NASS to ratify Confab report - Jonathan

...towards a better life for the people VOL. 25: NO. 61993

Onitsha deportees slam N1bn suit against Lagos•P.10

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013

Banks not asking for lower Naira denomination —CBN Deputy Gov•P.42, 43

NASS to ratify Confab report—JONATHAN •Jonathan seeks speedy consideration of Justice Uwais, Alfa Belgore reports •National Assembly'll accept Presidency's proposals—Rep

By BEN AGANDE, LEVINUS NWABUGHIOGU

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RESIDENT Good luck Jonathan, yesterday, said the outcome of the proposed national conference will be forwarded to the National Assembly for consideration.

The President spoke at the Presidential Villa Abuja when Muslim faithful resident in Abuja, led by the Vice President Namadi Sambo, paid him the traditional

Continues on page 5

COLUMNISTS:

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Mr & Mrs STONING THE DEVIL: Pilgrims throwing pebbles at pillars during the "Jamarat" ritual, the stoning of Satan, in Mina near the holy city of Mecca, yesterday. Pelting of the pillars symbolises their show of defiance on the third day of the hajj as Muslims worldwide mark the Eid al-Adha or the Feast of the Sacrifice, marking the end of the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca and commemorating Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail on God's command in the holy City of Mecca. AFP PHOTO

EID EL KABIR CELEBRATION:

IBB, Abdulsalami, Sultan sue for peace•P. 16

Yoruba, Igbo mistrust cause of underdevelopment — Adebayo •P. 9 C M Y K

2 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013

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4—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013

Guinea Bissau: We 'll not tolerate attacks on Nigerians again — Senate

BY JOHNBOSCO AGBAKWURU & JOSEPH ERUNKE

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BUJA—THE Senate, yesterday, said that the Nigerian government would not fold her arms and watch neighbouring African countries that have benefitted immensely from the country’s peace keeping operations and other gestures attack Nigerian nationals in their countries.

Chairman Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Senator Matthew Nwagwu, who stated this while reacting to attacks on some Nigerians in Guinea Bissau said that it was high time Nigeria began to bark and bite to stop the unwarranted and provocative attacks on her nationals.

Senator Nwagwu who represents Imo North on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, described the attack which claimed lives of some Nigerians in the embassy as unfortunate, bad and barbaric.

He said: “The latest incident in Guinea Bissau is very, very unfortunate. And saying unfortunate is a very polite way of saying something that is very bad and barbaric and unexpected of a friendly country. If you remember, Nigeria even as we speak now has her peace keeping forces in Guinea Bissau helping that country to stabilize.

“Nigeria has technical aid workers who are working in various ministries and department at no charge in that country. Nigeria has so many other aids and assistance being rendered to that country so why I said it is unfortunate is after all these things the people of that country also decided to attack Nigerians and kill some of our nationals."

Military kills 40 suspected Boko Haram terrorists in Borno T

HE military said, yesterday, it had killed 40 Islamist militants while repelling a coordinated attack in three areas of North Eastern Borno State.

Acting deputy spokesman for the army, Captain Aliyu Danja said “terrorists of an unknown strength attempted coordinated simultaneous attacks on Bama, Gwoza and Pulka, on Sunday night but the military successfully repelled all the attacks, killing 40 terrorists in the three locations while several others escaped with gunshot wounds."

Danja said in a statement that troops also destroyed a pick-up truck loaded with bombs. He added that in a separate incident, air strikes on a Boko Haram base in Kilani had “neutralised” some fighters there.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International has said that almost 1,000 people mostly suspected Islamist militants have died in the first half of this year in Nigerian jails.

Amnesty said some of the 950 victims were suspected to have been executed but many died because of the harsh, overcrowded conditions of the jails. It said some starved to death while others died after being shot or badly beaten then denied medical attention.

“The evidence we have gathered suggests that hundreds of people died in military custody in 2013 alone. This is a staggeringly high figure that requires urgent action by the Nigerian government,” Lucy Freeman, Amnesty International’s deputy Africa director, said in a statement.

The military spokesman Brigadier General Chris

SERVICE OF SONGS FOR LATE MCPHILLIPS NWACHUKWU—From left: Mr Cyrwa Ugochukwu, Elder Sister to Mrs Tina Nwachukwu, Mrs Tina Nwachukwu, Widow; and Mr Japhet Alakam, Vanguard staff, during the service of songs for Late Mr. McPhillips Nwachukwu, Vanguard's Art editor at his Lagos residence, yesterday. Pix: Diran Oshe.

Group photograph of Vanguard staff with in-law of Late McPhillips Nwachukwu, Mr Remi Iwuoparan (4th right).

UK to repatriate 267 Nigerian prisoners

BY MICHAEL EBOH, WITH AGENCY REPORT

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BOUT 267 Nigerians serving in various prisons across the United Kingdom may be deported to Nigeria to complete their sentences under the UK’s new prisoner transfer agreement, which is currently being discussed.

According to UK’s Prisons Minister, Jeremy Wright, this number is about half of the 534 Nigerians currently in UK jails,

making Nigeria to rank among the top 10 countries whose nationals are serving in British jails.

He said: “I am clear that more foreign prisoners must serve their sentences in their own countries. That is why we are currently working with the Nigerian government on a compulsory prisoner transfer agreement to increase the number of prisoners who are

Uduaghan mourns Omoruyi...says he was a patriot, nationalist

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SABA—DELTA State Governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, has described the late Professor Omo Omoruyi as a patriot and nationalist who had a burning passion for the unity and improvement of democracy in Nigeria.

Reacting to the news of the death of the renowned academic,

Olukolade, said the army had not respond when it became available yet seen the report but would to them.

the governor, in a statement by Felix Ofou, his press secretary, said Nigeria will forever remember Professor Omoruyi as an advocate of good governance in the country.

Uduaghan said that the academic community, Edo State and Nigeria in general will be affected by the painful exit of a man who at great risk to personal safety and love for the common man would always

want to speak the truth at all times.

The governor said: “Even while he was on the sick bed, when he should be thinking only about his health, he never stopped talking. He was more concerned about deepening democracy and the distribution of the dividends to the grassroots.”

transferred.

“Legislation allowing Nigeria to enter such an arrangement was passed earlier this year by the Nigerian Parliament. We are now working with them on the text of a final agreement.”

A major stumbling block to deportation of foreign nationals in the past has been the condition of prisons in their countries, but the UK has promised £1million (N250 million) to Nigeria to help improve its prisons.

There are currently 10,786 foreign prisoners in British jails, down just three per cent from the 11,135 incarcerated when David Cameron came to power more than three years ago.

Cameron had in 2010 vowed to personally intervene to send more foreign criminals home.

In April 2013, he reaffirmed his commitment, and said, “When people are sent to prison in the UK we should do everything we can to make sure that if they’re

foreign nationals, they are sent back to their country to serve their sentence in a foreign prison.

"And I’m taking action in government to say look we have strong relationships with all of the countries where these people come from.

"Many are coming from Jamaica, many from Nigeria, many from other countries in Asia. We should be using all of the influence we have to sign prisoner transfer agreements with those countries.

Even if necessary frankly helping them to build prisons in their own country so we can send the prisoners home.”

Polish nationals make up the highest foreign contingent in jails in England and Wales, with 829 currently behind bars.

Irish criminals are second with 769, and Jamaica is third with 759.

Romanians, Nigerians, Pakistanis, Indians, Lithuanians, Somalians and Vietnamese make up the rest of the top ten.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013—5

POCKET CARTOON

L-r: Niger State Governor, Dr. Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu; former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar; Emir of Minna, Alhaji Dr. Umar Faruk Bahago and former President, Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, performing the two raka'at eid-el kabir prayer at the Minna Central Mosque, yesterday

NASS to ratify Confab report—Jonathan Continues from page 1 Sallah homage.

The President who reiterated that the proposed dialogue was not for his personal interest emphasised that its timing could not have been better as the legislators at the national level were currently taking vital decisions of amending the 1999 constitution.

“This national dialogue is critical and is coming at the right time because the National Assembly is thinking about how they will amend the constitution. So the results of the discussion of course will be passed to the National Assembly,” he stressed.

President Jonathan argued that rather than read any motive into his deci-

sion to hold the national conference sceptical Nigerians should work towards ensuring that its recommendations are properly captured in our law books by the National Assembly.

He said, “It is only left for all of us Nigerians to impress it on our representatives in the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly because our state and federal parliaments must work together to ensure these are properly enshrined in our constitution so that as a nation we will hand over a country that is better than what we met to our children.”

The President further assured that he and the Vice President with members of his team will con-

LIFEWORDS

BY PASTOR ITUAH

An insincere and evil friend is more to be feared than a wild beast; a wild beast may wound your body, but an evil friend will wound your mind.

TAKE HEART

BY ELLA RANDLE

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OMPASSION also brings us into the terri tory of mystery encouraging us not just to see beauty, but perhaps also to look for the face of God in the moment of challenges, in the face of a stranger, in the face of another being — Krista Tippett Krista Tippett also says that compassion can be synonymous with empathy. It can be joined with the harder work of forgiveness and reconciliation, but it can also express itself in the simple act of presence.

It’s linked to practical virtues like generosity and hospitality and just being there, just showing up. I think that compassion also is often linked to beauty - and by that I mean a willingness to see beauty and goodness in others.

I’m not sure if I can show you what tolerance looks like, she says, but I can show you what compassion looks like - because it is visible. When we see it, we recognize it and it changes the way we think about what is doable, what is possible. It is so important when we’re communicating big ideas - but especially a big spiritual idea like compassion - to root it as we present it to others in space and time and

tinue to do their best for Nigeria so that children and future leaders of the country will be happy for it.

He noted, “We want a country that will have a direction so the discussions must have a direction. The discussion must lead Nigeria to where we want to be, not a divided Nigeria, not a Nigeria that is sown on hate, not a Nigeria that will be based on acrimony, ethnicity and tribal sentiments in the way we conduct ourselves. We must work very hard, we must talk to ourselves the way our children will not develop hate amongst themselves. And that is one of the key reasons why we decided to have a conversation as a nation.”

Justice Uwais Committee report President Jonathan, however, recalled the Justice Uwais Committee which he set up, and passed its report to the National Assembly in 2010 as well as the Alfa Belgore Committee to consider the 2005 conference which is still with the National Assembly. He asked: “Why don’t we begin to implement some of them? We need to come up with some bills in those areas we have agreed. Of course some of those bills have not come out from the National Assembly but we believe that even in the constitutional amendment that is going on some will be useful.”

The President thanked the Muslim delegation for the traditional homage.

Earlier in his speech, Vice President Namadi

Sambo commended President Jonathan for the kind of leadership he has been providing for the country particularly as the nation celebrated 53 years of independence.

He also commended the President on his outing at the just concluded 68th United Nations' General Assembly and the victory of the Super Eagles over the Ethiopian national team on Sunday. He said the President’s visit to the team brought them good luck.

The Vice President expressed sadness over the death of some prominent members of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, and other Nigerians who lost their lives in the unfortunate crisis in the northern part of the country.

Also commending the President for his genuine decision to hold a national conference that will provide Nigerians the opportunity to discuss the future of the country, Vice President Sambo called on all Nigerians to support the President to be able to deliver the dividends of democracy.

The Vice President was

accompanied by the Minister of State, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide. Also in attendance were Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar; National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki, and other top government functionaries.

National Dialogue: Reps will accept proposal from the Presidency— Ogene Meanwhile, Deputy Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Media and Publicity, Hon. Victor Ogene said, yesterday, that the House will accept proposal on the national conference from the Presidency if it finds it useful.

Ogene who spoke to Vanguard while reacting to President Goodluck Jonathan’s declaration that the Presidency will forward the decisions of the proposed National Conference to the National Assembly for consideration and passage into law, said that it was in the nature of the Seventh Assembly to acknowledge meaningful proposals from Nigerians, organizations and government institutions.

He said, "As we have always maintained, the House of Representatives is a House for all Nigerians and we do not reject communications from any quarters. We accept com-

munications from individuals, organizations, corperate organizations, NBA, Presidency, Judiciary, or any organ of government and any Nigerian.”

Ogene added that though the report of the on-going constitutional amendment exercise has been laid before the House, the House could still accommodate useful inputs from Nigerians.

He said, “The constitution amendment that we are into, though the report has been laid, it’s still work in progress. And so, we are not claiming to be all knowing, if we find useful input by any segment of the Nigerian society, we are most likely to incorporate it into what we are doing."

The legislator, however, said that the House Committee saddled with the responsibility of the exercise would not go on working on the item endlessly, saying it had a time frame assigned to it to do the work. “For us in the Seventh House of Representatives, the work of the constitution amendment review committee has a time frame. As you know, we are elected for a fouryear tenure and so, the committee is working assiduously to meet up with the current mandate we have. So we cannot go on with the reviewing endlessly. It depends on when we get whatever input”, Ogene stressed.

Learn from Mohammed’s virtues, Akpabio charges Muslims

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OVERNOR of Akwa Ibom State, Chief Godswill Obot Akpabio, has urged Muslims to learn from the virtues of the lessons and teachings of the life of the Holy Prophet and eschew from their lives everything that is against the path of peace as reflected in Is-

lam.

Akpabio who spoke while extending warm greetings to all Muslims on the Eid el Kabir celebrations, urged them to pray that the mercies of the Almighty as reflected in the message of Islam shall be strengthened in the hearts of all Moslems

and give them peace in all their efforts He urged Nigerians of all faiths to join Muslims in this season to pray for the peace of the country and the success of the present administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

6—Vanguard , WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013

Don't harm our sister, Douglas family begs kidnappers

BY SAMUEL OYADONGHA

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ENAGOA—THE Bayelsa State Police Command has confirmed the kidnap of Mrs Augusta Douglas-Ayam, elder sister to Mr. Oronto Douglas, Special Adviser to the President on Research, Documentation and Strategy.

According to reports, Douglas-Ayam was kidnapped at 8p.m., Monday night, in Ogbia town by unknown gunmen.

The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Hilary Opara, who confirmed the incident to newsmen yesterday in Yenagoa, said he had just returned to the state capital after visiting the scene of the kidnap at Ogbia town.

Opara said that no arrest had been made, but that the Marine Police had been deployed to the creeks to effect the victim’s rescue.

When contacted, spokesman for the state’s Police Command, Mr. Alex Akhigbe, said that officers from Anti-Kidnapping Squad had been deployed to go after the kidnappers.

He said: “We are after the kidnappers and very soon, they will be apprehended and the woman rescued.”

Brother reacts

Mr. Gift Douglas, a younger brother to the presidential aide who lives in Abuja, said that he received information about the kidnap of his sister on phone, Monday night.

He said: “I got the information this night (yesterday) that our elder sister has been kidnapped by gunmen, who went to her shop at 8p.m. and shot into the air before taking her away through the creeks.”

He said that the incident had thrown the entire family into mourning.

Meanwhile, Bayelsa Government has expressed shock and disbelief over the incident.

Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Markson

Fefegha said that the report of the kidnap came as a shock, but that the state government remained resolute in its determination to stamp out criminal activities in the state.

Fefegha said: “It is sad and embarrassing that it happened at a time the present administration is recording great successes in the area of sustaining existing peace.

“The state government is, however, optimistic that the security agencies will go after the kidnappers and swiftly rescue her.”

‘Have a rethink over the matter, release her'

The Oronto family of Okoroba in Nembe Local

Government Area of Bayelsa State, whose daughter, Douglas-Ayam was abducted, yesterday, pleaded with the kidnappers to give her treatment deserving of any human being and release her on humanitarian ground.

Speaking on behalf of the family, yesterday in Yenagoa, Mr. Romeo Samuel Douglas said: “The kidnap of our daughter has increased our pain as a family that is still in mourning.

“We do hope and pray that those who have kidnapped her will give her the best of treatment deserving of any human being and envision also that they will have a rethink over the matter and release her to reunite with us as a family.”

SALLAH: A cross-section of Muslims praying during Eid-el-Kab

Robbery suspect dies in Bauchi shootout

BY SUZAN EDEH

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AUCHI— BAUCHI State Police Command and the Anti-Robbery Squad team have killed an armed robbery suspect and recovered arms in Bauchi.

Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Haruna Mohammed, who stated this yesterday while briefing newsmen in Bauchi, said: “The Police received an intelligence report that a gang of armed robbers, numbering about five, attacked one Mrs Adah Gboyi of Tudun Wada Ring Road in Jos, Plateau State.

“They tied her up and made away with her Toyota Highlander SUV. The car is black with number plate Lagos LND 950 BJ, valued at N6.5 million.

“They also stole three of her handsets, but unfortunately for the robbers, the vehicle was traced to Bauchi

SALLAH: Preparing a ram for slaughter in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, yesterday.

State.”

Haruna said that men of the state Police Command laid an ambush for the robbers at Zaranda area, but the robbers engaged the Police in a shootout.

He said: “During the ex-

change of fire, one of the robbers died on the spot, while others escaped with bullets wounds, abandoning the vehicle and other exhibits.”

He added that the Police recovered the stolen vehicle, one AK-47 rifle, with No.

KO.35-6371, one locally made pistol, 55 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition, five cartridges and one magazine.

Haruna appealed to the public to report any person seen with bullet wounds at the nearest Police Station.

NIMASA probe: Reps c'ttee orders Onuzulike's redeployment

BY GODWIN ORITSE

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HE House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA’s Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund, CVFF, has ordered the redeployment of the Acting Finance Director, Mr. Victor Onuzulike.

A member of the Committee, Dr. Adejare Babatunde, said he was not satisfied with the answers Onuzulike gave in response to some of their questions during a public hearing of the CVFF. In the course of interrogation, it was observed that Mr. Onuzulike was reluctant to throw more light on questions asked by members of the committee who were angered by the misappropriation of the CVFF. At a point, the committee discovered that monies were moved from the CVFF accounts to other accounts without any memo.

It was also discovered that a number of revenue consult-

ants, including Global West Specialist Vessels Limited, were being paid from the CVFF, thereby defeating the purpose for which it was established.

Adejare pointed out that the bank statement made available to the committee was not a true reflection of what Onuzulike claimed.

The only answer Onuzulike could give to some of the questions put to him by members of the committee was that monies were being moved from one account to another with a view to growing the fund.

Onuzulike said: “The monies you have seen, that have been distributed to the Primary Lending Institutions, PLIs, were also fixed.

“You have the principal and accumulated interest. That is what has been disbursed to the PLIs. “I can mention here that we have given all the bank statements from inception to date.

“You will notice that in those statements, it is from all the funds that have been fixed

with accumulated interest up to the date, that we now give apportionment to the PLIs. “The funds that are with the PLIs are also on interest. They pay interest on that but, specifically, the present administration went a step further to seek more avenues to grow the fund and that is why we entered into special arrangements to grow this fund.”

During the investigation, chairman of the Committee Mr. Christopher Eta, noted that the exchange rate used to carry out conversion of the monies in some of the transaction were also at variance with current rates.

Woman fakes o P

OLICE in Enugu have arrested a woman that allegedly faked her own kidnap to demand a ransom from her husband.

Nancy Chukwu is accused of conspiring with a man to stage her abduction in Enugu and asking for 200,000 naira (£780;

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013—7

C'River Dep Gov's father regains freedom

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ALABAR—CROSS River Police Command has announced the release of Etubom Essien Cobham, father of the state’s Deputy Governor, Mr. Efiok Cobham, who was abducted by unknown gunmen on Friday.

A statement by Mr. Hogan Bassey, the Police Public Rela-

tions Officer, in Calabar said that the elder Cobham was released on Sunday.

He did not give details as to how the old man was released or whether any ransom was paid.

Bassey said: “Pa Cobham has been released because of pressure from the police.”

Gunmen took away Cobham at 2a.m., Friday, from his Creek Town country home in Odukpani Local Government Area of Cross River.

Witnesses said that the deputy governor’s uncle, whose name was not immediately disclosed, was also abducted by the gunmen. He was also released.

20-yr-old electrician arraigned for theft

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bir celebration in Port Harcourt, yesterday. NAN PHOTO.

AGOS— AN auto electri cian, Mr. Muyideen Ibrahim, was, on Monday, charged before an Apapa Senior Magistrate's Court, Lagos, for stealing a Hilux jeep brain box worth N380,000.

Ibrahim, 20, who resides at Olodi-Apapa, Lagos, is facing charges of malicious damage and stealing.

The prosecutor, Coporal Friday Inedu, told the court that the accused stole the brain box of a Hilux vehicle with number

GUO Motors boss escapes assassination attempt

BY OKONKWO EZE

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NITSHA— BARELY 48 hours after operatives of the Special Anti Robbery Squad, SARS, killed six suspected kidnappers in Ihiala council area of Anambra State, an Onitsha-based transport mogul, Chief Godwin Okeke, Chairman of GUO Motors Limited, escaped death by the whiskers on Monday evening.

Gunmen, suspected to be either hired assassins or kidnappers, riddled one of his private cars with bullets. They thought he was inside.

Okeke had just returned to his residence at Government Reserved Area, GRA, Onitsha, at 6p.m. and sent one of his drivers on an errand in a Toyota Sequoia SUV, with number plate ME 70 AAA. As the driver was returning from the errand, the gunmen, who had laid an ambush, opened fire on the vehicle.

Sources said that when the driver zoomed off, the gunmen trailed him to a point very

close to Okeke’s residence and pumped more bullets into the vehicle, shattering the rear windscreen and puncturing one of the rear tyres.

Chief Okeke told Vanguard that the operation was a very short one that lasted for about five minutes.

He said: “The assailants came purposely to eliminate me because within the last few

months, I have been receiving threats from various criminal gangs, ordering me to leave Anambra State completely.

“But I told them that nobody can force me out of Onitsha or Anambra State.

“They thought I was inside, because when they forced the door open, they were asking where is Oga? before they left.”

plate MUS 980 XD, where it was parked at a mechanic workshop.

He said the accused broke the side glass of the vehicle and removed the brain box worth N380,000 belonging to one Mr. Vincent Ajede.

He said that the vehicle was being repaired at Coconut Mechanic workshop located at Olodi Apapa, Lagos, before it was vandalised by the accused.

The offences, Inedu said, were committed on September 23 at 8a.m.

He said that the offences contravened Sections 285 and

348 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

Section 285 of the Criminal Law stipulates three years imprisonment for stealing, while Section 348 prescribed two years.

The Senior Magistrate, Mr. Adeyemi Amos, granted the accused bail in the sum of N50,000 with one surety in like sum.

Amos said that the surety should show evidence of tax payment to Lagos State as part of the bail condition.

The case was adjourned till October 23 for further hearing.

... bricklayer, for assault

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20-year-old bricklayer, Austine Amayi, was arraigned, on Monday, before Yaba Magistrate's Court sitting in Lagos, for alleged assault on one Monday Peter.

The Police prosecutor, Senior Inspector Anyanwu Godwin alleged that the accused committed the offense on October 12 at a house in 1, Oluwanishola Street, Bariga Lagos.

He said the incident occurred during a slight rift

which later snowballed into a scuffle between the accused and the victim.

The accused, who was said to have been squatting with the victim pending when he will raise money to rent his own apartment, stabbed Peter with bottle during the scrap and took to his heel when he discovered that Peter had collapsed.

He said the offense contravened Section 171 of the criminal Laws of Lagos State Nigeria 2011.

39-yr-old man nabbed with N82m cocaine

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AGOS— THE National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, says it has arrested a 39-year-old man, who imported 7.45kg of cocaine valued at N82 million.

Mr. Mitchell Ofoyeju, the agency ’s spokesman, who made this known in a statement yesterday, said that the suspect was intercepted at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja.

Ofoyeju said the discovery was made on October 12 “dur-

ing inward screening of passengers on-board an Ethiopian Airline flight from Brazil.

“The drug, which was industrially concealed inside food flasks and kitchen utensils, tested positive to cocaine and weighed 7.45kg.

“It is estimated to cost N82 million. It is the single largest seizure recorded at the Abuja Airport since January.’’

Ofoyeju said investigations into the case had commenced, adding that the agency’s Op-

eration End of Year Screening made the discovery possible.

He said: “The agency is prepared to counter the tricks of drug traffickers. As the year is coming to an end, we have launched Operation End of

Year Screening.

“This is targeted at preventing drug cartels from carrying out their criminal acts this season.”

The spokesman said that the suspect would soon be charged to court.

own kidnap in Enugu $1,250) ransom.

Mrs Chukwu, a housewife and trader, reportedly gave her husband’s phone number to her alleged accomplice— a commercial motorcyclist, popularly called Okada.

The man then called her husband and, pretending to be a

kidnapper, demanded the money to be paid into an account if he wanted to see his wife again.

The woman is believed to have hidden herself with the man, waiting to get a positive response from the husband, Marcus Chukwu.

Rather than pay, he went to the police, who eventually traced the bank account to a friend of the motorcyclist.

Mrs Chukwu and the alleged accomplice were arrested, and a police spokesman later said that they have confessed to the crime.

SALLAH: Rams a-roasting in Sokoto, yesterday.

8—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013

Eid-el-kabir: PDP govs, Jang-led NGF task Nigerians

BY HENRY UMORU

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BUJA—GOVERNORS elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday, charged Nigerians to use this period of sallah celebration to examine themselves and reaffirm their belief in the unity of the country, regardless of ethnic or religious diversity.

This was even as the Governor Jonah Jang faction of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF, has urged Nigerians to use the season to reflect on nation building and pray for peace and progress of the nation.

In a statement on behalf of PDP governors’ forum and Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio, the forum called on Muslims and non Muslims to use this period as a time of spiritual renewal to bring to the fore, personal discipline, peace and love for the general good of the nation.

The statement by the media officer, Wilson Adewale, Akpabio said, “as we celebrate this Eid-el-Kabir with our Muslims brothers and sisters, we must examine ourselves and not only use this period to celebrate but to also reaffirm our belief in the unity of our country regardless of our ethnic or religious diversity.”

In a related development, Governor Jang called on Muslims to embrace and exude the peace and love in the Holy Koran as they celebrate Eid-el-Kabir.

In a statement by his media officer, Yakubu Kashim, Jang said, “as we celebrate, let us remember that a peaceful nation is a prime spot for progress and development; so we must continue to pray for peace and love in our nation so that we can all reap the true benefits of a peaceful and united Nigeria.”

World Bank mobilizes funds for Nigeria's power sector

BY OMOH GABRIEL & EMMA UJAH

E

FFORTS of the Nigerian delegation to the 2013 World Bank /International Monetary Fund, IMF, meetings in Washington D.C, have started yielding positive results as the World Bang group has agreed to mobilize global funds for Nigeria’s power infrastructure development.

The Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who led the Nigerian delegation to the meetings told newsmen, yesterday, that the organisation was planning to set up a global infrastructure fund and that Nigeria would be one of

the first beneficiaries.

According to her, the bank’s private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation, IFC, would not only provide its funds but act as a catalyst for other foreign direct investment funds into the nation’s power sector.

Her words, ‘the World Bank Group, that is the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation, IFC, mega, through the World Bank president has said that they want Nigeria to be one of the focus countries in sub-Saharan African for their efforts on infrastructure, particularly on power, which means that they are willing to work with Nigeria

to invest hundreds of millions of dollars.

“They have a lending programme of about a billion dollars a year but they are willing to use that and pull in more resources from the US through the power Africa initiative from the private sector using the offices of IFC to help us address infrastructure problems.

“They want to concentrate on power, and they are already actively working with several private companies that want to work in Nigeria. They are also promising to give us another $700 million IBRD guarantees for the power sector as well as willing to invest $700 million in

transmission.”

Budget 2013 on course

The minister who also spoke on the 2013 budget, said it was on course and that reports of its failure were false According her, "we have spoken to the National Assembly on amendments and they have done something and we have decided to continue to implement.

“Please 2013 budget is being implemented, what is being perpetrated by some sections of the press that somehow the 2013 budget has fallen apart and not implemented is false.

“This budget is being implemented, it still has some issues here and there but we’ve decided to go ahead to find a solution.”

SWF to fund second Niger Bridge

The minister whose delegation included the Managing Director, MD, of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, Mr. Uche Orji, also disclosed that her team held several consultations with international investors and portfolio managers to enable them invest in Nigeria through the Nigeria Sovereign Wealth Fund.

According to her, the NSIA had been talking with IFC and looking at various infrastructure projects, including the Second Niger Bridge, which has been identified as very commercially viable.

She added that the board was also looking at other projects such as dams and irrigation in the northern part of the country, which could boost the job creation and strengthen the wealth creation programmes of the present administration.

“That’s going on, they are talking with IFC and IFC might co–invest with them, other Sovereign Wealth Funds are also looking to co-invest and they are also looking at pulling our pension fund.

EID-EL-KABIR—From left: Vice-President Namadi Sambo; President Goodluck Jonathan; and Minister of State for FCT, Mrs Olajumoke Akinjide, during paying of homage to President Jonathan to mark Eid-el-Kabir in Abuja, yesterday.

ILO makes case for passage of occupational, health safety bill in Nigeria

BY VICTOR AHIUMA-YOUNG

I

NTERNATIONAL Labour Organisation, ILO, Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, CEACR, has called on Nigeria to take necessary measures towards ensuring that the Occupational Safety and Health Bill become law .

The bill contains hazardous work that should not be performed by children under the age of 18 years.

The CEARC is the ILO supervisory body which addresses observations and directs request to member states.

The committee, in its 2013 report, charged government to ensure that the Child Rights Act of 2003, which prohibits the worst form of child labour in the country, comes into force in all the states of the federation.

The report noted that only 26 states have enforced the Child Rights Act 2003, and called on government to take necessary measures to ensure that all states comply with the provisions of the law before the end of 2013. The committee further asked government of Nigeria to provide information with regard to enforcement of the Child Rights Act in the remaining states.

Social safety nets

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala was optimistic that the Goodluck Jonathan's administration would play more active roles in social safety nets, in line with the World Bank’s renewed push towards global poverty eradication.

She disclosed that the government was already running the maternal and child health programme under which pregnant women were not only being encouraged to take advantage of free medical care but even paid a stipend when they delivered in health centres across the nation.

She said: “The programme under conditional cash transfer would be used to scale up the project on cash transfer in education in Kano State to improve the number of out of school children, especially the girls."

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013—9

Yoruba, Igbo mistrust cause of underdevelopment — Adebanjo zSays Igbos fought civil war on principle of justice zAnyim, Anya others back National conference

BY CLIFFORD NDUJIHE & IKENNA ASOMBA

E

LDER STATESMAN and stalwart of the pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, has urged the Igbo and Yoruba ethnic nationalities to join forces and develop the country, arguing that recurring mistrust between them has stunted Nigeria’s socioeconomic development.

According to the octogenarian, if the late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe and Chief Obafemi Awolowo had closed ranks, collaborated and ruled Nigeria, the country would have been an oasis of development.

He spoke yesterday in Lagos at the presentation of a 771-page book: “The Untold Story of the Nigeria-Biafra War,” written by Dr Luke Nnaemeka Aneke.

Adebanjo picked holes in agelong comments blaming Igbos for the 30-month civil war that claimed about three million lives, saying “When we chronicle the diary of what led to the NigeriaBiafra war, a lot of people felt the Igbos must be blamed. There is no doubt that mistakes were made but the principle on which war was fought was on the ground of a person who does not want to be cheated.”

The major mistake

Said Adebanjo, who is in full support of ongoing efforts to hold a national conference: “The major blunder the Igbos and the Yorubas made was that they misinterpreted friendship. I, Azikiwe and Awolowo had come together, will we be where we are today? So, that was the major mistake that we made. If Azikiwe was Prime Minister of Nigeria then and Awolowo was Minister of Finance, where do you think Nigeria will be today? All the wonders of what happened in the West would have been replicated in the entire country, with such collaboration. But, it was never so.”

He continued: “The history of the war has to be told very honestly. There has been a lot of prejudices here and there. And a lot of friends have been made enemies all because of book presentations. The meticulous way, intelligent manner and chronological order that the author put the book is commendable. The author has been able to move from the trend whereby previous

CONFERMENT—From left: Wife of Benue State Governor, Mrs Yemisi Suswam; President of Hansei University, Sung-hae Kim; First Lady of Nigeria, Dame Patience Jonathan and Wife of Ebonyi State Governor, Mrs Helen Elechi, at the conferment of honorary degree on Dame Patience Jonathan, in South Korea.

authors make unnecessary comments in their books at a time we ought to ensure that Nigeria is united and the various ethnic nationalities live in oneness. This is not a time when we should be emphasizing what separates us. At this point, I want to direct your attention to what is captured in the book, how long the Yorubas and the Igbos have been coming together to ensure the unity and progress of Nigeria. When we discuss this, we have to talk about the crisis of 1963.

When the crisis came, the President at that time, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe waded in to ensure there was peace in the West.

“I must also mention that we must not allow minor things to separate us because we committed a lot to keep this nation one, especially the Igbos and the Yoruba. Therefore, the Igbos and the Yorubas have no cause to quarrel. We have our differences, so, I’m also not oblivious of the fact that the tongue and the mouth at times do quarrel.

In those days, in spite of the fact that Zik was a non-Yoruba, he was very popular in the West. You hear Zik this, Zik that. In fact, when the Football Club of Azikiwe is going to play in Apapa, we all thronged to that place to watch the team play.

But, we must remember where we are coming from and go back to the old times. In view of what is happening in the country today, let

us learn our lessons.

“It was surprising to some people when President Jonathan recently sued for a national conference because of his earlier arguments that there was no need for it. According Chief Obafemi Awolowo, only an unreasonable man will see a superior argument and not change his mind. In case many of you don’t know, Azikiwe during his time sued for one Nigeria based on Unitary government, The likes of Awolowo preached Federalism, which Azikiwe later got convinced and in 1956 said that federalism was imperative.

“Federalism gives room for each region to develop at their own pace. After the 1956 conference, it was then Azikiwe and others were convinced that Federalism was imperative for there to be a healthy competitiveness among the regions. The West established its own university; the East did the same and likewise the North.

National conference is imperative

On ongoing debates trailing national conference moves, he said: “Our unity in this country should be that of unity of

purpose. We should not allow minor things to disunite us.

That’s why I’m grateful to the author in the way he has presented the book. It will make the young ones see the war from an unbiased perspective. Our unity should not be like that of a horse and its rider. That’s why this national conference is imperative at this moment.

And one thing previous governments had used to confuse Nigerians is that a national conference will disintegrate Nigeria and bring the sovereignty of the constitution to question. But come to think of it, is this present constitution ours? Even when Obasanjo was been sworn-in in 1999, he swore to uphold the tenets of the constitution. Which constitution, is it the constitution, which he doesn’t know anything about the content?

Even Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar himself said before the swearing-in that he doesn’t know the content of the constitution. So, why do you want to tie us down with a constitution that you don’t know the content? In fact let me say that the constitution that we had at independence was a better one because it preached that each region must be allowed to grow at their own

pace. That was why the West had free education, the East had free education. Let us go back to that constitution. The sovereignty we all sue for should be that of the people.”

Jointly organised by Ndigbo Lagos, Aka-Ikenga and Lower Niger Congress, notable persons at the event included Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim (who was represented by his special adviser, Dr. Ferdinand Agu), Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu (rtd), Chief Raymond Obieri, Professor Laz Ekwueme, Chief Fred Agbeyegbe, Igwe NP Iloeze, Engr Mike Uzoigwe, Mrs Nkechi, Chief Martins Agbaso, Professor Joe Ezeigbo and Kalu Onuma.

Although, the event was meant to be a book launch, it became an avenue to rally the South and the Middle-Belt for President Goodluck Jonathan’s proposed national conference, for which a presidential advisory committee has been set up to tinker out modalities on how to proceed.

For instance, the Ijaw delegation was led by Chief TK Ogoriba, the Itsekiri delegation was anchored by Chief Fred Agbeyegbe and the Middle-Belt Forum was led by Abuga Onalo and the ceremony was chaired by Chief Ayo Adebanjo, who is from the South-West.

Speaking at the event, Dr Agu said Nigerians must do the needful to ensure that the country does not experience another civil war.

“Lamenting the massive destruction wrought on the polity by the war, he said:”It is our duty as a generation to ensure that, that history does not repeat itself... We need dialogue. Let’s prepare our minds for national conversation.

Let’s hear one another out. We have many things to talk about. Without dialogue we are preparing for confrontation. We have a nation to build for ourselves and future generation.”

The Igbos have no problem with Yoruba — Anya

In a welcome speech, the President General of Ndigbo Lagos, Professor Anya O Anya, said The book is a must read, as we are all aware that we have a young generation who don’t know the history of this nation. Therefore, it’s important that we make them conscious of history has been. We the old ones must remind the younger ones that the rules have changed, through a book like this.

Before the war, the Igbos had no problems with the North or the West.

But the Igbos were only standing up against the injustice meted against them. But the fact remains that we wouldn’t have gone to the war.

The major problems we have encountered in this time past, is that Nigeria has been in disrepair in the midst of plenty and governance don’t face the welfare of the common people. It’s unfortunate that Nigeria has the highest level of poverty and youth unemployment in the world. It’s also sympathetic that I have never seen a nation like Nigeria where the people are dismissive and negative about their country.

10—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013

Muslims defy rain to pray in Lagos

L

AGOS — THOUSANDS of Muslim faithful in Lagos nd its environs, yesterday, defied the early morning rain as they trooped out of their various homes to observe prayers in celebration of Eid-el Kabir.

