BAD ROADS:FG, contractors at war over debts sum

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...towards a better life for the people VOL. 25: NO. 61996

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ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

N150

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

N250M CARS: Zamfara acting Gov Baraje's nPDP: We accept court verdict Reps to probe •P.9 narrowly escapes but struggle continues •P. 9 Aviation Minister lynching •P. 8

BAD ROADS:

FG, contractors at war over debts sum

By SONI DANIEL, Regional Editor, North, EMMAN OVUAKPORIE, JUDE NJOKU & KINGSLEY ADEGBOYE

•Fed Govt owes us N500bn — Contractors •No, we owe them N30bn — Fed Govt •Why no work on Lagos-Ibadan expressway — Contractors •Reps ask Finance Minister to release approved funds

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AGOS—THE Fed eral Government and local contractors are currently at war over debt owed by the government for the construction of major road projects across the country.

While the local contractors claim that they are Continues on page 5

Pension fund assets to hit N10trn by December •P.17-40

COLUMNIST:

•P.46

Mr & Mrs

Bi-Courtney sues FAAN, others for contempt •P.14

Tension in House of Reps as Jonathan's loyalists list peace terms for Tambuwal

•P.8

SOUTH EAST/SOUTH SOUTH GOVS MEETING: L-r, Enugu State Governor, Sullivan Chime; Abia State Governor, Theodore Orji ; Delta State Governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan; Cross River State Governor, Liyel Imoke; Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi; Bayelsa State Deputy Governor, John Jonah and Ebonyi State Deputy Governor, Dave Umahi, at the meeting of the governors of the South East and South states in Enugu. Photo: Hill Ezeugwu

2— Vanguard, MONDAY OCTOBER 21, 2013

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4— Vanguard, MONDAY OCTOBER 21, 2013

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POCKET CARTOON

PILGRIMAGE TO ISRAEL: From left, Senate President, David Mark; Executive Secretary, Nigeria Christian Pilgrims Commission, NCPC, John Kennedy Opara; and Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria, Uriel Palti; at the flag-off ceremony of the October/ December Pilgrimage to Israel, Rome and Greece at the Abuja Airport, weekend.

Photo: Gbemiga Olamikan

FG, contractors at war over debts Continues from page 1 being owed N500 billion, the Federal Government insisted that it owed the contractors only N30 billion. It was gathered that the failure of the government to fulfil its financial obligations to the contractors has stalled the repair works on the major road projects awarded by the government such as Lagos-Ibadan expressway.

Findings by Vanguard revealed that the contractors who were awarded major highways and bridges contracts spread across the country were being owed as much as N30 billion arising from liabilities for the 2013 year, thereby exposing them to operational challenges.

The firms were said to have been awarded the strategic road projects by the Federal Government in the hope that N141 billion approved for the Federal Ministry of Works would be released as and when due by the Finance Ministry. However, findings revealed that of the budgeted N141 billion, only N63.76 billion has so far been released to the ministry for its road projects, leaving an outstanding balance of N76.24 billion.

Some of the local contractors lamented that their operations had been virtually grounded by non-payment for jobs already executed for the Federal Government.

Others complained that heavy bank charges on loans extended to them had made it impossible for them to raise more money to continue with the jobs at hand.

“It is very difficult for us to continue to work without being paid by the gov-

ernment,” one of the construction firms’ official told one of our correspondents.

Although the Minister of Works, Arc. Mike Onolememen, could not be reached for a reaction to the development, a competent source close to the ministry confirmed the debt being owed the local contractors, saying that it was not deliberate.

The source admitted: “It is true we have liabilities amounting to N30 billion to our contractors but this is regrettable because we have not deliberately decided to owe them. The truth of the matter is that the money approved in this year’s budget for us has not been released in full to the Ministry by the relevant agency of government.

Finance ministry cashbacked N63bn out of N141bn “There is no way we can pay contractors what has not been given to us. Of the N141 billion budgetted for us this year, the Ministry of Finance has only cash-backed N63.76 billion. It is not our desire to owe any contractors because we know that once they mobilise to site they come under pressure from the government, the community and the banks.”

Hopes of early payment to the contractors may not materialise because of claims by the Finance Ministry that there has been sustained dwindling revenue from oil arising from theft and pipeline vandalisation in the Niger Delta.

Angered by the slow pace of work arising from debts being owed the contractors, the Chairman, House of Representatives

Committee on Works, Mr. Ogbuefi Ozomgbachi, has asked the Finance Minister, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to immediately release the outstanding N81billion to the Works Ministry.

Ozomgbachi, who spoke to Vanguard on telephone, lamented that the huge amount being owed the contractor was disturbing and capable of frustrating the construction and rehabilitation of major roads in the country.

He said, “You will recall that before now, the roads were in a deplorable state and impacted negatively on the social and economic well being of the people. So, I will enjoin the Minister of Finance to release the approved funds to the Federal Ministry of Works to enable it sustain the momentum of work on roads in the overall interest of Nigerians. The Appropriation Act is a subsisting law of the country and the Ministry of Finance is bound to comply with the provision of that law. There should be no selective implementation of any law, inclusive of the Appropriation Act. “As we get close to the dry season, the release of 100 percent of the Ministry of Works’ allocation is very essential because the existence of good roads in the near absence of waterways and a rail system is central to the country and will have a multiplier effect on other sectors of our economy.”

Efforts to speak with the Finance Minister on the non-release of funds to the Works Ministry proved abortive as none of her officials was available to speak to our correspondents. But the Office of the Accountant-General of the

Federation said that declining oil revenues was responsible for the shortfall in revenue, insisting that the government has been recording declining oil revenues since January this year.

The office maintains that apart from the surplus the government recorded in the month of July, it has been witnessing a deficit for the rest of the months.

The office stated, “The Federal Government had projected a monthly earning of N702.54bn in the 2013 budget, but it only surpassed that target once during the first seven months of this year, earning N651.26bn in January, N571.7bn in February and N595.71bn in March. In the months of April, May, June and July, the revenue earned by the country was N621.07bn, N590.77bn, N863.02bn and N497.98bn respectively.”

Governors have been at loggerheads with the Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, accusing her of not telling the truth about the economy, which they claim is dwindling.

At the height of their face-off, the state governors called on the Finance Minister to resign but the minister rebuffed them, saying: “I dey kampe.”

The major road projects that have been badly affected by the non release of funds to the contractors include the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, Lagos-Benin Expressway and the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway. It was gathered that no activity is happening on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway because the contractor has not been adequately mobilised to undertake the repair work.

Julius Berger, other contractors not paid Meanwhile, reacting to the alleged N500 billion being owed local contractors by the Federal Ministry of Works, Mr. Clement Iloba, Head of Corporate Affairs Unit of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc said “in road construction projects, clients are bound to owe contractors since payments for jobs are not made in advance before commencement of contracts. However, I am not in a position to know the exact amount Julius Berger Nigeria Plc is being owed, just as I cannot say if other contractors are being owed and how much they (contractors) are being owed”.

Immediate past president of the Federation of

Construction Industry, FOCI, the umbrella organisation for 125 indigenous and indigenised contracting firms in Nigeria, Mr. Mobolaji Williams, an engineer, explained that about two years ago, when he was still the President of FOCI, the Federal Government was owing its members more than N100 billion for jobs already done. Although Mr. Williams who works for MOS Engineering Services Limited, could not give the actual amount being owed contractors, he noted that the figure must have risen by now.

Williams had alleged that between 2010 and 2011, more than 60,000 workers in FOCI member-companies were sent home due to closure of sites following government’s failure to meet its financial obligations to contractors. According to him, “while the contractors are being owed more than N100 billion for jobs already done, more debts are piling up as the contractors try to get the projects to a reasonable landmark before closing their sites to await payment.”

The former FOCI president directed Vanguard to speak with the current president of the organisation, Mr. Solomon Ogunbusola, a builder and CEO of S & M Nigeria Limited, because he would be in a position to give the actual figure of the amount owed contractors. Efforts to speak with him failed as he was not picking his calls.

But a dependable source at the Federal Ministry of Works, Abuja, would neither confirm nor deny the fact that local contractors were being owed to the tune of N500 billion. He however, agreed that the Ministry was having problems funding its ongoing road projects, adding that most contractors would not move to site until they are paid.

Contractors not mo-

bilised financially to work on Lagos Ibadan expressway

Unconfirmed reports alleged that work on the reconstruction of the LagosIbadan expressway which was awarded to Messrs Julius Berger Nigeria Plc following the termination of the concession agreement with Messrs BiCourtney Nigeria Limited, was yet to commence because the new contractors have not been mobilised financially, despite the flag-off by President Goodluck Jonathan.

Nigeria has a total road network of 200,000 km owned by the federal, state and local governments. Only about 65,000 kilometres are paved mostly with bitumen. Out of this figure, the Federal Government owns about 35,000km, representing 54 per cent of the bituminous road network in Nigeria.

The balance is shared between the 36 states and the 774 Local Government Areas. Currently, most of the goods and passengers transportation in the country are done by road, which is about 80 per cent of the national vehicular traffic. 35,000 kilometres of federal roads were constructed as at1983. In 1983, only about 150,000 vehicles were plying Nigerian roads. In 2000, about 1.3million vehicles were moving on Nigerian roads. In 2012, the number of vehicles on Nigerian roads rose to nine million. Yet, the total kilometre of bituminous roads in the country did not witness any appreciable increase to meet the demand. This has led to increased pressure on our roads, coupled with the non availlability of rail transportation of haulage in the 20 years.

Leveraging on the major structural/management changes of 2011, the FMW set out to achieve the following-the mandate of planning, design, construction, maintenance of federal roads network.

6—Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

Tricycle operator commits suicide in lover's home gling remains to the morgue of she leaves, he would kill himBY EMMA AMAIZE & AKPOKONA OMAFUAIRE

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ARRI—A tricycle operator, weekend, allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in the residence of his lover at Okpokiti Street, Warri South Local Government Area, Delta State.

Vanguard understood that the deceased committed suicide because his lover left him in her house to sleep somewhere else.

When Vanguard correspondent arrived the scene, neighbours were seen discussing the incident, while homicide detectives from the ‘A’ Police Division, Warri, came to remove the dan-

the Central Hospital, Warri.

The policemen, who declined comments later took the girlfriend away for questioning.

A tenant, who pleaded anonymity, told Vanguard, “it all started last night (Saturday), when we heard the deceased and his girlfriend arguing.

“I was sleeping in my room when I heard them arguing. It is like the young man wanted to spend the night with the girl, but the girl refused.

“The argument got to a point and the girl told the boy that if he was going to spend the night in her house, she will not sleep in the same house with him.

“The boy told the girl that if

self. The girl, thinking that the boy was joking, told him to go ahead and kill himself, left the boy in the room and went to go and sleep in another place.”

It was gathered that when the girl returned in the morning (yesterday), she discovered that the door was locked. She alerted her neighbours, who helped her to force the door open, only to see the lifeless body of her boyfriend dangling from a rope.

The community people took the girl to the police station. A senior police officer at the ‘A’ Police Division stopped Vanguard from speaking with the girl, saying she was undergoing interrogation.

Villagers flee as gunmen invade Delta community, destroy houses

BY EMMA AMAIZE & FESTUS AHON

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GHELLI— GUNMEN, weekend, stormed Uwheru community in Ughelli North Local Government Area, Delta State, vandalising about 12 houses and a car belonging to supporters of a former aide to the governor and Presidential-General of the com-

Police, NSCDC in free-for-all

BY DAYO JOHNSON

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KURE— SOME policemen in Akure, the Ondo State capital, weekend, beat up an officer of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, for driving an unregistered vehicle.

For over an hour, caution was thrown overboard as a free-for-all ensued, thereby disrupting traffic in Ado Junction, along Akure-Owo Expressway.

Report had it that the incident occurred at 6p.m. on Saturday.

The NSCDC officer was stopped by the policemen and he was asked to produce the particulars of the unregistered car he was driving.

An argument led to a fight and the NSCDC officer was said to have been beaten, handcuffed and taken to Ijapo Police.

Meanwhile, top officers of the two security agencies have wadded into the matter.

munity, Mr. Clement Osieta.

The gunmen, suspected to be political thugs, were said to have earlier beaten Mr. George Imiti, an elder brother of a councillor in the area, Festus, to death.

Yesterday morning, Over 500 indigenes of the community, the Vanguard gathered, had fled into the bush for fear of being attacked by the armed thugs, who reportedly invaded the town at 1a.m.

A source said: “The current mayhem in Uwheru was because the ring-leader of the gunmen was arrested by the police. So the top official wants to stop his pros-

ecution.

“At Egbo quarters, two houses belonging to one Boge Ogbe were vandalised alongside a beer parlour in front of his house.

“Margaret Ogbe’s store was vandalised and the armed youths went away with the N800,000 given to her to keep by her club.

“At Odja, four houses were destroyed. A People's Democratic Party, PDP, chairman in Uwheru was not spared as his house and Toyota Corolla car were destroyed.

“Also vandalised is Mr Wilson Umukoro’s house; Umokoro is an In-law to Clement Osieta.”

PILGRIMS: Christian pilgrims at the inauguration of October-D

Landlady allegedly dupes 109 prospective tenants of N14m

BY ONOZURE DANIA

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AGOS—A 34-year-old landlady, Taibat Aruna, has been arraigned before a Lagos Magistrate’s Court sitting in Ikeja for allegedly obtaining N14 million by false pretence from 109 prospective tenants.

The defendant, who resides at Ojo area of Lagos State, is facing a thirty-count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining, false pretense and stealing preferred against her by the police.

The defendant, standing trial before Magistrate Margaret Dan-Oni, committed the alleged offences between June 5 and August 28 this year.

The police prosecutor, Inspector Edet Okoi, said that the defendant stole the money from her victims with a promise to give them a self-contain accommodation located at Ojo area of Lagos, which she knew

was false.

Some of the people the defendant defrauded are Chinedu Emmanuel, N132,000; Happiness Etumni, N240,000; Casmir Ezenwa, N230,000, and Adeniyi Bamilosin, N175, 000.

Others are Agbudom Obum, N440,000; Nnaji Chinedu, N230,000; Olanrewaju Saheed, N215, among others.

Okoi said that the defendant and others at large stole the said

sum belonging to one Chinedu Emmanuel and 108 others.

According to the prosecutor, the offence committed is contrary to section 409 and punishable under section 312 (1) (a) (b),312 (3) and 275 (1) (a) (b) of the criminal laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2011.

However, when the charge was read to the defendant, she pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Magistrate Dan-Oni granted the defendant bail in the sum of N2 million with two responsible sureties in like sum, one of the sureties must be a community leader, or a pastor.

She adjourned the matter to November 11 for mention.

Meanwhile, the defendant was remanded in Kirikiri female prison, pending when she is able to perfect her bails conditions.

Traditional healer, DELSU staff nabbed for holding ‘mad' woman hostage

BY AUSTIN OGWUDA

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SABA—A traditional healer based at OgwashiUku in Delta State has been arrested for allegedly holding a 17-year-old girl hostage, on account of alleged insanity.

Also arrested was a staff of

Delta State University, DELSU, Abraka, believed to be a relation of the ‘mad’ lady, who took her to the healing home.

Police spokesman, Mr. Lucky Uyabame, paraded the suspects at the state police headquarters in Asaba, weekend.

Also paraded were six suspected cultists, who were arrested in a bush within Umutu axis during an initiation ceremony.

The suspects, according to the police spokesman, “are predominantly students of Delta State Polytechnic, Ozoro.”

Vanguard , MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013—7

8 dead, 61 hospitalised in Plateau cholera outbreak

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December pilgrimage to Israel, Rome and Greece in Abuja, Saturday evening.

OS— MEDICAL authorities in Plateau State have confirmed an outbreak of cholera in Namu village in the Qua’pan Local Government Area of the state.

Namu, a village at Plateau State border with Nasarawa State, plays host to the people displaced by the crisis that broke out in Obi Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

Plateau State Epidemiologist, Dr. Raymond Yuryit, said in Namu, yesterday: “There has been an outbreak of cholera in Namu village. Eight people have been killed, while 61 others have been hospitalised.”

Yuryit spoke when he received Alhaji Alhassan Barde, the Executive Secretary of Plateau State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, who had gone to assess the situation.

He said that those hospitalised had been diagnosed with the disease and had been admitted into various health centres.

Yuryit attributed the outbreak to overcrowding, dirty environment and the consumption of unhygienic food and water.

He described cholera as a “deadly disease” that could kill “ within the shortest possible time because it dehydrates the victim, leading to severe gastro-intestinal im-

16-yr-old mother of 2 stabs husband to death

BY DAYO JOHNSON

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KURE— A 16-year-old mother of two, Ebere Ogu, has allegedly stabbed his 35-year-old husband, Patrick, to death in Akure, the Ondo State capital, during a fight, and has fled with her children.

Detectives from the criminal Investigation Division of the state Police Command are presently looking for her.

Vanguard gathered that the crime was committed last Thursday at their number 70 Ijapo extension residence in Akure at 5a.m.

Chinedu, a native of Imo State was a staff of Owena River Basin Authority, Alagbaka in Akure.

A co-tenant, who gave his name as Kelechi, said: “Ebere and Patrick frequently engage in fights but on Thursday, October 17, at 5a.m., the couple began to fight.

“Most times they engage in such fights, I go there to settle it. But on this fateful morning, when I got into their room I saw Ebere holding a knife against her husband so I pleaded with her to drop the knife and pleaded with Patrick not to beat his wife.

“At the first attempt I succeeded in separating them. So Ebere dropped the knife. But as soon as Patrick saw that his wife had dropped the knife, he seized the opportunity to pounce on her and gave her another beating.

How he died

“I told Patrick to stop, but I noticed that when he tried to move away he slumped and that was when I screamed for help and called other members of the house.

“When we entered the apartment we realised that Patrick was already on the floor. So people began to urge Ebere to lift her husband up. She eventually did and we saw that the father of two was already bleeding.

“We were all shocked and most of the people took to their heels. Ebere escaped with her two kids to an unknown destination.”

Police image-maker, Wole Ogodo, confirmed the ugly incident.

Ogodo said: “One Mr. Tuyi, who is the landlord of the house

the couple lived in, reported the incident to the Police Station on Thursday 17, at 6.45a.m.

