Look beyond APC for solutions to economy

•P.35 •P.21

Banks halt mass sack as Labour gives 21-day ultimatum

By Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief & Victor AhiumaYoung

A

BUJA — BANK workers, who have been apprehensive of

retrenchment, can now heave a sigh of relief, as Deposit Money Banks, under the aegis of Bankers Committee, have agreed to halt further mass sack in the industry.

The decision was

announced at the end of the 327th Bankers Committee meeting in Abuja, yesterday.

This is coming on the heels of threats by Organized Labour to cripple operations in the

banking sector over ongoing mass retrenchment of workers. The union has

UBA: NPLs no threat to us

...towards a better life for the people

**

VOL. 25: NO. 63047

>>4

thus thrown its weight behind the threat by the Federal Government, through the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, to withdraw the Continues on page 21

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

N200

FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016

Look beyond APC for solutions to economy •Senate tells Buhari

By Henry Umoru & Joseph Erunke

A

BUJA—THE Senate, yesterday, vowed to hold accountable, every appointee chosen by President Muhammadu Buhari to help him address the nation’s myriad of economic problems.

President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, who made the declaration at the Continues on Page 5

•Worries over worsening economy, unemployment, militancy, others •Tasks FG on fight against mass poverty •PDP would've taken over Senate leadership, but... —Akpabio •Detractors should leave us alone —Ekweremadu

Keshi: Westerhof lights 4 candles in Holland —See back page

Lagos govt dissolves caretaker c'ttees of 57 councils •P.10

Mr & Mrs

LAUNCHING:

From left, Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State; Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State; Acting President Yemi Osinbajo; Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State, and Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State during the launch of National Home Grown School Feeding Programme Strategy, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday. Photo: Abayomi Adeshida.

Militants blow up another pipeline in Delta >>7 COLUMNISTS: Globe Motors rolls out vehicles from PROTEST: Day Foreign $150m assembly that minors This day, the medicals sacked Ibadan plant next month World Champion controversy See inside

goes home •P.19

•P.17

>>9

2—VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016 — 3

4—Vanguard, FRIDAY JUNE 10, 2016

DSS busts ISIS sleeper cells in Kano, arrests 5 suspects

T

HE DEPARTMENT of State Service, DSS, in Kano State has arrested five persons allegedly connected to the creation of sleeper ISIS training cells in the state.

This came as U.S. officials said, yesterday, that there was no evidence that Boko Haram has received significant operational support or financing from Islamic State, IS. The suspects in Kano were arrested on their way to Libya and other African countries.

The state director of Department of State Service, DSS, Abdullahi Chiranchi, told journalists, yesterday, that the arrest was a significant breakthrough in blocking every possible move to make Kano a training ground for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

He said those arrested were from Kogi State and were moving to Libya, Morocco and other places with ISIS presence, but did not disclose their names.

GDP: Telecom adds over N1.4trn in Q1, 2016

By Prince Osuagwu & Emmannuel Elebeke

T

HE EXECUTIVE Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Prof.

Umar Danbatta, yesterday, declared that the telecom industry alone added about N1.4 trillion into the Nigerian economy at the end of first quarter of 2016.

This is also as he promised more from telecom to the till with anticipated investments in the next quarters.

Part of the indices which the EVC said convinced him that the economy would benefit from telecom investments was the commission’s decision to review the 2.6GHz spectrum auction, which attracted only one bidder last month when it was carried out.

The review eventually would see more bidders and more money into the economy.

UBA: No threat to our business from NPLs P

AN-AFRICAN BANKING Group, United Bank for Africa, UBA, Plc has assured of continued profitability with good asset quality, occasioned by sustained low Non-Performing Loans, NPLs, and provisions. The bank made this known in reaction to Vanguard Newspapers report on bad loans and banks profitability, published yesterday.

Rasaq Abiola, Head of Investor Relations at UBA in response to Vanguard, explained that the bank’s “non-performing loan ratio at 1.7% in the first quarter of 2016 was laudable on a global standard, best-in-class in the Nigerian banking industry; and reflects the sound risk management and governance practice of UBA as well as the quality of our loan book.”

According to him, UBA recorded N1 billion impairment charge in first quarter of 2016, which are largely being portfolio

impairment charge required by the International Financial Reporting Standard, IFRS, on loans not individually impaired, but on which the bank had to conservatively make provision for, particularly due to the operating environment.

“The provisions made by the Bank has been adjudged by reputable institutions, including global rating agencies as prudent and reflective of the quality of loans created by UBA Plc. Notably, the provisions made in the first quarter of the year translates to a modest 0.1% of our loan book (annualized at 0.4%), 1.4% of the gross earnings and less than 2% of the net operating income,” Abiola explained.

UBA, leveraging its sound risk management and governance to maintain a strong asset quality and profitability, grew profit by 22% to N68.5 billion in 2015 and sustained the strong profitability

in the first quarter of the year, with a profit before tax of N18 billion.

“Whilst your report claimed that nine banks, including UBA, made N345 billion in provisions in 2015 financial year, It is important to note that UBA Plc made a total provision of N5 billion in 2015, which is barely 1.4% of the referenced amount.

UBA Plc made a total impairment charge of N3.2 billion in 2014, which is also 2.2% of the referenced amount of N144bn.

It is, therefore, unfathomable why the report would cast UBA on the headline and indeed any part of the story,” said Rasaq Abiola.

Meanwhile several independent financial analysts, who track the bank's performance attest to good quality of the bank’s loan book and financial performance.

African Alliance, a foremost Africa-focused brokerage and investment banking firm, in a

VISIT: The Olu of Warri Kingdom, HRM. Ogiame Ikenwoli (6th from right) with Executive Members of Coalition of South-South Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines & Agriculture led by Prince Billy Gillis-Harry (4th from left), Chief Yaya Pessu, Ojomo of Warri Kingdom (5th from left), Mr. E. Ukeredi (1st from right), proprietor of Delta Careers College, Ugboroke, Chief E.Heymann (5th from right), Sir Simon Asite (3rd from left), and others, during a Coalition of South-South Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines & Agriculture's courtesy visit to the revered Warri Monarch.

1,500mw lost to pipeline bombings —NNPC ...as 4,031mw lost to gas shortage —NESI

By Ediri Ejoh & Prince Okafor

C

ONCERNS CONTINUED to loom over the state of affairs of the country’s power supply, as recent report by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, puts a colossal loss of 1,500 megawatts of electricity to attacks on oil and gas facilities by militants in the Niger Delta.

This is even as the capacity of Warri refining and petrochemical company plummeted from 25.65 per cent in March to 6. 36 per cent in April this year.

However, the country ’s generation as at yesterday, stood at 2,087.90 megawatts, against its lowest generation of 820.5MW, recorded on Wednesday, with the peak generation of 2,516.9 megawatts on that same day.

NNPC in its financial and

operations report, said it lost about N19.43 billlion in April because crude oil supply dropped from 59.27 million barrels in February to 57.43 million barrels in March.

The report further stated that 541 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, mmscfd, was delivered to the gas fired power plants in April this year to generate an average power of about 2,466mw.

This is compared with May 2015 to April 2016 average gas supply of 686 mmscfd and power generation of 2,969mw.

The supply dipped following persistent bombings of the country ’s pipelines and oil facilities which supply gas to the power plants.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry, NESI, said the country recorded a loss of 4,031megawatts of electricity over crisis of pipeline bombings, which had led to gas shortage to plants.

The agency noted that about 25 gas power plants had no gas to run.

The report showed that 28 power generation stations two days ago, produced a total of 2, 101mw.

A break-down of the generation plants includes Kainji 213mw, Jebba 267mw, Shiroro 59mw, Egbin 128mw, Sapele I 11mw, Delta 75mw, Afam IV-V 0mw.

Others are: Geregu 68mw, Omotosho I 36Mw, Ololushogo I 0mw, Geregu NIPP 0mw, Sapele NIPP 26Mw, Alaojo NIPP 195mw, Olorushogo NIPP 0mw, Omotosho NIPP 0mw, Odukpani NIPP 41mw, Ihvobo NIPP 0mw, and Okpai had 145mw.

NNPC bemoaned the resurgence of vandalism, saying it negatively affected crude oil production as well as the country’s power generation currently less than 2,100 megawatts.

recent report, attributed UBA’s asset quality to its diversified loan book across geographies, sectors and segments of the market.

The firm in a recently published report said: “UBA has demonstrated extraordinary resilience in the face of macroeconomic headwinds mainly on the back of a welldiversified credit portfolio.

Increased exposure to other African markets has also provided some insulation from the headwinds in Nigeria.

"Consequently, the bank has outperformed its peers in profitability and asset quality.

Return on average equity, ROaE, was 20.0% in 2015 and 19.6% in first quarter "of 2016 which compares favorably to the 17.4% and 17.8% average reported over the same period within other Nigerian banks’ universe. UBA’s NPL ratio and Cost of Risk (1.7% and 0.4%) also sit better than peers (6.3% and 1.4%)" The brokerage firm in its report emphasized that diversification bred quality and that UBA was efficiently leveraging its prudent diversification to maintain a quality balance sheet, with low exposure to the stressed sectors and segments of the markets.

Similarly, analyst at BPI Capital Africa, an investment banking subsidiary of the listed Portuguese bank based in South Africa, noted that UBA’s African strategy supports earnings diversification and mitigates risk, with over 20% of the loan book outside of the Nigerian market and about a quarter of profit from the African subsidiaries outside of Nigeria.

The analyst concluded that UBA was a strong and highly profitable player with 20% return on equity and consequently rated UBA as the most preferred bank to invest in Nigeria, particularly given the current valuation of the shares.

Also, analysts at CSL Stockbrokers, a division of FCMB Bank (UK) Limited in a recently published report, entitled, 'Cost of risk – bridging the gulf,' noted that UBA had fared better than they had anticipated in managing its risk assets and safe guarding the quality of the overall portfolio.

The analysts said: “We have become more comfortable with the bank’s handling of its oil & gas exposure, and in consequence we have revised down our 2016 CoR estimate, under IFRS, from 1.7% to 1.0%."

The pan-Africa financial services group, reported a strong set of results in the first quarter of the year, with gross earnings of N74 billion and profit before tax of N18 billion for the three months ended March 2016. On the back of its strong performance, improved governance and disclosure to the market, the share price has rallied 28% year-to-date to close at N4.32 at the close of market on June 09, 2016. Analysts see significant value in UBA, with consensus valuation that the stock will rally towards N7 by year-end.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016—5

POCKET CARTOON has been invested in fighting corruption and Boko Haram must be invested in taking care of the people, in making life easier and better for them.

We need to begin to assure Nigerians that the sacrifice that they make today will not be in vain. We need to begin to show them that there would be light at the end of the dark tunnel. So, we must not relent in our efforts in this area over the next years ahead.

FORUM: From left, Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture Production and Services, Mohammed Monguno; Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh and Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr Shehu Ahmed, at the Stakeholders Consultative Forum on the development of paddocks and grazing reserves, in Abuja, yesterday. Photo: NAN.

Look beyond APC for solutions to economy—Senate Continues from page 1 celebration of one year of the 8th Senate, sought the support and co-operation of the President to discharge this oversight task.

Lambasting his colleagues for failing to take steps to come up with the necessary policy and legislation to put the economy on the right track, Saraki implored the President to look beyond his party, All Progressives Party, APC, to get the best brains to help him run the economy.

He said: “We are confident that one year after, the President must by now have better clarity on the capacity of his appointees.

The Senate would not hesitate to hold any appointee accountable for the work he has accepted to do.

“We would like to seek Mr. President’s support and co-operation to enable us discharge this oversight task.

“We have failed to take the necessary steps in policy

and legislation that would set us on the path to developing the kind of economy we desire.’’

Senate worries over worsening economy, unemployment, militancy, others

Saraki expressed concern about the worsening economic situation in the country, which had culminated in retrenchment, rising cost of living, unemployment, insurgency and renewed militancy in the Niger Delta.

He said further in his address to his colleagues in the chamber: “These are serious challenges that require all hands to be on deck. There is no other time in our history than now, when the business of government needs to be conducted with great inclusiveness.

“We must find a way to bring the best brains in our country on board wherever they may be found. Even those who did not vote for

IT'S UP TO YOU

BY AYO ADIO - 08104802192

Y

OU only become great when you develop your skill so well that the first person they think of when they want a particular thing done is you. No matter where your ability lies, you can make greatness out of it by being the best at what you do.

TAKE HEART

BY ELLA RANDLE- O8084919482 When we learn new behaviours and break through to higher levels of consciousness and love, we can fulfill the deeper spiritual hunger within —Judith Wright.

A

PERSON’S state of consciousness makes him happy or unhappy. It’s what you do with what you have that makes all the difference. Whenever something comes up into my life, I try to get the most out of it.

SAYINGS OF OUR PEOPLE

I

T is when there is a stampede, that a person with big buttocks knows that he/she is carrying a load.

us but believe in the change that we all believe is necessary to move our country forward should be given a seat at the table.

“If we are able to mobilize the best human resources that God has bountifully blessed our country with, I have no doubt that with God on our side, we shall overcome.

“We note the Federal Government’s plan to invest N500 billion in social protection programmes in the current budget. We want to urge the government to ensure that appropriate mechanism is devised to ensure that the benefits of these programmes get to those who are genuinely in need.

“It is important that, as we move forward in this fight, considerable attention is paid to strengthening the anti-corruption agencies to enable them discharge their functions with greater efficiency and fairness.

“We want to assure Mr. President that the Senate will continue to play its part in the fight against corruption, which we believe is cardinal in our desire to improve governance in our country.

We will also continue to broaden the scope for increased openness and accountability that we have promised at the legislative level.

Tasks FG on fight against mass poverty

“While government has made progress in the fight against Boko Haram and in the fight against corruption, the fight against mass poverty remains a daunting challenge. Rising cost of living, increased cases of retrenchment and corresponding rise in unemployment, inability of state governors to pay salaries and upsurge in ethnic-based agitation potentially deny government the full credit of the great strides it has made in other areas.

“The same energy that

On N-Delta militants

“I cannot end this address without a note on the ongoing security challenges we are beginning to witness in the Niger Delta area of our country.

“We urge the warring militants to embrace our democratic institutions and channel their grievances through appropriate quarters as we can ill-afford further damage to the ecosystem of this all important region and any more disruptions in the system.

“In the same vein, we also encourage government to adopt dialogue and engagement as a more lasting option towards resolving this challenge.

We also call on the leaders in the area to play their part and ensure through mediation that this menace is comprehensively quelled.

“The collapse in oil price has, without doubt, brought huge shock to our economy on a scale that perhaps, has never been experienced before. This requires us to develop creative strategies that would stimulate business and investments into other sectors.

“For decades, we have talked about the need to diversify our economy. But we have failed to take the necessary steps in policy and legislation that would set us on the path to developing the kind of economy that we desire.

“The Ease of Doing Business Report that ranks our country 167 out of 189 countries is not likely to attract business into our economy. This Senate understands this. With the support from our international development partners, the organized private sector, we commissioned an expert report which identified 54 extant laws that must be reviewed and brought in line with international best practices in order to open up our economy for private investments and business.

“For too long, Nigerians have challenged us to justify our presence in this chamber. Many have wondered what exactly we do here or why we should be entitled to certain privileges. I believe that the best answer we can provide to all these is to continue to seek ways that would enable the ordinary citizen feel the impact of the Senate

in their lives.

“I dream of a day when the poor woman sitting in her house in rural Awka would be able to see the benefit of our work on her life. I dream of a day when a child going to school in Gusau would feel the benefit of the laws that we make.

“I dream of a day when a young lady in Osogbo would be able to say how the Senate has helped her small business. I dream of a day when a farmer in Ogoja would see how those of us gathered in this chamber have helped to improve his life. I am confident that if we continue on the path that we have walked in the past year, that day will come soon. “

PDP could have produced Senate president, others — Akpabio

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio, while reflecting on what happened before June 9, which culminated in the election of Saraki as Senate President, said with what was on ground at that time, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, would have produced the Senate President and other principal officers.

He said though his party had the number of required senators needed to produce the Senate president, following the absence of some All Progressives Congress, APC, lawmakers, it decided to put the interest of the nation first.

Akpabio, who noted that some intrigues played out prior to the election of Saraki as Senate President, said: “You (Saraki ) were jittery and sweating on that day. If we had wanted to take over the Senate, the PDP would have done that.

We had the chance to take all the positions but because we are not greedy, we decided to allow the APC take over.”

Speaking on the general state of affairs in the country, Akpabio warned that if something urgent was not done, Nigeria would be plunged into crisis.

He said: “In the SouthSouth, people have abandoned their homes

because of activities of Niger Delta Avengers. The North is in turmoil; the South-East is boiling because of agitation. The South-West is the only peaceful area, but they still send mercenaries to other areas to fight.

“I want to urge the APC to market this country very well. The way the APC is saying the country is full of criminals, investors will not come here to invest. They must change the way they talk about Nigeria. Things need to change."

Only God gives power — Ekweremadu

Also speaking, Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, urged detractors of the Senate to leave the institution alone to work, saying it was only God that gives power.

He said: “I am proud of our accomplishment as a Senate. On June 9, 2015, as I look back now, there are a number of our colleagues who were not here, but today everybody is here.

“We were divided along the lines of Unity Forum, Like Minds and Nonaligned, but today we are united as one indivisible Senate, working for the progress of our nation. We can only remain patriotic.

Our parties may differ, but we have one country and we have one constituency which is Nigeria.”

Also speaking, Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, who hailed the mutual trust and understanding of lawmakers, stressed that unlike in the past, senators have shown maturity and had been able to put their differences aside.

“I want to add and commend the mutual respect and relationship that exist between the opposition and the ruling or governing party. In fact, your maturity level has gone to an extent that you rightly behave as minorities instead of opposition for democracy.

“That is very commendable. Their number is so much as the Senate President says that

Continues on page 10

6—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2014

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Banker jailed 39 years for stealing dead customer’s money

By Abdulwahab Abdulah

J

USTICE Oluwatoyin Ipaye of an Ikeja High Court has sentenced a 35 years old former staff of a second generation bank, Olawale Garuba, to 39 years imprisonment for stealing from the account of a dead customer.

Garuba, who earned the jail term almost a year after he was charged with five others on four counts of conspiracy and nine counts of stealing before the court, was convicted after he admitted guilt of the offences preferred against him.

The offences are punishable under section 285 subsection 1, Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011.

Other defendants in the matter include Festus Onile; Abiodun Afainiya; Jayeola Afolabi David; Yewande Adeyemi and Adetoun Kammal.

The defendants were arrested by the commission following a petition from the bank which alleged fraudulent transfers and withdrawals of N31 million through ATM and Point of Sale, POS, from the account of the dead customer.

All the defendants had pleaded not guilty to 13 charges preferred against them by the commission during their arraignment.

However, on June 2, 2016, the convict changed his not guilty plea to guilty when the matter came up for hearing again.

He was immediately convicted by Justice Ipaye, who adjourned the case till yesterday for sentencing.

The convict’s counsel, Olanrewaju Ajanaku, pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy in sentencing his client.

He told the court that his client, who he said was a first time offender with a young wife and two little children, was now remorseful and has learned a bitter lesson from his action.

Schoolmistress accused of defiling School sends victim's brother home Victim's father accuses police of conspiracy

By Esther Onyegbula

L

AGOS—THE 27-year-old schoolmistress, Violet Enu, who was arrested and granted bail by the police in Lagos for allegedly defiling a four-yearold female pupil of Light

Bearers Private School, located at Isashi area of the state, has reportedly absconded.

Vanguard learned that the suspect, who reportedly defiled one of her pupils last Thursday, fled after the case

was transferred from Badagry Magistrate’s Court to Apapa Family Court on Tuesday.

It was gathered that when the victim’s parents reported at the police station on Wednesday, the Enu did not turn up.

Vanguard learned that all attempts to trace the suspect, who lives at Ogbeni Achike Street, Isashi, Iba Council Development Area, by the police proved abortive. Her surety is reportedly also at large.

Meanwhile, the victim’s elder brother, who attends the same school, was sent home and prevented from attending the school’s extra-moral classes on Tuesday because of the

30-yr-old Kano man rapes 4 minors, gives them N50 each

A

COLONEL INUSA'S KILLERS: The suspected killers of Colonel Samaila Inusa paraded by Kaduna State Police Command, yesterday. PHOTOS: Olu Ajayi.

Kano Magistrate’s Court, yesterday, remanded a 30-year-old man, Habibu Yuguda, in prison custody for allegedly raping four young girls and giving each N50.

The accused, residing at Kofar Fada Village, near Kano, is standing trial for rape. He, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The Chief Magistrate, Hajiya Maryam Sabo, ordered the accused remanded in prison custody and adjourned the case to July 19 for further mention.

The prosecutor, Inspector Shuaibu Musa, told the court

that three complainants, Yusuf Musa, Abdullahi Yahaya and Yahuza Sale, all of Gezawa in Kano, reported the matter at the Gezawa Police Division in Kano.

He said that about two weeks ago, Yuguda lured their daughters, aged 11 and 12 years, and raped them.

The prosecutor explained that the accused gave them a ride in his car, took them to his house at Kofar Fada Village and raped them.

“He, thereafter, gave the four girls N50 each,” Musa added.

Musa said that the offence contravened Sections 283 of the Penal Code.

Suspects caught with narcotics in bitter leaves, shoes at Enugu airport

By Osahon Ibizugbe

T

HE National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, AIIA, Enugu, yesterday, disclosed that the command arrested six suspected drug traffickers with 62.663kg of narcotic drugs compressed in vegetables and soles of shoes.

Two of the suspects were found in possession of substances that tested positive for cocaine, while four others were caught with dried cannabis sativa.

Three of the suspects were going to China, where drug trafficking is punishable by death.

A total of 62.663kg of drugs, comprising 60.55kg of cannabis and 2.113kg of cocaine, were seized.

The airport’s NDLEA Commander, Mr. Adeofe Adeyemi, said the airport command was working very hard to prevent all cases of illicit drug trafficking, adding “the command has arrested six suspected drug traffickers with 62.663kg of narcotic drugs.

Destination China

“One of the suspects, Ibeh

Okpara Kenneth Chigozie Nonso, 46, who was going to China, swallowed 67 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.131kg, while Izukanne Ikenna, 33, heading for Hong Kong, hid 982 grammes of cocaine inside the sole of his shoes.

“The only female suspect, 27-year-old Kenechukwu Ujunwa Uchenna, was

Kenechukwu Ujunwa Uchenna arrested on her way to Dubai with 11.7kg of cannabis in dried bitter leaf vegetables.”

Other suspects arrested on their way to China, according to Adeyemi, are Agwu Jeremiah Kalu, 30, found with 25kg of cannabis in cartons, and Okpara Kenneth Chigozie, 43, caught with 7.500kg of

cannabis in his bag.

Onyia Chukwuebube Clinton, 26, had 16.350kg of cannabis in his luggage, discovered during screening of passengers to Doha. The suspects, in their statements, owned up to the crime, adding that they needed money to take care of basic needs such as house rent, school fees and feeding.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016—7

08023019505 08034073107

4-yr-old female pupil absconds incident.

Father’s reaction According to the victim’s father, Chief Martins, “in a bid to create an avenue for the suspect to escape, the police referred the case to Badagry Magistrate’s Court, when they knew that cases bordering on defilement are usually heard at family court.

“Otherwise how will a

division not know that Badagry Magistrate’s Court does not treat defilement cases?

“We came back from Badagry Magistrate’s Court at about 5p.m. on Tuesday, yet the police connived with the suspect to escape.

“Sincerely, I do not understand the police’s interest in the case and why they have been persuading me

to settle out of court without actually investigating to find out the motive behind the abuse.

“What if it was for ritual?

They are sending different lawyers to plead with me.

Why are they attempting to deny my four-year-old girl justice?

“The Police at Isashi Division have not done any investigation on the case.

The only thing they followed is the Mirabel report, which proved that my daughter was actually defiled.

“They granted the suspect bail and now she is at large.

Her surety is also at large. I am calling on the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, and Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Owoseni Fatai, to please intervene in the case.

PUNISHED FOR NOT FASTING: From left—Special Adviser to Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State on Media and Communication, Muyiwa Adeleye; Governor el-Rufai; Public Relations Officer of St. Gerard Hospital, Sunday Ali, and the bed-ridden Mr. Emmanuel Francis, a carpenter, who was attacked on Wednesday for not taking part in the Ramadan fast. PHOTO: Olu Ajayi.

My father almost killed me with sex, 10-yr-old cries

By Abdulwahab Abdulah & Jane Echewodo

L

AGOS—JUSTICE Kudirat Jose of Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja was, yesterday, told how a commercial driver, Ajayi Gbadegesin, 40, had sexual intercourse with his daughter for 18 months.

Led in evidence by the state prosecutor, Mr. Babatunde Oguntemowo, an importer of laboratory and scientific equipment, Babatope Adamolekun, said: “On May 12, 2014, at about 8a.m, on my way to work at Bello Bus Stop, Iju, Lagos, I saw a 10-year-old girl (name withheld) begging a woman for money.

“I asked her why she was not in school and the victim narrated to me that she lost her mother, was staying with her step-mother in Agege, a suburb of Lagos and needed money to go back.

“She added that her father had been having sex with her for more than one and half years and that she almost died from the previous night’s experience, as her father had sex with her more than three times.”

The witness further told the court that when he asked the girl of her father’s whereabouts, she told him that her father ’s commercial bus was parked a few meters away from the bus stop and that he had gone to get fuel.

Adamolekun told the court that with the help of four other people, they forced the victim’s father to the police station in a tricycle.

He added: “On getting to Red House Police Station at Iju Ishaga in Agege, I told the police what happened and they assigned a female officer to take the girl to hospital for test and treatment.

“I assisted them with N7,500

It's the devil—SUSPECT that evening when I was showed the result from the hospital that confirmed that her father had sex with her.

The DPO, Ajimote, directed them to charge the matter to court immediately after seeing the report.”

The next morning, Gbadegesin admitted having sex with his daughter, saying it was the devil’s work.

The witness continued: “Then we chartered a vehicle to Abule-Egba Magistrate’s Court, where I was called as a witness, and the Magistrate ordered that the girl be taken to Idi-Araba for rehabilitation, while her father was remanded in Kirikiri Prison.”

Justice Jose adjourned the matter till October 6 for continuation of trial.

3 remanded in prison over alleged murder

By Onozure Dania

L

A G O S — MAGISTRATE O. M. Ajayi, of an Igbosere Magistrate’s Court, yesterday, remanded an 85-year-old man, Chief Ishau Ogunlana, with two others in Ikoyi Prison, over alleged murder pending the legal advice from the office of the Directorate of Public Prosecution, DPP. Ogunlana was remanded alongside two other men, Taofeek Omidina, 48, and Ahmed Onabanjo, 42.

The defendants are standing trial on a fivecount charge bordering on conspiracy, murder, unlawful possession of firearms and inflicting of wounds preferred against them by the police.

The prosecutor, Sergeant Innocent Odugbo, told the court that the defendants unlawfully killed one Saheed Ogunniyi by shooting him on April 23 at about 1:45p.m. at Agunfoye Idi-Orogbo, Igbogbo in Ikorodu, area of Lagos.

He said that they also unlawfully inflicted gunshot injuries on one Gbenga Ajadi.

Odugbo further alleged that the trio unlawfully and illegally had in their possession live cartridge without a license or permit duly issued by the InspectorGeneral of Police.

According to the prosecutor the offences committed are punishable under Sections 220, 221, 231, 244, 328 (d) and 409 of the Criminal Code Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2011.

The case was adjourned till June 17 for DPP’s advice.

