CJN’S TRIAL: Ignore court summons, S-South govs tell Onnoghen

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MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019

CJN’S TRIAL:

Ignore court summons, S-South govs tell Onnoghen

•It's plot to cow judges ahead of elections — NBA 5 •Due process shouldn’t be short-circuited in move to try CJN — SARAKI •Tread with caution, Dogara tells FG; •FG heating the polity — OHANAEZE •CSOs ask FG to withdraw charges against CJN • Afe Babalola, Owonikoko, Adegboruwa react 43 •Niger Delta agitators threaten oil production 12 SOUTH SOUTH GOVS ON CJN

SEE STORY ON PAGE 8

Alleged $5m bribe: Court okays suit seeking arrest 8 of Gov Ganduje's wife

61 political parties threaten fo sue INEC over election 8 guidelines Mr & Mrs From left: Governor of Cross River State, Prof. Ben Ayade; Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State; Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and Akwa Ibom State Governor, Emmanuel Udom, addressing pressmen on planned arraignment of Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen in Abuja. Photo: Gbemiga Olamikan. SEE STORY ON PAGE 8.

ONNOGHEN: PDP sympathetic to 9 corruption —APC COLUMNISTS

Soldiers avert farmers, herders’ clash in Anambra 15

OWEI LAKEMFA

33

BOKO HARAM: No nation can be secured without paying supreme sacrifice 8 — OSINBAJO

SOBOWALE

31

HENRY BOYO 32

2 — VANGUARD, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019

VANGUARD, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019—3

4 — VANGUARD, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019

Vanguard, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019—5

POCKET CARTOON

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Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (centre) being received by the Catholic Bishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, while the Speaker House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara (right) and others watch during arrivial formalities for the Interdenominational Church Service to mark 2019 Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebrations at the National Christian Centre, Abuja, yesterday. Photo: Abayomi Adeshida.

CJN'S TRIAL: It's plot to cow judges ahead of elections — NBA

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri, Levinus Nwabughiogu & Henry Ojelu

A

BUJA—The Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, has accused President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration of deliberately intimidating judges in a bid to emasculate the judiciary before the 2019 general elections.

This is even as Senate president, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, advised the Federal Government to ensure that its plans to put on trial the CJN, Walter

Onnoghen does not cause chaos in the judicial system and that due process was not compromised.

The NBA in a statement signed by its National President, Mr. Paul Usoro, SAN, decried what it described as a “pattern of consistent assault” on both the Judiciary and the Legislature by agencies of the Federal Government.

While condemning plans by government to arraign the CJN before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, over alleged failure to declare his assets, the NBA warned that continuing attacks on the justice sector must stop.

It wondered why the federal government decided to deviate from the laid down and explicit provisions of the law as expounded in the case of Nganjiwa v FRN, by slamming a criminal charge against the CJN without recourse to the National Judicial Council, NJC. The statement read: “The Nigerian Bar Association unequivocally condemns this assault, intimidation and desecration of the Judiciary by FGN agencies and demands that it be stopped immediately.

“In Nganjiwa v Federal Republic of Nigeria (2017) LPELR-43391(CA), the Court of Appeal made it very

clear that any misconduct attached to the office and functions of a judicial officer must first be reported to and handled by the National Judicial Council (“NJC”) pursuant to the provisions of our laws.

“Only after the NJC has pronounced against such judicial officer can the prosecuting agencies of the Federal Government proceed against him. ‘’As the court pointed out, these requirements of the law are anchored on the overriding principles of separation of powers between the executive, the judiciary and the legislature and on the need to preserve, promote and protect the independence of the judiciary.

“Our respective liberties and the rule of law are best protected and preserved if the judiciary remains independent and shielded from intimidation and assault by the other arms of the government.

“In Nganjiwa v FRN (supra), the Court of Appeal made reference to Rule 3 of the Revised Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers of February 2016 (“Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers”)and held that the said Rule 3 “makes provision in relation to fidelity to the Constitution and the Law. “The provisions in regard to assets declaration as they apply to all public officers including the CJN are contained in both the Constitution and the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act 1991, the enabling law that establishes both the Code of Conduct Bureau (“CCB”) and the CCT. “The fidelity which judicial officers therefore owe “to the Constitution and the Law” pursuant to Rule 3 of the Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers encompasses compliance with the

provisions relating to assets declarations as contained in the Constitution and the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act. “Any infraction in that regard by a judicial officer, as the Court of Appeal rightly held, constitutes a misconduct by the judicial officer and becomes the subject matter for discipline by the NJC as a condition precedent to any possible prosecution of the judicial officer by any of the FGN’s prosecuting agencies.

“Why has FGN decided to embark on this anomalous course of charging the CJN before the CCT without first presenting whatever facts it purportedly has against His Lordship to the NJC for its deliberation and determination?”, the NBA queried.

Besides, the NBA noted that the petition that triggered the action against the CJN was received, investigated and charges drafted by the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, within 24 hours.

“If one contemplates the fact that the CCT arraignment is scheduled to take place on 14 January 2019, we have in total a record number of 3 (three) working days between the

receipt and processing of the petition, investigation, preparation of Charge and ancillary processes and the arraignment!

“Such unprecedented speed and efficiency in Nigeria’s criminal justice administration! It is clear, given the rush with which this matter was conducted by the CCB, that the NJC was not privy to it and did not conduct its mandatorily required disciplinary processes prior to the filing of the Charge before the CCT. “We still wonder why the FGN chose to deviate from the laid down and explicit provisions of the law as expounded in Nganjiwa v FRN (supra). Could it be that it was misadvised? Or is this a naked show of power and force by agencies of the FGN? And why embark on the media trial of the CJN? “This, unfortunately, is a predilection of the FGN’s prosecuting agencies with the possible exception of the Federal Ministry of Justice. As the NBA pointed out in its International AntiCorruption Day Statement that was issued on 09 December 2018 “media trial of persons charged with

Continues on Page 42

By Bose Adelaja, Ebun Sessou, Yinka Latona, & Tade Oluwapelumi

Release of repentant Boko Haram members (1)

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riminals should not be allowed to profit from their criminality hence the so-called repentant Boko Haram members must be kept in custody.

President Buhari should show a singleminded resolve and commitment to defeating the common enemies of our nation. He should do so without showing any sign of weakness, as this will only embolden the ter rorists. Mr. David Afolabi Cleric

M

y opinion is that the presidency should allow the judiciary to do their job.

If any of the repentant Boko Haram members must be released, it should be through the judiciary and they must ensure that they genuinely repent so that they will not be a threat to the society any longer.

Mr. Aderogba Olaitan, Coach

I

support the Borno Elders and Atiku that President Muhammadu Buhari should stop releasing perceived repentant Boko Haram members. These set of people are still a threat to their communities and the nation at large. A few years ago, one of the arrested sect leaders boasted that he would return to join the sect if he was ever released, is such person not a problem to the country? Mrs. Ajuwon Kemi Businesswoman.

T

HIS is a different kind of warfare that requires strong will on the part of the government. The socalled repentant terrorists often go back to their ways. If that is the case, what is the need of releasing them?

As far as I am concerned releasing arrested terrorists is a threat to national security, because they return to their camps to unleash terror on the country.

Mr. Emmanuel Otobo, Businessman

I

don’t believe in the deradicalization because it does not work. What gave the Federal Government the impression that Boko Haram terrorists are repentant? It is not even about the terrorists but ideas. Ideas are very difficult to change. I think the government needs to face the crisis for what it is.

Mr. Japhet Omene, Analyst

I

have read stories about the so-called repentant Boko Haram members coming back to attack our troops. Is the Buhari administration even serious about the war against terrorism? The government should take the war to the territories of the terrorists and see if the insurgents would not be totally destroyed.

The government should stop handling them with kid gloves.Miss Anna Ugbodu, Self employed

6—Vanguard, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019

18-yr-old Briton donates clinic to Kaduna council

Man kills wife, sons over threat of infidelity in Edo

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R. Seth Thomas, an 18-year-old British philanthropist, has donated a clinic to Asso community in Gwong chiefdom of Jemaa Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

Thomas, who spoke at the commissioning yesterday, said he was moved to raise funds for the clinic in view of the plight of people of the community who had no access to proper medical care, when he paid an advocacy visit following attacks by gunmen on the village in 2017.

While expressing optimism that the facility would go a long way in meeting the health needs of the people, Thomas appreciated the community for naming the clinic after him.

Also speaking, House of Representatives member, Nicholas Garba (PDP Jema’a/ Sanga) urged government to properly assess the needs of communities that suffered such attacks with a view to addressing them.

Garba said government, beside deploying security to the area, has to do more to rehabilitate people whose houses were burnt and means of livelihood destroyed in attacks.

The legislator appreciated the donor for the gesture and appealed to public-spirited individuals to complement his effort.

Chief Executive Officer, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, CSW, Nigeria, and General Secretary of Evangelical Churches Winning All, Rev. Yunusa Nmadu, said CSW partnered Thomas to actualise his dream of giving succour to the less privileged.

At the ceremony, the Kpop Gwong, Paul Zakka Wyoms, conferred a chieftaincy title, Theh Gwong, on Thomas.

2 kidnappers arrested in Katsina

By Bashir Bello

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WO abductors of a septuagenarian, Hauwa Usman, of Old Garin Waziri, Safana Local Government Area of Katsina State, have been arrested.

Katsina State Police Command, confirming the arrest in a statement by the Police Public Relation Officer, SP Gambo Isah, identified the abductors as 40-year-old Abubakar Yusuf, alias Kango, of Safana and Abubakar Mansur, 40, of Unguwar Gwanda, Safana council of Katsina.

By Alemma Aliu

ENIN—THE village of Ovbiogie in Ovia North-East Local Government Area of Edo State was thrown into mourning, yesterday morning, as a man shot and killed his wife and two sons.

Residents in the community wailed uncontrollably when officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, came to evacuate the corpses.

The 35-year-old man, identified as Uwaila, reportedly shot through the

door into the room where his wife and children ran to hide when he was threatening them.

The suspect, who is currently in Police custody, said his late wife accused him of having affairs with many girls and that she threatened to also start dating men in retaliation.

Uwaila said he drove out of the house in anger, came back to see that his wife had locked herself and his sons inside one of their rooms, and he shot through the door.

The state’s Police Commissioner, Hakeem Odumosun, who visited the scene, said the suspect would be charged to court after investigation has been concluded.

A notorious kidnapping and robbery gang, led by a fake soldier (right), that operated in Abuja, Kaduna and Benue states, and their tools of trade (above and left), paraded at Police Headquarters, Abuja, PHOTO: yesterday.

Gbemiga Olamikan.

Death toll in Ekiti trailer tragedy rises to 15

By Rotimi Ojomoyela

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DO-EKITI—NO fewer than 15 people have been confirmed dead in the trailer accident that occurred, Saturday night, in Iworoko, Ifelodun/Irepodun Local Government Area of Ekiti State.

It was gathered that the crash occurred at 8:45p.m., when a truck loaded with rice lost control and rammed into a popular market in the heart of the town, crushing three shops, a mini-commercial bus filled with passengers and traders.

Among the dead, according to eyewitnesses, was a mother, her child, a National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, member, traders and some students of Ekiti State University.

The ongoing strike action by the Academic Union of Universities, ASUU, was said to have minimised the death toll, as they claimed that the market the truck rammed into used to be crowded with many students of EKSU.

...at the scene

When journalists visited the scene of the accident yesterday morning, a huge crowd of sympathisers had gathered, with some wailing and others engaged in quiet conversation.

A towing truck deployed to the scene to remove the trailer and clear the highway for other vehicles, was chased away by irate mob.

Speaking at the scene, Deputy Governor of the state, Bisi Egbeyemi, commiserated with families that lost their loved ones and the injured receiving treatment at Ekiti State University Teaching

...mother, child, corps member involved Hospital, EKSUTH. Egbeyemi appealed for calm, saying government was deeply touched by the crash and the number of lives lost.

According to her, “the state governor condoles with families of those who have lost dear ones. We pray for their souls to rest in peace.

Government will also ensure that those who were injured have their hospital bills paid for.

“However, we appeal to our youths to exercise restraint and calm down by not causing trouble. No one wishes for this kind of tragedy to happen.

And no amount of anger and violence will bring back those already dead. So let us be calm.”

Egbeyemi later visited the injured at the emergency ward of EKSUTH, where the bodies of the dead were also deposited. He assured the hospital that their bills would be paid by the state government.

The hospital management told newsmen that 12 bodies of those who lost their lives in the accident, including students of EKSU, have been deposited at the state morgue while four wounded victims of the accident are receiving treatment in the hospital.

The rice owner

Meanwhile, the owner of the rice being conveyed by the ill-fated trailer, Senator

Alasoadura (APC Ondo Central), has expressed his condolences to the families of victims and people of the area over the accident.

A statement by his media aide, Dayo Joseph, stated that the said rice was purchased from a rice mill in Kebbi State to patronise and encourage local production.

He added that the rice was for his constituents to enjoy Christmas/New year celebrations, but that the delivery was delayed till now.

Meanwhile, Police Public Relations Officer in Ekiti State, DSP Caleb Ikechukwu, said he would address the media as soon as details of the accident were made available to the command.

Journalist arrested over cultism, not hairstyle—Police

By Esther Onyegbula

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AGOS State Police Command, weekend, claimed it did not arrest Yinka Badmus, a photojournalist with Talk Village International because of his hairstyle, as reported.

Rather, it stated that Badmus was arrested alongside 13 other persons suspected to be members of Eiye Confraternity and charged to court.

Report had it that Badmus was arrested on New Year eve while eating noodles at Pedro Bus Stop , Gbadaga, because of his

hairstyle.

However, the Command’s spokesman, CSP Chike Oti, said: “To start with, it is ridiculous to say the AntiCultism Unit of Lagos State Police Command charged a suspect to court because of his hairstyle.

“Yinka Badmus and 13 others were charged to Ogudu Magistrate's Court on January 4, on a two-count charge.

“The first count is conspiracy.

That is, for conspiring among themselves to commit felony to wit membership of unlawful

society contrary to and punishable under Section 411, Cap CH, C17, Vol. 3 Laws of Lagos, 2015.

“The second count holds them for belonging to an unlawful society known as Eiye confraternity contrary to and punishable under Section 42(a), Cap CH, C17 Vol. 3, Laws of Lagos State, 2015.

“The suspects were, however, granted N50,000 bail. Those who could not meet the bail conditions were remanded in prison custody. This is an issue that is neither within the purview of the Force nor its control.”

Vanguard, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019—7

I was given 2 sachets of water without food—Kidnap victim

By Davies Iheamnachor

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ORT HARCOURT—A victim rescued by Police operatives from a kidnappers’ den in Khana Local Government, Rivers State, said she was given two sachets of water without food for the four days she was in captivity.

The rescued victim, who for security reasons did not want her name revealed, narrated that shw was blindfolded throughout the four days she was kept in the forest till the Police team came to her rescue.

It was gathered that the woman was kidnapped on January 7 around Woji in Port Harcourt, in

Obio/Akpor and taken to Khana council, where the kidnappers collected N1 million from her relatives.

It was while operatives of the Rivers State Police Command and the Inspector General of Police Monitoring Unit in the state stormed the kidnappers’ den that two of the kidnappers were killed and one suspect arrested.

During the parade of the arrested suspect and items recovered from the gang, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Command, DSP Nnamdi Omoni, disclosed that the gang is responsible for most crimes in Ogoni axis of the state.

Omoni, who addressed the press

on behalf of the new Commissioner of Police in state, Usman Belel, stated that the IGP monitoring team had invaded the kidnappers’ camp around 1a.m.

He said: “The new Commissioner of Police in the state, Usman Belel, upon resumption of duty, promised to tackle insecurity head on.

“They kidnapped a lady on January 7 around Woji in Port Harcourt, in Obio/Akpor and took her to Khana council. They collected N1 million from relatives of the victim. We have launched a manhunt for others who are at large.”

... with Emma'nKen (08163121378)

One candidate to another: When they're done, you and I 'll go check out a new menu at that 5-star hotel

Father of 7 killed over love affair with widow in Enugu

By Emeka Mamah

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NUGU—A 54-year-old father of seven, Nicholas Eze, has been reportedly killed in Enugu State by an enraged man, who accused him of sleeping with his aged mother.

Nicholas, alias Odobo, was said to have been killed with a shovel by the second son of the woman, who is also married with two children.

Police sources confirmed the killing, saying the suspect reportedly gave himself up at the Enugu Ezike Police Station, shortly after the incident.

The deceased, a former commercial driver from Umuidenyi, Aji, Enugu Ezike, Igboeze North Local Government Area of Enugu State, was said to have ignored warnings from his children and those of his lover against going out with the woman (name withheld), who had nine grown up children for her late husband.

…vigilante kills 19-yr-old boy

This was even as a 19-year-old SS3 student of Aji High School, Osita Ugwuanyi, was also said to have been killed by a member of the Neighbourhood Watch, Aji, while watching some masquerades at the village square.

Late Ugwuanyi, a native of Umuogilieze, Isiugwu in the local government was killed by the vigilante (name withheld), who is now helping the Police in their investigations. The deceased student was killed at Aji, where he grew up with his grandmother.

His uncle, Ejike Onoja, told Vanguard at Aji, yesterday: “Osita was a very quiet boy, who would have sat for his Senior School Certificate Examination, SSCE, this year.”

According to Ejike, Osita’s parents, Mrs and Mrs Simon Ugwuanyi, brought him to stay with his grandmother at the age of three, adding that the

deceased had never quarrelled with anybody or known to be following any bad group before he was murdered by the suspect, who had earlier killed another person in the same village.

‘We warned Eze to stay away from the widow’

Meanwhile, efforts are being made to bury the two bodies. A relation of Odobo said the family would not pursue the case of his murder, adding that they warned him several times to leave the woman alone, following complaints from both his own children and those of the woman.

The relative, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “We will fix the date of his burial after a visit to the Police

tomorrow(today). His death is shameful. Our brother had seven children, who he never sent to school.

“His former lover was older than him. She has nine grown up children, who repeatedly warned him to keep away from their mother.

“We will bury him quietly after tomorrow’s (today’s) visit to the Police.”

Also, Osita Ugwuanyi’s relations said they were expecting the relations of the suspected killer of the young boy tomorrow(today), adding that they had earlier visited the traditional ruler of Isiugwu community, Igwe Fabian Eke, to plead for peaceful resolution of the matter.

Ruggedybaba has not recovered from SARS officer's slap

Gunmen kill fisherman, injure 2 others in Delta

By Perez Brisibe

U

GHELLI—A fishermen was, Saturday morning, reportedly shot dead and two others sustaining injuries in an attack by herdsmen at Agadama community of Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State.

The attack on the fishermen is coming a day after gunmen, suspected to be armed robbers, ambushed a group of traders along the Agbarha-Ughelli Road, killing one of the traders with two others sustaining gunshot wounds.

An eyewitness, who was in the vehicle with the traders, said they had embarked on the journey from Ughelli in a popular commercial transport company and the driver decided to follow the AgbarhaUghelli Road, in a bid to boycott the poor state of the UghelliIsoko Road, when the hoodlums struck.

The source, who gave his name as Paul Nwoke, said: “Owing to the bad state of the Ughelli-Isoko Road, travellers heading to the Asaba axis,

decided to use the Agbarha Road.

“Unfortunately, we drove into the hoodlums, who had stationed themselves on the road. Feeling that the victims, who were heading to Onitsha, were hiding their monies from them, one of the gang's members shot them and molested others.

“One of the traders was confirmed dead at the Ughelli Central Hospital, where he was rushed to.”

Confirming the attack by the herdsmen, a security source at the Ughelli ‘A’ Division Police Station, where the incident was reported, simply gave the name of the victim as Genesis.

The source added: “The fishermen were returning from their fishing expedition and from information gathered, they were attacked by the hoodlums in a bid to dispossess them of their catch, leading to the shooting of one of the fishermen, while the others escaped.”

Gabriel, the next time you meet Jaygo on stage, his punch will be real when you are the receiver

8—VANGUARD, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019

Why we’re diversifying bonds' investors base —DMO DG

By Emma Ujah

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EBT Management Office, DMO, has commenced intensive diversification of investors base in Federal Government bonds, given the tight monetary policy, which has affected banks’ investment in the debt instruments.

Director-General of the DMO, Ms Patience Oniha, who said this in Abuja yesterday, explained that private investors’ interests in the bonds had been growing steadily in the last few months.

Shesaid: “Monetarypolicy hasbeentight.Ithinkinsome way, because of the monetary policy stance, their (banks’) ability has somewhat been reduced but having said that, our goal is to diversify the investment base.

“Its more like the PFA’s and others are taking up more

because we reached out to Pension Funds, to Insurance companies and to other institutions, so I think it’s a good thing.”

The D-G expressed delight in the sustained over-subscription of the Federal Government savings bonds, describing it as a demonstration of investors confidence in the economy.

The DMO boss was hopeful that retail investors would grow in future, noting that “from the very first month of the year, the subscription was good.

"I wouldn’t say very high, if you look at our expectations.Whathasalso happened if you look through, if you buy this month with the savings you have, you might not have built up enough the next month to invest in it again."

61 political parties threaten to sue INEC over election draft guidelines preguidelines sented to them by the

A

By Joseph Erunke

BUJA—AHEAD of the general elections scheduled to begin next month, 61 political parties have threatened to drag Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to court over the latter’s guidelines for the general elections.

The development came few days after the political parties, operating under the aegis of Coalition of United Political Parties,CUPP, and Inter-Party Advisory Council, IPAC, unanimously rejected the

electoral umpire.

In a statement signed yesterday by CUPP’s first national spokesman, Ikenga Ugochinyere, the 61 aggrieved parties said they will file a legal suit today to stop INEC from releasing the guideline and also quash some sections of the draft guideline, which were in conflict with the provisions of the 1999 constitution, including the obnoxious provisions inserted into the guideline which will lead to massive rigging of the 2019 elections.

Alleged $5m bribe: Court okays suit seeking arrest, trial of Gov Ganduje’s wife

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

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BUJA—A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, sitting at Maitama, has okayed accelerated hearing of a suit seeking to compel Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to arrest and prosecute the First Lady of Kano State, Dr. Hafsatu Ganduje, over alleged role she played in a $5 million bribery scandal involving her husband.

The court, in a ruling by Justice Yusuf Halilu, further ordered the EFCC, Kano State government and All Progressives Congress, APC, who were listed as 1st to 3rd defendants, to show cause why all assets owned by and/or traceable to Governor Ganduje and his

wife, should not be temporarily forfeited, pending the hearing and disposal of a suit lodged before it by a Non Governmental Organisation.

Similarly, the court ordered the APC, through its National Working Committee, to equally show cause why it should not be directed to immediately remove and substitute Governor Ganduje’s name as its candidate for the 2019 general election in Kano State.

The orders followed a suit marked CV/344/18 and a motion ex-parte marked M/887/18, which was lodged by a group, under the aegis of the Incorporated Trustees of Hope Development and Empowerment Foundation.

VISIT: Presidential candidate of Allied Congress Party of Nigeria, ACPN, Dr Oby Ezekwesili (left), with Chief of Ushafa, Hakimi Ushafa, Muhammad Baba-Kwanga, during Oby's visit to Ushafa Community in Abuja, yesterday . Photo: NAN.

Onnoghen: Buhari has no respect for N-Delta, democracy, judiciary —S-South govs Urge CJN to ignore court summon

By Dirisu Yakubu

A

BUJA—Governors of South-South geopolitical zone have described moves to arraign the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Walter Onnoghen, before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, today by the Federal Government as a demonstration of lack of respect for the people of Niger Delta, the nation’s judiciary and democracy by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The governors stated this,

yesterday, at the end of an emergency meeting held at Bayelsa State Governor’s Lodge, Maitama, Abuja.

In a communique read by chairman of the South-South Governors’ Forum and governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson, the forum condemned what it described as flagrant disobedience of court orders by President Buhari’s administration, adding that the move to arraign the CJN with barely a month to the general election was capable of heating the polity.

Thecommuniqueread:“We note that the unfortunate

Boko Haram: No nation can be secured without paying supreme sacrifice —Osinbajo

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

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BUJA—VICE President Yemi Osinbajo, yesterday, warned against what he described as reckless utterances and actions of some Nigerians, which play on the religious and ethnic faultlines of the country to threaten its unity.

The vice president, who spoke at the interdenominational church service for the 2019 Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebration at National Christian Centre, Abuja, said supreme sacrifice paid by the nation’s military should not be allowed to go in vain.

Speaking against the backdrop of the resurgence of attacks by the Boko Haram sect, which recently claimed the lives of several dozens of soldiers, Osinbajo said the era of the terrorists holding local government areas and hoisting their flags was gone.

He further appealed that the families of the gallant military officers who sacrificed their lives in the bid to secure the territorial integrity of the country should not be allowed to suffer.

He said: “Today again we participate in an annual tradition of remembering and honoring our departed military heroes. This particular Remembrance day is perhaps more poignant than any other.

“In the past few weeks we have buried 13 soldiers and one... and last week five air force pilots...all these men died in battle fending off Boko Haram and ISIS West Africa terrorists in the North East. ‘’But in these battles, we have been sharply reminded that indeed 'freedom is not free.' That peace is often paid for with blood and gore. And that no nation can secure its territory without the selflessness and the supreme sacrifices of many."

action against the CJN further reinforces the perception that the Buhari administration has no regard for the sentiments of Nigerians, in particular, the people of Niger Delta, and the rule of law “It is a fact that this administration has a penchant for flagrant disobedience of and disregard for legitimate and valid court orders.

