KILLING OF 29 STUDENTS: Schools shut in Yobe by Vanguard Media Limited

...towards a better life for the people

VOL. 25: NO. 61920

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

N150

MONDAY, JULY 8, 2013

Fulani herdsmen kill 34 in Benue

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NGF CRISIS:

President, Govs risk loss of immunity

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KILLING OF 29 STUDENTS:

Schools shut in Yobe •Jonathan, Mark, Tambuwal condemn killing •JTF in manhunt for killers, deploys soldiers in streets •EU condemns attack, offers to help •

BY KINGSLEY OMONOBI, BEN AGANDE & HENRY UMORU

BUJA—FOLLOW ING weekend massacre of 29 students and a teacher in Yobe State by Islamist terrorists, the state government, yes Continues on page 5

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COLUMNISTS:

DELE SOBOWALE

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LES LEBA

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OCHEREOME NNANNA

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PAUL BASSEY •P. 53

0U 0UV MEETING FOR JONATHAN—From right: Governors of Enugu, Ebonyi, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Abia, Delta and Bayelsa states: Mr. Sullivan Chime, Mr. Martin Elechi, Sen. Liyel Imoke, Chief Godswill Akpabio, Mr. Peter Obi, Chief Theodore Orji, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan and Chief Seriake Dickson in a group photograph shortly after the South-East/ South-South Governors' meeting at the Government House, Enugu, yesterday.

S-East, S-South 30 hospitalised govs pledge support after eating ugba delicacy for Jonathan •P.13

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US DAY—From right: Ambassador Jeffrey J. Hawkins, U.S Consul General; Oba Rilwan Akiolu, Oba of Lagos, and Erelu Abiola Dosumu, during the U.S Independence Day, held last Thursday in Ikoyi, Lagos. Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi.

KILLING OF 29 STUDENTS:

Schools shut in Yobe

sequently soldiers have other eminent Nigerians been deployed to the condemned the killings, streets in a massive terday, ordered clo - describing it as barbaric. manhunt for the killers. sure of all secondary Reacting to the massaMeanwhile, the Joint schools. This came as cre of the students, GovTask Force, JTF, has emPresident Goodluck ernor Ibrahim Geidam of barked on aggressive Jonathan; Senate Presi- patrol, cordon and Yobe State, yesterday, in dent David Mark and search of the state. Con- a statement “directed that all secondary schools in the state be closed down from Monday July 8, 2013 (today) BY PASTOR ITUAH until a new academic Happiness k eeps You Sweet, T rials k eep You session begins in SepStrong, Sorrows keep You Human, Failures keep You Humble, Success keeps You Glowing, But Only God tember.” The state government keeps You Going. You mean so much to your world. also called on the military to restore mobile phone service, saying it BY ELLA RANDLE was preventing resiInner guidance is heard like soft music in the dents from reporting night by those who have learned to listen suspicious activities. —Vernon Howard The attack early Saturday in the Mamudo disHIS beautiful story by Steve Goodier illustrates trict saw assailants — a valuable lesson about the need for right guidance in all that we do. Two friends went out to believed to be Boko play golf and wer e about to tee off , when one no - Haram Islamists — ticed that his partner had only one golf ball. “Don’t round up students and staff in a dormitory beyou have at least one other ball in case yours gets lost?” he asked. fore throwing explosives The man replied: “This is a very special golf ball. inside and opening fire, I won’t lose it so I don’t need another one.” said Haliru Aliyu of His friend look ed sceptical. “R eally? Well, what Potiskum General Hoshappens if you miss your shot and the ball goes in pital, quoting witnesses the lake?” who escaped. ”That’s okay,” he r eplied, “this special golf ball It was the third school floats. I’ll get it back. And if it gets lost among the attack in the region in bushes and shrubs, this special golf ball has a homrecent weeks; and secing beacon. I’ll find it. ond in Yobe. “And if it gets lost in the dark af ter sunset, no problem, this ball is florescent. I’ll be able to see it The military cut phone in the dark.” His friend seemed convinced. “ Wow, services in Adamawa, where did you get a golf ball like that anyway?”. Borno and Y obe states He replied: “I found it.” when troops were deHave you ever wished you had a guidance sysployed to the three states tem so that, when you lose your way, you know you won’t be lost for long? And the truth is – we do. We to flush out Boko Haram sect members following each have an inner guidance system, an invisible declaration of emercompass, hidden deep inside. W e each have the ability to find the answers we need, to find our way gency in the states. Satin life when we’re lost – to find our way back home. ellite phones have also Inner guidance enables and helps us look inside been banned, with the where we will find what guidance we need. Call it military saying insuran inner voice. Call it spiritual guidance. Call it a gents use them to plan gift. attacks..

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LIFEWORDS

TAKE HEART

Director of Defence Information, Brigadier General Chris Olukolade disclosed in a phone chat with Vanguard that the troops embarked on the cordon and search approach to track down perpetrators of the crime. While noting that increased security measures have been adopted to forestall any recurrence of what happened last Saturday, Olukolade said that troops are on 24 hours patrol, cordon and search to ensure that such evil act does not happen again Vanguard was told that prior to the killings, Yobe State had not experienced such acts to warrant what happened at the Government Secondary school. He added that the security agencies are on top of the situation. On his part, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal described the Yobe killing by unknown gunmen as ignoble, wicked and horrendous.

Jonathan condemns killings

President Goodluck Jonathan has described as wicked, horrific and barbaric the killing of over 30 students and a teacher at Government Secondary School in Mamudo village, Y obe State saying the attack was an indication that the war on terror is far from over. Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the P resident, Dr . Reuben Abati, said while the President sympathised with the affected families, he remained committed to routing out terrorists wherever they may be in the country. President Jonathan said the war on terror was still very much on and his government will not be undermined by any group or persons. “The killing is barbaric, completely wicked. Anybody who will target innocent children for any kind of grief or emotional dysfunction will certainly go to hell,” Dr Abati quoted the President as saying. He added: “Mr. President wants to assure Nigerians that these desperate Nigerians will be flushed out of the system. “Mr. President is committed to the protection of lives and property of all Nigerians and he wants to assure that the

war against terrorists has been launched and will continue and the Nigerian government is determined to put an end to this menace. “The President sympathises with the families affected and he stands by them at this moment of grief. The killing is most unfortunate, most regrettable, and Mr . President wants to assure Nigerians that any attempt by any group to undermine this government will be resisted” he said.

Tambuwal tasks security forces

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Aminu Tambuwal in a statement issued in Abuja at the weekend by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Malam Imam Imam, tasked security agencies to fish out perpetrators of the dastardly act and bring them to justice. He declared that no reason can be given to justify such dreadful act, pointing out that the gains recorded by security agencies in their battle against terror in the country in recent weeks should be built upon in order to protect the citizens at all times. Sympathising with families of the victims, Tambuwal urged Nigerians to be more vigilant and to help security agencies with useful information to secure their areas.

Let’s protect our children — Mark

Senate President David Mark, yesterday, also condemned the gruesome killings, describing the act as barbaric. In a statement by his Chief P ress Secretar y, Paul Mumeh, Senator Mark said: “Even in war situations, children and women are protected.

Killing children is akin to cutting down the future of a people. This is inhuman, barbaric and unacceptable to any right thinking member of the society. “For no reason, the lives of these promising children were needlessly cut down by the heartless people. This cannot be a way of life. Enough of these bloodshed”. Mark quoted from the Holy Bible to drive home his point that children deserve the protection and care no matter the circumstances. Specifically, he said Mathew 18 : 10 states: “Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my father which is in heaven while Mark 9:42 added “and whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a milestone were hanged about his neck and he were cast into the sea”. Senator Mark assured that the National Assembly would continue to give priority attention to appropriation to the security operatives to carry out their duties without hitches.

EU condemns attack

EU High Representative Catherine Ashton Sunday condemned “in the strongest possible terms the horrific murder by terrorists of some 30 innocent children and a teacher” early on Saturday morning in a school in Mamudo town in northeastern Nigeria. “I express my deepest sympathy to the families of the victims, and assure the people of Nigeria of my solidarity and determination to help them bring security, peace and reconciliation to the north,” she said in a statement yesterday.

6—Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 8, 2013

30 hospitalised after eating Ugba delicacy BY CHIDI NKWOPARA

WERRI — The joy of a family , residing in Graceland Housing Estate, Egbeada, Owerri, almost turned sour as no fewer than 30 of their guests ended up in hospital after eating the Igbo delicacy, Ugba. Va n g u a rd g a t h e r e d that the family (names withheld), invited their friends and relations to the c hristening ceremony of their child and they all retired to their Graceland Estate residence after service. A reliable source close to the family informed Vanguard that the delicacy was purchased from the Owerri main market. “The local delicacy was served to all the guests, numbering over 30. All of them enjoyed it but oblivious of the danger lurking around the corner,” the man recounted. According to him, feelers started trickling in that some of their guests had ended up in several hospitals, including the Federal Medical Centre, Owerri. A man, whose wife consumed the delicacy and who preferred anonymity, said his wife started stooling and vomiting later that evening and was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, Owerri. He s a i d h e w a s shocked to find that another woman, who was also a guest at the ceremony, was already admitted in the hospital for the same symptoms. It was further gathered at press time that medical doctors were still battling to save the lives of the baby ’s mother and her father in-law. Vanguard recalls that only recently, eight persons lost heir lives in Ngor Okpalaeke Local Council Area of Imo State after consuming the same delicacy.

Two killed as Police, hoodlums clash in Ibadan BY OLA AJAYI

BADAN —TWO persons were killed, yesterday, in a bloody clash involving policemen and some hoodlums at the popular Oje market in Ibadan. Two policemen were also injured during the crisis that engulfed the area. At press time, the injured policemen were receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital following a mob attack. The state Public Relations Officer, DSP Olabisi Ilobanafor confirmed the incident. Vanguard gathered that some drivers and hoodlums engaged in a brawl when the latter attempted to extort the motorists. On a tip-off, policemen at Agugu, led by their Divisional Police Officer, ASP T imothy Adedeji went to the scene. In the process, it was gathered that the crowd booed the policemen and attempted to attack them. This, as stated by a source, made the policemen to fire warning shots to scare them. It was gathered that it was during the chaotic situation a bullet hit a man and was said to have died instantly. The mob was said to have attacked the policemen injuring them in the process and took away their rifles. Speaking on the incident, the police spokesman said; “The mob later regrouped and went to Agugu Division apparently to attack the station. The situation was brought under control through reinforcement.”

Additional information had it that the policemen later saw the stolen rifle and tried to retrieve it. This was said to have been re-

“The police command has gone into the matter. We are currently investigating the incident. If the policemen in question are found to have misused their firearms, we have disciplinary measures through which erring policemen are brought to book,” PPRO said.

FLOOD: Travellers driving through a flooded road that leads to Kaduna Airport yesterday. Travellers especially sports enthusiasts who arrived Kaduna to watch the Championship of African Nations (CHAN) first leg qualifier between Nigeria and Ivory Coast were driven to the airport in trucks provided by airlines as cars could not drive past the road submerged by flood following a torrential rainfall. Photo: AFP.

Vigilante kills student, MTN staff while chasing robbers BY DAUD OLATUNJI

BEOKUTA — TRAGEDY struck in Abeokuta, yesterday, when men of the Vigilante Service of Ogun State, VSO, re-

Police nab man who killed friend over Okada proceeds BY DAYO JOHNSON

sisted by the mob which allegedly fired shots at the policemen. According to reports, the stray bullet from the hoodlums hit a passer-by and the person also died. The situation has since been brought under control.

incident. The police said on the ill-fated day, one Owonifari came to report that one Deji Y usuf said he heard the grand mother of the deceased shouting for help and when he got there, he met him in his pool of blood.

portedly shot dead a student of Moshood Abiola P olytechnic, Abeokuta, Moruf Raji, 29, and a staff of a telecommunication company, MTN Nigeria, Ak eem Usman, 32, while chasing suspected robbers. The incident occurred at Adigbe, at about 1.00 a.m when a team of the vigilance service allegedly ordered residents of 18A, Sorinola Avenue, Oriyanrin, to open their gate for them to arrest suspected robbers believed to be hiding in the building. An eye witness told Vanguard that some of the residents who were mostly students refused to open the gate, suspecting the vigilante men to be robbers try-

ing to play smart. The witness further explained that Moruf and Akeem went out from their rooms and opened the gate for them but one of the men of VSO opened fire on the two men killing them instantly. Vanguard gathered that men of the VSO still went ahead to force their way into the compound after shooting the two men and ransacked the rooms, while the victims were bleeding profusely. It was further gathered that, the vigilantes used their patrol vehicle to rush the victims to the Federal Medical Centre, Idi-Aba Abeokuta where they died following excessive loss of blood.

KURE – A MIDDLE AGED man, Deji Yussuf, has been arrested by the Police in Ondo State for allegedly axing his friend, T ope Ezekiel, to death and thereafter poured acid on him over argument on proceeds from commercial motor bike popularly known as Okada. The family of the deceased said their son owned the Okada and was keeping the proceeds with the suspect on daily basis with intention of using it later to buy another Okada. However, police source said the story is the other way round, that the suspect owned the motor bike. Investigations showed that the suspect and the deceased who were close friends had been living in a room apartment at God's Glory Layout, Eyin Akpata in Akure metropoA Lagos-bound bus from Onitsha went up in flames when it lost one of its front tyres on lis for four years before the ugly Benin-Lagos expressway by Okada, killing two persons, yesterday. Photo: Henr y Unini.