Militants blow up another pipeline in Delta

By Emma Amaize

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ARRI—MILITANTS blew up another oil facility suspected to belong to Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, around Ogidigben, Warri South-West Local Government Area in Delta State, yesterday evening.

A source told Vanguard: “The incident occurred along the Chanomi Creek around Ogidigben area about 8p.m.

“I cannot give you details. But we got reports from our field office that a loud explosion was heard at the location, which was followed by a huge ball of fire.”

A community leader, who also

confirmed the incident, said: “My people called to tell me that there was an explosion; they blew up the manifold at Ogidigben and they are going there now to see what actually happened.”

Another source, however, said: “The pipeline belongs to NPDC and also passes through Kurutie in Gbaramatu Kingdom.”

8—VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016—9

FG to cut 2016 budget, increase debt ratio A

By Emeka Anaeto, Economy Editor

BUJA—FEDERAL government has opted to reduce total budgetary spending on 2016 capital expenditure plan ahead of indication that the budget would not be implemented fully.

Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, who gave this indication in London while addressing international investors, said the decision was

favoured against an option of increased borrowing to plug the increasing revenue gap.

Though she did not specify the expected amount to be cut from the budget or any particular expenditure head to be affected, a budget office source told Vanguard that looking at the current revenue trend, over 50 percent of the capital expenditure budget would not be implemented. This gives about N900 billion out of the total

N1.8 trillion budgeted for capital expenditure in 2016.

The source also said that though the present government adopted a zero-based budgeting, the unimplemented portions would be transferred to 2017 budget.

Adeosun said the government would not want to increase its debt to GDP ratio in 2016, but hinted that the ratio would eventually go up over the next three years to about 20 per cent from current 13 per cent, indicating the current

government under President Mohammadu Buhari would be borrowing annually throughout its first term.

The government had planned to borrow both from domestic and international markets to plug its 2016 budgeted deficit of N2.2 trillion.

Meanwhile, the minister had stated that the treasury single account, TSA, has witnessed significant increase in revenue to N3.3 trillion in May, up from N2.9 trillion in March.

Reps move to check tomato imports To visit 130 plants in Asia We don't compromise standards—NAFDAC

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

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BUJA—TOMATO Pastes manufacturers in the country, including Dangote Farms, Erisco Foods Limited and Savanna Farms, yesterday told the House of Representatives Joint Committees on Health Care Services and Drugs and Narcotics that over 91.1 per cent of the product in the country were fake and substandard.

This is just as the House condemned alleged importation of dangerous killer tomato pastes into the country and promised to carry out investigations into the matter.

NAFDAC fines Erisco N1 million over unauthorised advert

This came on a day the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, fined the Erisco Foods an administrative charge of N1 million for alleged unauthorised advertisement of Erisco range of products without clearance and approval from the agency.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, in his address at the one day investigative public hearing, stated that the House should not treat lightly allegations injurious to public health.

Dogara, who was represented by the Minority Leader, Leo Ogor, stated that the public hearing centred primarily on importation of fake, substandard and cancer-causing tomato paste into the country.

He said what was worrisome was the unpatriotic attitude of some companies and individuals importing fake, substandard and cancer-causing tomato paste into the country, at the expense of the health and wellbeing of Nigerians.

Tomoto pastes containing carcinogens

Chairman, House Committee on Healthcare Services, Chike John Okafor, stated that there was allegation of tomato pastes from some Asian countries by some importers which were found to contain carcinogens and other contaminants hazardous, injurious to health and unfit for

human consumption.

The lawmaker said: “This allegation created panic, mistrust, fear and is suspected to be responsible for high death rate and the probable cause of the current cause of scarcity of tomatoes, and its attendant high cost in the country.

“Let me state in clear terms that this committee has a responsibility to protect the lives of numerous Nigerian consumers who could be the victims of this alleged importation.

Condemning killer tomato pastes

“We totally condemn these alleged dangerous killer tomato pastes imported into Nigeria and we will carry out a comprehensive investigation into this matter, even if it will take us beyond the borders of

Nigeria, including visiting the factories in Asia and other parts of the world to inspect the processing factories of NAFDAC approved Nigeria importers to get to the bottom of this allegation and bring the perpetrators to book.”

Expressing confidence that NAFDAC understood its responsibility, in accordance with the Act establishing it, Chike said: “I want to believe that this allegation is not true. However, if proven to be true, that means NAFDAC would be seen to have done a great disservice to this country and compromised representatives/staff of NAFDAC would be dealt with, in line with the laws of the land.”

The public hearing was temporarily halted because of the inability of the representatives of the Minister of Health, and NAFDAC to make available

copies of their submissions to the committee members, which made some to accuse them of alleged collusion.

Specifically, Austin Chukwukere told the committee that it did not make sense for them to watch the representatives of the ministry and the agency read their submissions without making them available.

“It gives us serious cause for concern that you (Health Ministry) are not ready, NAFDAC is not ready,” chairman of the committee said.

The legal Adviser of Erisco Foods and former member of the House of Representatives, Abdulraham Kadri, told the committee that the company, Dangote and Savanna Farms, were not at the public hearing because of the financial damage and job losses substandard and fake tomato pastes had caused the country.

Nigeria loses 130,000bpd, N1.3bn daily as Shell shuts TNP

By Michael Eboh with Agency Report

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BUJA—NIGERIA’S crude oil export dipped further by 130,000 barrels per day, as operators yesterday said the Trans Niger Pipeline, TNP, operated by Shell Nigeria, has been shut down after a leak was discovered on the pipeline.

The operator, who chose not to be named, said a memo was sent out to participants in the TNP, that the pipeline was expected to be shut down for at least a week.

The shutdown would see a deferment of about 130,000 barrels per day crude oil export, which would cost Nigeria about $6.716 million, an equivalent of N1.343 billion daily.

This was even as another operator said the Nembe Creek Trunk Line, NCTL, carrying Bonny Light crude oil to the export terminal has been reopened.

The operator said the pipeline which was shut down last month by the operator, Aiteo, has been repaired and is operating again.

Proposed Maritime varsity suffers setback

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TOWN HALL MEETING: From left: Minister of National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma, Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Raji Fashola, Minister of Information Alhaji Lai Mohammed and Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed, during a Town Hall meeting in Abuja, yesterday.

Photo: Gbemiga Olamikan.

Globe Motors rolls out vehicles from $150m assembly plant next month

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By Theodore Opara

AGOS—GLOBE Motors, a leading auto mobile dealer in the country is set to boost Federal Government’s automotive policy from July when it rolls out first set of vehicles from its $150 million assembly plant in Lagos next month.

Chairman of Globe Motors Holdings, Mr. William Anumudu, who disclosed this in Lagos, yesterday, said the company was putting finishing

touches to its assembly plant located at Lekki area, adding that the plant had a capacity for 40,000 cars on completion and would generate employment for 3,500 Nigerians.

However, the plant will produce about 6,000 vehicles annually for a start, including passenger cars, pick-ups, high capacity buses and trucks.

Anumudu added that another 10,000 jobs would be created indirectly as a result of the multiplier effect of the plant.

According to him, the company will start with the production of Semi Knockdown parts, SKD, and later graduate to complete knock down parts, CKD, for Hyundai, Higer and Globe Motors brands.

Hefurtherexplainedthatthecompany would be assembling three brands of automobiles, including Hyundai (Korea), Higer (China) and its own brand, adding that the company had signed agreements with the Original Equipment Manufacturers, OEM, of these brands to produce the vehicles to global standards.

By Godwin Oritse

BUJA—ATTEMPT to legalise the establishment of the disbanded Maritime University of Nigeria at Okerenkoko, Delta State, has suffered a major setback as the Bill supporting it, which was brought by Senator James Manager of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, failed on the floor of the Senate.

James Manager explained that the establishment of Maritime University would produce manpower for the maritime industry.

After his presentation, Senator Dino Melaye, who represents Kogi West senatorial district, was the first to shut down the proposal by maintaining that it would have been proper for the existing Nigeria Maritime Academy, Oron, Akwa Ibom, to be upgraded, instead of establishing new one, to save cost.

In the same vein, Binta Mashi posited that the terrain of the proposed university was unsuitable, noting that it was improper to take a boat and travel on waters for 30 minutes before reaching the place.

10 — Vanguard, FRIDAY JUNE 10 , 2016

N4BN NITEL PROPERTY:

Adekanola has case to answer – EFCC

By Abdulwahab Abdulah

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AGOS—A foremost accountant, Otunba Olusola Adekanola, has filed a no-case submission before an Ikeja High Court against the two count-charge of fraud pressed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. Adekanola, who had once acted as a tax consultant for Lagos State government was accused of “fraudulently disposing of trust property” and “disobedience to lawful order” by selling NECOM House, Lagos without authority.

The accountant, through his counsel, Yusuf Ali, SAN was praying the court to discharge and acquit him on the ground that the prosecution has not established a prima facie case against him.

Adekanola was accused arraigned of accused of “Fraudulently disposing of trust property contrary to Section 434 of criminal Code Laws of Lagos State before Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo in May 2013, to which he pleaded not guilty.

On the second charge he was said to have disobeyed lawful order issued by constituted authority contrary to Section 203 of the Criminal Code.

After conclusion of the prosecution’s case, Adekanola opted for a no case submission, rather than entering the box for his defence.

Dana Air bags service excellence in aviation award

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N line with promoting private and public institutions that have added values to the country through innovations, and business sustainability, the Lagos, Chambers of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, has lauded Dana Air for its contribution towards better service of excellence in the aviation sector.

This was revealed at the Commerce and Industry Awards celebrations of excellence held in Lagos.

Speaking on the award, Director General of LCCI, Mr. Muda Yusuf, said “we are celebrating corporate organizations and public institutions that have made remarkable contribution to the development of commerce and industry and the economy at large.”

Ambode dissolves 57 councils’ caretaker c'ttees

By Olasunkanmi Akoni, Ebun Sessou & Monsur Olowoopejo

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AGOS—FOLLOWING the resolution of the Lagos State House of Assembly yesterday relieving the Executive Secretaries of the 57 Local Governments Councils and Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in the State of their responsibilities, the State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode has approved the immediate dissolution of the Caretaker Committees.

In a statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr Tunji Bello, the Governor also directed the Executive Secretaries to hand over the reins of administration to the Head of Administration in each of the Council Areas.

Yesterday’s dissolution of the Caretaker committees is preparatory to the holding of elections into the 57 Council Areas by the State Government and ensuring that the necessary machineries are put in place preparatory to the elections.

The State House of Assembly had also on April 22 this year passed into law a bill recommending a four year tenure

for elected Local Government helmsmen instead of the three years tenure that hitherto obtained.

It would be recalled that the Caretaker Committees which was headed by Executive Secretaries were inaugurated by former Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola on January 5.

Lagos boost fight against HIV/AIDS scourge

Also, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, has expressed his administration’s commitment to

increase response to the challenges confronting people living with HIV/AIDS in the state.

Meantime, for the second year in a row, Ambode has appealed to his family members, friends, political associates and well wishers wishing to place birthday congratulatory messages on his birthday June 14TH, through media adverts to channel such towards advancing the fight against cancer.

On the HIV/AIDS scourge, Ambode made the remark on Wednesday, at the meeting with

a delegation of Global Fund at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

The Executive Director of Global Fund, Dr Mark Dybul remarked that the proposed grant to the health sector in Lagos State is to fight the scourge against HIV/ AIDS. Earlier in the week, Ambode had delivered a keynote address on the need to fast-track political involvement of governments in ending the AIDS scourge at the fast track cities conference on HIV/AIDS in New York.

LUTH performs 7 open-heart surgeries in 3 days

By Sola Ogundipe & Chioma Obinna

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AGOS—NIGERIANS seeking treatment for cardiac related problems may not need to go abroad any more as the Lagos University Teaching hospital, LUTH, has acquired capacity to undertake 100 open-heart surgeries for adults per year.

This development came to light after the hospital successfully performed seven paediatric and adult open-heart surgeries within

Look beyond APC for solutions to economy Continues from page 5 he can be intimidated.”

Put the past behind — Adeyeye

In his remarks, Senate Chief Whip, Senator Olusola Adeyeye, urged senators to put the past behind them and proffer solutions to the myriads of problems bedeviling the country.

He said: “Some things have not gone right in the last one year. If we say we have no sin, we lie and the truth is not in us. We need to tell ourselves the truth. We need to put our pasts behind us and work together.

“No matter the political party we belong to, the country is in turmoil. The economy is in a bad shape; insecurity is very high; unemployment is unimaginable. The next one year must not be like the last one year. We must make a difference.”

Budgets must focus on capital projects, says Murray-Bruce

Also contributing, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce, PDP, Bayelsa East, took a critical look at government’s activities and declared that national budgets over the years, had been made to give undue priority to recurrent expenditure.

He also noted that budgets must be structured in a manner that paid at least fifty percent attention to capital projects.

He said: “We celebrate one year in office but I am very troubled by our economy. A lot of things have gone wrong and we have no time to fix the problems. Everybody complains that the price of oil has caused the decline of economy.

“But everybody must understand that the oil sector contributes fifty per cent to the GDP. The GDP cannot all of a sudden have a negative growth of minus .36 per cent. And if we have this again this quarter, we go into a recession."

three days last week.

At an official presentation of the medical team in Lagos comprising paediatric and adult cardiologists, cardiac nurses, cardiac surgeons among others, the Chief medical Director, Professor Chris Bode, told newsmen that the plan was to make open-heart surgery a routine and no longer news.

“Our whole aim is not to make money but to save Nigeria from the rising number of capital flights for medical treatment abroad as well as ensure that

our people are treated in their home and by their own people.

“We will ensure it becomes a routine and no more news. This is a promise we intend to keep,” he stated.

Giving details on the recent concluded open heart surgeries for seven Nigerians, the Head of LUTH’s Cardiac Project, Prof. Jane Ajuluchukwu, who scored the surgeries 100 percent explained that the LUTH Cardiac Project started in 2014 with three 100 percent success open-heart surgeries.

Vanguard, FRIDAY JUNE 10 , 2016 — 11

DSS may invite Ekiti Chief of Staff, others for questioning ...We are not bothered — GOV's AIDE

By Ben Agande

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BUJA —THE Department of State Services may invite the Chief of Staff to Ekiti State governor, Mr Dipo Anisulowo, a lawyer; Deputy Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Segun Adewumi; the Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Gboyega Aribisogan; the Chairman of the House Committee on Health, Dr. Samuel Omotosho; and the Special Assistant to the Governor on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, to explain their role in the letter addressed to President Xi Jinping of China, asking the latter to stop a loan of $2 billion to Nigeria ahead of President Muhammadu Buhari visit to China last April.

A highly placed official of the Service told Vanguard in Abuja yesterday that the service is considering the move to weigh the security implications of the actions of the aides.

He had alleged in the letter that “the government of China should be mindful of the fact that Nigerians, irrespective of their political and religious affiliations, are totally opposed to increment of the country’s debt burden, which is already being serviced with 25 per cent of the Federal Government annual budget.”

Then Governor Fayose allegedly followed up on the letter with a visit to China to press home his request.

In a swift reaction, Lere Olayinka told Vanguard; ‘’We are not moved. We are not bothered. ‘’While in opposition, APC elements petitioned the US government and other world powers not to sell arms to the PDP government of Dr Goodluck Jonathan to fight Boko Haram, alleging human rights abuses, no one was charged for treason. ‘’Even President Buhari made several inflammatory statements, one of which was that “the war against the Boko Haram sect was injustice against the North,” he was not arrested nor tried for treason. ‘’They can try whatever they can to stop the opposition from having a voice but they won’t succeed. Nothing will stop Governor Fayose from speaking his mind on national issues. ‘’As for me, Lere Olayinka, I fear no arrest, I fear no detention, I fear no imprisonment.''

HIJAB CRISIS: Osun CAN orders Christian students to attend classes in church robes

By Gbenga Olarinoye

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SOGBO—OSUN State Christian Association of Nigeria, OSCAN, has directed all female Christian students in both primary and secondary schools in the state to wear their church garments to their different schools, beginning from Monday.

There was however palpable tension in some schools in different parts of the State including Osogbo, the state capital yesterday over the controversy on the use of hijab by female Muslim students during school hours.

Christian leaders having realised that Muslim girls now wear hijab to public schools, agreed that by next Monday, Christian students will begin to wear their garments such as those for Boys Brigade, ushers, Girls Guide, choristers, band boys, white garments and others.

Vanguard authoritatively gathered that messages have been sent to churches to mobilise their members to ensure that their children comply with this directive.

Already, Director of DSS in the state met Christian and Muslim leaders separately on Wednesday pleading for peace.

A judge of Osun State High Court, Justice Jide Falola had delivered a judgement last Friday in favour of a case instituted by Osun State Muslim Community against the State Government on

WORKSHOP: From left; Moderator, Dr. Dave Osibote; Ag Auditor-General for Local Governments, Anambra State, Unachukwu Joseph; Consultant, Premier CSB Consulting, Yaya Saibu; Project Coordinator, James Ifekandu; Anambra State Auditor General, A. O. Abadom and Consultant, Premier CSB Consulting, Yemi Osho at the technical validation workshop on state and local government reform project or Anambra State-sponsored by the European Union and World Bank, held in Awka. the right of female Muslim students in public schools in the state to use hijab on their school uniforms.

Nigerians should hold Aregbesola responsible — PDP

Meantime, Osun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, said Nigerians should hold Governor Rauf Aregbesola responsible, if more damage is done to the state’s education system through the brewing crises over wearing of hijab in public schools by female students.

The party in a statement issued in Osogbo by its spokesperson, Prince Diran Odeyemi, said Muslims and Christians in Osun state have coexisted long before now without crises and blamed the rising tension on Governor Aregbesola, whom it accused of planning to destabilise the state for some political reasons.

''Govt has no hand in the judgment''

In a swift response, the state’s Solicitor General, Abiola Adewemimo, said; ‘’It has come to the notice of the State

FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION: S-West first ladies converge on Ekiti

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DO-EKITI— WIFE of the Ekiti State Governor, Mrs Feyisetan Fayose will today in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State capital host critical stakeholders, including three other first ladies from the South West, to strategize on how to eliminate female genital mutilation in the region.

The three other first ladies being expected are Florence Ajimobi, Oyo, Sherifat Aregbesola, Osun and Olukemi Mimiko from Ondo.

According to a statement signed in Ado Ekiti yesterday by Mr Gbenga Ariyibi, Special Assistant (Media) to the wife of the Ekiti State Governor, Mrs Fayose is collaborating with the United Nations Population Fund, UNPF, to organize the programme. Ekiti State

is second on the prevalence scale for female genital mutilation, even though there is a general consensus that the age long practice is harmful and need to be abandoned but Mrs Fayose believes it remains a major practice with the practitioners hiding under religious and cultural myths on the benefit of the practice.

Ekiti has a prevalence of 71.2 percent.

According to Mrs Fayose; ‘’This age long practice is unacceptable and it should be discouraged, hence the need to advocate for its total elimination in the state. ’’It is revealed from the available data from UNFPA-UNICEF that Nigeria has the highest number of women and girls who have undergone female genital mutilation after Egypt and Ethiopia.''

Also expected at tomorrows meeting were

the state governor, Mr Peter Ayodele Fayose, traditional rulers, federal and state legislators, the judiciary, religious leaders, traditional birth attendants and other critical stakeholders.

Government that the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN alleged that the judgment of the High Court of the State in favour of the right of female pupils to wear hijab in public schools was masterminded by the State Government. ‘’While we consider this to be unfortunate, we hasten to remind all religious groups, Christians, Muslim and traditional religious worshippers that the Judiciary is an independent arm of Government that is responsible and not under the control of the Executive in anyway.

12—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016

UNEP rolls out modalities for exercise

OGONI CLEAN-UP:

•Says ‘Clean-up may take up to 30 years'

By Soni Daniel B U J A — FOLLOWING last week's launch of the clean-up exercise of Ogoniland in Rivers State by the Federal Government, the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP, has said that it will take between 25 to 30 years for the natives of the degraded land to enjoy a fresh and clean environment.

UNEP also said that due to the extent of contamination in Ogoniland and nearby areas coupled with the varying degrees of degradation, it will require a combination of techniques

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to clean the oil-impacted areas.

According to the body, the approaches to be adopted in the exercise will range from active intervention for cleaning the top soil and replanting mangrove to passive monitoring of natural regeneration for the cleanup.

According to a comprehensive report carried out by UNEP on Ogoniland with recommendations on how to execute the crucial assignment, “The hydraulic connection between contaminated land and creeks has important implications for

the sequence of remediation to be carried out. Until the land-based contamination has been dealt with, it will be futile to begin a clean-up of the creeks.

“Due to the wide extent of contamination in Ogoniland and nearby areas, and the varying degrees of degradation, there will not be one single clean-up technique appropriate for the entire area.

“A combination of approaches will therefore, need to be considered, ranging from active intervention for cleaning the top soil and replanting mangrove to passive monitoring of natural regeneration.”

Okowa commissions road projects challenges facing the in Ughelli, Warri country but, by the grace of

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By Festus Ahon

SABA—GOVERNOR Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, yesterday, commissioned the multimillion naira Oteri Road project in Ughelli, Ughelli North Local Government Area of the state.

Commissioning the road which was handled by Obakpor Engineering Limited, Okowa assured Deltans that he will not relent in executing projects which will better the lives of the people.

The governor who was elated by the quality of work done by the contractor, expressed the commitment of his administration to deliver on its prosperity for all Deltans through different e m p o w e r m e n t programmes.

Attributing the success recorded by his administration in the area of provision of

infrastructure to the early passage of the budget by the state’s House of Assembly, Okowa who also commissioned Ejinyere Street in Warri, Warri South Local Government Area of the state, said: “It has not been easy in the last one year because of financial

God, we have managed our resources to impact on the lives of our people.

“We made adequate plans and the early passage of our budget made us to take advantage of the dry season and now that the rain is coming, we have no regrets. We will stay committed to our people.”

Woman activist backs dialogue in N-Delta

By Tare Youdeowei

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Government and Niger Delta Avengers to embrace dialogue for total peace to be restored.

Blaming unrest in the Niger Delta region on long years of neglect, she said: “The people of the region are being oppressed, their environment has been polluted with nothing to show for the oil from the region and this is why the militants are up in arms against the Federal Government and the peace loving people of Gbaramatu Kingdom have remained at the receiving end."

Re-union

ARRI—A Niger Delta activist from Gbaramatu Kingdom, Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State, Mrs Doris Esiemighan, has sued for peace in the oil-rich Niger Delta region where militants have been attacking oil installations.

In a statement in Warri, Esiemighan said that the present situation in Gbaramatu Kingdom was regrettable and implored both the Federal

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CRISIS: Auchi Poly sets up 8-man c'ttee

HE 1993 Graduate students of the English and Literature Department, University of Benin, will hold their re-union meeting in Benin-City this weekend.

In a release by the coordinator, Maureen MgborOnwochei, the members will visit the English department where they will have a discussion with the final year students.

Those billed to give talks with the students include Taye Ige, Chairman, HS Media Group, and Henry Agbebire a writer, speaker and trainer.

By Simon Ebegbulem

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ENIN CITY—THE management of Federal Polytechnic, Auchi, Edo State has set up an eight-man committee to investigate the immediate and remote causes of the mayhem in the polytechnic perpetrated last week during the students protest.

It will be recalled that the institution was shut down last week after the students protested the alleged

decision by the management of the institution to collect school fees from students before they enter for their examinations.

Property including vehicles estimatedatoverN15millionwere destroyed in the protest.

A statement by the Public Relations Officer of the school, Mustapha Oshiobugie, said that the panel has two weeks to submit its report, adding that the school remains closed for both part time and full time students of the polytechnic.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016—13

By Emma Amaize, Festus Ahon, Egufe Yafugborhi, Perez Brisibe & Akpokona Omafuaire

T.KO Okorotie, said: “As far as I am concerned, it is a welcome development because the region has been under siege and it’s been a difficult situation. We have all been apprehensive for a long time now because we cannot afford any war at this time."

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A R R I — T H E Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, yesterday, said that the people of Niger Delta want to assume ownership of their resources, and urged the international community to support the quest.

In the last two weeks, the Avengers had bombed pipelines in both Delta and Bayelsa states, forcing Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, Chevron Nigeria Limited, CNL, Nigerian Agip Oil Company, NAOC, and others to shut down operations.

However, a member of the Delta State House of Assembly, Daniel Yingi, national coordinator of Centre for Peace and Environmental Justice, CEPEJ, Sheriff Mulade, and other stakeholders, cautioned the militants to embrace dialogue with government, while former chairman of Delta Waterways and Security Committee, DWSC, Warri, Chief Ayiri Emami, said criminality should be separated from agitation for resource control.

Holding the country to ransom

Meanwhile, National President of National Coalition of Niger Delta Ex-Agitators, NCNDE-A, Israel Akpodoro, yesterday, insisted that no group, including the Niger Delta Avengers, should hold the country to ransom.

He also faulted the claim by Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force JNDLF, that ex-militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, had fled the country to Libya, saying it was a red herring.

NDA in a statement by its spokesperson, Brig.-General Mudoch Agbinibo, said: “Since the amalgamation of Nigeria in 1914 to date, our resources have been used to sustain the political administrative live wire of Nigeria to the exclusion of the Niger Delta.

“We are calling on the international community to come and support the restoration of our right to peaceful selfdetermination from this tragedy of 1914 that has expired since 2014. We want our resources back to restore the essence of human life in our region for generations to come because Nigeria has failed to do that. The world should not wait until we go the Sudan ways.

“Since the day crude oil was discovered in commercial quantity in Oloibiri, present day Bayelsa State, what we have been asking successive governments in Nigeria is potable drinking water, electricity, roads, employment, quality education/educational facilities, resource control, participation in the oil business and inclusive government that will engender substantial freedom.

“The reverse has been the case: from Oloibiri, Brass LNLG and export terminals in Bayelsa; Bonny LNLG and export terminals in Rivers State;

Dialogue with Avengers ’ll fail— Emami

File photo of Niger Delta militants.

N-Delta wants to control its resources —AVENGERS Seeks support of Britain, France, US, China and EU Stakeholders sue for peace, insist on dialogue

Communal life and terror of poverty

“The history of our communal lives is terror of poverty, inhumanity and desolate living conditions. However, when you move into these facilities operated by the multinational oil corporations, they are living like Kings and Presidents.

“For over five decades, we had given multinational oil corporations and their collaborator, the Nigerian state peace, cooperation and love for the crude oil to flow unhindered from our land.

“The continuous tranquility is only manifesting in the development of mountains, rock, valleys, deserts and lagoon, but the Niger Delta territory continually alienated from all types of development and all essence of quality human life, while all successive governments worship the crude oil taken from the region. Our communities and the people are only good at securing the pipelines, oil and gas facilities.

“We are calling on the international community, especially Britain, France, the United States of America, Russia, China and European Union to speak up against this ongoing terror and come to the aid of the

Niger Delta, as witnesses to this grave inhumanity and history of terror perpetuated against the people of the Niger Delta daily.

“This history of terror, we the Niger Delta Avengers will resist and correct with every means necessary. We have nothing to lose in the battles ahead; justice, they say is only found within the structure of a nation state.

Military might

“Rather than provide this justice the Nigerian government has decided to mobilize her military might to intimidate, torture, maim, victimize and bombard a section of the nation state and her citizenry to allow the free flow of our oil.

“Some persons, groups, and commentators may ask what the people of Niger Delta want? We are not like some of these personalities who run champagne parties or turn Rivers State Government House into a house patrimony of godsons. They say the progress and success of a nation state is the reflection of her constitution that is not manufactured to favour some section and excludes the yearnings and aspirations of others; but the indwelling spiritual and historical development of its people.”

