said the then Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Masari and Senate President, Senator Ken Nnamani, allowed members to contribute, where the agenda was shot down through thorough debate.

Earlier, Speaker of Ekiti State House of Assembly, Mr. Adewale Omirin, said the assembly remained the best in the country in terms of productivity, having passed 29 bills into law within 12 months.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012 —11

Expatriate dies in collapsed Benin hospital building

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

B

DINNER: From left; Mr. Jaco Vilijoen, Head of Personal Markets, Stanbic IBTC Bank; Mr. Demola Aladekomo, President, Lagos Business School Alumni Association, LBSAA and Professor Pat Utomi, Director, Centre for Applied Economics, Lagos Business School during the 2012 LBSAA President’s dinner in Lagos.

ENIN CITY—ONE of the expatriates working at the Central Hospital project in Benin City, Edo State, died yesterday, while six others were rescued after a section of the extension work at the hospital collapsed, Monday.

Edo State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Louis Odion, who confirmed the death to newsmen, said the expatriate died at 6am, but failed to disclose the name of the expatriate, because according to him, “the family had to be informed before disclosing it to the

Nigeria's criminal justice system risks undermining —CJN

BY AUSTIN OGWUDA & FESTUS AHON

A

SABA—UNLESS tough measures were adopted, such as sacking of Magistrates and Judges, who fail to take charge of proceedings in their courts by allowing proceedings to drag for years, Nigeria runs the risk of having its entire criminal justice system undermined, says Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Dahiru Musdapher.

Similarly, Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, has called for the reform of the country’s criminal justice system to ensure speedy dispensation of cases in court and also ensure the decongestion of prisons across the country.

Uduaghan, represented by his deputy, Prof. Amos Utuama, SAN, said; “It has become necessary to examine the possibility of having special courts to handle specific offences as this will go a long way to decongest our courts.

“There is also a need for early conclusion of investigations. Working hard to secure bail for an accused is good but anything done to delay or encourage slowing down the trial process, does not serve a true democratic society well.”

They both spoke at the on-going second annual conference of the Reform of Criminal Justice Administration in Nigeria, organised by Nigerian Bar Association, NBA in Asaba, Delta State.

The CJN noted that “our criminal justice agencies could be required to publish annual reports to be tabled before their respective Houses of Assembly or the National Assembly as the case may be, providing details of criminal trials initiated, concluded, pending and stating reasons for any delays.

“Such reporting could promote transparency and accountability and compel all the agencies to be on

their toes in the discharge of their duties. Broadly speaking, the main purpose of any legal system is to regulate relationships between persons and the rest of the people represented by the state, as in criminal law.”

NBA President, Mr. Joseph Daudu, SAN, on his part, said that time has come “to discontinue totally, unwholesome practice of allowing the Police to conduct any form of prosecution in any court in

this country.

“Prosecution is a technical business and indeed the livewire of the criminal justice system in any country. Its failure in Nigeria is principally responsible for why people commit crime. It must be noted that a good prosecutorial service or system will reverse the unfortunate trend of thousands of people awaiting trial in contrast with the population of actual convicts."

Dana probe outcome must not be swept under carpet —Lori-Ogbebor

BY CHARLES KUMOLU

L

A G O S — CONVENER of Mothers in Nigerian,MIN, Chief Rita Lori-Ogbebor, has called on the Federal Government to ensure that the eventual outcome of any investigative panel into the recent Dana plane crash, does not suffer the fate of past probes on air disasters in the country.

She also urged government to ensure a holistic review of the aviation sector, adding that the regulatory role of Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, should be scrutinised.

Briefing newsmen, yesterday, in Lagos, she regretted that corruption and indiscipline were chiefly responsible for the alleged unprofessional conducts in the aviation

sector.

She said: “We are asking for a comprehensive investigation into the Dana air disaster. And this probe we are requesting for must beam searchlight on all actors in the aviation industry. Our concern is also about the implementation of the findings. Nigeria has a history of reacting seriously when something like this happens, but after a while, concerns about it would die naturally. This is why we are calling on the Federal Government to ensure that the findings of the investigation were implemented, so that a similar incident does not happen again.

“The report must not necessarily seek to punish those who would be eventually found culpable; it should also ensure that avoidable plane crashes

were avoided. This would be achieved by ensuring that the best obtainable standards in the industry are adhered to. People are always quick to point at Mr. President each time something goes wrong in the country, today I am saying that he should be spared of the blames."

media.”

Following the infrastructural decay at the hospital, built in 1902, the Governor Adams O s h i o m h o l e administration, decided to build a state of the art hospital with a cancer research and treatment centre attached to it.

However, a section of the on-going extension work collapsed inside Central Hospital complex on Sapele Road, around 4.30pm on Monday, while some of the workers were still at work.

Odion, who addressed

Families seek pay out from TOTAL over gas eruption

BY JIMITOTA ONOYUME

P

ORT HARCOURT— TOTAL oil company has been urged to come up with measures to adequately compensate families affected by the recent gas eruption from its operations in some part of Egi Kingdom, Rivers State.

Egi Concerned Citizens, ECC, in a statement, yesterday, by Israel Umesi and Sampson Abiala, called on the Rivers State House of Assembly and human right groups to visit the areas affected by the gas eruption to see things for themselves.

The group said the visit

A

SABA—THE appointment of former Director of Public Prosecution in Delta State, Mr. Marcel Okoh as a judge in the state has been described as a step in the right direction.

Special Adviser to the Governor on Legal Matters, Mr. Andrew Odum at a reception in Asaba, after his (Okoh) swearing-in

would reveal how untrue, the alleged statement that affected communities had been adequately compensated was, adding that such claim was capable of upsetting the peace in the communities.

He said: “We want to state unequivocally that the story is not only misleading but also untrue and insulting to the sensibility of Egi clan. We use this medium to condemn and refute the announcement, which is capable of causing a breakdown of law and order in the affected communities, if not properly handled.”

....As community lauds AGIP on project

BY DAPO AKINREFON

T

HE PEOPLE of O y a n g b e n e community in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State, have denied media report of a crisis in the community, blaming detractors for spreading the false news.

Uduaghan's aide hails Okoh's appointment ceremony, said that Justice

BY TOMMYANADUAKA

newsmen, explained, “we were able to rescue six out of the seven workers, who were trapped.

Unfortunately before we reached the last person, he had died. He died this morning (yesterday) after several hours of efforts made to rescue him.

“The crane which was carrying a bucket of fresh concrete collapsed and crashed into the building.

Fortunately, work was rounding up for the day, and the first worker was rescued within the first hour.”

Okoh’s appointment was well deserved and enjoined him and the other newly appointed judges to ensure that they comply with the tenets of the oath of allegiance they took and see their new positions as that of service to the state and nation.

Justice Okoh, meanwhile thanked the state governor and the hierarchy of the judiciary for finding him and others worthy to serve.

While it commended AGIP Oil Company for the completion of the Grangbene deep ‘A’ project, the community said there was no crisis in the community.

Secretary of the community, Mr. Ferebo Arekumo in a statement, said: “We want to tell Nigerians and security agencies that we do not have any problem with AGIP and Beks Kims Nigeria Limited since the project commenced. We have no plans to disrupt the ongoing project. Our relationship with AGIP is cordial and developmentally beneficial.

The Joint Task Force, JTF should note that we have no problem with AGIP. JTF should note that there is no impending threat to life and property over the ongoing project in the area."

12—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

Armed policemen seal off Bayelsa Assembly complex

BY SAMUEL OYADONGHA

Y

E N A G O A — UNEASY calm, yesterday, enveloped Bayelsa State House of Assembly, which Speaker, Mr. Kombowei Benson, was sacked Monday by 16 members of the House and replaced with Mr. Fini Angaye.

The usually busy Assembly complex was a shadow of itself, as civil servants working in the complex were denied entry by security operatives.

When Vanguard visited the area, four Hilux patrol vans, belonging to the Operations Department of Bayelsa State Police Command, were sighted positioned in front of the two main gates, leading into the complex.

While the aide of the sacked Speaker, Mr. Benson insisted that the impeachment, was carried out under the record time of 30 minutes was illegal and that the embattle Speaker was still in charge of the leadership of the Assembly, the heavily armed detachment of policemen condoned off the

complex and stopped staffers and other legislators from entering the premises.

A staff of the complex, who pleaded anonymity said: “Before most of us resumed this morning (yesterday), the policemen had taken over virtually everywhere. They told us point blank that we should go back because nobody would be allowed to enter the premises.”

The car park of the House, which used to be filled with vehicles belonging to the lawmakers and civil servants, was empty, while heavily armed policemen and plain clothes security operatives were spotted patrolling the complex.

It was learnt that the state governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, yesterday, met behind closed doors with

the lawmakers over the impeachment of the Speaker.

A source told Vanguard that the sacked Speaker, who flew back to the country last night had lobbied the governor to intervene in reversing his impeachment, which had already been endorsed by over 16 out of the 24-member legislature, yesterday.

W

ARRI—ITSEKIRI Progress Club, IPC, has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to ban the importation of generators into the country.

The group said in a statement in Warri, Delta State, after its meeting, that the power sector remained the live wire of growth in any economy as Nigeria was not an exception.

The statement by Mr Lawrence Ukubeyinje, Publicity Secretary of the group, added that small, medium and large scale industries both commercial and industrial need power to operate, as such it (power) should be developed.

He said: “A situation where public power continues to remain unreliable and enterprenures have to provide their own power makes investment very difficult. Rather than invest in real provision of goods and services, many investors have found the

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

B

ENIN CITY— FORMER Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd), arrived Benin City, Edo State, yesterday, for the commissioning of multi billion naira projects executed by the Governor Adams Oshiomhole administration.

Gowon who spoke to newsmen at the Benin Airport, on arrival, disagreed with the Federal Government over the naming of the University of Lagos after the acclaimed winner of the 1993 Presidential election, late Chief Moshood Abiola, pointing out that Nigerians would have been consulted

before the decision was taken.

Gowon who commended Governor Oshiomhole for what he described as the magic he had impacted in the state in the area of infrastructure, said: “Oshiomhole is like Gen. Samuel Ogbemudia, who was there as the governor of the old Midwest. He did a lot for the people of the region and we are proud of him.”

He was received at the airport by the Chief of Staff to the state government, Osaradion Ogie, who stood in for Oshiomhole, who was on campaign at Orhiomwon Local Government Area of the state.

Lagos INC gets new exco

L BIRTHDAY: Delta State Deputy Governor, Prof. Amos Utuama, SAN (4th left); state’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Charles Ajuya, SAN (3rd left); Senior Political Adviser to the Governor, Chief Ighoyota Amori (3rd right) and others during Prof. Utuama's 65th birthday in Asaba, yesterday.

Ban generator importation, Itsekiri Progress Club tells Jonathan

BY NEVILLE AMORIGHOYE

Gowon arrives Benin for projects' commissioning

importation and sale of all forms of power generators a safe heaven for their investment and there is no hiding the fact that this takes its toll on the nation’s efforts to develop the power sector.

“Even government establishments resort to generators when public power fails, which government is expected to ensure does not occur.

Sabotage has long been with us in Nigeria,

therefore, it is a good thing to see our president so much committed to make the power sector work, hence our call on Mr President to prohibit without any delay the importation of gererators."

DANA Air disaster: Lawmaker calls for thorough probe investigations, I cannot

BY DANIEL GUMM

W

ARRI—THE recent air disaster involving the Dana Airline has been described as a national tragedy of no small proportion, whose causal factors must be unearthed for the sake of the future of the aviation industry in Nigeria, and the integrity of the country in the eyes of the international community.

Speaking to Vanguard in a telephone chat, Mr. Daniel Reyenieju, who represents the Warri Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, called on the executive arm and all respective government agencies to ensure that the remote and immediate causes of the

tragedy were unearthed and whoever was found culpable given maximum punishment so as to serve as deterrent to others.

The lawmaker said: “Of all the air disasters in Nigeria that I can recall, including the respective accompanying

recall that any individual had been found culpable to the extent of being punished for all to see. This should not be the case at least in this last air tragedy.”

He commiserated with the families of the bereaved and wished the dead eternal rest.

AGOS—IJAW National Congress, INC, Lagos chapter, has elected new leadership to pilot the affairs of the union. Chief Patrick Keku emerged its new chairman.

Others elected were Mrs. Churchere Komonibo, Vice Chairman; Akpor Triumphant, Secretary; Agbreowei Benson, Assistant Secretary; Elizabeth Sinclair, Organising Secretary; Ekpe Kpobiri, Publicity Secretary; Robert Fiyai, Financial Secretary; Tonye Leonard,

Nigeria hosts gastroenterologists

L

AGOS—INTERNAL Medicine physicians specialising in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the digestive s y s t e m (Gastroenterologists) from all parts of the world are expected to converge in Tinapa, Cross River State from November 22-24, for the Sixth Congress of the African Middle East Association of G a s t r o e n t e r o l o g y, AMAGE.

....as PDP chieftain bemoans tragedy

BY FESTUS AHON

U

G H E L L I — NATIONAL Vice Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, (South-South), Dr Stephen Oru, yesterday, described Sunday ’s Dana air crash as a national disaster and an aviation catastrophe.

Oru said: “It is a major

setback, especially at this critical time in our history, when the Federal Government is battling with measures to stem social evils claiming lives in the country. It is a call for emergency to be declared in the aviation industry, taking into cognizance the varied air accidents in the country in the last 10 years.

Treasurer; Mr. Baidi, Legal Adviser; Posibi Zion, Auditor and Amagbe Kentebe, exofficio.

Chief Keku in his inaugural speech, said all Ijaws in Lagos should unite to foster peaceful co-existence with host community and ensure that they are accountable to the leadership of the INC. He urged members to be proactive and utilise legitimate opportunities provided by government to participate actively with its development programme.

“The Federal Government should immediately carry out reforms in the aviation industry to ensure that benchmarks of world best practices are put in place to guarantee the safety of lives in our air space. I commiserate with families of those who died in the air crash.”

world

Organised in collaboration with the Society of Gastroenterology and Hepatology in Nigeria, SOGHIN, the AMAGE congress has been endorsed by the World Gastroenterology Organisation,WGO, whose secretary general, Prof. Chan Yurdaydin will represent the world body at the congress in Tinapa.

In a statement, President of AMAGE Congress, Prof.

Hussein Abdel-Hamid and the General Secretary, Prof.

Olusegun Ojo, said Nigeria was chosen to host the congress because of its position as one of the important gates to the SubSaharan African region.

Governor of Cross River State, Sen. Liyel Imoke, who is also the sixth AMAGE congress Patron is expected to grace the event.

Meanwhile, a delegate of the AMAGE Governing Council lead by the President has arrived Nigeria for a pre-congress assessment visit to the country.

Vanguard , WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012—13

Rainstorm renders 3 clerics, others homeless in Nsukka

BY TONY EDIKE

E

NUGU—SOME resi dents of Nsukka in Enugu State, including three priests of the Catholic Diocese of Nsukka have been rendered homeless by rainstorm which destroyed their houses and other valuables worth millions of naira yesterday.

Vanguard gathered that a two-month old baby boy, Ugochukwu Asogwa, and his mother, Anastasia, were among victims of the disaster . They sustained injuries in the heavy storm that started at about 12.15am.

The devastating wind removed the roof of their house located near the Catholic church while scores of villagers and other residents in the town

have been thrown into difficulties on account of the disaster.

The three priests now homeless are the parish priest of Holy Redeemer Parish, Nru, Rev. Fr. Cyril Okpe, a Priest in residence and Consultor to Bishop Francis Okobo of the Nsukka Diocese, Rev. Fr. Dr. George Dine and the Assistant Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Odumegwu.

The worst-hit locations/ institutions included the Holy Redeemer Parish, Nru where three priests and school pupils escaped death when the storm blew off the roof of the parish house, as well as the Government Technical College, Nsukka where most buildings comprising the administrative blocks and class rooms had their roofs blown off.

Abia, winning war against bunkering— Commissioner

BY ANAYO OKOLI

U

From left: Emmanuel Onyeje, General Manager, Microsoft Nigeria, Ikenna Odike, CEO, Customer Contact Solutions Nigeria Limited, Akeen Olajide, CEO, Acc-Specs Professionals Service Limited and Nneka Nwobi, Business Solutions Manager, Microsoft Nigeria during the 4th Microsoft Partners first leadership series in Lagos.

Ohaneze Ndigbo accuses Uwazuruike of maligning Umeh

BY TONY EDIKE

E

NUGU—THE youth wing of the apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, yesterday, decried perceived “unpleasant remarks” made by leader of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike’s against the National Chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Chief Victor Umeh over the crisis rocking the party.

The Ohanaeze youths who alongside the APGA Youth Coalition briefed newsmen, said they were not happy the way the MASSOB leader “always treat with scorn the leaders of Ohanaeze Ndigbo and APGA leadership.”

At the press briefing were the national organising

C M Y K

committee of the Ohanaeze Youth Council, Mazi Okwchukwu Isiguzoro and the leader of APGA youth Coalition, Hon. Destiny N w a g w u .

According to Isiguzoro, the anti-Ohanaeze posturing of Uwazuruike “are well known to Igbos, despite the goodwill by the president general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Amb. Raph Uwechue to him.

"We have avoided tackling Chief Ralph Uwazuruike over some of his utterances and grandstanding before, during and after the death of our revered Igbo leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Ojukwu.

"We shall tell the world the travails of Ndigbo by the activities of Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, the MASSOB leader. Is it the number of Igbo youths that had been killed through his less than altruistic activities?"

From left: Executive Director, UAC of Nigeria Plc, Mr. Joe Dada, Managing Director, General Motors, GM, Nigeria Limited, Mr. Anthony Arenyeka, Executive Secretary/CEO, Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF), Mr. Fola Arthur-Worrey, Managing Director, Chemical and Allied Products, CAP, Plc. Mrs. Omolara Elemide and Division Managing Director, MDS Logistic, Mr. Solomon Aigbavboa during presentation of five Isuzu D-MAX patrol vehicles to Lagos State Security Trust Fund by UAC of Nigeria Plc Group in Lagos.

MUAHIA—ABIA State Petroleum and Natural Resources Commissioner, Chief Don Ubani yesterday said the state government was winning the war against bunkering and illegal refining in the state.

According to Chief Ubani, Ukwa East axis had been a hot bed for bunkering and illegal refining, but the government had taken the fight to the hoodlums.

Ubani identified the banks of Imo River from Owazza to Ohandu in Ndoki, Ukwa East Local Government Area of the state as the hub of these illegal activities, saying “they operate along the banks of Imo River from Owazza to Ohandu where they take to the high sea. We don’t know how they do this.”

The Commissioner said government realized the economic sabotage associated with oil bunkering and decided to wage war against it and mounted surveillance against the perpetrators.

“The Army at Asa High School went into operation and this has yielded good results," he added.

15 policemen killed in Anambra z140 robbers, 59 kidnappers arrested

BY VINCENT UJUMADU

A

WKA—THE Anambra State Command yesterday said it lost 15 policemen during encounter with armed bandits in the last three months, even as it arrested 140 robbery suspects and 59 kidnappers.

The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ballah Nasarawa at a briefing said seven of the police officers were killed when hoodlums invaded the Amichi Police Station in Nnewi South local government area, while four lost their lives during an encounter with armed robbers at Emeka Offor junction, Oraifite in Ekwusigo local government area.

Similarly, he said, two police officers, including the officer in charge of the State Anti Robbery Squad, SARS, Onitsha, Mr. Emmanuel Ochobi, a deputy

superintendent of police, DSP, and another officer, were killed in the commercial city of Onitsha, while two others were killed in other locations.

He explained that arrests had been made and investigations were on as some of the killers were still on the run.

Nasarawa said 140 robbery suspects and 59 kidnappers were arrested, saying five of the kidnappers were killed, while 11 kidnap victims were rescued within the period.

According to him, 14 AK47 rifles, one K2 rifle, 18 locally pistols, four brownie pistols, one berretta pistol, 14 pump action guns, 5526 rounds of assorted live ammunition, 65 magazines and 312 cartridges were recovered.

The CP said those found culpable would soon be charged to court as investigations were almost com-

pleted.

He noted that one of the greatest challenges facing the command was the reluctance of members of the

public to volunteer information to the police, assuring that the police would always conceal the identity of the informants.

Okorocha, Okonkwo harp on Igbo unity

BY CHARLES KUMOLU

O

WERRI—GOVER NOR Rochas Okorocha of Imo State has said Igbo must close ranks if they must be regarded as a force in the mainstream of Nigerian politics. He spoke at the inauguration of a Pan Igbo social-political group, Committee-21, C-21 in Owerri, the Imo State capital.

This came as President of the group, Senator Annie Okonkwo, decried the absence of unity among people of the South East region, saying it remained

the greatest challenge to the advancement of the region.

Governor Okorocha who was the host, and the group’s Director of Mobilization, said ‘’the Igbo nation with a proud pedigree of culture and tradition, must say a big no to their status of being merely tolerated in the Nigerian scheme of affairs.

It is a tragic irony that the nation of hope for Nigeria from her cradle - the Igbos, has become a region largely tolerated but hardly negotiated with in Nigeria’s power contest.

14—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

Journalist kidnapped in Imo

Ebonyi House suspends member for misconduct

zAs abducted medical doctor regains freedom

...asks ex-speaker to refund N105m

BY CHIDI NKWOPARA

O

WERRI—FEAR has gripped journalists in Imo State, following the kidnap of one of the editors of Imo Broadcasting Corporation, IBC, Chief Ndubuizu Ugorji, yesterday.

Although circumstances leading to the kidnap were sketchy at press time, Vanguard, however, gathered that Ndubuizu left his house in IBC Quarters, Orji, with his son but was abducted at the gate.

A staff of IBC, who confirmed the incident on grounds of anonymity, said the kidnappers did not tamper with Ndubuizu’s private car. “The gangsters forced Ndubuizu to stop, dragged him out of his car and later forced him into their waiting vehicle”, the IBC staff recounted with grief.

Continuing, the man said Ndubuizu’s son eventually drove his kidnapped father’s car back to the house and broke the news to the family.

Journalists, who spoke to Vanguard, condemned the act and appealed to the security agencies to increase security around media houses. They equally urged Governor Rochas Okorocha to work out new operational methods for tackling crimes in the state.

Meantime, Dr Adebowale Saddiq, the Medical Director of Mount Arafat Hospital, Nsukka in Enugu State, who was kidnapped

BY PETER OKUTU by unknown gunmen on Saturday, has been released.

A family source who pleaded anonymity told the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Nsukka yesterdayday that his abductors dropped him on Orba Road, Nsukka, around 9.30

p.m. on Monday.

“From there he found his away to his residence in Fulton Avenue in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

He came into the house to the surprise of everybody around 10.20 p.m. His abductors collected his five phones but gave him the

SIM cards.

We thank God that he came home without any harm. I do not know whether any ransom was paid. All I know is that his abductors have been communicating with his wife and other members of the family,” he said.

Former Bayelsa State Governor, Timipriye Sylva sandwitched by his lawyers and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, officials after his case was adjourned to June 7 by the Federal High Court, CBD, Abuja, yesterday. Photo by Abayomi Adeshida.

Security agencies killed 16 of our members — MASSOB zPolice deny allegation, say only one killed

BY VINCENT UJUMADU

A

WKA—THE Move ment for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, claimed yesterday in Onitsha that no fewer than 16 of its members were feared dead and 83 others sustained injuries when a combined team of Army, the Police and State Security Service, SSS, allegedly raided MASSOB offices in the commercial city and its environs.

But the police public relations officer, Mr. Emeka Chukwuemeka, told Van-

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guard that only one person, who confronted soldiers during a special operation to rid the town of hoodlums was killed.

He said the operation was part of measures to rid the state of criminals, saying security agencies would not watch while hoodlums continued to create state of insecurity in the state.

MASSOB director of information, Mr. Uchenna Madu and his Region 4 director, Chief Arinze Igbani, had, at a briefing, said the combined security team also arrested over 500 members of the group, including women at different locations during the raid that

was carried out between Monday and Tuesday.

They also said the operatives raided their offices and removed valuable items.

Describing the latest attack as unwarranted, MASSOB said it was a renewed plot by the Army and other groups to resume the systematic clampdown on the organisation.

According to the MASSOB leaders, “at about 5pm on Monday, a detachment of security operatives, numbering over 50, stormed MASSOB office along Pam -Pam lane located inside the Onitsha Main Market and when they could not find any member there,

they broke into the office and vandalized it”, noting that they allegedly set the Biafran flag ablaze and then ordered people found in the neighborhood to lie down and swim on the flood.

They claimed that the security team also invaded the MASSOB central office on Kilometre 7, along the Onitsha - Owerri road, where a security meeting of the movement was holding at the time and opened fire on the members, killing some on the spot and arrested others.

They also made away with the corpses, MASSOB claimed.

A

BAKALIKI—EB ONYI State House of Assembly, yesterday, suspended a member representing Ivo State Constituency, Mrs. Lilian Igwe, over what it described as “gross misconduct, dishonourable act and public embarrassment to the Legislative House.”

This came as the House ordered the former Speaker, Ikechukwu Nwankwo representing Ebonyi North West to refund over N105 million allegedly misappropriated during his six months in office as speake r .

Moving the motion for the suspension of Lilian Igwe, member representing Afikpo South East State Constituency, Blaise Orji observed that Igwe had been seen on several occasions drinking herself to stupor and vomiting, acts which he said, were against the ethics and code of conduct of the House.

According to him, "the

House has been brought to ridicule by the member representing Ivo State Constituency, Mrs Lilian Igwe.

She does not only engage in excesses drinking, she also boards tricycle popularly called Keke Napep to the House, thereby not displaying herself as an honourable member which she is.

Mr. Speaker based on this, I therefore move that Hon Lilian Igwe be suspended by this honourable House.”

After deliberation, the Speaker, Hon Chukwuma Nwazuku, put the motion to vote and it was unanimously adopted.

The House reiterated that the directive to its erstwhile speaker to refund over N105 million followed the submission of the report of the seven-man Ad-hoc Committee set up to probe the financial transactions of ex-speaker’s tenure between 7th June to 20th December 2011 by the Chairman of the committee, Hon Odefa Obasi Odefa during its plenary sessions.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012—15

Kwara compensates fire victims

BY DEMOLA AKINYEMI

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L O R I N — K WA R A State government yesterday compensated about 203 victims of fire disasters with cash donations worth several millions of naira.

Special Adviser to Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed on Emergency and Relief Matters, Alhaji Musa Abdullahi, who presented the money to the victims in Ilorin, said the gesture was to assist the victims cushion the effect of the loss.

Musa explained that the government was disturbed by the fire disasters, stressing that the only way to cushion the effect of the disasters was to assist the victims in form of cash donation to help them in renovating their various houses burnt during the inferno.

While noting that “the present administration is committed to the well-being of the people and would not re-

lent at making life bearable for the citizenry,” he added that the distribution of the money to the victims was not the first of its kind as the state government had assisted over 1000 people affected by natural disasters last year.

He stressed that the state government would also distribute relief materials to the victims of rainstorms in the state and appealed to the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the donation.

While urging the residents in the state to be careful of any action that may fuel disaster, he assured the people of the state that the state government would continue to meet their needs in the quest to make life worth living.

Responding on behalf of the victims, Alhaji Ayinla Ahmed thanked the state government for the kind gesture saying that the assistance would add value to their socio-economic development.

BIRTHDAY: Former Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala of Oyo State (middle), with his children and grand children during his 62nd birthday celebration in Ogbomoso, Oyo State.

Jilted lover jumps into lagoon, rescued

BY IFEANYI OKOLIE

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24-year-old woman, Mary Odo, who attempted to commit suicide last Monday by jumping into the lagoon from the Third Mainland Bridge, was rescued by fishermen before she

could drown.

An eyewitness told Vanguard that the darkskinned woman had trekked from the Oworoshoki end to the middle of the bridge before jumping into the water. The eyewitness, who simply identified

himself as Ade, told Vanguard that some fishermen under the bridge saw her when she jumped into the water and went after her.

Ade said: “I was heading towards Oworoshoki when I saw her at the other side of the bridge.

She was putting on a white shirt and black trousers. I didn’t know where she was heading to, but the next sound I heard was that of splashing.

“I turned but couldn’t find her. Later I discovered that she had jumped into the water as some fishermen, who were fishing under the bridge on a wooden boat, were frantically trying to rescue her.

They brought her out, resuscitated her and took her to Bariga Police Division.”

When Vanguard met the woman, who is a native of Igede in Benue State, she said

she was frustrated in life and that she needed a quiet death.

She said: “My boyfriend cheated on me.

He impregnated another woman without letting me know. We have been going out for more than one year and he promised to get married to me.All of a sudden, I learnt he had impregnated another woman.

“I am also uneducated. I didn’t attend primary or secondary school. I came to Lagos in 2008 and I got a job as a housemaid, but I have not been so comfortable with my educational status.

“The woman who I was working for at AjaoEstate had promised to assist me in my education; but I later realised that she wasn’t ready for it, and then I had to quit.

“I became completely frustrated in life and I

thought of killing myself.

I felt stabbing myself to death would have been more painful, so I decided to jump into the river and allow myself drown to death.

“I called my mother last Friday and told her I will be sending N50,000 to her, which was all the money I had in my account and told her that I wanted to travel abroad and would not return anytime soon.

“On Monday by 7: 30pm, I boarded a bus going to CMS from my area at Iyano-Ipaja and I alighted at Oworoshoki Bus stop. Then I trekked to the middle of the bridge and jumped into the water.

“I didn’t know some fishermen were fishing under the bridge and they came after me and rescued me. They later brought me to the station where I have been well taken care off.”

Dana crash: ACN bemoans insecurity

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AGOS State chapter of Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, has expressed its heartfelt sympathy to the families, friends and relatives of the victims of the ill-fated Dana air craft that crashed in Lagos on Sunday.

The party, in a statement signed by the Lagos State Publicity Secretary of ACN, Joe Igbokwe, maintained that the air crash incident where over 160 Nigerians lost their lives was a sad reminder that Nigeria has failed in nearly every sector where it should have excelled.

It prayed God to grant the souls of the victims of the air disC M Y K

aster eternal repose, while charging the government to sit up to ensure the nation does not go through this trauma again.

He said: “We are saddened by the monumental loss of lives, which complements the many other lives lost through road accident, terrorist activities, criminal acts and other sundry forms of insecurity to make Nigeria one of the most unsecured nations on earth.

“We feel the pains of Nigerians that were wasted in that accident and commit their souls to God. At a time humanity is undergoing tremendous progress

and transformation in all spheres of life, we feel so bad that Nigerian lives are being wasted in a manner that speaks of the notorious form of delivery which respective governments have failed to improve on.