Vanguard , MONDAY, JULY 8, 2013—7

Fulani herdsmen kill 34 in Benue BY PETER DURU

AKURDI—FEW hours after the invasion of Nzorov ward in Iyordye Akaahena village by Fulani herdsmen left scores dead, the marauders, yesterday , attacked Akuroko village in Guma Local Government Area, leaving about 34 dead. Vanguard gathered from sources that fighting was still ongoing at Akuroko village. According to sources, “they came from neighboring Nasarawa State, this (yesterday) morning in their numbers as usual, armed with sophisticated weapons and in-

vaded Akuroko village. They were shooting and burning any structure in sight. “A lot of people have been displaced, some killed, many injured and lots more are currently missing. But I cannot tell you the exact figure of those that may have been killed until we are able to know the condition of people. "But for now I can say that about 34 persons have lost their lives in this attack with many sustaining serious injuries. “In fact, our major worry

is the threat by the invaders that they would continue to invade our communities until they take over Gbajimba, the local government headquarters. “We are disturbed because it seemed the police in Gbajimba have been overwhelmed by the persistent attacks on communities in Guma Local Government Area. From all indications, no where is safe anymore in the area.” Chairman of Guma Local Government, Mr. Frank Adii, confirmed the attack to Vanguard. He said: “As I speak to you,

fighting is still raging in that village which has recorded about 10 deaths, while others who sustained injuries are currently receiving treatment at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital.” The Chairman who said he had already contacted the Commandant of the Nigerian Army Airborne Brigade, Makurdi, for assistance regretted that the Police in Gbajimba seemed helpless. When contacted, Benue State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Deputy Superintendent Daniel Ezeala, said he was yet to be briefed on the latest crisis in Guma council.

US INDEPENDENCE: From left— Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State; Mr. Terrence McCulley, US Ambassador to Nigeria and Mr. Dan Akpovwa, publisher of The Abuja Inquirer, during a reception to mark the 237th independence anniversary of the United States of America in Abuja.

Shareholders get N230m from Trustfund BY FUNMI KOMOLAFE

BUJA—THE board of Trustfund P ensions Plc has announced a dividend pay-out of N230 million for the year 2012 with shareholders receiving 23 kobo per N1 share compared to 15 kobo in 2011. Nigeria Labour Congres, NLC; Trade Union Congress, TUC; and Nigeria Employers Consultative Association, NECA, who are major shareholders of Trustfund Pensions expressed delight at the news of the boost in dividend. The board also announced the confirmation of the appointment of the Acting Managing Director, Mrs. Helen Da-Souza as substantive chief executive. She is the first woman to head Trustfund Pensions Plc. Chairman of the Board of Directors of Trustfund Pensions Plc, Mrs. Ngozi

Olejeme, made the announcement of the dividend boost for shareholders, weekend, at the annual general meeting in Abuja. She said: “The company remains committed to delivering superior returns to its shareholders by ensuring that a good portion of profit is set aside for you, our valued investors. “Total operating income was N3.308 billion for the year ended, representing a 52.44% increase over the previous year ’s figure of N2.170 billion. “Profit after tax similarly rose from N534.69 million in 2011 to N788.52 million in 2012.” “During the same period, total assets of the company grew by 30.8% from N2.892 billion to N3.784 billion, while shareholders’ fund rose by 31.44% from N1.993 billion to N2.620

billion.” Notwithstanding the successes recorded by Trustfund Pension Plc, Olejeme said the growth rate in the pensions industry “ remains slow mainly due to the lack of compliance by employers and the slow pace of implementation of the contributory scheme by state governments.” NLC P resident, Mr . Abdulwaheed Omar, said of

the progress recorded by the Fund, “we are progressing and I hope that this trend will continue. “I am expressing my views, both as a director representing NLC and shareholders. This is a direct result of peace and harmony in the organisation.” NECA’s Director-General, Mr. Olusegun Oshinowo, also commended the board and management.

2015: Nwabueze flays Clark over Jonathan BY CLIFFORD NDUJIHE

LDER statesman and Chairman of The Patriots, Professor Ben Nwabueze (SAN) has described as gratuitous, comments attributed to leader of the SouthSouth Assembly, Chief Edwin Clark over his (Nwabueze) advice to President Goodluck Jonathan. He referred to Clark as a person “camouflaging political ideas and ambition with intellectualism” and as an “unpatriotic saboteur of the democratic process.” The legal icon said there was nothing unpatriotic or undemocratic in his advice to President Jonathan not to contest the 2015 elections and to focus attention on the nobler task of leading Nigeria out of danger. He said: “I only advised that the President, in exercising his Godgiven will and democratic/constitutional right, should not seek re-election in 2015 to enable him pursue the nobler object of leading Nigeria, as one united people, out of the present quagmire in which it finds itself. "There is nothing 'unconstitutional' about the advice, as it leaves the President entirely free to decide for himself. "My advice was given in all sincerity as what I would do if I were in the President’s position. "But of course, as I said in the statement in which I gave the advice, he shall never be me, nor will I ever be him. He and I are created different human beings."

... as Ahmed tasks pension administrators on integrity BY DEMOLA AKINYEMI

cial opening of the North-Central zonal office of the National PenLORIN— G O V E R N O R sion Commission in Ilorin. Abdulfatah Ahmed of He also noted that like most inKwara State has tasked pen- vestment products, pension sion administrators to institu- schemes need to retain the trust tionalise transparency to sus- of the investing public in the intain public confidence in pen- tegrity of the service to sustain sion funds as investment inpatronage. struments. He also disclosed that the Governor Ahmed made the scheme will be introduced in call, weekend, during the offi- Kwara State as soon as the state

legislature passes the draft bill on the scheme. Ahmed said: “In doing this, we will not only ensure a positive public perception of the scheme, but also attract more profitable investment in pension instruments.” He said for the contributory pension scheme to generate about N3.2 trillion funds in just nine years was commendable.

8—Vanguard , MONDAY, JULY 8, 2013

BY SONI DANIEL, Regional Editor, North

BUJA—THE resolve by the House of Representatives to strip the President and governors of immunity in criminal offences while in office may sail through despite the rejection of same by the upper legislative chamber. Vanguard gathered from a reliable source, yesterday, that the House of Representatives was determined to ensure that the immunity clause, which shields the President, his vice, governors and their deputies from prosecution, was lifted to make the beneficiaries more responsive to the electorate. It will be recalled that while the Senate supports the retention of immunity for the current beneficiaries, the House of Representatives had kicked against its retention. It was learnt that unlike in the past when a united Nigeria Governors’ F orum, NGF, under Bukola Saraki, stopped moves on amendment granting autonomy to local governments and Houses of Assembly, the current split in NGF had provided an avenue for the lawmakers to exploit and change the law. Chairman of NGF , Gover nor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State, could not be reached for his reaction to the issues tabled for amendment. A source close to NGF said that those who planted the seeds of discord in the forum should be held accountable if a bad law creeps into the country's law books.

We're ready for Senate— Rep

A principal officer in the House of Representatives told Vanguard in an interview that they were ready to press ahead with removing the clause that shields po-

SAVE IBAD AN GO VT COLLEGE: From left— Prof. Oladipo Akinkugbe, Chairman of the event; Dr. Christopher Kolade, Chairman, Governing Council, Government College Ibadan Restoration Project, and Dr. Sunny Kuku, at the Government College Ibadan 250 Million Restoration Project fund raising programme held in Lagos. PHOTO: Sylvester Okoruwa.

NGF crisis: President, govs risk loss of immunity zYou ruined North, Arewa youths tell elite litical office holders from criminal prosecution. The source, a PDP lawmaker from the North-West, said: “We are only pressing for immunity from criminal breaches and not civil cases, which can wait until the end of the tenure of such office holders. “We are also opposed to the six-year single tenure being proposed by the Senate and

we are ready to confront them during our joint conference committee meeting.” The source said that the lawmakers in the lower chamber were not ready to be defeated on the immunity removal and the restoration of LGA autonomy. The source said: “We in the lower chamber are ready to use our numerical strength

to challenge the senators on all the issues.” Asked if the lawmakers were sure of getting the support of two thirds of the states, the lawmaker said that they had done their part and that it was left to Nigerians to prevail on the governors to allow their Houses of Assembly a free hand to decide what is good for the coun-

Lead Team refutes NEITI's comments on PIB BY CLARA NWACHUKWU

ETROLEUM Industry, PIB, Lead Team, which put to gether the proposals contained in the P etroleum Industr y Bill, PIB, has clarified certain issues raised by the Chairman, Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI, Mr . Ledum Mitee, on Friday. Mitee was quoted in some dailies on the impact of the PIB on the 13 percent derivation revenue that accrues to oil-producing states. He also spoke on the effect of transfer pricing on revenue accruing to the Federal Government and the Environmental Remediation Fund. However, the PIB Lead T eam in a response made available to Vanguard, noted that some of Mitee’s comments were misleading, and clarified on some of the issues he raised. On the 13 percent Derivation

Fund, Mitee was quoted as saying that the split of the Petroleum Profit Tax in the e xtant PPT Act into the Nigerian Hydrocarbon Tax, NHT, and Company Income T ax, CIT, under the PIB, will erode the revenue accruing to the oil producing states under the PPT Act. However, the team pointed out that the framework for the application of the 13 percent derivation principle as contained in Section 162(2) of the 1999 Constitution provides that “… with regard to any revenue allocation formula, the principle of derivation shall be constantly reflected in any approved formula as being not less than 13 percent of the revenue accruing to the Federation account directly from any natural resources.” Therefore, the team noted, the revenues accruing from NHT as proposed in the PIB

qualify for the application of the 13 percent derivation principle. Likewise, tax under CITA on profits derived from upstream petroleum operations as proposed in the PIB would also qualify for the application of the 13 percent derivation principle. Accordingly, it maintained that the two tier taxation system proposed in the PIB would have no negative impact on the 13 percent derivation accruing to the states. It further explained: “Under the PPT Act, the tax rate is 85 percent of chargeable profit from onshore and shallow water terrains and 50 percent for frontier and deep water acreages. “In the PIB, the NHT and CIT for onshore and shallow water terrains are 50 percent and 30 percent of chargeable profits, respectively. “However, while the PPT al-

lows all operational costs to be charged against the single tier tax rate of 85 percent, only the NHT of 50 percent is so impacted under the PIB. “Besides, many more deductions are disallowed for NHT computation than currently obtains under the PPT Act. “Furthermore, the PIB tax regime is predicated on production or results compared to the PPT Act, which is essentially based on investment or spending. “Therefore, while the PPT Act more or less encourages high cost of operation, the PIB encourages more production at minimal cost. “The net effect would be increased government revenue (in excess of the notional five percent difference between the two tax regimes) and consequently more revenue to the oil producing states based on the 13 percent derivation principle.”

try. He said that from their findings, majority of the states were in support of the amendments being sought by the House of Representatives and that the current split in the NGF would prevent the governors from presenting a stiff opposition against the changes.

Arewa youths blast northern leaders

Meanwhile, Arewa youths have accused their political elite of being responsible of the woes currently afflicting the region and its people. National President of the Arewa Youth F orum, Alhaji Gambo Gujungu, made the accusation at a meeting of the group in Kaduna on Saturday. AYF noted the backwardness in the region and accused the elite of using devious tactics to divide Christians and Muslims in the north for their selfish interests. Gujungu lamented the high level of embezzlement of public funds that had taken place in the northern states and enthronement of poverty and illiteracy at all levels in the region since the return of democracy in 1999. He said: “In plain terms, the north is not only at the verge of extinction, but is also collapsing as a result of selfish manipulations by the elite.” The youths called for sincere and purposeful leadership to change the situation.

Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 8, 2013—9

No apology on Fayemi's 2nd term endorsement — Tinubu N

ATIONAL LEADER of Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, and former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, weekend, said he has no apology to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in exercising his democratic rights as a citizen and party leader to endorse Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, as the party’s governorship nominee to seek a second term come the 2014 election. Reacting to PDP outburst through Mr. Tony Ok eke, its Acting National Publicity Secretary, Asiwaju T inubu, insisted, however, that he was neither disturbed nor surprised at the level to which PDP could descend to attack perceived enemies or tormentors. Okeke complained against what he called venom in the PDP's statement and downright gutter language employed in attacking the remarks by Asiwaju Tinubu.

Speaking through his Special Adviser (Media), Sunday Dare, ACN National leader said: “We wish to state that first, PDP needs to wash both hands before complaining the ACN has a speck of dirt on its thumb. "With all the troubles facing the government and the ruling party, the acting national publicity secretary of that outfit took the time to lodge a complaint about ACN national leader , Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, exercising his right as a citizen and party leader to endorse Ekiti governor Dr. kayode Fayemi as the party ’s governorship nominee so that he might seek a second term come the 2014 election in that state. "The PDP voice box sounded off that it was wicked and undemocratic of Asiwaju Tinubu to state his opinion on a matter concerning the party to which Asiwaju belongs. "We dare say if Mr . Ok eke tendered such advice to his party leaders that the vociferous man

would rapidly find himself among the growing number of jobless Nigerians walking the streets due to the errant policies of his party.” “Since we have no desire to add to the ranks of Nigeria’s unemployed, we will help the man do his job better by teaching him a bit about democracy and party politics. Asiwaju Tinubu is not a brick or a piece of wood. "He is a person, a Nigerian citizen to be exact. As such, he has the perfect right to express his opinion on political matters and to endorse whom he may endorse for the position of the ACN nominee for the Ekiti governorship. In due course, Asiwaju will surely endorse who he would for other elective positions across the country in full exercise of his fundamental right. "I predict Mr . Okeke will get acute indigestion from that act as well. For Mr. Okeke to complain is to suggest that Asiwaju Bola

Tinubu should remain silent. "As such, Okeke shows his ignorance that the Nigerian constitution has enshrined freedom of speech as a fundamental right of all Nigerians, even us in the opposition.” “For Mr. Okeke to suggest that because Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is a party leader he does not have the right to talk about a party matter is lunacy of the first order . "Let us explain to him how a democratic political party works. Party leaders are entitled to express their opinion and endorse whom they like. "The matter does not end there. Of course, party members have the right to their opinion, but this enables them to weigh the opinions of their leaders. Should any disagree, they have the right to disagree. Should anyone want to compete against the incumbent for the party ticket, they may."