Stakeholders insist on dialogue

On its part, Mulade, said: “We commend the Federal Government for initiating the ceasefire in the creeks of Delta State after months of military onslaught against rampaging

Avengers threat empty— Akpodoro

National President of the National Coalition of Niger Delta Ex-Agitators, Israel Akpodoro, who the Niger Delta Avengers had threatened to kill, some days ago, maintained, yesterday, that no group could hold him to ransom.

Tompolo has not fled anywhere

Tompolo has not fled anywhere—Akpodoro ExxonMobil in Akwa Ibom; Escravos EGTL/ Tankfarm and export terminals; Forcados Tankfarm and export terminals in Delta State operated respectively by Anglo-Dutch Shell, Chevron/Texaco Overseas, Agip ENI, ExxonMobil.

Chief Emami, however, said: “Dialogue will not work because the issue of criminality has not been separated, which is why they are emboldened to act the way they are acting.

“Criminals must be treated like criminals, I hear the position of governors of the South-South, excluding Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State is that corruption charges be dropped across the region, particularly those on EFCC wanted list, if that is the case, how will the criminality stop.?"

Niger Delta Avengers, NDA. “It is a welcome development, but government should not politicize the dialogue to be led by the National Security Advisers, critical stakeholders from the core oil producing communities should be included in the process, otherwise the impact would not trickle down to the grassroots,” the group said.

Sensible decision — Okorotie

Ex-Chief Whip in the Rivers State House of Assembly and chairman, Bayelsa Development Forum, Chief

On the report by the Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force, JNDLF, that former militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, a.k.a Tompolo, has fled the country, the Urhobo-born ex-war lord, said: “Such deliberate falsehood is meant to mislead the Nigerian people and for the law enforcement agencies to divert attention from the Gbaramatu -born militant.

“Tompolo is still in the country.

This kind of falsehood was circulated when the former President Olusegun Obasanjo led government declared him wanted whereas Tompolo was in Agbarho all through that time while a section of the Nigerian media was used to spread falsehood on his whereabouts.”

Opuekaba in Delta, not Ondo,

by Delta community

S

By Godwin Oghre

APELE—THE people of Opuekeba community, Warri North Local Government Council of Delta State, yesterday, faulted a recent publication credited to the Director of Air Force Public Relations, Group Captain Ayodele Famuyiwa, that their community (Opuekeba) is located in Ondo State, saying, “Our Opuekeba community is in Delta State.”

The Nigerian Air Force, confirmed recently that it had deployed additional aircraft to several spots in the Niger Delta, including, “Opuekeba in Ondo State,” to assist other security agencies to quell the current wave of bombings of oil facilities

in the region.

Reacting, the people of the community, represented by Chairman of the community, Mr Federal Johnson said, “The classification by Group Captain Famuyiwa that we belong to Ondo State instead of Delta State, if not immediately corrected could worsen the security situation in the country. It could spark off crisis between us in Delta State and our neighbouring people of Ondo State.

“We the people of Opuekeba are law abiding people. We are in Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State and not in Ondo State. This error can spark off disaster and should be corrected."

14—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016

Buhari sends 47 ambassador nominees list to Senate

By Henry Umoru & Joseph Erunke

A

BUJA—PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, sent a list of 47 ambassador-nominees to the Senate for screening.

Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, who read the list, said the nominees were career civil servants in the foreign service.

Saraki, who read the letter dated June 6 and received June 9, told the senators that President Buhari requested the Senate to approve the list at the shortest possible time.

The nominees include Obinna Agbugba, Salisu Umaru, Iyang Udo-Inyang, Okeke Nwunaku, Liman Munir, Ndem Ada, Mohammed Hassan, Martin Cobham, Janet Olisa, Itegboje S. Sunday, Olatude Adesesan, Lilian Onog, Manaja Isah, Ngozi Ukaeje and Bello Husseini.

Others are Enoch Duchi, Garba Baba, Usman Aliyu, Umar Salisu, Momoh Omeiza, Kadiri Audu, Balogun Hakeem, Inusa Ahmed, Ibrahim Isah, Bankole Adeoye and Ibidapo-Obe Oluwasegun.

Ogundaro Sakirat, Eric BellGam, Attahiru Halliru, Rahmatu Dunama, Musa Mamman, Kabiru Bala, Adamu Shuaibu, D. A. Agev, T. K. Gongulong, Ibrahim Hamza, K. C. Nwachukwu and Q. R. Worlu.

E. K. Oguntuase, I. A. Paragalda, L. A. Gashagar, Olufemi Abikoye, Habu Abubakar, Gwani Ibrahim, Rabiu Akawwu, Okeke Nwunaku, Odeka Bisong and Sobaike Abibat.

President, Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, Mr. Amaju Pinnick (right) presenting a condolence letter to Mr. Richard Aburime, Keshi's brother in-law. PHOTOS: Barnabas Uzosike.

Buhari not in London for talks with Jonathan, NDA—UK

By Soni Daniel, Northern Region Editor

T

HE United Kingdom, UK, last night, cleared the air on reports suggesting that President Muhammadu Buhari was in London to meet with his predecessor for a secret meeting to stave off ongoing militants’ attacks on oil infrastructure in the Niger Delta.

The position of the British Government was contained in a statement made available to Vanguard in Abuja, Wednesday night.

In the statement by the Press Officer in the British High Commission in Abuja, Mr. Joe Abuku, London said there was no truth whatsoever in the several reports claiming that Buhari was attending the

Sahur is not breakfast As-salam Alaikum waramotullai, wa barakatuh!

HE kindness of Allah cannot be overemphasised when one ponders on the blessings in the act of eating sahur during Ramadan. For almighty Allah (SWT), it is not enough blessings that He provides us with food on our table, but He further blesses anyone who wakes up in the first rays of dawn to eat the same food for sahur.

The Prophet (s.a.w) was reported by Anas to have said: “Eat something for sahur even if it is a date. For there is in it barakah.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) Isn’t it great that Allah is rewarding us for eating?

The prophet taught his companions and, by extension, every Muslim that they should begin their fasting by taking

T

C M Y K

Late Stephen Keshi's house in Benin, Edo State.

something. It does not necessarily have to be a heavy meal. In fact, overeating negates the spirit of fasting. It is advised to wake in the pre-dawn period to appropriately kick-start fasting by eating sahur among other things. Eat moderately even as you remember those who could not afford a meal for that purpose.

Some people have asked whether there is need to wake up for sahur if one has nothing to eat. What is, however, appropriate is to wake up, carry out other activities of the Ramadan night and when it is time for sahur, get some water to drink. In it, there is barakah.

It should be noted that there is no sin in not waking up for sahur if it was not done on purpose, and the inability to take sahur does not vitiate fast.

meeting with former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, in London under the guise of seeking medical attention.

Abuku said: “Reports suggesting that the British Government has set up a meeting with President Buhari, former President, Jonathan, and representatives of Niger Delta groups to discuss a solution to recent violence in the Niger Delta region are incorrect.

“We are aware that President Buhari is currently in London seeking medical attention. We are not aware of any meetings on the Niger Delta while he is there.”

Some of the reports had claimed that it was in preparation of the secret meeting in London that Buhari ordered the Nigerian military to observe a two-week ceasefire with the militants Again, another common argument now is the appropriate time for sahur. It is not breakfast and should not be treated in like manner.

While breakfast is the dawn meal, sahur is pre-dawn meal.

Much as we know that the night is free for eating and drinking, Allah has described the time for the end of sahur as indicated in Quran 2 vs.

187: “...eat and drink until the white thread of dawn appears to you distinct from its black thread. The prophet also said: “Eat and drink until Ibn Umm Maktum makes his call to prayer.”

This gentleman, however, did not call to prayer until the break of dawn. The famous Bilal making his before Ibn Umm Maktum made his last call to prayer before Subhi.

We could discern from the above injunctions that in this part of the world, the break of dawn starts some minutes past five. Be that as it may, scholars have advised that sahur should be taken between 4:40 and 5:10am.

Next time you are eating sahur, be rightly guided.

Ramadan Kereem!

before travelling out.

The Presidency, in a statement, said Buhari would be away for 10 days to seek medical attention over an ear-related ailment.

The Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, in an interview with Vanguard, acknowledge the letter sent to the National Assembly by Buhari to travel to London for medical attention, saying that it was in order.

Saraki said: “The letter clearly stated that the President will be away for 10 working days to attend to his health. If a doctor that attended to you can refer you to another doctor.

“That happens to an ordinary person not to talk of the President of a country. I do not blame the doctor that attended to him. He needs to be careful.

He wants to share responsibility. He is also being over cautious.”

Akabueze now Budget Office boss

By Levinus Nwabughiogu

A

BUJA—PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of his Special Adviser on Planning, Mr. Ben Akabueze, as the new Director-General of the Budget Office.

Akabueze is to take over from Mr. Tijani Abdullahi, who would now serve as Special Adviser to the President on Planning.

He would also continue to work with the Minister of Budget and National Planning.

A statement by Mr. Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, yesterday stated Akabueze and Abdullahi joined the Ministry of Budget and National Planning in February this year.

Their redeployment, it added, was “part of an ongoing exercise to further reposition the ministry for effective delivering on its mandate.”

Stakeholders proffer solution to ‘toxic’ gas, oil sector

By Oboh Agbonkhese

T

O overcome the “toxic and explosive” relationship among governments, corporate bodies and host communities, there is need to fight corruption and sharp practices by fingerprinting products of oil and gas industry, for a comprehensive data base.

This was part of the conclusions reached at the learning managers of oil, gas and allied companies’ workshop, organised by the Petroleum Technology Development Fund, PTDF, and Petroleum Training Institute, PTI, Effurun, in Abuja.

A communiqué issued at the end of the workshop, with the theme, Enhancing National Gas Utilisation

Policy for Effective Growth, said PTI was a veritable institution that had the equipment, expertise and personnel to mediate between stakeholders.

Earlier, in his address, Acting Executive Secretary of PTDF, Mr. Ahmed Aminu, said: “182 trillion cubic feet, the largest gas reserve in Africa and ninth in the world, is capable of enhancing Nigeria’s economic growth if properly channelled to complement domestic energy need.”

On her part, Mrs Emily Arhagba, the Vice Principal of PTI, said the institute had turned out over 1070 technologists and technicians, adding “any genuine discussion on energy must revolve around a seamless transfer of new and emergent skills to this critical group on whom the future of the industry rests.”

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016—15

Nwabueze calls for confab of ethnic nationalities, truth commission

By Chimaobi Nwaiwu

N

NEWI—RENOWNED constitutional lawyer, Prof.

Ben Nwabueze, SAN, yesterday, in his ancestral home Atani in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra state, said the only solution to the numerous problem facing Nigeria was the convocation of a national conference of ethnic nationalities, setting up of a truth and reconciliation commission and the restructuring of the federal system.

He also said that the country should adopt a new constitution through a referendum as had been done in other countries of the world, for it to move forward.

Prof. Nwabueze spoke during his 85th birthday celebration and his book presentation, entitled, 'The National Question and Corruption.'

He said “although the former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration convoked a national conference, but that is not the national conference I am suggesting. It is the one that will involve ethnic nationalities, where we have to sit down and tell ourselves the truth.

“We have to sit down and tell ourselves the truth, it is only when we sit down and look at ourselves and tell ourselves the truth, and it is only when we do that that we can move forward as a country.”

He regretted that Igbo have suffered the consequences of not convoking restructuring of the federal system and not convoking a national conference of ethnic nationalities, adding that Igbo had been marginalized in Nigeria that they can no longer express their full potentials.

The book reviewer, Prof. Charles Ilegbune in his speech said that Prof Nwabueze is nationally African, and globally acclaimed thorough bred law academician and intellectual.

"He is an oracle, a progidy, an iroko, indeed a wizard, a star and a wonder-man in the discipline of law and especially in constitutional law exposition and application.

“When Prof. Nwabueze writes or speaks in that area, the issue is definitely settled and any contrary view may well perch as an aberration or heresy. Prof.

Nwabueze is indeed Nigerian Socrates, for a person in the frame of Prof. Nwabueze, it is not surprising that his writing and speaking enterprise radiate to all corners of the globe that have even the most tenuous connection with constitutional law.

“As of this date, precisely for the past 53 years, since 1963, Prof Nwabueze has written and published a total of 32 books, all sole authored, including two in multiple volumes. His books share a common and abiding

characteristics of being authoritative popular and incomparable, and there are no two Nwabuezes as yet in Nigeria in the discipline of law and academics.

“I must here publicly acknowledge with pride and thanks that his very first two books, The Machinery of Justice in Nigeria and Constitutional Law of the Nigeria Republic, both respectively published in 1963 and 1964 were the books that ushered me into my law studies at the then University of Ife when I entered the university and provided me with the solid foundation that lubricated and assured my easy and unassailed

BIRTHDAY: Traditional ruler of Atani, Igwe Azuka Ngoddy (3rd left); Prof. Ben Nwabueze (4th left), his wife (middle), Anambra governor, Chief Willie Obiano (5th right), and Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu (4th right), and others, during the cutting of Prof Nwabueze's 85th birthday cake.

Tussle for Awka - Etiti traditional stool tears community apart ...heir apparent heads to court

By Enyim Enyim

O

NITSHA—THE tussle for the traditional stool of Awka Etiti in Idemili local government has taken a turn for the worse as the heir apparent and first son of the late monarch, Crown Prince Chuma Ojukwu has dragged the president general, Mr John Unachukwu to court on grounds

of plot to deny his ascent to the throne.

Others joined in the suit No HID/58/2016 pending at the High court in Ogidi are the secretary general, Mr Charles Okonkwo, the regent, Ichie B.O Ezenagu and the secretary, Igwe in council, Ichie Ebele Enemuo.

The matter which was first heard on March 22, 2016 was adjourned to June 21,2016 for

Tax forgery suit against Gov Ikpeazu: Court adjourns for adoption of written address

By Ugochukwu Alaribe

A

BA—THE presiding Judge of the Federal High Court, Owerri Division, Justice A.I. Allagoa, has adjourned to July 4 and 5, 2016, for the adoption of written addresses on the tax forgery suit filed against Governor Okezie Ikpeazu by a chieftain of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, in Abia State, Sir Friday Nwosu.

Nwosu who was one of the contestants in the December 8, 2014, PDP primaries in the state,

progression to the end.”

He said that Prof. Nwabueze seems to have been motivated to write his new book by the strong and abiding patriotic concern for the unity, stability and prosperity of Nigeria. He indicated this in the opening words of his preface to the book.

Some of the Nigerians that graced the occasion were Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra state, former Governor Peter Obi, Chief Ike Nwachukwu, Chief Ebitu Ukiwe, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Chief Emeka Ihedioha, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, Prof Elochukwu Amuchazi, Prof Emeka Ike, Chief Simon Okeke, Chief George Obiozo, and several others.

had filed a suit against Ikpeazu, alleging that he forged his tax certificate. Joined in the suit are the PDP, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and Dr. Uchechukwu Sampson Ogah.

When the matter came up for mention, yesterday, Justice Allagoa heard and granted all pending motions for extension of time to enable parties who filed them to regularize such processes. He gave seven days for counsel to the parties to conclude the processes.

Recall that the case was headed for adoption of written addresses on March 18, 2016, when counsel to Ikpeazu, C.C. Elele, told the former trial Judge, Justice S.M. Shuaibu, that the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Abuja, Justice Ibrahim Auta, had revoked the assignment order granted to the Judge, to hear and conclude the matter.

Counsel to Nwosu, F. Unyimadu, prayed for a quicker resolution of the matter, stressing that as a pre- election, the matter ought to have been decided.

further hearing.

The suit followed alleged attempt by the President general and those joined in the suit to implement the town's constitution of 2004 said to have been drafted and signed by the former president general without consultation with the late monarch.

The draft constitution provided for rotational traditional rulership for the town as against the traditional hereditary practice.

In the suit filed by his lawyer, Mr Chukwuma Eloka Philip, Prince Ojukwu prayed the court to grant that he, the first son of the late Igwe J.O Ojukwu, now the current crown prince of Awka Etiti royal dynasty be selected and coronated as the Obi of Awka Etiti.

Other prayers included, “ a declaration that the plaintiff who is the heir apparent to the Obiship throne of Awka Etiti community be known and addressed as His Royal Magesty, Igwe Chukwuma Angus Ojukwu, Agujiugo 1, the Ezeudo ll (the Obi of Awka Etiti).

Erosion: Govt begins sensitization of communities

By Chidi Nkwopara & Chinonso Alozie

O

WERRI—THE Nigerian Erosion Watershed Management Project, NEWMAP, has commenced a sensitization campaign in Imo communities on how to safeguard their environment against gully erosion.

The sensitization exercise kicked off yesterday at Obizi community in Ezinihittte Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State.

Addressing the people, one of the resource persons Mr. Bankole Ebisemiju, described Obizi community as one of the erosion prone areas in the state, stressing that “it was very appropriate to have such a programme in the area to educate them on how to protect their environment”.

While advocating for the harvesting of rainfall, which he said would reduce soil erosion, Ebisemiju also opined that it was less expensive to harvest rain water.

Anambra to plant 1m trees

By Vincent Ujumadu

A

WKA—ANAMBRA State government said yesterday, that no fewer than one million trees would be planted in the next 40 days as part of measures to control the spread of gully erosion ravaging most communities in the state.

There are about 950 documented erosion sites in the state and apart from many houses that had been swallowed by the menace, some people had abandoned their villages.

Briefing reporters on decisions taken at the weekly state executive council meeting in Awka, the Commissioner for Information and Communication Strategy, Ogbuefi Tony Nnacheta said the decision became necessary to curb further spread of gully erosion in the state.

According to him, with the number of erosion sites in the state, Anambra is generally referred to as the erosion capital of the world.

16—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016 —17

Foreign medicals controversy would have advised Mr President to sort out his ear problem abroad, if I’d been close to him, I DO share Enabulele’s view that the President should not say one

I

HEAR that Nigerian doctors are very unhappy about President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to seek medical treatment for a persistent ear infection in London.

According to a report I’ve just read in the Political Economist online publication, Dr Osahon Enabulele, the Vice President of the Commonwealth Medical Association, has described this decision as “a national shame”, given that Nigeria has a National Ear Centre and more than 250 ear, nose and throat, ENT, specialists.

Nigerians apparently spent $1bn (£690m) on foreign medical trips in 2013. Most of these trips were unnecessary, in Enabulele’s opinion. And he has accused the President of reneging on a promise to put an end to such medical tourism, saying that he should lead by example by using local doctors and facilities, and also ensure that government officials do not go abroad on “frivolous” medical trips.

Negligent doctors Frankly, I personally don’t share Enabulele’s faith in Nigerian doctors because I’ve had too many bad medical experiences in Nigeria doctors who were downright lazy and negligent, doctors who clearly didn’t have a clue what was wrong with me and gave me random cocktails of inappropriate drugs to take, doctors who confidently delivered diagnoses that turned out to be inaccurate when I got second opinions from their British counterparts and a doctor who decided to remove a lump from my breast without first checking to find out whether it was a malignant tumour.

(And, by the way, after the possibly unnecessary operation to which he subjected me, this Nigerian surgeon sewed up the wound so crudely that my doctor in the UK was absolutely horrified when she saw what a terrible job he had done).

Having said this, while I C M Y K

While I would have advised Mr President to sort out his ear problem abroad, if I’d been close to him, I DO share Enabulele’s view that the President should not say one thing and do another

•President

thing and do another.

Buhari has made a point of vigorously opposing

extravagance; and in a speech that was delivered on his behalf to the Nigeria Medical Association in April, he said that government funds would no longer be spent on treating

Muhammadu Buhari

•Dr. Osahon Enabulele

officials overseas because there are in-country experts who can provide adequate care.

Enabulele is also right to say that too many Nigerian-trained doctors are working abroad

(there are 3,000 in the UK and 5,000 in the US) and that the government is failing to address the brain drain by improving working conditions and facilities.

The Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill

I

HAVE complained about our legislators’ failure to pass this Bill. A Vanguard reader, Nehemiah Sokponba (sokponba@yahoo.com) disagreed with me and I promised to publish his alternative viewpoint because he had taken the trouble to do extensive research and makes some interesting points. And, by the way, while I do not empathise with most of his opinions, I share his concerns about the abortion issue.

The senators who argued for the Bill’s rejection claimed it violated our culture and religions (Islam and Christianity). There has been a lot of uproar and criticism of the Senate’s decision, so I decided to download a copy of the Bill and read it.

It was designed to incorporate the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, CEDAW and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol). So I also had to download and read both documents.

The first problem with the bill is CEDAW. This convention has been used by the United Nations CEDAW committee to

harass several nations to change their laws and the CEDAW committee has been hijacked by radical feminists…and has been in the vanguard of pushing for unhindered right to abortion even though the CEDAW convention did not call abortion a right.

The committee has made several repugnant recommendations and this write up cannot contain all.

Once we incorporate CEDAW into our law, the UN CEDAW committee will start influencing our laws, policies and court judgments.

Sodomy prohibition In some countries people have used CEDAW to get court judgments to nullify existing laws. Who knows if CEDAW will not be used to nullify the Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Law or the Sodomy prohibition of our Criminal/ Penal Codes?

Another major problem with this bill is that in Section 12 (c) the bill provides that the Government should protect the right of a woman to an abortion in the event of sexual assault, rape, incest and when her pregnancy endangers her mental and physical health.

This section amounts to the most liberal abortion legalisation one can get. It does not limit abortion to any stage in the pregnancy as is done in most countries. Thus if the bill had become law a woman could kill her unborn child at any period of the pregnancy even at eight months and 29 days. Since the law would have made it a right, the implication is that a doctor, nurse or hospital that refused to perform the abortion would be liable for prosecution as a human rights violator.

Thirdly, the bill in sections 21 to 41, provides for a 10-member Gender and Equal Opportunities Commission to monitor the bill’s implementation. The bill allocates three seats on the commission to gender rights civil society groups and one seat to civil society organisations. No seats to the ministries of justice, education and health, areas where there are potentials for gender discrimination. This means the bill has given 40% of its commission to NGOs that are more often than not financed by foreign agents whose intentions are questionable.

In the West, some gender rights groups champion homosexual and trans-sexual behaviour and it is possible that

affiliates of such groups may find their way into the proposed commission. Such groups will use their seats on the proposed commission to cause havoc on society.

Finally, let it be known that there are moves at the international level to expand gender rights to cover samesex marriage and the right of men to use women’s bathrooms if they are trans-gender females.

Nigeria obviously needs to do something for the women and men who are marginalised.

But the Bill is not necessary because our Constitution provides enough legal coverage if it is fully implemented. I commend the senators who voted down this bill for their vigilance, bravery and patriotism.

Responses to: donzol2002@yahoo.co.uk or to 0802 747 6458 OR 0811 675 9752 (texts only).

PLEASE KINDLY NOTE THAT UNLESS YOU REQUEST ANONYMITY, YOUR COMMENTS MAY BE PUBLISHED, WITH YOUR NAMES AND CONTACT DETAILS ATTACHED.

18 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016 TODAY, boxing legend, Muhammad Ali, will go home in a blaze of glory. The eyes of the world will be on him one more time – one last time – before he is committed to eternity at the Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville, Kentucky.

This time, he will be displayed in state. He will not be displaying his prodigious boxing talents nor dispensing to a mesmerised audience his gift of gab and poetry which combined euphonically with his pugilistic artistry to make him, indeed, “the greatest” in the boxing ring and one of the most outstanding personalities of the 20 th Century.

It is very rare for nature to endow one man with so many sublime gifts. Ali was a spectacular piece of male specie to behold: tall, elegant and singularly comely. Yet, there was great power, speed and strategy in his punches. He was also quick with his tongue and spontaneously belted out poetic sound bites that left longer lasting impacts than his knockout punches.

Ali predicted when he would win fights,

Muhammad Ali: one last time and often delivered as promised. He was more than just a boxer in so many ways. As a Black activist, he refused to fight for America in the Vietnam War. He refused to kill “Yellow people” when Blacks like him were treated like dogs at home. In fact, Ali (formerly named Cassius Clay) embraced Islam as part of his rebellion against a system that treated Black people with contempt.

So, when people went to watch Ali in the ring, it was not just the fights they went to see. It was a combination of all these outstanding attributes which drew millions of people to the noble game of boxing. Ali

made boxing one of the most popular sports in the world, and when he retired, it was not until another great (Mike Tyson) came along that boxing became interesting again, especially in the heavyweight category.

Muhammad Ali was a three-time world champion, which means he was beaten three times though he came back to regain the titles. He was definitely not invincible, and eventually, was permanently victimised by the punishments he received from his opponents. For 32 years he lived with the Parkinson’s disease, which gradually took everything, except his legend, from him.

The 1960 Olympic Gold medalist was to confess that God gave him this massively wasting disease to let him know that he (Ali) “was not the greatest”. Only God is. Human greatness, in the end, is vanity. Always.

The entire world stands still with deep appreciation as Ali shrugs off the simplicity of Islamic burial in favour of the pageantry of a Hollywood-style celebrity exit.

We wish his soul eternal rest.

OPINION Charles

Soeze:

Sublime

By Bobson Gbinije & Peter Soeze

D

R. CHARLES Ikedikwa Soeze was a quintessential statesman, patriot, paragon of altruism, Catholic communicant, administrative guru. Gentle in manner, resolute in action, an impeccable exemplification of contentment and like August Caeser, he met Rome (The World) of bricks, but left it of marble.

He was a phenomenal and peerless pioneer, icon, institution, oracle, legend, phoenix,leviathan and an educational colossus. Indeed, life levels all men, death reveals the eminent. But Dr. Charles Ikedikwa Soeze was all-embracingly pre-eminent. Here he is “THE SEA OF CIVILIZATION. THE SEA OF ALL HISTORY” Dr. Soeze was born on the 12th day of August 1957 into the family of late Mr. Dennis Onwuaduegbo Soeze (Alias D. O. wonder of all wonders) and late Mrs. Felicia obi Soeze both from Ubulu –uku, Aniocha south local government area, Delta State.

His father retired as the acting yard superintendent of the then public work department (ministry of works) in the defunct Midwest state immediately after the civil war.

His mother was a successful business woman whose father (chief Ezeana) was the first chief in Ubulu Uku kingdom.

Dr. Soeze was educated at Roman Catholic mission school 111, Warri, now known as Agbassa primary school, St. Michaels primary school, Ubulu uku, now called Abuedo primary school Ofulue commercial school and Nwajei commercial school both in Ubulu-uku Following his success at professional external examination of royal society of Arts ( RSA) and pitman, examination institute both in London, Uk after two years in the commercial school, the proprietor of the institute, Mr. Nwajei made him an instructor in the institute because of the brilliance he saw in him. Dr. Soeze started teaching his classmates.

He was later employed by the Nigeria Customs and Excise as a copy typist in 1976, Grade 04.

to

the

sublimest

While working with the Nigeria Customs and Excise, he passed the stages 2 and 3 of the Pitmen’s and RSA examination bodies. He also obtained his GCE O level with the help of lectures notes he received from career correspondence college, Lagos. Despite his successes in the examination he was not promoted.