“We expect President Buhari to know that democracy cannot survive without respect for the constitution, strict adherence to the rule of law, and separation of powers as enshrined in the constitution.

“WenotethatunderSection 158(1) of the 1999 Constitution, the National Judicial Council, NJC, has ample powers to deal exhaustively with matters pertaining to allegations of misconduct and discipline of Judicial officers.

“Specifically, the NJC has the powers and clear procedures for investigating allegations, and recommending appropriate sanctions or disciplinary measures against judicial officials as a matter of first instance before any further steps.

“We note that the attempt to drag the CJN to the CCT is also a grave and dangerous escalation of the assault on institutions of state, including the National Assembly and the judiciary “We believe that the President, Muhammadu Buhari, has a constitutional responsibility and huge moral obligation to defend our democracy.

“We consider this step, which is directly aimed at humiliating the nation’s highest judicial officer and a prominent son of the region as totally unacceptable as it is reflective of the SouthSouth story of endless

marginalisation and intimidation.

“The unceremonious removal of former Acting Director-General of the Department of State Service, Matthew Seiyefa, and his replacement is still very fresh.

“We strongly believe that the regrettable development at the Supreme Court at this critical time, when preparations for the general elections are wobbling (with serious concern about Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, andsecurityagencies) is capable of causing avoidable anxiety, tension and possible breakdown of law and order in the country.

“We note further that the action undermines confidence not only in the judiciary but also the electoral process that has already commenced, in view of the pivotal role the judiciary plays in the process of electoral adjudication.

“We affirm that President Buhari should know that the continuous assault on critical institutions of state is a defining feature of a dictatorship, and that the President is obliged to live up to his word that he is a bornagain democrat, as he assured Nigerians in 2015.

“We, therefore, condemn without any equivocation this assault on the CJN and the judiciary, especially coming after similar assaults on the National Assembly, to save the country from this embarrassment and global contempt.’’

They urged Onnoghen to ignorethecourtsummonfrom the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, and the provocative call for his resignation in some quarters.

Present at the meeting were Governors Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa), Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Ben Ayade (Cross River), Udom Emmanuel(AkwaIbom)and Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta).

VANGUARD, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019—9

Onnoghen: PDP sympathetic to corruption, APC alleges

ARMED FORCES REMEMBRANCE DAY: From left:

Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha; Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Chief Justice of the Federation, Walter Onnoghen; and his wife Nkoyo, during the interdenominational church service for Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebrations, in Abuja, yesterday .

Photo: NAN.

By Omeiza Ajayi

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Feb polls: Learn from consequences of 1966 coup, civil war — Onaiyekan Urges military not to support injustices, bad governance Says blood of every Nigerian precious

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

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BUJA—AHEAD of the February 16 presidential and National Assembly elections in the country, the CatholicArchbishopofAbuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, yesterday, warned that Nigeria should learn from the lessons and consequences of the 1966 coup and civil war.

Cardinal Onaiyekan, who gave the warning during Interdenominational Church Service for the 2019 Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebration at National Christian Centre, Abuja, advised the security agencies to be neutral in the elections.

He said the blood of every Nigerian was precious and should not be allowed to be spilled, even as the February general elections draw nearer.

He said: “Today, we cannot forget that so many have died in our series of self-inflicted killings, in the shameful chain of coups and counter coups.

"This seems to be the case of the untenable moral lie that might is right. In the logic of these often gory events, those who succeed rule, and grab the highest national honours.

“Those who fail face the firing squad, after secret trials.

The issue of right or wrong intentions is conveniently swept aside. We hope we have by now learned our lesson and that we will no longer allow such misuse of our Armed Forces and our military resources.

“IdonotknowwhyJanuary 15 has been chosen as the ArmedForcesRemembrance Day. But to many people like me,itbringsstrongmemories ofthatcriticalday,January 15, 1966. We must learn lessons fromthathistoricevent,which marked the beginning of military rule in our country.

“We are still to fully assess,

judge and comprehend its deep meaning and consequences for our nation.

It started a chain of dramatic events, including the three years civil war which wasted the lives of millions of Nigerians, combatants and non-combatants, men, women and children.

“January 15 should remind us of many pertinent lessons for our present and for our future. Perhaps, the greatest of these lessons is that morally, the end does not justify a wrong means. A good end must be pursued by a good means.

“We cannot undertake a national revolution by murdering unarmed persons in their beds at night. We cannotsuccessfullyprosecute a ‘war against indiscipline’ by locking up innocent people for months in dungeons without legal recourse.

“For the same reason, we cannot hope to win the ‘war against corruption’ by ignoring or by-passing basic human rights to the rule of law.

“Furthermore, we must imbibe the lessons of the instability of injustice, the futility of violence, and the imperative of personal conversion and social moral revolution.”

Urges military not to support injustices, bad governance

Onaiyekanalsowarnedthe security agencies not to support any form of injustices and bad governance, especially during the elections, stressing that the responsibility of the Armed Forces was to protect the nation and not to attack anybody.

He said keeping an army was not the best defence for any nation, but maintaining good governance and justice.

“Our Armed Forces are under the Ministry of Defence. It is important to note that our Armed Forces are not under the Ministry of Aggression. Therefore, our soldiers have volunteered to defend the nation and not to attack anyone or oppress anybody,” he said.

FG not to sweep causes of soldiers death under carpet

On the death of gallant soldiers as a result of the resurgence of insecurity, especially in the North-East, Onaiyekan called on the Federal Government not to sweep the causes of the killings of soldiers in the war against Boko Haram under the carpet.

He said: “We remember especially those who have died in the on-going conflict in the North-East, whether they perished in combat or in a ambush, or as a result of alleged inadequate arms or culpable poor military tactics.

“Complaints in this regard

are rife, and they should not be silenced or swept under the carpet. Rather all such complaints ought to be properly investigated and everyone found responsible held accountable, no matter how high up in rank and position. The blood of every Nigerian is precious andmust not be carelessly wasted.”

Noting that Nigerian Armed Forces had been actively involved in promoting world peace, Onaiyekan said Nigeria’s responsibility for world peace should start from ‘around us'.”

The Catholic Archbishop further called for good remuneration for the Armed Forces, so that they can perform their responsibilities better.

He also urged the government to timely pay the fullpensionsofretiredsecurity personnel, adding that failure to pay the pensions of the security personnel, was a national shame that should never have been allowed to occur.

BUJA—All Progressives Congress, APC, has berated Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for rising in defence of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Walter Onnoghen, over the decision of the Federal Government to charge the chief jurist for corruption.

PDP had in a statement by its spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan, on Saturday, said the development was part of a plot by the APC-led Federal Government to destabilise the judiciary so as to rig the 2019 general elections.

But APC in a statement, yesterday, in Abuja accused the PDP of being sympathetic to corruption.

"Following reports of the move to prosecute Justice Walter Onnoghen, Chief Justice of the Federation, over an alleged infraction on the Code of Conduct laws, the swift statement by Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, condemning the purported move has again exposed the party as one with a natural inclination to rise in defence of cases of alleged corruption,” the party said in the statement signed by its spokesman, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu.

The party said PDP’s resort to baseless postulations anytime issues of corruption was levelled against public officers only confirmed

what Nigerians already knew.

It said: “PDP and corruption are siamese twins that are difficult to separate from each other.

One would have thought that the PDP will call for impartial investigations when corruption cases are levelled against public officers, but spinning falsehoods and conspiracies remains the opposition party’s favourite past time.

“The fight against corruption remains a cardinal promise made by the APC to the electorate.

We assure the PDP and indeed all Nigerians that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC administration remains uncompromising in its determination to rid the country of this malady.

“As noted on many occasions by President Buhari, it is only those who have committed crimes that need to worry. The APC administration will not hesitate to investigate and prosecute any public officer if and when such is indicted for corruption.

“Achieving acceptable elections in all democratic climes is a collective effort, which require the contributions and support of all well-meaning Nigerians, political parties, institutions and sundry interests.

“Commendably, in successive elections conducted under the APC administration, the party has played by the rules, which has led to credible elections. This cannot be said of the PDP era when state institutions were deployed to manipulate the electoral process."

Presidency warns Ortom to stop campaign of falsehood against Buhari Says FG supported his grazing law

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

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BUJA—THE P r e s i d e n c y, yesterday, warned Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State to stop what it described as campaign of falsehood against President Muhammadu Buhari in his re-election bid.

The Presidency specifically said the antiopen grazing law in Benue State would have not succeeded without the backing of the Federal Government.

Besides, it charged Benue people to ask the governor why he allegedly refused to pay workers

salaries and pensions and what he did with the money from the excess crude account, ECA. The Presidency in a statement signed by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, in Abuja, accused Governor Ortom of going round to churches in the state, alleging how President Buhari has planned his Islamization agenda.

The statement read: “The Presidency calls on Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State to desist from basing his campaign for reelection on falsehoods concerning President

Muhammadu Buhari and instead focus on the dire issues confronting the state.

“Governor Ortom’s campaign is clearly one designed to stir division and hatred, and to divert the people’s attention from his inability to pay staff salaries and pensions for several months.

“It has been noted that the governor has been visiting churches in the state where he falsely tells congregations about President Buhari’s socalled plans to Islamise Benue State.

“This nonsense has formed the basis of his campaign, because he has nothing to offer Benue

people.

“The allegations coming from Ortom were particularly unfair, when one considers how much support the governor received from the Federal Government, which supported his grazing laws as a means to end the farmer-herder crises that have plagued the state.”

Noting the role of the President for the success of the anti open grazing law, the Presidency said: “If not for President Buhari’s insistence that the governor be given a chance to effect the law, he would have faced resistance from different sources and found it difficult to implement it.”

10 — VANGUARD, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019

PDP members join APM in Ogun

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B E O K U TA — AT least 1,000 members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Odeda Local Government area of Ogun State have defected to the Allied People’s Movement, APM. The defectors were received, weekend, by the APM governorship candidate in Ogun State, Mr. Adekunle Akinlade, who was on his ward-toward campaign tour to the 236 wards in the state.

A leader of the decampees, Adeyemi Olufemi, while speaking with journalists said he and others left PDP due to the party’s “insensitivity to the plight of its members.”

Olufemi said PDP was a party that had been “celebrating mediocrity over meritocracy”; while also accusing the party of “lackadaisical approach to issues.”

He said he was impressed with the way Governor Ibikunle Amosun had been transforming the

state in the last seven years; adding: ''I have no choice than to follow Amosun wherever he goes.

“Akinlade is a man I believe in. I know he would build on Amosun’s legacies in rebuilding the state. He’s from my alma mater. I know he would deliver.”

While receiving the defectors, Akinlade in company with his running mate, Mrs Peju Adebajo, assured them that they would not regret joining a party that would fight the injustice meted out to the people of Ogun State during his former party’s (APC) primaries.

Akinlade said a vote for APM would be a vote to defend Ogun State and its future from those who wanted to hijack and hand it over to some people outside the state to exploit.

Akinlade lauded Governor Amosun for his commitments towards putting Ogun State at par with other developed states in Nigeria.

Lagos CP, Edgal redeployed to Abuja, as Egbetokun takes charge

By Evelyn Usman & Monsuru Olowoopejo

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AGOS—THE Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Police Command, Mr. Imohimi Edgal, was yesterday, redeployed to the Force headquarters in Abuja, as the Commissioner of Police in-charge of the Explosive Ordinance Unit, Police sources hinted.

He will be succeeded by Mr. Kayode Egbetokun, the Commissioner of Police incharge of the Explosive Ordinance Unit.

Vanguard gathered that Egbetokun will be in acting capacity until he is confirmed by the Inspector-

General of Police.

It was also gathered that Egbetokun was a former Chief Security Officer to a leading politician in the South West.

However, Vanguard gathered that Edgal was yet to receive the signal letter of his redeployment as at 5p.m yesterday.

Edgal was appointed the substantive CP in Lagos on September 1, 2017, having served in acting capacity, after the redeployment of his predecessor, Fatai Owoseni.

During his tenure, the outgoing CP was able to curb the notorious Badoo cult that terrorized the Ikorodu area of Lagos.

Angry reactions

Expressing displeasure over Edgal’s redeployment, a senior Police officer, who pleaded anonymity, described him as an operational cop who has been able to reduce the crime rate in Lagos.

The police officer said: “Since he assumed office as CP, he has been able to tackle the menace of Badoo cult. We all know how people were fleeing their abodes in Ikorodu when Badoo boys held sway.

Today, the story has changed because CP Edgal chose to lead the operation that brought the reign of badoo terror to an end.

“He is one officer who does not sit in his office to give directive. He would

lead the operation, no matter how volatile the place is.”

Another Assistant Commissioner of Police (names withheld) said: “I have not heard officially.

But sane police officers will miss him because he put everyone on their toes. He is proactive and responsive. He would visit any division unannounced at any given time.”

Police keep mum Efforts to get the Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Jimoh Moshood to react to Edgal’s redeployment proved abortive as he failed to answer his telephone calls.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Chike Oti, could not also be reached for comments.

POLL: INEC sets deadline for PVCs collection in Lagos

By Olayinka Ajayi

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AGOS—THE Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in Lagos State has concluded plans to ensure that people collect their Permanent Voters Cards, PVCs, at the 245 wards across the state beginning from Wednesday, January 16.

In a statement, yesterday, Spokesman for INEC in Lagos, Mr. Femi Akinbiyi, said this is to make the collection of the PVCs easier for registered voters.

The statement reads: “The

exercise will commence on January 16 and end on January 21 2019 including Saturdays and Sundays from 9am to 4pm each day.

“After January 21, 2019, the Commission will revert to the 20 local government offices and other designated centres in the states until February 8, 2019 being the last day for collection.

“The Commission urges those that have not collected to make use of the opportunity to collect their PVCs as there will be no extension after February 8, 2019.”

ELDERS FORUM PARTY: From left; Treasurer, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, CIIN, Sir M.O Oyegunle; Council Member, CIIN, Mr. Shola Tinubu; Council Member, CIIN, Mr. Edwin Igbiti; President, CIIN; Mr. Eddie Efekoha; Council Member, CIIN, Mrs. Funmi Babington-Ashaye; Deputy President, CIIN, Dr. Sakiru Oyefeso and Council Member, CIIN, Mr. F.K Lawal at the 2019 Elders Forum Party held at the Oriental Hotel V.I, Lagos.

LAGOS APC VIOLENCE: Anxiety, fear over Oluomo’s health status ‘He’s recuperating under police protection'

By Olasunkanmi Akoni, with agency reports

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AGOS—RESIDENTS and motorists around Oshodi area of Lagos State have continued to live in fear following rumours making the rounds of possible breakdown of law and order in the area to protest the attack on the state Treasurer of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, Musiliu Akinsanya, aka MC Oluomo.

In a violence that disrupted the flag-off of All Progressives Congress, APC, campaign rally in Lagos, held at the Skypower Ground, Government Reservation Area, GRA, Ikeja, a week ago, Oluomo was stabbed by some members of rival group of the union and was later rushed to the hospital.

There were rumours that a possible reprisal attack by both groups was imminent

that could degenerate into a bloody clash.

Residents and motorists were, however, advised to avoid areas like Oshodi, Lagos Island, Bariga/ Oyingbo and motor parks as well as staying out late.

It was, however, the talk among motorists who were afraid to ply Oshodi for fear of being attacked.

A statement on the social media had read that: “MC Oluomo of Lagos died just now, (yesterday), trouble in Oshodi. Kindly, warn your relatives to avoid Oshodi and environ.”

According to a source, Oluomo is under intensive medicare at a hospital in Lagos and may probably be discharged soon for further treatment abroad. Heavily armed police men have been stationed to keep watch in order to prevent any attack on him.

Oluomo recuperating under police protection But on Saturday, a Premium Times’ reporter, who monitored activities at the hospital where Mr.

Akinsanya was being treated, learned from wellwishers, who were at the hospital to visit him that he was out of danger and may be discharged soon.

The expression on the faces of many of the visitors, who are mostly members of the Oshodi Chapter of the NURTW, turned from apprehension to relief as they walked out of the hospital.

Many of them loudly described how fit he looked.

The visitors were allowed into the hospital in small groups by a man that appears to be a lieutenant of the injured NURTW leader, simply identified as Seun.

A lady, who was among those allowed to see Mr Akinsanya, said she was thankful to God that he was okay.

“When we went up he was looking good, his younger brother’s wife was also there with him upstairs,” she reported.

A man among the visitors spoke excitedly after

visiting Mr Akinsanya. He suggested the transport union leader would pay back those who attacked him in the same coin once he returns home.

“There will be trouble now because the one they thought they have killed did not die. All who did this will be scared now because they have failed in their mission,” he said in Yoruba.

Police Protection Stationed close to the entrance of the hospital were two police vehicles – a van and a Black Maria – with at least four armed policemen.

Since the incident last Tuesday, the police have arrested 16 persons and have declared Mustapha Adekunle aka Seigo, the alleged mastermind of the attack on Mr Akinsanya, wanted.

The NURTW, apart from being a transport union, has also been a major source of armed thugs for major political parties across Nigeria.

VANGUARD, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019 — 11

Fayemi expresses shock over Iworoko auto crash To enforce street trading law

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INAUGURAL VICTORY GOLF KITTY: Governor Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State (2nd right); his deputy, Mr. Benedict Alabi (2nd left), Pioneer Captain, MicCom Golf Club, Mr. Bode Adediji (left), and Founder, MicCom Golf and Country Club, Ada, Prince Tunde Ponle, during the inaugural Victory Golf Kitty, organised by Committee of Friends to mark the inaugural victory kitty for the governor and his deputy at MicCom Golf and Country Club, Ada, Osun State, weekend.

We've resolved Ogun, Ekiti PDP crisis — OLAFESO, S’WEST CHAIRMAN

By Dayo Johnson

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KURE—THE National Vice Chairman, South West, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Dr. Eddy Olafeso, weekend, said the crisis rocking the party in Ogun and Ekiti states, has been resolved amicably.

Olafeso spoke with newsmen in Akure after inaugurating the Atiku/

Obi Presidential Campaign Council ahead of the visit of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to the state today.

The PDP leader said: “We are doing everything to resolve the crisis in both Ogun and Ekiti states.

“I spoke with both parties from Ogun, especially Senator Buruji Kashamu and Ladi Adebutu.

“It is a wonderful development that we

have been able to unify our people at this moment. In Ekiti State, peace is a process and we are looking at ensuring that everybody works together.

“Politics is about disagreeing to agree and I am very confident that the main issue is the victory of the party and there is understanding between Ayodele Fayose and Senator Abiodun Olujimi that the PDP

IPAC tasks INEC, stakeholders on credible polls violence and other

By Adeola Badru

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BADAN—THE Inter Party Advisory Council, IPAC, in the South West has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and other stakeholders to

ensure free and fair elections next month.

Rising from its meeting held in Ibadan, the chairmen of the council in the region (Oyo, Lagos, Ondo, Osun and Ekiti states), jointly cautioned politicians and their supporters against

YYF backs Atiku’s presidential ambition which made us believe

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AGOS—A PanYoruba Group, Yoruba Youth Forum, YYF, yesterday, threw its weight behind the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, saying he remains the best option for Nigeria.

President of YYF, Olusegun Bolarinwa said this in a chat with journalists in Lagos.

Comrade Bolarinwa said: “The economy today is in total mess. During the 2015 electioneering period, President Buhari and his party, APC made promises

them but none of the promises was fulfilled.

Nigeria is fairly bad under the present administration.

“We believe that Atiku will perform better than Buhari having served in Obasanjo’s government and as a Noble Custom Officer. We believe that Atiku will use his wealth of experience to transform Nigeria for better.

“What Nigerians are after is performance but APC led government has disappointed them”, he said, adding that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is constitutionally fit to be the president of Nigeria.”

electoral misconduct.

The Chairmen of the Council in Oyo and Lagos States, Alhaji Waheed Oyewole and Sakirudeen Olofin, urged all Nigerians to ensue peaceful conduct of the elections, while they expressed confidence in the ability of INEC to conduct credible elections.

They said: “The political parties in the region and in Nigeria at large should conduct their campaigns under peaceful atmosphere. Parties should shun hate speeches and focus on issues. Political parties should conduct their affairs in line with the provision of electoral act and should cooperate with the Independent National Electoral Commission and security agencies.

“Eligible voters that are yet to collect their permanent voter cards should do so and ensure lawful use of their cards.

The Independent National Electoral Commission should remain focused and be fair to all parties.”

must win in Ekiti.”

On the alleged plans by the All Progressives Congress, APC, to manipulate the elections, Olafeso said: “People must be vigilant.”

He said: “We are going to be watchful because whatever happens to Nigeria, happens to the whole world. On our own part, we are educating not only voters, we are educating members of our party and our agents that they must pay attention to what they are supposed to do on the day of voting.”

Also speaking, Director-General of the Atiku Campaign in Ondo State, Mr. Eyitayo Jegede, SAN, said: “We are going to take the message to the grassroots in the nooks and crannies about the brand called Atiku.

“It is time for the country to get back to business of good governance. That is why we believe that Atiku is the man for the job now.”

DO-EKITI— GOVERNOR Kayode Fayemi, yesterday, expressed shock over the trailer accident in IworokoEkiti, which claimed the lives of 12 people.

The governor, who had earlier directed the Deputy Governor, Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi, to pay condolence visit to the community on Sunday morning, said in a statement that he was saddened and devastated by the news of the fatal accident.

The brakes of the trailer conveying rice meant for political campaign in Ondo State failed and it killed 12 people and destroyed many shop in the market.

Fayemi, who commiserated with the community, noted that many lives have been lost to the recklessness of trailer drivers, adding that government might be

compelled to re-introduce some old laws and previous arrangements to deal with the menace.

The governor said Ekiti State Trafic Management Agency, EKSTMA, will henceforth be more rigid in its enforcement of street trading laws.

He said market stalls were constructed in various local government areas in order to discourage street trading, adding that government will now accelerate completion of those markets and build new ones to avoid a repeat of these tragedies.

The governor said: “This is a huge tragedy and a painful experience, not only for the families of the victims but for all of us.

“We share with the people of Iworoko and families of the victims the pain and sorrow of the unfortunate development.''

Oyo APC chides Makinde over comments on N-Power

By Adeola Badru

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BADAN—THE All Progressives Congress, APC, in Oyo State, yesterday berated the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state, Mr. Seyi Makinde for castigating the social investment programmes of the APC, saying he is suffering from perennial losses.

The APC stated that the recent statements credited to Makinde showed that he was a frustrated man who should not be dignified with response anytime he vents his uncoordinated vituperations.

In a statement byits state Publicity Secretary, the party, Dr. AbdulAzeez Olatunde urged Makinde to focus on issues-based campaign rather than his

campaign of calumny.

Olatunde said: “It is a pity the best hand PDP can put forward for a governorship election is a novice in public governance. instead of Makinde to engage in issues-based campaign and tell the citizens his plans, he is busy displaying his ignorance with the statements credited to him.

“Such an individual should always be ignored but in politics, one should always give them a dose of their drug. An intelligent person would have known that election is not won with billboards.

We wonder why we will feel intimidated by Mr. Makinde’s billboard. He had similar billboards in the 2015 election and still came a distant 5th. We do not need any soothsayer to predict that Makinde cannot fair better in the 2019 election.''

Probe political violence in Ogun, APC urges IGP

By Daud Olatunji

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BEOKUTA—THE All Progressives Congress, APC, in Ogun State, yesterday, expressed worry over attacks on its political train by unknown gunmen, leaving three persons injured including a Police officer.

The mayhem took place in Odogbolu Local government during a ward -to -ward campaign of its governorship candidate, Dapo Abiodun on Saturday.

The Publicity Secretary of the Caretaker Committee of the party, Tunde

Oladunjoye, called on the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris to set up an independent panel to probe political violence that has recently engulfed the state.

It would be recalled, that Abiodun had last week raised the alarm over alleged attacks on him.

The statement reads: “Having previously raised the alarm last week over planned attack on our candidate and supporters, we hereby call on the Inspector General of Police to quickly set up an independent panel, that will report to the Police

headquarters directly, to investigate not only the attack on supporters of Prince Dapo Abiodun, but also the recently escalating political violence in the once peaceful state.

“The APC in Ogun State, condemns in the strongest possible terms, the devilish attack on our party members and supporters in Odogbolu town on Saturday evening as they awaited the arrival of our governorship candidate, Prince Dapo Abiodun, who was on ward-to-ward tour of Odogbolu Local Government Area.

12—VANGUARD, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019

APC, PDP bicker over Emmanuel’s N31m largesse took a swipe at to students Okopido the governor, accusing

By Harris Okon

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YO—THE quick intervention of the Police prevented what could have degenerated into gun fight among the students weekend, over the alleged lopsided sharing of N31 million doled out by the state government to them after a solidarity rally.

It was alleged that one of state governor’s aide did not adopt a judicious formular in sharing the largesse to the students, a development which angered them, as the students went on rampage destroying cars’ windscreens and side mirrors, among others as they marched back to Government House to vent their spleen.

Chairman, All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state, Ini

him of desecrating the office of the governor by giving money to the students who paid him a visit at Government House.

However, the Publicity Secretary, People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Ini Ememobong described the claims by the APC that the educational system has totally broken down under Governor Udom E m m a n u e l ’ s administration as "ludicrous and farcical."