REMEMBRANCE: From left, Mr. Abdul Mumuni Abiola, Pastor Tunde Bakare, National Converner of Save Nigeria Group, SNG; Prof. Niyi Osundare, Guest of Honour; Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, Admiral Ndubisi Kanu, (rtd), Chairman of NADECO; Crd Yinka Odumakin, during the 15th year Remembrance of Chief M K .O Abiola, organised by Campiagn for Democracy, CD, and Women Arise, yesterday, at M.K.O. Abiola Grave-side, Abiola House, Ikeja, Lagos. Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi

LAMATA introduces e-ticketing tomorrow %< -21$+ 1:2.32.8

AGOS — LAGOS S tate Government through the state Metropolitan Area Transport Authority, LAMATA, regulator of the Bus Rapid Transit, BRT, will from tomorrow commence the use of e-ticketing payment as part of ongoing re-structuring of BRT’s operations and management aimed at enhancing effectiveness. Managing Director, LAMATA, Dr. Dayo Mobereola, who disclosed this, weekend, said the measure was part of a holistic plan at returning the BRT operations and experience to its once efficient and effective state when it was fist launched in 2008. Mobereola said the Lagos State Government was not unaware of the challenges that commuters using the current BRT system were experiencing, explaining

that steps were currently being taken to ensure the restoration of efficient and effective service delivery on the system and increase its capacity. According to him, the e-

ticketing payment was a solution through a payment card named 'Lagos Connect,' and would offer commuters several options, saying, “ with the e-payment system,Lagos Connect,

commuters in Lagos will pay as low as N20 per trip instead of N70. They would not need to struggle for change or lose their money, and the system is safe and convenient.

Impact positively on people's lives, Adeboye urges lecturers advice during a special prayer session organised for lecturers AGOS — PASTOR at the RCCG National Enoch Adeboye, General Headquarters in Ebute Meta, Overseer, Redeemed Christian Lagos. In his sermon with the theme: Church of God, RCCG, “Excellent Spirit,” Adeboye, yesterday, urged university said God gave man an excellent lecturers to abide by their calling and use their talents to spirit, which did not come cheap, but required sacrifice impact on peoples’ lives and hard work, stressing the positively. Adeboye, hitherto a Professor need for Nigerians to be righteous and God-fearing to of Mathematics at the University of Lagos, gave the exploit it. %< 2/$<,1.$ /$721$

According to him, “Education is the only way to mould good citizens; therefore, you should endeavour to teach correctly and rightly to change the students’ lives, while changing our educational system and the society at large.” The General Overseer urged the people to obey God’s commandments to attract His blessings, saying, however, that “excellence does not come in a cheap way."

NCC threatens operators over unregistered SIMs %< 35,1&( 268$*:8

AGOS — THE N i g e r i a n Communications Commission, NCC, weekend, warned that any telecommunications operator that did not submit a summary of customers' registered and unregistered, active and deactivated lines as at Friday, July 5, 2013 may be sanctioned. The Commission’s warning is coming at the expiration of deadline for registration of SIM cards process which ended June 30, 2013. In a letter to the operators dated July 2, 2013, sighted by Vanguard, the regulator told the operators that, “pursuant to NCC (Registration of Telephone Subscribers) Regulations 2011, and our subsequent direction of 15 th April, 2013, extending the deadline for the full deactivation of all unregistered SIM cards to 30th June, 2013, we wish to draw your attention to the expiration of the deadline.” It therefore directed “that the operators should forward to the Commission, a summary of the registered and active lines on your network as at 30th of June 2013; details of the unregistered and deactivated lines as at 30th of June 2013 and consistent with section 15(2) of the NCC’s Registration of Telephone Subscribers Regulations 2011. “That, operators deactivate all unregistered SIM cards on its network immediately. "Deactivation in this case, and consistent with section 1 of the NCC’s Registration of Telephone Subscribers Regulation 2011 means that all unregistered SIM cards are disallowed full access to your network including the ability to make and receive calls, to send and receive SMS and other range of services usually provided on your network. "That operators provide firm confirmation that these lines have been fully deactivated in line with the provisions of this regulation.” In the letter signed by the Director, Compliance Monitoring & Enforcement NCC, U.A.S. Maska, the Commission also warned that these information/data should reach the Commission on or before the close of business on Friday 5thJuly, 2013, after which failure may attract maximum penalty.

10—Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 8, 2013

Osun 2014: ACN, INEC plan to rig guber polls — PDP .INEC not ready to join issues with parties — Jega note that prior to 2011 general elections in Osun State, Conference of Nigerian Political Parties, CNPP, and the P eoples DemoBUJA — AHEAD of the cratic Party had opposed the ap2014 governorship election pointment and posting of Mr . in Osun State, the P eoples Akeju to Osun State on the Democratic Party, PDP, has acground that he was not only an cused chairman of Independent aide of Senator Bola Tinubu but National Electoral Commission, also a card carrying member of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega of col- the ACN. “The PDP members had posluding with the Action Congress ited that in all truly impartial of Nigeria, ACN, to rig the elecelectoral commissions, an umpire tion in the state. should be above doubt and likely The Osun State Chairman of bias to protect the integrity of the the PDP , Alhaji Ganiyu voting process. Akeju`s appointOlaoluwa, in a statement in ment and posting to Osun State Abuja, yesterday, said that the was a violation of provision of integrity and impartiality of Resialleged plot between the ACN dent Electoral Commissions enVISIT: Managing Director, Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority, LAMATA, Dr. Dayo and INEC to rig the 2014 elecMobereola (right), presenting a souvenir of Bus Rapid Transit, BRT, system in operation at tion in the state had already re- shrined in the constitution.” Alhaji Olaoluwa said that 37 Marina, Lagos Island to Ayangburen of Ikorodu, Oba Salaudeen Oyefusi, during a courtesy ceived the blessings of Prof. Jega call on the traditional ruler. With them is the monarch’s wife, Olori Muyibat Olayinka Oyefusi. who was using the state Resident members of PDP had approached the court seeking an order to stop Electoral Commissioner to exAkeju before the 2011 elections, ecute the plot. adding that, “the court not only According to the statement is- issued an interlocutory injunction sued by the PDP state Chairman, but specifically ordered INEC to “The plan which has the blessreplace Akeju before the 2011 ing of Prof. Atthairu Jega is to be elections in the state. executed through the retention Reacting to the allegation, of a compromised Resident ElecINEC Chairman through his toral Commissioner , Mr . OVERNOR RAUF Press Secretary, Kayode Idowu Aregbesola of Osun %< *%(1*$ $5,<,%, “ It was an indoor meeting where party Oluwatoyin Akeju even when a said, “INEC is not in the busicourt has ordered his removal beState’s efforts at creating leaders freely spoke their mind. cause of partisanship and estab- ness of joining issues with pojobs and revamping the “ Unfortunately, those who are bent lished bias. DO EKITI — MEMBER of the litical parties, they say all maneconomy of the state has on straining my cordial relationship with House of Representatives, “The general public should ners of things.” recorded another leap as Opeyemi Bamidele has vowed to snatch the leadership of the party went out of no fewer than 3,000 fresh the governorship ticket from the incum- the meeting to employment opportunities bent, Dr. Kayode Fayemi during next give a twisted verare on the way through the sion of the well year’s primaries. establishment of the best This disregards reported adoption of intended advice equipped West A frica’s Fayemi for a second term by ACN lead- by His Excellargest garment factory due lency, Asiwaju ers at a recent meeting in Ado Ekiti. to take off in Osogbo in In a statement personally signed in Bola Ahmed August. Ado Ekiti, yesterday, Bamidele, who is Tinubu, insinuatSituated close to the State representing Ado Ekiti and Irepodun- ing that Asiwaju Secretariat, Gbongan road, Ifelodun Federal Constituency in the had endorsed the multi-billion naira garHouse of Representatives, said there Governor Kayode ment factory which is a priwas no where, or any meeting attended Fayemi for second vate initiative and the largby the party leaders where Fayemi was term and ‘warned’ est in West Africa with enme to abandon adopted to run for second term couragement from the state According to him, the report of the my ambition. government of Osun will “I am stating adoption was masterminded by some employ at least 3000 peogroups within the party to scheme him unequivocally ple to be trained in stitchthat by the grace out of the race ing with modern machines. The former commissioner in Lagos of God and the Governor Aregbesola, in State in the statement, therefore vowed encouragement order to encourage the into pursue his ambition with vigour with- of the well meanvestors, Messrs. Sam & out any retreat or surrender to the wills ing people of Ekiti Sarah Garment Factory, to State I, Michael of his opponents boost the sewing of school Opeyemi The statement read in part: “I have uniforms for public primary read in some of the Nigerian dailies the Bamidele, will be and secondary schools purported report of what transpired at contesting elecacross the state’s 30 local the July 3, 2013, Ado Ekiti meeting of tion to be Govergovernments, provided the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, nor of Ekiti State 6,000 square metres of and I find it difficult to reconcile the re- come year 2014. land for the factory to take “ It is an irrevoports with the contents and actual prooff in Osogbo and boost the ceedings at the said meeting, just like cable conclusion state’s economy. The land which the govmany other leaders of the party who based on popular ernment provided along were personally in attendance at the yearnings as well as my personal with other ancillary incenmeeting. tives made available to Sam “ Surely, I am amazed and disap- conviction and & Sara to establish what pointed that a sincere attempt by lead- commitment to has now become the largers of the ACN to resolve the lingering human capital deest garment factory in West crisis that had existed within the party velopment and Africa has been used to in Ekiti was mismanaged by some self- the creation of a serve as the 14 per cent ish elements who twisted the good faith new and united equitable holding of the call by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Ekiti State of Osun in the ven“.No one can party leaders and members in Ekiti to ture. find an amicable manner of resolving come between The project which equipthe said crisis, including a call on the Asiwaju and I. He ment is largely financed by leadership of the party to immediately gave me an opporthe Bank of Industry, BOI, reinstate all the ward and local govern- tunity to serve to the tune of almost N1.5 ment structures of the party that had the people of Labillion is designed to probeen arbitrarily dissolved without congos State in a duce 100,000 dresses per gresses and in violation of the party’s senior capacity for day. 11 years. constitution %< -2+1%26&2 $*%$. :858

Aregbesola sources 3,000 fresh jobs

Bamidele vows to pursue governorship ambition in Ekiti A

Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 8, 2013 —11

Flooding: Bayelsa govt allays fears over NIMET prediction zReleases N500m BY 6$08(/ 2<$'21*+$

E N AG OA — B AY E L S A State Government, weekend, allayed the fears of the people of the state over the forecast by the Nigeria Meteorological Agency, NIMET of heavy rainfall and the attendant flooding in the coastal states, including Bayelsa, saying that proactive measures had been taken to mitigate the impact of any flooding in the state. Governor Seriake Dickson, who is billed to proceed on his twoweek annual vacation, said aside the release of N500 million, his administration had put in place other measures aimed at cushioning the effect of the flood as well as reducing its severity on the people. NIMET had predicted that this year’s flooding will reach its peak in August and September but the governor assured the people that they do not have any cause to fear . Dickson noted that three committees-Post Flood Management Committee, Infrastructure and Inter-Governmental Flood and Relief Committee had been put in place to work out modalities aimed at preventing recurrence of flooding in the state and its effects on the people. The governor added that work had commenced on the opening up of the water courses, construc-

JTF moves to eliminate illegal bunkering in N/Delta

BY -,0,727$ 212<80(

ORT HARCOURT—JOINT Task Force, JTF, has stepped up its crusade against illegal oil bunkering in the Niger Delta region. Commander of the task force, Major General Beita Debiro, while on patrol of waterways in Rivers State said that the JTF was set to eliminate illegal oil bunkering activities in the region, adding that those into same should quit or be ready to face the law.. He said: “Illegal vandals and pirates should stop the practice or else the JTF will continue to make life unbearable for them for making life unbearable for the people of the countr y. The gover nment and all Nigerians are against these crimes and all Nigerians should come together to fight the scourge called illegal oil bunkering and piracy.” Continuing, he said that his men arrested 17 vessels and boats used by illegaloil bunkerers in Bonny, Andoni and Gokana areas of the state between April and July,adding that nine other vessels used for the illicit trade were also destroyed in the Cawthorne channel area on the waterways.

tion of drainages and dykes in and around the state capital, while some structures are being elevated. Speaking while presenting 500 million cheque to the members of the Inter Governmental

Flood and Relief Committee at the Banquet Hall, Yenagoa, headed by the deputy governor, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha Jonah (rtd), Dickson charged the committee to liaise with other organs of the state towards harmonising re-

sponse efforts as well as work closely with the communities towards the establishment of 50 relief camps in the state. He called on the people to cooperate with members of the committees to enable them succeed in their assignment.

COMMISSIONING: Executive Secretary, Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, Mr. Reginald Stanley (middle); flanked by Managing Director/CEO, Rainoil Ltd, Mr. Gabriel Ogbechie; Executive Director, Rainoil Ltd, Mrs. Godfrey Ogbechie; former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Alexander Ogomudia, rtd, (2nd right) and others, during the commissioning of Rainoil’s MT Adeline and MT Emmanuel vessels at Oghara, Delta State.