Following the stagnation at the Customs and Excise he joined petroleum Training Institute (PTI) as a stenographer grade level 05. He rose to the confidential secretary grade level 07 and brought his first car with government approve loan at the age of 21. Dr. Soeze earned many promotions within the secretarial cadre in the PTI, and then reached the apogee of his career as the professional chief secretarial assistance to the principal chief enactive PTI. In quest for academic prowess, Dr. Soeze enrolled with the career correspondences college ones again and obtained three principal passes in HSC/GCE advanced level examinations at one sitting. He gained admission to Delta state University, Abraka by direct entrance to study mass communication and later to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, for his masters and Doctoral degrees respectively in mass communication. He was a highly versatile, reliable, dedicated professional and prolific writer. Dr Soeze served as guest speaker, lecturer or resource person to several organisational and bodies.

He featured prominently on radio and television where matters of urgent national importance were deliberated upon. He The late Dr. Charles Ikedikwa Soeze

was a member/ fellow of several professional bodies both local and international. They include: Member, Nigeria Union of Journalist (NUJ), Member, Nigeria Institute of Management (NIM), Member, Nigeria Institute of Public Relation (NIPR), Member, Africa Council for Communication Education (ACCE),Member, Federation of Africa Public Relation Association (FAPRA), Member, Trans Africa Council for Communication Education (TRACCE), Fellow, Institute of Public Administration of Nigeria (IPAN), Fellow, Institute of Human and National Resources (IHNR), Fellow, the Civilian Institute of Democratic Administration (CIDA), Fellow, West Africa Society for Communication and Administration (WASCAM), Fellow, Institute of Corporate Administration (ICA).

As part his effort in displaying professionalism, he contributed several articles in local, national and international dailies as well as professional and academic Journals.

He received several awards from the patriotic contributions towards the development of his country, Nigeria, Africa and entire world as well as originality of materials, uniqueness of style, experience, delivery, technique, image reputation, professionalism and excellence. He had the integrity, ability and agility to relate with audience. Dr.Soeze retired as Assistant Director (Administration)/Head and Physical planning (ASPT) of the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI) Effurun, Delta State. Academic Until his death, he was the President of Ubulu Uku Development Union (UDU), Warri Branch that is, his Community in Warri and his immediate environs.

Adviser, Delta State University Alumni Association (Warri Chapter). He was past President of the University of Nigeria Alumni Association (UNAA). Warri Branch. “ The lives of great men all remind us we can make our lives sublime. And departing leave behind us foot prints on the sands of time” [ANONYMOUS] Fare Thee Well O’ Good One.

*Messrs Gbinije and Soeze wrote from Warri, Delta State.

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016— —19 Send Opinions & Letters to: opinions1234@yahoo.com For instance, when he announced the round otherwise tough opponents would fall, and they did, he wasn’t being prophetic or mere talkative. What he did was study each opponent including their strength and weaknesses, style and ability to deliver and absorb blows, and compared them with his. He then taunted and psychologically assaulted

This day, the World Champion goes home T

ODAY, the World Champion, Mohammed Ali will be laid to eternal rest.

Exactly a week ago, the greatest sportsperson ever, was eternally knocked out. He was the world champion on and off the ring fighting and winning bouts against injustice, racism, religious discrimination and warmongering. He became the very symbol of what was boxing, so much that when he left, the game suffered. He carried the hopes of millions of people into the ring. To the lowly and oppressed around the world, he was their champion.

To him, boxing was not just sports or a profession; it was an elongation of American and world politics; a political struggle between the strong and the weak. Whipping some of his opponents in the ring, was like lashing the American establishment and their collaborators.

Ali’s greatest victory was popularising boxing and using it for popular causes. With his mesmerizing footwork which reminded one of the displays of James Brown and Michael Jackson on stage, he transformed boxing into an art.

With Ali, boxing became a mass entertainment; so much so that

even ordinary folks poured out into the streets as early as 2am to chant songs in his praise as was the case in Zaire and many parts of Africa including Nigeria in 1974.

From him, boxing sprouted poetry like “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. The hands can't hit what the eyes can't see.” Indeed, he was so fast that many of his opponents and even people at the ring side didn’t see some of his most devastating blows.

For instance, which blow fell the mountain, Sonny Liston or rugged George Foreman in the October 30, 1974 Rumble in the Jungle? He joked about his lightening speed “I'm so fast that last night I turned off the light switch in my hotel room and was in bed before the room was dark.”

He turned boxing into a science by mapping out every inch of the ring, measuring his steps as well as those of his opponents. To him, boxing was like a guerrilla warfare; he withdrew when his opponents attacked, and attacked when they tire. This system which he perfected in the Foreman fight, he called ‘Rope-a-dope’. He had been scientific all along without the world realising it.

Ali was unmatchable, could not be duplicated, impersonated or cloned; he will continue to live in the hearts of millions of people across the world and in history them before and during the fights. The result in many instances was that he was able, with slight margins of error, to predict the outcome of his fights. Sure he needed courage to surmount what seemed impossible such as a 22-year old boxer taking on a fearsome champion like Sonny Liston who had knocked out very strong opponents including world champion Floyd Patterson within two rounds.

But to Ali, nothing was impossible as “Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it.

Impossible is not a fact. It's an

Do you know who I am?

By Clement Udegbe “Before I formed you in the belly, I knew you, and before you came out of the womb, I sanctified you”……

-Prophet Jeremiah in the Holy Bible

would be heard complaining that they were deceived. Generally, in Nigeria when you hear that question, do you know who I am?, some one wants to tell a lie, or deceive another.

T

HE above revelation from God to His Prophet, tells us that it is only God, who really knows who we are, and knows why he created us as humans instead of animals or some plant, or creeping thing.

In essence, God does not look at man’s physical attributes, but into his heart.

It can, therefore, be correctly reasoned that it is only God who knows us more than we know ourselves. In order words, we cannot really claim to know ourselves.

Thomas Jefferson once suggested: “Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask.

Act! Action will delineate and define you”.

This means that our actions say more about who we are than what we think or say we are. Our actions are often guided by our understanding of a situation or circumstance, our mood, interest, and condition. Thus, our actions may change with any of these parameters or factors, meaning that man can be unpredictable even by himself !

Yet, quite often in Nigeria, you hear someone ask the other: “Do you know who I am?” and I find that question very interesting to consider in some detail.

When some men want to woo the love of their heart, they ask her the question: “Do you know who I am ? And then in answering to themselves, paint pictures in the mind of the females that often sweep them off their feet.

They eventually hook on, but when things turn sour down the road, the females C M Y K

In the very circumstance which led the Governor to ask that question, it could mean: don’t you know that as your governor, I support the Cattle Grazing Bill, I do not agree with your agitations for Biafra?

During those days of Operation Feed the Nation under General Olusegun Obasanjo as military Head of State, I was deployed along with six other students from the University of Ife at the time to Iperu Remo, in Ogun State.

It was a particular Friday and we were all heading home to our families in Ibadan and Lagos for the week end.

At the motor park, a tout called Kamoru wanted to impress the two beautiful girls in our midst. And in what started like a joke, Kamoru asked his colleague called

opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare.

Impossible is potential.

Impossible is temporary.

Impossible is nothing.”

Ali also turned the sport into political rallies where proponents and opponents of particular political causes like the war in Vietnam, gathered to spur on those they support.

For instance, it was a sacrilege and criminal for an American citizen to refuse a call up to serve his country no matter how wrong the establishment could be. But Ali challenged that at great financial and personal costs including imprisonment, when he refused the call up to fight in Vietnam. He was to articulate an unassailable philosophy on wars when he said “Wars of nations are fought to change maps. But wars of poverty are fought to map change.”

On February 17, 1966 in rejecting the call up join the American Military in the criminal war in Vietnam, Ali argued “Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on Brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights?... I will not disgrace my religion, my people or myself by becoming a tool to enslave those who are fighting for their own justice, freedom and equality.”

Ali knew his refusal to answer the call to enlist in the Vietnamese war would cost him millions of dollars, backlash from the establishment, ban from boxing and a likely jail term. But he was ready to risk all for his beliefs and the sake of the oppressed. He was to say “You lose nothing when fighting for a cause ... In my mind the losers are those who don't have a cause they care about.”

Jide: "Do you know whom Iam?" And Jide’s rather rough response was: “ Yes I know that you are a liar, and a womaniser ”. Kamoru, obviously angry and hurt by that response, went for a bottle, broke it and wanted to intimidate Jide with it, but was disarmed. Kamoru fumbled with his bag pocket and brought out a charm, but before he could utter a word, he was on the floor. Two of us who caught the message, quickly put on our OFN caps and made peace within them, at least till we left the park to our destinations. Kamoru wanted to tell a lie or deceive, but Jide did not allow him, but both of them had some respect for our students OFN uniform.

To tell how bad things have become, youth corps members will hardly enjoy the same type of honour and respect these days that we had those days even as university students. How times have changed!

When a police officer asks, “do you know whom Iam”, he wants to extort money from you by intimidation, whether at the station or on the road. And if you stand your ground, you will discover that he was just a corporal or lower rank.

If you are unlucky to have an army man ask “do you know who Iam”, be ready to receive all the brute force he had mustered and learned. They practise their unarmed combat skills on civilian victims whenever they are given the opportunity. As they ask their victim that question, slaps, blows and kicks follow in quick succession.

This is why I had my respect for the late Rear Admiral Mike Akhigbe, rtd. I reported a case of such brutality by two naval officers at the gate of the University of Lagos in 1993 to him. He took his time and fished out the officers involved, got them to apologise, and he sorted out the victim, singling out the Navy as the most humane among the armed forces in Nigeria.

When a political leader like a governor of a state asks one his subjects “do you know whom Iam” in a foreign country, like we heard at the Chartenan House London

Before his battle against the Vietnamese war, he had taken other risks such as joining the Black Muslims (The Nation of Islam) which wanted a separate country for African Americans with capital in Chicago, and being publicly identified with Brother Malcolm X seen at that time as the greatest threat to America.

Malcom X who had been fundamental in converting Ali to Islam, had also made moves to drag the United States before the United Nations for hundreds of years of crimes against the Black people.

Ali was unapologetic about the choices he made even where they offended his country’s establishment. For him, he had a right to a foothold on American soil. He proclaimed “I am America. I am the part you won't recognise. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me.”

Given the race relations in America, when Ali proclaimed “I am the Greatest” he was making not just a bold, but also courageous statement. He proclaimed his greatness at a time when the Blackman in United States counted for little, his life did not matter and was not allowed to vote.

Despite such pronouncements, Ali remained a humble man who connected with people all over the world.

He explained his general outlook “I am an ordinary man who worked hard to develop the talent I was given. I believed in myself, and I believe in the goodness of others.”

Ali was unmatchable, could not be duplicated, impersonated or cloned; he will continue to live in the hearts of millions of people across the world and in history. Goodbye, the compassionate champion of the oppressed people.

recently, it is a question pregnant with meaning.

It could, for example, mean: do you not know that I am very rich, powerful and can turn black into white, make and unmake, take your common wealth, and nothing will happen?

It could also mean: I enjoy constitutional immunity, and the President and I are in the same ruling party, I can waste you or anybody for that matter, and nothing will happen?

In the very circumstance which led the Governor to ask that question, it could mean: Don’t you know that as your governor, I support the Cattle Grazing Bill? I do not agree with your agitations for Biafra, and don’t care whether they shoot at you in your prayer meetings or bury you alive? The categories of the meaning of “do you know who Iam” when asked by a Governor cannot be closed.

In actual fact, any Nigerian, whether a military person, law enforcement personnel, politician, professional worker, civil servant, religious leader or member, or just a common man like many of us, irrespective of his tribe, is a citizen of a fantastically corrupt nation.

The Nigerian generally suffers hardship in the midst of plenty; as an oil producer that depends on oil imports, yet can’t find oil; in a land where corruption is fighting corruption!

Nigerian big men, especially the political heavy weights, are potential guests of the anti-graft agencies, and with the right political will are potential convicts.

*Mr Udegbe, a lawyer, can be reached at ceeaai@yahoo.com.

20— Vanguard,

FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016

Wellness is more than being free from illness — Dr. Chima Oti

By Chioma Obinna ELLNESS is more than being free from illness but attaining a higher quality of life where individuals and groups can consistently perform optimally and very often surpass their set goals. This formed the focus at the official unveiling of Dennis Ashley Wellness Centre, the first clinical facility in Lagos solely designed for preventive health. The World Health Organisation, WHO, describes wellness as the critical state of health of individuals unfortunately preventive health remains underrated in Nigeria.

In the views of a Consultant Anaesthetist, Dr. Chima Oti, Nigeria’s healthcare expenditure is very low with report showing 5.8 percent spend of the country’s GDP on health related matters annually, hence, the need for Nigerians to adopt preventive healthcare.

Oti, who is also a member of the Royal College of Anaesthetist and certified Health Educator, United Kingdom, UK, explained that wellness solutions have been reported to limit rampant healthcare costs.

Lamenting the rising prevalence of non communicable diseases, NCDs, in Nigeria, he stressed the need for evidence-based measures in reducing the risk factors of NCDs being a key component.

According to him, wellness is more than being free from illness.

He said Dennis Ashley Wellness Centre, DAWC, would

W

Regular exercise promotes wellness.

Dr. Chima Oti fill in the gaps by offering opportunities for people to choose healthy options in all the various aspects of their own wellness.

“DAWC was borne out of a need to blend under one roof most of

the different elements that give rise to the concept of wellness.

The Centre is primarily dedicated to actively helping individuals and establishments become more aware of healthy choices towards

a balanced and fulfilling life. ” Speaking, a Consultant General Practitioner and associate member of the Royal College of General Practitioners, UK, Dr. Oge Ilegbune explained

that DAWC measures and improves all the key drivers of well – being, health and productivity, spanning personal, emotional, health and work issues.

“What the health risk assessment form will do is to first of all identify if you have a problem. The health assessment forms are very affordable. We are also planning to organise lectures, seminars and other enlightenment programmes to change the attitude of Nigerians about their health. On his part, a Preventive Health Advocate and IT Director, Dennis Ashley Wellness Centre, Dr. Obi Igbokwe said the negative attitude to health is borne out of ignorance and lack of proper awareness on wellness. “The common perception of an average person is that ‘I don’t need to go to the hospital, I am okay. I don’t need to go and seek trouble. I look well and feel well. It is not my portion’.

“We are trying to defeat this perception. We need to look inward and understand that prevention is better than cure.”

Klat Pharma introduces anti-stress medication

By Sola Ogundipe TRESS symptoms affect every part of the body including behaviour, however, being able to recognise common stress symptoms can give insight into how it can be managed.

Stress that's left unchecked can contribute to many health problems, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and diabetes.

S

The high rate of stress in Nigeria has been described regrettable and worried by the trend, Klat Pharmaceuticals introduced a product that eliminates physical and mental stress and also boosts erection for men.

At the launch of the product known as Ginklat recently in Abuja, the Managing Director/ CEO, Klat Pharmaceutical, Emmanuel Olouha, said “The

aim of introducing the Ginklat capsule into the Nigerian market stems from the need to solve teeming stress related issues that affects both male and female, young and old. The super combo effect of this drug makes it a premium capsule.

“The secret combination of Ginseng, Vitamin E and Zinc Sulphate makes the Ginklat capsule to work like magic. It restores energy, reinvigorate erection for a satisfactory sexual performance in men, renews stamina, serves as anti-oxidant and relieves your whole body.

“The components of Ginklat are Ginseng, Zinc, and Vitamin E. Ginseng helps to stimulate physical and mental activities among people who are weak and tired. It improves thinking ability and cognition, and has anti-inflammatory effects. Zinc, present in the drug, supports male and female reproductive health and fertility, improves Athletic performance and strength, boost human immune system and prevent cancer, improves cardiovascular health, sleep, cognition and energy level, prevents Diabetics and more sensitive to insulin.

Zinc is a super antioxidant, it promotes brain health, and elevate mood while avoiding depression.

It also contains vitamin E, which protects against toxins such as air pollution, premenstrual syndrome, eye disorder, and the likes.

It improves immunity level, reduces cholesterol, reduces anti-age agent.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016

Banks agree to halt mass sack as Labour gives 21-day ultimatum Continues from Page 1 licences of banks that breached its directive to halt further retrenchment.

Labour, yesterday, issued a 21day ultimatum to the affected banks to recall the sacked workers or risk unprecedented industrial action. At a joint briefing in Geneva, leaders of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, insisted that they would picket banks who indulge in further mass sack of their employees, saying that the Federal Government was right to have threatened the erring banks with withdrawal of their licenses if they refused to halt the mass retrenchment of workers.

Banks that have sacked workers include Skye Bank (200), Diamond (200), Ecobank (1,040), while FirstBank plans to lay off about 1,000 over a period.

Mrs. Tokunbo Martins, CBN Director of Banking Supervision, Mrs. Bola Adesola, Managing Director of Standard Chartered Bank, Mr. Philip Oduoza, retiring Managing Director of UBA, Mr. Emeka Emuwa who is Managing Director of Union Bank and Mr. Isaac Okoroafor, Acting Director, Communications of the CBN, briefed the press on the outcome of the bankers committee meeting.

According to Mrs. Adesola, banks in the country “are looking at ways to ensure that we minimize exits from our institutions. There will always be exits if there is fraud and so forth; people will exit institutions.

“It is something we have discussed in the past where the Goveror of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) prevailed on banks to minimize any exits from the institutions.”

The MD added that banks “understand the implication of people not being in employment

— 21

Manufacturing contributed 9.4% to GDP in Q-3 2015 — Berger Paints MD

By Peter Egwuatu

B

CEREMONY: From left, Kennedy Uzoka, Group Managing Director-designate, UBA Plc; Oluwatoyin Sanni, Group CEO, United Capital Plc, and Rumundaka Wonodi, MD, NBET at the signing ceremony of the N50.59 Billion Bank Guarantee to Electricity Generation Companies on behalf of the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc in Lagos. so we noted the market sentiments and going forward, it will be different but there will be reasons why people will exit not just in the banking industry but in telecoms and other industries.

It is something that we will manage.”

The Federal Government has severally directed that banks halt the mass sack which the industry has witnessed in recent times, and even threatened to withdraw licences of recalcitrant banks.

Currency speculators’ll burn their fingers

In his contribution, the MD of UBA warned that currency speculators would soon burn their fingers when the “flexible exchange rate” policy to be introduced by the CBN takes effect.

His words: “The exchange rate issue has been problematic and the CBN is determined to get it right this time. That is why they are taking time. It is the reason $141.10 1.45 the Central Bank has called for inputs from $3,116.00 3.00 so many stakeholders and they are distilling $ 19.68 0.07 these inputs. In a very short while the framework will be ready and once this happens it $51.94 -0.57 will be made public and we will start run$50.68 -0.55 ning with it immediately.

CURRENCY BUYING SELL“It is important that ING we get it right so we US 196 196.5 197 don’t have to go back 286 .062 283.1369 283.8573 DOLLAR to the drawing board.

223.1068 223.0079 223.5753 POUNDS 203.8058 201.6005 202.1135 EURO We need to exercise a 1.8321 1.8363 1.8415 FRANC little bit of patience but 0.32 0.33 0.34 YEN we tell you that we are 276. 0692 276. 7734 277..4777 CFA coming up with a 29.8303 29.9069 29. 9834 WAUA framework that will be 52.2597 52.393 52.5263 RENMINBI able to address a lot of 29.9956 30. 0721 30.1486 RIYAL the issues that sur277. 4968 278.2047 278.1837 KRONA round foreign exSDR CBN Exchange rate as at 09/06/2016 change in Nigeria.

Anybody engaging in

currency speculation would be deceived at the end of the day because once these frameworks are released you will find out that a lot of the issues that have been affecting foreign exchange in Nigeria would be dealt with, people need to be very careful and we should exercise a bit of patience so that once we roll it out it is going to be one that will suite our environment and peculiarities.

In her remarks, the CBN Director of Banking Supervision said that DMBs and Micro Finance Banks have been given targets for savings and credits as part of strategies to deepen banking inclusion in the country.

She also said that a collateral register had been developed by the apex bank to assist in ensuring that only genuine bank customers received facilities in order to reduce banks’ nonperforming loans.

Labour tackles banks

Briefing newsmen at the venue of the on-going 105th International Labour Conference, ILC, in Geneva, Switzerland, both Labour centers contended that

It is something we have discussed in the past where the Goveror of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) prevailed on banks to minimize any exits from the institutions

Just like the banks disobeyed the laws of this country and retrenched workers “we will picket them to show them that they do not have monopoly of law of disobedience.”

Factional leader of the NLC, Ayuba Wabba and TUC President, Bobboi Kaigama, who frowned at the refusal of banks to allow their workers unionize, said the pronouncement of the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige was expected, arguing that it was not the responsibility of the Senate Committee on Banking to invite the Minister and others for a meeting since the issue fell within industrial relations.

Kaigama said: “We as Organised Labour, we know the rules of redundancy and others.

If the rules are not followed, we will frown at that and we are not going to accept it. Some of these sacks happened while we are here (Geneva) and when we get back to Nigeria, we will address the issue. We are assuring you that jointly with our sister body (NLC), we will address the matter. Just like the banks disobeyed the laws of this country when it comes to retrenching our members, we will picket them to show them that they do not have monopoly of disobedience of law.”

On his part, Wabba said: “First, these workers are Nigerians, they need our protection. The fact that people want to take any loophole to their advantage is not acceptable to us because there is difference between mass sack, and hire and fire within the context of employment relations.

In this case, it is mass sack and we cannot allow a situation where these workers can be exploited, or their rights denied because of certain factors. We are aware of what is happening in the banking sector. They refused unionization and if you refuse unionization and the issue is on the table, you cannot come back and say these people are not unionized.

ERGER Paints Nigeria Plc , yesterday , lamented the harshoperatingenvironmentwhich has impacted negatively on the Manufacturing sector as its contribution to the Gross Domestic Products, GDP, in third quarter of 2015 slowed down to 9.4 percent against the previous year.

The Chairman of Berger Paints Nigeria, Dr. Oladimeji Alo, who disclosedthisatthecompany’s56th Annual General Meeting, AGM held in Lagos, stated “In the year under review, capacity utilisation in the real sector continued to lower around 45 per cent. The decline in growthwascausedbyunavailability offoreignexchangeforrawmaterial and equipment importation, high parallelmarketexchangerates,high interestrates,insufficientpowerand energy supply as well as inefficient infrastructurewhichefficientlystifled itspositionastheengineofeconomic growth.”

Addressing shareholders at the meeting, Alo said that the future is bright as the Chemical and Paints sectoris,however,expectedtofurther ride on the back of the growth of the economy and the building and constructionindustrytorecordbetter performance.

While x-raying the performance ofthecompanyforthefinancialyear 2015, he said “In spite of the challenging environment, our company continued to sustain its performance with emphasis on profitability ad value creation for shareholders. “ According to him “We recorded a marginal decline in sales revenue from N3.083 billion in 2014 to N3.022billionin2015,representing a 2 per cent decrease. By contrast, our Profit Before Tax,PBT grew from N249.3 million in 2014 to N565.2 millionin2015representinga126.7 percentincrease.Thefallinoursales revenue was largely due to the absence of the one –off export transaction that earned us revenue of N199 million in 2014. On the other hand, the PBT growth was largely as a result of some extra ordinary items which boosted our income.”

In their comments, shareholders commended the Board and management for the company’s performance despite the operating environment challenges.

Thevariousshareholders’leaders, such as Sir Sunny Nwosu, Evangelist Anthony Omolola, Mr Michael Cole, Mr. Nonah Awoh said “The company has done well for declaring 75 kobo dividend per share in spite of the unfavourable environment.

C M Y K

22 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016

Burutu port set for exports of mining, agric products

By Godfrey Bivbere

E

FFORTS are on to make Buturu port in Delta state the port of destination for the export of mining and agricultural products.

An indigenous firm, Akewa Global Services, AGS, concessionaires of the port, have got provisional approval from Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA and National Inland Waterways Authority, NIWA to operate as port of destination.

In an exclusive interview, Chairman of AGS, Kenneth Donye, told Vanguard that they are in discussion with the two government agencies but expressed confidence that the firm will get the nod before the of the month..

According to him, “We are talking to NIWA and NPA to designate the port to be a mining port, so that the mining productsand the agricultural produce can pass through the port for export. We are working at making Burutu port the port of destination for mining activities. A place where all the solid mineral products and agricultural produce are brought in through the River Niger from Lokoja, through Baro port to Onistha port, the original root.

“This is what we are driving at because of the peculiarity of the place. Nothing has been done, but that is what the Nigerian Shippers Council, Nigerian Export-Import, NEXIM, Bank and other stakeholders are working at.”

Recall that NEXIM bank and the NSC, are collaborating to establish a shipping line for trading within the West and Central Africa sub-region.

Donye further said that the major challenge for effective take off would be shallow nature of the channel leading to the port. He explained that though they are working on the possibility of dredging the port channel on a

VISIT: Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Dr. Dakuku Peterside and some of the Agency’s Management Staff in a group photograph with a team from Lagos Seaports and Marine Command of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) led by Comptroller (Mrs.) Modupe Anyalechi during a familiarization visit to the Head Quarters of the Agency in Lagos.

Public, Private Partnership, PPP, however no agreement has been signed yet.

“It is not by applying, it is by coming together to agree on a particular plan to start to dredge on PPP basis through a consortium of companies, and government parastatals, to create a model of

dredging and continuous sweeping of the River Niger so that any individual that has a barge can use the river to transport goods to the market, everyone that has goods to be transported to the nearest community could also use that channel so that government does not have to spend money

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RESIDENT General, Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN),Comrade Anthony Emmanuel Nted has called on the Federal Government and relevant security agencies to arrest the union’s exPresident General, Uzoije Ukaumunna.

He alleged that Ukaumunna masterminded unrests among dockworkers by mobilising non-members of the union to invade its secretariat, and for flouting a court injunction.

Reacting to last Tuesday’s attempt to cause mayhem at the union’s secretariat in Apapa Lagos, Nted in a chat with journalists in Lagos said that the union was uncomfortable with the apparent unwillingness to curtail the actions of the union’s exPresident, whom he referred to as a threat to peace in the maritime imdustry.

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about 2,000 jobs both directly and indirectly.

He explained that they actually took delivery of four of the vessels two years ago but that they had to return them when they were denied operational license by the government.

NIMASA resumes abandoned sea-time training for cadets

By Godfrey Bivbere & Favour Elioku

T

HE Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, has commenced sea-time training for cadets abandoned for years after the completion of their theoretical studies in various mar-

itime institution across the globe.

Already, three firms have been approved to carry out the training exercise and the first batch of cadets that benefitted from the National Seafarers Development Programme, (NSDP) have commenced sea time training.

MWUN urges security agencies to arrest ex-leader over secreteriat invasion

By Godwin Oritse

for such things.”

He also said that they intend to use part of the port as a fishing terminal and plans are underway for arrival of four trawling vessels for that purpose. He noted that from trawling operation alone the company would create

Nted said that dockworkers branch had the strength and population to resist any form of militancy that can be orchestrated by the Ukaumunna group. He however added that as a responsible and peace-loving union, there is the need for government to take immediate action to curtail the situation before it goes out of hand.

The President General maintained that those that staged the protest at the national secretariat of the Union at 199 Osho Drive, Olodi Apapa in Lagos were orchestrated by the ex-labour leader and one Maurice Fangnon, adding that some of the perpetrators were arrested and have been transferred to Panti Police station from the Trinity Police station in Apapa, where they were initially kept.

He called for urgent intervention by security agencies, saying that, ‘’if someone who has been

removed by the Federal Government about 14 years ago can still be allowed to regroup and invade our national secretariat, then something needs to be done urgently.

“We are calling on the government to do something immediately to apprehend Ukaumunna and the so-called Maurice Fangnon.