He said: “On the claim that education at all levels has suffered under the Udom-led administration, this statement is not just fallacious but deeply mischievous and completely at variance with the obvious realities."

Anioma Media congratulates Okowa on multiple awards

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NIOMA Media Professionals, AMP, a pan-Anioma development advocacy group of media professionals from Delta North senatorial district, has congratulated Governor Ifeanyi Okowa on the multiple awards he has garnered in recent weeks.

In a statement by the group’s Publicity Secretary, Mr. Ken Ugbechie, AMP said the awards were clear

manifestation of the lofty achievements of the governor in Delta State which earned him the support and confidence of the group.

Okowa had earlier been honoured with the African Leadership Grassroots and People’s Development Award. In the coming weeks, the governor will be mounting the dais to be decorated, among several others, with Vanguard Governor of the Year Award.

CONDOLENCE: Representative of Chief E.K. Clark and PANDEF, Comrade Joseph Evah greeting the family of late Dr. Fredrick Fasehun during the lying-in-state of the OPC founder in Lagos.

ONNOGHEN: Niger Delta agitators vow to shut down Nigeria

By Levinus Nwabughiogu

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BUJA—NIGER Delta agitators have threatened to shut down the country if the Federal Government goes ahead with the “harassment” of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Walter Onnoghen.

In a statement yesterday, the coalition of the agitators also warned all non indigenes who own oil wells in the coastal area to prepare to vacate their

zone, while asking all persons from the area working in the President Muhammadu Buhari government to “watch” their back.

The statement by ‘General’ John Dukku of the Niger Delta Watchdogs and Coalition of Niger Delta Agitators and a host of others alleged that President Buhari had never been disposed to the appointment of the CJN, saying it was why he delayed his appointment as the country’s chief law

officer after many months in acting capacity.

They noted that the CJN was suffering because he hails from the South South minority zone.

“We therefore, want to state categorically that if the Presidency fails to reverse harassment of the CJN, we will have no other option than to mobilize all the Niger Delta fighters and commence serious actions that would shake the country and the whole world; we shall shut down all the oil wells in the Niger

Buhari may not handover if defeated, trial of Onoghen targeted Wike alleges at...says N’Delta, judiciary

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By Egufe Yafugborhi

ORT HARCOURT GOVERNMENT Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, yesterday, alleged that President Muhammadu Buhari might not relinquish power if defeated in next month’s Presidential poll.

Wike at a thanksgiving service at the end of the 2019 Armed Forces Remembrance Day in Port Harcourt, said his hunch about the President was informed by perceived “illegal actions of the

Buhari’s administration.”

He flayed Federal Government for targeting the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Walter Onnoghen, over “concocted charges.” saying the development was both intended to intimidate the judiciary ahead of the elections and targeted at the Niger Delta same way former President Jonathan was muzzled.

He said, “The law is clear.

You can’t try any judge except the National Judicial Council, NJC, approves.

They know they cannot try the CJN, but all they are

doing is to cause embarrassment, put fear in all the judges.

“An Attorney General will sit and file such charges against the CJN one month to general election. What kind of crisis are they setting up? They want to cause crisis in the judiciary and think everyone should keep quiet?

“Since 1960 of Nigeria’s independence, a Niger Delta person became President for the first time in 2011. The entire country ganged up against him, gave excuses and denied us a second term."

Govt College Ughelli old boys’ set to reunite

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HE Old Boys’ Association of Government College, Ughelli will today commence activities to commemorate the 2019 Annual Founder ’s Day Reunion.

The event, which will feature prominently the 1969 Class of the college as they mark the 50th anniversary of their admission into the college, will witness the President General of the GCUOBA Worldwide commissioning the Junior Secondary

School one Block estimated at about N5 million.

In a statement signed by GCUOBA Secretary General, Robinson Odoko, the Founder’s Day, Annual General Meeting and Election will take place January 16.

The statement said: “The Reunion programme commences on Monday, 14th January 2019 by 10am at Chief Donatus Umukoro’s residence, 9, Okopodjiko Street, Otovwodo, Ughelli. The Founder ’s Day/AGM/

Elections will be on Wednesday, 16th January 2019 at 8am.

“The Class of 1969 is responsible for the funding and organising all the activities as stipulated in the GCUOBA constitution.

The President General Worldwide, Prof.

Oritsegbemi Omatete, will be commissioning the Junior Secondary School One Block (JSS 1) that was renovated and refurbished with modern amenities by GCU 1969 Class at a cost of N5 million.

Delta.

“We also call on all the Northerners and Yorubas who own oil wells in the Niger Delta to prepare to vacate immediately, we also want to warn our Niger Delta brothers who are working for Buhari to watch their back and know that we are watching them and their family members, we warn them to stop campaigning for Buhari in the Niger Delta. Be warned.”

They said: “We are shocked to learn about the arraignment of the CJN, Justice Omnoghen over allegations of his false declaration of assets based on a petition written by one Mr. Dennis Aghanya of the Anti-Corruption and Research Based Data Initiative. The CJN is suffering just because he is from the minority area of the South South, the Niger Delta region. This is definitely a petition plotted by the Presidency to forcefully remove the incumbent CJN from office and replace him with a Northerner.

“In the first instance, President Buhari was not disposed to Justice Omnoghen's appointment to this position which is why he refused to confirm the appointment after so many months of serving in Acting capacity. It was during the period of his sickness while in Britain that the acting President Prof. Osinbajo confirmed the appointment. We wish to also recall that in August last year, Mr. Matthew Seiyefa of Bayelsa State who was the most senior and most qualified officer at the time was appointed to the position of acting Director-General of the Department of State Security by Prof. Osinbajo, only to be replaced with a retired and junior officer to Mr. Seiyefa, Mr. Yusuf Bichi by President Buhari as soon as he resumed duties."

VANGUARD, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019—13

186,798 PVCs unclaimed in Bayelsa —INEC

By Samuel Oyadongha

Y

DECLARATION: From left, Kehinde Ibrahim, Head, Portfolio Manager, Meristem Wealth Management Ltd; Taiwo Yusuff, Head of Treasury; Sulaiman Adedokun, Managing Director; Damilola Hassan, Head, Wealth Management and Akin Adeniyi, Lead Consultant, Global Investment Performance Standards, at Meristem GIPS Compliance Declaration event, in Lagos. Photo: Lamidi Bamidele.

Cole’s comments on Rivers safety, mischievous, dishonest, spiteful —PDP

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EOPLES Democratic Party, PDP, Campaign Council in Rivers State, has described the governorship candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state, Tonye Cole, as enemy of the people of the state for demarketing the state to advance his narrow political interest, over his comment that the state was unsafe.

PDP said the comment was mischievous, dishonest and spiteful.

It will be recalled that Cole, in a radio programme, View Point Saturday, painted a gloomy picture of the security situation in Rivers State and saw nothing good in the combined efforts of the state government and security agencies despite the huge reduction in criminality in the state Director of Information and Communications of Rivers State PDP Campaign Council, Emma Okah, in a statement in Port Harcourt, yesterday, said Cole’s comments were unfortunate and unbecoming of a pastor who should see truth as sacred.

“If the state were unsafe, why is he moving to and from different parts of the state, holding rallies, attending church programmes and pushing his hollow campaigns without molestation?” Okah queried, pointing out that Cole was simply playing a spoiler.

Describing Cole as a joker, Okah said there was no known record of Cole’s contributions in any way towards the security of his local government area, Abonnema, or even the state.

“While the state government battled the Federal Government since 2015 to accord Rivers State similar cooperation extended to other states in terms of crime fighting, Cole saw nothing wrong in what the centre was doing to his state,” Okah said.

He pointed out that the state government had shown leadership by tackling

security challenges in the state and that was why Cole and his party can campaign freely today.

Job losses

On the alleged job losses in the state, Okah said Cole should hold the Federal Government and his APC responsible as Nigeria has lost 23.9 million jobs since 2015 as a result of the ineptitude of centre.

He said: “Nigerians have

never had it this bad since 1960 but we are proud that Governor Nyesom Wike has shown huge strength in leadership, development and infrastructure since 2015, making the Vice President to call him Mr Project.”

Okah said Cole, who is a pastor, embarrassed himself when he said he has not seen anything positive that Governor Wike has done in Rivers State since 2015.

“If all the Jetties, sports facilities, health centres,

zonal general and specialised hospitals reconstructed and newly constructed educational institutions, feeder and ring roads, land reclamations, housing projects, infrastructure, enhanced security surveillance facilities etc that traverse Abonnema, Degema, Abua-Odual, ONELGA, Ahoada and all the LGAs mean nothing to Cole, then Rivers people must shine their eyes well,” Okah said.

PDP not competing with APC, but against hunger, suffering — Urhoghide

By Gabriel Enogholase

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ENIN CITY — PEOPLES Democratic Party, PDP, senatorial candidate for Edo South senatorial district in next month’s general election, Senator Matthew Urhoghide, has explained that PDP was not competing with All Progressives Congress, APC, but against the visible underdevelopment, hunger and sufferings currently being experienced in the country caused by APC. Urhoghide, who is Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Accounts, made the explanation at a campaign rally of his party at Abudu, the headquarters of Orhionmwon Local Government Area of Edo State, weekend.

He appealed to the people to re-elect him so he can add to the existing constituency projects he had attracted to the locality.

He said: “During my first three years in the Senate, I have attracted over 600 physical infrastructure to my constituency, which include bridges and culverts across

rivers and streams, boreholes, roads construction, maternity/ heath centres, transformers, solar street lighting systems, town/ multipurpose halls and scholarships for 268 beneficiaries in secondary and institutions of higher learning.

“I have also empowered over 3,753 youths and women who were trained in various human capacity

development programmes, gave 80 petty traders a no interest and non refundable loan, distributed various tools for business set ups to 318 people among others.

Meanwhile, the Enogie of Ehor, HRH Daniel Igiehon has endorsed the re-election bid of Urhoghide. Igiehon also endorsed other PDP candidates for the state House of Assembly and National Assembly polls.

We're not renaming Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium contributions to sports de— Edo govt velopment in the old

By AlemmaOzioruva Aliu

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ENIN CITY—EDO State government, yesterday, said contrary to reports, it does not intend to rename Samuel Ogemudia Stadium.

A statement by Chief Press Secretary, Office of the Deputy Governor, Ebomhiana Musa, said: “Edo State government has said unequivocally that there is no intention to rename Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City.

“The name 'Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium' remains because it is named after the revered late Dr Samuel Ogbemudia because of his unparalleled

Bendel State.

“This clarification becomes necessary as some traditional and social media platforms misquoted the state deputy governor, Mr Philip Shaibu, in a live interview granted Channels Television , Thursday night.

“In the euphoria following the promotion of Bendel InsuranceFootballClubtothe elite division of Nigerian football league after over a decade in relegation, the deputy governor said the 'Samuel Ogbemdia Stadium will be named the Home of Bendel Insurance.' This was misquoted as saying that the legendary Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium will be renamed Bendel Insurance Football Club Stadium."

ENAGOA— Bayelsa State office of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has said no fewer than 186,798 Permanent Voters Cards, PVCs, are unclaimed in the state.

To this end, the commission has commenced the distribution of PVCs at the various wards in the state.

The state Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Cyril Omorogbe, who disclosed this in a chat in Yenagoa, said: “We have received 295,318 PVCs. Of this, we have distributed 108,520 PVCs with a balance of 186,798 PVCs

left.

“But the commission has commenced the distribution of PVCs at the various registration (ward) headquarters in the state to ameliorate the challenges face by coming to INEC offices in the local government areas to collect their PVCs.” He urged all “registered voters who have not collected their PVCs, those who did transfers and also cases of defaced and lost PVCs to visit the town halls of their various ward headquarters to collect their PVCs." Declaring commitment of the commission to its “no PVCs no voting in the 2019 general election” rule, he warned: “There will be no collection of PVC by proxy, because it is against the law and offenders will face the law. “

I'm not intimidated by big political parties — Omatseye time, had resolved to vote

By Jimitota Onoyume

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A R R I — FORMER Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, and Action Democratic Party, ADP, candidate for Delta South senatorial district, Mr Temisan Omatseye, has expressed hope of victory at Delta South senatorial election.

Speaking, weekend, in Warri, Delta State, Temisan said he was not intimidated by the big political parties, stressing that the electorate, this

beyond party lines.

He said the campaign on the street among electorate was that they would not be swayed by money, adding that they were impressed with his track record in public service.

He said when elected, “I assure that constituency project will be transparent.

I am with ADP, my chances are very bright, the electorate are not looking at political parties but individuals. In the past, it was carry go (no election), but it is no longer like that.”

Temisan said he would, among other things, push for a Coast Guard Bill when elected, adding that this will create jobs for youths in Niger Delta.

Ethiope indigenes’ll jettison Ogboru, vote for Okowa level get to us in Delta. We — Oboroh will not allow APC bring

By Festus Ahon

A

SABA—FORMER Chairman of Ethiope East Local Government Area, Delta State, Chief Tony Oboroh, yesterday, said the people of the area would jettison Chief Great Ogboru and vote massively for Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.

Oboroh who stated this in a chat with our correspondent, said Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was the only party that has the interest of the people at heart.

He said: “We will not allow the sufferings All Progressives Congress, APC, has brought on Nigerians at the federal

their bad governance near us in Delta.”

Noting that Okowa had performed well in the last three years plus, he said: “As you can see, Delta State has been given a facelift. In the area of road networks, human capital development, education, job creation and lot more, Okowa has done well.

“For us in Ethiope East council in particular, we are determined more than ever before to vote Okowa and all PDP candidates irrespective of the fact that Chief Great Ogboru is from here.

“This is not the time to play politics with sentiment, we are voting for a capable hand. We need a governor who is familiar with our problem.”

14 — VANGUARD, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019

NIMASA CORPORATE DINNER & MERIT AWARDS Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA Corporate Dinner and Merit Awards held at Eko Hotel, VI, Lagos, weekend. Photos: KEHINDE SHONOLA.

From left: Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma; former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.); Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi II and Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi (left) and Chairman, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote.

Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II.

From left: Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi; Former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar; NIMASA Staff of the year winner, Mr. Abraham Iseghohi; his wife, Mrs Iseghohi and Director General/CEO, NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside.

Mr. Atedo Peterside (left) and Chairman of Honeywell Group, Dr. Oba Otudeko.

Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, MD/CEO, Airtel (left) and From left; Dr. Ade Dosunmu, former DG/CEO, NIMASA; Engr. Rotimi Fashakin, Executive Director, Mr. Taiwo Adeoluwa, SSG, Ogun State and Mr. Jimi Lawal. Operations, NIMASA (left) and Eunice Efoli.

Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora.

From left; Jamila Umoru; Aisha Musa, NIMASA Director of Admin & Human Resources and Tahamee Abubakar, Assistant Director, Planning, NIMASA.

From left; Taofik Adegbite, CEO, Marine Platforms with Mr & Mrs Mike Igbokwe, SAN at the ceremony.

VANGUARD, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019—15

ECA knocks Ohanaeze for abandoning Atiku, Obi

By Emmanuel Aziken

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VANGELIST Elliot Ugochukwu-Uko, secretary of the Eastern Consultative Assembly, ECA has flayed the recent turnaround of the apex Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndi-Igbo on the endorsement of Atiku Abubakar for the presidential election.

Ugochukwu-Uko in a statement made available to Vanguard said the

statement was another example of inconsistency in leadership style of Igbo leaders, an issue he said has been the albatross of the region.

Ugochukwu-Uko in the statement said: “It is also important to appeal to horrified onlookers, to forgive their carefully choreographed but embarrassing dance steps, deliberately designed to confuse the public.

“These pseudo leaders are merely displaying their

trademark character. They are incorrigible. They will never change. Nobody is surprised. They publicly embraced a Presidential candidate in next month’s election a few weeks ago, in another breath, they scream, they have not endorsed any candidate.

“They send their youth wing to the villa, next, they shout, they have not endorsed the villa. Again, they say, they will back a good candidate, next, they turn around to say they will not back any candidate.

These cacophony of

divergent positions, make it impossible for the younger generation to trust them. The younger generation has moved ahead long ago.

“All these confusing moves in a harvest season (electioneering period),which actually confirms to the masses, the importance of pecuniary considerations in the struggle to lead Ndigbo, is same reason the younger generation publicly distances itself from the socalled Igbo leaders. We are used to their games. Again, nobody is surprised.”

CJN's trial, diversionary of Buhari’s questionable integrity —UDEOGARANYA

By Ebun Sessou

A

recent decampee from All Progressives Congress, APC, to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Charles Udeogaranya yesterday said President Muhammadu Buhari administration has scored an all time low by charging the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, based on a purported petition submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau on Wednesday, January 9, 2019.

According to Udeogaranya, “instead of President Buhari who claimed inability to afford N55 million party nomination fees to

concentrate on clearing his name over allegation of acquisition of Keystone Bank and 9Mobile (formerly Etisalat), he now resorts to chasing the shadows of the CJN over mere forgetful thoughts and bank accounts of which he is entitled to as a world traveller and a citizen nearing retirement age.

“President Buhari should explain to Nigerians why the unusual delay in the appointment of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen as at when due and if that is unconnected to charging the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen,before the Code of Conduct Tribunal."

IPAC honours Ugwuanyi for good governance

By Chinedu Adonu

COMMEMORATION: From left, Commander, 553 BSG, Nigerian Air Force, Enugu, Air Cdre John Ukeh; representative of the General Officer Commanding 82 Division, Nigerian Army, Brig. Gen. G.K Nwosu; Archbishop of Enugu Ecclesiastical Province (Anglican Communion), Most Rev. Emmanuel Chukwuma; Deputy Gov of Enugu State, Mrs. Cecilia Ezeilo; State Chairman, Nigerian Legion, Mr. Emeka Igwesi; President, State Customary Court of Appeal, Justice George Nnamani; the State Head of Service, Mr. Chidi Ezema; and others, during the inter-denominational church service at Cathedral Church of Good Shepherd, Enugu, to commemorate the 2019 Armed Forces Remembrance Day, yesterday.

It’s reckless to brand IPOB kidnap organisation —OHAKIM

By Chidi Nkwopara

O

WERRI—The former Governor of Imo State and current gubernatorial candidate of Accord Party, AP, Chief Ikedi Ohakim, has taken a swipe at those who brand the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, as “a kidnap organisation”, and described it as “reckless”.

Ohakim’s position was made public via a press statement signed by himself and made available to newsmen in Owerri.

“It has been brought to my attention that IPOB has, in the past few days, been publicly accused of being a kidnap organisation. Specifically, it was alleged that the IPOB hatched an elaborate plot to kidnap some top Igbo

politicians and then either kill them or collect ransom.

“While I am not a member of IPOB and thus unqualified to hold brief for the organization, I make bold to state that it is the height of recklessness and insensitivity to publicly accuse the IPOB or anybody for that matter, of being a kidnapper, especially in this case - of plotting to kidnap and kill

top Igbo political leaders”, Ohakim said.

It was his considered opinion that “such a reckless and weighty accusation should not be bandied lightly, as it carries the potential to yet again, make the IPOB the target of another lethal and extrajudicial security operations and portray its members and leaders in more bad light”.

Soldiers avert farmers, herders clash in Anambra

By Emeka Mamah

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NUGU—SOLDIERS on Operation Python Dance III have averted a clash between farmers and Fulani herdsmen in Anambra State, the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, has said.

The Army said it also arrested a notorious car snatcher in Umuahia, Abia State and intercepted a truck load of illegally bunkered oil along Shell pipeline at Obitti in Ohaji Egbema general area of Imo State.

A statement signed

yesterday by the Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, Col Sagir Musa, said that the clash led to the death of a herder at Anam area of the state.

Anam was in the news last week following the kidnap of two priests of the Catholic Church who said that the were kept in a farm located in a thick forest for four days before they were released to one of their superiors who travelled from Enugu to Anambra to receive them.

The statement titled “Update on Exercise Egwueke Eke III (Python

Dance III) in Southeast Geopolitical Zone,” read: “With the successful flag off of Exercise Egwu Eke III in the South East geo political zone, in line with the Chief of Army Staff, COAS, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai’s directive penultimate Sunday, all formations and units under 82 Division Nigerian Army commenced activities in the areas of robust patrols, snap checkpoints, rescue missions and cordon and search among others, where necessary.

“Consequently, Troops of Sector 5 in 302 Artillery

General Support Regiment, Onitsha in conjunction with other security agencies, based on intelligence, have averted a bloody clash between farmers and herdsmen in Anam area of Anambra West Local Government Area of Anambra State on January 7, 2019.

“The incident led to the death of one herder before the arrival of security agencies. At the moment, the situation has been normalised with the combined efforts of the agencies and political leadership of the state,”

E

NUGU—INTERPARTY Advisory Council, IPAC, Enugu State Chapter, the umbrella organisation of all registered political parties in Nigeria, weekend, conferred on Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi the award of “Commander of Good Governance and Democracy Dividends in Enugu State”.

Presenting the award letter to Ugwuanyi, when members of IPAC paid him a solidarity visit at the Government House, Enugu, the state chairman, Engr. Godwin Okey, stated that “this decision was arrived at following a result of a conscientious appraisal of your administration from 2015 to date which put

your performance in office very high”.

According to the letter co-signed by the State Secretary, Hon. Manifest Nnamani, on behalf of others, “this is to certify therefore that you (Ugwuanyi) have been conffered with the award of Commander of Good Governance and Democracy Dividends in Enugu State, by the InterParty Advisory Council (IPAC), Enugu State, the umbrella body of all political parties operating in Enugu State and consisting of 83 registered political parties”.

They told the governor that the recognition “will further spur you to deliver more good governance and democracy dividends to Ndi Enugu” and reassured him of their “highest esteem and support”.

IPMAN factions unite at AGM, reconstitute BoT

By Clifford Ndujihe EMBERS of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, have put behind the five-year leadership crisis that rocked the group, and resolved to move ahead as a family and key back into the nation’s petroleum sector where the association is a key player.

This was part of the resolution at its 2019 Annual General Meeting, AGM, held in Awka, the Anambra State capital, weekend, according to the National President of

M

IPMAN, Elder Chinedu Okoronkwo.

Elder Okoronkwo, in a keynote address while declaring the meeting open said that the crisis that had rocked the association’s leadership since January 20, 2014 was brought to an end by the Supreme Court’s verdict of December 14,2018 which affirmed his executive as the authentic leadership of IPMAN. He bemoaned the huge material, financial and mental losses the members had incurred while the leadership crisis lingered.

16—Vanguard, MONDAY, JANIUARY 14, 2019

WEDDING: From left: President, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Senator Annie Okonkwo and Executive Director of Topwide Group, Uche Annie Okonkwo, Social Democratic Party, SDP, candidate for Idemili North & South Federal Constituency, Anambra State, at the wedding between Sen. Mike Ajegbo’sdaughter and Timi Alaibe’s son in Lagos.

Ikpeazu wins 2018 AIT Outstanding Governor award U MUAHIA —ABIA State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, has been rated as the 2018 African Independent Television, AIT, Outstanding Governor of the Year.

Speaking while presenting the letter of nomination to Governor Ikpeazu at the Abia State Governor ’s Lodge in Abuja, the AIT team led by

Mr. John Iwarue, ED, Special Projects, DAAR Communications Plc, commended Governor Ikpeazu for what he described as an outstanding performance.

The nomination letter signed by Mr Tony Akiotu, the Group Managing Director of DAAR Communications, reads: “This letter most respectfully submits a

request for your Excellency ’s kindest consideration and approval with regards to the forthcoming 3rd DAAR Awards 2018 for Outstanding Performance and Good Governance wherein your excellency will be conferred with the Outstanding Performance and Good Governance in the Industrialization and Infrastructural Development in Abia State, Federal Republic of

Edo PDP House of Reps candidate alleges marginalisation of constituency

By Alemma Aliu

B

ENIN CITY—THE Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, House of

Representatives candidate for Akoko-Edo Federal Constituency in Edo State, Barrister Oladele BankoleBalogun yesterday

lamented that the people in the area have lacked adequate representation in the last eight years.

Speaking to journalists in

Nigeria.

“The prestigious DAAR awards brings together an array of prominent Nigerians from all walks of life and the diplomatic community.”

The award presentation will take place in Abuja in a week’s time.

Recall that Governor Ikpeazu was honoured as Vanguard ‘s Governor of the year 2017forhisexceptionalleadership style.

Igarra, headquarters of Akoko-Edo local government area, he said his people have been suffering from neglect and lack of adequate representation.

He said: "For eight solid years, the people of AkokoEdo constituency have not enjoyed the dividends of democracy and not even a single constituency project to show for the eight years of representation".

He added that "the people have been in perpetual darkness for years, no good roads, no potable water, no good health care facility.

The list is endless.

Therefore, I have resolved to represent the good people of Akoko-Edo to give them good governance, quality representation and develop the natural resources in the area for economic emancipation of the people," Bankole-Balogun explained, "I amoptimisticthatIwilldefeatmy opponent in the forthcoming election. I am the man to win, whom the people want to represent them in the federal House of Representatives".

While admonishing the people not to sell their votes as it was a clog to the progress of democracy, advised them to vote for the right candidate who will adequately represent their interest at the federal level.

Hecommendedthepeoplefor their unflinching support and urged them to sustain the tempo for a better future for the people ofAkoko-Edo.

VANGUARD, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019—17

18 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019 PERHAPS for the third time since he assumed office, President Muhammadu Buhari bore the grim burden of watching a state Governor weep over security threats to his state.