“We daresay that Nigerians have no business dying in ways that suggest we are still in primordial times.

“We state that the lip service successive governments have paid to safety and regulations in the nation’s transport sector have led the nation to a terrible pass where its citizens are periodically sacrificed through avoidable accidents.”

16—Vanguard, TUESDAY, JUNE 5, 2012

JTF, Boko Haram clash in Borno zResidents flee homes

BY NDAHI MARAMA

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AIDUGURI—FOR the first time, members of Boko Haram Islamist sect, yesterday evening physically engaged members of the military Joint Task Force, JTF, in a fight, leading to multiple bomb explosions

in Maiduguri, Borno State capital.

The incident occurred even as the Governor Kashim Shettima was said to have travelled out of the state for a week-long trip abroad.

Heavy gunfire and multiple bomb explosions took place in areas like

Abaganaram, Budum, and the Lawan Bukar Street, where the family house of Governor Kashim and the Customs headquarters are situated. The number of casualties, if any, was yet to be ascertained.

The phone lines of JTF spokesman, Lt.-Col. Sagir Musa, where not reachable at the time of this re-

Police arrest 100 over cultism in Benue

BY PETER DURU

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AKURDI—OVER 100 suspected cultists have been arrested in Makurdi, Benue State capital, by the state Police Command following a renewed clampdown on violent crimes in parts of the state.

The arrest of the suspects is coming on the heels of several cult-related killings in parts of the town by rival cult groups which have claimed no fewer than seven lives in the last few days.

Sources at the Command Headquarters told Vanguard, yesterday, that most of the suspects were arrested

in Wadata, Wurukum and North Bank areas of Makurdi, adding that the police embarked on the operation to stem the tide of cult-related activities in the town and environs.

The sources said: “What is happening in Makurdi has become a source of concern to everybody. Cult activities have been on the increase leading to the death of several persons in town and the police will not watch these miscreants continue to create a state of insecurity in the town.

“That is why there are increased police patrols in all the nooks and crannies of the town in the last few days.”

The sources added that the police have

commenced thorough screening of all those apprehended during the special operation so as to ascertain their complicity.

Meanwhile, when Vanguard visited the Command Headquarters yesterday, parents and relatives of some of the suspects were making frantic efforts to get them bail.

In the last few weeks, Makurdi had witnessed an upsurge in cult related activities. Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Deputy Superintendent Philip Agena, declined to comment on the number of the suspects so far arrested.

However, he confirmed that the Police had commenced raids on hideouts of criminals in Makurdi.

port. Residents of Lawan Bukar street had, earlier in the day, fled the area following some unusual movements of troops and gunmen. A military patrol vehicle was attacked in the area, causing apprehension of possible reprisal attack by troops.

The areas where some of the sect members live among residents, according to a JTF authority, include Abaganaram, Budum, Gambouru, Zannari, Zajeri, Kalari and Gwange wards of the metropolis.

Lawan Bukar ward, which was the area where the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, gubernatorial candidate, Alhaji Modu Gubio, and five others were killed, is also where the family house of Governor Kashim Shettima is located. Three people were last week killed in their houses in the area.

Abba Musti, a resident, said: “I am moving out of this area with my four children, because I learnt that the military will launch a manhunt for Boko Haram members here in Lawan Bukar. “ If they don’t find people that they are looking for, our male children would become the scapegoats, and they could be killed by either the armed sect of soldiers.”

Nasarawa mourns over Dana disaster

BY JOSEPH ERUNKE

G

OVERNOR Tanko Almakura of Nasarawa State, yesterday, described the death of over 153 persons, following last Sunday’s crash of Dana aircraft in Lagos, as loss of people whose contributions to the nation’s advancement

were mostly needed.

In a condolence message, he said: “On behalf of my humble self, the government and people of Nasarawa State, I hereby extend our deepest condolences to all those who lost their loved ones in the ill-fated Dana aircraft disaster,

last Sunday, that left our nation in a mournful mood.

“At this moment, our hearts are with you and we pray that the Almighty God in His infinite mercy will grant their gentle souls eternal rest.

“Our nation has lost

great men and women whose contributions to our national advancement shall be greatly missed at a time when we are passing through a challenging moment.

“We pray that God will give the families of the deceased the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss.”

Conflict mgt centre studies Plateau communities

BY TAYE OBATERU

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ENTRE for Conflict Management and Peace Studies of the University of Jos has sued for peaceful co-existence among Nigerians through mutual respect and tolerance.

Director of the centre, Dr. Audu Gambo made the call during a two-day advocacy visit with the theme, Strengthening Active Peace Communities in Jos Town Towards Conflict Prevention, to Dadin Kowa and Rantya communities in the state capital as part of a peacebuilding project being executed with the support of the Royal Netherlands Embassy.

The two communities

Jigawa awards N11.14bn Arawa-Guri road contract

BY TINA AKANNAM

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U T S E — J I G AWA State, yesterday, awarded N11.14 billion contract for the construction of 104 kilometres of ArawaBaturiya-Guri road.

Speaking during the brief ceremony, the state Commissioner for Works and Transport, Mr. Baba Aliyu, said the project was awarded to CGC Nigeria Limited because the company was more reputable than the other bidders.

Aliyu explained that the project was expected to be completed within 36 to 40 months as was agreed in the terms of the contract, pointing out that the state government would not accept any form of delay in the work.

His said: “Jigawa State government follows due process in awarding any contract. Contracts are awarded through bidding process in which the best bidders are selected for the projects.”

Leadtime honours Ajimobi, Okorocha, others

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OVERNOR Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State, his Katsina State counterpart, Alhaji Ibrahim Shema and Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State are among the eminent Nige-

rians to be honoured at this year’s 6th edition of the African Leadership Summit.

The event, entitled African Leadership and the War Against Corruption, will hold this month in Abuja.

By Bartholomew Madukwe

PEOPLE SPEAK

08102479985

stood out during the recurrent crises in the state as places where adherents of different religions remained peaceful and still co-habit.

Gambo, at different fora with members of the two communities, said they had become case studies on how people can live together in peace despite their religious differences.

He said: “When other places are boiling, Dadinkowa and Rantya have always remained peaceful. So, we believe that this kind of interaction will help us to extract from the people strategies they have employed to promote peaceful co-existence within the communities.”

(nwamad@yahoo.com)

On Dana aircraft crash

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HIS is really sad and depressing. It is even more depressing to know that some lives could have been saved if there was a better coordinated rescue operation. Government needs to invest in efficient rescue manpower and equipment.—Mr. Ralph Nwoke, Lawyer.

C M Y K

I

T will be proper for the company to be dissolved and its license withdrawn, while those saddled with the responsibility of checking and regulating the activities of airline operators in the country should be prosecuted.— Mr. Peter Oluoma, Machine Operator.

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HE problem with these airlines is that they take everything for granted because no sanction has been imposed on them by the government. What amount of money can buy human lives? DANA must pay severely for this so others will learn.—Ms. Juliet Adichie, Student.

C

RASHES are com mon in our domestic routes, which shows that quality checks have to be done on planes that fly those routes. Our regulatory agencies should intensify their effort in checking the air-worthiness of an airplane before allowing it to fly.—Mr. Charles Ibekwe, Educationist.

F

OR now, government should ban the airline from flying for failure to ensure that the lives and property of their passengers are safe. The aircraft should have, at least, been checked by a special engineer before allowing people to board.—Mr. Chima Uluocha, Barber.

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T is very painful that such a thing could happen in the midst of prophets and prophetess in the country. Those in Aso Rock, who claim to be prophets and prophetess, should have stopped the plane crash with prayer and maybe lives would have been saved.—Mrs Esupofo Lawrence, Clergy.

— 17 Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012— “I think the voters misunderestimated me.”

George W. Bush F you dropped into the country from outer space in the last one week; and read newspapers or listened to private radio and television or browsed the social media, you would wonder what can possibly be done to save President Goodluck Jonathan from the Nigerian people. If you are a stranger to Nigerian politics and history, you will be forgiven if you think Nigerians are the most uncharitable people, and their president is the most maligned leader on the face of the earth. How is it possible that an entire nation will find nothing positive about a leader who only last year promised radical transformation and abundant fresh air to build a new nation out of the restrictions and limitations of its past?

Chances are, you will think there is no satisfying the Nigerian people; and you will shake your head in pity for anyone who even dreams of stepping into President Jonathan’s shoes in future.

It appears just about everyone now joins in this lynching of President Jonathan, no matter what he does. Just think, what could be more unfair than the Speaker of the House of Representatives choosing a day when the nation celebrated its new democratic tradition, with a PDP President who had just reeled out his achievements, to castigate President Jonathan for being less than diligent in assenting to bills? Although the President replied with a few blows of his own, the damage which this public falling out over a very important matter had been done. It was made worse for the President when the Senate President, a man seen as one of his most reliable pillars and who is being rumoured to be the handpicked successor to Jonathan, also joins the fray on the side of the Speaker, and insisted that the President is frustrating the law-making functions of the National Assembly, and denying Nigerians fuller benefits of the democracy they just celebrated.

solutions to. They want the President to call his security agents to order, and they want him to rein-in his legion of spokespersons in different guises or forms who abuse and insult the north, and who are sowing dangerous seeds of discord.

These elders left homes quite possibly habouring Boko Haram activists in their neighbourhoods, and yet they want President Jonathan to find solutions just because he is President today. They want him to ask godfathers and official spokespersons to shut up, so that those who abuse him and say he has no handle over Nigerian problems will have their voices heard louder. These same elders did not descend on General Buhari when he used an analogy involving blood in commenting over the 2015 elections, yet they were led by an 85year old blind man to ask him to play statesman and redress serious security and economic problems, most of which have roots which predated his presidency.

I

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his quarrel is going on against the backdrop of rampant complaints that the President is foot-dragging over the full implementation of the recommendations of the House Ad Hoc Committee on Petroleum Subsidy.

Imagine! Not a word over whether these recommendations have met the minimal legal threshold. And the fact that a responsible President must study the recommendations and get inputs from his Ministers of Justice, Finance and Petroleum, as well as the E.F.C.C and a whole battery of regulatory agencies. And why should he not consult these important people, just because civil society says they have no business holding on to their seats after all the revelations during the hearing?

Is he to sack them without evidence and legal advise, the type which only the Minister of Justice who again is being mentioned in the $1.1b Malibu scandal can give? Some even go further than the last one week and remind the nation that the President is relying on faulty legal advise to refuse to re-instate Justice Ayo Salami, when in fact the legal opinion which says he should is very likely informed by partisan considerations.

But if you are looking for evidence that there is a national conspiracy not to see anything good in President C M Y K

Nigerians after the President

I

n fact, the evidence that Nigerians are after their President is almost inexhaustible. He asks them to use energy-saving light bulbs, and the nation rose up as one and says it would rather he cancels the increase in electricity tariff which he is just introducing. He posed in January for a European fashion magazine, admittedly at a time the nation was up in arms over the subsidy removal decision, a n d someone chooses t h i s movement to flood the cyber space with the details and pictures of t h e President posing.

Now, why on earth shouldn’t

President Goodluck Jonathan Jonathan’s decisions, you will not find stronger one than the uproar which followed his re-naming of the University of Lagos after the late icon of Democracy, Chief M.K.O Abiola. A move which even his worst political enemies should applaud as a masterstroke to regain him some ground in the South west was spun around by parochial forces to portray the President as insensitive, isolated and untutored in Yoruba and Nigerian politics. And to think those who engineered the spontaneous rebellion against the decision thought it will stampede the President into revisiting the re-naming. Of course, they have been proved wrong. Even some

,

Quarrel over foot-dragging

Saving President Jonathan

The late Chief M.K.O Abiola

This penchant for tearing up the records of achievement of President Jonathan was taken to global airwaves, when the BBC hosted Nasir el-Rufai, Alhaji Gulak and Dr. Kabir Mato, as well as hundreds of tweeters and face bookers in a discussion on his performance. It was a very sorry outing for a President committed to righting massive wrongs, to hear Nigerians dismiss his performance so comprehensively. It makes you wonder what can be done to save President Jonathan from the Nigerian people?

,

members of the Abiola family have written a formal letter of appreciation.

But knowing Nigerians, this is highly unlikely to be the end of the matter.

Almost by the day, this chorus of President bashing finds new grounds and manifestations. A few days ago, a coalition of civil society groups in Kano decided to sue the Joint Security Force

(JTF) for a litany of offences committed in their pursuit of Boko Haram suspects. Many of these offences involve extra-judicial killings. Two days after, a very powerful and very elderly group of northerners visited the President with a long shopping list of grievances and demands, most of which the President is unlikely to have

the President pose for a fashion magazine?

Even his own security agencies appear to be in on the act. How else do you explain the attack on a house in Kano in which all Boko Haram bigwigs meeting in the house and a German hostage were killed? If the security agents had good intelligence that such prime targets were available, you would think the thing to do was to arrest them, or at least try, and therefore gather huge intelligence and boost morale. But no. Truck loads of soldiers and helicopters invaded the building, killing everyone. According to the security forces, the insurgents killed the German before being killed themselves, possibly so the President cannot claim credit for a freed hostage.

This penchant for tearing up the records of achievement of President Jonathan was taken to global airwaves, when the BBC hosted Nasir el-Rufai, Alhaji Gulak and Dr. Kabir Mato, as well as hundreds of tweeters and face bookers in a discussion on his performance. It was a very sorry outing for a President committed to righting massive wrongs, to hear Nigerians dismiss his performance so comprehensively. It makes you wonder what can be done to save President Jonathan from the Nigerian people?

18 —

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY , JUNE 6, 2012

TOUCHING signs of the nation’s mourning over the ill-fated Dana airplane continue, keeping other things in the background.

Nigerians are mourning. They are struck by the loss of lives and the shared consequences of their implications for many families, in a country without a social scheme or pensions that work.

What is the fate of the families? What happens to children whose lives the incident would drastically change? There is no way of telling the stories in full. The circumstances are varied, the outcomes will also vary.

Particularly sobering was the delivery of the Minister of Aviation Stella Oduah. Dressed in striking black, without make up, without jewelries, with genuine tears streaming down her cheeks, she aptly captured the nation’s descent to sadness on a day another 20 lost their lives in a suicide bombing in a Bauchi church.

It was a rare display of pity touch with the shredded hearts of families. The mourning this season has been on going. Disasters on the highways are taking lives daily, bombings, robberies and other indicators of insecurity keep

As The Nation Mourns… a nation burdened by tragedies reminded about dismal safety levels and mounting insecurity.

The nation mourns. Promises of “never again” are being mouthed with glibness. More value is placed on appropriateness of messages rather than capacities that will deliver the promises.

We have gone through those paths before.

Nigerians are mourning deficits of infrastructure. They are sad that in 2012 avoidable disasters rule the nation. They would have wanted things differently; they would have wanted their country to be known for better things, not the negative stories that ruin the land.

The sadness is over uncertainties that have become our lives. One disaster or the other awaits us because of years of neglecting the fabrics on which to build a nation. The mourning is for the living whose future is twined with a backwardness that appears permanent feature of the nation.

We mourn. We mouth our sadness. We vent our anger over the failures of our country. We stop there, unsure what to do next. That next step is critical and would make all the difference if our progress will match the high expectations of leading Africa.

Another mistake we make is to expect that if we fix aviation, disasters will evaporate. What happens to highways that claim lives daily, buildings that are collapsing and water ways without safety measures to stop boats from capsizing?

We have to think deeper as we mourn. Nigeria is a beautiful country ruined by its tenders with a recklessness that is beyond comprehension.

Our mourning this time must break with the past by pursuing profound changes to save our people.

OPINION

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BY COSMOS UGWABOR

E cannot stop every germ that seeks to harm us any more than we can stop every person who seeks to harm us. But we can but try and government’s essential role in that regard is to contain it and improve our health. It is often said that health is wealth, but who cares and how?

This is the typical agony of the average Nigerian who today cannot not afford to visit private hospitals for medical attention. Most times such people out of poverty, nonavailability of government hospitals and frustration resort to self-medication without proper diagnosis, there by increasing the rate of untimely death. That was the terrible experience of most Abia people for a very long time, until recently. Before now whenever people were sick, it was either they go to patent medicine dealers with limited knowledge or expertise on healthcare, visit private hospitals for those who could afford it, stay at home and suffer pains which might eventually lead to their death or go to hospitals outside the state. Mostly affected then were the rural dwellers who could not access the city to buy drugs from medicine dealers, or afford to go private hospitals within or outside the state.

The only functional government hospital in the state capital, Umuahia, which is the Abia State General Hospital at Amaracha, located along Ossah Road was not even fit to be called a hospital where patients could be treated of their ailments . Workers in the hospital saw the place as more of a recreational centre where they come to while away the time because they were owed back log of salaries by successive governments in the state. Then, the health situation in the state called for a state of emergence because of its precariousness.

But to my greatest amazement while at home during the last yuletide celebration, I could not believe what I saw on ground in the state in the area of health delivery and infrastructure development. On enquiry, I discovered that the private hospital with the name Alaoma Hospital belonging to Dr Ezeogo

Changing face of Abia's healthcare

Anagha Ezeikpe located along Aba Road Umuahia has been acquired by the present government of Chief Theodore Orji.

Having not been around for years, I could not recognise it due to the massive rehabilitation and upgrading that had taken place there that has transformed into the Abia Specialist and Diagnostic Centre with state-of-art medical equipment. The project was executed by the state government in partnership with MECURE, a reputable and international health company.

The Centre is currently witnessing another expansion to accommodate a planned dialysis centre where the problems of kidney would be handled instead of taking patients to oversea for treatment.

he Abia General Hospital at Amachara which I once T described as not even good to be called a mortuary before I left the country has equally been equipped, modernised and upgraded with sophisticated and modern equipment to meet the health needs of the people within and outside the state.

Inside the hospital compound, new buildings were erected and old ones were equally rehabilitated. I also discovered that the same midas touch has been extended to Umunneto General Hospital by the government to take care of people in Abia North zone.

The Abia State University Uturu, which has its medical school at Aba with partial accreditation before 2007 to train undergraduate doctors, has been granted full accreditation. I learnt that it was made possible by the intervention of the Governor Orji who put the necessary things in place, including several edifices to ensure that the accreditation was fully granted to save the future of the graduates of the department whose fate has been hanging in the balance for years over the partial accreditation.

I can recall also that before 2007, only two Schools of Nursing in the state were fully accreditated, but today seven

Schools of Nursing have been fully granted accreditation by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria. Also, the School of Health Technology Aba, School of Nursing Umuahia, Uzuakoli Tuberculosis and Leprosy Centre have witnessed massive rehabilitation and expansion. In partnership with EUPrime, the state government has distributed 20 vans to the council areas in the state for effective immunization of children against polio and other sicknesses. And in line with Millennium Development Goals, MDGs, the government in the state has built over 200 health centres across the 17 council areas in state. Most of the centres, which are mainly located in the rural areas, have been equipped, while some others are being equipped. Health personnel have been posted to the already completed and equipped ones.Those without resident doctors have visiting doctors attached to them and qualified nurses permanently attached to attend to the patients with the visiting doctors coming regularly.

The government has also paid all the counterpart funds relating to HIV/AIDS programmes in the state and for other health agencies that have anything to do with HIV/AIDS. Due to the impressive performance of the state in reproductive health in partnership with United Nation Funds For Population Activities, UNFPA, the State remains the only one in the South East zone selected for participation in UNFPA. In addition, the organisation selected the State as its zonal headquarters.

So I was not surprised when I learnt that a prominent nongovernmental organization, Health Watch Initiative, had nominated Governor Orji for award as the Health Ambassador of the Year. It is an award well deserved because of his government’s radical transformation in the health sector since he assumed office as governor in 2007. *Dr. Ugwabor, management expert wrote from USA.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012— —19

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INETEEN years after the panNigerian mandate he won at the polls was voided by the military and 14 years after he died in incarceration fighting for the restoration of that mandate, recognition finally came the way of Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola – or so it seems. But in what must go down as one of the greatest ironies of Nigerian history, what should have marked the highpoint of nearly two decades of democratic struggle for the recognition of one of the most iconic symbols of Nigeria’s democratic coming-of-age instantly turned ash in the mouths of many who had looked forward to this time. The major highlight of President Goodluck Jonathan’s May 29 so-called Democracy Day broadcast was the renaming of the 50-year old University of Lagos as Moshood Abiola University. In making this announcement, the President had probably not anticipated the degree of opposition that decision had so far elicited from Nigerians.

But it would be naive of him not to have thought of some form of opposition to that decision. Which probably explains the sudden, even clandestine manner, the announcement was made. To present those

likely to oppose the decision with a fait accompli – something they could hardly do anything about.

This proves nothing but Jonathan’s own naivety and show him up as a novice in the slippery terrain of political gamesmanship. He must be quite a political character to have turned what could have counted as a political master stroke into the faux pas it has become.

This must be really an embarrassing time for the Abiolas and those who have in the last many years called for recognition of Abiola’s role in the restoration of democracy to Nigeria. June 12, 1993, the day Nigerians massively voted for Abiola or July 8, 1998 the day he died fighting for the restoration of the mandate he won should be Nigeria’s Democracy Day and not the self-serving May 29 that Obasanjo selfishly foisted on the nation. I said the loud protests that have greeted Jonathan’s announcement must be very embarrassing to supporters of MKO Abiola, many of whom must count among those who have been on the streets protesting or have been reported in the media condemning the renaming of Unilag after Abiola. It’s not so much the recogni-

tion as the nature of it that has seen Nigerians giving Jonathan’s decision the cold shoulder. Now all those who have for ethnic, political or religious reasons stood against June 12 and Abiola might want to deceive themselves into believing that they had been right all along. But such belief would be resting on nothing more than their own ignorance and dishonesty.

W

hat the Nigerians who have criticised Jonathan’s decision are against is not recognition of Abiola but the nature of the recognition. Nor is it correct to say many of the students protesting the name change are too young to know of Abiola’s role in history. Even then, I daresay that many who are against the decision might not have been able to articulate it in the manner they should. Mine was visceral rejection upon hearing the announcement but I couldn’t at the time explain why I felt that way. I just knew it didn’t sound right – for reasons I can now understand and which I will give shortly.

The University of Lagos was one of the major centres of opposition to the military in the wake of its

That Anyaoku’s proposition about Edo governance

BY CALLISTUS OMOREGIE

F

ORMER Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, who chaired the ceremony of the Champion Newspapers 2011 Man of the Year Award, held recently in Lagos, is a man of gravitas and impact.

He is an orator par excellence.

He is highly fecund and not flippant, which is why I was somewhat worried about his comments on the person and administration of the Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, who was the Champion Newspapers awardee.

I was not particularly bothered about Anyaoku’s assessment of the Oshiomhole persona from the perspective of having worked together with him in a Federal Government adhoc committee for a seat for Nigeria in the United Nations Security Council.

But my sincere concern was that he allowed that minuscule understanding of Oshiomhole’s official relationship with him, within a short time, to influence his assessment of the ComradeGovernor’s governance style over a long time in Edo State. He said he was satisfied with the governor ’s performance.

I believe that the basis of Anyaoku’s expressed satisfaction with Oshiomhole’s leadership in Edo is simply hearsay and not a product of any empirical interrogation and conclusion.

I doubt if he will be able to sustain that assertion if he goes to Edo to assess him on the basis of funds purportedly expended so far on infrastructure development.

Read Anyaoku: “I am delighted to be here for the eminently deserved award

by Comrade Oshiomhole. I congratulate C M Y K

,

Champion Newspapers for the award on a well deserving awardee. I first came in contact with him when we both served in the committee for the bidding of United Nations seat for Nigeria.”

Anyaoku said: “Nigeria is faced with a situation that calls for people that have the qualities that Oshiomhole displays to take the centre stage. Oshiomhole has made himself a charismatic and celebrated union leader; he possesses signs of true leadership; little wonder since becoming governor of Edo State, he has made huge impact in the lives of the people of the State”.

But what remains interestingly paradoxical about Anyaoku’s profiling of Oshiomhole and his leadership in Edo is the confession on the occasion of the Champion Newspapers ceremony that he (Anyaoku) has not had the opportunity to visit Edo State to see and be able to assess what Oshiomhole has done on the ground.

So, what then was the basis of his assessment? I make bold to answer the question in this fashion: Anyaoku most probably assessed Oshiomhole’s performance based on hearsay or from jaundiced newspaper reports which are easily influenced by incumbent executives and have been known to be more of propaganda than true reflection of situations on the ground.

There was a time when “Enugu is working” was the popular mantra in the media. The Enugu example was the height of reckless propaganda, of how people in government could take a stupid gamble with the commonwealth of people; whereas the funds of Enugu State was being mindlessly plundered and stolen. The noise from Enugu then was far more than the action. But was there any real action?

annulment of the June 12 election.

Students, lecturers and other staff of that great university vehemently stood against the military and the so-called interim regime it sought to prop up after General Babangida ‘stepped aside’. I was both an eye witness and a participant in the events of those times at the university. We were beaten, tear-gassed and shot right in the campus by forces in the pay of the military. But the university stood its ground. Such a body of Nigerians cannot be opposed to Abiola or recognition of his role.

True many in Unilag and other Nigerians have rightly criticised the apparent lack of consultation before the announcement of the name change. There have been talks of the university being a creation of an Act of Parliament and that any name change ought to go through legal channels. All of this is correct. But what many of those opposed to the decision might not have said or been able to articulate is what might sound on the surface as the provincialisation of a cosmopolitan institution. There is no doubt that Chief MKO Abiola was a well known Nigerian who became better known, a world figure, in the heat of the June 12 struggles. But his name in the context of the history of the University of Lagos, a 50-year old university located in Nigeria’s most cosmopolitan city, may not carry the weight such renaming would demand of it- at least for now. Which is really why that is not a problem, for I believe, over time, the world would adjust to it. The same feeling followed the renaming of the University of Ife to Obafemi Awolowo University in 1987. But today, OAU seems and sounds natural as any other university name even though some purists insists on a difference

,

To immortalise Abiola – or not

My major quarrel with Jonathan is that his decision reduces Abiola’s struggle to a South-West or Yoruba thing

I appeal to Anyaoku to be wary in lending the force of his reputation and integrity to bolster some shenanigans that masquerade as popular governments in many states of the federation

,

Similar thing happened in many other states where governors turned their territories into some huge bazaar, stealing public funds and spending them on things that do not edify the soul; things that led to further pauperization of the state and the people; buying and building mansions, investing in businesses in blind trust and stashing away billions in secret accounts abroad, among others.

I

t will be interesting what Anyaoku’s reaction would be if he stumbles on some sordid details of sleazy deals by many of these governors, including Oshiomhole. I want to believe that Anyaoku may not have heard of the mansion and other structures that Oshiomhole is reportedly building on his sprawling estate at Iyamho. Perhaps, he has heard and does not believe. He may have to visit the place when he gets to visit Edo to assess the “performance” on the ground.

I know that Anyaoku is an idealist, having been acculturated into the Western idea of performance in office, having been sucked into the observance of the time-tested principles of accountability, transparency and integrity as enunciated by the developed

between Great Ife and OAU. Great Akokites as Unilag graduates and undergraduates are called may for now find it cumbersome to say ‘Great Moshoodite’ or whatever they may eventually settle for if the name change remains. But time might change all that.

The name ‘University of Lagos’ has acquired a resonance and recognition that places it in the same league as, say, University of London, University of Cambridge, Oxford or any such university closely associated with particular towns or cities. Careless tampering with such names is at once crass and insensitive to the feelings of those who have to bear the name. It’s therefore nonsense for Labaran Maku, the Information Minister, speaking for Abuja, to say the decision is final and irreversible. This is where consultation comes in. As Chief Abiola would, himself, have put it, you cannot shave a man’s head in his absence. However, my major quarrel with Jonathan is that his decision reduces Abiola’s struggle to a South-West or Yoruba thing even if Unilag is probably Nigeria’s most ethnically-diverse university. Why pick an institution in the West and not, say, Abuja or elsewhere in Nigeria to name after Abiola? What’s wrong with, say, the Eagle’s Square in Abuja? After all the former Race Course in Lagos was renamed Tafawa Balewa Square. In the early 1990s MKO doled a million Naira to each Nigerian university. Naming one after him and with consultation cannot be a big deal. Nor should we hang Jonathan who did what Obasanjo, Abiola’s kinsman and main beneficiary of his struggle, refused to do for eight years in power.

countries of the West.

In the Commonwealth where he worked for so many years, officials of the system walk their talks. Not so in our country where there is a yawning gap between verbal exhortations and actions by government officials.

There is no doubt that he will be rudely jolted into the reality of the rot that has underlined governance at all levels in the country. This is not even about Oshiomhole; it is about the chicanery that pervades the governance circle; it is about the egocentricity that characterises the persona of our socalled leaders at all levels. It is such a despicable disposition; the filthiness is such that it becomes risky for many a good man like Anyaoku to stake his reputation by vouching for the integrity of the performance of any leader for that matter.

Anyaoku has come a long way; he has built a solid reputation for himself as a man of integrity. Therefore, people like me are wont to revolt when we see attempts, like Oshiomhole and his publicists did at the Champion Newspapers ceremony and the subsequent reportage of the event, to use him to validate a “performance” that is indeed poor vis-a-vis the sum of the federally collected revenue and the Internally General Revenue that accrued to his government in Edo State in the last four years.

I appeal to our respected statesman, Anyaoku, to be wary in lending the force of his reputation and integrity to bolster some shenanigans that masquerade as popular governments in many states of the federation. Having indicated implicit interest in visiting Edo State to "see for himself”, I hope he will accomplish that proposition quickly, go to every nook and cranny of the state, not roadsides, so that he can see the extent of “performance”, I mean real performance, by the Comrade-Governor. *Mr. Omoregie, public affairs analyst, wrote fromBenin, Edo State.

20 —

Vanguard, WEDNESD AY, JUNE 6, 2011 WEDNESDA

Where do we go from here? Ask displaced victims of plane crash •Rescue mission was delayed by bad roads —Residents

BY BOSE ADELAJA

“W

ILL my mother come back to life”? asked seven-year-old Esther Okechukwu, a student of Government School, Fagba who gazed at the mammoth crowd that besieged No 12 Olaniyi st, off Akande Street, Iju/Ishaga area of Lagos State, the scene of the ill-fated plane crash of last Sunday.

Unfortunately, nobody could provide an answer to her question as her mother, Josephine, a former business woman in Lagos; her father, Jerry and her five-year-old sister, were among the several victims who died under tragic circumstances during the plane crash.

Before the tragedy occurred that fateful Sunday, Esther, her parents and brothers Joe (11) and Chisoma (9), were residents of the two-storey building that has now become a Mecca of a sort following the tragic death of many of its residents during the plane crash.