Juliana Gunwa, NIMASA’s Director in charge of Labour Services, disclosed this in Lagos at a one day programme organised by Platform Communications with the theme, “The Youths and the Future of Nigeria’s maritime industry”. She said that the agency is working at approving more vendors to create a wider opportunity for cadets in the country.

Gunwa said the approval of more vendors will enable cadets undergo their compulsory sea time training, a requirement for qualification as seafarer. She explained that sea time training programme would have commenced much earlier but for the change in government.

According to her, “The change brought some slight delay but the Director General of NIMASA has contacted all the vendors that have indicated interest to provide sea time

training for cadets. As I speak, we have three vendors that are providing sea time training for our earlier batches; senior students are at sea and services.

“There are also two vendors that have gone very far in the process of meeting the requirement for providing sea time training for other cadets. More vendors are also being invited to submit their papers and make the necessary presentation,” she said.

Gunwa assured cadets that the agency is working hard to create the enabling environment for sea time training for them, even as she stressed that the agency left them stranded.

“NIMASA will never send you to school and leave you without going for sea time, it cannot happen. NIMASA is the agency that regulates the theoretical training and the very vital aspect which is sea time training.

Terminal operator grows cargo throughput by over 200%

By Godfrey Bivbere

P

ORTS and Cargo Handling Services Limited, PCHSL, has grown the operations of terminal “C” concessioned to it 10 years ago from the inherited 5000 Twenty Foot Equivalent Units, TEUs, capacity to 16,000 TEUs. Disclosing this in Lagos yesterday, Managing Director of PCHSL, Mohammed Bulangu, said that the achievement was a result of the company’s desire to

make the terminal a preferred destination for port users across the country.

Bulangu said that they had to put in place development plans to increase the fortunes of the terminal. According to him, “As a result of the management’s commitment to turn the terminal around and the huge investment in infrastructure, plants and equipment; Terminal C has witnessed tremendous development and has transformed from

the decayed terminal inherited from the NPA to a modern port comparable to any other ports in the world. As a result, efficiency has been increased in port operations.”

On the provision of the needed cargo handling equipment, the Ports and Cargo boss said “We have fully complied with and even exceeded our obligations regarding acquisition of plants and equipment.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016 — 23 YOUR LUCK TODAY

LEISURE

By Joshua Adeyemo Phone 08056180139

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

LIBRA; Young-at-heart-Librans will be willing to give priority attention to sentimental related issues probably because of yesterday’s success.

By Richard Eromosele

SCORPIO; Refuse to become mentally arrogant or else you would be working against your own interest.

Your love life will continue to enjoy favourable aspects.

IFE is all about relationship. It is all about how you relate well with the other man or woman. For ex-

SAGITTARIUS; Financial success is within your reach, especially if you back your old plans early in the day. The more family minded you are the better for you.

CAPRICORN; It is important you don’t allow others to mislead you in the name of giving you good advice before 5.36pm. Those travelling or moving around in search of love may be in for both an exciting and pleasurable day.

AQUARIUS; You will be in better position to consolidate on progress made yesterday. And it is wrong to take people for granted today.

L

About Relationship? ample, a successful father should be able to relate well with his children, a successful leader

TERROR MUDA

should be able to relate well with his followers.

Similarly, a good manager should have a good rap-

in “Never say goodbye”

port with members of his workforce.How well you relate with people could determine how far you will go in life.Think about it.

By Kola Fayemi

PISCES; Many people may be disappointed because of broken promises, therefore you will need to prepare your mind accordingly and refuse to take others for granted ARIES; . You can make it a good day as both career advancement and financial success are closer to you.

Secret lovers are in for an exciting day.

TAURUS; Although there will be challenges here is a day when things will eventually go according to your plans. Don’t take friends for granted.

GEMINI; From now until next few days you will need to be as practical as possible along your career line; this is the wrong time to experiment with new ideas.

CANCER; You may not be in total control of your mind till around 5.36pm. That is to say you will need practical approach in all you do today. Be more cooperative.

KAPTAIN AFRIKA

in

“Pretty Lunatic’

By Andy Akman

LEO; Continue to be more careful about proposals having to do with joint ventures. Yet that is not to say you can not take good advice. Prepare to work harder.

VIRGO; You stand good chance to extend favourable events of yesterday both at work and on matters-ofthe-heart. Watch what you sign before 5.36pm.

ASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLING Send yyour our dat th ttoo the As tr ological datee and place of bir birth Astr trological Counselling, PP.M.B .M.B 1100 00 7, Apapa, Lagos 007,

What caused her death?

Dear Joshua, Kindly check my horoscope and tell me what is my luck about social activities. Equally I want to know my love life (what is the challenge of my love life), because once I got married and lost my wife to death. Why? Should I marry again?

Gabriel, Ogun.

Dear Gabriel, Sorry for the death of your wife. By the grace of God it will not happen again. Thus go ahead and re-marry.

But you will need to be as spiritual/prayerful as possible.

Leo is about LOVE powerful and/or magnetic personality. That is why you were given handsome and magnetic body. Many planetary placement here in Leo particularly the conjunction of magnetic Uranus, sexual Mars and romantic Venus are pointer to very active love life. Thank goodness you were made to suffer early in life other-wise you would have being a play boy. Certainly romantic fun with beautiful women can not elude you.

Major challenge of your love life is coming from difficult aspect from Jupiter in death related Scorpio to the conjunction of Mars, Uranus and Venus in child bearing Leo, if this is not well managed it can cause avoidable death either of a spouse or a child. But your being spiritual can take good care of this tough challenge of your love life.

Here is an incurable LOVER OF TOTAL FREEDOM. But fortunately on one hand Saturn made it very difficult and rough at the initial stage and instilled discipline into your inner-self, but unfortunately on the other hand the same difficult Saturn killed some of rascally useful traits in you capable of making you a big time freedom fighter. Let me say this here, the truth is as much as some of wicked witches and wizards would like to harm your FAME your natal affiliation to them through your Neptune in Scorpio at positive angle to your natal Sun in homely Cancer will not allow them; then that does not mean you should leave your defence open unnecessarily.

VIRGINIA

HOME & ABROAD

dadadekola@yahoo.com

By Lawrence Akapa

24 —VANGUARD,

FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016—25

VOL. 1: NO. 17

FRIDAY, JUNE 10 , 2016

•Students at the entrance of the Oyo State secretariat to protest against the state government's policy

PROTEST: Day

By Ola Ajayi

T

HE violent protests by pupils in primary and secondary schools in Ibadan, Oyo State took many by surprise.

Considering the havoc done in few hours, one begins to wonder if the protests were indeed carried out by those minors.

In the hours of rage when they chanted many unprintable slogans against the Governor Abiola Ajimobi led administration, they left many impressive structures, which the governor dissipated so much energy on in his urban renewal programmes, in ruins.

Some of the infrastructure the angry pupils left in ruins include the office of the Oyo State First Lady, Mrs. Florence Ajimobi, where they broke almost all the windows, the Murhi Television International, MITV, the state office of the All Progressives Congress, APC, at Oke Ado, as well as decorative lights in front of the government house, state secretariat being shattered with stones and other dangerous weapons they

minors sacked Ibadan

brandished as they marched round the metropolis.

Also, signboards, billboards and other insignia bearing the

Some of the students were seen clutching machetes, clubs and axes at Iyaganku area. At Elizabeth road, security men had to fire tear gas to disperse them

picture of the governor along government house way and other parts of the city were either

destroyed or defaced. The Oyo State Transport Service tagged Pacesetter Transport Service was also not spared.

Some of the students were seen clutching machetes, clubs and axes at Iyaganku area. At Elizabeth road, security men had to fire tear gas to disperse them.

How it started After the disruption of a stakeholders’ meeting at the Parliament Building and the dismantling of chairs and tables arranged for dignitaries, the state government took its own pound of flesh by ensuring that all the labour leaders involved in the disruption were charged to court after their arrest on Thursday morning around 10.

All their phones were seized as several calls made to the State Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Mr. Waheed Olojede were not

IN THIS EDITION

Why Fayose should not be chained — EKITI LEGISLATORS •Page 28

answered.

A f t e r arraignment on Friday, the seven accused persons were granted bail but could not meet bail conditions till Monday. The bail was granted in the sum of N200,000 with two sureties who must produce their national identity cards or voter's cards.

Though, the teeming workers who were in the court premises were happy believing they •Ajimobi: Accepts responsibility for crisis had triumphed.

Little did they know that the property would cut short their aspect of verification of sureties’ joy.

The members of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, who were directly affected by the alleged ‘privatisation’ were visible in the whole struggle.

On Monday morning, the students had earlier resumed in their schools when they were Continues on page 27

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016—27

ONDO STATE

PROTEST: Day minors sacked Ibadan Continues from page 26 sent back home with the news that teachers had begun the strike with immediate effect.

As if the students had been briefed, they stormed the streets from various directions and unleashed terror.

Though, the government, through the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Olalekan Alli had said repeatedly that it had no intention to privatise schools or return schools to their original owners (missionaries).

Immediately their bail conditions were perfected,

National Vice President of the NLC, Mr Adelegan Solomon and Chris Uyot, Deputy General Secretary, state Chairman, Waheed Olojede went to the NLC office where they addressed their members.

Indefinite strike Adelegan accused the state government of allegedly sponsoring hooligans to attack union members.

He said the resolve of the national body after due consultation with other

stakeholders in the state was that there should be an indefinite strike which would begin immediately in the state.

As this was on-going, different solidarity and interest groups had earlier stormed the Agodi Prisons where the labour leaders were detained. Also, Joint Action Front (JAF), Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) UI, Unilag and LAUTECH chapters, and NUT from Ogun, Osun and Ondo states were there.

Olojede said, “by the power conferred on me as the state Chairman, NLC, I hereby

declare an indefinite strike in the state with immediate effect.

Our solidarity must continue.

We say no more work without pay.

“The strike will continue until all our demands are met. Our demands are the immediate withdrawal of all trumped-up charges levelled against us.

Government must rescind its decision to sell-off any public schools in the state. Proper and adequate funding of the education sector including payment of living wages and other incentive for educational workers and the immediate

payment of 6 months outstanding salaries and all pension arrears,” he declared.

Alaafin, Olubadan intervene On Tuesday, when the workers were still licking the wounds of their incarceration, the stakeholders’ meeting which they disrupted eventually held.

The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi; Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Saliu Adetunji; Eleruwa of Eruwa, Oba Samuel Adegbola, religious leaders (Islamic and Christian) were in attendance.

The Alaafin and Olubadan did not mince words as they declared their support for the governor.

Though, Eleruwa pointed out some grey areas that the government needed to clarify, he said he would align with the governor if the areas were addressed.

Alhaji Kunle Sanni, who represented Muslim interests was clearly against the move but Bishop James Ajetumobi who spoke on behalf of Christians was in favour of it.

At the meeting, Governor Ajimobi made the intentions of the government known saying the ‘participatory exercise’ to reform the education sector was not negotiable. He said this after asking the gathering if they all believed that the education sector needed change to which all of them answered in the affirmative.

Flexing muscle Alaafin said all the governor wants to do is to revolutionise education. He wondered why “Yoruba always flex muscles on some immaterial things.”

Other speakers such as the Head of Service, Mr. Soji Eniade, Permanent Secretaries of Information, Teaching Service Commission and Education tried to convince the gathering.

Ajimobi accepted responsibility for the crisis that trailed the proposed reform saying it could have been avoided if his people had carried all the stakeholders along.

Again, he admitted that the price tag of N250,000 refundable fee attached to the expression of interest form. At the end, he concluded saying notwithstanding the protests or strike, the policy has come to stay.

28—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 10,

2016

OGUN STATE

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor, Charles Kumolu & Gbenga Oke

G

IVEN Governor Ayodele Fayose’s infatuations with President Muhammadu Buhari, it is a surprise to many that the former army general now at the helm of affairs of the country has largely ignored him. Well, not so if the governor ’s leading supporters and aides are to be believed.

Indeed, if any, the All Progressives Congress, APC, led federal administration is tightening the noose around the Ekiti State governor, some of the partisans of Mr. Fayose told Vanguard during a courtesy visit to Vanguard last weekend.

The quartet including three members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Mr. Segun Aderemi, Deputy Speaker, Dr. Samuel Omotoso, Chairman, House Committee on Health and Chief Gboyega Aribisogan, Chairman, House Committee on Information were joined by the governor’s Special Adviser, Public Communication and New Media, Mr. Lere Olayinka.

They were at Vanguard to draw attention to what they claimed was a covert order by the Department of State Services, DSS to stop the governor from travelling abroad.

Their visit followed newspaper publications penultimate weekend that the DSS had issued a signal to all its formations at exit points out of the country barring Fayose from leaving the country. The reports said that the governor was to be told to report to the Director-General of the DSS should he have any need to leave the country.

Travel ban The news reports specifically mentioned that two governors, one from the Southwest and the other from the South-South were the targets of the ban.

Supporters of Mr. Fayose say he is the one and that the other governor supposedly under the travel restriction is Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State.

Both men have the pedigree of being two of the leading hatchet men of the PDP in the run-up to the last general election.

Understandably, the Ekiti State House of Assembly which is wholly dominated by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was quick to denounce the alleged order. The PDP state chapter in Osun State and some other organs of the party have also been up in arms against the perceived order.

So given the fact that there has been no official confirmation of the alleged ban, suggestions to the visiting Ekiti officials to put the claim in the realm of unfounded speculations were surprisingly dismissed.

“The same way media men

•Pix L- R Hon (Dr)Samuel Omotoso, Chairman House Committee on Health, Ekiti State, Mr Lere Olayinka SA Public Communcation & New Media to the Governor Ekiti State; Hon. Gboyega Aribisogan, Chairman House Committee on Information Ekiti State; and RT. Hon. Segun Adewumi , Deputy Speaker Ekiti State, during the Deputy Speaker Rt. Hon. Segun Adewumi and his team's visit to Vanguardnewspapers, Apapa Lagos. Photo: Diran Oshe.

Why Fayose should not be chained — EKITI LEGISLATORS get information that is genuine that is also how a government gets information. The governor has confirmed it that it is directed at his person. The other governor has confirmed it also. They have done their homework."

Asked if the governor had successfully penetrated into the security apparatus of the presidency, the lawmakers responded thus: “We are politicians and we control the apparatus of government at the state level and federal level.

Because we have this kind of structure within the security circles, there is nothing that happens that we don’t know.

The same personnel that work with the Federal Government are those who work with the state. So as a government, we use our advantage to get information. But what we are saying is that even at our level, we have investigated and found out that the APC led federal government is responsible for this because they have made us understand that our governor is an enemy of the state.”

Curbing dictatorship Asserting that their cry was meant to ensure that dictatorship was nipped in the bud, they said: “It could be Ekiti State today; it could be anywhere next time.

Look at what happened in the Southeast where people are being killed just because they are

protesting and Nigerians are not talking. So we have elected to do this just to let Nigerians know that this country is sick, and we need people of good conscience to out to rescue the country from the brink.

“They should leave Fayose alone; they should allow him to act the way God has sent him to come and act in this country. This story was published in two national dailies, and they have not debunked the report. And if they are keeping silent, we are not doing that because if it is not true, I expect them to debunk it.”

So given the threat would the governor be travelling anytime soon, Mr. Olayinka was specifically asked “The governor will travel outside this country in the next few weeks. He will announce it, and the media will follow him,” he said.

Challenged on the basis that there could be a moral reason to keep Governor Fayose from travelling out of the country given his recent caustic attacks on President Buhari, the quartet quickly rebuffed the claim saying that every comment made by Fayose on Buhari was founded on facts and logic.

Attack on Buhari However, the attack on the president while he was in China on a state visit and the charge by the governor to the Chinese authorities not to honour the

administration’s bid for financial leverage on some capital projects was a controversy taken too far for many Nigerians. The Ekiti delegation was, however, unrepentant.

“On the issue of China, we know a lot of Nigerians will be

They should leave Fayose alone; they should allow him to act the way God has sent him to come and act in this country

shocked because we deliberated on all these things before we started, we knew quite well that most commentators will be surprised about how a Governor of a state can challenge the Federal Government on the international stage, and the Governor is still going to do more of that,” they said.

China trip Affirming that the assertions of the governor were meant to deepen the country’s democracy, they said: “Opposition is embedded in democracy and it

makes democracies strong. The China trip, at a point, they said it was currency swap, everybody was writing about it saying they are transferring our currency to Yuan, how can you do that when even China is keeping its own foreign reserves in Dollars? That is not wisdom and when they saw the resistance from Ekiti state government demanding that China should give the modalities for the currency swap, they later told us no currency swap, they said it is a loan and somebody later said it not a loan.

So you can see how government is talking from both sides of their mouth and to the glory of God, Fayose has done tremendously well, especially with regard to roads with many of the roads done and delivered.”

“We are in a democracy in this country and we are running a federal system of government, Buhari is not superior to the Governor of Ekiti state under the Nigerian constitution, Nigeria is a state, a President is a President while a Governor is a Governor.

If not for this arrangement that we run that all governors will have to run to Abuja to get money, in the United States, states operates independently, you might not even need to see the President throughout your tenure, when running your state.”

Advocating a return to true federalism, they said: “Unfortunately now, those who are advocating true federalism are now in government, those who are advocating state police are now in government, those who are advocating that Nigeria should be restructured, they are no longer talking. Everybody is saying Fayose is talking too much, but majority of the things he has been saying are coming to pass.”

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016—29

30 —VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016—31

32 —VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016

Barka Jumah

Ramadan 5, 1437 A.H.

Ramadan: Not only about abstinence from food, drink F

ASTING is not only about abstinence from food and drink, but also going closer to Allah by doing what the Creator enjoins us to do and shunning those things that will vitiate our fast or render the whole exercise useless.

Come to think of it, what is the need to deny yourself from the food and pleasure of life, feeling the pangs of hunger and yet with the availability of food or the means to get same, you chose to fast only to be rendered useless on account of your inadequacies borne out of ignorance or sheer neglect.

Almighty Allah desire for us the best and that is why so many doors of opportunities for His rahma are emphasised in the Holy Qur’an and Hadiths.

In this month, every single action you do can be transformed into an act of worship, and you get great reward for it. The more you do, the more multiple rewards you get.

We should intensify efforts to do better all the acts of ibadah we do before Ramadan. We are so blessed that in the month, if you eat sahur, you will be rewarded for it, if you give iftar, you will be blessed for it. So, your extra form of worship, like the sunnah prayers, like the recitation of the Quran, the azkar, the tarawih, the tahjud, the tafsir or public lecture you go, you will be rewarded bountifully for it. So, why not intensify in these acts to get the

best out of the month.

Salat: You have to be steadfast in your daily salat and observe them as and when due. Ramadan is the time to solidify these prayers. You dont have to leave out the sunnah prayers as well.

Endeavour to make the most out of your sunnah prayers.

These are ways to tap into the great rewards in Ramadan.

Tarawih: The month comes with tarawih, they are inseperable twins. This sunnah prayer can connect you with the Holy Quran especially if you go to masjid where beautiful reciter leads in the prayer. It can be sould lifting and spiritually rewarding.

Tafsir: Attend tafsir, where you will learn about the exegesis, commentaries, and lessons of the verses and chapters of the Holy Quran.

In this month, every single action you do can be transformed into an act of worship, and you get great reward for it

Manage your time so well that even if you are at home, you listen or see programmes on the radio or elevision that can enrich you imaan and understand the beautiful words of the Quran.

Dhikr: Remembering Allah Subhanahu-wa-Taala is one of the easiest deeds you can do in Ramadan. It brings one back to the right frame of mind. You can made it a dutty, pick one azkar and recite it especially when you are bored during the day while at work. You will see how it will lift your spirit and reconnect you to Allah.

Du’a: In Ramadan your du’as complement your goals.

You can make your dua list, read and carry it with you so as to seek valuable times especially before and after the obligatory prayers, before iftar are also good moments to beg Allah for your wants. Ask Allah for this world, and the Hereafter and beg Allah to forgive your sins. No doubt, Allah will do it.

I’tikaf: The last ten days and nights is very important as one can reap the maximum reward of Ramadan. Smart people take off the last ten days of work for worship. They go into seclusion and think and worship Allah without any distraction. If you have the ability to do this, then make the most out of these ten days. It may not be possible for everybody, but plan for it now.

He unjustly tortured your soul, you now wish to draw blood and finish him off. Fair?

Never. Nothing pains doers of evi more than for their persons to be ignored. That’s how you make bad people endure the severest pains. The definition of Allah is final authority. Leave evil doers for Allah to judge. With him, your victory is sure.

As for the peddlers of evil, they would lavishly feed on d anguish of disgrace and failure. As you forgive, so shall allah flavour your life with unending goodness and bathe you with His munificence. BarkaJumah Ramadan Kereem

—Adewale Adeeyo, OON

Sheikh Adam Al-Ilory delivers Bodija Muslim Community lecture

O

NE of the learned children of the founder of Markaz Agege, Barrister Abdullah Adam El-Ilory will on Sunday June 12, deliver the first lecture of Bodija Estates and Environs Muslim Community (BEEMC) in Ibadan.

In a statement by the Publicity Secretary of the Community, Alhaji AbdurRahman Balogun stated that the Islamic scholar will speak on “The Role of Muslims in Building a good society in Nigeria”.

The lecture slated for the Islamic centre, Housing, Bodija will by 11 a.m.

Balogun said that the lecture coincides with the 9th Prof.

I.A.B. Balogun Memorial, the first Missioner

and Chief Imam of the Muslim community.

Expected at the lecture are Islamic titled holders, academia, Islamic groups, Islamic scholars and students of the various Arabic and Islamic schools.

In another development, the annual Ramadan Tafsir and Iftar of Obafemi Awolowo University Muslim Graduates Association (UNIFEMGA) Ibadan chapter will be hosted by Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Balogun at his Lade residence, Ibadan on Sunday June 12.

The Tafsir, which starts by 4.30 p.m, will be witnessed

by Muslim graduates and friends of the Baloguns as it also marks his wedding anniversary.

Sultan, Adebule, others, to grace MSSN biennial Qur’an competition

L

AGOS State Deputy Governor, Dr Idiat Adebule; Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III and First Lady of Osun State, Alhaja Sherifat Aregbesola are some of the dignitaries that are expected at the Grand Finale of the Biennial Qur’an Memorisation Competition organised by the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN) Lagos State Area Unit (LSAU).

Other expected guests, according to MSSN Amir, Mallam Saheed Ashafa are two former deputy governors of Lagos State, Alhaja Sinatu Ojikutu and Alhaja Latefah Okunnu; former Senator, Lagos West Senatorial District, Ganiyu Solomon; Arowoshadini of Nigeria, Alhaja Muinat ShopeyinAkande; Iyalode of Lagos and President, Fatimah Charity Foundation, Hajia BintuFatimah Tinubu; Amirah Federation of Muslim Women Association of Nigeria (FOMWAN), Lagos; National Officers of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (South West Zone); Chief Executive

Officer, Jaiz Zakat and Waqf Trust Fund, Maitama, Imam Abdullah Shuaib and Director Muslim Right Concern, (MURIC), Professor Lakin Akintola.

The competition, to be held in honour of the pioneer Amir of the association and former Secretary-General, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Late Alhaji Lateef Adegbite, would take place on Sunday, June 12, 2016 at the Gymnasium Hall, National Institute for Sports, National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.

Speaking at a Press Conference, Ashafa said the competition is to ensure that Muslim youths are encouraged to learn and memorise the Qur’an.

He said: “We organise this competition to ensure that the knowledge of the Quran does not fade away with the numerous distractions confronted by Muslim youths in the challenging society that we find ourselves. This Project aims amongst others to stimulate the penchant for reading, pondering and memorizing the Qur’an among Muslim youths. It is also aimed at engaging critical state actors on socio-economic

development as enunciated by God in the Qur’an.”MSSN LSAU has pioneered the execution of this Project since 1999. We have provided the platform upon which a sizeable number of youths in the southwest have realized their potentials and are now HUFFAAZ (i.e. memorizers) of the Qur’an. We equally have produced youths who have represented the country in international competitions.”

The theme of this year’s competition, The Divine Compendium for Governance, would be delivered by Lagos State Commissioner for Home Affairs, Dr Abdullateef Abdulhakeem.

Ashafa said the theme was informed by the challenges facing thecountry,adding:“Withthetopic, we want to show Nigeria and the rest of the world that the Qur’an remains the most reliable Book for good governance. The Qur’an addresses and offers practicable solutions to all human challenges.Often times, we complain that past leaders have not judiciously utilised our resources and despite our complaints things remained the same.

Imam Abdullahi Shuaib, CEO, Jaiz Zakat & Waqf Trust Fund presenting a hamper of food items to a female beneficiary, with Hajia Maryam Tahan (first right) admiring.

From left: Imam Abdullahi Shuaib, CEO, Jaiz Zakat & Waqf Trust Fund; Mr. Hakan Calik, Ambassador of Turkish Embassy and Mr. Ali Kasikirik, Counselor for Religious Affairs, Turkish Embassy.

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016—33

Muslim SoulMates

Do you seek a Muslim life partner?

W

Ramadan 5, 1437 A.H.

Ramadan: Ambode, Obasa task Muslims on peaceful co-existence, prayers for Nigeria

L

AGOS State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, has urged Muslims in the state to see the Ramadan period as a time to promote culture of tolerance and peaceful co-existence among citizens irrespective of religion, tribe, sex, colour.

Also, Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, urged Muslims to remain steadfast and be more prayerful during the Ramadan fasting to ensure the country survives its current socio-economic challenges.

Ambode, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Habib Aruna, said the commencement of Ramadan as a Holy month of 30 days fasting, should be seen as an opportunity to learn self restraint, sacrifice, piety and love.

He said this was in line with the admonition of the Holy Quran, Chapter 2 Verse 183, which says, “Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you so that you can learn self restraint (Piety)”.

The governor therefore, urged Muslims in the state to take the opportunity of the Holy month to promote culture of religious tolerance and peaceful coexistence among people of diverse ethnicity.

His words: “At this critical period of rebuilding our nation and ensuring that the Change we promised is delivered, the lessons of the Holy month of Ramadan must permeate all of our actions and deeds in such a way that each person must act

as his brother’s keeper at all times.”

He therefore, wished all adherents of the Islamic faith a most spiritually rewarding Ramadan period.

Also, Obasa, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Musbau Rasaq, called on Muslims to use the occasion to share love and ensure that peace reign in the country through their actions and utterances.

“The Ramadhan period affords

us all the opportunity to move closer to God, it is thus, an opportunity for us to be our brothers’ keepers, share love among ourselves irrespective of our faith and above all, pray for the continued survival of the Nigerian nation.”

According to Obasa, though Nigeria is facing a lot of challenges occasioned by the misrule of the past, the are signs that things are and will get better soon.

Five govs, others discuss peace at MMPN Ramadan lecture

G

overnors of Niger, Kogi, Kaduna, Katsina and Nasarawa states will join other stakeholders to discuss peace at the 10th Ramadan lecture of Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria (MMPN) in Abuja.

In a statement by the Chairman of MMPN, Abuja chapter, Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Balogun stated that the lecture would hold at the conference hall of the National Mosque, Abuja on Sunday June 19, from 10 a.m.

Other stakeholders who will discuss the theme “Peace as a Catalyst for Development, the Media Challenge” are Alhaji Muhammad Bello, Minister of FCT as the Chief host and Alhaji Lai Muhammed, Minister of Information and Culture as special guest of honour.

The guest speakers are Prof.

Ishaq Akintola, Director, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), Hajia Aisha Umar-

Yusuf, Editor, Muslim worldview and Mr. Cemal Yegit of Ufuk Foundation, Turkey.