On Monday, January 8, 2019, Governor Kashim Shettima took Borno leaders to Buhari and could not hold back emotions as he narrated the frightening resurgence of Boko Haram in his state.

President Buhari had earlier hosted delegations led by the Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom and that of Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, when armed herdsmen had brutally massacred innocent citizens in their respective states.

The Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, had even called for a state of emergency in his state, volunteering to vacate office if that was needed for the bandits killing people like flies in Zamfara to be wiped out. All these contradict the President’s insistence that he has brought Nigeria’s security situation

Confronting ISWA’s threat to our sovereignty under control.

The resurgence of Boko Haram in the North-East is, indeed, an insidious threat to the territorial integrity of Nigeria. For the past three years, the All Progressives Congress, APC-led Federal Government, the Borno State Government and the Nigerian Army, had insisted that Boko Haram no longer occupied territory in Nigeria.

Governor Shettima had justified this stance by aggressively rebuilding devastated communities with more than 30,000 housing units for the displaced persons in camps to return home.

Buhari’s initial surge against Boko

Haram probably suffered huge setbacks as a result of creeping corruption, war profiteering, the abductions and ransome negotiations, the doubtful loyalties of certain individuals involved in the war and the obvious lack of adequate equipment for our gallant troops to finish a job already well started.

Secondly, Boko Haram had undergone fundamental changes.

Following the separation of the Abu Musab Al Barnawi group from the Abubakar Shekau clique, the insurgency took a new turn.

The Shekau group, which thrived on the killing of innocent people and using children and girls for suicide

bombing, started shrinking. The Al Barnawi group which became allied with the Islamic State grew in leaps and bounds because they only went after military targets and abhorred senseless killings.

Al Barnawi’s ISWA has now become a rival of the Federal Government in the fight for the hearts of the indigenes of the war zone whom they now offer an alternative regime choice. We must not allow them to win over our people.

Otherwise, the entire North may be gone in a flash due to mass loyalty switching.

ISWA has now adopted a semiorthodox warfare strategy of capturing territories. Nigeria must mobilise an international coalition as in Iraq and Syria before the North becomes a huge hotbed of terror and mass human suffering.

Let’s move to Borno and end the Boko Haram/ISWA threat to Nigeria’s sovereignty!

OPINION 2019: My three fear factors about the elections

T

By Godwin Etakibuebu

HIS year ’s general elections will have as the first baptism of fire the Presidential and National Assembly elections slated for February 16, 2019. The second layer of that baptismal will be the Governorship, State Houses of Assembly and Federal Capital Territory, FCT Area Council elections which hold on March 2, 2019.

These are less than 40 days from today. Forty days for Nigerians to shout Hosanna or 40 days for us to arrive the political battle ground of Armageddon?

The whole country is in a frenzy, indeed an anxiety about the future on account of what may happen during and after the elections. There are genuine reasons for all patriots to remain on edge about the forthcoming elections. For some, there are more noises of drums of war being heard about the elections than melodious sound of celebrations.

For others, they are seeing reemergence of politics of “do or die” as propagated by a former president and a late “Garrison Commander ” in Ibadan politics.

And yet, there are some that suspect the resurrection of the National Party of Nigeria, NPN, type of “landslide and moon-slide” victory of 1983, which precipated the eclipse and demise of the Second Republic when a certain

Major-General Muhammadu Buhari and his men struck and dismantled every democratic structure.

Everyone has his or her fear factor about this coming election. I have mine also. For sake of clarity, I will take responsibility by categorising the three fear factors capable of undermining the freeness and fairness of the elections: buying and selling of votes, underaged voters and foreigners’ participation in the voting process.

Permit me to elaborate on them briefly.

Buying and selling of votes: The Punch of December 28, 2018, quoted the Oyo State Resident Commissioner for the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mutui Olaleke Agboke, as alerting the country on how politicians have approached him with the sole aim of buying the uncollected permanent voters cards, PVCs, in the state, which he said were 914,529.

“They are looking for PVCs to buy.

They are looking for what is not available because they know that these things are not available. This is the security report at my disposal. Tell those who are looking for PVCs to buy that there is none to buy in Oyo State.

I can assure you that no INEC employee will sell PVCs to any politician. I can assure you that the process will be free and fair in Oyo State.

“Those who are looking for PVCs to buy, l won’t give you their names. I don’t have their names. That is the security report l got and the report did not specify the party and the individuals... involved. They want us to give them PVCs but we can’t give to them. They want to buy PVCs but there is none to sell in Oyo State,”

Selling and buying of votes could torpedo the forthcoming elections Mutui Olaleke Agboke was quoted as saying.

What Mutui Olaleke Agboke narrated was not limited to Oyo State but is happening all over the country.

Every state, including the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja, has its own leftover of uncollected PVCs. It can only be safe to come to the conclusion, in the light of Agboke’s revelation, that the market place of selling and buying votes, which is black market of course, is booming with patronage.

This is the first evidence that the game of selling and buying of votes; which is a common trademark of our

politicians across board, of course, stands to mar the elections.

In my weekly review of topical issues at the Lagos Talk 91.3 FM (a programme that l host from 9:30-11am every Monday) of Monday December 31, 2018, I made bold to agree with the Oyo State REC that selling and buying of vote is a problem that could jeopardise free and fair election in Nigeria, by drawing attention to what happened in the governorship election that took place in Osun State most recently. INEC declared the election inconclusive after the first round of voting and a date was fixed for a rerun in few places. This declared rerun made the two most contending political parties (the PDP and APC) to launch aggressively into the “market place of deciding votes.”

Both political parties met with Senator Iyiola Omisore in Ile-Ife to solicit for the votes of his followers in the Social Democratic Party, knowing that whichever party got those votes would win the election. Omisore decided on behalf of his people and the outcome of that negotiation for vote gathering is now history. Suffice to say, in my candid judgement, that both parties went to negotiate for vote – it is as simple as selling and buying of votes. Let us take this as the second evidence that selling and buying of votes could torpedo the forthcoming elections.

•Etakibuebu, a veteran journalist, wrote from Lagos. Twitter: @godwin_buebu

Vanguard, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019 — 19

Investors anticipate higher yields on TBs as N786bn hit interbank market

*Banks lose N660bn current account deposits

By Babajide Komolafe

T

he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is expected to offer higher yields on treasury bills to be auctioned this week in a bid to mop up N786 billion inflow into the interbank money market this week.

This follows the unsuccessful liquidity mop up efforts of the CBN last week, as the Open Market Operations (OMO) treasury bills auctioned were largely

undersubscribed.

For example, the N60 billion worth of OMO bills offered by the apex bank on Tuesday attracted just N10.7 billion subscription, despite the attractive rates on the offer. The 107-day bills were offered at 11.9 percent, while the 170-day and 317day bills were offered at 13.5 percent and 15.0 percent respectively.

Also the on Thursday the apex was only able to sell N308.24 billion OMO bills

though it offered N400 billion worth of OMO bills comprising 364-day bill, 91-day, and 189-day bills. While the 364-Day bills recorded 13 percent over-subscription, the 91-day, and 189-day bills recorded 98 percent and 99.08 percent undersubscription. The outflow however reduced the impact of N375.35 billion inflow from matured OMO bills hence prompting cost of funds to remain in double digits.

According to data from FMDQ, though interest rate on Collateralised lending (Open Buy Back, OBB) closed at 20 percent, same as previous week, interest rate on Overnight lending however dropped by 130 basis points to 22.5 percent at the close of business last week from 23.8 percent the previous week.

Analysts opined that cost of funds may remain high this week, in spite of inflow of N786.37 billion from matured treasury bills.

They projected that the apex bank will try to mop up this inflow by issuing OMO bills at higher yields in order to attract Continues on page 21

MONDAY, JANUARY 7, 2019

STOCK MARKET CRASH

Fixed income market rises by 27% •2019 polls to determine market direction — Operators

By Nkiruka Nnorom

T

HE bearish market in the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, in 2018 may have resulted in unprecedented rise in activities at the nation’s fixed income market during the year.

Financial Vanguard’s investigations show that as at December 31, 2018, turnover at the OTC fixed income and currency market rose by a significant 26.9 percent to N165.15 trillion against N130.17 trillion recorded in the corresponding period in 2017.

This came as activities in the equities market fell by -17.8 percent as the major indicator – the All Share Index, ASI, declined to 31.430.50 points at the close of last year’s trading from 38,243.19 points a year ago.

Investment analysts are of the opinion

•Oscar Onyema, CEO, Nigerian Stock Exchange •Continues on page 20

Insurance News Budget 2019 inflation projection unattainable — FDC C M Y K

NEM Insurance, Resort Savings record worst 2019 insurance industry performance in bearish market outlook 28 22 24

20 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019

FINANCIAL VANGUARD Continues from page 19 that due to the heightened political atmosphere, most of the portfolio investors, who exited the equities market, pitched their tent in the fixed income market, leading to the gains recorded within the period.

They explained that a guaranteed Return-onInvestment, RoI, in the fixed income market aided the increase in the level of activity in the market.

They added that the outcome of the 2019 general election would play significant role in determining the direction of both the equities and the fixed income market this year.

According to them, a positive outcome of especially the presidential election could sway activity back to the equities market as portfolio investors that took a flight to safety in the run up to the general election would find their way back to the equities market if the result of the election is accepted by all parties.

Consequently, the fixed income market may record liquidity flight towards end of first quarter 2019.

Fixed income volume Activities in the fixed income and currency market showed that with the exception of unsecured placements/ takings and repurchase agreement, which fell by 48.3 percent and 8.1 percent respectively, other asset classes in the fixed income market registered impressive growth.

Data from FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange on activities in the OTC market showed that Foreign Exchange (FX) market transactions (spot FX and FX derivatives) appreciated the most, rising by 77.2 percent to N60.637 trillion from N34.217 trillion in the corresponding period in 2017.

Bonds followed with 22.9 percent increase to close at N11.245 trillion from N9.150 trillion, while Treasury Bills, TBills, was up 17 percent to N65.667 trillion from N56.139 trillion in the same period in 2017.

Further breakdown showed that trading activities in T-Bills, contributed the most to overall turnover, accounting for 39.76 percent of the total market turnover.

FX market transactions, polled N60.637 trillion of the total transaction, representing 36.72 percent of the total turnover, while repurchase agreements (Repos)/Buy-Backs product categories, at N26.81 trillion accounted for 16.23 percent of the total market turnover. Bonds and unsecured placements/ takings pulled N11.25 trillion and N767.8 billion, representing 6.81 percent and 0.46 percent of the total market turnover respectively.

Operators views Johnson Chukwu, Managing Director/CEO, Cowry Asset Management, explained that as

COVER

Fixed income market rises by 27% foreign portfolio investors were exiting the fixed income market due to the uncertain political environment, their counterparts in the domestic space took their position, investing massively in secured instruments.

He stated: “Basically, activities in the fixed income market was driven by flight to safety. As election approaches, investors moved away from variable instruments to fixed income instruments, basically because variable assets have higher risks, while fixed income have assured return.

Particularly, the major portfolio and fund managers as well as Pension Fund Administrators, PFAs, shifted away from equities to fixed income.

“If you look at it, the fixed income has better yield. As

•Mary Uduk, Acting DG, Securities and Exchange Commission

•Bola Onadele.Koko, MD,CEO, FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange

It is normal in any market that if people are leaving one market, they go where they think is safe; no matter what happens, you get some returns in fixed income; so, that is why people are leaving the equities market

foreign portfolio investors were exiting the fixed income market, the position was taken up by local portfolio managers and PFAs. So, because of the higher risk associated with equities, we saw a decline in yield in return on equities. At some point, the All Share Index was trading at 20 percent below its opening position. So, investors moved away from equities and that is why you saw a lot more activities in fixed income instrument, particularly, T-Bills and bonds.

“The same reason is why there was such huge decline in equities because portfolio investors took off, while local investors were not interested in taking that position because of heightened political risk within the environment. So, we saw that the out-gone year witnessed a lot of political activities starting from the ruling party’s primaries.”

Chukwu added that the performance of the economy shouldn’t have been responsible for the slump in the equities market as the latest figure (2018 index return) shows that its performance has not been in consonance with the macro-

economic development.

He added: “Looking at the history of the market for the past three years, you will realise that 2016 when the Nigeria economy slumped by 1.5 percent, the market declined by 6.17 percent.

The following year being 2017, the economy recovered by only 0.82 percent, whereas the capital market gained 42 percent.

However, in 2018, the Gross Domestic Product, GDP, growth rate averaged +1.7 percent, but the market slumped by more than 17 percent. What this means is that beyond the performance of the economy, the decline in equities is largely tied to the political environment which was tense in 2018 which also led to investors’ preference for fixed income instrument instead of variable income assets like equities.”

Corroborating, Charles Fakrogha, Stockbroker/Chief Relationship Officer at Foresight Securities, said: “Both markets operate in the same economy, but return in the equities market is high and so also is the risk, but the fixed income market has some sort of assured return. So, in advance, investors can actually determine the return

they will get unlike in the equities market. So, the risk profile of an investor will determine which market he will play in.

“It just goes to show that investors have different markets they can invest in. The development is healthy, it is okay. However, it is just left for portfolio managers to do a balancing.”

Contributing, Ariyo Olushekun, Vice Chairman/CEO, Capital Asset Limited, noted that a lot of people who are apprehensive of the outcome of the upcoming election are shifting their portfolio away from equities to fixed income instrument. “It is normal in any market that if people are leaving one market, they go where they think is safe. No matter what happens, you get some returns in fixed income.

So, that is why people are leaving the equities market.

“If you look at the price/book ratio and earnings of the quoted companies as well as their profit after tax, they appear impressive. So, that will tell you the companies are doing well.

The only reason why prices went in the equities market is

that people are apprehensive of the election,” he said.

2019 outlook Speaking on the outlook, Chukwu said that the trend should continue for the first half of the year depending on the outcome of the 2019 elections.

“If the election is successful and all the parties accept the outcome, we will witness an immediate recovery in the second quarter of the year in the equities market. Should the outcome of the election be doubted or disputed, then the equities market will continue to suffer up to the third quarter of the year, and the fixed income market will continue to benefit from investors’ decision to under-weight their portfolio in equities and overweight in fixed income.” Going into 2019, Olushekun of Capital Asset said that he expects prices to resume upward movement in the equities market after the election. He added that as the equities market begin to go up, investors, especially institutional investors, who moved to the fixed income market will most likely exit the market and return to stock market.

Vanguard, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019 — 21

FINANCIAL VANGUARD

Investors anticipate higher yields on TBs as N786bn hit interbank market Continues from page 19

investors’ patronage.

Analysts at Lagos based investment firm, Afrinvest Plc said: “Next week, the apex bank is scheduled to repay N429.6 billion maturing treasury bills with the same sum rolled over.

We expect rates at the auction to remain at attractive levels in line with recent trend while we anticipate a near muted activity in the secondary market. Also, in line with its tight system liquidity posture, we expect conduct of OMO auctions by the CBN next week to offset maturities worth N560.9 billion.”

Analysts at Lagos based Cowry Assets Management Limited also said: “In the new week, Tbills worth N786.37 billion will mature via the primary and secondary markets which will more than offset T-bills worth N225.45 billion to be auctioned by CBN via the primary market; viz: 91day bills worth N5.85 billion, 182-day bills worth N26.60 billion and 364-day bills worth N193.00 billion.

Hence, we expect liquidity ease in the finanical system to be sustained with resultant moderation in interbank rates. We also expect stop rates to increase, especially at the short end as investors continue to tread cautiously ahead of February 16, Presidential election.”

Banks lose N660bn current account deposits in November The CBN last week disclosed that Deposit Money Banks suffered N660 billion reduction in current account deposit (demand deposit) in November, while credit to the economy fell by N830 billion during the month.

The apex bank disclosed this in its depository corporations survey for November released last week.

The report showed Broad Money supply fell by 0.72 percent month-on-month (m-o-m) to N31.79 trillion in November 2018.

This resulted from a 3.41 percent m-o-m decline in Net Domestic Assets (NDA) to N13.26 trillion which offset a 1.17 percent m-o-m increase in Net Foreign Assets (NFA) to N18.99 trillion. On domestic asset creation, the decrease in NDA resulted from a faster decline of 3.09 percent in Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

Yields on FGN Bonds

to N26.06 trillion which was accompanied by a slower

2.78 percent m-o-m fall in Other Liabilities (net) to N13.26 trillion.

Further breakdown of the NDC showed a 20.66 percent m-o-m fall in Credit to the Government to N2.98 trillion as well as a decline of 0.24 percent in Credit to the Private sector to N23.08 trillion.

On the liabilities side, the 0.72 percent m-o-m fall in Broad Money Supply was driven by 4.92 percent mo-m drop in Narrow Money to N10.69 trillion, as Demand Deposits which plunged by 6.88 percent to N8.98 trillion was partly offset by a 6.87 percent rise in currency outside banks to N1.71 trillion. Also, Quasi Money (near maturing short term financial instruments) fell by 0.19 percent m-o-m to N14.77 trillion. Reserve Money (Base Money) moderated m-o-m by 7.06 percent to N6.81 trillion as Bank reserves fell m-o-m by 13.15 percent to N4.37 trillion; however, currency in circulation rose to N2.10 trillion.

CBN injects $473m as naira records mixed performance Meanwhile the CBN last week injected $473 billion into the foreign exchange market even as the naira recorded mixed performance in the parallel market and in the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window.

According to naijabdcs.com, the live exchange rate platform of the Association of Bureaux de change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), the parallel market exchange rate rose to N360.5 per dollar last week from N359.5 per dollar the previous week, indicating N1 depreciation for the nation’s currency.

The naira however appreciated by 41 kobo in the I&E window, as the indicative exchange rate dropped to N364.94 per dollar last week from N365.35 the previous week.

Volume of dollars traded in the window also rose by 57.6 percent W-o-W to $866.5 million from $549.9 million the previous week.

On Tuesday the apex bank injected $210 million into the interbank foreign exchange market with $100 million allocated to the wholesale segment, while the SME window and invisibles each received $55 million.

This was complemented on Friday with injection of $263 million through the Retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) and the CNY 39 million through a combination of spot and short-tenored forwards.

22 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019

FINANCIAL VANGUARD PayAttitude offers ‘Pay with Phone Number’ to JAMB candidates

P L-R; Treasurer, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, Sir M.O Oyegunle; Council Member, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, Mr. Shola Tinubu; Council Member, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, Mr. Edwin Igbiti; President, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria; Mr. Eddie Efekoha; Council Member, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, Mrs. Funmi Babington-Ashaye; Deputy President, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, Dr. Sakiru Oyefeso and Council Member, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, Mr. F.K Lawal at the 2019 Elders Forum Party held at the Oriental Hotel V.I, Lagos

Budget 2019 inflation projection unattainable — FDC •Expects Dec’18 rate at 11.28%

By Babajide Komolafe

A

NALYSTS at Financial Derivatives Company, FDC, have contradicted the 9.98 percent inflation projection for budget 2019, saying it expects inflation reading for December 2018 at 11.28 percent.

This was the highlight of the company’s biweekly bulletin released last week and titled, “Annual headline inflation to increase but monthly price level down”. “ We are forecasting that headline inflation will increase to 11.37 percent in December from 11.28% in November. If our projections are actualized, it will mean that directionally the change in annual inflation is now becoming a trend”, they stated.

Attributing the higher inflation rate in December to increased spending due to the yuletide season and increased statutory allocation to the three tiers of government in December, they said: “Typically, December is a period in which higher festive related spending pushes up aggregate demand in the economy. Anecdotal and empirical evidence in December 2018 has validated this phenomenon.

Compounding the demand pull effect of festive spending was the surge in Feration Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) by 3.12 percent to N812.76 billion.

Budget inflation

benchmark “This means that State Governments and Federal agencies had more liquidity during the period. Also worth mentioning is that the slope of the inflation curve is getting steeper, suggesting that the 2019 budget inflation benchmark of 9.98 percent may be unattainable. The average inflation rate in 2018 was 12.14 percent down from 16.54 percent, the 2017 average.”

In their projection for the month-month inflation rate, they said: We anticipate a moderation in monthly inflation (which is more

reflective of current prices) to 0.67 percent (8.36 percent annualized) from 0.8 p e r c e n t ( 1 0 . 0 2 percent annualized) in November. This would be driven by higher agricultural output and an increase in manufacturing activities. This rise in manufacturing activity is evidenced by the PMI increase to 60.2 points in December.

“Other inflation moderating factors include: a 1.38 percent increase in on grid power supply, a 2.23 percent decline in M2 growth buttressed by a sharp drop of 68.84 percent in the opening position of banks.”

On the implications of the

higher inflation rate in December, the FDC analysts said: “An uptick in Nigeria’s inflation at a time when the US inflation is declining and the US Fed is more committed to interest rate hike tilts the interest rate differential in favor of the US. This increases the probability of naira depreciation. Following the international Fisher effect equation (which states that an exchange rate is expected to change equally in the opposite direction of the interest rate differential) the naira needs to be devalued by at least 10 percent to keep investors’ indifferent. The MPC could also consider a tighter monetary policy stance.”

Union Bank donates 6,000 care bags to underprivileged

U

nion Bank, through its UnionCaresinitiative, provided relief for thousands of the underprivileged by donating over 6,000 care bags containing staple food items.

The campaign, now in its third year, is co-funded by Union Bank and its employees.

The bags containing nutritional staples included rice, beans, oil, salt and readymade stews. In various parts of the country, the bank’s employees were seen handing out the bags to people in underserved communities.

The bank also made financial donations to over 30

orphanages, care homes and NGOs including Wesley Schools for the Blind and Hearing impaired as well as Pacelli School for the Blind and Partially sighted children, all under its UnionCares umbrella.

The Head of Corporate Communication and Marketing at Union Bank, Ogochukwu EkezieEkaidem described the initiative as one of the bank’s ways of supporting charitable causes and contributing to the wellbeing of the needy, particularly during the festive season.

She said: “Union Bank will continue to lead the charge for social responsibility and

impact. We are firm believers in supporting the communities within which we operate. This outlook drives the initiatives we organise and support under our Corporate Social Responsibility pillars.

We launched the UnionCares initiative to touch as many lives as possible during the festive season and it is fulfilling to see the level of impact the initiative has had.”

As part of its year end welfare initiatives, Union Bank also distributed care bags to children at the Makoko Christmas party organised recently by Slum2school.

ayAttitude has offered a payment option to JAMB candidates nationwide to purchase the forms.

This comes with the expansion of the payment windows for the purchase of JAMB forms to include the innovative Pay-With-Phone Number on PayAttitude, which enables parents, guardians and sponsors to authorise payments from wherever they are in a simple and convenient manner.

Announcing this development, Unified Payment said: “During registration for examination or any other service provided

by JAMB, candidates wishing to make payments will simply enter the phone number of their parent, guardian or sponsor on the PoS, WEB, Mobile or any other payment channel. The sponsor will instantly be prompted to authorise the payment by simply entering a 6-digit PIN on his or her phone.

“In addition to convenience and lifestyle, PayAttitude Pay-With-Phone-Number offers higher security features including (i) 6-digit PIN (ii) entering PIN only on your phone or personal device; and (iii) use of phone number instead of account or card number, name or other personal information at the payment channel.

“PayAttitude is the 1st and only multibank USSD and APP with Pay-with-PhoneNumber for PoS, ATM, WEB, Mobile and Person-to-Person transactions. PayAttitude is available to customers of many leading Nigerian banks who can link their accounts by dialing *569# or downloading the App from Playstore and App store.

“Participating banks include Access Bank, Diamond Bank, First Bank of Nigeria, Fidelity Bank, Heritage Bank, Sterling Bank, United Bank for Africa, Unity Bank, Polaris Bank and Zenith Bank.”

Vanguard, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019 — 23

FINANCIAL VANGUARD

FEATURE

Assessing Nigeria’s quest for 80% financial inclusion •Emefiele, CBN Governor

By Babajide Komolafe

S

INCE 2010, there have been series of efforts across the world to increase financial inclusion, which refers to the number of people that have access to financial services.

These efforts according to Consultative Group to Assist the Poor, C GAP, a global partnership of leading development organisations, is due to proven evidence of the positive relationship between access to financial services such as banking, lending services, insurance and standard of living and poverty eradication.

According to the World Bank, “These and other global and national efforts are paying off ” “Globally the share of adults owning an account is now 69 percent, an increase of seven percentage points since 2014.

These numbers translate into 515 million adults who have gained access to financial tools”, the bank stated in its Global Findex Report for 2017.

Nigeria’s financial inclusion effort In Nigeria, efforts to increase financial inclusion were flagged of in 2012 with the introduction and launching of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS).

The Strategy de?ned ?nancial inclusion as achieved “ when adults in Nigeria have access to a broad range of formal ?nancial services that are a?ordable and meet their needs and are provided at an a?ordable cost”.

These financial services include: Opening transaction accounts i.e. bank accounts or mobile money wallets; Saving money in the account to earn interest; Sending and receiving money in a convenient and affordable manner; Very convenient and low cost means of paying bills and making daily purchases; Access to finance to meet personal obligations and to establish and operate businesses i.e. loans at affordable rates and under friendly conditions; Investing in instruments for higher returns(fixed deposit,

mutual funds, bonds, stock, etc); Insuring risks around assets; and savings for Pension.