Retired general faults court ruling on appointment of service chiefs BY 6,021 (%(*%8/(0

ENIN CITY—FORMER Provost Marshal of the Nigeria Ar my, Brig.Gen.Idada Ikponmwen, weekend, said that the recent declaration by the court to the effect that the President cannot appoint his Service Chiefs without the confirmation of the Senate was dangerous for the country. He said the court declaration will inevitably lead to negation of discipline, coherence in command and control of the Armed Forces, which are predicated upon the existence of a unified command. Idada, who spok e to Vanguard in Benin City, Edo State, pointed out that a major reason for the collapse of the First Republic was the absence of a powerful and “clearly discernible leader and this phenomenon accounted for the choice of a Presidential system that led to the emergence of a powerful leader capable of moving a nation forward aside the constraints of collective responsibility in the Parliamentary system. “The point has been emphasised that the command and control of the Armed Forces must not be allowed to be compromised on the altar of politics. This compromise would inevitably arise when the com-

mand of the Armed Forces, particularly in terms of appointment, becomes an issue for the National Assembly. The command and control of the Armed Forces must remain the prerogative of the Commander-in-Chief and commissioned officers, who command the Armed Forces. “It is also pertinent to say that we need not be carried away by the position in the United States, where the President can appoint the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff and other Service Heads only with the confirmation of the Senate. It is noteworthy that whereas in the case of the US, these offices are creations of statute; (see 10 USC 151), in Nigeria, the offices of Service Chiefs are creations of the

Constitution. “Meanwhile, no law has been passed by the National Assembly on this subject of control in all our 18 years of Presidential System. It is, therefore, one’s contention that we must not import the laws and practices outside Nigeria to confuse the clear intentions of our constitution. “The Armed Forces Act, AFA, in its original form, predated the 1999 constitution and in so far as some of its provisions are inconsistent with the Constitution, that law must give way to the constitution and by implications to the clear wordings of subsections 1 and 2 of section 218.”

Delta CAN pays tribute to Ewherido BY )(6786 $+21

GHELLI—CHAIRMAN of Christian Association of Nigeria, Ughelli North Local Government Area chapter , Delta State, Rt. Rev Diamond Emuobor, has described the death of Senator Pius Ewherido as a monumental loss to the Urhobo nation. Similarly, for mer governorship aspirant of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Delta State, Mr . Sunny Onuesoke, has described the death of Senator Ewherido as incomprehensible and great loss to the Urhobo nation, Delta State and the Niger Delta struggle. Emuobor in a statement, yesterday, described Ewherido as a young Nigeria with a vision and commission, adding that “he grew up to shape his tenure w ith d etermination and pursuit for excellence.” Noting that Ewherido refused to be a rubber stamp on other people’s ideas, he maintained that the departed Senator representing Delta Central Senatorial District at the National Assembly wadded through his course with effect and affection. He said: “Senator Ewherido was a hope for those he represented at both the National Assembly and Delta State House of Assembly, where he showed himself a man of vision and precision; thus he was able to blossom in his hay days and became an astute deputy speaker of the House and later an acting Speaker. “His colleagues who prompted him to these deeds saw in him a man of reason and playmate. He was conscious of meeting deadlines and so he worked to earn himself the appreciation of all that he came across.”

Group denies kidnap, terrorism claims

OMADI—YOUTHS in Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State under the aegis of F ederated Youth Movement Bomadi, have denied allegations of kidnapping and terrorism brought against a member of House of Representatives, Mr. Nicholas Mutu. The youths described the media publication credited to Moses Amatu and Kenneth Mezeh over allegation of kidnapping and terrorism as false, baseless, mis-

leading and a calculated attempt to bring Mutu, representing Bomadi/Patani Federal constituency to disrepute. The youths in a statement by its President, Mr. Francis Akabi, said: “We are dismayed that one of our suspended member , Amatu alleged that on June 26, 2013 some ex-militants loyal to Mutu wanted to kidnapped him, Mezeh and members of the Movement in Bomadi,”adding that there was no truth in the publication.

“What transpired on that day had noting to do with Mutu. It was just a misunderstanding among youths in Bomadi town over the stoppage of a protest against the state government. We urged the alleged sponsor of Amatu and others to stop the character assassination of his political rivals. “Mutu is not a terrorist and did not send any ex-militant to kidnap or kill any body.”

12—Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 8, 2013

Gunmen abduct Bayelsa gov’s aide in PH BY -,0,727$ 212< 80( 6$08(/ 2<$ '2*+$1

ORT HARCOURT— THE Special Adviser to the Bayelsa State Governor on Power, Mr. Olice Kemenanabo, has been kidnapped by gunmen. Kemenanabo was kidnapped at his residence, 12, Iriebe Street D-Line Port

Harcourt, Rivers State, at 1.30p.m, yesterday, while returning from church. Though information about his abduction was sketchy, the special adviser, according to a source was whisked away in his car, a Toyota Avensa with number plate A 27-12 BY by three armed men. At press time, the whereabout of the Special

Adviser remains unknown, while his abductors are yet to contact the family. When contacted, the state Police Public R elations Officer, Mr. Angela Agabe, said she was not aware of the development, assuring that she would get back to these reporters, when she confirms the development.

Mother killed by children over alleged witchcraft path to the farm and midBY 6,021 (%(*

%8/(0 ENIN CITY— THERE was confusion in Lampese Akoko Edo Local Government Area of Edo State, which shares a boundary with Kogi State, when two children of the same parents, identified as Omolayo Ojeifo(25) and her younger brother, Taiye (20) reportedly lured their mother identified as Mrs. Itowo Ojeifo to a farm road and killed her. It was gathered that Omolayo has had a running battle with her mother, whom she accused of being the reason she had not prospered in life and also being a witch. She was said to have

apologised to her mother few days to the dastardly act and pleaded that she was misled into believing that her problems were caused by her , but unknown to the deceased, she was being tricked into her untimely death. Vanguard was informed that the suspect, Omolayo, had last Wednesday, appealed to her mother to accompany her somewhere and despite her mother ’s refusal that she was busy at home, she was able to convince her mother to follow her, as the deceased abandoned the cassava she was peeling and accompanied her, not knowing that her children had perfected plans to kill her. She was said to have been led through a bush

way, the son brought out a machete, which he used in “cutting their mother.” An eye witness, who was said to have been threatened by the suspects that he would be dealt with if he reports what he saw was said to have rushed back to the community , where he reported the incident, but before people could be mobilised to the scene, the woman had been killed by her children. Confirming the incident yesterday, Edo State P olice Public Relations Officer, Moses Eguavoen, said the incident happened on July 3 and that it was the former husband of the deceased, Mr Sunday Itowo that made a formal report to the police on the incident.

Cleric asks Jonathan to okay anti-gay bill

SABA—THE Bishop of St. Peter’s Anglican Catheral Asaba, Delta State, Rev Justin Mogekwu, has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to sign into law,

the anti-gay bill passed by the National Assembly. The cleric made the call, weekend in his sermon at the Cathedral, during a funeral service for mother of Director-General of the

3 kidnapped corps members regain freedom BY -,0,727$ 212<

80( ORT HARCOURT— THREE National Youth Ser vice Corps, NYSC, members, kidnapped in Abua Odua Local Government Area of Rivers State, a week ago have regained their freedom. Details of their release were sketchy at press time, but a source close to the released corps members, who spoke to Vanguard on the condition of anonymity, said they were released in the early hours of yesterday. The state Police Public

Relations Officer , Angela Agabe could not be reached for comments on the development as her mobile phone was switched off. It will be recalled that the three corpse members were abducted at their Corpers Lodge in the local government area. The kidnappers reportedly stormed the place in the early hours of the day and whisked away, two males and a female corps member. It was not clear if ransom was paid for their release.

Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, NIALS, Prof Epiphany Azinge, SAN, the late Mrs Angelina Azinge. Mogekwu condemned same sex marriage, describing same as evil and a curse from hell. He said: “Same sex marriage is a curse from hell; it is not a human right. Imagine what would have happened when your father wanted to marry your mother and said to his own father, dad, I have seen the person I want to marry and he said, ‘ fine, bring the person home and let me see her.’ And then he goes to bring one Isaiah, saying,‘ dad this is my wife to be.” The cleric described gay marriage as evil and wickedness, which must be resisted with the last drop of our blood. He berated the US President Barrack Obama, for advocating same sex marriage, describing it as a next step to heinous sex perversion.

Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 8, 2013 — 13

S-East, S-South govs pledge support for Jonathan zAmaechi, Oshiomhole, Okorocha absent BY TONY EDIKE

NUGU—GOVERNOR’S of the South East and South South States, yesterday , met in Enugu with a pledge to continue to support President Goodluck Jonatham, saying he has done well through his transformation agenda. However, three gover nors, including Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, Adams Oshiomhole of Edo and Rochas Okorocha of Imo State were conspicuously absent. The governors kept mum on their absentee colleagues. It is not clear if their absence was a boycott of the meeting or lack of adequate communication. Governor Peter Obi, Chairman of South East Governors’ Forum, who briefed newsmen, declined to take questions hence no explanation was given regarding the absence of their three colleagues. Present at the meeting were Governors of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta and Cross River. Obi, who read the resolution of the meeting which lasted about four hours, said the governors commended President Jonathan for the various programmes he had embarked upon as shown in the mid-term report. He said the report “clearly shows that the transformation agenda is on course and we pledge to continue to support him.” Obi said the two zones had agreed to work together economically in the area of infrastructure development. According to him, Akwa Ibom and Abia states have reached an understanding with the private

sector to reconstruct and dualize the bad Ikot-Ekpene-Aba road to improve economic activities within the corridor of both states. He said the governors also

discussed the disturbing issue of oil theft and how to curb the menace but gave no details of how they intended to actualize the plan.

Besides, the Anambra governor said the issue of ethnic harmony between the two zones and how to promote it was duly discussed.

AWARD—From left: National President, Umuahia Premier Club, Sunny Osuagwu; Abia State Governor, Chief Theodore Orji; Minister of Finance and recipient of the award, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; and Chairman Abuja Branch of Premier Club, Chuks Nwaononiwu, at the induction of new members and conferment of a meritorious award in Abuja, weekend. Photo: Gbemiga Olamikan.

APC suffers setback in Imo as party chieftains resign BY CHIDI NKWOPARA WERRI—THE fledgling fortunes of the unregistered All Progressives Congress, APC, suffered a setback weekend in Imo State, following the resignation of the state chairman of All Nigeria P eoples Party, ANPP, Chief V italis Orik eze Ajmbe, and a host of his colleagues.

Disclosing his decision to newsmen, Chief Ajumbe explained that the yet-to-beregistered political party was dead on arrival in Imo. He recalled that he loved ANPP with passion when he joined the party and even promised not to leave it, stressing that this was despite its sagging fortunes over the years. Ajumbe said: "I loved ANPP with passion when I joined it. I promised not to leave it despite its fortunes, for any other

political party because we enjoyed freedom of expression and internal democracy”. He was, however, irked that some of the unpatriotic party men, who immensely benefitted from the party, bluntly refused or neglected to fund ANPP. Ajumbe recalled with grief that as chairman of ANPP in the state, he personally bankrolled expenses of the nine cases prosecuted in the court by the party, pointing out that ANPP still owed him N22 million incurred in its interest.

Civil Society groups fault zoning of Anambra 2014 guber BY VINCENT UJUMADU

WKA—TWO civil society groups, the Civil Governance Monitoring Group, CGMG, and Easter n Youth Forum, EYF, have picked holes with the argument that the next governor of Anambra State should be zoned to a particular section of the state, advocating that all aspirants in the state be given equal opportunity to test their acceptance. Rising from their meeting, the two groups in a joint statement, said what Anambra State needed was for a leader with

integrity, proven capacity and right vision to bring transformation to the state to emerge and not where the governor came from. Coordinator of the groups, Mr. Chibuzor Okwudoh and chapter joint secretar y, Mr. Olisaemeka Udechukwu, said: “Zoning is both destructive and unconstitutional and it should not be accepted in a homogenous and small state like Anambra. “Every contestant should be encouraged to come to the open field to test his or her capacity and popularity".

Abia gives Imo govt ultimatum BY ANAYO OKOLI

MUAHIA — T H E crisis brewing between Abia and Imo State governments over the ejection of Abia Transport Company from its park in Owerri, deepened weekend, with the former giving the latter till tomorrow to secure a new loading bay for its transport company. Abia State government threatened to also eject Imo Transport Company from the state, if its Imo counterpart failed to accede to its appeal by today. It said the threat became necessary because of alleged refusal of Imo government to heed to its previous appeals to give Abia Line a place to operate in Owerri. Chief Press Secretary to Governor Theodore Orji, Mr. Ugochukwu Emezue, said in a statement that the state government did not believe the reason given by its Imo counterpart for the ejection, saying other transport companies were still operating from the same park.

Court stops burial of bizman over family's quarrel BY ANAYO OKOLI

MUAHIA—AN Abia High Court sitting in Ohafia has stopped the burial of foremost Aba industrialist, late Chief Dike Udensi Ifegwu, following a dispute in his family. The court, presided over by Justice Amanze Chioma, granted an interim order of injunction restraining the burial of late Ifegwu, founder of Dubic Breweries (Nig.) Ltd who died some months ago. Some members of the family, including late Ifegwu’s children, are in court challenging their alleged alienation in the burial rites of their father allegedly by the first son and his privies. They are Mrs. Nnenna Enweliku, Eunice Dike, Iheanacho Dike, Mrs. Ndubeze Onyiuke and Nnenne Dike .