Ogodo said that policemen are searching for the suspected killer, while the corpse of the deceased had been deposited at the Akure State Specialist Hospital morgue for autopsy.

48-yr-old man docked for N130m theft

BY ONOZURE DANIA

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AGOS— A 48-year-old man, Eneyi Ogosi, was on Friday arraigned before a Lagos Magistrate’s Court, sitting at Ikeja, for allegedly stealing N130 million.

The defendant, who resides at Surulere, was docked before Magistrate Eniola Fabamwo.

Ogosi is facing a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy and stealing, preferred against him by the police.

The police prosecutor, Assist-

ant Superintendent of Police Barth Nwaokoye, said that the defendant and others at large conspired amongst themselves and committed the alleged offence at Surulere area of Lagos State in 2012.

He said that the defendant converted N130 million, which is proceed of 43 plots of land located at Majidun area of Ikorodu, belonging to one late Stafford Obrutse, to his own use.

Magistrate Fabamwo adjourned the matter to November 25 for mention.

pact.”

The specialist said that the epidemic was not altogether a surprise as the area had lots of internally-displaced persons from Nasarawa State, a development that had put much pressure on the environment and portable drinking water.

“But we are happy that the situation is already under control,” he said.

4 dead, 14 injured in Ondo road crash

BY DAYO JOHNSON

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KURE— FOUR persons died in an auto crash that occurred at Igbara-Oke in Ifedore Local Government Area of Ondo State, weekend.

Fourteen others sustained injuries, following a head-on collision of an 18-passenger Mazda bus, number plate Lagos KSF 706 XF, and a Honda Accord saloon, AA239GBH. The officer in charge of Field Operation of the Sector Command of the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, in the state, Mr. Joseph Ojerinde, told Vanguard that the accident occurred at 6.30pm on Saturday.

Ojerinde attributed the crash to the reckless driving. He said the Honda car made a dangerous overtake and collided with the bus, which was coming from the opposite direction.

Ojerinde said: “Immediately we were informed about the accident, our men moved to the scene, we were told that the Honda Accord car, dangerously overtook a vehicle and had a headon collision with the Mazda bus coming from the other side.”

He said 22 persons were in both cars: 14 males, four females and four under-aged children, adding that the dead were adult males.

Their corpses have been deposited at the mortuary of the State Specialist Hospital, Akure, while those injured were taken to the General Hospitals in Igbara-Oke and IlaraMokin for treatment.

8—Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

Carrington hails Nigeria's election into UN Security Council

Tension in House of Reps as Jonathan's loyalists list peace terms for Tambuwal

BY SONI DANIEL, REGIONAL EDITOR, NORTH

BY DEMOLA AKINYEMI

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LORIN—FORMER Ambassador of the United States of America to Nigeria, Mr. Walter Carrington, yesterday, expressed confidence that with the election of Nigeria as a nonpermanent member of the United Nations, UN, Security Council, the nation’s voice will now be heard on the international scene.

The ex-envoy spoke with newsmen after he arrived Iloring International airport.

Mr. Walter Carrington was in Kwara State capital to deliver the University of Ilorin’s 29th Founder’s Day and Convocation lecture today.

It will be recalled that the UN General Assembly last Thursday elected Nigeria and four others to serve as nonpermanent members on the Security Council for two-year terms beginning on January 1, 2014.

Ambassador Carrington was received by the Vice Chancellor, University of Ilorin, Professor Abdulganiyu Ambali and other principal staff of the institution.

Eminent Nigerians, others to raise N25bn for E.K Clark's foundation today

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RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan will lead other eminent Nigerians to Sheraton Hotel, Abuja, today, to raise N25 billion for the Edwin Kiagbodo Clark Foundation.

The money will be used to fund Edwin Clark University of Technology, ECUT, Kiagbodo, Delta State and the Edwin Kiagbodo Clark Centre for Youth Orientation and Development, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, according to the foundation’s Board of Trustees Chairman, Professor B. A Clark and Chairman Central Planning Committee, General David Jemibewon (rtd).

Being held in honour of Elder statesman and First Republic Minister, Chief EK Clark, the fund raising dinner will be chaired by former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon (rtd)) while Reverend Jesse Jackson of the United States of America, will give the keynote address.

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ROUBLE appears imminent in the House of Representatives, as members get set to resume from vacation tomorrow.

The bone of contention is that the Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal, must support President Goodluck Jonathan wholeheartedly or be ready to give way for a core loyalist to take over the proceedings of the House.

The Presidency and Tambuwal have not been on the same page since he was accused of romancing with the opposition when he granted audience to the breakaway faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, led by Abubakar Baraje, last month.

Although supporters of the President in the House moved against what many saw as ‘an open’ endorsement of the group by the Speaker, there are allegations that a major plot is being hatched to remove Tambuwal from the exalted post.

Worried by the sharp division in the House arising from the Baraje and G7 governors’ visit and the controversy generated, Tambuwal is said to have set up a ‘small peace committee’ to pacify aggrieved members and restore confidence in the leadership.

However, a source close to the peace committee told Vanguard that members had been more divided than before as a result of differences among those loyal to Tambuwal and the President.

It was learnt that when the two groups met to make peace, the proJonathan lawmakers shocked Tambuwal's loyalists by coming up with three stringent conditions, which the Tambuwal group rejected.

The anti-Tambuwal lawmakers in the House are reported to have asked Tambuwal to allow for an independent auditing of the amount of money so far released to him since he took over as Speaker in 2011.

The pro-Jonathan group also asked Tambuwal to steer clear of the Rivers State House of Assembly crisis and allow the police to reopen the state legislature for business.

The group also demanded that Tambuwal should explain why members of the 7th Assembly were being paid a paltry N27 million per quarter as against the N45 million that their 6th Assembly counterparts were getting under the Dimeji Bankole leadership.

They argued that they have been cheated by the leadership which reduced their pay when the Federal Government had not reduced the statutory N150 billion being paid to the National Assembly yearly.

However, a staunch supporter of President Goodluck Jonathan in the

House of Representatives, Mr Uzo Azubuike, has said that neither the President nor the Speaker is under any impeachment threat.

Azubuike, who is the Chairman of the House Committee on Public Petition, told Vanguard exclusively that the main aim of the President’s

loyalists in the House was to strengthen peace and unity as well as ensure that the PDP, which is the majority party, takes its rightful position in major decisions-making.

COMMISSIONING—From left: Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko; President Goodluck Jonathan; and Leader, Yoruba Obas Conflict Resolution Committe, Olugbo of Ugboland, Oba Obateru Akinruntan at the commissioning of Omotosho Power Plant Phase 2 in Ondo State, weekend.

Baraje's nPDP: We accept court verdict but struggle continues

BY HENRY UMORU

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BUJA—THE Abubakar Kawu Baraje-led new Peoples Democratic Party, nPDP, said yesterday, that it has carefully studied and accepted Friday’s ruling by the Federal High Court, Abuja, presided over by Justice Elvis which declared Tukur as the recognised and authentic PDP National Chairman.

In a statement signed by the Baraje-led new PDP National Publicity Secretary, Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, said the action became imperative following its respect for the judiciary, but vowed that the struggle continues.

The group however said: “Even so, we have directed our legal team to appeal the judgement as a matter of urgency as we remain convinced that we have a good case and are thus determined to ensure that Tukur and his cohorts are not allowed to hold sway as the leaders of our great party.”

According to Eze: “The new Peoples Democratic Party, nPDP, under the leadership of Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje has carefully studied Friday’s

ruling by the Federal High Court, Abuja, presided over by His Lordship, Justice Elvis Chukwu, which declared the National Working Committee, NWC, headed by Alhaji Bamanga Tukur as the authentic leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. “As a group that has a lot of respect for the judiciary, we have accepted the ruling in good faith and wish to abide by it.

“Along this line, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje, who just returned from holy pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, has convened an emergency meeting of the G7, stakeholders and the National Working Committee, NWC, of the new PDP to exhaustively discuss the new developments and chart the way forward as there is no going back on our just struggle to rescue PDP from the hands of usurpers.

“Apart from deciding on the Federal High Court ruling and the challenges facing us a group the G7/Stakeholders/NWC meeting slated for this week is expected to deliberate on how the new five governors of PDP that have indicated interest to join the Baraje leadership will be received in the fold.

“Let us reiterate that contrary to some insinuations in some quarters reflected in a section of the media of division and disunity amongst our governors and National Assembly members because of our current travails but the fact remains that instead of division, our current travails have strengthened us the more and act as a unifying factor that have shown us that it is matter of time that the undemocratic elements that have seized our party will be dislodged.”

On Tukur’ move to treat the group as criminals if they issue any statement or make utterances, the Baraje led PDP said, “we feel nothing but pity for Alhaji Tukur and his NWC, who are already gloating over their “victory” over us and even had the temerity to describe us and our governors as criminals, warning that heaven would fall if we should meet under any platform! By being so uncouth in addressing governors duly elected by Nigerians, Tukur and his disciples have once again vindicated our struggle to flush out these unholy undemocratic elements from our party. We are confident that this is one mission which we shall successfully accomplish by the grace of God regardless of the use of State Security agencies to harass and intimidate our people.

Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013—9

N250m cars: Reps to probe Aviation Minister

BY EMMAN OVUAKPORIE, JOHNBOSCO AGBAKWURU, JOSEPH ERUNKE & LEVINUS NWABUGHIOGU

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BUJA—THE House of Representatives is to investigate the purchase of two official vehicles at the cost of N250 million for the Minister of Aviation, Ms Stella Oduah, when it resumes tomorrow.

The inclination of the House is in the wake of fury in the two chambers of the National Assembly over the alleged purchase of the two armoured vehicles which the legislators claimed was not provided for in the 2013 budget.

The two BMW vehicles were purchased for Mrs Oduah by the National Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, a parastatal under the supervision of the Ministry of Aviation.

While House members were livid over the purchase which they claimed as insensitive, senators were more circumspect even though one senator described the purchase as obscene.

Both chambers of the National Assembly are resuming from Sallah break tomorrow.

Nigerians, it remains the responsibility of the administration to surprise Nigerians and frontally address the indiscretion.

“This incident should not be added to the catalogue of impunity going on,” Ali added.

Chairman of the House Committee on Anti-corruption and Ethics, Rep Abiodun Faleke on his part said Oduah would definitely be made to answer questions if the vehicles were actually bought at the prices reported.

“Definitely if the cars were bought, we need to know how and why and by whom, if it is true, she has a lot to answer when we resume."

Rep. Ogbonna Nwuke representing Etche/Omuma Federal Constituency, Rivers State said there was no

provision for the purchase in the 2013 budget.

"The money used in purchasing those vehicles was not appropriated for.

You can go through the budget, it’s not there,” he claimed yesterday.

“The fact is that those cars have been bought with taxpayers’ money and what we should really concern ourselves is whether really it was appropriated for in the Appropriation Act. “Can you imagine how many jobs that amount of money would have created in the Aviation industry? At a time that over 66 percent of Nigerians are below poverty level. Can you imagine how many persons that would have taken off the streets? We are worried

about the percentage of people who are not employed. Yet, nobody cares instead what is important is to buy bullet-proof cars because somebody feels threatened.”

Representative Bassey Dan Abia, Eket/Onna/Esit/Ibeno Federal Constituency of Akwa Ibom State said the fate of the minister remains in the hands of the president but he nevertheless affirmed that the purchases could only have been done without appropriation by the National Assembly.

"I can’t call for her sack, her sack is the prerogative of the President.”

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Hope Uzodinma did not respond to enquiries.

We will unravel those involved — Rep Mohammed

Spokesman of the House, Rep. Zakari Mohammed, PDP who told Vanguard yesterday that the purchases could not have been endorsed in the 2013 budget said the House would launch an investigation into the issue after it resumes tomorrow.

“The House as soon as it resumes proceedings this week will unravel circumstances surrounding the purchase of those cars,” he told Vanguard in a telephone interview.

Asked whether the House captured the purchase in the 2013 Appropriation Act, Mohammed said “the House cannot approve such a thing it must have been captured under another sub title."

Speaking in the same vein, Chairman of the House Committee on Justice, Rep Ahmad Ali described the situation as appalling and scandalous.

“One thing I am certain of is that the House will unravel those involved and know who and who collected money and such people must face the full wrath of the law.

“I used to respect the Minster of Aviation a lot. But with this, the Ministry officials have scandalized the administration. While it is her choice to apologize to

INAUGURATION—From left: Nigerian Consul-General in New York, Ambassador Habib Habu; staff of Nigerian Mission to the UN, Mr Emmanuel Okafor; Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Usman Saki; Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Professor Joy Ogwu and Defence Adviser, Permanent Mission of Nigeria to the UN, Brig-Gen. Lincoln Ogunewe, at the inauguration of the defence section of the permanent mission of Nigeria to the UN in New York.

Zamfara acting governor narrowly escapes lynching

BY SALISU ZAKARI, WITH AGENCY REPORT

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USAU—THE Acting Governor of Zamfara State, Alhaji Sanusi Garba Rikiji, yesterday, narrowly escaped being lynched by some aggrieved people of Birnin Magaji town of the state.

The incident happened barely five days after the celebration of Sallah when Rikiji visited the area following the killing of three people during an encounter with a group of suspected armed robbers.

Rikiji who is also the Speaker of the State House of Assembly arrived the area with some top government functionaries, including the state Commissioner of Police.

However, after his arrival, some of the aggrieved natives started shouting at the acting governor, calling him unprintable names, even as others started throwing stones at him and other members of his entourage, and in the process, damaging some of their vehicles.

It took the combined efforts of the police escort, the military and DSS, who shot into the air to disperse the mob.

Eyewitness told Vanguard that many people including the driver of the police commissioner were injured in the process.

It was learnt that many people from the area were angered by the rate they were being terrorised by hoodlums who kill their herdsmen and steal their animals.

Suntai's travel abroad for treatment stalled as aides hold on to his passport

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BY HENRY UMORU

BUJA—MOVE by the Taraba State government to fly out the ailing governor of the state, Governor Danbaba Suntai overseas for further medical treatment was said to have suffered setback against the backdrop that the travelling passport of the governor was reportedly in possession of two of his top associates who have refused to release it.

Meanwhile, strong indications emerged yesterday that plans were underway to impeach both the ailing governor and the acting governor, Garba Umar, to pave way for the Speaker of the State

Assembly to preside over the conduct of the 2015 election.

It was gathered that the wife of the governor had agreed for further medical treatment for her husband, but Suntai’s associates were said to have held on to the passport even after what the source described as repeated requests from the family.

According to a source, the development was said to have created a sharp division between the family of the governor and his associates who were quoted as telling the governor’s family that further

treatment abroad for the governor would undermine the larger political agenda which the governor’s group were at the moment pressing for.

The source said that the nonavailability of the passport has also affected the out of court settlement entered into in a case against the state assembly by the ailing governor, even as the same forces which are in possession of the passport as gathered were also said to have ordered that the family should not negotiate the transfer of power with the acting governor.

It was gathered that the said

associates were provoked by the cordial relationship between the governors’s family and acting governor and were plotting to impeach both Suntai and Umar, the acting governor. Sources disclosed that the plan was to make the speaker an interim governor to instal a governor from the Southern zone of the state in 2015.

Meanwhile, the Taraba Transition Assembly has taken a swipe at Senator Emmanuel Bwacha for declaring his gubernatorial ambition at a time there were challenges on how to secure further treatment for his close friend, Governor Suntai.

10 — Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

World body certifies Nigerian freight forwarders

BY GODWIN ORITSE

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IGERIA, WEEK END, recorded another milestone in the history of freight forwarding industry in the country as the world body of freight forwarders, the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations, FIATA, handed over accreditation certificate to the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria, CRFFN, for the Higher Diploma in Supply Chain Management.

In a statement, CRFFN’s Executive Secretary, Sir Mike Jukwe said that Nigeria has therefore become one of the three African countries to record this milestone. Other countries that scaled were Egypt and South Africa A ceremony was held at a session of the Advisory Board on Vocational Training of FIATA in Singapore after a successful defence of Nigeria’s submission.

Man, 28, arraigned for brandishing gun publicly

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AGOS — A 28-yearold man, Monday Igbasan, who allegedly brandished a gun publicly, was Thursday charged before a Yaba Magistrates’ Court, Lagos.

Igbasan, who lives at No. 32B, Bello St., Epe, Lagos, was arraigned on a two-count charge of illegal possession of firearms and breach of public peace.

He, however, denied the charges.

But the prosecutor, Inspector Peter Nwangwu, told the court that the accused committed the offences on Aug. 28 at his apartment.

He said the accused with others still at large caused a breach of the peace by displaying live cartridges and a gun publicly.

The Magistrate, Mrs. Motolani Ladipo, granted the accused bail in the sum of N250, 000 with two sureties in like sum.

She adjourned the case to November 11.

Guest Speaker Edwin Kiagbodo Clarke Foundation, Rev. Jesse Jackson flanked by Wife of the South South Leader, Dr. (Mrs.) Bisola Clarke and Former Labour Minister, Chief Alabo Douglas while the host, Chief Edwin Clarke (3r); his lawyer, Barr. Kayode Ajulo (l); Member House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu (3r) and others during a dinner in honour of Jackosn at Chief Clarke's residence, Asokoro Abuja. Photo by Abayomi Adeshida

Pregnant woman, 4 others killed in road crash

BY MONSURU OLOWOOPEJO

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RAGEDY STRUCK, Saturday, in Ijoko, Ifo Local Government in Ogun State when an articulated truck crushed a yet-to-beidentified pregnant woman and four others to death. The multiple accident also left three critically injured.

The accident which occurred at about 1:00p.m. at OdoAlamo Road, Ijoko axis of the state, involved a truck with registration number XZ 640EPE, two okada with registration numbers DGB 740 QB and MEK 957 QC and a Honda car marked SMK 765AV. Commuters plying the road

watched in horror as the bodies of the five deceased were crushed beyond recognition.

Aside the truck driver whom Vanguard gathered fled after the accident, two others including a teenager were in a critical condition and taken to an unknown hospital.

Relatives of the deceased were seen wailing uncontrollable after confirming that those that died were their loved ones.

The residents attributed the cause of the crash to the bad portion of the road which has turned to a nightmare to commuters and other road users.

Speaking to Vanguard, Mr. John Ayo, the only conscious survivor of the accident said: “The truck was conveying ce-

ment to a construction site.