Correspondents, who went

FANI-KAYODE VS ODUAH:

Yoruba youths side Minister

BY JOSEPHINE IGBINOVIA

L

AGOS — THE N a t i o n a l Committee of Yoruba Youths, NCYY, has accused former Aviation Minister, Femi FaniKayode of politicising the recent plane crash involving the Associated Airlines’ plane by his call for the sack of the Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Oduah.

In a statement, its president and regustrar, Comrade Odeyemi Oladimeji and Barrister Oyewole Olurin insisted that it was embarrassed by Fani-Kayode’s statements.

It pointed out that Fani-Kayode, who after “his tenure as Aviation Minister was allegedly recommended for five years ban by the Senate Committee on Aviation,” could suddenly wake from slumber to cast aspersion on the minister.

Health minister charges nurses, midwives

BY WILLIAM JIMOH

M

INISTER OF Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu has urged nurses and midwives in the country to be humane in discharging their duties , saying lack of humane attitude has remained a major challenge undermining healthcare delivery in the country.

Chukwu who spoke during the 7th edition of Nigerian Nursing Excellent Awards, NNEA, in Lagos, noted that nurses and mid-wives played important roles in ensuring efficient healthcare delivery.

round the city reported that both old and young thronged the praying grounds in their respective areas to observe the prayers.

Many Muslims clerics were seen carrying umbrella of various sizes to cover themselves while the prayers were going on at the designated praying grounds.

From Epe Sheikh Abdul-Raman Sadalah, the Chief Imam of Epe Central Mosque, led Muslin faithful to pray at the Central Mosque, Oke-Balogun, instead of the open praying ground because of rain.

Sadalah, in his message, called PRAYERS: Cross-section of NASFAT members performing prayers to mark Eld-el Kabir, for love and tolerance among yesterday, at Lagos State Old Secretariat, Oba Akinjobi Road, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos. Photo: Nigerians, irrespective of their Kehinde Gbadamosi religion and tribes.

He said no nation would prosper and develop without love and tolerance among its people.

The cleric enjoined Muslims to imbibe the spirit of sacrifice

BY OKONKWO EZE Onyeka Ugwu as the applicants, on geria on July 24, amounted to a in their daily activibehalf of the 76 others, while the At- gross violation of their rights and ties as exemplified NITSHA — THE Federal High torney-General of Lagos State and the a breach of the provisions of the by Prophet Court 4 sitting in Lagos, presided Commissioner of Police, Lagos State 1999 Constitution, as amended.

Muhammed.He deThey noted that the court cried the spate of over by Justice Anumogobia is ex- are the respondents. should mandate the first reThe suit was brought as a motion maiming and killing pected to commence hearing on Januof innocent citizens ary 29, 2014 in a N1 billion civil suit on notice pursuant to Order 11, Rule spondent to re-absorb and accomin some parts of the instituted against Lagos State Gov- 1&2 of the Fundamental Rights (En- modate the applicants within country and called ernment, by the 76 victims who were forcement Procedure Rules), 2009, Lagos State of Nigeria since they for fervent prayers for deported from the state and aban- Sections 34 (1) (A), 35, 40, 45 (1), 42 are Nigerian citizens and are endoned in Onitsha, Anambra State on (1), 46 (1) and 6 (1) of the 1999 Con- titled to reside in any part of Nidivine intervention. stitution, as amended; Articles 5, 6 geria, including Lagos State.

Sadalah urged July 24, 2013.

The applicants equally sought Muslims not to conThe suit was filed by seven of the and 12 of African Charter on Human a perpetual injuction restraining sider the celebration deportees, including Joseph and Peoples Rights.

In the motion filed on their behalf, the respondents, their agents, as an occasion for Aniebonam, Osondu Mbuto, Osondu merry-making only, Agwu, Nnenna Ogbonna, Emily through their legal counsel, Chief privies, subordinates, workers but also called for so- Okoroariri, Friday Ndukwe and Barrister Ugo Ugwunnadi, an and officers, howsoever called, ber reflection and Onitsha-based legal practi- from their further deportation or rededication to the tioner., the applicants are pray- refusing them free entry into Laservice of God and ing the court to declare that they, gos and free exit therefrom, as humanity. as Nigerian citizens are entitled well as an order mandating the He appealed to to the enjoyment of their funda- respondents to tender a written wealthy Muslims to mental rights as provided for in apology to them by publishing extend their hands Sections 34, 35, 36, 37, 40, 41 and the apology in the following of fellowship to the 42 of the 1999 Constitution, as newspapers: THISDAY, Vanless privileged in the guard and Daily Sun continuamended.

BY OLASUNKANMI AKONI society by assisting The applicants are also seek- ously for 30 days, from the date them with food, ing a declaration of the court that of the first publication, for unlawdrinks and other neAGOS — LAGOS State Government, their arrest and detention in vari- ful and gross violation of their cessities of life. yesterday, said the headquarters of The S a d a l a h Lord’s Chosen and Charismatic Revival ous camps, Oshodi rehabilitation constitutional rights.

Also in their written address, centre, police cells and prisons, commended Gov. Church, in Ijesha, on Oshodi Apapa Expressthe applicants noted that the iswithin Lagos State for no offence Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State for way, was able to hold Sunday worship and known to law and without trial sue for determination is whether curtailing the ex- other activities because of a moratorium and conviction by a court of com- the action of the respondents in cesses of political granted the church for special programmes. petent jurisdiction, amounted to arresting, detaining and their Controversy had trailed the Sunday wor- a serious breach of their rights subsequent deportation from thugs in the state.

He said Lagos ship and other activities of the church in spite as provided for in the relevant Lagos to Onitsha, Anambra State State Government of the government seal. sections of the constitution, add- is justified in law, in view of the Commissioner for the Environment, Mr. ing that such an action was ille- supreme provisions of the 1999 had been very upright and vigilant in Tunji Bello, who gave the explanation, said gal, null, void and unlawful.

Constitution of Nigeria, adding ensuring that mis- the moratorium which followed an applicaThey also sought an order of that if the issue is resolved in the creants posed no se- tion by the church authorities, expired yes- the court to declare that their negative and against the recurity threat to the terday. deportation from Lagos State of spondents, the applicants are residents.

He insisted that the church was closed Nigeria to Anambra State of Ni- entitled to the reliefs sought.

“We are, however, down to prevent imminent calling on the secu- outbreak of killer diseases rity agents to inten- in the area and the state at sify efforts in ensurmembers.

BY GODWIN ORITSE ing that there is no large as well as serve as was sending Save-OurThis came as down- Soul, SOS, messages to breach of peace from deterrent to others.

It will be recalled that ofstream operators in the oil the relevant authorities any quarter in the ficials of the state Ministry state,” he said.

OUR MONTHS af- and gas sector alleged including the Nigerian Sadalah, at the end of the Environment last ter an oil tanker; MT that there had been an Navy to no avail. of the prayer, per- week, sealed the head- Vanin ran aground at the upsurge in attacks on oil The vessel was reported formed the symbolic quarters of the church over vessels at the anchorage to have hit a rock around Lagos anchorage, anslaughtering of a alleged gross environmenby pirates.

Lagos Bar Beach and had ram to signify the of- tal abuse and erection of other oil tanker, MT VicVanguard gathered that subsequently taken in tory 1 has sunk at the ficial rite by fellow structures on Odo the ill-fated vessel, MT Muslims to do same. Asimawu Drainage Chan- same area as a result of Victory 1 had been drift- water that eventually reported turbulent caused her to sink. nel, System 6c. weather, killing two crew ing for several hours and

Onitsha deportees slam N1bn suit against Lagos O

Why The Lord’s Chosen church held services — Govt

L

Oil tanker sinks in Lagos waters

F

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013—11

UCH performs 1st open heart surgery …plans to carry out 30 surgeries in six months

BY SOLA OGUNDIPE

I

BADAN — THE first open heart surgery in a teaching hospital in Nigeria has been successfully carried out at the University College Hospital, UCH, Ibadan, Oyo State.

The feat was carried out by surgeons at the UCH in conjunction with a team of surgeons from Tri-State Cardiovascular Delaware, United States of America, A statement by the institution’s Head of Information Unit, Mr. Toye Akinrinola, disclosed that the four-hour surgery was to correct a leaking heart valve in a 19-year-old secondary school leaver.

An elated Chief Medical Director of the UCH, Professor Temitope Alonge, noted that the UCH was moved to embark on the exercise as a way of alleviating the hardship being expe-

rienced by Nigerians with heartrelated challenges.

He stated that as the first teaching hospital in Nigeria, the UCH should take the lead in critical areas of medicine, propelling it into ensuring that complex surgeries (like open heart surgery) were carried out in the hospital.

“We are the pioneer teaching hospital in Nigeria, and we should be taking the lead. We are going to do this and we intend to make it a continuous exercise.

"In fact, within the next six months, we intend carrying out not less than 30 heart-related surgeries and at affordable cost to Nigerians.”

Alonge, who lamented that Nigerians pay exorbitantly to undergo such procedures outside the country, pointing out that the cheapest rate outside Nigeria was about N2.5 million.

“This is outside the airfare and hotel bills. It will run into millions.

But with us here, it will be a lot

cheaper and the access is there. The first surgery is heavily subsidised as a way of encouraging Nigerians to have confidence in our healthcare system.”

Alonge stated that the Federal Government had given the UCH a mandate to improve on the training of doctors as a way of enhancing more access to adequate healthcare in Nigeria, adding that with this mandate, the era of Nigerians traould be a thing of the past.

Leader of the doctors from

the USA, Dr. Kamar Adeleke noted that the patient would be back to his normal activities in less than two months.

“He does not have anything to fear about life expectancy.

He will soon resume his normal activities, and do all the things he was used to before he took ill,” Dr. Adeleke said.

Adeleke gave assurance of his continued support to providing access to adequate healthcare as obtained in other developed countries.

Clerics urge ASUU to end strike to enjoy Nigerians’ sympathy

BY OLA AJAYI

I

BADAN — MEMBERS of the Academic Staff Union of Universities have

FEAT: The surgical team that performed the feat at University College Hospital, UCH, Ibadan.

been called upon to allow thousands of students roaming the streets to return their schools so that the union will not lose the sympathy of Nigerians.

The call was made yesterday in Ibadan by the President, Sword of the Spirit Ministries, Bishop Francis Wale Oke and the President of the Word Communication Ministries (WOCOM), Apostle Sunday Popoola at different fora in Ibadan.

Bishop Oke who spoke with newsmen ahead of a crusade entitled “Grace and Power” said it would be honourable for the university lecturers to shift on their current no-going back posture on the face-off between them and the Federal Government now that Nigerians still valued their undying passion for the rejuvenation of education sector before people got tired of the issue.

While appealing to the striking lecturers and the

Okogie, SPN, others warn Aregbesola against schools re-classification

BY SAM EYOBOKA & VICTOR AHIUMA-YOUNG

L

AGOS — AS the re-classification of public schools in Osun State continues to generate controversy, Archbishop-Emeritus of Lagos Catholic Archdiocese, Anthony Cardinal Okogie, the Socialist Party of Nigeria, SPN, and the Education Rights Campaign, ERC, a non-governmental organisation, have called on the state governor, Rauf Aregbesola to reverse the new education policy, warning that such a policy if implemented would negate on the educational fortunes of the state.

Reacting to the issue, Okogie wondered what might have necessitated the action of the Osun State government in wanting to merge schools, when it was very obvious that such a move would be inimical to the educa-

tional advancement of the state.

“I do not understand why Aregbesola would want to take such an action. What is the rationale behind it? What does he really want to achieve by such an action? Those who say they know all about education know nothing at all. No single individual or group can provide sound education. Qualitative education can only be enjoyed when there is ample co-operation between parents, the government and the church.

“The government cannot do it all alone. By trying to merge all these schools, including changing the single sex schools to co-educational, the government would only succeed in drawing back the hands of the clock,” he stated.

Also, the Education Rights Campaign, ERC, and Socialist Party of Nigeria, SPN, have called on Nigerians and all peace loving citizens

to ensure that the merger is reverted.

This came as PSN claimed two of its members were arrested on Sunday by officials of the Department of State Service, DSS, while protesting the school merger alongside other activists in Oshogbo.

The group gave the names of those arrested as Comrade Alfred Adegoke, the protem State Chairman of SPN and Coordinator of Democratic Socialist Movement, DSM in the State and Comrade Oladele Omokunle (a member of both PSN and DSM), alleging that they were arrested at gun point when they gathered peacefully at a public meeting organized by the Campaign for Democratic and Workers Rights, CDWR, in the premises of the Fakunle Comprehensive High School, Oshogbo, the state capital..

government to sheathe their swords in the interest of students loitering about, he said parents could no longer bear the traumatic and seeming endless solution to the face-off.

In his own view, Apostle Popoola pleaded with P r e s i d e n t Jonathan to save the country from further trouble by setting aside his second term ambition.

He said Nigerians would not forget Mr. President if he could successfully organise the National Conference and organise another free and fair election in 2015.

Ajumobi to reconstitute cabinet month end

BY OLA AJAYI

I

BADAN — GOVER NOR Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has said he will re-constitute the state executive council which he dissolved weeks ago by the end of this month.

He said this after observing the two rakat Eid prayer commemorating the Eid-el-Kabir celebrations at the Agodi Praying Ground, Ibadan yesterday.

To have an all-inclusive cabinet, he hinted that consultations were already going on with party leaders in the state.

Vanguard gathered that some of those sacked by the governor may be re-appointed.

The governor was also at the Ikolaba residence of the Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, Alhaji Abdul-Azeez Arisekola Alao to celebrate the occasion with him.

Ondo to renovate elementary schools

BY DAYO JOHNSON

A

KURE — AS part of efforts at tackling the challenges facing elementary education in Ondo state, government has concluded arrangement to renovate all dilapidated structures in primary schools across the state.

Commissioner for Information, Mr Kayode Akinmade said in a statement yesterday in Akure.

According to Akinmade the state government will not only sustain the beautiful infrastructures in its mega schools but also renovate all public primary schools in the state to meet the mega school standard.

“Starting from this fiscal year, five public primary schools would be renovated per local government and by the end of three years, all public primary schools would have been renovated to a befitting standard.

“There is a teachers cluster training programme that will soon commence, meant to train and retrain teachers to enable them be more efficient and effective” the statement further mentioned.

12—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013

My election affirms Urhobo desire for mainstream politics — Aguariavwodo

Amnesty Programme: Itsekiri women plan protests

BY DANIEL GUMM

W

BY FESTUS AHON

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GHELLI—SENATOR-elect for Delta Central senatorial district, Chief Emmanuel Aguariavwodo, yesterday, described his victory in the just concluded by-election in the district as a testament of the Urhobo nation’s desire to return to the mainstream of the politics of the country.

Addressing newsmen in his Okpare-Olomu country home, Ughelli South Local Government Area, Aguariavwodo said: “The people of Delta Central rejected in clear terms, politics of opposition.”

He congratulated the people for speaking in one voice and without mincing words that “enough is enough” and same showed that they were back into the mainstream politics.

Aguariavwodo thanked the state governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan and other aspirants of PDP, particularly Obarisi Ovie OmoAgege, Chief Ighoyota Amori, Chief Fred Majemite, Chief Halims Agoda, Chief Solomon Udele, Chief Andrew Oru and Mr Solomon Edojah, whom he said were equally qualified to win the election for the party and the Prof.

Sam Oyovwaire-led campaign council for their support.

He said: “The beauty of what happened was that all these men and the PDP family carried to the people, the message of unity, the need to be in the mainstream politics and that it was time for the people to return to the mainstream and remain part and parcel of the indivisible Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

He thanked the Urhobo Progress Union led by Chief Patrick Aziza, for the fatherly role they played in giving their advice to all those who aspired for the senatorial position.

LECTURE ON NIGERIA AT 53: From left: Pastor Tunde Bakare, Chairman, Board of Trustees, Center for Change; Prof. Pius Adesanmi, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada, Guest Speaker; Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, President, Centre for Change, and Prof. Itse Sagay, Chairman, during the annual lecture on Nigeria at 53, in Lagos, yesterday. Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi .

APC rejects Delta Central senatorial by-election result ...demands fresh poll A LL Progressives Congress, APC, has rejected the result of the Delta Central senatorial by-election announced by Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, demanding for “a fresh election that would allow the people of Delta Central to freely elect a senator of their choice.”

The APC candidate, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor, who addressed newsmen in Effurun, Delta State, accused the state government and all its agencies, including INEC and security agencies, of working in favour of the ruling party, PDP. He said: “I hereby, place this on record that no by-election took place in Delta Central on October 12. What took place was a sham, calculated to select a senator, the first in any democracy in the world by the government and all its agencies, including INEC, the mil-

itary and other security agencies working together to achieve this nefarious and predetermined outcome.”

He alleged that the whole process was militarised as voters were intimidated to stay at home and were not allowed to come out and exercise their franchise, adding that soldiers supervised the snatching of ballot boxes by PDP stalwarts and thugs.

“In places that were not strongholds of PDP, INEC found every reason in the book to bungle the exercise, including but not limited to the lame excuse by the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, members that their allowances for the training they received few days back and the money for the voting exercise which they had not even conducted, be paid. The payment for training and election conduct is clearly within the purview of the gov-

ernment of the day and INEC for which they have been heavily funded by tax payers,” he said.

Emerhor also accused the military of supervising the thumb printing of ballot papers in private homes of PDP stalwarts, adding that in the few areas where the semblance of election took place, the exercise started beyond 3p.m., which was outside the constitutional and electoral provision.

“The aim was to delay the exercise to give room for PDP to manipulate the system in the dark of night, which was what actually happened across board. INEC failed to provide transportation for men and materials and left this critical responsibility to the Delta State Government, which provided them the opportunity to hijack and divert the materials.”

Go to court, Delta PDP chair tells APC, others

BY AUSTIN OGWUDA

A

SABA—DELTA State Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Peter Nwaoboshi, yesterday, admonished losers in last Saturday’s senatorial by-election in Delta Central to stop making inflammatory statements but to rather shift the battle to the tribunal, which would soon be set up for redress if they have credible and convincing evidence to substantiate their allegations of being rigged out.

Addressing newsmen in Asaba, Nwaoboshi said that those calling for the cancellation of the election should fol-

low the proper channel, instead of heating up the polity, noting that “the law is clear, nobody can annul an election once concluded except the courts.”

He dismissed the claim that the PDP-led government used the military to intimidate voters.

“Even before this election, some people were predicting bloodshed. Many of them in the opposition had said that they would do this and that and now lives and property were protected. We didn’t hear of burning of cars and killings. They said the military intimidated them. That is the issue now, maybe if we

had allowed what happened in Kokori before the election to happen, they would jubilate. Now that security had been provided, they are saying that the process was militarised. That is not correct.”

Commending the security agencies, he said: “I want to say a big thank you for disappointing those who wanted to use the exercise to maim, burn, steal, kidnap and destroy propertiy and lives of innocent Deltans.

“I appeal to you as our dear security agents not to be deterred by the unguarded statements of professional political failures and neophytes,” he added.

ARRI—ITSEKIRI women, under the aegis of Benin River Women Forum, BRWF, have resolved to embark on protests over what they alleged was “hatred and discrimination against Itsekiri youths, who are beneficiaries of the Federal Government’s amnesty programmes,” by officials in the Amnesty Office, Abuja.

The women, who took the decision after their meeting in Koko, Delta State, yesterday, were drawn from the various Itsekiri communities on the Benin River in the Warri North Local Government Area of the state.

Spokesperson of the group, Mrs. Florence Nanna, said: “While beneficiaries from our neighbouring ethnic group are being pampered, getting what is due them and are being sent out for training and educational programmes, those from Itsekiri are discriminated against, maltreated and denied what is due them.”

PDP chieftain begs Jonathan to appoint Urhobo as Minister

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BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

ENIN—A CHIEFTAIN of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Delta State, Chief Solomon Udele, has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to consider an Urhobo son or daughter for appointment into his cabinet as minister, when filling the vacancies created by the recent dropping of some ministers.

He also said that the secret behind the recent victory of the party at the just concluded Delta Central senatorial election, was the developmental efforts of Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan.

Udele, who lost the PDP primaries to the eventual winner, Chief Emmanuel Aguariavwodo, congratulated members of the party.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013—13

Jonathan’s 2015 campaign posters flood Ilorin

BY DEMOLA AKINYEMI

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LORIN—THE 2015 Campaign posters of President Goodluck Jonathan’s presidential ambition, yesterday, flooded strategic spots in Ilorin Central Eid praying ground, Kwara State.

The poster was sponsored by a group, Foundation for Empowerment and Uniting of Nigerian Youths.

Some of the posters were seen on walls along New Yidi Road, in Ilorin.

The messages on the posters reads: “Let the Good Work Continue”, “In Culture, in architecture and for the future, you are the best. Support Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan for continuity. He has done it. He is doing. He has also promised to do more despite challenges.”

Meanwhile,the Senator representing Kwara Central at the National Assembly, Dr. Bukola Saraki, the state Governor, AbdulFatah Ahmed and the Emir of IIorin, Alhaji Ibrahim sulu-Gambari, were among thousands of Muslim worshippers at IIorin Eid praying ground.

The two rakats superogatory prayers to mark the day were led by the Imam of IIoin, Alhaji Muhammed Bashir.

The short prayer was followed by slaughtering of rams by the Chief Imam to pave the way for other Muslims to do same.

In his sermon, the Chief Imam, Alhaji Muhammad Bashir, urged Nigerians to refrain from acts capable of disintegrating the country.

He urged politicians to always allow the wellbeing of their followers be paramount in their minds.

He said politicians should always work towards ensuring the indivisible entity of the country.

The Emir of IIorin, Alhaji

Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, in his Sallah message urged Nigerians to eschew tendencies that could cause disunity of the nation.

The monarch urged Nigerian Muslims to use the occasion for sober reflection.

The monarch called for more prayers from Nigerians to get rid of the security and other challenges facing the nation.

Governor AbdulFatah

Ahmed, after the Eid prayer, paid Sallah homage to the Emir of IIorin at his palace where a mini-durbar was organised for him.

Among the governor ’s entourage to the Emir’s Palace were the state deputy governor, Mr. Peter Kisira, the Nigerian Ambassador to the Netherland, Mrs Nimata Akanbi, the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Mr. Rasaq Atunwa, among others.

BENIN-ORE ROAD: Long queue of vehicles on the bad portion of Benin - Ore road.

Photo: Barnabas Uzosike.

Bar APC from Edo LG re-run election —PDP

BY GABRIEL ENOGHOLASE

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ENIN—AHEAD of the October 22, 2013 council election re-run in Esan North-East Local Government Area and some wards in Uhunmwode, Ovia North-East and Ovia Sout-West Local Government Areas in Edo State, state Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Dan rbih, has called on the Edo State Independent Electoral Commission, EDSIEC, to disqualify the newly registered All Progressives Congress, APC, from contesting the rescheduled re-run elections.

He said that APC should not be allowed to contest the election in Esan North-East council and eight other wards in other councils of the state.

According to Chief Orbih, the call for the ban derives from the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010, as amended, which forbids a new entrant into a re-run election.

Chief Orbih, who addressed supporters at a rally in Uromi

to garner support for his party added, said: “The only parties that can participate should be those that were in existence when the election was declared in-conclusive.

We will ensure that the law is followed.”

However, reacting to the call, former state chairman of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, Mr. Thomas Okosun, insisted that PDP has no right to call for the disqualification of APC. He said that APC, as a duly

registered political party, has every right to contest the election, adding that PDP was dead in Edo State and was looking for any short cut to victory. “They should be prepared to meet us on election day,” he said.

FG flags off airlift of Christian pilgrims Saturday

BY CALEB AYANSINA ABUJA—THE Executive Secretary of Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC), Mr. John Kennedy Opara, has disclosed that the Federal Government would kick off the airlift of over 30,000 pilgrims to the Holy land, with President Goodluck Jonathan leading the first batch on Saturday.

Opara, who stated this, while briefing newsmen in Abuja, maintained that all arrangements had been con-

cluded for the airlift of the pilgrims, adding that President Jonathan will not only seek the face of God over the security challenge facing the country during the pilgrimage, he would also use the occasion to sign the most awaited Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) with the Israeli authorities.

According to him, the agreement would provide the legal framework for direct flights from Nigeria to Israel, and bring down the loss of capital flight.

NCPC boss assured that adequate security arrangements have been put in place with the Israeli government to ensure total safety of all pilgrims, during and after the exercise.

He disclosed that 30 percent of the total number of the pilgrims were on self sponsorship. He said that the exercise would be divided into two batches, with the first batch starting on October 19 and 20, while the second batch kicks_off on October 27, with over 2000 pilgrims for each

Mark mourns Omoruyi

BY JOHNBOSCO AGBAKWURU & JOSEPH ERUNKE

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BUJA—SENATE President, David Mark, has lamented the death of former DirectorGeneral of the defunct Centre for Democratic Studies, CDS, Professor Omo Omoruyi, saying the country has lost one of her fertile minds in politics and academics.

Senator Mark, in a statement by his Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, Mr. Kola Ologbondiya in Abuja, yesterday, described the late University don as both political scholar per excellence and political encyclopedia.

Also describing him as a statesman, he said: “Omoruyi was an academic and political giant who was very vast in the political history of Nigeria and Africa,” adding that a vacuum had been created with his exit.

The Senate President said Nigerians and generations yet unborn would remember Prof.

Omo Omoruyi as a scholar who was ever ready to offer useful direction especially during difficult times.

Delta LG scribes urge support for Uduaghan

BY FESTUS AHON

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GHELLI—FORUM of Local Government Secretaries, Delta State, has urged the people of the state not to relent in their support for the administration of Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, insisting that the governor was committed to their well being.

Commending the governor for constituting the board of government parastatals in the state, the forum, in a statement by its Chairman, Mr Isaac Atikueke, during its meeting in AkukuIgbo, Oshimili North Local Government Area of the state, said: “The constitution of the boards will facilitate and enhance government business across the state.

“We urge all Deltans to continue to support Governor Uduaghan in his drive to bring better life to all Deltans.”

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14 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013

Anambra 2013: Group asks traders to shun APGA zAlleges insult by APGA flag bearer

BY OKONKWO EZE

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NITSHA—REGIS TERED voters in Nigeria, under the aegis of Conference of Nigeria Registered Voters, CNRV, have warned traders in Anambra State against voting for the flag bearer of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Mr. Willie Obiano in the

November 16 governorship election in the state.

President of CNRV, Mr Jezie Ekejiuba who sounded this note of warning in a statement yesterday in Onitsha, said their grouse was because of Obiano’s recent campaign speech where he was quoted as describ-

ing traders as second class citizens in the state.

Obiano reportedly said: “I am pained when people dismiss Anambra indigenes as traders. A state that gave the world Chinua Achebe, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Kenneth Dike, Alex Ekwueme and Odumegwu Ojukwu

cannot afford to play second fiddle to its contemporaries in education.”

According to Ekejiuba, who is also a human rights lawyer, ‘’registered voters consider this statement coming from Obiano as an insult to traders in Anambra State, as most of whom are eminent personalities and graduates with bachelors and masters degrees.’’

CNRV added that by referring to Anambra

traders as citizens who play second fiddle because of lack of education, Obiano meant that they ‘’have little or no education,’’ adding that ‘’this is a wrong assumption which is to say the least, unfortunate.’’

He further said that, “Anambra State is inhabited by proud traders and professionals.

The state is what it is today because of the great contributions of her proud and prosperous market traders. This

is not surprising because the state is home to the biggest market in West Africa- the popular and historic Onitsha Main Market.”

Describing Obiano’s speech as reckless, Ekejiuba asked the APGA’s governorship candidate to apologize to the traders without further delay, as the speech had exposed him as one who was likely to pursue anti-traders’ policies if voted into office.

Imo to establish special school for the blind

O LAUNCHING: From left: Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu (rtd), Professor Anya O. Anya, Mr. Ferdinand Agu, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, chairman of occasion, Mr. Fred Agbeyegbe and Dr Luke Aneke, Author of the Book, during the formal launch of the book The Untold Story of the Nigeria-Biafra War by Dr Luke Aneke, at the Muson Centre in Lagos , yesterday. Photos: Biodun Ogunleye.

From left: Eze Uche Dimgba, Chief Sir Oliver Akabueze and Chief Ebere Ubani.

From left: Dr. Raymond Obieri, Prof. Laz Ekwueme and Prof Anya O. Anya, at the event.

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WERRI—GOVER NOR Rochas Okorocha of Imo State said, yesterday, that the state government had concluded arrangements to establish a special school for the blind by 2014.

Okorocha said this when members of the Nigeria Association of the Blind, Imo chapter, visited him at the Government House, Owerri.

The governor said he

was touched by the plight of the blind and the partially sighted persons in the state and promised to provide them with education and employment opportunities, to ameliorate their sufferings.

He assured them that his administration would prioritise the welfare of the physically challenged persons, to give them a sense of belonging.

Okorocha also promised an upward review of the bursary award to those in institutions of higher learning and promised to support the association financially, to enable it successfully host its forthcoming zonal conference.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Association, Mr Clinton Amaechi, appealed to the governor to address some of their pressing needs.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013—15

CELEBRATION OF EID-EL-KABIR BY MUSLIM FAITHFUL ACROSS NIGERIA, YESTERDAY

From left: Special Duties Minister, Alhaji Tanimu Turaki, Vice President Namadi The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa'ad Abubakar III (left) and Sokoto Sambo, his son, Amir Sambo and the National Security Adviser Col. Muktar Dasuki, State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Mukhtari Shagari, during the Eid-el- at the Airport Road praying ground in Abuja. Photo: Abayomi Adeshida.

Kabir celebration in Sokoto.

From left: Former Governor of Kaduna State, Senator Ahmed Makarfi,Governor Ramalan Yero of Kaduna State, Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Isiaq Hamza Danmahawaye and the Chief of Staff to Governor, Alhaji Aminu Yahaya, at the Murtala Muhammed Square praying ground in Kaduna. Photo: Olu Ajayi.

From left: Emir of Dass, Alhaji Usman Bilyaminu, Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State and state Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Mohammed Ladan, during the Eid-el-Kabir prayer, at Dass Local Government Area, Bauchi State.

From left: Senior Special Assistant to Ekiti State governor on Research and Documentation, Mr. Hakeem Jamiu, Governor Kayode Fayemi and Special Adviser to the governor on Political Matters, Alhaji Ayodele Jinadu, during the celebration of Eid-El-Kabir in Ado-Ekiti.

From left: Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, fomer Lagos State governor, Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, Oba Riliwan Akiolu, Oba of Lagos and Alhaji Sikiru Alabi-Macfoy, at the Lagos Central Mosque, during the Eid-elKabir prayer in Lagos. Photo: Bunmi Azeez.

From left: Kwara State governor, Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed, former, governor of the state, Senator Bukola Saraki, Speaker, Kwara State House of Assembly, Mr. Rasaq Atunwa and former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Alfa Belgore, during the Eid-el-Kabir prayer, at Yidi praying ground, Ilorin.

Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State watching as the Chief Imam of Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State (left) and Na- Ibadanland, Alhaji Busari Suara pertional Chairman of PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, during the formed the slaughtering a ram. Photo: Dare Fasube. celebration in Yola.

16 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013

Eid-el-Kabir celebration: IBB, Abdulsalami, Sultan, govs, others sue for peace

BY SAM EYOBOKA & CALEB

AYANSINA AGOS—TWO former mili tary Heads of State, Generals Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, were among prominent Nigerians who felicitated with Muslim faithful as they celebrated the Eid-el- Kabir festival, yesterday.

Others included state governors, the Catholic Bishop of Lagos, Archbishop Adewale Martins, the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, the Lamido of Adamawa, Alhaji Muhammadu Barkindo, as well as Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN.

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IBB, Abdulsalami Generals Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar in their messages called on Nigerians to pray for sustained peace and stability of the country.

Speaking shortly after the prayers to mark the celebration at the Minna Central Mosque, the duo, in their separate speeches, enjoined Nigerians to live in peace and love one another.

“We must respect the tenets of Islam which call for peace and I hope that each one of us will try to maintain peace and be our brother’s keeper,” Abubakar said.

Sultan In Sokoto, the Sultan, Alhaji Abubakar urged striking workers to call off their strikes and go back to the negotiating table. ”We wish to use this opportunity to call on all those on strike, especially university academic and non-academic staff to call off their strikes so as to reduce the sufferings of the people. ”And they should go back to the negotiating table in order to bring an end to the crisis. ”The strike of medical workers has on its part, caused loss of many lives and untold hardship to the sick who cannot afford going to private clinics,” Abubakar said.

He also expressed concern with the insecurity in the country, saying: “It is a matter of great concern.”

The Sultan appealed to all Muslims to live peacefully and avoid all acts of violence.

“We wish to call on the politicians, especially those holding executive positions, to help in ensuring the security of this country,” he said.

The CAN and Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan admonished Muslim faithful to use the celebration of this year’s Eid-el-Kabir to re-establish pillars of love and tolerance among their neighbours.

Onaiyekan gave the advice when he joined the FCT Muslim community to pay Sallah homage to President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa.

Oritsejafor CAN President, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor said: “At occasions like the celebration of the Eid-elKabir, prayers should center on the re-establishment of the pillars of love and tolerance for which Islam is known and admonished Muslims to shun acts that are unpleasant to the senses which are qualities not assigned to Islam.

Archbishop Martins In his message signed by the Director of Social Communications, Very Rev. Msgr. Gabriel Osu, Archbishop Martins enjoined Muslims throughout the country to use this period to rededicate themselves to the life of sacrifice as exemplified by the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his only son in obedience to God’s will.

“So, you can see that there is a lot of similarity between the story of Ibrahim and Jesus. Both amplified on the need for us all to be ready to make sacrifices, to be tolerant of one another and to be obedient to the will of God,” Martins stated.

Also, several governors including Babatunde Fashola of Lagos, Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo, Dr Babangida Aliyu of Niger, Peter Obi of Anambra, Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara as well as Senator Chris Ngige also asked Muslims to use the opportunity of the Eid-el-Kabir to reflect on their relationship with Nigerians in other religious groups by making peace with them to ensure the progress of the nation.

Ajimobi Addressing newsmen at the Government House on the significance of Eid-el–Kabir celebration, Ajimobi said he was waiting for leaders of the All Progressives Congress, APC, to submit their nominees to enable him constitute his cabinet.

“I am waiting for APC leaders to submit lists of their various nominees to guide me in constituting a new cabinet,” he said.

The governor said he dissolved the cabinet to reinvigorate administration of the state.

On Eid-el–Kabir, the governor, who said the celebration was all about sacrifice, urged the people of the state to rededicate themselves to the service of the state.

Gov Aliyu Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger said the country needed

VISIT: From left: Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State and Chief Victor Umeh, during the visit to Chief Vincent Obianodo (The Young Shall Grow), who was shut by armed robbers in Lagos, at Orlando, USA, where he is recuperating after a successful surgery. peace and unity in any circumstance.

According to him, peace and stability will enable the country to attain its goal of sustained socioeconomic development in all spheres of human endeavours.

Lamido of Adamawa In Yola, the Lamido of Adamawa, Alhaji Barkindo asked both the Federal Government and Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, to reconcile their differences with a view to re-opening universities closed three months ago due to strike.

According to the monarch, no nation can develop when its educational sector is stagnant.

On insecurity, he urged his people to live in peace with one another and assist government in maintaining peace.

He stressed that government alone cannot protect the lives and property of its citizenry without the support of the people.

“I, therefore, call on the good people of the state, irrespective of their differences, to support government’s effort toward ensuring security.”

Okorocha, Mimiko Governors Rochas Okorocha of Imo and Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo states also urged Nigerians to use the occasion of the celebration to reflect on the challenges facing the nation.

In their goodwill messages, Okorocha and Mimiko on Tuesday in Owerri and Akure urged Nigerians, especially Muslims, to pray for peace and unity of the country.

In a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Imo governor, Mr. William Unadike, Okorocha congratulated all Muslim faithful and called for tolerance among adherents of differ-

ent faiths.

He expressed his optimism in the future of the country as one entity and pledged to take steps that would further strengthen the unity of the country.

Okorocha said that Nigeria would remain indivisible, in spite of the myriad of challenges it is facing.

In his message, Mimiko urged Nigerians, especially Muslims, to use the occasion of the Eid-el-Kabir to pray for peace, unity and progress of the country.

He further charged Nigerians to submit to the will of God in the belief that only Him could help solve the nation’s problems.

Dickson Also, Gov. Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa congratulated Muslims in the state and urged them to promote the positive attributes of humility, love and unity.

Dickson enjoined Muslim faithful to emphasise the importance of religious tolerance, noting that religious tolerance remained a vital ingredient for peace and development to thrive during and after the Eidel-Kabir.

Orji Gov. Theodore Orji of Abia State also felicitated with Muslims in the state by urging them to use the period to pray for peace and unity in the country.

"Nigeria is a great country that has great potentials, capable of dictating the pace in world affairs, hence all hands must be on deck to ensure that the nation’s progress is not hampered”, he stated.

Yuguda

Gov. Isa Yuguda broke a 37year old tradition by performing this year’s Eid-el-Kabir prayer in Dass instead of the usual Bauchi emirate.

Yuguda told the Emir of Dass, Alhaji Othman Usman in his palace that he was starting a new tradition where a sitting governor would rotate the prayer in the six emirates of the state.