Alhaji Awwal Ibrahim, Emir of Suleja is the chairman of the occasion while Prof Is-haq Oloyede, NSCIA SecretaryGeneral, will deliver a keynote address.

Other guests expected are Rep. Sulaiman Lasun, Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives and other lawmakers, Hon. Kafayat DabiriErewa, SSA Foreign Affairs and Diaspora and Barr. Bayo Shittu, Minister of Communications.

All heads of government media as well as selected private establishments and National President of NUJ, Alhaji Waheed Odusile are equally expected at the one-day lecture.

Balogun said the topic was carefully selected to proffer solutions to the challenges facing the country.

ELCOME to Muslim SoulMates in Vanguard. A unique platform for single Muslims who wish to find their potential marriage partners on this page. We have designed it to help you find perfect soul mates every Friday.

We will also give counsel where necessary in order to keep with the halal standard. Our aim is to further develop couples that could be blessed, compatible, enduring following Islamic injunctions. It promises to be a rewarding service just as we will treat all inquiries and submissions in confidence.

Send your profile, contact and details of who you want, not more than 75 words to isholaism@yahoo.co.uk. Names and contacts will not be published.

For those whose profile are published, they are advised to check their emails as we will revert to them for further information.

PROFILE 12: A businessman, 5.8ft tall from South-West, currently based in Delta State wants a Muslim divorced lady between 35 to 40 years as 2nd wife. Preferably literate with not more than 2 kids.

PROFILE 13: A gainfully employed young man, 5ft.7inch from North Central, wants a Muslim lady between 30 to 35 years as life partner. Preferably tall, light in complexion, literate and handsome and must be either from North central or core North.

PROFILE 14: Female Muslim 33, desires a God fearing Muslim man for marriage. He must be single and ready for marriage.

PROFILE 15: A gainfully employed young lady, 34 years, 5ft.7inch from South-West, wants a Muslim man between 38 to 40 years as life partner. Preferably tall, literate and handsome.

PROFILE 16: A single Muslim lady, 30, Yoruba, and gainfully employed wants an educated Muslim young man for marriage.

Preferably between 35-40 years.

PROFILE 17: A male Muslim, 44, Osun State,1.7 ft, gainfully employed graduate, genotype AS, fair complexion needs a sincere female muslim, preferably graduate, between 28-35yrs, chocolate/fair complexioned, Genotype AA, from the South-West for marriage.

PROFILE 18: A male Muslim, 33, from the South-West who works as a sales representative to a marketing company based in South South will like to meet a working class muslim lady within the ages of 23-25 for marriage.

PROFILE 19: A Muslim male, 27, from Osun State, based in Lagos, an ND holder currently working with a reputable company desires a Muslim lady between 20-26.

PROFILE 20: A Muslim male, 37, 5ft from North, a businessman based in Lagos, 5ft desires to Muslim lady from any part of the country for marriage.

PROFILE 21: A Muslim female, 33, 5.6ft from South west, presently based in Ibadan wants a devoted Muslim for marriage

Ahmadiyya graduates 11 Missionaries T

HE Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat, Nigeria Higher Missionary Training College at Ilaro (Jamiatul Mubashireen, Ilaro) has graduated eleven Missionaries expected to serve the Islamic community and propagate peaceful religious coexistence in Nigeria and beyond.

The students were drawn from Nigeria and Benin Republic for the four year programme covering Islamic jurisprudence, Arabic, Hudu and English Languages, Quran and Hadith, Tajweed, Quranic memorarization (Hafisul) sports and contemporary Islamic preaching techniques.

According to the Provost of the Jamiatul Mubashireen, Maulvi Nadeem Ahmad Waseem, three of the graduates had second class Upper Honours, 2:1, with an aggregate of 3.9 points. One of the Missionaries Musa Abdul Matin became an Hafiz – memorising the complete Quran before his graduation, while Abdul Naeem had the best project from the class.

Lamina Nurullah emerged the best graduating student. Benin Republic equally produced its first Missionary graduate from Nigeria.

In his advice to the graduands, the Spiritual head of the

Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Hazrat Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih V, challenged them to be of great humility, spread the true teachings of Islam and be ambassadors of peace.

Amir Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat Nigeria, Dr Mashuud Adenrele Fasola stated that good conduct should set the trained Missionaries apart as role model

to others.

Missionary in Charge Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat Nigeria, Maulvi Abdul Khalique Nayyar, congratulated the parents for sending their wards to the Missionary training college.

He admonished the Missionaries to also be a good example to all and fear Allah in the line of duties in any parts of Nigeria.

From left: Alhaji Lakunle Bello; Vice President, Humanity First Nigeria, Mr. Alhaji Abdul Azeez Alatoye; Vice National President, Dr. Yeqeen Habeeb; Project Manager Canada, Mr. Hassan Naheem and members of International Development Programme Durumi Camp, during donation of foodstuffs and other items by Nigeria Humanity First in collaboration with Canada Humanity First at Durumi Camp Abuja recently.

F rom Left: Amir, Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN), Lagos Branch, Mallam Saheed Ashafa, immediate past President, Engr. Kaamil Kalejaiye, former President, Alh. Qasim Badrudeen and Welfare Officer, Mr. Sadiq Afinah offering Prayers for the repose of the soul of Mohammed Alli, during a press briefing on the 14th Quranic Memorizations Competition in Honors of Late Alhaji Abdullateef Adegbite by MSSN, in Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos recently. Photo: Bunmi Azeez

Some of the Members of MSSN, at the occasion.

Photo: Bunmi Azeez

34—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016

Ohanaeze Ndigbo affirms alphabetical rotation of leadership

Firm holds customers' forum

By Anayo Okoli & Francis Igata

By Tare Youdeowei

ENUGU—THE apex Igbo socio-cultural group,Ohanaeze Ndigbo,yesterday,affirmed the emergence of its leadership in alphabetical rotation of the seven member states of Anambra, Abia, Delta, Ebonyi,Enugu,Imo and River States,primed to entrench fairness,cohesion and equity.

The pan-Igbo group was reacting to a statement credited to the youth wing of the body,alleging that Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State was plotting to foist a President General of Imo State extraction contrary to the turn of Enugu State to produce President General, after Chief Enwo Gary Igariwey come November this year.

Secretary General,Ohanaeze Ndigbo,Chief Joe Nworgu told Vanguard in his office at Ogui

E

NUGU—ENUGUbased Aqua Rapha Investment Limited, Tuesday, invited their major distributors to their head office at 9th Mile area of the state for a parley on how both will continue to partner for progress.

Distributors of the company came from all parts of the country as their products have become very popular with consumers.

While thanking the customers, the Group Managing Director, Engr.

Sunday Nwankwo, noted that the customer forum was a way of ensuring that the partnership was symbiotic, noting that the company was growing as a result of the increased demand of the company’s products, which had gone from satchet water to bottled water and carbonated drinks, oil, among other products.

This, he noted, had ensured more challenges, but the company was doing everything possible to ensure the customers' complaints and demands were met with dispatch.

road, yesterday, that,”the statement by the youth wing that Okorocha intends to hijack Ohanaeze and effect a change in the zonal structure which as at now, states that Enugu State will produce the next President General of Ohanaeze is condemnable.

“There is no iota of truth in the claim. Okorocha has never

shown any interest in who emerges the President General let alone,using Ohanaeze to nourish his 2019 presidential candidature.

“Enugu State will present the next President General of the body. We are disappointed that such illusion should be ascribed to our youth president.

Ohanaeze has no connection

No hiding place for IT quacks, CPN President warns registration, just as the Council and/or use of computing facilities,

By Emeka Aginam

K

ADUNA--The President/ Chairman of Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria, CPN, Prof.

Vincent Asor has warned, again, that the Council was determined to fish out quacks practicing Information Technology in the country without appropriate

inducted no fewer than 300 new members into the IT profession.

Asor, who stated this yesterday in Kaduna at the ongoing 2016 Information Technology Professionals Assembly noted that Act 49 of 1993 that established CPN makes it mandatory for all persons and organizations seeking to engage in the sale

Community to Obiano: Obey court ruling over our town union exco

By Vincent Ujumadu

A

WKA—FOLLOWING the striking out of a case brought against elected members of Umunze Progressive Union, UPU, in Anambra, the President General of UPU, Mr. Chris Amah has appealed to Governor Willie Obiano to obey the court ruling and dissolve the Caretaker

with the statement by the youth wing.”

Meantime, the leadership of Ohanaeze Youth Council, OYC, has debunked the statement credited to it on the issue. The council said such a statement never emanated from it that Rochas Okorocha was plotting to hijack the apex Igbo umbrella union, Ohanaeze Ndigbo for his alleged 2019 political ambition.

Committee he put in place to administer the affairs of the community while the case lasted.

The state government had inaugurated the caretaker committee when a section of the community dragged the elected executive members to court and obtained an injunction restraining the officials from performing their duties.

However, for nearly eight years, the group that took the matter to court abandoned it, which made the presiding judge, Justice C. Emembolu to strike out the matter.

Following the development, the PG, Mr. Amah, in a letter to Governor Obiano, informed him of the court ruling and urged him to dissolve the caretaker committee.

and/or the provision of professional services in computing in the country to be registered by the Council and licensed to carry out such activities.

“It is definitely illegal to engage in computing professional practice without satisfying the above conditions registration and possession of a current valid license”, he told the gathering at the forum with the theme: “towards a dependable and sustainable national IT infrastructure’.

“By the nature of the profession, which makes it possible for a lot of people to use IT tool in their daily day to day operations, some people are now claiming to be what they are not. Also, those who are not qualified to execute IT jobs are the ones getting it. This is quite absurd and unacceptable to us."

Duru constantly interfered in FGPL management —PenCom

By Rosemary Onuoha

T

HE NATIONAL Pension Commission, PenCom, yesterday, denied allegations by the founder and promoter of First Guarantee Pension Limited, FGPL, a Pension Fund Administrator, PFA, that it forcefully took over affairs of the company.

The founder of the PFA, Nze

Chidi Duru through his solicitors, had written a petition to President Muhammadu Buhari on April 22, 2016, entitled, 'Malicious Persecution of Our Client, Nze Chidi Duru,' alleging continued and unjustified persecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC,' at the instance of a minority shareholder in First Guarantee Pensions Limited and who, in

clear disregard of extant court orders/judgments and in his schemes to lay unlawful claim to the assets and management of the company, resorted to using the EFCC to persecute, distract and embarrass him.”

According to PenCom, Duru constantly interfered with the management of the company.

In a statement, PenCom stated that aside from the maiden and

annual routine examinations, complaints of unsound corporate governance practices had necessitated two targets or special examinations in the PFA. Also, there was the issue of failure of the PFA’s board committees to meet, absence of an independent director and loss of its top management staff, including four managing directors in sequence within five years of

operation. All the actions breached the Pension Reform Act 2004 and the guidelines made pursuant to the Act. PenCom said, “The special examinations revealed that the PFA had increased its initial share capital without registering same at the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, and without updating individual shareholding in its register."

By Bartholomew Madukwe (08102479985) nwamad@yahoo.com

PEOPLE SPEAK

On death of former Super Eagles Coach, St ephen K eshi Stephen Keshi

W

hat a great shock and very sad news!

He had every sign of a serious cardiovascular problem. Sadly it was not attended to with the seriousness it deserved.

Rest in peace, the Big Boss. -Miss Orlietan Salamy, Worker

T

his is regrettably lugubrious, a man I saw last Saturday! In fact, I’m speechless.

This is a disaster to the football community and the federation called Nigeria. Well, Adieu, the Oracle. -Mr. Destiny Enabunlele, Businessman

I

t is tragic, may his soul rest in peace. Keshi was a rare gem, a person that moved football from mere local gathering to a lively spotting centre on the continent (Abijan Ivory Coast) before moving to Belgium. -Miss Ogbue Immaculate, Graduate

W

e must all think seriously how we shall spend eternity and not just how to enjoy in this ephemeral life. May his soul rest in peace? Nigerians will forever remember Keshi as a patriot, who had the nation at heart. -Miss Regina Osakwe, Businesswoman

K

eshi’s death is unnatural. It is never connected to physical fitness. He had always kept fit and had been on routine medical check.

He lost his wife just a short while ago and now he is gone too. -Mr. Femi Igwe, Engineer

A

dieu Keshi. You served Nigeria well as a player and a coach. He is a true Nigerian hero, who dared the odds. Rest in peace, Stephen Keshi! May you find peace, and may the Lord grant your family the strength to bear the irreparable loss. Mr Solanke Ayokunle, Worker

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016 — 35

Labour condemns mass retrenchment in banking sector Favours picketing of affected banks

By Bartholomew Madukwe

O

RGANISED labour has described as unacceptable the recent trend of mass retrenchment of workers in the banking sector, saying the development was making working in the industry dangerously precarious.

A member of the National Executive Council of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and Chairman, Industrial Global Union Sub Saharan Africa, Comrade Issa Aremu, who made the observation in a statement, yesterday, also spoke in favour of massive picketing of banks involved in the mass sack.

Aremu commended the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Dr. Chris Ngige, and the National Assembly for their respective interventions on the matter.

He said banks which saw workers as “dispensable items” during temporary economic shocks, even when they treated same workers as slaves during times of boom, ought not to be in business and, should, indeed, have their licenses revoked. ‘’At a time all the state and market actors in Nigerian economy are working hard to address the crisis of unemployment, mass sack in banks that are still posting prohibitive profits can be likened to economic sabotage,’’ he said.

Comrade Aremu, who spoke at an interactive session with

stakeholders on the measures by the Central Bank of Nigeria to ensure stability in the financial sector and economy organized by the Corporate Communications Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria in Lagos, also called on the CBN as banker of last resort to intervene on the side of jobs retention in the financial sector. The labour leader commended the activist “development financing” of CBN under Governor Godwin

Emefiele which, according to him, has promoted job creation in critical sectors such as agriculture, energy and textiles.

He, however, observed that CBN must also look inward within the banking sectors, with a view to retaining jobs, rather than the ongoing indiscriminate mass sacks in the sector.

He also charged the sector unions, namely National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees,

VISIT: Ebonyi State Governor David Umahi( centre); his Special Duties Adviser, Onyeabor Ngene, Commissioner for Agriculture, Uchenna Orji, Country Director, African Development Bank, Mr Ousmane Dore and Business Consultant, Chioma Nweze, during the governor's visit to the ADB office in Abuja ... on Wednesday.

Ishaku denies donating land for grazing

By John Mkom

J

ALINGO—THE governor of Taraba State, Darius

Ishaku, has dismissed reports that the state government donated land for proposed federal government’s grazing reserves.

UACN shareholders get N1.92bn dividends raising proposals that were

By Nkiruka Nnorom

U

AC of Nigeria Plc has rewarded its shareholders with N1.92 billion dividend payment, which translates to N1.00 per share dividend for the year ended December 31, 2015.

In his address at the company’s Annual General Meeting, AGM, in Lagos, the Chairman, Mr. Dan Agbor, said the company was unable to undertake the planned Rights Issue in 2015 to drive growth in three of its subsidiaries due to the weak state of the capital market, noting that internally generated revenue would be deployed to fund the restructuring.

He said: ''The payment of N1.00 dividends would allow the company conserve funds in order to participate in the Rights Issues to be undertaken by three of our subsidiaries: UACN Property Development Company Plc, Livestock Feeds Plc and Portland Paints & Products Nigeria Plc. “The objective of the capital

NUBIFIE, and Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions, ASSBIFI, to urgently champion mass picketing of banks making work precarious through mass sacks.

On the current monetary policy of the CBN, Aremu hailed the bank on its spirited efforts to defend the Naira's value through stringent capital control measures in the face of dwindling external reserves caused by the collapse of oil price.

He added that CBN should

presented to the shareholders at the Annual General Meeting that took place on the September 23, 2015 was to attract strategic investors and obtain equity control that would be used to drive growth in certain subsidiaries. Following your approval of a 1 for 12 Rights Issue of 160.07 million ordinary shares, your Board and management made all necessary arrangements to launch the issue.''

Recall that some 11 states had recently donated 55,000 hectares of land for implementation of the programme but Governor Ishaku said the state was not involved in the donation.

Ishaku stated this in a press statement signed by his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Sylvernus Giwa.

The statement stated that the governor frowned on the recent publication in some dailies (Vanguard not inclusive) that eleven northern states, including Adamawa, Gombe, Plateau, Kaduna, Katsina, Kano, Taraba, Niger, Sokoto, Jigawa and Federal Capital Territory, had donated fifty-five thousand hectares of land each for grazing to implement the grazing

reserves program as proposed by the federal government.

Ishaku stated: “In order to put the record straight, Taraba State government in as much as we appreciate the need for the creation of a conducive environment for all categories of agriculture and pastoral activities, there is need for proper collaboration between states and Federal Government.

“In this case, we want to be categorical in our position that there has been no discussion between Taraba State and the officials of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development over grazing reserves.

“Taraba State government is, therefore, not aware of any decision to donate 55,000 hectares of land to the federal government for grazing reserves in the state.”

...As Plateau lawmaker cautions Lalong over grazing reserve

By Marie-Therese Nanlong

J

OS—A member of the House of Representatives, representing Barkin-Ladi/ Riyom Federal Constituency in the National Assembly, Mr. Istifanus Gyang, has urged Plateau State governor, Simon Lalong, to desist from taking any decision or adopting policies capable of setting

citizens and communities against one another in hostility, acrimony and violent conflict.

Gyang, who represents BarkinLadi/Riyom Federal Constituency of Plateau State, and whose constituency is the hotbed of violent conflicts between Fulani herdsmen and local farmers, spoke on the heels of the disclosure by the Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, that

Plateau State was one of the states that has made land available for the proposed grazing reserves.

The lawmaker in a statement issued by his media aide, Mr. Chuwang Dung, in Jos yesterday, said: “No portion of lands within my constituency (Barkin Ladi and Riyom) should be gazetted or further agonized with a policy that puts more suffering on them.''

22 fake primary schools illegally draw salaries from Niger LG

By Wole Mosadomi

M

INNA—IT was a s t u n n i n g revelation as the chairnan of Chanchanga local government area of Niger State, Alhaji Yusuf Inuwa Fuka, yesterday publicly declared that twenty two fake primary schools, with numerous ghost teachers, had been on the payroll of the council for the past ten years.

Fuka said the discovery was made possible by the ongoing biometric verification, aimed at fishing out ghost workers in the council.

He said the council had over 4,000 workers, with the Education department alone having 2,700, while the other sectors had no fewer than 1,600 staff.

Fuka disclosed that the verification was not aimed at witch-hunting anyone but to fish out ghost workers to enable it rake in more money to fund other laudable projects.

He lamented that the council’s present monthly allocation could hardly pay staff salaries, adding that last month's allocation to the council stood at N74 million, instead of the N177 million needed monthly for the payment of salaries.

He pointed out that the sum of N122 million was paid as monthly salaries to the teachers alone, while N55 million was for other staff.

He said: “With this scenario, you will discover that the council has no alternative than to go after these fake schools and ghost workers in order to get money for other laudable projects for the people and nobody will be shielded in the exercise. ‘’This is because we are not here only to pay salaries but to satisfy all the electorate and even if we have to pay salaries, it should be for genuine workers and not ghosts.

“With the preliminary investigations, we are determined to succeed. We have 32 schools in our local government but during the verification we have found 22 non-existing schools which have been receiving salaries from our local government for the past ten years and we cannot fold our arms and see this fraud to continue.”

36—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016

CASHEW PLANTING: From left— Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh; the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi; Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State, and others, during the flag off of cashew planting season at Ogudu village, Ife-East Local Government Area, Osun State.

RAMADAN LECTURE: From left— Secretary to Kwara State Government, Alhaji Isiaka Gold; Chief of Staff, Government House Ilorin, Alhaji Yusuf Abdulwahab, and Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State, during the year's first Ramadan lecture at Government House Mosque, Ilorin.

HONOUR: Awardee, daughter of late Professor Ambrose Alli, Rose Mary-Ambrose Alli (2nd right); Publisher, National Chronicle Magazine, Mr. Tim Okojie, and other awardees, during the Esan Hall of Fame Award, held at Ambrose Alli Hall, Ekpoma, Edo State.

SENSITISATION: From left— Senator Anthony Adefuye, All Progressives Congress, APC, chieftain; Director, Office of the Public Defender, Mr. Omotola Rotimi; Senator Gbenga Ashafa, representing Lagos East senatorial district, and former Deputy Governor, Prince Abiodun Ogunleye, during the second townhall meeting and Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Sensitisation Programme in Ketu, Lagos.

NEW MEDEIA: From left— Ono Bello, Tolu Balogun, Adaora Daina, Ajibade Oluwatosin, Aibee Abidoye, Remi Ogunkoya, all resource persons, at the new media conference in Lagos.

ENVIRONMENT DAY: From left— Staff Librarian and Tutor, CMS Grammar School, Mrs. Olusola Orelesi; Vice Principal, Academics, Bishop Howells Memorial Grammar School, Bariga, Mr. Laurence Oyebanji; Vice President, Mfon Edet Educational Foundation, Mrs. Mfon Edet; Head Teacher and Director, The Fountain Schools, Surulere, Rev. Adekunle Olaitan, and National Chairman, Brand Journalists Association of Nigeria, Mr. Goddie Ofose, marking the World Environment Day at The Fountain Schools, Adelabu Street, Surulere, Lagos.

IT ASSEMBLY: From left— Pioneer President/Chairman of Council, Mr. Tunde Ezichi; former President/Chairman of Council, Deacon O. K. Oji-Alala; former President/Chairman of Council, Ibrahim Tizhe, all of Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria, CPN; President, Nigeria Computer Society, NCS, Professor Sola Aderounmu, and President/Chairman, CPN, Professor Vincent Asor, at the IT Professionals Assembly in Kaduna, yesterday.

LG G5: From left— Managing Director, LG Electronics, Africa, Mr. S. H. Kim; the event's compere, Toke Makinwa, and Mr. Steve Lee of LG's Marketing Department, at the launch of LG G5 smart phones in Lagos.

CUSTOMERS' FORUM: Group Managing Director, AquaRapha Investment Limited, Engr. Sunday Nwankwo (right), addressing the company's customers at the its annual customers' forum in Enugu, yesterday.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016 — 37

38—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 10,

2016

VANGUARD

CLASSIFIED

JIMOH

MAJEKODUNMI

HAMED

MUSA

OMONUWA

ODEH

I, formerly known and addressed as Adigun Jimoh Moruf, now wish to be known and addressed as Adigun Maruf Olanrewaju. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Majekodunmi Oludele Abiodun, now wish to be known and addressed as David Oludele Abiodun. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Jimoh Hamed Adisa, now wish to be known and addressed as Jimoh Muhammed Adisa. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

Addition of Name I, formerly known and addressed as Tijjani Kabiru, now wish to be known and addressed as Musa Tijjani Kabiru. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

Confirmation of Name This is to confirm that Inije Esther Omonuwa and Omonuwa Esther Inije is one and same person, now wish to be known and addressed as Omonuwa Esther Inije. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Odeh Lovelyn Efe, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Andrew-Enyagberue Lovelyn Efe. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

KADIRI

TIJANI

KEMI

I, formerly known and addressed as Kadiri Amodu Obasola, now wish to be known and addressed as Quadri Ahmad Obasola. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Tijani Hammed Opeyemi, now wish to be known and addressed as Lawal Hammed Opeyemi. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

UMUK OR O UMUKOR ORO

ODINGAS

OGUNGBURE

OMOREGIE

I, formerly known and addressed as Akinlade Taiye Kemi, now wish to be known and addressed as Akinlade Taiye Olanike. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Anyabuike Fidelia Odingas, now wish to be known and addressed as Anyabuike Fidelia Echesorom. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as O g u n g b u r e Babatunde Moses, now wish to be known and addressed as Adegbanmire Babatunde Moses. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

JULIET

IGWEBUIKE

MENE

T OL UL OPE OLUL ULOPE

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Rachael Oyovwikigho Umukoro, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Rachael Oyovwikigho Owu-Beyor. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Juliet Emoshioke Eghieyemhe, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Juliet Emoshioke Ikhanoba. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Chukwufumnanya M. Igwebuike, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Chukwufumnanya M. Esiegbuya. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

AGWU I, formerly known and addressed as Agwu Anita Chika, now wish to be known and addressed as Agwu Rose Chika. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

Confirmation of Name This is to confirm that I, known and addressed as Mene Tosan Juliet, Mene Ebiyon Juliet, am also Mrs. Okotie Ebiyon Tosan Juliet. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

Reconciliation of Name This is to inform the general public that, I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Tolulope Damilola Ekundayo, Mrs Tolulope Damilola Okunjolu, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Tolulope Damilola Oludare. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

AGBAFOR

OSUNWE

ELIKIBE

ESISI

MAMUY O WI MAMUYO

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Chisom Bertha Agbafor, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Chisom Bertha Splendour Uduefe. All documents remain valid. General public please take note.

CHIENYEH I, formerly known and addressed as Mrs. Patricia Godwin Chienyeh, now wish to be known and addressed as Ugoeze [Mrs.] Patricia Ekennaya Chijioke Chionye. All former documents remain valid. Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, and general public, please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Osunwe Abiodun Arinola, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Fadojutimi Abiodun Arinola. All documents in former name remain valid. UACN Nigeria Plc, Lagos and general public, please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Elikibe Emamuzo Joyce, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Meslore Emamuzo Joyce. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Omawumi Esisi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Omawumi Iboyi. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Ekperusi Lucky Mamuyowi, now wish to be known and addressed as Ekperusi Lucky Joshua. All documents remain valid. General public please take note.

NWABUOKU

JIMOH

KOR UBO ORUBO

EGOLU

RUKEVWE

UTHAKP A UTHAKPA

Confirmation of Name This is to confirm that Nwabuoku Lilian and Nwabuoku Elienye Lilian refer to one and same person. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Jimoh Morufat Tinuola, now wish to be known and addressed as Mutalubi Morufat Tinuola. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Korubo Jonathan Ibiso, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Jack Alabo Ibiso. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Ikechukwu Emmanuel Kingsley Egolu, now wish to be known and addressed as Ikechukwu Emmanuel Kingsley Egeolu. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Rukevwe Jennifer, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Rukevwe Jennifer Joshua-Akasi. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Uthakpa Ewomazino, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Akpoveta Ewomazino.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OJIRE

AKENE

ESTHER

FRANCIS

MOHAMMED

EKPO

I, formerly known and addressed as Ojire Oghenerugba Faustina, now wish to be known and addressed as Aghwotu Oghenerugba Faustina. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Eunice Akene, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Eunice Eyoyibo. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Akporughe Esther, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Okoro Esther Stella.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Grace Francis, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Grace Onwuka. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Aisha Abubakar Mohammed, now wish to be known and addressed as Aishatu Abubakar Muhammed.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Agnes Edim Ekpo, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Agnes Ogunleye. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Oyenmwen Omoregie, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Oyenmwen Otoghile.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

ONUOGU I, formerly known and addressed as Ify Nwamaka Onuogu, now wish to be known and addressed as Ify Nwamaka Okpala. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

ODU I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Vivian Ekene Odu, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Vivian Ekene Okoeguale. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OSANEBI I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Osanebi Nwanneka Adaobi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Ogheneovo Osanebi Adaobi. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

EBIKEME I, formerly known and addressed as Pondi Ebikeme, now wish to be known and addressed as Pondi Seisingha Joseph. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

ANUNOBI I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Anunobi Tochukwu Gloria, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Onwuepe Anunobi Tochukwu Gloria. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

UGWOKE Confirmation of Name This is to confirm that the names Ugwoke Samson and Ibekwe Okwudili refer to one and the same person, but now wish to be known and addressed as Ugwoke Samson Ibekwe. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

NZEKWE I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Nzekwe Ogechi Perpetua, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Azike Ogechi Perpetua Gerald. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

IMUSE I, formerly known, called and address as Miss Imuse Iguekhian Joyce, now wish to be known, called and address as Mrs. Alegbe Iguekhian Joyce. All my former documents bearing my former names remain valid. General public please take note.