Due to the slope, coupled with the terrible state of the road, the truck driver lost control, thereby causing injuries or death to eight persons.”

Mrs. Adebimpe Akintunde, another eyewitness said: “When I saw the way the truck driver drove past my shop, I knew something would happen.

....Ogun begins Sango-Ijoko-AkuteOjodu road construction

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EANTIME, THE Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun has assured residents of the state that the construction of the all-

805 Osun, Ondo Hajj pilgrims arrive

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KEJA — THE first batch of 805 pilgrims that performed the 2013 Hajj in Saudi Arabia, arrived at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, and the Ilorin Airport, aboard Med-View Airline, yesterday.

A statement by Mr. Oyibotha Obuke on behalf of the airline, said that a Med-View Boeing B747 aircraft with 507 pilgrims from Osun touched down at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja at 9.00 a.m.

It added that 298 pilgrims from Ondo State also arrived at the Ilorin Airport aboard the airline’s B767 aircraft at 5.30a.m.

The statement said that the airline was pleased with the safe arrival of the pilgrims after a successful pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

It noted that the management of the airline would complete the transporting of the pilgrims allocated to it by the National Hajj Commission, NAHCON, in record time.

The statement added that flights to arrive today would transport the Ogun and Oyo states’ pilgrims.

It quoted a member of the Osun State House of Assembly, Mr. M. B.O. Ibrahim— one of the pilgrims— as commending Med-View for

“Immediately, I rushed out to see the truck. On getting to this spot, it actually lost control and crushed the okada and the vehicle ahead of him,” Akintunde said.

Policemen who arrived the scene later took the corpses to the mortuary while the cause of the accident and the search for the truck driver was said to have started.

its hitch-free Hajj operations.

He was also said to have called on the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria to improve on facilities at the Hajj Camp, Murtala Muhammed Airport, to make it more conducive for pilgrims transiting through the terminal.

important Sango-Ijoko-AkuteOjodu road will commence today.

He said men and materials had been mobilised to the site for the take-off of construction of the 32-kilometre highway.

The governor disclosed this, yesterday, during his sensitisation visit to Ijoko, Agbado, Akute and Ojodu on the commencement of the road project.

He stated that the strategic highway, which cuts across Ota, Ijoko, Agbado as well as Abule Ekun, Akute and Ojodu, would include two bridges and three fly-overs.

Lagos bars under-age students in public schools

BY OLASUNKANMI AKONI

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AGOS — LAGOS State Government has said no underage pupil would henceforth be eligible for admission into any public secondary schools in the state without completing primary six.

Meantime, a standing committee to harmonise the school calendar, curriculum and timetable for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (Junior Senior Secondary JSS111) of public and private schools in the state would be set up soon.

The state Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye, who disclosed, weekend during a stakeholders’ session with school proprietors, affirmed that the era of admitting underage children into secondary schools in the state was over.

Oladunjoye explained that the need to align the school calendar, curriculum and timetable of public schools with that of private schools became necessary in order to standardise the process.

According to her: “Hence-

forth no pupil will be eligible for admission into any secondary schools in the state without completing primary six; the era of admitting underage pupils into secondary schools in the state has gone.”

She also advised parents and guardians as a matter of fact to converse in their native language with their children and wards at home, stressing, “it is by so doing that our mothertongue will not only be promoted but would be spoken effortlessly by the children.”

Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013—11

Voice of every Nigerian counts, confab c'ttee assures

BY DAYO JOHNSON

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KURE — THE Presidential Advisory Committee on National Dialogue/Conference, weekend, assured that voice of every Nigerian will count in the ongoing nationwide consultation.

Its Secretary, Dr. Akilu Indabawa said this in Akure after a stakeholders' meeting with various groups in South West.

Indabawa noted that with the large turn-out and success of the first meeting with various groups in the region, it is clear that, “Nigerians want to establish total ownership of the country.

“Each voice is important to us. Every voice will count.”

The Secretary described the turn-out of people at the nationwide consultation (South West) in Akure as impressive and encouraging.

Indabawa commended the overwhelming interest shown

by Nigerians, assuring that the committee will live up to people’s expectations.

According to him: “It is very obvious that Nigerians are interested in a better, stronger Nigeria and that the only way to ensure that is for them to come forward, submit memos or speak to us orally at the various fora that we are going to organise at 12 various locations including Akure.

“The Akure take-off has been very smooth, very encourag-

ing. I am sure Nigerians want to establish total ownership of the country."

He said after the consultations the Committee will hold a retreat where it would analyse the outcome of views expressed by Nigerians and come out with recommendations.

This, he explained, will be in line with the terms of reference

given by the government.

On if the recommendations of the National Conference would be subjected to the National Assembly, he said: “We have not reached that stage yet.

“Our Committee has been constituted in order to consult Nigerians on the composition, structure, func-

tions, agenda, legal framework of the proposed Conference or Dialogue.

“It is the outcome of the Conference that people are debating, but we are not talking about the Conference now.

“We are talking about modalities to bring the Conference into being.”

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SOGBO — AHEAD of future elections in the country, the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, has directed Christians across the

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BEOKUTA — RESIDENTS of Sagamu in Ogun State have appealed to the Federal Government to come to their rescue through rehabilitation of three major roads within the local government that are in deplorable condition.

The National President of Sagamu Development Association, Chief Odunayo Akinsola said this, weekend, during a press conference to herald the 2013 Sagamu day celebration.

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PROJECT: Lagos-Badagry expressway closed to traffic between 7a.m. to 10:30a.m., yesterday, to allow for construction of pedestrian bridge by workers of China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, CCECC, for blue line rail project, at Mile-2 Bus-Stop. Photo: Bunmi Azeez

country to vote out corrupt leaders, saying only faithful people should be allowed to lead the country.

The National Secretary of CAN, Rev. Hassan Asake, who gave the order while speaking at the inauguration of new executive

members of the association in Osogbo, noted that some elected members of the association have disappointed CAN through their alleged collaborations with others to ruin the nation.

He stressed that Christians

Wike faults critics of First Lady's honorary degree award DO-EKITI — MINISTER of State for Education, Nyesom Wike, yesterday, faulted critics of Nigeria’s first lady, Patience Jonathan over the honorary doctorate degree conferred on her by a university in South Korea.

The minister, who spoke in Ado-Ekiti, said that the criticism was “not only out of place, but also bereft of common sense.”

Wike was in Ado-Ekiti for the inauguration of the College of Technology building in Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, ABUAD, named after President Goodluck Jonathan.

It will be recalled that some Nigerians, including the opposition party, All Progressives Congress, APC, had con-

BY DAUD OLATUNJI

Fayemi renews call for more Xtians in politics

FUTURE ELECTIONS: Vote out corrupt leaders — CAN

BY GBENGA OLARINOYE

Community begs Jonathan to fix Shagamu roads

demned the decision by Mrs. Jonathan to receive the award.

The critics had said that it was ill-timed for the first lady to receive the award, when universities in the country were shut down because of ASUU strike.

Wike said that there was nothing wrong with the action of the first lady as long as it was the university that decided to extend such rewarding gesture to her.

Aregbesola's 2nd term campaigner alleges threat to life

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SOGBO — A close associate of Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State and Director General of De Raufs, a volunteer group championing the second term ambition of Governor Aregbesola, Mr. Amitolu Shittu has raised the alarm that his life was under threat for his organisation’s support for

Aregbesola’s re-election bid.

Mr. Shittu, a renowned human rights activist and former Deputy National Chairman, South West, of the de-registered National Conscience Party, NCP, has been soliciting support for Governor Aregbesola.

have the right to choose faithful leaders into political offices and advised that proper evaluation of all contestants should be carried out before voting.

His words: “Some Christians got to power as real Christians but they eventually left the office as non-Christians. Christians should serve as light and salt to the world.

“The church is going through fire. The body of Christ in Nigeria is going through the most challenging time and Christians are facing serious persecution. It is therefore important for Christians to be steadfast in a time like this and take their stand.”

In his address at the occasion, the state Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola who was represented by his deputy, Mrs. Titilayo Laoye-Tomori assured Christians in the state that the current administration will not do anything that will cause chaos in the state through religion.

KITI STATE Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, yesterday, renewed his call on Christians in the country to play active roles in politics and not leave political decisions to charlatans.

The Governor made the call at the thanksgiving service marking the third anniversary of his administration at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Life Fountain Parish, Ado Ekiti.

Alaafin

acknowledges Ajimobi’s achievements

BY OLA AJAYI

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BADAN — ALAAFIN of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi has commended Governor Abiola Ajimobi for his achievements since he took the mantle of leadership in the state.

The monarch, according to reports, is said to have acknowledged that the governor had excelled in the areas of education, health, security as well as construction and rehabilitation of roads in the state.

Oba Adeyemi said this when he led some traditional rulers and high chiefs to pay Sallah homage to the governor in his office in Ibadan, weekend.

12— Vanguard, MONDAY OCTOBER 21, 2013

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Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013—13

VOTERS’ REGISTER: Ubah campaign accuses INEC of plot to rig poll

BY GBENGA OKE WKA—AS the Novem ber 16, Anambra State governorship election draws closer, the Ifeanyi Ubah Campaign Organisation has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, of erecting some land mines to achieve a pre-determined result.

Deputy Director, Media, of the organisation, Mr. Emmanuel Ibeleme made this known in a statement in Awka, Anambra State capital, yesterday.

Ibeleme said that apart from non-display of voters’ register as required by the Electoral Act 2010 as amended, INEC also presented the 2011 voters’ registers to party officials for November 16, 2013, election without reflecting names of people who registered from the last election till date.

Sections 19 and 20 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) says: “Subject to the provisions of section 16(1) of this Act, the Commission shall, by notice, appoint a period of not less than 5 days and not exceeding 14 days, during which a copy of the voters’ register for each Local Government, Area Council or Ward shall be displayed for public scrutiny and during which period any objection or complaint in relation to the names omitted or included in the voters’ register or in relation to any necessary correction, shall be raised or filed.

“The supplementary voters’ list shall be integrated with the voters’ register and published not later than 30 days before a general election.”

However, Ibeleme’s statement read: ‘’There are indications that last week’s hand over of the ‘voters’ register’ to political parties

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contesting the November 16, 2013 governorship election in Anambra State may have been a ploy by the INEC to deceive Nigerians and create a façade that will enable it rig the election on behalf of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA. ’’What INEC has done, as part of efforts to manipulate the results of the November 16, 2013 polls, is the handing over to the contesting political parties the voters’ register used in the 2011 election without the supplementary list of new and qualified voters, which it compiled in August 2013. It is very clear that what INEC claims to be the authentic and up-dated

voters’ register is, indeed, faulty and so unfit for use in the election, since in the first place, it does not contain the names of the new and qualified voters compiled in August 2013.

“If INEC goes ahead to use the purported voters’ register it handed over to the political parties in Awka, on Wednesday 16, 2013, it would not only make the November 16, 2013 election a fraud in that it would have been conducted on the basis of an old and deficient voters’ register, but chances are that electoral violence may manifest in Anambra State to a level where the political disturbances of 2011 in some

Northern States would be a child’s play.

“If INEC goes ahead to conduct the November 16 governorship election without an up-dated voters’ register, that will include the names and particulars of all those who participated in the supplementary voters exercise in August 2013, it means it wants chaos during the election.’’

For instance, he said people like former vice-president, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, was prevented from voting in 2010 because he did not find his name in the final voters’ list even when he registered for the election.

VISIT: Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State (right) and Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Azubuike Ihejirika, during a visit to the governor in Umuahia.

How we ‘buried’ opposition in Enugu, by Gov Chime E

BY TONY EDIKE

NUGU—GOVERNOR Sullivan Chime of Enugu State has said that the absence of opposition parties in Enugu State was attributable to the wholesome acceptance of the policies and programmes of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP- led government by the people of the state.

Chime who stated this while leading the party’s campaign tour

of local governments in the state in readiness for the November 2 local government polls observed that this was borne out of the fact that all the PDP chairmanship candidates in the 17 local government areas in the state were running unopposed as no other parties fielded candidates.

All the candidates of All Progressives Congress, APC, for the election were, yesterday, disqualified by Enugu State Inde-

pendent Electoral Commission, ENSIEC. The three chairmanship and 16 councillor ship candidates, who were earlier given provisional clearance to contest the election were disqualified by the ENSIEC over issues relating to non-payment of taxes.

The development caused tension and confusion in the opposition camp weekend with the leaders threatening to drag

CHANGE OF NAME AGWAZIAM—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Augustina Amaka Agwaziam now wish to b e k n o w n a n d addressed as Mrs. Augustina Amaka Bisong. All former documents remain valid.

SPDC and general public please take note.

C M Y K

ENSIEC to court today.

However, Chime recalled that the PDP had recorded similar results in the 2011 elections in the state stressing that the candidates of the party were products of wide consultations and dialogue among the people who chose and then presented them to the party.

The governor said: “Enugu is 100 per cent PDP. Nobody installs a local government chairman in Enugu State.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME & AGE Neither the governor nor the party chairThe WAEC Board in June man does so. A chairWA S C E x a m i n a t i o n man is chosen by his mistakenly put my date of birth as 25th August, 1980 constituents. That is instead of 20th October, why we are going 1985. And my name round the local govwrongly arranged as ernments to thank our Amos Chinkata Jeffrey is Amos Jeffrey Chinkata in people for their supthe right sense. port, because we don’t All former documents take them for remain valid. General granted.” public please take note.

Jonathan, Mark, Tukur condole with Ayogu Eze over mother’s death

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BUJA—PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan, the senate president, David Mark, and the national chairman of People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, have condoled with Senator Ayogu Eze over the death of his mother, Mrs. Paulina Eze. They, however, said they were comforted by the knowledge that she lived a long and very fulfilled life of notable accomplishments in agriculture, entrepreneurship and community leadership.

Jonathan assured Senator Eze of his full sympathy and support as he prepares to lay his mother to rest at Umuida, Enugu State next month.

Mark, in his own message of condolence to Senator Eze, the bereaved family, government and people of Enugu State, noted that the late Mrs. Eze was a woman of very outstanding qualities whose goodwill and humanitarian gestures cut across ethnic and religious boundaries.

He said the deceased good attributes manifested in exemplary conducts of her children in their respective fields of endeavour.

Senate okays N2OOm for construction of dams in Ebonyi

BY PETER OKUTU BAKALIKI—THE Senate has appropriated N200 million in this year’s budget for the construction of dams across Ebonyi State.

This was made known by the Senator representing Ebonyi North Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Senator Chris Nwankwo, weekend.

Nwankwo who spoke at Ohaukwu Local Government Area during the commissioning of a 300 KVA transformer for the people of the area said that the dams would be constructed in Ohaukwu, Abakaliki and Izzi local government councils.

He noted that the aim in constructing the dams was to boost agricultural production in the state and raise the economic base of rural dwellers, assuring that once the dams were in place, the state would be able to compete with neighbouring states in the area of food production and security.

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14—Vanguard , MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

Bi-Courtney sues FAAN, others for contempt L

A G O S — B i Courtney Aviation Services Limited, BASL, operators of the domestic terminal of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, MMA2, Ikeja, has asked the Federal High Court Lagos to commit three top officials of the Federal Airports Authority, FAAN, to jail for contempt.

Bi-Courtney’s application followed the refusal of the officials, including the Managing Director of FAAN, Mr. George Uriesi, to comply with the orders of Justice Jona Adah, in suit number: FHC/IKJ/CS/70/2012, restraining them from further interfering with work on a four-star hotel and conference centre, which the plaintiff is developing at the airport.

According to court documents obtained by correspondence, others against whom BiCourtney wants the order of contempt made include the authority ’s

chief security officer, Col. C.L. Onalo, and its General Manager, Public Affairs, Mr. Yakubu Dati.

Bi-Courtney, according to court documents (Form 49) dated June 26, 2013, claimed that the affected individuals willfully violated the order of the court, which restrained them and their representatives from “commencing, continuing and/or completing any actions or permitting the commencement, continuance and/or completion of any actions in respect of taking over possession of and/or interfering with the Applicant’s possession of the FourStar Hotel and Conference Centre situate at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 2, Ikeja, pending the hearing and determination of the Applicant’s application for interlocutory injunction.”

Also, in an affidavit in support of its application, deposed to by one Aina Precious Ogunsuyi,

of the law firm of Babalakin & Co, BiCourtney claimed, among others, that: “On 6th June 2013, in blatant disregard for the said Ex Parte Order of court, the 1st and 3rd Respondents and their agents removed and destroyed adverts placed at the Four-Star Hotel and Conference Centre at MMA2, despite the fact that on that same day, the Respondents were approached with a copy of the said order by Mr. Christopher Penninck, the Chief Executive Officer of Bi-Courtney.

“That the Applicant sought the intervention of the Nigeria Police Force to restrain the Respondents from their brazen acts of trespass via its letter dated June 6, 2013 and also issued and served upon the Respondents and their agents Form 48 warning them of the consequence of their disobedience to the subsisting Ex Parte Order of this Honourable Court, on June 21, 2013.

“That on June 22, 2013, Colonel C.L. Onalo, the Chief Security Officer, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, and Mr. Yakubu Dati, the Head of Communications, FAAN, accompanied by unknown per-

Guest Speaker, Edwin Kiagbodo Clarke Education Foundation, funds raising dinner, Rev. Jesse Jackson flanked by Chaimran, NEPZA, Dr. Cairo Ojuogboh (left), Senator Ewa Henshaw (right) and others, during Rev. Jackson's arrival at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, yesterday. Photo: Abayomi Adeshida.

sons, thugs and misfits, all armed with deadly weapons, acting on the instruction of Mr. George Uriesi, the Managing Director, FAAN invaded the MMA2 premises by scaling the fence, and assaulted and caused damage to property belonging to certain staff of the Applicant."

“That Col. C.L. Onalo, the Chief Security Officer, FAAN; and Mr. Yakubu Dati, the Head of Communications, FAAN have been granting interviews on television and radio wherein they stated categorically that they will continue to remove any adverts placed at the Four-Star Hotel and Conference Centre at MMA2.”

Ogunsuyi further

averred in the affidavit as follow: “I verily believe that Mr. George Uriesi, the Managing Director, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Colonel C.L. Onalo, the Chief Security Officer, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, and Mr. Yakubu Dati, the Head of Communications, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and the Respondents herein are aware and/or ought to be aware of the Ex Parte Order of this Honourable Court per Adah J., delivered on 23rd April 2012.