“Whoever is taking full advantage of the eight services enumerated above is said to be financially included, the individual who uses a few of the services is said to be financially underserved, while the person who does not use any of the services is said to be financially excluded”, said Niyi Ajao, Managing Director/Chief Executive of Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) The NFIS was designed to achieve two overall ?nancial inclusion targets namely 80 percent overall (formal and informal) ?nancial inclusion and 70 percent formal ?nancial inclusion by 2020.

Implementing the NFIS Since the launch of the NFIS in 2012, stakeholders in the financial sector, led by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), have introduced various interventions in its implementation process. These include establishment of Financial Inclusion Steering and Technical Committees across the states in January, 2015 along with the Channels, Products, Financial Literacy and Special Intervention Working Groups.

The tiered Know-YourCustomer (KYC) framework was also introduced by the CBN in 2013 to simplify the requirements for opening and operating bank and mobile money accounts for the low income people. Again, the Agent Banking guidelines were released to bring the services near the people by allowing third parties such as pharmacies, filling stations, supermarkets, cooperative societies etc. to offer banking and mobile money services on behalf of banks and mobile money operators.

Similarly, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) had vigorously pursued a comprehensive identity management system for Nigeria

while the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) pursued a micro pension framework for MSMEs, informal sectors and those whose income do not come in regular streams.

Furthermore, in collaboration with its stakeholders, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) kick-started the process of increasing distribution channels to increase access to capital market products by promoting collective investment schemes, Capital Market Financial Literacy and a Capital Market Financial Inclusion Strategy.

On its part, the National Insurance Commission (NAIC) had been implementing noninterest based products to reach out to more people even as it released the micro insurance

The EFInA survey report concluded that three factors of affordability, institutional exclusion and lack of awareness were the biggest obstacles to financial inclusion.

guidelines to provide explicit licensing of micro insurance companies and penetration of micro insurance to micro clients.

The Bancassurance Framework was another effort towards boosting inclusion. It was released by the CBN and NAICOM in order to be used as a platform for extending insurance courage to existing customers of banks.

More recently, collaborations and concessions were made to allow more roles to be played by mobile network operators in the delivery of financial services

through subsidiaries.

Partnerships were forged with the relevant government ministries in order to make use of their structures and instruments to advance financial literacy across the federation.

In the same vein, the CBN recently released the guidelines for the regulation of Payment Service Banks (PSB) in Nigeria.

When this comes in effect this year, it will provide a level playing field for the provision of payment services to the bottom of the pyramid.

Financial inclusion impacts The impact of these efforts is reflected in the Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA), 2018 survey figures released last month, which showed that 63.6 percent of Nigeria’s adult population now has access to financial services and only 36.6 percent are now financially excluded. This represent a marked improvement compared to 2016 when the number of those financially excluded stood at 56.3 million.

EFInA is a non-governmental organization and a financial sector development organization funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation towards promoting financial inclusion in Nigeria.

The firm conducts surveys every two years in order to determine the situation of things regarding financial inclusion in the courtly.

The survey was anchored on several indicators including Banked Population; Remittances; Savings with a Bank; Payments; Received Income; Loan with a Bank; and Banking Agents, among others.

An increase of 1.4 percent in the Banked Population from the 2016 to 2018 was found, a decrease of 2.2 percent in Remittances between in two years, and another decrease of 6.7 percent in Saving with a Bank within the period. The indicators of Payments, Received Income and Banking Agents all recorded increases of 3.4 percent , 1.3 percent and 0.6 percent respectably, while Loan with a

Bank remained static at 1.3 percent.

The report however found a decrease of 1.6 percent (from 30.1 percent in 2016 to 28.5 percent to 2018) in the non-bank indicators of Pension; Savings through other Formal Institutions; Mobile Money; Mobile Money Agents; Insurance; Remittances; and Loans with other Formal Institutions.

Challenges The EFInA survey report concluded that three factors of institutional affordability, exclusion and lack of awareness were the biggest obstacles to financial inclusion. According to EFInA, 60.1 million Nigerians do not have/use a bank account, 96.3 million do not have/use mobile money and 97.9 million do not have insurance.

On the digital usage in the country, the EFInA report revealed that mobile money, which was thought to be useful in the financial inclusion drive, was found to only deepen rather than expand financial inclusion.

The report therefore revealed that while 35.5 million Nigerians (36.6 percent of the adult population) use bank accounts only 3.0 million adults have both mobile money and bank accounts, whereas 59.4 million (60.0 percent) neither have mobile money nor bank account.

Financial access by gender Similarly, the study showed that while 82 percent of Nigerian adults, comprising of subsistence farmers and small business owners, receive their income in cash, 10 percent of those adults receive their own income via mobile money or bank account, while another 8 percent did not receive any income at all.

Savings in the country dropped by 13.3 percent according to the report, while savings in assets, property, and livestock had risen from 47.4 million to 54.7 million since 2016. Other decrease in respect of this indicator was that of borrowing, which went down by 2.0 percent and remittances to 1.0 percent.

On financial access by gender, the report indicated that out of 99.6 million adults in the country, 33.5 million male adult Nigerians were financially included compared with 29.4 million female adults. This represents a decrease in the exclusion rate of 4.3 percent and 5.7 percent in the male and female gender respectively, and a decrease of 4.8 percent for both gender compared with the 2016 figures.

Revised NFIS The above led to a revision of the NFIS by stakeholders with the aim of expediting the attainment of the 80 percent financial inclusion target.

“This revised National Financial Inclusion Strategy sets a clear agenda for signi?cantly increasing access to and usage of quality and a?ordable ?nancial services by 2020.

The recommendations are based on a review carried out on the original strategy from October 2017 to June 2018 and the need to focus priorities on access and strategies that will provide the deserved results in the target year,” the CBN stated.

24 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019

FINANCIAL VANGUARD NEM Insurance, Resort Savings record worst performance in bearish market •Analysts list Fidelity Bank ,Diamond Bank as stocks to watch

By Peter Egwuatu

D

ESPITE the bullish trend which persisted in the last two trading days on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE leading to a halt of persistent decline since the beginning of the year, NEM Insurance Plc and Resort Savings & Loans Plc recorded the worst performance last week.

Specifically, Investors’ selloffs of NEM Insurance and Resorts Savings in the secondary market contributed significantly in the drop of their share prices by -33.46 percent and -26.00 percent to close N1.73 and 0.37 kobo respectively to lead the laggards.

Other top equities that lost during the review week following negative sentiments are Unity Bank Plc which declined by -17.00 percent to close at 0.83 kobo per share, followed by Custodian Investment Plc which declined by -13.11 percent to close at N5.30 per share and Flour Mills Nigeria Plc losing -11.67 percent to close at N19.30 per share.

Meanwhile, analysts at Vetiva Capital Management Limited in their forecasts for this week said: “With investor apathy dampening activities last week, we do not think that Friday ’s positive close indicates a convincing reversal in trend. Therefore, we anticipate mixed trading at the start of next week, but with a negative tilt.”

The stock to watch according to analysts are Fidelity Bank Plc and

Diamond Bank Plc . Following four straight red closes, Fidelity Bank gained in the last three consecutive sessions, initially losing 8 percent before a cumulative gain of 11 percent. The stock currently trades at ?2.00, down 1.5 percent in 2019.

Also, analysts noted that while Access Bank continued to witness sell pressures Week on Week (W-o-W ) loss of 2.6percent, buying interest in Diamond Bank, (W-oW) return of +12.2 percent has remained upbeat following the

premium investors will earn on Diamond Bank at the conclusion of the entities’ merger.

Though the market weekend closed on a bullish trend but lost 560.58 points or 1.9 percent in the five trading days to close at 29.830.58 points, while market capitalisation declined by N212 billion or 1.9 percent to close at N11.124 trillion from N11.336 trillion it closed at the beginning of the week under review.

Meanwhile, a total turnover of

1.265 billion shares worth N14.074 billion in 19,278 deals were traded last week by investors on the floor of the Exchange in contrast to a total of 1.647 billion shares valued at N8.413 billion that exchanged hands penultimate week in 14,773 deals.

The Financial Services Industry (measured by volume) led the activity chart with 1.072 billion shares valued at N8.795 billion traded in 12,287 deals; thus contributing 84.73 percent and

VFD Group pulls out N1.6bn shareholding from NEM Insurance •Raises N2.7bn from IPO, rights offer

By Babajide Komolafe

T

HE VFD Group said it has divested its N1.6 billion shareholding from NEM Insurance following disagreement with the management over strategic direction of the company.

Meanwhile, the Group has successfully raised N2.78 billion from rights issuance and private placements against the original N2billion target.

VFD Group is a financial services focused proprietary investment company with subsidiaries providing Financial Advisory, Asset Management, Bureaux De Change, Real Estate,

Debt Services and Private Funds Management Services.

In statement announcing its divestment from NEM Insurance, the group said: “Kindly note that VFD Group has in an agreed trade sold a significant block of its stake in NEM Insurance Plc. The sale occurred in conjunction with other key stakeholders of the insurance company.

“We have had extensive discussions with the management and board of NEM Insurance Plc in the last couple of months over our interest in working with the team, to unlock the latent value we see in them.

“However, as we could not agree

on the modalities for working together in pursuing this vision, we recently reached an amicable understanding and have thus decided to exit our investment in this great company.

“A combined block of one billion, six hundred million (1,600,000,000) ordinary shares of NEM Insurance Plc, representing about 30 percent of the latter’s issued share capital, was sold to new shareholders. The trade which happened at year end 2018 closed at a significant premium to the closing price on the floor of the Exchange.”

The company further disclosed

C

&I Leasing has announced plans by Abraaj Group, managers of the Aureos Africa Fund, to convert its $10 million loan stock to the company to equity.

The company explained in a regulatory filing to the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, that the $10 million was an unsecured, coupon redeemable, convertible loan stock that matured at the end of 2018.

C & I Leasing had last year raised N7 billion bond as part of a series of planned activities aimed at enhancing its overall competitive positioning. The funds have since been invested in expanding its marine business, purchase of new vehicles for the fleet management business and a restructure of some of its more expensive debts.

Investment analysts have said the company stands to record

Registrars to give periodic report on e-dividend progress —SEC

I

N an effort to ensure that more investors keyed into the edividend initiative and also make the registration more seamless, the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, has directed Registrars to provide periodic update on investors’ e-dividend registration status.

As at date, 2.5 million accounts have been mandated (registered for e-dividend) since the commencement of the initiative,

while the level of unclaimed dividend hasbeen reduced to N100 billion.

However, the exercise has been inundatedbycomplaintswithsome investors saying that registrars are deliberately frustrating the adoption.

Speaking in response to the delays, Henry Rowlands, Acting Head, Corporate Services, SEC, said that as long as investors are finding it difficult to key into the programme, the scheme could not be said to be satisfactory.

He said that following its feedback programme and investigation, the Commission has mandated registrars to provide periodic feed-back on the list of mandated accounts and challenges they are having.

He stated: “The SEC as part of its feed back programme has noticed that a lot of people have similar problem. We have investigated and out of inquisitiveness, the Director General directed that a meeting be held with registrars very recently where we discussed this matter. Part of the mechanism that

that it has successfully raised N2.78billion from rights issuance and private placements held last months.

“We had planned to raise N1billion from existing shareholders via rights and the other N1billion via private placement from new shareholders December 3, 2018, with Kairos Capital Limited acting as the financial adviser, and closed on December 31, 2018. Despite the short timelines, the capital raise was successful, as it was oversubscribed by 39 percent on both counts. “

Abraaj to convert $10m loans in C&I Leasing to equity

By Nkiruka Nnorom

By Nkiruka Nnorom

62.49 percent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. The Conglomerates Industry followed with 83.595 million shares worth N155.485 million in 750 deals. The third place was Consumer Goods Industry with a turnover of 50.537 million shares worth N3.432 billion in 2,576 deals.

In summary, twenty-two (22) equities appreciated in price during the week under review, the same with twenty-two (22) in the penultimate week. Forty-four (44) equities depreciated in price, lower than forty-five (45) of the previous week, while one hundred and three (103) equities remained unchanged higher than ninety-seven (97) equities recorded in the preceding week.

SEC devised is that we requested the registrars to give us periodic feed-back on the list of mandated accounts and challenges they are having.

So, we are going to implement the feedback as measurement for impact assessment we are commencing.”

He enjoined investors to reach out to the Commission with any complainttheyhaveconcerningthe e-dividend mandate, assuring that SEC would take it up with the affected registrar.

improved performance as it moves to expand its operations to boost its current business lines.

Commenting on the loan-equity conversion, Mr. Andrew OtikeOdibi, Managing Director/CEO, C & I Leasing, said: “This development is positive for our business as it improves the capital structure of the company and helps position it favourably for additional capital raise from the market in first quarter of 2019.”

“Existing as well as potential investors have very bright prospect following business opportunities the company is planning to tap into in order to deliver regular returns in the years ahead. We have evolved from being a simple consumer finance leasing company to a diversified, operating lease company with presence in six states in Nigeria with investments in Ghana and Dubai,” he added.

The company's shares are among the few that delivered positive capital appreciation in the stock market last year. While the market suffered a decline of 17.8 per cent in 2018, C & I Leasing shares gained 37.9 per cent.

As the leasing industry is still expected to blossom even further, owing to various government initiatives aimed at re-inflating the economy and the increasing relevance of leasing to capital formation, focus on agriculture will create an extensive market for the leasing business, as a whole range of equipment would be required across the agriculture value chain, analysts said.

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FINANCIAL VANGUARD

Predictable famine and deepening poverty in 2019 “Mayetti Allah endorses President Buhari.” News Report.

“2019: Experts forecast weak, sluggish economy.” News Report, January 2019.

“Vanishing rice pyramids? “Tunji Adegboyega, NATION, January 6, 2019.

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ews of Mayetti Allah’s support for their Life Patron, President Buhari falls into the “dog bites man category ”. It would have been startling news if the herdsmen fail to approve of the only President who ever allowed them to kill, rape and commit arson with impunity. In the process, they sent over four thousand of fellow Nigerians, mostly farmers to the grave. Many of those farmers have not been replaced by other farmers.

Farmers who escaped planned assassination by squads of gun men threatening “ your land or your life” have abandoned farming all over the country.

Many more farms in all zones of Nigeria will lie fallow this year than at any time in recent history.

Herdsmen regarded globally as the fourth ranking is ensuring that famine will be prevalent this year.

Herdsmen are not alone. Long before they became notorious, Boko Haram had made farming almost impossible in several communities in the Northeast zone. Now, with the army asking residents around Baga to relocate to safer areas, the farmers around the Lake Chad basin are on a long holiday. It means that nobody in those communities will be busy preparing land for planting, no fertilisers, seeds, herbicides and germicides will be ordered.

Obviously, nobody can hope to harvest what is not planted. More farms will be out of action. So, food productivity will drop. It requires no degree in Economics for anybody to understand that idle farmers with no sources of personal income have immediately joined the 87 millions already living in abject poverty.

Since rice has become the barometer for gauging our national performance on food production, Adegboyega’s concerns speak directly to one of the causes of increasing widespread famine, starvation, malnutrition and deepening poverty which Nigeria will experience this year. His observation that “a 50kg bag of rice sold for N17,500 in December is indication that something went wrong somewhere” is spot on. He also recollected buying the same bag of rice for N13,000 in December 2018.

He is absolutely right. Many things are wrong and some of the problems will follow us well into 2019. I don’t know if Adegboyega travelled to the North in 2018, especially the rice growing states.

I was fortunate to visit Sokoto, Zamfara and Niger States at least three times each during the past year. Zamfara represents a lot that went wrong. When Governor Yari of the state raised alarm and called for a state of emergency to be declared in the state, he was merely saying out loud what a million people in Zamfara had been saying about bandits who have taken over the state committing atrocities including killing farmers and seizing by force their harvests. By October 2018 several farmers in the Talata Mafara axis had abandoned their farms. They decided not to harvest instead of doing the backbreaking work only for bandits to collect the harvest.

In varying degrees, all the northern rice growing states had a taste of banditry in connection with rice and cattle.

Readers will recollect that in

2016 and 2017, Lagos State had a well-publicised agreement with Kebbi State for the northern state to sell thousands of bags of rice to the Centre of Excellence. That helped to bring the price down then. Apparently, there was no agreement in 2018. The fact that Governor Ambode was already

It requires no degree in Economics for anybody to understand that idle farmers with no sources of personal income have immediately joined the 87 millions already living in abject poverty out of the Governor’s race might explain why no subsidised rice came to Lagos in December 2018.

But, even if Lagos State had wanted to continue with the arrangement, it would have had to pay more to Kebbi for the rice.

Farmers around Yelwa Yauri, Koko and Jega were also under pressure from rice thieves. Most farmers barely had enough to feed themselves and their families. A trip to Badeggi, Niger State, home of the former International Rice Research Institute, IRRI, revealed that yield per acre in 2018 was lower than in 2016 and 2017.

Virtually everywhere fertiliser was received later than the time expected because the 2018 Budget

was not signed until June.

Fertilisers arriving so late are totally useless from the standpoint of increasing yield per acre. Prices of all food items Nigerian consumers experienced in the market reflect the facts of rising insecurity across the nation and its impact on food production as well as the worsening pattern of annual budgets being presented to the National Assembly, NASS, very late by the President and the NASS sitting on it for political reasons.

For almost three years, Audu Ogbeh, Minister of Agriculture, had been painting a false picture of steadily rising rice productivity.

He even proposed closing Nigeria’s borders with the Benin Republic because that tiny nation, with population less than that of Kwara State was importing more rice than China. Obviously, the rice was Nigeria-bound. Thank God, President Buhari got it right by ignoring his Minister. Millions of tonnes of imported rice arrive at our neighbour’s ports because Nigeria does not grow enough to be self-sufficient. Any attempt to close the gates against imports prematurely will result in mass starvation and untold malnutrition in the land. The price of rice went up, as Adegboyega observed for two reasons. By December, domestic rice production had fallen drastically as several rice growing communities suffered from lack of essential inputs and others simply fled the farms. The decline in local production created a mini-scarcity which placed pressure on prices. In addition, importers through Cotonou were wary of a sudden closure of the borders with Benin Republic.

They reduced imports. The real exchange rate which they face, as opposed to the artificial exchange rate imposed by the Central Bank,

CBN, did the rest. My family has property at Idiroko; so we know a lot about rice imports What can consumers expect in 2019, again using rice as a barometer for all food items?

Bearing in mind that what we are now consuming was grown last year and the harvest was completed weeks ago, domestic supply is already limited to what is in storage. It cannot be increased. Short supply invites imports and drives up prices. Last year, most consumers lacked effective purchasing power. Yet food prices went up. This year, the passage of the Minimum Wage Bill will increase purchasing power – but only for those who can benefit from the wage increase. The notion, sold by organised Labor – NLC, ASUU etc – that the new bill will benefit everybody is simply fallacious.

With the 2019 Budget less than that of 2018 and most state governors declaring their inability to pay, not even all those in the public sector will enjoy the fruits of the current agitation.

Organised Private Sector, OPS, is apprehensive, as they should be, because it is almost impossible to forecast what the future holds. The safest bet is to predict STAGFLATION. That means low economic growth and higher inflation. In the end, the money workers take in with the right hand will be given back with the left. As for the rural dwellers, especially farming communities in the North, hell is here. Famine is here.

LAST LINE: As this article was being concluded, my vendor arrived with the papers.

Governors have categorically declared that “there will be a crisis in the country ” if N30,000 is passed into law.

More uncertainties await Nigerians.

MICRO FINANCE FINANCIAL VANGUARD

By Providence Emmanuel end of the exercise, the sector will 2019: Decline in loan, income imminent have strong players that will HE Microfinance Bank,

T

MfB, sub-sector will likely experience a drop in lending activities and income generation in the first half of 2019, H1’19, due to anticipated risky environment. But they are likely to focus on recapitalisation to meet the new minimum capital requirement of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, ahead of the April 2020 deadline.

Some of the operators, who spoke with Financial Vanguard, said that the CBN's recapitalisation policy for the MfBs is tailored towards ensuring a sound, strong and efficient financial system.

Managing Director/Chief Executive, DavoDani MfB, Mr. John Ologe, said that the focus of most MfBs is to be able to drive recapitalisation for 2019.

Ologe stated: “I think the industry would get more strengthened because of the liquidity that would be injected and there would be better MfB activity because when they have more liquidity, they would be able to do more business and

•MfBs to focus more on recapitalization

they would be able to train and pay a better salary to their staff.

“Note that deadline for recapitalisation is April next year, they gave us 18 months from October last year, and I expect a substantial part of the fund to come in this year, so we would have a better MfB subsector.”

Managing Director/CEO, Accion MfB, Mr. Taiwo Joda, said that the two major activities that will shape the industry significantly are the general elections and the commencement of the new CBN recapitalisation policy for MfB which is aimed at ensuring a sound, strong and efficient financial system.

He added that from the foregoing, it is expected that the sector may experience a lull in commercial activities and significant drop in loan generation and consequently income in the first half of 2019 due to increased electioneering activities, saying: “Business

owners naturally would take necessary precautions and draw back in making key business decisions during the election period until they are able to understand and interpret the

Note that deadline for recapitalisation is April next year, they gave us 18 months from October last year, and I expect a substantial part of the fund to come in this year, so we would have a better MfB subsector implications of the outcome of the exercise.

“The proposed consolidation of the sector on the other hand, will

result in increased preconsolidation activities which will involve merger and acquisition activities and arrangement by players in the sector. We may also see significant reduction in number of MfBs operating in the country at the end of the exercise due to inability to come up with the required funding need.

“The proposed recapitalization of the industry is long overdue considering the benefits to the sector and the general economy.

Hence the recent CBN directive is a welcome development and it is expected among other things to curb the challenges of capital adequacy facing the sector, reposition MfBs to meet critical objectives of the microfinance policy framework and equip the institutions towards improved performance.

“The exercise is also expected to boost public confidence in the sector and increase its ability to serve the target market. At the

have the financial capacity to undertake major initiatives that will impact positively on the target market.

“In 2019, it is expected that the CBN will come up with initiatives towards addressing the challenges of the sector to make it perform better. These include high cost of funds, ease of doing business, infrastructure and power challenges etc. Except these are resolved, the MfBs’ ability to meet the objectives and expectations of the apex bank and the government will remain a mirage.

“I also expect to see an increase support to the sector from the regulators in the proposed consolidation exercise in order to achieve the benefits of consolidation in the sector. We also expect the CBN to increase its engagement with the sector, address the challenges of the sector and provide increased access to the sector in the various intervention initiatives in the economy and to assist the sector in deepening financial inclusion in the economy,” he said.

32 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019

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RESIDENT Muhammed Buhari inaugurated a Technical Advisory Committee for the implementation of National Minimum Wage, on Wednesday, January 9, 2019 in Abuja. The occasion offered Mr. President the opportunity to declare his commitment “to a review of the present N18,000 minimum wage;” PMB consequently, assured workers that “ we at the federal level have made adequate provision for increase in the minimum wage, in our 2019budget proposals, which we have submitted to the National Assembly;” notably, however, the budget submission came, barely a week before Parliament went on recess in December 2018!

Although, 2019 budget may have provided for additional cost incurred in ‘moving up’ all personnel who currently earn below the new minimum wage, according to PMB, however, negotiations for salary review for all workers who already earn above the new minimum wage will begin, after the Wages Advisory Committee has submitted its recommendations. PMB has however, warned that implementation of the expected, considerable wage adjustments, for higher category of Public Servants, must not adversely “affect the appropriate, adopted targets for levels of Capital Expenditure, Public Debt, Inflation, Employment, etc, in Government’s Economic Recovery & Growth Plan (ERGP).”

The Minimum Wage Advisory Committee’s specific terms of reference, include, to develop, and advise government on how to successfully bring about a smooth implementation of ‘imminent’ wage increases and also identify new revenue sources, and areas of existing expenditure, from where some savings could be made, to fund wage increases, without adversely impacting the Nation’s development goals as captured in Government’s

Wages advisory committee as smokescreen Economic Recovery & Growth Plan.

The Wages Committee will also propose a work plan with appropriate modalities for implementation of the salary increases; furthermore, other suggestions that will assist in the implementation of this and future wage increases, are also expected from PMB’s Wages Committee.

However, “given the urgency of this exercise,” the Minimum Wage Committee is expected to complete its deliberations and submit its report and recommendations, within one month from the date of its inauguration, on 9th January 2019; consequently, the Committee’s final report will be presented to PMB barely a week, before the General Elections commence on February 16, 2019.

Bismarck Rewane, a well known Economist and ‘brother’ of this columnist, has been appointed as Chairman of the Advisory, Minimum Wage Committee. Ben Akabueze, the current Budget Office Director General, will serve as Secretary to the Committee, which also includes, a representative of Nigeria’s Governors’ Forum, as well as, about 25 other nominees from both the public and private sectors.

Regrettably, the characteristic, traditional fire brigade approach to resolving critical national issues, is again amplified, with the process of adopting and implementing a National Minimum Wage schedule. Evidently, PMB’s Administration, recognizes that the minimum wage was constitutionally due for review in 2016, i.e. five years after the adoption of the subsisting N18,000 minimum wage in 2011.

Curiously, however, despite several reminders and several

threats of a general strike by Organised Labour and the obviously parlous, inflation eroded wages of a pauperised working class, government, characteristically prevaricated, until, virtually the ‘last minute’ before taking remedial action.

In retrospect, the N18,000 minimum wage was the equivalent of $112, with N151165=$1 in 2011; conversely, N18,000, now has a purchasing value of barely $50, with today ’s exchange rate of N360=$1.