In an exclusive interview with Vanguard Metro,VM, Okechukwu’s bosom friend and Pastor to the family, Joe Emuobohwo of Living Proof Christ Assembly who hosted the children after the passage of their parents, said Jerry and Josephine were devoted Christians before their death. “They worshipped at a church distant from here, while their children worship in our church which is nearby. On that day, there was a fault in the electricity at their apartment, so Esther was asked to go and call an electrician, while Josephine was plaiting her daughter’s hair. Jerry was observing a siesta, while Joe and Chisoma were playing.

When it appeared Esther was taking too much time in her errand, Josephine sent her two sons to go and look for her and find out what was happening.

But that was the last she would see her children as she and her husband did not survive the inferno resulting from the plane crash that occurred shortly after,” he said.

Not knowing the next line of action, the children ran to their pastor to inform him of their predicament. “They rushed to my house to inform me and I followed them to the scene. That was how we found out that their parents and their sister had C M Y K

been roasted alive,” said the cleric.

Pastor Joe immediately took the custody of the children till the arrival of Governor Babatunde Fashola the following day who has since taken over their custody.

None of the children could immediately trace any of their relatives since they were restricted from mixing up with them when their parents were alive.

A resident of Olaniyi Street told VM their mother usually instructed her children to steer clear of any relation based on undisclosed reason. “She usually told them that ‘I am enough for you and will always provide anything you want’. This is why the children cannot now trace any of their relations,” said Mrs. Okeowo Ramota.

Since the rescue team have began evacuation of the victims, the entire Olaniyi street has been deserted as the State government had on Monday June 4, ordered the relocation of the residents.

Although the State government has announced relocation of displaced families to Agbowa camp where, it said, adequate provision has been made for them, but many of the residents still claimed they have only been allowed to register their names while no further action has so far been taken. A displaced Mr. Adekunle Muhammed told VM he had not taken his bath for two days, adding: “I have been sleeping outside since Monday while my wife and kids are yet to be found”.

R

eacting to the develop ment, Chairman of Akande Community Development Association, Mr. Adewale Oriowo, said the first day of the rescue operation witnessed many challenges chief of which was the poor state of the major link road to the scene of the disaster. According to him, the rescue team would have arrived the scene earlier if the roads leading to the community were in a good shape. “The link roads were in a bad shape and the rescue team could not access the place as it took them about 50 minutes to arrive the scene. The culvert linking Akande Street was damaged and we have to support it with a lot of planks before the rescue team could access the scene of the disaster.

However, the scene has been

*Children of some of the displaced victims items and drinks to the rescue team.

A

*Pastor Daniel Omowunmi attracting some notable nongovernmental organisations who visited to donate relief materials to the rescue team. One of the organisations, The Salvation Army, visited the place on two occasions to donate food

ccording to the Public Re lations Officer of the team, Ntiense Williams, this became necessary to encourage them to work harder. “We visited some affected families to commiserate with them on the loss of their loved ones,” he said. We are working with NEMA who advises us on the next line of action,”said Williams.

Meanwhile, LASEMA boss, Femi Osanyintolu has said the Lagos State government yesterday demolished the affected building to avoid further disas-

ter in the area.

The owner of one of the affected buildings Pastor Daniel Omowunmi said he was in church when the distress call came. “I lost a ware house, some educational materials of about six container load which were just brought from abroad. In addition, over four container loads of kitchen utensils were lost in the inferno.

“I also lost a lot of machines for my furniture work and a jeep worth Billions of Naira, this is beyond repair, the only things left on me are the things we went to church with on that day.

Dana crash site: NEMA decries mob action

T

HE Director General of Na tional Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Muhammad Sani-Sidi has decried lack of discipline and basic knowledge on public safety by most Nigerians during disaster and emergency situations.

Sani-Sidi who made the remark before the commence-

ment of search and rescue operation at the scene of the Dana plane crash in Agege, Lagos on Tuesday, said the mob crowd that trooped to the scene violated the crash site which made job of search and rescue officers difficult. He said: “The mob-action made the task of response agencies difficult in the initial stage

until the arrivals of security personnel who contained the situation.”

He added that NEMA would continue to mobilize, train and equip volunteer groups in disaster management in the country. “Crowdcontrol has always been our major challenges in disaster management when some people turn the scene to a cinema to watch or engage in nefarious activities,” he said.

Meanwhile, additional bodies have been recovered from the scene of the plane crash, bringing the total to 150 bodies. While most of the bodies were burnt, some beyond recognition, others were intact with little bruises.

Rescue officers and engineers are soon to pull down some of the affected building at the site to facilitate speedy operation and fumigation.

Also, the black box flight recorder from the Dana air plane was on Monday recovered and given to investigators.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012 — 21

No financial records on sold FG houses, says Fiscal Commission T

HE Fiscal Responsibility Commis sion (FRC), the agency charged with monitoring the use of public funds in government establishments, says it has no financial records on sold government houses. In a report made available to newsmen in Abuja the commission said that efforts to obtain record of transactions on the sale of houses from the Presidential Implementation Committee had been unsuccessful.

It said: “So far in spite of concerted efforts by the commission, there has not been any record of transactions for the sale of Federal Government houses.

“The Presidential Implementation Committee is not forthcoming, while communication is ongoing with the Bureau of Public Enterprises over the privatisation proceeds of a number of government companies.” In 2002, the Federal Government in its efforts to reduce the cost of governance introduced a mon-

etisation policy for public servants.

Under the monetisation policy, public servants, particularly in Lagos and Abuja, were encouraged to own houses by bidding for property hitherto owned and managed by the Federal Government. Mr Kola Adeyemi, Secretary of the committee said that enquiries on proceeds from the sale of the houses should be directed to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ms Amah Pepple, who is also chairman of the committee.

Adeyemi who heads the secretariat of the committee, located in a rented building in Edo House, Central Area Abuja, said, “any public servant can only talk after clearance from his principle”. Spokesman of BPE Chukwuma Nwoko confirmed that the FRC had requested information on the proceeds from sold government companies.

He said the agency was willing to oblige them with the report. Nwoko said gross proceeds from the direct

sale of public enterprises between 1999 and August 2011 amounted to N249.4 billion, out of which N146.18 billion was remitted to the Federation Account. He said from the proceeds, the privatisation agency spent N103.84 billion to settle staff salaries and terminal benefits of workers of the privatised firms while other “transaction expenses’’ gulped N23.9 billion. The spokesman put the net proceed, during the period under review at N121.6 billion.

Absence of rules is stalling market making —Stakeholders

S

OME stakeholders in the capital market have said that the delay in approving securities lending rules by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was stalling activities of market makers. Securities lending is the practice of lending a stock, derivative, other security to an investor or firm.

Market maker is a broker-dealer firm that accepts the risk of holding a certain number of shares of a particular security to facilitate trading in that security.

They said that market making would not start without the necessary structure. This structure involves rules on securities lending, short selling and sustainable credit lines.

Mr Emeka Madubuike, Chairman of Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria (ASHON), said that the inability of SEC to establish this structure had made it impossible for market making to start. “Market making cannot start without securities lending and short selling. The rules and processes also must be in place,” he said.

Malam Garba Kurfi, the Chief Executive Officer of APT Securities and Funds Ltd., said that market makers needed providers of liquidity that would generate seamless transactions. Kurfi said that aside from the creation of market making and securities lending in principle, the operational rules and structure were absent to sustain activities of market makers. He warned that the impact of the market makers would not be felt until the central bank provided credit windows for market markers through commercial banks.

Kurfi said that it was possible for market making to start effectively in the third quarter when all the bottlenecks would have been sorted out.

C M Y K

From left: Olusola Akinniranye, CEO, Transmission Company of Nigeria; Minister of Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji and Gov Theodore Orji of Abia State, during the commissioning of 2 x 40 MVA, 132/33kV Transmission Substation, in Umuahia, Abia State.

AAEUN raises alarm over food shortages in Nigeria

By PETER DURU

T

HE President of Agricultural and Allied Employees’ Union of Nigeria, AAEUN, Comrade Simon Anchaver has warned that Nigeria was at the brink of a major food crisis if urgent steps were not taken to tackle the malpractices that trail the distribution of agricultural inputs and fertilizer products in the country.

Comrade Anchaver lamented that political office holders who engage in the distribution of the products ensure that the fertilizers do not get to genuine farmers, thereby frustrating government’s efforts at development of the agricultural sector.

The newly elected AAEUN President who made this assertion, while fielding questions from newsmen in Makurdi stated that the development accounts for the inability of farmers to meet the food needs of the country.

He urged governments at all level to put in place a well mapped out distribution chain that would ensure that farm implements and fertilizer prod-

ucts gets directly to the end users especially through agricultural extension workers.

He charged the state and federal governments to also encourage dry season farming in all parts of the country as a means of boosting food production in the country.

Comrade Anchaver, who regretted that successive governments in the country have continued to pay lip service to the much talked about revolution in the agricultural sector advised that much more resources be dedicated to agricultural activities in the country.

He further canvassed for a specialized salary structure for agricultural and allied workers to galvanize the morale of workers in the sector and also boost activities in the sector.

The newly elected AAEUN President also called for the inclusion of a representative of agricultural workers in the National Council on Agriculture in order to avail the council first hand information from agricultural workers in the country.

157.75

+0.25

2,093.00 +30.00 18.97

-0.12

99.05

+0.62

83.92

+0.69

CURRENCY BUYING CENTRAL SELLING CFA 0.2744 0.2844 KRONER 25.6468 25.7297 EURO 190.6365 191.2525 POUNDS 236.8604 237.6257 RIYAL 41.2623 41.3956 SDR 233.0845 233.8376 FRANC 158.7179 159.2308 DOLLAR 154.75 155.25 WAUA 233.1661 233.9195 YEN 1.9809 1.9873 RENMINBI 24.2927 24.3716

0.2944 25.8125 191.8684 238.391 41.5289 234.5907 159.7436 155.75 234.6728 1.9937 24.4505

CBN Exchange rate as at 05/06/2012

22 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

Deap Capital, MTI, 13 others financially insolvent — NSE

By MICHAEL EBOH

D

EAP Capital Man agement and Trust Plc, Hallmark Paper Products Plc, MTI Plc and 12 other companies have been declared financially insolvent, hence their inability to submit their 2011 financial statements to the authorities of the Nigerian capital market.

According to a statement on the NSE website titled ‘Released financials of quoted

companies: Audited accounts for period ended January – December 2011’, Deap Capital, which has September 2011, as its year end, have failed to submit its financial statement nine months after; while Hallmark Paper and MTI are yet to submit their December 2011 financial statements.

Other companies are: West Africa Aluminium Products Plc, Aluminium Manufacturing of

Nigeria Plc, Nigerian Wire Industries Plc and Union Dicon Salt Plc. Some other companies identified as financially insolvent and also u n d e r g o i n g restructuring are: Golden Guinea Breweries Plc, Rak Unity Petroleum Plc, Udeofson Garment Factory, Abplast Products Plc, Jos International Breweries Plc, Nigerian Sewing Machine Company Plc, Stokvis Nigeria Plc, Union Ven-

tures and Petroleum Plc. In the document, of the 195 equities listed, only 66 per cent have submitted their financial statement, while 34 companies are yet to submit their due to various reasons.

The NSE said Pinnacle Point Group and Cappa & D’Alberto Plc’s failure to submit their results was due to the fact that they were in the process of been delisted, while Costain (West Africa) Plc’s ina-

bility to comply with the post-listing regulation was as a result of an incomplete accounting software.

Lennards (Nigeria) Plc, Capital Oil Plc and Rokana Industries Plc, the NSE said, have “Down operations,” Afroil Plc and Mtech Communications Plc, it said are under the Interim Management of the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, while Daar Communications Plc and Ekocorp Plc are facing various forms of litigations.

West Africa Glass Industries Plc’s inability to submit its December 2011 financial statements was attributed to its burnt factory in 2009, while Wema Bank’s was attributed to a fire outbreak in its head office.

The NSE said the inability of 23 companies to submit their financial statements was due to

the fact that they are awaiting the clearance and approval of the various regulatory authorities.

The companies are: African Alliance Insurance Plc, Cornerstone Insurance Plc, Crusader (Nigeria) Plc, Equity Assurance Plc, Goldlink Insurance Plc, Great Nigeria Plc, Guinea Insurance Plc, International Energy Insurance Plc, Investment and Allied Assurance Plc, Law Union and Rock Insurance, Linkage Assurance Plc, Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc, Niger Insurance Plc and Regency Alliance Insurance Plc. Others are: Resort Savings and Loans Plc, Royal Exchange Assurance Plc, Sim Capital Alliance Plc, Skye Shelter Funds Plc, Staco Plc, Standard Alliance Plc, Unic Insurance Plc, Unity Kapital Assurance Plc and Universal Insurance Plc.

Analyst attributes stability in FGN bonds to high liquidity From left: Kazeem Adedeji, Commissioner for Trade, Investment & Cooperatives, Oyo State; Ray Ferguson, Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Bank, Singapore; Bola Adesola, Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Bank and Shabbir Hassanbhai, High Commissioner, Republic of Singapore to Nigeria during the Africa-Singapore Business Forum 2012, organised by Standard Chartered Bank, to promote trade and investment between Africa and Singapore, in Lagos.

Registrars disagree with SEC’s N52bn unclaimed dividend figure

BY PETER EGWUATU,WITH AGENCY REPORT

T

HE Institute of Capital Market Registrars (ICMR) has disagreed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) projected value of N52.2 billion outstanding unclaimed dividend, even as the Commission has called for a probe.

Dr. David Ogogo, ICMR’s Chief Executive, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in a telephone interview that the unclaimed dividend figure stood at N45.7 billion as at Dec. 31, 2011.

SEC recently pegged C M Y K

the outstanding unclaimed dividend figure at N52.2 billion as at Dec.31, 2011.

Ogogo said that their figures was about 5.5 per cent of what was declared by companies, adding that, the returns had been sent to the commission.

He said that SEC should be blamed for lingering problem of unclaimed dividend in spite of the existing edividend payment module.

According to him, SEC had failed to mandate all shareholders to submit their account details with their respective registrars as recommended by the institute to curb the

unclaimed dividend menace. He urged SEC also to liaise with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to mandate the banks to accept dividend warrants in savings account as against current account.

Menwhile, the SEC had called on the house of representatives to investigate the upsurge on unclaimed divdend.

The SEC’s director general,Ms. Arunma Oteh, had stated that the legislative attention to the intractable issue of unclaimed dividends is a positive development.

According to her “The size of the unclaimed dividend has since surpassed the N40 billion referred to by Hon.

Umoh since as at December 2011, the size of unclaimed dividends was N52.2 Billion. Out of this figure, 84.7% i.e.

N42.5 billion was held by nine out of 23 registrars who submitted their returns.

Although, Ogogo had attributed part of the problem of unclaimed dividend to refusal of shareholders to use their current account in order to avoid bank charges.

He said that the CMR had resorted to road shows and publishing of unclaimed dividend names in annual accounts of companies to sensitise investors on the need to claim their dividends.

A

financial analyst, Mr. Tola Odukoya, has attributed the stability in the Federal Government (FGN) bonds last week to high liquidity in the bond market.

Odukoya, Head of Research, Dunn Loren Merrifield (DLM), made the observation in the weekly report of the company.

He said that activities at the Over-The-Counter (OTC) market in FGN bonds were relatively stable and low compared to the previous week.

He said that there was also a fall in interbank rates last week due to the high level of liquidity level in the system.

“Also, we believe activities during the week indicated market adjustments to the monetary authorities’ decision to hold the policy rate at 12 per cent and overall sentiments regarding profit-taking by foreign and institutional investors,” he said.

Odukoya said also that the treasury bills market

was inactive on the short and medium terms as traders repositioned themselves to take advantage of the liquidity in the system.

“As highlighted earlier, we note the sustained liquidity tightening in the system as a result of the liquidity levels given that the market recorded the offering of N390 billion OMO bills at four auctions.

“Also N228.37 billion was sold at discount rates ranging between 14.50 per cent and 15.00 per cent with maturities between 38 days and 77 days.

“However, we observed the substantial increase in level of allotment on the offered OMO bills when compared with that of the preceding week,” he said.

Odukoya added that the increase in the level of the allotted amount could be as a result of the cut off rates which came out higher, given the CBN resolve to mop-up the excess liquidity in the system.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012 — 23

EDITED by Adekunle Adekoya

DIARY Select ICT events

We will not discuss further actions or entertain any further meeting on this matter until sanctions are complied with

z IP 6 World Congress. Holds 12-13 June in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. zGlobal Messaging and VAS 2012. Holds 12 - 13 June in London, UK. zWest & Central Africa Com. Holds 19 - 20 June at Le Meridien President, Senegal. z Next Generation Core Networks Summit. Holds 19 - 20 June in Berlin, Germany.

Preview

New inventions shaping life and living

zDr Eugene Juwah, EVC, NCC

Telecom operators must pay N1.17bn fines, or... — NCC E

Double-sided smart phone A new smartphone with a transparent display allows users to access and operate applications on both sides of the touchscreen.

Developed by NT T DOCOMO in conjunction with Fujitsu, the prototype smartphone features a 320 x 240 display, which the team plans to enlarge with over time.

Since the screen can be accessed from the back, users can scroll the screen without blocking the display or touch both sides at once to control the functions in a new way.

ARLY last month, the four top tele coms firms in the country — MTN, Airtel, Etisalat and Globacom were fined a total N1.17 bn by the industry regulator, the NCC, for not meeting stipulated quality of service benchmarks called key performance indicators. A deadline by which the fines must be paid was set, which expired last May 25th, with a default fine of N2.5m per day until the fines are paid.

The telcos, in moves that suggest unwillingness to pay the fines fought back, and in several advertorials listed their ordeals, chief of which include self-generated electricity and damage to business infrastructure which they said is militating against attainment of stipulated KPIs. Observers have

I N S Between NCC I and NESREA D E C M Y K

BY ADEKUNLE ADEKOYA

keenly watched developments, especially since expiration f the May 25 deadline by which none of the telcos have paid.

Instead, chief executives of the telcos and some of their top brass sought and secured a meeting with NCC, which held in Abuja last week. At the meeting the NCC reiterated its position on quality of service, and insisted that the telcos must first pay the fines and the default penalties before discussions can proceed on any other issue.

Speaking through its Director of Public Affairs, Mr Tony Ojobo, NCC dis-

closed that as a regulator, there are several options open to it in enforcing payment of the fines, including withdrawal of regulatory services to service providers. Excerpts: We had a meeting with the sanctioned service providers. Initially the position of the Commission was that we were not going to have any discussion with the service providers until the penalties had been paid but on second thought management felt that there was need to listen to them to see if there were new issues to be raised regarding sanctions. The CEO’s were all in attendance with some

of their staff. They indicated that they wanted to see if the NCC would review its position on the sanctions and probably see whether there can be some form of reprieve for them, considering the challenging circumstances in the environment which have contributed to the poor quality of service. They mentioned the issues of power, cable cuts and multiple taxation and all of that. These challenges are not new to the commission. They have been on and the issue of quality of service has been in discussion for six years until last January when the Quality of Service guidelines were gazetted

,

,

z Telecom World Congress 2012 Conference. Holds 19 – 21 June at Amsterdam Marriott Hotel,The Netherlands

What the guideline specified is fine and that fine is paid to government through the Commission.We are not shifting any ground on this matter

Viruses as weapons of cyber warfare

Satellite communication and Nigeria's survivability: A case for NigComSat (2)

and then there was need for the Commission to apply sanctions to service providers that did not meet key performance indicators (KPIs) as indicated in the guidelines.

Meeting

Before then there was a meeting between the service providers and the commission where they had made commitments that by March this year we were going to see noticeable improvements in the quality of service offered.

As at March we still didn’t see any noticeable improvements; rather we observed very poor quality of service on all the networks. The Commission was of the view that there was no need to review the sanctions in the sense that these key performance indicators have not been met; but at the end of the meeting the posi-

Continues on Page 30

Dana crash: Nigerians lament, pray for victims on Facebook

24 —Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

Between NCC and NESREA

S

EVERAL weeks to both NCC and the ago, a conflict in Ministry of Environment. regulatory roles Further, base stations built erupted between two with the 5-metre setback agencies of government rule will also not be sealed — the Nigerian Commu- again, in addition to nications Commission which base stations to be (NCC) and the National built in the future must Environmental Standards comply with NESREA’s Regulatory and Enforce- 10-metre setback prescripment Agency (NESREA). tion, until NCC and NESNESREA had sealed off REA regulations are hara base station belonging monized and the impact to one of the nation’s tel- of this prescription expeecom firms in Abuja, al- rienced along the way. leging that its siting inI am not concerned with fringed the 10-metre set- who was right or wrong back rule from buildings. in the NCC-NESREA Pronto, NCC went to the face-off, except to observe base station and unsealed that the conflict was needit, claiming that the siting less in the first instance. complied with its own 5Needless, yes, to the metre setback rule which extent that both bodies beis in consolong to the The telecoms f e d e r a l nance with international industry is one g o v e r n regulations. m e n t Not to be out- sector through w h o s e done, NES- which the rest ministers REA returned and other and resealed of the world is executives the facility. beginning to subscribe Indeed, to the respect us, as t r a n s f o r there are reports of base achievements mation stations being agenda of therein indi- Mr Presisealed nationwide not cate, and we dent. only by NESHowever, all owe it a REA, but by I have a any agency of strong duty to supstate or local feeling governments port its contin- that sealthat generates ing off ues growth sufficient reabase stason to take t i o n s such action, irrespective should be a last resort by of the position of the law any government agency. on the matter.

My take is that the teleIn fact, agencies of local coms industry is one secand state governments tor through which the rest have shut down base sta- of the world is beginning tions after issuing de- to respect us now, as mand notices to the telcos achievements therein into pay one form of levy or dicate, and we all owe it the other. The demand a duty to support its connotices have accumulated tinues growth. Let us not to such a dizzying figure forget that the sector is that the telecoms regula- managing to deliver actor, NCC had to facilitate ceptable services on costthe setting up of an indus- ly generator power; if try working group to seek PHCN had given us just ways out of the problem half of the telecoms secwhich it saw was not just tor performance, our inthreatening quality of dustries would breathe service and connection easier and our economy issues, but the entire tel- much healthier. ecoms industry itself.

The Federal GovernThat Dana crash... ment waded into the matMy heart goes out to all ter, and in the last fort- those who lost people — night, supervising minis- staff, family, friends, and ters of the two agencies — relations in last Sunday’s Mrs Omobola Johnson of air crash; I thought that Communications technol- the pre-2005 spectre had ogy and Hajiya Hadiza finally disappeared.

Mailafia of Environment Thank God the Black Box met, at the end of which has been retrieved, and certaim grundnorms were please, let the inquest into laid to ensure that further this calamity give us the conflicts do not occur. truth, and nothing but the Chief of these aggremos truth. Righteousness exis that no base station can alts a nation; isn’t that now be sealed by any what the Good Book said? agency without reverting

,

C M Y K

W

HILE we are busy worrying about mundane things, the first super-cyber weapon has been quietly spying on and attacking things it doesn’t like. Huge, stealthy computer viruses with capabilities that sound like the stuff of science fiction have been at work, collecting data, waiting to strike. It is now clear we live in a world at war, cyber war … and this is just the beginning.

While busy on assignment from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), looking for something else entirely, Kaspersky Lab discovered Worm.Win32.Flame – the world’s first supercyber weapon, which Kaspersky Lab named Flame. What makes it a super-cyber weapon?

Kaspersky Lab says it is highly sophisticated and malicious with complexity and functionality exceeding all other cyber weapons known to date.

I don’t know about you, but that sounds pretty scary to me.

Kaspersky adds that while “… the features of Flame differ compared with those of previous notable cyber weapons such as Duqu and Stuxnet, the geography of attacks, use of specific software vulnerabilities, and the fact that only selected computers are being targeted all indicate that

Viruses as weapons of cyber warfare

The US Pentagon is channelling a growing volume of troops and resources into countering cyber warfare. Photo:AFP/Getty Images Flame belongs to the same think that Flame may Yaalon, Israel’s Vice category …” It’s just more have been deployed as Prime Minister and Minpowerful, harder to detect, early as March 2010. Why ister of Strategic Affairs harder to understand, big- wasn’t it detected until said, “For anyone who ger and nastier than any- now? Welcome to the na- sees the Iranian threat as thing they’ve ever seen. ture of highly complex significant, it is reasonaAs best as anyone can tell, highly targeted super-cy- ble that he would take different steps, including Flame “is designed to car- ber weapons.

But this gets more inter- these, in order to hobble ry out cyber espionage. It can steal valuable informa- esting. Kaspersky Lab it.” He added “Israel is tion, including but not lim- also posited that Flame blessed with being a ited to computer display was so complex and so- country which is technocontents, information phisticated that it must logically rich, and these about targeted systems, have been created by a tools open up all sorts of stored files, contact data government entity. As if to possibilities for us.” z Culled from Shelly and even audio conversa- validate that assumption, shortly after the an- Palmer'Blog; written by tions.”

Kaspersky engineers nouncement, Moshe Shelly Palmer.

‘Good corporate governance necessary for ICT sector’

BY EMMA ELEBEKE

E

VEN as the Nigeri an telecommunications industry seems to have passed through its teetthing challenges, it does appear that certain ingredients are needed to sustain the growth so far achieved in the industry by the regulator.

It was in realization of this goal, that NCC last week convened a forum on corporate governance in Lagos. The event entitled : Compliance with standards, processes and procedures'' was attended by eminent scholars and experts in the industry.

The event provided a platform for a review and strengthening corporate governance application in the operating companies in the Nigerian telecommunication sector.

In her presentation, Communication Technology minister, Mrs. Omobola Johnson said for the ICT industry to increase productivity and attract the needed foreign investment Nigeria desired, there is need for players in the industry to culminate a code of corporate governance in the industry.

Fabricating the necessary instruments that will formulate policies that will encourage practitioners and make the environ-

ment favourable for is inevitable for sector to attain the desired level of growth and development.

In his keynote address, former Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Ernest Ndukwe said the institution of good corporate governance if given the priority it deserves will spur growth and encourage every staff of an organization. To promote good corporate governance, Ndukwe said it must be such every member of staff involved in an organization understand what it takes to achieve it.

He charged the commission to form a building block upon which a good corporate governance would be build in the Nigerian telecom industry.

Also speaking at the event, the EVC of NCC, represented by the Executive Commissioner for Stakeholder Management, Mr. Okechukwu Itanyi said stakeholders need to collaborate in order to bring about good corporate governance.

For NCC, having carefully nurtured the industry to its present stage of

growth, it desired to sustain the growth by continuing to provide a level playing ground for all players to avert crisis situation that would be occasioned by weak corporate governance.

Itanyi said that corporate governance has become a veritable instrument for any companies to do well in its operations.

He was optimistic that the stakeholders forum by NCC would improve the application of corporate governance by operators and bring a boost to the industry.

FORUM: From left: Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Managment, NCC, Mr. Okechukwu Itanyi; Engr. N. O Oguejior, rep of the Minister of Comm Tech, and former EVC of NCC, and Chairman, New Media, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, at the Stakeholder Forum on Corporate Governance hosted

by NCC in Lagos, last Friday.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012— 25

C M Y K

26—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

$23bn m-health market exists for operators — GSMA ‘Why MTN supports education’

BY EMMA ELEBEKE

BY EMEKA AGINAM

T

A

T the just conclud ed Mobile Health summit held in Cape Town, South Africa, a new report from GSMA has revealed that there was increasing demand for mobile health services, predicting that the market will be worth US$23 billion by 2017.

The GSMA represents the interests of about 1,200 operators in the mobile system worldwide in more than 220 countries. The new study titled “Integrating Healthcare: The Role and Value of Mobile Operators in eHealth' is part of the GSMA’s PanAfrican Health Initiative to drive collaboration efforts between mobile operators and the public/private sector to increase access to underserved communities.

It follows from the research completed by the GSMA on how the connectivity between individuals and healthcare practitioners can be improved by providing means and incentive for healthcare to occur over the mobile change. The research also indicates that as mobile operators continue to develop their capabilities to connect people and businesses in increasingly more sophisticated ways, they will face a number of challenges.

Managing Director, GSMA Development Fund, Chris Locke in a telephone interview with Vanguard Hi-Tech last Ezeala Gloria God'll surely punish those responsible for your deaths.

May your gentle souls rest in peace. Amen Alfa Danlami May their gentle souls rest in perfect peace Tersoo Michael Innocent God have mercy on our country Nigeria.

Nicolas Murphy Gerard Anoliefo May their perfect souls rest in peace, God save Nigeria.

Lazarus Abalike Okwoli U people should do something in the aviation sector seriously because is bad and shameful.

Waliyy Onifade Death is surely inevitable. The message in all these is to live today like you will not see tomorrow. May their souls rest in perfect peace.

Olanrewaju Lanrigson Balogun This is a paragon of virtue! No single aspect of transportation is fully secure in my father land!

Onochie Kissinger Okoye Events have proven that there is nothing like accident; what we call accident are all man made due to man’s greed. May God save us.

Irene El-abd: Very sad Rebecca Saka This is C M Y K

Y'ELLO CARE: From left, Mr. Jimi Solanke of the “Story Land” fame; Mr Adebayo Hezekiah, Director, State Universal Basic Education Board; Mr. Akinwale Goodluck, Corporate Services Executive, MTN Nigeria and Mrs. Taiwo Ajayi-Lycett, a veteran actress and poet at the opening of MTN 21 Days of Y’ello Care, 2012 edition, tagged “Investing in Education for All,” in Lagos. week during the Mobile Health summit in South Africa said that, “Over the past few years we’ve seen mobile operators delivering end-to-end healthcare solutions which have typically been provided by the traditional systems integrator but there is clear evidence supporting operators’ emerging role in e-health.

He added: “Today, operators have evolved and are best placed to deliver the solutions addressing the issues that the global healthcare industry faces, by lowering costs and making healthcare more accessible.”

According to him, there was huge gap in Africa regarding mobile phone

use in health, adding that mobile phone if well used can facilitate access to health. The healthcare industry, according to Locke, was undergoing a fundamental shift as demand from patients for services outside of traditional healthcare settings, such as hospitals and clinics, increases.

"This in turn is driving increased demand for mHealth services, with the mHealth market estimated to be worth US$23 billion by 2017. In addition, operators are also developing ICT capabilities that enable them to serve the larger eHealth market, such as cloudbased medical records and imaging as well as in

the provision of health information exchanges.

This larger eHealth market is estimated to be worth up to USD$160 billion in 2015," Locke added.