DEBO I, Debo Dogiye Silas do hereby confirm that the name Dogiye Iniyenimifie refers to one and same me. I now wish to be known and addressed as Debo Dogiye Silas. All former documents remain valid. Brass Local Government Area and General public please take note.

WENDY I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Agubama Wendy Ngozika, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Ahumibe Wendy Ngozika (Nee Agubama Wendy Ngozika). All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OROMENA I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Otuoraha Emily Oromena, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Aguiyi Emily. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

EZE I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Eze Obiageli Precious, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ositadinma Obiageli Precious. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OLISA I, formerly known as Mr. Agwuedu Bartholomew Olisa, now wish to be known and addressed as Mr. Chukwunedu Olisaemeka, Bartholomew.

All former documents remain valid. Skye Bank and general public please take note.

AUGUSTINE Correction of Name My name was wrongly entered as Prince Augustine Prince, instead of Benson Ose Augustine, now Benson Ose Augustine. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016—39

CHANGE OF NAME OKEKE PHILIP I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Nkechi Anulika Okeke, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Nkechi Anulika Olotu. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Eghonamwen Loveth Philip, now wish to be known and addressed as Eghonamwen Loveth. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

BADARU

EMELERETA I formerly known and addressed as Miss Emelereta Margaret now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Ibuno Margaret. All former documents remain valid any authority and the general public to take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Abimbola Dorcas Badaru, now wish to be known and addressed as Abimbola Dorcas Aduruola. All former documents remain valid any authority and the general public to take note.

OGBA I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Patricia Oghogho Ogba, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Patricia Oghogho Agbadah.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

RITA Reconciliation of names These names, Erhivwode Rita and George Rita Ogheneruemu belong to the same person but now wish to be known and addressed as Erhivwode Rita.

All former documents remain valid, Zenith Bank, First Bank and the general public to take note.

ALADOR I, formerly known and addressed as Alador Blessing Folasade, now wish to be known and addressed as Osunkiyesi Blessing Folasade.All former documents remain vaild. General public please take note.

EGHO I, formerly known and addressed as Egho Clement, now wish to be known and addressed as Onomuaborigho Clement. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

ASUGO

I, formerly known and addressed as Ehwebayire Otus Michael, now wish to be known and addressed as E h w e b a y i r e Edjememine Michael.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Asugo Uwomano Agnes, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Elueni Uwomano Agnes. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

JESSAH

OSAJE

Reconciliation of Name I, Egi Bernard Raphael hereby state that the names Egi Campaign and Egi Bernard as they appear on some of my documents refer to one and same me. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Jessah Violet Ogheneovo, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Etineh Violet Ogheneovo. All former documents remain valid. University of Benin and general public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Osaje Joy, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Onyemaka Joy. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OFILI

ANIZOBA

RAPU

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Anna Oluchi Anizoba, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Anna Oluchi Ikubor.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Mrs. Rapu Josephine Utoh (nee Otuonye), now wish to be known and addressed as Josephine Utoh Ugochukwu. All former documents remain valid.

Federal Medical Centre, Asaba and general public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Uzor Ifesinnachi, now wish to be known and addressed as Ifesinachi Kingsley Uzorchukwu.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

EGI

NGELE I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ngele Eze Nnennaya, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Uchechi Emmanuel Obasi. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss D e b e k e m e Pereotukpomi Eunice, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Talbort Debekeme Pereotukpomi Eunice.All former documents remain valid. General please take note.

MICHAEL

UZOR

NNAH I, formerly known and addressed as Willie Nnah Kingsley, now wish to be known and addressed as Willie Nnah King-David. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

DEBEKEME

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Pamela Kanayo Ofili, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Patricia Pamela Kanayo Peter. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

NNAMDI

ADAKOLE

I, formerly known and addressed as Imoh Ebuka Nnamdi, now wish to be known and addressed as Imo Charles Chukwuebuka.

All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Aladi Adakole, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Aladi Ameh Ehoche.

All former documents remain valid. First Bank of Nigeria Plc and general public please take note.

MOSES

ISMAHEEL

Confirmation of Name This is to confirm that the names Akpovotiti Moses and Akpo Moses refer to one and the same person, but now wish to be known and addressed as Akpovotiti Moses Ovakporaye. All former documents remain valid.

GTBank and Ecobank and the general public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Ismaheel Adewuni, now wish to be

known

and

addressed as Ismaila Adewuni. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

DIKE I, formerly known and addressed as Dike C o n f i d e n c e Ebelechukwu, now wish to be known and addressed as Okonkwo Confidence .E. All former documents remain valid. First Banl, Zenith Abnk, Access Bank and general public please take note.

IGHOFOSE Confirmation of Name This is to confirm that the names Ighofose Paulet Omotejohwo and Ighofose Paulet refer to one and the same person. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

EZENYEM I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Gloria Ekene Ezenyem, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Gloria Ekene Ezeiloegbunam. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OKORO I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Cynthia Okoro, now wish to be known and addressed as Miss Cynthia Arike Junaid.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

40—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 10,

2016

CHANGE OF NAME

AYENI

FRED Y FREDY

IWENEKHA

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ayeni Temitope Oluwatosin, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Pitan Temitope Oluwatosin. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

Correction of Name This is to state that my name was wrongly written as Fredy instead of Freditha, I now wish to be known and addressed as Okumagba Freditha Onye. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Adebayo Iwenekha Emmanuel, now wish to be known and addressed as Adebayo Emmanuel Joseph. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

OGBONNA

JIMI

TOBECHI

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Josephine Ogbonna, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Uloma Joseph Njoku.

All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Jimi Ojere, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Ojere Rita Joseph Okoro. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Edozie Tobechi, now wish to be known and addressed as Edozie Tochi Jerry.

All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

AJOKE

ADEBOWALE

ANOZIE

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Olayinka Bunmi Ajoke, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Babatunde Bunmi Serah. All former documents remain valid. Ecobank Plc, GTBank Plc and general public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Ms Adebowale Damilola Funke, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Ogundare Damilola Funke. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Chiamaka Linda Anozie, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Chiamaka Linda Okonta. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

NWOSU

OLUSHOLA

ADEYEMI

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Nwosu Cordis-Mary Chisom, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Ndu Cordis-Mary Chisom. All former documents remain valid.

Imo State University, Owerri and general public should please take note.

Confirmation of Name This is to confirm that the names Ibrahim Olushola and Ibrahim Olushola Emmanuel refer to one and the same person. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Atinuke Kafayat Adeyemi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Kafayat Atinuke Jubril.

All former documents remain valid. Mr. Bigg’s Division of UAC and general public should please take note.

EKPO

OMOKWE

OK OCHA OKOCHA

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ekpo Patience Uduak, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Okwudili Patience Uduak. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

Confirmation of Name I, known and addressed as Augustine Omokwe Sunday, and also as Augustine Okpo Uzoma, now wish to be known and addressed as Augustine Okpo Uzoma.

All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Okocha Grace Ebele, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ogboh – Precious Grace Ebele.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OKPOSIN

WODI

OKWOR

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Mfon Bassey Okposin, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Mfon Obot David. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I, formerly known and

public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Okwor Jacinta Nkechi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ezeh Jacinta Nkechi.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OKAFOR

EGWU AGU EGWUA

CHUKWUDI

Confirmation of Name This is to confirm that the names Mrs Okafor Veronica Florence and Mrs Okafor Veronica Chinelo refer to one and the same person as Mrs. Okafor Veronica Florence.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Egwuagu Joy, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Nkwoh Joy. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and General public please take note

addressed as Wodi Adaobi Chioma, now wish to be known and addressed as Anikwe Adaobi Chioma. All former

documents

remain valid. General

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Chukwudi Rita Nwanne, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Rita Nwanne Nyerhovwon.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016 — 41

Obama endorses Clinton for president •As Democratic nominee begins search for Vice President

P

RESIDENT Barack Obama officially endorsed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for president on Thursday, saying he is “fired up” for the presumptive Democratic candidate.

“I know how hard this job can be, that’s why I know Hillary will be so good at it,” Obama said in a prerecorded video released Thursday afternoon. “In fact, I don’t think there has ever been someone so qualified to hold this office.

She’s got the courage, the compassion and the heart to get the job done.”

“I’ve seen her judgement, I’ve seen her toughness, I’ve seen her commitment to our values

“I know how hard this job can be, that’s why I know Hillary will be so good at it; in fact, I don’t think there’s ever been someone so qualified to hold this office; she’s got the courage”

up close,” Obama added of his one-time rival.

Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders met with Obama on Thursday — days after many news outlets named Clinton the party ’s presumptive nominee. Some pundits speculated that Obama would have sought to convince Sanders to drop out of the race, so the Democratic party could rally around Clinton in preparation for a general election battle against presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump.

Instead, the Senator pledged to fight on into next week’s D.C. primary, but he thanked the White House for its role (or lack

thereof) in the election so far.

“Let me begin by thanking President Obama and thanking Vice President (Joe) Biden for the degree of impartiality they established during the course of this entire process,” Sanders said in brief remarks after his meeting. “What they said in the beginning is that they would not put their thumb on the scales, and in fact they kept their word, and I appreciate that very very much.”

Meanwhile, Clinton has said that she’ll consider “the most qualified people” for the Democratic vice presidential nomination — which would include women.

A

HILE the time is not yet right for new peace talks in Syria, failing to get a serious agreement soon makes a further escalation of the country ’s nearly fiveyear-old civil war all too likely, United Nations Secretary-General Ban

FTER Boko Haram killed more than two dozen soldiers in Niger last week, it claimed the attack in the name of Islamic State-West Africa Province—a title meant to tell the world it is an arm of the Syria-based extremist group.

But U.S. officials told Reuters they see no evidence that Boko Haram has received significant operational support or financing from Islamic State, more than a year after the brutal West African group’s pledge of allegiance to it.

That assessment, detailed by multiple U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, suggests Boko Haram’s loyalty pledge has so far mostly been a branding exercise designed to boost its international jihadi credentials, attract recruits,

M

ICROSOFT founder Bill Gates has launched a campaign to help extremely poor families in sub-Saharan Africa by giving them

•Gates: Raising chickens can be a way to tackle extreme poverty in Äfrica and appeal to the ISIS leadership for assistance.

The U.S. military ’s attention is largely centered on Libya, home to ISIS’s strongest affiliate outside the Middle East

raising and selling the birds can be efficient to tackle extreme poverty.

He has promised to donate 100,000 chickens and the project’s page

Fears grow over ISIS recruitment of Tunisia women

A

•Obama

killed.

Before Thursday ’s hearing, Belgian prosecutors said Mohamed Abrini would not be handed over to the French authorities immediately, as he was still being investigated over the bombings at Zaventem airport and at a metro station

“The timeline is not at all fixed,” a spokesman for the federal prosecutors’ office said.

He added it was possible that Mohamed Abrini could stand trial in Belgium first before being handed over to France, or he might be questioned in Belgium by French investigators.

Silvio Berlusconi to have heart surgery

F

ORMER Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is to have heart surgery after an attack that could have killed him, his doctor says.

The 79-year-old will undergo surgery by the middle of next week to

UN chief says time is running out for Syria talks

W

A

and where the United States has carried out air strikes. No such direct U.S. intervention is currently being contemplated against Boko Haram, officials say.

Bill Gates launches chicken plan to help chicken. The billionaire has already been shared Africa poor and philanthropist says thousands of times.

Paris attacks suspect to be extradited to France which 130 people were immediately after.

Belgian court has approved the extradition to France of Mohamed Abrini, a key suspect in both the Paris and Brussels attacks.

He was identified as “the man in the hat”, seen on CCTV moments before the explosions at Brussels airport in March.

Prosecutors say he may not be handed over for some time, as he is being investigated in Belgium too.

Mohamed Bakkali, another suspect in the Paris attacks, will also be extradited.

The Belgian judges agreed both men should be sent to France to face questioning over the Paris attacks last November in

No evidence of close links between Boko Haram and ISIS—US

Ki-moon said Thursday.

Ban said that his special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, speaking earlier in Geneva, has declined to set a date for a third round of talks because “the time is not yet mature.”

replace a defective aortic valve, Alberto Zangrillo told reporters in Rome.

Berlusconi served as prime minister four times but has since been convicted of tax fraud and bribery.

His political influence has waned since he left office in 2011.

Dr Zangrillo said Berlusconi had “arrived at the hospital in a severe state”.

“He risked his life, he risked dying and he knew it... We have identified in an exact and certain way a pathology of aortic valve that is called aortic insufficiency,” the doctor said.

BOUT 700 women and girls are among the 5,000 Tunisians who have been recruited by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and other armed groups.

As they travel to countries such as neighbouring Libya, they leave behind their families who quickly become distraught about their loss.

“There’s no happiness or smiles in this house,” says Olfa Hamrani, a mother whose children fled to fight with ISIL, also

known as ISIS. “I wish I could die, that would be better. If I didn’t have two other daughters, I would have killed myself.”

One of Hamrani’s daughters married a fighter who is believed to have helped plan attacks on tourists in Tunisia last year.

But her daughters who left were later arrested and are being held in a prison in Tripoli, Libya.

Her five-month-old granddaughter is also with those arrested.

The UN estimates that 41% of people in subSaharan Africa live in extreme poverty.

Mr Gates said a farmer breeding five hens could earn more than $1,000 (£690) a year. T h e poverty line is about $700 (£484).

He added that the goal was to help 30% of the rural families in subSaharan Africa raise improved breeds of vaccinated chickens, up from the current 5%.

Giving away 100,000 chickens in an effort to alleviate poverty is a noble gesture in itself. But the plan throws up a few questions.

As the chicken population increases, where is the feed going to come from? Will more arable land have to be given over to growing chicken feed?

Kenyan political unrest raises fears over sometimes pelted by the scrapping of an 2017 poll rocks, have beaten and election oversight body

K

ENYAN politics is already taking a deadly toll more than a year before elections likely to pit rival dynasties against each other, raising fears of a new crisis less than a decade after ethnic violence killed 1,200 people.

With Kenya a valuable ally to the West in fighting militant Islam and a vital economic partner for neighbouring nations, the government insists it can deliver a smooth poll and avoid a repeat of the bloodshed after the 2007 presidential election.

But police in Nairobi,

kicked protesters who have taken to the streets since late April to demand

that they accuse of progovernment bias, a charge it denies.

Second specialist vessel to join EgyptAir search on Friday

A

second ship with specialist search equipment will join the hunt for the ‘black box’ flight recorders and wreckage of a crashed EgyptAir jet on Friday, the head of France’s air accident investigation safety agency said on Thursday. A French naval supply vessel picked up a signal from one of the two recorders on June 1, and Egypt has chartered a

second vessel operated by Mauritius-based Deep Ocean Search, equipped with a suitable sonar and an underwater vehicle.

Remi Jouty, director of the BEA air accident agency which is advising Egypt on the underwater search, said the first ship continued to pick up locator signals from the first recorder, whose location had been narrowed to a radius of 1-2 kilometers.

42—VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016

VANGUARD, FIRDAY, JUNE 10, 2016—43

SENATE: Strong, sour times DESPITE the controversies that have shadowed the Senator Bukola Saraki led Senate, it has in its way tried to imprint its legacies in the sand of time.

•National Assembly complex. Inset: Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki.

By Henry Umoru and Joseph Erunke

T

HE controversies that trailed the Senate leadership contest on June 9, 2015, blew the alarm of a raucous time ahead for the Bukola Saraki led leadership.

However, no one ever expected the extent to which the Senate would go, or the integrity of the Senate would be battered in the year ahead.

Saraki had been elected president of the Senate against the inclination of the top hierarchy of the All Progressives Congress, APC, which became the first party in the history of the Fourth Republic to displace the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as the majority party in the Senate.

Even more problematic for the institution of the Senate was the unprecedented fact that while the APC had the majority, the PDP by the act of grit was able to produce the Deputy President of the Senate in the person of Senator Ike Ekweremadu.

Signal of crisis The unlikely projection of Saraki and Ekweremadu as presiding officers of the Senate was the first signal of crisis which erupted in the Senate in the early days with two groups, the Senate Unity Forum and the Likeminds dividing the legislative chamber.

Senators supportive of Senator Ahmad Lawan, who was Saraki’s rival in the leadership contest, not long after the inauguration dragged the duo of Saraki and Ekweremadu to the police alleging the forgery of the Senate Standing Rules with which the election of the presiding officers was conducted.

Inconclusive petition: That petition has remained inconclusive with the police

dithering over what to do.

As these challenges were confronting the Red Chamber, Saraki, in order not to allow the development wane his leadership dream for the legislature, quickly inaugurated an 18-member committee to draft a legislative agenda for the 8th Senate. Saraki said this was to set a benchmark for the performance of 8th Senate.

Saraki's emergence: Besides the crisis arising from his emergence, another one that seemed to test his loyalty to his party, the APC, came not long after. Given the circumstance around his emergence as Senate President, many were eager to see how he would dance when President Muhammadu Buhari forwarded his list of ministers for Senate approval.

Indeed, many were surprised when Senator Saraki defied his supporters in the PDP when he ruled against the PDP senators’ insistence on truncating the nomination of former Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

Saraki’s action led to the walkout of the PDP senators. The walkout by the PDP senators also tested the wits of Senator Ekweremadu, who in deference to his position as a presiding officer opted not to join his party members in walking out.

Senate Committees: The next crunch for the Senate President was the constitution of Senate Committees.

The development again, brought bad blood in the chamber, as senators who had never hidden their dislike for Saraki’s emergence accused him of favouring opposition senators with juicy committees to the detriment of senators of the majority party, the APC. Senator Kabir Marafa, APC, Zamfara Central, who speaks for the Unity Forum, indeed accused

the Senate President of favouring the opposition to the detriment of his party.

Saraki's trial: Unarguably, the most revealing point in the Senate in the year under review was the arraignment of the Senate President before the Code of Conduct Tribunal on accounts of false declaration of assets and alleged acts of corruption.

Saraki sought severally to quash the charges or stop his arraignment, but his appeals alleging bias on the part of the Code of Conduct Bureau and the tribunal at the courts were defeated leading to the unprecedented arraignment of the country’s number three man at the CCT. It was the first time

It was the first time in the history of the country that the country’s number three citizen would be arraigned in court in the history of the country that the country’s number three citizen would be arraigned in court. The arraignment was inevitably traced to politics as it was alleged that it was a fallout from the leadership contest.

Public sympathy: Whatever sympathy that Saraki got from the public was to some extent suppressed by the nature of the charges that were brought against him by the prosecution which alleged several allegations against the Senate President including non-declaration of assets and that he continued to collect his salary as governor even after he left office.

The trial of the Senate President

led several times to the abandonment of sittings as his supporters including Ekweremadu followed him to the court in solidarity.

However, public agitation against the closure of the Senate on the trial days forced Ekweremadu to stop the practice.

Another entanglement for the Saraki leadership was the uproar that arose from the procurement of vehicles for the Senate President and senators. The purchase of the Toyota Land Cruiser vehicles at N36.5 million each was lampooned by Nigerians including organised labour who saw the Senate as insensitive to the public mood.

The issues against Saraki, however, did not stop the legislative body from performing its legislative functions.

Legislative functions In all, a total of 167 bills have passed first reading, 39 are in their second reading stage while six are in third reading.

Also, the Red Chamber, within the period, reviewed 54 laws affecting the conducive business environment in the country just as a total of 162 motions were considered.

New PIB: One of the bills is the new version of the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, which removes the strategic Host Community Development Fund as proposed in the botched PIB. The proposed industry-wide regulatory framework titled Petroleum Industry Governance Bill, PIGB was prepared by the two chambers of the National Assembly. The removal of the Host Community Development Fund as envisaged in the original PIB is, however, set to reawaken ethnic and geopolitical fractures in the country given the

immense support for the proposal in the country’s oilproducing regions in the Niger Delta.

Other controversial bills were the Frivolous Petitions Bill, otherwise known as anti-social media bill, Amendment to Code of Conduct Bureau Acts and Amendment to the Code of Conduct Tribunal Acts. The bills were greeted with condemnation from the Nigerian public while a bill like the Sexual Offences Bill, got the nod of the public.

Another bill that sparked off controversy and never saw the light of the day was the Gender Equality Bill, sponsored by Senator Biodun Olujimi, PDP, Ekiti South. As known, the bill had sought equality for both men and women in all dealings, but the majority of the senators, mostly from the Northern part of the country rose against its passage.

The Senate in the period under review considered 125 petitions and has so far concluded deliberations on 32 while 82 are still under consideration.

In line with its legislative agenda to expose inefficiencies in the system, the Senate in the course of the eventful year also exposed a N447bn fraud from tax waivers in the last administration.

Electricity tariff issue The Senate also disclosed that four companies were yet to remit N23.603 billion to the Federal Government.

To address the serious crime of kidnapping, the Senate also adopted a report earlier in the year, recommending the death penalty for offenders.

The Senate has also, from the beginning of the year in review, led efforts to restore peace in North-east through top-level visits by its leaders to the region.

Within the period under review, the Senate also went on the promotion of Made in Nigeria Goods by Senators led by Saraki just as it proposed a Transparency and Anticorruption Commission, and is considering a bill to establish a Northeast Commission to rebuild the North East.

The current Senate has intervened on the electricity tariff issue, and their efforts led to the abolition of the fixed charges.

Last week, the Senate held a well-attended public hearing on the recent increase in the same tariff, and it will soon announce the result of the investigation.

As the Red Chamber begins another legislative journey from June 10, so many challenges await it.

But whether these odious tasks would be tackled under the leadership of Saraki, whose fate lies in the hands of the judiciary is what no one can foretell.

44—VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016

Impeach me after 18 months if... — EDEBIRI

By Rufus Ike

P

DP aspirant, Chief Solomon Edebiri has promised to submit himself for impeachment after 18 months if he does not bring about a visible transformation of the state.

Edebiri, who said this while meeting some party members who are potential delegates at the forthcoming governorship primaries of the party, also

promised to make PDP the bride of all within the space of time.

“I will submit myself for impeachment if a visible transformation is not seen both in the life of the people and the various sectors of the state within my first 18 months as governor of Edo state.

“I am known to always keep my words; my word is my bond. I don’t say what I

cannot do. I am not a loud person. I also wish to make PDP the bride of every politician with the successful realisation of my vision for the state.

“I am a tested, successful manager of human and material resources of almost 30 years period. I hope to replicate what I have done with my flourishing private business profile in the affairs of the governance of Edo state.”

PDP aspirants take daily turn to procure forms

By Gabriel Enogholase

F

OLLOWING the commencement of procurement of governorship and Expression of Interest forms by aspirants in the PDP, Chief Solomon Edebiri, an aspirant on the platform of the party is expected to collect his form today.

Edebiri, who confirmed to Vanguard yesterday in a telephone interview said,

“ yes, I will be collecting my form tomorrow (today) at the party’s secretariat. You know that Pastor Osagie Ize- Iyamu started the process today, so it will be my turn tomorrow.”

Vanguard gathered that the four governorship aspirants on the platform of the party namely Pastor Ize-Iyamu, Chief Solomon Edebiri, Hon, Matthew Iduoirikemwen and Earl Osaro Onaiwu were given a day each to purchase their forms in the interest of tidiness.

•Edebiri: PDP aspirant

PVCs mop up, undemocratic — APC aspirant

By Gabriel Enogholase

A

GAINST the backdrop of allegations of the cloning and purchase of Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) from delegates to the 18, June 2016 All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primaries by some aspirants, the

Arigbe-Osula promises 50,000 jobs in first year

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor

A

PC aspirant, Mr. Emmanuel Arigbe-Osula has said that his ambition is not being driven by any vaunting ambition but rather by the superiority of his credentials for the job.

Arigbe-Osula, in a statement made available to Vanguard, said that if elected, he would within one year create 50,000 jobs that would greatly

energise the economy of the state.

He said: “I want to assure you that our action is not propelled by a vaunting ambition to be the governor of Edo State. Rather it is a product of our superior credentials of integrity; people oriented ideology, vision, and conscientiousness. This is coupled with our self less commitment to ensure a very

broad prosperity for our children, women, youth and the most vulnerable in our society in particular and all Edolites in general.

On his plans for the state, he said: “Through vibrant and well-articulated governance principles we shall in our very first year create 50,000 primary employments through SME. The multiplier effect of secondary and ancillary jobs activities arising

thereof will be immense. We hope to drive down unemployment drastically, banish crime and promote a vibrant sustainable economy within the entire Edo State.

“Never again shall anyone in Edo State go to bed without food. In one year through our Agricultural revolution, we shall robustly provide food on every one’s table and with the excess for sale that will generate revenue for our dear state.”

Ize-Iyamu obtains form, says journey to overthrow tyranny has started

By Gabriel Enogholase

P

ASTOR, farmer, and lawyer, Osagie Ize-Iyamu yesterday became the first aspirant in the PDP to pick the governorship election form vowing that the journey to free the state from tyranny had commenced.

Ize- Iyamu was joined by hundreds of his supporters across the state who went in a carnival-like procession to the state secretariat of the party where he obtained the N16 million form from the state chairman, Chief Dan Orbih.

Following the collection of the form, Ize-Iyamu said the form was purchased for him by his friends across the 18 local government areas of the state, adding that “money was not

provided by National Assembly members or people from a section of Edo State.”

He praised Chief Orbih for managing the affairs of the PDP well, adding that “ when everything appeared lost for the PDP in Edo State, you offered leadership and made PDP the delight of the Edo people.”

He promised to conduct himself in a manner that will dignify the party, assuring that he would offer his support to whoever emerges the PDP candidate in case he did not win while raising the belief that his co-aspirants would support him if he emerges winner of the primaries.

He said “the journey to reclaim Edo from the tyrant that has held the state hostage

has begun. We elected a government without vision and agenda. We must change the

•Ize-Iyamu

change that has brought poverty and hardship upon our people.

“During the last presidential election, the PDP won 15 local government areas. This time around, we shall do more. Edo people are crying out for the PDP and more people will join us as we progress.”

Addressing Ize-Iyamu and his supporters, Orbih urged the governorship aspirant to go about his ambition without mudslinging or character assassination, pointing out that delegates are interested in issue-based campaigns.

Campaign Organization of one of the aspirants, Architect Austin Emuan has condemned the practice describing it as undemocratic.

Director- General of the Campaign organization, Mr. Tony Erha, who was reacting to the allegation told Vanguard in an interview that most aspirants under the platform of the party were engaged in one form of crime or the other against the electoral principle.

He said, “The cloning and buying of PVCs from delegates by desperate governorship aspirants is anti-democratic from the perspective of what the APC stands for. What is happening is an aberration, and so far, I know that it is still an allegation, but it has not been denied or dispelled by those the allegations were levelled against.

“That is not to say that most of the aspirants have not committed some crimes against the electoral principles.

“There are aspirants who have been paying large sums of money to delegates or housed them in hotels so that other aspirants will not have access to them. Is the process that was expected to be clean, free and fair now being monetized” “From what we heard, some aspirants are prepared to give $10,000, $5000 or N2million per delegate to secure their votes. The delegates should ask questions and should not allow anybody to deceive them again. As for my aspirant, Austin Emuan, he is the Prof. Ambrose Alli of our time who had no money to share to delegates but emerged as the governorship candidate of the UPN then.”