14—Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 8, 2013

Students' Union leaders cautioned against corruption

PDP blasts ACN govs over boycott of Lagos-Ibadan expressway project BY HENRY UMORU

BY TAYE OBATERU & HOPE OFOBIKE

OS—STUDENT leaders across the country have been cautioned against corrupt tendencies that can put to question their role as future leaders. Plateau State Commissioner for Education, Mr . Nanle Dashen, gave the charge last weekend at the foundation laying of the National Association of Plateau State Students, NAPSS, National Secretariat in Barkin Ladi. Dashen said past executives of the student body had always sought financial assistance from the state government but ended up diverting such funds to their personal use. He said: “We know of some executives of this body , who have conducted launching to raise funds for the building of the National Secretariat, but the question we can’t answer is what the money has been used for. Although we know how to track them down but we are only being considerate, we do not want to tarnish the image of our students".

NUJ panel vows to restore glory of profession

HE panel set up by the national secretariat of Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, to probe allegations of professional misconduct, blackmail and extortion levelled against Publisher of Desert Herald Magazine , T ukur Mamu, by the FCT Administration has vowed to execute its mandate dispassionately to restore the glory of journalism as an objective and trustworthy profession. Speaking at the inaugural sitting of the panel, Chairman of the committee, Mr. Gbenga Onayiga, assured that the committee would be fair and just to all the parties by discharging its duties dispassionately. He stated that the committee would be guided in its work by the Code of Ethics of the NUJ and the body’s constitution. At the session which took place at NUJ Press Centre, Utako, Abuja, three top officials of the FCT Administration appeared and testified before the committee.

B U J A — N AT I O N A L leadership of the P eoples Democratic P arty, PDP , yesterday, lampooned South West governors elected on the platform of Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, describing their boycott of kick-off of the reconstruction and expansion of Lagos- Ibadan Expressway as political immaturity. The PDP said the project also “put the lie” to insinuations of marginalization against the South West by the Jonathan administration, adding that the PDP-led government had in the last two years, embarked on several other strategic road projects in the region, including repair of Third Mainland Bridge, rehabilitation of BeninOre-Sagamu highway , rehabilitation and reconstruction of Ijebu-Ajegunle-Araromi-IfeSekona road in Ogun State. The party also made reference to the reconstruction of IbadanIlorin road among others, adding that these were exclusive of many other infrastructure projects executed in the region. PDP in a statement by its acting National Publicity Secretary, Tony Okeke, said the governors’ failure to personally honour their invitation to the event was a sign of “partisan parochialism and political immaturity". It, however , commended Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State for personally attending the function. Hailing President Goodluck Jonathan for the successful kickoff of the reconstruction and expansion of the e xpressway, PDP described as unfortunate the absence of ACN governors in the South West at a project meant to transform the lives of Nigerians and boost economic and social activities in South W est states in particular and the nation at large. Okeke, who noted that other ACN governors stayed away for parochial political reasons, said: “The leadership of P eoples Democratic P arty, PDP , commends President Goodluck Jonathan for the successful kickoff of the reconstruction and expansion of Lagos- Ibadan expressway, which has been in a state of disrepair for many years. “Indeed ,this is a testament to the President’s resolve to completely deliver on his promise to revolutionize the road sector in line with his Transformation Agenda to give Nigerians a new lease of life. “The Lagos-Ibadan express way is, of course, one of the

busiest and most important roads in the country and the reconstruction and expansion project will not only boost economic and social activities in the South West in particular and the nation at large but also put an end to the incessant loss of lives recorded yearly as a result of accidents on account

of the bad state of the road.” Berating ACN governors for not attending the event, the PDP said such was a sign of “partisan parochialism and political immaturity". The party wondered why the ACN governors did not show full support with their presence when the project was for the benefit of

people of the region. The party said: “W e wonder when the ACN governors will jettison such political parochialism. They have been so blinded by partisan politics that they fail to see when to draw the line and show support to a good cause, even if such is not being executed by their party”.

BOOK PRESENTATION—From left: Mrs Christy Momah, wife of the celebrant; MajorGeneral Sam Momah (rtd), Celebrant and former Minister of Science and Technology; Dr (Mrs) Maryam Abacha, former First Lady; Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, National Chairman, All Nigeria People's Party; Prof Barth Nnaji, former Minister of Power and Dr Virgy Etiaba, former Deputy Governor of Anambra State during the public presentation of the book and 70th birthday celebration of Maj-Gen Sam Momah at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, weekend.

Gana, Mantu back autonomy for LGs BY CALEB AYANSINA BUJA – FORMER Deputy Senate President, Senator Ibrahim Mantu, and exInformation Minister, Professor Jerry Gana, have cautioned governors not to move against local government autonomy as the 1999 constitution was being reviewed. According to them, governors’ antagonism to LG autonomy will not be in the interest of the nation. Mantu and Gana, who spoke at the inauguration of Forum of Northern Local Government Chairmen in Abuja, also warned the forum not to be used by governors to deny their autonomy, charging them to ensure grassroot development, in spite of challenges. Mantu noted that with current advocacy ongoing for local government autonomy, some state governors had started lobbying State Houses of Assembly to vote against it, as they allegedly did in the last

constitution review. He said: “As you grow stronger, remember the challenges you are going to face, don’t be intimidated by anybody". “We proposed the idea of getting your fund directly from the allocation to ensure rural development, but they worked against it. “In the last review , they used the State Assemblies to vote against local government autonomy because they don’t want you to be free. This time around, don’t let them use you, stand your ground.” Chairman of the occasion, Prof. Jerry Gana, described local government council as the most powerful system of government, in terms of its relevance to rural development, stressing the need for it to be autonomous. He said with the formation of the forum, made up of 419 local government areas in the north, they could effectively contribute to nation building with enhanced local participation.

“Almost everybody in Nigeria now wants autonomy for the local government, so that financially you are free, because they believe it will enhance governance at the grass root. Gana said: “Please I beg you, use that autonomy well, don’t use it for yourself, but for the benefit of Nigerians; there is responsibility that comes with the autonomy". Gana stressed the need for LG chairmen to develop quality of good and purposeful leadership, noting that mediocre leadership would produce mediocre development. He added: "The first principle is that leadership ability is always the lid on personal or organizational effectiveness. If the leadership ability is strong, the possibilities are very high. “But under poor leadership an organization,s capacity to grow and expand may be highly limited. Therefore, to change the fortunes or potentials of an organization, change leadership”.

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16 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 8, 2013 NIGERIA is reputed to have the second highest rate of road accidents among 193 countries and deaths from reckless driving are the third leading cause of death in Nigeria. In 2012, at least 473 persons died from a total of 1,115 vehicular accidents nationwide. April may go down as the worst month in terms of road accidents in 2013. ·April 3: A luxury bus and a smaller bus crashed on the Abuja-Lokoja Road, 18 died. ·April 5: A petrol tanker set luxury bus and articulated vehicle ablaze at Ugbogui village on Ore-Benin Expressway, 80 people were burnt beyond recognition. · April 6: At Dazigan, 11 kilometres from Potiskum, Yobe State, 20 died in an accident. · April 11: 10 died on the Damaturu-Gashua Road also in Yobe State. · April 14: Seven died on the Abuja-Lokoja Road, a car ran into an articulated vehicle. · April 15: Five died on the Asaba-Onitsha Expressway. By the middle of April, 142 people had died from reported motor accidents, 30 per cent of the 473 deaths recorded in 2012 had been

Road Accidents — More causes For Alarm covered in only 15 days! Are we the only ones panicking? There could be more unreported cases, and as often happens, some of the injured die without making the statistics. What inform compilation of travellers’ manifests and payment of insurance premiums? Who collects the money? Why are insurance companies not paying families of accident victims claims? There is no record of any payment for loss of lives and disabilities from road accidents though it is stated that fares include insurance covers. Put differently, Nigerian roads have become killing fields without protection for their users. Travellers heave a sigh of relief if they

make their destinations. The worrisome trend has tremendous negative impact on the nation’s health system as well as its social and economic aspirations. Who takes responsibility for these? Are the campaigns of the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, effective, going by the recurring carnage on our roads? Are these campaigns substitutes for proper road construction and maintenance culture, maintenance of vehicles, regulation of articulated trucks and petrol tankers, sanctions on owners of vehicles that cause mass deaths on our roads? When bad roads cause accidents, governments that failed to maintain the roads should share in the liability. Efforts must be made to curb the menace of the tankers and articulated vehicles on our roads. The carnage has to be stopped. All the various agencies that should ensure safer roads should work together to save lives. Public enlightenment should be intensified. Our roads would be safer if they are well built, well maintained and a culture of obeying traffic regulations is enforced.

23,1,21 BY ERNEST OMOARELOJIE

OT too long ago, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, had reasons to openly express his candid opinion on the unwilling attitude of state governors towards carrying out one of their very important constitutional responsibilities. Perhaps by sheer coincidence, he did so as a father even on a day (Fathers Day) many would have preferred to talk about the good side of fathers. But like a father truly conscious of his responsibilities towards the safety of his children, his major concern was to remind other fathers, this time the Nigerian state governors, of the need to act and protect the rights of the people from the indiscretion of their aggressive and murderous kith and kin. In an obvious diplomatic way, he made it clear that he was not pleased with the manner state executives tactically shied away from performing their constitutional assignment, particularly in giving their consent to the execution of death row prisoners, convicted for murder by courts of competent jurisdiction. According to him, not giving their approval was wrong because it would give the impression that they place more value on political expedience than the protection of human rights deliberately abused and violated by others. But for advocates of absolute freedom, the President's admonition was a freeway approval for an archaic order that seeks to give an unrestrained rein to the state governors to violate peoples right to life with impunity. Indeed, the President was in their opinion very wrong in asking state

Death penalty and the human rights community governors to start approving death sentences in their various states as no crime deserves the death penalty, more or less. As if they were in a hurry to be heard, none of them gave a thought to the feelings of those whose lives were ended brutally by the action of the affected death row inmates. Therefore, it was not a surprise that they cried their voice hoarse when news filtered in that Daniel Nsofor , Osarenmwenda Aigbokhan, Chima Ejiofor and Richard Igagu, all convicted murderers long approved for execution by Edo State government, were quietly executed in a prison facility in Benin City on Monday, June 24, 2013. For them, the execution was not only inhuman, it was also an abuse of legalities as a suit instituted by the convicts (probably unaware that it had been thrown out) was still before a court. Not done, they made the point that the action was against the spirit of a United Nations non-binding declaration, to which Nigeria is a signatory, that places a moratorium on execution. The uproar against the execution was championed by the Amnesty International, ably supported by other groups, including the Legal Defence and Assistance Project, LEDAP, African Network for Environmental and Economic Justice, ANEEJ, Gani Fawehinmi Movement for Good Governance, GFMGG and Conference of Non-Governmental Organisations, CONGOs. But good as their position appear, they appeared to have deliberately

overlooked certain universal facts that are at variance with their position. One of them is that like every other rights, a person's right to life stops where it interferes with another person's right. All over the world, the right to life is the most sacred right any man can wish for . It is so important that it is not only protected by the state using the constitution as guide, its protection is such that where it is violated, the state must ensure that anyone found guilty of violating it is statutorily and appropriately sanctioned. That is why it is regarded as inalienable. In the course of finding appropriate sanctions for curtailing violations, individual countries, including Nigeria and the United States, evolved certain measures, including execution. For instance, in accordance with the Nigerian statutes, every criminal found guilty and condemned to death as prescribed by the law in cases involving treason, murder , armed robbery, etc, is certain to pay the full penalty. However, the terms of execution are as spelt out statutorily and in clear terms.

ne of them is that it will only be carried out having duly been approved by state executives. Even at that, it is the responsibility of the Nigerian Prisons to carry out the execution order having duly ensured that those so convicted are allowed the right of appeal up to the Supreme Court. Where the convict cannot

afford legal representation, it is incumbent on the state to provide him with one. This process was duly followed in the case popularly referred to as the Edo Four. This is with a view to avoiding miscarriage of justice. It is important to note here that the current governor gave approval for the execution of Daniel Nsofor and Osarenmwenda Aigbokhan almost 12 calendar months before the President's admonition. The assent for the execution of Chima Ejiofor and Richard Igagu, was given over a decade ago by Chief Lucky Nosakhare Igbinedion. Differently, the affected convicts have taken their cases through the prescribed legal processes, including appeals up to the Supreme Court. Interestingly, in giving its judgement on one of the final appeals, the Supreme Court described one of the accused as belonging to hell. However, before carrying the Edo Four execution order, the prison authorities showed sufficient proof that it is very familiar with these facts. Little wonder that in waiting this far to implement the execution order, it allowed the convicts to even approach the Federal High Court in Benin City, on the grounds that their continuous stay in death row for well over one decade was traumatic, inhuman and cruel. Continues on the People &Politics pg *Mr. Omoarelojie, a public affairs analyst, wrote from Benin City, Edo State.

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We'll contain Warri North crisis— Uduaghan •Obielum, Ogbudugbudu National Council condemn killings, destruction of property BY EMMA AMAIZE, FESTUS AHON & CHARLES KUMOLU

ARRI—DELTA State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, said, yesterday, that the state government was ensuring that the latest crisis in Warri North Local Government Area of the state did not degenerate into an ethnic war between Itsekiris and Ijaws. Meanwhile, Delta State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP chieftain and governorship hopeful, Chief Godswill Obielum and Ogbudugbudu National Council in Egbema clan of W arri North, have condemned the killing of innocent persons and destruction of property in the crisis. It will be recalled that the Egbema Radical Group, ERG, an Ijaw militia, last u Tesday, launched attacks on their Itsekiri neighbours, killing no fewer than 12 persons, including a couple and their child, and razed about three communities. They alleged that the Itsekiris were marginalising Ijaws in W arri North, as they claim that the Ijaw people have not produced the chairman of the council since it was created. Meantime, ERG has called on the Delta State Government to implement the Warri Peace Agreement to provide a lasting solution to the recurring crisis in Warrri North. On checking the crisis, Governor Uduaghan, who spoke to Vanguard on phone, said: “I was one of those who managed the Itsekiri/Ijaw crisis in the past and I know what the war between the two ethnic nationalities was like. It is not what well-meaning people in the area want to relive, and so, as a government, we are being diplomatic to separate agitation from criminality.