“This is the first time in the 37 years of Bauchi State that a sitting governor is performing the Eid-el-kabir prayer outside Bauchi emirate.

Fashola In Lagos, Gov. Babatunde Fashola urged Nigerians, irrespective of their ethnic and religious differences, to embrace peace and tolerate one another.

Fashola made the call at the Obalende praying ground, Ikoyi, Lagos, where he observed the Eid-El-Kabir prayers.

The governor, while describing the celebration as a day of thanksgiving, urged Nigerians to toe the line of peace for the stability and progress of the nation.

“We must seek forgiveness from God and forgive our neighbours and fellow human beings.

“We must pray that the philosophy and ideal of sacrifice to build our society exists. Because, it is only under the atmosphere of peace that we can prosper and bring economic prosperity to our people,” he said.

The Chief Imam of Central Mosque, Cable Point, Asaba, Alhaji Liman Umar, urged Nigerians to live in peace and harmony to overcome the country’s challenges.

Umar made the call while delivering the Eid-el-Kabir sermon at the central mosque in Asaba.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013— —17

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18 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013 T did not come as a surprise to wary Nigerians that President Goodluck Jonathan called for a national conference.

When the Senate resumed for its new legislative year in September this year, its President, Senator David Mark, had backed the call for a “national conference of ethnic nationalities.”

For many, it was a bold kite-flying. Dur- termine the form the conference should ing his October 1, 2013 speech to the na- take, rather than reading out terms of reftion, President Jonathan unveiled his in- erence or preconceived direction such a tention to call this conference, and made conference must take.

As a newspaper, our primary concern is good his promise by inaugurating the Senator Femi Okunrounmu 13-member Presi- that Nigeria must rediscover the path to dential Advisory Committee on National growth and national development. We Dialogue on Monday, September 8, 2013 must do away with centralising influences that made the federating units dependent at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The committee has six weeks to come up on the centre, rather than being centres of with modalities for empanelling a confer- development. It has long been established ence, which will allow Nigerians to talk, re- that the Nigerian federalism stopped workassess the nation and give it a new direc- ing from the moment the military in 1966 tion that will take into a future of progress introduced the unitary system of government and used the 1979 presidential conand national stability.

For the first time in the history of confer- stitution to impose centralised command of ences and constitutional talks, the empan- federalism on the people of Nigeria.

In other words, the sovereignty of the peoelling authority has given the committee a free hand to consult with Nigerians to de- ple was taken away and vested in the seat

I

Confab: Power to the people

of governmental power, especially the office of the President and office of the state governor. Nigerians were no longer able to decide, who ruled them. Rather, it was these powerful executive offices that decided and Nigerians merely lined up during the polls to vote in line with already decided outcomes.

The constitution we expect from the impending conference must give power back to the people of Nigeria by drastically reducing the weight of responsibilities the Federal Government is saddled with. This over-burdening made the Federal Government very ineffective and unable to make impact.

Devolution of powers must be taken very seriously, and this must include allowing the peripheries to control resources in their localities for rapid development, while the centre collects generous royalties to enable it ensure even national development.

It is only when power is sufficiently devolved that Nigeria will move forward, and the intensity of ethnic, religious and regional tussles to control the centre will abate.

OPINION

BY HAKEEM BABA-AHMED Continued from yesterday's Viewpoint pg

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HEY would have effectively lost all ground they may have gained under the cover of protecting Northern interests or the achievement of improvements in intra-PDP democracy. What would they gain by conceding to a Jonathan candidature in 2015? Clemency from EFCC? Guaranteed Senate seats? Free hands to appoint and install successors?

Can they trust President Jonathan to deliver, even without Bamanga Tukur as chairman of the PDP? Can they ever be trusted by President Jonathan’s people, particularly in the heat of the campaigns for support in the North and parts of South-South?

At this stage, it is looking increasingly unlikely that the PDP will heal itself of the damaging rifts within it. Too many bruised egos are smarting from the crises. The stakes are too high to stand down. A no retreat, no surrender posture has been forced upon all parties in this conflict, and the prognosis is very bleak for the party and the nation. The judiciary will be sucked into the crises in the very near future, and the legislature will feel the heat and reflect it across the nation.

The crises in the PDP will assume dangerous ethno-religious dimensions.

If the rebels in the PDP join the opposition APC eventually, they will expand its potential to defeat the PDP, but at the expense of very damaging geoC M Y K

Dangers ahead ethnic dichotomies. An alliance between majority North and the South West can make some additional capital from antiIjaw grievances in the South-South, but it will also have to contend with damaging exploitation of ethno-religious faultlines in the North. With many parts of the North daily shedding blood from the activities of insurgents and scores of inter-ethnic conflicts, a significant rise in tension engineered by political competition will represent a very serious threat to manage. Much of the North is under one form of military presence or the other, and an escalation of tension or breaches of security may mean that the 2015 elections are conducted under a substantially militarized environment.

All elections in Nigeria are liable to be hugely disputed, but one conducted under heavy military occupation will most likely erode all credibility.

President Jonathan will have to fight for his political life while battling escalating security challenges. The Jamaatu Ahlil Sunnah Lid’daawati Wal Jihad (a.k.a. Boko Haram) appears bent on continuing its fight, this time holding as hostage, rural communities. The national landscape is dotted by low intensity conflicts that take lives routinely in villages and hamlets, particularly in the North. Criminal activities such as crude oil theft and kidnappings are

digging in around weaknesses of the security infrastructure of the nation. They damage the image of the leadership, and cause incalculable damage to the economy and the reputation of the nation as safe for business and investment.

Where will President Jonathan strike the balance between his politics and national security? How much will he deploy to fight blatant theft of the nation’s resources and assure Nigerians that the economy can survive and grow in spite of massive assaults by brazen pillage and corruption? What credentials will President Jonathan take to Nigerians in 2015 to convince them to give him another four years?

Virtually every critical institution in the democratic process will be exposed to the current tensions and stresses being generated by political manoeuvres.

INEC says its is being severely undermined by powerful political interests with any eye on 2015. It will get worse when it asks for funds and is told to make do with little; or when its vulnerability is further exploited by professional fixers. The opposition will make capital from the internal conflicts of the PDP, but will make many mistakes of its own. It could narrow its goal around replacing President Jonathan, rather than achieving a holistic regime change.

It will pay a huge price for the wrong

choices in candidates and failures to articulate how it differs from the PDP. It will have to engage in delicate negotiations with the rebelling PDP members, if they choose to join it; or it will have to contend with a major opposition particularly in the North if they choose to pitch their tents elsewhere. It could push elements in the Jonathan camp to take desperate measures if they perceive that life without power will be unliveable in Nigeria. It could alienate a substantial rump of the elite if it adopts a rigid posture on corruption, and it could alienate many supporters if it mishandles intra-party issues.

The next few months will be very difficult for the nation. The token offer of a National Dialogue is unlikely to represent much of an asset for President Jonathan as he battles widespread public dissatisfaction over his performance, damaging and debilitating opposition from his party, serious security challenges and an economy apparently limping from poor management and industrial-scale theft of sources of revenue. If he is pushed beyond his current position, President Jonathan could also conceivably dig in and seek re-election at all cost. His opposition will want to see him out at all cost. At all cost is the very point democratic systems exist to avoid. *Dr Ahmed, a commentator on national issues, wrote from Abuja.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013— —19

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VEN though he obviously wants another term in the presidential villa in spite of his reluctance to make an open declaration of it just yet, it should worry us all that President Goodluck Jonathan seems to be swamped by the demands of his office. The office appears to be taking too much out of him. By his body language the President seems a naturally quiet person, one not given to making trouble or looking for one and one is tempted to think that let for him, he would gladly give up the presidency if it proves too hot for him to handle.

But the historic demand placed on him as the first Nigerian president from a minority ethnic group- his sense of duty by his own people not to mention the fact that he obviously enjoys the office even if the demands give him troublehis responsibility to the minority people of the oil-producing NigerDelta would not make him yield his office that easily. Yet the

demands on him increasingly seem too heavy on his shoulders. He has obviously grown more grey hairs with his eyes looking more drawn than they once were. But then he sought the office, he is still seeking it and must therefore bear the burden.

He might be doing his best even if it is not very good enough. He seems acutely aware of the general perception by Nigerians that he is out of his depth. This might be fast turning him into a grumpy and, worse yet, cynical president. His cynicism is playing out in his apprehension of grave national issues that might define his place in the history of Nigeria. Should Jonathan totally give himself up to cynicism like people who let anger cloud their sense of judgement, he would have ruined the little opportunity he has left to make a dent in the perception that his is a middling presidency. Then, too, he would have once more proven Achebe right in his view

,

that the major problem with Nigeria is one of leadership even though evidence abounds of the complicity and active involvement of the Nigerian followers in the country’s failure. Nor can any narrow definition of leaders as public figures invested with political power be of help as we struggle to find a way out of the maze in which we have driven ourselves.

There are a thousand and one things wrong with Nigeria; the many problems facing us as a people in this boundaried space we know as our country fall under different categories that can be summed up in one wordcorruption. However and wherever you want to look at the matter, the single elephant that cannot be ignored as we grope for a way in this crowded Nigerian house is corruption. This is, however, the very word that offends our president. Jonathan hates the

A microcosm of Abia’s political and developmental macrocosm

L

BY EKEKWE EJU

ET me confess that my choice of title for this piece, which in any case is my first in a long while, sounds weird. Having opted for a political and activity hibernation of sort, in the past few years, not a few would have expected me to debut from my selfimposed holiday, smoking with rage, and breathing furiously, vintage OTJ. But time and tide have changed with so many factors contributing to my simmering rather than combative approach in writing. I shall return to that later.

Secondly as one who even as an underaged, cut his political teeth during the Second Republic, when such colourful politicians as Dr. K. O. Mbadiwe, Dim Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, Dr. M. I. Okpara and Chief Collins Obih (all of blessed memory), held sway in the old Imo and Anambra states, now South East geo-political zone, I underwent tutelage of sort under this great wordsmiths; men who elevated intellectual and factual politicking, laced with flowery clichés and euphemisms, that added so much colour and humor to our socio-political environment and lexicon.

In line with the above, Ochendolopment, my crazy manipulation, was coined to describe my assessment of the infrastructural and developmental progressions, given obvious economic constraints in Abia State. It is a critical evaluation of the application of the available limited funds and rates of success achieved, within a given time frame. In this piece, I will attempt an insight into the actual rate of development in Abia within this second and last segment (2011 to date), of the present Abia Government. I have also elected to ignore the period 2007-2011, variously described and rightly so, as the years of the locust. In so doing, one will draw C M Y K

inferences from and make comparative analysis of the earnings accruing to some of our neighboring states, alongside Abia. I shall also base my assessment on four major sectors viz: General Infrastructural Developments, Power Generation and Security.

One person whose courage I admire a lot, Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, cried out recently that only N14billion out of about N21billion accruing to his State, has been released for the month of July. Since that assertion remained un-replied even from the appropriate quarters, it stands therefore to reason that our dear Oluwarotimi was right that his State allocation for July was about N21billion.

Within this period, the total that aggregated to Abia was about N4 billion. Succinctly put, the ratio between Abia and Rivers allocation is 1:5.

We have it on good authority that Akwa Ibom State earns much higher than its Rivers counterpart. It therefore stands to reason that the developmental efforts in these two states that share common boundary with Abia, cannot be compared with the latter, given their accrued earnings overtime.

Howbeit, like the saying in Igboland goes, Ana eji isii ahu amata uto nshi: (translated: You can deduce the real taste of faeces from the foul smell of a fart).

The Bible equally place faithfulness in little assignment as a sign of what one can do with bigger assignment, if and when such is given. With the much the Governor has achieved with the little resources available to him, it stand to reason that if he receives half of what is accruable to Akwa Ibom, he will perform more. Whilst not stating that Abia is today an Eldorado, as that will be unnecessarily sycophantic, but it smacks of bad faith to ascribe nothing positive to the

,

Making sense of Jonathan’s view of corruption

He seems acutely aware of the general perception

by Nigerians that he is out of his depth; this might be fast turning him into a grumpy and, worse yet, cynical president

word and this is not because he shares in the near-universal view that ours is a corrupt polity.

Jonathan doesn’t hate the word because he believes it captures the essence of our problems. Rather the President hates the word because he thinks corruption is over-hyped among the problems confronting us. He said so during his last chat wit the media on national television. He thought lack of infrastructure, for example, is a greater problem than corruption.

But as I pointed out here last week, there is a direct link between our lack of basic infrastructure like good roads or constant electricity and corruption. Billons of dollars have been appropriated for electricity in the last 10 years. One estimate put the amount spent up to the period under the Obasanjo administration at N16 billion.

Rather than providing power what emerged is the involvement of certain persons, including lawmakers called upon to investigate the clear theft of the sums budgeted for electricity, in the misappropriation of the funds.

What happened to the fund generated for the welfare of Police officers? What happened to the socalled subsidy for petrol and the investigation that followed the theft of these funds? But the President thinks corruption is over-hyped.

It is important that Nigerians understand this stance of their President even if they don’t share it. Having some awareness of what the President thinks of the matter would aid our understanding of why the fight against corruption has never been won, why it is a lost cause right from the start. Perhaps the President is not alone in this view. It is very possible that past

Whilst not stating that Abia is today an Eldorado, but it smacks of bad faith to ascribe nothing positive to the present government, especially in the area of provision of lasting and durable infrastructures

,

present government, especially in the area of provision of lasting and durable infrastructures. Umuahia Capital and the indeed the State have of recent witnessed an upswing in infrastructures, viz: The Construction of a new Government House, a new Deputy Governors Lodge, International Conference Centre , new Secretariat Complex and remodeling of the old ones, several housing estates, the Ubani Umuahia Modern Market which is 95% completed, Judiciary and New High Court Complex at both Umuahia and Aba, ASEPA New Headquarters, the Umuahia Specialist Hospital and Dialysis Centre, the reconstruction of Amachara Specialist Hospital, several urban and rural roads at the three senatorial zones of the state amongst others. ne might argue that these are basic infrastructural edifices needed for the take off of the State, but these had been lacking in the past 22 years. With a few exceptions, all other successive governments, to say the least, have been retarding development of the State.

When early last year, I wrote commending the Orji -led Government for a breakthrough checkmating the perennial power supply in the state, not a few arm-chair crit-

O

Nigerian leaders have the same view as Jonathan in spite of their public avowals to the contrary. It would not be difficult for Jonathan to know the thoughts of these past leaders since those still alive among them are close to him as members of the highest advisory council in the country. It may therefore not bother the President what Nigerians think of him as far as this matter is concerned. Did he not famously say he couldn’t ‘give a damn’ about what Nigerians thought of his stand on certain national issues?

Y

et I’m inclined to cut the President a slack, interpret his comments in this instance in more charitable light by saying his ‘I-don’t-give-a-damn’ comment was an expression of his personal frustration and exasperation with the many problems Nigerians expect him to solve rather than a picture of his true feelings. If he knew the answer to the problems he is expected to solve, Jonathan would no doubt give it. But he doesn’t know what the right answer is and thus lets off steam by periodic outbursts of emotion and careless utterances. His frustration also shows in the cynical way he responds to questions and reacts to issues. He is becoming thickskinned and impervious to criticism, a trait he displayed again and again during his media chat.

This is one step from being autocratic for, if he doesn’t watch it, he might find himself taking very desperate steps to make up for his more obvious shortcomings. We saw this in Sani Abacha. It would be most terrible in an apparently easygoing man like Goodluck Jonathan.

ics attacked me, both on phone and on the social media.

Few months after, all these areas, including my Item, Bende Local Government Area homeland were re-connected to the national grid. Abians and Nigerians can indeed attest to the fact of the further success recorded in this sector, and equally on the aptness of my prediction. When truth is self evident and facts are so glaring, one need not adumbrate. It is only a matter of weeks that the Aba project under Geometrix will be commissioned. That way the light condition in Aba, and the entire Abia will be fully restored. Yes, it can only get better and better.

Insecurity has posed the greatest challenge in the country. In recent time, the menaces of kidnappers and Boko Haram have assumed an alarming proportion. Abia was a notorious case in point. Kidnappers under the inglorious leadership of the notorious Osisikankwu, had a field day taking people hostage for ransoms. Sometimes people were killed even after huge ransoms were paid.

It reached a climax with the abduction of the kind-hearted medical and legendary generous doctor of Victory Christian Hospital, Aba, who was kidnapped and brutally murdered somewhere in Isiala Ngwa, even after huge sums of money were reportedly paid as ransom. The outrage that greeted his murder was unprecedented. It was obvious that something needed to happen.

The synergy between the Abia Governmant and the Security High Chiefs, notably the Chief of army Staff, led to the arrest and killing of the murderous OSISIKANKWU gang, and the dispersal of the few remaining ones. Abia State citizens now live in peace amongst themselves. It was in recognition of these and the above, that Governor Theodore Orji, received an International Award in October 2012, for ensuring Adequate Security in Abia. *Mr. Eju, a public affairs commentator, wrote from Abuja.

20— Vanguard,

WEDNESDAY,

OCTOBER 16 16,, 2013

Pump up your health with pumpkins

•Pumpkins

BY SOLA OGUNDIPE

I

F you love melon soup then you already know that pumpkins are a delicious and nutritious addition to your diet.

More Nigerians actually need to include this underrated superfood as a great and healthy addition to their diet, too.

You can actually start enjoying pumpkin now. Cut it into slices, lay in a roasting pan, brush some extra virgin olive oil over it and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes to an hour. Serve warm on its own or on top of a green salad.

Alternatively, you can prepare pumpkin soup. Bake your pumpkin then scoop out the cooked flesh, add two cups to a blender with some vegetable or chicken stock, add spices, black pepper, and a teaspoon of honey or other sweetener.

Pumpkin is an excellent source

of complex carbohydrates also known as the “good carbs” that help provide essential energy

to the body. It contains plenty of fibre to keep bowels moving properly. Just one cup of pumpkin has three grammes of fibre which aids digestion and aids weight loss.

The brilliant orange colour of pumpkin is indication of its high beta carotene content.

Beta carotene is a precursor to vitamin A, which is needed for healthy immunity and vision.

It helps with skin healing, protecting against sun damage, and even helping scars to fade.

Beta carotene found in pumpkins may reduce cancer risk. Diets high in beta

carotene have been linked with a reduced risk of certain cancers, including: breast, prostate, lung, cervical, and skin cancer.

Pumpkin can aid electrolyte balance after a workout. It contains more potassium than a banana (564 mg of potassium vs. 422 mg in a banana).

One cup of cooked pumpkin contains 11 mg of vitamin C well known for its immuneboosting properties. Beta carotene found in pumpkins helps boost overall immune healthand significant reduction in infection risk.

• L-R: Nutrition and Health Manager, Unilever Nigeria, Mr. Victor Ajieroh; Lagos State Nutrition Officer, Dr. Abimbola Ajayi; Enugu State Nutrition Officer, Mrs. Henrietta Ugwu; and Tea and Spreads Category Manager, Unilever Nigeria, Ms. Vivian Ihaza; during a Press Conference announcing the commencement of the Blue Band National Growth Challenge recently in Lagos.

Regular detoxification advised

BY JOSEPHINE IGBINOVIA

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ITH diseases typical to old age now becoming commonplace amongst younger people, Nigerians have been advised on the need to detoxify regularly.

Giving this advice at a recent health seminar organised by the International Inner Wheel District 911 Nigeria in Lagos, Juwon Griffin, a biochemist and certified Gaurapad expert, reiterated the need for regular detoxification for neutralisation of toxins. In his view, 90 percent of diseases affecting mankind were rooted in toxicity and deficiency.

“Some of us handle deficiency by taking food supplement and vitamins but we forget to detoxify! Meanwhile, toxins, especially the inorganic ones, accumulate in the body and develop into deadly diseases.

There is therefore the need to detoxify at least once in three months,” Juwon said.

Reinforcing this counsel during a breast and cervical screening exercise, Chairman, International Inner Wheel District 911 Nigeria, Mrs Elizabeth Olomofe-Kufeji, a foremost educationist, urged young mothers especially to inculcate in the younger generation the doctrine of healthy living.

Avoiding cancer: Prayer helps, but is not enough M

C M Y K

ANY Nigerians are not aware of the dramatic upsurge in the incidence and prevalence of cancer in this country. Many reading this article would raise an affirmative hand that they know a family member, a distant relative, acquaintance or friend or colleague that has been afflicted or affected.

the general side effects of radiotherapy, but its effects on their sexuality and fertility.

The same goes for chemotherapy. About 30 percent of people will have pain when first diagnosed with cancer. This rises to about 70 percent as the cancer advances.

The degree of pain is unrelated to the severity of the cancer.

Statistics The statistics in Nigeria are staggering.

There are 250,000 new diagnoses annually. In the next hour, two Nigerians would have died from cancer (likely breast and cervical in women, prostate in men).

Anesthesiologists and Pain Doctors provide services for various surgical interventions and for radiotherapy; epidural and intrathecal access for chemotherapy; are called to insert special vascular infusion lines; and, are consulted for pain management.

Often, when I interact with cancer patients and their family members, they ask about radiotherapy and chemotherapy, but, almost always, their greatest concern is about pain.

They want to know the meaning of curative and palliative radiotherapy, external and internal radiotherapy (like the brachytherapy used in prostate and cervical cancers). They ask, not only about

Cancer pain Cancer pain arises from different causes.The cancer may simply be pressing on surrounding tissues, or on a nerve.

Cancer treatments, like surgery, chemo and radiotherapy, also damage tissues.

Sometimes nerves are damaged, causing neuropathic pain.....a pain unresponsive to routine analgesics, but treated with anticonvulsants.

Cancer pain will alter the sufferer's emotions. Anxiety, fear, fatigue and depression develops. These aggravate other conditions such as asthma, ulcers and hypertension. All this suffering destabilizes family and work relationships.

Now for some GOOD news!

Cancer is no more a death sentence.

Major advances have been made and research continues to bring about better treatments and better survival rates.And cancer pain can be treated!

What is the most common cancer-related question I am asked? "How do I avoid getting cancer?" A good question indeed.

First, prayer, in all faiths, helps. But it is not enough.

Recently, a famous Hollywood actress removed her breasts when tests revealed she may be genetically prone AND there was also a family history. She took no chances. If the breasts aren't there, she felt unlikely to get breast cancer. There are over 200 types of cancers; unfortunately you can't preemptively remove your prostate, cervix, bowel, brain....you get the idea. Research has shown that though there is a genetic predisposition to certain cancers, environmental factors, under YOUR control, also play an important role.

What to do I remember an O&G Professor who used to say: " If a woman doesn't need her womb and attachments anymore, she should take it out, and throw it away as far as possible!"

So what can you do?

Regular screening leading to early detection improves chances of survival.

New studies have started throwing doubts on the value of screening, especially false

negatives and false positives, but my advice is...check, check again, and keep checking.

Second, we are truly what we eat. Aim for a fibre rich diet full of fruit and vegetables and low in salt and saturated fat (i.e. red meat). Mono and poly unsaturated fats are better.

Vaccinations, against Hepatitis B and Human Papilloma Virus may reduce likelihood of cancer, despite their associated controversies.

Avoid known carcinogens. Avoid any type of chronic (long term) inflammation or infection.Minimize alcohol and don't smoke.Tackle obesity and get plenty of exercise. On that note, "Physician, heal thyself ".....I mumble quietly.

•Dr. Femi Ogunyemi, FRCA, FWACS, is a member of the British Pain Society, American Pain Society, the North American Neuromodulation Society and the Aerospace Medical Association. He is a Diplomate of the American Academy of Pain Management and a Fellow in Pain Medicine from Emory University.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013 — 21

By PETER EGWUATU

A

s the first wave of privatisation of Nigerian power assets reaches its climax, leading professional services firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Nigeria, has called on the new investors to adopt a different business model to be able to survive the new trends in the global energy industry.

Uyi Akpata, Energy and Utilities Leader for PwC Nigeria, made the call while presenting the 13th PwC Annual Global Power & Utilities Survey Report which indicated that the emergence of new disruptive forces, including distributed power generation, technology changes, and a new breed of customers threaten the traditional power utilities business model which has endured for decades.

“Power utility companies will need to respond to these changes to avoid being eclipsed by technological and market change, while strategies that identify the best revenue opportunities in changed and, potentially transformed future market landscape, will be key to survival,” he said.

Akpata said that power companies in Africa are constantly on a tightrope and balancing act to find a sustainable business model, noting that the critical success factor will be each company ’s ability to strike a balance between the three A’s of access, affordability, and availability of power products, within the given resource constraints.

The Report, based on research conducted between

From left: Alex Otti, Group Managing Director, Diamond Bank Plc; Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance and Emeka Ugwu-Oju, President, South-East, South-South Professionals of Nigeria at the 2013 World Bank/International Monetary Fund annual meeting in Washington DC.

PwC urges power companies to adopt new business models March and July 2013 with senior executives from 53 utility companies in 35 countries across Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and released on Mon-

day, October 7, 2013, highlighted poverty, reach, development of energy efficiency and reduced demand as some of the issues that the new power companies will need to

address to survive.

On poverty, Akpata noted that if there is no major improvement in the socioeconomic position of the population in relation to access to

Business Confidence Index drops 6.4% in Q4— LCCI

By PETER EGWUATU

116.8

-0.2

2,765.00

+52.00

18.68

-0.37

110.38

B&E CURRENCY BUYING CENTRAL Data 102.02

DOLLAR POUNDS EURO FRANC YEN CFA WAUA RENMINBI RIYA KRONA SDR

154.77 210.0384 209.968 170.4515 1.5737 0.3003 236.4638 25.285 41.2665 28.1554 237.4791

155.27 210.7169 210.6471 171.0022 1.5787 0.3103 237.2277 25.3671 41.3998 28.2463 238.2463

-0.66 -0.39 SELLING 155.77 211.3955 211.3256 171.5529 1.5838 0.3203 237.9916 25.4493 41.5331 28.3373 239.0135

CBN Exchange rate as at 14/10/2013

T

he Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, has disclosed that the Business Confidence Level Index, BCI, dropped in the last quarter of 2013.

The survey conducted by the LCCI revealed that the 4th quarter 2013 aggregate BCI moderated to 17.6 per cent from 24 percent it posted in the third quarter. This represents 6.4 percent point drop of the index over quarter Q3 , 2013.

The LCCI revealed that the manufacturing sector remained the most troubled sector as evi-

denced by the negative confidence of the industry operators, stressing that the most disturbing factors was the influx of imported and substandard products, poor access to credit, high cost of doing business and inhibitive activities of government regulatory/ monitoring agencies.

According to LCCI, “ The

ongoing systemic challenge in the Discount Houses, the prolonged consideration of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) and the newly introduced 50 percent Cash Reserved Ratio (CRR) on public sector deposits by CBN may have triggered some level of uncertainty in the finance and oil & gas sectors.”

power, the government is likely to provide electricity to them through a central dominant utility that could prevent choice by industry and perpetuate cross subsidies.

Mr Akpata, however, stated that if existing barriers are overcome, distributed generation could set the scene for widespread industry transformation. The respondents listed energy efficiency, falling solar prices, demand-side management and smart grid technology as heading up the list of developments that will have the biggest impact on their power markets.

SON meets electrical dealers over substandard bulbs

BY FRANKLIN ALLI

S

T A N D A R D S Organisation of Nigeria (SON) will be meeting with the Electrical Dealers Association of Nigeria and the General Electrical Dealers Association at the Alaba International Market in Lagos on Saturday.

Dr. Joseph Ikem Odumodu,

Director-General SON, told Vanguard on Tuesday, that the purpose of the meeting is to sensitise the stakeholders on “The effect of substandard electric bulbs on the Nigerian economy.”

He said the meeting is part of the agency’s activities to mark this year ’s World Standards Day in Nigeria.

Odumodu said that this

year ’s World Standards Day with the theme: “International Standards Ensure Positive Change”, is coordinated by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), International Electro technical Commission (IEC) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

22—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013

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ENERAL attitude of Nigerians towards motor third party insurance. The attitude of Nigerians – the insurance buying public towards motor third party insurance is lukewarm and not in any way different from their general perception of insurance products and services as gambling, betting, fraud, or deceitful transactions. Quite often, buyers of the motor third party insurance are statutorily compelled to buy the third party cover under the provision of the Motor Vehicle Third Party Insurance ACT of 1945, before anyone could drive or put their vehicles to use on the highway.

Most Nigerians therefore buy the motor third party insurance cover in strict compliance with the enabling Act of 1945 that made it compulsory for all vehicle owners, and hardly care to bother about the benefits derivable or the extent of cover granted, or the legal validity of the insurance contract documents.

They usually don’t verify or check the genuineness of such covers often obtained or bought at the point of registering and licensing their vehicles, which in most cases have been found to be fake insurance papers, and that are not easily detected by law enforcement agents, until they are presented in

What is motor third party insurance?

This is the insurance cover made compulsory by the Motor Vehicle Third Party Insurance Act of 1945.

The 1945 Act made it mandatory for all vehicle owners and users to obtain the Third Party Insurance cover before driving or putting their vehicles to use on the road or highways.

It therefore becomes an offence punishable in law for any person contravening the provisions of the law. The underlying objective of the 1945 Act is to protect the interest of innocent public or third parties that may sustain death, or bodily injury, and damage to their assets & property following an accident caused by the insured vehicle.

Prior to the enactment of this Act, innocent third parties or members of the public were unduly exposed to uninsured risks of this nature, and were therefore left to suffer as there was no form of compensation or relief accessible to them.

How does motor third party works?

In strict compliance with the enabling Act, all motor vehicle owners are compulsorily

Insurance consumers, providers meet soon

By Dr. Wole Adetimehin, Managing Director, Jully Insurance Brokers and Immediate Past President, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, CIIN

Your third party motor policy works mandated to buy the Third Party Insurance cover before they could drive or put their vehicles to use on the roads or highways. If any vehicle owner or operator fails to comply, it becomes a breach of the provisions of the law leaving the culprit to penalties under the law. This explains why the law enforcement agents oftentimes conduct spot-checks of vehicle insurance papers on the highways.

,

support of a claim following an accident involving the insured vehicle.

In essence, the greater bulk of motor third party insurance covers often bought at the point of registering or licensing new vehicles are fake and are not legally valid insurance papers.

The insuring public and buyers of motor third party insurance are therefore advised to approach the wellestablished and authorized insurance firms for the valid insurance covers, or in the alternative, approach any of the licensed & authorized insurance Brokers for valid insurance covers.

BRIEF

Prior to the enactment of this Act, innocent third parties or members of the public were unduly exposed to uninsured risks of this nature, and were therefore left to suffer as there was no form of compensation or relief accessible to them

Continues next week

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What are the covers provided?

In line with the objectives underlying the enactment of the Motor Third Party Insurance, the covers which are solely meant to protect the interest of the general public – innocent Third Parties are broadly in two categories namely: 1.To pay compensation in an unlimited quantum or amount for any third party sustaining death or bodily injury resulting

SEND YOUR QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS TO insuranceandyou@yahoo.com C M Y K

from an accident involving the insured vehicle.

2.To pay compensation for damage to asset or properties of third parties resulting from an accident involving the insured vehicle up to a limit under the standard policy provision, that can always be extended to higher limits at an extra charge.

3.To pay for legal cost and expenses incurred with the consent of the insurance firms providing the cover in defending any legal action or liability claim consequent upon an accident involving the insured vehicle.

A

lmond Productions Limited, producers of Almond Finance and Wealth Report on Television and Wetin Insurance Dey Do Sef, on Naija Fm is organising the first Insurance Consumers Forum (ICF) in Nigeria.

In a statement, Almond productions stated that the forum with the theme “In pursuit of better service delivery” is being organised with the support of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) and the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA).

The forum is scheduled to hold in Lagos on Friday 25th October, 2013 in the function room, Muson Center Onikan Lagos commencing at 10:00am.

The event, which will be chaired by insurance icon, Sir, Ogala Osoka, former Managing Director of Nicon Insurance and Nigeria Reinsurance, will provide the platform for a robust interaction between insurers and the insured’s. The forum will also provide insurers with the golden opportunity to learn first-hand what the insured’s needs and preferences are.

Mr. T.A Fagbemi, the Special Adviser on Energy, Ogun State and past President of Nigerian Institute of Marketing (NIMA) would be the guest speaker. He would speak on ‘Insurance: Selling of an Intangible Product.’

Other highlights of the forum will be; harnessing of information and feelers from the event for the promotion of customers satisfaction as well as reaching out to prospective insureds who will be in attendance to learn firsthand about the benefits of insurance.

Expected participants will include CEO’s of companies, group heads and managers in charge of insurance firms, representatives from the Consumers Protection Council, Fish Farmers Association, trade groups and so on.

The open forum will focus on the following; tiny prints of insurance policies (A Myth); when comprehensive motor policy is not comprehensive enough; exclusions and exemptions; as well as resolving claims issues.

The consumers’ forum no doubt will bridge the gap between insurers and the insured’s as they share ideas on how best to serve their customers better.

L-R : Professor Isaac Esema, Coordinator, Institute of Administrative Management of Nigeria IAMN, ( Lagos Island district), presenting Honourary Fellow / Grand Life Patron Award of the Institute to Engineer Olusegun Okebiorun, Controller-General, Federal Fire Service, and Mr. Debola Ajeboriogbon, Membership Secretary, International Community Education Association, ICEA, (Nigeria Chapter) in Lagos.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013 — 23

WAICA Re builds capacity on marine, aviation risks STORIES BY ROSEMARY ONUOHA

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AICA Reinsurance said it has concluded plans to develop marine and aviation insurance in its training programme.

The company said the move is part of efforts to address the challenges in underwriting marine and aviation in the West African sub-region.

Managing Director of WAICA Re, Mr. Abiola Ekundayo, disclosed this during an international

training on advance marine and aviation insurance in Banjul, Gambia.

Participants from various insurance companies in English speaking countries of West Africa such as Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Seirra Leone were present.

Mr. Hasib Moukarim, MD, Nigeria Gas and Steel Ltd, congratulating Prince Oba Okoji of Universal Steel, the newly elected Chairman of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Ikeja branch, at the Annual General Meeting of the Association.

Africa insurance market offers growth prospects —report

D

espite the challenges in Africa, experts believe that Africa’s insurance and reinsurance markets offer potential for growth.

According to a report by A.M Best Rating Company, insurance penetration in Africa is growing, but from a very low base, but in certain countries, given the economic development in the region.

The report stated that each country has different drivers for heightened insurance

demand, ranging from economies dominated by the oil and gas and mining industries, to large populations.

Accordingly, insurance market growth in recent years has also been characterised by an increase in the number of direct partnerships between businesses in Africa with others internationally.

The report stated, “There has been an increasing interest in international insurer financial strength ratings, with the

need for insurers and reinsurers to demonstrate solid underwriting and overall sound financials as a key aspect of the sector ’s development.

The benchmarking a company’s financial strength against competitors in other international domiciles is increasingly an aspect of this continent’s insurance development, in the same way as it has become a feature of other global insurance markets.”

Ekundayo said, “We know there are challenges in these fields in the sense that we do not have many marine and aviation underwriters. Also, if you look at the insurance industry in Africa generally, the old people are going out and the younger ones they are leaving are not well versatile when it comes to underwriting skills, particularly marine and aviation insurance.”

The Managing Director said that they are trying to develop the younger ones in order to prepare them for the future so that the industry will not collapse if all the old ones retire.

He stated that the training will help the participants to be versatile in those classes of business through the knowledge the facilitators of the programme were impacting in them.

According to him, last year, a similar course was organised on the principles and practices of reinsurance and it was held in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Ekundayo said that organising such training was part of WAICA Re’s objective of building the capacities, the skills of companies that cede business to them to develop the companies for the future.

WAICA Re is owned by the five English speaking countries in West Africa. The company started operations in August 2011. Its main objective is to provide reinsurance services to the insurance companies in West Africa and other regions and it transacts all classes of insurance business.

The aim of the company is to bring reinsurance to the doorstep of West African insurance companies.

In this vein, it has a branch in Nigeria and Ghana which serve their respective countries while the head office in Freetown takes care of all the countries in West Africa and beyond. Outside Africa, the company operates in the Middle East and some parts of Asia.

Amendment of Pension Reform Act, 2004 in final stage ----PenCom

T

he National Pension C o m m i s s i o n (PenCom) has said that the process of the major amendment of the Pension Reform Act, 2004 was at the last stages of deliberation by the National Assembly.

Acting Director-General of PenCom, Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu said that the Commission had at various times organised workshops to explain to Judges the basic understanding of the

Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS, to enable them pass judgment on pension matters successfully.

She added that in its bid to ensure effective service delivery, the Commission recently established a call center for the members of the public.

She said “The Commission embarked on the establishment of offices in all the six geo-political zones of the country in order to

decentralise its activities and bring them closer to the contributors and retirees.

“With our presence in the South-West zone now, we expect all stakeholders to avail themselves of our services by visiting our office to make enquiries, lodge complaints and seek enlightenment on the Contributory Pension Scheme.”

She noted that its offices spread around the country

would smoothen the process of closer interaction with the state pension offices by assisting them to comply with the CPS. The Contributory Pension Scheme s at 2013 according to the ommission has about 5.6 million registeredworkers.