“I verily believe that Mr. George Uriesi, the Managing Director, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Colonel C.L. Onalo, the Chief Secu-

rity Officer, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, and Mr. Yakubu Dati, the Head of Communications, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and the Respondents herein have been served with FORM 48 warning them of the consequence of their disobedience to the subsisting Ex Parte Order of this Honourable Court.

“I verily believe that the actions of the Respondents, having been aware of the extant Ex Parte Order of this Honourable Court, constitute an affront to the authority of this Honourable Court, and an attempt at disrespecting, flouting and ridiculing this Honourable Court and the entire judicial process.

Glo dazzles with 20 artistes at Lagos Laffta Fest

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AGOS—National tel ecommunications operator, Globacom, last Saturday, dazzled Lagosians with entertainment unlimited as it paraded 20 top Nigerian and international artistes in the opening show of the 2013 Glo Laffta Fest aptly tagged Invasion LOL. The comedy show featured four American comedians, Donnivin Jordan, Robert Powell,

Deray Davis and Tony Roberts, two South African humour merchants, Ndumiso Lindi and David Kau, Uganda’s best comedian, Salvador, and 13 Nigerian artistes consisting of two musicians and 11 comedians.

Anchored by the hilarious Basketmouth, the Lagos edition of the show had Jimmy Jatt as the Dee Jay and the likes of the doyen of Nigerian comedy, Alli Baba, and

Julius Agwu performing alongside equally talented and resourceful hands like Okey Bakassi, Bovi, Buchi, Gandoki, Akpororo, Funny Bone, Senator and Osama.

The show was spiced with music as Wande Coal and the legendary saxophonist, Lagbaja, thrilled the audience with their songs.

It was an evening of fun, laughter and entertainment as the huge

crowd, which filled the main hall and the foyers, danced, rocked and reeled with laughter as the artistes came on stage to perform.

The American foursome were full of praises to Globacom for bringing them to Nigeria and to Africa for the first time in their career, just as their South African and Ugandan counterparts expressed their gratitude to the telecommunications giant for providing a huge platform such as the Glo Laffta Fest for them to perform in Nigeria. The comedians, both from Nigeria and abroad, gave the audience value for their time as they reeled out jokes on contemporary political, social and economic matters and issues of day-to-day life.

While expressing their willingness to come back to Nigeria to enjoy the hospitality of the Nigerian people, the foreign artistes said that their coming to the country had exposed them to its potentials.

Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013—15

Boko Haram insurgents kill 20, injure 10 in Borno

BY NDAHI MARAMA

M

AIDUGURI— NO fewer than 20 persons were killed yesterday, while 10 others were injured when gunmen suspected to be members of the Boko Haram insurgency group launched an attack on Logomani village in Dikwa Local Government Area of Borno State.

Dikwa is about 65 kilometres away from Maiduguri, where series of terrorists’ attacks and killings had occurred in recent times.

Soldiers were said to have later pursued the insurgents into the forest around Ngamboru Ngala.

Bukar Alhaji Gana, a native of Logomani, said that about a week before the attack, there was a rumour that some members of the sect were seen heading towards Marte area, where a terrorist camp was located before it was destroyed by the Joint Task Force, JTF. He said: “We were told that some of the Boko Haram sect members came around and warned some people, but left almost immediately towards Marte, close to Lake Chad Basin.”

It was learnt that the attackers, dressed in military uniforms, also left with some of the women and also collected money from some of the truck drivers in

the area.

A passenger who narrowly escaped death, told newsmen that the attackers shot three passengers and slaughtered 14 people before someone alerted them that soldiers were coming. They fled on their

motorcycles into the bush.

At press time, there was no report from the military authorities on the issue as the acting spokesman of the 7 Division Nigerian Army, Captain Aliyu Danja, could not be reached for comments.

S'East, S'South govs meet on unity

BY TONY EDIKE

E

NUGU— SEVEN of the 11 governors of the South-East and South-South states rose, yesterday, from their meeting in Enugu, with a pledge to ensure economic co-operation and unity among the two geopolitical zones.

Four governors, including those of Rivers, Edo, Akwa-Ibom and Imo, were absent and were not represented.

However, those present also reiterated their commitment to the success of President Goodluck Jonathan’s government.

Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State, who briefed newsmen after the meeting, said that the two zones have agreed to foster economic cooperation towards the development of the two regions. He did not give further details.

It was learnt that the governors discussed common areas of agreement

to be presented by the two zones to the National Conference Committee.

Those present at the meeting included Governors Liyel Imoke (Cross River), Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta), Peter Obi (Anambra), Theodore Orji (Abia) and Sullivan Chime (Enugu).

The governors of Bayelsa and Ebonyi were represented by their deputies.

Meanwhile, the governors of the South-East are expected to meet with leaders of Ohanaeze Ndigbo later this week to fine tune the position of Ndigbo ahead of the National Conference.

Vanguard learnt that Ohanaeze decided at its Imeobi meeting on Saturday to consult governors in the zone on the need to present a common position at the conference.

A source said: “After meeting with the governors, Ohanaeze would make its position on the conference public.”

Nigeria, Israel to sign BASA

BY LAWANI MIKAIRU

N

IGERIA is to sign Bilateral Air Service Agreement, BASA, with the State of Israel.

This is the first ever air service agreement between the two countries. Previous attempts to sign BASA in 2005 and 2012 were unsuccessful.

The agreement is expected to be signed this week during President Jonathan’s Pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

According to Joe Obi, Special Assistant, Media, to the Aviation Minister, “the agreement is a culmination of months

of rigorous negotiations between the two countries.

“The landmark agreement comes as a clear validation of the nation’s high safety and security ratings by international aviation bodies, especially the International Civil Aviation Organisation, ICAO, and improvement in the infrastructure of the aviation sector in the last two years.

“The agreement will pave way for direct flights between both territories on the principle of reciprocity by designated airlines of both countries.

“Before now, Nigeri-

ans traveling to Israel, including Christian pilgrims, have had to endure long-winding stopovers in neighbouring countries before being finally airlifted to the Holy Land.”

Obi further said the agreement also adequately addresses the question of imbalances in the BASA between Nigeria and other contracting countries.

He said that under the terms of the agreement, Nigeria and Israel will enjoy equal rights and privileges, as against past BASAs that were heavily skewed against Nigerian airlines.

16 — Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

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HE safety and well being of Nigerians living abroad, particularly African countries, was once again, called to question after the recent lynching of some Nigerians in Bissau, the capital of Guinea Bissau.

Following the incident, which also saw an attack launched at the Nigerian Embassy in the volatile West African country, the Federal Executive Council during its routine weekly meeting, ordered an investigation into the incident.

The Federal Government did the right thing in taking particular note of this incident and making it clear that the extra-judicial killing of any Nigerian in any part of the world, much less on African soil, is unacceptable to the government and people of Nigeria. We prevail on the Federal Government to follow up and ensure that law enforcement agents, who failed in their duties to protect the victims are brought to book and adequate recompense made.

It is high time that fellow Africans were made to know, in no uncertain terms, that Nigeria takes the welfare of her citizens everywhere serious, and that every incident of vic-

Bissau lynching of Nigerians timisation of Nigerians will be accounted for.

However, the greater homework to ensure that incidents of this nature are eliminated lies with Nigeria. The steep rise in crimes and immorality in Nigeria, which our media carry with glee to the rest of this world on a daily basis has given the citizens of this country a stigma that precedes them. The contents of our movie industry, which are very highly sought after in the world out there also play crucial roles in branding our people, especially the ordinary economic migrants in foreign lands.

The upsurge in the violent crimes of kidnapping and child theft-for-profit has now added to the dubious rich profile of Nigeri-

ans hitherto known as fraudsters and drug pushers. When these things happen here we treat them with levity, unaware that our citizens outside our shores will be made to pay the price either because they export the crimes to other countries or they are simply innocent targets of the stigma arising thereof.

This country has drifted for far too long. A country filled with milk and honey should be the target of migrants from other countries, rather than spew out economic refugees in such large numbers, who float to less fancied jurisdictions only to be demonised, dehumanised and victimised.

A country, whose citizens are lightly lynched on the streets of foreign countries should get the message upfront, that it has lost all modicum of respect and fear. The impending national conference must explore ways to reposition Nigeria and make her work for her citizens. It is only then that foreign countries will have respect for this country enough to allow law enforcement agents to deal with any of its erring migrants according to the laws of the land.

OPINION

BY OLA LOOKMAN

W

ITHOUT doubts, Nigeria occupies prominent position on the enviable list of nations that have contributed and are still contributing to world peace.

Nigeria has indeed taken part and played vital roles in various concerted efforts aimed at guaranteeing peace or restoration of normalcy to countries in wars. Aside committing her enormous material resources into peace efforts, Nigeria has continued to deploy its military personnel to peace missions constituted by the United Nations, African Union or ECOWAS. Nigeria has always remained committed to genuine efforts aimed at making the work a secure, better and habitable for mankind. It has done this even at the expense of its citizens. Our national history is replete with memorable stories of the number of times Nigeria military troops have led either global or continental military troops in giving trouble-makers a run for their money. Countries like Liberia, Sierra Leone, Mali, Angola, South Africa and Congo cannot possibly tell the sweet story of the peace they are presently enjoying without paying glowing tributes to Nigeria and its gallant military and police personnel.

That Nigeria, after years of active participation in global security issues, is better placed to advise and equally take part in making decision on world security matters is to restate the obvious. Obviously, Nigeria has not only taken part in restoring peace to hitherto warring areas, but has played important roles in sustaining world peace.

It is in the light of this that other nations have continued to wonder why Nigeria is yet to be considered for a permanent seat in the United Nation’s Security Council, UNSC. Some have argued that judging from the complex and dynamic nature of world affairs, with particular reference to security in the 21st century, a small group of nations should no longer dominate permanent member-

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Still on Nigeria’s membership of the Security Council ship of the Security Council. As it currently stands, the UN agency’s permanent members do not represent the geographical regions of the world. They equally argued that the Security Council does not reflect the realities and challenges of global geopolitics. If any reforms should be implemented at the UN, they must include the restructuring of the membership of the Security Council. They also insist that a country of Nigeria’s standing and position should be long seated as a permanent member of the UNSC. It has paid it dues.

The second but more forceful question relates to the African country that should represent the continent at the UN’s security agency. Opinions are divided on this issue. Even as individual African nations continue to demand for the position, Nigeria’s quest stands out. Its leaders have even argued that it should be the first choice among contending African countries to be honoured with a permanent seat at the Security Council. United Nation’s Secretary General, Mr Ban Ki-moon had during his visit to Nigeria said that “Nigeria is doing just alright”. That’s a synonym for diplomatic subtlety. Mr Moon’s comment is no doubt a confirmation of the obvious fact that Nigeria is long overdue for a permanent seat in the UNSC. Though it has not been an easy battle back at home, especially with the Boko Haram insurgency, but the country is recording tremendous success against the insurgents and their foreign collaborators.

Some have blindly argued that Nigeria is still battling with a number of challenges and so is not in a good position to campaign for a permanent seat in the UNSC. Such individuals made fruitless attempts to list the Boko Haram insurgency, kidnapping in the oil-rich Niger Delta region, inter-ethnic and religious unrest and poor democratic credentials. They further argued that Nigeria is too weighed down by several internal battles to consider

demanding for a seat in the UNSC. Truth is, Nigeria is not the only country faced with existential realities in the world. Nigeria is not the world capital for corruption, kidnapping, and other assorted types of crime. These challenges are not peculiar to Nigeria, even the so-called world powers have their own bit of bitter stories to tell. It is unfair to use an ad hoc domestic turbulence in Nigeria to give it a negative testimonial, ignoring the nation’s praiseworthy contributions in the global arena in the past and even at present.

After all, all the five Permanent Members of the Security Council have some domestic variables similar to that of Nigeria, and even worse. France, a member of the Security Council has been battling the FLNC, one of the separatists fighting for the independence of Corsica for more than three decades. The separatists used bomb to express their political grievances. Do we have to throw France out of the Security Council?

Russia has its Chechnya separatists issue to contain.

China has unresolved issues with Tibet and Muslim separatists in its westernmost region. Britain has its own share of domestic turbulence with the Northern Ireland.

Nigeria’s Niger Delta issue is not therefore, worth mentioning. With regards to crimes and corruption, is Nigeria responsible for the collapse of all the multinational corporations in the USA? It is high time the Security Council yielded to the pressure to “democratise” its activities so as to have a broad representation that reflects the reality of today.

Nigeria has not only met some of its laid down criteria, but has gone ahead to display its avowed readiness to contribute meaningfully to global peace and security.

*Mr Lookman, a security expert/analyst, wrote from Abuja

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Vanguard, MONDAY OCTOBER 21, 2013 — 43

Tension in Sudan as Abyei head for referendum vote R

ESIDENTS of the remote and disputed Abyei border region said they would press ahead with their own referendum next week on whether to join Sudan or South Sudan, despite warnings it could trigger violence in the volatile area.

The ownership of Abyei was left undecided when South Sudan declared independence from Sudan in 2011 - and a longpromised official plebiscite on its status has been stalled by arguments over who is entitled to vote.

Leaders from the overwhelmingly pro-South Sudan Dinka Ngok group said they were tired of waiting for the poll over the territory that has small oil reserves and has seen several clashes between Sudanese and South Sudanese troops.

“We have come to the conclusion that the best way to do it, we organise our own referendum and we go on and tell the world what we want,”

said Acuil Akol, from the committee organising the vote.

Around 100,000 Dinka Ngok in other parts of the South had come home to take part in the three-day vote, officials said in Abyei town, where buildings still bore the scars of fighting.

Relying solely on community donations, the organisers started registering voters on Sunday and plan to have 29 stations ready for polling from October 27.

A unilateral Dinka Ngok poll would have no legal weight, they acknowledged, especially as both Sudan and South Sudan have said they will not recognise the result.

But its almost certain decision to join South Sudan would antagonise heavily armed, proSudan Misseriya nomads, who drive their livestock through Abyei for large parts of the year and have demanded the right to vote over its future.

on September 3.

Bashir “will be accompanied by a number of ministers and senior officials to discuss important issues of mutual concern,” the official SUNA news agency reported Saturday.

Arab league meets on Syria next month •Sudanese President Omar El Bashir Meanwhile, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is to visit South Sudan on Tuesday, official media said, as tensions mount over the disputed Abyei

EBELS in the Dem ocratic Republic of Congo (DRC) said on Saturday they are heading toward “major breakthroughs” with the Kinshasa government in peace talks in Uganda.

Under Uganda’s mediation, “major breakthroughs are about to be obtained in Kampala since the heavy involvement of the international community in the dialogue” between the two sides, the M23 movement

said in a statement.

Lambert Mende, a minister and Congolese government spokesman, was more circumspect, telling AFP that “breakthroughs will be measured against the final agreement,” if one were signed.

“There has been some reconciliation,” Mende said in Kinshasa, but stressed that although the M23 could “sign today”, that would “not be the end of the problem.”

Meanwhile, a group of

E

GYPTIAN security forces fired bird shot and teargas to prevent supporters of deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi from marching yesterday to the site of a protest camp that

Congolese soldiers who were seized last week by Angolan troops when they entered the Congo Republic have been freed, a senior local government official in Congo said.

A detachment of Angolan troops crossed into neighbouring Congo from Angola’s oil-rich enclave of Cabinda and took up positions in several locations in Congo’s Kimongo district, Congolese sources said.

Tunisia slams Islamists for exploiting Libya’s chaos

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UNISIA’S Prime Minister Ali Larayedh said Islamist militants are exploiting anarchy in neighboring Libya to get training and smuggle weapons across North Africa’s porous borders.

His coalition government is grappling with an Islamist militant group known as Ansar al-Sharia, which is one of the most radical to emerge since Tunisia’s 2011 uprising against autocratic President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali Ben Ali. Security is a sensitive matter for Larayedh’s ruling moderate Islamist party, Ennahda, which has agreed to step down in three weeks to end months of unrest set off by the assassination of two secular leaders by Is-

lamist militants.

As well as Ansar alSharia, North Africa is home to al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and other Islamist militants such as those led by veteran

commander Mokhtar Belmokhtar, who claimed responsibility for the attack on Algeria’s Amenas gas plant in January, in which nearly 40 foreign workers were killed.

Afghans set for UN peace talks

A

national meeting to discuss the fate of a future security deal with the United States will be held in the third week of

•Hamid Kazai

region.

The summit between Bashir and his southern counterpart Salva Kiir comes after the two leaders held talks in Khartoum

A

N international con ference aimed at ending Syria’s civil war is planned for Nov. 23, the head of the Arab League said Sunday, although the U.N. envoy to Syria said the date has yet to be finalized and that

Egyptian police clash with Islamists

Congo rebels expect ‘breakthroughs’ in peace talks

R

The visit comes at Kiir’s invitation, it added.

At their September summit the presidents averted a shutdown of pipelines carrying South Sudanese oil through Sudanese territory for export.

November, officials said Saturday. The key gathering will decide if America and its allies will keep troops in Afghanistan after 2014 or pack up and leave.

Sadeq Mudaber, a member of the convening commission, said that the consultative assembly of tribal elders, or Loya Jirga, will start at some point between Nov. 19 and 21 and could last as long as a week. He expected up to 3,000 people may attend.

was destroyed two months ago, a Reuters witness said.

The crowd of about 100 people were students from Al-Azhar University, the historic seat of Sunni Muslim learning.

They threw rocks at riot police stationed outside the gates of the university, and police threw the stones back.

The university is in the same Cairo suburb as the Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque, scene of one of two pro-Mursi protest camps crushed by security forces on August 14.

Hundreds of protesters were killed.

“Rabaa Square is completely off-limits,” a security source said. “Protesters are not allowed to move inside it.” A separate security source said 11 students had been arrested.

Authorities have cracked down hard on Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood. The group was outlawed by a court order after the army overthrew Mursi and installed an interim government in July following massive street protests a year after his election.

peace talks will not be held “without a credible opposition.”

For months, the United States and Russia have been working to bring the Damascus government and Syria’s divided opposition to Geneva to discuss a political solution to the civil war, but the meeting has been repeatedly postponed. Even now, it remains unclear whether either side is really willing to negotiate while the conflict, now in its third year, remains deadlocked.