Meanwhile, leading mobile operators are expanding beyond their core capabilities in consumer voice and data, to global business integration capabilities, the report added.

According to the new study, mobile operators are now integral to areas such as cloud computing, enterprise collaboration, machine-to-machine integration and integrated payments to support core clinical and operational processes.

Dana crash: Nigerians lament, pray for victims on Facebook

really sad.......

Olayiwola Wole This is the time for everyone to tun to Jesus; what is happening now is the sign of the end times, give your life to Jesus. This message is for everyone because any moment from now rapture will take place; you will not miss it in Jesus name.

Virginia Amarachukwu May their souls rest in perfect peace. Amen.

John-Bello Onimisi How many of those who died are going to heaven and how many are going to hell?

Ngwu Larry Sunday These are human beings like you and I with ambitions, plans etc to fulfill.

May God grant their souls

eternal rest in his bosom, Amen.

Gift Raphael May God all of them eternal rest in Christ name. Amen Alegbe Joy O Jesus, I plead for mercy. This is terrible.

Oyindeinmone Boloupremor It’s very sad, people who have bright futures ahead of them, all (153 human beings) dead in a day. What a pity, may their soul rest in God. Amen.

Femi Olaniran Disaster that can be averted by diligent planning and respect for safety principles need not happen. In Nigeria, re_orientation of peoples line of thought aligned towards regards

for human lives must of a necessity become paramount in the hearts of our policy makers. May the good Lord grant the families of the departed souls the fortitude to bear the loss.

Ahiabuike Augustina It was really a black Sunday for Nigeria — the plane crash, the bombing at Bauchi! God, come and take control in our country.

Emilia Francis May God have mercy upon their souls and may their souls rest in peace. Amen.

Usman Gida Is God angry with us?

Adenike Quadri GOD save us ooooooooo!!!!!!

OP telco, MTN Ni geria has reiterated its commitment to the growth of education in Nigeria. The company's Corporate Services Executive, Mr. Akinwale Goodluck stated this at the MTN 21 Days of y'ello Care” held in Lagos.

According to him, MTN's overall Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR strategy is guided by a commitment to adding value in the Nigerian education sector, which will ultimately contribute to socio-economic development of country. 21 days of y'ello Care is an MTN Group staff volunteerism initiative, observed annually in the month of June across all MTN operating units.

It provides a platform for

MTN staff to further demonstrate MTN's leadership in CSR, by collectively taking part in social investment projects in our various communities of operation. It also gives them the opportunity to reach out to communities and take the MTN branded care to the people.

The theme for this year's 21 Days of y'ello Care is: "Investing in Education for All".

Speaking further, Mr. Goodluck said while, education is viewed as a key to Africa's and indeed Nigeria's development agenda, this year's programme focuses on improving educational standards, providing an enabling environment for learning and promoting gender equality in education by investing in the education of the girl child.

Glo empowers SMEs with Mobile Enterprise

BY PRINCE OSUAGWU

A

new window of op portunities has been opened to Small and Medium Enterprises(SMEs) to maximize their profit and enhance their values with the launch of Glo Mobile Enterprise, a range of unique services with free calls and other special packages that will boost businesses and excite subscribers.

Glo Mobile Enterprises is a set of two prepaid products under the Close Users Group (CUG) and non Close Users Group platforms and is targeted at all SME segments including wholesalers, retailers, service-oriented companies, production companies, Non Governmental Organizations, (NGOs) and individuals to propel them to higher productivity. Essentially, the packages are de-

signed to lower costs, while increasing profits and values.

The SME Biz Booster on the CUG platform boasts of free, unlimited calls among all those within the user group.

There are no hidden charges and calls to all other Glo Subscribers cost 20k per second, while calls to other networks cost 30k per second. Patrons can also make discounted calls to top six international destinations.

The SME Smart is a bundled package of 60 complementary SMS on each line and 20MB access to the internet for each of the staff lines. It is a non CUG product. Globacom has assured that SMEs get the best in market tariff plans with minimum rent and lowest call charges when they sign up for Glo Mobile Enterprise.

CWG gets ICT solution provider of 2012 award

BY EMEKA AGINAM

F

OR showing com mitments towards the growth and development of ICT in Nigeria, the Computer Warehouse Group (CWG) has won the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) solutions provider of the year award.

CWG was honored recently with the award at the just Beacon of Information and Communication Technology (BOICT) award event organized by Nigeria Communications Week to honor deserving talents, who had over the years, showed commitments towards the growth and development of ICT in Nigeria. Tagged “Honors to Deserving Achiev-

ers,” the organizers said the awards were given to Nigerians and corporate organizations that have contributed in no small measures to the growth of ICT industry.

Honoring CWG with the award, the organizers of the event restated CWG's position as a reputable ICT company that is open in all her dealings with her clients/customers and enthusiastic for her outstanding leadership which has placed the company on the global map.

According to the organizers, the changes In the Nigerian ICT sector would not have been possible without the diligence and commitment of an organization such as CWG pioneering efforts.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6 , 2012 — 27

T

. . . depart for Malawi tomorrow

he Senior Men’s National Football Team, known as Super Eagles, will fly out of Nigeria to Malawi on Thursday night aboard a chartered flight, for Saturday’s 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against the Flames.

Officials confirmed on Tuesday that the team will leave on Thursday night and arrive in Blantyre, capital of Malawi, in the early hours of Friday, and will be able to train on Friday evening on the artificial turf of the Kamuzu Stadium.

On Sunday at the U. J. Esuene Stadium, Calabar, the wards of Stephen Keshi defeated Namibia’s Brave Warriors 1-0 in the start to the race to the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, and on Monday, the team flew back to Abuja in order to get accustomed to artificial turf by training at the FIFA Technical Centre’s facility, inside the National Stadium Complex.

On Tuesday, an advance party of NFF officials left the country for Malawi, so as to prepare ground for the team’s arrival on Friday morning.

Saturday ’s match at the Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre will start at 2.30pm Malawi time (1.30pm Nigeria time) and will be refereed by officials from Mauritius.

‘Eagles will fly high in Malawi’

S

uper Eagles defender Juwon Oshaniwa says the team will do well in their next World Cup qualifying match against the Flames of Malawi on Saturday.

Oshaniwa, who plays for Sharks FC of Port Harcourtsaid shortly before their departure from Calabar on Tuesday that with the victory against Namibia, the team’s spirit had been lifted C M Y K

up.

He said as group leaders, the type of tough opposition was expected from the Namibians.

“Its going to be a great one because presently on the group, we are on the top and you know what it means.

“Whenever any team below is to play the team at the top, you, know, the team at the top is going to have an edge over the team below.

“So, we are going to work more harder and make sure that we come out victorious there and I pray God give us his divine favour and mercy over there and make us come out victorious.”

Oshaniwa, who has had six caps for the national team, said the match against Namibia was tough but that they were happy for picking the three points at stake.

According to him, the Eagles

tried their best in the match and that at the appropriate time, the goal came.

He said local players in the Eagles had given a good account of themselves, saying that very soon, they would blend with the foreign-based colleagues.

The defender re-assured Nigerians that the team would not disappoint them and would continue to work harder and play to coach’s instructions.

28 —Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

Super Eagles will improve, says Green C hairman of the Technical Committee of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), Chris Green, the on Tuesday assured Nigerians that the

Super Eagles would improve in future matches.

Green said in Calabar, Cross River, that the competition for shirts amongst both the home and foreign-based players for

the starting lineup for the encounter with Namibia was an indication that they were committed to the task ahead.

“Well, we will take it one after the other. We’ve seen these players, a few of them have played together from December till now and the new ones that are coming in are also trying to blend.

“I know that the more matches we play, the better for us. They are going to improve by every game, that’s one thing I know for sure.

“Here is a team that everybody is fighting for shirts. It’s not a situation, where one will say that a player is coming from Europe and you have to reserve this shirt for the player, no.

“If you are coming from Europe you have to fight for it. And if you come, you are not up to scratch, its either you sit on the bench or you not even fielded at all.

Walcott aims to avoid injury jinx

T

heo Walcott has buried his head in the sand over England’s injury curse - for fear he could be next to be struck down.

Arsenal winger Walcott is among the walking wounded Roy Hodgson will take to the

European Championships o n We d n e s d a y, h a v i n g already seen his squad decimated by withdrawals.

But the 23year-old refused to dwell on any injury woes, h a v i n g believed since undergoing shoulder surgery in 2008 that doing so can be a jinx in itself.

He said: “We try not to think about these injuries because ever since I had my shoulder operation, if I tend to think about injuries then I’ll get

injured myself.”

He added: “So I think the most important thing is everyone trusts each other and trains well.”

The latest injury crisis sparked a backlash on Sunday night after new England boss Hodgson was deemed to have snubbed Rio Ferdinand by replacing broken-jaw victim Gary Cahill with rookie defender Martin Kelly.

Ferdinand’s representative Jamie Moralee claimed the treatment of his client was “nothing short of disgraceful” and showed a “total lack of respect” from Hodgson.

The Football Association have not commented on the issue.

Malouda: England have something to prove

F

rance midfielder Florent Malouda claims the current England crop have something to prove ahead of their opening Europe 2012 fixture against Les Bleus on June 11.

The Chelsea midfielder believes that even though expectations are at an all-time low for the Three Lions to win the tournament, they cannot be taken lightly. ”I have no doubt that England will be ready on June 11,” Malouda told reporters. ”There are so many players in their group who have a lot to prove. We will be wary of this C M Y K

t e a m . ”In general, when an English team enters a competition it is to win. Psychologically, this is not the kind of team who will hide behind excuses. ”When they play for England, as should be the case for France, it is to be the best. It will be a very tough game.”

The 31-year-old, who is primarily employed as a winger for his club, also revealed his willingness to acquiesce to Laurent Blanc’s approach of deploying him in central midfield. ”I will not say that I like it, but I adapt,” he added. ”It’s not my best position, but I’m used to it.”

Ronaldo eager

finish career at R

R

eal Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed that he wants to see out his career at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The 27-year-old broke the world transfer record when he signed for Real in 2009 in a 94-million-euro deal after a six-year spell at Manchester United.

He has proved value for money at the club, scoring 60 goals in all competitions in 2011/12 as Real secured their first La Liga title since 2008.

“If it were up to me, I would stay at Madrid until

the end of my career,” he told Marca. “But it does not depend on me.”

The Portugal international also spoke of his delight to see Real coach Jose Mourinho commit his future to the club until 2016.

“It was perfect, I am happy for that. A club like Madrid must have a top coach like Mourinho. He needs to be here,” he said.

“It seems clear that Madrid would not win as many titles without Mourinho as they would with him on the bench.”

Ronaldo has been tipped as

the fron for the thinks t position star Lio prestigi “I do too mu cannot great ex fact th because dream, said.

“The B pinnacl am not all I can

r to Real

ntrunner in the race Ballon d’Or, and that he is in a good n to beat Barcelona onel Messi for the ious accolade. not want to think ch about it, but I deny that I feel a xcitement with the at I may win it, e it is every player’s ” the 27-year-old

Ballon d’Or is the le for a player, but I the one to vote, so n do is wait.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012 — 29

Maradona dismisses Drogba talk

A

l Wasl manager Diego Maradona has ruled out the United Arab Emirates club making a swoop for outgoing Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, insisting they do not have the funds to tempt him.

The Dubai-based outfit were thought to be in the race to sign the Ivory Coast frontman, who has confirmed he will leave Stamford Bridge this summer.

Last week a club official reportedly told Sport360 that Al Wasl were making a “serious”

attempt to bring him to the Middle East.

But Maradona has poured cold water on such speculation by insisting Al Wasl do not have the financial pull to lure Drogba to the club.

The Argentinian coach believes the 34-year-old will end up at big-spending Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua, who have reportedly offered him an £190,000 a week contract, while Real Madrid are also thought to be interested.

Mulumbu eyes West Brom exit

W

est

B r o m midfielder Yo u s s u f Mulumbu says he is open for a move away from the Premier League club in the off-season.

The combative former DR Congo international impressed for Roy Hodgson’s former side last season as the Baggies

achieved a top-10 finish in the English top flight.

Mulumbu remains confident of securing a move away from the Hawthorns, and revealed that he has already spoken with Tottenham and Newcastle about a possible transfer.

“We have already started talking to teams like Newcastle and Tottenham,” Mulumbu told Mercato 365.

“For now, I’m leaving it all in the hands of my agent and I hope to have good surprises on my return from vacation.”

Fabregas back in training for Spain

M

idfielder Cesc Fabregas has recovered sufficiently from a hamstring strain to be able to rejoin his Spanish teammates in training, the world and European champions said on Tuesday.

The Barcelona playmaker sustained the injury in last month’s King’s Cup final but was able to take part in Spain’s final session in Madrid before they fly out to their Uefa Euro 2012™ training base in Gniewino, Poland later on Tuesday.

He should be available for the holders’ opening Group C match against Italy in Gdansk on Sunday, although he is not guaranteed a starting spot in a squad with a host of hugely talented midfielders.

Alvaro Arbeloa, a regular at

right back under coach Vicente del Bosque, has a minor neck injury and had to train apart from the rest of the squad, the Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) said in a statement on their website (www.rfef.es).

If Arbeloa fails to recover in time for Sunday Del Bosque will likely deploy Juanfran, a recent addition to the roster who made his debut in a friendly against Serbia last month.

Winger Jesus Navas had to be taken for a precautionary scan on his right hand after receiving a blow but it showed he had not suffered any significant bone damage, the federation added.

Navas has mostly been used off the bench as an impact player and is unlikely to be in the starting lineup against Italy.

C M Y K

30—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

Mobile money: Intermarc to hold card, ATM, mobile expo

BY JIM LAWSON

Telecom operators must pay N1.17bn fines, or... — NCC tion of NCC still stands; the sanctions and penalties will have to be paid.

What if it is not paid?

The point is that there are specifications in the guidelines that after the deadline for the sanctions there is going to be N2.5 million for each day of default and we are already in the default period and it is expected that the sanction as well as the default penalties will have to be paid.

There are options open to the regulator in the event where the service provider is not ready to obey. The regulator has the choice of withdrawing regulatory services such as the issuing of new numbers or entertaining any request whatsoever from the service provider.

There is no way a service provider can do without the regulator; there are so many things a service provider cannot do without approval of the regulator.

The regulator has a number of regulatory tools to get the service provider to conform or obey the regulatory rules.

The deadline given was on the 25th of May; why did you decide to give them ears even after the deadline elapsed?

As a responsible regulator as much as possible we provide listening ears to the industry and the most important thing is that the Commission was not ready to shift grounds; it was also important that we re-emphasize that we are maintaining our stand on the payment of sanctions. Nothing is waived, either the original sanction or the default period penalty. At the time of payment all of that has to be paid. We entered the default period from the 26th of May, counting from the 26th of May to anytime payment is made, it is N2.5 million per day.

Question: Paul this day The funds you are charging them are they going to be paid to the consumers or to government through the NCC? For the purpose of emphasis, we have to make a distinction between compensation and fine. A sanction is a fine. Fines are paid to government and compensation is paid to subscribers. What the guideline specified is fine and that fine is paid to government through the Commission.We are not shifting any ground on this matter. We have the backing of the law on this matter and we want to C M Y K

reemphasize that the purpose of the sanctions is not a rent seeking thing.

We are not looking for avenues to generate revenue but as a deterrent. We want a situation that there is something that is acting as a check for which the service providers will constantly make sure there is improvement in the quality of service on their networks.

When are you moving to check quality of service again?

It was important to draw the attention of service

providers that quality of service is still poor and there is a need for them to address it squarely.

They also wondered if this sanction was going to be a continuous sanction.

The position of the Commission is that we are not going to discuss any further until this sanction is complied with. We will not discuss further actions or entertain any further meeting on this matter until sanctions are complied with.

The measurement for quality of service is quar-

terly. The months we are talking about is for March and April. March is the last month in the first quarter and April is the first month in the second quarter. The issue of drive test is continuous. Our engineers will still conduct drive tests and if we observe that there is very remarkable degradation of QoS the attention of the service providers will have to be drawn.

Will that attract sanction?

When we get to the bridge we cross it.

T

HE nation still re quires other consolidated technology layers such as integrated satellite communication networks and satellite academy institutions to support and ensure Nigeria’s combined satellite communication control for her future, in terms of continental/national security, education, employment, health-care delivery, early warning systems, national emergencies and disaster recovery to mention but a few. How will Nigeria manage and secure the future of her citizens and sovereignty with satellites for the African continent? All said, we may need a 10,000-strong communication satellite knowledge workforce to address and secure the future of Nigeria and by extension, Africa. The above therefore affirms the need to accelerate the enactment of the NigComSat Act and allow spin-offs of innovations and creative energies capable of impacting on the GDP and global competitiveness.

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ndeed, we do not need just one satellite to survive – we need the mastery of designing, manufacturing, launching and technically managing many (10-20,-30-50 and above) satellite models for national survivability – which vividly demonstrates that NASDRA and NigComSat alone cannot do it all. The required workload and tasks are colossal. We need to empower them and thereby bring about and launch a spin-off of specialized satellite technology knowhow for the future market of African satellite. The central objectives include but not limited to the improving citizen’s education, health and quality of life; to enhance government management and service delivery to the citizens; above all, it enhances the development

the spotlight on the issues concerning the consumers and users of e-payment products and services across Africa. We are also advocating policy intervention by government of other African countries to follow the Nigerian example by providing the right regulatory frame work for epayment to thrive and grow as this trend will have positive impact on the economy at various levels”.

Adeyinka also disclosed that Intermac, through the support of sponsors, will mobilize visitors at 10 different strategic bus stops to the exhibition ground, free of charge. tivity in Nigeria and the diminished quality assurance as potential limitations of our inability to engage global competitiveness at the speed of thought.

Satellite communication and Nigeria's survivability: A case for NigComSat (2) improvement of science and technology – with particular reference to Information Technology (IT).

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o do this, we need to restructure our educational system and transform government through e-Government. Today we should be thinking of how to build capacities for satellite software navigation and control system code warriors and related resources — including transponders, teleports communication system, television uplink CAST to 200 TV stations and other satellite related services

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Continues from 23

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LL is now set for the hosting of the twelfth edition of Card, ATM and Mobile Expo by a Lagos firm, Intermac Consulting Limited. The theme of the event which is "Acceptance and Usage: Winning Payment Ecosystems Dynamics," is in response government's desire to regulate the payment systems space by limiting cash withdrawal of over N500, 000 effective next month Speaking at the event, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Intermac Consulting Limited, Mr. Adeyinka Adeyemi, stated that ‘’this year, we are turning

Currently, 60% of youths make up Nigeria’s population and about 1.5 milion Nigerian children seek admission into our universities. However existing infrastructure cannot admit more than 10% of the applicants, whereas distance learning through satellite communication can assist the nation in producing more than two million graduates per year.

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he Oronsaye’s and White Paper Committees should, with all humility, be informed that actualizing the above and safeguarding the future of

Distance learning through satellite communication can assist the nation in producing more than two million graduates per year

capable of reaching more than 983 million African families and covering more than 150 countries of the world.

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atellite communica tions networks are used in military applications and national defence, broadband infrastructure services, agriculture, internet backbone, wireless communication/GSM/CDMA backhaul, video conference, eGovernment, oil & gas, education, tele-medicine, banking, security, electricity, transportation, civil aviation, health care delivery, rural telephony, ecommerce, e-business.

Nigeria, is not rocket science. Between 1985 and 2000, China with a population of well over 1.2 billion was able to achieve through communication satellite-based distance education, an increase in the graduation rate of elementary school children from 68.4% to 94.89%. This shows that Nigeria with just 150 million people can educate all her citizens requiring primary education in just three years – by applying satellite communication infrastructure (SCI) to education. The fire next time: we must collectively note that, when there is nothing left to eat, poverty will

consume both our knowledge and the rich!

As I sat, peeping out of my window and knocking off the keyboard of my laptop in the beautiful holiday Resort of Pernera in Cyprus, it suddenly struck me that the broadband speed of my internet access has potentially increased my productivity delivery, compared to what I am used to in Nigeria – the slow speed internet! This prompted me to examine two things with potential bearing to this write-up. “Economically: if websites/portals would load 50% faster than their current rate of data transfer, it would mean 1% extra productivity per employee. When you do the math it shows this can yield a few billion dollars economical productivity for Nigeria. This may sound ridiculous, and of course, it is!

But it makes you ponder and think.”, according to Donald Res, co-founder of the SpeedProfs.com knowledge platform (modified).

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irst is, in my early writings and publications on “Speed Phenomenon” – 1989-2000 and the Traffic-Jam experience (in Lagos) as related to anti-or-depressed productivity environment and challenges of underdevelopment. This has inspired me to take-up this basic IT Research on Internet Access Slow Speed as a critical factor of suppressed development and under-produc-

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hese parameters can be related to shadows and layers of institutions of frustration in the nations, knowledge and economy productivity cycle. In clarity a suppressed development environment slows down national productivity and is dangerous to survivability ecosystem. In the Nigeria Situation Report: I simulated the measurement of traffic jams by 10million cars with an average waiting time of 45minutes per day 10m X 25sec = Minutes = Hrs = Days = weeks = months = Years.

Compare with measured Internet Access Slow Speed Waiting Time of 12 million users by 17seconds 12m X 17sec = Minutes = Hrs = Days = weeks = months = Years.

Internet speeds and costs around the world can be virtually simulated applying the above scenario.

Based on existing studies, available graphic illustration is awesome and shows the internet costs and speeds around the world for the top 20 nations in the ITIF Broadband Rankings. Unsurprisingly, we don't compare too well. Number one is, predictably, Japan, where the average broadband speed is above 60mbps and they pay $0.27 for 1mbps. Targets of the broadband initiatives in selected countries based on countries timeframe for speeding up existing links or expanding connectivity to rural areas constitute another challenge. zTO BE CONTINUED. Chris Uwaje is CEO of Connect Technologies and President of the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON).

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012 — 31

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32 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

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Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012 — 33

BRIEF Unity Bank targets unbanked, deepens banking culture

BY PROVIDENCE OBUH

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NITY Bank Plc has reaffirmed its commitment to attracting the unbanked population, as well as deepen savings habit with the Aim, Save and Win promotion, “The percentage of the population of the unbanked Nigeria is very high, if you look around you will see that banks are concentrated in the cities and areas with high trading activities, if you go to the outskirt you hardly find bank branches, we think we can help deepen the banking culture by running this promo,” says Mr. Lanre Fagbohun, Executive Director, Lagos & West.

Speaking at the Lagos edition of the first zonal draw of the promo, Fagbohun explained that in line with the cashless policy, this initiative will further help in getting these unbanked population unto the banking platform, in view of the fact that once they open an account with the bank, they automatically get the ATM cards.

He lamented that majority of the unbanked population conduct their transactions in cash, since they are not on the banking platform.

To this end, he said, “this people don’t have cards, they don’t even have ATM cards, we feels that if we could get many of them unto the banking platform to open an account, and with this, they are automatically entitled to an ATM card and with ATM card you can spend money without having to carry cash around, so you achieve the same objective using the same physical cash.”

Continued, he said “the ATM card is better, is secured and is better for the economy.”

On the promo, he pointed out that this is the bank’s strategy geared towards rewarding its loyal customers, in addition, encourage people to develop the banking habit and finally grow the number of accounts in the bank. In her address, Zonal Coordinator of the promo Mrs Yemi Adeyinka said, “The Aim, Save & Win Promo is one way of saying thank you to our customers. We cherish their contributions to the growth of the bank. If you already have a Unity Bank account, you will automatically qualify for our draws if you save at least N5, 000 and leave it for 45 days in that category.”

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From left: Jay W. Ireland, CEO Africa, GE. Dr Oba Otudeko, CFR, Chairman, Honeywell Group and John G Rice, Vice-Chairman of GE, when the GE team paid a visit to Honeywell Group’s Lagos Office.

Inadequate capacity hinders enforcement of regulations —Unegbu

BY ELIZABETH AMIHOR

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NADEQUATE capacity has been identified as a major factor militating against enforcement of regulation in the nation’s financial sector.

Former president of chartered Institute of Nigeria (CIBN), Mr, Mazi Okechukwu Unegbu disclosed this last week at the bi-monthly Discourse of Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN). ¡°We should find a way of enforcing issues in the market. There are so many rules in our market that we are even confused but the question is who enforces these rules? Do we have the necessary capacity? Do we have adequate capacity to enforce the rule? I don’t think we have”, he said.

He said, “On regulation, we are neither over regulating nor under regulating. What we have is that we have adequate regulation but the problem we have is that who ensures that we enforce. The problem of it is enforcement.

Enforcement is very lax.

Enforcement of our rules and regulation is very lousy.

Unegbu called for measures to encourage local investors to participate in the capital market, saying that the current situation whereby foreigners account for 80 per cent of the market

is not expedient According to him, the market and the economy at large would be at risk of another meltdown if the only or major players are foreign investors.

Unegbu explained that “We should encourage local investors to come into the market because if we are strong internally, no external enemy can defeat us and if

we make our investment climate very strong and we are making profit, people from outside who really want to invest and develop will come.

Our market is made up of 80 per cent foreign direct investment. We have this problem of having everything foreign. One thing about the foreigners is that they don’t bring the best

into the countr y. The Nigerian market as we are seeing today has more retail investors than the big investors. ¡°Part of the problem we had, during the 2008 meltdown, was that those foreign investors dumped their shares, got any money they could and got out. Then the small retail investors now had a problem, the market too had a problem. ¡°We are not saying they should not come but we should develop our own market, make it strong and encourage the local investors. We are now encouraging foreign investors rather than encouraging the local investors. Why not let us build our systems with what we have rather than wait for foreigners to build it for us.

Most foreigners will come here to do what you and I can do, once anything happens, the foreign investors would scram. That is why am saying let us build our own solid institutions so foreigners can be attracted.”

He explained.

Calling for cooperation between the money and capital market, he said there is need for complementary arrangement between regulators of the two markets so as to grow the economy of the country.

He noted that that “if the banks are properly taking proper care in managing its lending that it will on the other hand strengthen the capital market in terms of giving funds.”

Customers accuse bank of forceful use of ATM cards

BY PETER EGWUATU

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OME customers are challenging banks for compelling them to use Automated Teller Machine (ATM) in contravention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s directive.

An aggrieved customer, Mr. Kingsley Adegboye told Vanguard, how a bank embarrassed him when he was not allowed to withdraw from the bank’s branch in Ogba.

According to him, “When I went into one branches of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc at Ogba (precisely Acme Road) to withdraw forty thousand naira, I was told to use the ATM and that if I must withdraw from the counter then it should not be less than one hundred thousand naira.

I told the cashier that I don’t use ATM card because I am not comfortable with the use of the cards because of the incessant hacking of the ATM cards by fraudsters.

Continuing, he said, “Has the CBN change the directive on the use of ATM card, because the apex bank had said that the use of ATM card is optional. That a customer can withdraw small amount of money that could be withdrawn from ATM, provided the customer is prepared to pay additional fee for the service. Why is it that UBA is compelling me to use ATM when I don’t want to ? I am really confused and would need to be educated.”

In another development, a customer, by name Paul Akpan, complained of UBA compelling him to apply for ATM card.

According to him, “Because of the experience my friend had with fraudster tampering with his card, I decided not to use ATM card. At least I will be comfortable if my bank charges extra fee if I withdraw from the counter than to lose my entire life saving to fraudster and the bank will not do anything to refund the money. So when my branch told me to obtain ATM card, I refused it vehemently and have been withdrawing from other branches of UBA. The CBN in 2010 issued a circular which said that banks should not issue ATM cards without written request of the customer. According to the apex bank circular, “Banks shall bear liability for any fraud perpetrated with the use of cards issued without written request from the account holder”.

34—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

Cashless transaction tops agenda at 2012 IT Professionals STORIES BY EMEKA AGINAM

Econet Wireless, Airtel know fate on A 5% equity dispute October 4 STORIES BY PRINCE OSUAGWU

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Lagos High Court, Monday, adjourned the case between Barti Airtel and Econet Wireless Nigeria till October, 4, 2012.

Justice Adefope-Okorie after hearing all the parties on the propriety or otherwise of setting aside an earlier ruling on the case, asked the parties to go home and prepare for another hearing and apparently a verdict on October 4th.

The adjournment has pushed expectant ICT stakeholders who had waited to know the outcome of the case four months further.

It could be recalled that a Federal High Court, had on January 24, 2012 ruled that Econet Wireless Limited, an international company, domiciled in the United Kingdom, remained a shareholder of Bharti Airtel Nigeria Limited and holds five per cent of the issued shares of the company.

The ruling had as a matter of urgency, ordered for the immediate re-instatement and reissue of the five per cent equity interest to EWL. According The judgment by Honorable Justice Shuaib, in the suit No FHC/KD/39/2008 (Formerly FHC/L/172/ 2004) between Econet Wireless (EWL) Limited vs Bharti Airtel Nigeria, summarized that Econet Wireless Limited, an international company, domiciled in the United Kingdom, is a shareholder of Bharti Airtel Nigeria Limited and holds five per cent of the issued shares of the company; and Airtel Limited should therefore to reinstate the shareholding of EWL. The court further declared all actions, and resolutions, including the decisions to sell shares, issue shares, and also transfer shares to third parties taken by the company, since October 2003, at which EWL was entitled to be notified, and to participate in, as a shareholder, but was prohibited, are null and void.

The court also ordered that the name change C M Y K

IS IT A LAUGHING MATTER? Strive Masiyiwa, Chairman, Econet Wireless International (left) and Rajan Swaroop, Airtel Nigeria, CEO. from Econet Wireless Nigeria Limited, effected in 2003, was irregular, and must be reversed forthwith, while the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), must cancel any certificate previously issued for the change of the name of the company and restore the name of the company to Econet Wireless Nigeria Limited.

However, in a swift reaction, Airtel Networks Limited had filed an appeal against the ruling

which ordered it to restore the interest of Econet Wireless Limited in the company, saying that in the light of the judgment by the Federal High Court of Nigeria regarding Econet Wireless Limited’s (EWL) claim to the ownership of five per cent equity in Airtel Networks Limited (Airtel Nigeria), it abides by and has full confidence in the law of the land, and believes the Appeal Court will determine the appeal on

its merits.

It also advised its customers to keep faith, adding that “in addition, the judgment will have no impact on the equity holding of other shareholders in Airtel Nigeria.

We wish to assure our customers, employees and business partners that the ruling will in no way affect operations or the company’s ability to fulfill obligations to its stakeholders.”

Our solution would transform learning in Nigeria —Smith, Learning Curve boss

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DOBE Platinum partner and South African company, Learning Curve, last week unveiled a suite of Digital classroom tools in Nigeria to add its own quota to the re-energising and standardising of education in Nigeria.