Statistics from the Commission shows that thescheme had also generated a large pool of investible funds of over N3.5 trillion invested in various financial instruments.

BRIEFS

Swiss Re to weigh sale of U.S. life assurance assets wiss Re Ltd. (SREN) is considering selling Aurora National Life Assurance Co. as it retreats from the U.S. life and health insurance market, people familiar with the matter said.

The world’s second-largest reinsurer is working with Barclays Plc (BARC) to find buyers for Aurora National and some other U.S. assets, two people said, who asked not to be identified because the matter isn’t public. The sale could raise more than $400 million, one person said.

The deal would include about $5 billion in insurance assets, including corporate-owned and other life-insurance policies and annuities, said one person. Mark Bonthrone, a spokesman for Zurich-based Swiss Re, declined to comment, as did Brandon Ashcraft, a New York-based spokesman for Barclays.

“The management is actively working on sharpening the business portfolio,” Patrick Hasenboehler, a Zurich-based analyst with J. Safra Sarasin who has a buy rating on the shares, said in a note to investors. “We would welcome a potential transaction as it would speed up the process of improving the overall profitability and help to allocate more capital to the core non-life reinsurance business.”

S

Colorado gives 1st look at insurance enr ollments enrollments

C

olorado released a first look Monday at how many people have signed up for health insurance using its new state exchange.

Officials with Connect For Health Colorado said 226 people have signed up for insurance using the exchange, for a total of 305 people getting coverage.

That’s the tally from the exchange’s first week, Oct 17. It’s a smaller number than reported in other states running their own exchanges.

Kentucky, for example, had more than 18,000 people signed up by Oct. 9, and tiny Rhode Island had 580 signed up by Oct. 3.

24 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013

Briefs

Wema Bank grows gross earnings to N26.32bn in 9 months

By NKIRUKA NNOROM

W

EMA Bank Plc said its gross earnings for nine months to September, 2013 rose to N26.322 billion from N21.56 billion in 2012, a 22.09 percent increase over the previous year.

Details of the nine months

unaudited financial statement prepared in line with International Financial Reporting Standard showed considerable improvement in all the primary measurement indicators.

The result filed Monday with the Nigerian Stock Exchange showed that profit before tax

rose to N563.80 million from deficit of N1.785 billion in the corresponding period of 2012.

Similarly, profit after tax rose to N479.23 million compared to negative N1.874 billion posted in the same period of 2012.

Further breakdown showed

From left: General Manager, Sales, Consolidated Breweries Plc, Mr. Frank Van Asperen; Brand Manager, Mr. Oludare Olateju; Regional Commercial Manager, Eastern Operations, Mr. Adejare Yusuff; National Project Manager, Distributors, Mr. Tolulope Adewunmi, and Head of Marketing, Mr. Prashant Patwardhan, during the unveiling of repackaged “33” Export Lager, in Enugu.

Employment opportunities: Dangote Academy enrols trainee engineers

A

s part of its efforts of cre ating more jobs and making graduates employable, the Dangote Academy, the training arm of the Dangote Group, has inaugurated its new Junior Technicians Scheme (JTS) with the enrolment of first batch of 60 trainees.

The Group said it is committed to contributing to the job creation efforts of the Federal Government and the first batch of the trainees will be trained in fitting & mechanical maintenance, as well as welding & fabrication.

The company stated that another batch of 40 trainees will be joining the Junior Technicians Scheme to raise the number of trainees to 100 and that the second batch would be trained on Automobile (heavy duty), Electrical, Instrumentation and Automation maintenance.

At the inaugurating ceremony at Obajana, Kogi State, the Executive Director, Stakeholder Management, Engineer Mansur Ahmed advised the trainees to face their training with all level of seriousness so that they can realise their career dreams.

He said they should count themselves as privileged to be selected for the training and C M Y K

therefore should reciprocate the good gesture by abiding by the rules and regulations governing the training.

In his address, the Coordinator and Group Human Resource Officer of the Company,

Mr Pabby Paramjit, welcomed the trainees to the Dangote Group and drew their attention to the mission and vision of the Group and specifically that of the Dangote Academy.

that the volume of non-performing loans reduced to three percent from 14 percent in the corresponding period of 2012, while loans and advances to customers went up to N89.04 billion as against N73.75 billion, showing an improved level of credit advancement to customers.

Deposit from customers at N184.60 billion was 5.91 percent increase over N174.30 billion in 2012.

It will be recalled that the bank recently said it will apply to the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, for a National Banking licence having exceeded the N40 billion minimum required capital of operating the banking model.

The Managing Director/ CEO, Mr. Segun Oloketuyi, who disclosed this, said the bank will commence the process of securing the licence in the next few months.

The decision, according to a statement from the bank followed the successful completion of its N40billion special placing and subsequent allotment of shares and approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Kemi Aina, Head, Brands & Marketing, said with this approval, a total of 26.67 billion ordinary shares of 50k each valued at N40 billion were allotted to successful institutional and private investors at N1.50k per share in two tranches.

She stated that the additional shares have raised bank’s paid up capital above the threshold for a National Banking Licence.

Oando gets $815m banks’ facility for ConocoPhillips’ acquisition

By NKIRUKA NNOROM

O

ANDO Energy Resources said it has received commitment letters for up to $815.0 million of credit facilities from Nigerian and local banks.

The fund, according to a statement from the company, would be used toward payment for the acquisition of ConocoPhillips’ (COP) Nigerian asset portfolio.

The credit facilities include up to $465.0 million Reserve Based Lending (RBL) facilities placed and led internationally

by BNP Paribas, Standard Bank and Standard Chartered Bank.

The RBL is complemented by a $350.0 million senior secured loan arranged locally by FBN Capital and FCMB Markets.

MGI Securities Inc, a Canada based firm, said by securing the

banks’ credit facilities, Oando has achieved significant progress toward completing the proposed acquisition of the COP asset portfolio.

Aminul Haque, CFA, Research Analyst – Oil and Gas of the company noted that with the availability of $815.0 million in credit and $435.0 million in deposit already paid, Oando has come very close to the finishing line in arranging funds for the ~$2.0 billion purchase price, saying, “This transaction was announced in December 2012 and was initially expected to close in September 2013. In our estimate, the company needs to arrange another $400.0 million in debt or equity to close the transaction by the stipulated date of November 30.

“We predicted on our

initiating coverage report on Oando (August 16, 2013) that despite being a giant step-out for Oando, completion of the transaction seems manageable. With the debt financing in place, a subsequent equity financing seems easier to manage and the timely completion of the transaction appears likely.

“Acquisition of the assets is expected to be a transformational event for Oando, making it the largest indigenous E&P company in Nigeria with ~45,000 boepd in production and ~400.0 million in 2P reserves and contingent resources. With large annual cashflow and guaranteed gas sales contracts in place, the assets seem to be self-sustaining even with a large degree of leverage.”

Citigroup results hit by bond trading slowdown

C

I T I G R O U P Incorporated posted weaker-than-expected thirdquarter earnings on Tuesday, hit by a drop in bond trading revenue after the Federal Reserve refrained from changing its bond buying programme and customer activity fell.

The Fed’s decision took investors by surprise and led many to take a wait-and-see attitude until there is a clearer time frame for the end of the central bank’s economic stimulus program.

The third quarter is typically a slow one for bond trading, and this was exacerbated by the Fed announcement, according to analysts. Citigroup’s bond trading revenue dropped 26 percent, or $956 million, excluding an accounting adjustment.

In last year’s third quarter, Citigroup took a pretax charge of $4.7 billion related to selling its Smith Barney brokerage business, a charge that ended up costing Vikram Pandit, then the bank’s chief executive, his job.

Pandit’s successor, Michael Corbat, has struggled to improve the fortunes of the third-largest U.S. bank in an environment where client business is tepid.

Global stocks mixed, dollar up over US debt talks

G

LOBAL equities markets rose and the dollar strengthened on Tuesday on signs of progress in Washington’s budget and debt talks, though U.S. stocks edged lower on Citigroup’s (C.N) weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings.

The political standoff in Washington showed signs of giving way to a Senate deal to reopen federal agencies and prevent a damaging default on federal debt. The deadline to lift the U.S. debt ceiling is October 17.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, and his Republican counterpart, Mitch McConnell, ended talks on Monday with Reid saying they had made “tremendous progress”.

Signs of optimism are building and “investors are showing increasing signs of confidence that default will be averted,” said Andrew Wilkinson, chief economic strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. in New York.

MSCI’s world equity index, which tracks shares in 45 countries, was up 0.1 percent, close to a five-year high hit in September prior to the crisis in Washington.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013—25

DIARY

Select ICT events z GITEX Technology Week 2013.

Holds 20-24 Oct 2013 in Dubai, UAE.

EDITED by Adekunle Adekoya

Marketing, not foreign help will project Africa’s digital transformation —Mba, NBC boss

z FUTURECOM 2013. Holds 21-24 Oct 2013 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. zSAP TechEd 2013.

Holds 21-25 Oct 2013 in Las Vegas, USA. zBroadband World Forum Europe 2013.

Holds 22-24 Oct 2013 in Amsterdam, Holland.

BY BEN AGANDE

D

zSMAU 2013.

Holds 23-25 Oct 2013 in Milan, Italy.

New inventions shaping life and living

Mobile heart monitor

,

9jApps COMPETITION WINNERS: From left:: Olayinka Oni, National Technology Officer, Microsoft Nigeria, Akinsete Sunday, Adedoyin Kazeem, 1st place winners in the Microsoft 9jApps Competition (Windows Phone Category) and Oyeshina Oyetosho, Developer and Platform Evangelism Lead, Microsoft Nigeria at the prize presentation of 9jApps competition held last week in Lagos

CTO Forum seeks easy broadband access for all

BY EMEKA AGINAM & EMMA ELEBEKE

T

HE versatile Heart Monitor from AliveCor can be attached to any compatible smartphone, allowing it to be used by different mobile devices in almost any location.

Unlike current portable heart monitors, the AliveCor Heart Monitor is not integrated into a smartphone or smartphone case. Instead, the pocket-sized sensor is embedded in a plate that can be attached to the back of a mobile device or case.

The monitor communicates with the smartphone via ultrasound picked up by the phone’s microphone and does not require Bluetooth—which makes it more energy efficient.

Because the Heart Monitor can be used with lower-cost Android phones, it could be particularly useful in developing countries.

P

ARTICIPANTSAT the just concluded 2013 edition of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organization, CTO, forum held in Abuja have among other things resolved to develop, adopt and implement policies and establish regulatory environment that would encourage investments in affordable, safe and equitable broadband.

The event entitled: Innovation Through Broadband, offered participants critical updates and insights into infrastructure, security, and application challenges.

Six key topics discussed at the forum were: future networks; internet security and cyber security; social media; data management; broadband as an enabler for women and youth empowerment.

Concerned with the persisting wide gaps in

I N S I D Matters E miscellaneous C M Y K

global internet access, particularly broadband access including gender gaps, the forum which was hosted by the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, on behalf of the Nigerian Government further agreed to promote local initiatives and innovation to advance entrepreneurship.

Future networks, infrastructure development and enabling business,

,

Preview

Sponsored by Google, Huawei, MTN Dimension Data, 4A1, Etisalat, Facebook, MaianOne, Vodacom, Phase telecom, Galaxy Backbone, Coolink, Helios Towers among others , the forum believed that with right policies and infrastructure put in place in countries of Commonwealth, broadband challenges would be surmounted..

Harmonization of national regulatory frame-

The coalition is expected to lead policy and regulatory reform and spur action to drive down artificially high internet prices in developing countries

Internet Security and Cybersecurity, developing protocol and ensuring resilience, among others were issues discussed at CTO 2013 forum which was hosted by the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, on behalf of the Nige

HTC's phablet out ahead of unveiling date

works Also concerned with the persisting gaps in global broadband affordability, the forum comprising IT Ministers, senior officials, regulators, universal service fund administrators, operators and vendors resolved to be com-

mitted to work with regional and international organizations to ensure continued harmonization of national regulatory frameworks.

Recognizing that universal affordable broadband access will be best achieved through forward looking policies, facilitating regulations and innovative partnerships, the CTO forum agreed to facilitate research for solutions and applications on the adoption and use of the internet to unleash the transformational power of broadband.

Bridge the gender gap While the Secretary General of CTO Prof. Tim Unwin assured to support countries in the Commonwealth on best practice in broadband plans and action, the forum resolved to create particular broadband services and applications for women in order to bridge the gender gap and actively promote

IRECTORGeneral of theNational Broadcasting Commission, NBC, Mr. Emeka Mba, has said that Africa is no longer waiting for help from world powers but reaching out aggressively to market what potentials it has to offer.

Speaking at a special session on exploring production opportunities in Cannnes France, Mr Mba said that while Africa had its challenges, those wishing to come should see them as opportunities for mutual benefit, like some American companies recently took advantage of the power challenges to enter a partnership to privatise the power sector in Nigeria.

The conference with the theme: “It is time for Africa” is organised by MIPCOM, the global content market organisation.

Mr. Mba told the organization that contrary to the impression created by international media, Africa is not one country, but a number of countries with varying characteristics and peculiarities. He told the gathering that the new attitude of the Nigerian government to business growth was that if it could not help business to grow, then it wouldn’t stand in the way of business.

Other speakers at the Nigerian day during the conference include Bernard Arzia a content entrepreneur from Ivory Coast, Pascal Schmidtz a Producer from South Africa, and a consulting expert on African content Mr. Russell Southwood from the United Kingdom, with Bridget Scarr of Hummingbird International moderating.

Continues on Page 30

USPF targets 17 schools with affordable broadband

Nigeria, a telecoms country?

26— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013

T

Matters miscellaneous

I

must apologize to readers of this column for its prolonged absence; it was due to assignments outside. However, I thank everyone for keeping faith with the Vanguard brand, the number one news brand online in Nigeria, and the best read hard copy newspaper. For confirmation of this, visit alexa.com, the internet rating portal.

Surprise from du

In the United Arab Emirates where I was on assignment, I got a surprise. Last year when I was there for the International Telecommunications Union, ITU summit, I bought an Etisalat SIM card which I used while there to communicate both l o c a l l y, and with family and colleagues in Nigeria.

Getting back there September, the SIM was no longer provisioned.

Absentmindedly I switched on my other handset which had a Glo SIM in it, and in minutes, a message came in from a telecoms firm by the name, du. Although Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company is its legal name, it was commercially rebranded du in February 2006.

The message said: “Dear Globacom subscriber, welcome to the UAE and.....” The message from du ended my worries about connecting with home while in the UAE. Though the charges were steep, it was convenient, and at the same time, messages from home were getting to me. It made my stay more bearable, what with outside temperatures in excess of 40 degrees!

That made me spend more than two hours in the airport after arrival.

The pity is that the situation has not really improved, as signals go off the handset in the same fashion as public power goes off. What do we all do now, especially after the regulator has sanctioned operators for poor QoS, imposed fines, and instituted number portability?

Cables, civil works

There is a lot of road works going on nationwide. In several parts of Lagos, drainage works are also on-going. This involves a lot of excavations.

What I find appalling is that a lot of cables already laid as the telcos p u s h a h e a d with their broadband plan are b e i n g ripped out of the ground, with scant regard for its implications. In many instances, the cables are not re-laid. Who bears the cost of re-laying the cables? Will right of way already paid for subsist as the cables are being relaid? In some parts of Alimosho in Lagos where massive drainage works are on-going, it is not only cables that are affected, pipelines have also been ruptured, and major disasters averted providentially. Is it not possible to co-ordinate things properly so that we do not march two steps forward and four backwards when civil works have to be executed?

Signals go off the handset in the same fashion as public power goes off. What do we all do now?

Poor QoS, still

Back home, the realities of living here reasserted themselves. At the airport, after disembarking and clearing passport control and baggage claim, it was another major effort connecting those in charge of transport to take me out of the airport. Calls to the line of the driver kept issuing the refrain that the number is unreachable.

Paying more

I got a notice, I am sure, like many others that I will have to pay more for the bouquet I subscribe to with a pay TV operator.

While pondering that, it came also in the news that the pay TV operator has slashed charges for another of its products. I rued the situation and came up with only one thought: Peter is being robbed to pay Paul. No problem anyway; here we have always been our brothers’ keepers. Otherwise, many of today’s success stories would

AIWANESE phone maker, HTC has announced its latest handset a day earlier than planned after details leaked on to the net.

The Android-powered One Max which includes a fingerprint scanner and a 5.9in (15cm) screen had been scheduled to be unveiled at a press conference in China yesterday. The device is HTC's original One, a larger "phablet-sized" version of its flagship model, according to media report was wellreviewed but has been outsold by Samsung's Galaxy S4.

Fingerprint security

The HTC One Max's inclusion of a fingerprint scanner makes it the first and only Android handset to do so since the launch of Apple's iPhone 5S in September, which included a similar component.

"The fingerprint scanner allows users to lock or unlock the screen and quickly launch up to three favourite

HTC's phablet out ahead of unveiling date applications by assigning an individual finger to each," HTC said. By contrast the new HTC handset uses an off-theshelf Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor.

Marketing problem

The new mobile expands the HTC One family following the launch of a "mini" 4.3inscreened handset in July.

The original HTC One which has a 4.7in screen - obtained a higher review score than Samsung's rival S4 on The Verge and Techradar news sites and recently beat its competitor to be named T3 magazine's gadget of

the year. the Hollywood actor However, HTC has Robert Downey Jr to repeatedly blamed head a new campaign, marketing problems for however its share price its failure to match its remains about 90% South Korean rival's sales.

— With EMEKA AGINAM In August it employed

VConnect powers SMEs with Flash2Follow solution

BY EMEKA AGINAM

T

HE General Man ager of Vconnect Global Services Limited, a local search engine and an information service provider in Nigeria, Mr deepankar Rustagi has said that Flash2Follow solution can boast the business growth of Small and Medium Enterprises, (SMEs).

The product powered by Vconnect, according to has been developed into an extremely successful marketing tool in countries like India, Morocco and a host of others and now in Nigeria.

He informed that increasing number of companies in Nigeria have started enjoying the tremendous benefits of this solution especially fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs) companies which are actively involved in the daily lives of Nigerians and play an essential role in socio-economic development.

This tool has, he said has enabled FMCGs increase their database of consumers rapidly enabling more effective management thus Flash2Follow has made their goal easily attainable.

He explained that the solution called Flash2Follow creates a huge followership or community for a business at no cost.

The solution, according to

From left: Teju Ajani, BDM, Google, representing Chukwuemeka Afigbo, her Head of Developer Outreach; Another Judge, Alex Dadson, Managing Director, WestAfrica, Qualcomm; and Matthew Wilsher, Chief Commercial Officer, Etisalat Nigeria at a dinner reception organized for the Judges of the Etisalat ‘Pan-African Prize for Innovation’ at Intercontinental Hotel, Victoria Island

Rustagi can be adopted in multiple industries including fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies, Financial , Religious, Political institutions, among others.

Any business adopting Flash2Follow solution, according to him, will have access to a wide range of opportunities which includes accessibility of dedicated log-in portal to track their communities, seamless flow of interaction, awareness of new products, product discounts and other necessary company activities via text messages, customer loyalty, effective feedback mechanism and accurate measurement of customer satisfaction.

The technology, he

assured offers business owners a wide range of unique opportunities that further enhances optimum productivity in terms of profit margin, some of these opportunities include conducting market research, tracking brand awareness for online and offline campaigns, effecting customer support, conducting opinion polls, sampling monitoring, implementing live event voting, developing community building, pledge campaigning and coupon delivery.

With the continual increase number of online frauds, verification and protection of mobile numbers , Flash2Follow solution, he said has proven to be an innovative

solution to curb such hazards by pasting the unique toll free number generated for you on your web page thus protecting you against numerous forms of cyber crime.

“The importance of business owners knowing their customers can not be over emphasized as the success of any business venture is largely dependent on their previous customers and the loyalty they create for that business” he explained.

According to him, the solution is designed to bridge the communication gap between businesses and customers, as research has shown that most companies do not know a large percentage of those patronizing them, as there is no way to track them

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013— —27

C M Y K

28 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013

Bale fit and ready for Malaga Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has again stressed there are no major doubts over Gareth Bale’s fitness and he could feature this weekend.

Reports emerged over the weekend from Madrid-based Marca, claiming that Bale had a slipped disc in his back and could require surgery.

It was claimed that Real first found out about the problem during Bale’s medical ahead of his record-breaking move to the Spanish capital at the start of September.

Perez insists that Bale could feature against Malaga and said: “Gareth is calm and ready and is hoping to play on Saturday.

“Everybody knows that, because he did not have a proper pre-season, he suffered a thigh strain.

“He is training well and wants to play and demonstrate that all this has just been an unpleasant and unfortunate start.”

Özil rates EPL best in the world M esut Özil believes that the Premier League is the strongest domestic competition in the world – and is relishing the chance to prove himself in England with Arsenal.

The 25-year-old has made six appearances for the Gunners in all competitions since joining the north London club in a £42.5m deal from Real Madrid on transfer deadline day.

“I’m happy to be playing in the Premier League because everyone knows it’s the strongest league in the world,” Özil told Arsenal’s website.

“There are simply a lot of top teams. I want to prove myself there. It’s a new challenge for me, a new task. I want to improve further under the boss and in the team. I’m really excited about it.” Özil also reserved special praise for Gunners boss Arsène Wenger, who was a long-term admirer of the former Real Madrid star before his big-money switch to north London.

“The coach is a world-class manager – he has demonstrated that for years,” he continued.

“A lot of players have developed under his guidance in the past and that’s why I decided to come here. I want to improve further.

“The most important thing is that the manager has given me his trust. I want to show my potential and have fun on the pitch. I think that I can help the team through my performances.”

Golden Eagle ts hit AlAin ffor or U AE 20 13 Eaglets Al-Ain UAE 201 ...Manu says Eaglets will top group

olden Eaglets have G arrived at the City of Al-Ain which is part of the

Abu-Dhabi Emirate four days before they open their account at the 2013 FIFA World Cup in the UAE. The team embarked on the 98km journey from Dubai by luxury bus and got to their new home at Al-Ain Dinat Resort Hotel which also hosts other teams in Group F. On hand to receive the team were officials of the Local Organising Committee and officials of Nigeria’s Embassy led by Mr. Edward Tamtam Kogbara, Minister (Protocol and Economic

Matters): Mr. Paul Onwuemene amongst others Immediately on arrival, Coach Manu Garba joined other representatives from Sweden, Iraq and Mexico in a formal welcome ceremony organised by the Local Organising Committee. The quartet jointly cut a huge cake as the camera clicked away.

“They have put us (Nigeria) in the top right corner on the cake and by the grace of God, we shall come out on top of this group,” coach Manu said.

Meanwhile, the Golden Eaglets as well as their officials have received a

certificate of participation in the FIFA U-17 World Cup UAE 2013 during the Team Arrival Meeting held within the Hotel Premises.

FIFA Officials were on ground to cross check passports for the process of accreditation at the end of which all the players were certified okay.

In the meantime, the Golden Eaglets would train twice on Pitch 3 at the Khalifa Bin Zayed stadium today; with the morning session fixed for 9:00am local time.

World Cu

Keshi: Ethiopia

By JOHN EGBOKHAN

A

fter steering the Super Ea gles to a moral-boosting 2-1 win over the Walya Antelopes in Addis Ababa on October 13, Coach Stephen Keshi has predicted that the Ethiopians will be beaten again in the second leg holding November 16 in Calabar.

The African champions have one foot in the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals in Brazil, courtesy of two strikes by Fenerbahce striker, Emmanuel Emenike and speaking yesterday, Keshi said he was relieved that his team achieved their target in Addis Ababa.

“It was a good thing that we got the victory, which we so much wanted in Addis Aba-

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013 — 29

FCMB, others join Falilat Ogunkoya’s 400m show The Dipo Dina Stadium Ijebu Ode will be a beehive of activities when the 2013 Falilat Ogunkoye national 400 meters meet holds on October 24 and 26.

The meet is unique as it is all about 400 metres race and the 4x 400 metres relay events which the initiator excelled in her active days. She still holds the African 400 m record.

Other events are the medley

Iniesta closer to new deal

T

he negotiation process be tween Andrés Iniesta and Barcelona on the matter of the player’s contract renewal has moved a step closer. According to Catalunya Ràdio, a meeting was held on Monday lunchtime with the player ’s agent, Ramon Sostres, and Vice President of FC Barcelona, Josep Maria Bartomeu.

The two parties in the meeting on the Spaniard’s new deal – his contract currently finishes in 2015 – seemed to agree that a renewal was on the cards. Both the player and sources at the club had previously stated clearly that a deal would be reached.

p playoffs:

a will fall again ba. The boys played well and I thank God that their labour did not go in vain. It was a sweet victory for us and I thank the team for making this dream a reality”, said Keshi, who added that efforts were now on to ensure that the Eagles complete the job of beating Ethiopia in the reverse fixture on November 16, and with it book their ticket to Bra-

zil 2014.

“Now that we have beaten them in their backyard, we have to ensure that we make it a double victory by defeating them in Calabar. With the way we are progressing, I believe that Ethiopia will again and our qualification to the World Cup would be guaranteed”, said the former Mali and Togo manager.

relay and kids demonstration races.

Falilat was happy to announce yesterday that FCMB, Solid Work, La Casera are

Police wins Independence rugby tourney

BY SOLOMON NWOKE The Police RFC of Lagos have dethroned defending champions, Cowries RFC of Lagos by 10 - 7 to win the Friends of Rugby Independence Rugby 7s invitational tournament.

A total of 14 teams including four foreign teams from; Merlins RFC of the United Kingdom ( UK), Alexandria RFC of Egypt, IDA’S Sports RFC of Ghana, Villagers RFC of South Africa among others graced the tournament played at Onikan Stadium Lagos at the weekend.

Speaking at the event, the managing Director of CMB

tephan El Shaarawy has revealed that he should be back and fit enough to face Barcelona on November 6.

“Next week I’ll do an ultrasound on my foot,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport. But I

the sponsoring firm of the Independence Rugby Tournament, Kelechukwu Mbagwu who is also the Chairman of the Friends of Rugby Organisation expressed joy that the whole concept of bringing in foreign teams to flavour to the championship was a success.

Mbagwu said, “ bringing in foreign countries to this year’s tournament is something that add glamour to the tournament as Nigeria marked her 53rd Independence celebration.

The tournament is okay, the organisation is brilliant. The truth is that the organisers were given a very short time for them to put this together. “

Port Harcourt Marathon:

Powa Pasta splashes N2m on winners

D

e United Foods Indus tries, makers of Powa Pasta spaghetti will splash N1 million each as prize money to male and female winners of its half marathon event in Port Harcourt.

Mr Chinedu Wali, Human Resources Manager of the company, told sportswriters that the event would hold on Oct. 26.

He said the marathon for male and female athletes would cover a total of 21.09 kilometres.

Wali said the company decided to sponsor the race to help boost sports in Rivers State.

El Shaarawy: I’ll be back for Barca S

among the corporate bodies that are supporting the event which she said has the serious backing of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN.

should return for the game with Barcelona on November 6.

“I’ve done some great things in a Milan shirt, but I’ve also done some bad things. I just want to be judged by what I do on the pitch though.

“My mind is only on Milan.

I have already stated on several occasions that I want to stay here.”

“We have been in operation in Rivers State for over 10 years and have observed closely the sports development in Rivers State. This is an event which we have actually organized in Lagos state. So, it’s necessary that we also do same in Port Harcourt. It will be an annual event here in Port Harcourt as you have seen from the top management here.”

Wali stated that there would be other consolation prizes for runners up in the male and female categories of the event.

Mr Praven Katarki, National brand Manager of De United Foods Industries, said the company sponsored the event to allow local athletes show their talents.

30—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013

4 banks pool $100m for MainOne

USPF targets 17 schools with affordable broadband

BY PRINCE OSUAGWU

consider that over 60 percent of our people live in the rural areas. We are not going to be operators but we are creating clusters of these villages that we are going to discover and partner the operators, lower the entry level for them to attract them into going into those areas. Already we have broken these areas into clusters which is running into 23 or thereabouts. We will ensure that there is access in each of these clusters as we are assigning different operators and different services to a group of these clusters."

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zMaikano

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T least six universities will by June next year have cheaper broadband connection, if the Universal Service Provision Fund, USPF, makes good its promises..

Executive Secretary of the Fund, Alhaji Abdullahi Maikano told Hi-Tech in Abuja at the weekend that connecting the universities was part of efforts to rebrand the USPF and reposition its activities, towards affecting common people positively by providing rural telephony, and easy, affordable broadband access.

Maikano revealed that other projects are also in the pipeline to ensure that Nigeriais ahead in Africa’s quest for economic survival through ICTs and connection to the internet.

The universities connectivity project, according to Maikano, targets 17 schools across the country, six of which would be fully up and running by June next year.

According to him, “we have rebranded USPF. In doing that we are looking at two areas — connectivity and access. Anything we are doing now, it is either connectivity, access or both. We have streamlined activities to focus mainly on these areas. In those days most people know USPF as providers of computers to schools. The ordinary individual doesn’t know there is something from us that can affect them positively. Today we are doing that by taking services to them.

University connectivity project Over the years we have deployed several units of computers in schools and universities under the university connectivity project. but we have discovered that the universities, do not actually need computers because almost all the students have their own laptops. so we have quickly redesigned the project to take the shape of Bring Your Own Device, BYOD, model.

What we are doing now is connecting them with fibre, data centre and vid-

We are going to provide IP phone system within the schools, linking other extensions within the university environment with enough voice, video and data

eo-conferencing facilities.

We are going to provide IP phone system within the schools, linking other extensions within the university environment with enough voice, video and data and they will make cheaper calls on Internet Protocol, IP platform without their GSM phones.

We are targeting about 17 universities but by June next year,6 universities within the country will be fully running on this platform. These are the break in tradition which we are championing now”, he

added.

5,000 km fibre optics in rural connection Maikano added: "Another of our plan is to provide fibre optic cables to the rural areas. We know operators would not do it because of the low profit involved in rural areas. So here again, we are going to partner them. In the next one month we are going to deploy 5,000 km of fibre optic cables which would usher quick rural connection to underserved and unserved areas of our society. We

Pact with operators "In all these, we are running with major operators in Nigeria, who are actually showing genuine interest in these projects.

However, there are certain discoveries we made which led us to have pacts with the operators that we are partnering in our latest activities.

For instance, we discovered that operators are skeptical to invest in the rural areas because of the time it will take to recoup even if they charge higher than they do in urban areas. So we have decided to deploy the equipment to lower their entry cost. In fact, we are targeting deployment of about 100 base stations in one year. But for operators, we have instructed that charges in service will be at the same rate as in the city and not higher as it ought to be, business wise."

STORIES BY PRINCE OSUAGWU FOUR banks at the weekend combined resources to raise $100 million for the expansion programme of a top telco, MainOne. Banks involved in the $100 million financing facility agreement are Standard Chartered Bank, FirstBank, Skye and FCMB. The ceremony which held Wednesday 9 October in Lagos was in furtherance of MainOne’s effort to expand its services.

Speaking after signing the agreement in Lagos, Chief Financial Officer, MainOne, Mr. Babatunde Dada, said that “the successful signing of this facility agreement clearly shows the trust which financial institutions have in MainOne.” This was also as Group Managing Director, FirstBank, Bisi Onasanya said FirstBank confidently signed on to the facility based on excellent performance of the company on the initial project financing that FirstBank

applications to support youth.

Moral agenda Meanwhile, the Communications Technology Minister, Mrs. Omobola Johnson earlier in her closing remarks urged the forum to grab with both hands the issue of the “moral agenda” that has been graphically laid out for everybody over these past few days. “We have heard from the actual creators of the Internet and can appreciate how much this tool has progressed from being a “good to have“novelty to

a “must have” necessity if we are to address our developmental challenges” she said.

ITU, CTO, key to formulating policies According to the Minister, organizations like the ITU and CTO will also be key to formulating policies and helping bring well-placed pressure to bear on the globally popular applications and Internet services that will ultimately benefit the most from the high speed access that we want our citizens and their customers to have.

Affordable broadband

for digital economy For the excited Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah, broadband must be affordable and available for all may for digital economy.

While thanking IT Ministers Directors of other Commonwealth countries for their commitment for finding time to attend the capacity building event appealed to the governments to support broadband initiatives of countries in the Commonwealth, saying that Nigerian broadband plans

actively supported as a leading investor in 2009.

Also speaking on the transaction, the Group Managing Director of Skye Bank, Kehinde DurosimiEtti said: “It is our hope that through this financing, MainOne would add impetus to its drive to extend its services to customers irrespective of their location” Meanwhile, Group Managing Director, First City Monument Bank, Ladi Balogun said the bank was happy to arrange the loan facility. “FCMB is a bank that is synonymous with excellence and growth.

Today, we have demonstrated once again our support for the growth of indigenous companies through this agreement with MainOne” he added.

‘Bureaux de change operators need to study new $100 notes’

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ETAIL forex brand, Travelex has said that bureaux de change operators need to study current changes in world currency denominations to be able to adequately service their customers.

The company said it was the reason why it last week, provided training/awareness workshop to the BDC operators, particularly as the country awaited the arrival of the redesigned one hundred US dollar bill, $100, in the next few days.

The workshop sensitized BDC operators on the features of the new 100 dollar bill to enable them differentiate between the

CTO Forum seeks easy broadband access for all Continues from Page 25

zMs Funke Opeke, CEO, MainOne

should be a model for other countries.

Multi-stakeholder’s approach needed Although many countries across the Commonwealth region have their broadband plans to tackle last mile challenge, participants at the forum said that unless multistakeholder’s approach was adopted to drive broadband by governments across the region , accelerated broadband infrastructure development may be farfetched.

With ‘Innovation

Continues on Page 31

new notes from counterfeits.

Tony Enwereji, General Manager, Travelex Nigeria, stated that the company had to organize the training to help the BDC operators keep abreast the qualities and features of the new notes to not only help them identify counterfeits but also to ensure that dollar counterfeiting is kept very low in the country if not eradicated. He said that to keep counterfeiting low, the U.S government continues to enhance the security of its currency hence the decision of the country to introduce the new $100 bill note.

“The redesigned $100 bill note and the old note currencies would be running concurrently but it is pertinent for Travelex as the world’s number one brand in retail foreign exchange to sensitize other BDC operators before the new notes will be available in the Nigerian market within the next two weeks, hence the training /awareness workshop”. Enwereji stated.

Speaking, Rufus Akpasubi of CBN lauded Travelex for its leadership roles in forex retail, exemplified by holding the training programme to sensitize bureaux de change operators and the public on the new $100 currency note.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013—31

CTO Forum seeks easy broadband access for all through broadband’ as year’s theme speakers after speaker at the international capacity building event noted that it was time for countries in the region to move from talking to action as time was already running out.

Time to begin work: At the event that offered opportunity for both public and private sectors to discover how suitable partnerships can hasten ICT development for the benefit of all, including the marginalized across the world, the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Arc. Mohammed Namadi Sambo earlier his opening remarks told the gathering it was time to begin work.

The Vice President who was represented by the Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Mobolaji Johnson said that broadband development in Nigeria requires

PcPlanet.com floats IT online retail store

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C Planet Limited, managers of online personal computers retail store, has developed an Information Technology marketplace for IT products and accessories.

The company said it is looking at serving the Nigerian web space with low price offerings, large product varieties, ideal shopping experience, rapid delivery, free live technical support and service centre.

The Country Manager, PC Planet, Mr. Emeka Uzoegbu, who spoke to newsmen recently said the firm had selected best selling computers, smartphones, printers, software and accessories on its stable.

The company he said stocks a wide selection of products from brands like HP, Apple, Samsung, Acer, Nokia, Dell, Blackberry, Sony, Microsoft, Asus, HTC, Lenovo , Toshiba, among others.

He described shopping at Pcplanet.com as totally safe and secure, with all debit card payment on the site processed through secure payment gateway.

He said, “Logistics is well planned with our delivery partner DHL to give our customers good delivery service.

C M Y K

public private partnership engagement for digital economy.

Open access model In his welcome remarks, the Executive Vice Chairman of Nigerian Communications Commission, Dr. Eugene Juwah said that t government has studied THOU shall not live by bread alone! With the advent of the Knowledge economy, it has become a strategic imperative and mandatory obligation for Nigeria to reconsider the centric mission of living by Telecommunication alone!

History of Telecommunications reveals that many thousand years ago, the art of Telecommunication began with the use of smoke signals and drums in Africa, then to the Americas and later parts of Asia – particularly in China. It must be emphasized that this writeup is not intend to understate the significance, value and power of Telecommunication in human endeavor and for Nigeria.

Simply defined, Telecommunication is communication at a distance by technological means and in particular, through electrical signals or electromagnetic waves.

Science and technology of communication at a distance by electronic transmission of impulses such as telegraph, cable, telephone, radio, or television has no doubt redefined the art of living and the humanity enterprise. It is significant to inform that in the 1790s, the first fixed semaphore or telegraphy system emerged in Europe - built

by Claude Chappe, a French Engineer. It took another century when in 1830s the electrical telecommunication systems appeared.

Today, the dominance and eminence of our telecommunications mindset, philosophy, mission and implementation model/s as a centralized and omnipotent national development policy as well as core direction for our national development strategy, remains a complex ambiguity, worrisome monumental miracle and by extension a global development misnomer. This in any way does not rob the Minister

different models and has adopted the open access model where government would provide major infrastructure and rent out to licensed operators to make it easier for penetration.