The main Westernbacked opposition umbrella group, the Syrian National Coalition, is scheduled to meet Nov. 1 to decide whether or not to attend the proposed Geneva conference. One of the most prominent factions within the Coalition, the Syrian National Council, has said it has no faith in such talks and won’t attend.

Hillary Clinton rebounds on campaign trail

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ILLARY Rodham Clinton rallied supporters of Virginia Democrat Terry McAuliffe Saturday, pointing to the race as a sign that divisive politics is giving way to “common sense and common ground.”

In her first public political event since departing the Obama administration, Clinton noted the end of the 16-day partial government shutdown, which affected many Virginians. More than 800,000 government workers were furloughed while Democrats and Republicans in Congress engaged in a partisan brawl over funding the country’s new health care program, funding the government and raising the debt ceiling before reaching an eleventh hour compromise.

Clinton said the nation was watching the Virginia race to see whether voters “lead the way of turning from divisive politics, getting back to commonsense and common

•Mrs. Hillary Clinton campaigns in Virginia. ground.”

“We cannot let those who do not believe in America’s progress to hijack this great experi-

ment,” Clinton added, endorsing her longtime family friend at an event billed, “Women for Terry McAuliffe.”

Arab league, GCC differ on Saudi’s rejection of UN seat

T

HE Gulf Co-operation Council has backed Saudi Arabia’s rejection of its seat on the UN Security Council, praising the Gulf nation’s call for reform.

In a statement released on Saturday, the GCC Secretary General, Abdul Latif bin Rashid Al Zayani, “underlined the im-

portance of Saudi Arabia’s call for the realisation of a fundamental reform of the Security Council’s system,” reported Qatar ’s state news agency.

In addition, the news agency also reported the Qatari government’s support of Saudi Arabia’s stance.

44—Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

PROPOSED NATIONAL CONFAB:

Notes of caution F

IRST, let me commend President Goodluck Jonathan for the boldness in agreeing to have this much wanted conference. For a long time there have been disagreements because some people wanted a sovereign national conference. I have believed that where there is a sitting government legitimately elected, a sovereign national conference will in fact be asking that government to abdicate. Now that we have settled for a national conference, one has to accept it with a note of caution.

This country has had various experiences in varied conferences all in search for the basis for national unity. Before independence and after, I have counted up to 11 conferences, both in Nigeria and abroad, all in search of a basis for national unity.

After independence the military intervened in Nigerian politics without a programme. In search of programmes various conferences were organised.

Babangida’s Constitutional Conference, Abacha’s Constitutional Conference, Obasanjo’s Constitutional Conference, and now Goodluck Ebele’s National Conference.

They all go to show that something is fundamentally wrong with this marriage of

conference, the participants did not make any mistake in showing that they had come there to champion their local interests.

Northern delegates stood for everything that would protect Northern interests. The SouthSouth stood for the SouthSouthern interests. The Yorubas supported with keen interest what would promote the Oduduwa interest. All said and done, it was clear that there was no more one Nigeria.

All the sloganisations for one Nigeria in the presence of so many Nigerias show that this Jonathan’s conference was overdue.

This conference is an attempt for Nigerians to come together, to examine the 1914 arrangement which brought us together as one nation. We believe that after 100 years of coming together we should now ask ourselves a very serious question: “Has this marriage worked well? Should we continue with it? If we should continue with it, what and what must be done?” The Ibo man, after he has been massacred in Jos in 1945, massacred in Kano in 1953, massacred in the North again severally in 1956, the pogrom and the Civil War in which more than two million Ibos were killed in the interest of one Nigeria; the Ibo man will now ask whether this marriage has worked well in the interest of the Ibo nation.

Struggle of the Middle Belt

PR OF .B .I.C PROF OF.B .B.I.C .I.C.. IJOMAH convenience which we call Nigeria. This country has sought different approaches to unite Nigeria. The last conference during Obasanjo’s administration showed unmistakeably that the spirit of one Nigeria which should have kept Nigeria together, died many years ago. What we have in its place is multiplicity of ethnic and tribal collections, each seeking to champion microinterests. In the Obasanjo’s C M Y K

The struggle of the Middle Belt cannot be easily forgotten. In the interest of one Nigeria we have sacrificed so many souls, and yet the spirit of one Nigeria has not been revived.

The Civil War was fought because our people went to Aburi and came to the agreement that Nigeria should be reorganised.

Unfortunately when the negotiators came back from Aburi, the Federal Government reneged on the agreement reached in Aburi, and Ojukwu and the Ibos insisted that “on Aburi we stand”.

The disagreement went from intellectual arguments to shooting conflicts that ended up

•Map of Nigeria

in the Civil War. At the end of the Civil War Gowon proclaimed that to keep Nigeria one is a duty that must be fulfilled. We agree, but the question is, can we say that Nigeria has fared well as a nation? Can we say, that all things being equal, Nigeria can still be one nation as presently organised?

Independence agreement The South-South has seen a lot of deprivation, a lot of its resources have been used to keep Nigeria one. I have always believed, and I have said so in my book, Nigerian Nationalism and the Problems of SocioPolitical Integration, that unless we return to the Independence Constitutional arrangement, we will be deceiving ourselves by believing that new arrangements can keep this country together. I have written that unless we return to the independence agreement, and accept those conditions which our forefathers agreed as a sine qua non for keeping Nigeria one, no new arrangement can keep Nigeria one.

Therefore as we begin to prepare for this Goodluck Jonathan’s conference, let us make it clear that many things have gone wrong in our experiment since independence.

We have sacrificed many souls in different parts of the country in an attempt to keep Nigeria

one. We have failed to agree that military intrusion into Nigerian politics first destroyed the Independence Constitution, but has not succeeded in bringing any solution to the crises of nation building. I would like to advise Mr. President to take note that many multiple collectivities have become so sharp that you cannot form a nation with each collectivity fighting for its possession. Indeed the collapse of Obasanjo conference in which the South-South walked out, showed clearly that Nigerians must now sit down to think whether this marriage is actually working. In my humble opinion, the Nigerian enterprise has failed to work. We must therefore seriously think on how to make this nation work. My advice is that we must realise that the suspension of the Independence Constitution, its replacement with so many others produced by

,

BY B.I.C. IJOMAH

think as Nigerians anymore. We think as Ibos, as Hausas, as Fulanis, as Ijaws, and as other micro-ethnic identities. If therefore we want a united Nigeria, President Jonathan must seriously think of conveying a conference in which members will think as Nigerians. Unless the delegates think as Nigerians, if they go there to think as Ibos, Hausas, Yorubas and so forth, then we might have failed before the conference started. My advice to Mr. President is to think seriously of inviting people who must think as Nigerians, not who will think as Yorubas or Ibos or members of the different ethnic enclaves. Let it be a national conference in which people will come as Nigerians to think of how to make Nigeria one.

The President must make room for people who understand the problems of Nigeria.

Advice to the president He must assemble people who can sit down and look at all the crises Nigeria has gone through, and people who will think of how to solve the problems in order to keep Nigeria one. But if people are coming to the conference to champion their ethnic interests, then this conference will be seen as having failed before it started.

My advice to Mr. President is that regardless of what people say, he has a responsibility to call a conference of Nigerians, a conference of people who still believe in one Nigeria, a conference of people who will sit down and articulate the problems of Nigeria and how to solve them.

Mr President has a responsibility to call a conference of people who still believe in one Nigeria, who will sit down and articulate the problems of Nigeria and how to solve them

the military governments, cannot keep this nation united. I have written in several papers that unless we return to the agreement which our forefathers reached, on the basis of which Nigeria agreed to be a nation, unless we return to the agreement which our forefathers accepted at independence, no tinkering of the Constitution can save this nation.

Therefore President Jonathan must think very seriously. It is not enough to gather people to start fighting at a Constitutional Conference, because they will fight, because micro-nationalism has become so entrenched, and Nigerian nationalism has been sacrificed. What can we do to think as Nigerians? That is a big question, because we do not

,

I do not want to see delegates who come in to articulate Yoruba interests or Hausa interests or Fulani interests or Ibo interests.

If delegates are invited to the conference on ethnic basis, then we must have failed before we started.

My Advice: I am aware that people will want to be elected on the basis of various interests. But I think that what will hold Nigeria together is not a group of delegates selected on ethnic basis, but a group of delegates who first and foremost agree that Nigeria must remain united, a group of delegates who agree to return to the agreement our forefathers had that made us one Nigeria.

Professor B.I.C Ijomah is of the Centre for Policy Studies and Research, Asaba.

Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013 —

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46—Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

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HEN Senator Ahmed Tinubu came back from his long medical trip abroad and thumbed down President Goodluck Jonathan’s decision to convene a national conference, he drew rapid fire from certain quarters.

People wondered what he really wanted.

After canvassing for a conference to address faults in the political system, especially its counterfeit and inequitable federalism, the Asiwaju sounded odd backing away from an opportunity to push for it at a confab. He called it a “Greek gift” and “public deception”, though he promised to discuss with his party before a final position would be reached. Tinubu was not really being a clairvoyant, because on this forum a fortnight ago, we wrote an article entitled: "Doesn’t This Conversation Stink?" We expressed the fear that it might not be much different from the 2005/2006 offering by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, which ended up a waste of time, energy and national resources.

When President Jonathan constituted the Senator Femi Okunrounmu National Conference Advisory Committee, NCAC, many Nigerians entertained cautious optimism because he seemed to give the Committee a blank cheque to consult with Nigerians and whatever manner of conference they wanted would be all right with him. He sounded like the ultimate democrat willing to submit to the wishes of the majority. But the President’s recent assertion that the decisions of the conference will be submitted to the National Assembly to take along in its constitution amendment pursuits has changed everything.

The conference will now be exactly what

Jonathan settles for a jamboree on resource control, devolution of powers, creation of states or conversion of the geopolitical zones into tiers of governance, structure of federalism, rotation of the presidency or specific constitutional reforms that would take the country in a definite direction.

For instance, in November 2011, he had set up the Justice Alfa Belgore Presidential Committee on the Review of Outstanding Issues from Recent Constitutional Conferences. The Committee submitted its report on July 11, 2012, proposing no fewer than 52 alterations to the 1999 Constitution.

The President promptly passed most of the Committee’s report to the National Assembly, which commenced a convoluted process of constitution amendment that has virtually hit the rocks.

The difficulty in pushing through this wholesale constitution amendment made commentators to conclude that the 1999 Constitution is simply too flawed to be

,

The conference will now be exactly what we had feared: an Obasanjo-like jamboree that will not satisfy the yearnings of those hoping it would give Nigeria a new beginning and cure the polity of the ailments responsible for the overall unhappiness of every stakeholder

we had feared: an Obasanjo-like jamboree that will not satisfy the yearnings of those hoping it would give Nigeria a new beginning and cure the polity of the ailments responsible for the overall unhappiness of every stakeholder.

It is obvious that the President wants the Constitution amended. But it is not clear (to me, at least) why he wants it amended except his old, discredited idea of a single sevenyear tenure for elected executive officers of the federal and state governments. I have never heard the President offer his perspective

,

remedied through amendment. That was why the call for a brand new constitution assumed a new urgency.

A new constitution is imperative for a number of reasons. The first is that the 1999 Constitution, apart from being irretrievably flawed, is not a genuine constitution. It is still very much a military law (Decree No 24 of May 9, 1999). The General Abdulsalami Abubakar regime put up a panel of unelected individuals who simply upgraded the 1979 presidential constitution with a few inputs taken from the 1995 Draft Constitution

President Jonathan derived from the Abacha Constitutional Conference. After the Decree was promulgated, the General Abubakar regime kept it away from Nigerians until the newly elected General Olusegun Obasanjo regime was sworn into power on May 29, 1999. It is an illegitimate constitution apart from being severely faulty.

Secondly, the conference of our dreams was meant to produce a new constitution created by elected delegates of the Nigerian people.

Its product is supposed to be drafted by a Constituent Assembly, and once it is passed

by Nigerians at a plebiscite, it becomes the new super document regulating the lives and conducts of all Nigerians.

A document that comes out of such process would be free from dictatorial shenanigans and manipulations of colonialists or military authoritarians, both of which served the interests of vested sectional and religious groups while marginalising the others.

This was the basic sources of discontent in the system, which has made it impossible for Nigeria to be united. This is the very source

of unending conflicts and inter-group frictions, which manifested in decades of violence, civil war, self-determination militancy (including the Niger Delta armed struggle for resource control and Boko Haram Islamic terrorism).

The President Jonathan “Conversation”, which will not result in a new constitutional document, can not bring any desirable outcome. Even if outstanding resolutions are reached they will never be allowed to see the light of day when filtered through the National Assembly as well as state assemblies, where two-third majorities must approve for them to become new constitutional clauses. I do not see the National Assembly being capable of reengineering the system because those benefiting from the status quo will use their votes to strike down anything that goes against their interests.

We are living witnesses to what happened during the 2005/2006 Obasanjo-empanelled National Political Reform Conference, NPRC. The Conference resolved that only one state would be created for the South East Zone to bring it up to par with four other zones with six states. The Senate under Senator Ken Nnamani as presiding officer passed the resolution. But because of Obasanjo’s tenure elongation plot which was factored into the Constitution Amendment Bill, the entire exercise was truncated. Today, there are more than 60 new demands for state creation, and the already agreed extra state for the South East is no longer acknowledged.

We want a genuine conference, not a jamboree. Give us or forget it.

Plea for crash survivor, Mrs Owolabi

I

hereby lend my humble voice in the call on the Federal Government, Lagos State Government, churches and any other capable, wealthy individual to urgently come to the aid of the survivors of the Associated Airlines which crashed in Lagos on October 3, 2013. Two surviving crew members, Mrs Quinneth Owolabi and Miss Toyin Sampson, according to the National President of Nigerian Airlines Crew Association, NACCA, Charles Onuoha, need urgent referrals to medical institutions abroad.

In particular, Mrs Owolabi risks having her fingers and toes amputated due to gangrene infection. Wealthy relations had already flown two other survivors abroad.

Let us not abandon these women to a lifetime of disfiguration and abandonment.

PLEASE, HELP! NOW!!!

OPINION

First Lady and the Abuja women rally

BY OMOBA K. AIGBEGBELE

T

HE Nigerian Women Mega Rally has come and gone but the memory of the epoch making event will continue to linger in the hearts of not only women, but others in Nigeria. The rally brings to mind the role and importance women play in nation building and also re-emphasised the greater need for women in national development.

No government will ever again ignore women as important national assets for fostering peace and national integration.

This National Council of Women Societies, NCWS, rally has driven home the truth that no meaningful development can take place without the integration of women into the scheme of affairs. It also brought to the fore the roles women had played since independence and roles played by prominent Nigerians in empowering the women-folk, including the advocacy played by reputable persons to emancipate the Nigerian women from the doldrums.

The august occasion brought about 35,000 women from across the geo-political zones of the country to celebrate ‘peace and empowerment’ of the women in the 21st century, which was enthusiastically hosted by NCWS under its President, Chief Nkechi Mba, while the amiable First Lady

of Nigeria and African torch bearer, Dame Patience Jonathan was the grand patron. It was a rally that cemented the grassroots mobilisation skills of the First Lady and also echoed the message that women are important national assets in this democratic dispensation.

The rally attracted participants from all walks of life, from the military to para-military, including civilians, artisans, farmers, rural and market women from far and wide who came in their thousands to celebrate a commemorative day meant for them. The Vice President, Alhaji Namadi Sambo was the distinguished guest of honour, while it had in attendance the ministers of the FCT and Tourism, diplomatic corps, First Ladies from Belize and African countries, including former First Ladies of Nigeria, and women who have been first in many endeavours.

Also in attendance were women in appointive positions in governance, industry, civil societies and the media. It was a roll-call of ‘Who is Who’ among women since Nigeria’s independence.

The day was laced with razzmattazz, dance, drama, parade of colours and a motorcade in carnival fashion that started from the Old Parade Ground and ended at the Eagles Square. It was indeed a day of glam-

our, fashion and glitz of Nigerian women from all over the federation.

The high point of the carnival was the motivational speech delivered by the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan that held the entire Eagle Square spell-bound and drew a rapturous applause. It was also an occasion for the First Lady to declare that women henceforth will demand for their rights and positions from any government in power.

The rally also brought it to their awareness that in future elections, manifestoes and plans for Nigerian women, must be clearly defined. Women must know what is there for them. The rally brought to mind the Aba Women Riot of 1929, when the women in one declared: “enough is enough,” and that their silence should not be taken for granted. The Aba women riot also removed some negative perceptions against women/girlchild, including the traditional/cultural restrictions of women in Nigeria to aspire to positions of authority.

The women declaration of August 15, 2013, at the Eagles Square will remain evergreen as the womenfolk used the epoch event to drum home their support for Mr. President’s inclusion of women in governance, the 35 per cent Affirmative Action policy, including appointive positions of women in the present administration. The women, in their

thousands, were united in the cause for peace, development and their emancipation.

The women expressed their role in peace building and national development and also used the day to announce their emancipation.

The colourful event was further spiced up with performances by popular artistes such as Onyeka Owenu, Yinka Ayefele, Iyanya and Sani Danja.

The climax of the event was the award dinner at the International Conference Centre, as women came in their numbers from all socio-economic backgrounds to honour those who have demonstrated commitment to the cause of women as agents of peace, unity and development in the country.

The President was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his commitment to empower women through appointive positions of governance in the country.

Governors Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, Chief Theodore Orji of Abia State, Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State, amongst others, were honoured at the occasion for according women a pride of place in the nation.

*Mr Aigbegbele, Media Adviser to the First Lady, wrote from Abuja

Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013 —

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N today ’s educational environment, Information Communication Technology, ICT, provides the best opportunities for developing countries to catch up with the developed world and provide its citizens with greater opportunities than ever before. E-learning and ecommerce are the ultimate equalisers for the developing world since the cost of e-infrastructure and e-resources are much more affordable than traditional infrastructure and resources. But in order to take advantage of this the education community has to change its focus from “traditional” thinking (i.e., brick buildings, furniture, and physical space) to ethinking.