Thus, although the proposed N30,000 may seem like almost

Ironically, however, quantum nominal salaries increases will invariably drive higher inflation rates and deepen poverty 100% nominal increase on N18,000, nonetheless, in real terms, the proposed N30,000 is barely $83, i.e., still below the real purchasing value of the 2011 minimum wage of N18,000, and also below the International Poverty threshold of about $3/day!

Regrettably, Nigeria has since become the World’s Poverty Capital, according to a Washington based Economic think-tank, with reportedly, six Nigerians falling below the poverty line, every second! It is clearly ironical that this TOGA of deepening poverty is now worn by an acclaimed reformist and progressive Administration, which purportedly came to power to redeem Nigerians from economic bondage and an

allegedly clueless Administration.

Although the Federal Government has agreed in principle to pay N30,000 minimum wage, there are however concerns, that less than 8 of the 36 states have expressed their willingness or capacity to pay N30,000/month, with additional pro-rata adjustments, for all workers, who already earn more than the proposed N30,000 minimum wage.

Instructively, however, since the issue of minimum wage is on the Exclusive Legislative list, the Federal administration cannot exclude those states with evidently weaker revenue generation base, from any legislation for upward review of the minimum wage.

Consequently, although PMB has declared the readiness of his administration to enact a N30,000 minimum wage, his plan maybe ambushed in the National Assembly, by representatives from majority of states which have, already, protested the escalation of the minimum wage, beyond their respective capacities to pay.

Thus, the question will ultimately arise, as to what will happen, if President Buhari’s Minimum Wage Bill fails to pass through the National Assembly, before or after the elections; in other words, will the Federal Government and other willing states proceed, thereafter to adopt the promoted new minimum wage, without legislative mandate?

Arguably, with the present disposition of several state governors, the matter of an acceptable new National Minimum Wage is probably far from over!

Ultimately, the product of the almost 30-member Minimum Wage Advisory Committee’s deliberations, may only be

ECONOMY

FINANCIAL VANGUARD SON destroys N8m substandard products in Kano

By Elizabeth Adegbesan

O

ver Eight Million Naira worth of substandard products have been destroyed by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) at Yankatsari Yangongon in Kano, in its ongoing efforts aimed at stopping trade in substandard goods in Nigeria.

The details of the substandard and lifeendangering products include, 83 bags of 25kg expired foreign rice, 257 bags of substandard mosquito coil, 190 cartons of fake Dorco brand of shaving sticks, 96

rolls of fake NOCACO electrical cables, Six (6) bags of substandard fertilizers, 146 trays of substandard Automobile Break Fluid, and Seven Vails of empty sacks of rice.

The SON Regional Coordinator North West, Alhaji Abba Adamu Bauchi and the Kano/Jigawa States Coordinator, Alhaji Yunusa Muhammed, coordinated the exercise.

Briefing reporters before the destruction exercise, Muhammed disclosed that patriotic Nigerians, including genuine manufacturers and consumers assisted in locating and confiscating the

limited in application to just the Federal Government and a handful of states. In fairness, however, it would be unreasonable to expect that PMB’s Wages Committee, could adequately evaluate the revenue opportunities and capacities of all 36 states and the Federal Government and also carefully identify, within 30 days new revenue sources, and selected areas of expenditure, from where some savings could be made, to fund ‘ wage increases’ without adversely impacting Government’s declared ERGP developmental goals.

It is equally inexplicable that the Wages Advisory Committee was established barely a month before the General Elections, even when, the issue of a review of the minimum wage had been evidently imminent, as far back as 2015 when the old minimum wage, legally expired and Buhari’s administration took over.

Ultimately, however, if Federal and all State Governments, ‘magically ’ succeed in adopting N30,000 minimum wage, the resultant vastly expanded money supply will drive double-digit inflation rates which will reverse any positive result from any wage increase! Furthermore, both Federal and State Governments may also be compelled to compound their already oppressive and possibly unsustainable debt burden to pay N30,000 minimum wage.

Ironically, however, quantum nominal salaries increases will invariably drive higher inflation rates and deepen poverty; however, a stronger Naira rate, of say N100=$1, will invariably translate the current N18,000 minimum wage to about $180, i.e. an income of almost $5/day, well above the poverty bench mark of $3/day. Instructively, a stronger Naira will remain elusive so long as the CBN continues to substantiate Naira allocation for dollar revenue and also auction Nigeria’s dollar earnings against Naira!

substandard products through provision of classified information.

In addition, SON market surveillance activities and the cooperation of market associations like the Singer market and Kano Electrical Dealers Association (KEDA), provided other avenues to the substandard products, he said.

He acknowledged their cooperation and collaboration as well as those of security and sister regulatory agencies in apprehending the lifeendangering and substandard products.

According to him, necessary laboratory tests and analysis were carried out on all the

products to ascertain and confirm their quality status as being substandard and life endangering, while necessary approvals have been secured to destroy the items in line with the provisions of the SON Act 14 of 2015.

Muhammed reiterated the SON’s continued commitment to the fight against the circulation of substandard and life endangering products, stressing that the purveyors should either quit or be ready to face the full wrath of the law, through prosecution.

The exercise was witnessed by the Vice-Chairman, Dawakin Kudu Local Government, Yakubu Musa,

Muhammed Baba Ahmad and Ado Uba of the Kano State Ministries of Environment and Commerce respectively, representatives of sister regulatory and security agencies as well as the media.

Representatives of the agencies at the destruction exercise were Hamza Abubakar of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Kano/Jigawa Command; Mukhtar Abdullahi of the Department of State Services (DSS); CSP Salihu Daiyabu, Nigeria Police, Kano State Command; and Umar Abdullahi of Nigerian Environmental Standards Regulatory Agency (NESREA);

Vanguard, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019—33

Send Opinions & Letters to: opinions1234@yahoo.com

A Daily Trust in the Media, not the Army

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S a former newspaper Editor, I would not have published the Daily Trust lead story of January 6, 2019 titled: Military prepares massive operation to retake Baga, others, which led to the newspaper ’s invasion by armed soldiers. My editorial judgement would not have been based on the army’s fairy tale that the story violated national security, but because it was primarily, a rehash of information that was already in the public space. I would have asked the reporter to provide fresh information or a new angle to the story.

Despite the fact that the story contained no new information, the Nigeria Army was so incensed that it sent combat troops to the Maiduguri regional office of the newspapers, conducted a search and abducted the Regional Bureau Chief, Uthman Abubakar and Reporter, Ibrahim Sawab.

Then, in five trucks, it struck at the Abuja headquarters of the organisation. Some of the journalists claimed that in the commando-style raid, the soldiers seized their computers and laptops before herding them out of the premises at gun point. The soldiers also went away with a trophy: a production staff who was detained at the Mogadishu Barracks, Abuja. Armed

soldiers riding in seven vehicles also occupied the Lagos office of the newspapers.

Amazingly, the army claimed that its attacks on the media house was merely to extend an “invitation”. It cheekily titled the statement announcing its successful occupation of the three Daily Trust offices as a: “Clarification on invitation of Media Trust Staff by the security agencies.” What a way to invite a people!

The army claimed that it launched the attacks on the media house because it: “… disclosed details of planned military operations against the Boko Haram terrorists (which) afforded the Boko Haram terrorists prior notice of our plans and gave them early warning to prepare against the Nigerian military, thus sabotaging the planned operations and putting the lives of troops in imminent and clear danger." This is baffling because the Nigerian Army itself had announced the attack on Boko Haram in Baga and surrounding communities, one week before the Daily Trust publication.

The army on Sunday, December 30, 2018 in a statement by Colonel Onyeka Nwachukwu, announced it is planning to relocate residents of Baga in Borno State “to safer locations in view of the ongoing

military operations in the area.” The media reported that this announcement of an on-going military operation in Baga was circulated by Brigadier-General Sani Kukasheka Usman, the Army’s spokesperson on his Facebook page.

Also, other Daily Trust information on a security meeting to discuss a comprehensive response to the Boko Haram invasion of Baga and its environs and the involvement of the Navy and Airforce, had been publicly disclosed by military authorities. In his statement, Colonel Nwachukwu

The invasion of Daily Trust is an affront on fundamental human rights and a gross violation of the constitution

had disclosed that the Theatre Command, Operation LAFIYA DOLE and other security agencies will shed more light on the issue of the on-going military operations in a Security Council meeting with the Borno State Government, scheduled to hold on Monday, December 31, 2018.

Apart from the fact that the fight against Boko Haram involves all arms of the military, the Nigeria Air Force itself announced that it deployed several aircraft to bomb gatherings of the insurgents who had attacked Baga. So it is not the media that disclosed these, but the military

itself! The Daily Trust story was actually stale news.

Therefore, the Army’s statement after the Daily Trust invasion that it: “…would not tolerate situation where a publication would consistently side with terrorists and undermine our national institutions” is merely a red herring.

The main issue seems to be the army’s dilemma on Baga which it had announced was not in the hands of the Boko Haram. On Friday, December 28, 2018, Major-General Lamidi Adeosun, the Army’s Chief of Training had at a news conference in Maiduguri told the world: “Baga town is not in the hands of the Boko Haram. They contested it but they lost the contest.” So if Baga was never taken in the first place, why is the army trying to retake it and why would Daily Trust be accused of leaking secrets?

The army is not the only organisation involved in claims that Boko Haram is not holding Baga and other towns. An organisation, the Centre for Conflict Resolution and Management had three days before the Daily Trust publication released a report allegedly based on its five-day tour and research of Baga and other parts of North-Eastern Nigeria, and announced the fake news that Boko Haram is not holding any territory in Nigeria.

A Mrs. Betty Aku claiming to be the Centre’s Executive Director claimed that: “Baga town and its environs are not under the control of Boko Haram Insurgents… There is no section of the state under the control of Boko Haram Insurgents.”

On the undeniable influx of internally displaced persons from Baga and surrounding towns, the Centre’s Report claimed: “It was a case of palpable fear as a result of past experiences and not as a result of the occupation of these

Perspective: Is advanced technology creating or killing jobs?

A

By Stanley Omadogho

RE advanced technologies - artificial intelligence, robotics, machine learning, virtual reality, mass 3D printing, biotechnology, chatbots, deep learning, drones, augmented reality and smart objects - creating or killing jobs?

Robots can "man" entire factories once managed with human labour. Self-driving cabs, drone package delivery, and other automated systems - all are feared will make significant cuts into the human workforce. An augury for job prospects? Is advanced technology creating or destroying jobs? A suitable answer that best approximates present and future realities will require four rationalisations: •Machines will never become self-aware and write their own programmes and algorithms. Humans will always be at the helm, determining and setting their parameters. Will this make up for jobs lost to automated systems?

•Every advanced civilisation is powered by technology. The more diverse and cutting-edge these technologies have become, the busier the populace have been, historically. Do we have the creativity to keep busy despite the odds created by these machines?

•When technology does it better, faster and more accurately, everyone welcomes it, like computers. But when machines exist mainly to lower operating expenditure by replacing humans, could we expect a backlash at some point?

•Technologies that are intrinsic job killers, at the same time, are inherent job creators. But do they kill and create jobs simultaneously in a one-to-one ratio, especially in the same geographical location, and amongst the same affected population, who are the focus of this article?

Pondering on point four above, if robots take

C M Y

over an entire factory in Europe and obliterate thousands of jobs, the design, manufacture and maintenance of these robots will create not just hundreds, but who knows, maybe thousands of jobs in China or the US, countries more advanced in artificial intelligence and robotics. At best, maintenance hubs or centres will only pop up in Europe.

To breathe life into a new job, technology must sometimes snuff the life out of an old one. So are new technologies bound by the legendary myth of Hollywood folklore: if one (job) falls, two will rise to take its place?

Maybe, or maybe not. Since the start of the industrial revolution, new technologies have inevitably created more jobs than they have destroyed, especially jobs requiring higher skill levels. Consider the printing press, motor vehicles, the internet, digital satellite TV, telecoms, mobile phones, etc.

The past is not always a reliable pointer to the future nonetheless, especially as humanity wades into the unknown, as if creating the fictional "Skynet" that becomes self-aware, launching judgement day for job seekers. I mean, the robot revolution now means autonomous machines will one day spray, weed and harvest farms.

Technologies that increase mobility, communication, data synthesis and knowledge sharing, are obvious job breeders.

However, technologies that help humans perform a given task faster and better, like computers, cars, and mobile phones, should not be mistaken for technologies that actually replace humans in decision-making, like robots and AI. Somehow, the job growth created by printing presses, or the cascade of tech-driven jobs that splashed onto the job arena with what followed the printing press, namely: online publishing platforms now used by news outlets and book sellers, and the jobs created by electronic

devices, do not in themselves provide satisfactory pointers to the future. Or do they?

Granted, Uber is powered by a new technology. The result? More unemployed individuals from deprived suburbs have entered the job market, while Airbnb have transformed private homes into businesses.

Here we see new technologies creating more jobs, in a somewhat decentralised fashion.

As new technologies render some jobs obsolete, remember this: the human imagination is limitless, and so is our ability to create a beehive of activities, powered by the very products of our ingenuity - technology.

Thinking otherwise would be underestimating the greatness inherent within us.

That is why warnings about the impact of

The human imagination is limitless, and so is our ability to create a beehive of activities, powered by the very products of our ingenuity technology advanced technology on job prospects is not an apocalyptic message meant to shock, but a clarion call to a new awakening, that new skills will need to be acquired by the X generation, or the study of certain disciplines will need to be shelved by the Y generation, or better still, certain interests will have to be cultivated at an early age by the Z generation. Yes, like it or not, who adapts with ease and who gets left behind is more or less a generational question.

So here is a possible scenario for the future, which is already here by the way, but will be at full swing when the Z generation assumes the mantle of leadership. Folks would be smarter, more innovative, and more self-reliant, leveraging on new technologies to create

communities by Boko Haram insurgents. …it was indeed a misrepresentation by some media houses that reported that Baga and other communities were under the control of Boko Haram Insurgents.”

The ‘Centre’ blamed opposition politicians “…who are either protesting a loss or a defeat or who have in one way or the other benefited from the malaise over the years” for the news that Baga had fallen. This at best, is an innocuous centre, fronting an invisible woman pretending to engage in investigative reporting and spreading false news to deceive Nigerians.

The invasion of Daily Trust is an affront on fundamental human rights and a gross violation of the Constitution.

Nobody or organisation is allowed to take the laws into its hands and no government worth its salt will allow such naked attack on Nigerians without bringing the perpetrators to book.

The victory of the military at the gates of the media, is temporary, unsustainable and unwise. Those who employ the army to cow perceived enemies, should be wise enough to know that they are riding the tiger’s back.

Like others before them, the powerful will wake up to the fact that although they can send soldiers to seize media houses and point guns at journalists, the pen can never be conquered.

No matter the number of guns pointed, no matter the array of bayonets displayed, no matter the armoured tanks rolled up, no matter the aerial superiority, I will continue to put my daily trust, in the media for news and not the army.

endless possibilities in new fields of endeavour. The result? Jobs.

Advanced technology would create a platform where anyone can make, create and innovate right from their garages. The corporate world would thus see more entrepreneurs.

Individuals could manage small farms commercially and profitably with the help of robots. With an imposing online footprint, the Z generation would power the internet-ofthings, relegating, but not phasing out, the traditional brick-and-mortar enterprises, managing various forms of online businesses that would rely less and less on humans.

In the end, technology would help make the world smarter and perhaps busier. Those unable to adapt will pay the price, creating a spike in the unemployment rate for a certain demographic or age group. Every continent, including Africa, will have to contend with this reality. When the time comes, all must be prepared for a full-fledged smart and digital economy.

However, if we have overestimated our imagination, or the strength of our imagination has created our greatest weakness, if the predicted job boom fails to pan out, and the tech push comes to a jobkilling shove that brings society against a brick wall, humanity will fight back for its survival, for its very existence.

Policies and laws will mandate businesses to adhere to a quota system for utilising robots and other automated systems. Companies could be prohibited from automating processes, from engaging in what will be tagged unfair business practices, defined by some ethical mumbo jumbo.

The protests in France against fuel tax shows humanity can and will fight back to remain in its comfort zone.

Continues Online @www.vanguardngr.com *Omadogho, an IT expert, wrote from Lagos

34—Vanguard, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019

Policy Imperatives for Diversity Management: Nigeria in Comparative Perspective

By Ladipo Aadamolekun

D

iversity Management in Nigeria since 1954 - An Overview Nigeria was established as a federation in 1954 to accommodate the country’s ethno-linguistic differences: a central government sharing political power and national resources with three regional governments where each of the country’s three major ethnolinguistic groups (HausaFulani, Igbo and Yoruba) was dominant. The federal system adopted (explicated in the country’s 1954 Constitution) was close to K. C. Wheare’s classical definition of the federal principle: “the method of dividing powers so that the general [central] and regional governments are each within a sphere co-ordinate and independent”. This system was maintained with only minor modifications when a fourth region was created in 1963.

In 1957, Prime Minister Balewa championed the adoption of a coalition government (also referred to as a national government) involving the ruling party in every region as an additional tool for managing the country’s diversity. Although this innovation was short-lived (1957-1959), he re-introduced it after the 1964 federal elections. Again, it was shortlived as the military took over power in January 1966. At this juncture, there was a brief flirtation with the denial of diversity when General Aguiyi Ironsi’s Unification Decree No 34 of 1966 stated unambiguously that: “Nigeria shall on 24th May 1966… cease to be a Federation…”.

Although Ironsi’s immediate successors as military rulers abandoned the “Unification Decree”, they and the succession of military rulers that governed the country for close to three decades between 1966 and 1999 turned Nigeria into a federation characterised by significant unitary features that were inspired by their military culture. Furthermore, the civil war that ended the secession of Eastern region (1967-1970) ensured significant accretion of powers to the centre, and thereafter, the expression of the differences within the Nigerian polity was subdued. In the new centralised federal system, cultural diversity was only accommodated through mechanisms that the military sanctioned, notably increase in the number of sub-national units (from 4 to 12 states in 1967 and eventually to 36 in 1996) and the establishment of local governments as a third tier of government (beginning with

302 in 1976 and increased to 774 in 1996). However, successive military heads of government also adopted variations on Tafawa Balewa’s use of coalition/national government at the federal level as a tool for managing diversity: the composition of the federal cabinets reflected, in varying degrees, the country’s cultural diversity.

Following robust debate on the diversity within the Nigerian polity among the makers of the country’s 1979 Constitution who were appointed by the incumbent military government, the expression “federal character of Nigeria” was introduced. It was defined in the Constitution as referring to the “distinctive desire of the people of Nigeria to promote national unity, foster national loyalty and give every citizen of Nigeria a sense of belonging to the nation.” While there was broad agreement among the constitution makers on language policy – English was adopted as the national language – there was contentious debate on religion with particular reference to Sharia law (or Islamic law). In the end, the provisions on the subject in the Constitution prohibited state religion and provided for both Sharia courts and customary courts, leaving states free to choose between the two.

Federal character principle Notwithstanding the definition of federal character principle and the specific provisions on it in the 1979 Constitution, the experience with its application during the civilian rule interlude between 1979 and 1983 exposed its limitations as a tool for managing diversity and promoting national unity because of divergent interpretations. Specifically, some conflicts between legislatures and executives were traceable to it just as conflicts over its interpretation became a focus of inter-party and intra-party competition. And public servants whose career prospects could be directly affected by the interpretation of the principle were willy-nilly drawn into barely disguised partisan politics. The provisions on federal character principle in the 1979 Constitution were maintained in the 1999 Constitution and were slightly expanded, including the establishment of a Federal Character Commission charged with monitoring and promoting faithful application of the principle.

However, the divergent interpretations experienced between 1979 and 1983 have re-emerged with similar manifestations. In particular, there have been

Prof. Adamolekun. strident complaints by various cultural groups about marginalisation with respect to federal appointments (that is, into the boards of federal parastatals and other agencies outside the public/civil service): Hausa-Fulani leaders cried marginalisation under Obasanjo presidency; Yoruba and Hausa-Fulani cried marginalisation under Jonathan

There is broad agreement on the need to reduce the extensive exclusive federal powers in the 1999 Constitution to better accommodate the diversity within the federation whilst ensuring national unity and enhancing the prospects for socio-economic development nation-wide

presidency; and Igbo and Yoruba as well as all the three Southern geopolitical zones are crying marginalisation under the Muhammadu Buhari presidency(a new dimension of nepotistic appointments has been flagged under President Buhari). With reference to the public/civil service, application of the federal character principle marked the beginning of a de-emphasis on the merit principle as the primary criterion in staff recruitment into public services. Although assuring the representativeness of the federal public service is both sensible and desirable, no guide-

lines have been provided for the application of the federal character principle. Consequently, it is applied literally as a crude quota/patronage system and it is unclear whether states or geopolitical zones are used for determining quotas. Overall, its application has had negative consequences for public management performance.

Language policy Regarding language policy, the adoption of English as the official national language is maintained in the 1999 Constitution with provision to elevate Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba (languages of the country’s three major ethnic groups) as co-national languages at the federal level “when adequate arrangements have been made therefor”(Section 55). The Constitution also provides for the use of English as the official language at the state and local government levels. In addition to English, one or more Statespecific language approved by a State House of Assembly can be adopted as a co-official language. In practice, English is used as the official language at the federal level and no arrangement has been made with respect to the three additional co-national languages – almost certainly because of respect for the country’s linguistic diversity. At the sub-national level, Statespecific languages are used informally in the Houses of Assembly in some states while multiple local languages or dialects are used in stateowned radios and television stations in almost every state.

In contrast to the pragmatic management of linguistic diversity, religious diversity has remained a contentious subject.

The solution to the controversy over Sharia law that was enshrined in the 1979 Constitution and maintained in the 1999 Constitution was significantly modified when, in the 2000s, twelve states instituted Sharia to cover both civil (personal) and criminal law instead of the constitutional limitation to civil law. The introduction of a bill in the National Assembly in late 2016 to further extend the reach of Sharia is evidence that religion remains a divisive issue(the Bill was aborted).

Beyond the disputations on the interpretations of federal character principle and the persistent controversy over religion, the broader debate in Nigeria since 1999 is focused on restructuring the federal system inherited from the military in 1999 with a view to simultaneously achieving three objectives: better diversity management; promotion of national unity; and rapid socioeconomic development.

Specifically, because the concept of “unity in diversity” that was first coined in the immediate years after the adoption of a federal system in 1954 is broadly accepted in the Nigerian society, discussion of diversity management within the federal system is almost always accompanied by an emphasis on the maintenance of national unity. Two key issues

have featured prominently in the debate: (i) redistribution of powers and resources between the Federal Government and the sub-national governments and (ii) re-organisation of the federation’s constituent units.

The 1999 Constitution provides for “not less than thirteen percent” of revenues accruing from natural resources to be allocated to the resourcerich states but there is still demand for an upward review of the existing percentage assigned to the derivation principle to as high as 50 percent. Furthermore, there is demand for a significant readjustment of the existing revenue allocation formula that is skewed in favour of the Federal Government with 52.68% share and only 26.72% and 20.6% to state and local governments respectively. Regarding the redistribution of powers, there is broad agreement on the need to reduce the extensive exclusive federal powers in the 1999 Constitution to better accommodate the diversity within the federation whilst ensuring national unity and enhancing the prospects for socio-economic development nation-wide. There are specific proposals on re-balancing the 68:30 split of federal and state functions in the Second Schedule of the 1999 Constitution, notably in the report of the 2014 National Conference. A commonly cited example is the need to decentralise policing function.

Re-organisation of the constituent units of the federation On the re-organisation of the constituent units of the federation, one school of thought advocates an increase in the number of states (for example, additional 18 states are proposed in the report of the 2014 National Conference three per each of the country’s six geo-political zones). And a second school of thought would like a fewer number of constituent units comprising either the existing six geopolitical zones or a slight increase in their number to eight. The maintenance of the existing 36-state structure also has supporters. Strikingly, proponents of the three different options argue that each would be conducive to achieving the agreed three societal goals. At the extreme, there are some groups that clamour for separation, notably the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB and the Niger Delta Avengers, NDA. The former was proscribed by the Federal Government in September 2017 while the latter has become quiescent.

To be concluded tomorrow

(Excerpts from a Keynote Address delivered

by Prof. Ladipo Adamolekun at the 11th Forum of NNOM Laureates, Abuja December 4, 2018).

NIGERIA NOTES (New Series).

Vanguard, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019—35

LEISURE

YOUR LUCK TODAY

By Joshua Adeyemo Phone 08056180139 ARIES;It’strueyou’rewillingtoworkharderbutyoujusthavetodrop both aggression and mental arrogance to allow things to roll accordingly. Then, you’re accident prone within your working arena. Respect the law and its agents today.

TAURUS; Serious thought may be giving to matters of the heart but it’sbetteryoutarryawhile.Jointventuresofshortdurationtodaymay be an invitation to avoidable trouble GEMINI;Ifyoubackyourfinancialplanswithconcreteandpositive actions things’ll go according to your desire. If you fail to realise importance of your spouse you would work your way into avoidable trouble; aren’t you tired of crisis?.

CANCER; Yourintelligence,competenceandlevelofconcentration maytodaybringyouenvy,whichyoudon’tdeservewithinyourworkingarenainanegativeformbut,you’llsucceed..Entertainnofear,and take advantage of your sex-appeal for love.