Management of the crisis “We have been managing it since it started, last Tuesday. I am being briefed by people on ground and top officials of security agencies in the state. We have also met several times to appraise the situation and take measures to handle same. The measures we put in place are working; we are not sleeping over the development. Security agents are on the trail of those who resorted to criminality in the area. If you watch, calm has returned after we banned the use of certain calibre of speedboats for transportation in the creek, the Joint Task Force is in the creek to ar rest the situation. “We are behind the scene to ensure that there is ceasefire by those making trouble and if they refuse, we will use security agents to overcome them. And now that there is ceasefire, government will send people to the affected communities to ascertain the damage and also distribute relief materials.” The governor who said he would be meeting with stakeholders from the two sides, during the week, to examine the cause of disagreement and proffer solution, however, warned leaders from the areas to be cautious of their statements, “as provocative and inciting statements are not solution to the problem.” Spokesperson of ERG, Mr. Ami Dada, confirmed to Vanguard that the group ordered a ceasefire to enable government and other leaders, who had intervened in the matter to address the issues. He said the group resorted to violence because the

marginalisation had been on for about 21 years without government addressing it. Meanwhile, Delta State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, chieftain and governorship hopeful, Chief Godswill Obielum, has condemned the killing of innocent persons and destruction of property in Warri North Local Government Area of the state. He called on the Ijaws and Itsekiris of the area to shun acts that would truncate the peace and security agenda of the state government. Obielum said in a statement: “I appeal to our Ijaw and Itsekiri brothers and sisters in Warri North to give peace a chance and desist from anything that will turn the hand of clock and erode the gains of Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan’s peace, security and developmental agenda under the three point’s agenda of the state government. I, therefore, enjoin our Ijaw and Itsekiri brothers to close ranks and maintain the peace to avoid unnecessary loss of lives and property. I condemn in the strictest ter m, the dastardly killing of innocent persons and destruction of property Warri North. “While commending the state governor for the proactive step he had taken so far to avert crises, I call on security operatives in the state to redouble their efforts in maintaining the hard earned peace. My prayers and that of my family are with those who lost their beloved ones and property in the unfortunate incident.”

Ogbudugbudu council condemns attacks Similarly, the Ogbudugbudu National Council in Egbema clan of W arri North also condemned the attack on Itsekiri villages. The council, in a statement by its Chairman, Ambassador Meshack Ubabiri;

General Secretary, Mr. Morris Anuwo,

and others, noted that such attacks on innocent citizens of the Itsekiri villages in the Warri North Local was not acceptable. Thanking the Federal Government for its quick intervention by deploying and stationing security personnel in the troubled areas of Ogbeinbiri, Idebagbene, Adagbarasa, Gbokoda, Obaghoro, Opuama Zion, Ogbudugbudu and Ogheye communities, the council requested that similar

Sen Abe flays Rivers PDP's visit to Jonathan

protection should also extended to the Ijaws as this was not the current reality on ground. The council said: “The Itsekiris are our immediate neighbours in Benin River.We have lived together peacefully as brothers and sisters from time immemorial, and hardly would one see an Itsekiri without an Ijaw blood, and vice versa. Therefore, we sternly believe that an injury done to an Itsekiri person is an injury done to an Ijaw man. “We, therefore, call for a stop to the mayhem against the Itsekiri communities, and indeed any other community in W arri North. We do believe that violence is not the solution to the problem of political marginalisation against the Ijaws in Warri North.” Meanwhile, Egbema Radical Group, ERG, has called on the Delta State Government to implement the W arri Peace Agreement to provide a lasting solution to the recurring crisis in Warrri North Local Government Area. A statement by its President, Mr. Ami Dada lamented that Egbema Ijaws had been marginalised and oppressed by their Itsekiri neighbours in the last 21 years. The statement said: "while the entire clan of Egbema Ijaws are fighting for their equal representation in every sector in the state and local government, instead of addressing the political injustice, the state government is blackmailing us with false allegations and also giving misleading information to JTF in Koko, headquarters of Warri North council to carry out illegal arrests to stop our genuine struggle against political injustice. "We the Egbema R adical Group are categorically making our intention known to the general public that this tactic of arresting our people innocently will not stop our struggle against political injustice. It will not bring peace to W arri North except the state government do a re-think and implement the peace agreements they applied in Warri South and Warri South West. Egbema Radical Group is, therefore, advising the military operatives in Koko, Nigeria Police Force, and DSS to please stay away from this issue, because this is purely political.”

ENATOR representing Riv ers South-East in the National Assembly, and chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Senator Magnus Abe, yesterday, described the visit by the Rivers State chapter of the Peoples’ Democratic P arty, PDP, to P resident Goodluck Jonathan as capable of truncating reconciliatory moves among aggrieved members. Senator Abe in Bori, headquarters of Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State, noted that the group that visited the President was a faction of the party leadership in the state. He said: “I am a senator and a member of PDP, but was not invited; the state deputy governor, Engr. Tele Ikuru, to the best of my knowledge was not invited. Members of the House of Representatives were not invited just as several other stakeholders.”

Cleric seeks truth of Gov Suntai‘s health

ATHOLIC Church cleric in Jalingo, Taraba State, Rev. Father Charles Nyameh, has challenged the state House of Assembly and the State Executive Council to tell the world the truth about the state of health of Governor Danbaba Suntai. He said in a statement, weekend, that politicians in the state were lying about the state of health of the governor, warning: “it is time the truth is known so that the state can move forward. I strongly call and urge, in the name of God, Taraba State Executive Council and Taraba State House of Assembly to do what is necessary and within their constitutional powers, to make Taraba State have a substantive governor. We cannot continue in this situation indefinitely. We should tell ourselves the truth and do what is necessary for the state to move forward."

L-r: Dr. Uju M. Ogubunka, Registrar/Chief Executive, CIBN; Mr. Segun Ajibola, 2nd Vice President, CIBN; Mr Kevin Amugo, Deputy Director Financial Policy & Regulation Dept., CBN; Mr Segun Aina, President/Chairman of Council, CIBN; Senator Isa Mohammed Galadudu, special guest of honour and vice chairman, Senate Committee on Banks, Insurance and other Financial Institutions; and 1st Vice President, CIBN, Otunba (Mrs )Debola Osibogun, during the Graduates Induction and prize awards organised by The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) in Lagos: Photo: Diran Oshe

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46 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; VANGUARD, MONDAY, JULY 8,

2013

National Assembly committees The committees of the National Assembly have been repeatedly identified as the engine room of the legislature, the pivot upon which the oversight, law-making and confirmatory processes rest upon. Given the prime roles of the committees, it is not surprising that jostling for key committees or juicy committees as they are known, have often been laced with intrigues. Relatedly, the committees would not be detached from the several successes and also, the odious spews that have emanated and besmirched the legislature. Following the inauguration of the National Assembly in June 2011 and the inaugura-

SENATE

VEN before Senator David Mark made his easy return as President of the Senate in June 2011, many returning senators and first time senators had commenced various schemes for juicy committee positions. While many senators perfected their plots to acquire some juicy committees, Mark was reported to have guarded against subterranean moves by a few to get him into succumbing to their whims and caprices in the choice of committees. Senator Mark obviously working with the benefit of experience, having steered the affairs of the previous Senate was able to take his time to put what he supposed were round pegs in round holes. So, when he named the leaders of the Senate committees on September 15, the stage appeared set for the Red Chamber to hit the ground running, considering that the committees are the engine room of the parliament.

Allusions to meritocracy Allusions to meritocracy , nonetheless, there was no hiding the fact that the composition of the committees was an opportunity for the new Senate leadership to reward many returning senators who had proved loyal to Mark. A look at the sharing of the committee chairmanships showed that it was not only carried out along party lines, but also along geopolitical divides. Despite the famed experience of the Senate President it is still remarkable that he did not take chances of muttering or spreading banana peel by reducing the number of the committees as had been severally advocated by some who see the proliferation of

committees as a reason for the lack of productivity and lack of synergy of many committees. Out of 56 standing committees, the South W est zone got four chairmanship slots, the South East got 10 slots, the North Central received 12 slots, North W est got nine, North East received eight, South South got the highest number of chairmanship positions with 13 slots. Along party lines, the PDP with 73 senators in its fold, took 45 of the committee chairmanship positions, conceding 11 slots to the minority parties. The All Nigerian P eoples

BY JOSEPH ERUNKE

the various committees are always in competition to see who comes first, given their engagements during legislative days. Indeed, regularly after plenary sessions, leaders of the various committees dash for committee assignments with many of them conscious of the fact that the eyes of Senator Mark are monitoring them in one way or the other. One particular observable trend for many of the committees is that committee chairmen are always in the habit of exceeding the assignments given to them for duties. So, it would be difficult to

Senator Mark obviously working with the benefit of experience, having steered the affairs of the previous Senate was able to take his time to put what he supposed were round pegs in round holes

Party, ANPP , with eight senators got four chairmanship positions while the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, boasting with 18 senators got three slots. L abour Party, LP, with four members, got two committee chairmanship positions. The the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, with seven senators, got one, while the only All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, senator, Chris Anyanwu, got one too. Two years on, the question of how these committees fared in line with peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s aspirations and expectations remains an issue. None of the various committees could be said to have lived wholly below expectations, given that nearly all have at one time or the other , since inauguration, made one impact or the other in their various oversight functions and confirmation of executive appointments. None could also boast of excelling others. In fact, it appears as if the leaders of

isolate any one committee on the basis of promptness to assignments. There is, however , no denying the fact that the committees on Media and Public A ffairs, FCT, Health, Appropriation, R ules and Business, Aviation, Education, Employment, Labour and Productivity, Federal Character and Inter-Governmental Affairs, Judiciar y, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Petroleum (Downstream), Petroleum (Upstream), Power, and Public Accounts, appear most visible. Others prefer to carry out their constitutional responsibilities without publicity, which cannot be said to translate to nonperformance. The satisfactory performances of the Senate committees in the eyes of the leadership, may have explained why when he was giving the mid-term stewardship of the Seventh Senate, the Senate President, rather than giving a break-

â&#x20AC;˘Mark down of performances of the committees, chose to applaud the entire Senate, contrary to some peoplesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; expectations. The Senate President, in his assessment, gave what was seen as general assessment of the entire Senate.

Committee's performances His silence over the various committeesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; performances was an indication that none of the committees had failed to live up to expectation of the Senate leadership. According to him, the bill

progression chart showed that the Seventh Senate has so far passed 31 bills, while a total of 110 bills were read for the first time with 36 other bills scaling second reading. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But the statistics do not tell the whole stor y. They do not reveal the rigours and profundity of thought that preceded the passage of each of the bills. It is not the number of bills passed or public hearings, or ad-hoc committees raised or motions taken that matter, but the robustness and meticulousness of consideration of the bill, and its potential impact on governance, and on the people,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Legislatures are deliberative institutions. The critics of this chamber, because there will always be critics, claim loudly that the National Assembly does not pass enough bills for concomitant expenditure. I unequivocally refute these charges. The second session of the Seventh Senate has recorded major achievements that you can be justly proud of,â&#x20AC;? he insisted.

VANGUARD, MONDAY, JULY 8, 2013 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 47

s: The bony and the juicy tion of separate leaderships for the Senate and the House of Representatives, the presiding officers took months to constitute the committees of the two chambers. At that time both presiding officers claimed to have put round pegs in round holes. Senate President David Mark and Speaker Aminu Tambuwal followed the path of political exigency trodden by their predecessors with the proliferation of the committees. While the Senate came up with 57 committees making every senator either a committee chairman or vice-chairman, the House churned out 91 committees ensuring that every other member is either a chairman or vice-chairman. At mid term, the committees in the two chambers are brought under review. and his Capital Oil on one hand and Access Bank and Coscharis on the other hand. The Finance Committee of the House is another Committee which has so far proved to be diligent in its oversight role over the executive arm of government. The committee has become a thorn in the flesh of government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) in their detailed scrutiny of the activities of revenue generating agencies of government. So far , the Committee h a s summoned the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its subsidiaries to account for shortfalls in revenue remittances to the Consolidated Revenue Fund of

BY OKEY NDIRIBE

HOUSE OF REPS

T he focus of the very active Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the House has been that of unearthing past financial malfeasances on the part of the federal ministries and agencies

T is beyond doubt that the committees of the legislature constitute its engine room. This also applies to the Seventh session of the House of Representatives which has just completed two years of its fouryear tenure. Among the 91 Committees of the House, several have distinguished themselves through purposeful assertiveness. For instance, the Committee on Constitution has so far worked assiduously to bestow an amended constitution to the nation. The Committee had last April presented the result of the Peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Public Sessions on review of the 1999 Constitution held by the House in November 2012. Ever since the House was inaugurated, the Committee has worked to achieve the goal of altering the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grundnorm. The Committee identified 43 items which the entire members of the House used as a template during

Committee has summoned the chief executives of many government parastatals to render account of past questionable expenditures incurred by them. Even the administrative arm of the Supreme Court was summoned at a time to give account of past financial allocations to the apex judicial arm of government in the land. The Committee on W orks has also been on the move. For the past nine months the Committee has been touring different parts of the country inspecting road projects of the Federal Government. The Committee which has many road construction experts as members has so far exposed several shoddily executed road projects across the country. The relevant contractors have been warned to improve on their performance or be thrown out and recommended the revocation of some road contracts that didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t meet minimum standards. The Committee on Interparliamentary relations has also done a lot to promote the relationship between the National Assembly and the legislature of