What do I mean by ethinking? Simply, thinking and putting into use electronic resources. One, we need to use the Internet as a transportation method—the information high-

way—to generate greater space and time in terms of speed. Two, the World Wide Web (WWW) and e-storage devices “creates” more space. For example, in any traditional educational institute or business, infrastructures are the greatest costs: space, buildings, roads, and other accommodations. Now the Internet and WWW largely liberate us from these expenses and the time spent on constructing them.

Furthermore, using eresources we do not need as large of a workforce and can streamline organisations to deliver our products and services. Until 2006, I was working in South Regional/Broward College Library in Broward County[i] , Florida, USA. We had a collection of about 120,000 hard-copy volumes and many e-resources, and that required more than 65 people to maintain them because the hard copy (print and videos) were the largest circulating material. To-

day in the American University of Nigeria, AUN, we have a collection of more than 210,000 ebooks and about 26,000 hard copy materials, but we have a staff of only 14 people and operate out of a much smaller space in part because about 90 per cent of the circulating materials are electronic and do not require cataloguing and handling. In fact, right now we could operate with an even smaller number of staff, but we will soon move to our new multi-functional smart library and need the staff to keep the library open nearly 24-hours a day. The key benefit, however, is in terms of cost: our 210,000 e-books are less than a quarter

On racism, ethnicism and the Nigerian state

BY SUNNY IKHIOYA

R

ACISM and ethnicism serve the same purpose: that of bias in favour of their kind. The only difference is that racism is more associated with colour ( ie white, black and so on ); ethnicism deals with the ethnic and cultural roots.

Ideally, one will not be writing about racism in Nigeria where we all have a uniform black color but a personal experience a few years back in Port Harcourt make this imperative. I represented my company as the manager covering the Eastern Region operations. My brother and childhood friend, Captain Austin Anianu, was in Port Harcourt for an overnight stop and we needed a place to chill out. Somebody suggested that we go to FRIENDS nite club, as at then located along the water line area of aba road. We were an entourage of four people. When we got to the gate we were refused entry, tried as we could to gain entrance. Meanwhile, every White man that came along was allowed immediate access.

I finally managed to find my way inside a few months later through a friend named Flemming, and what did I find inside? A Nigerian club where girls in a cage-like stage dancing to an all-White audience. It was like a ram market, the ram in this instance being our Nigerian girls. It left a sour taste in my mouth.

We also impose racism upon ourselves.

When you reason that one colour is better than the other, you are thinking racism. In some parts of this country, we have fellow Nigerians who have successfully completed their education in core areas of professionalism and having completed their compulsory service to the nation, are refused employment on the basis of state of origin. Preferences are giving to white skinned men from countries like India, Lebanon, China and the likes, even when such jobs do not require much skills. Some of our captains of industry still practise this in their respective firms. So you find White men working in areas that we have abun-

,

dance of jobless qualified Nigerians.

The issue of ethnicity in Nigeria is a matter of great concern; instead of uniting, Nigeria is breaking further into fragments and every major action taken by government now has ethnic colouration. It is an irony that the British have managed our differences better than our indigenous leaders. Then, we had one united North, no tribal and religious colorations and that was how the North fought the civil war. The same way the South was a united body under Herbert Macaulay and later Nnamdi Azikiwe as leaders of the NCNC party.

Unfortunately, ethnic politics gained national prominence when the Yorubas of the South West under Obafemi Awolowo initated a carpet crossing along tribal lines on the floor of the Western House of Assembly and Azikiwe was forced to go to his kinsmen in the South East to rule as an ethnic regional leader.

Now, what were the political consequences of this action? The cord of unity amongst the Nigerian ethnic nations was broken; the Igbo man will never trust the Yoruba man again and likewise the Yoruba cannot trust Igbos.

This animosity between the two major tribes of the South paved the way for a total Northern dominance of the political landscape.

Political landscape However, with the increasing demands for political autonomy and resource control by minority tribes led by the late Saro Wiwa's Ogoni people, followed by the Ijaws and other South-South ethnic stocks, the ethnic struggles assumed a different dimension. From the Northern end, splinters were beginning to emerge in the middle belt and areas occupied by the minority Christian population.

What is the impact of this ethnic consciousness? Every ethnic group that has their man in power, sees it as an opportunity to feather their tribal nest. It got to its height during the military era, that such heavy decisions as state creation and location of state capitals were done at the whims of one man, the

of our 26,000 hard copy books even without counting all other expenses associated with hard copies, such as cataloguing, handling, shelves, and floor space.

In addition to subscribed (paid) e-materials there are enormous open access eresources available for free in almost all fields of education.

These resources are greater than the collections of most public and academic libraries in most countries of the world.

For example, the “Directory of Open Access Journals” alone as of September 30, 2013, contains 9,944 titles of academic journals[ii] all free. To put this savings in context, in 2009 – 2010 the AUN Library paid $144,000 or N22,357,440 for 400 academic print journals.

The saying, you get what you pay for, usually means cheaper price means inferior product, but now because e-devices are becoming more effective, functional and less expensive compared to earlier ones, library resources can provide more than they did before, and for less. For example, in the AUN Library we have replaced the following equipment with a Smartphone. The cost of the

man in power. It affected the allocation of resources, offices, boundary adjustments,promotions, admission to schools, job recruitments and so on. People were no longer given positions based on merit; so you find across the land a generally dissatisfied populace. Those who have the means to sophisticated weapons resorted to militancy and coup plotting, while those who could not remained subdued.

This was the situation until the civilians came in 1999. Unfortunately, the Obasanjo regime carried on with the baggage. It is a matter for concern that 53 years after independence the country is still grappling with the issue of ethnicity. There is no unity of thought

,

BY AMED DEMIRHAN

,

Tear down education’s brick walls and think e!

Because e-devices are becoming more effective, functional and less expensive compared to earlier ones, library resources can provide more than they did before, and for less

47

above equipment is about $4,000 or N62,1040. In addition, the Smartphone uses less electricity, occupies much less space, and doesn’t need office furniture. It performs additional services like camera, video recording, and more.

Today Nigeria has a great opportunity not just to be part of the e-revolution, but to actually lead the e-revolution.

Nigeria is blessed with millions of kids; if they receive the exposure and training so that only a few of them go on to create globally competitive games they will generate more money than the country’s oil industry.

Educational institutions and even private businesses should stop building with bricks and move to the e-revolution. Most institutions in Nigeria have enough resources to do this because it is more affordable than traditional resources and less expensive than those brick walls they build.

*Mr Demirhan is Director of Library at American University of Nigeria.

races and cultures; in the process, bad customs and practices are jettisoned. For example, in the present day Igbo land, the Osu caste system is no longer as pronounced as it used to be.

What is bad is bad, customs that cannot guarantee access to basic human rights of the people must be abolished.

It has been so over time and society has always tilted towards the good laws and customs.

It behoves on the government, therefore, to intensify efforts on the education and proper sensitisation of the citizens, for an educated society is a liberated society.

Furthermore, we must put in place enduring political structures that will

We must put in place enduring political structures that will guarantee free democracy (and) laws that will deal with the equitable rights of all tribes whether in majority or minority, address their peculiar needs and situations

and every line of reasoning is tainted with ethnic and religious bias. That is why the Jos crises have remained unsolved till date,and such other ethnic crises all over the land. That is why civilised, sophisticated and enlightened individuals cannot reach reasonable consensus over a book written by the late Chinua Achebe. That is why, the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, cannot agree with the Jonathan supporters over 2015.

The political debates are no longer on performance but on whose turn is next.

That is why the Rivers and Bayelsa states are in conflict over oil rich territories. That is why the Lagos/Anambra repatriation face-off escalated to the extent it did; and that is why the composition of Federal appointments from the South-South region focuses mainly on people from Jonathan’s Ijaw ethnic stock. Are there no other tribes in the South-South apart from the Ijaws? The examples are endless.

Having highlighted the above, let us now grapple with the solutions. We must know that over time culture is dynamic and this affects the laws, mores and customs of the land. This is made possible by contact with people of other

,

guarantee free democracy. The structure is like the foundation of a building, you can shape the building anyhow you want it, but the foundation remains the same.

Just laws that will guarantee lasting democracy are needed here. Such laws that will deal with the equitable rights of all tribes whether in majority or minority, address their peculiar needs and situations, guarantee vertical growth along the career ladder, shun ethnic bias and the likes; in fact, that will guarantee fairness in all ramifications.

For the above to be possible, we will require the right leadership. This should be the focus of the political parties. Appoint or elect capable men and women at all levels that can move the nation forward. Ethnicity cannot be eliminated totally but it can be reduced to a tolerable level, meritocracy is the answer to that.

The issue of settler and indigene is also a source of ethnic crises in the land; it is time for the government to enact laws that will put this issue to rest.

*Mr Ikhioya, a commentator on national issues, wrote from Lagos.

48—Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

Dangote urges enabling environment in oil industry to attract investment

BY VICTOR AHIUMA-YOUNG

P

ORT HARCOURT—AFTER a successful mobilization of funds for his $9 billion investment in refining and petrochemical sub-sector of the petroleum industry, President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, weekend, declared that only an enabling environment provided by all stakeholders in the industry remained a panacea for any meaningful investment in the oil industry for the growth and development of the nation’s economy.

This came as organised labour declared its support for the project and lauded his business doggedness for pioneering efforts aimed at self-sufficiency in refined products in Nigeria.

Speaking at the just concluded Third Quadrennial Delegates Conference, QDC, of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, he warned that the dream to refine and produce petroleum products for export would amount to nothing unless the Federal Government mustered the political will to drive to logical conclusion the ongoing reforms in the oil and gas industry.

Dangote, who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Engineer Joseph Makoju, also called on government to muster necessary political will to deal with issues threatening in-

vestments in the oil sector so that other investors would have confidence to come in, soliciting support for President Goodluck Jonathan’s economic transformation agenda for acceleration of the growth of Nigeria’s economy.

The Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, according to him, was a bold step that was initiated to correct perceived flaws in the industry as it was intended to

address structural, policy and managerial issues in the Nigerian oil and gas sector.

He said: “When the PIB is signed into law, it is expected to address observed weaknesses and abuses by operators and stakeholders, eliminate corruption and restructure the industry in order to make it more responsive to social and economic needs of both Nigerians and the investors in the sector.

“It is now generally accepted that successful passage and signing of the PIB into law is vital to the growth and development of the petroleum industry. Amongst other things, it will help address gas flaring, which is a perennial and highly contentious issue in the industry, and by improving the empowerment and buy-in of host communities, it will ultimately curtail youth restiveness in the

LAUNCH: From left: Mr. Steven Cohen, Managing Director, Sage Pastel Accounting; Mr. Anton Van Heerden, M.D, Sage HR, Africa; Mrs. Damilola Ajibade, Sales Executive, West Africa and Mr. Jeremy Waterman, MD, Sage ERP, Africa, during the launch of Sage Software Nigeria Ltd, in Lagos. Photo: Joe Akintola, Photo Editor.

APC condemns alleged plot to abduct Amaechi

BY OLASUNKANMI AKONI

A

LL Progressives Congress, APC, weekend, condemned an alleged plot to abduct, blackmail and force Governor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State, to resign from office, calling it the last desperate act of those bent on getting rid of Amaechi at all cost.

APC, in a statement in Lagos through its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the alleged plot, which was exposed by the Rivers Peoples Forum, should be taken seriously, against the backdrop of a similar occurrence in the past and the outcry by Governor Amaechi that his life was in danger.

The statement said: “Anyone who thinks this alarm by the Rivers Peoples Forum, RPF, is outlandish should remember what happened to then Anambra State governor,

Senator Chris Ngige, who was abducted and rough handled in 2003 in what is undoubtedly the most egregious violation of democratic institutions in our country’s history.

“The instigators and perpetrators of the crisis in Rivers State are aware that they are running out of options. Their

impeachment plan has been foiled by the take-over of the legislative functions of the Rivers State House of Assembly by the National Assembly, while their plan to declare a state of emergency in the state has also failed, against the lack of support for such act by the National Assembly.”

“This is the reason for this last

desperate act may not exclude a final solution. We are, therefore, for the umpteenth time, calling on civil society and human rights organizations, opinion leaders and indeed all lovers of democracy and believers in constitutional rule to intervene to stop the runaway culture of impunity in Rivers State.”

NDIMRC flays Rep’s attack on Petroleum minister

BY DANIEL GUMM

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ARRI—THE Niger Delta Indigenous Movement for Radical Change, NDIMRC, has berated the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Finance, Dr. Abdulmumin Jibrin, over his recent attack on the Petroleum Minister, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, over alleged missing N321 billion in the oil and gas sector.

Dr. Jibrin had said that the Minister of Petroleum should be

held responsible for the allegedly missing money.

According to the lawmaker, “The federation was expected to earn N1.837 trillion (or N204.168 billion per month) from the sale of crude oil and gas marketed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, with the Petroleum Minister as its board chair person. It should be noted that this is after taking into consideration payments for Joint Venture cash calls (i.e. cost of production) and petrol subsidy

payments. However, only N1.516 trillion has been remitted to the government by the NNPC, showing a shortfall of N320.654 billion for the period.”

But in a statement by NDIMRC, through its President, Nelly Emma, Secretary, John Sailor and Public Relations Officer, Mukoro Stanley, the group, while making a case for the Petroleum Minister over the alleged missing oil money, described the minister as transparent and so should not take any blame.

Delta exceeds 2013 MDG target on maternal mortality

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BY AUSTIN OGWUDA

S A B A — D E LTA State free healthcare campaign embarked upon by Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan’s administration has recorded tremendous decrease in maternal mortality rate by surpassing the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs health paradigm for 2013.

Special Adviser to the Governor on Health Monitoring, Dr. Rukevwe Ugwumba, who stated this while fielding questions from newsmen in Asaba, pointed out that when the state government started the free healthcare policy years back, maternal mortality rate in the state was about 550.

She announced that that figure receded in less than a year and a half, as the Delta State Government had successfully recorded 224 mortality per 100,000 births, beyond the set goal.

PDP chieftain blames Burutu crisis on external factors

A

CHIEFTAIN of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State, Mr. Arede Edenmene, has blamed the lingering crisis rocking the party in the council on the infiltration of external factors into its affairs.

Edenmene, who spoke to journalists in Warri, alleged that some of the leaders without the interest of the people at heart, had high-jacked it and bluntly refused to consult with ward leaders, thereby causing friction among party loyalists.

Edenmene who is an ex-Burutu LGA PDP chairman, while reflecting on the peace he enjoyed as a party chairman from 1999/2007, said, then the party hierarchy recognised the importance of ward leaders.

Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013—49

You’re diminishing Jonathan, wife, Rivers Forum warns Wike

Nigeria has worst case of violence against women —UN Women

BY EMMANUEL AZIKEN, Political Editor

BY SUCCESS UZOKWE

T

HE Rivers Peoples Forum, RPF, has accused the Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike and his associates in Rivers State, of ridiculing the office of the President of the country by involving President Goodluck Jonathan in the unfolding crisis in the state.

The group, in a statement, vowed that Wike, alongside his top associates, including the factional chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state, Mr. Felix Obuah, would be visited with the punishment of the people in the next election.

Noting the weekend statement by Obuah where he flayed Governor Rotimi Amaechi of disrespecting President Jonathan and his wife, Patience, the RPF affirmed that the purpose of the Obuah-led faction of the PDP was to use the duo to get relevance and in effect diminish the office of the President and the First Lady.

In the statement issued by the RPF coordinator, Charles Bekwele, the group said: “The Rivers’ People Forum, RPF, an umbrella body of all Rivers people both at home and in diaspora, over the months, have watched with disgust the scurrilous comments and statements

by Wike, Obuah and Wike’s other lackeys, who persistently assail the person and office of the governor of Rivers State under the pretensions of defending and fighting for President Goodluck Jonathan and his dear wife, Patience.

“In reality, Nyesom Wike, Felix Obuah and their co-travellers, by their actions and statements, are hell-bent on destroying the office of the President of the country and dragging the name of its present occupant and his wife through the mud. Their penchant for always dragging the name of President Jonathan and his wife into their petty war of attrition against Governor Amaechi is tantamount to rubbishing President Jonathan in a most brutal and crude manner.”

A INAUGURATION: Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State (right) congratulating Chief Peter Omatseye, shortly after inaugurating him as member, Delta State Judicial Service Commission, in Asaba.

Accept Delta Central by-election result, Uduaghan urges opposition

BY EMMA AMAIZE

W

ARRI—GOVERNOR Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State has urged the opposition parties in the state to accept the result of the October 12 by-election in Delta Central senatorial district and work for the progress of the state.

Uduaghan, who spoke, weekend, in Warri, at the wedding reception for Mr and Mrs Enahoro Ugbesia, son of Senator Odion Ugbesia of Edo State, said: “Delta State is controlled by the People’s Demo-

cratic Party, PDP, and as such, no other political party can secure electoral victory in the state.”

The by-election was won by the PDP flag bearer, Chief Emmanuel Aguariavwodo, but his victory had been rejected by the defeated contestants, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor, All Progressives Congress, APC; Chief Ede Dafinone, Democratic People’s Party, DPP, and others, who claimed the poll was rigged.

Ostensibly indicating that the losers should pitch tent with his party, the governor said the PDP umbrella was

large enough for all Deltans, boasting that if the election should be held again, the PDP would record resounding victory.

“If the election is conducted a hundred times, we will beat them. They are not on ground, they should accept the result,” the governor said at the event, which was attended by the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the PDP, Chief Tony Anenih, senators, politicians and top government officials.

He congratulated the couple and urged them to believe in God, disclosing that, “the best teacher in every marriage is the marriage itself.”

... as Emerhor insists on cancellation

BY GBENGA OKE

T

HE All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate in the recent Delta Central Senatorial by-election, Olorogun Ortega Emerhor, has called for the cancellation of the result of the election, claiming that there was no valid election.

Emerhor, in a statement said: “The plot for this election was to provide security personnel to key PDP functionaries who moved round to disrupt voting, disperse and intimidate voters and opposition agents to cart away election materials for thumb printing in predetermined locations”.

Excusing the Deputy Governor, Prof Amos Utuama, of complicity in the alleged charade, he said: “We would like to point out that the home of the deputy governor, the PDP candidate and one John Oguma, were not the ones used for the massive ballot paper thumb printing. We have since discovered that key local and state officials and party stalwarts were all mobilised into

the exercise across the senatorial district using varied pre-assigned locations and we have gathered all evidences including videotapes and it will be made public in due course.