The company also opened an office in Lagos which serves as hub for the West Africa subregion, to show its seriousness in adding to the re-invention of education in Africa. Managing Director of the company, Mr Tim Smith who visited Nigeria to kick-off the activities, said that the software was introduced to Nigeria following an agreement with Adobe and designed to run on either Mac or Windows environments.

The Adobe Learning Curve Kit contains total training DVDs for all applications. He said it

was designed for educational institutions and has had tremendous success in South Africa, Botswana, Senegal and Zambia, among other countries.

Smith said the application can be used to teach vocational skills and is extensively being used in art, design and IT web authoring. He said that any school that adopts the solution will become an accredited testing centre for the Adobe Certified Associate examinations.

The Digital Classroom is a suite of 21st century IT solution for schools, which can be used across every subject, from art to science, as well as school administration. According to the company, the solution comprised of Software and training solutions from industry leaders Adobe, Certiport, Pear-

son Education, Microsoft, Total Training and Panda Internet Security which means that the entire IT needs of schools can now be met by one supplier, whilst benefitting from the very best in advice and pricing born out of Learning Curve’s 100% focus on education.

This offer includes integrated software, curriculums, and instructional resources as well as certification options and professional development tools. Promote digital literacy, teach essential career skills, and streamline administrative processes.

Meanwhile, the company’s country director Mr Michael Oseji, said there is a need for education in Nigeria to merge with global standards.

s the Nigerian IT stakeholders gather tomorrow in Abuja for the 2012 IT Professionals Assembly with the theme: Information technology and national transformation, cashless transactions: platforms, challenges and opportunities will top agenda.

This year ’s IT Professionals’ Assembly is focused on the roles which IT as a vehicle for rapid transformation, can play in actualizing the Federal Government’s transformation agenda.

The President/Chairman of Council of the Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN), Mr. Ibrahim Tizhe told IT Journalists in a press conference last week to unfold activities for this year's conference will also discuss IT enabled transformation in governance: Issues and prospects, developing and sustaining IT literate workforce in Nigeria: Matters arising during the interactive sessions.

According to him, other special events will also include presenta-

tion on country code level domain, induction of new members, assembly dinner, presentation of awards to outstanding students in the April Diet of the CPE, among others.

The IT assembly, which is the flagship of all IT programmes in Nigeria, he said is an exclusive networking event for senior Information Technology (IT) decision makers, IT consultants, upcoming IT entrepreneurs, start–ups, IT practitioners, teachers and IT administrators.

The assembly is also a platform for some of the industry’s most innovative technology distribution and service providers to showcase their products and services. It is also an annual for participants to appreciate the emerging technologies, trends, and risks that are associated with transforming the various industries using IT. which Information Technology, as a vehicle for rapid transformation, can play in actualizing the Federal Government’s Transformation Agenda.

Samsung extends 24 months wanrranty on products

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s part of its comit ment to support Nigerian market with its products, Samsung Electronics West Africa last week in Lagos announced an extended standard factory warranty for customers on its products.

The warranty is extended within its products inducing mobile, visual display, IT solutions, digital appliances, digital imaging and digital Air solutions product lines.

According to Samsung in a press conference last week in Lagos told IT Journalists that their customers will now enjoy a 24-Month warranty on all its products purchased from the 1st of May 2012 at no extra charge with valid proof of purchase It would be recalled that in the past, the standard factory warranty on its product range was valid for 12 months. However, now consumers can experience more peace of mind with an additional 12 month extension.

Starting from 1st May, 2012, all Samsung products will boast a minimum 24 month lim-

ited warranty from date of purchase, based on a valid proof of purchase.

The increased warranty will cover labour and parts respectively.

Speaking during the event, the Head, Service Unit, Samsung Electronics West Africa, Raymond Olatokun, said that the announcement was a very exciting initiative for Samsung, adding that this increase in factory warranty was another way the company was able to demonstrate high quality of their products through the Built for Africa initiative.

“In fact, as a leading consumer electronics brand, we are well aware of the need for consumers to have access to the very best service level agreements. This extended factory warranty ensures that we are able to continue to do just this - ensuring comprehensive service assistance in case of incidental product failure, giving consumers the confidence that they expect from a leading brand like Samsung.”

“A 12 month warranty is the general industry standard.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012—35

BRIEF

Trade between Nigeria, Britain rise by 67% …As Peacock opens 5 companies STORIES BY PRINCEWILL EKWUJURU

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he Group Executive Chairman of Peacock Group of Companies, Chief Segun Phillips has described the bilateral relationship between Nigeria and Britain as strategic as trade between both countries rose by 67 percent in the last years.

According to Phillips, Nigerian is an increasingly important market for British companies, and the UK is one of the largest investors in Nigeria, in sectors like the Oil and Gas to financial services and agriculture.

He said during the opening of the five new subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, which included Peacock Travels and Tours, Peacock College, Peacock Aviation Training Centre, Peacock Bureau De Change, and Peacock Property, whilst stating that in

the last three years, trade between both countries increased by 67 per cent.

In addition, he said that the UK is home to roughly 800,000 people with family ties to Nigeria, and members of the Nigerian Diaspora play an important and valuable role in the UK’s economy and society, contributing to a large

number of fields from medicine to financial services and to football.”

The launching of the five UK subsidiaries, which is headquartered in London came barely 24 months after the Nigerian travel management company extended its operations to South Africa.

Investment in R&D key to economic development —NARICT BOSS

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dequate and sustained investment in research and development has been identified as one of the keys to meaningful economic and national growth.

This assertion was made by the Prof. Idris Bugaje, the Director General of the National Research Institute for Chemical Technology, Zaria, when a team from the Nigerian Institute of Management paid him a courtesy visit recently to firm up agreement for collaborating with NARICT in the areas of training and human capital development.

Prof. Bugaje represented at the meeting by the Institute’s Director of Planning and Policy, Dr. Anthony Ihuoma, who stressed that no nation develops in the areas of research and development using borrowed funds called on the federal government to make more budgetary allocation to Institutes in the country engaged in research.

“The current situation where less that one percent of the national budget is allocated to the research and development sector is unacceptable and anti meaningful development”, he added. He regretted that while more funds are allocated to less productive areas in the nation’s yearly budgets, more critical areas like research and development are toyed with and starved of funds.

NARICT boss went on to reveal that in most cases, even the little funds allocated to Institutes like his were not fully released to them thereby making their primary responsibility to suffer undue setback with the attendant negative effects on the economy.

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From right; Mrs. Yinka Odiboh, Managing Director/CEO of Afribaby Exhibition; Mrs. Afolabi, mother of the best baby of the Afribaby competition; Mrs. Folake Oshinyemi, Managing Director of WSWNL; Mr. Emmanuel Shodipe, National Sales &Marketing Manager of WSWNL during product presentation to the winner of the Afribaby competition organized by Warm Spring Waters Nigeria Limited (WSWNL), producers of Gossy Natural Spring Water at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) in Lagos recently.

VISA rewards customers with Olympic tickets

BY ITORO UDOFIA

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isa Card has rewarded Nigerians who participated in the just concluded VISA 2012 London Olympics Promo with various gifts, including three return tickets to the opening ceremony of the Olympics Games.

At a ceremony in Lagos, at the weekend, three Nigerians – Mr. Layo Samuel, Mr. Dike Clement Ifeanyi and Mr. Nwosu Collins, emerged proud winners of the Grand Prize.

They will enjoy an allexpense paid trip to London to watch the all-important games with their spouses.

Presenting the prizes, Country Manager, VISA, Mr. Ade Asaye, said Visa Card, the most internationally recognized card in the world and proud sponsor of the Olympic Games for 25 years ran the promotion in Nigeria for two months between April and May. According to him, shoppers were encouraged to pay for purchases with their Visa cards during this period at 11 participating merchant

outlets. This qualified them for instant gifts and prizes that were awarded at the grand raffle draw.

He listed the stores that participated in the Visa Olympics Promo to include Shoprite Ikeja, Shoprite

Lekki, Shoprite Surulere, Shoprite Enugu, Park & Shop VI, Park & Shop Lekki, Park & Shop Abuja, Goodies Ikeja, Goodies Victoria Island, Oasis Ikeja and Exclusive Stores Wuse Zone II Abuja.

InMobi selects MediaCom to ramp up media platform

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nMobi, the largest independent mobile advertising network has announced a partnership with MediaCom to help deploy its creative platform.

MediaCom is expected to deploy InMobi’s media ad creation platform Sprout, throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The Sprout platform streamlines the creative development workflow and reduces the friction in mobile advertising campaign management through its ability to create, distribute, and optimize mobile rich media campaigns.

MediaCom will use Sprout to create high-engagement HTML5 ad units and deliver innovative, effective mobile rich media campaigns for its advertisers across EMEA.

Additionally, MediaCom will benefit from the robust reporting capabilities Sprout offers, including custom event tracking and engagement rates to maximize mobile rich media campaign effectiveness.

Steffen Krabbenhoft, Head of Mobile EMEA at MediaCom, comments: “As our advertisers invest more of their marketing budgets into mobile advertising and requiring robust reporting features, MediaCom was looking for a best-of-breed partner to help deliver this.

We were impressed with the technology and reporting capabilities of Sprout.

InMobi’s rich media solution, delivers a highly compelling offering for large global advertisers; we are thrilled with this partnership.”

FGBMFI holds 2012 seminar

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ull Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International (FGBMFI) will be holding its yearly business seminar for 2012.

The seminar tagged: Emerging opportunities for Entrepreneurs in a transforming Nigeria, had Mr. Fola Aguda, District Coordinator for FGBMFI South West point out what participants stand to gain between 8th-9th of June when the seminar holds in Lagos.

Speaking also, Mr. Eddy Eworo, Chairman, Business Seminar Committee, said that the seminar will see Minister of Finance Dr. Ngozi Okonjo -Iweala speak on the transformation agenda of the incumbent administration.

While the Minister of Agriculture Dr. Akinwui Adesina willspeak on the principlesand policy of the lending system, whilst Director General of SMEDAN Alh. Umar Nadada Other speakers include Lolu Akinwumi, Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON ) Chairman, Mrs. Bunmi Morenikeji, Head, Human Capital, (CSCL) and Mazi Sam ohuabunwa, Chairman, Neimeth International pharmaceutical.

Starcomms launches phone rental service

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n a bid to ease communication challenges of international travellers into the country, Starcomms Plc, a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operator in the telecommunication industry, has launched a phone rental service at the international airport in Lagos The service which covers both voice and data comes with customer-pocket friendly tariff. To benefit from this service, customer will have to pay a sum of N500 for a phone for voice only and N1, 000 for both voice and data.

It is service on-the-go and the registration process is simple and it takes only few minutes to complete.

Mr. Logan Pather, the Chief Executive Officer of the company disclosed this in Lagos, saying this is another service innovation to make travelers stay in touch with friends, family and their business partners around the world as seamlessly as possible.

He said, “This service is also available for high end phones like the Motor Q ’s with capacity to handle both voice and data services.

36—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

Wings of the crashed plane

Dana flight of no return: The pains, grief and controversies •Cow stolen by sympathizers •Rescue operations delayed •We used sachet water to put of fire •Victims alive after crash

BY CHARLES KUMOLU & KINGSLEYADEGBOYE

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OWDY environment, thousands of people struggling to pass through narrow adjoining roads. People standing on the rooftop of buildings and thick smoke emanating from a burning aircraft welcomed Vanguard Features, VF, to the Iju scene of the crashed Dana Airline at 4:20 pm on June 3, 2012.

Getting access from the IleChelsea Bus Stop to the Toyin Street site of the crash, was like passing through the Biblical needle’s eye as thousands of people trooped to the scene causing unprecedented human and vehicular traffic. But for the thick darkening smoke coming from a certain direction, sympathizers would have had difficulties locating the building that the aircraft crashed into.

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NPF; Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC; Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, FAN; were seen in the midst of the crowd.

Having waded its way through the crowd, the VF team found its way to the top of a building to get a full view of the burning aircraft. That move revealed a large number of sympathisers assisting the few fire fighters who had only one tanker of water to extinguish the fire. Eyewitness accounts revealed that the crash occurred between 3pm and 4pm, when many residents were watching the Nigeria vs Namibia World Cup qualifying match.

They claimed that some lives would have been saved had rescue operation started earlier.

Although some reports have disputed this assertion, VF authoritatively gathered that if help had come early, the more than 153 persons who perished aboard the Boeing MD-83 plane

would have been saved. Those who spoke to VF claimed that the aircraft did not explode immediately it crashed. It did so after about 20 minutes.

How it happened Eyewitness

Narrating how the crash happened, an eyewitness who pleaded anonymity, noted that the aircraft was swinging before it eventually landed on a newly constructed two-storey building.

He said: "I was here with my wife and other people when we saw the plane moving around in random directions.

"Initially we were confused, but when it was getting very close to the rooftop of the houses around, we stood up and traced were it eventually landed.When we got to the scene, we saw the plane on the building and it did not explode upon landing. Fire was only seen at the cockpit but it was

not much. Only about ten of us got to the scene then. That little fire would have been put off if there was immediate emergency response from fire- fighters. We were even using sachets of pure water to put off the fire before we heard a loud explosion after about 20 minutes."

It was further gathered that the absence of emergency response from concerned authorities, prompted one of the eyewitnesses at the scene to call the Chairperson of the Local Government, who informed the Lagos State Government.

Another eye witness said: "When we discovered that emergency rescue service was not on sight, my wife called the chairperson of the local government, who informed Fashola’s people. It was that call that alerted the authorities. But if the rescue service had arrived on time, they would have been saved because there was no fire when the plane landed on the buildings. The pilot of the aircraft was very brave because we noticed it from the way the aircraft was swinging before it crashed."

What could have turned into another tragedy, occurred when the men of the Nigerian Army, upon arrival, started dispersing sympathisers violently with belts, planks and any object they could lay their hands on. Despite the anguish boldly written on the faces of sympathizers, some were seen carting away the remains of a cow which was killed by debris from the collapsed building.

Chaotic atmosphere The chaotic atmosphere that pervaded the scene of the crash on the first day was absent, as security agencies cordoned off the environment. But that did not deter the crowd from milling round the site, while relatives of victims desperately tried to have access to the site to locate their missing ones. The Chairman of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, Dr. Femi Oke, who was coordinating the rescue activities, told VF that no fewer than 60 charred remains were recovered from the scene.

He informed that DNA tests would be carried out on recovered bodies of those who died in the ill-fated crash to enable relatives identify their loved ones, adding: “We have been recovering bodies of the victims and so far we have about 68 dead bodies. We have deposited them at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital,

Continues from page 37

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012—37

Dana flight of no return: The pains, grief and controversies Continues from page 36 LUTH, where DNA would later be carried out so that relatives can claim their loved ones after proper identification. Already we are evacuating the debris for proper clearing of the site. Every body is working at the moment, the Ogun State Emergency Service is also assisting us.”

Oke further disclosed that the affected buildings within the vicinity would be pulled down, adding that displaced residents would be relocated to Agbowa Relief Camp. He said: “After removing the debris, all the unstable buildings would be pulled down. The area would also be fumigated to avoid the outbreak of epidemic in the environment. The fumigation would be the last thing that we would do here. Already, Governor Fashola has instructed that we move all the displaced persons to Agbowa Relief Camp in Ikorodu, where they would be rehabilitated and reintegrated into the society.”

needed to make a phone call to a relation.

But he had no credit on his phone. He then called his son to go and buy a recharge card across the road. Just as the boy was stepping out of their premises, PHCN restored their light. Due to the erratic nature of power supply in the area, he called the boy back to come and iron his school uniform and that of his siblings instead of going for the recharge card. The moment the boy stepped into the sitting room, an unusual loud noise was heard within the neighbourhood.

Shoyemi said he hurriedly jumped out to find out what could have caused the unusual noise. It was at that point he discovered that the plane, in an attempt to land, had destroyed the mango tree in front of his house before hitting a building where it eventually crashed. Shoyemi who lost his wife two years ago after child birth, was full of praises to God for His intervention.

Also lucky to have cheated death was Mr. Daniel Odika, a water engineer with the British America Tobacco Company, BAT. Odika resided in the two-storey building that the plane rammed into.

He said that five persons died in the building, but everybody in his ground flat survived, addng: “We are four in the flat and we occupy the ground floor, and all of us survived.” Okeke Kingsley, a flat mate of Odika added that he was watching the Eagles’match with his friends when they heard the explosion. He said he rushed into the toilet when he heard the sound of the explosion, adding that he escaped through the toilet. Okeke added that he called his younger sister from outside the building to find a way to escape and that his younger ones also escaped unhurt.

While the trio are thanking God for delivering members of their families from the fatal crash, the same cannot be said of friends and co-tenants of Mr. Godwin, a member of the crew who died in the crash.

VF learnt from his co-tenant that he (Godwin) was not supposed to be on duty last Sunday but was drafted to replace a colleague who was indisposed and could not come to work. But fate played a fast one on him as he lost his life in the plane mishap.

,

If the rescue service had arrived on time, they would have been saved because there was no fire when the plane landed on the buildings

Dr. Oke said that out of the five residents who were affected by the crash and taken to LASUTH for treatment, four have been discharged and one is still receiving treatment.

Fashola takes custody of bereaved kids Meanwhile,Governor Babatunde Fashola has taken into custody, three children whose parents were among victims of the crash. The children, aged between seven and 12, were taken over by the State after they lost their parents to the crash. VF gathered that the children named Esther, Chidom and Joel Okechukwu informed Fashola that they only know a relation of their deceased father. The man, Mr. Tony Okechukwu, is said to be residing in Abuja.

How PHCN saved my son -Survivor For Emmanuel Shoyemi, the restoration of light by the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, was what saved his10year old son from untimely death. Shoyemi who lives in the neighbourhood, said he returned from church service on the fateful Sunday afternoon, to realise that he

Parts of the crashed plane C M Y K

,

Roasted Chicken

Chicken in a variety of ways

BY HELEN OVBIAGELE

T

ODAY, Woman’s Own brings you chicken in a variety of exciting ways that will delight your palate and get you hooked on the stuff, especially those of us who have to watch our weight. Note, however, that you should choose the recipes which agree with the sort of health you desire, as there are many people out there who don’t need to watch what they eat; whether fried, barbecued or simply boiled. Take your pick and adapt for your needs.

1. Barbecued Chicken Ingredients: 2 to 2 and a half pound broiler-fryer chicken, cut up. 1 recipe Barbecue Sauce (1 can(8 ounces) tomato sauce, half cup chopped onion, one third cup packed brown sugar, a quarter cup vinegar, 1 tabspn chili powder, 2 tabspn prepared mustard, 1 clove minced garlic.

Procedure: In small sauce pan, combine all ingredients. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Reduce heat.

Simmer uncovered, 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season grill grates; preheat on grill on “Hi”. Reduce heat to setting “10”. Grill chicken pieces 45 to 60 minutes, or until juices run clear.

Turn frequently. Brush with sauce during last 15 to 20

minutes.

Four servings.

2. Marinated Chicken Breasts Ingredients: 4 boneless chicken breast halves, (about one and a half pounds). 1 recipe white wine marinade (chicken variation), half cup dry white wine, quarter cup olive oil, 1 tespn dried basil or oregano leaves, 1 tespn Worcestershire sauce, half tespn salt, quarter tespn coarsely ground pepper, one eighth tespn garlic powder.

Procedure: In a small mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Arrange chicken in baking dish or plastic food storage bag.

Pour marinade over chicken. Cover dish or close bag. Refrigerate at least 2 hours, turning chicken occasionally.

Season grill grates; preheat grill on “Hi”.

Reduce heat to setting “10”. Place chicken skinside down on grill. Grill chicken 25 to 35 minutes, or until meat is no longer pink. Turn every 8 minutes.

Four servings.

3. Glazed Chciken Breasts Ingredients: 4 boneless chicken breast halves, (about 1 and half pounds).

Marinade: One third cup maple syrup, quarter cup soy sauce, quarter cup catsup, 2 cloves garlic, minced quarter tespn ground ginger.

Procedure: Arrange

chicken in baking dish or plastic food storage bag.

For marinade: In a small mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Pour over chicken. Cover dish or close bag. Refrigerate at least 1 hour, turning chicken occasionally.

Season grill grates; preheat grill on “Hi”.

Reduce heat to setting “10”. Place chicken skinside down on grill. Grill chicken 25 to 35 minutes , or until meat is no longer pink. Turn every five minutes.

Four servings.

4. Herb-Filled Chicken Thighs Ingredients: 4 to 6 chicken thighs(about 1 to 3 quarters pounds) Filling: 1 tabspn mustard, 2 tespn minced onion, 2 tespn dried parsley flakes, half tespn dried rosemary leaves, crushed quarter tespn dried marjoram leaves, 1 clove garlic, minced.

Vegetable oil(optional).

Procedure: Loosen skin from chicken to form a pocket. For filling, in a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Spread about three quarter to 1 tespn filling mixture under skin of each thigh. Season grill grates: preheat grill on “Hi”. Reduce heat to setting “10”. Place skinside down on grill. Grill chicken 45 to 55 minutes or until, or until juices run clear. Turn every 10 minutes and brush occasionally with vegetable oil.

Two to four servings.

38— VANGUARD,

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

He has sex on the brain!

Should I tell my friend her man is a pervert?

Dear Bunmi, I’m a 48-year-old divorcee with a fair share of cads in my past. That could explain why, when my best friend first took up with a younger man, I thought he was bad news.

However, as she was so happy, I said nothing. Even when she told me of his dubious sexual habits, I told her: “We’re all different.”

Now a reliable source has revealed that this man has a history of interfering with young school girls in his neighbourhood.

I didn’t go out of my way to look for bad news about him.

But now that I know, should I tell my friend or check him out first? My informant says his behaviour is well known on the estate where she lives.

My friend has two grown up sons who don’t live with her so they’re not at risk. But I’d hate to see her involved with a pervert.

She knows this man has had dealings with the police. He told her it was for running electricity illegally off the mains to his flat, but my informant says it was worse.

Tinuade, by e-mail.

diplomacy when your opinion was sought and told her to carry on regardless of your misgivings.

You’ve set yourself up as an emotional barometer so that she doesn’t have to dwell on how compromised she is. So why change now?

If you’re really certain, you’d tell her straight out what you’ve heard, but it’s not your job to check anything out. Return responsibility to her and be around to reassure her if and when she needs to pick up the pieces of her life.

Men are known to experience a certain kind of spontaneity when they have sex. Women prefer to make love which is a more conscious and slow process, but more fulfilling

I want to leave my husband Dear Bunmi, I, Life with my husband has not always been easy. During our eight years together, he’s had several affairs— this still upsets me though that hasn’t stopped him. I asked him recently why he doesn’t smile or loosen up when he’s at home. He said he does but

only when he watches football.

It made me realise the love of his life is definitely not me.

I still love him but I’m completely fed up with his indifference and want out. Is that reasonable after all these years together?

Hafsat, by e-mail.

Could my ex be the father?

Dear Hafsat, People sometimes drift on for years putting up with horrible situations. They hang in there, hoping things will improve.

Then, suddenly, one action, one word, can make them realise what’s happening.

It sounds as if your husband doesn’t love you, and probably hasn’t for years. In spite of his indifference, you’ve stayed, hoping that he would learn to love you again. If you’re serious about leaving, it’s probably your best option here.

You didn’t mention any children, so there are no strong ties to hang on to. Go out there and build a new life for yourself. Meet someone who’ll love you the way you deserve to be loved.

Dear Tinuade, Unless you’re a good liar, your best friend already knows you dislike her man.

A critical friend is often dropped by a friend in order for her to allow a selfdeluding fantasy to continue.

Understandably, you chose

Dear Bunmi, I am seven months pregnant and I’m not sure who the father of my baby is. I don’t know if it is my current boyfriend or the one before him. To be honest, I am still in love with my ex-boyfriend and very much want the baby to be his.

We split up about the time I fell pregnant, because he had roving eyes. When I told him about the likelihood of his being responsible for my pregnancy, he said I should let him know when the baby is born; that he would want definite proof that he was the father, and not my current boyfriend.

I think about my ex all the time and want us to get together C M Y K

again. I’m hoping fervently that the child is his so that he would come back to me.

Cynthia, by e-mail.

Dear Cynthia, I wouldn’t be too optimistic if I were you. When your baby arrives, you can easily arrange for a blood test to find out who the father really is. But is your current boyfriend aware of your present dilemma?

How would he feel about succumbing to a paternity test if your ex’s test is negative? I hope for your sake that things work out the way you want; and that your ex’s roving eyes would be a thing of the past if he is eventually proven to be the father.

Dear Bunmi, I am in my twenties with a good job and I have this boyfriend that I love very much. He is also in his twenties and recently, we made love for the first time after courting for about six months.

I find sex very enjoyable with him but all he seems to want these days is sex, even when I am having my low moments.

Why can’t he just be nice and affectionate once in a while, instead of wanting sex all of the time?

Mope, by e-mail.

Dear Mope, Have you had a word with your partner on how you feel?

Suggest to him that you spend the occasional evenings together going out, meeting friends and just cuddling and getting to know each other better.

Men are known to experience a certain kind of spontaneity when they have sex. Women prefer to make love which is a more conscious and slow process, but more fulfilling.

So let him know that wanting to cuddle and talk sometimes instead of sex shows you love him for who he is.

What if my aunty finds out about us?

Dear Bunmi, I am currently studying to be a trained teacher at a college of education. My parents are not very well off, so my aunty agreed for me to stay with her as her house is very close to the college.

Not long after I moved in with her, her husband started toasting me. Whenever I complained about not having money for books or project, he willingly gave me money. In the end, we started having sex about a year ago and he is a very nice and generous man.

My problem is my aunty is very trusting. She even allows us to go to family functions without her.

All the sex takes place in the house when my aunty is out and the children in school.

Sometimes, he arranges for me to cut classes to come and meet him.

I am a bit fed up with his sexual demands but he seems

not to notice. I’ve used a couple of tricks to dissuade him. I’ve even failed to keep appointments, but he won’t leave me alone.

I’m afraid to think of what will happen if my aunty should find out.

Chinedu, by e-mail.

Dear Chinedu, I’m glad you’ve realised that what you are doing is wrong.

Your best bet really is to move out of your aunty’s flat. If you can convince your mother to let you come back home, you will be saved from the abuse of your aunty’s husband.

It is sad when men take advantage of situations like yours, but it happens all the time. And you must admit you’re using him too.

If you can’t go back home, see if you can share a room with any of your school mates.

You don’t have that long a period to stay in college as you will be finishing soon.

My hairy body repulses me Dear Bunmi, I feel like such a freak because I have very noticeable hair all over my body. It’s on my face, back, stomach, buttocks, legs and hands. I have to cover up, so I can’t wear trendy, skimpy clothes like my friends. And I’m sick of constantly having to shave off stubble. My hairiness gets me down every day, especially when people comment on it. How can I learn to live with it? Better still, can I get rid of it?

Marie, by e-mail.

Dear Marie, Removing body hair could be really tricky. You can have it waxed off at a reputable salon.

This leaves you hair-free for several weeks. Laser treatment or electrolysis is a permanent option that is not available in the country.

Whether you choose to remove your hair or keep it, the vital thing is not to feel awful about it. Most women have noticeable body hair. You probably don’t spot your friends’ hair because they remove it. As you’re so worried about your own hair, you may have blown the problem up out of proportion.

Relax, build your confidence and think about your good points. Everyone has body hair.

There’s no need to feel like a freak because you do.

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

Vanguard anguard,,

By Joshua Adeyemo Phone 08056180139

TAURUS: THE Moon fluctuates as it moves out of your star . That is why you will need to guard against confusion likely to be caused by others.

GEMINI: THE Moon makes an ingress into your star sign and INFLUECES YOU TO BE COME AGGRESSIVE which is capable of bringing unnecessary argument and avoidable confusion. To before warned is to be fore armed.

CANCER: EARLY morning blues will affect many people today (yourself inclusive) but luckily for you, things will go according to your plans. And you will need to be more careful with money.

LEO: THE moon fluctuates early in the morning. And if care is not taken you would promise more than you can actually deliver to the resentment of others. Yet, you’ll win.

VIRGO: BEHIND-the-scene-activities are sources of avoidable trouble especially before mid-morning period when influence of the moon’s fluctuation will last. Avoid inordinate ambition.

WEDNESD AY , JUNE 6, 2012 — 39 WEDNESDA

LEISURE

YOUR LUCK TODAY

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

By Richard Eromosele

Where is your ideas file?

I

DEAS are the foundation of everything you are today. Whatever you do today, whatever you will do tomorrow and whatever you have achieved in the past, they all derived their beginning from a common, simple and

an ordinarily looking idea which is first muted in your mind.

Therefore, our challenge today, is how to husband these ideas.

If an idea crops up in

TERROR MUDA

your mind now; how do you safeguard it?

Do you just assume it is permanently stored in your mind? That will be a mistake. For you to have a workable

in “Never say goodbye”

idea, you must write down the idea. In addition, you must have an idea file where you store your ideas for constant and periodic review and development Learn to protect your ideas today. Have an ideas file where you keep all your jottings.

By Kola Fayemi

LIBRA: IT’S important you don’t allow your thought for and/or about the future derail your plans for the present so that success will not elude you. Romantic attractions along your career/business lines may become stronger sooner than you think.

SCORPIO: EARLY morning blues will affect many people around you meaning that not everybody-morning period especially along your career/business lines.

SAGITTARIUS: MAKE sure you perfectly understand what you are doing within your working arena before midmorning period or else costly mistakes would be made. Be tolerant.

CAPRICORN: TOMORROW is your day. Therefore you are advised to leave some important decisions and/or action till tomorrow when the heaven will smile at you. Your love life is favoured.

AQUARIUS: TOMORROW will prove more challenging. Thus, if there are things you should do now, you better don’t contemplate procrastination as you are likely to be fully stretched tomorrow. Watch with you tell others early in the morning.

KAPTAIN AFRIKA

in

“Princess Shii’

By Andy Akman

PISCES: AS the moon fluctuates early in the morning some people may promise more than they can actually deliver. And if you take them for granted, you would be disappointed.

ARIES: CERTAINLY some people will get on your nerves yet you must not over-react at least because of the immediate future. Truly thus is the wrong time to gamble with love.

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,

How do I succeed?

VIRGINIA

dadadekola@yahoo.com

Dear Joshua, KINDLY analyse my star and tell me about myself especially my luck. I want to know about my love life, social life and how to become successful in life. I have seen people who are close to me became big success without much struggle from them. Would my own be like them too?