â&#x20AC;˘Tambuwal the Public Sessions conducted in the 360 constituencies nationwide. Another Committee which has evidently had a heavy workload since inception is the Public Petitions Committee. So far , this Committee has received and deliberated on petitions from different individuals and groups across the country. The Committee has on many occasions engaged in painstaking legislative investigation of complaints against the Government, its agencies, corporate organizations and even individuals at different times. For instance, the Committee had to wade into the high profile dispute between oil magnate Ifeanyi Ubah

the federation. The Committee has tackled many government agencies headlong. On several occasions the Committee had threatened to resort to the use of bench warrant to summon chief executives of government parastatals to appear before the House. In a related assignment, the focus of the very active Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the House has been that of unearthing past financial malfeasances on the part of the federal ministries and agencies. With the annual report of the A uditor-General of the Federation (AuGF) as a guide, the Committee has successfully turned the heat on several government institutions that had not been accountable in the past. The

other democratic countries around the world. This Committee is believed to have played a pivotal role in the emergence of Hon. Bethel Amadi as the President of African Parliamentary Union. So far, Hon. Amadi who is a member of the House has used his position to strengthen Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s relationship with other legislative houses in Africa and beyond. The Media and Public Affairs Committee of the House has diligently carried out its assignment in the last two years and has routinely addressed the media about the activities of the House ever y Thursday. During such media briefings, Hon. Zakari Mohammed or his deputy Victor Ogene brief journalists about activities of the House during the

out-going week. The Committee on Appropriation which is usually saddled with the responsibility of working on the annual budget submitted by the executive is normally under heavy pressure as soon as the fiscal document has been presented before the National Assembly. During the last face-off between the lawmakers and the presidency over the 2013 Budget, the leadership of the Committee alongside the leadership of the House held series of meetings which lasted several weeks to break the deadlock. However, the fate of the proposed amendment to the 2013 Budget sent to the National Assembly last April by President Goodluck Jonathan is not yet known.

Nigerians in diaspora Another Committee which has performed creditably is the Committee on Diaspora Affairs. The Committee has actively intervened in the lives of Nigerians in diaspora. For instance, the Committee reached out to the Government of Ghana when the authorities of that country attempted to throw out Nigerian traders from their markets through the introduction of outrageous stall rents. The Ghanaians were eventually forced to reverse the obnoxious policy. The activities of the Committee on Education are also worthy of mention. The Committee not long ago held an investigative hearing on the cause of incessant crises at the University of Abuja. Its findings were an eye opener concerning the chaotic operation of that citadel of learning. Again, when the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) wanted to compulsorily introduce the use of computers during the 2013 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), the Committee waded into the matter and directed the examination body to refrain from doing so since many Nigerian candidates for the examination were not yet computer literate.

48â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 8, 2013

Can APC ride its internal storms? sharing process, is that its leadership is dominated by Muslims. A cursory glance at the top positions reveals that Arewa and Yoruba Muslims clearly call the shots. Apart from the interim National Chairman, Akande, the ANPPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Alhaji Tijani Tumsah is the National Secretary. The interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed of the ACN; Mallam Nasir el Rufai of the CPC (the Deputy National Secretary); the Chairman, Board of T rustees, Alhaji Nmodu Sheriff who is widely accused of being a sponsor of Boko Haram, are all Muslims. The two National Leaders of the political association, Tinubu and Buhari, are also Muslims. The highest position ceded to a Christian is Deputy National Chairman, which goes to the South East and Rochas Okorochaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA. Christians do not have a strong footing in the leadership of the APC, but it hardly has anything to do with deliberate marginalisation. Lai Mohammed tried to play down this factor by disclosing that out of the 35 posts shared out, Muslims have 18, while Christians got 17. This means that the party had gone the extra mile to give the Christians some â&#x20AC;&#x153;affirmative actionâ&#x20AC;?. The Muslim domination of the APC owes to the basic regional characters of the political parties forming the merger. The ACNâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s home base is the South W est, in which Christians and Muslims appear equally distributed by population. The CPC and ANPP are chiefly based in the North West and North East, the core of Arewa. North West is about 90 per cent

Muslims, while the North East is about 60 per cent Muslim dominated. The part of the North East where ANPP comes from â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Borno and Yobe â&#x20AC;&#x201C; is about 80 per cent Muslim-dominated. The APCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s current core catchment areas constitute roughly about 70 per cent Muslims.

ET me observe, first of all, that the ongoing merger effort by the political parties wanting to form the All Progressives Congress, APC, is approaching a milestone. It has got to the level of sharing of interim national offices, with the expected charged outcomes. Its traducers are accusing the APC of being a Muslim-dominated party, and the party through its interim Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, is calling them â&#x20AC;&#x153;purveyors of falsehoodâ&#x20AC;?. If they overcome the challenges of this level of evolution, the next obstacle will be the selection of presidential candidate for the 2015 election. In the short and medium term, management of the groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;naturalâ&#x20AC;? fault lines â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, All Nigerian P eoples P arty, ANPP and Congress for Progressive Change, CPC and other sub-group interests â&#x20AC;&#x201C; will greatly task the leadership. Power and office sharing in the APC will first satisfy the interests of these subgroups before considering geopolitical issues, unlike the PDP which goes straight to geopolitical factors in apportioning posts within the party and the Federal Government. The three major merging parties will continue to ensure that their group interests are not swallowed by their rivals, particularly as these groups also represent regional interests. The ACN from the South West led by Alhaji Ahmed Bola Tinubu, will always look out for its regional interests, making sure that, being the largest political group in the merger , it maintains its lionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shareholding. The emergence of its National Chairman, Alhaji Bisi Akande, as the interim National Chairman hardly comes as a surprise. On the other hand, the CPC with Alhaji Muhammadu Buhari as its leader will also seek to collude with the ANPP to push Arewa interests, particularly its quest to regain power at the centre. If both blocs are able to manage this regional power tussle and nominate a viable and acceptable presidential ticket then the party is well on its way to selfactualisation. By far the most challenging factor in this start-up party is the issue of religion, particularly Christian-Muslim equations. P art of the accusations levelled at the group after its recent office

itself, if it fields a Muslim presidential candidate in 2015 (which appears very likely) religion will become a campaign factor against them. They will be running against a ruling party (PDP) which has no regional or religious deficiency problem because the party is evenly spread all over the country with every group comfortably accommodated. To overcome these problems, apart from the need to embark on a fierce drive to accommodate predominantly Christian zones, the group must create a sound ideological document to persuade voters. Perhaps, that way it can make all the difference. People often say it does not matter whether we have Muslim/Muslim ticket or Christian/Christian ticket. They also say it does not matter where the person comes from provided he or she is a competent and God-fearing leader. Much as this is true, it is also important for a political party or government produced by it to be truly

A competent leader who is narrow-minded like Buhari will take most of the goodies of his regime to his region as he did during his reign as Head of State and Executive Chairman of the defunct Petroleum Trust Fund, PTF; he will not give others a sense of belonging; he will implement regional agenda and call it â&#x20AC;&#x153;national agendaâ&#x20AC;? like Northern Muslims who ruled Nigeria did in the past

It is natural that Muslims will dominate the group, for now . Whether L ai Mohammed likes it or not, the religious and regional configuration of the leadership of any political party will be a factor in any national election because religion, ethnicity and region are still very vital and commanding elements of Nigerian politics. What it also means is that the APC has to work very hard to reach out of its core Muslim base and bring in the North Central, South East and South-South, which are the core Christian zones of Nigeria. The North Central is just about evenly divided between Muslims and Christians. The South East and SouthSouth are about 95 per cent populated by Christians and non-Muslims. Given the situation the group finds

national and broad-based like the PDP. A competent leader who is narrowminded, like Buhari, will take most of the goodies of his regime to his region as he did during his reign as Head of State and Executive Chairman of the defunct Petroleum Trust Fund, PTF. He will not give others a sense of belonging. He will implement regional agenda and call it â&#x20AC;&#x153;national agendaâ&#x20AC;? like Northern Muslims who ruled Nigeria did in the past. If Lai Mohammed sees the obvious skewed distribution of the interim APC offices as â&#x20AC;&#x153;equal opportunities across the regionsâ&#x20AC;? it shows he believes that is what each of the regions deserves from their group. It is a pointer to things to come if the party comes to power. APC is coming to war with PDP with too many internal weaknesses.

23,1,21 Jonathanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s state pardon: The lucky, the not so lucky BY BASHIR ADEFAKA

RESIDENT Goodluck Ebelle Jonathan, last March, announced pardon for former public officers including his former boss, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha. Opposition to the pardon was premised on the alleged intention of the president, who appeared to have laboured to save a supposedly corrupt former governor who was already an ex-convict and barred from holding public office. Apart from the former Bayelsa governor, other beneficiaries of the pardon were former number-two citizen, Lt. General Oladipo Diya; former Minister of Communications and General Officer Commanding, GOC, 3rd Division of the Nigerian Ar my, Major-General Tajudeen Olanrewaju; for mer Minister of Works and Housing and Military Governor of old Oyo State, Major-General AbdulKarim Adisa and others. Many of the people who opposed that presidential pronouncement, said they were not happy that government was not pardoning those who ordinarily should have benefitted. These are the generals whose offence was merely political accusation of participation in a phantom coup orchestrated by the regime of late General Sani Abacha. They asked why General Ishaya Bamaiyi, who was Chief of Army Staff and was severally mentioned

as arrow-head in the alleged plot was left off the hook? Critics of President Jonathanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s state pardon said he only added those Generalsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; names to the list to give credence to the pardon of Alamieyeseigha. That claim is today more than explicit in the sense that the presidency has continued to foot-drag on the release of a gazette to that effect. The problem with this is that, while the presidential pronouncement might have shielded Alamieyeseigha from the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;ex-convictâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; stigma, Diya, Olanrewaju, Adisa and others from the military have not been so lucky. The pronouncement without an official gazette to back it up has hampered the Army Council or Army High Command from effecting the release of their benefits, which had been withheld for sixteen years now . In a newspaper report recently, an Army General was quoted as saying that Generals Diya, Olanrewaju, Adisa and others were fine officers who had contributed immensely to the general good of the countr y. He added that their entitlements had already been computed and ready for release but that the Ar my was, however , constrained by the fact that there had not been any official communication from the presidency to enable them restore their military status and release those entitlements to them. If the state pardon for Generals was truly a pardon, why is it that while the former Bayelsa governor is already

enjoying his accrued benefits, the Generals are still not able to access any of the benefits expected of the pardon? They are supposed to have military guards in their respective homes; none of them has got that. Not even General Diya, who was fast in thanking President Jonathan shortly after the announcement in March can boast of anything from the pardon. The retired military top bras should have been paid their monies, yet none of them has got it. What Jonathanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pardon is meant to achieve with the Generals, only the Aso Rock chief landlord can explain. It is, therefore, important that the President directs the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Mohammed Adoke, whose office is responsible for the publication of the gazette, to release the official publication stating the names of those pardoned without further delay. And that should officially be communicated to the Army High Command to enable them act. The president has many battles to confront. These battles, the way they look, seem to be gaining grounds in rubbishing his commitment to good governance. The best and only available missile he can deploy to strike them down is to make more friends with the Generals: Diya, Olanrewaju and even AbdulKarim Adisa (in death) inclusive.

Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 8, 2013 — 49

50 — VANGUARD, MONDAY, JULY 8, 2013

Egypt Crises: Explosion hits gas pipeline

Probing the Rangers saga

N explosion hit an Egyptian pipeline on Saturday in the lawless Sinai peninsula following a series of attacks on security checkpoints, state TV and witnesses said. It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the pipeline and checkpoint attacks or if they were in reaction to the Egyptian ar my ’s overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi on Wednesday. The pipeline, which supplies gas to Jordan, has been attacked more than 10 times since former autocratic President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in 2011 during the Arab Spring uprisings. Five security officers

Egyptian protesters with deposed President Morsi's pix in the background were killed at their checkpoints in Sinai on Friday and four other checkpoints were attacked on Saturday. A priest was killed at one checkpoint by a group of militants, according to security sources. Meanwhile, Egypt’s

new president says proreform leader Mohamed Elbaradei has not yet been appointed as interim prime minister despite earlier reports. A spokesman for interim President Adly Mansour said consultations were continuing.

Lawyer accused of exaggerating Mandela’s illness

lawyer acting for the family of Nelson Mandela is facing disciplinary action for allegedly exaggerating the severity of the ailing statesman’s ill health to obtain a speedy hearing. David Smith, who was acting for Mandela’s oldest daughter Makaziwe, his wife Graca Machel and exwife Winnie MadikizelaMandela, told the court in a statement that the 94-year-old was in a “permanent vegetative

Nelson Mandela condition” and doctors had advised that his family think about switching off his life support machine. The claim was made in a closed court hearing on June 26 but leaked to the media late last week. The family have

refused to comment on its veracity but Denis Goldberg, a family friend and fellow antiapartheid activist, said last week that when he visited Mandela, he opened his eyes and tried to speak to him. He said Machel told him the doctors were advising “ not even to think about” turning off his life support, adding: “They think he has a very good chance of recovery.”