“In strongholds of opposition parties, the PDP conspired with INEC and youth corps members to delay or

refuse to carry out the voting exercise while they later carted away materials for thumb printing and falsification of results. “The tragedy of this so-called election is that INEC became an onlooker while the PDP and employees of the state government engaged by INEC as ad-hoc staff ran away with the process.”

Obuah apologises to Jonathan over Amaechi’s alleged remarks on First Lady

BY EGUFE YAFUGBORHI

P

ORT HARCOURT—THE Felix Obuah-led faction of Rivers State People’s Democratic Party, PDP, has apologised to President Goodluck Jonathan over perceived uncomplimentary remarks by Governor Rotimi Amaechi about the President’s wife when he appeared, Friday, before the National Human Rights Commission.

At a briefing in Port Harcourt, Obuah accused Governor Amaechi of passing “uncomplimentary and inciting”

remarks about President Jonathan and his wife, Dame Patience Jonathan, in different fora.

Obuah noted that “While at the Human Rights Commission in Abuja, Amaechi, rather than address the questions put him, veered off to accuse Dame Patience of influencing transfer of immediate past Rivers Police Commissioner to pave way for incumbent, Mbu Joseph Mbu. “We wonder what Amaechi intends to achieve by repeatedly maligning the President and his family and linking them to any predicament that befalls him.”

BUJA—UNITED Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women says Nigeria has one of the worst cases of gender inequality and violence against women.

The Annual Work Plan, AWP, Development Consultant, Yemi Osanyin, disclosed this in Abuja at the UN Women National Stakeholders’ Consultations on establishment of UN Women Civil Society Advisory Group, CSAG, and Development of UN Women Strategic Plan 2014 – 2017.

Osanyin said: “Nigeria has one of the worst cases of gender inequality and violence against women and this cuts across women of all ages, at home, in the public, among peers and in relationships.

“The long years of military rule have foisted on the Nigerian society the culture of violence, force, impunity and corruption, all of which combine to marginalise and compromise women’s interest and common aspirations.”

Make national confab people’s dialogue —NDPSF

BY FESTUS AHON

U

GHELLI—THE Niger Delta People’s Salvation Front, NDPSF, has called on the Presidency to ensure that the forthcoming national dialogue is a people’s dialogue, and not another jamboree.

Speaking in Ughelli, headquarters of Ughelli North Local Government Area, Delta State,NDPSF, spokesman of the group, Mr. Rex Anighoro, stressed the need for Nigeria to be re-negotiated, describing the 1914 amalgamation of the country as a fraud.

50—V anguard A Y , OCTOBER 21, 2013 50—Vanguard anguard,, MOND MONDA

Tambuwal: Tough times UNARGUABLY the most popular of the presiding officers of the House of Representatives so far, Speaker Aminu Tambuwal is, however, increasingly faced with the devil’s option in navigating the turbulence arising from the crisis in his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and increasing muttering over alleged poor implementation of the 2013 budget.

BY EMMAN OVUAKPORIE

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T was clear before the present crisis facing the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP that Speaker Aminu Tambuwal had steered the House out of many troubled waters.

He had along the way also garnered the support of the majority of the members of the House. But from all indications, this support may experience a little turbulence if the face-off between the two factions of the party that emerged after the convention is not resolved.

Speaker Tambuwal it was learnt is pitched between the contending sides in the increasingly messy intra party dispute that has put many in the mainstream of the ruling party on edge.

Until now, the two contending sides have on the surface sought to portray Tambuwal as a unifying force and a neutral person in the conflict.

However, as the 2015 elections draw closer, members are increasingly being put under pressure to identify with their local patrons and kingmakers at home who may decide their post-2015 political fortunes.

Under the present configuration, the new PDP by combining forces with the opposition parties in the House is believed to have an edge in the power equation. That would be good news for Tambuwal who as it is generally known has not been a darling of the mainstream PDP led by Alhaji

Sallah festivities •Tambuwal to the MDAs. Many members who went on oversight it was learnt, argued that the implementation of the 2013 budget is unacceptable with lamentations about late releases of funds for capital projects of the 2013 budget. In some cases, approvals were made but not cash backed, while in other cases, it was claimed that the funds were released but they were inaccessible.

The Chairman House Committee on Information and Communications Technology, Hon Shehu Gusau, APC, Zamfara after inspecting

,

Speaker Tambuwal it was learnt is pitched between the contending sides in the increasingly messy intra party dispute that has put many in the mainstream of the ruling party on edge

Bamanga Tukur.

Another challenge before the speaker would be how he manages the flow of emotions arising from the recent oversight visits to the Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs during which implementation of the 2013 budget was assessed.

That would be a parameter for handling the 2014 budget.

Various committees that went on oversight came back with what some have labelled satanic reports that question the implementation of the 2013 budget. The oversight carried out by most of the committees showed poor releases of funds

“That is what we have been saying in the House of Representatives, that the greatest problem facing us as a nation is that budget performance is never taken seriously. And the House is always accused of ulterior motive whenever we stress that budget should be implemented as specified in the Act”.

Other members of the committee also expressed concern over the situation, saying the project should not have been awarded in the first place if money was not available.

A member of the committee, Hon Jerry Manwe (PDP, Taraba), pointed out that awarding contract without fund often result in upward reviewing which does not augur well for government.

But director of Satellite Town Development Agency, FCDA, Engr. Ibrahim Tukur, told the Committee that the Karshi Water project was awarded at the sum of N19.4 billion, informing that the sum of N2 billion was about to be released.

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facilities at the Federal Ministry of Communications vowed that his committee would investigate the Minister of Finance and the Budget Office over poor release of funds to some MDAs for the implementation of the 2013 budget. Gusau had said the committee was appalled that the ministry whose approved budget for capital projects for the 2013 fiscal year was over N2 billion only received about N727 million with less than three months for the year to run out. “We’re not impressed at all.

This is October, but only 28.05 percent of your approved budget has been released.

What happens to the 72 percent now that it is less than three months to December, and you must refund unspent funds

by December 31?”

Other members of the committee also raised concerns with the way the ministry’s budget releases have been handled and assured of their resolve “to get to the bottom of the matter.”

House Committee on Upstream petroleum Resources: Same story of poor implementation of the 2013 budget was also re-echoed during an oversight visit to Nigeria Nuclear Regulatory Commission by the committee.

The chairman, House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream), Hon. Muraina Ajibola, had while scrutinising the 2013 budget performance of the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA) observed that the delay of funds was unnecessary.

Reacting to the ugly situation, Ajibola noted that “as a parliament, we are worried because we are not only tracking money released and revenue generated, we are worried on the releases of money to fund the budget. We are calling on the appropriate quarters to ensure that releases are done as at when due.”

Committee on Federal Capital Territory: Chairman of the House of Representatives committee on FCT, Hon Emmanuel Jime also

decried the poor performance of the 2013 budget in the territory so far. Jime (PDP, Benue) who stated this after his committee took its oversight to examine the level of implementation of the 2013 capital budget at the Karshi Satellite Town Infrastructure project, regretted the nonrelease of funds to the contractor handling the project to commence work. “From what we saw, it is obvious that the performance is zero. In fact, no money has been released yet to the contractor to start work, and we’re now in the third quarter with about three months left for the year to run out.

The reports of these committees point to the fact that the N4.6trillion budget passed by the National Assembly may still face a lot of scrutiny as members resume after the Sallah festivities.

This scrutiny if not properly managed by Tambuwal and his men may lead to another showdown between the executive arm of government and the legislature. Tambuwal may have to watch his back at all times to save his neck from being strangulated as the cracks in the House goes beyond the ordinary.

The legislature may win more Nigerians to its side if the cracks are properly amended

by Tambuwal and the House leadership.

Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013—51

Don’t drag Ojukwu into this, Ifeanyi Ubah warns Gov Obi

BY EMMANUEL AZIKEN, POLITICAL EDITOR

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HE Ifeanyi Ubah Campaign organization has warned Governor Peter Obi not to drag the late Dim Emeka Ojukwu into the contest asserting that the late Igbo warlord would turn in his grave at the desecrations of APGA by the outgoing governor.

Responding to claims that Chief Ubah dodged questions during a recent radio appearance by making it impossible for listeners to ask him questions in the audience participation programme, the Ubah Campaign accused Obi and the APGA candidate of resorting to misinformation to deceive the public.

“This election will be defined by issues not by empty boasts about achievements. It will not be won by the invocation of the revered name of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu., who would be turning in his grave at the great rape carried out in the state by Peter Obi,” the Ubah campaign said in a statement issued by Ayo Akinola on behalf of the Ifeanyi Ubah

Ukachukwu appears

BY VINCENT UJUMADU

W

EEKS after outsmarting Tony Nwoye for the PDP ticket, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu entered the state to a rousing welcome from his supporters last Saturday.

It was his first appearance in the state since he got the court to declare him the PDP candidate.

His campaign headquarters close to the popular UNIZIK junction bubbled as supporters thronged the place when he eventually entered the town from Enugu.

A reception was eventually held for him at the Emmaus House in the heart of the town.

Ukachukwu, at the ceremony, told the people that PDP has come back to reclaim its position in Anambra State and urged the party’s supporters to remain steadfast.

He informed supporters in all 326 wards that they have been made canvassers for the party to ensure that the party wins the election convincingly.

Election Campaign Committee.Singling out Governor Obi’s spokesman, Val Obienyem of masterminding the alleged misinformation, the Ubah campaign said: “Val lied when

he suggested that Ubah made it impossible for callers to ask him questions when he was featured on a live radio program. Ifeanyi Ubah has never shied away from being asked questions as Obienyem

knows full well. He was available for questioning in Florida during the ASA-USA Conference and it is on record that he put up a stellar performance at a time when Willie Obiano had a terribly

poor showing that he could not remember the name of his running mate. Ubah loves being taken on as he believes that a leader should be open to questions from his people.”

I am still around, Nwoye charges supporters

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OMRADE Tony Nwoye who won the PDP gubernatorial primaries but was forcibly replaced by Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu upon a court order, has affirmed that he remains a contender in the gubernatorial contest.

In a statement articulated just as Ukachukwu surfaced Anambra last weekend, Nwoye drew the attention of his supporters to his travails as he called upon them to keep hope alive saying that the judicial plots used by Ukachukwu to displace him would soon be overturned.

“Having been rejected by both Anambrarians and the PDP, Mr Ukachukwu who ran to a Federal High court in PortHarcourt to secure a judgment to foist himself on INEC to publish his name as the PDP Candidate of the state, however, made a sudden UTurn securing a motion to delay an appeal court judgment against him with the intent of frustrating the campaign efforts of Comrade Tony Nwoye,” the Nwoye campaign said in a press statement issued by Pharm. Chinedu Klinsmann “INEC which was merely

•Nwoye following court ruling when the commission published Ukachukwu’s name will

immediately delete same if the appeal court says otherwise next (this) week.”

“As the state awaits the decision of the Supreme Court on the appeal of the PDP against Nicholas Ukachukwu coming up next (this) week, we enjoin all the good people of Anambra State and the supporters of Comrade Tony Nwoye to be steadfast and faithful to this collective cause of positive change, a change we can all believe in,” the Nwoye campaign said in a statement.

Beware of misfits, Obiano warns

BY CHARLES KUMOLU

A

PGA candidate Willie Obiano has warned voters to avoid giving their votes to those, who know little or nothing about global financial institutions and other similar organisations.

Obiano in a survey of his rivals warned the electorate that a number of the contenders for the governorship lack the pedigree for the office. Obiano, a former executive director with Fidelity Bank, however, did not

mention names in his categorization of the misfits for the office.

Noting that his background in the financial services industry stands him out, he said: “You might be surprised to know that most people jostling for Obi’s job today know little or nothing about the workings of the IMF and other related organisations. Obi is enjoying cosy relationship with them because he is of stable character. In terms of

experimental pedigree I enjoy far reaching privileges among other candidates. So I can be trusted. This is why I am confident that I am the man for the job.”

“I don’t talk about individuals but issues. But for one of the candidates to say that Obi squandered three trillion is laughable. That shows that the person suffers from intellectual poverty because the monthly allocation of the state is published monthly. How do

•Obiano you expect such a person to emerge as governor. This is why it is obvious that the state needs continuity in order not to squander the records of the present administration.”

Anambra must no longer be used as a laboratory — Ukachukwu

BY CLIFFORD NDUJIHE

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OVERNORHIP Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu, has advised the electorate to vote in the best and most experienced candidate in the next election, saying that the state must no longer be used as a laboratory by inexperienced hands.

Claiming that if what one had done for Anambra were the yardstick for the election, he would have been elected automatically, he said the PDP would approach the polls as a united family and trounce other parties.

He also said that Governor Peter Obi is morally bound to support him because he helped the governor to become

elected.

On his advice to the people of Anambra ahead of the election, he said: “The People of Anambra must choose wisely. They have to make their choice from those that they know very well. Anambra people should stop testing people because it is no more time for testing. Anambra State should not be used as laboratory equipment to perform litmus tests. They should try someone who has shown great commitment in improving the lives of the people.”

On his chances against other candidates, he said: “In Anambra State, most of the areas are my comfort zone and don’t forget that I have supported a lot of people that won elections including Peter

Obi. My brother Ifeanyi Ubah is a new person and to be honest with you, he is doing well. He is a nice person, may be the timing is wrong. I have told you about my brother Ngige. For Peter Obi, how can a man that is fighting godfatherism be promoting the

same thing he is fighting against. A man who has announced that he doesn’t believe in godfatherism, has now assumed the role of a godfather. Obiano, a brother from Anambra North is being imposed on the people by the governor.

Presidency engages stakeholders in sensitization talks Wednesday

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O ensure a free and fair election on November, the Presidency will organise a sensitization workshop for all stakeholders in the contest on Wednesday.

Organised by the office of the Presidential Adviser on InterParty Affairs, Senator Ben Obi, the workshop will hold at Women Development Centre, Awka, the Anambra State

Capital. The event, to be chaired by General Ike Nwachukwu has Mosignor Obiora Ike as (keynote speaker and Mr Femi Falana and Dr. Udenta O Udenta as guest speakers. The 23 governorship candidates, their deputies, leaders of the participating parties and officials of INEC are also expected.

52— Vanguard , MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

Vanguard CLASSIFIED

Fashola, Amosun, Mimiko, commiserate with Omojola's family

BY BY VICTOR AHIUMAYOUNG, DAYO JOHNSON & MONSUR OLOWOOPEJO

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AGOS—GOVER NORS Babatunde Fashola, Ibikunle Amosun and Olusegun Mimiko of Lagos, Ogun and Ondo states, yesterday, commiserated with the immediate families and associates of Baba Oluwide Omojola, over his death, describing the late socio-economic and political activist as a great loss to Nigeria.

This came as Baba Omojola’s private and political secretary since 1989, Abiodun Aremu, officially announced his demise at 75, detailing some of his socio-economic and political activism.

The activist and former United Nations economic consultant was confirmed dead at the First Mercy Specialist Hospital, Akure, at about 11am on Saturday, October 19, 2013.

Speaking during a condolence visit to Baba Omojola’s residence Governor Fashola, said: “I am short of words on occasion like this but this is the story of life.

"Baba Omojola has reached his own destination. He has moved on. I believe that those who give so much of their life in the service of others, have truly immortalized themselves even when they die.

The physical body of Baba Omojola is dead but I am sure he still lives. I believe he died for a very good cause.

“He was selfless and humble in his aspiration.

He was totally committed in putting himself forward in the defence of the masses and the downtrodden in the nation. I thank God for his life."

Similarly, Governor Amosun who described his death as a great loss to Nigeria, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant, Media, Mrs. Funmi Makama, said Omojola was a quintessential human rights campaigner, democracy icon and economist of distinction. ”He contributed immensely to the enthronement of the current civil rule. Nigeria has no doubt lost a dogged democracy campaigner, man of principle and defender of the

masses.”

Amosun added that the co-founder of the Pro-National Conference Organisation, PRONACO, lived and died for the cause of a better Nigeria.

He noted that “his place in the pantheon of democracy fighters is assured.”

On his part, Governor Mimiko in a condolence message through his Chief Press Secretary, Eni Akinsola, said his death was not just a sad loss to the family but an unfortunate departure from the fast depleting tribe of genuine human rights activists and nationalists with conscience.

The statement reads in part: “Baba Omojola represented the best of the generation of human and political rights activists who never compromised in the face of serial treachery and consistent oppression of the ruling class.

"He was dogged, committed, resourceful and unwavering. His was a life lived in moral decency, material modesty and social and political relevance. He was brave, bold, strong and reliable. He will be sorely missed.”

The governor asked the family to be proud of the legacies of their patriarch and be consoled by the memories of a life he said was no doubt committed to the service of the downtrodden.

We pray for the repose of his soul and that God grants the family the courage to bear the loss.

Speaking to Vanguard, wife of the late activist, Dr. Yewande said: “I am short of words because my husband was healthy before he left home. He gave me a peck before leaving for Akure at about 11:00 last Thursday.

"On Saturday, I spoke with him on phone at about 8:00am in the morning and he promised to be back by4:00 pm on Saturday. While waiting for him, the news of his death filtered in.”

Describing her husband, she said “he was my personal friend. If I am I could come to come to this world again, I wish to be with him again.”

OSEMWENGIE—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Osemwengie Uyi Anna, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Imonlega Uyi Anna. All former documents remain valid. LAPO MFB and general public please take note.

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General public please take note.

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known and addressed as Miss

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54 — Vanguard, MONDAY OCTOBER 21, 2013

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...Now that we know Ethiopia (2)

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IME apt enough to celebrate the demolition of the Mexican U-17 squad by the Golden Eaglets of Nigeria.

This is a team that has always given us hope, hope that if we play our cards well, the next ten years of our football will flourish courtesy the months of hard work that Manu Garba and his colleagues have put into building a team that can hold its own anywhere in the world.

Against the Mexicans, caution was the word. Defending champions for that matter, but by the time we finished with them even FIFA had to acknowledge that this team was indeed a favourite for the title.

It may be too early to celebrate. The Brazilians and the Argentinians are still in the competition and they don’t fall easy. Early we celebrated in Morocco and ended up with a silver. Let it be said however that if you have a team that loses playing well, at this age grade, you still have cause to celebrate as long as you are guaranteed a secure future ahead.