SAYINGS OF OUR PEOPLE

TAKE HEART — ELLA RANDLE “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he”. Proverbs 23: 7 Everybody says it, yet not a lot of people consciously practice gratitude. Especially at those times when we feel at loss, depressed or sorry for ourselves. It is understandable why we generally don’t make the effort to be grateful at such moments.

But ironically, being grateful helps.

It pulls you back into the present moment to focus on something more uplifting.

Ella Randle

TERROR MUDA

There is no fool who is disowned by his family. ~ African proverb

in “Never say goodbye”

By Kola Fayemi

LEO;.PlacementoftheMoon highlightsyour Solarsecondhouseof moneywhichisgoodbut, ifyoutrytobuytruelovewithmoney,you’ll bedisappointed.

VIRGO;The.MooninyourStarsign’llgivesyounewconfidenceand with new supports from the powers-that-be, it’s like you are now unstop-able. But be cautious, especially with the veterans within your base of operation.

LIBRA; It is your day. But you will need to do away with nonproductive argument and/or agreement. Try to be more diplomatic now.

SCORPIO; If what you’re doing today’ll depend on tomorrow’s event it’s better you’re more careful now. Even things may not go according to your personal plans today. Yet it’s important you plan both your immediate and far future carefully now SAGITTARIUS; If you take to aggression, your ego would be deflatedbyyoursuperiorcolleagues,butyourbeingco-operativeina civilised way’ll prevent trouble.

DUDU

in

“ROLLING HOT”

By A.O. OLAIDE

CAPRICORN; Those willing to put you to shame one way or the other’ll be disappointed with the turn of things today. It’s good to securesupportofyourspouse.

AQUARIUS; You’ve had enough of fun in the recent times and it’s now time you settle down for hard work in order to prevent avoidable trouble. Be patient please.

PISCES; Your concentration level and determination are the pillars ofyoursuccesstoday.Yetyou’llneedtorespectyourseniorcolleagues and protect your image.

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

SAGITTARIUS PLEASE!!!

VIRGINIA

dadadekola@yahoo.com

HOME & ABROAD

By Lawrence Akapa

DearJoshua, Kindly give me characteristics of Sagittarius Felix, Lagos.

Dear Felix, Here-under are basic characteristics of Sagittarius BASIC CHARACTERISTICS OF SAGITTARIUS Sagittariusisamutablesignbyitsquality.It‘selementisfire,symbolised by half horse half man and/or an Archer aiming at the sky. Mutable meanschangesandexperimentation,whilefireisallaboutenthusiasm, taking of the initiative and leadership ability. Thus, you are the type that willexhibitstronginterestinanimportantprojectthatcatchesyourfancy and you will not mind to experiment with ideas just to achieve your objectives and aims. Sagittarius is 9th of the twelve Zodiac signs that rules philosophy, RELIGION, law, foreign land, higher mind/higher institutions, lawyer, long (distance) travelling, in-laws, future, optimism and bluntness. Major problem or weak points of Sagittarians are excessive openness/bluntness and sometimes fanatical approach to religion.

Being a born adventurer, you are not afraid of exploration and new beginning. Sagittarians are incurable optimists and ever ready to listen to and eager to believe others. Honesty is truly in your inner self You are a tolerant person but you are not ready to compromise your FREEDOM Sagittarius as a fire sign can make you a quick tempered person. Half horse half man as the symbol, of Sagittarius indicates dual (double) personalities known in different circles with different personalities. Yet, you are not a pretender. As the Archer aims arrow into the sky so also Sagittarians have many lofty ideas and ambitions. But sometimes their ideasand/oridealsarenotpracticalenoughforrealisation.Manytimes, they start too many things at the same time only to .either forget or lose view of their original target.

Development of practical approach is more important for Sagittarians this is in order to make success of many of their brilliant ideas, otherwise they tend to become dreamers.

36 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019

Telling our children the truth on Armed Forces Day

*Felix and Alphonsus Nwajei (right) executed along with men on October 7, 1967 at Asaba by the Nigerian Army

By Osa Mbonu, Arts Editor o creative work captures N more aptly the theme of this discourse than Bob

Marley ’s legendary song, Babylon System. Politics and social issues are at the heart of Bob Marley’s Babylon System, as most of his songs. The political problems in the Caribbean and Africa that occupied Marley are not different from the political and social problems confronting Nigeria today, hence the truth to tell our children must border on politics, socio-economic conditions, and the malignant state of the nation.

In 2017, at the height of the IPOB agitation for an independent state of Biafra, Olusegun Obasanjo (now PhD) made a profound statement. He offered to show the agitating Igbo youths where Biafra was buried, in case they did not know. After watching Jide Olanrewaju’s documentary film titled: The Real Story of Nigeria (2007), I believed I found the so-called Biafran grave which Obasanjo spoke about. It was where Lt. Col. Olusegun Obasanjo led Major-General Philip Effiong and some other defeated Biafran soldiers to Dodan Barracks Ikoyi to officially surrender and accept defeat after General Odumegwu Ojukwu had escaped to Ivory Coast.

Let us agree that Biafra is dead and buried; but if we must tell ourselves and our children the truth, we must accept Renato Constantino’s insight when he said that “Military victory does not signify conquest. As long as feelings of resistance remain in the hearts of the vanquished, no conqueror is secure.” (Renato Constantino (1979).

We must also accept, since we no longer want to continue to

lie to our children, that Nigeria is terminally sick. Like Obasanjo, I offer to show anyone who cares to know, where Nigeria contracted the terminal disease of which she can only be cured through thorough blood transfusion.

If the elders must tell the children the truth, children must also be prepared to read because a larger part of the truth about Nigeria is documented in books. One of the most important books to read in search of the truth about Nigeria’s terminal illness is Emma Okocha’s classic: Blood on the Niger.

Every time I pick up this book, I am haunted, first by its cover illustration, and then by its bloody content. On page 234, Mr. John Kanayo Hudson Odittah, a survivor of the first black-on-black genocide popularly known as October 6 and 7, 1967 Asaba Massacre, gave an eyewitness account of how “at the Cable Point Area, hundreds of (Asaba) people were lined up by the River (Niger) bank (from where Nigeria derived her name) and ordered to walk into the River by the vandals (Nigerian Army). When they moved into a point where the water reached their waist, they were torn into pieces with machine guns and their corpses carried away by the river (Niger)...at Ogbeosowa Square, the (Nigerian Army) vandals also collected thousands of men who they ordered to dig three large graves. After they had dug the graves, they were ordered to enter into the graves which they did and were all shot dead.”

Among the thousands of innocent people executed at Ogbeosowa killing ground on October 7, 1967 by Nigerian soldiers led by Col. Murtala Mohammed, Major Ibrahim

Taiwo, and Major Osaigbovo Ogbemudia, were no more than four-year old infants like Felix and Alphonsus Nwajei who were forced to join the men as they faced the firing squad.

“Babies were yanked away from their mothers’ breasts,” an eyewitness, Dr. Getrude Okogwu, narrated. “Their heads were bashed against concrete bitumen tar, their little bodies strewn under and rolled over by the monstrous tyres of the army supply vehicles.”

If, by reading this article, you are beginning to understand me to mean that Nigeria’s sickness is rooted in the spiritual, you are quite on track.

Among the thousands of innocent people executed at Ogbeosowa killing ground on October 7, 1967 by Nigerian soldiers led by Col. Murtala Mohammed, Major Ibrahim Taiwo, and Major Osaigbovo Ogbemudia, were no more than four-year old infants like Felix and Alphonsus Nwajei who were forced to join the men as they faced the firing squad Or what would you make of the story of Adaobi, a 16-year-old virgin, set aside by the gods to serve as Priestess to the River Niger. Three Nigerian soldiers raped Adaobi to death during the Asaba Massacre. Adaobi’s

father told Emma Okocha: “You don’t know how powerful your River is...I told you I’m from Abor. Many Abor, Ndoni and Kwale families were killed at Cable Point. We live in Cable because the River has taken over our land. In those days, my daughter whose name was Adaobi was betrothed to the Omu family. She was sixteen.

The Omu would stop by my house on her way to the Oniche Shrine down the River. She would take Adaobi along. She was getting initiated and as a Christian, I wasn’t bothered about the details.

“Then the soldiers came and defiled her in my presence.

For me, a titled man, the OtibuAyiya of Abor, that was an abomination! She was a virgin, and apart from the fact that the eye does not see the ear, the three army rapists almost suffocated Adaobi, my young daughter, to death.

“In my rage, I cared little about their guns when I charged. By the time it was all over, I had lost an eye and those vandals beat me to a pulp. It was in the morning hours, a day after, the Omu as usual visited her daughter.

She never said any word or blinked till the end of the story. She left for the River and returned with a large piece of white cloth and covered the poor girl. The following morning, it was my sister who ran to the Omu with the sad news. Adaobi had bled to death!! The Omu returned with my sister and asked us to leave the house.

She avoided the casket the family bought for Adaobi’s burial.

“She lifted her with little effort and we were amazed that such an advanced woman could lift that 180 pound, 5feet, 9inches chubby girl without help. She never cried, shed tears, nor blinked. She took my daughter down the slopes of Cable Point to the River.

Adaobi was buried somewhere there. I never had the courage to interfere and till this day, there was no question from me, her mother, or my sister on why the Omu took away the corpse of my daughter.

“Four days later, the Priestess of the River, the Omu of Asaba, entered my house.

Again, she was in all white. It was around 5:00 a.m. and she declared in the language of the water: ’On the portals of her Shrine/ Before the presence of her messengers/Barbarians came to defile?/The virgin daughter of the River/Abomination is wrought their cause/ Tribulation shall carry their cause/Their families a future cursed/ A generation to be born and lost/Oniche from strife always recaps/But never forgives her virgin rape/ Tomorrow the land shall turn to water/And the water shall bury the land.’

“And Omu disappeared just like the way she had appeared. I rushed to my door and the door was still locked.

It had been locked since the previous night, yet, she had come in.

“When I opened the door, the build up for the invasion of

Onitsha had started. There were lots of activities down the River Niger Road to the River Port – hundreds of armored vehicles, artilleries, machine guns, etc., countless numbers of soldiers.

“Then the following morning, there was Armageddon! The River was afloat with thousands of dead soldiers by dusk, right till the next day.

The soldiers that attacked Adaobi were in the same boat with Lt. Usman, alias ‘White man no mercy.’

Their disintegrated barge was the first to receive a direct hit from the Biafran shore-batteries. Lt. Usman and few others were still struggling when an amorphous monster, more of an alligator, surfaced. “White man no mercy ” had been masticated alive! The next morning, his two legs, still in the black army boots and familiar bulala whips, were found at the banks under the big mango trees overlooking the River Niger killing spot.

After the vultures had had their fill, the boots were never touched until the end of the war.” (P243-244).

Perhaps, that was why General Gowon went to Asaba “to the very sands of the River Niger and prayed and apologised,” said Saint David Oputa. But what can one man’s apology do for a nation neck-deep in the blood of her innocent citizens? And yet, the blood level, like sea level, is still rising.

The children must also be told how leaders of these murderers, General Murtala Mohammed and Major Ibrahim Taiwo ended up: On February 13, 1976, Lt. Col Bukar Suka Dimka, who was also deeply involved in the killing of innocent Igbos in Kaduna during the July 1966 counter-coup, cornered General Murtala who was sitting in his car in a Lagos traffic holdup and cut his body into pieces with a machine gun. On the same day, Col. Ibrahim Taiwo was also beheaded by his mates. It was a coup against Murtala Mohammed. Those who kill by the sword will also die by the sword. This is one of the lessons today for our children.

Another truth we must tell our children today is that the physical death of the individual sinner is not the end of his punishment. God tells us through the Bible that we should not be afraid of the person who only has power to destroy the body but has no power over the soul. The person we should fear, says God, is the person who has power to destroy both the body and cast the soul into Hell Fire. So, both terrestrial and eternal punishment await all those who committed and condoned the Massacre of Igbos generally and Asaba people particularly.

God is merciful. If Nigeria genuinely repents and forsakes her evil ways and submits herself for thorough blood transfusion, she might obtain forgiveness and survive, otherwise, she must pay the supreme price – death, both of body and soul.

VANGUARD, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019—37

38 — VANGUARD, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019

Saudi Arabia must hold Khashoggi's killers accountable--Pompeo

a

S Secretary of Mike PomBREXIT: British PM warns against catastrophe peoUhasState said he will ask K Prime simple: it is time to for- ment. MPs are due to drawal plan in a bid to U Minister Theresa get the games and do vote on May's deal on trigger a general election. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman May has warned legisla- what is right for our Tuesday. tors ready to reject her EU divorce deal that failing to deliver Brexit would be "catastrophic" for the country's democracy.

Writing in the UK's Sunday Express newspaper, May urged MPs not to let down the Britons who voted in favour of exiting the European Union in a June 2016 referendum.

"Doing so would be a catastrophic and unforgivable breach of trust in our democracy," she wrote.

"So my message to Parliament this weekend is

country."

The UK is poised to leave the EU on March 29, two years after it triggered Article 50, the exit clause in the EU's constitution, and kickstarted arduous negotiations with European leaders over a divorce deal.

But May is facing an uphill task to save her withdrawal agreement forged during 18 months of talks between London and Brussels - from a crushing defeat in parlia-

The deal has come under fire from across the political spectrum, with opponents of the EU seeking a cleaner break and pro-European legislators pressing for a second vote on membership of the bloc.

The main opposition Labour Party, which is in favour of remaining in a permanent customs union with the EU, has suggested it will seek a no-confidence vote in the government if MPs throw out May's with-

"We will table a motion of no confidence in the government at a time of our choosing, but it's going to be soon, don't worry about it," Labour Party l e a d e r J e r e m y Corbyn told the BBC on Sunday.

to ensure the killers of journalist Jamal Khashoggi are held accountable for their crimes.

Pompeo is due to travel to the kingdom later on Sunday, nearly three months after Khashoggi

was murdered in the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul.

"We will continue to have a conversation with the crown prince and the Saudis about ensuring the accountability is full and complete with respect to the unacceptable murder of Jamal Khashoggi," Pompeo told reporters in the Qatari capital Doha.

….Prince attacks US over Syria pullout

A

senior member of the Saudi royal family has warned against a US troop withdrawal from Syria.

Prince Turki al-Faisal

told the BBC the action would have a negative impact, further entrenching Iran, Russia and the rule of President Bashar al-Assad.

US President Donald Trump announced in December that it was time to bring US troops home from Syria.

Prince Faisal was speaking just before US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo began a visit to Riyadh.

Mr Pompeo is on a tour of the Middle East, and has already visited Iraq, Jordan, Egypt and Bahrain.

‘Congo should consider unity government’

President Joseph Kabila

T

HE Southern African Development Community (SADC) thinks the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) should consider a government of national unity after its disputed presidential election, South Africa’s foreign minister said on Sunday.

“Seeing that there seems to have been an amicable resolution between (opposition leader Felix) Tshisekedi and (outgoing President Joseph) Kabila, it would make sense that this would take into account the (opposition) Fayulu group as well,” Foreign Minister Lindiwe Sisulu told a news conference.

“If this works and we have a government of national unity it would be a great step. That is just an idea put forward by SADC. It is not compelling anybody to go that way,” Sisulu said, speaking in Johannesburg.

South Africa and Congo are both members of the SADC bloc.

VANGUARD, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019—39

AGIDIMO ROAD: 16 years answered prayer turns sour •As community bemoans bad construction work

PROTEST: Amuwo Odofin community protesting the noncompletion of a road project in the area. Photo: Lamidi Bamidele

By Prince Okafor

L

AGOS—FOR over 16 years, residents of FESTAC Extension, AmuwoOdofin, have lived in anguish over the deplorable condition of Agidimo Road which serves the entire community.

However, after the construction of the road, one would have thought that the agonies of the residents have come to an end, but that is not to be, as the construction of the road is now posing potential danger to the community.

This is as a result of poor construction of the road by the contractor, Bastruct Nigeria Limited, BNL, that executed the project as alleged by the residents. The road which was awarded in

February 2018, is now ready for commissioning.

BNL, is a limited liability building, Civil Engineering Contractors and Design Consultants company in Nigeria.

But, the residents have described the construction work as a disaster waiting to occur, even as they are calling on the Lagos State government to come to their aid.

In a letter sighted by Vanguard, addressed to the Chairman of Amumo Odofin Local Government Area, it stated that, “After about 16 years of anguish, the entire neighbourhood wishes to express our profound appreciation and gratitude to the current All Progressives Congress, APC, led government in Lagos

State for responding to our clarion call to rescue Agidimo and its environ from being submerged by flood.

“We use this medium to draw your attention to nondesilting and de-flooding of the close adjourning Agidimo Road or create proper drainage channel to accommodate flood from Alaba Close and Suru Closes off Agidimo.

“We have taken all palliative measures to remedy and alleviate the problem but to no avail. We called the attention of the contractor, and Chief Executive of BNL and he responded that his scope of work did not cover the areas.

All pleas to make the neigbourhood smile deep down was rebuffed.

“For the record, the Closes in question are perfectly in order, no pot holes, just stagnant water that needs to be channeled into existing gutter and drainage constructed by the contractor. We do not want to be seen as Oliver Twist.”

Perennial drainage Members of the community, weekend, gathered to look for a way forward on how to resolve the perennial drainage in the environment.

Mr. Innocent Basil, one of the residents of the area, told Vanguard that he has been living in the area since 1978.

According to him, “This estate was originally constructed with underground drainage system, but when the construction of Jakande Estate started, some of those big pipes that used to take the water to the canal were blocked so the sewage system started having problem.

“Individual blocks were now asked to build their own septic tanks, and other stuffs.

That was the origin of this drainage issue. Before now the water was flowing, although at a very slow pace, but when it rains the whole place will be flooded.

“But we have been managing it, and people still drive in through the road. For about 16 years, we have been clamoring for government’s intervention as regards the drainage and so on.

“Eventually, the road was awarded to BNL, to construct. BNL, constructed the road in isolation without putting into consideration the adjoining roads and existing drainage system."

Bastruct reacts Reacting to the development, the Managing Director, BNL, Mr. Bayo Oladosu, in a chat, told Vanguard that, “When we came into the project in February 2018, the whole place was flooded. I had meetings with members of the estate and I told them that the place already was below the road level from the expressway, and at the same time, the adjourning roads were equally below the level of expressway. For us to take the water from the road and that of your neigbourhood, we have to dig the gutter a little bit down and I told them that for you to enjoy our work, you need to fill your car park with 300ml.

40 — VANGUARD, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019

IFEKAUCHE

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VANGUARD, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019—41

42—Vanguard, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019

APC— Wife of the President, Alhaja Aisha Buhari represented by wife of the Vice President, Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo (2nd right); Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State (centre) and other APC leaders during kick-off of the Presidential campaign for women and youth for the South East at Owerri, Imo state, weekend.

CJN'S TRIAL: It's plot to cow judges ahead of elections — NBA Continues from Page 5 of consistent assault by

corrupt practices amounts to corruption itself.

“Indeed, those orchestrated media trials degrade and corrupt the justice administration system quite apart from the incalculable (but obviously intended) damage that it does to persons who may ultimately be discharged and acquitted.

“In point of fact, it is corrupt practice to use as license or hide under the cover of the fight against corruption to recklessly destroy the names, characters and reputations of persons who have not been found guilty of corrupt practices by competent courts and who may ultimately be pronounced innocent of such charges.

“These media trials must, alongside the on-going desecration and assault of the judiciary, cease forthwith.

“There are two final issues that we must touch upon in this Statement, albeit, briefly. First, could it possibly be a coincidence that the current assault on the judiciary is taking place only weeks to the 2019 national election? Apart from the conduct itself being wrongful and deplorable, its timing is condemnable.

“FGN will find it difficult to convince any reasonable person that its assault against the CJN and by extension the judiciary is not aimed at emasculating that arm of the government and intimidating our Judges ahead of the 2019 national elections.

“In our afore-referenced International AntiCorruption Day Statement, the NBA had deplored “conducts that qualify as political non-accountability, absence of transparency and impunity in public service.

The FGN’s conduct in this instance qualifies, among others, as “impunity in public service.

“As a final point, it is also difficult for a disinterested observer not to see a pattern

agencies of the FGN on the heads of the two independent arms of government, to wit, the legislature and the judiciary, starting with the prosecution of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, before the CCT and now, the ill-fated prosecution of the CJN before the same CCT. “The impression must not be created that the agencies of the Executive arm of the FGN are interested in destabilizing and laying prostrate the other arms of the Government and in the process eliminating and destroying any and all voices of dissent and checks and balances.

“That is not desirable for the democracy that we strive to build neither is it good for the image of the government. We urge restraint on the part of Government and demand that the CCB follow due process in proceeding against the CJN by complying with Nganjiwa’s Judgment (supra) and other similar judicial precedents.

“This continuing attack on the justice sector must cease forthwith. FGN and its agencies must desist from debasing the rule of law.’’

Meanwhile, the Senate president, Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, yesterday advised the Federal Government to ensure that its plans to put on trial the nation’s chief judicial officer, Hon. Justice Walter Onnoghen, does not cause chaos in the judicial system and that the due process is not compromised.

Saraki in a statement in Ilorin, noted that he believed that if the government truly had genuine reason to put the incumbent Chief Justice of Nigeria on trial, it should ensure that every step in the process was transparent and the normal process as provided by the law was followed to the letter.

Saraki in the statement signed by his media aide, Mr. Yusuph Olaniyonu, said a situation where the petition which triggered the trial was submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) on Wednesday, January 8, and by January 10 on Friday, the Chief Justice was presented with it for his reply only for the charges to be drafted that same day and filed in the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, for the trial to commence tomorrow.

According to him, the haste with which the whole thing took place already indicates unnecessary haste and short-circuiting of the process of fair hearing.

“It is important for the government and members of the public to know that as somebody who has travelled this route before, we should refrain from any media trial and political players should avoid abusing the judicial process in order to achieve what they could not get through normal political contests. ‘’Everybody who is being tried should be presumed innocent until proven guilty. That is the underlining principle of our justice system.

“The proposed trial of the CJN has once again opened up the debate on the transparency and neutrality of the fight against corruption. The haste with which this trial is being pursued leaves a lot to be desired. ‘’From last Wednesday when the so-called petition against the CJN was initiated to the period the trial is scheduled to commence has been barely three working days, whereas there are pending cases where the individuals involved have been indicted some months ago but no prosecution is being considered,” Saraki said.

While noting that the anti-corruption fight had become a case of a separate

rule for the people close to the executive branch and another set of rules for other Nigerians, the Senate president stated that the fight had been compromised and politicized.

He said: “All these subjective actions politicize the anti-graft fight. They weaken national institutions. They send wrong signals. The CJN is not above the law but his trial puts the entire judicial system on trial. It sends a signal to the entire world about our judiciary. ‘’It has implications for the confidence of local and foreign investors about the system of adjudication over disputes in our country.

Thus, the matter should be handled with care, demonstrating intense transparency and strict adherence to due process.

“This trial, coming just about a month to the commencement of the presidential elections, the aftermath of which the CJN and the judiciary he is leading are set to play crucial adjudicatory role, has already raised suspicion about the real motive. ‘’There are already suggestions that this plan is set to disorganize the judicial arm after constant attempts by agents of state to undermine the federal legislature.

“Therefore, the entire country and the international community will be watching closely every step in this trial because it is definitely unusual, unprecedented and will set a record in the engagement among the three arms of government recognized in our presidential system. ‘’This trial definitely has implications for the principle of separation of powers and concept of checks and balance embedded in our presidential system of government.”

Reacting in a similar vein, speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, called for caution in the charges filed against the CJN. In a statement issued by his media aide, Hassan Turaki, yesterday, Dogara said that while the House awaits further briefing from relevant agencies, it was important that due process was followed because Nigeria is a country governed by laws and not dictates of men.

He noted that the House was not less zealous in the fight against corruption but noted that to commence a matter of that grave magnitude with a media trial was pregnant with innuendos least needed by the polity at this sensitive time.

“This is a matter that affects another arm of government and its head which should be treated with caution so as not to send the wrong signal that there is a political undertone or other ulterior motives to the issue.

“As we raised our voice

when the National Assembly was invaded by hooded security men last year, it is incumbent on us as the legislature to voice our concerns because we operate under a system where three arms of government are co - equal branches and enjoy a measure of independence guaranteed by the Constitution.

“As we approach the general elections, it is incumbent on the prosecutorial authorities to exercise caution and treat matters of this nature with utmost circumspection,’’ the speaker said.

Also reacting yesterday, the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room condemned the planned arraignment of the CJN before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, on nondeclaration of assets allegations.

The CSOs, comprising over 70 groups working in support of credible and transparent elections in Nigeria, called on the Federal Government to immediately withdraw the six-count criminal charge it entered against the CJN. In the statement signed by convener of the group and Executive Director of Policy and Legal Advocacy Center, PLAC, Mr. Clement Nwankwo, the CSOs urged Justice Onnoghen to resist any attempt to force him out of office.

The statement read: “Without commenting on the merits or de-merits of the allegations, Situation Room is concerned that the timing of the charges, the national and international public perception, as well as optics, of charging a Chief Justice of the country to a tribunal four weeks to the 2019 Nigeria General election, would be very damaging to Nigeria as a country and certainly damaging to the credibility of the elections.

“Situation Room is not persuaded that there is a national emergency that compels the allegations against the Chief Justice being prosecuted at this time, especially as case law exists that states a judicial officer (which includes the Chief Justice of Nigeria) must first be reported to the National Judicial Council, NJC, and the matter investigated and dispensed with, before such a judicial officer can be charged).