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016 — 45

More tributes for departed super-hero, Keshi T

RIBUTES for Nigerian legend Stephen Keshi, who passed on in the early hours of Wednesday at the age of 54 are still running strongly, with President Muhammadu Buhari, acting President Yemi Osinbajo, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Keshi’s Delta State and former NFF president Dominic Oneya among those who have mourned the elegant maestro.

President Buhari: Nigeria today lost a great sportsman, football player, coach and citizen. Nigeria football will not be the same without Stephen Keshi.

He gave this country his all. May his soul rest in peace.”

Acting President Osinbajo: His service, dedication and achievements including lifting the Nations Cup both as player and coach remain a great testament to the value of hard work. His personal triumphs and pursuits as a world –class professional footballer inspired many young talented sportsmen and women around Africa.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar: It saddens my heart to learn of the stunning news of the death of the Golden Boy of Nigeria football. His departure is more shocking when one recalls that Keshi also lost his wife of 33 years, Kate, to cancer late last year thus rendering their young children hapless orphans.

Senate President Bukola Saraki: Keshi was an excellent star. His soccer artistry and leadership skills remain unparalleled.

His days, while donning the national colours and his stint as a national coach of the Super Eagles could rightly be regarded as ‘Nigeria’s golden moments’ in both national, continental and world soccer.”

Former Senate President David Mark: Keshi was one of the greatest and most successful footballers Nigeria has ever produced. Till date, no one has beaten his record…He was forthright and outspoken. He was steadfast.”

FIFA President Gianni Infantino: On behalf of the international football community, please allow me to extend my deepest condolences to the football community of Nigeria and, most importantly, to Stephen’s family, friends and loved ones. We hope that, in some way, our words of support may help bring a little bit of peace and solace in this time of sadness.”

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta State): The remarkable achievements recorded by the Nigerian Super Eagles in 1994 and 2013 were unarguably due to his ndefatigable role as the Captain and Coach in those glorious years. Delta

C M Y K

the leadership provided by Keshi. He was passionate and committed to the Super Eagles team as he was to Nigeria football. Keshi’s love for Nigeria was never in doubt, whether as a coach, captain of the Eagles or footballer. The greatest captain, the greatest coach, RIP. Former NFF President Kojo Williams: It’s unfortunate. It’s a sad day for Nigeria football. I can’t comprehend. Too bad.

Keshi did his best for Nigeria football Former NFF President Dominic Oneya: I am still in a state of shock. He was a great player and coach. I was head of the football

•President Mohammadu Buhari you saw and you conquered. A true legend of Nigeria football.

NFF General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi: Keshi will be seriously missed, for his dutifulness, friendliness and leadership qualities.

Former NFF Board Member Dominic Iorfa: Big Boss! Your movement to Europe opened the way for most of us. RIP. West African Football Union: What an enormous loss for African football.

African football has just lost a monument. WAFU conveys its saddest condolences to Nigeria Football Federation and to the people of Nigeria.

Ghana FA: Keshi was a great man and a noble spirit, whose shining example of dedication to football and to footballers was not only to Nigeria but to several countries including Ghana. (The Ghana FA Exco observed a minute silence in honour of Keshi at its meeting of Thursday in Accra).

South Africa FA: At 54, Keshi was one of the bright young coaches coming out of this continent and having been a captain and solid player during his playing days, you can’t find a better individual whose life was wholly dedicated to the game of fooball.

Sierra Leone FA: There is a great emptiness left by Coach Keshi’s passing, but we are certain that the strength of the love that you and the entire Nigerian people share for each other and for Coach Keshi will get you through this difficult period.

•Late Stephen Keshi carried shoulder-high by Asst. Coach, Dan Amokachi after winning Afcon 2013.

Mali FA: Keshi made tremendous achievements State and indeed times working for the body when he assisted wife’s death.

Former NFF President while he was the National Nigerians have lost a great success of the Super Amodu to qualify for the Sani Lulu Abdullahi: Keshi Coach of Mali. His man whose contributions to Eagles without payment. 2002 FIFA World Cup, the football world can best His patriotism remained when all hope appeared was one of the best things devotion, commitment be described as legendary. unmatched among all the lost, and they also won that happened to Nigeria and professionalism were Governor Yahaya Bello coaches that have etched bronze at the Africa Cup of football. It may interest us matchless.

Coach Amuneke: I (Kogi State): The late their names in the annals Nations in Mali. He to know that the revolution remains a Nigerian that Nigeria football remembered playing Stephen Okechukwu of coaching in Nigeria. witnessed in the earlier alongside Big Boss at the Keshi paid and played his Former Sports Minister legend.

Former NFF President 1980’s started with Stephen Cup of Nations in Tunisia own worthy part in shaping Bala Bawa Ka’oje: Nigeria Galadima: Keshi, when he moved to and at the FIFA World Cup and moulding a future for has lost a gem, a committed Ibrahim Nigeria and indeed Ivory Coast and then to in USA. It was a youths of this country. His football lover and coach. feeling leadership prowess and Former Sports Minister African football has lost Belguim, which later led wonderful somebody who had given to other Nigerian players anytime we marched out capacity to bring out the Bolaji Abdullahi: best out of those around That we were victorious so much to the game of taking their trade to the of the tunnel. Keshi was a true leader as a player and him, earned him the name and won the Nations Cup football. His death is sad European country.

NFF 2nd Vice President later as a Coach. We have ‘Big Boss’. He was a after 19 years (South Africa news and I think it was as patriotic Nigerian, many 2013) was largely due to a result of the shock of his Shehu Dikko: You came, lost a rare gem.

•Vice President, Osinbajo

46 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016

I

FY Okafor, called my phone from her Dallas home Wednesday morning to know if I had heard the sad news. She had heard even before the news broke to the public in Nigeria.

Stephen Keshi had called her only last week to promise that he would pay her a visit on his return from Benin. Keshi knew that friends usually don’t keep their words to a bereaved family. After the mourning period, people tend to move on, and the bereaved carry their cross alone.

Keshi probably wanted to prove to Ify Okafor and her daughter Tochukwu, that he was different.

He had as such planned to visit to see how the widow and daughter of his friend and Eagles colleague; Uche Okafor, were coping in their Little Elm home in Dallas.

Uche and Keshi were very close in their days in Eagles. Interestingly, they were both central defenders. Uche paired Keshi on many occasions, and they were close pals on and off the pitch.

Keshi had been devastated when Uche died and maintaining contact with his family was one way of showing to her that not all late husband’s friends had deserted her. Keshi was to return to the US on Wednesday, the same day he died in Benin where he had made home since his active days as a footballer.

He was from Illah, in Delta but Benin was his home. He loved the city. He became a known star at NNB FC, Benin. After his stay in Ivory Coast and Europe where his soccer career blossomed, Keshi relocated to the United States, but he never disengaged from Benin till death. “Stephen Keshi couldn’t be separated from his wife. They were inseparable, and he has gone to join her,” his brother, Emma Ado told me early morning Wednesday to confirm the sad news.

His wife, Kate had died in December last year and was buried in Benin. Truly, they appeared inseparable. Keshi always brought up the perspectives of his wife in many discussions.

Kate was his adviser on many issues and he appreciated her counsels. There were times he would plan a hard stance but would eventually mellow down and would proudly reveal that his wife so advised. Kate respected her husband’s technical abilities and never delved into them. But she advised and counselled in many other issues. They had a fantastic relationship.

“My wife was wondering what you have been up to all these days and sends her regards,” Keshi would tell me if it had been long we communicated. And even after the Brazil World Cup tournament when it appeared to him that media criticisms were becoming harsh, Keshi called me to say that “my wife was wondering what you and your colleagues have been up to and why you guys are writing all these.”

You would certainly recoil if you had any hard position on him.

Anybody who was close to Keshi knew about the positive impact of his wife on him. And Ado strongly believed his brother found it difficult to move on without her. Ado says Keshi masked his sorrow since his wife died and tried to give the impression that he was man enough to trudge on. But the truth, according to Ado, remained that Keshi was no longer the same. “He was down and couldn’t move on,” Ado says. “They were just inseparable from domestic to social mat-

Football no de lie – How Kate, Keshi’s wife changed his destiny

•Keshi and his wife Kate ters and other aspects of life; they were one,” Ado says, adding “to Keshi nobody could cook like his wife, nobody could please him like his wife. She was just irreplaceable and when she died Keshi broke down. He could not recover. My brother has gone to meet his wife.”

Truly, Kate meant so much to Keshi. He even owed his success in Europe as a player to his wife.

This, he told me more than ten years ago while we were discussing the travails of African players in Europe. I remember his words: “When you are a black man from Africa you need to do more than what the Europeans do to make the team in your club.

It is not easy. You may not rule out racism or how you are perceived. Some months after I arrived Belgium from Ivory Coast, I was almost heading back to Africa. I made up my mind to return to Africa where I was a star.

I was already packing my things.

I knew what my performance was in training, but they were not giv-

ing me a chance to play. Even our club fans who watched training were surprised. I knew I was better than many of the ones playing, but the coach would not select me. I was frustrated and couldn’t believe that I could be rated so low that I could not play for Lokeren. And I saw myself as one of the best not only from Af-

rica but also in that club based on what I did in training. So, I started packing my things to return to Africa. My wife asked what I was doing, and I told her that I was getting ready to return to Africa Sports if they could sort out my contract. Africa Sports of Ivory Coast were ready to take me back on loan or whatever arrangement that could be reached.

My wife shocked me. She retorted “you are not good enough otherwise you will be making the team.” I asked her what she said, and she repeated the words louder and added that “football no de lie.” I was furious and very angry. I charged around. How could my wife say this? I was disappointed that she didn’t understand what was going on. I took that anger to training the following day in the morning, and it showed in my game. I was sliding, tackling, chasing the ball and players out of the field. I was packing legs. My wife who knew me well said I was not good enough. I had to prove to her that I was just good enough. The trainer removed me from training fearing that I could break somebody’s leg the way I was going. The next match he brought me in as a substitute and after that, I had the chance to start

a game when a player had an injury. I did well and even gave an assist and also hit the bar when I attacked from defence.

Fans came to the training ground after that singing my name. I scored a goal in one of my early matches, and my fans grew in number. They were carrying Nigeria’s flag to training and stadium on match days. The coach couldn’t keep me out of the team again. I did so well that I left Lokeren for Anderlecht and ended up captaining the big Belgian club. So, you can see the role my wife played in my career.”

Keshi later played for Strasbourg in France and was also captain, wearing his usual n0. 4 Jersey. He captained the Eagles that qualified Nigeria for their first ever World Cup finals in USA “94 and the team that won the Nations Cup same year in Tunisia, a cup he also won as a coach in 2013 in South Africa. His story is long. He died a legend.

Keshi was not known to be sick before his death. Ado said it was cardiac arrest. Few days before he passed on, he complained of irregular heartbeats. And few hours after complaining of pains in the leg he was rushed to the hospital where he was confirmed dead. “He planned to visit us and told me so when he called from Nigeria last week,” Mrs. Okafor said on the phone. “This world is all vanity. It is unbelievable.

What’s happening? Is this the way life is? I will have to keep this away from my daughter,” she said. She lost her husband and under five years the best friend of her husband passed on. Sorrowful. Sylvanus Okpala was down in shock when he heard the sad news. Their relationship started from their days in the Flying Eagles when Okpala was captain of the 1978/79 squad.

“About eight of us in that team quickly made it to the senior national team,” Okpala recalled Wednesday morning while mourning. He meant the likes of Humphrey Edobor, Franklin Howard, Stephen Keshi, Bright Omokaro and Prince Afejukwu.

For the 1980 Nations Cup, Okpala recalled that Keshi was in camp with them but left because of injury.

“I can’t believe that he is gone,” Okpala said. He called me last week and asked after my family.

We spoke at length without discussing football. I was surprised he called because the usual thing was for him to receive calls.

But he called this time. I was touched. I didn’t know it was going to be my last chat with him.

We won the Nations Cup in South Africa together. When he became the head coach of the Super Eagles, he invited me to be his assistant. We were a family. Now death has taken him away. Too sad. May his soul rest in peace.”

Keshi: Coming to grips with a legend’s passage

By Ben Alaiya

T

UESDAY, June 7, was an unusual date in the life of a practicing journalist as two internationals, Hillary Ikenna, who plays in Slovakia and Jude Odion Ighalo Jnr, the younger brother of the more popular, Jude Ighalo, strolled in to celebrate an impending wedding and then the elder’s excellent performance for both the national team and the Watford FC of England.

As we were speaking Ikenna declared that he has not spoken for sometime with Big Boss

Stephen Okechukwu Keshi and he would like to talk to him immediately. It was then that I put a call across to Keshi and his voice was excellent and calm.

After close to ten minutes of conversation, I told the Big Boss, that I was still in the office with his players and that they were just ready and desperate to speak with him. The young players said they were in chase of Raheem Lawal at the Magodo Estate and they had to go quickly to catch up with him as he has no local number. I obliged. The Editor of the newspapers, Femi Olusetire,

was in the mix and he said I should allow the players take their exit. I was excited that the players came to our office in the first place but never knew what was to come after.

And so by early morning Wednesday, calls started coming from Peter Edema, Kunle Salami, Ade Ojeikere, Tony Ubani et al. The single refrain was, “we hear Stephen Keshi is dead, is it true”?. I didn’t have an answer but sooner than later I did from my friend and Manager of Keshi, Emmanuel Ado, “Your Oga don go stay with his wife”

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016 — 47

Mohammed Ali at the ring side, 1985

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee M Malia’s high school graduation ceremony, the White House said.

Mr Obama and his wife Michelle are sending a letter to be read at

UHAMMAD Ali’s life will be celebrated with a traditional Islamic prayer service after thousands of tickets were snapped up for the boxing great’s funeral.

Ali’s family have criticised ticket touts for cashing in on the service, which 15,00 people are expected to attend, by selling tickets on to fans. Some tickets have reportedly gone for around £70. Ali’s family have called said they are “disgusted” by the practice, and have asked for people to stop trying to buy tickets. The US authorities have been alerted to the scheme.

Bob Gunnell, spokesman for the Ali family, said: “I’m personally disgusted and amazed that someone would try

to profit off of Muhammad Ali’s memorial service. “I hope that those buying tickets or trying to buy tickets would stop those efforts by not purchasing. “Muhammad Ali wanted this to be a free event, an event that was open to all.”

Today, the final service at the KFC Yum! Centre will take place with luminaries such as former US president Bill Clinton, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and comedian Billy Crystal. Actor Will Smith, who portrayed Ali in a 2001 biographical film, and former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis will be among the pallbearers.

US President Barack Obama will miss the funeral because he is attending his daughter

Continues from BP

had not approached Keshi for the job.

“We are saddened that we did not get to fulfil our ambitions and dreams for such a high calibre coach... Since Keshi joined us in May, we had been working tirelessly to get him a job and I can confirm that he was offered a role of a technical director at one club and a coaching role at another,” the agent said.

HIEF James Onanefe Ibori has described Stephen Okechukwu Keshi, who died in the early hours of Wednesday as a veritable achiever and trail blazer, who changed the lot of Nigerian footballers for the better.

Ibori said in a press statement signed by his Media Assistant, Tony Eluemunor, that Keshi was outstanding whether as a football player or Coach, or even just a Nigerian who refused to al-

silver after losing the opening match 5-1. But Keshi had hand in the remaining feats Westerhof achieved throughout his stay in Nigeria. The Bronze medal at the Senegal ’92 Nations Cup and the victory in Tunisia.

Most importantly was the USA ’94 World Cup qualification, the first time Nigeria was doing so in history. Those moments apparently flashed through Westerhof ’s mind during the moment of silence in the telephone chat. He spoke from his home in Arhnem, Holland.

“Ha ya ya ya ya,” the voice returned. “ You know, when God calls one, there’s nothing any person can do. At 54, that’s too young to die but God’s ways are unpredictable. I feel sorry for this.”

On how he would describe the late Nigerian soccer legend, Wester-

hof said, “he was a great person, a great player and a great coach. I can describe his death as terrible, very unfortunate and a big tragedy.”

Some teammates of the legend have been reacting to his passing.

Aloy Agu said it would be difficult to fill the vacuum Keshi created because he was exceptional. “He was our captain and he made everybody happy. He made you feel wanted. He led on and outside the field. It is shocking. Nobody expected this death. It is terrible.”

Emmanuel Amuneke who now coaches the Flying Eagles said that Keshi inspired many of them. “He was a great player and when we were growing up he inspired many of us. Later, some of us were privileged to play with him and he was an outstanding leader. We will sorely miss him.”

the service, where White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett - who knew Ali personally will represent the president.

Pinnick, Okowa, Ilaboya, others meet Keshi’s family

N

FF President Amaju Pinnick on Thursday led a delegation of some eminent persons in the country’s football to commiserate with the family of Nigeria legend Stephen Keshi, who died on Wednesday.

With Pinnick were Chairman of the Delta State Sports Commission, Mr. Tony Okowa, chairmen of the Football Associations of Edo and Bayelsa States, Frank Il-

aboya and Porbeni Ogun respectively, and renowned marketing consultant Mike Itemuagbor. There were also the General Manager of NPFL club Warri Wolves, Moses Etu, former Super Eagles captain Austin Eguavoen and a number of ex –international players.

The delegation was received by late Keshi’s brother-in-law, Ricky Aburimen and cousin, Ebuka Ofonye.

Keshi was a trail blazer low others decide his PSL was Keshi’s next target – Ibori fate in life.

hi was referred to, suffered cardiac arrest while in Benin City, Nigeria. He’d become the subject of growing speculation that he would take over from Eric Tinkler at Orlando Pirates.

But Sukazi, while confirming that his client would have been keen to be in the hot seat at one of the biggest clubs on the African continent, insisted the Buccaneers

Westerhof Continues from BP

“I lit four candles and I had a quiet evening, meditating with my wife.

It was a quiet evening Wednesday, the day he died. The four candles represented the four years Keshi worked with me. They were great moments. But what happened? What killed him?

I heard the news in the morning, just few hours after he died. First, his wife died and now Keshi himself.” Silence reigned. A deep loud breath showed he got emotional.

“Hello, hello,” this reporter yelled, fearing that the line had terminated. It did not. Westerhof was probably getting himself together.

Keshi was his friend and player. Keshi helped him organise the Eagles. He was the kind of leader he wanted for his team. Club engagements did not permit Keshi join Westerhof in his first major assignment for Nigeria, the Algiers ’90 Nations Cup where Nigeria won the

C

DStv Basketball final 6 play-offs Niger Potters 73-60 Bauchi Nets Plateau Peaks 68-65 Gombe Bulls Mark Mentors 68-75 Kano Pillars

He said: “let it never be forgotten that it was after Keshi as New Nigerian Bank football club captain and national team player was slammed with a ban that he left Nigerian shores – and opened the floodgates for others to follow him into professionalism in other African countries and Europe”.

Thus, whatever good things that have happened to Nigerian football because of any influence from our having numerous footballers performing in the world’s best football leagues, should be credited to Keshi. Most of all, he remained a mentor to both his mates and those that followed behind them.

Ibori also pointed out that Keshi never rejected Nigeria’s call to duty while he was a footballer, often keeping an impossible schedule of boarding an aircraft minutes after a match to answer Nigeria’s or his foreign club’s duties and the indomitable will to triumph against all odds.

Maradona, Pele end feud Continues from BP

Argentine legend even embraced during the five-a-side exhibition game in a sign that they have drawn a line under their long-running feud.

Pele and Maradona played the roles of coach as two teams of former stars went head to head in the palace garden the day before France play Romania at the Stade de France in the opening game of the Euros.

By Professor Wole Soyinka

T

HE arena is dark ened. A feast of blood Will follow duly; the spotlights have been borrowed.

For a while. These ringside prances. Merely serve to whet the appetite. Gladiators, Clad tonight in formal mufti, customized, Milk recognition, savour the night-off, show off.

Rites. Ill fitted in this your voyeur company.

The desperate arm wrap of the tiring heart. Gives place to social hugs, the slow count. One to ten to a snappy “Give me five!”

Toothpaste grins replace the death-mask Rubber gumshield grimaces. Promiscuous Peck–a-cheek supplant the maestro’s peek-a-boo.

The roped arena wait; an umpire tests the floor, Tests the whiplash boundaries of the rope.

The gallants’ exhibition rounds possess.

These foreplay rounds moments. Gloves in silkwhite sheen Rout lint and leather.

Paco Rabanne rules the air.

A tight-arsed soubriette checks her placard smile.

To sign the rounds for blood and gore.

Eased from the navel of Bitch-Mother Fame A microphone, neckruffed silver filigree – as one. Who would usurp the victor’s garland — stabs the air. For instant prophesies.

In cosy insulation, bathed.

In teleglow, distant homes have built. Their own vicarious rings – the forecast claimed. Four million viewers on the cable deal alone; Much “bread” was loaded on the scales.

At weighing hour – till scores are settled. One Will live the fickle womb tonight. Smeared in combat fluids, a broken foetus.

The other, toned in fire, a dogged phoenix Oblivious of the slow countdown of inner hurts Will thrust his leaden fists in the air. Night prince of the world of dreams.

One sits still. His silence is a dying count.

At last the lens acknowledges the tested Hulk that dominates, even in repose The giddy rounds of furs and diamond pins.

A brief salute – the camera is kind, Discreetly pans, and masks the doubletalk Of medicine men – “Has the syndrome But not the consequence.” Promoters, handlers. It’s time to throw in the towel – Parkinson’s Polysyllables have failed to tease a rhyme From the once nimble Louisville Lips. The camera flees, distressed. But not before The fire of battle flashes in those eyes. Rekindled by the moment’s urge to centre stage.

He rules the night space even now, bestrides. The

treacherous domain with thighs of bronze, A dancing mural of delights. Oh Ali! Ale-e-e... What music hurts the massive head tonight, Ali! The drums, the tin cans, the guitars and mbira of Zaire? Aa-lee! Aalee Bomaye!

The Rumble in the Jungle? Beauty and the Beast?

Roll call of Bum-a-Month.

The rope-a-dope? The Thrilla in Manilla? – Ahlee! Ah-lee!

“The closest thing to death”, you said. Was that.

The greatest, saddest prophecy of all? Oh, Ali! Black tarantula whose antics hypnotize the foe!

Butterfly sideslipping death from rocket probes.

Bee whose sting, unsheathed, picks the teeth Of the raging hippopotamus, then fans.

The jaws convergence with it flighty wings.

Needle that threads the snapping fangs Of crocodiles, knots the tusks of elephants On rampage. Cricket that claps and chirrups Round the flailing horn of the rhinoceros, Then shuffles, does a bugaloo, tap-dances on its tip. Space that yields, then drowns the intruder In showers of sparks-oh Ali! Ali! Esu with faces turned to all four compass points.

Astride a weather vane; they sought to trap him, Slapped the wind each time. He brings a message — All know the messenger, the neighbourhood is roused – Yet no one sees his face, he waits for no reply, Only that combination three-four calling card, The wasp-tail legend: I’ve been here and gone.

Mortar that goads the pestle: do you call that Pounding? The yam is not yet smooth – Pound, dope, pound!

When I have eaten the yam, I’ll chew the fibre that once called itself A pestle! Warrior who said, “I will not fight”.

And proved a prophet’s call to arms against a war.

Cassius Marcellus, Warrior, Muhammed Prophet, Flesh is clay, all, all too brittle mould.

The bout is over. Frayed and split and autographed, The gloves are hung up in the Hall of Fame – Still loaded, even from that first blaze of gold And glory. Awed multitudes will gaze, New questers feast on these mementos And from their shellshocked remnants Reinvoke the spell. But the sorcerer is gone, The lion withdrawn to a lair of time and space Inaccessible as the sacred lining of a crown When kings were kings, and lords of rhyme and pace.

The enchantment is over but, the spell remains.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee —P.47 Maradona, Pele end feud

•Casket to be paraded through the streets •Wole Soyinka on Ali

T

TOGETHER AS ONE — Maradona and Pele embrace yesterday, ending a long standing feud

Pinnick, Okowa, Ilaboya,—P.47 others meet Keshi’s family

WO of the greatest players in the history of the game came together to take part in a one-off five-a-side match in Paris.

So often at loggerheads, Brazil legend Pele and Argentina icon Maradona put their differences to one side for Hublot’s Match of Friendship at the Palais Royale in Paris to mark Euro 2016.

The 75-year-old Brazil great and 55-year-old Continues on Page 47

•Late Ali

Keshi: Westerhof lights 4 candles in Holland

BY ONOCHIE ANIBEZE

C

L E M E N S We s t e r h o f , arguably Nigeria’s best coach ever was mourning yesterday when we

Late Keshi and Pinnick

•Soyinka

called him for his reaction on the death of his captain when he coached Nigeria, leading the Eagles to Nations Cup victory in 1994 and performing well at the USA ’94 World Cup. “We lost our son,” were

his first words. And then the usual drama that characterises his life followed. However, it was western and sorrowful and not his usual words spiced with humour.

•Jonathan mourns •Ghana fly flag at half mast •Westerhof — Pg. 46

PSL was Keshi’s next target Ibori mourns Keshi— Pg.47 S

TEPHEN Keshi, the former Nigeria national football team captain and coach who

died on Wednesday morning aged 54, had concrete offers from two PSL clubs, his agent,

T OD AY'S PUZZLE ODA

Continues on Page 47

Tim Sukazi, has revealed.

“The Big Boss”, as Kes Continues on Page 47

YESTER DAY'S YESTERDAY'S

ANSWERS

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Matter (6) 5 Climb (6) 9 Implicit (5) 10 Slumbering (6) 11 Talisman (6) 12 Skinflint (5) 14 Ogle (4) 17 Performed (3) 18 Close (4) 20 Finished (5) 22 Emblem (5) 23 Importune (7) 24 Sprite (5) 26 Principle (5) 29 Press (4) 30 Tap (3) 32 Animals (4) 33 Sensational (5) 35 Wood (6) 36 Raved (6) 37 Advantage (5) 38 Deceive (6) 39 Ordain (6)

DOWN 1 Tillable (6) 2 Creased (6) 3 Detail (4 4 Swift (5) 5 Pointed (5) 6 Asterisk (4) 7 Surpass (6) 8 Gossip (6) 13 Alike (7) 15 Go in (5) 16 Lac (5) 18 Satisfied (5) 19 Concur (5) 21 Rabbit (3) 22 Scrap (3) 24 Talented (6) 25 Usual (6) 27 Sexless (6) 28 Plod (6) 30 Money-bag (5) 31 Weary (5) 33 Guide (4) 34 Fruit (4)

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS ACROSS: 4, Fluid 7, Recoup 9, Era 10, Tor 12, Edged 13, Coin 15, Level 17, Become 19, Emit 20, Steer 22, Ant 24, Derided 27, Win 28, Refer 31, Menu 33, Signal 35, Scene 37, Disc 38, Cavil 39, Gag 41, Nut 42, Rushed 43, Wedge.

DOWN: 1, Fracas 2, Scribe 3, Hut 4, Free 5, Ladle 6, Inedible 8, Polo 11, Remaining 14, Need 16, Vend 18, Crew 21, Tolerate 23, Tern 25, Rise 26, Dead 29, Flight 30, Recede 32, Using 34, Gear 36, Clue 40, Gun.

How to Play Sudoku

P

lace a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line can have two of the same number).

Each row (nine lines from left to right), column, (also nine lines from top to bottom) and 3 X 3 block within a bold block (nine blocks) contains number from 1 through 9. This means that no number can appear twice in any block, column or row.

No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction, division or multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination.

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