“We are in full realization of the impact of

broadband to the overall development of the economy in terms of stimulation of business activities, providing support for other economy, providing living and governance, nd improving relations between Nigeria and other nations with fellow Commonwealth countries.

Nigeria, a telecoms country? of ComTech her pass mark on efforts of the past 2 years.

Meanwhile, while Telecommunications – a subset of communication and a significant segment of Information Technology – is more or less a treated as normal and galvanized

by ITU in many countries of the world, its role and place may have been grossly misunderstood and misrepresented in Nigeria.

This is because it is and remains the only and central focus of our national technology development vision and agenda! This

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Continues from Page 30

“The good news is that government, at the highest level in Nigeria, has adopted broadband as a platform to leverage and improve on the gains already made in the telecoms sector. The national broadband development plan 2013 – 2018 produced by the Presidential broadband committee provided a realistic 80% penetration in its road map for broadband development in Nigeria” the NCC EVC explained.

The CT Minister also in her welcome address said that with Nigerian Broadband plan, the country

lie in Heavy Technology Industry or in innovative “Mind-to-Wealth” national development model? In order words, what percentage of national policy and resources commitment and allocation is adequate and due to Telecommunication and what amount is due to Information Technology – with particular reference to innovative Software Engineering creativity and development life cycle?

Indeed, how do we compete with other nations of the world – in Hardware

The positioning and superlative prominence of Telecommunication as the strategic development Domain of Nigeria is in fairness, questionable

flawed vision has begun to hunt us as a people with a visible embarrassing position at the score sheet of Global ICT e-Readiness Development Lifecycle and performance Index.

The positioning and superlative prominence of Telecommunication as the strategic development Domain of Nigeria is in fairness, questionable – in the context of its current and emerging impact on our Youth and generations yet unborn. How do we compete with other nations in the Information Society?

Are existing Frameworks, strategies and models responsive and intelligent enough to mitigate the emerging negative impact of the future? How do we revise the sporadically downwards syndrome of the position of our national e-readiness status? Does Nigeria’s competitive edge

or in Software knowledge and services? Why do we lack behind in e-Readiness performance index of the Information Society – inspite of our robust intellectual Muse and octopus population advantage in Africa and the world?

The challenge here is that we cannot ague against existing global statistics of Nigeria’s position on the global e-readiness index – which clearly demonstrates that something is deadly off-beam somewhere. The country ranked 113 out of 144 countries surveyed in the Networked Readiness Index (NRI). It seems that our ICT strategy is developing without growth.

Based on the latest World Economic Forum (WEF) report on Global Information Technology Report (GITR) 2013 as published measuring the

extent to which 144 countries took advantage of ICT and other new technologies to increase their growth and wellbeing - Nigeria’s ICT competitiveness Domain remained in the lowest quartile of countries sampled in both reports.

The lesson here is: ‘Though the glass is important, but when we need water, we ask for water and NOT necessarily the glass container.’ Telecoms are significant and very important, but it may not rescue us from emerging digital knowledge colonalization of the near future.

In conclusion, convinced by the glaring fact of our current inability to compete in the Heavy-Technology Industry – perhaps in the next fifty (50) years – conventional wisdom dictates that our current (9010 formula) of 90% Telecoms centric focus against 10% Creative Technology and IT/Software innovation, will result to development jeopardy in the midstream of Information Society (IS).

Therefore, at best, what we need is a technology equilibrium innovative strategy (TEIS), where equivalent resources is strategically deployed simultaneously to both critical sectors and observe their GDP value-add to our nation building and national development on a five yearly basis.

In evaluating the survivability of Nigeria in the context of global ICT development, it is my professional opinion that, 25 years down-the-line (which in Internet Time is few nanoseconds away – in the context of current timerating to orbit to Mars!)

would be among the countries in the world that will use broadband for economic growth. nications infrastructure gap existed in the country.

Although the number of base stations in Nigeria has increased exponentially since the inception of GSM from 116 in 2001 to about 21,000 by 2010, the pace of growth, the Minister said has however slowed even as some existing base stations have been decommissioned as a result of terror attacks, theft and vandalisation.

TEIS will significantly reduce the awaiting catastrophe of a digital colony impact on future Nigeria, while our current Telecoms takes-it-all vision will grossly impact negatively on future Nigeria.

The above is informed by the ‘Outliners’ models of innovative technology excellence earned through self-sustenance and practice ad-infinitum – both at individual, family and national levels. In other words, our technology survivability models of conspicuous consumption and exclusive implementation Framework will lead nowhere than drain our national resources. Where will we be and what can we do without crude oil revenue, now that time is running out?

According to reliable sources, ‘Traditional software and internet companies are becoming value-added orchestrators in support of business transformation in all industries. This business model evolution is driven by several key trends which include: an increased focus on the end user experience, maturing business models, gains through operational performance, and growth through M&A’.

To remain focused and competitive, software Nigeria, Academia, government & internet companies need to urgently address several critical macro issues such enabling technologies, technological capabilities, new use cases and business models – all in the context of mobile social media, security & privacy, Data & Analytics and above all, Capacity-CapacityCapacity of Innovative talent.

To understand the enormity of the colossal technology challenges before us in the Software Engineering realm is the beginning of wisdom.

Nevertheless, there is a great hope for IT-Nigeria.

Chris Uwaje – President of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON) –writes from Lagos.

32—VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013

I’m sure I’ll be a better boyfriend!

At 28, still a virgin and no girlfriend Dear Bunmi, I’m a 28-year-old man and have not had any s.xual experiences at all. I’m a graduate and have a good social life with great friends, both male and female. But finding a girlfriend seems impossible. Going over to women I don’t know and trying to chat them up seems both scary and embarrassing.

What are you meant to talk about? I have managed to ask girls out a few times in the past, but I’m always met with polite rejection. My friends are always very supportive. They say things like: “You are a nice guy, everyone loves you,” and “I

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know you’re shy, but you’ll find somebody.”

It’s nice to hear these things, but I’m not sure they understand how difficult a task this is for me. I’m quite fond of a friend of my best mate.

She and I have similar interests and I liked her as soon as I met her. All my friends picked up on this and I’m getting encouraged a lot to ask her out, but it seems too daunting.

I get nervous whenever she’s around and she probably thinks I’m a bit weird. I wish I knew the right way to do this. Do you think shy people find love? Will it ever get easier?

Accept that she prefers this rat to you. It might be her misfortune, but it’s also her prerogative

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Where are the secret spots?

Dear Bunmi, With too much variety going on in fore-play, I wonder what really turns women on these days. For instance, it’s no longer fashionable to stick your tongue down her throat or start grabbing her boobs.

I’ve had loving relationships in the past, but want to improve on my skills. Any pointers?

Samson, by e-mail.

Dear Samson, It’s good to know there are still considerate men like you, who don’t think of self-gratification when making love. Yes, there are some not-so-obvious hot erogenous zones, but the latest a sexologist recently came up with are: face. Facial stroking feels exquisite and combined with lots of eye contact (and details of what’s going to happen next) can be very,

very hot.

Lips: don’t waste the erotic potential of this hot zone by plunking a kiss smack-centre with tongues flying. Instead, nibble, kiss and lick the upper and lower lips separately. Plant little kisses around the edges of their mouth, then move in for some nice, long sexy snogs.

Neck: there’s something ever so sexy about being kissed in such a vulnerable spot. Women, especially, love it. Start gently, then if it’s going down well, throw in a few little nips.

If that gets a moan, risk a bite!

Hips: The v-shape that’s formed from a man’s groin to his hip bone is a favourite with lots of women because it points to the number-one body part.

Which is why it’s such a tease to trace it with fingers or tongue on the final run to home base.

Banji, by e-mail.

Dear Banji, I suspect most of the people reading this would be itching to match you up with hundreds of women who’ll be wishing they could meet someone like you. I agree with your friends— you sound adorable, and I assure you that shy people find love! Shyness is very common and something lots of people struggle with.

We’re all pretending to be more confident than we are. So don’t be fooled. You do have experience in relationships. You have great friends and romantic relationships aren’t that different. Now, on to that friend of your best mate who you fancy; but even if it doesn’t work out, you can use the same techniques on other potential girlfriends.

Have your friends done their bit to find out whether this girl fancies you back? If they haven’t, get them to ask if she’d be open to a date with you. So stop thinking of it as trying to chat her up. Instead aim to simply try to get to know her as a friend. Ask her all the questions you ask your friends.

It doesn’t have to be anything extra-ordinary.

The biggest mistake shy men (and the not so shy, too) make is that they think they have to “chat women up.” Women like men that make conversation and show interest in them. The next time you see her, aim to say one or two things. It might be as simple as pleasant commentaries on mutual friends.

Just aim to break the ice.

The next time, it will be easier to strike up a conversation.

Once you’re in the habit of chatting as friends, ask her if she’s seen a film you’d like to see. If she says no, ask her if she fancies seeing it with you.

Yes, you’ll be nervous. Yes, she might say no. If she does, just consider it a good learning exercise and move on. But don’t lose heart. You sound like such a great person and I

She is cold in bed Dear Bunmi, I fell in love with this pretty girl, but whenever we make love and I open my eyes and look at her, instead of expression of pleasure and passion that I always hope to see, there is one of complete boredom.

She could have been reading a restaurant menu as she stares at the ceiling.

C M Y K

Whenever I ask her if she enjoys what I’m doing to her, she shrugs and says “It’s alright.” I feel undermined as a lover, but I don’t know how to make things any better.

Jire, by e-mail.

Dear Jire, Why don’t you ask her properly? You’re not a mind-reader and it’s not entirely up to

you. She’s one half of this partnership.

Find out what is going wrong from her and how you can both spice things up. Then take time out to examine your relationship, because it could be where the real problem lies.

When intimacy goes wrong, it’s often a symptom that all is not right with a relationship.

Dear Bunmi, I work in the same office with this smashing beauty in her early 20s. The problem is, she’s already romantically linked with another man.

Mind you, I don’t understand what she really sees in him.

He constantly criticises her, he’s always putting her down and he’s been unfaithful more than once. He has no visible means of income and frequents pepper soup joints.

She has even hinted that he’s been violent towards her. So why does she stay with him?

I could give her so much love— I’m sure we are made for each other. Yet, she only sees me as a friend. How can I prise her away from this man and get her to see we could be perfect together?

Rex, by e-mail.

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Dear Rex, On the face of things, you might indeed be her ideal partner. But sadly, it is so cut and dried.

She’s in love with this man you see as a nasty piece of work and she keeps hoping he’ll change.

Unfortunately, people like him don’t change, but until she realises this for herself, nothing you can do will change her mind. Even if she does dump him, you’ve no guarantee that she’ll fall for you.

Don’t waste your life chasing after the unattainable.

Accept that she prefers this rat to you. It might be her misfortune, but it’s also her prerogative.

Look for someone that is free to return your devotion.

When intimacy goes wrong, it’s often a symptom that all is not right with a relationship

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All I get are one-night stands!

Dear Bunmi, Six months ago, my lover of three years dumped me for a girl he said he couldn’t help falling in love with. As you can well imagine, I was gutted.

As a result, I have been so desperate for company that I’ve got into the habit of having one-night stands every few weeks.

I get so lonely that after a couple of drinks, it seems like a good idea to go to bed just for the coziness.

If I go on like this, I would get a reputation. How can I put my love life back on track?

Dora, by e-mail.

Dear Dora, The first thing you could do right away is cut down on alcohol. Because booze pumps up emotion, it could make you feel even more lonely. It also lowers your inhibitions.

The second way to stop sleeping around is to tackle the loneliness head on by actively filling your life with people.

Don’t worry about finding Mr. Right. Instead, make friends with anyone— male or female, young or old.

Once you’re surrounded by people you like and who like you, you will be less tempted to desire intimacy in order to stop feeling lonely.

He used me Dear Bunmi, I met this man at a party some months back and got instantly attracted to him. I was just getting over a broken relationship and counted myself fortunate for meeting this man. He came for me a couple of times and we ended up in his flat. I even stayed the night once.

Then he told me he would be away for a while from his office and he would call me as soon as he settled down.

He hadn’t done that and it’s been almost two months that he left.

I went to his old flat and his flatmates told me he hasn’t phoned them either and they weren’t sure if he was com-

ing back. I just feel used. He sounded so sincere.

Ganiat, by e-mail.

Dear Ganiat, It is not really advisable to hop into a new relationship whilst getting over a broken romance; you can be very vulnerable. It is now obvious that this man has cashed in on your vulnerability. I would forget him if I were you. Not all men are cads, though.

So when next you meet a prospective lover, get to really know him before committing yourself to a relationship with him.

Don’t let this experience discourage you from meeting men that are not opportunists.

Share your problems and release your burden. Write now to Dear Bunmi, Vanguard Newspapers, P.M.B 1007, Apapa, Lagos. or bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk

VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013—33

Where is Obiano’s voter’s card?

STORIES BY ENYIM ENYIM

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PECULATION about the alleged double voter registration by the APGA candidate, Willie Obiano is increasingly becoming an issue.

While APGA state chairman Chief Mike Kwentoh has dismissed the insinuation, it has become a major campaign issue for the Ifeanyi Ubah campaign which has raised assertions of impropriety against Obiano saying the APGA candidate is unfit to rule the state.

Kwentoh in dismissing the assertion that has been on

cyberspace since last weekend said that what Obiano did was to transfer his registration from Lagos to Anambra ”The allegation of double registration is not true. Obiano only transferred his registration from Lagos to Anambra state.

People should disregard such stories,” he said.

Reacting to the development, Prince Chukwuemeka, head of the Ifeanyi Ubah Media team said the issue went a long way to show why Obiano should not be governor.

“For him to have registered in Lagos shows that he does not come home to see his people in Anambra.

•Obiano: APGA flagbearer

•Jega: INEC chairman

It means that he does not attend town union, kindred

and family meetings. Now that he has been made candidate

he chose to come home and register. Anambra people should be wise,” he said.

Reacting to the issue of double registration, the state Resident Electoral Commission (REC) Prof. Chukwuemeka Onukaogu warned that such action would attract severe sanction as provided in the constitution. He explained that in event of a voter that has relocated to another town, he or she can only apply for transfer of registration at his new location and that if it is discovered the law will take its course. Now, the ball is in Obiano’s court.

Anambra North threatens to sanction Ngige’s running mate

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OME groups within Anambra North are threatening sanctions against Chief Ralph Okeke, running mate to the APC candidate Senator Chris Ngige for allegedly betraying the collective drive of the people of the area to produce the next governor

of the state.

The threat is coming from the Omabala Solidarity Union which comprises four council areas of Anambra North zone and Awka North council area. The group has one of its leaders, APGA national leader and

former Minister of Health, Dr. Tim Minekaya.

Okeke is not an inconsequential political factor in the area having been a former local government chairman of Anambra West council Area and two term member of the House of

Representatives for Anambra East and Anambra West Federal Constituency.

Speaking at the end of a meeting weekend, Sen Emma Anosike said the people were yet to endorse any of the four candidates from Anambra North vying for the governorship.

Ngige is returning sunlight to Anambra — Moghalu VETERAN political operative George Moghalu, presently chairman of the Ngige Campaign Organization answers questions on the candidate’s quest and questions around him.

BY LEVINUS NWABUGHIOGU

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N plans for the election We are set and are on ground. We have started talking to various interest groups with a view to reintroducing our brand. Our brand is somebody who has been in the terrain. People know about his antecedents.

There was sunlight when Ngige was in power. We are going to do that again.

APC being a negative platform Not at all. How did APC come to be? APC is a merger of existing political parties, with strong individuals identified with it. We did what has never happened before in the political history of Nigeria. In Anambra, about six parties and civil society groups came together to form the APC. Ngige has been in the saddle and Anambra people know what he can do. Its a case of changing a name. It doesn’t affect the chances of the individual being marketed. We are more strong.

Deportation saga as bad omen Here is a situation where a government has failed in its responsibility and is now trying to blame another. Lagos state had a policy that had to do with

removing destitute (persons) from the streets. Igbos happened to be part of these people. They were taken to rehabilitation centres. They were there for over a year.

When they felt they were now okay, a correspondence was established between the two states. There was an agreement on the day our own state was supposed to take its own citizens. They failed to come.

They told them to bring them to the border. Only for them to come and there was nobody to receive them. They’d to leave them and go.

Destitutes from the streets The two rehabilitation centres we’ve in Anambra are dilapidated. They’ve totally collapsed. Maybe the officers that brought them dropped them out of anger. Its an election year and everybody needs something to use against the other person. There was a time the Anambra state government removed some destitute from the streets. What did Anambra state government do when Abia state government decided to remove their people from the state civil service?

That is his own opinion.

I’m working with a man I know can be trusted.

The n a t i o n a l leadership trusted him enough to have given him the ticket. Don’t forget that he is a former governor and a serving senator. If Annie Okonkwo has any personal issues with Ngige, it is not about us; its about him and it is personal.

New things from •Moghalu: Ngige showed us that Ngige government has money What Ngige has On Governor Fashola’s that they don’t have is that he has done it before. He has a apology?

He apologized for the interest record. Until Ngige came in as of those who misunderstood his governor, we didn’t know that action. For me, Fashola government had money. Ngige displayed the highest level of demystified godfatherism in decency. He’s a decent Anambra state. politician. I expected the Governor Rochas Okocha’s apology to have come from our assertion that Ngige is running own state which failed in its against powerful forces in own responsibility. There are Abuja correspondences and I can PDP government is in Abuja. make them available to you.

They ’re very desperate to Senator Annie Okonkwo install a governor in Anambra allegations that Ngige cannot state. If you remember a recent be trusted interview granted by some of

their leaders, they said Anambra must be taken by force.

Discovery of over 93,000 ghost voters by INEC If the INEC chairman has come out to say that 93,000 ghost voters have been discovered, it means they’re actually looking into the books.

That is what we want.

Governor Obi’s vow that his successor will come from Anambra North as an obstacle to Ngige who is from Anambra Central?

It is not in Obi’s power to determine where the next governor will come from. The political history of our state is such that the issue of zoning has never come to contention.

Everybody goes to the primary and if you secure your party’s ticket, you fly the flag. When Obi contested in APGA, was there zoning? Ask him.

Governor Obi’s pledge to conduct Local Government Elections before he leaves?

They’re just being dishonest.

Why have they left local government elections for eight years and at the twilight of his administration, he’s talking about local government elections. They’ve fixed dates several times. Monies have been collected from aspirants.

I see it more as a business venture. There is no honesty in the whole thing. Now, they’ve moved it to December and I can guarantee you that there will not be any elections.

34—VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013

•Yuguda: Needs a credible successor

•Mohammed: Eyes the governorship seat

•Danna: Suspended from House of Assembly

2015: FCT minister, female lawmaker battle Yuguda’s anointed

BY SUZAN EDEH

T

HE question of who succeeds Bauchi State governor, Isa Yuguda has become the central issue ahead the 2015 gubernatorial elections in the state.

It is no longer news that the Federal Capital Territory ,FCT, Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed and a female lawmaker representing Bogoro constituency Mrs.

emerged as the senator representing Bauchi South senatorial district He was appointed minister in the present administration,a development believed to be against the interest of Yuguda. Hence, a battle line was drawn between the duo.

According to a source,their political fisticuffs started playing out when the governor defected from ANPP

,

At the moment, the only strong Bauchi gubernatorial contender is the FCT minister, Bala, besides winning the sympathy of major political stalwarts in the state, he is believed to have the backing of the Presidency

,

Rifkatu Danna, have now joined forces to battle Yuguda's 'anointed' candidate come 2015.

The governor is believed to be instrumental to Mohammed's political relevance today. It was Yuguda who appointed him as a special assistant during his days as Minister of Transport and Aviation.

Mohammed later defeated former governor Adamu Mua’zu at the 2007 senatorial election, where he

to PDP, claiming that it was done attract federal presence to the state.

The source also said that the rift between Danna and Yuguda started when she paid homage to Sayawa Chiefdom's Air Commander Ishaku Komo in TafawaBalewa and her political romance with Mua’zu and the FCT minister.

This development did not go down well with the state government. Also her stand against the purported

relocation of Tafawa-Balewa Council headquarters to Bununu at the floor of the State House of Assembly led to her indefinite suspension since June,2012.

Even though the table turned against her in the House, her constituency, has continued to demand for the lifting of the suspension.

Nonetheless, eminent personalities in the state and the presidency have tried to reconcile the three gladiators, yet things are going from bad to worse.

As it stands now, the FCT minister seems to be more favoured to emerge stronger from the battle. At the moment, his campaign posters and billboards are common sight on the streets of Bauchi. There is also another strategy called ”Project Bala 2015", which was primarily put together to mobilize women across the state to support Mohammed's ambition.

It was gathered that the female lawmaker has assured the FCT minister of massive votes from her constituency.

Instructively, Bogoro constitute 90 percent of the population in Bogoro and Tafawa-Balewa Local government areas.

This political drama has attracted public sympathy in favour of the suspended female House member and Mohammed.

Speaking on the matter, a

stakeholder, who pleaded anonymity said: '” As it seems now, the only strong Bauchi gubernatorial contender is the FCT minister.

Besides winning the favour of major political stalwarts in the state, he has the backing of the Presidency. Apart from Alhaji Nadada Umar, a former SSG, Dr.Musa Babayo former PDP National secretary and father in-law to Yuguda and Barrister Ahmed Dandija, who are considered as Yuguda’s leading anointed candidates, the FCT minister has more advantage .”

Simplicity and benevolence Senator Bala’s popularity which was attributed to his charity works and simplicity, appears to constitute a strong challange to Yuguda’s camp.

It was gathered that the political realignments were raising dust in the Government House.

This informed claims that political machinery has been put in place to deny the FCT minister the gubernatorial ticket in favour of secretary to the state government Mr. Ahmed Dandija.

However, some observers have opined that selling Dandija to the electorate, might be a herculean task.

Though the FCT Minister is yet to declare his ambition, he is beileved to be busy

lobbying the presidency for the ticket.

When asked about his ambition during a recent unscheduled visit to Bauchi, he said time shall tell if he will be contesting.

Meanwhile, there are reports that some Yuguda’s loyalists have defected to the minister’s camp.

This is in addition to ongoing media war between the supporters of the duo.

While Yuguda was accused of retarding development in the state unlike his predecessor Mu’azu, critics of the FCT minister accused him of enriching his Jarawa kinsmen from Duguri District in Alkaleri LGA through juicy contracts and land deals in Abuja, without carrying other ethnic groups along.

Perhaps, it is on the strenght of this allegation that Yuguda appointed Mohammed's kinsmen as key players in the government.

The Head of Service, Chief of Staff and some commissioners , hail from the minister's Jarawa ethnic group. Regardless of that, some people are said to have vowed to support the minister.

With the determination of Mohammed to realize his gubernatorial ambition through his renewed partnership with Danna, only time will tell how far he will go.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013—35

53rd INDEPENDENCE:

Church honours Alele-Williams, Namme ...Alele-Williams makes case for proper funding of education

By SAM EYOBOKA

al scholar-ship for over 500 children from Makoko, Songunro, Okuabo, Emina and Aiyetoro communities in Lagos.

Senior pastor of Trinity House, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo said the awards for Pa Namme, Prof.

Alele-Williams and Mr. Orondaam, the third in its series, is the church’s contribution to the development of the Nigerian nation.

He urged Nigerians to join hands together, and work hard to ensure that in the next 10,

30 and 50 years, Nigeria becomes truly outstanding and makes its mark amongst the committee of nations. ”We must begin to look right now for the right kind of leadership; we must begin to look into the right kind of processes that will take us to where we are going; we must begin to make use of our natural resources and use them optimally; we must begin to encoura-ge again the spirit of labour, hard work and honesty, we

CELEBRATION of Nigeria’s 53rd independence anniversary continued last Sunday at the Trinity House, Lagos with an award for three role models who had made invaluable contributions to the progress of the nation.

The threesome who were honoured with awards in professionalism, female role model and community service categories respectively included former deputy managing director of Daily Times of Nigeria, Pa Laban Omowale Namme, first female vice chancellor in Nigeria, Prof.

Grace AleleWilliams and a young man called Mr. Otto Orondaam, founder of Slum 2 School Africa in 2012 *AWARDEES: Left to right: Pa Laban Omowale Namme, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo, Mr. who had arran- Otto Orondaam and Prof. (Mrs) Grace Alele-Williams in a group photograph. SHOT: ged educat-ion- BIODUN OGUNLEYE.

must begin to honour our own, say good things about Nigeria and as we do that, God in His infinite wisdom and mercy will begin to move the right people into the right places,” Ighodalo explained.

He maintained that whatever the case may be, “we must set ourselves on the path of excellent governance and leader-ship.”

Responding, the three awardees commended the vision of the church to build leaders.

Namme, 92, said the Lord used him to contribute his quota to the nation, noting that devotion to duty and loyalty, were the two cardinal ingredients that helped him to succeed in his profession.

Prof. Alele-Williams urged the Federal Government to take a cue from the US’ model of 1957 and 1958 when that country’s government realized the failure of its educational system to march Russian space exploits and immediately motivated the nation to change its educational curriculum.

That failure gingered the American government to find

Group tasks Nigerians on rebirth

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S part of Nigeria’s 53rd independence anni versary, a non-governmental organization, Light House Group recently gathered 20 non-governmental organisatons in Lagos to sharpen their zeal in bringing succour to the less privileged in the society, reports OLAYINKA LATONA. The programme also served as a platform for the various NGOs to showcase some of their craft works and achievements.

Speaking on behalf of Lighthouse Group, Mr. Segun Akerele and Mr. Deji Majekodunmi challenged Nigerians to be

Tears of joy as Prison inmates graduate

By OLAYINKA LATONA

T

EARS of joy flowed at the Medium Security Prison, Kirikiri, Lagos as prison inmates, who had undergone a life recovery pre-release empowerment progra-mme, pledging to begin new lives outside the prisons.

The event was the fourth graduation/fifth matriculation ceremony of inmates who had undergone spiritual counselling, entrepreneurial training and psycho-analytical counseling, an initiative of the Prison Fellowship of Nigeria in collaboration with the Nigerian Prisons, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria as well as the Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State.

According to the executive director of the PFN, Mr. Benson Iwuagwu, the objective of the outreach is to help inmates acquire skills in the management of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

Iwuagwu revealed that 32

*Inmates during a life recovery pre-release empowerment programme organised for Kirikiri Medium Prison inmates by the Prison Fellowship of Nigeria in collaboration with the Nigerian Prisons, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria and Covenant University.

inmates were graduating while 34 others matriculated, adding: “the project is to reform, rehabilitate and re-integrate the near-broken products of our excruciating and castrating criminal justice system.

He explained that the spiritual aspect of the programme was handled by PFN, while SMEDAN handled the skill

acquisition part, adding that the psycho-analytical evaluation and counselling of the inmates were done by the university’s counselling centre.

Giving the matriculation lecture themed: “Synergy of Church, community and University in correctional services”, Vice Chancellor, Covenant University, Ota, Prof.

out what was went wrong and and immediately the entire nation moved to change the educational curriculum.

“Moved by two incidents in US, as soon as I returned to the country, I galvanized the people to spread the gospel that our educational system had to change to emphasise mathematics including a change in text books for arithmetic, algebra and such like,” she added, noting that if teachers had to do well they have to be taught thoroughly from the grassroots.

“A whole nation decided education was a way out of their failure and they therefore budgeted enough money to revamp the sector. Education is the bedrock of any nation’s development and unless we make deliberate efforts to budget sufficient funds for the sector it will be difficult for the nation to make appreciable development. If our education system is not right, we cannot produce the right people to govern our nation,” Prof. Alele-Williams said.

Charles Ayo called on in-dividuals and stakeholders to be actively involved in the reformation of inmates so that they can be better citizens outside the prison walls.

He urged Christians to be more committed to the reintegration of released inmates into the society, adding that concern for those behind bars must be accompanied by generous hospitality towards inmates when they have finished their sentences and face the struggle for re-entry into a hostile society.

The 32 graduands acquired different skills in catering, soap making, tie & dye, bead making amongst others.

One of the graduands, Essien Lawrence who was released five months ago expressed gratitude to the organizers, saying that he felt good passing through the programme.

He revealed that family members and friends refused to interact with him, except members of the The Apostolic Church that assisted him.

agents of change by contributing their quota towards the development of the nation’s economic emancipation and unity.

They urged those abroad to respond positively to the invitation to come home and contribute to the development of the nation.

Majekodunmi said: “The NGOs are hard working and dedicated towards their goals and objectives and they are always ready to look at problems honestly.”

Majekodunmi further enjoined the Nigerian masses to become part of the nation’s collective efforts in building a better future for the present and future generations of Nigerians. He said: “We believe that the change we are clamouring for cannot be achieved if individuals fail to lend a helping hand the needy among us. As a group we are calling on Nigerians to support the vision to make our country a better place.”

SJCC women fellowship holds convention

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OMEN Fellowship of St. Joseph Chosen Church of God begins her 16th annual international convention tomorrow at the Rumuodara branch in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Theme: “Living in the presence of God”.

National president of the fellowship, Dr. Pat Alile, said the 4-day convention would impact positively on members and the nation as participants would among others, pray for the country. She said the spiritual leader, Apostle Hayford Alile, national vice president, Pastor Bridget Dafe and other anointed women of God would be ministering.

36—Vanguard , WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013

Omene family divided over Delta Central by-election

The leader Delta South needs — Emiko

BY EMMA AMAIZE & GODWIN OGHRE

M

OSOGAR—THE prominent Omene family in Mosogor, Delta State, has

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HEAD of the 2015 elections, Prince Yemi Emiko has said that Delta South senatorial district needs a representative in the Senate that can leverage on his knowledge of the people and their challenges, and had worked with the grassroots.

Emiko said he had worked with the people for nearly 20 years, while he was in charge of Chevron Nigeria’s community engagement plans and strategies that covered seven states in the South-South region and so has a grasp of what the people need.

He told newsmen: “I doubt if anyone can claim to have done more for our people or that they have better knowledge of our people’s issues than me.

“We know what oil money has done for other countries.

“We have poverty and environmental mess because they fear people with ideas.

A true leader reads and thinks creatively.”

been divided along party lines by the just concluded by-election in Delta Central senatorial district.

Dr. Wilson Omene, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, chief-

tain and former local government chairman, has, meanwhile, denied claims that the election, won by PDP’s Chief Emmanuel Aguariavwodo, was marred by electoral fraud.

Ex-militant leader faults Tinubu on amnesty

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X-MILITANT ‘General,’ Mr. Preye Ekpebide, yesterday, faulted former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu’s comments on the Federal Government’s amnesty programme for ex-militants of the Niger Delta region.

The All Progressives Party, APC, chieftain was quoted to have said that the amnesty programme has been turned to a conduit pipe.

Ekpebide, who addressed newsmen in Bomadi, Delta State, faulted Tinubu for not taking into cognisance the gravity of his accusation, explaining that such a comment was capable of inciting violence.

The ex-warlord noted that the benefits accruing from the declaration of the amnesty programme to the ex-militants and the country as a whole, in

terms of increase in the production of crude oil, was enormous.

He said that such a comment was not expected of national leader such as Tinubu, enjoining him to stop playing politics of acrimony.

Ekpebide added that such an issue can trigger ethnic hatred that could affect peaceful co-existence among Nigerians.

Delta youths blame increased criminality on non-constitution of NDDC board

BY EMMA AMAIZE

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ORT HARCOURT— NIGER Delta Youth for Positive Change and Progress, NDYPCP, yesterday, asked President Goodluck Jonathan to quickly constitute the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, as the delay had led to a rise in criminality in the region.

NDYPCP also condemned the criminality taking place in Southern Ijaw in Bayelsa State, where they said suspected pirates were terrorising travellers on the waterways.

It added that a councilor had been killed and lives and property in Ogu and Okporo communities in Rivers State, destroyed.

The group, in a statement by its National President, Mr. Emmanuel Enisuo, said: “We have observed with dismay that with the non-constitution

Convention

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HE Women Fellowship of St. Joseph Chosen Church of God International will, from tomorrow till Sunday, hold its 16th annual international convention in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, at its Rumuodara branch.

National President of the fellowship, Dr. Pat Alile, said the four days convention would have the spiritual leader of the church, Apostle Hayford Alile; National Vice President of the group, Pastor Bridget Dafe and others, in attendance.

of NDDC board, development of the region has been moribund in the past months, thus bringing about an upsurge in criminality in the region.

“We beg Mr. President to

look inward in constituting the next board of the commission. We beg him to appoint technocrats, who are staff of the commission to constitute the new board.”

Politicians urged to consult traditional rulers

BY Jimoh Williams

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HE Ojomu of Ajiranland in Lekki Local Council Development Area of Lagos State, Oba Tijani Akinloye, has advocated the need for political leaders to always consult tradition rulers on issue of governance.

Oba Akinloye, who addressed newsmen in Lagos on activities lined up for the commemoration of his 20th coronation anniversary, said that by doing so, government would be able to take informed actions that would impact

positively on the masses.

The activities for the coronation anniversary, which are jointly sponsored by the Ojomu Youth Forum, Eleshin Security Services Limited and other corporate organisations, will feature the conferment of chieftaincy titles on 12 worthy individuals, who had contributed positively to the development of the town.

The event, which will feature the graduation ceremony of 322 trainees from the Millennium Village Vocation Centre in the town, will witness its grand finale and

Ajiran Day on October 23.

Highlighting some of his achievements since assumption of the throne, the traditional ruler said that the Millennium Village Vocational Centre was established under the Organisation for the Research of World Peace, ORWP, a non-governmental organisation, which he is its Vice President.

He said: “I led ORWP team to Ghana, Sierra Leone, Republic of Benin, Coventry Cathedral in United Kingdom and United States of America, preaching peace and stability.”

By Bartholomew Madukwe

PEOPLE SPEAK

08102479985

However, two of his elder brothers, Chief Joseph Omene and Chief Blessing Omene, chieftains of All Progressives Congress, APC, differed.

They said that cases of multiple thump printing were reported in a number of polling units in Mosogar community.

They told reporters that they were beaten up by security officials and stopped from voting on the order of a top government official, who also intimidated voters with security officials.

However, Dr. Wilson Omene, who spoke to newsmen in his Mosogar country home, said: “There were no malpractices, no cases of snatching of ballot boxes, no intimidation as being alleged by the opposition political parties.”

He called on opposition members to join forces with PDP to move the Urhobo nation forward for greater development and recognition by the Federal Government.

Omene said PDP won because it fielded a credible candidate, adding that the party lost the election in 2011 because it did not field a credible and acceptable candidate.

(nwamad@yahoo.com)

On Eid-el-Kabir celebration

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HILE we will be talking to each other at the national conference, we might as well propose that predominant Christian states in the Middle Belt, South-East and South-South be allowed to opt out of these unnecessary Muslim-related holidays.— Miss Jessica Okpala, Student.

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wish Nigerians a rewarding and peaceful Eid-el-kabir celebration.

Although the security challenge may not allow people to really go out to places with their family, let us all appreciate the fact that we lived to celebrate this day.— Mr. Kazeem Aremu, Businessman.

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ONESTLY, I wonder how some Nigerians would celebrate this Sallah with the lack of development and strike everywhere? However, I still wish all the Muslims in the country a happy Eid-el-kabir celebrations.— Mr. Timothy Ajewole, Consultant.

I

think this year ’s Sallah greetings should go to all Nigerians, whether Muslim or Christian. The most important thing is our relationship, which should be bound by love. Therefore, I say congratulation to you all.— Mr. Okey Emmanuel, Administrator.

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Y message to Nigerians, particularly to the Muslims, is that they should pray for Nigeria, particularly in the area of security. The country needs the intercession. I also wish them a happy Eld-el-kabir and violence-free celebration.— Mr. Okoh Shedrak, Student.

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LTHOUGH I am not a Muslim, but I still want to say a big happy Eld-el-kabir celebration to Muslims in the country. Whoever does not have money for ram this year, should believe in the next Sallah. So do not do evil.— Mrs Ifeoma Ayambuba, Businesswoman.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013—37

Urhobo group sues for peace in Kokori community

BY EMMA AMAIZE ARRI—URHOB O Peace Initiative, UPI, has called on members of the Liberation Movement of Urhobo People, LIMUP, an armed group formed by arrested Delta State suspected kidnap kingpin, Kelvin Oniarah, to sheathe their swords.

Rising from its meeting in Warri, convened to proffer solutions to the crisis in Kokori community, Ethiope East Local Government Area, Delta state, following the arrest of Kelvin, the group noted that for peace to reign, it was important that the youths drop their arms to pave way for dialogue.

Chairman of the group, Mr.Igho Osiebe also called on the Federal Government to direct the soldiers in Kokori to adhere strictly to the role of maintaining peace and order, alleging that they were trampling on the fundamental human rights of the people.

He said that it was because of the intimidation they suffered that women recently rose against the actions of the soldiers, adding that the community was a peaceful oil producing community until the present development.