“Accordingly, Situation Room calls for the immediate withdrawal of the charges against Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen.

“Situation Room calls on the Chief Justice to resist any and all pressures seeking to compel his resignation at this time in the light of the charges being filed against him.

“Situation Room also calls on all government and state agencies to remain independent and steer clear of partisanship in the discharge of their responsibilities and duties to the public and the country.

“Situation Room is taking a watching brief on the proceedings at the CCB and will follow the proceedings closely.

“Situation Room also calls on all political parties, the candidates for elections and indeed agencies of government to understand that an election won on the basis of electoral abuse or wrongful use of state institutions or other abuses, can lead to widespread disputations that would question the legitimacy of any government emerging therefrom and could represent a pyrrhic victory.”

FG heating up polity, says Ohanaeze APEX Igbo umbrella, Ohanaeze Ndigbo said it has received with shock and disappointment, the decision of the federal government of Nigeria, acting through the Code of Conduct Bureau to prosecute the Chief Justice Of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onneghen.

In a statement personal authored by Ohanaeze President General, Chief Nnia Nwodo, yesterday, noted that legal opinion abound that the action of federal government was premature and ill conceived following an extant Court Of Appeal decision which interprets the procedure for prosecuting judicial officers.

Nwodo in the statement said “This procedure has not been followed. The fact that the National Judicial Council has been ignored is not just illegal but suggests deliberate court shopping and a predetermined objective.

“Secondly, the fact that one of the issues being canvassed by the CCB before the CCT is for an order of the CCT for the Chief Justice of Nigeria to step aside from his exalted office pending the conclusion of the trial contrary to the procedure for his removal from office as provided by the Nigerian constitution exposes the aim of the prosecution.

“A perusal of some of the depositions in the charge sheet also shows a completely distorted conception of the regulations pertaining to the declaration of assets.

Assets acquired after assumption of office are declared at the end of a public official’s tenure in order to present a comparison with assets declared on assumption of office.

“The Federal government is heating up the polity. Not long ago we were entertained with all sorts of interpretations of the Vice President’s powers while the President is on leave.

The GMD of the NNPC was accused of violating laws pertaining to the award of contracts, because he comes from a protected ethnic group and class, no investigation was conducted.

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Onnoghen’s case may overshadow NJC’s meeting

By Innocent Anaba

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HE National Judicial Council, NJC, meeting scheduled for tomorrow may be overshadowed by the case of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Walter Onnoghen, who is expected to appear before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, today, over allegation of false declaration of assets, Vanguard learned last night.

A member of the council confirmed to Vanguard, last night, that the meeting will hold tomorrow.

This is even as reactions have continued to pour in against move by the Federal Government to charge the CJN before the CCT. Onnoghen is the second Supreme Court Justice to be charged to CCT. The first was Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, who was, however, cleared of the charges of false declaration of assets.

The constitution Meanwhile, the constitution has an express provision on how the CJN and other heads of courts in the country can be removed.

Section 292 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, on the removal of the CJN provides states that a judicial officer shall not be removed from his office or appointment before his age of retirement, except in the following circumstances: In the case of Chief Justice of Nigeria, President of the Court of Appeal, Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Chief Judge of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Grand Kadi of the Sharia Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and President, Customary Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, by the President acting on an address supported by two-thirds majority of the Senate.

It was not clear at press time if a letter had been sent to the Senate by the Federal Government, demanding the removal of the CJN over the pending charge against him.

The functions of the NJC as provided in Paragraph 21 of Part One of the Third Schedule to the 1999 Constitution, states that the NJC shall have the power to: Recommend to the President from among the list of persons submitted to it by the Federal Judicial Service Commission, persons for appointment to the Offices of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, the Justices of the Supreme Court, the President and Justices of the Court of Appeal, the Chief Judge and Judges of the Federal High Court, and the Judicial Service Committee of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; persons for appointment to the Offices

of the Chief Judge and Judges of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, the Grand Kadi and Kadis of the Sharia Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and the President and judges of the Customary Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Recommend to the President the removal from office of judicial officers specified in sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph, and to exercise disciplinary control over such officers.

My security intact —Onnoghen Meanwhile, Walter Onnoghen has refuted media reports that security officers attached to him were withdrawn ahead of his proposed trial.

Onnoghen’s Special Assistant on Media, Awassam Bassey, dismissed the reports in a telephone interview with Premium Times last night.

Bassey, who said he was with the CJN till late afternoon yesterday, said Onnoghen attended a public function yesterday, “in company of his usual security aides.”

“I was with him through this (yesterday) afternoon.

We had attended the special Sunday service for the Armed Forces Remembrance Day. His security officers were there.

None of them has been changed or taken away,” Mr. Bassey said.

He said the social media had been awash with various information regarding his boss, adding that most were fake news.

Lawyers, who reacted to the development, cited the recent decision of the Court of Appeal in the case of Justice Nganjiwa v Federal Republic of Nigeria, noting that no criminal charge can be laid against a judicial officer, including the CJN, in any court of law without first filing such complaint before the NJC. Afe Babalola reacts Afe Babalola(SAN), said: “I have just received news of the proposed arraignment of the Justice Walter Onnogen, Chief Justice of Nigeria before the Code of Conduct Tribunal on allegations of failure to fully declare his assets.

“Without mincing words, I am as taken aback at this development in the same way as I was when not too long ago, DSS invaded the homes of some judicial officers, including Justices of the Supreme Court in the middle of the night on allegations of corruption.

“However, despite the similarity between the two events, two things place this latest development above the previous one in terms of ignominy namely; the status of the Chief Justice of Nigeria as the head of the judicial arm of government and the fact that since the invasion and

NJC must first investigate—Afe Babalola

the rash of prosecutions that were instituted against some judges, the Court, via the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Nganjiwa v Federal Republic of Nigeria (2017) LPELR43391(CA)has since stated firmly the procedure permitted by law when allegations of misconduct are made against judicial officers.

Disregard for constitional provisions “In my reaction to the previous invasion of the homes of judges, I referred to an article entitled Guarding the Guardians: Judicial Council and Judicial Independence, published by the Law School of the University of Chicago, which reads as follows: judicial councils are bodies that are designed to insulate the functions of appointment, promotion, and discipline of judges from the partisan political process while ensuring some level of accountability.

“Judicial councils lie somewhere in between the polar extremes of letting judges manage their own affairs and the alternative of complete political control of appointments, promotion, and discipline…The motivating concern for adoption of councils…was ensuring independence of the judiciary after periods of undemocratic rule. To entrench judicial independence, most…countries enshrined the judicial council in their constitution.

“I also stated that: It is for this reason that the 1999 Constitution in section 153 provides for the establishment of the National Judicial Council and in paragraphs 21(b) & (d) of the Third Schedule grants to the Council the power to exercise disciplinary control over judicial officers. As the allegations made against the judges are said to arise from or pertain to their office as Judges, I am of the view that the Constitution requires that any infraction by the said Judges be firstly investigated and resolved by the National Judicial Council, NJC, to the exclusion of any other body or authority.

“Happily, the views expressed by me were eventually upheld by the Court of Appeal in Nganjiwa v Federal Republic of Nigeria (2017) LPELR-43391(CA). That decision still subsists and has not been set aside.

“I, therefore, see no justification for the decision to arraign the CJN before the Code of Conduct Tribunal. Again the point must be made clear that the Constitution clearly provides for the procedure with which the Chief Justice of Nigeria can be

Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Walter Onnoghen removed from office.

Section 292(1)(a)(i) and 292(1)(b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (As Amended) provide as follows: 292. (1) A judicial officer shall not be removed from his office or appointment before his age of retirement except in the following circumstances: (a) in the case of (i) Chief Justice of Nigeria, President of the Court of Appeal, Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Chief Judge of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Grand Kadi of the Sharia Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and President, Customary Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, by the President acting on an address supported by two-thirds majority of the Senate. “(b) in any case, other than those to which paragraph (a) of this subsection applies, by the President or, as the case may be, the governor acting on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council that the judicial officer be so removed for his inability to discharge the functions of his office or appointment (whether arising from infirmity of mind or of body) or for misconduct or contravention of the Code of Conduct.

“Thus the point can even be made, that unlike other judicial officers who can be removed by the President acting upon the recommendation of the National Judicial Council, the Chief Justice of Nigeria can only be removed by the President upon receipt of an address supported by two-thirds majority of the Senate.

“Given that the above provisions are clear, it becomes more worrying to learn that aside from laying the proposed charges, the

prosecution has also filed an application seeing an order directing the CJN to recuse himself from office pending the conclusion of the trial.

“On the whole, the entire episode is one that unfairly denigrates not only the Judiciary, but also the Constitution of the land.

By proceeding as proposed, the government is unwittingly or perhaps deliberately a wrong impression in the minds of millions of Nigerians that the Judiciary is a criminal organisation. For the sake of our democracy this is a misconception that must not be allowed to fester.

“No country, no matter how well intentioned its political leaders are, can aspire to greatness if its judicial arm is denigrated and held in contempt.

While the Judiciary itself must be awake to its huge responsibilities, its efforts in this regard will surely not be helped by the erosion of its independence.”

Owonikoko, Adegboruwa Another SAN, Mr. Abiodun Owonikoko, said: “Where did the disingenuous idea come from? Given the state of the law today, the charges are premature and misdirected.

“Nganjiwa v FRN is the last word on the due process to follow in properly seeking sanction against a serving judicial officer, who is amenable to the disciplinary and supervisory powers of the National Judicial Council.

“Allegations of judicial misconduct must be initiated by recourse to NJC in the first instance.

But in the case of heads of each of the three arms of government, eventual trial, which implicates their removal from office, is by a purely political decision of the Senate.

“The rationale for

reserving powers of removal of heads of each branch of government for a cause (that is by reason of misconduct in the discharge of their offices) is to ensure that such a weighty decision, which carries serious nationwide consequences (both predictable and the unintended), is carefully reflected upon by those elected representatives.”

Rights activist and lawyer, Mr. Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, on his part, said: “On January 13, the nation was informed of a pending six-count charge against Justice Onnoghen, before the Code of Conduct Tribunal. It is expected that the CJN will be arraigned on Monday, January 14.

The basis of the charge is alleged failure by the CJN to declare his assets.

“By section 36 (4) of the 1999 Constitution, a citizen who is charged with a criminal offence must be taken to the appropriate forum with the requisite jurisdiction to try the offence, be it a court of law, a tribunal or such other quasi-judicial organ.

“By section 153 (1) (i) & (2) of the 1999 Constitution, the National Judicial Council, NJC, was established for the Federation of Nigeria. By Paragraph 20 (b) of Part 1 of the Third Schedule to the 1999 Constitution, the NJC shall ‘exercise disciplinary control over ’ all judicial officers, including the CJN. “The NJC is the appropriate forum to first raise any matter against any judicial officer, including the CJN. Thus, the NJC has exclusive jurisdiction over all judicial officers, including the CJN. “By the decision of the Court of Appeal in Nganjiwa v Federal Republic of Nigeria, no criminal charge can be laid against a judicial officer, including the CJN, in any court of law, without first filing such complaint before the NJC.”

44 — VANGUARD, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019

VANGUARD, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019 — 45

Confederation Cup

Rangers beat Bantu!

N

igeria’ reigning Aiteo cup champions, Rangers International F.C of Enugu, Sunday afternoon inside the 20,000 capacity Setsoto stadium, Maseru, earned a valuable win over host’ Bantu F.C with a 2-1 score in the first leg of Total Confederation cup 2018/2019 encounter.

Top scorers for the ‘Flying Antelopes’, Bright Silas and Aguda Godwin were the scorers for the coach Olugbenga Ogunbote side who let in a late goal off the boot of twenty-six year old South African import, Lazola Jokojokwane.

Silas shot Rangers in front on 20 minutes connecting beautifully with a Chidera Eze’ inch perfect cross while Aguda increased the lead on 87 minutes with another Chidera’ assist to send the travelling delegation into wild jubilation.

However, a little loss of concentration from the backline of the seven time Nigerian league champions allowed the host to half the deficit as Jokojokwane Lazola

scored from a tight angle on 89 minutes.

Rangers gaffer, Olugbenga Ogunbote said after the encounter, “It was a great performance from my players but for the last

minute loss of concentration. It will always get better. I believe that Bantu is not a bad side but we by the special grace of God we shall finish the job we have started here.”

Captain of the day, Godwin Aguda said after the crunch encounter, “I give God all the glory for this victory. I believe that God’s favor is upon us and we shall continue the good work in Enugu on Sunday.”

Moses to get £130K offer from Fernebahce C helsea winger, Victor Moses is bound to be tempted all the way by Fernebahce of Turkey, as the Istanbul-based side are ready to meet his £130,000 weekly pay package.

It was gathered that, while Moses feels inclined to snub Fernebahce’s offer and remain in England, the former Super Eagles star will find a six-month package worth £3.38m quite alluring.

The hefty offer has now spurred confidence among top shots at Fenerbahce that Moses will jettison all rival baits in England and sign for the Turkish Super Lig club instead of the others.

The offer becomes inevitable, as Moses prefers joining a modest club in the English Premier League, because he wants to be close to his family in England.

With equally exciting offers coming his way from Crystal Palace, Huddersfield Town, Fulham and Cardiff City, Fenerbahce know they have to virtually break the bank to get the enterprising winger.

We’re not renaming Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium – Edo Govt

Salami joins relegationthreatened Saudi side

F

ormer Shooting Stars and Warri Wolves star Gbolahan Salami has joined Saudi Arabian club Al Qaisoma FC on a short-term deal.

Salami, 27, who has been capped by the Super Eagles, previously played in Finland and Kazakhstan.

His last club was Kazak club Irtysh Pavlodar, who he played for last year.

Salami’s new club Al Qaisoma are just above the relegation zone in the Saudi second division.

They are 17th in the 20-team championship with 22 points from 20 matches, just a point ahead of Al Ain, who are in the drop zone. They will certainly need Salami’s goals and drive to stay clear of relegation.

B

ENIN CITY – EDO state government yesterday said contrary circulating reports, it does not intend to rename the Samuel Ogemudia Stadium.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary, Office of the Deputy Governor, Comrade Ebomhiana Musa said “Edo state government has said unequivocally that there is no intention to rename the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin.”

The statement said “that the name “Samuel Ogbemudia stadium” remains because it is named after the revered late Dr Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia because of his unparallel contributions to sports development in the old Bendel State adding that supporter of football in it will be a disservice for any government to the world.

“The CAF Award will contemplate changing name.” get bigger and better in the He said “this the years ahead and we clarification becomes are also going to make necessary as some our presence felt better traditional and social in all our sponsorship media platforms roles in Nigeria. Sport is misquoted the state a massive in the country deputy governor, Right especially football Hon. Comrade Philip because it is a unifying Shaibu in a live interview factor over the years.” granted the Channels Television on Thursday night.

We are committed to CAF Awards, football growth -Aiteo

O

ne of the major sponsors of the Nigeria Football Federation, Aiteo Group, has expressed determination on their quest to make the Confederation of Africa Football Awards better in the years

Lokosa in transfer link with Esperance igeria international Junior Lokosa N has arrived in the Tunisian capital Tunis for transfer talks with current

African champions Esperance If negotiations are fruitful, the striker will pen a contract with effect from January without him undergoing trials, according to the agent brokering the deal Mahmoud Ouadden/.

Lokosa arrived in Tunis on January 12 and is being accommodated in a hotel pending the outcome of negotiations.

The 25-year-old previously tried his luck with PFC Ludogorets Razgrad (Bulgaria), SK Brann (Norway) and Heilongjiang Lava Spring FC (China) but nothing came out of it.

The Kano Pillars frontman was named in Nigeria’s 30-man provisional World Cup roster and made his international debut against Democratic Republic of Congo in May 2018.

Last season, Lokosa scored a phenomenal 19 goals in 23 matches to finish as top scorer in the Nigerian Professional Football League.

ahead.

The Senior Manager, Corporate Communications in Aiteo, NdianaAbasi Matthew, who stated this at the weekend at the company’s office in Lekki, Lagos also added that the organization would continue to contribute to the development of football and sports in general on the continent and beyond.

Matthew said: “We are proud with social responsibility role in the country because with a short time Aiteo is noted worldwide as a big

Tottenham 0-1 Man Utd

De Gea heroics dent Spurs title chase anchester United have made it a low pass into the box him into the box before six wins from six games under which was too far in front of M forcing a smart low save interim manager Ole Gunnar Harry Kane and Moussa from Lloris at the front post.

Solskjaercourtesy of a 1-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley yesterday..

The result sees Solskjaer make a slice of history as the first United manager to win his opening six matches in charge, and despite Marcus Rashford scoring the only goal of the game it was David de Gea who proved to be the hero for the visitors.

De Gea made 11 saves in the second half alone to keep Spurs at bay as the hosts were made to rue a plethora of missed chances, squandering the opportunity to move above Manchester City into second place in the process.

The match began at a quick tempo with end-to-end, free-flowing football, and Spurs were the first to come close when Harry Winks latched on to Son Heung-min’s through-ball and played

Sissoko, either of whom would have been left with a simple finish.

Winks then fired over from the resulting corner before United hit back with chances of their own as Jesse Lingard sliced a halfvolley off target and Rashford then drew a routine stop from Hugo Lloris.

Spurs were struggling to cope with United’s counterattacks, and the hosts almost shot themselves in the foot when Kieran Trippier gave the ball away and allowed Paul Pogba to find Anthony Martial, whose direct running took

Kane saw a chance quickly closed down when he collected the ball unmarked inside the area, but he did have the ball in the back of the net shortly after the half-hour mark only for his close-range finish from Dele Alli’s bundled pass across the sixyard box to be correctly ruled out for offside.

It looked as though the two sides would go into the break all square until United sprung into action with just a minute remaining of the first half, capitalising on another misplaced pass from Trippier.

46 — VANGUARD, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019

Barcelona target Ighalo L

•Odion

eading 2019 Africa Cup of Nations’ qualifying goal scorer, Odion Ighalo may soon become Nigeria’s highest profiled player if he succeeds in the winter ’s transfer market from his relegated Chinese side, Changchun Yatai to FC Barcelona.

According to Barcelona page of Spanish publication, Tribuna, Barcelona are following closely as they want to bring an experienced striker to cover up for Munir El Haddadi Mohamed’s departure.

If Ighalo moves to Barcelona, he will join the class of Nigerians to have had links with the club after Emmanuel Amuneke and Gbenga Okunowo as well as Haruna Babangida, Ezekiel Bassey, Godswill Ekpolo and Elvis Ogude Onyema who featured in Barcelona B team.

Tribuna reports that Munir has grown

Maradona undergoes successful surgery A

RGENTINA ICON Diego Maradona has undergone successful surgery and will return to manage his club Dorados as soon as he is able to, according to his lawyer.

It was reported in Argentina last week that Maradona had been hospitalised in Buenos Aires after suffering a stomach bleed, though his daughter Dalma dismissed rumours of a serious illness as false.

The 58-year-old reassured fans he was fine with a post on his official Instagram account, stating he was “sorry to have worried you for no reason”.

•Maradona However, Maradona’s lawyer “Now we’re waiting for the recovery revealed the Dorados boss had undergone surgery in Buenos Aires. so Diego can return to work as soon “Diego Maradona’s surgery has as possible.”

Mexican second-tier side Dorados finished. Thank God everything went perfectly,” Matias Morla wrote began their Ascenso MX campaign on Twitter. “A thank you to medical without Maradona on 6 January, department of Clinica Olivos for your losing to 1-0 to Celaya, and they face Queretaro in the Copa MX on professionalism and humanity.

Wednesday.

Messi is only GOAT–Hazard W

tired of being constantly snubbed by Ernesto Valverde so he joined fellow La Liga rivals Sevilla for just one million euros. However, the Catalans still need to bolster their attack as Luis Suarez definitely needs more rest.

According to Diario Sport, Barcelona have already sent scouts to China to monitor the progress of Odion Ighalo from Changchun Yatai.

The 29-year- old Nigeria international used to play for Granada and Watford before joining the Chinese Super League side for 25 million pounds. During his Premier League times, he scored 27 goals in two seasons.

Ighalo took part in the 2018 World Cup tournament in Russia but failed to make a lasting impression.

Why Zidane left R/Madrid F

ormer Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has revealed the reason why Zinedine Zidane decided to leave the club.

Many were surprised when Zidane announced his departure back in May, five days after winning his third consecutive Champions League title.

Star man Cristiano Ronaldo would also go on to leave the club weeks later and the they have struggled in the time since.

And Calderon claims Zidane’s exit was due to the club’s decision to sell the Portuguese forward and keep Gareth Bale.

‘Zidane made it very clear when he decided to leave the club, Calderon was quoted as saying by Bleacher Report.

‘He insisted on keeping Cristiano and transferring Bale, and the president did completely the opposite.

‘Zidane also wanted to sign some players and transfer others —apart from Bale— but he didn’t get his wish, so he decided to leave.

And he was right.’

hen it comes to the question of who is the greatest footballer of all time, Eden Hazard is in no doubt.

The debate between who is better out of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo has been going for more than a decade and is one of the most talked about in football.

However, Chelsea star Hazard does not think there is an argument as to who is the best.

‘Two G.O.A.T.s you say? No way. There is only one G.O.A.T (The Greatest Of All Time): Him, Lionel Messi!’ he told HLN. The Belgian forward and his team were beaten when they came up against The Argentine and Barcelona in the Champions League last season.

‘Those two games against Barcelona were not my best memories of 2018. I was happy to play against Barcelona and Messi, but I didn’t deliver what I expected. I was disillusioned.

‘My three sons were there for the home at Stamford Bridge. The eldest is a big Messi fan - all of us are Messi •Hazard fans, actually. He wanted to see Messi that day, because Messi is a special •Ronaldo & Zidane player,’ he added.

•Ramon

Tottenham demand £310m for Kane R eal Madrid must smash the current transfer record if they want to prise Harry Kane away from Tottenham Hotspur, according to a report.

Kane is a long-term target for the European champions, who have netted 24 goals fewer than bitter rivals Barca, but The Sun suggests that it will take a mammoth bid to persuade Tottenham to cash in.

The World Cup’s topscoring player is said to be valued at £310m, which is £112m more than Paris Saint-Germain splashed out to sign Neymar from Barcelona in August 2017.

Madrid failed to replace record goalscorer Cristiano

•Kane Ronaldo last year, with the Portuguese forward contributing at least 40 goals in eight straight seasons before his shock departure to Juventus.

Coutinho set to turn down Man Utd move a r c e l o n a B midfielder Philippe Coutinho has

no intention of leaving the club during the January transfer window.

Coutinho only joined Barcelona from United’s bitter rivals Liverpool a year ago, but he has struggled to rediscover his best form at the Camp Nou, particularly this season.

Reports have suggested that the Barca •Coutinho hierarchy are willing to cash in on Coutinho in order to help fund a return for Neymar, but Mundo Deportivo claims that Coutinho will not leave the club this month.

Masinga dies aged 49 ormer South Africa F captain Lucas Radebe says the country has lost a

“legend” following his compatriot Phil Masinga’s death aged 49.

Masinga played with Radebe at Leeds United between 1994 and 1996 and also had spells at St Gallen in Switzerland and Italian clubs Salernitana and Bari.

“He lost his fight against cancer this morning which is very, very sad for us as a •Masinga football fraternity,” said Radebe.

“We are mourning the loss of a great legend.”

Former central defender Radebe and striker Masinga were both signed by Leeds in 1994.

“For us as Africans it was a great experience,” added Radebe, speaking to BBC World Service. “We weren’t used to the weather and we struggled a little bit - we kept each other warm at times.

Southgate on Man Utd shortlist

G

areth Southgate is under consideration to be the next permanent manager of Manchester United, according to Sky sources.

United, who face Tottenham at Wembley on Sunday, live on Sky Sports, have not made contact with the FA at this stage but the England manager’s work with young players, style of play and ambassadorial qualities have made him a candidate.

Southgate extended his contract with England in October, which will see him lead the Three Lions to the 2022 World Cup. He took the national side to the World Cup semi-finals in Russia last summer just missing out on the final after losing 2-1 to Croatia •Southgate in extra-time.

VANGUARD, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019—47

Vanguard, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019

QUICK CROSSWORD

Sudoku TODAY’S PUZZLE

FRIDAY’S ANSWER

TODAY’S CROSSWORD

ACROSS 1 Motorcycling event (8) 6 Also (3) 9 Spring month (5) 10 Move forward (7) 11 Fiasco (7) 13 Gloss (5) 14 The sign of the bull (6) 15 Summary (6) 19 Perfume (5)

THURSDAY’S SOLUTION

21 Endanger (7) 22 Submarine weapon (7) 23 Contempt (5) 24 Owing (3) 25 Immaculate (8) DOWN 2 The American reindeer (7) 3 Boring tool (3) 4 Bold as brass (6) 5 Listen secretly (9)

6 Strained (5) 7 Large sea (5) 8 Brigand (6) 12 Very many (9) 16 Root vegetables (7) 17 Mute (6) 18 Japanese robe (6) 19 Located (5) 20 Eagle’s nest (5) 23 The sun (3)

How to Play Sudoku Place a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line can have two of the same number).

Each row (nine lines from left to right), column, (also nine lines from top to bottom) and 3 X 3 block within a bold block (nine blocks) contains number from 1 through 9. This means that no number can appear twice in any block, column or row.

No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction, division or multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination.

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