Nigerians in China demand Consular office in Guangzhou would produce the longBY CHIOMA OBINNA

S President Goodluck Jonathan visits China this week, Nigerians living in Guangzhou part of the country have asked him

to provide them with a consular office in the city. In a statement, spokesperson of Nigerians in China, Mr. Festus Mbisiogu, expressed confident that the President’s visit

US air crash: Officials recover black boxes at crash site

N V E S T I G AT O R S recovered both black boxes from Asiana Airlines Flight 214 on Sunday as the airline’s president said that engine failure was likely not the cause of the crash that killed two and injured scores more on the runway at San Francisco International Airport. The black boxes from the aircraft, which record critical in-flight data, were recovered from the wreckage and were

transported for examination on Sunday, the officials from the National Transportation Safety Board said.

awaited consular office in Guaugzhou as well as put an end to the plight of Nigerians in the cause of processing visa and other relevant travelling and working documents. Guangzhou is the largest city in China. An estimated 30,000 Nigerians reportedly live in the city. The Nigerians noted the imperative of the appeal considering their tortuous process of obtaining working and travelling documents.

Snowden receives asylum offers would give asylum to the

HE presidents of Nicaragua, Venezuela and Bolivia have indicated their countries could offer political asylum to US fugitive Edward Snowden.Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro said it

intelligence leaker, who is believed to be holed up in a transit area of Moscow airport. Meanwhile Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega said his country would do so “if circumstances permit”.

our game and playing personnel despite their experience deficit. With Uruguay, because they are a South American team and we seem to always come up short against teams from that region, maybe because they are more streetwise than us? I felt the worst we would take from that game was to share the spoils. Unfortunately and annoyingly we lost both games. But I was impressed with Keshi’s “game management”, his tactical approach and response to realtime match situations. More importantly, however, I came away with the impression that Nigeria can make a big bang impression at the World Cup if we could learn the lessons inherent. For instance, after the Spain game I said, on Facebook, that Brazil will beat Spain because like us they will create chances, but unlike us, they will take those chances. The Super Eagles went behind the Spanish defence in ways that no team had done in recent times but we lacked a certain “something”, same for the Uruguayan game. To me, it goes beyond the obvious play ers not scoring goals even when chances are presented on a plate – we lack champions’ mentality, and this affects the way we approach games, the way we prosecute dead ball advantages and the way we “seem” to give up when the “lines have not yet fallen in pleasant places” for us. We should also jettison our laid back attitude…we need to have this in-yourface, I must-win-no-matter-what approach, while not disrespecting our opponents. Your suggestion that Ideye’s goal drought should see him dropped from the team is not one I agree with, with due respect. He hasn’t scored but his general industry has helped the cause of the team. Remember at the Nations Cup, his partnership with Emenike We can build on the produced goals, even when both of them did not score. He unsettles defences, Confederation Cup and helps the midfield with his For the past three weeks there have seemingly untiring work rate. Left to the been shades of opinion on the Eagles and the Confederation Cup. Last week, Brazilian public, Fred would have been kicked out of their team for long before I even went a step further to say that his starring role at the Confeds. we should beware lest our string of Moreover, how many goals did Hulk defeats affect our FIF A Coca-cola score at the Confed Cup? standing as we move towards the Going forward, I think the shrill calls September qualifiers. Last week I was to bring back some players into the team, proved right. impugning Keshi’s coaching Happily, the CHAN match and the credentials by “NFF top shots who want Mandela Invitational will help us stabilize, although we should expect the to remain anonymous” in the press should seize. That must remain Keshi’s worst from Abidjan in a few days. This week I have opened my column decision whether we like it or not. But to Chinedum Emeana a Port Harcourt there should be a partnership with the NFF Technical Committee behind the based Corporate Communications practitioner whose views I consider very scenes, not this vetting or no vetting of credible and worthy of sharing with you. Eagles list in the press all the time. It is He says we can build on the not healthy. It will be difficult for any Confederation Cup experience. I agree. professional coach to accept that. Moreover, some players are out of the Excerpts.Enjoy. Eagles for now, not because of lack of aptitude but unacceptable attitude. Re: The fear of September… At the Confed Cup, I don’t think “We Without disciple and gang-mentality with everyone pulling in the same Tried”. But we can build on that to become a better football team insomuch direction no team, no matter how as we will learn the lessons. Before the individually talented can win anything. confeds I had shared my prediction with Our World Cup team of 1994 was a team of talented players that fell short my Facebook friends and then I said confidently that Nigeria will beat T ahiti because of this. After seeing all the first round matches of that championship, I and Spain and draw with Ur uguay. I felt Nigeria should play in the final. strongly believed that despite Spain’s Where did we get to? We were dumped. recent pedigree the Super Eagles can beat them with the “Nigerianness” of T was Tony Bekeredemo of Brila FM who called to inform me about the suspension of Rangers by CAF and I felt very bad. I wondered why Shooting Stars should protest to C AF, knowing the circumstances of such a protest. It was when Emeka Nwani, former image maker of the Nigeria Premier League and a staunch Rangers supporter also called that I understood better the situation on ground. Emeka absolved Shooting from any blame, he educated me better on the history of the fracas and also mentioned the role of the NFF and the LMC. Those “roles” I do not understand, that is why I am calling on the NFF to institute a probe as a matter of urgency . There is no running away from the fact that this year has been terrible to us CAF wise, as all our teams fell by the way side, only for Rangers to go to Tunisia and do the impossible, and now this. We must get to the bottom of this, to serve as a deterrent to others. Perhaps the NFF has not been sufficiently interested in the affairs of clubs who qualify to represent us in Africa, that is why we get to hear bizarre stories that do not do our countr y’s football any good. Of Heartland that could not organize herself early enough to honour a return leg in Gabon, of Lobi Stars that got spanked 7-1 in Mozambique and Pillars that lost a three goal advantage in Congo! Nigeria’s league is made of superior stuff different from what has been portrayed for this year. With due respect to the Rangers appeal, we should get to the root of this matter and bring all the culprits to book, because as opined by Emeka, none of them will resign honourably, not even to allow a credible probe. This is an Agbim and Mbah case carried too far.

Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 8, 2013 — 51

52 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 8, 2013

Vanguard &/$66,),(' OKONKWOâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Chika Cynthia Okonkwo, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Chika Cynthia Akumuo. All former documents remain valid. Interswitch Ltd. and general public please take note.

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HAPPYâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;I, formerly known and addressed as Edah Happy Godstime, now wish to be known and addressed as Edah Aghogho Godstime . All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

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EROâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;I, formally known and addressed as Miss Alethea Iziegbe Ero, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Alethea Adesuwa Odeshi. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

EZEâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Eze Edith Chidubem, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Okirie Edith Chidubem. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

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OJEI â&#x20AC;&#x201D;I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Mercy Etunim Ojei, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Mercy Etunim Precious Onyenweuwa. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

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DUNIYAâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;I, for merly

NJOKU â&#x20AC;&#x201D;I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Njoku Chizoma R osemary, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Osemwegie Chizoma Rosemary. All for mer documents remains valid. General public please take note.

known and addressed as Miss Duniya Swat , now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Swat Kude Haruna. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note. ADEOYE â&#x20AC;&#x201D;I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Rebecca Ebunoluwa Adeoye, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Rebecca Ebunoluwa Abayomi-Tijani. All former documents remains valid.. General public please take note.

$'9(57 +27/,1(

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54 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; VANGUARD, MONDAY, JULY 8, 2013

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll soon come for Keshi â&#x20AC;˘Ivorian coach says, celebrates Gala Night

UPER Eagles players and officials as well as their Elephants of Cote Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Ivoire counterparts were all thankful to Kaduna State as they were treated to a surprise, sumptuous Gala Night, Saturday by Governor Ramalan Yero of Kaduna State. Governor Yero, who was represented by his Sports Commissioner, said the event was meant to further cement the brotherly love existing between Nigeria and Cote Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Ivoire and also inform all that the CHAN qualifier was beyond a mere football event. Speaking at the end of the event, Elephants coach, Saraka Kango Nobert, said he was shocked at the massive reception and promised to take the message home for a possible pay

qualifier in Namibia June 12. Minister of Sports and Chairman, National Sports Commission, Bolaji Abdullahi yesterday appointed a five-member panel, to be chaired by Segun Adeniyi, the former spokesman of late President Yarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Adua and now the Chairman of the Editorial Board of Thisday Newspaper. They have a mandate to determine the immediate and remote causes of the crisis over the match bonus, develop a code of conduct for players on national assignments and proffer other recommendations that may be deemed necessary. The other members of the panel, which is to be inaugurated by the NSC chairman on July 11, include the Group Sports Editor of V anguard, Onochie Anibeze, female sports journalist, Aisha Falode, sports consultant, Shehu Dikko and a former spokesman of

IGERIA defender Taye T aiwo has completed his move to Turkish side Bursaspor from AC Milan. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve joined a club with

a massive fan base, something only comparable to the passionate Marseille fans,â&#x20AC;? Taiwo told BB C Sport.

Why I resigned â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Obuh

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CELEBRATION . . . Mba congratulates Gambo for his opening goal against Cote dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Ivoire Saturday back in the return leg. He described Nigerian Coach, Stephen Keshi as an Ivorian having played in that country before and vowed that sooner

FG FG Continues from BP

Taiwo joins Bursaspor

President Olusegun Obsasanjo and Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria, Ayo Ohuntokun.. The Sports Minister said the panel has two weeks from the day of inauguration to submit its report. It is recalled that Super Eagles players had rejected the allowance approved for them by the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) after two away games with the national teams of Kenya and Namibia as part of the qualification for the World Cup. As a result of the protest, the footballers initially refused to board the plane for Brazil to participate in the FIF A Confederations Cup. The NFF had offered to pay $5000 for a win and $2500 for a draw, but the players insisted on getting $10,000 for a win and $5000 for a draw. The stalemate was broken by the intervention of the Honourable Minister who got additional funds to make up for the shortfall proposed by the NFF.

than later his country will come for their adopted son to help them win the Nations Cup, to which all laughed off. Keshi thanked that NFF

leadership and Governor Yero for the huge hospitality accorded his team and their opponents.

Murray

Continues from BP on Centre Court, thousands watching on the nearby big screen and millions more around the country. The final game was a battle in itself, with Murray seeing three match points slip by from 40-0 and fending off three Djokovic break points with some fearless hitting, before the Serb netted a backhand to end the contest. After a gruelling three hours and 10 minutes in temperatures exceeding 40C, Murray had finally followed in the footsteps of Fred Perryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 1936 win at the All England Club. Perry used to leap over the net in celebration, but Britainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new champion roared in delight before sinking to his knees on the turf. Murray then headed into the stands to celebrate with his family and support team, moments later parading the trophy around Centre Court. The Dunblane native becomes Scotlandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first Wimbledon singles champion since Harold

Mahony in 1896. Murray had been on top from the outset against an unusually erratic Djokovic, finally converting his seventh break point after three dramatic games that took 20 minutes. The home supporters were brought down immediately when Djokovic recovered the break to love, but the Serb was leaking errors and his 13th in just seven games saw Murray move clear again at 4-3. A tense game followed after Murray, serving into the sun, opened with two double faults, but he fought his way out of three break points and served out the set to love. An hour gone, and all was going to plan for the British number one, but Djokovic began to find his range in the early stages of the second set. The top seed got the better of two rallies approaching 30 strokes as he broke on his way to a 4-1 lead, and looked on course to level at 15-30 in the following game, but Murray would not give it up.

â&#x20AC;˘Murray

Keshi

Continues from BP recently concluded FIFA Confederations Cup descended on his former national team mate, Sunday Oliseh for attributing the teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s poor outing in Brazil to Keshiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dependence on local stars. â&#x20AC;?It is a shame that Sunday Oliseh could say a thing like that. He was a nobody when he came to the national team. He started from home too,â&#x20AC;? Keshi said. He called on the media to back his rebuilding project as he asked, â&#x20AC;&#x153;is it bad that we are trying to build a team with the inclusion of home-based players? Please, help me

question the integrity of those who are opposed to this and T ell them what itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s right.â&#x20AC;? He was not finished yet with Oliseh.â&#x20AC;?When he came to the national team, I took him as a younger brother. I later (as an assistant coach to Amodu Shuabu) made him captain and he became a super star . Who knows what these boys could become in future?â&#x20AC;? Keshi took five local players to the Nations Cup in South Africa. Godfrey Obaobona and Sunday Mba were outstanding and were rated more than many of the foreign-based players.

Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 8, 2013 — 55

VANGUARD, M ONDAY, J ULY 8 , 2 013

â&#x20AC;˘Murray

Keshi jabs Oliseh BY JACOB AJOM, Kaduna

UPER Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi is not taking it lightly with his critics, particularly , those with the opinion that he was depending too much on the homebased players. The coach who took eight local stars to the

Continues on page 54

FG sets up panel to probe Eaglesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; bonus row

HE Federal Government has set up a panel to probe the crisis over match bonus in Super Eagles camp after their World Cup Continues on page 54

GOAL BOUND . . . Super Eagles midfielder Sunday Mba (L) beats Ivorian defender Topio Coulibaly during their 2014 CH AN qualification match at the weekend in Kaduna. Nigeria defeated Ivory Coast 4 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 1. Photo: AFP

PUZZLE

NDY Murray won his first Wimbledon title and ended Britainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 77-year wait for a menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s champion with a brilliant victory over world number one Novak Djokovic. The Scot, 26, converted his fourth championship point in a dramatic final game to win 6-4 7-5 6-4 and claim his second major title. In an atmosphere reminiscent of his Olympic final win last summer, Mur ray was willed on by the majority of the 15,000 spectators Continues on page 54

FIFA U-20 W/Cup Iraq 5 Korea 3 (penalties) Ghana 4 Chile 3 â&#x20AC;˘Read Paul Bassey on P.50

QUICK CROSSWORD

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Murray wins historic Wimbledon title

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