RATTAWU not a registered trade union, family tells court

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W

Obielum Foundation, lawmaker train 50 youths abroad

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member of Delta State House of Assembly, Mr Friday Osanebi, in partnership with Obielum Foundation, have sponsored 50 host community leaders and youths from the constituency on a five-day international training on “conflict resolution and management in oil and gas producing communities in the Niger-Delta” in Dubai, United Arab Emirate, UAE. The youths and community leaders that attended the international capacity building workshop were drawn from all the clans in Ndokwa land and some other ethnic groups in the state.

Vanguard gathered that the youths and community leaders’ empowerment programme was part of Osanebi’s civil obligations of empowering the youths and also giving back to the society.

EID-EL-KABIR—The Chief Imam of Mile One Central Mosque, Diobu, Alhaji Arikesola Suleiman, slaughtering Sallah Ram after the Eid-el-Kabir prayers at the Mile Four open field, Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Photo: Nwankpa Chijioke.

Uyo residents beg Akpabio to rescue them from flood

BY TONY NYONG

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YO—RESIDENTS of Eniong, Anua, Mbiabong Housing Estate in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, have sent a Save Our Soul letter to the state governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio, urging him to come to their rescue.

The letter, which came after most residents of the estate had packed out of their houses as a result of a heavy downpour which flooded their homes, appealed to the state government to consider the plight of the residents, who have been suffering untold hardship due to the effects of the rains.

The latest rain on Monday lasted several hours and brought down the fence of some of the houses in the estate, while

household items were seen floating in the rain water that entered some of the houses.

When Vanguard visited the estate, most residents were seen battling the rain to remove their electrical appliances and other household items out of their houses as the rain water had flooded the entire area.

President of the Estate, Mr. Anselem Etuk, whose house was flooded, told Vanguard that the flood menace has remained a perennial problem, but wondered why the state government, despite repeated appeals had refused to come to their rescue.

Another resident of the estate, Mrs. Eyo, whose house was also affected,

while recounting her experience in the last three years, said “in 2011, I lost all my property and started all over in 2012, I had the same experience, and now in 2013, it has happened again, yet the government will not even show concern.”

A pensioner in the estate, Mr. Uduak Archbong, told Vanguard “our problem is not that we don't have a government, we have a government, but my worry is why this kind of problem will not attract the attention and sympathy of the government.”

The state Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Enobong Uwah could not be reached for comment, as he did not pick calls placed to his mobile phone.

Edo LG by-election: 2 councillorship aspirants petition Akande, accuse APC of bias

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

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ENIN CITY—AHEAD the October 22, 2013, rescheduled council election in Esan North East Local Government Area of Edo State and some wards in Uhunmwode, two councillorship aspirants of former All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, have petitioned the Interim National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Chief Bisi Akande.

They accused the leadership of APC in the state of alleged imposition of former Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, members as candidates for the councillorship election in Isi-South ward 8 and ward 5 Esan North East

council.

The aspirants, Andrew Ogbeide and Ituah Emmanuel, wondered why it was only the names of former ACN aspirants that were sent to Edo State Independent National Electoral Commission, EDSIEC, as candidates of APC, when the party was yet to conduct primaries for all the aspirants, following the merger of ACN, ANPP and Congress for Progressive Change, CPC. “It is on this note that we appeal to the Interim Chairman, members of the National Executive Committee of APC and other leaders of the party to prevail on leaders of APC in

Edo State to conduct primaries to elect the councillorship candidates that will represent the party in the by-election in Isi-South ward 8 and ward 5 in Uhunmwonde and Esan North East respectively.

“Now that we are all APC members, it is only rational and fair that in consonance with Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, regulations that a proper primaries were conducted amongst the three aspirants, who have now formed APC. We appeal to EDSIEC to reject the names submitted and insist on primaries to avoid legal contest.”

HE Otewoga Akodu descendant family of Makun, in Sagamu area of Ogun State, have told the Ogun State High Court, sitting at Sagamu that Radio, Television, Theatre and Arts Workers Union of Nigeria, RATTAWU, lacked the capacity to exist as a registered trade union.

RATTAWU had dragged members of the Otewoga Akodu family before Justice Rotimi Balogun for alleged trespass on 85.513 acres of land in Oloke/Asanle, Aiyetoro Village, Makun Sagamu, Ogun State.

RATTAWU is also demanding for N5 million as special damages and had prayed the court to restrain the defendants from further acts of trespass.

But, in their preliminary objection, the Otewoga Akodu descendant family through their lawyer, Babatunde Oshilaja challenged the validity of certificate of registration No. 00025 presented by RATTAWU, praying the court to declare that RATTAWU lacked the capacity to exist as a registered trade union.

The family also argued that one Chief Olusegun Ayodele, who allegedly sold the land in dispute to RATTAWU was not a member of Otewoga Akodu family, hence has no legal right to sell family land in question.

The family contended that the said Ayodele being an indigene of Osun State has no authority to sell land on behalf of Otewoga Akodu family.

Oshilaja argued that the certificate of registration of trade union No. 00025 dated August 15, 1978, issued by the Registrar of Trade Union was issued Radio Television and Theatre Workers Union and not to RATTAWU, adding that RATTAWU had no certificate of registration as a trade union contrary to the claim in its suit.

He further argued that RATTAWU lacked capacity to sue in its name without a certificate of Registration as a Trade Union being a nonjuristic person and not known to law, adding that a registered trade union being a legal person is determined by law and not by nature therefore, the absence of a certificate of registration showing that RATTAWU was registered in its name as appeared on the court processes rendered the processes invalid.

38—Vanguard , WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013

JACTU threatens Ebonyi Govt over new tax regime

BY PETER OKUTU

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BAKALIKI—THE Joint Action Committee of Trade Unions, JACTU, of Ebonyi State College of Education, ESCE, has given the state government 21 days within which to stop the implementation of the new tax regime in the state or face industrial action.

JACTU made this known in a statement in Abakaliki yesterday.

The union explained that out of the 22 colleges of education in the country only the ESCE had implemented the new policy under the guise of implementing the consolidated salary structure for staff of the institution, describing the action as oppressive.

The chairman of JACTU at ESCE, Esheya Greg who spoke on the issue described the new tax law as not only obnoxious but outrageous and appealed to the state government to “negotiate on the matter since the tax law itself provides for negotiation between the employer and the employee to enable them agree on a favourable regime.”

His words: “Our plea on this matter fell on deaf ears and to our rude shock we received our September 2013, salaries and discovered that the new tax system had been implemented. The increment we are talking about here is not 50 per cent, 100 percent or even 300 per cent increment. ‘’We are talking about 500 to 800 per cent increment over and above our normal tax figures.”

Obi received N2trn with nothing to show for it, says Ngige E

BY TONY EDIKE

NUGU—THE Governor ship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, for the November 16 election in Anambra State, Senator Chris Ngige, said in Enugu yesterday, that Governor Peter Obi has so far received N2 trillion from the federation account without recording any tangible achievement to justify the huge funds received by his government.

Ngige, who said that he met only N38 million when he assumed office as governor of Anambra State on May 29, 2003, said that he succeeded in boosting the economy of the state leaving behind N12.8 billion for his successor.

He said: ”So far Obi has collected over N2 trillon with nothing to show for it. I met only N38 million in the Anambra government’s purse but left N12.8billion in the coffers. We revolutionized roads construction. It is not true that we did asphalt only in Idemili (his local government), we also did roads in every other part of the state.”

Addressing members of the Anambra State Peoples Assembly, ASPA, in Enugu, he further said he decided to contest the election to continue with the good jobs he did during his three-year tenure.

According to Dr. Ngige, he left the Government House in Awka abruptly, without completing his work and with

most of his aspirations unfulfilled.

He promised to lift “her present village status of Awka, the state capital to an urban status,’’ worthy of its position even as the Anambra Airport would take off on or before December 2014 if elected.

Ngige also said that his eight years blueprint for development

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C M Y K

is what I want to go back and collect,” Ngige said.

He also added that that he would address the issue of insecurity just like unfettered freedom of movement, equity and fairness, pointing out that the invasion of the state by kidnappers was due to bad governance.

INSTALLATION: From left: Rotn. Francis Famoroti,Vice Pesident, Rotary Club of Egbeda, Rotn. Adekunle Fadiji, past President, Rotary Club of Egbeda, Rotn. Lasisi Olarewaju, new President, Rotary Club of Egbeda, Rotn. Olarewaju Kosoko-Salu, immediate past President, Mr. Olayinka Gbenga, NULGE Chairman, Egbe-Idimu LCDA and SP Mike Imeke, DPO, Idimu, during the installation of Rotn. Lasisi Olanrewaju, as the 3rd President of Rotary Club of Egbeda and launching of club project, at Isheri-Olofin, Lagos: Photo: Bunmi Azeez.

Anambra guber: Groups want INEC to publish final list of voters

BY VINCENT UJUMADU

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WKA—THE eight human rights and civil society groups operating in the South East geopolitical zone, yesterday, urged the Independent National Electoral Commis-

sion, INEC, to publish the final list of voters for the November 16 governorship election in Anambra State.

In a letter addressed to Professor Chukwuemeka Onukaogu, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC,

IPMAN crisis: Court dismisses suit against Ogbewe It would be recalled that the ter, “every other issue would be ENIN CITY—THE Federal High Court sitting in Benin City has struck out a suit by some members of the Midwest Zone of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, who ran to the court to seek the removal of the interim leadership of the association made up of depots in Warri, Delta State and Benin City, led by Chief Solomon Ogbewe.

In his ruling in suit number FHC/B/CS/72/11, made available to Vanguard, Justice A. M. Liman ruled that the plaintiffs in the case had no locus standi on the mat-

of Anambra State was jettisoned by Governor Obi as most of the strategic projects were not attended to till date.

He, however, said that his aim in contesting for a second term was to enable him dust his blueprint to rebuild Anambra State once more.

“I forgot my work plan at Government House and that

rendered academic and I do not have luxury of examining them ex hypothesis, accordingly the proper order to make is to dismiss the suit.”

The defendants Ogbewe and three others had approached the court to challenge the competence of the plaintiffs who were seeking that he be removed and also challenge the jurisdiction of the court as they argued that the plaintiffs “lack the requisite locus standi to institute the action, that the action of the plaintiffs is academic, speculative and hypothetical in nature and the action is an abuse of the process of the court.”

National Industrial Court of Nigeria sitting in Abuja and presided over by its President, Justice B.A. Adejumo few months ago also threw out an application to restrain Ogbewe from acting in the capacity as chairman.

In a case with suit No NICN/ AK/55/2013, another set of plaintiffs through their counsel, A. Osayomwanbor Esq in a motion ex-parte prayed the court for an interim injunction restraining the defendant (Ogbewe) from parading himself as the Chairman or Caretaker Committee Chairman of the Midwest Zone of the Association.

in the state, the groups said the publication of the list and looking into other relevant issues concerning the election would ensure free and fair poll.

In addition, the groups also demanded INEC public statement on the alleged issue of the missing 53 polling units, the 93,000 double registrants, as well as the issue of the polling stations found in shrines and evil forests.

The groups said: “We firmly demand that the final publication of list of voters for the crucial governorship poll should be attached with an executive summary by your Electoral Residency, critically addressing these crucial issues as raised. Such executive summary should be made public and rested in plain languages.

“We remain unrepentant exponent of free, fair, participatory and popular elections in Nigeria especially the No-

vember 16 governorship poll in Anambra State of Nigeria.

If the foregoing issues raised are not properly addressed, then the poll will not only lose its expected wide acceptance, it will also threaten your commission’s credibility.

“We wish to remind your Electoral Residency that publication of the said list of voters on the said date is not enough and can never guarantee the credibility your voters’ register management, which has been tainted and fraught with series of demographic complaints.

“The Anambra voters and the entire Nigerians would want to know the status of ‘93,000 double registrants’, which your commission disclosed publicly to exist in its current register of voters of Anambra extraction. They would also wish to know the status of ‘53 missing polling units’ in nine LGAs of the state.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013—39

,

HAND-OVER: Joseph Ogeh, founder, Joseph Ogeh Foundation (3rd right); DESOPADEC commissioner, handing over key to lucky Komo beneficiary(2nd left); Ben Johnny, Personal Assistant to Mr. Ogeh, and Barr.

Vote Umukoro, during the hand-over of tricycles ('Keke Uduaghan') to beneficiaries at Oghara-Iyede, Isoko North Local Government Area, Delta State.

RAFFLE: From left, Ms. Popoola Dolapo, Energy Development Officer, LSEB (left), and Mr. Mobalaji Sumoni, Energy Officer LSEB (right), presenting movie ticket to winner of raffle draw, Ms. Tamilore Oladoye, at the Mega Plaza Experience Centre

ANNIVERSARY: From left, Principal/Head Teacher, Modupe Cole Memorial Child Care and Treatment Home School, Akoka, Mrs. Florence Kayode; Managing Director, FinaTrust Micro Finance Bank Ltd, Mr. Deji Popoola, and a director at the bank, Mr. Kunle Adeoye, presenting a cheque to Homes head teacher, as part of the company's Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, to mark the bank’s 4th anniversary, in Lagos, weekend. Photo: Kehinde Gbadamos

AWARD: Governor-General of High Society Club of Nigeria, Aare Mojibayo Olagunju (right), presenting an award to Mr. Olumuyiwa Ekemode, at Nigeria's 53rd Independence celebration, organised by the club in Lagos.

VISIT: From left, Major General Tom Zdanowich, Supreme Secretary, Knights of St. John; Major General Anslem Okafor, Supreme Subordinate President, Knights of St. John, Nigeria; Lady Theodora Giwa-Amu, and General Dale Gossiaux, Supreme President, Knights of St. John, during the visit of Supreme Officers of Knights of St. John to Nigeria.

BRIEFING: From left, Mrs. Christiana Obiazikwor, head of Public Relations, NAFDAC, Lagos; Mrs. Maureen Ebigbeyi, Director, NAFDAC, and Mr.. Hassan Tanko, Regulatory Officer, both of NAFDAC Port Inspectorate Directorate, displaying the drugs during the press briefing on the seizure of unregistered TRAMADOL, in Lagos.

VISIT: For mer military President Ibrahim Babangida, during a visit to former Governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Kalu, at his Abuja residence

SOCCER: From left, Her Excellency, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, Deputy Governor of Lagos State; Mr. Michael Ikpoki, MTN Nigeria CEO, and Mr. Kola Oyeyemi, General Manager, Consumer Marketing, MTN, during the MTN Street Soccer Final, organised by Lagos State Government. Photo: Diran Oshe

BIRTHDAY: From left, Otun of Owu Kingdom, Chief Doja Adewolu; husband of the celebrant, Mr. Niyi Olubode; the celebrant and Special Assistant to Ogun State Governor on Public Communications, Mrs. Seyi Enitan-Olubode, and Senator Gbenga Obadara, during the 40th birthday thanksgiving service for Mrs. Seyi Enitan-Olubode, at the Government House Chapel, Oke-Igbein, Abeokuta, weekend.

40—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013

FG inaugurates UNESCO certified river basin board

EID EL KABIR:

Doctor cautions against excess meat

T

BY SUZAN EDEH

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AUCHI—AS Muslims in the country celebrate Eid-el Kabir which is characterized by the slaughtering of rams and cows among others, the Chief Medical Director, CMD, of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital, ATBUTH, Bauchi, Dr Muhammed Alkali has advised the people against eating excess meat to avoid diarrhoea.

Eid-el Kabir or Eid al-Adha in Arabic marks the completion of the hajj (pilgrimage) rites at Mina, Saudi Arabia, and is observed by Muslims throughout the world to commemorate the faith of Ibrahim.

Alkali who gave the advise in an interview with newsmen in Bauchi said,“ many people are usually rushed to hospitals on Sallah days for diarrhoea. This is caused by eating too much or half cooked meat. People can cope with the season and prevent themselves from contracting both diarrhoea and stomach ache by eating their Sallah meat gradually and making sure it is well cooked and hygienic.”

The CMD further warned people against the practice of taking too much or excessive sugary drinks and potash because they were capable of causing ulcer and abdominal pain even as he recommended the consumption of vegetables and honey through out the festive period to ease digestion.

Apart from vegetables, Alkali asked the celebrants to take a lot of fruits in addition to the meat and wished the Muslim faithful in the country a peaceful and happy celebration.

L-Rr: Engr. Ernest Nwapa with Mr Igbuan Okaisabor, Founder/Chief Executive Officer, Construction Kaiser, and Funmilayo Jegede,Project Manager MTN,Nigeria, at the 20th anniversary of Construction Kaiser held at Muson Centre Lagos.Photo,Joe Akintola;Photo Editor.

G-7 govs rebellion won't affect PDP's performance—Hassan

BY ABDULSALAM MOHAMMED

K

ANO—THE newly sworn in Caretaker chairman of Kano State chapter of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Hassan Kaffayus, has said that the open rebellion by the G-7 Governors would not affect the performance of the party or set up.

Kaffayus who spoke in Kano during the inauguration of other members of his committee at the newly acquired PDP office in the municipality declared that “the court verdict and the INEC pronouncement are pointers that they were expending energy on a lost battle.”

The G-7 Governors comprise mainly Hausa/Fulani governors from in the north.

He said that the north owed President Goodluck Jonathan

loyalty and support as they did to former President Olusegun Obasanjo since former northern leaders also enjoyed the support and loyalty of the people of the South-South people during their own time.

Kafayus said, "I do recall that we (Northerners) enjoyed the full support and loyalty of these people while we were occupying the seat of power. We gave the same support to Obasanjo during his tenure and now wonder why President Jonathan is being denied equal treatment.”

Kaffayus stated that the action of the G7 Governors amounted to open declaration of war against God, as according to him, it was God that bestows power on whoever He chose to do so.

Kaffayus who spoke in Hausa amid shouts of Sai Jonathan by thousands of party supporters

Plateau spends N42m on sallah gifts—Commissioner

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BY NDAHI MARAMA

OS—THE Plateau Government says it spent more than N42 million to purchase items which were distributed to some Muslims in the state as Eid-el-Kabir gifts.

Malam Idi Waziri, the state’s Commissioner for Water Resources and Rural Development, made the disclosure, yesterday, while presenting some of the items to inmates of the Jos prison and some disabled persons at the city’s central mosque, which is otherwise known as “Masallachin Juma’a”.

The commissioner said the donation to the Muslim faithful was a clear indication that the Gov. Jonah Jang administration has the interest of all Muslims residing in the state at heart.

He said, “The donation of these items is part of the governor’s kind gestures to the Muslims in the state, as is done during every festive period. This year, he insisted that in the distribution, keen attention should be paid to the less privileged and the vulnerable in the society, which is a clear indication that this administration has the interest of everyone at heart. This suggests why we have come to present

some of these items to those at the prison and the disabled as well.”.

Waziri said the love Gov. Jang has for the Muslim faithful led to his recent sponsorship of 400 people in the state to Saudi Arabia for this year’s Hajj.

He said about 200 of the over 400 were, however, sponsored by the various local governments in the state, adding that this had cost the state government over N300 million.

The commissioner called on Muslims to pray for the peace and development of Plateau.

that witnessed the making ceremony further added that he was ready to shed his blood to reposition the PDP in the state.

He said, “Those who posted me here know that I am fearless and I am ready to spill my blood to reposition the party in Kano State."

HE Federal Govern ment has inaugurated the Governing Board of UNESCO Category II Regional Centre for Integrated River Basin Management, IRBM, situated in the National Water Resources Institute, Kaduna.

While inaugurating the board in Abuja, the Minister of Water Resources, Mrs. Sarah Ochekpe, said the UNESCO Category 11 Centre for Integrated River Basin Management has the mandate to conduct training and research on all aspects of Integrated River Basin Management and also to provide data bank for Integrated River Basin Management in West Africa.

She said the Centre would also promote, review and develop the institutional framework for the IRBM in West Africa including International and Regional Treaties, Conventions and Agreements of Water laws, Water Policies and international best practices.

Ochekpe added that the Centre would provide an efficient water management strategy within and across river basins at the community, local, state, national, regional, and international levels. It would also promote exchange of programmes among professionals, academic and other stakeholders from members states in west African sub-region, among others.

Eid el Kabir: Shettima calls for prayers for peace in the nation

BY NDAHI MARAMA

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AIDUGURI—Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State has urged Nigerians to use the Eid El Kabir celebration to intensify prayers towards the full return of peace to some states in the north currently threatened by Boko Haram insurgency.

In his Sallah message during a breakfast with senior government officials and other residents, yesterday, the governor said the nation also needed more prayers with increasing level of apprehension over the possible outcome of the 2015 elections and unity of Nigeria.

He said, "People should keep praying for enduring peace and continually work for peace because all these apprehension about 2015 are unnecessary. I believe 2015 should be a peaceful transition.

"Power belongs to God and the 2015 elections should not be taken as do-or-die affair. We should abide by the tenet and values of democracy, support whoever becomes the president of this coun-

try and governor of Borno State because this country is greater than anybody; it is greater than All Progressive Congress, APC, or the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, and we must make sure we nurture it and do not allow it to break up.”

Shettima expressed happiness over the peaceful Sallah celebration in the state despite unfavourable security reports, noting that the massive turn out of the Muslim faithful for this year's Eid-elKabir at various praying grounds in the state was a signal that a new life has begun in Borno State.

The governor added, “Peace is gradually coming to Borno and no matter what we have experienced in the past, the light of Borno will shine again,” asking the people of the area to pray continually to have more peaceful Muslim festivals next year.

He, however, commended security agencies and the Youth Volunteers (Civilian JTF) in the state for sustaining peace in the area, noting, "We commend these young men for sacrificing their lives for many of us to enjoy our peace."

Vanguard , WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013—41

Benue APC accuses financier of misconduct

BY PETER DURU

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STUDENT PROTEST: Students from Edo State Institute of Technology and Management, ESITM, protesting nonaccreditation of courses in school at the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Edo State chapter's secretariat, yesterday.

PHOTO: Barnabas Uzosike.

Imo lawmakers raise alarm over ‘menace' of Hausa/Fulani herdsmen

BY CHIDI NKWOPARA

O

WERRI— THE members of Imo State House of Assembly have expressed concern over what they described as the growing menace of Hausa-Fulani herdsmen in the state.

Already, the Donatus Ozoemena-led ad-hoc committee has sent what it called “a clarion call” to the security agencies in the state, complaining about “the menace of Hausa-Fulani herdsmen in Imo State.”

The committee said: “We wish to bring to your notice the brewing tension in some of our communities, which require urgent and concerted effort to stem and avoid an imminent conflagration that will further compound the already charged national security situation.”

Ozoemena, who is the Deputy Speaker, enumerated series of unprovoked attacks on some communities in Owerri West, Ohaji/Egbema and Ngor Okpala local council areas by the nomadic herdsmen, which resulted in the destruction of crops, farmlands, raping of women and girls, as well as killing and maiming of the villagers.

Ozoemena said: “The herdsmen have so far failed to hon-

our the invitation of the House Committee. For the communities, it has been a tale of woes, anguish, pains, humiliation, loss of economic mainstay and insecurity.”

While informing the security agencies that the communities live in fear in their homeland, the Deputy Speaker equally warned that the youths are getting restive and spoiling for war.

He said: “If nothing is done and urgently, there could be outbreak of hostilities and bloodshed. As a responsible

House, we cannot sit by and watch the situation spiral out of control and our communities turned into a theatre of war.”

The Committee expressed concern that these herdsmen go about with sophisticated weapons like AK-47 rifles in clear contravention of the law on possession of firearms, stressing that this complaint should not be treated with levity.

The lawmakers said: “At a time when the nation is grappling with the challenges

posed by the Boko Haram insurgents, we are worried that a band of terrorists may have infiltrated and hide under the guise of herdsmen to carry out their nefarious and vicious activities.

“We will not allow our communities to be turned into save havens for terrorists.”

The lawmakers warned that they “can no longer condone a situation where our wives and daughters are sexually assaulted and humiliated, our people are maimed, killed and condemned to starvation.”

Ebonyi gets 21-day ultimatum on new tax

BY PETER OKUTU

A

BAKALIKI— THE Joint Action Committee of Trade Unions, JACTU, of Ebonyi State College of Education, yesterday, gave a 21-day ultimatum to Ebonyi State government to put on hold the implementation of the new tax regime which began last month.

The union threatened that any contrary action by the government would lead to an industrial action.

JACTU explained that out of the 22 colleges of education in the country, only Ebonyi State College of Education, Ikwo,

was being forced by its management to pay the new tax law under the guise of implementing the Consolidated Salary Structure for staff of the institution.

The Chairman of JACTU, Ebonyi State College of Education chapter, Mr. Esheya Greg, who described the new tax law as obnoxious and outrageous, appealed to the state government to “negotiate on the matter since the tax law itself provides for negotiation between the employer and the employee to enable them agree on a favourable tax regime.

“Our plea on this matter fell

on deaf ears and to our rude shock we received our September salaries and discovered that the new tax system had been implemented.

“The increment we are talking about here is not 50 percent, 100 percent or even 300 percent increment.

“We are talking about 500 to 800 percent increment over and above our normal tax figures.

“JACTU held its Congress on October 14, at the College Auditorium, and issued a 21-day ultimatum to the management of the college and government of Ebonyi State to reverse the obnoxious new tax regime.”

AKURDI— THE crisis rocking Benue State chapter of All Progressives Congress, APC, has deepened as the executive members of the party have petitioned the party’s national leadership, alleging financial misappropriation against a major financier of the party and former deputy governorship candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, Alhaji Usman Abubakar.

In the petition is entitled The Destructive Agenda of Usman Abubakar, sent to the North Central Zonal Vice Chairman of the party, signed by all the nine local government chairmen of the party in the Benue South Senatorial zone, including the zonal Chairman, Mohamed Hassan and Secretary, Bartholomew Alice.

The aggrieved leaders also accused Abubakar of disrespecting the party’s leadership in the state.

Part of the petition also read: “We like to bring to your notice that Alhaji Usman Abubakar has been an electoral liability to the defunct can, having lost in the 2011 general elections in his home local government of Ogbadibo.

“His serial lost of elections has been attributed to leadership insensitivity and inherent rebellious tendencies.”

When contacted, Usman Abubakar denied knowledge of the petition, stressing also that he had not been served the petition.

“I only heard rumours of it,” he said.

In his reaction, former federal lawmaker and leader of the party in the state, Mr. Nelson Alakpa, confirmed that he was aware of the development.

He pointed out that the petition was to ensure that Usman Abubakar was disciplined accordingly, adding that already, the Zonal Vice Chairman of the party had forwarded the petition to the disciplinary committee for necessary action.

C M Y K

42 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013

Banks not asking for lower Naira denomination —CBN Deputy Gov Central Bank of Nigeria Deputy Governor, Mr. Tunde Lemo was in Washington to attend the World Bank Group/ IMF Annual Meetings. In one of his free moments, he had an interactive session with the media. Excerpts

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HERE’S one disturbing trend today in Nigeria. The lower denominations of our currency have virtually gone out of circulation. Even the banks don’t have them, and the ones available are so dirty and mutilated.

Why is this so?

If you say, you can’t find the N5, N10 and the N20 notes, my answer may be, there’s nothing to do with those currency denominations any more. But I can tell you that if I open my vault, you’ll see a lot of those denominations in the Central Bank of Nigeria, and they are available to commercial banks. Commercial banks are not asking for them because their customers are not asking for them, that is one.

Two, about mutilated notes, our apologies. I think I must have said it several times, apologizing on behalf of the Central Bank to Nigerians that we had delays in reprinting existing generation of notes and I gave the reason.

Drawing board This time last year we contemplated changing the face of the Nigerian currency, the entire family, unfortunately, because of the issues around the coinage of those three denominations you talked about and the inclusion of the N5,000 note, we have to put a halt to that, and because of that we have to go back to the drawing board. That was the time we should have replaced the old notes, but we held on to that hoping that we will now print them in new seals.

But because that was not going to happen, we lost about six months, which was why we saw those mutilated notes, but the good news now is that from September, we’ve started taking delivery of the reprinted old notes.

We now see the emergence of crispy notes from Central bank.

There’s also scarcity of N100, N200 notes?

We are also taking delivery of that. What we try to do was to take delivery of lower denominations at first, because those were the ones that were very badly affected. Don’t also forget that because of the issues that we had in the Mint, we closed Lagos Mint for C M Y K

a few months, which has been reopened, and they produce the N100 and the N200 notes. This will raise the level of production now that they have resumed.

Is the CBN still engaging Securrency in printing our notes?

You did not quote me correctly.

Yes, I said polymer notes, we are taking another view, not because it didn’t last long, but because the ink fades early, the subscript is still as strong as ever. But you are also right in saying that the disposal was a major issue. We are not working with Securrency, indeed the company has since sold their interest to another interest.

You’ll remember that Securrency was indicted for corporate governance flaws, and so they are out of the stage.

Don’t forget Central Bank of Nigeria does not deal with producers of substrate, we deal with printers of notes and currencies, we deal with the mint and other foreign currency printers. These other printers are the ones that deal with Securrency and the like, so Central Bank of Nigeria, at no time dealt with Securrency, and we don’t intend to deal with producers of substrates.

What are your concern on the US government’s shutdown with respect to Nigeria?

We should not exaggerate the effects of the fiscal face-off in the US and its effects on the global

,

By OMOH GABRIEL & EMMA UJAH, reporting from Washington

Tunde Lemo, CBN deputy governor US policies. Except that if they are unable to resolve the problem in good time and the rating in the US drops, it can snowball into a recession, and if that happens, it may affect commodities’ prices, and that is perhaps the only channel where Nigeria’s economy, like any other economy may be affected. It may affect commodity prices and so the trade flows, the income flows may be impacted, apart from the fact that about 70 per cent of our reserves are denominated in dollars, and if there’s significant depreciation of the dollar, then that means that proportionately, the value of our wealth will go down.

What are the Nigerian financial authorities doing about our bonds?

Well, there’s not much we can do at the moment because investors are holding them, except that if there is any spike and investors are cutting back, then there may be some value depreciation

,

The Nigerian economy is very huge and today we are talking of the American economy that runs in trillions of dollars

economy, particularly, Nigeria.

The United States of America is aware of the implications of a default, which is highly unlikely.

And I think what is playing up now, is that virtually everyone is connected to the US, one way or the other. If you are not trading heavily with the US, there are strong links with USA. This is where all the financial stocks are invested, because to date, the dollar is still the de-facto global reserve currency. This is why China issued an advise, or a warning a few days ago that the US should resolve its problems.

Talking directly about the possible impact on the Nigerian economy, it doesn’t have a direct impact on the Nigerian economy because we are a sovereign country and our monetary policies, our fiscal policies, are not tied to the

and even at that, it is the investors that will take the heat and not the Nigerian government.

The bonds are not due for redemption. So we could be impacted in two ways, namely commodity prices may be affected and that may affect the revenue flow of government and secondly, the reserve that is heavily denominated in dollar may shrink in real terms in value like that of other economies. But that is very unlikely in the light of recent developments on the issues at stake.

Will you contemplate Keeping more of Nigerian reserves in Chinese currency?

The point is, you will not because of little hiccups like this begin to take very far reaching decisions that may affect a lot of other things. Of course Nigeria, like several other countries, is

becoming more C and more bullish on Remimbi but M we would need to make progress Y slowly. We already have anKapproval to invest up to 10 per cent of our reserves in remimbi. We have commenced the investment, the bulk of which is in Hong Kong. We would begin movement to mainland China because we got a quota but you cannot overnight because of what is happening in the US now, move all your reserve to China. Don’t forget the reminbi is not yet a convertible currency, although it would be at some time in the future.

Basket of currencies The second point we need to note is that you may not have enough instruments to absorb the transfers because if everybody in the globe begins to swing to Chinese remimbi, there will be no instrument for people to buy because it is not as if the market is liquid, or deep enough for that kind of transaction. It is just that this has confirmed our decision that strategically, we would need to begin to diversify the basket of currency of our reserves.

There’s concern in some quarters that the stock of Nigeria’s domestic debt is rising. Shouldn’t there be some restraint?

I don’t think you are right to say there is no fiscal restraint with respect to government borrowing which is why, if you look at our borrowings, relative to the GDP and compare with our competitors, its still very low. But in Nigeria, we like to look at things in absolute terms. But don’t forget that the Nigerian economy is very huge and today we are talking of the American economy that runs in trillions of dollars.

In Nigeria its just a little fraction of our GDP that is being borrowed and that means that we still have the fiscal space. But that is not to say that we should be unmindful of government’s borrow-

ing because I think government is doing that pretty well. Part of what they are doing in that direction of course, you will hear from the Minister of Finance at the press briefing soon.

Bilateral agreement But we will continue to collaborate with the government and we do not see any need to worry.

What’s the MoU with China on investment about?

The agreement is for us to invest in mainland China. There is a need for Nigeria to have a bilateral agreement, indicating how much you are investing, when to exit, and when to increase your holding, .that is part of the reason we say the remimbi is not yet a convertible currency. That agreement will determine the tenure of the investment, the time to pull out, but this is an agreement that is beneficial to all parties.

How is the government addressing the issue of leakages in the system?

I think that we need to put things in perspective. The difference between previous loans and what we are seeing now is that most of the loans are project tied.

If you look in the economic literature you will always find out why countries borrow. If you borrow for capital accumulation to enhance your capacity to produce higher capital in future of course, you will get better return.

The nature of government finance today is that there are some mega projects that if you wait, the money you need, you may not be able to achieve them because it is like a moving target, you will not be able to get there at any rate which is why you need to borrow to bridge a gap. You borrow so that as the stream of income improves, you begin to pay back, but then you can see the things you have achieved in terms of infrastructure that are strategic to Continues on page 43

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013 — 43

Banks not asking for lower Naira denomination —CBN Deputy Gov

Capital accumulation What is important is that we would constantly look at the size of Nigeria’s economy, things that need to be fixed and then of course that such loans are used for capital accumulation and not for consumption. And so far I have not seen any of our present borrowings going into consumption and for me, I believe that is the right thing to do.

What’s your reaction to the saying that our politicians are mopping up the dollar?

First, I don’t think it is right to demonise politicians. But our role as regulators of the Nigerian financial system is to fix problems where we see them. We only discovered that gradually we were beginning to dollarise the economy. Nigerians were importing dollars without approval of the regulatory authorities because people are now beginning to prefer dollars to our local currency, the naira.

We discovered that besides Angola that imports about $24billion dollars per annum, Nigeria happens to be the next importer of dollars in Africa and we felt that the trend would not help our economy. The reason was our currency is fundamentally misaligned

which was the reason we brought the idea of N5000 note but unfortunately we threw the baby and the berth water away. Let us not cry over spilled milk because had we implemented the N5000, there would not have been need to dollarise as much as we are doing today. We then decided to pull back a bit to say we already have other channels like electronic payment scheme which we can use to improve our spending habits.

From Whole Sale Dutch option (WDAS), we moved to the retail (RDAS). Under the WDAS, banks, could on their own bid for dollars and pass over to their customers.

Today they have got to have all the customers with detailed documentation of their need show-

Map of Nigeria ing the total sum on demand at every auction to be able to get allocation. We experimented and that has eliminated the element of speculation because the demand fell drastically.

We have been able to tighten the noose around bureau de change because of their peculiar mode of operation because it was convenient for anybody wanting to do any form of round-tripping to go through the bureau de change by avoiding the official channels that will not allow them to do that. We are monitoring and we discovered that demand has dropped drastically. There is however a little bit of spike in the interbank and parallel market but we believe this is the normal process of adjustment, but over time they would converge. There may not be a 100per cent convergence anyway, so long as the difference between the BDC and parallel market is tolerable we believe we will make progress.

When there is a new policy the tendency is for people to say let us hold back something because we don’t know how bad it is going to be, and that leads to a spike in rates. However when they observe the trend is stabilising over time, they will then offload and begin to operate in line with prevailing market trends.

There was this allegation by the National Assembly that banks inflate their operating cost. Is it

Tunde Lemo, CBN deputy governor

true?

Well, since it is an allegation, we will wait and have it proved because we can’t speculate on that. I’ll be surprised if any Nigerian bank will deliberately inflate operating cost to pay lower taxes. What I expect is that they will post better performance to get better patronage. The point is, it is an allegation, which I have not read myself, but if there is strong evidence that this is happening, we will not hesitate to investigate and address it.

Unethical practices We have examiners and there are several other ways we can get information on how the operators are. We have told banks not to play funny games, because they know the repercussion. They also know the present CBN management has zero-tolerance for unethical practices. We can say whoever is doing that will be doing that at its own peril.

Many users of the cashless system complain of challenges in accessing funds from Point of Sales (POS). What’s the position?

For the e-Payment system. we can say we still have challenges but I would not agree with you that most of the PoS terminals are not working..

Let me give you some statistics

on the study done by Financial Derivatives. That the company is not in any way connected to the CBN because it has been very critical of the CBN. They are likened to be very credible.

Prior to the introduction of the introduction of the electronic payment system, only about two per cent retail transactions were settled electronically. If you visit a typical supermarket or retail outlet, just about two per cent of what happens there were settled electronically. But as at 2-3 months ago when they conducted that study, we ratcheted that number from two per cent to 20 per cent.

Yes we can say that 20 per cent is still low because in developed countries, the numbers are up to 70 - 80 per cent but I think we

,

Continues frompage 42 wealth creation, like electricity, roads, railways, hospitals and so forth.

Those things are the projects that can enhance the productivity of the economy and the people, because today, we are talking of the major impediment to our development being structural constraints. Today we don’t have good roads, we don’t have electricity, education and schools for our children and when you compute what you need to put those things in place, you will then need to wait ad-infinitum to be able to earn those revenues.