Nigeria ranks as the best U17 playing country in the world with six appearances in the final and three crowns in the kitty. We will be looking forward to another crown but as NFF President Aminu Maigari said in his message to the boys, caution remains the word.

We still have five matches to the final and we should take them as they come.

While we are at it, as I said in a mail to the team’s media officer, Ihenaecho should remember that this is a team game. His colleagues will help him pile up goals for self and country if he remembers to acknowledge them in his celebrations. Our first goal was a direct creation of Isaac Success an assist that carries as much weight as the one who taps it in, so his first destination would have been towards Success .Boys will learn.

Now back to the topic of this week’s discourse, which I will prefer to treat as a continuation of last week’s column. All Nigerians agree that the result in Addis Ababa was a great one good enough to guarantee us a World Cup berth, yet I still came across well placed and well informed Nigerians in the round leather game who plead that the match is not over until it is over.

Take the argument from the Friendly match that has been arranged for the Eagles against Italy, barely two days after our Ethiopian tie in Calabar. Keshi argues

... the Ethiopians I saw on Sunday have a lot of football in them and I believe they will come to Calabar prepared

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and rightly too that with just two days it will be difficult presenting the best in a contract that requires we field eighty per cent of our best legs.

A way out will be for the Nigeria gaffer to field a second rated team against an Ethiopian team we believe cannot beat us in Calabar ( Given that we have qualified already (?)) I can hear some shouts of disapproval already.

Hon Chuks Ugwuoke, Information commissioner in Enugu State, Chief Lemmy Akakem, father of the modern Heartland FC, Pastor Umoh Bassey, chairman Akwa Ibom Scrabble Association and former player of Rovers FC of Calabar, Dr Frank Ofili ex International, Chairman Christian Chukwu member NFF Technical and Development Committee are some of Nigerians who have virtually begged that we should not treat the second leg match with kids gloves.

“Sir, your column entitled Now that we know Ethiopia was quite instructive, but I warn that we should not consider the match done and dusted. Yes we have a credible lead, but the Ethiopians I saw on Sunday have a lot of football in them and I believe they will

come to Calabar prepared. “ We must also meet them better prepared because this time we will not have any excuse not to slaughter them “ wrote Ubong Antai from Akpabuyo in Calabar.

Another Calabar based supporter Aniekan Idang says Eagles have never lacked support at the U. J Esuene stadium. “ I have read about the support given to the Ethiopians in Addis Abbaba and wants to say that the Eagles have never lacked support in Cannan land. Infact the stadium will not accommodate all of us come the return leg. The only thing that will be missing, that has been missing is sufficient green and white jerseys and memorabilia that will go round all the fans on that day. I wish we can say that entrance to the stadium will be open only to those who come in either green and white” He said.

Talking about Green and white, I hope the victory of the Eagles and the demolition of Mexico will lay to rest, once and for all, all the noise concerning the jinx that is said to follow the white jersey.

For Adeusi, Udy, Vincent, Eddy

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IS reign as Military Administrator of Akwa Ibom State led to the formation of a Premier league club called Ibom Stars that later metarmophosed into Akwa United. I remain grateful to Navy Captain Joseph Adeusi(Rtd) who got me and the late Christo Davies involved in making sure that Akwa Ibom State got a premier league side.

This week end His Excellency will roll out drums to celebrate 60 years on mother earth. I join hundreds of his friends and well wishers to appreciate God on his behalf.

Oga, we have been told that Rice and stew will be very plenty. On Sunday we will be there, LIVE. !

Today is also the birthday of one of my angels Pastor Uduak David –Adjah. Udy, the Lord has been faithful to you and yours and will continue to be as you serve Him. Eddy Ekpenyong, The Law Vincent Essien, this week also belongs to both of you. He will continue to uphold you, His favour will be yours for the asking. That is what the Scriptures say. Remain blessed IJN See you next week.

Nestle Milo Football Clinic thrills Eguma, Ogunbote D OLPHINS of Port Harcourt Coach, Stanley Eguma and his Sharks FC counterpart, Gbenga Ogunbote, could not hide their delight at the quality of young footballers paraded at the final of the Port Harcourt leg of the Nestle Milo Football Clinic held at the Sharks Stadium.

The final of the Port Harcourt leg of the Milo clinic was held on Saturday with veteran coaches and games masters joining former Super Eagles captain, Peter Rufai, in taking the children through scientific grooming in different approaches to football.

Speaking after a twoa-side novelty match involving 32 boys and girls selected by the coaches during the clinic, Eguma praised Nestle Milo for the “novel idea, which if sustained will change the face of Nigerian football.”

According to Eguma, “bringing all these innocent children to exhibit their talents uncorrupted by any tactics is a good

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way of unearthing genuine talents. I have seen so many boys here who can grow to become stars in the future if well managed.

“Milo has ignited a fire that would bring forth great players, not only for Rivers State, but also for Nigeria. I am so excited to be a witness of this great event.”

Ogunbote, who has just guided Sharks of Port Harcourt out of the relegation zone in the Glo Nigeria Premier League, described the Milo Football Clinic as a revolution in grassroots development, which has thrown up many future soccer stars.

“What Milo is doing is a revolution, which in the nearest future would be of immense benefit to Nigeria.

“I have seen some refreshing talents that have reminded me that Nigeria is blessed with youngsters, who can take the country back to the summit of international football. I thank Milo for this gesture, which should be emulated by

all good corporate organisations operating in Nigeria.”

Speaking at the end of the clinic, Milo Brand Manager, Funmi Osineye, disclosed that the fourth edition of the clinic, which theme is, “Let’s build champions,” is designed not only to coach the children with the world class football skills, but also equip and teach them the key five values learnt from sports, including determination, discipline, respect, honesty and team work required for them to succeed in the ultimate game of life.

“We are particularly delighted that 6,000 football talents have been trained from Abuja, Benin and Port Harcourt, being the first three cities we have visited for this fourth edition and 8,000 more children would be trained as we move to Enugu, Akure, Abeokuta and Lagos. This year 14,000 football champions would be trained in total,” she said.

•Rotary Club Bike-A-Thon - Members of the Cycology Club who participated in the Bike-A-Thon Race which took place at the weekend in Lagos. The Bike race was to help draw attention to Rotary’s fight and subsequent eradication of Polio in the country.

NASCOM boss advices Eaglets

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HE Chairman of Ni geria Academicals Sports Committee (NASCOM), Yemi Idowu believes the only team that can stop the Golden Eaglets from winning the 2013 UAE FIFA Under-17 World Cup are the players themselves!

Speaking to the players at their Danat Resort Hotel before the 6-1 victory over Mexico on Saturday, Idowu

who is the proprietor of Nathaniel Boys FC of Lagos, said the players should give their best since they are the ‘ Special Ones’ picked amongst millions of Nigerian youths to represent the country.

“You have nothing to fear because your coaches have counted you to be worthy of playing for the

national team,” said Idowu. “The onus is now on you to justify the confidence the coaches have in you and do your best for the country.

“I want you to know that there is nobody that can stop you unless you don’t have the will power to do it and I just want to concentrate on this assignment,” he noted.

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Vanguard, MONDAY OCTOBER 21, 2013 — 55

Four-goal Iheanacho wrestling with success Coric, Majeric win FCMB Gov’s Cup 1

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ELECHI Iheana cho raced to the corner flag, the entire Nigerian team chasing after him. He raised and pumped his arms, extending his fingers to the heavens. His knees followed along in rhythm. He was conducting the crowd, a massive throng of fellow Nigerians, and they mimicked his movements. A whole stand at the Khalifa Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain was doing this strange dance, in raptures over the Golden Eaglets’ first goal of the FIFA U-17 World Cup. Was it a traditional dance from Iheanacho’s native Imo state, in the south of Nigeria? “No, no, no,” the player laughs, fidgeting on the marble floor of the stadium’s main entrance.

“This is the celebration move of my favourite professional wrestler,” Iheanacho explains.

Daniel Bryan is this Nigerian boy’s favourite wrestler, a bearded American from the outskirts of Seattle who oc-

BY JOHN EGBOKHAN

C

•Iheanacho casionally goes by the moniker, the American Dragon. “I watch him on TV and I love the way he whips up the crowd this way, so I decided to copy it. The fans seemed to like it, too,” he added with a broad grin.

It’s easy to forget these young players here in UAE are just kids, especially one as monstrously talented as Iheanacho, who scored four goals in a 6-1 demolition of defending champions Mexico. But that’s precisely the beauty of this junior event. For players

Pillars Continues from B/P League.

They earned a prize money of 10 million Naira (about $63,000).

Barnabas Imenger junior scored the first goal of the match in the 28th minute from the penalty spot after Umar Zango brought down Douglas Archi inside the 18-yard box. Imenger then scored his brace against the champions.

Pillars go into the record books as the first team from the Northern part of the country to win Nigeria league twice and back to back.

Bayelsa lost 1-0 at Gombe United to finish third on 61 points, while El Kanemi finished on 60 points after they fell 1-0 at Enugu Rangers.

Substitute Menshak Chukwubuikem scored the goal for Rangers to beat El Kanemi, while Simon Timothy ended the dream of Bayelsa in Gombe with his strike.

At the other end of the table, Wikki, Kwara United and ABS FC join

Shooting Stars to the lower league.

Akwa United and Kwara United played out a 1-draw in Lokoja, while ABS lost 1-0 at Warri Wolves.

Shooting Stars confirmed their relegation after they lost 2-0 at Kaduna United.

It was double tragedy for Kwara State football fans as both teams from the state, Kwara United and ABS FC, will campaign in the lower division next season following their relegation.

Kwara United had a better chance to stay put when they hosted Akwa United at Lokoja, but they could not get the needed three points as Akwa United, who needed just a point to remain in the top league, did just that as their game ended 1-1.

3SC finished bottom with 46 points from 38 games, followed by Wikki Tourists on 49 points, while ABS FC had 50 points, same with Kwara United.

not yet professional, not yet jaded or corrupted, there can be true improvisation, true sensation, and weird and wild celebrations.

“I was totally over the top with joy when that first goal went in,” he added.

It showed too, and he kept up the same WrestleMania-inspired dance party after every goal, and then again at the end of the game

when the players grabbed green-andwhite flags from the stands and partied like they ’d just won the whole tournament.

The theme song of Iheanacho’s favourite wrestler is Europe’s The Final Countdown, which is suitable considering this Nigerian side are now favourites to play in the ultimate match in Abu Dhabi on 8 November.

ROATIA’s Borna Coric has won the men’s singles title of the First City Monument Bank-sponsored Governor’s Cup Futures 1.

The 16 year-old sixth seed defeated Ante Pavic of Croatia in two sets of 64,6-3 to win the 35 ATP ranking points..

He recently won the 2013 US Open Junior Championship and this is the first Futures win for the Croat, who was elated with his victory.. ”Winning the US Open junior tournament gave me the confidence that I could win the Governor’s Cup. I worked hard and it paid off for me. I’m so glad that I came to Lagos as a player on number 525 in the world ranking, but

winning this leg has improved my ranking. This is a great leap.I’m looking forward to the second leg with high expectation of winning it.”

In the women’s singles final, top seed Tadeja Majeric of Slovenia defeated eight seed Dalila Jakupovic of Slovakia in two hard-fought sets of 75,7-5 to win the $25.000 prize money of Futures 1.

In the men’s doubles final, the pair of Ante Pavic of Croatia and South African Ruan Roelofse defeated the Croatian duo of Borna Coric and Dino Marcan 7-6,6-2 British ladies, Naomi Broady and Emily Webley-Smith defeated Cristina Dinu of Romania and Fatma Al Nabhani of Omar 3-6, 64, 10-7 to win the doubles crown.

Adamu Continues from B/P But contrary to expectations, Dr. Adamu has declared that he is not in hurry to return to football administration in CAF, FIFA and WAFU. “My interest is not to rush back to the international federations, but I am delighted that my ban has expired and I am free to contribute to the development of football and sports generally in Nigeria, Africa and the world at large.”

The former WAFU president noted that, he learned lots of lessons during his period of incarceration, and on return now, he would be delving into sports business and not sports administration as it was the case before his ban.

“My focus is different now and those expecting me to rush back to football administration would be disappointed.

I want to do serious business in sports. I am now a different person.

This is the new Amos Adamu.

“I went through some transformations which had been worthwhile. I am now a different per-

son wiser than before.”

Adamu expressed delight in the supports given to him during the period of his travails by the leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), the Sports Ministry and the National Sports Commission (NSC) under the leadership of Professor Taoreed Adedoja who stood firmly to defend him.

“I am also grateful to the leadership of the National Assembly who made frantic efforts to ensure that I was not unjustly incarcerated after presenting them with documented evidences both in print and video.”

The former Director of Sports Development stressed that, his consolation despite the threeyear ban was the FIFA action which cleared him of all corruption charges and limited his offence to that of ethics violation.

Adamu was banned in 2010 after the FIFA World Cup in South Africa following a petition sent to the world football governing body by the UK Bid Committee for the FIFA World Cup.

SCHOOL SPORTS.......From left, Ismail Omamegbe, Head, Corporate Responsibility,, First Bank Rotimi Aladesanmi, Vice President, Kings College Old Boys Association, Oladele Olapeju, Principal, Kings College , Adeoye Adetuyibi, Sports Secretary,, Sanya Soyannwo during the commissioning of the Squash Court built by FBN at Kings College, Lagos

Eaglets

Continues from B/P points, same points as second placed Sweden but have superior goal difference of +5 as against Sweden’s +3.

Three points in the next game in Al Ain will propel the Eaglets to the next stage of the competition.

Sweden debuted in the UEFA U17 European Championship this year, where they reached the semi-final and lost 10-9 on penalties to eventual winners Russia.

The most dangerous player in the Sweden rank is striker Gustav Engvall, who scored a brace in their opening game against Iraq.

Eaglets coach Manu Garba has insisted they will

not underrate Sweden as there won’t be any easy game at the tournament.

“There is no and won’t be any easy game at this tournament and we are not going to underrate Sweden because we beat Mexico 6-1,” he said. ”We are going to approach the match against Sweden with the same manner as we did against Mexico because our objective is to win the fourth title for Nigeria.”

The Nigeria strike force of Isaac Success and Kelechi Iheanacho has already caught the eye with a total of five goals between them from their opening game.

The kick-off of the match is 5pm Nigerian time.

Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

Adamu free again, as FIFA ban ends •I’m a different person, wiser than before — Adamu

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Pillars are champs!

Vanguard lands in UAE K

W

HEN it comes to sports coverage, we know you know, we are the best. Our Eaglet, John Egbokhan carries the Vanguard tradition to UAE to bring you unadulterated sports coverage of the FIFA U-17 World Cup. Egbokhan is as hot as the Eaglets.

He’ll bring the best on the pages of Sports Vanguard.

Stay with the BEST!

ANO Pillars have retained the Nigeria league title despite losing 2-0 at Lobi Stars on the final day of the season.

Pillars finished top of the table on 63 points, while Enyimba shot to second place after they

defeated Sharks 1-0 at home to record 62 points.

This is Pillars third league championship and they along with Enyimba will represent Nigeria in next year’s CAF Champions Continues on Page 55

HE three-year ban on former Nigeria CAF and FIFA Executive Committee member, Dr. Amos Adamu, slammed on him by the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) has expired, thus making the Nigerian high profile sports administrator free again to participate in football activities within and outside Nigeria.

The FIFA ban on Adamu, a retired Director General of the National Sports Commission, expired at 12mid night on October 19.

Continues on Page 55

DEADLY BLOW — Germany’s Robert Stieglitz delivers a sucker punch on Nigeria’s Isaac Ekpo in a WBO world super-middleweight title fight. Stieglitz won 110-118, 110-118, 109-119

FIFA U-17 matches today Group C Panama Morocco

Croatia Uzbekistan

vs vs

Tunisia Japan

Group D vs Russia vs Venezuela

PUZZLE

Eaglets ready for Sweden

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AMPANT Golden Eaglets of Nigeria will seek passage to the next round of the U17 World Cup when they face debutants Sweden tomorrow.

Both teams won their first games, the Eaglets smashed past defending champions Mexico 6-1, while Sweden beat Iraq 4-1.

Nigeria thus set the pace in Group F with 3

Continues on Page 55

2:00 p.m.

5:00 p.m.

Results: Slovakia 2 Honduras 2 Uruguay 1 CIV 1

2:00 p.m.

5:00 p.m.

QUICK CROSSWORD

Sudoku TODAY'S

•Adamu

YESTER DAY'S YESTERDAY'S

ANSWERS

ACROSS 1 Current (6) 5 Dread (4) 8 Trite (5) 9 Groove (3) 10 Oaf (4) 11 Island (4) 12 View (5) 13 Hostile (6) 16 Dale (4) 18 Wicked (4) 20 Individual (3) 22 Observe (3) 23 Barrier (3) 24 Symbol (4) 25 Plague (4) 28 Comfort (6) 30 Creature (5) 32 Den (4) 33 Unhearing (4) 34 Elderly (3) 35 Principle (5) 36 Fastened (4) 37 Offer (6)

DOWN 1 Writer (6) 2 Turning (8) 3 Combined (6) 4 Peerless (9) 5 Swooned (7) 6 Otherwise (4) 7 Regretted (4) 8 Coach (3) 14 Replied (9) 15 Vigour (3) 17 Shelter (3) 19 Rascal (8) 20 Lubricate (3) 21 Penetrated (7) 26 Sweet (6) 27 Give (6) 29 Curdle (4) 30 Nip (4) 31 Obtain (3)

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS ACROSS: 3, Wedge 9, Carton 10, Rather 11, Egret 12, Lass 15, Solo 17, Distant 20, Tip 21, Eased 23, Mere 26, Kudos 28, End 30, Natural 33, Atom 35, Tale 36, Tiara 38, Endear 39, Evolve 40, Glade.

How to Play Sudoku

DOWN: 1, Scold 2, Dross 3, Woe 4, Engine 5, Grew 6, Eat 7, Shoot 8, Droop 13, Ailment 14, Stalk 16, Liberal 18, Talon 19, Hem 22, Debut 24, Tun 27, Sacred 28, Eager 29, Dowdy 31, Rally 32, Lever 34, Girl 36, Tag 37, Ave.

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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