Tolulope- Epe. Dear Tolulope, You are different to those you said came by success: in your own case you will need to work hard and earn success. It is important you watch and take practical precaution about inability to hold on to your gains for long. Some times unexpected assistance use to come your way at 11th hour.

Your being friendly with the influential personalities especially WOMEN will help your finance greatly speculative (and) venture is not the best for you.

Your magnetic personality makes it difficult for members of your opposite sex to the betterment of your love life.

Luckily for you, you know how not to allow your rugged/rigid personality to harm your love life; you are a sweet lover, although can be argumentative some times. Love happiness indicated for you.

If you can analyse both your environment and social situation, you will have more to gain from social activities more than it’s attendant pressure.

You will need to drop unnecessary rebellious approach when dealing with your social life; although what looks like radical approach can earn you a few number of friends who may not be in position to assist you.

Many people love your gentle approach and will be willing to assist you especially the more influential personalities. Once again women can be helpful here.

C M Y K

Commen3

by Lawrence Akapa

40 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

Promasidor locks out workers

BY VICTOR AHIUMA-YOUNG

L

AGOS—PROMASI DOR Nigeria Limited has shut down operations following disagreement with organised labour over the termination of a contract of a service provider that supplied it 786 contract staff.

Vanguard gathered that the management shut down and locked out the workers since Monday, as a precautionary measure to preempt an indefinite industrial action that the workers had planned to commence over the matter on same Monday.

Under the umbrella of the National Union of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employees, NUFBTE, the union claimed the 786 workers were its due paying members and alleged that the management did not consider the interest of the workers in the termination

of the contract.

Vanguard gathered that the service provider engaged since 2007, is accused of among others, of breaching the terms of the contract, including not paying the workers as at when due.

It was also gathered that the service provider had reported the matter to the Lagos office of the Ministry of Labour which had invited both parties for a meeting.

Vanguard gathered that though the company has no direct grievance with its employees especially members of the union, it was gathered the affected workers were members of NUFBTE. Investigation revealed that Promasidor had intimated the service provider earlier of the challenges facing the company because of security issues in the Northern part of the country where over 45 percent of its products are sold.

60,000 pupils jostle for placement in Ondo public schools

A

President, National Bible School, Dr. Murphy Akrasi (middle); Rev (Mrs.) Edna Essien (left) and Rev Enofe Stephanos, members of the Governing Council of the institute during the convocation and ordination of the institute in Lagos.

Lagos NBA to honour Tinubu, Fashola, Suswam, others

BY INNOCENT ANABA

N

IGERIAN Bar Associ ation, NBA, Lagos branch, will today, honour former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu with a special award for his contributions to the strengthening of the judiciary in the state, as part of activities marking its law week.

Others to be honoured for their contributions to democracy and rule of law are Governor Babatunde Fashola, SAN, of Lagos and his Osun and Benue states counterparts, Rauf Aregbesola and Gabriel

Suswam.

Chief Judge of Lagos, Justice Inumidun Akande; Chief Anthony Idigbe, SAN; Mr Rickey Tarfa, SAN, Oluwakemi Balogun, Zenith Bank and Century Group will also receive awards.

Briefing newsmen on the activities, which began on Monday, Chairman, Law Week Committee, Mr Hannibal Uwaifo, who represented the Branch Chairman, Mr Taiwo Taiwo, said Tinubu will be honoured for the infrastructure development of the courts and improvement of judge’s welfare by his administration, which other states now emulate.

Ihedioha expresses sadness over tragedies

D

EPUTY SPEAKER, House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha has expressed sadness over the tragic loss of lives in the Dana air crash, the suicide bombing of a church in Bauchi State, the tanker fire inferno on the LagosIbadan expressway, as well as the crash-landing of a cargo aircraft in Ghana, all of which happened weekend.

According to Ihedioha in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Oke Epia, “This is one weekend

of very tragic occurrences that has cast a huge pall of despair on the nation and no amount of words can convey the depth of sadness and grief I feel personally.”

The Deputy Speaker said he could only wish the souls of the departed a warm embrace in the bosom of the Almighty Lord “whose mercies Nigerians must now fervently seek in the face of these extremely disheartening and fatal happenings,” while condoling with families of the victims.

From left: Mr. Ayo Elias MD, Tequila Nigeria; Mr. Clement Ifeanyi Dike, star prize winner and Mr. Ade Asaye, Country Manager, Visa during the 2012 VISA Olympic raffle draw at the Silverbird Galleria, Lagos. Photo by Lamidi Bamidele

Why I didn't perform—Yakowa zSays govt placed emphasis on security of lives

J

OS—THE post-election violence that resulted from the 2011 presidential polls destroyed the foundation for Governor Patrick Yakowa’s sound performance, his Chief of Staff, Mr Abokie Galadima, has said.

Galadima said, “governments often have crises but the post-election crisis shook Kaduna’s foundation and destroyed basic trust and unity which grossly damaged the basis for Yakowa’s quest to excel in service delivery.

“Yakowa inherited a crisis that began as political and turned religious and ethnic.

That created a difficult ground and communal disharmony right from the standing point. Managing that challenge has been a serious concern from day one,” he told the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN. Galadima said the violence took a more frightening dimension with the destruction of the palace of the Emir of Zaria, regretting that the

seed from that violence had since germinated into worse crises and forced government to channel resources meant for development into security.

“Government has had to place more emphasis on security of lives, rebuilding trust, reuniting the people and instilling mutual confidence. That has been a major distraction to a government very keen on providing democracy dividends.”

He said Yakowa had already set up a 60-man peace and reconciliation committee to address complaints from individuals and groups toward peace, stressing the need for all to voice their grievances so that Kaduna could have peace necessary for development.

The Chief of Staff, however, said Yakowa had remained determined to fulfill his promises to the people and had mustered sufficient courage to channel resources to development

sectors.

He listed some of the development projects in the state as a bridge on the left wing of River Kaduna that had decongested the main road into Kaduna North from Kaduna South.

“Instead of going through the central highway via the railway area, most residents prefer the very short link created by the new bridge and that has effectively addressed the traffic problem that was our lot over the years.

“The Kafanchan campus of the Kaduna State University has also taken off and classes have resumed. A year ago, the site was just a forest,” he said.

Galadima said the “jinxed” Zaria waterworks, expected to serve eight local governments, had also been stepped up and would be completed in 2013, while the Manchok water works, expected to serve four local governments had also been completed and inaugurated.

KURE—EFFORTS of the Ondo State government in the education sector is beginning to yield the desired result as no fewer than 60,000 primary school pupils from both public and private schools across the 18 local government areas in the state participated in the common entrance examination to the state’s secondary schools.

According to the State’s Commissioner for Education, Mr Remi Olatubora, the figure of the pupils who sat for the common entrance examination is an indication that people are beginning to have confidence in its educational system .

“The idea of Mr Governor’s reforms in the education sector is to make public schools become fashionable the way it used to be, and I am happy that we are getting result.”

Olatubora futher said the state Governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko had always emphasis on the need to make the children of both the rich and the less privileged have access to the same education, adding that “with what we have just witnessed, we can only consolidate on the gains of the government’s efforts in this sector that have warranted the kind of sudden interest parents have developed in our public schools.”

Pa Adeolokun, 98, passes on

P

A Ezekiel Adewuyi Ade olokun is dead, aged 98. The late Pa Adeolokun, a staunch member of the St. Matthew’s Anglican Church, Ijebu-Ijesha, Osun State, died on Sunday, May 20, 2012.

A prosperous trader, Pa Adeolokun who spent 65 years in Iseyin, Oyo State, is survived by wives, children, grand children and great grand children, among whom is Prince Temitayo Adeolokun, chairman/ CEO of Tasman Olokun Ltd, Lagos.

zLate Pa Adeolokun

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012— —41

C M Y K

42—V anguard, WEDNESD AY, JUNE 6, 2012 WEDNESDA 42—Vanguard

MIDWEEK SERMON

with SAM EYOBOKA sameyoboka@yahoo.com

Adeboye endows a professorial chair in OAU •Charges Christians to fight corruption

By SAM EYOBOKA & OLAYINKA LATONA

G

ENERAL Overseer of The Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adeboye yesterday doled out a cheque worth N50 million to his alma mater, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife in continuation of his endowment of professorial chair in Nigerian universities.

He also charged Christians in the country to become worthy change agents who will contribute to the era-dication of corruption in the country through, not just by what they profess, but through their character and what they do all the time.

At an impressive fifth annual spiritual fiesta of the Apapa Family of the church known as Excel Conference at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos, Pastor Adeboye handed a cheque to the OAU vice chancellor, Prof. Bamitale Omole who was accompanied by his deputy and five other professors to a tumultuous applause from the mammoth crowd of worshippers.

Many were shocked when the humble man of God said: “It’s my leasure to honour my university. Many of you many not know it but my first degree is from the University of Ife, (he actually announced Oba-femi Awolowo

*Pastor Enoch Adeboye (l) handing over the cheque to the Vice Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University, Prof. Bamitale Omole at the Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos on Sunday.

University) Before M.Sc, and PhD, first of all, we have to start with B.Sc. My B.Sc. mathematics is from this great university.” Due to the Nigerian civil war

that started in 1967, Adeboye could not com-plete his university educ-ation at University of Nig-eria, Nsukka; so he relo-cat-

ed to University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, where he bag-ged his Bachelor degree in Mathematics.

Continuing in his trade mark of disarming humi-lity, Adeboye said it was with great pleasure that he would endow “a prof-essorial chair in mathe-matics at a wonderful and beautiful university and we want to do with this little cheque of N50 million. Congratulations, Sir.”

Trip to the far east Before going to his brief sermon on 'Catalyst of Change', the man of Go took time off to commend-ed the Apapa Family for the great strides it has taken thus far to expand the Kingdom of God on earth, acknowledging that he had just returned from a marathon trip to the Far East to dedicate some branches established by the Family in that part of the world.

“As your pastor has said, you have established in 25 nations of the world; that’s not bad…he himself had already promised that things will get better. So, by next year, you will be more nations in Jesus’ name,” he said, re-emp-hasizing his passion for soul-winning which feeds his passion for church-planting and the crowd chorused, A.M.E.E.E.N! Preaching a short sermon tar-

Adeboye, Oritsejafor, Okotie, Osu mourn plane crash victims •It's mum at TREM

By SAM EYOBOKA & OLAYINKA LATONA

E

MINENT Nigerian Clerics including the General Overseer of The Redeemed Christian Church of G o d , RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, the national president of t h e Christian Association of Niger i a , C A N , Pastor Ayo Orit-

se-jafor, founder of House-hold of God Church, Rev. Chris Okotie and director of Social Communications at the Catholic Archdioce-se of Lagos, Rev. Mon-signor Gabriel Osu have expressed shock at the news of the death of over 153 passengers aboard a DANA Airline commercial aircraft crash at Iju, Lagos, moments after a suicide bomber killed nine persons in two diff-erent churches in Bauchi.

They condoled the famili-es of the victims of the recent Dana Aircraft mis-hap, urging them to draw strength from God. The RCCG General Overseer, Pastor Adeboye in a statement by the Assistant Pastor of the church national headq-uarters, Pastor Goke Aniyeloye, described the incident as un-

pleasant, lamenting that it is unfort-unate that the country still experiences such gory incidences despite vari-ous challenges plaguing the country.

“It is unpleasant and my heart goes out to all those who lost their loved ones, friends and well-wishers. I condole with them and indeed all Nigerians. My prayer is that the good Lord will give the relations and all of us the fortitude to bear this irreplaceable loss” he said.

In a statement, National President of CAN, Pastor Oritsejafor said offered deepest condolences to the families of victims of the ill-fated McDonald Douglas (MD) 82 aircraft and prayed that God, in His infinite mercy, should give them the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss.

Prayers for protection “Our thoughts go to the bereaved families as we continue prayers for protection,” he said, adding “this is one of the worst disasters in Nigeria’s aviation history—no sur-vivors. It is the result of the Nigerian factor which receives strident denun-ciation in policies, passionate homilies of the clergy and tiC M Y K

geted at the youths, he defined the scientific word, catalyst saying it is an instrument you throw into a situation to facilitate a chemical reaction with-out changing itself.

According to him, as a Christian we must strive to be catalysts which break curses, give hope to destitutes, remove reproaches and cleanse the society without being adversely affected by these negative traits.

“It is our duty to ensure an end to corruption in our land. The Bible says we are the light of the world; we must therefore show forth our light to lighten the dark cleavag-es of the Nigerian society,” he said, adding that Christians must at all times strive to cleanse the Nigerian society, which, according to him, is one of the best forms of evan-gelism.

Earlier, the head of the Apapa Family, Pastor Ido-wu Iluyomade described catalysts as those living agents carrying the pre-sence and Spirit of Christ in them.

These are the different generation, a peculiar people destined to glow and be impactful in spite of daunting odds and opposition.

“Our vision of exceeding greatness is not just for conferences and gather-ings but to positively affect our society, its governance and the pre-vailing worldview and culture bringing the change and solutions for which our portion of creation have been groan-ing and waiting,” he said.

rades of well-meaning Nigerians, yet nothing works,” stressing the need for the Federal Government to “come up with practical measures that would reduce the margin of errors in traffic air signals, mechanical faults and bad weather."

In his response, Rev. Okotie said he was horrified at the tragic incident which occurred in a densely populated area on the outskirts of Lagos, adding “the government must take firm, preventive measures against future re-occurrences of this tragedy”, he added.

Osu, in his reaction, described the unfortunate crash as a national cala-mity and a wake-up call for the Federal Govern-ment to do something urgently to reposition the nation’s aviation sector.

“My heart goes out to all those who lost their loved ones, friends and well-wishers. I condole with them and indeed all Nigerians," he added.

Meanwhile, the leader-ship of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission, TREM, is still consulting on how best to best to handle the news of the death of one of their pastors and his wife in the crash.

Rev. Ayodeji Cole, the presbyter in charge of the Abuja branch of TREM and his wife, Ngozi were aboard the ill-fated DANA Airline to attend activities marking the 60 th birthday anniversary of the matri-arch of the church, Bishop Peace Okonkwo in Lagos.

VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012—43

Lawmaker distributes 15,000 litres of kerosene to mark one year in office

Reps to investigate airworthiness of all aircraft in Nigeria •as Tambuwal postpones one year anniversary celebrations

BY EMMAN OVUAKPORIE

A

BUJA—MEMBERS of the House of Representatives, yesterday, mandated the House Committee on Aviation to immediately start an investigation into the airworthiness of all aircraft operating in Nigeria to help avert future air crashes.

The House made this resolution after a two-hour debate on the crash of Dana and Allied Airlines aircraft in Nigeria and Ghana respectively, brought to the floor of the House by House Committee Chairman on Aviation, Hon Nkeiruka Onyejeocha when she raised a constitutional order suspending Rule 49 of the House.

The Reps also suggested the need to urge the Federal Ministry of Aviation to withdraw the operational licence of the airline indefinitely but Speaker Aminu Tambuwal who presided over the session said while he understood the feelings and outrage of the legislators over the incident, it was necessary to follow the relevant laws rather than give in to emotions.

Aviation laws He said: “Our aviation laws stipulate that once incidents like these happen, the AIB comes in, investigates the issue and recommends sanctions to the appropriate authorities. I can understand the feelings and passions that we all have but we must not negate the laws that we have made and the Constitution too. I, therefore, plead that we step down this particular prayer and allow the investigations to be concluded.” They observed a minute silence for victims of the crash and also prayed for the repose of the souls of those who were killed in a suicide bomb attack in Bauchi as well as those who died as a result of the crash of a Nigerian-registered cargo airplane, Allied Airways in Ghana, all within 24 hours.

Also yesterday, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Aminu Tambuwal suspended a planned one year celebration of his one year in office as a mark of honour for the souls of those that C M Y K

both air crashes claimed.

In the motion, Hon Onyejeocha noted that “the crashes are coming on the heels of similar crashes involving Bellview Airlines in 2005, Sosoliso Airlines, also in 2005 and Aviation Development Airline, ADC, in 2006.”

She said: “The latest Dana Air crash is even more tragic than the previous ones with a casualty figure reported to be about 190 people including 153 passengers, six crew members and 37 people on ground and counting continues.

These latest crashes are clear indications of failure and or negligence of relevant regulatory functions in the aviation industry which if unchecked could lead to more devastating air mishaps in the future.

“The peculiar circumstances leading to these crashes are wake up call for all relevant authorities to rise to the challenge of ensuring that no effort is spared in maki8ng the nation’s aviation industry conforms to International Safety Standards.”

The Speaker threw the issue for an open debate and members turn after turn tore the Dana management apart claiming that the illfated aircraft had a track record of faults before it was purchased from Alaska airline in the United States of America, USA. Onyejeocha had told a bewildered House that right from the date of manufacture of the aircraft it was diagnosed to be technically faulty before the Indian managed Dana Airline decided to buy an alleged death trap as an aircraft in February 2009.

Hon Akpan Umoh representing Akwa-Ibom in his contribution said “a proper investigation should be conducted into the crash because I boarded this same plane on May 29 and it was clear that it was faulty.”

Hon Ogbuefi Ozomgbachi said “when Nigeria was declared to have one of the worst air space in the world and if the recommendations then were implemented this accident could have been averted and lives saved. In the month of May alone this particular aircraft had three mid air faults and those responsible did nothing about it and why was it not grounded immediately.”

BY EBUN SESSOU

A

L-r: Mr Olumide Ojo, Head, Hand Held Products, Mrs Yetunde Omotanwa Alabi, (Shasha P), Samsung Brand Ambassador being flanked by Mr Changarampatt Manoj, Business Leader of Samsung Electronics West Africa, during the launch of Samsung Galaxy Pocket in partnership with Spinlet, the mobile music download and streaming application company, in Lagos. Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi

L-r: Medical Manager,Pfizer Nutrition (West Africa), Dr. Fatima Olagunju; Professor of Nutrition, College of Public Health, University of Philippines, Manila, Prof. Emilie Flores; Head of Gastroenterology and Nutrition Unit, University of Calabar Teaching Hosptal, Prof. Emmanuel Ekanem; Consultant in Child Health Paediatrics University of Benin, Prof. Philip Abiodun; Associate Director, Nursing Services Directorate, Health Service Commission, Mrs. Victoria Oloruntegbe; and Associate Director of Operations, Pfizer Nutrition, Africa and Middle East, Mr. Mohamed Abdellatif, during the doctors scientific symposium on 'Achieving Optimal Growth and Long Term Health; The New Thinking In Infant Nutrition' in Lagos. Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi

MEMBER of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Honourable Hakeem Marsha, representing Lagos Island Constituency I, weekend, distributed 15,000 litres of kerosene to his constituents to mark his one year in office.

Masha noted that the distribution of kerosene became necessary in view of the scarcity of the product in the country, adding: “I decided to distribute kerosene to my people in Lagos Island to reduce pressure and agony being faced by constituents when searching for the commodity to cook. It is also part of my promise during my electioneering campaign to continuously give an account of stewardship in my constituency."

He disclosed that about 5000 people benefitted from the commodity which implies that each person went home with five litres of kerosene. Among the beneficiaries of the commodity included Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Imams, traditional chiefs, market men and women among others.

Insecurity: Nigeria requires decisive leadership to tackle the situation— Ihedioha

By CHRIS OCHAYI

A

BUJA—DEPUTY Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, said, yesterday, that the current insecurity situation in the country required political will and decisive leadership to pull the country away from the precipice.

Ihedioha who spoke at the presentation of a book “Nigeria and the Crisis of the Nation-State: Agenda for National Consensus,” authored by former Political Editor, Daily Times, Mr. Emeka Nwosu, added that the process of nation building comes with a lot of challenges, particularly in heterogeneous societies like Nigeria.

He said: “The current security crisis we face should

be seen as one of those painful challenges that we may need to endure to attain our full potentials as a great nation. I want to add that the process of nation building comes with a lot of challenges, particularly in heterogeneous societies like Nigeria where centrifugal forces are very active and always pulling in different directions. What the situation requires is political will and decisive leadership to pull the country away from the precipice.

“The current security crisis we face should be seen as one of those painful challenges that we may need to endure to attain our full potentials as a great nation.

But like Emeka has stressed in the book, we need to make our federation more equitable for Nigeria to re-

alize her manifest destiny.

The primary focus of the book, however, is on the crisis of governance and challenges of nation building in Nigeria since the return to civil democratic rule in 1999 with specific emphasis on developments in the polity between 2007 and 2011; the period within which the issues in the book were captured and analysed.

National issues “The book is principally a collection of his writings on serious national issues, ranging from the national question, electoral reform process, political leadership and crisis of nation-building, religion and ethnicity, media and national security, democracy and human

rights, power and politics and other matters that have continued to prove contentious within the polity. A common thread that runs in all the issues treated in the book is the imperative of constructing a united and harmonious society that is anchored on the principles of justice, equity and fairness. There is the contention in the book that national greatness is impossible in a plural and diverse society like Nigeria without forging national consensus amongst its peoples, particularly the elite class."

Congratulating Mr. Nwosu, who is currently his Special Adviser on Research and Documentation, Hon. Ihedioha described the book as a major contribution to policy dialogue in our dear country.

44—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

TAMBUWAL'S HOUSE:

Under construction THE Tambuwal House may have acquitted itself in decorum but its productivity remains an issue.

*House of Representatives in session

BY EMMAN OVUAKPORIE

T

HE 7th Assembly of the House of Representatives came to life on June 5 last year with a lot of promise.

Apparently the new House was determined to shake off the illrepute of the 6th session that was dogged with scandals.

The election of Speaker Aminu Tambuwal as presiding officer and the promises made by the new speaker were indicative of a new era. Tambuwal was elected against the desire of the leadership of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and its zoning principle.

Tambuwal had said in his maiden speech that the “Seventh House of Representatives seeks to build a new image for the legislature – a strong, vibrant and effective legislature, able to assert itself as an important partner with other arms of government in the delivery of good governance, due process and rule of law.”

Following his election by the majority of House members, the new speaker quickly went on to enunciate a legislative agenda for the House.

Tambuwal’s 7 point Agenda Embedded in this agenda is an arrangement to have an eparliament and speedy passage of bills. However, it is regrettable that as at today only one bill outside of the appropriation bill has been passed by the Tambuwal C M Y K

House.

The General Principles of the agenda include: 1. Initiate a new order that would foster transparency leading to institutional integrity through efficiency of public expenditure management.

2. Restructure management and functions of legislative

committees towards adequacy in capacity and improved productivity.

3. Design and implement the e-parliament blueprint that would elevate National Assembly to international best practices and ensure public access to parliamentary information and processes.

4. Review legislative branch budget in line with the requirements of openness, effectiveness and accountability.

5. Review the constitution in all relevant areas to facilitate the implementation of the House of Representatives legislative agenda and in line with the aspirations of Nigerians.

6. Engage actively with other arms of government to restore public order and national security, and 7. Institutionalise mechanisms that will facilitate more effective engagement with various stakeholders including constituents and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).”

PERFORMANCE OF COMMITTEES THE House has 89 substantive Committees performing one role or the other but among the lot only few are outstanding in their legislative duties.

Among the few are Public Accounts Committee, PAC, Committee on Environment, Committee on Communications and Information Technology, Committee on Diaspora and of late Constitution Review Committee.

Others include Aviation, Public Petitions, Foreign Affairs, Interparliamentary and Business and Rules committees.

Some of the committees operate in a secretive manner as their activities are usually concealed from journalists and even fellow members.

Some committee Chairmen have blamed their discretions on lack of funds, though many members say such committee chairmen are only lazy.

AD-HOC COMMITTEES: The Fuel Subsidy Regime

Monitoring ad-hoc committee led by Lawan Farouk came vide a House Resolution on January 8 to quickly checkmate the near anarchy situation in the country caused by the withdrawal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government.

The revelations from the committee hearing shook the conscience of the nation and helped to project the moral fiber of the legislative chamber in its dealings with the executive arm of government.

Basking in the euphoria from its scandal free investigation of the subsidy scam, an attempt to conduct a similar inquiry into the capital market, however, revealed the underbelly of the House that Speaker Tambuwal had so much tried to protect.

The capital market investigation initially assigned to the House Committee on Capital Markets soon derailed into a scandal laced with accusations and counter accusations of bribery and corruption.

The chairman of the House Committee on Capital Markets, Herman Hembe was accused of collecting estacode for a travel that was never done. The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC was on her part accused of sundry extravagant expenditures. In the end the House toed the path of honour by reassigning the investigation to an ad-hoc panel of the House headed by Rep. Ibrahim El-Sudi.

The Tambuwal House has undoubtedly raised the lever in legislative decorum giving the much needed credibility to an institution that was battered by the recklessness of its progenitors. The matter of productivity is, however, another issue.

SENATE PRESIDENCY:

The differences of David Mark

BY PAUL MUMEH

S

OME say it is an uncommon feat. Others believes it is unprecedented.

And more than a few summed it up as divine. Which ever side of the divide one belongs, the ultimate truth of Senator David Mark’s success as the president of the Senate is that there is the Hand of God here.

Except destiny and just a few who are knowledgeable enough to understand the political arithmetic, majority did not give him a chance.

His re-election as the president of the Senate for the second term in June 2011 has been viewed by national and international observers as signaling the consolidation of representative democracy in the country.

Many have even associated the person of Senator Mark as synonymous with the deepening of Nigerian democracy which has witnessed stability since his first coming as Senate President in 2007.

This, in addition to his unique style of leadership characterized by team spirit, hard work and transparency which has resulted in the cohesion in the Senate, the National Assembly and by extension the national polity.

This unarguably led to the consensus and his eventual unanimous re- election in 2011.

Even his foes agreed that David Mark is unbeatable.

Before the emergence of Mark, the leadership of the Senate nay National Assembly was usually foisted

on lawmakers by the strong men in Aso Rock in collaboration with the ruling party at a time when democratic procedures, constitutional provisions and the standing order of the Parliament were jettisoned.

However, there was a major paradigm shift in 2007 when Mark appeared on the scene precisely on June, 05, 2007.

Late President Umaru Yar’ of blessed did not bully or forced the legislature on the choice of its leadership like his predecessor did.

His Presidency was not interested in imposing a leadership on the National Assembly. Al least due process was observed.

For the first time, in the contemporary political history, the Senate was left alone to freely choose its leadership in

an election keenly contested on the floor. Mark became Senate President in an election keenly contested by three other very influential Senators from the North Central.

Through a popular open voting, Mark defeated his major arch rival, former Benue state Governor George Akume by 69 votes to 39 even after the other two ranking contestants ; Senators Nuhu Aliyu and Gbemi Saraki Fawora stepped down for Akume.

The then Clerk to the National Assembly, Nasir Arab and his Deputy Yomi Ogunyomi allowed the election between Akume and Mark in spite of the Senate ranking rule 97 which barred new Senators from contesting for the Senate

Continues on page 45

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012—45

The marks of the seventh Senate

BY EMMANUEL AZIKEN & HENRY UMORU

T

HE seventh senate was never expected to be significantly different from the preceding sixth senate in character. It couldnt, given the continuing dominance of the David Mark-Ike Ekweremadu tendency. The return of Senators Mark and Ekweremadu as Senate President and Deputy Senate President at the inauguration of the Senate exactly a year ago was a record in the annals of the legislature at the federal level. It was the first time that a presiding officer in either of the two chambers was returned to the position of first among equals since the advent of the fourth republic.

None of Senator Mark’s predecessors as Senate President had even served a four year term in office as the duo of Mark and Ekweremadu did between 2007 and 2011.

Senator Mark has, however, been adept in utilising the survival skills he is alleged to have so carefully taken away from his predecessors.

It was as such not surprising that at the beginning of the seventh senate that the leadership continued with the proliferation of committees, a survival instinct that empowers all senators as either Committee chairmen or vice-chairmen.

The creation of 56 Senate Committees in a chamber presently constituted of 108 senators means that all senators are either committee chairmen or vice-chairmen. That is every senator has a portfolio and a vote!

Just as it did at the commencement of the sixth senate when it picked up the GSM telecommunication sector as its focus even before the then

Senator Mark’s dominance of the Senate continues unabated, his purpose and his actions are, however, still unfolding.

*Mark presiding in a committee of the whole new senators settled down, the seventh senate just after inauguration a year ago brought its focus to bear on the privatization exercises of federal government enterprises.

Given that committees were yet to be inaugurated at that time the task was handed over to an adhoc panel chaired by Senator Ahmad Lawan, one of the most experienced legislators who has himself been in the National Assembly since the restoration of civil rule in 1999.

Lawan moved the motion that led to the investigation. Even though he is a member of the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP he is also one of the key members of

the inner caucus around Mark.

It was as such not surprising that the primacy given the probe received political colouration in some quarters. It was suggested by some that the Mark Senate was working in cahoots with the Goodluck Jonathan administration to embarrass one of the leading lights of the opposition, Mallam Nasir ElRufai who was a key figure in the privatization schemes of the Olusegun Obasanjo administration between 1999 and 2003.

The investigation as with previous investigations turned out sour for El-Rufai.

Unarguably, one notable effort

of the Mark senate in the past year was its role in the unmasking of the alleged fraud in the utilisaiton of subsidy in the importation of petroleum products.

A motion sponsored by Senator Bukola Saraki, PDP, Kwara Central brought the issue to the fore with the revelation that the administration had as at October when the motion was proposed exceeded the N240 billion earmarked for petroleum subsidy by several times. The motion in the senate could have been the trigger that eventually led to the unmasking of the subsidy scam in the House of Representatives in January 2012. Though the

SENATE PRESIDENCY: The differences of David Mark Continues from page 44 Presidency.

The election of Mark through an open democratic means marked the paradigm shift that turned the Senate around and put it on the track as true representative legislature.

Immediately he was inaugurated, Mark set out to lay the solid foundation for a united, dynamic and result oriented Senate which principal agenda would be to uplift the living standard of Nigerians in line with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution.

Mark further fortified the unity and focus of the Senate by refusing to set up a kitchen cabinet despite pressures from certain Senators who wanted desperately to be in control.

Such is believed to be part of the factors that contributed to

the undoing of former Senate Presidents . Wabara and late Okadigbo whose kitchen cabinets succeeded in pitching them against other senators remain reference points Under Senator Mark’s leadership, the senate has risen as not just representatives of the Nigerian people, but indeed true statesmen on whose shoulders we can lean on it matters.

The invocation of the doctrine of necessity to save a rudderless political ship remain a reference point in our political history.

Besides, the successful amendment of some sections of the 1999 constitution which previous legislature could not realize was made possible by the Senator Mark/ Ike Ekweremadu leadership of the Senate.

The Senate has made it manifest that it is possible to work harmoniously with the executive arm of government to deliver services and dividends of democracy to the people without rancour.