But you could be smart and borrow to provide, and as your revenue stream begins to improve you then begin to pay back.

It is even better when you get the borrowing at concessional rate, you need to take the money to fix those infrastructure and then pay later. However in doing this, you need to be mindful of the terms of such loans and I am impressed by the numbers that the Minister of Finance gave with respect to the loans that Nigeria took to finance certain infrastructural projects. Some of the loans came at zero-interest, some are pretty long term and came with basically no stringent conditions, and these are smart ways we can finance our development needs.

It does not then mean you will continue to borrow until the loans become too heavy.

NICOMSAT, and they did a testrun in Lagos area and we are satisfied about their proposition. So within the next few weeks, you will notice improvement in connectivity in Lagos area at least.

However, the human element is there. The reward system in those supermarket is such that an average staff in the shop goes home daily with N1500 and he will be lucky if his take home monthly is up to N45000. So based on the commission he gets, by the fact that you leave him with 50k or N40, he does not like that machine that will not allow him access to the tips he gets from customers because the pos is electronic, there will be no opportunity to collect free left over cash.

So on that basis he will not like the machine to work. So what he does is to sabotage the system and tell you it is not working. I went to a supermarket and tried to transact using the Pos but the attendant told me it was not working but by the time I introduced myself, he smiled and the machine started working.

In one of our meetings with the merchants, we told them to buildin some reward system that will still allow the attendants access to the free change they get from customers even as tips without compromising the standard of service. When we do that, you will discover that these thing work.

There appear to be frequent policy changes at the apex bank.

Why is it so?

We respond when we see a pattern, a particular behavior among customers, some of which may be bank induced, but many are induced, in most cases by the customers.

What’s your reaction to the burgeoning autonomous forex market the CBN Governor

Besides Angola that imports about $24billion dollars per annum, Nigeria happens to be the next importer of dollars in Africa and we felt that the trend won’t help our economy

should celebrate the rapid improvement from two to 20 per cent within one and half years of its implementation.

Besides the challenges of connectivity, the banks in Nigeria have moved from a little over 5000 terminals in January of last year, to over 200,000 POS terminals, 77,000 of which are in the Lagos area. Don’t forget that we rolled out to six other states across the country on the first of July, including Abia, Kano, Abuja, Anambra, Ogun and Rivers. In those geographies we have had rapid growth in POS deployment.

How are you addressing connectivity problems and attitude of desk officers?

On the issue of connectivity we have challenges about bandwidth of the telecommunications service providers largely because of the rapid deployment of the terminals. We spoke to the service providers on the need to improve bandwidth which they did and we saw improvement in the Lagos area. We have started talking to

,

promised to address?

The CBN is not a law enforcement agency. We deal with the supply side, and once you deal with the supply side, then you’ve dealt with 90 per cent of the issue. The rest of course we can’t do, because we are not a law enforcement agency, and the Governor of the Central Bank does not have power of arrest. We have the extant laws which show that this shouldn’t happen, which is why we are appealing to the law enforcement agencies to work with us so that we can be able to deal with this matter.

You’ll recall that when we identified the 20 Bureau de Change that did not succeed in convincing us about the details of their transactions (mark my words, I have not demonized them, it’s just that I’m not satisfied with the documentation that I saw), and then we passed them over to those who will investigate further, and in the event that any of them has any case to answer, then they would be the ones to take it up.

C M Y K

44

—

Vanguard Vanguard,,

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013 YOUR LUCK TODAY

By Joshua Adeyemo Phone 08056180139

AQUARIUS; Early part of the day may bring you good opportunity along your business/business lines.

Work and your health must be taken very seriously.

PISCES; Like yesterday the Moon will operate from your Star sign again to the betterment of your cause.

Think of both your immediate and far future now.

ARIES You can still count on the supports of your tried and trusted friends. But it’s imperative you keep secrets as much as you can positively do.

TAURUS; The more receptive and willing you are to give and take co-operation the better for you today. It’s wrong of you to neglect your friends in need now.

GEMINI; You’ll have the needed opportunity to consolidate on progress you have recorded yesterday along your career/business lines. Try to work harder.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

By Richard Eromosele

T

ODAY, climate is the new chorus.

There seems to be a general agreement that the weather has changed drastically from what we used to know.

The truth is that apart from the change in the weather, we hu-

Change, is it? mans too need to change. It is not enough for us to be saying it, we must be the change. If you do not want to change, who do you want to change? We must be

the change we talk about. It is only when we change that we can change others. Our attitude to governance, our idea of leadership, our attitude to trans-

TERROR MUDA in “Never say goodbye”

parency must be seen to be above board. You can’t be asking your followers to tighten their belt while everyday your own waist and cheecks are getting fatter.

If you want to effect a change, in others, first change yourself.

By Lanre Kehinde

CANCER; Element of luck will work favourably for you. Therefore you’re advised to expand the scope of your tentacle for better results. It’s another fairly favourable day for lovers who are more enterprising today.

LEO; Joining forces with other people is not a sin but it’s important everybody knows the clear term of the venture , be it of short or longer duration. Be very practical.

VIRGO; Many of you’ll travel either physically or within your mind; whichever one you’re involved with the out come will be favourable. Be more receptive, especially if your priority is commercial success. Take your new ideas more seriously today.

LIBRA; Similar to yesterday but, today more emphasis’ll be on money. Thus those of you who are more financially ambitious’ll have better and rewarding day than others. However that is not to say you should neglect your health.

SCORPIO; Positive things are happening from (and around) you. The more enterprising you are the better for you today. And some of you will be mixing business & pleasure without harm. Lovers can have their way moderately.

KAPTAIN AFRIKA

in

“Princess Shii’

By Andy Akman

SAGITTARIUS; This is your day when things’ll go according to your plans. And you’re advised to hit very hard not minding minor pressure from your base.

CAPRICORN; Once again success would come if you experiment with good ideas rightly at the right time.

Those of you travelling are in for an exciting day.

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

Basic characteristics of Aquarius Aquarius is ruled by freedom loving Uranus-the planet of unpredictability, eccentricity and genius.

Aquarius is friendly, loving, hopeful and very altruistic in nature. That is why they are nice persons who truly care for others, especially the less fortunate ones. They are loyal friend willing to belong to powerful social clubs or reasonable community.

The quality of Aquarius is fixed. That means it is important for them to watch the way they change their minds on important issues; Uranus factor makes all Aquarius natives freedom loving and whoever tries to impose any idea on you will be resented The element of Aquarius is the air. That makes you an intelligent person with fair share of sense of humour. Aquarius is the star sign that rules considerable social influence, and the natives of this star have better chances to have at least some influential friends. Then, Aquarians are truly good friends and bad enemies; it is not in the best interest of anybody to frustrate an Aquarian..

Aquarius being a scientific sign. Aquarians can be inventive. Any Aquarian who falls to take his sudden flashes of ideas seriously is doom (to fail eventually) because, Uranus the ruler of Aquarius, usually bring success to Aquarians unexpectedly through ideas that come suddenly, and unexpected luck usually accompany their sudden inspiration and/or ideas.

The most dangerous weak points of Aquarian are the tendencies to procrastinate things and willingness to take opponents or enemies for granted I mean you must not believe that some body you might have had heated argument with will not try to undermine your progress after what will look like intervention of peace makers.

VIRGINIA

HOME & ABROAD

dadadekola@yahoo.com

By Lawrence Akapa

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013—45

Turn to Allah to overcome challenges, TUC tells Nigerians

BY VICTOR AHIUMAYOUNG

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PRAYER: From left, Kwara State governor, Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed, senator representing Kwara Central constituency; Dr. Bukola Saraki; Speaker, Kwara State House of Assembly, Mr. Rasaq Atunwa,, and former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Alfa Belgore, during the Eeid-el Kabir prayer, at Yidi Praying Ground, Ilorin, yesterday.

PHCN: Only a few workers had been paid

severance benefits — SSAEAC VICTOR AHIUMA-YOUNG

L

AGOS — SENIOR Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies, SSAEAC, has dismissed government claims that most of the workers of Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, have been paid their terminal benefits ahead of hand-over to new owners, saying only a few workers had been paid.

In a petition to the Minister of Power, the association claimed the money purported to have been paid to the workers after the October 2, agreement with government never entered the workers’ accounts, reiterating that no new owners would take physical possession of PHCN assets until all workers had been paid their terminal benefits.

The petition by SSAEAC President-General and Secretary General, Bede Opara and Abiodun Ogunsegha, warned that workers would shut down the sector should effort be made to physically take over the assets without full payment of workers benefits.

According to the petition “We state here that in our meeting with the Chairman, Implementation Committee, Permanent Secretary, Federal Minister of Power on Wednesday 2nd October, 2013, it was agreed that payment of terminal benefits of PHCN staff entitlements will be concluded in two weeks from that date. However we note that up to this moment, only a handful of payment has been made.

"What we heard or read in the Newspapers is that Government intends to physically hand over the PHCN infrastructures to the investors on 1st of November, 2013. “

“We state that this will negate and violate the understanding and agreement reached with the unions and we stand clearly to state again that we shall resist any physical hand-over until all payments are concluded.

"Information available to us is as follows: Benin 50 per cent not paid yet, Jos 55 per cent not paid yet, Sapele 77 people not paid, Egbin 60 peo-

ple not paid yet, Ughelli 61 people not paid yet, Afam 67 people not paid yet, Kaduna 100 per cent yet to collect nobody has been paid. Jebba 219 yet to be paid, Abuja over 1000 not paid, Transmission none has been paid and, Retirement Savings Account, RSA, entitlements not paid to anyone “ The petition added “Government had said and made us to

believe money needed was available. We also got the assurance of the AccountantGeneral of the Federation that money is available to pay.

Who is holding the money or refusing to release to the beneficiaries. Government should act now; else no one should blame the Labour Union for any action that should be taken.“

Nigeria spends N250bn on medical tourism annually ... As Centenary C'ttee targets N8bn for facilities

BY HENRY UMORU

A

BUJA — IT was estimated, yesterday, that the capital flight for medical tourism in Nigeria stood at N250 billion, just as plans had been concluded to rake in a total of N8 billion for medical facilities in the country as part of the centenary celebration.

Disclosing this at a briefing in Abuja, Secretary, organising Committee of the Nigerian Centenary Charity Ball of the centenary celebration, Dr. Kingsley Esegbue said: “It is estimated that Nigeria spends N250 billion annually on foreign medical care.”

Esegbue who noted that the capital flight was unnecessary for a developing country like Nigeria, however, explained that the problems that caused these flights could be handled in Nigeria if the facilities were there.

According to him: “Sealing a hole in a child’s heart needs not cripple the parents financially or take place in India;

replacing a damaged kidney should and can be done within our borders.

“Every breast, cervical or prostate cancer patient should have access to quality care within Nigeria.

“Our neuro-surgery units need to serve the Nigerian people; no woman should have her bladder torn giving birth and for victims of cruel acid attacks, re-constructive surgery should be done within our borders.

"For instance, while campaigning during elections the politicians promise heaven on earth; air-conditioners on our highways; free education, among others, only to often renege when they assume office.

“Nigeria is blessed with skilled healthcare professionals. What is required is the infrastructure/technology and perhaps the will. Certainly, this is what the Nigerian Centenary Charity Ball hopes to achieve by equipping already existing National Referral Centres for heart, kidney diseases, neuro-surgery, cancer

care and management.

“This initiative intends to galvanise all Nigerians, including Nigerians in the Diaspora for a common good, as our collective gift to Nigeria on her anniversary. We will like to emphasise that in organising the Nigerian Charity Ball, we have chosen to be politically blind because what is at stake is our health as a people.”

When asked how much the Committee was targeting to assist the medical facilities from the Centenary Celebration, Esegbue said "between N5 billioin andN8 billion is being targeted, stressing that funds generated would be managed by a non-governmental and independent trust."

In his contribution as a guest, the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Abuja Council chairman, Chuks Ehirim condemned the political class, stating that the amount of money being spent on medical tourism was as result of lack of patriotism from the political leaders.

AGOS —TRADE Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, yesterday, urged Nigerians to use the opportunity offered by the Eid-el-Kabir celebration to reflect on the challenges facing the country and submit to the will of Allah in the belief that only Allah could help the country to overcome the challenges.

TUC in a statement by its President and Secretary General, Bobboi Kaigama and Musa Lawal, respectively, equally charged Muslims to use the occasion to make amends and to see every Nigerian irrespective of their religion as brothers and sisters because that was the only way the country can move forward.

The statement read in part: “The crux of the lessons in Salah celebration lies in the readiness to make sacrifices in the interest of others, willingness to fulfill promises and to implement agreements.

This celebration, of course, commemorates the obedience of Prophet Ibrahim to Allah despite the serious implications of sacrificing his son. The action became the source of the holy prophet’s blessings." This is a big lesson for the leadership of our dear country and politicians, who breach their promises at will.

“A case in point is the closure of our universities for almost four months now over Federal Government’s failure to honour agreements reached with university teachers in 2009. The development has been described by some people as uncalled for on the part of the Federal Government.

The strike no doubt has brought untold pain for both students and their parents. This apparent failure of the leadership to lead by example has also been bane of major juvenile delinquency throughout the country.

“The Congress wishes to use this opportunity to send a wakeup call to all tiers of government, political appointees and Nigerians generally to let their “nay be nay” and “yea be yea”.

Everything else will fall into place if leaders lead by example. The Congress therefore reiterates that something drastic needs to be done as regards the army of our unemployed youths.

46 —Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013

PHCN: A handover amid uncommon frenzy and familiar fears The power sector has been stagnant for 30 years due to the absence of investment to meet surging demands. But there are indications that happy days are here at last.

CHARLES KUMOLU reports.

D

ESPITE the fact that Mr. Debo Ademoyegun resides in a state that does not largely feel the heat of the failure of Nigeria’s power sector, his interest about the formal handover of the unbundled Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, to private organisations, would amaze anyone.

His reasons are simple. As one of the numerous taxi drivers of Yoruba descent in Bayelsa State, he told Vanguard Features recently in Yenagoa that power supply had never been in short supply in the state, even-though he sleeps only a few hours in his house due to the demands of his job. As far as the Osun State-born father of two is concerned, the formal handover of PHCN, which he claimed to have read in the newspapers earlier that day, was a sign of better days to come in Nigeria ‘’This thing will help the whole country. We in Bayelsa don’t suffer the power problem like other parts of the country, but I am sure the whole nation will benefit from it. That was what they did with

Features,VF, investigations showed that apart from the angry workers , many Nigerians are optimistic that the move would guarantee stable electricity supply. ‘’If properly handled the move would be a good one, but you know how things are always inconclusive in Nigeria. I am in support of that because it would reduce the cost of production for manufacturers, who survive on diesel, and in places where things are normal the prices of

With commitment on the part of relevant stakeholders, the sector might even be next to oil and gas in terms of revenue generation; Nigeria is a big market and the coming of the private sector would bring back industries that had earlier closed down or relocated because of power failure telephone (NITEL),’’ he said.

Ademoyegun’s claims on the relative stability of power supply in Bayelsa State, could also be supported by a 2010 report which stated that the state government had been able to ensure 17 hours of uninterrupted power supply per day from electricity generated from its gas turbine station. This encounter with Ademoyegun underscored the feeling of the populace across the country regarding the final privatisation of the sector.

Move might ensure stable electricity Though, aggrieved PHCN workers had kicked against the hand over of share certificate and licenses to 15 new owners of PHCN assets, alleging that they had not been paid their terminal benefits, Vanguard

manufactured goods will automatically go downwards,’’ Chief Donatus Anene, Chairman Donaplastics and Furniture, a Lagos based industry told VF. The Chairman, Integrated Solutions, an Independent Power Company, Dr Yomie Asala, told VF that: ‘’What the government has done with PHCN, though belated, is what the nation needs now. “Although results will not come immediately because the new owners are not magicians, the fact is that Nigerians are in for an improved and reliable power generation and distribution.

What is required for the success of this move is for everyone to play his role to enure its success because the consumer, regulator,DISCOS and GENCO’s have roles to play. Sure the nation will not be at this stage

next year,’’ he assured.

Generation capacity of 20,000mw by 2018 Asala is not alone in his optimism about the development.

The Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE, is confident that the successful privatisation of the sector would increase the country’s electricity generation capacity to 20,000mw by 2018 The BPE boss, Mr. Benjamin Dikki, made the power generation projection when members of the House of Representatives Committee on Power paid an oversight visit to the Bureau recently in Abuja.

Represented by Kashim Ibrahim, who received the visiting committee members, Dikki said the target would be possible with private sector investment and managerial skills that would be injected into the sector by the buyers of the successor companies.

Private operators Lending his voice, Chairman, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission Dr. Bethel Amadi said: ‘’The reason private operators are coming to Nigeria is to improve power supply because Nigerian people have complained a lot about the sector. So private operators have invested a lot to improve the sector. I strongly believe that it is a fair bargain as far as Nigerians get better services at a fair price. People are yearning for adequate power supply, they want quality service with a fair pricing. They don’t want to be exploited by estimated billing.’’

Further checks on what to ex-

pect from this transition to private sector-driven power sector, showed that apart from stability in generation and supply, there would be an upsurge in revenue generation.

This increase in revenue is expected to come from the metering of many households and businesses which hitherto did not have meters. Industry experts opine that the revenue that would be generated from the sector, might surpass the one from the telecommunications industry. ‘’We are all living witnesses to the NITEL privatisation and today telephone is owned by every strata of the society. So, with commitment on the part of relevant stakeholders, the sector might even be next to oil and gas in terms of revenue generation.

Nigeria is a big market and the coming of the private sector would bring back industries that had earlier closed down or relocated because of power failure.

If you know what the alternative power sector market is worth, you will know that the nation is a big market,‘’ Cobhams Anefiok, an Engineer and Executive Director Linkline Energy told VF. N620 billion to N1 trillion in 2016 Strengthening Anefiok’s position on the financial potentials of the country’s power sector, a 2012 report titled:”Transforming The Nigerian Power Sector – Thoughts On The Roadmap for Power Sector Reform” , observed that the “alternative power market is a large one, worth about $10 billion dollars per annum, if the power sector plan were to be successful, this market will disappear. ‘’If the North commits to generating 10,000 MW to 20,000

MW using Nuclear Energy, this will yield revenues of about $13 – $26 billion per annum, and net profits of about $11 – 22 billion per year,’’ the report further explained.

Similarly, NERC, reportedly said the country’s electricity market at the moment is doing N500 billion per annum, which translates to about N40 billion to N45 billion monthly. Hence, it predicted that the nation’s electricity market would grow from the current value of N620 billion to over N1 trillion in 2016.

Unresolved labour matters However, some are scared that few unresolved labour issues might constitute a challenge to the new investors. But Anefiok does not consider that a threat. ‘’The Federal Government has already expressed its determination to complete payment to PHCN workers. So the fears should not arise,’’ he said VF recalls that after months of planning, President Goodluck Jonathan, a few days ago, formally handed over the unbundled PHCN to private organisations that bought it. The President handed over the power companies amidst protest nationwide by PHCN workers over unresolved labour issues

Share certificates The President who personally gave out the licenses and share certificates to the investors at the Aso Rock Villa told the new owners that liabilities of PHCN had been pooled together to be managed by Nigerian Electricity Liability Company, NELMCO. His words: “Arrangements are also on-going to ensure that NELMCO is adequately funded, to assume liabilities associated with the privatisation of the PHCN successor companies, as well as other related liabilities.

Various options are being explored for funding the TCN, so that it is able to implement projects that are key to stabilising and expanding the transmission grid.”

Five generating companies and 10 distribution companies received share certificates from President Jonathan who also promised that the physical hand over of the assets would be undertaken at the end of this month.

President Jonathan said the successful hand-over of the companies underscored the transparent manner the process was conducted as acknowledged by both local and foreign investors.

“Going forward, this administration is committed to providing all elements necessary for our private sector partners to succeed in providing Nigerians with unin Continues on page 47

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013—47

Shutdown: US moves closer to default W

ASHINGTON: The United States moved closer to a default that could damage the economy and a partial government shutdown entered its 14th day as Senate Democratic and Republican leaders remained at odds in their last-ditch negotiations to end the fiscal crises gripping Washington.

Congress is racing against the clock, with Treasury Secretary Jack Lew warning that the US will quickly exhaust its ability to pay the bills on Thursday.

Christine Lagarde, the International Monetary Fund’s managing director, spoke fearfully about the disruption and uncertainty, warning on Sunday of a “risk of tipping, yet again, into recession” after the fitful recovery from 2008.

The reaction of world markets and the Dow Jones on Monday could provide the necessary jolt to Senate leaders, who represent the last, best chance for a resolution after talks between US President Barack Obama and Republican leaders of the House of Representatives collapsed. US futures were down sharply on Monday, as light trading was expected during a holiday.

Earlier, trading in Asia was muted, with markets in Tokyo and Hong Kong closed for holidays.

At issue are two normally routine pieces of legislation that have become entangled in disputes over Obama’s health care overhaul and overall government spending.

Congress’ failure to pass a bill temporarily funding the government led to the partial shutdown, the first in 17 years.

And if Congress doesn’t approve a separate measure increasing the debt ceiling - the amount of money the government is allowed to borrow - the Obama administration says it will not be able to pay its bills, risking default.

On Sunday, Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid and Republican Minority Leader

Mitch McConnell spoke by phone but failed to agree on a deal to raise the $16.7 trillion debt limit. They also could not agree on a plan to reopen a government that shut down on Oct. 1 after conservative Republicans aligned with the tea party movement demanded that Obama defund his 3-year-old health care overhaul law.

Reid and McConnell - five-term senators hardened by several budget disputes and years of negotiations - remain at an impasse over yet another source of fiscal fighting: the automatic, across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration that took effect earlier this year, as part of a previous high-stakes budget deal. Republicans want to keep spending at the reduced levels while Democrats are pressing for a higher amount.

The shutdown has furloughed

Obama 350,000 federal workers, impeded various government services, put continued operations of the federal courts in doubt and stopped the federal tax agency from processing tax

For Kwara civil servants, a time to celebrate N3bn car loan

BY DEMOLA

AKINYEMI, Ilorin

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ALL it better life for Kwara State civil servants you will not be wrong. The fact is that most of them presently enjoy the bragging rights of being car owners. This new status was conferred on them courtesy of the car loans granted civil servants in the state by the administration of Governor Abdulfatai Ahmed.

This gesture came under the auspices of the “shared prosperity” slogan of Governor Ahmed to ensure better living for all and sundry. It is part and parcel of his “continued legacy” from the immediate past governor, Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki, who is now a serving senator representing Kwara Central senatorial district.

The target aside, the shared prosperity slogan is also to encourage the civil servants in the State of Harmony to be more commit-

ted to their dutiesin the light of the general belief that the civil service is the engine room of government.

Speaking on the occasion of the flag-off of the N3 billion vehicle loans to civil servants in the state at the government’s banquet hall in Ilorin,recently,Governor Ahmed said the gesture derives from the realisation that the greatest impetus for effective service delivery is the provision of incentives to hard working civil servants.

Prompt payment ”Being an impact-focused administration, therefore, we accord the welfare of civil servants the highest priority as demonstrated by the prompt payment of salaries and... by today’s flag-off of N3billion in vehicle loans to qualifying civil servants. As you are all aware, the first tranche of

A handover amid uncommon frenzy and familiar fears Continues from page 46 terrupted power supply. To start with, the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Company, NBET, the off-taker, has been provided with a capitalisation of over $750 million, positioning it to carry out its mandate without financial constraints,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo has assured that the Federal Government would complete the payment of severance allowance of PHCN workers before the end of this month.

The Minister who has received

refunds. Several parks and monuments remain closed, drawing a protest at the National World War II Memorial on Sunday that included conservative tea party-backed

lawmakers. ”I’m optimistic about the prospects for a positive conclusion to the issues before this country today,” Reid said as the Senate wrapped up a rare Sunday session.

McConnell insisted a solution was readily available as he embraced the proposal from a bipartisan group of 12 senators, led by Republican Sen. Susan Collins and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin that would re-open the government and fund it at current levels for six months while raising the debt limit through Jan. 31.

It also would give agencies greater flexibility in dealing with the automatic budget cuts, delay an Obamacare-related medical device tax for two years and establish income verification for individuals receiving subsidies to buy health insurance.

accolades on his thorough and professional supervision of the privatisation programme, spoke at the thanksgiving service of Nsukka Anglican Diocese marking the end of its 2013 Synod in Nsukka.

“Government is working hard to ensure that all staff of PHCN are settled before the end of October. For now what government has given the companies that acquired PCNC are licenses and share certificates. The physical handover of PHCN will take place in some weeks to come,” he said.

The Minister said that the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan had invested much and was committed to ensuring that Nigerians enjoyed steady power supply.

“By God’s special grace, by the next six months, there will be double in the country’s generation capacity and by the end of 2014 the amount of megawatts generated will be fully transmitted. I must tell Nigerians that there are better days ahead as the country will witness great improvement in power the sector,” he said.

N1billion was disbursed to civil servants earlier in the year. ”Realising the crucial roles of civil servants, this government approved the renovation of offices in Ministries of Health, Commerce and the Local Government Service Commission. Also put in place are welfare policies and programmes such as training and retraining of staff for better p e r f o r m a n c e , employment opportunities for the teaming youths of the state through KWABES, approval of the sale of government quarters to sitting civil servants and the recent negotiation with Estate Developers for providing houses at affordable rate to workers in the state,” he said.

The Governor also re-affirmed the political will and commitment of his government toward providing additional incentive to civil servants such as housing loans and comfortable office accommodation for the effective performance.

He added that his government has concluded plans to build a new secretariat to be occupied by staff of four ministries as part of efforts to create a conducive atmosphere for enhanced service delivery. ”As a popular adage goes, to whom much is given much is expected. I therefore call on all civil servants to reciprocate this and other welfare incentives provided by government by redoubling your dedication and loyalty to the government through efficient and effective performance as outlined inperformance contracts. In doing that, you will be contributing to government efforts at making life better for all the people of Kwara, including

yours and those of your families,” he said.

The Head of Service, HOS, Alhaji Dabarako Mohammed, in his address at the occasion, recalled that one of the campaign promises of the present government is to continue to address welfare of service providers in terms of comfortable office accommodation, office equipment, housing, training for improved performance and access to various forms of loans to buy cars, own computers and generally have access to good things of life, adding that the government had not reneged in giving necessary support in those regard.

Dabarako also said that the government approved sales of 118 houses to sitting civil servants who are staying in Government Residential Quarters to enable them own houses, adding that the gesture was in addition to ongoing negotiation with estate developers to provide houses at affordable rates to workers in the state. ”In October 2007, the immediate past administration commenced the vehicle loan programme for civil servants and for the first time in the history of Kwara State and in the spirit of continuity, 1603 officers benefited from N1 billion car loan, courtesy of Governor Ahmed. Today, by the specialgrace of God, a sum of N3 billion vehicle loan is being flagged off for the benefit of 2,323 TESCOM teachers, 2,028 SUBEB teachers and 804 additional beneficiaries from mainstream of the state service.

Today’s action has erased the impression that teachers’ reward is in Heaven.”

48 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013

Edited by: Emma Nnadozie emmadozie@hotmail.com 08023145281, 08111813021

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NGERED by the recent killing of five policemen in Lagos State by some armed robbers, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police Umar Manko,has declared an all-out war against criminals in all the nooks and crannies of the state. Manko is believed to have given special directives to the officer in charge of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, Abba Kyari, to fish out the criminals that perpetrated the act without delay.

The first incident occurred midday, last Tuesday, after some gunmen suspected to be armed robbers attacked a police patrol van along IjoraOlopa area of the state. The policemen were shot from behind while in a moving patrol vehicle. Police sources said the suspects who were three in number, were operating on motorbike and dressed in caftan. “They took advantage of a down pour to hit the policemen who were five in the vehicle. Three of the policemen died on the spot while the fourth sustained injuries with the driver escaping unhurt,” the source stated.

The second incident occurred around 11pm, on the same day, in Iju-Ishaga area of the state, when a gang of heavily armed robbers attacked residents of the area and killed two policemen while two others were left with severe bullet wounds. Sources intimated Crime Alert that the policemen attached to Iju Police division met their untimely death while responding to a distress call.

Their patrol vehicle was fired upon after it was ambushed by the gang of armed robbers who were operating with three Sport Utility Vehicles.

It was gathered that immediately after these

Killing of policemen in Lagos — Police declare total war, comb all hideouts, black spots

By IFEANYI OKOLIE killings took place, the visibly angry police boss swung into action and ordered all the relevant departments of the force involved in fishing out criminals to either get the pepertrators or face the music.

He was specifically quoted as saying that the ‘criminals have come to a deadly end because they must pay for their bloody act.’

A source who spoke with Crime Alert on the condition of anonymity said, SARS operatives were swiftly mobilized and sent out in search of the gang that carried out the attack at Iju-Ishaga and they accosted one of the SUVs used for the operation and arrested its driver.

“Unfortunately for the robbers, some of the policemen who survived the attack at IjuIshaga radioed to disclose the colours and make of the SUVs used for the operation. It became easy for SARS operatives to identify one of the SUVs and when they accosted the vehicle, its occupants escaped on sighting the operatives but the driver was shot on the leg when he attempted to escape,” the source narrated.

Police sources also disclosed that operatives have adopted several measures in ensuring that the hoodlums behind these attacks are brought to book. Some of the measures adopted, according to the sources included; swift assistance to policemen

Lagos State CP, Manko responding to distress calls and deployment of SARS operatives whose job is largely based on intelligence at strategic locations within the state; a move that will enable them respond swiftly to

distress calls from any part of the state. “ You know the job of responding to distress calls is mainly that of policemen at divisions and the Area Commands, SARS, operatives are rarely not found around

such operations because their job is based heavily on intelligence,” the source disclosed.

Crime Alert further gathered that this move has started paying off as a member of the gang that carried out the killing at Iju-Ishaga, around 11pm, has been arrested. The suspect whose name is yet to be known was arrested few hours after the operation. The suspect and members of his gang operating on three SUVs were ambushed and they opened fire on a team of policemen responding to a distress call at Iju-Ishaga, killing two at the spot, while two others sustained severe injuries.

Meanwhile, SARS operatives, did not stop at that, a team of decoy operatives on patrol along strategic locations sighted a silver coloured Honda Accord Saloon car with Reg No: AW 69 NRK with three suspicious occupants along Abeaokuta Express way near old toll gate. It was learnt that when the operatives approached the suspicious car, the occupants who were armed opened fire on the policemen and zoomed off forcing the operatives to pursue them.

They were eventually intercepted at Sango Area of Ogun State where serious exchange of gun fire ensured.

Three of the gunmen were killed while three locally made pistols, 28 live and 17 expended catridges were recovered from the suspects.

S-H-O-C-K-I-N-G

Housewife fakes kidnap with Okada man to extort N.2m from Husband

By CHINENYE OZOR, NSUKKA

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SHOCKING scenario unfolded last week in Enugu State when eagle-eyed policemen swooped on a kidnapper ’s hideout in desperate search for a suspect who claimed to have kidnapped a housewife at Agbogugu town in Awgu L.G.A. The kidnapper had demanded for a ransome of two hundred thousand naira failure of which he would kill a housewife identified as Nancy Chukwu.

However, when detectives succeeded in arresting the suspect, they were shocked to learn that he connived with the housewife to trick her husband, Marcus Chukwu, into believing that his wife was kidnapped. The arrested

culprit, Chikwe Tochukwu of Amakwe-Okeremiri in AbohMbaise, Imo State turned out to be a commercial motorcyclist residing in the area who openly confessed that the wife of the man asked him to take the action.

Crime Alerrt learnt that on the said day, Marcus Chukwu had received a call from his wife claiming that she had been abducted by unknown gun men with a demand by the abductors that the sum of two hundred thousand naira should be paid for her to be released. The frightened husband reportedly contacted the Anti-Kidnap unit of the Police in Enugu who swiftly went into action. They ended up arresting a commercial motorcyclist called Chikwe

Tochukwu who also resides in their town.

During interrogation, the suspect reportedly spilled the beans and named the complainant’s wife as an accomplice in the crime which was aimed at reaping her husband of a whooping sum of two hundred thousand naira.

The seemingly penitent culprit told detectives that he is a commercial motorcyclist (Okada rider) that usually convey the housewife, Nancy, home anytime she is back from market but was lured into talking to her husband while they were together with a tone that he is a kidnapper already holding the wife under captivity and that the sum of two hundred thousand naira

is to be paid as a ransom to the account number provided which he also claimed belongs to his friend, called Chikwado and pleaded for forgiveness. The housewife also corroborated the story by the commercial motorcyclist and stated that he used to carry her and that it was during one of those trips that she asked him to call the husband while they were together and demanded the said amount of money under the guise that she was kidnapped. She further said she never knew what came over her prompting such

•CP Enugu State, Adamu behaviour while she also pleaded for forgiveness.

Confirming the incident, the Police spokesman in Enugu State, Ebere Amarizu said a full scale investigation into the alleged incident has been intensified.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013

— 49

Edited by: Emma Nnadozie emmadozie@hotmail.com 08023145281, 08111813021

Police hunt for killers of Anambra Monarch — quiz son, others

By UJU MBANUSI

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HE circumstances surrounding the death of a septuagenarian monarch, Chief Sunday Osune Nwaka, in his village, Mputu,15 kilometres away from Onitsha in Anambra State is giving police detectives serious concern. In fact, in spite of the fact that one of the sons of the monarch is being fingered over the gruesome murder, family members are calling for justice, insisting that all the suspects so far arrested should be charged to court.

Nwaka was murdered in the pool of his blood on Sunday, September 22, 2013. Before he was allegedly knifed to death, the septuagenarian was the Odua of Mputu, a traditional High Chief and Patriarch of Okwuwa. He was said to be the second-in-command to the traditional royalty.

He was killed by suspected persons in the tussle for the traditional stool of his land.

Some suspects, including one of his sons are still in police custody at the police Zonal Headquarters in Umuahia.

His son John Nwaka and his kinsmen in Lagos have urged the police to unearth the mystery behind their father’s death. “We want justice in the death of my father. The police should ensure that the culprits are brought to book. We learnt that money is exchanging OLLOWING the recent F allegations levied against a Lieutenant-Colonel in the

Nigerian Army, by some aggrieved individuals over forceful eviction from a property located at House Number 311, B close, Festac town, Lagos, a counsel to the officer identified as Victor Chinedu, has cleared the air on the allegations. The counsel who was armed with documents claimed that the officer did not do anything outside the confines of the law insisting that rather, the man who claims to be the authentic owner of the house illegally rented the property to a tenant without the consent of the real owner. He further claimed that when the issue came before military authorities, they advised that it should be settled amicably or other legal remedies be sought but the reverse turned out to be the case.

He told Crime Alert: “On the 4th of October 2013, an execution was carried out on our client’s property at Festac town

hands in Awka and Umuahia, but we are sure that police will not compromise. It is a state crime so all those arrested should be investigated and those found connected to the death should serve their punishment. Anyone who does not know anything about it should be freed.

“The matter was first reported at Atani in Anambra State. It was transferred to Awka, and then from Awka, it was further transferred to Umuahia, the Zonal Headquarters. Before his death, one of my half brothers had repeatedly threatened that he would kill my father. He once threatened that my father will not see the end of the year.

The way he died shocked all of us. A sharp object like knife was used on his neck. We just found him dead by the riverside. They used water hyacinth to cover his body after they killed him. They wanted water to carry the body but we were lucky to have found the body the same day he died. The whole thing was caused by disagreement in the kingship of the land. Our cry now is justice and that is all,” he said.

Another of the monarch’s kingsmen who simply gave his name as Alfred told Crime Alert that they are all afraid of going to their village after the ugly incident because of fear of being killed. According to him, the police have

*Late Chief Nwaka arrested those we feel had already being identified as pepertrators of the crime.

“Prior to the murder, the suspects reported at Umuahia following allegations made against them for threatening of life and property. Few days after they were released on bail, the murder of Odua Nwaka was carried out and it fell in line with their threat to unleash death.

“Our father was murdered using a multi-faced sword and his body thrown in the Okpolodum Lake and covered with weeds. The perpetuators of the dastardly act have hoped that the body will not be found until aquatic

creatures have feasted on him thereby removing any evidence of being murdered.

“Our demand from the police is a thorough investigation and interrogation of the suspected culprits in the murder to forestall any further killings and destruction of lives; arrest and re-arrest all the identified persons mentioned in the murder for interrogation; Charge any indicted/suspected murderers of the deceased to court to ensure that justice is carried out; Release without delay, anyone found to be innocent of the accusations or charges; Create an atmosphere of peace and tranquility at Mputu

Alleged illegal eviction of family in Festac by army officer

More revelations unfold

By UJU MBANUSI at about 7am. We have not done anything outside the confines of the law. The aggrieved woman by name Rachael Nwosu is unknown to us, the person we know as our tenant is Emmanuel Ekanem and he was duly served the application.

“The property in question at no point in time was sold by our client, the ownership is presently before a competent court of jurisdiction that looked into the matter, referred us back to multidor court, which advised us to resolve the matter amicably given the fact the tenant enjoyed a good relationship between himself and our client while it lasted between both parties. Our client and Emmanuel Ekanem were friends long before he became his tenant. He lived there and paid rents for a long

t i m e .