As the Senate under Mark marks its one year of the 7th senate of the 4th national assembly, there is even greater vigour and hope the this session would even be better.

What is more , Mark and his colleagues have set sail to replicate the successes recorded in the 6th Senate. All the grey areas in the constitution constituting imbalance in political equation of Nigeria have listed for legislative attention while over sight functions to ascertain the degree of compliance by the ministries, departments and agencies ( MDAs) to

appropriation acts have been reinvigorated.

Senator Mark has constantly assured his colleagues whom he refers to as “ my bosses” , that only those things that promotes unity, happiness and prosperity of Nigeria would occupy their attention and influence their actions. All bills whether executive or private member bill or motions must be the ones that have direct positive bearing on the security and well being of Nigerians.

It is expected that in the next days, weeks, months and years to come, the 7th Senate would through its legislative actions prove more to Nigerians that it can be relied upon when it matters. *Paul Mumeh, Chief Press Secretary to the President of the Senate.

Senate constituted its own investigation into the issue, the Senate investigation which is still ongoing has almost been dwarfed by the scintillating revelations from the House.

When the subsidy scam fully unraveled after the administration removed the alleged subsidy in fuel prices at the beginning of the year the initiative from the legislature was almost wholly from the House.

The initiative from the Senate was essentially directed at brokering peace between the adamant administration and the almost collective will of the people against the removal of the alleged subsidy.

Senator Mark’s role was largely that of mediation as he played a role that was essentially described as fatherly and it was not surprising that no one was satisfied given the unwillingness of the senate to push the administration to satisfy the desire of the majority of the people.

More purposeful was the senate’s commendable role in unearthing the pension scam involving a handful of bureaucrats who ate away the patrimony of a large section of the working people.

Suckers of blood money Senator Mark played a leading role at the commencement of the public hearings with his castigation of the pension thieves as suckers of blood money.

Not unexpectedly, those involved in the pension scam fought back alleging that the Senator Alloysius Etok led Pension Investigative Committee was compromised with some multi billion naira bribe.

That allegation was dismissed

by Senator Etok. In the year under review the Senate also commenced fresh moves to review the 1999 Constitution with the inauguration of a committee again led by Senator Ekweremadu. That committee as at press time is now set to go into action having recently called for memoranda from the general public.

The senate in the last year intervened in the unpopular move by the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC to add to the burden of the people when it stopped the implementation of the new fee regimes of the commission which were generally seen as extortionist.

The Senate in its first year sought to position itself as being on the side of the people but has undoubtedly been impeded by the seeming lethargy on the side of the administration. How it is able to extricate itself to show its solidarity with the people is an issue for the 108 senators in the next year.

46 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

Mimiko should have done better — Ajatta, ACN guber aspirant MR Jaiyeola Ajatta served in the House of Representatives for two consecutive terms and is now setting his eyes to contest the office of governor of Ondo State on the ticket of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN. Ahead of the party primaries, Ajatta spoke to Vanguard in an interview during which among other things, he reviewed the performance of the incumbent governor, discussed the high number of aspirants in the race and on his plans for the state among other issues. Excerpts:

BY DAYO JOHNSON

P

ERFORMANCE of the present Labour Party administration in Ondo Sate The government is not doing well at all, the governor is making decisions and carrying out decisions on his own, and those who are not listening to him, he would kick out of his cabinet.

An instance was the case of the commissioners we had before, he suddenly sacked all of them and put those people he likes, who cannot challenge him for anything.

Look at our educational sector, he is not employing more teachers, since there are no teachers, things are coming to stand still, there is no progress.

We are not happy about the Mega Schools he is building because it will take a long time for pupils to get to that school, and this is not what we want, we want schools which will be very near to the children home.

We want the existing schools structures rehabilitated and

W

HEN 11,000 air traffic controllers in the United States initiated a strike action sometime in 1981 it was a development that remarkably united the majority of Americans against the air traffic controllers who were already among the highest earning in the country at that time.

Also among the demands of the air traffic controllers was a reduced work load that would see them work for four days in a week. Remarkably with that their demand for less work was the demand for increased salaries! Prior to the entrenchment of Silicon Valley, the air traffic control profession was at that time among the highest paying professions in the United States.

So when the air traffic controllers decided to walk out on their job, President Ronald Reagan was understandably annoyed.

Besides, the strike action by the air traffic controllers was illegal according to federal laws. A large majority of Americans felt the same with him as also the courts.

habitable. The government does not also fair better in the heath, agriculture and road sectors.

Governors of some states in the South West have been doing some of the projects you are criticising the state governor of doing in their states especially the Mega Schools and Mother and child hospital.

It is not that the Mother and Child Hospital is bad, but if you want to do it, you must be able to spread it.

Mother and child hospital If you spend a lot of money on Mother and Child Hospital where people will be travelling for about 10 to 20 miles to come and use, then you know it is not useful to them. How many women in the state can use the only one mother and child hospital in Akure?

The other one is the water fountain. It is built in the middle of the road, it shouldn’t be there, it should be at a place

*Ajatta: I am qualified where people can sit down and will be looking at it and

POLITICAL METABOLISM with

EMMANUEL AZIKEN

Now that Lagos Doctors are back The president did not waste time in dismissing all the strikers who failed to heed an ultimatum to return to the job.

The situation in America reminds one of Nigeria’s medical doctors in Lagos.

Seen by some as the epitome of the sciences, the medical profession has since time immemorial been also regarded for its humane dispositions. The fact that doctors are trained to save lives and do so with humane care is especially remarkable.

However, the action of the doctors in Lagos State to walk out on their patients arguably leading to the death of many patients was shocking. The

response of the governor of the State after a series of negotiations was to sack the errant doctors.

Like President Reagan, Governor Babatunde Fashola did not receive much criticism for his action from members of the public who were at the receiving end of the shocking action of the doctors.

Like Reagan before him, Fashola had the backing of the Lagos public who were as indignant as Americans in 1981 over why people who were already well paid should be dragging their luck further.

The least paid doctor including the one just exiting medical school according to

like the one at Alagbaka.

Go there in the evening, you will see that it is a place for people who are hawking love and that is not what it should be.

What should be at a place like that is probably, a flower that we will all see and like.The other one is Mega School. In Lagos, there are mega schools but they did not disturb other schools.

What we want in Ondo State is that those schools which people are using at the moment be rehabilitated.

Blueprint for the state I have said these on several occasions that the uncontrollable rate of thuggery in the state is due to lack of job opportunity for the youths.

Forget about beautification of Akure particularly the major road that has been on for the past three years, if youths are not engaged, they can just wake up one day and destroy all your beatification materials in form of protest against the government.

If you look at what happened at the fifth memorial lecture of late Adebayo Adefarati in Akure recently, it was done by unemployed youths. Most of these young boys are graduates; if they had been employed they will never listen to any selfish politician asking them to act as thugs.

Qualification to be governor My contributions at the National Assembly to the life of my people in Akoko area of Ondo State are unquantifiable despite being a representative of constituency in Lagos State.

enjoying themselves, but not where it can cause accidents reports was receiving more than N170,000 as monthly compensation. That is an amount far above what many people who have worked for decades or even their parents in other professions were receiving.

Given the diligence and drudge expected of medical students before they qualify to practice, doctors have for a long time been placed on a special compensation package.

Nobody has until now complained. But their action in holding the state hostage was especially appalling. That a doctor who is trained to save lives, who has taken the Hippocratic Oath to save lives, would walk out on a dying patient is to say the least not just callous, but ungodly.

Common ground As the crisis evolved it was remarkable that some section of the medical community rallied round to seek a common ground in the interest of the masses. Such efforts as led by the likes of Dr. Olu Falomo

should be commended.

But what is especially interesting was the seeming backing that the governor of Lagos State received from the citizens. The hard approach of the governor underlined the fact that he was believed to have carried out the interest of the state in his approach to the crisis.

An attempt by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP to make capital out of the issue did not make any headway.

It was expected that after the doctors were sacked that they would have gone on to other shores where they could have gotten better compensation.

But alas, with Nigerian doctors already saturated in the Caribbeans, Asia and the Americas, they were boxed into a corner. And perhaps their resort to a political solution that involved Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

As the doctors resume duties today, they should well know that Tinubu may have saved the faces of all parties involved in the dispute, but not the lives of the many who perished through the senseless strike!

V anguard, WEDNESD AY, JUNE 6, 2012 — 47 WEDNESDA Vanguard,

US drone kills Al-Qaeda strategist in Pakistan

A

L Qaeda’s second in command, Abu Yahya al-Libi, who is regarded as the top strategists of the treeorist network was killed in a US. Drone strike in Pakistan yesyerday. Abu Yahya alLibi, who is seen as the most prominent figure in the network after leader Ayman al Zawahri, has become another top leader of the terror group to be killed in Pakistan, in a drone strike bolstering the argument that the unmanned aircraft are a highly effective weapon against militants. The United States has also escalated drone strikes against al Qaeda figures in Yemen, where militants gained a foothold during a popular uprising against former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The news of his death

if confirmed, it would be the biggest blow to al Qaeda since U.S. special forces killed Osama bin Laden in a secret raid in Pakistan in May 2011.

The CIA’s drone campaign in Pakistan, stepped up under the administration of President Barack Obama, has made the South Asian nation a perilous place for al Qaeda.

US officials cnfired the death of Abu Yahya alLibi, and said it would pressure al Qaeda to seek new havens in areas where it has come under less scrutiny. A growing number of experts point to an influx of militants into Mali, for instance. U.S. sources said Libi, a Libyan cleric with a degree in chemistry who has survived previous attacks by drones, was a target of a strike early on

value target,” he told Reuters. Some U.S. officials describe Libi, whose real name is Mohamed Hassan Qaid, as number two to Zawahri, the Egyptian doctor who took over

Libya tries Gaddafi’s men

T •Obama Monday in northwest Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal region, home to some of the world’s most notorious militant groups.

Sajjan Gohel, chief executive of the Asia-Pacific Foundation security research consultancy, said

•Abu Yahya al-Libi Libi was one of the few remaining key figures within al Qaeda’s core.

“Libi has also been at the centre of al Qaeda’s plans to reconstitute itself and try and remount a transnational terror campaign.

This is one of the reasons he was viewed as a high

Queen's Diamond jubilee: Obama, others attend grand finale grand Mall avenue lead-

ing to the queen’s London residence was turned into a sea of red, white and blue as well-wishers flooded the road to hail the queen before a flypast led by the Spitfires which won the Battle of Britain and concluded with an aerobatic display by the Royal Air Force’s Red Arrows.

U

NITED STATES President, Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron and other world leadrs were part of the grand finale of the Dianond jubilee celebration of Queen Elizabeth II, which was tampered by the absence of Prince Philips who was hospitalised on Monday.

Hundreds of thousands of people cheered, sang patriotic songs and waved Union Jack flags outside Buckingham Palace in a spectacular finale to four days of celebrations honoring Queen Elizabeth’s 60 years on the British throne. The 86-year-old beamed at the throng and waved from the balcony of the palace, accompanied by the senior members of

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth (C) waves as she stands with (L-R) Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Charles, Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in London yesterday REUTERS/Toby Melville her family with one notable absentee - Prince Philip, her husband of 64 years who was taken ill with a bladder infection on Monday. It was one of the few grand state occasions in her life when he has not

been present, taking some of the gloss off what has widely been seen as a triumphant diamond jubilee that has reinforced the popularity of the queen and the monarchy. The

Syria bars Western diplomats

S

YRIA’s government banned 17 Western diplomats and its helicopter gunships pounded rebels in a coastal province yesterday as President Bashar al-Assad defied international pressure to halt his campaign to crush the uprising against his rule.

The declaration that ambassadors from the United States, Canada, Turkey and several European countries were unwelcome was retaliation for the expulsion of C M Y K

Syrian envoys from their capitals last week, following the massacre of more than 100 civilians by suspected Assad loyalists. On the battlefront, rebels fought with government forces backed by helicopter gunships in the heaviest clashes in coastal Latakia province since the revolt against Assad’s rule broke out 15 months ago.

The clashes in Latakia province were a rare surge of violence in a province outside Syria’s

al Qaeda after bin Laden’s death. Diplomats and some Pakistani intelligence officials say funding for al Qaeda in Pakistan dried up after Bin Laden’s death.

usual trail of bloodshed.

Latakia province is home to several towns inhabited by members of the minority Alawite sect, a Shi’ite offshoot to which Assad himself belongs and which has been wary of the mostly Sunni-led uprising.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the fighting was in mostly Sunni areas in and around the city of Haffeh.

HE first trial of a se nior Muammar Gaddafi-era official accused of crimes relating to last year ’s war opened on Tuesday, in what will be seen as a test of the Libyan government’s ability to try high profile loyalists and family members of the ousted leader. Under heavy security, Buzeid Dorda, a former intelligence chief arrested last September in Tripoli, appeared in the dock in the first such civilian hearing since last year’s uprising.

Judge Al-Ajaily AlMaaloul read six charges against him conspiring to kill civilians, providing weapons for the purpose of killing civilians, conspiring to provoke civil war, denying people their right to protest, unlawful detention and abuse of authority. “I deny all these points. I

will supply the evidence when I testify in court,” Dorda said.

The judge adjourned the trial until June 26, as demanded by defense lawyer Dhao AlMansouri Awon, who said he and his client needed more time to study the case files.

Wearing a blue prison inmate uniform, Dorda walked into the court using two canes. Officials said he had injured his legs about two months ago when he tried to escape and fell from a second floor window. He was treated in hospital, they said.

Libya’s new rulers are keen to try Gaddafi’s family members and loyalists at home, but human rights activists worry that a weak central government and a lack of rule of law could rob them of the right to a fair trial.

Egyptians protest to reclaim freedom

T

HOUSANDS o f Egyptians poured i n t o C a i r o ’ s Ta h r i r Square on Tuesday to reclaim a revolt they say has been hijacked after Hosni Mubarak was jailed for life and his top security officials freed in a sign they say his old guard is still in charge.

Although Mubarak was imprisoned on Saturday over the killing of protesters, he escaped the death penalty and senior officers tried with him were acquitted for lack of evidence, so many now believe the ex-president could win with an appeal.

Calls to take to the streets, almost 16 months after Mubarak was toppled, have also been fuelled by a looming June 16-17 presidential run-off vote between Mubarak’s last prime minister and a

•Mubarak

a choice that has polarized Egypt.

Many Egyptians who voted for centrist candidates in last month’s first round now face a wrenching choice between Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood, which already controls parliament, and Ahmed Shafiq, an ex-military man like Mubarak.

conservative Islamist,

Iran insists on nuclear right

A

N adviser to Iran’s supreme leader has urged world powers to formally recognize its nuclear rights to bring about a “favorable result” at talks on its atomic program later this month, state media reported on Tuesday. Deflecting Iranian pressure in talks last month, Western countries declined to accord any such recognition, saying

Tehran had no automatic right to enrich uranium because of its previous violations of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Iran says that under its NPT membership, it can develop a full nuclear fuel cycle for peaceful purposes including the enrichment of uranium, a process that yields fuel for power stations or bombs, depending on the level of refinement.

48—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

P R E S E N TA TION: Winner, Mr. Joseph Jatto, receiving a 55 Cinema Screen 3D TV from Mr J a e y o u n g Lee,MD, LG Electronics West Africa Operation, at the closing ceremony of LG Cinema 3D Competition Festival Berths in Nigeria, in Lagos.

Photo: Diran Oshe.

Atuche: Witness says no illegal money transfer

BY ABDULWAHAB ABDULAH & ONOZURE DANIA

L

AGOS—AN Eco nomic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, investigator, Mr David Nkpe, yesterday, told an Ikeja High Court, Lagos, that they did not recover record or application forms for preferential allotment or disbursement during their investigation into allegations of stealing N27.5 billion belonging to Bank PHB, now Keystone Bank, against former managing director of the bank, Mr Francis Atuche.

Nkpe, a field detective in Bank Fraud Investigative Department of EFCC, said there was indeed, no foreign investments in all the transactions they investigated.

Atuche, alongside his wife, Elizabeth, and a former Chief Financial Officer of BankPHB, Ugo Anyanwu, are standing trial before Justice Latifa Okunnu.

Court stops INEC on PDP congress

L

AGOS—A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has restrained Independent National Electoral Commission,INEC, from being part of any fresh congresses proposed by Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Ogun State.

Justice Charles Archibong gave the order while ruling on an exparte motion by the Chairman and Secretary of Ogun State PDP, Bayo Dayo and Alhaji Semiu Sodipo, on behalf of the State Executive Committee of PDP against INEC and PDP. C M Y K

Dana Crash: Fashola declares 7 days mourning

BY OLASUNKANMI AKONI & ABDULWAHAB ABDULAH

I

KEJA—GOVERNOR Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State has cancelled all government activities for the week to mourn victims of Sunday’s ill-fated Dana Airline plane crash, as he also declared a seven-day mourning.

Similarly, programmes

meant to mark the exit of Lagos State Chief Judge, Justice Inumidun Akande, from the judiciary had been shifted for the same reason.

The state judiciary had mapped out events to celebrate the CJ’s 1004 days in office with a briefing with journalists slated for tomorrow, but had to be suspended in honour of the victims of the plane crash.

Court dismisses Statoil appeal

BY INNOCENT ANABA

L

AGOS—THE Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos, yesterday, dismissed the appeal by Statoil Nigeria Limited, challenging the judgment of a Federal High Court, Lagos, which had ordered it (Statoil) to pay Dr John Abebe and his company, Inducon Nigeria Limited, 1.5 per cent of its profit accurable from the three oil blocs it is exploiting in the Niger Delta.

The money, close to $3 billion, according to the court, is to compensate Abebe for bringing the oil company to the country to do business in the early 90s.

The appellate court, in a unanimous decision, said it would amount to injustice, if Abebe and his company were not paid

the money for bringing the oil company into the country.

Justice Hellen Ogunwumiju, in her lead judgment, held that Statoil’s appeal lacked merit and same was dismissed.

The court rejected Statoil’s argument, that the judgment of the lower court was against the weight of evidence adduced.

It will be recalled that the lower court had held that the arguments of the appellant (Statoil) was no of value.

The lower court held that since there was an alliance between British Petroleum, BP, Statoil and Abebe, because BP later divested and left the country does not mean that the agreement reached with the businessman had ceased to

The seven-day mourning in Lagos, it was gathered, was agreed at the state Executive Council meeting.

A senior civil servant, who spoke to Vanguard on the development, said the “sad incident had dampened workers’ morale to work because of its calamitous nature.”

Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Aderemi Ibirogba, who announced the seven-day mourning, said the state had decided to cancel all activities and programmes for the week because of the plane crash, which occurred in its territory.

He expressed sympathy of the state government with families of victims of the crash, assuring that the state government will continue to assist those affected by the crash.

He said: “We, as a government, had cancelled all activities and programmes slated for this week because we are mourning. The incident happened in our state.

Also, most of the victims are our residents.”

L

AGOS—A cleric, Revd. Peter Adebiyi, has called on the Federal Government to embrace godliness and content-

ment, saying it was one of the ways the country would be free from experiencing the wrath of God. He spoke at the 5th Synod of the Diocese of Lagos West, Church of Nigeria Anglican Com-

BY & ABDULWAHAB ABDULAH

L

AGOS—FORMER Director of Military Intelligence, Brig-General Ibrahim Sabo(rtd), yesterday, said for the government to rid the country of insecurity, it must enlist the support of ethnic nationalities in the country.

Sabo, who joined other prominent Nigerians to proffer solutions to the pervading national insecurity in the country, said all forms of insurgency and insecurity were as a result of years of neglect of the legitimate yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians to have a better society.

He spoke at a summit organised in Lagos by Coalition of Ethnic Nationalities of Nigeria, CENN, comprising 29

ethnic nationality groups.

He said: “Insurgency, militancy and other forms of uprisings or group protests against constituted authorities occur most of the time because peaceful and genuine aspirations of groups of people are disregarded over long periods.''

Others at the programme hosted by Dr. Fredrick Fasehun, leader of Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, included Director-General of Nigeria Institute of International Affairs, Prof. Sola Akinterinwa, who spoke on ‘Ethnicity, Religion and Democratic Nationalism in Nigeria’and National President of Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Malam Shehu Garba, spoke on “The Press and Its Watchdog Role in a conflict Environment."

Lawyers, activists decry executive lawlessness

BY INNOCENT ANABA

I

KEJA—LAWYERS and human rights activists, yesterday, faulted what they termed executive lawlessness, which they alleged was manifested in an attempt to politicise and muscle the judiciary.

Speakers at the showcase session of the law week of Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Lagos Branch, condemned increasing disregard for judicial independence.

Former Attorney-General of Lagos State, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, who spoke at the event, decried corruption in the judiciary, saying it was a major threat to the credibility of the profession, warning that it was waning peoples' trust in

the judiciary’s ability to do justice.

Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, chair of the Governing Council of National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, said, “institutions must be allowed do their work without interference.

When this happens, quite often, the institutions working together but separately have the effect of stabilising the polity.

Presently, our proclivity for undermining and corrupting institutions is also undermining our ability to co-exist.''

Others who spoke were NBA branch’s Chairman, Mr Taiwo Taiwo; Mr Femi Falana;s former Judge of the World Court, Prince Bola Ajibola, SAN; Dr JoeOkei Odumakin, SAN, and Chief Emeka Ngige, SAN.

Police arrest suspected OPC leader

BY EVELYN USMAN

I

KEJA—LAGOS State Police Command, yesterday, said it had arrested a suspected leader of the outlawed Odua

Cleric tasks FG on godliness, contentment

BY EBUN SESSOU

Ex-Military chief proffer solution to insecurity

munion.

He also urged the Federal Government to address issues of insecurity, which had eaten deep into the wealth of the nation.

Peoples Congess, OPC, over Monday’s attack on a congregation of Hausa in the Idi-Araba area of the state.

The invaders, it was gathered, attacked the worshippers with broken bottles, cutlasses and other weapons during their evening prayer.

It was, however, gathered that the attack may not be unconnected with the attack of Southerners in the northern parts of the country.

Residents of Idi-Araba, it was gathered, fled their

homes to avoid a repeat of the February 2002 ethnic conflict between the Yoruba and Hausa, which led to loss of lives and wanton destruction of property .

Spokesman for the Command, Mr Joseph Jaiyeoba, who confirmed the arrest, added that policemen were on ground and patrolling the area while efforts were on to arrest the fleeing hoodlums. ''Investigation is in progress at the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, Yaba.''

VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012—49

Head, Corporate Marketing, Donald Etim; Managing Director, Nicholas Shin and Head, Service Unit, Raymond Olatokun, all of Samsung Electronics West Africa during a briefing to announce the commencement of Samsung 24 Month Warranty Service in Lagos.

L-R: Ms. Antonia Obeya and Mr. Olawale Edun – both representing the committee of friends of the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Mallam Sanusi, at a press conference in Lagos, on the turbaning of Sanusi as Dan Majen Kano by Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero,yesterday

Dana crash: Lagos demolishes 5 buildings

By KINGSLEY ADEGBOYE

D

EMOLITION of the five buildings affected by the ill-fated Dana plane that crash landed in Iju/Ishaga area of Lagos metropolis commenced, yesterday afternoon, after three days of evacuation of debris of the plane,corpses and fallen structures.

Vanguard learnt that Julius Berger cranes were used to evacuate the printing machines from a warehouse designated for demolition to avoid the machinery and equipment being damaged by the bull-dozers. Our visit to the site witnessed the demolition exercise which took less two hours to level the affected structures.

We also learnt that 35 people displaced by the plane crash were relocated to Agbowa Relief Camp outside Ikorodu by Lagos

State Government pending arrangements for their accommodation in the future.

Governor Babatunde Fashola who visited the crash scene on Monday morning told the displaced residents that state government would come to their

rescue by relocating them for the time being to the state’s Relief Camp at Agbowa, and the relocation order was effected as early as possible yesterday morning by Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA).

ASHINGTON — US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, Monday, sent condolences to the people of Nigeria following the death of more than 150 people in a plane crash in Lagos.

Clinton said in a statement released by her spokeswoman: “The United States extends its deepest condolences to those who lost family and loved ones in yesterday’s plane crash in Lagos, Nigeria. We stand with the people of Nigeria at this difficult time and we are prepared to assist the Nigerian governC M Y K

By GODWIN ORITSE

B

ARELY four days af ter the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, announced the arrest of an oil tanker, MT Floris, for allegedly carrying about over 200,000 litres of suspected illegally refined Automative Gas Oil, AGO, on board, another tanker, MT Alyarmouk was

••Ill-fated plane was air worthy—NAMA

By LAWANI MIKAIRU

M

ANAGING Direc tor of Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, Engr. Nnamdi Udo, yesterday, confirmed that the ill-fated Dana plane that crashed on Sunday at IjuIshaga was air worthy and qualified to fly.

Udo who spoke in an interview segment of Africa Independent Television, AIT, said in reaction to Dana Airlines statement that the plane in question made early morning flight to Abu-

ja and a return flight to Lagos later, that there was no way aviation authorities, especially NAMA, would allow an aircraft that is not air worthy to fly in Nigeria airspace.

He said the Dana MD 83 had excellent take off from Abuja and was cruising at right altitude and had good communication contacts with the control towers, adding: "When it was 11 nautical miles from Lagos it was able to establish contact with Lagos control tower

••US condoles Nigeria over crash

W

NIMASA, arrest Libya-flagged ship for illegal trading

ment in its investigation of this tragic accident.”

Earlier, at the start of two days of bilateral talks in Washington, US Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns said the meeting was taking place “against a sad and tragic backdrop.”

He told a forum hosted by the US Institute of Peace: “Let me extend once again our deepest and sincerest sympathies to the families and friends of those who lost their lives in the terrible plane crash in Lagos yesterday.” The two-day talks will focus on good governance and transparency, as

well as regional security cooperation, energy and investment and food security.

Some of those among the Nigerian delegation had lost friends and relatives when the engines failed on a Dana Air MD83 flying to Lagos from Abuja. Nigerian Foreign Minister Olugbenga Ashiru, in his opening remarks to the meeting of the US-Nigeria Binational Commission, said, “Our hearts go out to the families of those who lost their loved ones in the plane crash in Lagos."

before the emergency call and disappearance from radar."

It will be recalled that Dana Airlines, Monday, explained that their aircraft the McDonnell Douglas (MD83) aircraft with registration number 5N-RAM, despite being 22 years old was still serviceable and operational.

Captain Oscar Wilson, Director of Flight Operation of DANA who explained the airline’s schedule the day it crashed said that the aircraft had flown to Ibadan on Saturday without hitches contrary to rumours that it was undergoing repairs.

He said that Sunday was a different story entirely as the aircraft had started operations as early as 7.47am Captain Wilson said: “On Sunday, 5N-RAM flew at 7.47am left Lagos to Abuja on flight 999 and Abuja back to Lagos on Flight 998.

The aircraft went back to Abuja flight 993 and was coming back before the fatal flight 992. No aircraft would go if not in perfect condition. We don’t take risks with people’s lives. I did the test flight myself, there was nothing wrong with the aircraft, it was okay.”

arrested, weekend, in Lagos for allegedly operating illegally on Nigerian waters.

Sources confirmed, yesterday, that MT Alyarmouk, which is flying Libyan flag, was arrested by the Nigerian Navy in a joint operation with NIMASA after the shops crew put up resistance.

Although details of the arrest were still sketchy, sources within the nation’s maritime industry confirmed that NIMASA and Navy jointly effected the arrest of the Libyan ship.

Though it could not be ascertained whether the ship was loaded with any petroleum product or crude oil, she is however said to have capacity for about 2.4million barrels of oil.

Petroleum products Vanguard gathered that “at the end of the resistance, about five suspects, including the captain were rounded up on board the ship.” .

Some master mariners who also confirmed the development, however, expressed doubt that the ship had either crude or petroleum products.

One of them specifically noted that the ship’s only offence may be the fact that she had no clearance to sail into Nigerian waters. "If that is the case, it a serious enough offence,” he stated.

Vanguard gathered that although MT Alyarmouk was arrested, weekend, she may have been on Nigerian waters, undetected since

about May 23 when she was expected to have sailed into Nigeria.

The unlucky ship is indeed a crude oil carrier, built in 2008, with gross tonnage of 61342 tonne and DeadWeight of 116039 tonne.

It will be recalls that MT MT Floris was arrested along with her captain and chief engineer, Capt Martins Odedele and Engr Alex Ebinum respectively and nine other crew.

According to NIMASA, during questioning, Capt Odedele had confirmed the illegality of the transaction, but he reportedly claimed that he was an emergency captain and so was unaware of the illegality of the trip until he got to the l o c a t i o n .

The captain said the vessel is owned by Jowal Dreams Marine Limited also confirmed that it was the owner of the company, one Joshua Adewale, that sent them on the mission.

The agency had also revealed that further investigations confirmed that the product was loaded at Akassa, a community near Brass in Bayelsa State, known notoriously for providing covers and opportunities for owners and operators of illegal refining facilities.

Vanguard also confirmed that just as in the case of MT Floris, who were whisked away to the Naval base in Apapa for questioning, the five persons who were arrested over the weekend on the Libyan tanker are already in the custody of naval authorities.

50—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY,

JUNE 6, 2012

Proper cleansing is the first step towards healthy skin B Y SOLA OGUNDIPE

M

ANY people say they have sensitive skin because certain skin care products, or household products that contact their skin, cause stinging, burning, redness, and/or tightness. Although they have no visible effects after contact with a product, it always makes their skin feel uncomfortable.

Even dermatologists, doctors specialising in skin, consider the diagnosis of sensitive skin when they see skin reactions such as pustules, skin bumps, and/or skin erosion or observe excessively dry skin, which doesn't adequately protect nerve endings on the skin and may lead to skin reactions from cosmetics or skin care products.

Skin problem could also arise from noticing a tendency to blushing and skin flushing, which may also be signs of sensitive skin. There are many causes of sensitive skin, however, the most certain way to find out if you have sensitive skin, or if there is another cause for your skin condition is to see a dermatologist.

Dermatologists say that people's sensitive skin responds differently to different cleansing methods. But most agree that "deodorant" soap or highly fragranced soap contains strong detergents and should not be used on the face.

Soap-free cleansers such as mild cleansing bars and sensitive-skin bars, along with most liquid facial cleansers, have a lower pH than soaps. They have less potential for facial skin irritation, along with cleansing creams and disposable facial washcloths. Moisturizers help

skin retain moisture so it resists drying and abrasion.

However, there is good news for Nigerians with sensitive skin as Thompson & Grace Pharmaceuticals Ltd. represents its Sebamed range of soap-free products into the Nigerian market.