“At no point in time did our client sell the property to Emmanuel Ekanem. He went against the law by renting the property to somebody else. As I speak, the document to that property still belongs to our client. The offer’ is before a competent court and still under investigation; So we cannot determine the document now.

It is only the court that has the power to decide who owns the p r o p e r t y .

“What really happened was that our client borrowed the said amount of money from Mr Ekanem on the ground of their relationship. Not long, he was selected to go for an official trip outside the country and Mr Ekanem felt there was no certainty that he would come back alive. And my client said okay, since you are a tenant in my house, continue to hold on

to it, and if I don’t come back, take over the house.

“When my client came back, he called Mr. Ekanem to effect the payment back to him but he declined. Along the line, Mr. Ekanem wrote series of petitions to the Nigerian Army on ‘threat to life’. At the end o f investigations by the Nigerian Army, their response dated 27th July, 2011 directed both parties to explore ways of settling the matter amicably or seek other legal remedies as appropriate.

That was why we went to court.

where everyone will live in peace and harmony; “We do not want another death, bloodbath or destruction of properties before government may act.

We love our small community.

We love the peace and tranquility we had lived in before the unhealthy and fateful rivalry. We have faith in the Nigeria Police and their abilities to unravel criminality.

We have faith in the federal judiciary system. The time to act is now,”he stated.

Nwaka’s village, Mputu is an agrarian community in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State.

“I want to firmly state our position concerning the matter, The onus is for Emmanuel Ekanen to respect that the case is in court. I see his conduct is borne out of mischief against the person of our client.

Concerning the threat allegations by Mrs Rachael Nwosu, as far as we are concerned, our client would never at any point reduce himself to that.

We advise Mr. Ekanem to decline from his actions,” he stated.

Meanwhile, both parties are still contesting the legality or otherwise of the court papers used in ejecting the aggrieved Mrs. Nwosu and members of her Police IG family from the house.

50 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 16, 2013

Yasser Arafat may have been poisoned — Report F

ORMER Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat may have been poisoned to death with radioactive polonium, scientists in Switzerland have revealed.

Arafat died in France on November 11, 2004, at the age of 75, but at the time doctors were unable to specify the cause of death.

Experts revealed that several belongings and

•Arafat

items of clothing belonging to Arafat, including his toothbrush, hat and underwear, contained high ‘unexplained levels’ of the radioactive material.

The material is the same as that used to murder former Russian spy Alexander Litvenenko in London in 2006.

Arafat, who died after falling ill at his headquarters in the West Bank, showed symptoms of nausea, stomach pain and kidney and liver failure signs consistent with radiation poisoning.

But the lack of hair loss or a shortage of bone marrow casts doubt on that theory, the scientists admit.

Much rumour had surrounded Arafat’s death after doctors couldn’t identify how he died.

Suggestions ranged from the aspersion that he

House speaker John Boehner walks away while flanked by House majority leader Eric Cantor and Rep Kevin McCarth after speaking to the media. had died from HIV to claims that rivals had poisoned him.

Speculation continued unabated when his widow Suha initially refused

a post-mortem examination on her husband’s body.

But she changed her mind and asked judges in France last year to launch

Libyan Al-Qaeda suspect pleads not guilty Libyan Al-Qaeda closely cropped black spoke in a gravelly voice a flight risk with no famiA suspect arraigned hair. only to confirm his name ly in the United States. in a New York court Judge Lewis Kaplan and age, and that he unThe judge ordered him pleaded not guilty Tuesday to conspiracy charges over the 1998 US embassy bombings in East Africa that killed 244 people.

Anas al-Libi was snatched from the streets of the Libyan capital Tripoli by US commandoes on October 5 and at the weekend was brought to New York, where he he had been indicted by a grand jury.

The 49-year-old was on Tuesday escorted into New York Southern District courtroom 24A wearing a black sweater and grey jogging pants, with a bushy grey beard and

read out a list of charges him that accuse Libi of conspiring to murder, kidnap, maim, kill, destroy property and attack US defense buildings.

The charges do not carry the death penalty.

Libi, who looked tired,

derstood the proceedings. Speaking in Arabic, he was given a translator to follow the hearing.

The prosecution said Libi, whose given name is Nazih Abdul Hamed al-Raghie, was a clear danger to the public and

Charles Taylor secretly sent to UK jail

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IBERIAN ex-war lord Charles Taylor was on Tuesday transferred under tight security from The Hague to a British prison where the convicted war criminal is likely to spend the rest of his life.

Britain made a deal to take Taylor long before he lost his appeal against a 50-year sentence for war crimes and crimes against humanity before the UN’s Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) in The Hague last week.

Microphone bomb kills Afghan governor

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bomb attack on a mosque in Afghanistan killed the governor of a province south of Kabul, a friend of the country’s president, on Tuesday as he was making an address on the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, officials said.

Arsala Jamal was governor of Logar province, a strategically important province on the southern approaches to Kabul and home to one of Afghanistan’s richest mines.

He had previously been governor of violence-plagued Khost province on the Pakistani border and the killing of

detained and, after a session of less than 15 minutes, adjourned the next hearing until October 22.

The August 7, 1998 car bombing of the US embassy in Nairobi killed 213 people and wounded another 5,000.

such a senior official will raise new fears for Afghanistan’s security as foreign troops prepare to leave by the end of next year. “When the governor was giving a speech it

detonated. He is martyred,” said Jamal’s spokesman, Din Mohammad Darwish. He said one other person had been killed.

No one claimed responsibility.

”Charles Ghankay Taylor... Was transferred today from the Netherlands and the custody of the Special Court to the United Kingdom, where he will serve the remainder of his 50-year sentence,” the SCSL’s Freetown office said in a statement after the transfer was completed.

A chartered plane flew Taylor, accompanied by guards, to Britain where he arrived at 1530 IST and “was handed over to representatives of Her Majesty ’s Prison Service,” the court said.

2m Muslims stone devil in final hajj ritual

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ROUND two mil lion Muslims converged on Mina, Saudi Arabia Tuesday to symbolically stone the devil, the final stage of the annual hajj pilgrimage that has so far gone off without incident.

The occasion coincides with the first day of Eid al-Adha, the feast of sac-

rifice, which is celebrated by Muslims around the world. The numbers were sharply lower this year because quotas were reduced due to massive construction work to expand the Grand Mosque, Islam’s holiest workship place, and fears over the deadly MERS coronavirus.

Health ministry spokesman Khaled al-Merghalani said no cases of coronavirus nor any other disease had been detected, making this year’s hajj so far free from diseases and incidents.

The Saudi public statistics department said there were a total of 1.98 million pilgrims.

a murder probe into her husband’s death, claiming he was poisoned because he was an ‘obstacle to peace’.

Experts at Lausanne’s Radiation Physics Institute have now released details of the tests which

‘support the possibility’ he did not die of natural causes.

A statement said: ‘Several tests on samples of bodily fluids contained an unexplained higher level of polonium 210, compared to control samples.

‘These findings support the possibility of Arafat’s poisoning with polonium 210.’ They examined 37 items of Arafat’s clothing and compared levels of polonium with a similar number of uncontaminated items.

Computer projections, which estimate the speed at which the radioactive material breaks down, suggested that the levels of polonium 210 would have been consistent with a ‘lethal ingestion’ in 2004.

The team, whose findings are published in British medical journal The Lancet this week, said they regretted that no post-mortem investigation was carried out after Arafat’s death.

BRIEFS Earthquake kills 82, destroy churches in Philippines

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magnitude-7.2 earthquake struck in the central Philippines on Tuesday morning, killing 82 people and severely damaging some of the country’s most hallowed churches, authorities said.

The earthquake hit at 8:12 a.m. (5:12 p.m.

Monday ET) less than

a mile from the town of Carmen in Bohol province, the U.S. Geological Survey and Philippine emergency authorities said. Carmen is in a remote region across the Cebu Strait about 40 miles from Cebu City.

At least two aftershocks rated at magnitude 5.0 or greater followed.

US debt limit talks in disarray

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fragile deal to end the US budget crisis collapsed on Tuesday when Democrats accused conservative Republicans of sabotaging the bipartisan proposals less than two days before the country’s borrowing authority expires.

A proposal by a group of Democrats and moderate Republicans in the Senate fizzled when GOP leaders in the

House of Representatives failed to get their rank-and-file members to back a revised version.

But just as the embattled House GOP leadership attempted to muster support for a deal by adding new clauses picking away at Barack Obama’s healthcare reforms, it was rejected by Democrats.

NSA collecting contact lists: Report

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HE National Secu rity Agency has been sifting through millions of contact lists from personal email and instant messaging accounts around the world including those of Americans in its effort to find possible links to terrorism or other criminal activity,

according to a published report. The Washington Post reported yesterday that the spy agency intercepts hundreds of thousands of email address books every day from private accounts on Yahoo, Gmail, Facebook and Hotmail that move though global data links.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013— 51

‘Lured or charmed, migrating for dehumanising job is not safe’

BY VERA SAMUEL ANYAGAFU & PRISCA SAM-DURU

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ITH several horrifying stories stemming from people’s involvement in commercial sex work abroad, it beats the imagination, why so many Nigerians are still nursing the desire to travel out of the country with the dehumanising trade uppermost in their minds.

Investigations reveal that the individuals in question who are mostly girls, were lured into prostitution, with promises of goodpaying jobs in different countries of choice abroad, even though they end up in the country already predetermined by the traffickers.

And to fully exploit them, the human traffickers also forced their preys into undertaking various levels of fetish allegiances, mandating them to keep their adventures secret under any circumstance.

According to an Agency report, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons, NAPTIP, officials visited a city in Mali and unravelled a startling revelation in the course of their investigation. They were shocked on noticing the various levels of horrendous reports from trafficked victims there. In lieu of this, the NAPTIP officials declared that there were more than a hundred brothels in a famous city in the country, with each brothel, housing over 100 girls which were maned by Nigerian big time mamas.

These mamas according to the report, lured, and or kidnapped these young ladies to work as prostitutes against their will, while they confiscate their earnings which painfully made through sex with strangers.

Unending quest for luxury Speaking to Vanguard Consular Advisory, a one time sex worker, who simply identified herself as Efe, felt really bad that she was lured into the job of prostitution, due to her unending quest for luxury. Efe who confessed to have called it quits, recalled her brief stay in Mali. She said, “The ugly story of prostitution abroad by Nigerians, is one that evokes empathy, one that bears all the marks of discernible shame for a confused nation that has long neglected its youths and abused the future generation that remains its greatest force. I was forced together with other unfortunate ladies into living in a brothel that can best be described as a slave camp in Mali. Regrettably, I was one of the victims who were made to become a prostitute so as to pay off the already agreed debts, which I unknowingly had agreed to foot, since it was difficult surviving in Nigeria.

“We were held in bondage, forced into sex with people. Our so called benefactors are the ones who control and determine our movement, around the city and work areas, because as soon as our work is done, they stampede us for the money”.

Reacting to the unfortunate issue of slavery in the form of forced prostitution, which has led to the death of so many girls abroad, renowned human transformation specialist, Dr. Gold, expressly condemned the awful involvement of a large number of Nigerian ladies into the trade in several countries abroad.

He said, “The bitter truth is that every year, thousands of Nigerian women and

girls were lured and or jinxed, into migrating to different countries across the globe, in search of greener pastures through wallowing in notorious acts of prostitution and other heinous activities, which are dangerous to health. Their involvements have made it even more disheartening for majority of Nigerians who are doing genuine business in foreign countries, making it some how cumbersome for them to succeed in their various businesses, having lost respect and trust from their business counterparts.”

The transformation specialist further added, “it is even more disheartening that an organised ring of older Nigerian women are operating as the traffickers.

They selfishly lure these young ladies into leaving the country for a ‘better life’ in foreign land, with promises of better opportunities abroad, which are nothing to be compared with opportunities in Nigeria. The over bearing exploiters who fail to keep their promises, end up forcing these innocent ladies into several unspeakable and harrowing experiences.

Unfortunately, those who are unlucky among them were deported as soon as they finished toiling sexually night and day to pay off their debts, while many others lost their lives in the process.”

Dubai boosts of prostitution rings Vanguard Consular Advisory also gathered that Dubai is another city that boasts of a well coordinated business of prostitution rings and is comfortably housing a large number of Nigerian ladies, who often travel under the guise of trading in various Dubai products.

A brief chat with a youth transformation coach, Nene Ibe, revealed that the way out of the notorious tangle between sex and crime for Nigeria ladies abroad is for the governments in various tiers to initiate programmes and policies that will empower the youths, particularly the girl child.

She said, “Until we sift corruption out of our government, I am certain that poverty will keep dealing with the people and more ladies will continue to be trapped as sex workers in foreign lands. In fact, there is an urgent need for moral re-awakening in Nigeria so as to enable us erase the phenomenon that has stained our image.

As parents, we are expected to support our girl children in every way possible so that they can stay out of this despicable way of making easy money. The easy way, comes with grave consequences and leaves much to be imagined.

52—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013

Why we re-joined NLC, by NASU

Family of slain Nigerian student in Cyprus cries for justice

BY JOHNBOSCO AGBAKWURU

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BUJA—NON-AC ADEMIC Staff Union of Education and Associated Institutions, NASU said that its decision to come back to the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, was to ensure that the labour mother union was strengthened and energized.

The General Secretary of NASU, Comrade Peter Adeyemi who stated this in Abuja said that though the coming back of NASU to NLC was not expected to be rosy, members were determined to join the progressives within the movement to move the union forward.

Comrade Adeyemi explained that NASU decided to pull out of NLC as a result of bad treatment given to them during the NLC’s last delegate Conference, saying that despite the enormous contributions of the union, they were badly treated at the conference.

On what kind of reception NASU members would get from NLC, he said, “The atmosphere is not going to be conducive and we are not unmindful of that. As trade union leaders, we are not suppose to be looking for a rosy environment even within the movement itself, I am not expecting that the people will sit down and clap for me welcome me back because there may be other reasons why they will not want to do that so.

“We said we are determined to return whether people give us rousing welcome or hostile welcome. Our own cardinal objective is let us go back and work with others but nobody will reject our coming back because there are people that are progressives elements that had said, don’t continue to stay outside.”

The NASU General Secretary stated that there was a time in the history of NLC when the union was looked at by the then administration as the alternate government that was interested in the welfare of Nigerian workers during the leadership of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, the union seemed to have lost focus.

BY CHRIS OCHAYI

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EID-EL-KABIR: Chief Imam of Nasco Fabrics Mosque, Dr Aliyu Abubakar (left), delivering his sermon during Eid-el-Kabir celebration in Jos yesterday,

Kogi signs $1.3m deals with UN- Habitat

BY BOLUWAJI OBAHOPO

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OKOJA—KOGI State Government had signed a $1.3 million Agreement of Cooperation with the United Nations-Habitat, focusing on structural plan and urban renewal scheme.

The agreement which was signed at the Government House, Lokoja by Prof. Oyebanji Oyeyinka, on behalf of UN-Habitat and the Deputy Governor of Kogi State, Mr. Yomi Awoniyi, on behalf of the State Government follows the Memorandum of Understanding signed in August 2013 between Kogi State and UNHabitat, in Addis Ababa.

According to the agreement, the funds provided will be used to support and develop City Structure Plans for select-

ed cities in the State and strengthens the state’s ongoiing urban renewal programme.

It will also develop Urban Legislation and Urban Laws Programme, a collection of policies, laws, and practices that govern the management and development of the urban environment and citizens’ behavior.

Under the agreement, the UN agency will establish the Kogi State Urban Observatory, (a unique monitoring system developed by UN-Habitat) that builds indicator systems through data collection, analysis, monitoring and reporting on sustainable urbanization.

It will also developed an Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan, a holistic, strategic and systematic ap-

proach to solid waste management based on the Waste Management Hierarchy Model.

As part of the deal, an early Warning System for Climaterelated extreme events such as floods and droughts will also be developed and will also construct a model Public Spaces that focuses on bridging the urban divide and promoting socio-economic inclusiveness.

The State deputy governor, Mr. Yomi Awoniyi, in his remark said: “This is a major event for Kogi State because the state believes that this effort marks a major paradigm shift in the way the cities and towns planned and operate.

Proper urban planning is the most sustainable solution to the state flooding challenge.”.

No faction in Kwara PDP, says party Chair

BY DEMOLA AKINYEMI

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LORIN—THE ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State, has said that the party remains one indivisible entity in the state, stressing that the party has not been factionalised into old and new.

The PDP chairman in the state, Alhaji Ishola BalogunFulani, said this yesterday in an interview with journalists in ilorin.

Balogun-Fulani also added that those claiming to be proBamanga Tukur-led PDP challenging the primary for the selection of its candidates

for the October 26th local government election are faceless.

According to him, “we read in the papers that some aggrieved members of our party took us to court challenging the conduct of our local government election primary.

To our surprise up till now nobody has served us the court notice.

“As a party anything we do here is done in accordance with the constitution of the PDP and the primary was conducted in accordance with the constitution of our party. “The national headquarters was informed about the primary and they sent people down here to witness the primary and thereafter they also sent

in appeal panel. “When the panel members came they received no complaints from any quarters concerning our primary.

“The panel members had gone back with their report certifying that the conduct of the primary was peaceful and fair.

“Are we even sure that the people that went to court are members of our party or members of other parties?

“As far as we are concerned there are no aggrieved members of PDP in Kwara State.

PDP is one in the state, because if there were aggrieved members, the primary that was conducted wouldn’t have been peaceful.”

BUJA—THE family of a Nigerian student, Mr. Gabriel Soriwei, who was killed in the North Cyprus city of Nicosia, has cried out to the Federal Government, relevant authorities and indeed all well meaning Nigerians to intervene and ensure justice is done.

The late Soriwei, aged 20, was a first year student of Electrical/Electronic/Engineering at the Cyprus International University, Nicosia, in the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus when he was knocked down by a female driver on July 13, 2013.

As a result of the impact of the accident, Gabriel fell into a coma and eventually died on September, 7 2013. On September 12, the authorities of the Cyprus International University flew his remains via the same Turkish Airline he flew in February to us as cargo for us to clear.

The father of the deceased Mr. Patrick Soriwei said in a statement that, “ while the family has accepted the reality of the painful loss of our child, his death has raised some issues about the value placed on the life of the Nigerian outside the shores of this country.”

He noted that “first, neither the Cyprus International University nor the family of the woman who drove the car that killed Gabriel has found it necessary to at least write to the family to condole with us on the death of this young man who until his death was contributing to the economy of Cyprus by paying school fees as a foreign student.

“It is also unjust that the authorities of Cyprus are hiding the identity of the woman who killed our child from the family. The police authorities in Cyprus insisted that it was the practice in their country to ensure that such a person was shielded from the family of the victim.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 16, 2013 — 53

Onazi warns Eagles over return leg L

AZIO midfielder Ogenyi Onazi has said the Eagles cannot afford to let down their guard for the return leg match against Ethiopia on November 16 despite a 2-1 win away in Addis Ababa.

“A lot of work still needs to be done ahead of the second leg. We need to Correct the mistakes from the game and approach the second leg like it where the first,” Onazi warned.

Onazi also explained that the Eagles were a lot cautious in the first half so as not to burn out because of the high altitude in Ethiopia.

“It was strategic as we needed to conserve energy for the second half because of the altitude. We thank God that our plans worked well and we won.”

R

USSIA have booked their place at next year’s World Cup, surprisingly edging out Portugal to Group F’s top spot. Fabio Capello’s team suffered defeats at the hands of Portugal and Northern Ireland throughout their qualification campaign, though otherwise maintained a perfect win record until they edged over the line with a 1-1 draw against Azerbaijan.

Since taking charge of the national team last year, Capello hasn’t been afraid to give the squad a shakeup. Introducing several younger players from the Russian Premier League’s smaller teams, the Italian has pretty radically reshaped Russia’s starting 11 with a typically pragmatic approach.

Muntari KUMASI CARNIVAL....Ghanaian fans celebrate during the match against Egypt yesterday

Bale NOT world’s most expensive player

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EAL Madrid president Florentino Perez has claimed that Gareth Bale is NOT the world’s most expensive player, confirming that

Bosnia-Herzegovina for Brazil

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OSNIA-Herzegovina made history in Kaunas, a nervy 1-0 win over Lithuania securing their ticket to the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™, which will be their first-ever appearance at a major finals. Stuttgart striker Vedad Ibisevic was the man of the night, scoring a 68thminute goal in this decisive Group G qualifier.

Ghana touched on Essien’s pass

Continues from BP

ties that will decide who will make it to next year’s tournament in Brazil.

But it is now almost guaranteed that the Black Stars will be on the plane to South America after a huge win in Kumasi.

The tension had been ramped up during the build-up to the tie because Ghana had written to Fifa asking for the 16 November second leg to be switched from the Egyptian capital Cairo because of safety fears.

With the venue for that match still uncertain, Ghana wanted to earn a healthy advantage from the first game at home and they set about achieving it by sprinting out of the blocks at the Babayara stadium.

Gyan had a clear chance to put the hosts ahead inside 20 seconds but he hit his shot straight at Egypt goalkeeper Sherif Ekramy from 12 yards out.

The Black Stars skipper had only a few minutes to dwell on his miss before he was put when Waris

Russia clinch 2014 World Cup ticket

and the former Sunderland striker turned with pace and struck a smart low shot into the far left bottom corner.

Egypt, who came into the game with a 100% record in qualifying - the only African side to do so - appeared stunned and despite having nine players from the same club, Al Ahly, were totally disorganised.

Kwadwo Asamoah let fly with a fierce drive that was beaten out by Ekramy and shortly after the Egyptian keeper made another fine save, diving low to his left to push out Waris’s header, as Ghana threatened to completely dominate their opponents.

A second goal looked inevitable and it came after Essien left two defenders on the floor during a mazy run and, just as the Chelsea man appeared to have tried too much, the ball ricocheted off Gomaa into the Egyptian skipper’s own net.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer fee was higher than Gareth Bale’s.

According to Perez, Real Madrid signed Gareth Bale for £78million (• 91million) from Tottenham, the revelations came to light after the Real Madrid president was asked about the value of Bale’s life insurance policy on Spanish television.

Speaking on Intereconomia television, Perez was asked by an interviewer if Gareth Bale had been insured for £78million.

He replied: “Yes, sure. It’s a life insurance, against accidents. Bale is insured for the amount he cost.”

It means that Cristiano Ronaldo, who was sold to Real Madrid by Manchester United for £80million, is still the most expensive player in the world.

Gareth Bale has been hampered by lack of match fitness since joining Real Madrid,

but Perez was quick to deny that he had suffered a hernia.

“They said it was a hernia, but it isn’t. If he had one we would say so like usual. “[Bale] hopes to be able to play on Saturday. His problem, as the whole world knows, is the lack of pre-season training, he suffered a thigh injury.

“But now he’s perfectly fine. I think he’s training normally, hoping to play Saturday.”

It is still unclear whether the game was the intended target for the alleged terrorist as details are still coming in.

The Super Eagles won the first leg game 2-1 inside a packed Ethiopia National Stadium.

Nigeria officials have complained of ill

Muntari who scored from the spot to register the team’s fifth goal, displayed confidence on the field and more confidence in a postmatch interview assuring Ghanaians that a return leg in Egypt becomes a formality.

Ghana’s Black Stars clashed with Egypt in a crucial World Cup Qualifying clash which will see the winner, after a return match, pick one of Africa’s five slots for the FIFA 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

It was a rare Ghanaian performance. Goals came in early after Asamoah Gyan picked out his spot in the 18-yard box.

Essien managed o force an own goal from experienced Goma.

Egypt pulled one back through a penalty after Rashid Sumaila brought down an opponent

But the Stars increased the tally after Sulley Muntari floated a freekick into the 18-yard box, for Waris to head home the third goal.

Asamoah Gyan again got on the score sheet through another header.

Persistent and ruthless, Sulley converted a penalty kick to score the fifth before Christian Atsu straight from the bench, fired home the sixth.

With 6 goals against 1, the AC Milan regular announced “ everyone should get his ticket to Brazil” He called the results “amazing” especially for all Muslims.

Asamoah Gyan, captain of the side confessed he “honestly didn’t expect six goals today” although he was confident of a win.

Coach Kwesi Appiah said he was sure of a good performance as long as he had an injuryfree squad.

Ogunjobi Continues from BP

Gareth

Bomb Continues from BP

Continues from BP

treatment in Ethiopia and reported to the organisers an attack on the team’s bus soon after the match on Sunday.

Spain-based midfielder Nosa Igiebor was injured in the attack, officials said.

The return leg match will be played in Calabar next month with the overall winners booking a place at next year ’s World Cup in Brazil.

embroiled in a controversy involving a contract which the NFF has described as a “slave contract”, which he allegedly forced Nigerian junior i n t e r n a t i o n a l Olarenwaju Kayode to sign.

The contract appears to have been set up to unduly enrich the former Secretary General, and due to his “unsavoury” behaviour he has been suspended by the NFF from all footballing activities for no less than 10 years.

But the outspoken Ogunjobi has come out swinging in response to the allegations and the

lengthy ban he could be subject to.

“The truth is I am just hearing this from you,” he told SuperSport. “No one from the NFF has informed me about any ban. When they officially communicate with me, I will say more.”

He added: “The NFF has no case and they know it. If they do, let them prove their allegations.”

Despite his insistent protests it seems unlikely that he will beat the ban, given that Barrister Chris Green, the NFF’s technical committee chairman, has stated that the NFF was compelled to take stern action.

54 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 16, 2013

Keshi invites 28 home boys for Jordan

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IGERIA’S senior locally-based players will kick-start their preparations for a first-ever appearance at the African Nations Championship on Thursday, 17th October.

Head Coach, Stephen Keshi, who also manages the ‘A’ team, has invited 28 players to report in Abuja as the Super Eagles Team B gets set for an international friendly with the full team of Jordan, billed for the Jordanian capital, Amman, on 28th October.

While Jordan will use the match to prepare for their 2014 FIFA World Cup play-off fixture against the fifth-placed team in the South American campaign (likely to be Uruguay), Keshi will have another look at his ammunition for the 2014 African Nations Championship taking place in South Africa in January.

It is the first in a long list of international games that the Nigeria Football Federation is putting together for the home boys ahead of their campaign in the Rainbow Nation.

Invited are three goalkeepers, eight defenders, nine midfielders and eight strikers. Former ‘A’ team regular Ejike Uzoenyi, back home from a stint in France, is a pleasant surprise on the list.

Predictably, top of Keshi’s list are the five members of his ‘A’ squad, namely goalkeeper Chigozie Agbim, defenders Azubuike Egwuekwe, Solomon Kwambe and Benjamin Francis, and midfielder Sunday Mba. There are also other Team ‘B’

regulars like goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi, defenders Ebenezer Odunlami and Umar Zango, midfielder Etebo Oghene and forwards Miuhammad Gambo, Ifeanyi Edeh, Osadiaye Joseph and Ezekiel Mbah.

Team officials have advised all invited 28 players to arrive at the team’s Bolton White Apartments abode in Abuja on Thursday, 17th October, with their international passports, as visa processing for the trip will commence on Friday, 18th October, 2013.

The delegation is expected to leave for Amman on Friday, 25th October.

HE third stage of the T Nestle Milo Football Clinic kicked off in Port

INVITED — Uzoenyi

Brazil grind-out win over Zambia Z

AMBIA yesterday lost 2-0 in their first meeting against 2014 World Cup hosts Brazil in a friendly played in Beijing.

Brazil were expectedly the better side against a plucky Zambia in the opening half that finished scoreless.

Neymar fired free kick in the first minute that Kennedy Mweene parried off the right angle bar.

Two minutes later, Hichani Himonde stole the ball off Neymar before the Barcelona striker could find the target.

Pato too had a go in the 10th minute but shot flashed wide.

Emmanuel Mbola had Zambia’s best shot on goal in the first half when his 16th minute effort was saved by Diego

Cavalieri.

Brazil finished the first half strongly with Pato’s 39th minute header saved by Mweene and four minutes later the Mamelodi Sundown goalkeeper palmed away another Neymar shot.

Zambia continued to defend stoutly in the second period as Brazil were frustrated against a relatively unknown opponent as they probed for openings.

Brazil broke the deadlock after the hour mark when second half substitute Oscar put the five-time champions ahead with a looping free kick that left Mweene reeling back in an desperate attempt to keep the ball out of the net.

Dede then headed in

Metsu C M Y K

HE former Senegal coach Bruno Metsu has died of cancer at the age of 59.

Known as “The White Sorcerer ”, Metsu was diagnosed with colon cancer in July 2012 having replaced Diego Maradona as coach of Al Wasl in Dubai.

The disease is said to have spread to his lungs and liver. He died at a clinic in his home town of

Coudekerque-Village in northern France.

Metsu achieved worldwide fame by coaching Senegal to a 10 win over the defending world champions France in the opening game of the 2002 World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea.Senegal reached the last eight and also got to the Africa Cup of Nations final in the same year. “A thought for those

Harcourt on Tuesday. The first leg of the 2013 programme devoted to children between the ages of 9 and 13 started in Abuja a fortnight ago with the Benin City ending last Saturday.

In Port Harcourt, about 2,000 pupils are expected to feature in the programme that teaches youngsters the basics of football in addition to real life values off the pitch.

The Benin centre had nearly 2,500 pupils in attendance at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium.

Through the first two in the series held so far, the Category Business Manager, Beverages, Nestle Nigeria Plc, Doja Ekeruche, emphasized to the kids that the clinic was a grassroots programme, aimed at developing the champion spirit in children across Nigeria.

BEND IT LIKE NEYMAR.....Brazil’s Neymar (L) shoots against Zambia during a friendly match at the Olympic Stadium in Beijing on October 15. Brazil won 2-0. .PHOTO: AFP Brazil’s second five minutes from close range

off a Neymar free-kick.

Zambia came out of

Metsu, ex Senegal coach, dies of cancer

T

Milo football clinic starts in PH

close to Bruno Metsu, a man and a coach who successfully exported the values of French football,” the French Football Federation said.

Claude Le Roy, a close friend of Metsu who also coached Senegal, Cameroon and Ghana, said he “fought like a lion”.

He told L’Equipe: “It’s terrible for him, for Viviane [his wife] and the kids. I’m thinking about them in

particular. We had a lot of adventures together. I will remember his magnificent smile and his love of life.”

Metsu went on to achieve success in the Middle East, winning the Gulf Cup in 2007 as head coach of the United Arab Emirates before becoming Qatar coach in 2009.

He also coached Al Ain to the Asian Champions League title in 2003.

their shell with 20 minutes left with the introduction of veterans James Chamanga and Noah Chivuta to bring some life to a flat midfield combining well with striker Jacob Mulenga but just lacked that extra quality in the finishing.

Meanwhile, the margin of the result was big plus for Zambia interim coach Patrice Beaumelle on his debut on the bench as his probation begins since replacing Herve Renard a week ago.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 16, 2013 — 55

FCMB Gov’s Cup: Six Nigerians crash out

BY JOHN EGBOKHAN

F

OR Nigerian players participating in the Governor’s Cup Futures I, yesterday is a day they would not want to remember as no fewer than six of them crashed out in the first round of the singles draw at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan.

And this comes despite the touted pre-tournament camping organised by the Nigeria Tennis Federation and the Local Organising Committee of the Gov’s Cup Lagos Tennis, to put the players in prime shape to compete for honours in the tournament ratified by the International Tennis Federation.

Sani Ndanusa, who is the President of the NTF, had said in the days leading to the ongoing tournament, that the tennis camp was going to address the poor play of the players but if accounts of what

Keshi kicks over Italian friendly

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Fatima Abinu happened yesterday are to serve as a yardstick of Ndanusa’s projections, then we have to wait longer for a tennis revival.

First to exit the tournament was Bolaji Olawepo, who lost in straight sets of 2-6, 2-6 to eight seed from India,

Ranjeet Virali-Muguresan Henry Atseye, a member of Nigeria’s Davis Cup team, also saw his dream of reaching the second round of the First City Monument Bank (FCMB) sponsored tournament evaporate into thin air, losing in straight sets of 16, 0-6 to another Indian

Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan Abdulmalik Kabiru, a Nigerian player, also lost in straight sets of 0-6, 0-6 to sixth seed from Croatia, Borma Coric.

Samuel Omoile continued the Nigerian losing train with a 3-6, 2-6 quick sets loss to fifth seed Dino Marcan.

IGERIA coach Stephen Keshi has said next month’s friendly against Italy could stress his team because of the timing.

The African champions have confirmed they will face four-time world champions Italy on November 18 in London.

The Eagles will depart for England immediately after taking on Ethiopia in Calabar in the return leg of the 2014 World Cup final playoff on November 16. ”It would be a good test for our preparation for the World Cup, but the timing is my only worry. We would not have time to rest for the game after playing against Ethiopia,” Keshi told mtnfootball.

“We would most likely head to either Abuja or Lagos to proceed to London, meaning we

might not even have time to warm up before the game. ”In any case, we would see how it goes but it would be a good test for my team ahead of the World Cup.” Keshi will also parade a team of players from the local league for another friendly in Amman, Jordan, later this month.

Keshi

VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013

Ogunjobi dismisses NFF’s ban

E

MBATTLED former Secretary General of the Nigeria Football Federation, Taiwo Ogunjobi has dismissed the ban slapped on him by the NFF. Ogunjobi has been

Continues on Page 53

World Cup 2014:

Ghana pound Egypt 6-1 G

HANA took a huge step towards reaching their third straight World Cup finals by thrashing Egypt 6-1 in the first leg of their 2014 play-off.

Asamoah Gyan thumped in the opener and it was 2-0 after Michael Essien’s run led to an own-goal from Wael Gomaa.

Egypt’s Mohamed Aboutrika scored a penalty but Majeed Waris headed in to make it 3-1 and Gyan headed another.

A Sulley Muntari penalty and a late strike

by Christian Atsu put Ghana in total control of the tie.

The match had been billed as the tightest of the five African play-off Continues on Page 53

Keshi kicks over Italian friendly — P.55 Bomb goes of f near Eagles World Cup playoff

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WO suspected terrorists died on Sunday after a bomb went up near the stadium as Ethiopia played Nigeria in a 2014 World Cup playoff.

According to CNN World Sport, the terrorists, believed to be of Somalian origin, died as they were allegedly

preparing the bomb in a house near the stadium in Addis Ababa.

The explosion is reported to have happened approximately three Kilometres away from the stadium in Addis Ababa as the World Cup playoff was in progress.

Continues on Page 53

Metsu, ex Senegal coach, dies of cancer — P.54 SHINNING STARS.....Black Stars players celebrate one of their goals in the 6-1 rout of Egypt in Kumasi yesterday.

Everyone should get his ticket to Brazil! - Muntari ...Bradley acceptss blame for defeat

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LACK Stars ace midfielder, Sulley Muntari is urging

Ghana fans to start buying tickets to Brazil for the 2014 World Cup

PUZZLE

after a highly polished performance against the Pharaohs of Egypt ended 6- 1.

Continues on Page 53

More unbeatable sports pages on pages 28, 29, 53, 54 & 55.

Metsu

QUICK CROSSWORD

Sudoku TODAY'S

Ogunjobi

FRI DAY'S FRIDAY'S

ANSWERS

ACROSS 4 Scale (5) 7 Transgressor (6) 9 Beer (3) 10 Golf-peg (3) 12 Shun (5) 13 Cupid (4) 15 Incline (5) 17 Clergyman (6) 19 Ceremony (4) 20 Instrument (5) 22 Horse (3) 24 Swung (7) 27 Beverage (3) 28 Stadium (5) 31 Roster (4) 33 Stocked (6) 35 Ascended (5) 37 Side (4) 38 Storehouse (5) 39 Owing (3) 41 Males (3) 42 Strict (6) 43 Vapour (5)

DOWN 1 Slumbering (6) 2 Goat (6) 3 Wager (3) 4 Applaud (4) 5 Bar (5) 6 Preserve (8) 8 Repose (4) 11 Stretched (9) 14 Remit (4) 16 Spoken (4) 18 Covering (4) 21 Saucy (8) 23 Equipment (4) 25 Headland (4) 26 Sketched (4) 29 Revised (6) 30 Fisherman (6) 32 Fragrance (5) 34 Responsibility (4) 36 Detail (4) 40 Fish (3)

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS ACROSS: 1, Slur 4, Dub 6, Sway 9, Pew 10, Publican 11, Lean 14, Pep 16, Strew 19, Improper 21, Pined 23, Talisman 24, Theft 27, Lee 31, Dive 33, Hoarding 34, Sir 35, Stay 36, Nee 37, Lewd.

How to Play Sudoku

DOWN: 2, Lout 3, Rile 4, Decrepit 5, Band 6, Split 7, Wee 8, Awake 12, Visit 13, Spire 14, Pop 15, Penal 17, Roomy 18, Wrong 20, Relegate 22, Die 25, Hoist 26, Fiery 28, Shun 29, Idol 30, Gnaw 32, Via.

TWO WEEKS TO LIVE

P

lace a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line can have two of the same number).

Each row (nine lines from left to right), column, (also nine lines from top to bottom) and 3 X 3 block within a bold block (nine blocks) contains number from 1 through 9. This means that no number can appear twice in any block, column or row.

No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction, division or multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination.

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