Speaking at the media presentation in Lagos, the company's Managing Director/Chief Executive, Mr. Isaac Thompson Amos highlighted the essence of a skinfriendly cleanser in normal body care routine.

"Sebamed is super brand from Germany conceptualized a special product with the philosophy based on pH 5.5. the products are ideal for medicinal and scientific skin care.

"The pH value of 5.5, helps to develop the skin's protective acid mantle," he asserted, noting that the skin's natural acid mantle has a pH value of 5.5 and protects the sensitive skin against the effects of bacteria, fungi and other harmful substances found in the environment. "The cleansing and moisturizing products in the range, with a

• Regular skin care with the right cleansers is secret to good skin health. pH value of 5.5, help protect this mantle, especially in babies which develops in the first three months of life."

Based on the premise that there can scarcely be a stage in life when it is more important to have skin care products to trust, Amos said individual and regular skin care is important for everybody's defense against the noxious influences of the ever increasing environmental stress to the skin.

"Sebamed offers you a com-

plete assortment of personal care products with the physiological pH value of 5.5 to support the ecological balance of the skin's acid mantle and its significant barrier function in disease prevention."

Stressing the importance of pH 5.5 for healthy skin, Mr. Michael Vatter, the Area Sales Manager, Export Personnel, observed that a regular processing of precursors of the skin barrier requires a pH of 5.5,

Child health: P&G sponsors 7 doctors to Cincinnati

I

B Y CHIOMA OBINNA

N an effort to boost child care in the country, Procter and Gamble’s Pampers brand is sponsoring seven Nigerian paediatric doctors to the United States of America (USA) for observership and research scholar programmes.

The programme is part of a partnership between the Cincinnati Children’s Hospi-

tal Medical Center (CCHMC) and Pampers – with an objective of contributing towards improvement in the healthy development of infants and children worldwide.

Six paediatricians will benefit from the ‘observership scholarships’ while one would take part in the research programme.

The programmess would enable these doctors share knowledge on medical advances and administrative innovations at the Cincinnati Children’s and other hospital institutions in the surrounding area. The beneficiaries of this programme would be selected from hospitals across Nigeria through collaboration between CCHMC and PAN.

Pink Pearl Foundation takes free breast, cervical cancer to mosques

T

OWARDS curtainling the menace of breast and cervical cancer in Nigeria, Pink Pearl Foundation has taken its awareness campaign to mosques in Lagos.

The session featured a lecture delivered by one of the foundation’s medical professional, Dr. Vivian Ochilogu who maintained that early detection is key to survival.

Dr. Tope Jones of the Foundation demonstrated to the women the techniques on how to perform proper breast self-examination.

The programme also featured a free breast cancer screening and free training session during which five persons were diagnosed of breast abnormalities out of 53 screened.

Spokesperson for Pink Pearl Foundation, Grace Agbanajelu remarked "what C M Y K

as neutral or higher pH values interfere negatively with the lipid production and thus with the maintenance of the barrier.

"Skin cleansing with neutral or alkaline products disturbs the physiological acid mantle and increases pre-existing dehydration and barrier impairment in sensitive skin. At a pH value of 5.5 the moisturizing effect of skin care products is maximized," he stressed.

Designed and especially well suited for sensitive and problematic skin and recommended for normal to oily skin, Amos argued that pH 5.5 is the secret to healthy skin. "Say no to soap with sebamed, he noted, pointing out that soap-based skin care products are simply too harsh for sensitive skin and breakdown the skin's natural protective layer (the acid mantle).

Unlike soap and other cleansers, sebamed products are soap-free and formulated to precisely match your skin's natural pH of 5.5. "In fact, Sebamed is mild enough that it is trusted by many users with acne, eczema, rosacea and other problematic skin."

The bottom line, however, is that sensitive skin, in this environment, has come to mean people who have allergic or irritant reactions to products mostly, but can also mean people who develop rashes in response to the external environment.

do people do after the screening? In as much as we try to keep our eyes on the goal of the foundation by its founder , Mrs. Orode Ryan Okpu, which we are working towards future projects of extending the NGO’s arm to the next level of establishing centres across Nigeria. We want to drive it home, into the hearts of people; the need to encourage women with abnormalities to take the next level of treatment seriously.”

Chief Imam of the mosque, Alhaji Saadallah Bello said it was part of their routine and sermon to encourage the women to own up to regular checks and also help others.

In his views, P&G West Africa’s Associate Marketing Director for Baby Care, Jaweria Ali, said “Pampers is committed to advancing the happy, healthy development of infants and children; this is why the brand entered into this partnership. By giving these seven Nigerian doctors the opportunity to enhance their medical expertise through the research and observership programmes in CCHMC, Pampers would be helping Nigerian children have access to even better health care.”

Head of External Relations for Procter and Gamble West Africa, Mrs. Temitope Iluyemi said Procter and Gamble recognises there are several challenges that face the Nigerian child today and it is focused on programs that help improve life for the Nigerian child and that contribute to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goal’s.

“It is aimed at nurturing child health and development and provides an excellent platform for the transfer of global best practices in child health care and management from CCHMC - to the benefit of the Nigerian child.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012—51

Dana Air disaster: Potential health hazards loom

E

By SOLA OGUNDIPE

VEN before the pilot of the ill-fated Dana aircraft sent out the Mayday emergency distress signal just minutes before the plane crashlanded on a residential settlement in Iju-Isaga area of Lagos on Sunday June 3, 2012, there was already growing global concerns about aircraft safety and the management of mishap responses whenever they occur.

The reason for this was not farfetched. By all standards, Nigeria had already had its fair share of fatalities arising from airline disasters in the last decade or so, concerns about management of potentially hazardous effects arising from accidents, such as the latest in question, were not exactly new.

But what could be described as new is the level of worry from utilisation of fibre-reinforced com- Metallic part of the crashed plane posites in primary and secondary ported on the irritant and toxic effects structural components in confrom fibrous matter and other adverse struction of most modern commercial health effects by firefighters and resaircraft. Vanguard Features, VF, gathcue personnel responding to post ered that fibre-reinforced polymer crash aircraft fires. These range from composites are lightweight functional skin and eye irritation to severe ressubstitutes for metals in civilian and piratory problems. For instance, firemilitary aircraft with a superior fighters, rescue crew and other emerstrength-to-weight ratio and corrosion gency personnel and even bystandresistance; because they are lighter ers express concerns about long-term than their metallic counterparts, they effects from these exposures. are preferred.

Potential health risks are normally But a downside to this development associated with fires involving fiberis the tendency to invoke aviation fuelreinforced polymer composites include induced fires combined or not comthe fibrous dust and airborne particles bined with explosion of the fiber-rereleased during burning that can be inforced composite materials. Accordinhaled and deposited in the deep ing to aviation experts, such developlung region and the sharp fiber fragments have high predisposition to ments that penetrate the skin. present known and potentially unReports concerning the nature and known environmental, safety, and severity of short and long term adverse health hazards. effects are now rife. Records of varyBesides the immediate trauma from ing degrees of adverse health effects, fire and crushing impact of the crash, ranging from eye and skin irritation the danger of exposure to airborne to severe respiratory problems are not carbon fibers that are released in the uncommon. An aviation expert told VF post crash fires are a force to contend that the primary fire hazard of interiwith. Findings by VF reveal that poor and secondary composites used in tential dangers to the environment aircraft cabin and fuselage compofrom the crashed Dana aircraft may not nents are the heat release rate and the have ended with extinguishing of the toxicity of the gaseous combustion fires or evacuation of the bodies. products from the burning polymer Investigation shows there may still matrix. be need to worry over the three basic Aircraft cabin occupants are exposed health hazards from fibre-reinforced to this hazard even during an impactpolymer composites in any plane survivable accident. No doubt, the incrash-fire situation. Apart from dancineration of external structural aircraft gers from sharp splinters of exposed components results in hazardous conmaterial, there is the need to be conditions for fire, rescue personnel and cerned about inhalation of fibrous dust investigation and recovery teams in dispersed by the fire or blast, and the the immediate post crash situation. toxic gases generated during burning Things such as release of a mixture of polymer matrix resins incinerated of gaseous, particulate, and fibrous in the aircraft structure. Inhalation combustion products of unknown comhazard from these fibers, it was gathposition poses unique protection probered, poses the greatest potential for lems due to lack of proper underadverse health effects on humans, standing of the hazards related to comsays a medical expert who confirmed posite materials.The short and long to VF that exposure to smaller partiterm health effects from combustion of cles such as asbestos can cause conorganic materials become airborne ditions ranging from pulmonary fibroduring the burning of structural apsis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma plications in fibre-reinforced polymer a type of cancer of the lungs, noting composites in commercial transport airthat chronic toxicity is associated with craft structures is another hazard on this type of exposure. which information is required.

In the wake of the Dana airline disPast airline aster, adoption of conservative proteccrashes tion measures in absence of detailed knowledge of the health effects of carUnknown to many, incidents from bon fibers released in aircraft fires is past airline crashes have actually redesperately desired.

52—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY,

JUNE 6, 2012

Senate raises alarm over desertification, erosion and flooding •Vows to adopt stringent oversight on 2012 Environment Budget implementation

By HENRY UMORU BUJA- THE Senate, yesterday, raised alarm over the growing rate of environmental threats of desertification in the North, devastating hydraulic coastal erosion in the East and high level of flooding in the West.

According to the Senate, if serious urgent attention was not taken by the Federal Government, the country stands the risk of being choked by these environmental hazards.

In a statement signed by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology, Senator Bukola Saraki, as part of activities to mark this year’s World Environment day, the Senate vowed to ensure that there was a very stringent oversight mechanism on the 2012 Budget implementation for the Environment Ministry, its

A

Departments, Parastatals and agencies, adding that the move will ensure that money meant for projects were utilized effectively and efficiently.

Saraki who noted that desertification alone eats up about six kilometres of arable annually in the northern part of the country, stressed that this year’s celebration was significant as it comes at a time of the year when the world was getting prepared for the Earth Summit and when it appears that the European fiscal instability challenge seems to caste a shadow on the celebration.

According to him, the celebration should help bring out the growing vulnerability of Africa to environmental challenges especially climate change and the need for all countries to act positively and fast if a global framework must be created for the tackling of these challenges.

Senator Saraki who recommended that a framework for green economy development through technology transfer and the adoption of a holistic mitigation policy for the H said: “In the mist of these challenges however, Nigeria has great potential to leverage on to create a green economy through clean

Change of UNILAG to MAULAG

Mr President should have built a brand new university to name after Abiola like Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; Nnamdi Azikiwe University among others than renaming famous UNILAG after Abiola. UNILAG, UNN,U.I etc are the most recognised names outside the shores of Nigeria, and hence our pride. The names shouldn’t be toyed with just for selfish political motives. Mr. President should rethink and reverse his decision on this.

Frank 08063897516

Democracy and MKO

Still on Azazi’s sack

Abiola

Mr. MKO Abiola was a philanthrophist and a business mongol, but please did Abiola die solely because of Nigerian democracy or mainly because he wanted his mandate at the

,

Metempirical and empirical facts show that travelling by air, sea and land in Nigeria is laced with gory, grisly and precipitous gallimaufry. Notwithstanding the principles of forces majeure, pervading prevalence of psychotic corruption, precipitating rudderless , cluelessness and planless will continue to decimate millions of Nigerians. We need attitudinal reorientation at all level and fear of God Almighty. May the souls of the DANA crash victims rest in peace.

Chief Bobson Gbinijie 08058231669

Azazi made a statement that was obviously premised on privileged information, which only a top security personnel can have. if the PDP decideds to pile pressure on the executive for his sack, it is left for

Notwithstanding the principles of forces majeure, pervading prevalence of psychotic corruption, precipitating rudderless , cluelessness and planless will continue to decimate millions of Nigerians. We need attitudinal reorientation at all level and fear of God Almighty. May the souls of the DANA crash victims rest in peace

presidential poles June12,1993?

Mike 08063897516

,

of

Pressure mounts to sack Azazi

Calling for the sack of General Azazi at this time is needless . The National Security Adviser merely said the truth.

The zoning policy of the PDP is responsible for the worsening Boko Haram insurgency.

But if Owoye Azazi feels he is handicapped in performing his assignment due to certain forces, the best option would be for him to resign with dig-

problems, the lawmakers are “doing our best to create the necessary legislative structure to successfully guide us through”, adding that the committee has initiated a Bill on gas flaring prohibition to accelerate the immediate stoppage of gas flaring in the country, just as a Bill to deal with oil spill and degradation of the Niger Delta area was initiated through an amendment of the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) Act 2006.

Hon Nse Ekpenyong, PDP Deputy Chairman presenting Chairmanship aspirant and vice during the inauguration of campaign in Esit Eket in Akwa Ibom State

nity. unfortunately, Nigerians occupying top jobs would rather prefer to be disgraced out of office.

Anonymous writes in from via email

DANA Air crash

energy development. Let us resolve to immediately tackle gas flaring and cleaning up of decades of oil spills in the Niger Delta. I ask you all to join hands with us to raise the Nigerian green wall to challenge desertification to standstill. Let us bring gully erosion to a halt through watershed management and save our collective ecology.”

He said that as part of the Senate’s move to address these

the President to do the right thing. Jonathan should identify those that want his government to fail.

Segun writes in via email

Unlawful delay of police salary

The police force in Delta State Police command Asaba, is not finding the delay of their salaries by the above bank funny.

The officers that are receiving their salary on the above mentioned bank are deeply worried over the unnecessary delay of their monthly salary while other banks must have paid

long before. Ecobank should address the situation.

Sgt. Abi 08189638207

Debate on tenure elongation

Though it is an incontestable truth that Mr. President has the constitutional right to re-contest for the office which he occupies currently in 2015 if he desires.

But what most ordinally Nigerians do not want at this time when he has not really completed half of his tenure is the on- going political horsetrading by some PDP leaders when the nation is facing serious economic and security challenges. Mr. President should realise that Nigerians voted massively for him because it was widely believed in Nigeria that he will restore Nigeria back to her glorious days. I strongly believe that if President Jonathan delivers up tp 70 percent of his campaign promises Nigerians will on their own demand for his return to office come 2015 not minding what few political hawks thinks or feels. President Jonathan

should concentrate on his job and allow Nigerians to decide his fate when 2015 comes.

B. Ezenwadigwu 08182266401

Merging of EFCC/ICPC

The alleged merging of scrap EFCC/ ICPC should not be implemented for the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians.

We all know that our corrupt leaders, politicians and treasury looters will always want to make sure the merging take place so they can loot our treasury. God help Nigeria.

Alhaji U. 07057789779

FG to dialogue with the Boko Haram sect Those calling for roundtable talks with Boko Haram should understand that members of the sect are not normal people, and whoever wants to dine with them needs a long spoon. Aside this, what the sect’s members are asking for are unrealistic, so negotiating with them is out of it.

Anonymous 08056278553

SAYINGS OF OUR ELDERS 1.The stream may dry up but the water course retains its name.

2. Silence is also a statement.

Osagie Joshua O. (08036986103), 29B, Agbonrofo Street, Off Etefe Road, GRA Benin City, Send us your Sayings of Our Elders. They must be African sayings or proverbs. Biblical or English proverbs are unacceptable. You will be paid N100.00 for every saying published. Address your sayings to: The Co-ordinator, Sayings of Our Elders,Vanguard

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012 — 53

Frenc atc h... French Open Watch renchh Open W Watc atch...

Federer yells ‘shut up’ Djokovic survives Tsonga’s fright to fans N

...Hits semis

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he French love Roger Federer more than they love most things, Jerry Lewis and being uppity about Americans excepted.

The all-time Grand Slam leader didn’t reciprocate while going down two sets to Juan Martin Del Potro on Tuesday.

After some fans tittered while shots from both players painted the line during a crucial point in a second-set tiebreaker, Federer netted a forehand and then shouted “shut up” at the crowd. It was a rare display of emotion for the usually genteel

U

S Open champion Sam Stosur has become the first woman into the French Open semi-finals with a 6-4 61 victory over Dominika Cibulkova on Court Philippe Chatrier.

The Australian, who lost to Francesca Schiavone in the final in

Federer and one that was especially surprising given the Gallic love for the world No. 3.

Whatever fire boiled inside of Federer after that point, it worked. He came back from two sets down for just the seventh time in his career and defeated the Argentine 3-6, 7-6 (4), 62, 6-0, 6-3.

Federer facee Novak Djokovic in Friday ’s semifinal. It’s the 31st major semifinal of his career, tying him with Jimmy Connors. Federer already broke Connors’ record for most Grand Slam match victories earlier in the tournament. He is the oldest men’s semifinalist at Roland Garros in 21 years.

ovak Djokovic kept alive his Grand Slam hopes at the French Open on Tuesday, saving four match points against Jo -Wilfried Tsonga before pulling off

a nail-biting 6-1, 5-7, 57, 7-6 (8/6), 6-1 quarterfinal win.

After his triumphs in London, New York and Melbourne, the Serb is bidding to become just

Djokovic, but seldom has he been run so ragged as he was at times by the powerful Frenchman, who had let slip four match points in the fourth set.

•Djokovic

Stosur through to semis 2010, was too powerful for 5ft 3in Cibulkova, the conqueror of world number one Victoria Azarenka in the fourth round.

The Slovakian

the third man to hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time and the first in 43 years.

The win over Tsonga makes it 26 straight match victories in Grand Slam tennis for

mounted a brief comeback in the opening set, pulling back from 52 down to 5-4, and twice she had a chance to level, but Stosur held firm and clinched the

game with two massive forehands. It was a shot that Cibulkova simply had no answer to, and in the second set Stosur breezed through, sealing victory at the

first opportunity when her opponent netted a drop shot.

The 28-year-old sixth seed has now made the semi-finals at Roland Garros in three of the past four years, and will be a hot favourite to reach another final having seen all the other

big names in her half of the draw fall away.

In the last four Stosur will play Italy ’s Sara Errani, who claimed her first victory over a top10 player in 29 attempts by defeating German 10th seed Angelique Kerber 6-3 7-6 (7/2).

TRANSFER UPD ATE....TRANSFER UPD ATE UPDA UPDA

Man Utd announce Kagawa deal currently on international duty and played in Japan’s 3-0 World Cup qualifying round victory over Oman at the weekend.

“Manchester United is

delighted to announce that it has agreed terms with both Borussia Dortmund and Shinji Kagawa for his transfer to the club,” said a United statement.

Ronaldo eager to finish He needs to career at Real Mourinho. be here,” he said.

R

•Kagawa

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anchester United have made their first signing of the summer after confirming they have “ reached agreement” to buy Shinji Kagawa from Borussia Dortmund.

Negotiations have been on-going with the

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Japan international for a number of weeks.

The deal is subject to a medical and work permit, although this is thought to be a formality.

It is not anticipated the deal will be completed until the end of the month as Kagawa is

eal Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed that he wants to see out his career at the Santiago Bernabeu.

“If it were up to me, I would stay at Madrid until the end of my career,” he told Marca.

“But it does not depend on me.”

The Portugal international also spoke of his delight to see Real coach Jose Mourinho commit his future to the club until 2016.

“It was perfect, I am happy for that. A club like Madrid must have a top coach like

“It seems clear that Madrid would not win as many titles without Mourinho as they would with him on the bench.”

Ronaldo has been tipped as the frontrunner in the race for the Ballon d’Or, and thinks that he is in a good position to beat Barcelona star Lionel Messi for the prestigious accolade.

“I do not want to think too much about it, but I cannot deny that I feel a great excitement with the fact that I may win it, because it is every player’s dream,” the 27year-old said.

•Redknapp

Redknapp wants Spurs action

ottenham manager Harry Redknapp has T urged the club to hurry up and offer him a new contract - if they think he is worth it.

The 65-year-old picked Spurs up from the bottom of the Premier League to an eighth-placed finish after taking over in October 2008 and has since achieved two fourths and a fifth spot in his three full seasons at the helm.

“I’ve never had a problem with Daniel Levy,” he said on Sky Sports News. “I’ve probably got on as well

with Daniel as I could any... People keep talking about our relationship. I’ve never had a minute’s problem with Daniel Levy in terms of falling out with him or whatever. I don’t even know where that comes from.

“The simple situation is, I’ve got a year left on my contract. It’s up to Tottenham whether they want to extend that contract or not. If they don’t extend it and I go into my last year, it’s not an easy one when players know you’ve only got a year left."

54 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6 , 2012

Drogba tto o retire af orld Cup aftter W World I

VORIAN star Didier Drogba has revealed that he will resign from international football but only after competing at the 2014 world cup.

The Scorpions of The Gambia who opened their Group C encounter with a 1-1 tie against the Atlas Lions of Morocco at the weekend will travel to Darussalam where they are expected to face the Tifer Stars of Tanzania this weekend before a double legged affair with the Elephants of Ivory Coast in June next year.

The Cote d’Ivoire captain Didier Drogba says he is accomplishing his last international assignments with the Elephants and will say goodbye to the outfit after the 2014 World Cup which means he will be available when they take on the Scorpions in Banjul provided he stays fit.

His presence alone could see Banjul’s Independence Stadium filled to its brim on match-day.

Drogba said he would do his best to help the team reach the Brazil 2014 and leave a memorable legacy because it will be the last time local fans will see him in the Ivorian jersey.

F

UNBEATABLE . . . Super Eagles striker John Utaka shows resilience as he vies with the Warriors of Namibia in their 2014 World Cup qualifier last Sunday at U.J.Esuene Stadium Calabar. Eagles won 1-0. Photo: Sylva Eleanya.

HE Nigeria Football Federation on Tuesday described as sheer fiction, a report in a national sports daily of the same day, that the sum of $80,000 belonging to the Federation went missing.

The story claimed that the sum went missing either during the U-20 Women’s Team’s trip to Kinshasa for a 2012 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup qualifying game or on the team’s return, without being certain of the specifics.

A furious NFF General Secretary, Barrister Musa Amadu said the blatant falsehood was shocking because the said national sports paper is highly regarded by the leadership of the NFF. “The NFF is highly disappointed for three reasons: The sports paper is one we have regard for as being credible and factual; there is no iota of truth to the story and coming at this time that we are at C M Y K

ORMER national shot put champion,Vivian Chukwuemeka at the weekend shot herself into the top of the favourites list for the shot put title at the 66th Cross River state/All Nigeria Open Athletics championships when it gets underway later this month in Calabar.

Chukwuemeka,a former Commonwealth Games queen who has been playing second fiidle to Chinwe Okoro,the reigning national queen on the pre-Calabar championships national top list threw a distance of 17.64m,a new personal season’s best to win the Jim Bush Southern California Championships held at the University of Southern California.

The 13-time national shot put queen has thus jumped to the top of the 2012 national list and favourite to reclaim the title she lost without a

Ogunjobi, Etim Esin tip Eagles for greater heights

O

NE of Nigeria’s most experienced former footballer and administrator, Chief Taiwo Ogunjobi, has heaped praise on the

Our money is not missing — NFF

T

Vivian bounces back to reckoning

the beginning of a busy and very important month in Nigeria football, it is disheartening.

“If our money was missing, we would be the first to declare so and state where and how that happened.

national team over its victory against Namibia last weekend, even as the man dubbed Maradona in his playing days, Etim Esin, says

Eagles celebrate Calabar Vincent Enyeama, who fans

S

UPER Eagles players and officials have continued to heap praises on football fans in the Cross River state capital, Calabar, for the massive support accorded the team, during its World Cup qualifier opener against the Brave Warriors of Namibia last Sunday.

The players tribute was led by skipper Joseph Yobo and standin captain,

We will clip Eagles wings Continues from B/P end .

Natusaye echoed the sentiments of his coach Kinnah Phiri as he said the team has been training together and they will go into the match with a superb record having never lost at home .

“We know it is not going to be easy but with the preparations and motivation we have had we don’t fear any team including Nigeria and it will be on their own peril if they come to Malawi hoping to upset us”

the Eagles have proven that the tears of not qualifying for the last Nations Cup are gradually being wiped away.

Ogunjobi, who has

“We have never lost at home and we have 100 percent chance to beat Nigeria when they come at home we will play the game just like any other without concentrating on their star players as it will be one player for one player ”Natusaye told SuperSport.com Natusaye is one of the five foreign based players in the team that has been in superb form under the tutalage of coach Kinnah Phiri who has been at the helm since 2008

said it’s been long time that they witnessed such massive backing even when the goals were not flowing. “In some other cities we would have been booed when we failed to score but the fans stood by us throughout the 90minutes we must commend them”, Yobo said.

bossed several clubs like Shooting Stars, Gabros International and Julius Berger, as well as being the NFA Secretary General under Alhaji Ibrahim Galadima and the Technical Committee Chairman of the last NFF board under Sanni Lulu, said he was thrilled at the display of the players, despite obvious frustration thrown at them by Namibia.

The former Shooting Stars captain however called on Head Coach, Stephen Keshi, not to change his programme.

fight to Mariam Ibekwe in 2010 due to doping suspension. At the same championship,Lawretta Ozoh,a member of goldwinning Nigeria’s 400 relay team to the 17th African Athletics Championships two years ago in Nairobi,Kenya ran a new 22.98 seconds personal best in the 200m and 11.46 seconds in the 100m.

CAF appoints Muazu, match commissioner Continues from B/P Alhaji Sunny Badru, who passed away recently.

Mr Suleyman is a member of the Executive Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation and the Chairman of the Referees Committee. He was an active referee from l986 - 1997 and served as the Secretary Sokoto Referees Society; Secretary Sokoto State Referees Council; Chairman Sokoto State Referees Council and the Coordinator Nigeria Referees Association, North-West Zone.

Posts held include Secretary, Sokoto State Sports Council 1993; Director of Sports l995 2007; General Manager Sokoto Central Market 2007 - 2008 and Permanent Secretary Sokoto State Government 2008 to date.

The chairman of the NFF Alhaji Aminu Maigari has since written on behalf of the board to congratulate Alhaji Suleyman.

How Europe can make Eagles super again Continues from B/P Chairman, would not speak on the match again but on what the federation should do to make Nigeria football strong again. Said he: “ Keshi is now doing what we used to do. The result of what Nigeria did (under Westerhof) was the level our football reached after USA ’94.

The federation must look for money to camp and train the local players for they are the bedrock of our football. But it is not only about camping them at home. They must embark on training tours outside Nigeria. It could

be Europe or South America. They need the exposure and must play as many matches as possible. It was difficult beating Namibia because they (Namibia) went to prepare in Germany. You can’t say that you didn’t see the touch of their training tour in that match because we heard that their players were all local players, playing in their league. Namibia trained in Germany and flew from there to Nigeria. They learnt a lot and developed confidence too because they went to Europe. We did things like this before and should revert to them if we want to encourage Keshi and

his crew and make our football strong again.

There are many other things that they could do but since Keshi is using the local boys after the failure of many of the so called stars let them be serious about building a new solid team. Let them take the team out now. In Europe they have many training facilities, they will play friendlies if the tours are well orgainsed and the players will be exposed to many things in the game. Here, we don’t even have good pitches not to talk of other facilities. Go to Europe if you want Eagles to be super again.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012— —55

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VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012

We will clip Eagles wings — Malawi

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ALAWI’S Super Sport United ace

Natusaye Nyondo has they travel to Blantye for warned the Nigerian a World cup 2014 enSuper Eagles not to ex- counter over the week pect any easy time when CContinues on Page 54

Top ssttories •Super Eagles depart for Malawi on Thursday •Drogba to retire af orld Cup aftter W World •Our money is not missing — NFF •Vivian bounces back to reckoning SWEET RELIEF.......Switzerland’s Roger Federer celebrates after beating Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Potro in their Men’s Singles quaterfinals match at the French Open on June 5. Federer won 3-6, 6-7, 6-2, 6-0, 6-3. Photo: AFP

— Details Inside

How Europe can make Eagles super again •Kojo Williams tells NFF

BY ONOCHIE ANIBEZE

K

OJO Williams wel comed Nigeria’s 10 victory over Namibia in a 2014 World Cup TODAY'S

qualifier but he was not excited about their performance until he heard that seven of the players were based at home and playing in the Nigerian league. Five

PUZZLES

started the match and two came in as substitutes.

“That’s good,” he said, quickly adding “but that’s what we did before until we lost everything, lost the game and lost even the vision YESTERDAY'S

ANSWERS

to plan and do the right thing.”

Ejike Uzoenyi of Rangers, Egwueke of Warri Wolves, Henry Uche and Uche Kalu of Enyimba, Ruben of Kano Pillars, Godfrey Itama and Os-

hanuwa of Sunshine Stars played in the match and the likes of Sunday Mba of Wolves were on the bench.

Kojo, once Nigeria Football Association

CContinues on Page 54

CAF appoints Muazu, match commissioner

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HE Confederation of African Football, CAF has appointed Alhaji Muazu Suleyman as a member of the CAF Match Commissioner’s board replacing the late

CContinues on Page 54

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Treaty (4) 4 Consume (3) 6 Drench (4) 9 Limb (3) 10 Grumble (8) 11 Fruit (4) 14 Expire (3) 16 Bordered (5) 19 Stayed (8) 21 Deserve (5) 23 Maimed (8) 24 Challenged (5) 27 Ovum (3) 31 Travelled (4) 33 Briskness (8) 34 And not (3) 35 Refuse (4) 36 Owing (3) 37 Long (4)

DOWN 2 Soon (4) 3 Sort (4) 4 Inspected (8) 5 Marquee (4) 6 Agreeable (5) 7 Mineral (3) 8 Astound (5) 12 Tendency (5) 13 Smudge (5) 14 Obscure (3) 15 Weird (5) 17 Gridiron (5) 18 Shabby (5) 20 Shame (8) 22 Label (3) 25 Expiate (5) 26 Each (5) 28 Orchestra (4) 29 Grasp (4) 30 Stupefy (4) 32 Fellow (3)

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS ACROSS: 1, Coarse 5, Ascend 8, Perverse 9, Ship 10, Pep 12, Dread 15, Set 17, Air 18, Art 19, Wan 20, Exact 21, All 22, Spa 23, Ear 24, Ray 26, Muted 29, Toy 33, Stop 34, Identity 35, Brandy 36, Tawdry.

How to Play Sudoku

THE VIGILANTE

DOWN: 2, Obese 3, Rove 4, Error 5, Arena 6, Cast 7, Naive 10, Power 11, Pansy 12, Dream 13, Exalt 14, Dated 15, Start 16, Tally 25, After 27, Unify 28, Event 30, Outer 31, Span 32, Stow.

e-mail: rowolove@yahoo.co.uk

Place 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: 01-8944295. Advert Dept: 01-7924470; Hotline: 01-8737028; Abuja: 09-2341102, 09-2342704. 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